Rare has a hip hop song made as much of a pop culture impact as this next entry. It is probably the best rap song released in 1992. It’s beat and music are immediately known, as well as the spoken word intro, and it continues to hold its place in hip hop royality all these years later despite an amazing litany of other songs released since this one. Our #2 entry in the top 20 30 year old songs is Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot.
As in previous countdowns, some songs have stood the test of time in clubs, sports events, and other avenues. This next track is absolutely one of those songs, having recently been in a viral video featuring 70,000 Ohio State fans jumping around once this song’s beat drops. Despite it being played as much as it has, it hasn’t lost any of its shine. Coming in at #3 is Jump Around by House of Pain.
Our next entry in our countdown of the top thirty year old songs is our second entry for this group. While their earlier entry expressed a powerful statement about free thought, this track became known for female empowerment, and helped catapult this group to superstardom. Our #4 track for this countdown is My Lovin (You’re Never Gonna Get It) by En Vogue.
Now we reach the top 5 songs of 1992, and this year is when hip hop really made its mark. The first of our entries features a group of kids who wore their clothes on backwards, were wickity wack, and had everybody leaping up and down in the club. Our #5 song in the top 20 songs turning thirty years old is Jump by Kris Kross.
I might have misspoken about a previous song being the saddest song on this countdown of songs turning 30 years old. This song might actually be the saddest, if not one of the saddest songs of the 90s. It grabs your heart and doesn’t let go, and remains one of this artist’s best songs. Stopping shy of the top 5 at #6 is Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton.
It’s amazing for a guy like me to realize that the arrival of Gangsta Rap into the mainstream consciousness happened 30 years ago! And we have this track to thank for being our introduction to it. Those that listened to NWA can say otherwise, but this track made Gangsta Rap an international phenomenon, and deserves a place in this countdown. At #7 it’s Nuthin’ But a G Thing by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.