Wired 25: The 25 Greatest Brooklyn Anthems Ever [LISTEN]

It’s a great day for Brooklyn. As the Barclays Center opens up for the first time today, the borough with the most pride in the city has even more to stick their chest out about. Led by a ton of investors, none more famous than one Jay-Z, Brooklyn, New York will never be the same again with the opening of the Barclays Center.

The new home of the Brooklyn Nets is officially open for business and Hovito is ready to kick it off in style with a string of concerts to open the building. With that said, Hip-Hop Wired gives New York’s most boastful borough even more to brag about with the 25 greatest Brooklyn anthem ever. With Kings County boasting the likes of The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Big Daddy Kane and more, it sure wasn’t easy narrowing it down to 25, but here we are.

Hit the jump to check out this week’s edition of Wired 25, with The 25 Greatest Brooklyn Anthems of all time. 

Sound off in the comments section, our Facebook page or hit us up on Twitter to chime in.

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Photo: Getty

25. 9th Wonder ft. Memphis Bleek, Jean Grae and Mos Def – “Brooklyn In My Mind” | The Dream Merchant 2 

9th Wonder is a North Carolina resident, but he crafted this awesome Brooklyn record with three of the borough’s most respected MCs.

24. Marco Polo & Torae – “Coney Island”| Double Barrell

Off of the criminally slept on Double Barrell album, Marco Polo and Torae remind you that Coney Island isn’t just beaches and amusement parks.

23. Mos Def – “Brooklyn”| Black On Both Sides 

Mos Def’s solo debut album wouldn’t be right without an ode to his hometown.

22. Jeru The Damaja – “Brooklyn Took It”| The Sun Rises In The East 

Brooklyn’s rep for robbing cats was the best kept secret until this track dropped. Run that!

21. MC Lyte – “Brooklyn”| Ain’t No Other 

There’s nothing like a Brooklyn girl (no Charles Hamilton) and MC Lyte held it down for the ladies with this one.

20. Gang Starr – “The Place Where We Dwell” | Daily Operation 

Close your eyes and listen to Guru’s words as he guides you through every neighborhood in the BK.

19. Jeru The Damaja – “Come Clean”| The Sun Rises In The East  

The gritty feel of New York’s biggest borough is captured in Jeru The Damaja’s classic record.

18. Crooklyn Dodgers – “Crooklyn”| Crooklyn: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture

When is the last time you’ll see Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson do the introduction to a music video? Once, and it will probably never happen again.

17. The Beastie Boys – “Hello, Brooklyn”| Paul’s Boutique

Although it is less than two minutes long, The Beastie Boys’ return home in this ode.

16. Jay-Z ft. Santigold – “Brooklyn, Go Hard” | Notorious: Movie From And Inspired By The Original Motion Picture

This is black hoody rap. The Jigga man puts on for Bed-Stuy with Santigold riding shotgun.

15. M.O.P. ft. Busta Rhymes, Teflon and Remy Martin- “Ante Up ” | Warriorz

This ish feels like the entire world collapsed. “Ante Up” will never not turn a party on its ear. Ever!

14. Lil Kim – “Lighters Up” | The Naked Truth

Lil Kim’s last hurrah before heading to the big house included this undeniable smash that let you know “you better have a pass when you cross that bridge.”

13. Foxy Brown – “BK Anthem”| Broken Silence

Fox Boogie’s “Brooklyn Anthem” is one of those songs that no matter when you play it, people will know the words and sing along as hard as they can.

12. Big Daddy Kane – “Ain’t No Half Steppin” | Long Live The Kane 

Before Biggie and Jay-Z, there was Big Daddy Kane. The two most iconic rappers to come from Brooklyn were inspired by the MC and this was his biggest smash.

11. Fabolous ft. Jay-Z and Uncle Murda – “Brooklyn”| From Nothing To Something

Fabolous, Jay-Z and Uncle Murda put on for three different areas of Kings County. If you aren’t familiar, you aren’t familiar.

10. Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G. – “Brooklyn’s Finest” | Reasonable Doubt

Possibly the greatest back and forth Hip-Hop record of all-time between the two greatest rappers of all time. The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z do what they possibly did countless times on the corners of Bed Stuy.

9. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Hypnotize” | Life After Death 

This song isn’t so much about Brooklyn, but what it did for Brooklyn. As The Notorious B.I.G. laid in a hearse taking his final ride through his hood, this song came on and magic happened.

8. Special Ed – “I Got It Made”| Youngest In Charge 

Raised in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York; Special Ed’s “I Got It Made” is one of the most iconic songs not only for Brooklyn, but Hip-Hop. He also was a member of the aforementioned Crooklyn Dodgers, thus crafting two classic tracks on this list.

7. Big Daddy Kane, Scoob Lover,   The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, and Shyhiem – “1993 Madison Square Garden Freestyle” 

After this historic freestyle, nobody dared wondered “Where’s Brooklyn At?” The historic freestyle between Scoob, Shyheim, Big Daddy Kane, Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. is quite possibly the most famous freestyle of all time. This was recorded by Mister Cee and took place in the World’s Most Famous Arena. 

6. Old Dirty Bastard – “Brooklyn Zoo” | Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version

This song isn’t about Brooklyn. This song isn’t about a zoo in Brooklyn. This song isn’t even about a zoo in Brooklyn, but you can’t put a catchy title on a song that so captures the essence of a city like this record. Long live Dirt Mcgirt.

5. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Unbelievable”| Ready To Die

“Live from Bedford Stuyvesant, the livest one, representing BK to the fullest.” Enough said.

4. Jay-Z – “Where I’m From”| In My Lifetime: Vol. 1

Before a ton of hipsters moved to the borough and Jay-Z was worth a half of billion dollars, he had to remind people where he coughed up a lung. Ain’t nothing nice.

3. Audio Two – “Top Billin”| What More Can I Say? 

Good look finding a rap song more sampled than “Top Billin.” Milk Dee continues to eat very well from rappers sampling the drum patterns and the “Go Brooklyn” echo in the background. It’s hard to find a song more old school Hip-Hop than this.

2. Beastie Boys – “No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn”| License To Ill

Whoever thought a couple of white boys could create one of the most iconic Brooklyn anthems of all time? Well, it happened. “No Sleep Til’ Brooklyn” wasn’t just a dope song, it was a battle cry. The color lines had been crossed with the Beasties, proving that the only thing that mattered was good music. Rest In Peace, Adam Yauch.

1. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Juicy”| Ready To Die

This rags to riches anthem is the epitome of what makes Brooklyn a special place. It’s hard to fool a Brooklyn cat. They’ve been around the block more than once. They are also tougher than any type of New Yorker (even if they aren’t, they’ll try and convince you of it). No NYC native in any city in the world has more pride than a Brooklyn resident. The phrase “if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere” is for New York, but it rings especially true in BK. “Juicy” is the song that epitomizes that. Spread love. It’s the Brooklyn way.