Non-East Coast heads, how did you go about discovering East Coast Rap?

[MurderToCassette]

My cousins that were 3-5 years older than would play Biggie shyt (pretty much the only non west coast music they'd play until Jay and DMX got popular around 98.) Other than that, I found most of the old school classic shyt just digging through record stores. Randomly found doubles of Akinyele's first album for $3 on vinyl at a local spot in the mid 2000's.

 

[the elastic]

How bout you get outside of your own thoughts of what you think I’m feeling and just do what I suggested youngin!

You got it, OG

 

[Yagirlcheatinonus]

I would listen to the radio at night and record on cassette tapes. Outside of the mainstream commercial acts they shoved in our faces. I mainly learned from Internet forums, there was no YouTube back then. I had Napster (free version).

 

[ILLMMORTAL]

You got it, OG

Respect!

 

[How Sway?]

Nba live
Rap city
Whpk in chicago
Dj pharris throwback Thursday on power 92
Direct effect (anyone remember this show? lol. It was hosted by funk master flex and lala Vazquez. )

 

[Flav]

I’m a Cali head. When I was a kid in the early 80s I used to sit and watch my uncles sing along to Rappers Delight. I had no idea about a East Coast back then. I just knew it was fun sounding music and made my uncles happy to rap along to.

 

[the elastic]

I’m a Cali head. When I was a kid in the early 80s I used to sit and watch my uncles sing along to Rappers Delight. I had no idea about a East Coast back then. I just knew it was fun sounding music and made my uncles happy to rap along to.

Do you agree that DJ Quik > DJ Premier ?

 

[DaveyDave]

Add me to the Cool Cousin Club

Summer and fall 1995 he had The Infamous, Cuban Linx, 4,5,6 and Doe or Die and we played those all the time. That along with discovering BIG and Nas a little earlier did it. Put me onto Geto Boys and Scarface, UGK, 8Ball & MJG around that time too

Also MTV and BET used to play videos from everywhere including more underground artists you'd never hear on local radio. Obviously radio would play stuff like Naughty By Nature, LL, BIG even before the telecommunications act in 1996

My older cousin lived far away, we only visited them once or twice my whole childhood but the other person I knew was an older brother of a girl I knew in school. He bought literally every single Hip Hop cd and tape that would be at the cos store so being able to get some dubs off him and seeing albums that he had helped a lot as well. Plus The Source, Rap Pages, etc we got them like 2 months after they were published but still got them in the end.

 

[the elastic]

He bought literally every single Hip Hop cd and tape that would be at the cos store so being able to get some dubs off him and seeing albums that he had helped a lot as well.

That must've been a helluva CD case and cassette rack

 

[Smokee Robinson]

My Older brothers are hiphop heads so I was put on at a young age .. the one closest to my age always had Mobb Deep, Nas , GangStar, MOP, Jeru the damaga, Smif n Wessun, Sean Price , even Krs1 , Infamous Mobb , WuTang

 

[DaveyDave]

That must've been a helluva CD case and cassette rack

He did - but also, this was 1992/93, in the middle of Australia, not a big city, so there was only ONE rack at the cd store called Rap/Hip Hop and even then, it was actually probably HALF the rack. He used to take tall the cd booklets out and he put them all over the wall.

 

[the elastic]

He did - but also, this was 1992/93, in the middle of Australia, not a big city, so there was only ONE rack at the cd store called Rap/Hip Hop and even then, it was actually probably HALF the rack. He used to take tall the cd booklets out and he put them all over the wall.

Ahhh, that makes sense. Was there any decent local talent?

 

[DaveyDave]

Ahhh, that makes sense. Was there any decent local talent?

local as in right in my city/town? no, not in the early 90s. I was part of one of the first, if not THE first crew to actually make and release Hip Hop in my local area in the late 90s/early 2000s Australia overall had a few groups and MCs starting to break through and be known. AKA Bros, Def Wish Cast, there was one group that was actually signed by Chuck D back in 92 I think, Sound Unlimited Posse. There's a huge Graf scene in Oz, even now the vast majority of MC's and even producers/DJs also paint. Def Wish Cast is by far the best to come out around the early 90s and they're still going now.



it's a pretty corny single looking back on it, but they def show a lot of skill on the mic for early 90s Aussie Hip Hop

 

[Cloutius Maximus]

Grew up in Cali

MTV, BET, then later the internet. I remember seeing the Nas ft. Lauryn Hill f I Ruled the World video a lot on MTV as a kid, DMX, Big Pun - I'm Not a Player, Jay's Hard Knock Life, Big Pimpin, Money Aint a Thing, Wu-Tang.

My older brother wore out The Blueprint when it came out. I was lukewarm on Jay but Girls, Girls Girls, Renegade and Heart of the City was my shyt.

 

[Tribal Outkast]

Augusta Georgia guy here

Thank got for Rap City and Yo MTV raps.