Let's look at hip-hop and rap......
Definitions and explanations
Wikipedia
Hip hop or hip-hop, is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. The origin of the name is often disputed. It is also argued as to whether hip hop started in the South or West Bronx.[1][2][3][4][5] While the term hip hop is often used to refer exclusively to hip hop music (also called rap),[6] hip hop is characterized by nine elements, of which only four elements are considered essential to understand hip hop musically. The main elements of hip hop consist of four main pillars. Afrika Bambaataa of the hip hop collective Zulu Nation outlined the pillars of hip hop culture, coining the terms: "rapping" (also called an MC), a rhythmic vocal rhyming style (orality); DJing (and turntablism), which is making music with record players and DJ mixers (aural/sound and music creation); b-boying/b-girling/breakdancing (movement/dance); and graffiti.[7][2][8][9][10] Other elements of hip hop subculture and arts movements beyond the main four are: hip hop culture and historical knowledge of the movement (intellectual/philosophical); beatboxing, a percussive vocal style; street entrepreneurship; hip hop language; and hip hop fashion and style, among others.[11][12][13] The fifth element, although debated, is commonly considered either street knowledge, hip hop fashion, or beatboxing.[2][7]
The Bronx hip hop scene emerged in the mid-1970s from neighborhood block parties thrown by the Black Spades, an African-American group that has been described as being a gang, a club, and a music group. Brother-sister duo Clive Campbell, a.k.a. DJ Kool Herc, and Cindy Campbell additionally hosted DJ parties in the Bronx and are credited for the rise in the genre.[14] Hip hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban communities throughout the United States and subsequently the world.[15] These elements were adapted and developed considerably, particularly as the art forms spread to new continents and merged with local styles in the 1990s and subsequent decades. Even as the movement continues to expand globally and explore myriad styles and art forms, including hip hop theater and hip hop film, the four foundational elements provide coherence and a strong foundation for Hip Hop culture.[2] Hip hop is simultaneously a new and old phenomenon; the importance of sampling tracks, beats, and basslines from old records to the art form means that much of the culture has revolved around the idea of updating classic recordings, attitudes, and experiences for modern audiences. Sampling older culture and reusing it in a new context or a new format is called "flipping" in hip hop culture.[16] Hip hop music follows in the footsteps of earlier African-American-rooted and Latino musical genres such as blues, jazz, rag-time, funk, salsa, and disco to become one of the most practiced genres worldwide.In 1990, Ronald "Bee-Stinger" Savage, a former member of the Zulu Nation, is credited for coining the term "Six elements of the Hip Hop Movement," inspired by Public Enemy's recordings. The "Six Elements Of The Hip Hop Movement" are: Consciousness Awareness, Civil Rights Awareness, Activism Awareness, Justice, Political Awareness, and Community Awareness in music. Ronald Savage is known as the Son of The Hip Hop Movement.[17][18][19][20][21][22]In the 2000s, with the rise of new media platforms and Web 2.0, fans discovered and downloaded or streamed hip hop music through social networking sites beginning with Myspace, as well as from websites like YouTube, Worldstarhiphop, SoundCloud, and Spotify.[23][24][25]
Wikipedia:
Rapping (or rhyming, spitting,[1] emceeing,[2] MCing[2][3]) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular",[4] which is performed or chanted in a variety of ways, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment.[4] The components of rap include "content" (what is being said), "flow" (rhythm, rhyme), and "delivery" (cadence, tone).[5] Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that rap is usually performed in time to an instrumental track.[6] Rap is often associated with, and is a primary ingredient of hip-hop music, but the origins of the phenomenon predate hip-hop culture. The earliest precursor to the modern rap is the West African griot tradition, in which "oral historians",[7] or "praise-singers",[7] would disseminate oral traditions and genealogies, or use their formidable rhetorical techniques for gossip or to "praise or critique individuals."[7] Griot traditions connect to rap along a lineage of Black verbal reverence that goes back to ancient Egyptian practices, through James Brown interacting with the crowd and the band between songs, to Muhammad Ali's quick-witted verbal taunts and the palpitating poems of the Last Poets.[8] Therefore, rap lyrics and music are part of the "Black rhetorical continuum",[8] and aim to reuse elements of past traditions while expanding upon them through "creative use of language and rhetorical styles and strategies.[8] The person credited with originating the style of "delivering rhymes over extensive music",[9] that would become known as rap, was Anthony "DJ Hollywood" Holloway from Harlem, New York.[9]
Rap is usually delivered over a beat, typically provided by a DJ, turntablist, beatboxer, or performed a cappella without accompaniment. Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area between speech, prose, poetry, and singing. The word, which predates the musical form, originally meant "to lightly strike",[10] and is now used to describe quick speech or repartee.[11] The word had been used in British English since the 16th century. It was part of the African American dialect of English in the 1960s meaning "to converse", and very soon after that in its present usage as a term denoting the musical style.[12] Today, the term rap is so closely associated with hip-hop music that many writers use the terms interchangeably.
