Rap

(PG-13: Language) “I ain’t walking in a trap with a crowd of mobsters, this is a comprehensive rap all about lobsters.” Mac Lethal is sick and tired of played-out rap themes, so he’s decided to do something about it. In his new series, he’ll rap about anything but the usual tropes.

From Dr. Dre to Eminem to Biz Markie, here are 40 popular rap and hip hop songs as you’ve never heard them before. Listen as musician Florian Mohr tickles the ivories in this toned-down, one-take piano medley of these classics.

Rapper, actor, and comedian Shama “Llama” Mrema teams up with Andrew “drû” Simmons for the best remake of the theme song from the kids series Veggie Tales ever. Add it to your playlist on Apple Music or Spotify to keep it in heavy rotation.

(PG-13: Language) Mac Miller shows how much he’s grown both as a rapper and as a person in his sweet visit to NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert. He performed Small Worlds, What’s the Use and 2009, the latter two from his new album Swimming.

Videogamedunkey takes a moment away from his usual snarky video game reviews to give us a little rap tune about a bunch of random stuff that proves you can rap about just anything, and with a good beat and smooth flow, it’ll work. Also we are now really hungry for wings.

(PG-13: Language) Filmmakers Thibaut Duverneix and Mathieu Léger take us on a wild ride through the disjointed mind of rapper Tierra Whack, playing out as 15 one-minute mini movies, each shot on a different set. The scenes are loaded with style, humor, and attitude.

(PG-13: Lyrics) “I don’t wanna fit in anyway, I’d rather be a misfit.” South Africa’s enigmatic duo teamed up with The Black Goat on this track that will hit close to home for anyone ever bullied, taunted, or harassed for standing out from the crowd.

The end of Return of the Jedi saw its original Yub Nub song wiped out in one of George Lucas’ awful “special editions.” Auralnauts give the Ewoks the anthem they deserve with this rap track from their alt-Star Wars episode VI The Last Laser Master.

Long before rap music existed, Theodore Geisel (aka “Dr. Seuss”) was a true master of rhymes. But could his words be used in a rap? Win Nevaluze proves just that, as he recites There’s a Wocket in My Pocket to the tune of Walk It Talk It by Migos f/Drake.

Mashup maker Happy Cat Disco brilliantly combined House of Pain’s Jump Around with Meghan Trainor’s No Excuses, resulting in a track that will have you dancing right there in your office chair. The trippy imagery was plucked from the Disney classic Dumbo.

The big screen adaptation of Ernest Cline’s wonderful Ready Player One comes out soon, but we won’t be hearing Demi Adejuyigbe’s theme song because it was apparently just too good for Spielberg. This is so much better than every original song that was up for an Oscar.

Directors Greg&Lio shot this video for French musician OrelSan, which features a seemingly endless cast of characters for the rapper to march through. The smooth tracking shot was captured using an expertly piloted drone. The subtitled version has a little bonus at the end.

(PG-13: Language) “They criticizing the lyrics, guess everybody’s a critic, look: I push the limit while rappers is pushing gimmicks. I use it to push my pen and then add it to the premise hook.” Wu-Tang. New album. ‘Nuff said.

(PG-13: Language) In what just might be the best/worst idea since Sharknado, this action comedy simultaneously spoofs Straight Outta Compton and cheesy horror flicks by setting loose a giant mutant snake in the middle of the story of an up and coming rap group.

(PG-13: Language) “I was ravin’ in the desert til the sun gave me red skin, I told you that I’m no saint, I see hawks, I just spin…” Mac Lethal incorporates the names of every US pro football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer team into a cohesive 3-minute rap.

Director Philip Andelman and Eko’s interactive music video for Know No Better provides dueling perspectives on the life of a young man. With a click of the mouse or trackpad, you can bounce between his real life and his imagined one on demand.

Dropout proves you can make a rap song about anything, with their hilarious track about how dope it is to wear heelys, those kids’ shoes with little wheels built into them. Get ready to hear “When I wear my heelys, I give all the girls feelies” everywhere when this blows up.

(PG-13: Language) Mass Appeal Records compiled 14 tracks used throughout the four seasons of Silicon Valley, including the title track Stretch Your Face, Nas and DJ Shadow’s recently released Systematic, and Wu-Tang’s new track Don’t Stop.

“The most raw form of energy in music that we have in the UK.” Drake’s latest album More Life brought grime to the mainstream. Vox spoke with Beats 1 UK radio host Julie Adenuga to find out the origins and characteristics of this fast rising genre.

(PG-13: Language) We already know that rapper Mac Lethal has mad skills. Here, he takes on some of the many different sub-genres of rap and hip hop from the lighthearted braggadocio of the 1980s to horrorcore to Miami trap and everything in between.

(Flashing images) “JVC is nice; I’ve been around Japan; It’s electronic, calls me Viktor; High on the scales, off the Richter.” Director Kris Merc’s dope visual feast is the perfect complement to hip hop legends Kool Keith and MF Doom’s track about a rapper with super powers.

“I’m different. I know that I’m different.” An 11-year-old boy wrote a rap about his so-called friend who started bullying him. He was too nervous to perform it himself, so he sent it to Mac Lethal, who obliged. Isaac, it’s time to show Thomas the door. You deserve better, kid.

Send a 20,000 inch meat lover’s where the cheese is gooey… and a female driver dat’ll feed it to me. Mac Lethal likes pizza. After all, he’s the guy who bought his whole audience a stack of them. Here, he calls his favorite pizza place, and orders the only way he knows how.

(PG-13: Language) Isaiah Howard (@isaiahxavier10) uses the smartphone app musical.ly to create totally trippy selfie music videos, which feature fast camera movements, and rapid edits which are at once completely disorienting and hypnotic.

Impressionist Mikey Bolts takes on the 1999 Blackalicious classic Alphabet Aerobics, matching each letter of the alphabet to a cartoon character, and raps each part in their voice. We swear, the more we look at Mikey, the more we think he’s actually Peter Brady.