From “Backpacks” to “Jiggy”
Part 1
This era in hip hop is not something that we at Keep It Oldskool are really enthused about. There was a seismic shift in hip that began in the late 90s that became a “zombie virus” that now has rappers in this current state. Keep It Oldskool wants to so see if we can pinpoint at what point there was the change.
The 90s began with a direct shift from the flashy fat rope chains and the 4 finger rings. Gone were the “Dapper Dan suits” and in came in the construction wear (Carhartt and Timberlands) with a backpack. We are not sure what was in the backpacks. 1990 saw releases from Kool G Rap (Wanted Dead or Alive) LL Cool J (Mama Said Knock You Out) and Eric B and Rakim (Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em). At that point Hip Hop was a year past it 2 greatest years ever (1988 &1989). Some would say that Hip Hop began to turn a corner that year. Part of that initial change was a west coast MC in exile. Ice Cube had recently left NWA and was at a crossroad. Not many thought he would be able to sustain the popularity he had gained as a member of NWA. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted changed all of that. With production by the Bomb Squad and socially charged lyrics everyone was listening not just in the east coast but the west and the south.
I won’t go through each year. I will touch on some of the most important ones. The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest was maybe the best album released in 1991It also brought to everyone’s attention that Pfife was not just a sidekick. Fast forward to 1992 with the album by Dr Dre (The Chronic) Dre had also recently left NWA and together with newcomer Snoop Doggy Dog ushered in a new era in Hip Hop. Rappers were not on stage trying to out dance each other anymore. 1992 saw the last album of the duo Eric B and Rakim (Don’t Sweat The Technique) Rakim who had single handedly changed Hip Hop in 1986 was going to disappear for a while.
1993 was a very interesting year. The releases were more diverse and yet powerful in their own way. From the anticipated DoggyStyle album from Snoop Doggy Dog to the game changing Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers by the Wu-Tang Clan. Wu-Tang with its 9 member collective each with their own style was something that was never heard before. From the karate movie influence to almost each song having at least 6 members rapping on it. Hip Hop had went under plastic surgery (Think Nikki Minaj not Lil Kim) Hip Hop though not yet the global force it would become was well on its way.
The year was 1994 and there was never in the history of Hip Hop a more awaited album then the one but a Queens MC that not much was known about. He has guest starred on a Main Source song that catapulted him to stardom. His name was Nasty Nas and the album was Illmatic from its all-star lineup of producers to the 10 songs on the album became an instant classic. On the heels of the Illmatic another album released that year (5 months after Illmatic) was Ready to Die from Notorious B.I.G The Brooklyn MC had a style that was all his own and despite a “Dancing Diddy” people were talking notice of the self-named “Frank White”. With all of that going on a media made up East Coast –West Coast beef was heavily being reported on. The first 4 years in the 90s was shaping up nicely in the terms of diverse and eclectic material being heard. What most didn’t know was that by the late 90s 2 of the shining stars in Hip Hop would be gone.
NEXT UP THE KINGS OF NEW YORK AND “HIT EM UP”
