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One-Hit Wonders That Left a Mark on Hip-Hop Music

One-Hit Wonders That Left a Mark on Hip-Hop Music

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50. Craig Mack, "Flava In Ya Ear" (1994)

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49. Diana King, "Shy Guy" (From "Bad Boys") (1995)

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48. Young MC, "Bust A Move" (1989)

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47. Lil' Flip, "Sunshine" (2004)

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46. Bubba Sparxxx, "Ms. New Booty" (2006)

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45. LSG, "My Body" (1997)

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44. Luniz, "I Got 5 On It" (1995)

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43. Monifah, "Touch It" (1998)

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42. N2Deep, "Back To The Hotel" (1992)

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41. Danity Kane, "Damaged" (2008)

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40. Wayne Wonder, "No Letting Go" (2003)

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39. Dem Franchize Boyz, "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It" (2006)

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38. Kevin Lyttle, "Turn Me On" (2004)

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37. D4L, "Laffy Taffy" (2005)

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36. Lou Bega, "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…)" (1999)

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35. Brownstone, "If You Love Me" (1995)

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34. Nicole, "Make It Hot" (1998)

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33. Robin S., "Show Me Love" (1993)

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32. Jim Jones, "We Fly High" (2006)

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31. Cassie, "Me & U" (2006)

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30. Five, "When The Lights Go Out" (1998)

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29. Soul For Real, "Candy Rain" (1995)

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28. Nina Sky, "Move Ya Body" (2004)

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27. Craig David, "Fill Me In" (2001)

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26. Blu Cantrell, "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (2001)

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25. Freak Nasty, "Da' Dip" (1997)

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24. Somethin' For The People, "My Love Is The Shhh!" (1997)

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23. Duice, "Dazzey Duks" (1993)

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22. Paperboy, "Ditty" (1993)

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21. Wreckx-N-Effect, "Rump Shaker" (1992)

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20. Young Money, "BedRock" (2009)

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19. Ini Kamoze, "Here Comes The Hotstepper" (From "Ready To Wear") (1994)

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18. Blaque, "Bring It All To Me" (1999)

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17. City High, "What Would You Do?" (2001)

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16. Ruff Endz, "No More" (2000)

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15. House Of Pain, "Jump Around" (1992)

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14. Groove Theory, "Tell Me" (1995)

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13. Unk, "Walk It Out" (2006)

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12. YoungBloodZ, "Damn!" (2003)

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11. Sir Mix-A-Lot, "Baby Got Back" (1992)

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10. Mario Winans, "I Don't Wanna Know" (2004)

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9. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy" (2006)

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8. J-Kwon, "Tipsy" (2004)

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7. Adina Howard, "Freak Like Me" (1995)

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6. Iyaz, "Replay" (2009)

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5. Terror Squad, "Lean Back" (2004)

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4. Quad City DJ's, "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" (1996)

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3. 69 Boyz, "Tootsee Roll" (1994)

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2. Mark Morrison, "Return Of The Mack" (1997)

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1. Tag Team, "Whoomp! (There It Is)" (1993)

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50. Craig Mack, "Flava In Ya Ear" (1994)
49. Diana King, "Shy Guy" (From "Bad Boys") (1995)
48. Young MC, "Bust A Move" (1989)
47. Lil' Flip, "Sunshine" (2004)
46. Bubba Sparxxx, "Ms. New Booty" (2006)
45. LSG, "My Body" (1997)
44. Luniz, "I Got 5 On It" (1995)
43. Monifah, "Touch It" (1998)
42. N2Deep, "Back To The Hotel" (1992)
41. Danity Kane, "Damaged" (2008)
40. Wayne Wonder, "No Letting Go" (2003)
39. Dem Franchize Boyz, "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It" (2006)
38. Kevin Lyttle, "Turn Me On" (2004)
37. D4L, "Laffy Taffy" (2005)
36. Lou Bega, "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…)" (1999)
35. Brownstone, "If You Love Me" (1995)
34. Nicole, "Make It Hot" (1998)
33. Robin S., "Show Me Love" (1993)
32. Jim Jones, "We Fly High" (2006)
31. Cassie, "Me & U" (2006)
30. Five, "When The Lights Go Out" (1998)
29. Soul For Real, "Candy Rain" (1995)
28. Nina Sky, "Move Ya Body" (2004)
27. Craig David, "Fill Me In" (2001)
26. Blu Cantrell, "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (2001)
25. Freak Nasty, "Da' Dip" (1997)
24. Somethin' For The People, "My Love Is The Shhh!" (1997)
23. Duice, "Dazzey Duks" (1993)
22. Paperboy, "Ditty" (1993)
21. Wreckx-N-Effect, "Rump Shaker" (1992)
20. Young Money, "BedRock" (2009)
19. Ini Kamoze, "Here Comes The Hotstepper" (From "Ready To Wear") (1994)
18. Blaque, "Bring It All To Me" (1999)
17. City High, "What Would You Do?" (2001)
16. Ruff Endz, "No More" (2000)
15. House Of Pain, "Jump Around" (1992)
14. Groove Theory, "Tell Me" (1995)
13. Unk, "Walk It Out" (2006)
12. YoungBloodZ, "Damn!" (2003)
11. Sir Mix-A-Lot, "Baby Got Back" (1992)
10. Mario Winans, "I Don't Wanna Know" (2004)
9. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy" (2006)
8. J-Kwon, "Tipsy" (2004)
7. Adina Howard, "Freak Like Me" (1995)
6. Iyaz, "Replay" (2009)
5. Terror Squad, "Lean Back" (2004)
4. Quad City DJ's, "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" (1996)
3. 69 Boyz, "Tootsee Roll" (1994)
2. Mark Morrison, "Return Of The Mack" (1997)
1. Tag Team, "Whoomp! (There It Is)" (1993)

Hip-hop and rap have a deep, evolving history, with roots that can be traced back through various musical and spoken-word traditions. One of the first examples of rap appears in the 1946 gospel song “Noah” by The Jubilaires. Other early forms of proto-rap, which combine music and spoken-word, include Gil-Scott Heron's “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” and The Last Poets work from the early 1970s. Over time, countless hip-hop tracks have come and gone, but some have stood the test of time as iconic one-hit wonders in the genre.

While hip-hop hinted at itself through the 20th century, it solidified into a unique genre and art form in the 1970s in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City. During this time, block parties became a popular activity in the city. These events often incorporated DJs to keep the crowd compelled. DJs began isolating the percussive elements of popular songs, incorporating turntable scratching and mixing to give the loops an extra feel. Another key element of hip-hop, the vocal delivery, is derived from the MC (Master of Ceremonies) at these parties, who speaks over the music to pump up the crowd. Soon, this evolved into vocal “battles” between different MCs to gain the favor of the crowd.

As they say, the rest is history. Now hip-hop stands as one of the uniquely American art forms, dominating the musical charts well into the modern age, and redefining popular culture in the process. As hip-hop grew through its different iterations, many great songs were produced that, for one reason or another, failed to find lasting purchase in the public imagination. In this article, we will explore some of the biggest hip-hop one-hit wonders. (Here are the biggest one-hit wonders of the ’90s.)

To determine the biggest one-hit wonders in hip-hop, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on historical song performance on the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 music chart. Rock songs released prior to 2010 were ranked based on an inverse point system wherein a week at No. 1 on the Top 40 is worth 40 points, a week at No. 2 is worth 39 points, up to a week at No. 40, worth one point. Only artists with two or fewer Top 40 hits that have sold no more than 5 million RIAA album units in the United States were considered. Billboard Hot 100 data is current through June 1, 2024.

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