What’s crackin’ y’all? Let’s take things back for a moment; back to the Golden Age! The year was 1988 and hip hop had a year that would stand as a benchmark (in many ways) that would be felt for the next 14 years, and counting. The albums weren’t just classic in the sense that they were incredible, but in the sense that they changed the face of hip hop. The top emcees of today, all of who built their styles based on the blueprints left by Rakim, KRS, Kane and Slick. 1988 was the year that defined these emcees; it was the year that the emcee, as we know it today, was born. It was the first year that hip hop could be broken down into different genres. It was, and is, hip hop’s Golden Age.
Do you need more evidence? How is this? Public Enemy “It Takes A Nation of Millions…” BDP “By All Means Necessary,” NWA “Straight Outta Compton,” Eric B & Rakim “Follow The Leader,” Ultramagnetic MC’s “Critical Beatdown,” Slick Rick “The Great Adventures of Slick Rick,” EPMD “Strictly Business,” Big Daddy Kane “Long Live The Kane,” Jungle Brothers “Straight Out The Jungle,” Biz Markie “Goin’ Off,” Kool G Rap & DJ Polo “Road To The Riches,” plus Marley Marl, Fresh Prince, Eazy E, Stetsasonic, King Tee, Run DMC, Too $hort, Doug E Fresh and the list goes on. You see the influence?
So why the trip down memory lane you ask, well, call it a comeback. Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap and Biz Markie are in the midst of much talked about returns. In addition, Dre, Cube, Kool Keith, KRS, Public Enemy, Erick Sermon, and Too $hort are all still making music. As was Slick Rick before his legal woes. All the major players are in place, will we see another year like ’88? Of course not, the impact that NWA, BDP and Public Enemy had with their music could not be repeated. It doesn’t mean the music won’t be dope though.
Some people, seem to take my words out of context and argue the validity of my points. You know, the type of guy who’s only good points come from taking one of my statements and arguing it with the same points that I made later in the paragraph. That’s alright though, they are Cash Money fans, I expect it. I know what you’re thinking; and yes, it is hard being so right all the time. It doesn’t matter; as long as I have my Lil Wayne record at the end of the day. Anyways, I don’t hate the south, I just hate Cash Money’s rancid brand of noise. But why do I pick on them when others are guilty of the same evils and they aren’t snipped by my scissor tongue. It is really quite simple, I hate their music on top of hating their message. There are undergound acts that have deplorable messages in their music but they never seem to get much criticism for it. There are a couple reasons for that, one is that the music is usually good and it just doesn’t inspire me to bash it. I don’t think that makes it more acceptable, it certainly doesn’t. More importantly, underground artists are not heard by millions of people, that doesn’t change their responsibility as an artist, it just changes the magnitude of it. The responsibility becomes larger when you can brainwash millions of people instead of just thousands, ya dig?
The latest collection of disgusting lyrics to come out of the Cash Money camp is from the Big Tymers in the song “Still Fly.” They brag about spending all their money on clothes and cars instead of the rent and bills because it is in their mother’s name anyway. I’m not kidding, now you tell me that these guys don’t deserve the criticism that they receive?
Onto my favorite rapper, Nelly. I have heard some people recently say that KRS takes the whole hip hop culture thing too seriously and that Nelly doesn’t owe him or his peers as much as he seems to think. What people have to realize is that KRS started rapping when hip hop was illegal. Busting raps in the park meant the risk of being gaffled by the cops, now that is dedication. If those risks weren’t taken back in the day and they just gave up on having ciphers and block parties, would Nelly have his millions today?
Which brings me to my last point, does hip hop suck in 2002? Is it dead? Hell no. Granted, useless rappers like Nelly, Fabolous and Nore get all the shine, and sadly, they seem to represent hip hop. That doesn’t mean hip hop sucks, you just have to dig deeper. In my opinion this has been the best year for hip hop since 1996, you just have to find the good stuff now. Back in the day, you didn’t have to look very hard. With that said, a number of readers have been asking me to a “25 Essential Underground Albums” list. That is a very difficult question for two reasons; narrowing down my 900 cd’s to 25 and deciding what is underground and what isn’t. For that reason, I will stick almost exclusively to independent shit, that makes it much easier. I will have that list for next month. In the meantime, here are my top 10 albums from the incredible year of 1996:
1. Ras Kass – Soul On Ice (*****)
2. Outkast – ATLiens (*****)
3. 2Pac – All Eyez On Me (*****)
4. Jay-Z – Reasonable Doubt (*****)
5. Dr. Octagon – Dr. Octagonecologyst (*****)
6. Ghostface Killah – Ironman (****1/2)
7. Makaveli – 7 Day Theory (****1/2)
8. Chino XL – Here To Save You All (****1/2)
9. Redman – Muddy Waters (****1/2)
10. The Roots – Illadelph Halflife (****1/2)
Love me or hate me, feel free to tell me, jeff.ryce@hiphopdx.com.
