90's Rap misconceptions?

The_Hillsta

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When talking about culturally. We have to speak on how HUGE and DIVERSE the WESTCOAST dominance was on every aspect. All of those names you mentioned, all West Coast and Ahmad was actually respected as an emcee back then, but people overlook it because he was a one hit wonder. We can add on Domino as well. And that was indeed part of the problem when you had East Coast publications and media and radio acting as if it was non-existence which sparked a riff. @FreshAIG acknowledged the bias that was going on, but defend that people of hip hop on a cultural aspect knew what's up. And I don't think that's exactly true all the way. there were people from NYC that respected outside their region of hip hop, but I do think many really didn't cared for it like that. We respect and love groups like The Pharcyde and Souls of Mischief, but they weren't getting that same kind of love out East. Especially with the Source. They both gave those albums that we regard today as undisputed classics 3.5 MICS!!! But want to give Apache's (no disrespect for the deceased) GARBAGE freakin' album FOUR MICS that same year. And when youy have bias publications like that, it lead to how people out in New York feeling a kind of way in how they view hip hop culturally in THEIR region only and not universally. And then the animosity of multiple success singles and albums coming from the West that were diverse And it was still all hip hop.

People do look at things retrospectively, but at the moment of the 90's and a huge reason why there was a civil between the two coast was the fact that the west coast emcees were putting in a lot of work, but wasn't getting the proper acknowledgement that they feel they deserve out east.

That's why at the end of the day it all came down to preference. I bought damn near every single issue of the Source. Before that, Right On, Word Up, etc. Read every single review, even if that shyt got 2 1/2 mics, if I saw the video, heard it on the radio, and the shyt was dope, I was gettin it regardless. Back then for me, north, south, east, west, record sales, NONE of that shyt mattered, dope was dope.

That's why I always give it up for our local radio, they played EVERYTHING no bias. A big part of our radio exposing us to hella shyt. Everything from KRS-One, EPMD, Mobb Deep, Nas, Nice N Smooth, Brand Nubian, Redman, Tribe, D Nice, Gang Starr to muthafukkin Kwest The muthafukkin Mad Ladd and Organized Konfusion, on top of ALL our locals... Digital Underground, Too Short, E-40, Pac, RBL Posse, Richie Rich, Spice 1, Dru Down, Hiero, Hobo Junction, Paris, The Coup to all the LA shyt, Cube, Dre, Eazy, Ren, Snoop, Above The Law, to fukkin Volume 10 and Ras Kass. 3 1/2 mics? STILL coppin Soul On Ice and Made In America, lol. Midwest and the South also got much play out here back then. The Bay loved the Geto Boys and Outkast when they first dropped Players Ball.. It wasnt until years later and I went away to school I realized how lucky I was because a lotta radio stations was garbage back then. I was thinking every city was hearing what we were as far as artists and songs, shyt was a trip. Had to have my girl record mix shows and send me tapes through the mail n shyt, wild. Used to play fools Wake Up Show freestyles n battles n exclusives havin muthafukkaz in the dorm:gladbron::ohhh::feedme:
 

CSquare43

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@The_Hillsta

We got real similar musical background, I'm just a little older.

:pachaha:

I rocked with East Coast so heavy (even that Apache album @Guvnor), bought every single Rap-a-Lot release as soon at it hit the shelves, got anything that looked like it might slap. I rocked with everywhere.

:salute:
 

cjt11203

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Your goal posting. Is this about NAS or Illmatic. It's already been discussed and I even stated Nas' stock grew in '95 with his guest verses.

And keep in mind, only Rae & Ghost really had an issue with Biggie. shyt, Meth was on Biggie's album. And Rae & Ghost's only real issue was over the album covers for Ready to Die and Illmatic.

But back to Illmatic. Again, it had the hype but it wasn't revered as it is today. And it's in large part because there was so many east coast albums that came out in 94-95 and Illmatic got lost in the shuffle. Even Keith Murray's album had a bigger splash in '94. Hell, Illmatic came out in April of 94 and to my recollection EVERYONE in the streets was bumping Jeru's Sun Rises in the East album that month later in MAY.

What was the issue?
 

The_Hillsta

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@The_Hillsta

We got real similar musical background, I'm just a little older.

:pachaha:

I rocked with East Coast so heavy (even that Apache album @Guvnor), bought every single Rap-a-Lot release as soon at it hit the shelves, got anything that looked like it might slap. I rocked with everywhere.

:salute:

Rap A Lot was fire. I remember sittin up there at Hilltop Mall lookin at that TMT cover tryna decide...Baby Geto Boys:ohhh::patrice:

Hopped on the bus one day and my potna finally got that shyt...

"Aye mayne, aye mayne, check this shyt out..."

Put the head phones on....

"IMMA MUTHAFUKIN PURSE SNATCHA!!!!!"

Aye lemme dubb this shyt...

:gladbron::russ:
 

The_Hillsta

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a lot of this is regional, and also down to what your crew was into. me and my peeps played the hell out of PRT - Pure Poverty and LONS - TIME, but I never really hear people talking about those albums

Yeah, their shyt was popular at our dances but they were all around dope since day one. Wise STILL puttin out music/solos. Hella us was bumpin their first tape Holy Intellect.

Rock Dis was HUGE in our circle out here. Chick that I started dating later on, she knew all the words and would spittin that shyt in class...

Dope times bruh...
 

The Amerikkkan Idol

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a lot of this is regional, and also down to what your crew was into. me and my peeps played the hell out of PRT - Pure Poverty and LONS - TIME, but I never really hear people talking about those albums

:ooh:I was just telling somebody that Wise Intelligent is one of the most underrated MC's of all-time.

This was my joint

:dj2:
 

Wild self

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A lot of the 90s on who was culturally more important wasn't just based on a singular hit and record sales alone. Nobody I knew in real life gave a fukk about Paperboy, but he was up for a Grammy in 1994 because he had a hit song. But culturally he didn't rank. The reason guys like Big, Dre, Wu, Bone, Pac, Snoop, Treach ranked highly was because not only did they have sales but nikkas a part of Hip Hop were actually listening to their music. Not just white suburban kids that got them the plaques, but people within the community were bumping them non-stop. In the streets, in the schools, at parties, at clubs, etc...

There's a reason Redman was "Source Rapper of the Year" in 1993 with an album that barely touched Gold. Because during that time frame Redman was culturally the hottest (hottest not biggest) artist at the time in the East Coast. Even if you say "It's biased" and it should've been Snoop (true), but even accounting for regional bias, there were other East Coast acts that sold way more than Redman that wasn't as "hot" as Redman in the streets in real time.

You can't look at the 90s through a post 2003 lens.

Or even a post-1997 lens.

The Culture in itself most of those MCs treated it as a sacred art form. For you to drop wack anti-lyrical records, was blasphemous. Like, disrespecting your dignity as a man.
 
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1993
Dr.dre/Snoop

1994
Snoop/warren g

1995
Bone thugs/Notorious Big

1996
2pac

1997
Notorious B.I.G/puff daddy

1998
Beastie Boys/lauryn hill

1999
Dmx/jay z
 
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Highest Selling labels
1993
Deathrow/Ruthless/Def Jam

1994
Deathrow/Ruthless/Def jam

1995
Ruthless/Deathrow/Def Jam

1996
Deathrow

1997
Bad Boy/No Limit

1998
Def jam/No Limit

1999
Def Jam
 
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Groups
1993
Onyx

1994
Wu-tang

1995
Bone thugs

1996
The Fugees

1997
Wu-tang

1998
Beastie Boys

1999
Mobb deep/outkast
 
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