10 Best Hip Hop Songs April 2009

The 10 best hip hop songs of April 2009 featured many veterans and some scrappy up-and-comers. Eminem and T.I. dominated the number of singles to reach the top ten this month, but it was a techno-dance-hip-hop hybrid that would claim top billing once the dust settled and May had begun.

1. “Sugar” Flo Rida. Flo Rida’s ode to everyone’s favorite ingredient was one of the best hip hop songs of April 2009, marking another in a long line of hits for the “Low” rapper. Featuring vocalist Wynter on the chorus.
2. “Magnificent” Rick Ross. With John Legend crooning behind Ross’ flow, a hit song was born. One of the smoother hip hop songs of April 2009, it solidified Legend’s status as a bona fide R&B and hip-hop collaborator.
3. “3 A.M.” Eminem. From Slim Shady’s release at the time, “Relapse”, “3 A.M.” proved to be one of the best hip hop songs of April 2009 and continued Slim’s trend of landing in the top ten. This was the victory lap, however, after Em’s bigger smash hip hop song of April 2009 (see below).
4. “Dead and Gone” T.I. Few people rocked the charts of hip hop songs in April 2009 quite like T.I. Much like Eminem, the southern emcee had two hits on his hands in the same month, this one a collaboration with former *NSYNC lead singer Justin Timberlake.
5. “Live Your Life” T.I. As if teaming with one of the biggest male pop stars of the decade wasn’t enough, T.I. had to show everyone up by teaming with Rihanna on this classic. Recounting the mistakes he made and the mistakes others continue to make, “Live Your Life” quickly became an anthem of personal change for T.I.’s troubled past.
6. “Lollipop” Lil’ Wayne. Not to be outdone, Lil’ Wayne dropped “Lollipop” on the world and soon had everybody grinding to its smooth, mellow sound. In league with Flo Rida’s “Sugar”, Wayne here waxes poetic about an age-old confection that is handed out at doctor’s offices to this day.
7. “Dangerous” Kardinal Offshall & Akon. Seeking to inform the public of safety hazards across the country, Akon and Kardinal Offshall released “Dangerous” to commercial acclaim in April 2009. Often recited in child day cares and preschool Head Start programs, “Dangerous” will no doubt go down in history as this generation’s Stop, Drop and Roll.
8. “We Made You” Eminem. Em’s first single on his new “Relapse” CD after many years away from the spotlight. As witty and complex as any Eminem song, and the requisite spoof video left audiences in stitches.
9. “Make Her Say" Kid Cudi. Featuring Chicago emcees Kanye West and Common, Kid Cudi released “Make Her Say” from his freshman album “Man on the Moon: End of Day”. While not as commercially popular as his smash “Day ‘N’ Nite”, “Make” showed off Cudi’s skills and earned the Ohio native some well-deserved underground cred.
10. “Boom Boom Pow" Black Eyed Peas. Purists will debate if the Black Eyed Peas should technically be considered hip hop anymore, while hip hop fundamentalists will insist they never were in the first place. But the charts slot them and their sound into the hip hop category, so what are you going to do? Undoubtedly the biggest hip hop song of April 2009, judging by, if nothing else, the ad nauseum replay the single received in the ensuing months.