Side 4 of 11
2003
Crunk goes mainstream — In Da Club to Hey Ya
The top 10
- 01
In Da Club
50 Cent
clubg-unitFind similar tracks →On the charts
#1 on the Hot 100 for nine weeks. Get Rich or Die Tryin' sold 872K in its first week.
Why it mattered
Dr. Dre's stripped-down beat and 50's birthday-shout chorus made this the unavoidable record of 2003. Every basketball arena, every dorm, every Best Buy — for a few months it was the only song that existed.
- 02
Hey Ya!
OutKast
popcrossoverFind similar tracks →On the charts
#1 on the Hot 100 for nine weeks.
Why it mattered
Andre 3000 made a Beatles-esque pop song that played at literally every event in America for a year. Weddings, frat parties, NPR — Hey Ya united the country.
- 03
Crazy in Love
Beyoncé · feat. Jay-Z
r&bclubFind similar tracks →On the charts
#1 on the Hot 100 for eight weeks. Beyoncé's debut solo single.
Why it mattered
Rich Harrison's Chi-Lites horn loop announced Beyoncé as a solo force and instantly established a new template for blockbuster pop-R&B singles.
- 04
Get Low
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz · feat. Ying Yang Twins
crunkclubFind similar tracks →On the charts
Peaked at #2 on the Hot 100.
Why it mattered
Crunk's commercial breakthrough — the 'three, six, nine' chant became inescapable on every college dancefloor in America.
- 05
P.I.M.P.
50 Cent · feat. Snoop Dogg, G-Unit
g-unitclubFind similar tracks →On the charts
Peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 in remix form.
Why it mattered
The steel-drum loop and remix featuring Snoop Dogg made it the second monster single from Get Rich or Die Tryin'. 50 was running the year.
- 06
Stand Up
Ludacris · feat. Shawnna
clubatlFind similar tracks →On the charts
Ludacris's first #1 on the Hot 100.
Why it mattered
Kanye West produced it; Luda turned it into a stomping club call-out. The Chicken-N-Beer era was Luda at his most playful.
- 07
21 Questions
50 Cent · feat. Nate Dogg
g-unitr&bFind similar tracks →On the charts
#1 on the Hot 100 for four weeks.
Why it mattered
50's tender side, with Nate Dogg crooning the hook — proof he could do crossover love songs as easily as gym anthems.
- 08
The Way You Move
OutKast · feat. Sleepy Brown
funkatlFind similar tracks →On the charts
#1 on the Hot 100 for one week, replacing 'Hey Ya!' at the top.
Why it mattered
Big Boi's half of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below got the funk-pop crown — a horn-led groove that reminded everyone Big was the engine of OutKast's swagger.
- 09
Beautiful
Snoop Dogg · feat. Pharrell Williams, Charlie Wilson
neptunessummerFind similar tracks →On the charts
Peaked at #6 on the Hot 100.
Why it mattered
The Neptunes built Snoop a sun-drenched, bossa-tinged groove — a reminder that the Doggfather could do smooth as well as gangsta.
- 10
Damn!
YoungBloodZ · feat. Lil Jon
crunkclubFind similar tracks →On the charts
Peaked at #4 on the Hot 100.
Why it mattered
Lil Jon's victory year — another crunk anthem that became a sports-arena fixture and turned 'DAMN' into the most overused punctuation of 2003.