AllMusic
Rap
Rap's germination is sometimes attributed to the righteous street poetry of the Last Poets and the Watts Prophets, but it didn't begin to take full shape -- and earn its tag -- until after the Sugarhill Gang released "Rapper's Delight" in 1979. Since then, rap spread from its New York epicenter throughout the remainder of the U.S. (with each region taking on its own specific flavor) and then to countless countries. Rap's core components are beats and rhymes, but that simplicity belies the wide range of sounds that have sprung from them. Instrumentalists, a sampled breakbeat, or a drum machine can form the backbone of a track, while an arrangement can be spaciously spare or chaotically dense, and a chorus can range from atonal shouting to a sweet melody. Detractors were still calling rap a fad in 1985, when LL Cool J released his first single. They were doing the same thing when, roughly 20 years later, the same MC released his tenth album, and they'll probably continue to do so as long as the genre exists. Should rap ever die, which isn't likely, it would be far too late to prevent its effect on most other music forms, from R&B to rock to jazz.Golden Age
Hip-hop's golden age is bookended by the commercial breakthrough of Run-D.M.C. in 1986 and the explosion of gangsta rap with 1993's The Chronic by Dr. Dre. Those six years witnessed the best recordings from some of the biggest rappers -- LL Cool J, Public Enemy, EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. & Rakim, N.W.A, Boogie Down Productions, Biz Markie -- in the genre's history. Overwhelmingly based in New York City, golden age rap is characterized by skeletal beats, samples cribbed from hard rock or soul tracks, and tough dis raps. Rhymers like PE's Chuck D., Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, and Rakim basically invented the complex wordplay and lyrical kung-fu of later hip-hop. The Def Jam label became the first big independent in hip-hop, while Cold Chillin', Jive, and Tommy Boy also made strides.
