Carnival Cruise Line, the ships known for fun, have grown up with hip-hop as they also recently celebrated 50 years (founded 1972). Hip-hop music is a universal language of fun and at Carnival Cruise Line, hip-hop music is part of the fabric of fun on board the ships as they cruise all over the world. One of Carnival’s popular DJs, DJ Skoot, curated a 50-song playlist that pays tribute to the 50^th Anniversary of Hip-Hop.

The playlist was made especially for fans of the genre who may be trying to get in some final vacation travel these last few weeks of summer and need a great playlist to be the soundtrack of it all.

You can listen to the full playlist on Spotify HERE!

Top Five Songs on the List:

1. “Hip Hop Hooray” – Naughty by Nature
2.  Flava in Ya Ear (feat. Notorious B.I.G.) – Craig Mack
3. Crush on You – Lil’ Kim
4. Public Service Announcement – JAY-Z
5. Player’s Anthem – Junior M.A.F.I.A.

DJ Skoot confirmed that his original Hip-Hop playlist is hundreds of songs long, but he curated this list to his top 50 cuts by reaching back to his roots and going forward by seasons, by decades and his own personal life experiences.

DJ Skoot said, “Hip Hop is all about the beat, and the beat is a universal language. That’s why I gravitate toward songs that are impactful and send positive vibes. It’s my favorite way to engage with people.”

He shared that curating this list was extremely hard to do; especially, when considering memorable faves from his childhood, particularly LL Cool J’s “I’m Bad,” all the way to honoring the legendary rappers, both male and female, as well as showing respect to the east coast, west coast, the south (‘cause they still got something to say), and much more.
Even though this list is not nearly as long as he wants it to be, Skoot was sure to select good quality songs that were (and still are) memorable, full of storytelling, and impactful for the culture.