My Favorite Songs from the Golden Age of Hip Hop
I have a small hobby collecting hip-hop songs from the Golden Age of Hip Hop, generally regarded as "late 80s to mid/late 90s". I've listened to hundreds and hundreds of songs looking for stuff that's (a) relatively up-tempo, so i can work to it (b) not pop .. so no DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, MC Hammer, (etc) .. and suffice it to say i've found some really awesome songs.
The result is a playlist with 130+ songs that runs just over 9 hours. The majority of the songs are from 1992-1994 .. nearly all are between the years 1989 and 2000.
Here are a handful of my favorites:
- Pain
I Feel, Blahzay Blahzay, 1996. These guys only released one album, which
seems wrong to me. The most popular song from this CD is called Danger, but
I think this one is much better. The main sample is from KRSONE ("Mad IZM")
- WHAT!!,
Rock La Flow, 1994. You know you're on the right track (pun intended)
when all of the youtube "recommended videos" are scans of album covers and
cassette tapes. Bonus points for the Mike Tyson reference at the very end:
- Bounce
/ Rhymorator, Mercenaries, 1994. Also fairly obscure, and I have no idea why.
- Whayback,
Artifacts, 1994. I like everything about this song. It's the epitome of
early 90s hip hop.
- DWYCK,
Featuring Nice & Smooth, 1994. "DWYCK" stands for "Do What You Can Kid"
and features GURU (which stands for "Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal").
Fun Fact: Interestingly enough, GURU attended the Noble & Greenough school in
Dedham, MA, a school that is generally regarded as a pre-ivy-league stop and
currently costs $50k/year to attend:
- The
Choice is Yours (Revisited), The Black Sheep, 1991. Such an amazing song,
briefly featured in the Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse movie.
- Time
4 Some Aksion, Redman, 1992. The main sample is B Real ("How I Could
Just Kill a Man). This song is incredibly easy to be productive while
it's looping.
- We
Come To Get Wreck, Rough House Survivors, 1992
- The
Bop Step, The Future Sound (Mix Phade), 1992. The orginal song is
actually not very good. This is a case where the remix is much, much
better than the original.
- Know
the Ledge, Eric B Rakim, 1992
- Thoughts
In the Buttermilk, Justin Warfield, 1993
- Let
'Em Know, Souls of Mischief, 1983 (the whole album is really good)
- Yellow
Brick Roadz, Lighter Shade, 1999
- A
Tribe Called Quests 1991 CD "The Low End Theory" (anything from this album)
- Chief
Rocka, The Lords of the Underground, 1993
- F
What U Heard, Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics. 1992
- Don't
Sweat the Technique, Eric B Rakim, 1992
- Time
4 Sum Aksion: Redman, 1992
- Juice
(Know the Ledge): Eric B. Rakim, 1992
- Breakdown,
FU-Schnickens, 1994
- Public
Enemy, Fight The Power, 1988
- Check
Da Back Pack, Rough House Survivers, 1992
- Here
It Comes, MC Serch, 1992
- The
Influence, Jurassic 5, 2000
(there are a bunch of Jurassic 5 songs I really, really like)
- Great
Expectations, Jurassic 5, 2000
- Jurass
Finish First, Jurassic 5, 2000
- Concerto
in X Minor, Brand Nubian, 1990
(there are a handful of great songs on that album)
- Klap
Ya Handz, Das Efx, 1992
- Soul
Flower (Remix), The Pharcyde, 1992
