I tip my hat to VH-1 for making a good choice for their top pick. PE, along with the Bomb Squad, changed the whole landscape of Hip-Hop.

VH1 has compiled its list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs, and Public Enemy’s black power anthem “Fight the Power” tops the list.

The cable channel will count down its list in series of shows starting Monday. At No. 2 is the Sugar Hill Gang’s groundbreaking song, “Rapper’s Delight,” followed by Dr. Dre’s “Nuthin but a ’G’ Thang” at No. 3. Run-D.M.C.’s “Walk This Way” with Aerosmith and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s “The Message” round out the top five.

First time I heard Yo! Bum Rush The Show, it was one Sunday after church @ my cousin V’s house. His older brother was in the service & had shipped the vinyl back home. Chuck’s voice boomed through the speakers, resonating more closely to me than anything Rev. Knott had said in service that day. Needless to say, I was hooked & was on a complete mission to study everything Chuck said, which I did when It Takes A Nation…dropped.

By the time “Fight The Power” released on the Do The Right Thing OST, they were in full, outspoken, politically-charged bloom…and so was a generation of kids wearing high top fades, African medallions & pumping their fists to the music.

“Fight the Power” Named Best Hip-Hop Song [MSNBC]