Hot Rap Songs Review: 2006

Welcome back to another Hot Rap Songs Review. Let’s get started.

LINK TO 2006 HOT RAP SONGS CHART

Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It-Dem Franchise Boyz ft Lil Peanut & Charlay: And we begin on some more ringtone rap. And it’s from Dem Franchise Boyz. Goody. Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It is no different from I Think They Like Me: repetitive chorus, cheap production, bad rapping, etc. And like most ringtone rap songs of the time, it has a dance attached to it. Re-experiencing this era of rap is going to be painful. I give this an F.

What You Know-T.I.: Now here’s more of that Southern hip-hop that I like, courtesy of T.I. 2006 was a good year for the Bankhead MC as he starred in the movie ATL and his album King went to number one on the Billboard charts. The first single from that album is What You Know. This song is a banger thanks to the production. It bumps in the whip. T.I. brings that Atlanta swagger and griminess to the song and he kills the shit. Plus, that chorus stays in your head for days, although…

Hey, don’t you know I got key by the 3?
When I chirp, shawty, chirp back

It was 2006. Chirp phones were a thing (I know that’s not the name, but still). Remember those? Is this T.I.’s best song? No, but it still bumps to this day. I give it a B.

It’s Goin’ Down-Yung Joc: I’ve already talked about Yung Joc back in my Worst of ’06 when talking about I Know You See It. Now, let’s talk about his signature song It’s Goin’ Down. This is easily his best song and it’s not even that great. The best thing about it is the production. And that chorus is ridiculously catchy.

Meet me in the trap its goin down
Meet me in the mall its goin down
Meet me in the club its goin down
Any where ya meet me guaranteed to go down

Aside from those two elements, there’s not much to everything else in the song. Yung Joc is not that great of a rapper and the lyrics contain the usual rap tropes that you expect. I give this song a low C.

Shoulder Lean-Young Dro ft T.I.: With all of his success, T.I. formed his own label called Grand Hustle and one of the artists he signed is Young Dro, who became a one-hit wonder thanks to Shoulder Lean. It’s another rap song of the time that has a dance attached to it. The only memorable thing about the song is chorus, courtesy of T.I. and aside from Tip sounding awful, that’s his only contribution to the track. He doesn’t even get a verse. What the hell? Outside of that, there’s not much. Young Dro is an average rapper at best, the beat is whatever, and the lyrics are just more bragging. Let’s leave this song behind. It’s getting a D from me.

Pullin’ Me Back-Chingy ft Tyrese: And we’re at Chingy’s final hit single (thank goodness), Pullin’ Me Back with Tyrese. I will say this: Chingy has gotten better as a rapper. Gotta hand it to him. He went from fucking awful to straight-up mediocre. Aside from that, he did get better production for this song courtesy of Jermaine Dupri sampling an SWV song and he got outshined by Tyrese. At the end of the day, it’s still a generic love song and I won’t be going back to it ever. I give it a low C.

Money Maker-Ludacris ft Pharrell: Man, this was a huge disappointment. I like a good chunk of Ludacris’ songs and his videos were entertaining as hell back in the days. Seeing that Money Maker is a collaboration with Pharrell, this should’ve been a great song. Instead, it’s just mediocre. The production from the Neptunes is really dull. Don’t let that dramatic intro fool you, the rest of the song isn’t that exciting. And I could say the same for the performances from both Pharrell and Luda. They sound drained about what they’re talking about. And this is a song about strippers and it has the same energy as modern day stripper songs, which is none. And this was a huge hit for Luda. He deserves better than this. I give it a D.

Shortie Like Mine-Bow Wow ft Chris Brown & Johnta Austin: And we end on Bow Wow, who’s now working with Chris Brown and the entirety of the 106 & Park audience have dampened their panties thanks to this. This is Shortie Like Mine and it’s mediocre. The production is brought down by that shrill synth line and it has not aged well. Chris Brown is Chris Brown and Bow Wow didn’t exactly wow me. It’s another love song that brings nothing new to the table and I’m going to give it a D. 2006 was not a good year for mainstream hip-hop.

BEST

What You Know

WORST

Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It

And those were the number one songs on the Hot Rap Songs chart of 2006. Next time, we look at the number one songs on the Hot Rap Songs chart of 2007.

Peace!!