What was Hip Hop Like Back in the 80's and early 90's?

[theonlyone20]

 

[booty-gif-dot-com]

people still idolize Big and Pac over 15 years after they left this planet so that tells you something about the quality of there art...

what is the industry trying to feed you today? BIG SEAN.. are you phucking serious. so called artist like that sound like they recorded there whole album in 30 mins and then just threw it out there! the quality is lacking today. back then the standard was much higher!

 

[mc317]

It wasn't about shawtyshawtyshawtyshawty and fukin 2steps

 

[idoitforhiphop10]

Bump. This was a great thread. All the OGs, drop knowledge.

 

[konceptjones]

Im a 90's baby but I didnt start listening to Hip Hop until the late 90's. Who were your favorite rappers in those times? How were the concerts back then and do you have a specific concert that you remember? And the deceased rappers that I never knew about until later on in life (Pac, Biggie, Big Pun,etc). Where they really that hyped up back in the day?

HIp Hop was fresh and new but did'nt get much radio play. You'd hear shit in somebody house or car and mostly college radio played hip hop. It was some wack shit and some dope shit that came out. It was mostly about partying and it really wasn't regional. You had a variety to listen and cats were'nt pigeonholed to one thing. Concerts were much much cheaper, in 1988 I saw Hammer, NWA, Candy, 2 Live Crew, Anquette and a few more acts for less than 20 bucks and Hammer put on the best show ever. In 91 saw Ghetto Boys, Kid and Play, Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and PE for about 22 bucks. Shit used to be hype back then. It was more cats wanting to DJ than rap. And the Fresh Fest tour in the mid 80's was legendary. Then gangsta rap hit and everybody wanted to be tuff, but you still had a mix and hodge podge of shit to listen to. Pac came out around 92 and that same year Pete Rock and CL SMooth dropped, Gangstar Daily Operation dropped, THe Pharcyde dropped, Redman, Comptons' Most Wanted, Cube and a slew of other stuff, so Pac was'nt how people hype him now. Biggie came out and was dope but was'nt the dopest. It was so many dope emcee's out and for people to label them the greatest baffles me.

And by my dj'ing I've heard so much shit, the average listner won't even know what's out there. And cats were buying actual albums then and tapes, no cd's. And if shit was that hot cats would dub the shit out of a tape. And mixtapes were mixtapes, with mixes. Some dj would get 12'' and and blend and cut and scratch new shit. Used to get them at the local record store. And fresh new shit was being dropped on mix tapes all the time.

Damn bruh, I didn't know you DJ'ed too. I started spinning in 1990.

The record pool was the shit back then, but we were HARD or records. You got 10 seconds to sound dope or we would toss it. This rule was the same for every record be it hip hop, house, and techno. I heard a looooot of shit before people got up on it thanks to all the promos we used to get (which we got at the same time or sometimes even before the radio stations).

Lot of people don't believe the shit about Pac. All they know is Death Row Pac, they don't know shit about him before that.

 

[Kwan Dai]

Co-Sign the record pool. I wasn't a DJ but I had a few partners who were and they would make me tapes. Many times we would all cypher while one of the Homies played us the latest and greatest.

Another thing being from up north. Hip Hop and House was like brother and sister. Not so much now. Even the gulliest of cats was into house.

 

[DOPEdweebz]

All i know alot of the former "rappers" turned actors from the 80s and 90s were just as big or even bigger than rick ross today... Shoutout to fresh prince, ice t, ice cube, queen latifah, ll cool j... Btw nas started to elevate from underground when the song "if i ruled the world" came out and i remember i thought the song "mr. Window" was goat hip hop commercial song of all times... But u always had ya good fun shit like "whoomp there it is" by tag team and even that house/techno hip hop people forget to talk bout in the early 90s (i got the power)... I think pac n biggie were the two major major influences to make hip hop what it is today n jay pun missy dmx n etc continued it..

 

[DOPEdweebz]

Btw at one time snoop dogg was bigger than pac until pac got shot and pac was murdered...

 

[Kwan Dai]

Not disputing but Nas was hailed as the next Rakim who was at the time largely considered the greatest ever. Although, we argued extensively who the best was. Ra, Kane, or KRS. Ra was pretty much the king lyricist. But Nas was that dude before If I ruled the world. Maybe not commercially but back then commercial = whack, sellout etc. So, who was getting radio spins and on every other Mag cover didn't matter. It was about who had the skill.

Honestly, I didn't mess with Nas or illmatic because, cats was giving him the crown and I was big Fan Ra, Kane and KRS. But Nas was that dude.

As with house and techno it was the same thing. Commercial vs Underground. I never fucked with shit like "I got the power". Cats really who know there stuff was fucking with Louie Vega, Cajmere, Bobby Konders, Adonis, 10 city, Todd Terry, Raze etc.

