The "shiny suit" era was a myth

[Ethnic Vagina Finder]

Yeah...the shiny suits were just something visual easily associated to the whole "big willy-ism...flossy rap" thing going on at the time...and it definitely wasn't a myth...you can't dismiss the entirety of Bad Boy (the Lox and Big were doing the shyt right along with Puff and Mase) and Jay-Z and even Hate Me Now era Nas like they weren't titans in that scene and largely defining the times...

that whole vibe and aesthetic to a large part dominated mainstream east coast late 90's rap, to the point that you had random tough guy thug rappers like Mic Gerimono going from this:




to this

 

[Long Live The Kane]

@ Mic... Mic Geronimo is a bad example... I love a lot of his music but hes been a biter since day 1. He came out as a store brand Nas and then tried to ride the jiggy wave.

You are talking about a handful of artists out of hundreds though. There were a lot of people in the mainstream doing other things. If anything, mainstream wise, the era we are in now is more limited.

Well the bolded is an entirely different argument completely, and if you wanted to make a "back in the day was these day it's " thread you should've just went ahead and made it (as it stands in this thread, it's just a strawman)...but it's pretty much impossible to say the "Shiny Suit Era" was a myth...you say it's a "handful of artists" like they weren't the biggest artists in all of east coast rap and didn't have massive influence on the rest of the game Big, Mase and Puff went 20xPlatinum off of 3 albums in the span of 2 years...Mic wasn't the only one that switched up trying to fit into their steez...already mentioned Jay and Nas doing it...Big Pun, a 400 pound 5'4 dude was putting out "I'm tired of being such a fly player" songs with rnb singers on the hook for singles trying to tap into the sound of the times...it was by far the preeminent force in mainstream East Coast for a period of time...there was other stuff going on, but the "Shiny Suit Era" being a myth because there were other trends existing at the same time is like saying the West Coast Gangsta Rap Era was a myth because Tribe was putting out albums in the early 90's too

 

[Ethnic Vagina Finder]

I still dont buy it. Wu Tang went platinum. Eminem went platinum. If I recall correctly Master P and Juvenile went platinum. I dont think Jay went platinum until Vol 2. NY had Mase and Puffy but it also had Wu Tang, Big Pun, Black Star... the shiny suit shyt was a small piece. Its not like now, where the only nikkas in the mainstream are Jay, Ye and all the nikkas Khaled got on speed dial, with the same shyt being hot everywhere in the country.

everybody went gold and platinum during that era. EVERYBODY.

the shiny suit era brought in a new market, more consumers, and nikkas started buying CD's instead of cassettes. advance money was to some rappers and the budget was bigger.

 

[daze23]

Capital Punishment

I think "Still Not A Player" fits into the 'shiny suit era'

 

[tremonthustler1]

I still dont buy it. Wu Tang went platinum. Eminem went platinum. If I recall correctly Master P and Juvenile went platinum. I dont think Jay went platinum until Vol 2. NY had Mase and Puffy but it also had Wu Tang, Big Pun, Black Star... the shiny suit shyt was a small piece. Its not like now, where the only nikkas in the mainstream are Jay, Ye and all the nikkas Khaled got on speed dial, with the same shyt being hot everywhere in the country.

Wu-Tang aside, those artists went platinum around '98-'99. The shiny suit era, everyone just wanted to party. That overaggressive thugged out shyt wasn't as big as what Puff Daddy was doing. That's not saying that there weren't other things poppin off, but Bad Boy had a chokehold on what rap was perceived as.

When DMX came out, shyt went back to the streets, and the shiny suits just changed into what we know as the bling bling era, and everyone was a part of that.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Well the bolded is an entirely different argument completely, and if you wanted to make a "back in the day was these day it's " thread you should've just went ahead and made it (as it stands in this thread, it's just a strawman)...but it's pretty much impossible to say the "Shiny Suit Era" was a myth...you say it's a "handful of artists" like they weren't the biggest artists in all of east coast rap and didn't have massive influence on the rest of the game Big, Mase and Puff went 20xPlatinum off of 3 albums in the span of 2 years...Mic wasn't the only one that switched up trying to fit into their steez...already mentioned Jay and Nas doing it...Big Pun, a 400 pound 5'4 dude was putting "I'm tired of being such a fly player" songs with rnb singers on the hook for singles trying to tap into the sound of the times...it was by far the preeminent force in mainstream East Coast for a period of time...there was other stuff going on, but the "Shiny Suit Era" being a myth because there were other trends existing at the same time is like saying the West Coast Gangsta Rap Era was a myth because Tribe was putting out albums in the early 90's too