Old School
Old-School Rap is the style of the very first rap artists who emerged from New York City in the late '70s and early '80s. Old school is easily identified by its relatively simple raps -- most lines take up approximately equal amounts of time, and the rhythms of the language rarely twisted around the beats of the song. The cadences usually fell squarely on the beat, and when they didn't, they wouldn't stray for long, returning to the original pattern for quick resolution. The emphasis was not on lyrical technique, but simply on good times -- aside from the socially conscious material of Grandmaster Flash, which greatly expanded rap's horizons, most old-school rap had the fun, playful flavor of the block parties and dances at which it was born. In keeping with the laid-back, communal good vibes, old-school rap seemed to have more room and appreciation for female MCs, although none achieved the higher profile of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five or the Sugarhill Gang. Some old-school songs were performed over disco or funk-style tracks, while others featured synthesized backing (this latter type of music, either with or without raps, was known as electro). Old-school rap's recorded history begins with two 1979 singles, Fatback's "King Tim III" and the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight," although the movement had been taking shape for almost a decade prior. Sugarhill Records quickly became the center for old-school rap, dominating the market until Run-D.M.C. upped the ante for technique and hardcore urban toughness in 1983-84. Their sound and style soon took over the rap world, making old-school's party orientation and '70s funk influences seem outdated. When compared with the more complex rhythms and rhyme schemes of modern-day rap -- or even the hip-hop that was being produced less than ten years after "Rapper's Delight" -- old-school rap can sound dated and a little unadventurous. However, the best old-school tracks retain their liveliness as great party music no matter what the era, holding up surprisingly well considering all that's happened since.East Coast Rap
At the dawn of the hip-hop era, all rap was East Coast rap. All of rap's most important early artists were based in the New York City area -- old-school legends like DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, the Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, and Run-D.M.C. As rap grew and became more diverse over the course of the '80s, productive scenes began to spring up in other locations around the country; nonetheless, East Coast rap dominated through most of the '80s. Although the sound of East Coast rap wasn't completely uniform, from the mid- to late '80s it tended to gravitate to more aggressive beats and sample collages, and many MCs prided themselves on their technical dexterity in crafting lyrics. In other words, with some exceptions East Coast rap became a music intended more for intense listening than for the dancefloor, helping develop the genre into a respected art form as it grew more elaborate and complex. Typifying this golden era of the East Coast sound were artists like Eric B. & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions, and Slick Rick, all of whom boasted immense lyrical skill rooted in old-school style, as well as the harder-hitting sounds of EPMD and Public Enemy. Also based on the East Coast were the Native Tongues, a collective of positive, Afrocentric artists assembled by Afrika Bambaataa; while De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, the Jungle Brothers, and other, mostly New York-based groups had a major impact on hip-hop in the late '80s, they were more readily identified with their musical eclecticism than any specific geographic location. N.W.A's 1989 album Straight Outta Compton served notice that the West Coast had toughened its sound to go along with its already gritty, street-level subject matter; combined with West Coast rap's ability to retain its primary function as party music, this helped make it the dominant force in hip-hop during the '90s. The rise of Southern rap further ensured that East Coast rap could no longer dominate as it once had, but the '90s were hardly a wash for the region. In addition to Puff Daddy's hugely lucrative, pop-accessible Bad Boy label, the East Coast produced its share of varied, highly acclaimed artists, including lyrical virtuoso Nas, the eclectic Fugees and Roots, and the hugely influential hardcore unit Wu-Tang Clan.
West coast rap
West Coast Rap dominated the hip-hop scene for the middle section of the '90s, making gangsta rap into a popular phenomenon and establishing Dr. Dre as one of the most influential figures in rap history. Still, even if Dre's patented G-funk defined the West Coast sound and style for many, California's rap scene was a great deal more diverse. Up until the mid- to late '80s, West Coast rap mostly imitated East Coast party rap, already considered old-school in its place of origin; however, both Los Angeles and the Bay Area soon proved to be fertile pastures. The former produced the landmark proto-gangsta recordings of Ice-T, the hugely influential, Latino-tinged stoner funk of Cypress Hill, and the warped comedy of the Pharcyde; the Bay Area countered with the pimp-obsessed rhymes of Too $hort, the P-Funk-inspired, good-humored Digital Underground, and the pop breakthrough of MC Hammer. In short, West Coast rap became as eclectic and difficult to pigeonhole as East Coast rap. However, N.W.A.'s 1989 gangsta-rap landmark Straight Outta Compton set the stage for a more identifiable West Coast style -- its sound was hard-hitting and minimalistic, its lyrics alternating between violent hedonism and righteously angry social commentary. Upon leaving N.W.A., Ice Cube made solo records which maintained that lyrical tone while employing noisy, Public Enemy-style production; his bandmate Dr. Dre discovered Snoop Doggy Dogg, signed to Death Row Records, and at the end of 1992 released The Chronic, the album that defined G-funk and spawned legions of imitators. The Chronic's gangsta hedonism and production style -- whiny synthesizers, rolling P-Funk beats, and deep, slow grooves -- provided the blueprint that made Death Row the biggest hip-hop label of the early '90s, scoring hits by Snoop, Warren G., Tha Dogg Pound, and more. Controversial gangsta star 2Pac joined the label in late 1995 and became a crossover superstar with the Dre duet "California Love," and Coolio had taken a more pop-oriented version of the West Coast sound to the top of the charts earlier in the year with "Gangsta's Paradise." However, West Coast dominance soon crumbled -- 2Pac was murdered in 1996, Dre jumped ship, and Death Row CEO Suge Knight was jailed over business practices. By the end of the '90s, hip-hop's focus had turned back to the East Coast and to the emerging South.
