Thug Fashion Hip Hop Jewelry
Q: Today I was thinking about some of my favorite movies. I was
trying to figure out what were the 10 movies that had the
largest effect on me or that I enjoyed the most in the 90's.
So then I got to thinking about hip hop. I figure if other
media can jump the gun and summarize the decade with a year
and a month left, why can't RMHH?
So here it is: what are the best 10 albums of the 90's, to
you, and why? Bonus points will be awarded to those who
include the why part. I love seeing people conceptualize
what makes something their favorite.
A:Harder than I thought it would be to put together, so I
made it a little easier in that if an artist had two albums in the list
I counted them as one album
So many tough choices, such as cutting "Resurrection", "Low End Theory",
"A Book of Human Language" and "The Chronic"out of the list, but with
only 10 spots... sacrifices had to be made.
Welp here they are... loosely in chronological order:
Ice Cube "Amerikkka's Most Wanted" 1990
Ice Cube "Death Certificate" 1991
These two albums probably more than any album in history showed that
streets could be combined with activism in a positive manner. One of
hip hops great storytellers with a tongue of venom. These two albums
gave Cube the name that he still walks on.
De La Soul "De La Soul is Dead" 1991
One of the few albums that was proclaimed as a classic when it
dropped... and well they were right! How good is this album? Their
parody of house music is even listenable!
BDP "Sex and Violence" 1992
From one of the most dominant groups of the 90's, comes an incredible
work that isn't often spoken of. KRS-1 spits probably the tightest
lyrics of his 10+ year career on this album. The production is
ridiculously tight and when Freddie Foxx appears... well it's nothing
nice. If someone asked me "What is the one BDP/KRS1 essential?" I would
struggle between this album and "By Any Means Necessary".
Black Sheep "A Wolf In Sheeps Clothing" 1992
While ATCQ "Low End Theory" was the defining album of the progressive
movement, this album might actually be a better one. Well I don't wanna
get into that... both great albums worth owning, but if I had to choose
one... ummm... I don't know... this is my most borderline selection...
replace LET if you feel you absolutely must.
CMW "Music to Driveby" 1992
Was '92 a good year for gangsta rap or what (with the Chronic and all)?
Beatwise they came with a completely different sound than what we heard
on the Chronic and it still hit. Unfortunately with everyone biting
Dre's style, the Chronic quickly grew old (sounded dated), but "Music to
Driveby" is still one of the freshest sounding albums of the early 90s.
I almost wanna go fight DJ Quik.
2Pac "Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ" 1993
One of the most prolific and influential MCs of our time... this was his
best album. This is one of those albums that when you pick it up all of
the feelings of this time come back to you. You remember all of the
political strife, the tensions, the love. When you hear this album you
can understand why people who never met the man cried a thousand tears
at his death.
The Coup "Kill My Landlord" 1993
The Coup "Genocide & Juice" 1994
Quite simply... the two best political albums ever barring only "It
Takes a Nation ...". Nuff said.
Goodie Mob "Soul Food" 1995
Goodie Mob "Still Standing" 1998
For "Soul Food" they put hip hop in the context of the old negro
spirituals and carried it. Other groups shouldn't even try to do what
they accomplished. "Still Standing" put a very different spin on things
and represented with a maybe even stronger album. Gotta love'em.
The Roots "Do You Want More" 1995
In many respects they picked up where ATCQ fell off.
Outkast "ATLiens" 1996
Here they go again. They squashed all talk of a slump and delivered an
album with fresh production and
That's it! The official top 10 of the 90's.
my top ten creative. (which is most important in my heart,).
1991 is basically hip-hop's departure point as far as i'm really concerned. 4
remarkably important releases i'd say are of the top ten of the decade.
west coast 1991:
1. Freestyle Fellowship's "To Whom It May Concern." beyond anything created in
hip-hop up to that point, still beyond 99 percent of the music being made. the
first honest introduction of jazz ethics. shit wasn't "jazzy," it was jazz.
2. Del the funkee homosaphien's "I Wish My Brother George Was Here." Though not
genre redefining, important nonetheless. Almost a bay area satellite of O.K.
and F.F., Del brought the roundabout raps to a straightfoward audience, the
literal and metaphorical cousin to Ice Cube's head-on mainstream approach.
east coast:
3. Organized Konfusion, 1991
An incredible album. Up to this OK album, Del's album and F.F.'s album,
hip-hop fans looking for something different or something more were only
tickled by De La and Ultra.
This was the combination of those two, with a more agressively progressive
delivery. Pharoah almost mirrors Mikah's brilliance at times on the first OK
album. Almost.
4. De La Soul's "De La Is Dead."
an incredible album, though not my favorite de la. significant for their
reaction to the response from their way-out debut.
1992
5. Tribe Called Quest's "Low End Theory."
Phife is rather less-than ingenious, and q-tip is off/on lyrically, but
everything worked on this album. The balance was absolute, the vibe was
something that was never really heard in hip-hop before, the warmth was really
unprecedented.
1993
6. De La Soul, "Buhloone Mindstate"
Beautiful album. Probably the last true De La album, at that. The beats are
fuckign gorgeous, "IamIbe" is one of the greatest songs ever recorded.
7. Freestyle Fellowship, "Innercity Griots."
Broke out and created so many new things with this album. the FF and
Underground Railroad compared to any Roots stuff is like Funkadelic vs. the
O'Jay; the O'Jays were cool and could carry a tune, but Funkadelic broke
ground, damnit. thats where my hearts at, this is my second favorite album of
all time.
1994
8. Nas, "Illmatic"
Beyond the nill point that this basically brought thug rap into public
attention in a huge way, it was truly a dope record. Everybody in hip-hop
bumped