Street Anthems

A street anthem is a song with a theme and catchy chorus. The Lost Boyz were one of the pioneers of the street anthem. The 4 man collective of Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah (R.I.P.), Pretty Lou and DJ Spigg Nice made more street anthems than any other rap group at the time. Hit songs like Renee, Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless, Music Makes Me High, Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz, and Beast from the East kept them on the Billboard charts.

The group Naughty by Nature consisting of Treach, Vinnie Rock and DJ Kay Gee also produced numerous street anthems. They were one of the few rap acts who were able to balance success on the pop charts while maintaining their street credibility. Songs like O.P.P., Uptown Anthem and Hip-Hop Hooray propelled the group to super stardom and gained them a Grammy award.

The West Coast don of the street anthem would have to be Nate Dogg (R.I.P). There's not much I can say about the man that hasn't been covered in mainstream media and almost every news publication (Hip-Hop related or not). What I can say is his melodic voice made hit records and contributed to the success of artists Warren G, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ludacris, Xzibit, 50 Cent and countless others. 

He was an irreplaceable talent and will be missed. Below I posted hits by Nate Dogg and other artists who have had street anthems over the years.

The Super Group

In the 90’s labels weren’t offering many solo deals so then came the rise of the Super Group. Duck Down is the leader of the super group. They combined solo acts Smif N Wesson, OGC (Originoo Gunn Clappaz), Heltah Skeltah and Black Moon into a super group that went on to release several compilation projects. The Wu-Tang Clan was one of the first supergroups to have mainstream global success. The Wu-Tang is a collective of solo artists all signed to individual deals but part of the same group. At the time this was accomplished no other artist or group had done it, so it was a groundbreaking feat. Since then there have been numerous successful labels who have followed the same formula.

Master P and his No Limit Records imprint was very successful, followed by Cash Money Records signing a huge deal with Universal that basically propelled southern rap to the industry forefront. For awhile super groups faded in favor of catz making more money by going solo. Over the last few years and decline of album sales the industry has been forced to re-adopt the concept. Below I posted music by super groups from the past, present and future Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Special Teamz, SlaughterHouse, Diplomats, La Coka Nostra, Wu-Tang Clan, Check 'em out and tell a friend to tell a friend.