Working+Draft

Just as oxygen is essential for humans to breathe, the 90’s were crucial for hip hop to thrive. Although hip hop originated in the 80’s, the 90’s are known as its so called prime decade. The 90’s were a time where there was a whole new interest in rap music, as both performers and fans started increase heavily in size. A lot of the successful rap music from the late 80’s carried over into the 90’s expiring rappers all over the nation to perform their best. In the 2000’s we experienced some phenomenal rap music, but compared to the 90’s it has been practically nothing. As the 2000’s go on, it’s becoming more and more certain that we will never see a time period like the 90’s for hip hop again. What it all seems to come down to is talent. In the 90’s everything had to be extremely competitive because there were so many talented artists in the game. Today it seems like there are only a few artists that get all the attention and the rest can’t even compete. The sad thing is the main attractions in hip hop today don’t even come close to the skill level of the main attractions in the 90’s. All in all the 1990s were a pivotal moment for hip hop history and saw the most talent out of any decade for the rap genre. First, the 90’s were filled with a surplus of classic rap albums and legendary artists. There are way too many albums to acknowledge, but some stand up more than others. Starting off, probably the two most famous, most respected, most talented rap artists of all time came to the scene in the era of the 90's. The two went by the names Tupac and the Notorious BIG(Biggie Smalls). Their two biggest albums, Me Against the world and Ready to Die were both released in the early 90's and still known today as some of the greatest works of hip hop art. Ready to Die was the debut album for Biggie Smalls released in 1994. What most people don't know is that this was the only album he released while he was living. The album got perfect reviews from magazines such as The Source and Rolling Stone. He released three huge singles from the album, “Juicy”, “Big Poppa” and “One More Chance” the three singles peaked at #27, #6 and #2 on the //Billboard// Hot 100. This was very hard to do back then for the type of explicit rap music that the Notorious B.I.G. was putting out. All in all the album went quadruple platinum and earned him a Grammy nomination. In 2006 Time magazine listed Ready to Die as one of the 100 greatest albums of all time. There are only 11 rap albums on that list so to just appear on there is an accomplishment. Tupac released his classic album (//Me Against the World//) in 1995. It was a very confessional and soul baring album, many say this is because the album was recorded a number of weeks before he was to go to prison. The album was released while he was in prison but still reached number one on the Billboard 200 charts. Tupac became the first and only artist to have an album reach no. 1 on the charts while in prison. The album was released in March and hit platinum status by April and would eventually go on to be double-platinum. The album is also widely known for getting the no. 1 spot on the charts over Bruce Springsteen’s //Greatest Hits.// The album received perfect ratings from //The Source// and //Allmusic//. The album got him two Grammy nominations for Best Rap Album and Best Solo Rap Performance for his hit single “Dear Mama.” Unfortunately the success of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur did not last long. Although they both seemed to become more talented as the years went on, the two found themselves feuding with each other for the top spot in hip hop. The two were actually acquaintances until Tupac was shot inside a studio building where Biggie Smalls was working in 1994. Tupac felt that Biggie had some contribution to the shooting and from that day on the two would be forever known as enemies. The feud started to escalate as it soon became a battle of East Coast and West coast. The situation seemed to be spiraling out of control until September 7, 1996 when Tupac was gunned down after viewing a Mike Tyson fight. It was a tragic moment and just a little over a year after his hit album. On March 9, 1997 after leaving a party, Biggie Smalls was gunned down inside off a vehicle just as Tupac had been. This was just a few weeks before his scheduled release of his new album Life after Death. To this day, nobody knows the true killer of either artist. However, the death of these two rappers is known to be the biggest loss in hip hop history. Many say that the genre of music just hasn't been the same since their disappearance. All though Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. are known as the best of the 90's, plenty of others have had major contributions to hip hop and should not be forgotten. Dr. Dre set the scene for solo West coast rap artists when he released The Chronic in 1992. To this day, The Chronic has sold over 8 million copies world-wide. In 1993 Snoop Dogg released his debut album Doggystyle. Doggystyle went on to become the first rap album to reach no. 1 on the U.S. Charts. One of the most legendary rap groups of all time, The Wu Tang Clan, released their most well known and best acclaimed album Enter the Wu in 1993. Nas released Illmatic in 1994. It is taken to offense by all rap fans if Illmatic is not mentioned as at least one of the top five hip hop albums of all time. Secondly, the 90's were a time of diversity in hip hop. During the 1990's, their were so many new styles of rap coming to the scene and they all seemed to flourish. The most successful new style of rap was alternative rap.  Alternative Rap refers to hip-hop groups that refuse to conform to any of the traditional stereotypes of rap, such as gangsta, bass, hardcore, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres - drawing from funk and rock as well as jazz, soul and reggae.”   (Allmusic). The most accomplished alternative rap label was called The Native Tongues. The Native Tongues were made up of three very popular rap groups; The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. The Jungle Brothers were known for their success in the 80s. However they set the stage for 90's alternative rap and helped the careers of their fellow label mates to flourish. Also their group reunion album, J Beez Wit the Remedy, was released in 1993. De La Soul released its biggest album, De La Soul is Dead in 1991. It is known as one of the most under appreciated rap albums of all time and is listed in Source magazine as one of the top 100 rap albums of all time. A Tribe Called Quest saw the most success out of the three groups. Their first three albums: Peoples Instinctive Travels, The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders are all regarded as classics. 2 of the 3 saw platinum status while their first album went gold. Many rappers on today's scene such as Mos Def and Kanye West have openly admitted to being heavily inspired by A Tribe Called Quest. Other very successful alternative rap groups from the 1990's include, Digable Planets, The Pharcyde, The Roots, Arrested Development and Gangstarr. Alternative rap wasn't the only new style of hip-hop. The Fugees were a group that focused on socially aware rap. They released The Score in 1996 and were awarded two Grammy's for their album. From the group came the solo artist Lauryn Hill who was one of the few female rappers to successfully transition into hip-hop. She won 5 Grammy awards for her solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998).To this day the album has sold over 19 million copies worldwide. Big Pun and Cypress Hill brought popularity to Latino rap. Cypress Hill's self titled first album sold over 2 million copies when it was released in 1991. Their other albums Black Sunday and Cypress Hill III also saw platinum status. During 1993, Cypress Hill became the first rap group to have two albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200. Big Pun's Capital Punishment went platinum, was nominated for a Grammy and peaked at no. 5 for the Billboard 200. He became the first solo Latino rapper to reach platinum status. Lastly, A lot of rappers that are still around and are considered legends peaked in the 1990's. Jay-z is a good example, he just recently released a very highly accepted album. He has had much recent success and is known as one of the greatest rappers of all time. What some people don't realize is that his most credited album, Reasonable Doubt, was released in 1996. Snoop Dogg still makes music to this day but he made his mark with his debut in 1993. Dr. Dre is scheduled to have an album come out this year, but what he will always be known for is The Chronic. Outkast is a group that is still loved by a surplus of people. However their two biggest albums, Aquemini and ATLiens were both released in the 90's. Most members of the Wu-tang Clan continue to make music but what they will always be known for is their era of the 90's. In the end, the 90's were a time period that hip-hop must never forget. It was filled with a surplus of amazing albums. It also was a time of diversity, creativeness and change for the genre. Lastly it was the prime era for the majority of legendary rappers that are still performing. The 90's were fueled by non stop amazing hip-hop. It was a decade where great rap just never seemed to stop pouring in. There were so many artists and so many albums that really made their mark during this time. In conclusion, the 1990's were the heart and soul of what we know today as “Hip-hop.”