Was 1996 the Peak of Rhyming? Free Daps & Reps

[infamousred]

I believe so. Not only was every coast bringing their a game but it didn't matter if you were mainstream or underground cause you were still expected to be lyrical.

 

[mobbinfms]

It was the peak of Hip Hop for the most part, from the music, to the fukkery (RIP Pac and Big )

Imagine if the Booth existed in 96

We would have been complaining about how wack hip hop had become

 

[mobbinfms]

if its not the best year for lyrics then its the best year for lyrics AND beats together.

Wouldn't that mean it's the greatest year of all time??

 

[malbaker86]

Hip hop from 96-99 was

 

[mobbinfms]

I'd say 98 was. You had CANIBUS as a top MC in 1997. Definitely a lyrical year.........WU was still popping off too before they faded out, CNN, yeah you had PUFF and Mase BUT thats off the back of BIGs death. The LOX etc all that was 1998 which I would say was the Shiny Suit era. 97 was the last year for that lyrical shyt.....just look at the mixtapes from that year. shyt 1st time i heard Roc Marci was 1997. Plus all the Rawkus stuff kicked off in 97. Definitely was the start of the shiny suit jiggy era but I'd def say 1997 was the last great year and a rhyming, lyrical PEAK. You forget the number 1 verse from that year and one of the most lyrical......"I bomb Atomically"

Yeah - I'm just talking about artistic integrity. The Shiny Suit era was clearly 97 and it was clearly some sellout shyt.
And it was dominant that year. Along with Master P biting everything that wasn't nailed down
The funny part about it - Mase was a beast on the mic
By 98 - you had DMX come out in May and that was supposed to be the death of the shiny suit era
97 was too watered down with Life After Death, No Way Out, Harlem World and No Limit.
96 just didn't have that much watered down shyt at the forefront
I bomb atomically though

 

[mobbinfms]

Yes, BIG was better lyrically on LAD

He was just a monster on that album
I'm still mad that a 96 Prodigy fronted on appearing on Last Days
Those two going head up and at each others throats (competitively, not dissing each other) would have been

 

[mobbinfms]

The 4 best rappers were all relevant...3 of them dropped classic albums & the 4th was recording his classic album

1. Prodigy
2. Nas
3. Jay
4. Biggie

 

[mobbinfms]

96 was real...

I know Nas/Hov/Andre/etc are the main focuses but ayo I gotta piggy back on @mobbinfms. I gotta talk about Prodigy reaching god status.



I love rap. And in 96 I was a kid living and breathing it. Most of that shyt was going over my head so my appreciation of 96 really grew a few years later. But the rappers that touched me even as a youngin in 96 were Nas, Pac, and P.

My favorite most memorable verses give me chills. shyt literally makes me take pause like damn. P had MULTIPLE verses like that on Hell On Earth. So cold I had to just sit down.

Imagine being a Pac stan listening to that last Drop A Gem On Em verse brehs. shyt had me like

Brehs I remember when all my homies got that shyt on the same day. I didn't even go to school the next day because I KNEW nikkas was gonna be pressing me about that verse. I had to fall back. Told my mom if any of my homies call tell em I'm sick


P was just going HAM at the end of tracks brehs. Hell On Earth's last verse

Still Shining.... "put holes thru you like fukkin Jamaican clothes"

Get Dealt With

Best post in the whole thread.
Prodigy's pen literally had Pac stans hiding out at home

@Nomad1

 

[JustCKing]

Yeah - I'm just talking about artistic integrity. The Shiny Suit era was clearly 97 and it was clearly some sellout shyt.
And it was dominant that year. Along with Master P biting everything that wasn't nailed down
The funny part about it - Mase was a beast on the mic
By 98 - you had DMX come out in May and that was supposed to be the death of the shiny suit era
97 was too watered down with Life After Death, No Way Out, Harlem World and No Limit.
96 just didn't have that much watered down shyt at the forefront
I bomb atomically though

For the most part, that era was hardly watered down. Listening to some of the lyrics, a lot of the songs that came from them were far from watered down. Listen to what Biggie was saying on "Hypnotize". There was also the lyrics on "It's All About The Benjamins". Harlem World had "24 Hrs. To Live" as a single. No Limit definitely wasn't as mainstream and they really gained steam in '96 with "Bout It" and "Break Em Off Somethin". Truthfully, as great as '96 is, it set the stage for '97. I mean you could go back and see how much of influence albums like It Was Written, Ridin' Dirty, All Eyez On Me, and several others had on '97.

 

[CP3_da_OG]

The variety and depth that we had back then is sorely missed today

 

[mobbinfms]

Definitely the peak of emceeing and lyricism. 1996 and 1997 are almost night and down, and I blame the deaths of 'pac & Biggie for the drastic shift as well as the Telecommunications Act which changed the game COMPLETELY in both radio and cable.

But immediately after '96, 1997 was the PUFFY SHINY SUIT era and the start of the NO LIMIT ERA (no dis to either, but that's where everything began to go downhill).

I know people love No Limit, but lettuce be honest. In 96 the face of Southern rap was Outkast, Geto Boys, UGK.
In 97 it was Master P

 

[mobbinfms]

Dog you're being a lil too backpackerish ... you were referring to straight rhymes , not substance or anything else and Pun & Mase we're lyrical with it regardless of the atmosphere of that era ...

Yeah I agree. We were talking about "purity" and artistic integrity on that front. Not just rhymes.

 

[mobbinfms]

Nas it was written is a display of rap flows at their best. A peak moment no doubt

 

[JayBaldacci]

Legend of the liquid sword was gza at his best lyrically.

 

[big_controversy]

1. Prodigy
2. Nas
3. Jay
4. Biggie

Prodigy can be the 5th but I was referring to Pac