Rap has a reputation for degrading women, promoting violence, and encouraging criminal activity. It’s so ridiculo--, okay so it’s not that ridiculous but since the beginning of the movement hip-hop has always held a special place for the ladies and I’m not talking about on a stripper pole or in the back of your ‘Lac.

Anybody who knows hip-hop knows that the right lady always gets treated as such and even the hardest of hard rocks will praise her on record.

Before you make jokes, I admit that I could have made this list with 10 LL Cool J songs but I managed to limit it to three. Next time you wanna talk about how rap is all negative take a look at this list and you’ll see why hip-hop has a heart.

10. Paradise- LL Cool J

This song marked one of LL’s many comebacks and is vintage Mr. Smith. There’s no misogyny, pimpin’, trickin’, none of that. It’s good old-fashioned love as LL and Amerie vow to take us to paradise. LL woos the women with slick lines that only he can get away with and promises them everything they’ve ever dreamed of.

9. You’re all I Need To Get By- Method Man and Mary J. Blige

I can’t lie; I still don’t understand why they picked Method Man for this song given all the other rappers that were out. Of course he was sizzling hot at the time but there had to be somebody that was a better fit for this song, right? Wrong. Meth’s gruff voice and confessions of love as well as Mary’s soulful singing made this track an instant classic and instantly expanded Meth’s audience.

8. Breaks Ups 2 Make Ups- Method Man

Meth always had a hot way of putting his own spin on things. With D’Angelo on the hook Meth tells us about an ex-girl who just can’t get over him even though he found a new “black butterfly”. She’s got his whole attitude shitty and even her new man is getting on Meth’s nerves. Plus any songs that end with an all female shootout in the Staten Island mall are always gonna be entertaining.

7. Me And My Girlfriend- Tupac

To this day people say that Tupac is rapping about his gun in this song. To be honest I don’t know but the song was hot. ‘Pac went off on this track. He was spitting straight fire and holding nothing back in the emotions department. And you can’t forget classic lines like, “When you bust a nut n!@^!s be duckin’ or takin’ numbers”.

6. ’03 Bonnie and Clyde- Jay-Z and Beyonce

Yeah it’s a remake but who cares? This song was hot. This was probably one of the first times the happy couple were ever so public and Jay did a dope job of flipping the beat. “She gets Carrie fever but soon as the shows over/ She’s right back to bein’ my soldier”. Jay scored some points on this joint with the ladies for even knowing about Sex And The City.

5. Trade It All Part 2- Fabolous and Jagged Edge featuring P. Diddy

Fab is one of the only, if not the only rapper who can make you pay attention to the lyrics on a song for the ladies. On this remix to trade it all Fab does some verbal gymnastics over the track with his wordplay oil slick. How could you hate on this line? “ So it’ll calm and the jealousy and drama you tellin’ me/ So mama come yell at me/ So we could put the top down and cruise like Tom and Penelope/ My charms is a felony”

4. Hey Lover- LL Cool J

You’re feelin’ shorty hard and she’s with a dude who can’t compare to you. Everybody has been in this position before and who better to tell the tale than Ladies Love? Who wouldn’t want a chance to tell the girl of their dreams that they could treat them so much better than their current man? The silky smooth hook by Boyz II Men gets the job done and I think LL is the only rapper who could get away with using the word crush.

3. U Make Me Wanna- Jadakiss

“Go hard with a fat ass and head full of rollers”. Talk about the perfect woman. Although this song was an obvious cry for a platinum plaque on Jada’s part he did a good job stepping outside his usual box of guns and drugs. He tells the tale of his ride or die chick and any girl that gives up the income tax check is definitely a good look.

2. Song Cry- Jay-Z

Even a baller like Jay can catch an L every once in a while even in the form of heartbreak. We don’t know exactly who he’s talking about in the song but it’s definitely a lost love and it was cool to see Jay in this light. He even shows some vulnerable spots as he looks back on some ladies that weren’t feeling him. “Used to tell they friends I was ugly and wouldn’t touch me”.

1. I Need Love- LL Cool J

Was it even a question what was gonna be number one? It had to be LL and what is called the first hip-hop ballad. Sure he caught some flack for the so-called soft track but lord knows it didn’t hurt his record sales any. LL lays smooth vocals letting us know he’s had enough with the life of a player and wants to find that one girl to settle down with. He even offers to lay his jacket on the floor so she could walk over a puddle. Now that’s dedication.