Hip hop peaked in the mid 90s

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

Personally for me, my fave era is 1991 - 1998!

1999 was ok but it started to fade for me a little bit, especially with the south sounds
coming in, by 2002 i had stopped listning to new rap music altogether

I say 92-96.   Starting with the Chronic album and ending with Pac's 7 Day Theory album.   Everything in between that time frame was fire!!!   That's my golden age of hip-hop.

After Pac's 7 Day Theory rap was still on a high, The Source magazine was really doing an incredible job covering and promoting the culture.  Also hip-hop was getting it's respect on MTV and BET Rap City was really holding it down promoting the culture.   The problem was though that Snoop felt the sting of the sophmore slump with Doggfather.  That really hurt the game.  Suge went to prison so Death Row couldn't be the guiding light any more.   

In the absence of Death Row, Bad Boy and No Limit records took over.  Puffy made the shit soft with the shiny suits and Mase albums trying to appeal to a female audience.    Master P kind of tried to fill the void 2pac left but it lacked Pac's artistic integrity and knowledge.  It was 3rd rate and too damn ghetto. 

Also, the Ruff Ryders, DMX, Jay-Z, and Ja Rule all played a role in kind of fucking up the game in 97 and 98.  They weren't as real as Death Row was and a lot of fakeness and feminine shit took over the game.

Then rap had a resurgence in 99-2002.   Starting with the Slim Shady LP and ending with Get Rich Or Die Trying.  Mostly the resergence was due to the emergence of Eminem.  Eminem saved hip-hop and brought about yet another renaissance.  Lyrics came to the forefront once more, and Rawkus Records really held down the underground and they were one of the greatest labels in hip-hop history.   Also, as a result of Em's connection to Dre the West Coast had a resurgence with Snoop, the Eastsidaz, Xzibit, Kurupt and all their affiliates leading the way. 

[MUHFUKKA]

wow infant, great job posting the exact same essay about your opinion on rap history for the hundredth time. we get it. gotta say though i find it weird you dont like dmx with all of your issues and whatnot, seems like his anger and frustration would appeal to you

[Chamillitary Click]

wow infant, great job posting the exact same essay about your opinion on rap history for the hundredth time. we get it. gotta say though i find it weird you dont like dmx with all of your issues and whatnot, seems like his anger and frustration would appeal to you

LOL. Realest shit.

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

i find it weird you dont like dmx with all of your issues and whatnot, seems like his anger and frustration would appeal to you

It's true that I like rappers who are mentally unbalanced, but DMX lacked complexity, knowledge and intelligence.  He was too much of a brute

[3rd Coast]

cats in the 80s would say it peaked in the mid 80s..when all the booty n gangsta rap gettin big..durin the 90s...when we was young..

now the kendrick fans r younger than us..n our generation is sayin what the run dmc gen sayin...

1day rap fans would shut the fuck up n jus appreciate music 4 what it is like the rock,gospel, pop n country fans..

have never heard terry reid fans put down the john meyer generation down...

or shirly ceasar shit on cece winans

dolly parton hate on taylor swift..

[bouli77]

3rd coast i know where you're coming from but it's not about hate, it's more about a retrospective judgment on what could have possibly been the best era in terms of quality and authenticity. i personally enjoy a lot of stuff coming from every era, even though i grew up mostly on Westcoast/South/Midwest gangsta rap. i'm tryna be "objective".

[Hack Wilson - real]

wow infant, great job posting the exact same essay about your opinion on rap history for the hundredth time. we get it. gotta say though i find it weird you dont like dmx with all of your issues and whatnot, seems like his anger and frustration would appeal to you

infinite likes rappers who leave thier kids

[BiggBoogaBiff]

Eminem watered down Hip Hop wtf iz u sayin.  After "Tha Massacre" released Eminem could've fell off the radar completely IMO.  Now 50 and Lil Jon gave Hip Hop back it's raw edge, not hardly Eminem (he was still a novelty act).  

Other than Ja Rule there weren't too many "fake" people around.  Again these r Entertainers, They're not exactly people we know.  I could clown Juicy J for being a retarded crackfiend every time a cameras is in his face but at the same time I know Juice would pull out a gun and use that muthafucka if he had to, he'd fight me if I disrespected him.  His immediate family (Project Pat and so on) and close circle of people (DJ Paul, etc) were all tied to Drugs, Murders, Drug Cartels, and various other "come up from rock bottom" hustles.  So when you say fake u have to give specific examples becuz Hip Hop was never really all of that bad, it just kinda stagnated/stayed the same in 02', 03', and 04'.  You have some classics from then but overall it's not it's greatest era.  If it wasn't for songs like "Get Low" and "In Da Club" then we'd be over here still talking about how Death Row and Murder Inc shoulda woulda couldas even tho they shoulda.