I think you give Pac and Biggie way to much credit. I give more Credit to Early Death Row, Wu-Tang, Boot Camp, Tribe, NWA, MC Lyte and whole list of others before these two Media sensationalized artists.

 

[northside7]

Blow the dust off. 06? Was only lurking back then..

 

[MrLunatik1979]

Nothing is better than hip-hop from the late 80s to mid 90s IMO. I was listening to an online radio station on my phone the other day and found a 90s hip-hop station and was in heaven. Definitely the golden era of hip-hop if you ask me. Simply nothing better.

I will also co-sign that Pac and Biggie are being given too much credit. Early Death Row, Wu and a couple of other cliques revolutionized hip-hop and started sending it main stream.

 

[Idiopathic Joker]

I remember when you had to have skills to be a rapper. The influence of Rakim, G Rap, KRS, Kane, and all the other early lyricist paved the way for skills to be mandatory. A lot of niggas used to say the west had no skills, but lyricism in the west was not the same lyricism in the east. DJ Quik, Kurupt, RBX, The Chronic era Snoop, and many others out west could flow with the best of them.

 

[moedays]

Everything I was gonna say has already been said. There was so much more quality music. MCs really had to come with their best rhymes in the 80s and 90s. There was none of this, put a bunch of bullshit out and hope something sticks.

 

[Idiopathic Joker]

I remember albums being an event. I have yet to see anticipation for an album that equals Doggystyle or All Eyez On Me

 

[Kwan Dai]

I remember when you had to have skills to be a rapper. The influence of Rakim, G Rap, KRS, Kane, and all the other early lyricist paved the way for skills to be mandatory. A lot of niggas used to say the west had no skills, but lyricism in the west was not the same lyricism in the east. DJ Quik, Kurupt, RBX, The Chronic era Snoop, and many others out west could flow with the best of them.

Some of the subject matter may have been different and the slang . But the lyricism was equal. There was also cats like Pharcyde, Heiro, and Saffir.

 

[konceptjones]

Not disputing but Nas was hailed as the next Rakim who was at the time largely considered the greatest ever. Although, we argued extensively who the best was. Ra, Kane, or KRS. Ra was pretty much the king lyricist. But Nas was that dude before If I ruled the world. Maybe not commercially but back then commercial = whack, sellout etc. So, who was getting radio spins and on every other Mag cover didn't matter. It was about who had the skill.

Honestly, I didn't mess with Nas or illmatic because, cats was giving him the crown and I was big Fan Ra, Kane and KRS. But Nas was that dude.

As with house and techno it was the same thing. Commercial vs Underground. I never fucked with shit like "I got the power". Cats really who know there stuff was fucking with Louie Vega, Cajmere, Bobby Konders, Adonis, 10 city, Todd Terry, Raze etc.

I think you give Pac and Biggie way to much credit. I give more Credit to Early Death Row, Wu-Tang, Boot Camp, Tribe, NWA, MC Lyte and whole list of others before these two Media sensationalized artists.

Bruh, I got Maurice, A Guy Called Gerald, and a gang of old vinyl sittin in a closet in my home office. That used to irritate the hell out of me when I'm playin some Adonis, Fingers, or something like that and some clown would come at me like "You got 'Pump Up The Jam?'".

 

[Kwan Dai]

Not disputing but Nas was hailed as the next Rakim who was at the time largely considered the greatest ever. Although, we argued extensively who the best was. Ra, Kane, or KRS. Ra was pretty much the king lyricist. But Nas was that dude before If I ruled the world. Maybe not commercially but back then commercial = whack, sellout etc. So, who was getting radio spins and on every other Mag cover didn't matter. It was about who had the skill.

Honestly, I didn't mess with Nas or illmatic because, cats was giving him the crown and I was big Fan Ra, Kane and KRS. But Nas was that dude.

As with house and techno it was the same thing. Commercial vs Underground. I never fucked with shit like "I got the power". Cats really who know there stuff was fucking with Louie Vega, Cajmere, Bobby Konders, Adonis, 10 city, Todd Terry, Raze etc.

I think you give Pac and Biggie way to much credit. I give more Credit to Early Death Row, Wu-Tang, Boot Camp, Tribe, NWA, MC Lyte and whole list of others before these two Media sensationalized artists.

Bruh, I got Maurice, A Guy Called Gerald, and a gang of old vinyl sittin in a closet in my home office. That used to irritate the hell out of me when I'm playin some Adonis, Fingers, or something like that and some clown would come at me like "You got 'Pump Up The Jam?'".

Props. That's the stuff I am talking about. Yeah, like C&C music factory? For real?

 

[Siqnih Da Trapper]

i was born in 96

 

[moedays]

i was born in 96

Damn lil nigga, when I was your age it was 1990.

 

[Siqnih Da Trapper]

i was born in 96

Damn lil nigga, when I was your age it was 1990.

yeah i'm pretty young