'Rolling Stone' Lists Top 50 Rap Songs, But Tupac Doesn't Make The Top 10!

"Rolling Stone" may have launched as a Rock-centric magazine, but the storied publication been covering Hip Hop for years. While Rock may have gotten its start as a force for change in the '60s, the genre has radically transformed over the years, bloating into Stadium Rock and branching out into dozens of mini-genres.

Then, in the late '80s, Hip Hop arrived in NYC, claiming the mantle of Change for itself. The "Rolling Stone" article's introduction notes:

The greatest hip-hop songs have the power to pull energy and excitement and anger and questions and self-doubt and raw emotion out of you. It could be a song that sets your neighborhood on fire ("Rebel Without a Pause") or a song on your headphones that makes you rethink what hip-hop is (Ultramagnetic MCs' "Ego Trippin' "). The common thread is change. The best hip-hop songs aren't blueprints - they are calls to action, reminders that you can start a revolution in three minutes. Just keep that clock radio on.

For their latest issue, "Rolling Stone" has ranked the top 50 rap songs of all time. Check out the full list on their website and the top ten tracks below:

1. "The Message" - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
2. "Rapper's Delight" - Sugarhill Gang
3. "Planet Rock" - Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force
4. "Sucker M.C.'s" - Run-DMC
5. "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" - Geto Boys
6. "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" - Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg
7. "Fight the Power" - Public Enemy
8. "Juicy" - Notorious B.I.G.
9. "Straight Outta Compton" - N.W.A.
10. "Paid in Full" - Erik B. and Rakim

The list certainly pays respect to some of Hip Hop's classic tracks. "The Message" was arguably the first Rap song to address social issues in black neighborhoods like the Bronx, while "Rapper Delight" was the first commercial Hip Hop track ever recorded, and offered a simpler and friendlier message. West Coast Rap is also represented in the top ten, through the work of Public Enemy, N.W.A. and others. One of my personal favorite classic Rap songs, "Paid in Full" by Eric B. and Rakim just barely made the top ten while Biggie's track "Juicy" sits firmly at number 8, cementing him as one of Brooklyn's most iconic rapper.

For the special issue, Rolling Stone released four different cover, each one featuring a different rapper (Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z and Eminem). We can understand why Jay-Z and Eminem didn't make it into a top ten list crammed full of classic MCs and DJs, but it feels like an outright insult for Rolling Stone to have snubbed Tupac, who turned ghetto street life into poetic beauty with tracks like "Changes," and "Brenda's Got A Baby."

Rap queen Missy Elliot is the highest ranking female MC, with "Get Your Freak On" ranked at 38.

Rolling Stone's judging committee consisted of music journalists, Hip Hop artists, record producers, and other industry professionals ranging from Rick Rubin to Busta Rhymes. Check out the full list of judges here.