High school was a rollercoaster and everyone had their own experience. Some people had the time of their life, others couldn't wait to get out, but one thing that connected all of us was music. Rather you were playing; R&B, Rap, Gospel or other, music was the glue that held us together. Proms, snowballs, homecomings, or just walking the halls between classes, there’s always that one song that can revive a memory in your head.
Back then I used to rush to the store to grab the newest album, or slide by the grocery store hoping the CD burner man had the latest drops. I used to crash other people’s computers with viruses trying to act like a Limewire and Frostwire expert. I spent hours trying to get the cleanest versions of the songs I loved or whatever was poppin' at the school dances. My Myspace page was always updated with not only the latest graphics but fire songs to match the vibe.
I had something on my playlist for every mood. Sad, happy, heartbroken, needing motivation, or ready to turn up as I walked to and from school. As time went on things changed, but going through my old playlist brought me right back to Kennedy High School.
This playlist is a collection of the artists and songs that carried me through my high school years as a millennial. These were the joints that defined my whirlwind experience, and now I’m putting them all in one place.
The List
- Aaliyah | Miss You, I Care 4 U, Try Again, If Your Girl Only Knew, Rock The Boat, Are You That Somebody, More Than A Woman, One in a Million, At Your Best, 4 Page Letter, Hot Like Fire
- Akon | Smack That, Don't Matter, Lonely, I Wanna Love You, Locked Up
- Alicia Keys | No One, Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready), Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart
- Amerie | Why Don't We Fall in Love, Talkin' to Me, 1 Thing, I Just Died, Paradise (with LL Cool J)
- Ashanti | Only U, Foolish, Happy, Baby
- B5 | All I Do
- Beyoncé | ALL Albums, Songs, Singles, Unreleased & Soundtracks
- B.o.B | Nothin’ on You (with Bruno Mars), HeadBand, Airplanes
- Bobby Valentino | Slow Down, Tell Me
- Bow Wow | Let Me Hold You, Like You, Outta My System, Girlfriend (with Omarion)
- Brandy | Have you Ever, Right Here, Long Distance, Angel In Disguise, Sittin' Up In My Room, Almost Doesn’t Count, Put That on Everything, He Is, What About Us?, Full Moon
- Brooke Valentine | Girl Fight
- Cassie | Official Girl, Me & U
- Cherish | Moment in Time, Unappreciated, Do It To It
- Chris Brown | Say Goodbye, Superhuman, With You, Yo, I Can Transform Ya, Forever
- Ciara | And I, Can’t Leave ’Em Alone, So What (with Field Mob), Promise, Like a Boy, Ride
- Christina Aguilera | Hurt, Beautiful, Ain’t No Other Man
- Crime Mob | Knuck If You Buck, Rock Yo Hips
- David Banner | Get Like Me, Play
- Danity Kane | Show Stopper, Damaged, Stay With Me
- Day26 | Since You’ve Been Gone
- Destiny’s Child | Entire catalog
- Drake | Brand New, Sooner Than Later, Say Something, Find Your Love, Successful
- Ester Dean | Drop It Low
- Faith Evans | Again, Never Gonna Let You Go, Love Like This., Can't Believe, You Gets No Love, I Love You, Soon as I Get Home, Burnin' Up
- Fantasia | Free Yourself album
