Feelin' Old School

[Pedro Cerrano]

Got in the mood to add some mid-90s hip-hop to my iPod. So I bought "The Chronic" and "Black Sunday" off iTunes.

Man I forgot how good these records are!

I really really dislike most modern hip-hop but the stuff that came out in the 90s was incredible.

[NewMarketSean]

I agree. 1988-1997 were probably the best years the genre will ever have.

Gangstarr
A Tribe Called Quest
De La Soul
Nas
Mobb Deep
Black Moon
Pharcyde
Jeru The Damaja
Pete Rock and CL Smooth
Nice and Smooth
Wu-Tang Clan

The list goes on...

Does anyone remember "Strictly Hip Hop" that used to be played on Morgan State Radio from Midnight to 5 am on Friday nights? Man I used to live for that. I'd put a tape in the tape deck hit record and when one side was done I'd flip it over and record the next side and then listen to it at work the next day while working at the airport. Man those were the days.

Its sad how far mainstream rap has fallen. It's almost as bad as the Orioles fall over the last 10 years.

[Mashed Potatoes]

Does anyone remember "Strictly Hip Hop" that used to be played on Morgan State Radio from Midnight to 5 am on Friday nights? Man I used to live for that. I'd put a tape in the tape deck hit record and when one side was done I'd flip it over and record the next side and then listen to it at work the next day while working at the airport. Man those were the days.

Strictly Hip Hop was amazing!


Its sad how far mainstream rap has fallen. It's almost as bad as the Orioles fall over the last 10 years.

Says the man who admittedly doesn't listen to hip hop anymore. There's ignorance and then there's willful ignorance, the latter is much worse. Please don't mistake what the radio plays for hip hop. Please don't criticize something you know nothing about.

Go listen to Common's new CD. Go listen to Talib Kweli's CD. Do these things then tell me mainstream hip hop has fallen.

P.S. CL Smooth has a new mixtape "The Outsider."

[scOtt]

God I feel old... :p

[ScottieBaseball]

I agree. 1988-1997 were probably the best years the genre will ever have.

Gangstarr
A Tribe Called Quest
De La Soul
Nas
Mobb Deep
Black Moon
Pharcyde
Jeru The Damaja
Pete Rock and CL Smooth
Nice and Smooth
Wu-Tang Clan

The list goes on...

(snip)

Wow...I never realized so many good hip-hop acts came through that decade. With the exception of Jeru the Damaja, just about every one of the acts you named invokes thoughts of good times for me. Man...Pharcyde, Gangstarr, and De La Soul were so...original? Ground-breaking? Dynamic? Influential? I don't know what the word is, but they were...it. It's funny how many of the acts you listed immediately convert themselves into actual lyrics and thoughts of parties and good times with friends and "others". ;)

[ledzepp8]

I agree. 1988-1997 were probably the best years the genre will ever have.

Gangstarr
A Tribe Called Quest
De La Soul
Nas
Mobb Deep
Black Moon
Pharcyde
Jeru The Damaja
Pete Rock and CL Smooth
Nice and Smooth
Wu-Tang Clan

The list goes on...

Does anyone remember "Strictly Hip Hop" that used to be played on Morgan State Radio from Midnight to 5 am on Friday nights? Man I used to live for that. I'd put a tape in the tape deck hit record and when one side was done I'd flip it over and record the next side and then listen to it at work the next day while working at the airport. Man those were the days.

Its sad how far mainstream rap has fallen. It's almost as bad as the Orioles fall over the last 10 years.

C'mon Sean, there's still good hip hop out there. You're just not going to hear it on the radio or MTV, well except for Kanye, Jay Z and Young Jeezy. But you've Aesop Rock, El-P, Murs, Aceyalone, Spank Rock, Ghostface etc. The problem with the time period you're quoting is that it was when Rap was really starting to get popular and so all of the really good acts of all time were making music during that time. Now, they're letting anybody put out records and you get crap like Mims or all of this Snap Music ****. All of the record labels are putting this crap out and people like it, they're not going to promote Common or Nas or the Roots. But that's true for any genre of music, which is why you have junk like Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco dominating alternative rock radio.

[NewMarketSean]

No, I know there is still good stuff out there. I occasionally hear it from time to time. Its just sad that the crap that is out there today is mainstream. Back in the day the mainstream stuff was the good stuff.

As for rap in general, I think I have just grown out of it. I still love the older stuff because it reminds me of when I was young and when times were simpler, and there may be a new song or artist that appeals to me, but since I started listening to college-indie alt rock, my eyes have been opened to music in a totally different way... one that I never thought existed before.

Rap, any rap, never did that to me.

[DuffMan]

You can't spell crap without rap!!! At least when considering the current rap scene.

[Spoonless]

No, I know there is still good stuff out there. I occasionally hear it from time to time. Its just sad that the crap that is out there today is mainstream. Back in the day the mainstream stuff was the good stuff.

As for rap in general, I think I have just grown out of it. I still love the older stuff because it reminds me of when I was young and when times were simpler, and there may be a new song or artist that appeals to me, but since I started listening to college-indie alt rock, my eyes have been opened to music in a totally different way... one that I never thought existed before.

Rap, any rap, never did that to me.

I've had hip hop songs give me goosebumps on occasion ("The Last Trumpet" off of Lyrics Born's Later that Day for example). Usually that tells me something about some music. Doesn't happen very often, but sometimes you just hear something that does that to you.

And "college-indie alt rock?" I have no idea what that describes. :D Can you list a couple groups? I'm genuinely interested.