Best Rap Single of the 90s Tournament: 1992

[The_Hillsta]

In court all the time tryna fight it, we get rich...we get indicted.

 

[tuckgod]

Flex by Mad Cobra probably got played the most in my hood because I'm from Flatbush and we were surrounded by west indians

Breh.....

That might actually be the real biggest record from that year if we're talking actual love from the people at that time, at least on the East Coast...

As soon as the intro started,


"Cryin, moanin, just can't wait til morning"

"Waited too long!"

nikkas was diving for their radios to turn it up

 

[FreshAIG]

Breh.....

That might actually be the real biggest record from that year if we're talking actual love from the people at that time, at least on the East Coast...

As soon as the intro started,


"Cryin, moanin, just can't wait til morning"

"Waited too long!"

nikkas was diving for their radios to turn it up

All FACTS

 

[dish lowry]

one of the best years for singles...

some gems that year:

ultramagnetic- poppa large
ador/pete rock- let it all hang out (got as much airplay as troy but its obscure now)
nice & smooth- sometimes i rhyme slow
cypress hill- real estate
main source- fakin the funk
showbiz & ag- soul clap
gangstarr- take it personal
del- dr bombay
eric b & rakim- dont sweat the technique
k-solo- i can't hold it back
father mc/jodeci- everything's gonna be alright
dj quik- jus lyke compton
fu schnickens/phife- la schmoove
chi ali- age aint nothing but a number
2pac- if my homie calls
supercat- ghetto red hot
kool g rap- on the run remix

 

[old boy]

tough choice but i went with deep cover

feel bad not picking t.r.o.y. though

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

Here's the thing tho' Wacky...

You're saying "people like" Brand Nubian, Souls, etc... this was a different era, bruh. This was when you didn't have to be a 'name' to score a hot record. Even in '91, one of the biggest records was from a group on a semi-independent label with no huge hit records to their name- they dropped some shyt, it blew the fk up and is remembered to this day. "Mind Playing Tricks" wasn't some song that got a gang of play cause of who they were. Same for Cypress Hill- they didn't come out with hype, they dropped some shyt that was hard and people took to it. Even a joint like "Aint No Future In Ya Frontin" by Breed- this is just a dude from Flint, MI on a small label, shyt was slappin', it's a hit. So how come Brand Nubian or Souls or Jeru don't belong when, if you were there, them shyts were poppin'... does everyone on these things have to be artists who went platinum, even if MFs were bangin' these songs in real time? It's about the songs, not the artists.

youre not telling me anything I don't already know. BUT I understand the confusion.

I wasn't referring to the artists. I'm referring to THE SONGS. I just mentioned the artists by name because its way more convenient to type the artist's name, as opposed to typing out the song titles, especially when typing thru a phone. but again, I understand the confusion. besides, calling them out by name, adds that extra emph to it.

songs like halftime & come clean are not no dam consensus top 8 singles for '92 or 93. that's east coast bias at play.

and no, I'm not a number-cruncher that thinks everything has to be big hits. but don't sit up here and act like I'm crazy for calling out those songs.

Exactly. There's a lot of songs from 1992 that were more "Popular" than some of the list. Like "What Your Man Got To Do With Me" by Positive K, "Jump" by Kriss Kross, "Tennessee" by Arrested Development, shyt I can keep going. But I'm picking songs that as a culture, we played or I heard a lot during that time from the people around me, not just shyt that got the most radio play and had the biggest cross over appeal. To me it's not about what song was the biggest necessarily, yes it did have to have some nationwide recognition but it also had be shyt I really felt was dope and also stood the test of time. I feel like all these songs I picked are genuine classics. Not songs that were just hot when they dropped.

theres a lot of people on here that feel some of those big hits are classics as well. everybody isn't a strict purist.

and even if you go that route. why do the "cultural songs" have to be east coast or east coast influenced(souls, cypress)?? you telling me MC Eiht cant qualify over jeru da damaja??

I understand being from the east, the people around you were more likely to play jeru. that's why I said we need more options, because youre alienating a lot of people. and that's all I'm saying.​

 

[GiantGonzalez]

wasnt 92 MC Hammer cant touch this wheres Vanilla Ice?

 

[King Static X]

wasnt 92 MC Hammer cant touch this wheres Vanilla Ice?

That was 1990 breh not 1992 .

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

Juicy was big right away in the Bay.
I don’t remember if Big Poppa was 94 or 95. But it was big too.
Now i agree that Big in 95 was

I'm not saying juicy was some chump chit. '94 just wasn't his time yet, and I see you agree.

big poppa was 95

they each had their on place and space.​

 

[FreshAIG]

theres a lot of people on here that feel some of those big hits are classics as well. everybody isn't a strict purist.

and even if you go that route. why do do the "cultural songs" have to be east coast or east coast influenced(souls, cypress)?? you telling me MC Eiht cant qualify over jeru da damaja??

I understand being from the east, the people around you were more likely to play jeru. that's why I said we need more options, because youre alienating a lot of people. and that's all I'm saying.

This isn't an everybody gets participation reward contest. It's 8 songs. Everybody isn't gonna get represented. That's just life. If I did a best Hip Hop single from 2017, there would be 1 East Coast song on the list. That's just life. I'm not here to please everybody or be formulaic. I'm gonna pick the 8 songs I feel represent the best singles from that year, as impartial as possible. Everybody not gonna like the picks, but not to toot my own horn, I think I'm doing a great job with my selections so far.

