Fabolous' latest giveaway is not your average freestyle--it was a major statement. Most rappers, wisely, would shy away from such a beat--"Shook Ones", the lead off Mobb Deep's legendary The Infamous. But Fabo gave it a good shot. The best? You decide.
The original "Shook Ones" was written in '94, but it was the sequel, in '95, that blew up to become one of the biggest NYC hip-hop tracks of all time. Now, when you're talking "Shook Ones", it's assumed you're talking about "Pt. 2"; though "Pt. 1", which eventually landed on a deluxe edition of Mobb Deep's '96 album Hell On Earth is pretty damn good. Prodigy and Havoc's biggest song ever boasts some of the fiercest street-raps we've heard to this day, though the beat, produced by Havoc, is just as iconic. Instantly recognizable, if you're gonna rap over "Shook Ones", you better have something to say.
Fabolous was far from the first to try his hands at the legendary Queensbrige instrumental. Here are five others who gave it their all. Take a listen to each, and tell us if anyone was able to body the beat.
Of course, nothing's gonna top the original. Before you get going, let Prodigy and Havoc show you how it's done.
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Fabolous
After releasing The Young OG Project, Fabolous has been treating us to weekly freestyles over everything from Fetty Wap's "Trap Queen" to Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit". For his latest, and his most ambitious, he took on the Infamous beat, and being from NYC, he knew he had to pay respect. Queens' DJ Clue plays hype man on the track.
Download below, and tell us what you think of Fabo's effort.
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar on "Shook Ones"--right after his "Control" verse? We're interested. During the 2013 BET Awards cypher, the self-proclaimed "King of New York", from Compton, took on this East Coast banger, and, predictably, spits a crazy amount of wisdom in just two minutes.
Kendrick at his cockiest: "I got my thumb on hip-hop, and my foot in the back of yo ass."
J. Cole
By now, J. Cole is at the top of the game, but his attempt at "Shook Ones" dates all the way back to 2009 before his second mixtape The Warm Up. Pretty ballsy of Cole to touch this beat so early in his career, but that type of ambition has obviously paid off for North Carolina's finest. What do you think of young Cole's bars on the classic instrumental?
This is the oldest one in the mix, recorded in 1995, months after the original dropped. Legendary tag-team Method Man and Red Man stopped by Funk Flex's studio, and their session eventually was included on volume one of Funk Flex's highly sought-after The Mix Tape series. Redman goes first, Meth follows, and they bring some wild creativity on their improv'd back-and-forth. Damn, '95 was a good year.
eminem
Eminem
This is a freestyle in the movie, anyway, and it's based on real events, right? In the final battle of Jimmy's legendary dismantling of the Free World crew, he goes up against Papa Doc, aka Clarence, and tears the private school bully to shreds as the "Shook Ones" beat plays in the background. Of course, Rabbit ends the scene by going a cappella and dropping the mic in front of a shocked Detroit audience, but the famous Mobb Deep beat helps build up to the climax.
The battle is a legendary hip-hop movie moment, no doubt, but does Em's performance deserve a spot in the list?