Im not saying it didn't exist, just that it didn't define the era. There were way more artists NOT on that shyt than artists that were, and even many of the ones that did do it were just dabbling. It wasn't like Mase or Puff who were "jiggy" 24/7. Pun had 1 song which was done after the fact to move units. Jay was on that flossy shyt before Mase even had a deal (as he was biting Nas, who was biting Rae/Ghost- taking on the mafioso shyt w/o directly referencing it like Rae/Nas). Mic Geronimo was a known biter. Who else was there? Tracy Lee?

 

[No_bammer_weed]

The mic geronimo post was a great example of the sea change....kinda like UMC's is a great example of the sea change from the late 80s, early 90s colorful, vibrant, happy go luck rap, to the hardcore style that dominated the early to mid 90s:

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Wu-Tang aside, those artists went platinum around '98-'99. The shiny suit era, everyone just wanted to party. That overaggressive thugged out shyt wasn't as big as what Puff Daddy was doing. That's not saying that there weren't other things poppin off, but Bad Boy had a chokehold on what rap was perceived as.

When DMX came out, shyt went back to the streets, and the shiny suits just changed into what we know as the bling bling era, and everyone was a part of that.

Rap definitely swung towards some jiggy shyt, especially in the mainstream, but to me when you call a time an era, whatever precludes the term era should be a lot more pervasive than the shiny suit shyt was. That would be like if we called today the "Estrogen Friends" era. There are other things going on. Maybe I just don't agree with calling any period an era. There are always a lot of moving pieces in hip hop.

 

[JuvenileHell]

I suppose you could say Era = what's hot in the mainstream

 

[tremonthustler1]

Rap definitely swung towards some jiggy shyt, especially in the mainstream, but to me when you call a time an era, whatever precludes the term era should be a lot more pervasive than the shiny suit shyt was. That would be like if we called today the "Estrogen Friends" era. There are other things going on. Maybe I just don't agree with calling any period an era. There are always a lot of moving pieces in hip hop.

Hip-hop is 40 years old yet we'll claim there were 100 different eras. It just depends on how you view music

 

[-Quikness-]

Wasn't just hip-hop either ya'll...look at many of the RnB acts out there from that era...they followed suit as well.

they all did,im sure dru hill,jagged edge and jodeci was on the shiny suit shyt

 

[JustCKing]

This is why Bad Boy had a bigger movement than anybody out at the time. For better or for worse, their whole sound and image defined an era. The same can't be said about a lot of labels and crews that they get compared to. Bad Boy really opened up the door for labels/crews like Roc-A-Fella, Ruff Ryders, and that Shiny Suit era kind of kicked off CMR's "bling" era.

 

[2manyFCKNrappers]

June Ambrose was responsible for all of this....it should just be called the June Ambrose experiment.

 

[REdefinition]

Even had rock dudes jumping on the bandwagon

 

[OG Talk]

nikkas got bad memories?

Look at the albums that dropped in 97-98 (when Harlem World and No Way Out dropped)

The War Report
Wu Tang Forever
Ghetto D
Slim Shady LP
In My Lifetime Vol 1 & 2
Aquemini
400 Degreez
Capital Punishment
Its Dark and Hell Is Hot

And mind you, all this shyt had songs on the radio and videos on the major outlets... its not like Puffy n Mase were the only nikkas getting exposure

Plus I dont think anybody had done a video from The Tunnel... it was like a peek into a whole different world for a lot of people.

I just think people dont actually remember what the hell was going on. The late 90s were a GREAT time for hip hop.

I agree it was a great time for hip hop...Especially '98... But a lot of those albums you named had songs, verses and skits dissing the shiny suit rappers....

Who do you think RZA was talking about on Wu Tang Forever?

The shiny suit era existed it just didn't last long until it morphed into the "bling era"..And you're right there always were other options..But it doesn't mean that its existence was a myth..