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

This isn't an everybody gets participation reward contest. It's 8 songs. Everybody isn't gonna get represented. That's just life. If I did a best Hip Hop single from 2017, there would be 1 East Coast song on the list. That's just life. I'm not here to please everybody or be formulaic. I'm gonna pick the 8 songs I feel represent the best singles from that year, as impartial as possible. Everybody not gonna like the picks, but not to toot my own horn, I think I'm doing a great job with my selections so far.

nah, I'm not a participation trophy guy.

just saying, you got regional classics that you no longer heard the further you went down I-95.
of course, you'd have only 1 east coast song on the 2017 list, seeing that theres no other possible options.

but its your list. do you brehski.
I'm just opening the window. not tryna break it.

 

[smokeurobinson]

I see the actual right answer is in the lead

 

[Newark88]

I know @smokeurobinson said 91 is his favorite year but 92 just might be mine. It was just a lot of sh1t going on in music/culture/nightlife etc. 92 was the first year I started going to clubs in the city. I was 15 years old getting into spots like Club 2000, The Muse, Homebase, etc. This was the era of the Wranglers, AC Legends, riding around in stolen cars. I remember myself and my man riding down to Greekfest in Philly in his black on black Wrangler. Had all the hoes on us. If you wanted to get dipped up, you use to cop your gear from the boosters. This was when boostin was at an all time high, so you would cop your latest polo, hilfiger, sergio tacchini, coogi pieces from them. I actually copped my first coogi sweater from a booster in 92. The hottest rapper that year hands down was Grand Puba. From his singles/debut solo album to the collabs with Mary J, Puba was that n1gga! Treach was the runner up that year with Redman being hottest new artist. Pete Rock was the hottest producer that year with Mecca and The Soul Brother and the remixes. EPMD was the hottest group with Business Never Personal ruling the summer and Das EfX being the runner ups. As far as the mixtape scene, Ron G had the crown with the blend tapes. 92 was also the last full year before Hot 97 became a Hip Hop station so 98.7 Kiss FM had the radio crown. WBLS was kinda dying out but Kid Capri's show on there during the rush hour drive was fire! It was also the first year I had discovered Stretch and Bobbito's show going through the dial one late Thursday night. 92 was a year for the history books!

 

[DANJ!]

youre not telling me anything I don't already know. BUT I understand the confusion.

I wasn't referring to the artists. I'm referring to THE SONGS. I just mentioned the artists by name because its way more convenient to type the artist's name, as opposed to typing out the song titles, especially when typing thru a phone. but again, I understand the confusion. besides, calling them out by name, adds that extra emph to it.

songs like halftime & come clean are not no dam consensus top 8 singles for '92 or 93. that's east coast bias at play.

and no, I'm not a number-cruncher that thinks everything has to be big hits. but don't sit up here and act like I'm crazy for calling out those songs.

You always say "I already know that", but you post like you don't, so...

Sometimes, shyt has nothin' to do with coastal bias or any of that conspiracy theory stuff people always do when they don't see every single demographic there is being catered to. If YOU don't think Come Clean was a top 8 song of '93, cool... but there's probably others who do... even more than those who think some shyt like Baby Got Back is a top 8 song of 92, lol. I've never heard ANYONE say that, it's a track people remember and might have fun and laugh about, but I've seen no one in real life or online or anywhere say some shyt like "yeah, and can't forget about Baby Got Back!" when discussing this era of hip-hop. I definitely remember when Come Clean dropped and was a street-level hit that even got radio play- this really happened. Not Rump Shaker or Jump radio play, but it did break radio. Some of y'all are obsessed with the coastal shyt tho', breh. I always compare it to how white people are super-sensitive about "reverse racism" and will literally find ANY opportunity to "point it out", no matter how far-fetched.

 

[mobbinfms]

You always say "I already know that", but you post like you don't, so...

Sometimes, shyt has nothin' to do with coastal bias or any of that conspiracy theory stuff people always do when they don't see every single demographic there is being catered to. If YOU don't think Come Clean was a top 8 song of '93, cool... but there's probably others who do... even more than those who think some shyt like Baby Got Back is a top 8 song of 92, lol. I've never heard ANYONE say that, it's a track people remember and might have fun and laugh about, but I've seen no one in real life or online or anywhere say some shyt like "yeah, and can't forget about Baby Got Back!" when discussing this era. I definitely remember when Come Clean dropped and was a street-level hit that even got radio play- this really happened. Not Rump Shaker or Jump radio play, but it did break radio. Some of y'all are obsessed with the coastal shyt tho', breh. I always compare it to how white people are super-sensitive about "reverse racism" and will literally find ANY opportunity to "point it out", no matter how far-fetched.

I was on the west coast in the Bay Area when Come Clean dropped and it didn't get radio day play out here...but just seeing it on the video shows it was apparent it was a big deal on the east coast. I loved it and copped the single.
"Regional", as far as I'm concerned, doesn't apply to 90s east coast artists that were getting video play.
Captain Save a Ho was regional b/c I never saw that video on Rap City and I can't imagine it was getting played on daytime radio on the East or by the mix shows.