1996: Let's take a look back.From start to finish

[infinite59]

Let's take a look back to 1996.  This is what it's all about in my opinion.  This was the greatest year of my life, and the most memorable year in rap's 20 some year existence.  It started with the Dogg Pound album at the top of the charts.  Classic.  2pac was released from prison, his video with Dre Cali Love was blowing up and Death Row was peaking.  Snoop is aquitted.  All Eyez on Me was classic.  The East Coast/ West Coast War was in full swing with Ice Cube on the cover of the Source throwing up the W.  Then Dre got the cover of the best source issue to date, speaking on his breakup with Death Row.  And promising, "I will have records as big or bigger than we had over at Death Row." The movie and soundtrack for "The Show" was playing on my entertainment system. "How Do You Want It" started was blowing up all summer long, and with the single we saw the release of hip-hop's greatest diss record, "Hit em Up!"   You had Dre, Nas, and others desperately calling out for a truce between East and West, "If I Ruled The World" was blowing up, the East Coast starts getting props, and then you had Westside Connection dropping bomb tracks like "Bow Down" throwing more fuel on the fire.  Peace vs. Violence.  East vs. West.  It all biulds till hip-hop suffers it's biggest loss to date when on Sept. 13, 2pac gets murdered.  Hip-Hop mourns.  You start seeing Dre and everyone else dropping positivity, but much of it falling on def ears.  Death Row begins to fall apart.  Snoop flops with Tha Doggfather.  And 2pac leaves us one last jewel in his passing with his Makevelli album. (rest in peace)  Suge goes to jail.  They drop a couple of soundtracks.  The year ends and rap falls into the dark ages of Puffy and Master P.  Only to be reserrected by a white boy named Marshall Mathers 3 years later.

[Don Jacob]

that's a good way to look at it

[cremedelaclem]

for real....

thats a dope ass topic...

id add to it but you pretty much covered everything...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Also Dre flops with "The Aftermath" and loses respect...That was a dope topic, very tight...

[Top-Dogg2001]

Yea that is dope. They just don't make music like they use to back in 96.  At the end of 96 you could add bad Boy Records takes over.

[Sikotic™]

Yeah 96 was incredible. The turning point of West Coast rap was at that time. We saw DR's greatist peak with Dogg Food and All Eyez on Me. Then it falls near the end of the year with Pac's death and Suge's incarceration.

Amazing year and much props to Infinite for this topic.

[infinite59]

Thanks for the props ya'll.  Much love.  I can always look back on 96, and remember the way things used to be.  It puts things in perspective.

[Murrow]

Man, I loved '96, thats when I really got into rap.  That year is still unforgetable in my mind.  Good topic Infinite.

[TheSheriff]

Bad Bboy brought us one big thing into the open-The B.I.G.

The East/West war was one of the worst thangs in rap history, but memorable...

And P blew up in '93...

Dre never lost my respect with "Aftermath", but it's hardly his best stuff ever. =)

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Bad Bboy brought us one big thing into the open-The B.I.G.

Really BIG, if ya know what I mean...JK LOL

[TheSheriff]

LOL

Naw, Bad Boy's good for that one reason-Notorious makes up for Mase and all that crew.

OE
Ruthless Forever

[So Much Style]

96 was the best year of my life for many reasons

[Pimplegionär]

the end of `96 is definitly the collapse of the death row empire , and for me was that the lost of the westcoast because at that time death row records was the westcoast.
i didn`t know anything else and didn`t want anything else.

[Sikotic™]

Deathrow was the westcoast at that time. Were there any other major WC record labels at that time?

[Murrow]

I don't think there were any major WC record labels out at the time.  Ruthless was out of it, Aftermath had just started, and there was no Hoo Bangin yet either.