Hardcore rap
While the term can refer to several different musical sensibilities, Hardcore Rap is marked by confrontation and aggression, whether in the lyrical subject matter, the hard, driving beats, the noisy sampling and production, or any combination thereof. Hardcore rap is tough, streetwise, intense, and often menacing (although the latter isn't always the case; there is room for humor and exuberance as well). Gangsta rap is the style most commonly associated with hardcore rap, but not all hardcore rap revolves around gangsta themes, even though there is a great deal of overlap, especially among hardcore rappers of the '90s. The first hardcore rap came from the East Coast during the late '80s, when artists began to move away from party rhymes and bragging about their microphone skills; their music and language began to reflect the gritty, often harsh urban surroundings in which it was usually created and enjoyed. Before any specific formula for gangsta rap had been invented, artists like New York's Boogie Down Productions and L.A.'s Ice-T were committing detailed observations of street life to tape; plus, Public Enemy's chaotic sound collages were setting new standards for production power, and N.W.A. celebrated the bleakness of the ghetto and the gangsta lifestyle with an over-the-top machismo. In the early '90s, hardcore rap was essentially synonymous with West Coast gangsta rap until the 1993 emergence of the Wu-Tang Clan, whose spare, minimalistic beats and haunting string and piano samples became a widely imitated style. With its slamming, hard-hitting grooves and street-tough urban grit, hardcore rap became hip-hop's most popular crossover style during the latter half of the '90s, its subject matter now a mix of party anthems, gangsta's money/sex/violence obsessions, and occasional social commentary. Artists like the Notorious B.I.G., DMX, and Jay-Z became platinum-selling superstars, and Master P's brand of gangsta-oriented Southern hardcore also became a lucrative commercial force, even if it didn't produce crossover hit singles on the same level.
Gangsta rap
Gangsta rap developed in the late '80s. Evolving out of hardcore rap, gangsta rap had an edgy, noisy sound. Lyrically, it was just as abrasive, as the rappers spun profane, gritty tales about urban crime. Sometimes the lyrics were an accurate reflection of reality; other times, they were exaggerated comic book stories. Either way, it became the most commercially successful form of hip-hop in the late '80s and early '90s. In the process, gangsta rap caused considerable controversy, as conservative organizations tried to get the albums banned. Even when the activist groups forced certain bands off major labels, the groups continued to make their music uncensored.
Alternative rap
Alternative Rap refers to hip-hop groups that refuse to conform to any of the traditional stereotypes of rap, such as gangsta, funk, bass, hardcore, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres, drawing equally from funk and pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae, and even folk. Though Arrested Development and the Fugees managed to cross over into the mainstream, most alternative rap groups are embraced primarily by alternative rock fans, not hip-hop or pop audiences.
