10 Essential Meek Mill Tracks

All Drake beef, Nicki Minaj break-up gossip and or Safaree drama bullshit aside, Meek Mill is a seasoned rap act with a serious collection of credentials and street credibility. For pretty much the last decade Meek Mill has taken a sort of battle rap approach to the industry and conquered the street and mainstream markets with his dazzling and ambitiously aggressive studio albums and DreamChasers mixtape series.

As a matter of fact, part of the reason Meek Mill has such a prominent role in the game today is because of his ferocious, "by any means" mentality that he developed from years of fighting his way to the top of the battle rap circuit in Philidelphia. As early as 2003,  Meek Mill was battling rappers and putting out solo projects and mixtapes including four projects he put out with his friends under the collective name The Bloodhoundz.

By 2008 the rapper had garnered the attention of big name labels like Warner Bros. and T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records. Though he was only an artist on the label for two years, and legal trouble largely dampened his time with Grand Hustle, Meek was still able to create a solid foundation as a solo artist. And he capitalized on that platform in 2010 when he parted ways with Grand Hustle Records and inked a deal with Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group and released the first installment to his Dreamchasers mixtape series to widespread acclaim.

What would follow in the years after his deal with MMG were waves of success followed by stints of legal trouble and numerous rap beefs. And though Meek Mill has been knocked down time and time again, he has always risen from the ashes bigger and better with more money and wins and fire music for the streets.

So this week's feature attempts to take it all the way back to the trenches to give you 10 of the most essential and popping Meek Mill songs to date.

Between the years of 2010 and 2014, Meek Mill went through a lot both professionally and personally. In 2011 he had several extremely successful singles including the charting remix for "I'm A Boss" and the breakout single from his Dreamchasers mixtape "House Party. Then in 2012 he was signed to a management deal with ROC Nation and released Dreamchasers 2 and his debut studio album Dreams & Nightmares, which peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts. With these two releases, Meek effectively took control of the game and had the attention of the world as everyone was waiting for his next move.

But by 2013, things started to take a turn negative turn as the rapper continued to violate his probation, from a charge stemming from an encounter with police in 2008 that resulted in his conviction, imprisonment and a five-year parole agreement. He also began beefing with rappers heavily, with his spat with Cassidy Larinsy, the veteran rapper from Philidelphia, hogging most of the headlines that year. Then in 2014, due to a combination of failure to effectively report travel to his probation officers, death threats made to the Assistant District Attorney and more, Meek Mill's parole was revoked and he spent six months in prison.

However, that didn't stop the rapper from claiming what he felt was rightfully his, and that's why "Kendrick You're Next" (Cassidy Diss) is the first entry on the list. It takes a special kind of crazy to completely disregard all legal trouble you currently have just to go after a rapper who says they can fade you. Again, that "by any means" mentality that Meek Mill embodies is a big part of what makes him great. For this record to have been done so early in his career, it would seem hard to believe, but it's not. No disrespect to Cassidy, but Meek did his thing n this and this song really represents a large r theme within Meek's career. That being, put me toe to toe and I can defeat the best of them.

It's unbelievably unfortunate that Meek Milland Drake are longer in good standing because, for one, the two artists make incredible music together, and two, when Drake called Meek Mill's "Dreams and Nightmares" Intro "One of the best rap moments of our generation," he was right. This is a really special  record because it not only showcases Meek Mill'sacrobatic lyrical ability but because it also embodies that relentless and extremely gritty personality that sets Meek apart from the crowd.

Plus this record is just ridiculously hard. Even to this day when this track gets dropped in the club, everyone loses their shit.

Another standout record from Meek Mill's debut album is his beloved "Tony Story Pt. 2." The "Tony Story" series of tracks truly highlights the genuis of Meek Mill as an artist as well as his exceptional ability to conquer the artform of storytelling rap. This tragic hood epic speaks volumes to the plight of underrepresented youth in underdeveloped neighborhoods across America as well as sheds light on Meek Mill's arduous journey to stardom.

With his father being murdered when he was five years old, his countless run-ins with police and tragic slayings of friends and family members, it's hard to envision Meek Mill having the success that he does. But once again, against all odds this guy manages to prevail over all while simultaneously telling his story. This is real hip hop, raw and unfiltered. 

