To honor the 25th anniversary of Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart, we’re counting down the tally's top 100 tracks ever

Rap is a victorious genre. Having built its history on songs of overcoming the harshest of hard-knock lives, in addition to observances of all of life's nuances, rap is more than just dope beats and rhymes. Its lyrics tell stories with insights and uncommon honesty, traits that have ultimately taken the genre from niched inner-city beginnings to a longstanding place at the heart of pop culture

So it was fitting for Billboard to create a chart, in 1989, dedicated to the then-rising genre, birthed out of hip-hop. At the time, MTV's influential "Yo! MTV Raps" was only a few months old, and acts like Ice-T and N.W.A were not only ruling rap but beginning to enter the mainstream music conversation

While rap has evolved, there’s no denying its ever-growing power. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, we’re counting down the top 100 songs in the tally’s quarter-century history. From Salt-N-Pepa to Macklemore, we've got the genre's past quarter-century covered

100. "All of the Lights" - Kanye West
99. "No Lie" - 2 Chainz feat. Drake
98. "Aston Martin Music" - Rick Ross feat. Drake & Chrisette Michelle
97. "Loungin" - LL Cool J
96. "O.P.P." - Naughty By Nature
95. "Heartless" - Kanye West
94. "Player's Ball" - OutKast
93. "Holla Holla" - Ja Rule
92. "Left/Right" - Drama
91. "Call Me D-Nice" - D-Nice
90. "C'Mon N' Ride It (The Train)" - Quad City DJ's
89. "Looking At The Front Door" - Main Source
88. "Money Maker" - Ludacris feat. Pharrell
87. "The Way You Move" - OutKast feat. Sleepy Brown
86. "Jigga My N****" - Jay Z
85. "Slow Motion" - Juvenile feat. Soulja Slim
84. "Headlines" - Drake
83. "Got Money" - Lil Wayne feat. T-Pain
82. "My Baby" - Lil' Romeo
81. "Lovers & Friends" - Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz feat. Usher & Ludacris
80. "Damn!" - YoungBloodZ feat. Lil Jon
79. "Whistle While You Twurk" - Ying Yang Twins
78. "(Hot S**t) Country Grammar" - Nelly
77. "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" - Soulja Boy Tellem
76. "Jump" - Kriss Kross
75. "Po Pimp" - Do Or Die feat. Twista
74. "Dunkie Butt (Please Please Please) - 12 Guage
73. "Lights, Camera, Action!" - Mr. Cheeks
72. "I'll Do 4 U" - Father M.C
71. "Lookin' At Me" - Mase feat. Puff Daddy
70. "Independent" - Webbie feat. Lil' Phat & Lil' Boosie
69. "Drank In My Cup" - Kirko Bangz
68. "4, 5, 6" - Sole feat. JT Money & Kandi
67. "It Ain't My Fault 2/Somebody Like Me" - Silkk The Shocker feat. Mystikal
66. "Funkdafied" - Da Brat
65. "Rump Shaker" - Wreckx-N-Effect
64. "Around The Way Girl" - LL Cool J
63. "Callin' Me" - Lil' Zane feat. 112
62. "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" - Geto Boys
61. "Work It" - Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot
60. "Dilemma" - Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland
59. "Get Money" - Junior M.A.F.I.A
58. "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It" - Dem Franchize Boyz feat. Lil Peanut & Charlay
57. "I Got 5 On It" - Luniz
56. "They Want EFX" - Das EFX
55. "Ghetto Cowboy" - Mo Thugs Family feat. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
54. "Raise Up" - Petey Pablo
53. "It's Goin' Down" - Young Joc
52. "Empire State of Mind" - Jay Z & Alicia Keys
51. "Da' Dip" - Freak Nasty
50. "Good Life" - Kanye West feat. T-Pain
49. "Bounce With Me" - Lil Bow Wow feat. Xscape
48. "Moment 4 Life" - Nicki Minaj feat. Drake
47. "Walk It Out" - Unk
46. "Nothin' On You" - B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars
45. "Dead and Gone" - T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake
44. "No Time" - Lil' Kim feat. Puff Daddy
43. "Right Thurr" - Chingy
42. "Gangnam Style" - PSY
41. "I'll Be Missing You" - Puff Daddy & Faith Evans feat. 1121
40. "Déjà Vu (Uptown Baby)" - Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz
39. "Bedrock" - Young Money feat. Lloyd
38. "Lollipop" - Lil Wayne feat. Static Major
37. "In Da Club" - 50 Cent
36. "Who Dat" - JT Money feat. Sole
35. "One More Chance/Stay With Me" - The Notorious B.I.G
34. "Knockin' Boots" - Candyman
33. "Up Jumps Da Boogie" - Magoo and Timbaland
32. "I Want It All" - Warren G. feat. Mack 10
31. "Treat 'Em Right" - Chubb Rock
30. "I Like Dem Girlz" - Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz
29. "Dansin Wit Wolvez" - Strik 9ine
28. "Me So Horny" - 2 Live Crew
27. "Live Your Life" - T.I. feat. Rihanna
26. "Look At Me Now" - Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes
25. "Holy Grail" - Jay Z feat. Justin Timberlake
24. "I'm On One" - DJ Khaled feat. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne
23. "Get Low" - Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins
22. "Cross The Border" - Philly's Most Wanted
21. "Drop It Like It's Hot" - Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell
20. "Lean Back" - Terror Squad
19. "The Phuncky Feel One/How I Could..." - Cypress Hill
18. "Ni**as In Paris" - Jay Z, Kanye West
17. "Mercy" - Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz
16. "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" - Puff Daddy feat. Mase
15. "How Do U Want It/California Love" - 2Pac feat. K-Ci and JoJo
14. "Best I Ever Had" - Drake
13. "Whatever You Like" - T.I
12. "Low" - Flo Rida feat. T-Pain
11. "The Motto" - Drake feat. Lil Wayne
10. "The Humpty Dance" - Digital Underground
9. "No Hands" - Waka Flocka Flame feat. Roscoe Dash & Wale
8. "Big Poppa/Warning" - The Notorious B.I.G
7. "Flava In Ya Ear" - Craig Mack
6. "Gangsta's Paradise" - Coolio feat. L.V
5. "Expression" - Salt-N-Pepa
4. "Can't Hold Us" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton
3. "Hot Boyz" - Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliot feat. Nas, Eve, & Q-Tip
2. "Tootsee Roll" - 69 Boyz
1. "Thrift Shop" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz