Old School Hip Hop Fans...A Lil' Help?

[mak1277]

Regulators? Please...that has to be one of the worst hip hop songs ever. It's just plain stupid. Sorry, "Funk, on a whole new level, the rythm is the bass and the bass is the treble"....

And I'll sort of agree with Art. Yes, there is an enormous difference in the true "old school" stuff in the early- to mid-80's...no doubt. But I just don't think much of that real old stuff holds up very well. I loved Run-DMC when I was a kid, but listening to it now it just sounds ridiculous.

#1 choice for "chill" in the semi-old school period - Express Yourself by NWA.

[Coppermine]

Warren G is so 1994.

[Snakes Gould]

Regulators? Please...that has to be one of the worst hip hop songs ever. It's just plain stupid. Sorry, "Funk, on a whole new level, the rythm is the bass and the bass is the treble"....

And I'll sort of agree with Art. Yes, there is an enormous difference in the true "old school" stuff in the early- to mid-80's...no doubt. But I just don't think much of that real old stuff holds up very well. I loved Run-DMC when I was a kid, but listening to it now it just sounds ridiculous.

#1 choice for "chill" in the semi-old school period - Express Yourself by NWA.

no one said warren and nate were deep with their lyrics, but its a fine "fun" song...

[Dan Lambskin]

you cant have an old school rap album without MC Breed's Aint No Future In Yo Frontin

To the beat yo...

[thomasps3]

Ok, here's a few:

Black Sheep
Strobe Light Honey (1993?)

The Pharcyde
Passin Me By - This is one I really like to chill to

Also, not sure if this was mentioned, but I also like:
Digable Planets
Rebirth of Slick - **Everyone loves this one
Nickel Bags - This is the hidden gem of the CD **Stellar

[Sticky Spice]

Tough to define old school. Considering a lot of the stuff mentioned is over a decade old I think it qualifies.

I don't think so. I mean...I guess it may fit some kind of vague definition of "old school," but most of the stuff being mentioned here is from the Golden Era, not really considered old school. The cut-off is around '86-'87 when the sound changed from simple rhymes and rythms rapped over break beats to more complex rhyme schemes, multis, etc over sample-based beats. Basically, you can break rap's progression down based on the equipment that was available at the time, and how proficient people got with them: SP-12 gave way to the 1200, which then gave way to the Akai, etc.

I meant tough to define as labeling a sound is pretty subjective. Eye of the beholder kinda thing like is country "music" music?

I like your history lesson though. So is it still considered the Golden Era considering how hip hop still impacts the airwaves and sales? If not, does this era have a name? How bout the era of suck?

[Art Vandelay]

So is it still considered the Golden Era considering how hip hop still impacts the airwaves and sales? If not, does this era have a name? How bout the era of suck?

The Golden Era is universally considered to be '86-'87ish to 1994. There's really no set term to define later eras in hip-hop, but I've heard 1994-1998/99 called the bling era and 1999-current called the indy/underground era, but neither of those have really caught on.

Personally, I use different criteria than old school, golden era, bling era, etc. For me there are two major turning points in modern hip-hop (modern being about 1985 on). The first was the emergence of Paul C. Every time a new piece of equipment was inroduced and mastered it changed the hip-hop landscape. Paul C was the first to master SP-1200. In fact, sometimes I feel like there was the "pre-Paul C" hip-hop of the SP-12 and beat juggling and beat boxes, and then the "post-Paul C" hip-hop of James Brown breaks, the SP-1200, and chopped loops. That legacy is still felt in rap today, pretty much wherever you hear sampling. It amazes me how many times I still hear James Brown breaks today that I could swear were taken from Paul C's legendary private stock of 12"es.

The second turning point was the release of Illmatic. Listen to any ten hip-hop CDs from New York artists that were released between 1988 and 1993, then listen to ten more from 1995-1999. Illmatic's impact on Nas' contemporaries can not be overstated. I almost feel bad for Nas that he has never been able to duplicate the initial success he had with his first album when he was 20. But then, he is responsible for one of the top two or three albums of all time, so I don't feel too bad for him.

Anyway, I don't even know what the hell I'm talking about anymore...sorry for getting off track.

[Snakes Gould]

you dont know how happy it makes me to hear nas get some credit.

[DK]

:-D

you dont know how happy it makes me to hear nas get some credit.

Nas = Greatest emcee to ever grace a mic

Art, while Nas's impact on the hip-hop game is absoutely undeniable, I think the emergence of Rakim changed hip-hop more than anything. Rakim combined the fast-talking almost reggae-like flow with the steady rhyme scheme, really one of the first of his time. Paid in Full back in '86 was revolutionary, and completely changed hip-hop. Although he's not as well known now, I don't think anyone changed hip-hop (at least lyrically) more than Rakim did.

I don't think Nas will ever make another Illmatic, but that's because I don't think anyone anywhere will ever make another Illmatic. Illmatic was just... breathtaking. Nothing will ever come close (I don't think).

To stay on topic, I'd say go with Eric B & Rakim, Souls of Mischief, The Pharcyde... Really chill stuff.

[Art Vandelay]

I think the emergence of Rakim changed hip-hop more than anything. Rakim combined the fast-talking almost reggae-like flow with the steady rhyme scheme, really one of the first of his time. Paid in Full back in '86 was revolutionary, and completely changed hip-hop. Although he's not as well known now, I don't think anyone changed hip-hop (at least lyrically) more than Rakim did.

Yeah, I'm remiss for not at least mentioning Rakim. What he was doing lyrically in the mid-'80s is just ridiculous. He was the first (at least the first to achieve some amount of notoriety) to incorporate complex rhyme schemes, multis, etc was one of the first to take the spotlight away from the DJ. Also, his music holds up extremely well.