For the sake of inclusivness, here are all three installments of the "Tony Story" saga.

Though these two tracks were released as singles a year and some days apart from each other, they are both definitely essential and super hype, like overboard hype. Meek Mill turns up on these two records, as he does on most everything he drops.

Plus the videos for these two tracks are saucy so it felt wrong not to include them in the list.

By the time that Meek Mill was ready to release his second studio album Dreams Worth More Than Money, things had drastically changed. He now had his own label titled Dreamchasers, and was being compared to ssome of the biggest names in the game, including Drake. Again, it's too bad that these guys are at odds with each other because they really do come together and make dope music. 

From Meek's debut album it was "Amen" that had the streets on smash, and "R.I.C.O" from Dreams Worth More Than Money accomplishes the same feat, if not more. This record is a straight banger and is a reminder of the quality of music listeners receive when rapstars link up.

Hopefully one day these guys can reconcile and get back to creating dope music together. but until then, we all will have to revisit these two records.

Even though Meek Mill and Drake have created some really dope music in the past, Meek also has some heat with a slew of other big name artists. Specifically, his ASAP Ferg and Big Sean assisted record "B Boy" is a prime example of Meek's chemistry with other artists as well as his ability to show out on any and everything he gets on.

This record is for the dopeboy as much as it is for the hypebeasts. No matter if you play this when you get your hands on the aux cord or at the club, this track is going up.

Meek Mill has never disappointed or dropped the ball with any of his Dreamchasers projects and DC4 definitely upholds his streak of mixtape excellence. "Lights" out is one of the high points of the tape as it features Meek Mill going bar for bar unleashing some of his most tactful and painfully detailed flows.

If there was a song to sum up how Meek Mill is doing post Drake beef, "Lights Out" is it, or maybe his Nicki Minaj diss track "sLay."

Another pair of highlighted tracks from Meek Mill's DC4 are "Blue Notes" and "Litty" featuring Torey Lanez. Though both of these tracks take a completely different approach, they are both without a doubt essential tracks. "Blue Notes" is the type of brutally honest and lyrically impressive songs that we have come to know and love Meek Mill for. On the other hand though, "Litty" is one of the countless bangers Meek Mill has in his stacked discography, plus everytime Tory Lanez and Meek Mill link up it's a hit, as this track and the infamous "Lord Knows" is also evidence of their chemistry.

If anything, these two tracks show how versatile Meek Mill is and testifies for this guy's dominance in the game.

In this new chapter of his career, it's as if Meek Mill has something to prove again. But you can be damn sure that he will make his point heard as he has time and time again and "Glow Up" is a staunch reminder. This track is kind of ominous in a sensebecause it's like the prelude to something very big for Meek Mill. It's very apparent that this guy has already "made it" but with this new position he is in both in his personal and professional life, the sky is the limit for Meek Mill.

Play this on birthdays, graduation day and any other occasion worthy of a little light stunting.

Though this track is fairly new, it's essential because it helps us understand where Meek Mill's current state of mind is at. This record is extremely vulnerable and truthful and allows us to burrow inside the mind of Meek Mill and see the light at the end of the tunnel, that light being new music and a new and improved Meek Mill in 2017.

Even more so though, this record represents Meek Mill's resiliency. No matter how much the Internet heckles this guy and or calls him out on his numerous L's, he is still going and it appears that no one can stop him. Meek Mill is in an exciting place right now because he has the chance to build onto his already existing platform and truly catapult himself into the stratosphere with the young legends currently making history in the game. 

In times like these when the sociopolitical climate surrounding racism and race relations, among other things, it's so crucial to have artists using their platform to tell the stories of the unheard voices affected by all of the wrongs present in society today. "Young Black America" is both alike and different from anything Meek Mill has done before. It's intelligent in a street smart way and vigilant in a proactive way that advocates for leadership.

With this type of depth Meek has displayed in his most recent singles, ain't no telling what type of fire he has in store for us in the near future. For now, peep these tracks and leave us with your thoughts in the comment section.