- Fergie | Big Girls Don’t Cry, Glamorous
- Gwen Stefani | The Sweet Escape
- Hezekiah Walker | Faithful Is Our God
- Huey | Pop, Lock & Drop It
- Hurricane Chris | A Bay Bay
- J. Holiday | Bed, Suffocate
- Jamie Foxx | Unpredictable album
- Janet Jackson | That's the Way Love Goes, All for You, Any Time, Any Place, I Get Lonely
- Jason Derulo | Whatcha Say
- Jazmine Sullivan | Entire Fearless album
- Jennifer Hudson | If This Isn’t Love, I’m Changing (Dreamgirls soundtrack)
- Jeremih | Birthday S*x
- John Legend | Another Again, Heaven Only Knows, Save Room, Green Light, Get Lifted album
- Jordin Sparks | No Air, Battlefield, One Step at a Time
- Justin Timberlake | What Goes Around... Comes Around, Dead and Gone (with T.I.), Sexyback, My Love, Summer Love, Until The End of Time (with Beyonce)
- Karina Pasian | 16 at War, Slow Motion
- Kanye West | All of the Lights, Heartless, Gold Digger, Touch the Sky, Flashing Lights, Love Lockdown
- Keri Hilson | Energy, Slow Dance, Make Love, Tell Him the Truth, Knock You Down
- Keyshia Cole | Love, Let It Go, Last Night, Heaven Sent, I Remember, I Should Have Cheated
- Kirk Franklin | Looking for You, Imagine Me
- Lady Gaga | Just Dance, Poker Face, Telephone, Bad Romance
- LeToya | Regret, Torn
-
Leona Lewis | Better in Time, Bleeding Love
- Lil Jon | Lovers & Friends (with Usher & Ludacris), Snap Yo Fingers, Shake That Monkey
- Lil Mama | Lip Gloss
- Lil Wayne | Ms. Officer, Lollipop, A Milli
- Lloyd | You, Get It Shawty, Hey Young Girl, Southside
- Lyfe Jennings | Must Be Nice, Hypothetically
- Mariah Carey | Don’t Forget About Us, We Belong Together, Shake It Off, Bye Bye, My All, Obsessed, Up Out My Face (with Nicki Minaj)
- Mario | Crying Out for Me, Braid My Hair, How Do I Breathe, Let Me Love You, Just a Friend, Break Up
- Mary J. Blige | Be Without You, Everything, Not Gon’ Cry, 911 (with Wyclef), Take Me as I Am, I'm Goin' Down, Share My World, My Life
- Mary Mary | The Sound album, Heaven
- Marvin Sapp | Never Would Have Made It
- Melanie Fiona | It Kills Me, Give It To Me Right
- Michael Jackson | You Are Not Alone, Man in the Mirror, Lady In My Life
- Mike Jones | Cuddy Buddy, Back Then, Still Tippin' (with Slim Thug & Paul Wall)
- Miley Cyrus | The Climb, Party in the U.S.A
- Mims | This Is Why I’m Hot
- Monica | Love all over me, So Gone, U Should’ve Known Better, Why I Love You So Much, Knock Knock, Before You Walk Out Of My Life, Everything To Me, Don't Take It Personal
- Mya | Lock U Down, Case Of The Ex, My Love Is Like...Wo, Fallen, It's All About Me
- Natasha Bedingfield | Unwritten
- Ne-Yo | Closer, Miss Independent, Mad, Because Of You, Sexy Love, So Sick, Do You, She Got Her Own (with Jamie Foxx, Fabolous), When You're Mad
- Nicki Minaj | 5 Star Chick Remix, (Yo Gotti), Itty Bitty Piggy, Kill the DJ, I Get Crazy, Getting Paid, Your Love, Super Bass, My Chick Bad (Ludacris)
- Nivea | Complicated
- Olivia | Twist It, Girlfriend (with 50 Cent), Candy Shop (with 50 Cent)
- Omarion | O, Ice Box, Speedin, Touch, Why I Love You (with B2K)
- OutKast | Hey Ya!, Ms. Jackson, So Fresh, So Clean
- Paula DeAnda | Doing Too Much, Walk Away
- Plies | Shawty, Hypnotized, Bust It Baby Pt. 2, Becky
