The period of 2003-2008 was a great one for hip hop and R&B, particularly of the Southern variety. No matter who you were or where you were from, you were getting it to the Ying Yang Twins.

It’s been almost a decade since 2006, which in my mind is unfathomable.
It feels like just yesterday you were stunting with your Motorola Razr, American Eagle jeans and Hollister hoodie — or Baby Phat hoodie depending on the trends at your middle school. Those days are gone, but we have something that we will always be able to remember them by: the music. The period of 2003-2008 was a great one for hip hop and R&B, particularly of the Southern variety. No matter who you were or where you were from, you were getting it to the Ying Yang Twins.

Here are some unforgettable songs that will forever be a part of your life and your middle school playlist:
“Get Low” – Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins (2002)

What else needs to be said honestly? How many times did you scream “To the windooow, to wall!” in middle school? The number is definitely in the double digits. This is a song that if played today, the club would still go up.

“Yeah!”- Usher feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris (2004)

I don’t know if there’s a better beat on this list than the simplistic, yet fantastic “Yeah!” As soon as it starts, it’s like all of your memories of making it your ringtone and grinding to it at the middle school dance come flooding back to you. I mean, after all, “Lil Jon got the beat to make your booty go *clap!*”

“One, Two Step” – Ciara feat. Missy Elliott (2004)

It was hard to decide between this song and “Goodies,”another Ciara classic. While “Goodies” is the jam for a number of reasons, the cultural impact of “One, Two Step” was just too much. Find me a millennial who doesn’t know the entirety of Ciara’s“This beat is automatic, supersonic, hypnotic, funky fresh” verse and I’ll show you a liar. Or a person who didn’t have a lit middle school.

“Drop It Like It’s Hot” – Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell Williams (2004)

“Snooooop” taught us on this track exactly what to do in every situation, whether the pimp was in the crib or the pigs were trying to get at you. I still live for the tongue clicks.  

“Run It” – Chris Brown feat. Juelz Santana (2005)

Remember the goody goody image of Chris Brown back in the day? He burst onto the scene with hit after hit and then, well, you know how that story ends. However, it’s hard not to fondly remember his early music, namely “Run It.” “Kiss Kiss” featuring T-Pain is a close second.

“Gold Digger” – Kanye West (2005)

Ah, the “Late Registration” days. For kids born in the ‘90s, these were the days when West[West] made sense when he spoke. There’s no better example of that than his accurate anthem for the money-hungry, “Gold Digger.”  I can rap this whole song, and I don’t know many people from my middle school who can’t.

“Candy Shop” – 50 Cent (2005)

Sneak listening to the explicit versions of songs in middle school was what we considered “rebellious” at the time. “Candy Shop” was perfect for that because the metaphor for sex was candy. What middle schooler doesn’t love candy? It was also a continuation of 50 Cent’s hot streak, which began with the classic “In Da Club” in 2003.  

“Laffy Taffy” – D4L (2005)

My sister refused to buy me both the D4L and Dem Franchize Boyz CDs because they had parental advisory stickers, and to this day I’m mad about it. How dare she stop me from leaning and rocking with it and shaking my laffy taffy? I can play the classic opening notes of “Laffy Taffy” on piano. A middle school rite of passage.

“Fireman” – Lil Wayne (2005)

Going to middle school in New Orleans, this was our theme song. Lil Wayne was everything to us and he probably always will be; he is the “fireman” after all. So when are we getting that Hot Boys reunion, y’all?

“So Sick” – Ne-Yo (2006)

This was the go-to song when you wanted to be fake deep in middle school. I embarrassingly remember listening to this in my room and really feeling Ne-Yo on having to change his calendar because there was “no more anniversary.” It was so profound to 2006 me.

“What You Know” – T.I. (2006)

Instead of going with “Whatever You Like,” T.I.’s romantic track about buying his boo whatever she wants, I favor more aggressive T.I.  and let’s be real, who can resist the opening beat of “What You Know?”

“Low”- Flo Rida feat. T-Pain (2008)

All I have to say is, “shawty had them Apple Bottom jeans, boots with the fur.” You know the rest.

“Lollipop”- Lil Wayne (2008)

Who’d have known an anthem about oral sex would become such a hit? We were really feeling Lil Wayne’s oral fixation on this track in 2008, and our parents probably screamed internally. Pretty sure my mom fainted when she heard it.

 
Surely there are tons more songs to add to the playlist, like everything Sean Paul and Ludacris have ever done, and countless numbers from Nelly and Nelly Furtado. Plus, the original millennial dance craze, “Crank That” by Soulja Boy.
When midterms get you down, just remember we’ll always have “Smack That.” Take a study break and jam.