YouTube Celebrates 20th Birthday by Picking Top 20 Hip-Hop Videos
During Black Music Month, YouTube’s Director of Black Music and Culture, Tuma Basa, selected twenty standout hip-hop videos from the site’s most-watched clips to mark YouTube’s 20th anniversary year. Ice…
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 30: Ice Cube speaks during A Conversation with Bootsy Collins moderated by Ice Cube at GRAMMY Museum L.A. Live on May 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Timothy Norris/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
During Black Music Month, YouTube's Director of Black Music and Culture, Tuma Basa, selected twenty standout hip-hop videos from the site's most-watched clips to mark YouTube's 20th anniversary year.
Ice Cube's "It Was A Good Day" took first place. "This song was a mini-motion picture, and it's kind of a precursor to the classic movie Friday, which all happens in one day, too–both directed by F. Gary Gray... It's a perfect snapshot of the 90s. It also ends in a cliffhanger," said Basa to Complex.
The runner-up spot went to Travis Scott ft Drake's "Sicko Mode." 2Pac and Dr. Dre's "California Love" grabbed third. Missy Elliott shook up fourth place with "Work It," while Kendrick Lamar's "Humble" rounded out the top five.
The video timeline splits into two distinct phases. Big budgets and movie-style shoots marked the "Handkerchief Era" of the 90s and 2000s. Later came the "Kleenex Era," with fast turnarounds and brief cultural moments.
Tuma Basa used some key marks to narrow down the contenders on the list. First, videos needed to be among the top 10,000 most popular music videos on YouTube to be considered. Then, he assessed each clip and ranked them based on the "impact of the song, memorability of the visuals, and snapshot of the time," according to Complex.
The ranking was not limited to any era or genre. You will see fresh faces mix with old school masters throughout the list. Modern hits like Drake's "God's Plan" and Future's "Life Is Good" sit alongside timeless cuts from The Fugees and Warren G.
Due to the view count restriction, some notable stars were off the list. Busta Rhymes missed the cut. Juice WRLD, Cardi B with Megan Thee Stallion, and OutKast barely missed spots.
"Lastly, I believe in my heart that YouTube is the institutional memory of hip-hop," Basa stated. "You name it, we got it. Everything is on YouTube: podcasts, freestyles, streamers, live performances, rap battles, lyric videos, and historic moments in the culture. It's all there on YouTube." The site continues to capture the rich story of rap across time.
