Not a âsongâ per se, but Black Thought freestyling effortlessly for like 10 minutes straight is impressive AF: https://youtu.be/prmQgSpV3fA
For context, that show asks everybody to freestyle and some refuse, some do a few bars, but nobody goes for 10 minutes, lol.
For an actual song, and you wanna talk art, Blackalicious - Attica Black. Really love the sampling and the musicality of it, there are so many layers and itâs fun to listen to. https://youtu.be/qHRxorG8ABs
The song is about a street criminal writing his friend in prison. It's actually a literary form called "Epistolary", where the narrative is in the form of documents, usually letters.
So anyway the song is full of the street lingo, misogyny, drug use, and violence you've come to expect from "gangster rap". But just underneath, it's also sweet and affectionate. The song is vulnerable and positive about masculine and platonic affection despite the most toxic context imaginable.
Awesome rhythm that varies throughout and a ridiculously long diss track at 12 mins lol. And just to show off, the dude raps a whole lyrical set rhyming with each of the vowels starting at 6:07. Who does that?! đź
Edit: Just for fun, here's a song that is impressive for being so bad by someone so important to hip-hop. The backstory is that Melle Mel was one of the original founders of hip-hop and part of the first rap group inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A few years ago, Melle Mel started publicly attacking Eminem for being White in hip hop. Eminem mostly ignored it, even thanking Melle Mel in this Rock and Rock Hall of Fame induction speech. However, after being attacked enough time by Melle Mel, Eminem dissed him in the song Realest by making fun of Mel's obsession with his muscular physique. Melle Mel responded by seriously producing and disseminating this song to the public. It's hilariously bad. Melle Mel - Kickback
It's the Black "imagine" by Lennon, philosophically, but also approaches the cognitive dissonance of what is wrong in the world from raw, honest and depressingly still accurate lyrics 30 years on. For me, this is a far braver and more interesting song than Imagine--and Imagine is a classic. It doesn't let listeners off the hook and even calls them out as part of the problems.
Great rhythm, beautiful melody contrast and creatively selected issues addressed.
Eyedea & Abilities always came with some of the best and most creative hip-hop. Their entire album E & A is next level with all the aspects you referenced. I love track #2, Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZVkW-HtSgA&t=9
â3rd Reel Judy Garlandâ by Restiform Bodies. The whole thing is very dense, menacing, and centered around a bunch of extras waiting in casting, unusually. Very unique writing.
Notorious BIG regularly switches the style of rhyming and cadence in an organized manner while freestyling. See the banrious YouTube videos that explain it.
The time signature changes create a surreal effect. In the first half of the track, it creates a feeling of being lost in thought. And then in the end it becomes a sense of panic.
I don't know about a particular song, but DMX pushed out his first two albums, both high selling and well regarded, in the span of about 6 months! That's pretty impressive.