  
My man, your view on Rap music is very shallow.  "It's Dark And Hell Is Hot" is damn near classic

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Eminem watered down Hip Hop wtf iz u sayin.  After "Tha Massacre" released Eminem could've fell off the radar completely IMO.  Now 50 and Lil Jon gave Hip Hop back it's raw edge, not hardly Eminem (he was still a novelty act).  

Other than Ja Rule there weren't too many "fake" people around.  Again these r Entertainers, They're not exactly people we know.  I could clown Juicy J for being a retarded crackfiend every time a cameras is in his face but at the same time I know Juice would pull out a gun and use that muthafucka if he had to, he'd fight me if I disrespected him.  His immediate family (Project Pat and so on) and close circle of people (DJ Paul, etc) were all tied to Drugs, Murders, Drug Cartels, and various other "come up from rock bottom" hustles.  So when you say fake u have to give specific examples becuz Hip Hop was never really all of that bad, it just kinda stagnated/stayed the same in 02', 03', and 04'.  You have some classics from then but overall it's not it's greatest era.  If it wasn't for songs like "Get Low" and "In Da Club" then we'd be over here still talking about how Death Row and Murder Inc shoulda woulda couldas even tho they shoulda.

  
My man, your view on Rap music is very shallow.  "It's Dark And Hell Is Hot" is damn near classic

Nigga no one gives a fuck about Get Low or lil Jon anymore. Dude is the definition of flash in the pan. Son came through with one sound that was hot for a second until people got bored of it. He will never be a great producer or a legend.

[BiggBoogaBiff]

U were too young to understand then

[jeromechickenbone]

Hip hop def took a turn for the worse when 2pac died, he was the last superstar that rebelled against the system. The only other one since him would be Pimp C, and they killed his ass real quick too.

There's no leaders or independent thinkers, they're all just actors playing a part to fulfill an agenda.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

U were too young to understand then

No you were the youngin back then. It's one of those bad songs that you like from your childhood because back then you were entertained by the simplest of things.

[Will_B]

There's no leaders or independent thinkers, they're all just actors playing a part to fulfill an agenda.

This for the most part is true. That and wannabe rappers attracted by hiphop fashion culture and vanity.

I wanna see real dudes like Roscoe who have an individual sound/style to come forward and make waves, and leave these rap impersonators by the wayside. Raps become about image and nothing else. All these Internet personality rappers would get chewed out and spat out if they were competing in the 90s

[M Dogg™]

cats in the 80s would say it peaked in the mid 80s..when all the booty n gangsta rap gettin big..durin the 90s...when we was young..

now the kendrick fans r younger than us..n our generation is sayin what the run dmc gen sayin...

1day rap fans would shut the fuck up n jus appreciate music 4 what it is like the rock,gospel, pop n country fans..

have never heard terry reid fans put down the john meyer generation down...

or shirly ceasar shit on cece winans

dolly parton hate on taylor swift..

Quoted for truthiness.

I will say this, personally I love the early 90's, like Infinite, 92-96. But I have to give the peak 86-89, as the late 80's was the Goldyn Era. Every purest give it to the late 80's, and it was the late 80's that had a truly deep set of classics. 1988 alone has more classic albums in that year than the whole 2000 decade. What makes the 90's better than the 80's is that the late 90's carried Hip-Hop were as the early 80's was not strong due to Hip-Hop still finding it's self. But late 80's vs. early 90's goes to the late 80's by the depth of the late 80's.

[BiggBoogaBiff]

U were too young to understand then

No you were the youngin back then. It's one of those bad songs that you like from your childhood because back then you were entertained by the simplest of things.

Yes and No.  I've always had an ear for good music so I've always been really quick to separate the dumb shit from the wack.  Back in the days 98-06 I always knew who to look for and what was hot and what wasn't.  In middle school EVERYBODY loved Lil Bow Wow, I hated it.  


But my case is a little different from most peoples, I've been making mixtapes since I was like 10-11 years old, if it's not hot then it ain't me.  But on the contrary I understand clearly why people love and hate shit I adore or find grotesque.


Bottom line being, this is a prime example of why Blacks shouldn't be letting everybody else write the history books [i definitely respect opo though].  Scroll back a year or two in this section, you'll find a few things you've forgotten about that make hlu remember again.  And not just here but other places too.  Time seems to be going by so fast but it's really not.  Hip Hop today is missing a few things but not what everybody else on the blogs and the frontline is talking about and it's not neccessarily what u think it is.  A lot of what it is is the way it's being presented and how quick alotta tha OGs and BGs are to talk about Money...a few rappers excluded.  Along with more melodic not neccessarily but definitely included instrumentals.