Timeline and development
Count Matchuki - started in the 1950s toasting in a "jive" inspired style to records. By the Sixties was toasting on records - Special Boss Reggae
1963
Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali) asserts himself though loud, fast, rhythmic speech that will attract attention throughout his career. "Float like a butterfly", various poetry, association with rap. An album of his "raps" is released: I Am The Greatest.1969
"Here Comes The Judge" - Pigmeat Markham1970
The Last Poets - The Last Poets Black social poetry by several voices over music, a progenitor of hip-hop style toasting/rapping. 1970s
Scratching starts.DJ Kool Herc
Toasting begins
AllMusic:
Over a dub track, Jamaican rappers (called toasters) would chant lyrics of topical concerns; the DJ style began live at sound system dances, eventually leading to recordings of toasts on disc. U-Roy was the first to turn toasting into an art form. When he began working with Duke Reid in the early 70's, the DJ style exploded on the Jamaican music scene. Soon every producer scrambled to find a DJ to toast over their rhythms. In the mid-70's when roots reggae became the dominant style, Big Youth held sway as the mightiest DJ in the land. Although their popularity waned, DJ's remained a mainstay in reggae and an influence on the early formation of rap in America. When dancehall came along the DJ was returned to prominence as toasters like Yellowman and Charlie Chaplin became huge stars. Contemporary reggae and dancehall is somewhat dominated by DJ's like Shabba Ranks, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Lady Saw.
1973
Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters This is actually more about funk and groove than jazz, but there is enough jazz present to class it as jazz fusion. Quite funky, and while being very much of its time, it does tend to look ahead to how interest in jazz modes would shift into funk and then into hip-hop and acid house. The Upsetters - 14 Dub Blackboard Jungle Groundsetter for dub and consequently all forms of rapping. Hugely influential.
Big Youth – Screaming Target Deejaying or toasting is an early form of rapping. Jamaican disc jockeys would chant and rap over instrumental versions of popular songs. Big Youth is considered important int the development of toasting. I'm doubtful about keeping this.
1979
Fatback Band - XX A funk/disco album that contains "King Tim III (Personality Jock)", released in March 1979, a funky song with toasting style vocals that approximate early rap. Old School hip hop
Kurtis Blow - (Compilation) Primitive rapping. Early rap hits with "Christmas Rappin'" (1979) and "The Breaks" (1980)
1980
The Sugarhill Gang - Sugarhill Gang A mixed stylistic bag but includes the Aug 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight". Afrika Bambaataa - Looking For The Perfect Beat (compilation 1980 - 85)
1981
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five – The Message [HH] Early and influential hip-hop. Quite funky. The base music is in the style of James Brown, played by session musicians - over the top of this are the rappers, the Furious Five including Melle Mel, while Grandmaster Flash uses turntables and production techniques such as fade to introduce samples and create sounds that will become familiar in hip-hop. The rapping and turntabling came from Jamaican DJs who - following the African tradition of griot - would adlib ("toast") over instrumental tracks. It's a variable and inconsistent album, though even the weaker tracks "Dreamin'", "You Are") remain modestly musical and listenable (just). The main track is the title track, "The Message" which really explores production over musicians, and has hit-the-drumbeat rapping. Interesting as part of the development of hip-hop as American soul and funk started blending with Afro-Caribbean music ideas. Score: 5
Blondie - "Rapture"
1982
Yellowman - Mister Yellowman Reggae - toasting/deejay - an influence on hip-hop 1983
Yellowman - Zungguzungguguzungguzeng Malcolm McLaren – Duck Rock A totally improbable album. McLaren was offered a recording contract as he was well known as the manager of the Sex Pistols. When Trevor Horn starting to record McLaren in the studio, he realised that McLaren couldn't sing. Somehow he managed to construct a ground breaking album in which South African music is blended with hip-hop scratching in some of the earliest examples of either genre to have high profile exposure, let alone both together. McLaren's name may be on the cover, but this is all about the genius of Trevor Horn.
Wham! - Fantastic UK pop group using rap, particularly on the 1982 single "Wham! Rap".
1984
Run D.M.C. – Run DMC This is the band's debit, but Raising Hell (1986), with "Walk This Way" made the impact and is widely regarded as the band's best album. 1986
Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill Hip-hop. It's tiresome and trivial, but has its moments. "Fight For Your Right" is a moment of commercial teenage rebellion, in the spirit of "Summertime Blues". Can be a bit tedious listening to the whole album. Run D.M.C. – Raising Hell Hip hop Contains "Walk This Way"
Smiley Culture - Tongue In Cheek London reggae artist who used a fastchat style of toasting similar to rap.
