When it’s time to set your goals and plot out a path toward success, it sure can help to queue up a soundtrack that motivates us to get after it. Whether it’s a commitment to hitting the gym or training for a marathon, or putting in the work to get that degree or land a new dream gig, music can play a big role in getting us there.
Maybe it’s the beat turned up over stories of triumph. Maybe it’s lyrics looking back at how far an artist has come, persevering through impossible hurdles. To get you moving, we’ve compiled a collection of tracks ranging from Killer Mike’s triumphant “YES!” and Kendrick Lamar’s show-stopping “Squabble Up” to BossMan Dlow’s viral breakout hit “Get In With Me” and Memphis rapper Key Glock’s intention-setting “Let’s Go.” Plus, revisit tried-and-true essentials including Drake’s triumphant “Started from the Bottom,” Jay Rock’s Boi-1da-produced track “Win,” Nas’ 1996 classic, “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)” (featuring Lauryn Hill) and much more.
LISTEN TO THE HIP-HOP MOTIVATION PLAYLIST NOW ON SOUNDCLOUD
Killer Mike, “YES!”
The socially conscious Atlanta hip-hop icon recalls his journey from rapping in a parking lot at age 10 and “now everything he used to rap about, he really got.” Just one motivational anthem from Killer Mike’s multiple Grammy-winning ‘Michael’ album.
Kendrick Lamar, “Squabble Up”
From his surprise album ‘GNX’ comes this multidimensional banger that commands your attention. Here, K-Dot pays homage to West Coast hip-hop’s legacy with sharp lyricism, over a hook courtesy of a rebooted take on Debbie Deb’s 1983 freestyle classic, “When I Hear Music.”
BossMan Dlow, “Get In With Me”
The viral trap breakout hit from Florida rapper BossMan Dlow reminds us that if “You wanna be a boss, you gotta pay the price.”
Key Glock, “Let’s Go”
Memphis rapper Key Glock focuses on the struggles and setting up longer term priorities boasting “I'm tired of buyin’ jewelry, finna buy some land.”
Lil Eazzyy, “Onna Come Up” (feat. G Herbo) [Remix]
Rapidly rising rapper Lil Eazzyy links with fellow Chicago artist G Herbo for the remix of “Onna Come Up” to remind us all that despite challenges ambition goes a long way, asking “How can you hate me? I'm comin’ from under.”
Run the Jewels, “Never Look Back”
“Never look back, you will only get bitter,” Killer Mike counsels. “If you get bitter you will never get better.” Wise words are this pair’s stock in trade.
RealYungPhil, “Winners Circle (Gud)”
“I'm feeling caged in / I paved the way, damn / I turned my losses into games, damn” the CT rapper RealYungPhil boasts in this ode to persevering.
Lil Durk, All My Life (feat. J. Cole)
“Trying to change how I am,” Durk said about this uplifting track when he released it in the spring of ‘23. J. Cole was exactly the right guy to drop the second verse, Durk added.
Gucci Mane, “There I Go (feat. J. Cole & Mike WiLL Made-It)”
Speaking of Cole, he’s also on the ninth single from Gucci’s latest album. “Think I’m the dopest rapper ever,” Gucci raps, self-affirmation-style.
MEEK MILL, “Dreams and Nightmares”
Dropped back in 2012, Meek’s hype track was played as his hometown Philadelphia Eagles’ intro song before their appearance in Super Bowl LII in 2018. They won.
Jay Rock, “WIN”
“Get out the way,” Rock warned on this 2018 not-so-humble brag, which laid out its message in three simple letters: “WIN.”
J. Cole, “Motiv8”
One way or another, we can all heed Cole’s advice from this ironically chill 2018 track. “Get money” became the song’s catchphrase.
Little Simz, “Gorilla”
“Big Simma dippin’ ten toes in the ice-cold-river,” the British rapper flowed on this 2022 track, which alternates between a funky Tribe-like bass groove and big film-world orchestration.
Nipsey Hussle, “Hussle & Motivate”
A nod to Jay-Z’s own get-on-my-grind anthem “Hard Knock Life,” Nipsey’s 2018 declaration of Independence gave us one more reason to keep on missing him.
Drake, “Started From the Bottom”
What more to say about Drizzy’s monster ode to his climb to superstardom? “We just want the credit where it’s due,” he explained. Dues paid.
Big K.R.I.T., “Rise & Shine”
It’s a message mamas have been delivering every morning since there have been blinds on the windows: Get up and greet the day!
WALE, “Ambition” (feat. Meek Mill & Rick Ross)
From 2011, this is Wale’s mission statement: Not fame. Not money. Just ambition: “Easy to dream a dream, though it’s harder to live it.”
Big Sean, “Bounce Back”
The subtitle on Big Sean’s highest-charting single to date is “Take No L’s.” You win some, you lose some. What’s important is the bounce-back.
ScHoolboy Q, “Ride Out” (feat. Vince Staples)
Couple hundred thousand on me, ScHoolboy claimed on this ominous 2016 banger. Just another average day in the neighborhood.
Eminem, “Lose Yourself”
“Success is my only mother****in' option, failure's not” urges Eminem in his semi-biographical theme song to his ‘8 Mile’ film. The timeless anthem of triumph and perseverance has been inspiring generations to “Lose Yourself” through the struggles on the long road to success.
The Carters, “Boss”
“Uh, I’m a boss,” Ms. Knowles-Carter casually mentions on the third track from her 2018 collab with her housemate. We’re aware.
Latto, “Put It On Da Floor Again” (feat. Cardi B)
“I done done it all,” claims Variety’s Breakthrough Artist of 2022 on her 2023 remix of this swaggering track, which features another rapper who’s been there, done that.
Femdot., “Everything We Did”
Chicago’s Femi Adigun waxes nostalgic on his latest, which dropped in September. If some doors were closed, “you know we kick them open.”
The Diplomats, “I’m Ready”
The Dipset crew felt god on this track from back in 2002. Real good. “I feel like Rocky or something, man,” Juelz Santana announced.
Nicki Minaj, “Fly” feat. Rihanna
This was the last track added to Nicki’s 2010 debut album. “I could just tell she was excited by it,” recalled producer J.R. Rotem, “which excited me.”
Pharoahe Monch, “Push”
Like an old Curtis Mayfield track, this ‘70s-inspired track from the Queens legend is a tribute to keepin’ on keepin’ on.
MoneyBagg Yo, “Me Vs Me”
The Memphis rapper wanted to make one thing clear on this 2020 banger: Never ran from no one. Stand-up guy.
Nas feat. Lauryn Hill, “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)”
It was aspirational, but only just. Nas Escobar’s 1996 classic imagined the rapper running the show in a world based on truth, justice, black diamonds and pearls.
A$AP Ferg, “Work Remix” ft. A$AP Rocky, French Montana, SchoolBoy Q & Trinidad James
Put in work, these dudes urged on the chorus to this 2013 remix, which featured an A-team of heavy lifters.
LISTEN TO THE HIP-HOP MOTIVATION PLAYLIST NOW ON SOUNDCLOUD
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