was rap in the 90's better than present day rap

[T-Dogg]

It's not black and white like that, wether or not shit was better or worse back then. It's a mixed bag of things.

To me it seems that back in the 90's the stuff that sold the most also deserved to sell records. Not to say the underground wasn't hot, 'cause it was, but if the record sold it was a hot record. Nowadays, and especially a few years back, the stuff in the mainstream surely wasn't and isn't the best shit. All the marketing and extra whatnot that there is to selling a record these days sure left a mark on the market.

Another thing I've noticed is the difference of new acts coming into the game in the 90's and nowadays. Nowadays there's a huge gap between guys who rap to get rich and guys who rap for the love of the culture. Of course there are peope who've crossed that gap, but mostly anyway.

Of course when looking at the past you tend to get nostalgic, so things might seem better now than they actually were. So any non-biased views about this are impossible.

But I will say this: things are much better now than they were a few years back. Real Hip-Hop has lifted its head and it's on he rise again. Not much of it in the mainstream, not yet, but it's coming.

[Boba Fettucini]

yeah its pretty black and white. 90s was a lot better. no question. proof? listen to rap albums

[J$crILLa]

easily 90s was the hottest music ever made... nothin since ima say 2002 compares to anything from late 80s to 01.....

[Machiavelli]

yeah its pretty black and white. 90s was a lot better. no question. proof? listen to rap albums

exactally...

[Snoopafly-1986]

after listening to some shit from the 90's lately don't think its even close they were hella better!

[NotoriousTDA]

i wrote a whole essay on this exact topic

[QuietTruth]

Is this even a question right now?

[You Ain't Shit]

The way u started the thread made it sound wack but anyway, I must say that the music industry was different back in the 90's, and back they people were making music for the love of it,  back in the 90's it wasnt about ring tones or how many record u sell in the first week, it was about bringing something good to the customer, also notice that there aint no longevity in music anymore, back in the 90's a single could last atleast 4 to 5 month, so the album could still be in rotation for 2-3 years until the next one is done, and i think the only artist that was able to bring longevity to her singles and album is Alicia Keys.... anyway that was my contribution to ur thread

real talk.

[Blood$]

I got into rap in 2000, 2001-ish... but I did my research when I first started listening and I was buying albums from the 90's even then like I still am now

'90's Hip-Hop is most definatly better than present day, and always will be... no question about that 

[Piffmeister2008]

what's your definition of "better"?

[Elevz]

what's your definition of "better"?

"bet·ter1 (bĕt'ər) pronunciation
adj. Comparative of good.

   1. Greater in excellence or higher in quality.
   2. More useful, suitable, or desirable: found a better way to go; a suit with a better fit than that one.
   3. More highly skilled or adept: I am better at math than English.
   4. Greater or larger: argued for the better part of an hour.
   5. More advantageous or favorable; improved: a better chance of success.
   6. Healthier or more fit than before: The patient is better today."
Source: www.answers.com

Question is: better, according to whom? By what standards?

[Piffmeister2008]

what's your definition of "better"?

"bet·ter1 (bĕt'ər) pronunciation
adj. Comparative of good.

   1. Greater in excellence or higher in quality.
   2. More useful, suitable, or desirable: found a better way to go; a suit with a better fit than that one.
   3. More highly skilled or adept: I am better at math than English.
   4. Greater or larger: argued for the better part of an hour.
   5. More advantageous or favorable; improved: a better chance of success.
   6. Healthier or more fit than before: The patient is better today."
Source: www.answers.com

Question is: better, according to whom? By what standards?

I asked about his definition of better. The points you mentioned are still very subjective. What's "higher quality"? How do you define the concept "quality"? If you got that clear, you can "measure" if hiphop in the 90s was better than hiphop nowadays.

Now it's all just a matter of opinions, whereby most people think hiphop in the 90s was better than hiphop now.

[Elevz]

what's your definition of "better"?

"bet·ter1 (bĕt'ər) pronunciation
adj. Comparative of good.

   1. Greater in excellence or higher in quality.
   2. More useful, suitable, or desirable: found a better way to go; a suit with a better fit than that one.
   3. More highly skilled or adept: I am better at math than English.
   4. Greater or larger: argued for the better part of an hour.
   5. More advantageous or favorable; improved: a better chance of success.
   6. Healthier or more fit than before: The patient is better today."
Source: www.answers.com

Question is: better, according to whom? By what standards?

I asked about his definition of better. The points you mentioned are still very subjective. What's "higher quality"? How do you define the concept "quality"? If you got that clear, you can "measure" if hiphop in the 90s was better than hiphop nowadays.

Now it's all just a matter of opinions, whereby most people think hiphop in the 90s was better than hiphop now.

Tsk, tsk, tsk... Let me re-quote myself.

Question is: better, according to whom? By what standards?

Everyone knows what the word better means, thus "a definition of the word better" solves nothing. I just gave you an official definition of it, and as you already pointed out, it doesn't give any answers. Why not? It's full of unoperationalized words. People don't necessarily agree on what makes a difference in quality between two given things. The outcome is always rather subjective. That's not in the word 'better', but in the use of it.

I think we both agree on this; you simply failed to notice it

[SGV]

i reckon raps in the 90's was way better then the music in our day.  all te real og albums came out in the 90's  all eyes on me doggystlye illmatic  36 chambers  chronic   regulator  dogg food  gettin it   doggfather me agianst the world the list goes on  now adays alot of it is shit  screw the south wid there 20 inch crome and bling bling  westcoast cumming bak and were gonna collect with interest bitch

And I'm sure others would reckon raps in the 80s was way better than music in the 90s. Cuz the REAL OG albums came out in the 80s. By Any Means Neccessary, Radio, Raising Hell, No One Can Do it Better, Fear Of A Black Planet, Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Paid In Full, 3 Feet High And Rising the list goes on. In the 90s, a lot of it was shit. Screw the West Coast with their 100 spoke Daytons and Nike Cortez...

[Piffmeister2008]

what's your definition of "better"?

"bet·ter1 (bĕt'ər) pronunciation
adj. Comparative of good.

   1. Greater in excellence or higher in quality.
   2. More useful, suitable, or desirable: found a better way to go; a suit with a better fit than that one.
   3. More highly skilled or adept: I am better at math than English.
   4. Greater or larger: argued for the better part of an hour.
   5. More advantageous or favorable; improved: a better chance of success.
   6. Healthier or more fit than before: The patient is better today."
Source: www.answers.com

Question is: better, according to whom? By what standards?

I asked about his definition of better. The points you mentioned are still very subjective. What's "higher quality"? How do you define the concept "quality"? If you got that clear, you can "measure" if hiphop in the 90s was better than hiphop nowadays.

Now it's all just a matter of opinions, whereby most people think hiphop in the 90s was better than hiphop now.

Tsk, tsk, tsk... Let me re-quote myself.

Question is: better, according to whom? By what standards?

Everyone knows what the word better means, thus "a definition of the word better" solves nothing. I just gave you an official definition of it, and as you already pointed out, it doesn't give any answers. Why not? It's full of unoperationalized words. People don't necessarily agree on what makes a difference in quality between two given things. The outcome is always rather subjective. That's not in the word 'better', but in the use of it.

I think we both agree on this; you simply failed to notice it

I think you're just saying the same things as me, cause you love me so bad. Wannabe