1987
Living Colour - Vivid Hip-hop heavy metal jazz.... Could be interesting. Well, it's listenable and attractive, but it's less an interesting blend and development of those music styles, than middle of the road "classic rock" which uses elements of other music in a derivative way, coming up with redundant and superficial clichés. It feels like an attempt to cash in on fans of those music styles, and ends up sounding like a commercial boy band. AllMusic puts forward an interesting thesis that rock music by the mid Eighties was predictable and isolated, so the incorporation of other music styles into classic rock as done by Living Colour opened the door to a "much more open-minded musical landscape". Hmm. I'm not hearing that, I'm hearing so much predictability that this is seriously boring. Native Tongues is a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and later jazz-influenced beats. Its principal members are the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. The collective was also closely tied to the Universal Zulu Nation.
1988
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (RS) (C4) (NM) (NME) (Q) Hip-hop Faith No More – Real Thing Metal with some hip-hop and funk elements. Quite the thing in the Eighties to mix the extreme white man's music with the extreme black man's music. Quite melodic and listenable, but Angel Dust (1992) is widely regarded as their better album.
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique (RS) (Q) Hip-hop
1989
De La Soul – 3 Feet High & Rising (RS) (C4) (G50) **Special album Hip-hop. Debut album. Gang Starr's debut album No More Mr Nice Guy was released just a month later, and contains similar ideas in the area of jazz rap. N.W.A.– Straight Outta Compton (RS) (MC) (NM) (G50) Hip-hop. A local brewpub makes its own pizzas which they call P.W.A. (Pizza With Attitude), and the serving guys wear t-shirts with the slogan "Straight Outta Da Oven". Does that indicate the social impact of this album? Rather questionable.....
Jungle Brothers – Done by the Forces of Nature Hip-hop rap made during the Golden Age of Rap, sampling jazz and African music. It is melodic and pleasant hip hop in the style of De La Soul, but is considerably less inventive, and as it copies them, is considerably less ground-breaking. Listen to 3 Feet High & Rising, and put this back in the racks.
1990
Ice Cube – AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted Ice Cube was part of N.W.A. so this is West coast gangsta rap hip-hop and there's lots of "motherfucker" and "bitch" and shooting the police. Once it's been done the shock has gone; indeed, it gets tedious to keep repeating it, especially with the same repetitive beat. So the music is dull and lacks imagination and the lyrics are dull and lack imagination. This is clearly done for the love of the money, not for making art, not for making music, and not for making any sensible new social commentary. No, you don't need more of this motherfucking shit.LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out (NM) Funky and commercial. Poppy East coast rap edging into modern R&B. Pleasant stuff, but this area is largely covered by Run DMC and Will Smith (Fresh Prince). Music is repetitive and lacks imagination. The story-lyrics lack the humour and insight of similar veined hip hop so end up feeling trivial and boring.
A Tribe Called Quest – People’s Instinctive Travels & the Paths of Rhythm Alternative rap like The Fugees and jazz-rap like De La Soul.
MC Solaar - Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo French hip-hop in a jazz-rap style. A curiosity is all. Significant if you're French, but pointless to anyone else, especially if you don't understand French. Actually, the music has won me over, and then I translated the words, and I found this rather cool.
Ice T – OG: Original Gangster West coast Hardcore/Gangsta rap. This is hard edgy stuff. Difficult to take. Still pondering.
Cypress Hill – Cypress Hill Hip-hop. I like "Insane In The Brain", so I'll keep this around a while and think about it some more, but I'm inclined to remove it from the list.
