10 Essential Juelz Santana Tracks

There are several extremely famous rap collectives the industry and surrounding culture as a whole credit for making major advances in the art of hip hop and setting the standard for what a proper rap crew looks like. There's the very honorable Wu-Tang Clan, the original weed rappers of Cypress Hill, the Southern rap pioneers Of Outkast and of course, there is arguably the greatest rap act to come from New York, The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. And from that iconic collective to come from Harlem is one of the game's most respected and stylish lyricists, Juelz Santana.

Born LaRon Louis James, Santana began rapping at the age of five and started a rap duo by the age of 12 called Draft Pick, which was signed to priority records. By the time he was 22 in 2000 he had continued building his skillset as a rapper and appeared on Cam'ron's sophomore album S.D.E and later joined The Diplomats and simultaneously became a part of one of the most celebrated era's of hip hop.

Shortly thereafter The Diplomats were signed to Roc-a-Fella records and Santana began working on his album and making a name for himself in the mainstream media through a slew of interviews and guest appearances on other artists tracks including Cam'ron's two hit singles "Hey Ma" and "Oh Boy." By 2003 Juelz Santana had released his debut album From Me To U and Dipset had the streets on lock. In 2005 the rapper released his sophomore album What The Game's Been Missing and once again set the streets on fire with the body of work. But soon things would become increasingly complicated and the years that followed were riddled with problems including the breakup of The Diplomats, legal trouble for Juelz Santana that stemmed from a studio raid by police in 2011, and a dire shortage of music from Santana between the years of 2007 up until most recently.

Now, with the sweet fragrance of a Dipset reunion stagnant in the air and a tidal wave of new music from Juelz Santana himself, it looks like the world may experience another Harlem renaissance led by the man himself, soon. But while we wait for it all to develop, check out this essential tracks playlist highlighting some of Juelz Santana's greatest hits.

To kick this grand affair off we decided to start with one of Juelz Santana's earliest hits from his debut album From Me To U. "Dipset (Santana's Town)" is the perfect starting point because it serves as a significant milestone in the early stages of Santana, Cam'ron and The Diplomats careers. At the particular time this track dropped, Cam'ron and Juelz Santana were the dynamic duo of the industry and had already offered dazzling showings of their chemistry and skill with Cam'ron's hit singles "Hey Ma" and "Oh Boy" and The Diplomats were really starting to trend worldwide. With this track, the two rappers cemented their status as the next superstars of the game and ushered in a new sound that The Diplomats would soon make wildly famous.

This track is also a great introduction to Juelz Santana's signature flow that is riddled with clever word and phrase flips that utilize repetition and alliteration to create ultra entertaining bars worth quoting when those heated debates about what rappers are real lyricists arise. Peep his opening flow to the track and check out the vintage visuals for the song complete with oversized throwback jerseys and Santana's signature bandana alongside Cam'ron dipped in pink accents.

Quotable Lyrics
Yo I be with a gang a gangs
Who hang and bang
Animals, orangutangs
Hammers move, bangers bang
Damnit dude the game has changed
I got a hoe selection
A whole collection
A whole selection
Of my hoe collection
- Juelz Santana

Here is another very special and acclaimed track from Juelz Santana's debut album. The track is another textbook Santana showing and really highlights his playful and adaptive flow. The video also shows how close Dipset was in the beginning as Cam'ron and Jim Jones both make cameos. The song switches things up a little before the two-minute mark and Juelz Santana shows us a side that is rarely seen in the game as he expresses his vulnerability and strife behind the loss of a loved on.

This video is also a legendary moment in Du-rag history as Juelz Santana rocks the all black Du-rag in the rain scene of the video as he lets it all go.
Check out the visual below.

While this isn't solely Juelz Santana's track, it is without a doubt an essential to have in the playlist. In fact, if "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma" weren't Cam'ron songs but rather Dipset cuts, then they would be on the list too. But that's beside the fact, this track is a classic, plain and simple, and it exudes stylistic cues that drove the industry forward for years to come. Not to suggest that rappers before The Diplomats weren't rapping over samples, because that's not true, however, the way The Diplomats did it sounded different. And the way that Juelz shreds the first sample and Cam'ron glides so effortlessly into the second sample is absolutely heat. This sound was very much so Harlem's own.

