Hip Hop History Part 5: 1994 to 1996

Part 1 can be found here.
Part 2 can be found here.
Part 3 can be found here.
Part 4 can be found here. 

For many, this is the “Golden Age” of hip hop.

As you may guess, I’m a bit suspect of such labels. Still, there is some merit: two of the unquestioned lyrical masters are at their peak in The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas; there is a diversity in musical styles that encourages and supports creativity and exploration; and the overwhelming wave of commercial interests has yet to truly crest.

That said, the themes of the main playlist are growing repetitive: material gain, violence both threatened and executed, paranoia, sexual dominance. Most exceptions are relegated to DeepCuts, but it’s also part of what makes I Used to Love H.E.R., Nappy Heads, and I Wish stand out (although I Wish treats the same material, just with a different perspective).

New York State of Mind by Nas (1994). Nas’ debut album, Illmatic, deserves some special attention. Generally considered one of the finest MC offerings of all time, New York State of Mind often tops lists of the greatest individual MC track as well. AZ–a fantastic MC in his own right–debuted on Life’s A Bitch, and both The World is Yours and It Ain’t Hard to Tell deserve a listen. But it’s New York State of Mind that gives us I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death, delivered both as a warning to the facts of life and a philosophical insight.

Juicy by The Notorious B.I.G. (1994). Seems fitting to pair this with Nas. The first verse is a legendary homage to Biggie’s rise to stardom. It also demonstrates a rhyme pattern that Biggie perfected, where a rhyme moves from the inside of a line to two consecutive line endings (It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! magazine | Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D in the limousine).

Gin and Juice by Snoop Dogg (1994). A song so funky, it carries not one, but two chorus hooks. Like much of Snoop’s early output, it owes as much of it success to the laid-back smoothness of the delivery as it does to the groove laid down by Dr. Dre. Also, Snoop was facing murder charges at the time (he was acquitted), so the opening lines are a great act of understatement: With so much drama in the L-B-C
It’s kind of hard being Snoop D-O-double-G. L-B-C refers to Long Beach, California, a neighborhood bordering (and in rivalry with) its better known neighbor, Compton.

Shook Ones, Part 2 by Mobb Deep (1994). The style represented by Mobb Deep–dark and violent, with a delivery marked by hard, staccato rhythms, and backed by a complex layers of samples–would become the norm over the next several years (although Havoc‘s production skills outstrip many imitators).

Whatta Man by Salt-N-Pepa & En Vogue (1994). As much to demonstrate Salt-N-Pepa’s continued influence as to mark a moment beyond which hip hop crossovers stop raising eyebrows. En Vogue at this point was coming off a triple platinum album and had already amassed 5 #1 hits: there was no bigger R&B group that a hip hop artist could work with.

I Used to Love H.E.R. by Common (1994). We mentioned this cut at the top of Part IV. It does as good a job as many essays, blog, and opinion pieces in summarizing the journey of hip hop, from the parties in the South Bronx through the twists and turns of its early development. Common is not happy with where he sees the art from heading. Two small points: I’ve seen H.E.R. explained as Hearing Every Rhyme and as Hip hop in its Essence is Real; and, note that the overarching metaphor of the song remains a masculine perspective paired with sexual conquest.

Regulate by Warren G & Nate Dogg (1994). The narrative is cliche, the MC skills are average. But that hook! Those vocals! The contrast between the smooth R&B stylings and the lyrics! Irresistible.

Here Comes the Hotstepper (Heartical Mix) by Ini Kamoze (1994). This is an idiosyncratic choice for sure, but damn I love this song. And, the continued reminder of the Caribbean connections for hip hop don’t heart.

I Wish by Skee-Lo (1995). Yeah, the underlying gender relations are still messy, and the interconnections between women, status, and material stuff are still problematic. But Skee-Lo manages to sidestep all of the bravado with a song “for the rest of us” that became a hit, and also reminded us that hip hop could be at its best while maintaining its sense of humor.

Dear Mama (1995) & All Eyez On Me (1996) by 2Pac. The comet that burned brightly and briefly against the hip hop night. One question for old folks that can be used to reveal just how enmeshed in hip hop culture they were is, where were you when 2Pac died? Biggie? By the spring of 1997, both would be gone. These two songs mark the apex of Tupac’s output, and come at a moment where he was very much trying to think through the implications of growing up, and how to navigate the contradictions and complexity of his own life. Biggie would have produced several more masterpieces of technique. But 2Pac might have produced art that helped shape the way we understood the world. Hint: this is Kendrick‘s real predecessor.

Crossroads by Bone Thugs N Harmony (1996). Lots of hip hop songs talk about death and many mention the devastation it leaves behind, but many fewer talk about mourning. Mix that with the vocal stylings of Bone Thugs N Harmony, and you have a hit, and a fairly unique sound (especially with male voices) in the annals of hip hop.

Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check by Busta Rhymes (1996). If you’re paying close attention, you’ll recognize that the chorus is actually lifted from The Sugarhill Gang‘s 8th Wonder. But the style and delivery is all Busta Rhymes (whose debut on Scenario was discussed in Part IV), bass and rasp and bravado from an artist who was as impactful for his visual fashion as his unique delivery.

Cold Rock A Party by MC Lyte & Missy Elliott (1996). This was a hit for MC Lyte, but is included more for the passing of the torch to an electrically talented young MC in Missy Elliott. We’ll hear more from her. While MC Lyte kept producing music after this, this was the last significant hit of her career as an MC.

No Diggity by BLACKstreet & Dr. Dre (1996). Included as much for its hook as for its presence as proof as to just how blurred the line between hip hop and other genres is by this point–is there something that makes it hop hop before Queen Pen‘s guest verse? Does that alone make it hip hop? Is Dre’s presence as producer sufficient?

The Spotify playlist is here: http://bit.ly/hiphophspva-5

DeepCuts

“Songs” appear in quotation marks, Albums in italics without quotations, and Artists in bold.

DeepCuts can be found at http://bit.ly/hiphophspva-deep

#The International Scene

This is the pause before the deluge.

There is, of course, the continued development of hip hop in France, led by IAM, whose 1994 hit “Je danse le mia” was the best-charting of their career and Suprême NTM, whose 1995 album Paris sous les bombes set the stage for their later dominance. More interesting, though was the funk/hip hop collective, Alliance Ethnik, whose 1995 album Simple et Funky remains a classic, and is represented here by the track “Honesty & Jalousie (Fais Un Choix Dans La Vie).”

Danish rapper Lucas Secon released “Lucas with the Lid Off” in 1994, an incredibly catchy hit that owed more to production and DJ skills than his abilities as an MC–there was also nothing especially Danish about it, raising important questions about what belongs under the “international hip hop” umbrella.

#Alternative Hip Hop

Lawd, but I hate that term.

I would call out 4 groups that are often lumped under that term as being of note:

• The Roots–long before their gig as a late night band–debuted in 1993 with Organix and followed that up with Do You Want More ?!!!??! in 1995, the latter spawning the influential and popular “Proceed.” They followed that up in 1996 with Illadelph Halflife and the classic track “What They Do.”
• Spearhead‘s debut album, Home, was released in 1994, setting in motion 7 years of fantastically astute, funky hip hop from the Michael Franti-led collective. “Hole in the Bucket” was the biggest hit, but “Positive” is the song to remember as a ground-breaking statement about HIV/AIDS, getting tested, and it being better to know than to not know.
• The Fugees Blunted on Reality arrived to very little fanfare in 1994, and while “Nappy Heads” cracked the charts, it was really all preparation for their sophomore effort, The Score, released in 1996. The Score was a dominant, revolutionary album, launching the career of Lauryn Hill and containing the megahit remake of “Killing Me Softly.” “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready or Not,” though, fit more as hip hop tracks.
• While their album would not drop until 1998, Jurassic 5‘s first single, “Unified Rebelution” was released in 1995. Check out the breakdown at around 2:00, and then the circular group verse towards the end, both of which would set the template for later Jurassic magnificence.

#Texas, Turntablism, and Miscellania

1994 saw the release of “Front, Back & Side to Side” by UGK, who would remain the dominant force in Texas hip hop for over a decade, until Pimp-C‘s death in 2009. Co-founder Bun B has taken on a respected elder role in contemporary hip hop and commentary, and the overall impact of these two figures as MCs, as businessmen, and as cultural forces, remains quite important.

DJ Shadow‘s Endtroducing … is a seminal work in instrumental hip hop–a genre that really continued the lineage of the original DJs, and would eventually be referred to (by some, at least) as turntablism. “Organ Donor” is included as a small sample. (See what I did there? Sample? Geddit?)

You’ll probably recognize the chorus from Ahmad‘s “Back In the Day” from 1994–while the artist was pretty much a one-hit wonder, that hook has survived in many forms since.

#Notable Cuts: 1994

“Funkdafied” by Da Brat; “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” by Outkast; “Big Poppa” by The Notorious B.I.G.; “Ease My Mind” by Arrested Development; “Flava In Ya Ear” by Craig Mack (recently passed, RIP); “Fantastic Voyage” by Coolio; “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys; “Da Mystery of Chessboxin'” by Wu-Tang Crew; “Bring Da Pain” by Method Man.

#Notable Cuts: 1995

“Shimmy Shimmy Ya” by Ol’ Dirty Bastard; “Survival of the Fittest” by Mobb Deep; “California Love” by 2Pac, Roger Troutman & Dr. Dre; “I Got 5 On It” by Luniz.

#Notable Cuts: 1996

“Stakes is High” by De La Soul; “Laflaur Leflah Eshkoshka” by The Fab 5 (don’t worry, nobody else knows what it means, either); “Doing It” by LL Cool J.

Continue to Part VI.