Massive Attack – Blue Lines (RS) (C4) (G50) (Q) Trip-hop The KLF – White Room The biggest selling singles act in the world at the start of the Nineties; they did a controversial performance at the 1992 Brits in which they fired blanks into the audience as their closing act before deleting their entire back catalogue. This is very melodic and commercial hip-hop (the most popular form of music at the time) utilising acid house and trance, the two hippest and melodic forms of hip-hop. Opinions are divided as to if this or the earlier Chill Out (1990) is the better album. Chill out is an ambient house concept album so holds a quirky interest, but White Room contains the music they were known for. Tongue-in-cheek, popular, and with a cinematic sweep.
A Tribe Called Quest – Low End Theory (RS) Hip-hop
Public Enemy – Fear of a Black Planet (RS) (NME) Hip hop.
Public Enemy – Apocalypse 91… Enemy Strikes Back Hip-hop
Gang Starr – Step in the Arena Melodic hip-hop in the style of De La Soul and P.M. Dawn. Their debut album No More Mr Nice Guy was released just a month after De La Soul's Three Feet High And Rising, and contains similar ideas. Hmmm - is there room for both?
1991
P.M. Dawn - Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience Contains the dreamy single "Set Adrift On Memory's Bliss" (for some reason not on the Spotify album). Clearly influenced by (or on the same wavelength as) De La Soul, this is how all hip-hop should be. Imaginative, expansive, melodic, and very, very beautiful. 1992
Arrested Development – 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life of… Alternative hip-hop that crossed over into the pop charts due to a focus on funky and jazzy melodies suggestive of Sly & The Family Stone. There's elements of De La Soul, but without the imagination and brilliance. This is OK, and it did sell at the time, but.... Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy – Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury Political hip-hopper who thrust their manifesto down listeners throats with big funky beats and jazzy trills. Not hugely entertaining, and the big steps had already been taken by N.W.A.
Dr. Dre – The Chronic (RS) (NM) Dr. Dre was part of the groundbreaking West coast N.W.A. who developed gangsta rap, and here as a solo artist he creates G-Funk, which was influential on hip-hop during the Nineties.
The Pharcyde – Bizarre Ride II Alternative hip-hop in the style of De La Soul. Not as important, but likeable.
Ice Cube – Predator Hardcore West coast gangsta rap hip-hop. This is full of tension and very focussed.
Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (RS) (Q) The band combine the mindlessness riffing of heavy metal with the simple repetitive beats of hip-hop. Popular amongst young American males. This album is regarded as the first to successfully blend metal and hip hop, as a precursor of the nu metal scene, and is seen as their best. It contains their signature song "Killing In The Name", which is famous for the ending which has the singer repeatedly screaming "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me." The band are fiery and tight, and compensate somewhat for some dreadful lyrics, but perhaps don't completely overcome them.... It's taken a while, but I have come around to accepting this album. I am also pondering The Battle of Los Angeles (1999) (RS) which is a more tightly focused album, though it didn't have the impact of Rage.
$ Stereo MCs – Connected I think this is more dance / techno than hip-hop.
1993
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers) (RS) Pretty hard-going, but the group are claimed to be pretty important in hip-hop. Gee. I'll have to come back to this, it's not fun stuff to listen to.....Snoop Doggy Dogg – Doggystyle Hip-hop
Jeru the Damaja – Sun Rises in the East Hip-hop
Beastie Boys – Ill Communication Hip-hop
Notorious BIG – Ready to Die (RS) Hip-hop
Portishead – Dummy (RS) (Q) Pioneering trip-hop.
Method Man – Tical Dreary rapper. (Hip-hop)
Nas – Illmatic (RS) (NM) Apparently this is frequently cited as one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever made. However there are other hip hop albums on the list which are less simplistic and bruising.
