what would you put on a list of essential tracks from the whole of hip-hop music's history that define the genre, or have inspired it.. from any time/decade/era and place? let the education begin. fill me (and other non-educated people) in. i'll start by adding dr. dre + snoop - aint nuthin but a g thang (one of the first hiphop songs i ever heard, so excuse me if i dont know about anything before then) and the whole illmatic album. and pharcyde's runnin, drop, and passin me by. mos def - travellin man. black star - definition. looptroop - modern day city symphony (album).