- Pleasure P | Under, Boyfriend #2, Did you Wrong
- Pretty Ricky | On the Hotline, Juicy, Love Like Honey, Grind With Me, Late Night Special
- Pussycat Dolls | Stickwitu, Buttons
- Ray J | One Wish, Sexy Can I, 143 (with Bobby Brackins)
- R.Kelly | I'm a Flirt (& the Remix ft T.Pain), Same Girl (with Usher)
- Rihanna | Unfaithful, We Ride, Wait Your Turn, If It’s Lovin’ That You Want, Fire Bomb, Russian Roulette, Hate That I Love You (with Ne-Yo), Rude Boy, Take a Bow, Rockstar 101, Umbrella, Hard, Rehab, P.S. (I’m Still Not Over You)
- Robin Thicke | Lost Without U, Sex Therapy
- Sammie | Come With Me, You Should Be My Girl
- Solange | T.O.N.Y, I Decided
- Soulja Boy | Donk, Crank Dat, Kiss Me Through The Phone, She Make It Clap, Pretty Boy Swag, Turn My Swag On
- Shontelle | Impossible, T-Shirt
- Stevie Wonder | Ribbon In The Sky, As
- Tamia | Me, Officially Missing You, Stranger In My House, So Into you
- Tank | Please Don't Go
- T-Pain | Buy U a Drank, Can’t Believe It, Bartender, Chopped N Skrewed, I’m Sprung
- Teairra Mari | No Daddy, Hunt 4 U, Sponsor, Make Her Feel Good
- Teyana Taylor | Google Me
- The-Dream | Shawty Is a 10, Falsetto, Rockin’ That Sh*t, My Love (with Mariah Carey)
- Tiffany Evans | Promise Ring
- TLC | Unpretty
- Tonéx | Make Me Over
- Travie McCoy | Billionaire (with Bruno Mars)
- Travis Porter | Ayy Ladies, Bring It Back, Make It Rain, All The Way Turnt Up
- Trey Songz | Panty Droppa, Neighbors Know My Name, Can’t Be Friends, Already Taken
- Trill Family | Wipe Me Down (with. Foxx, Webbie & Boosie Badazz) [Remix]
- Trina | Here We Go Again (with Kelly Rowland)
-
Tye Tribbett | I Want It All Back, Everything Part I & II, Victory
- Tynisha Keli | I Wish You Loved Me
- Usher | Moving Mountains, Papers, Entire Confessions album, Lil Freak (with Nicki Minaj), There Goes My Baby, OMG, Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home), Trading Places
- Verse Simmonds | Boo Thang (with Kelly Rowland)
- Waka Flocka Flame | No Hands, O Let’s Do It, Hard in da Paint, Round Of Applause
- Webbie | Wipe Me Down Remix (with Trill Family, Foxx, & Boosie Badazz), Independent (with Lil' Boosie), Give Me That
- Webstar & Young B | Chicken Noodle Soup
- YG | Toot It And Boot It
- Young Berg | Give Me the Business, Sexy Can I (with Ray J), Sexy Lady
- Yung Joc | It's Goin' Down, I Know You See It
- Young Money | BedRock, Roger That
Jerkin Era Songs
- Baby Dollz | My Cookie
- JHawk Productions | Tippin on My D*ck
- New Boyz | You a Jerk, Tie Me Down
- Vixens Ent | Toot My Sh*t, Go Get It, I Need That
Local Bay Area Slaps
- D-Lo | NoHoe, You Played Me, Get Her Tho
- DSB CLICK | I'll Body Em, Get Active
- E-40 | Tell Me When to Go, Yay Area
- Keak Da Sneak | Yadadamean, Superhyphy
- LoveRance | UP! (Beat The P*ssy UP)
- Mac Dre | Thizzle Dance, Get Stupid, Feelin' Myself
- The Pack | In My Car, Vans
- Too $hort | Blow The Whistle, Shake That Monkey, Burn Rubber
- Trunk Boiz | Cupcake No Fillin
- Young Bari | So Mobby, On My Own Hype, All Dat Black
That wraps up my playlist, some throwbacks and some that were new at the time. We were really grown chile... Share the songs that defined your school years and the track that always takes you back.