1994
Mary J. Blige - My Life (RS) A popular and critically acclaimed hip-hop artist. This is generally considered her best album. It's not my thing. For me, her voice is not aesthetically pleasing; she warbles a lot, and doesn't convey emotion or meaning. I think if someone is into hip hop, they may get something from it, but it tends to leave me a little cold. It doesn't reach me aesthetically, intellectually, emotionally, musically, or socially. There are claims that she did something important in being a female hip hop singer, and that she combined hip hop and modern RnB, which is why I'm holding it her for a while. Massive Attack – Protection I like this, particularly the title track. But I question if we need both this album and Blue Lines. I might keep it, because there's some good stuff here.
2Pac / Tupac – Me Against the World (NM) Hip-hop
Tricky – Maxinquaye Trip hop. Bristol produced Portishead, Tricky, and Massive Attack - with whom Tricky collaborated until this album. This is good stuff, and it informs an understanding of trip hop and the Bristol scene, but Portishead and Massive Attack are more significant.
G. Love & Special Sauce - G. Love & Special Sauce [hh] There's a feel of Fun Lovin Criminals about this. There's a similar blend of hip-hop, rock, funk, and blues. This came earlier. But there's also a feel of Beck, who was a contemporary. It's interesting. Not on the same level as Beck, Eels, and the Criminals, but pointing in their direction two years earlier.
1995
Nightmares on Wax – Smokers Delight Quite pleasant trip hop from a British DJ, but I wonder if there is something more interesting or important in this genre?Genius GZA – Liquid Swords Hip-hop - see Wu Tang Clan 1993Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx This doesn't speak my language. Aggression and swearing is not my thing. Hip-hop - see Wu Tang Clan 1993
1996
2Pac / Tupac – All Eyez On Me (NM) (1996) Gangsta rap. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing hip-hop
Dr Octagon (Kool Keith) – Dr Octagonecologyst hip-hop
Fugees – The Score (NM) The popular and commercial side of hip-hop. There's not much of interest here, its main draws being the two classic songs, "Killing Me Softly" and "No Woman", done in a hip-hop stylee, and their own composition "Ready or Not" in which they blend Enya's "Boadicea" (which they used without permission) and The Delfonics "Ready or Not", and then rap over it. The immediacy, simplicity, and nursery rhyming of rap has a wide appeal among the young. When that is combined with harmonious and familiar music it does create a draw. But there's nothing new here, and nothing interesting. It was popular, and it sold. And for some it will remind them of the Nineties, but there are better and more important examples of hip-hop.
Beck – Odelay (C4) (NM) (Q) [hh] This hit like a nuclear bomb! Wow! Spectacular! There was something erotic and original and yet so familiar about this. Country music on ahcid mixing it with hip-hop. The sound was going round - The Eels and Fun Lovin' Criminals and G. Love had a similar thing going on, but this hit biggest and lasted longest and was just so much more awesome than what anyone else was doing.
1997
Lori Carson - Everything I Touch Runs Wild American version of Bristol's Massive Attack led trip-hop, though a little more ambient, acoustic and country than proper trip-hop, and with few of the mesmerizing rhythms. Likeable, and I would prefer more of this stuff and a bit less of the death metal, even if only for balance.Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott – Supa Dupa Fly Hip-hop
Will Smith - Big Willie Style (NM) Pop-rap. That is rap (hip-hop) without the swearing, racism, misogynism, violence, and resentment; so cleaner than critics would like, as there are no issues to talk about. More melodic than most rap. Tongue in cheek. Fun. I like pop, so I'm OK with this. The lack of issues is not an issue for me. (See what I did there?)
1998
Lauryn Hill – Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (RS) (NM) Modern R&B meets hip hop in very successful album released just after the Fugee's, with Hill on vocal, had a mega hit with their melodic hip hop cover of "Killing Me Softly". Not sure that the album will continue to hold interest. The R&B parts are attractive, if a little leaden and uninspired, mostly relying on Hill's voice, but are somewhat spoiled by an attempt to get a hip hop drum rhythm in there which works against the melodic quality of the R&B elements. OK OK OK - I ended up liking it.....1999
Eminem – Slim Shady LP (RS)
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