Not to mention the super "Flee" pink bandana coat that Cam'ron was wearing and of course the checkered red, white and black leather Chicago Bulls get up Juelz Santana is rocking. These dudes really did it for the culture.

From The Diplomats album Diplomatic Immunity 2 "S.A.N.T.A.N.A" is one of the most important songs on this list. This was at the peak of Juelz Santana's and The Diplomats careers. Having garnered widespread acclaim from the streets and legions of mainstream fans, these guys were 100 percent on now and it shows with this album and this track in particular. Juelz really kills this and it's definitely an integral piece to his legacy.

On his sophomore album What The Game's Been Missing!, Juelz Santana shook the game up and the body of work established him as a force in mainstream rap at the time and showed that he too could make bangers for the streets and the radio at the same time. "Clockwork" is kind of a hybrid track that embodies that sound the streets want and the sound that dominates nightclubs and radio waves.

The video for this track is pretty fire too and it showcases Juelz Santana's signature swag and of course, the bandana.

Another highlight of Juelz Santana's sophomore album was the undeniable street anthem "Make It Work For You" featuring Jeezy and Lil Wayne. This is one of the early collaborations between Juelz Santana and Lil Wayne and it's certainly a classic, and Jeezy ethers his verse as well.

When Juelz Santana uttered the words, "Imma tell you dudes just like I tell my women, don't watch me watch TV. This is pay-per-view, you got to pay for this," on the final track of his album What The Game's Been Missing!, we instantly knew the song was going to be legendary, and that it is. This is a favorite for Juelz Santana fans and rightfully so because it is one hell of a track and one hell of a way to end an album.

This track is pretty self-explanatory. It's easily Juelz Santana's most memorable and catchy song. This was the rapper's first top 10 hit and it propelled his success for quite some time. "There It Go (The Whistle Song)" is a great fit for this playlist, not only because it received mass mainstream success, but because it is the perfect venue to feature Juelz Santana's insanely unique style.

Check out the video to the track and see if you can still whistle the chorus.

In 2009, things were drastically different for Juelz Santana. While his name had been established in the game as one of the industry elites, his crew had been dismantled at the core and people were questioning if The Diplomats would ever reunite. Juelz Santana was also trying to push his new rap collective group Skull Gang and released a self-titled project with the group. He also began to collaborate with an array of different artists, both underground and mainstream. "Back To The Crib" is one of the mainstream collaborations from that same year that saw a lot of commercial success. Chris Brown and Juelz Santana have a great chemistry together and this song really proves it. Santana was also featured on Brown's mega hit "Run It" in 2009 as well.

Peep the video for the track.

While "Make It Work For You" was a great song featuring Juelz Santana and Lil Wayne, and there are plenty of other tracks the two rappers kill together, it seems that we just can't get enough of these two guys together on a track. This particular song is definitely one of those lost files that is a crucial piece in telling the story of Santana and Wayne. The way these guys trade flows on this track is ridiculous and it's a reminder that Juelz Santana can and has rapped with the best of 'em.

With his comeback slated for right now and his upcoming project The Get Back on its way, things seem very promising for Juelz Santana and its only right that he share the limelight with some of New York's elite and other up and coming rappers. He recently dropped off the highly anticipated single "Dip'd In Coke" featuring Cam'ron and French Montana, followed by "D's up" featuring the Migos and Jim Jones and now this "Time Is Ticking" record with Dave East, Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel is tearing up the streets.

This is definitely an essential because it foreshadows the road ahead for Santana, but is also a testament to his hustle. This guy's career is something to marvel at whether it's because of his tastemaking ability or his affinity to do it all so effortlessly and with style at the same time. Let's hope he continues with his momentous rampage and delivers more instantly classic tracks with The Get Back soon.