Here are the Top 10 depressing rap songs of all time, in my opinion. This list contains a mix of modern and old school tracks, guaranteed to make you cry.
10. Beautiful – Eminem
Beautiful is part of Eminem’s 2009 album Relapse. It was released after Eminem’s personal battles with drug addiction. This track effectively portrays the impact of being in a slump and not being motivated to do anything. The first line of the first verse is ‘I’m Just So F*cking Depressed’.
09. Slippin’- DMX
When you hear DMX’s somewhat aggressive voice, you wouldn’t expect him to create a sad track. However, Slippin’ is similar to Beautiful by Eminem, where he talks about the stuggles of being in a slump and how to get out of it.
08. Close Friend’s- Lil Baby
This track is performed by Lil Baby and is part of a collaborative project between himself & Gunna: Drip Harder. Lil Baby explains in this track a scenario between him and a girl, where his own actions have caused problems.
07. Jocelyn Flores- XXXTENTACION
Jocelyn Flores is the name of a friend of XXXTENTACION who, in 2017, committed suicide. She was only 16 years old. Since then, this track has gained over 2 billion streams.
06. 1-800-273-8255- Logic (with Alessia Cara & Khalid)
With over 1 billion streams, this track features Alessia Cara & Khalid. It’s a candid track which focuses on the theme of suicide from the perspective of the victim and the caller on the other line; it details the conversation of someone calling for help. The title of the track is the former phone number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
05. Let It All Work Out- Lil Wayne
Having supposedly recorded over 1 million songs, Lil Wayne was bound to have a sad one somewhere. In fact, he has many tracks which are depressing. This one, however, is my favourite. Let It All Work out briefly touches on Wayne’s early experience with suicide, when he was just a young boy. And how he was saved for a reason.
04. Mama Cry- YNW Melly
YNW Melly is widely known for his hit single Murder On My Mind, a more violent and candid track. However, Mama Cry is more emotional. It covers the theme of remorse with YNW Melly apologising to his mother for his actions which lead him into prison.
03. Hate Myself- NF
To be honest, NF could have been included multiple times within this list. But I feel this is one of his sadder songs. Hate Myself is certainly a track many people relate to, and it’s easy to hear NF’s own stong emotions in this song.
02. Brenda’s Got A Baby- 2Pac
You wouldn’t often think old school rappers have sad songs, but the majority of them talk about real life situations. This song talks through the narrative of a pregnant pre-teen.
01. Favourite Song- Toosii
Toosii released this track in 2023 and since then it has over 200 million streams across all platforms. Toosii’s whole discography is fairly depressing, but this track about heartbreak and love raises the emotional bar for his next songs.