krishna bound

3y

if we're looking at impact/relevance in pop culture, lasting relevancy, etc. in addition to sales, probably some mix of:

Stan
Lose Yourself
Hey Ya
Ms Jackson
Fight The Power
Empire State of Mind
Killing Me Softly
One Dance
Changes
F*** The Police
Black Skinhead

lots of other songs have had insane if not record breaking popularity (i.e. Old Town Road) or were huge cultural breakthrough moments (Hotline Bling) but i feel like the above are some songs which are multi-generational, influential/impactful, and have huge amounts of impact outside of just the genre, and in some cases outside of music altogether (Stan especially)

Bobby_96

3y

One Dance doesn't belong here at all, especially in comparison to Hotline Bling.

Song literally came and went and few people bumped it after 2016 whereas Hotling Bling still gets buzz today and is still one of the most memed songs in pop culture for better or worse.

In Da Club and Gangsta's Paradise have tons of longevity and impact on pop culture too.

krishna bound

3y

I feel like whenever I ever drive through suburbs or similar I still hear white suburban moms blasting one dance. one dance went crazy with older "anti rap" white boomer generations and has been lasting because of that. its still on pop radio even 5 years later. it didnt have staying power within the actual genre or fans of the genre but as a pop hit its crazy. In the US, it's 8x platinum, and it's also certified multi-platinum or diamond in virtually all western countries. im not a drake stan but its an objective behemoth of a song. i agree in da club and gangsta's paradise are huge and were impactful but I don't think they've lasted as long - not due to any fault of their own, just timing since One Dance's streaming era debut has carried it and will probably continue to.

Bobby_96

3y

Okay. I feel you and, as you said, it's basically a fusion record so it makes sense that it would last long outside rap circles(Though HLB is technically a fusion song too.)

Gotta disagree with In Da Club though. Song is at a billion views on YT, still gets played in commercials and movies like Happy Death Day, and is highly recognizable throughout every corner of the Earth. I saw a video of a man from Djibouti in East Africa who couldn't even speak English bumping In Da Club.

And Gangsta's Paradise is a timeless classic that appeared in a major film and it's ironically one of the main songs people who don't like rap really love to death.

krishna bound

3y

That's fair. Both of those records probably would go into the discussion as well. I think they're handicapped because of the era they were released in though. Like no doubt their popularity or crossover appeal, I just feel like not being released in an era where they were automatically inducted into the feedback loop of streaming/instant media put them at a disadvantage.

Bobby_96

3y

A lot of songs you posted were released in the same eras though.

I guess my overall point is that people of all generations recognize In Da Club from the beat to the hook and some of the lyrics. And it's a global smash hit.

People still play the clean version of the song at birthday parties or they sing the hook themselves: "Go insert name. It's your birthday."

Ellen also used the song several times on her show and it still gets streamed a lot on Youtube and Spotify.

It actually meets the popularity criteria more than most songs on your list tbh.

krishna bound

3y

Yeah that's fair too, I was guess I was more trying to say that songs before the streaming era needed an insane unprecedented level of success to still retain relevancy post-streaming era and I didn't necessarily see that with In Da Club on first thought