This year's Grammy rap nominees featured many big names. It only follows that this compilation album sports some of the hottest songs of the year. I'll do a quick run down of the nominees in each category, and then throw out a few words about each track on this album.

Nominees for Best Rap Solo Performance: Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Q-Tip, 2Pac and Will Smith (featuring Dru Hill & Kool Mo Dee)
Nominees for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: Busta Rhymes (featuring Janet Jackson), Puff Daddy (featuring R.Kelly), Dr. Dre (featuring Snoop Dogg), Eminem & Dr. Dre and The Roots (featuring Erykah Badu).
Nominees for Best Rap Album: Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, Eminem, Nas, and The Roots.

Here's a run down of all the songs on the 'Grammy Rap Nominees 2000' compilation, from my favorite to least favorite:
"What's It Gonna Be?!" by Busta Rhymes featuring Janet Jackson. This is an amazing song. Busta and Janet J fit together like Tupperware on this track. The video is equally impressive. All round, one of my favorite tracks of the year.
"You Got Me" by The Roots featuring Erykah Badu. One of the best songs of the year. Erykah laces this track with smooth chorus that you'll never get sick of.
"Still D.R.E." by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg. The first single off Dr. Dre's new album, put Dre back in the game. I'll admit, when this song first came out, I wasn't really feelin it. But it's grown on me and Snoop Dogg definitely rips things up.
"Guilty Conscience" by Eminem & Dr. Dre. I love the rap and stop feel of this track. Eminem flexes several catchy lines and Dre makes his presence felt.
"She's A Bitch" by Missy Elliott. Missy lets everyone know she's back on the scene with this catchy track. This was one of my favorite songs of the year.
"Gimme Some More" is yet another crazy Busta Rhymes song. I really like this track and its wavy, fluid-like feel. The video is as crazy as ever.
"My Name Is" by Eminem. This song's lyrics are on another level, hilariously allowing Eminem to establish himself. Unfortunately, the beat is annoying and the original version of the song could not be released due to problems with the lyrics. The original version was much funnier.
"Nas Is Like" by Nas. DJ Premier cuts the beats on this track. Nas slices with the lyrics, but this single was weaker than some of Nas' other songs.
"The Next Movement" by The Roots. This is a decent song, but I was never really feelin it.
"Wild Wild West" by Will Smith featuring Dru Hill & Kool Mo Dee. I liked this song at first, but it got boring real quick. I wish Will Smith would write some of his own lyrics and/or beats. He can only steal other artists' music for so long. He remade "Just The Two Of Us" (Grover Washington), he stole the beat from The Clash's "Rock The Cabash" for "Will2K", he stole the beat for "Men In Black" from Gloria Gaynor and so on.

This is a great rap compilation album, featuring 10 of the biggest hits of the year. It's missing Q-Tip's "Vivrant Thing", 2pac's "Changes" and Puff Daddy's "Satisfy You", but remains impressive. If you're a hip hop fan, then you probably already possess all these songs, so there is no need to buy this album. But if you're just getting into rap, or want to give it a try, then this is a great album to pick up.

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(Originally posted on HipHopCanada.com)

This review was written March 5, 2000