For those of us 30+ brehs who can actually remember the nine one, I think we suffer from childhood rose colored glasses.
Even though I lived in the ghetto-ghetto in Cali at 8 years old in 91', my parents were normal folks and I had a normal childhood playing Duck Hunt and Adventure Island II because I couldn't play outside or explore the neighborhood like white kids do in the suburbs because Boyz 'N The Hood was happening outside.
If my parents were on dope or locked up, chances are I wouldn't be here typing this right now and I'd been dead or locked up by now like hella other kids from the lunatic village up in Frisco from that era.
One of the reasons I like 94-95' better than 91' is because music was darker and rawer than 91'. 91' was colorful and vibrant, New Jack swing was still in full swing but nikkas was shooting each other listening to "Bonita Applebum" and "Self Destruction".
By 1994, Hip Hop became more of a timeless street documentary bible chronicling life in the hood coast to coast. 93-95' was more dark and unapologetic culturally. 91' was high top fades with crazy designs, loud colors, the running man, regular folks hitting dance moves like they had a choreographer with rappers not cursing in their lyrics but the party could still get shot up.
But I think it's wrong to say it was "worse" back then.
It might have been "worse", but crime has only dissipated because of gentrification in cities like DC, SF, LA and NYC. I think Baltimore is worse today than it was in 91'.
And if you living in the hood somewhere in a city like Detroit, New Orleans or Chicago, you prolly don't see too much difference in terms of crime and poverty where you stay.
At least my old hood in SF was stil majority black back then. Now, chinks have taken over. Lakeview, SF went from 60% black to 60% Asian since 91'. And black folks fought hard to clean up the streets of my old hood only for other races to take advantage of low real estate prices and an "up and coming" neighborhood.
. I spent summers and weekends in the projects. We dodged them zombie crackheads regularly. nikkas used to pull blades on us to buy them lucys and liquor. Every knew where they stashed bodies........ all that shyt was scary but it was avoidable if you family looked out for you.
Wasn't no internet in 91' let alone streaming porn, stupid. It was only porno mags from the gas station and VHS tapes.
Getting porn as a kid in the 90's before the Internet was a mission. You had to have an older brother or sister, steal a mag from the store or find an old mag in the park somewhere. And wasn't that much crazy hardcore porn back then. It was a lot of soft core with white women with big hair looking like Megadeth with breast implants.