The Top 5 Defining Hip-hop Albums of the 1990s

Well, here’s the second installment in my “defining hip-hop albums of a decade” series. The 1990s saw hip-hop music explode into the mainstream with pop rap like MC Hammer’s Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em, Vanilla Ice’s To the Extreme, and Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Mack Daddy, to alternative hip-hop’s strong credibility from acts like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and the Pharcyde, to the West Coast’s dominance thanks to Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, and Ice Cube, to the shift to the East Coast with outstanding debuts from Nas, the Wu-Tang Clan, the Notorious B.I.G., and Jay-Z, and to the East Coast-West Coast feud that brought down two of hip-hop’s greatests  to their deaths during their height. Whatever it was, hip-hop music’s youth had finally emerged into worldwide culture through MTV, VH1, etc., arguably making it hip-hop’s most prolific decade, which makes it all the more difficult to list the top five defining albums. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy what you read, as it took me some time to decide what goes where, and you are certainly free to complain and argue. This list wasn’t meant for everyone. With that said, here’s my list.

5) The Chronic (1992) by Dr. Dre

One of the greatest hip-hop producers of all time made the beats for N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton and the D.O.C.’s No One Can Do It Better. Then, N.W.A broke up, and Dr. Dre totally changed the game with a vastly different sonic landscape that brought the West Coast back to prominence, and single-handedly I might add. Many may claim Cold 187um developed the initial layout of this innovative G-funk sound, but there’s no denying Dr. Dre popularized it and evolved it beyond its roots. I don’t really know how to describe the sound, as I’m not a hip-hop music theory expert, but Steve Huey of AllMusic.com calls it “fat, blunted Parliament-Funkadelic beats, soulful backing vocals, and live instruments in the rolling basslines and whiny synths.” I guess that’s what it is, but I found it to have that laid-back, smooth production, the kind where you want to crack open a bag of weed and smoke it, even though you don’t do this stuff (at least not me). Whether that makes sense or not, that’s just me, but it’s distinct and sort of addicting. The production alone warrants it to be on this list. However, the lyricism and burst of impact on the hip-hop scene makes it more stimulating. His protégé Snoop Doggy Dogg (yes, that was what he was known as at the time) crafted some of the album’s biggest hits, notably “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang,” and his trademark smooth delivery introduced audiences to the next big thing. Many West Coast rappers appear as well, including a young Daz Dillinger, Nate Dogg, RBX, and Lady of Rage, all bringing their best. The constructive lyrics, mostly about violence and the inner city life (basically stuff that has been tirelessly and inferiorly overdone in the past few years) were controversial for some reason, even though this is the guy that was part of a controversial group that released two controversial albums, so surprise! It’s not like nobody expected it! A diss toward former N.W.A member Eazy-E is also present, and it’s nasty. Overall, Dr. Dre set the building blocks of the beginning of this artistry. G-funk started dominating at this time and has been dominating ever since, in the form of its influence on modern producers like Kanye West.

Speaking of Snoop, I would like to add his debut album Doggystyle as an extension of this ranking, if you will. Dr. Dre also produced this album, but it didn’t sound like any rip-off of The Chronic. Many compare these two to be the hip-hop music equivalent to Kill Bill Vol. 1/2. They’re pretty much equal in terms of music quality, one and the same, and I believe Doggystyle deserves credit as well.

4) The Low End Theory (1991) by A Tribe Called Quest

All right, let me just lay it down quick: this it the epitome of alternative hip-hop. While they weren’t the first of their kind, they paved the way for acts like De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, and Black Sheep, all of which are coincidentally part of the Native Tongues collective. Their music strayed away from the West Coast gangsta image popular at the time, and this album couldn’t have not only done it better, but more boldly gripping. The unconventional production from Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip (one of hip-hop’s most underrated rappers), as well one from Pete Rock, was different from any hardcore production of the East Coast or gangta rap/G-funk of the West Coast, and it didn’t have that multi-layered wall of noise of the Bomb Squad. At a time when hip-hop was all about shooting gangs and sex with women, A Tribe Called Quest’s mature rhymes and simple (minimalistic) sampling was a breath of fresh air for everyone. Their jazziness from highlight tracks “Check the Rhime” and “Jazz (We’ve  Got)” did to jazz and rap what Run-D.M.C. did to rock and rap. It was the perfect marriage between the two genres that only a few could emulate. From then on, alternative hip-hop was never the same without them.

3) Ready to Die (1994) by The Notorious B.I.G.

The Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album came in the heels of the so-called “East Coast artistic renaissance,” and it couldn’t have been released at a better time. This was when Diddy and the Hitmen were at their prime, and when New York began to take the throne from the West Coast. Although lyrics about crack dealing, guns, and similar topics were pervasive in the West Coast, Biggie described them in brilliant narratives that set him apart from them. His flow was loose and chilled, yet his lyricism was packed with complexity and multi-syllabic rhymes, rapping with ease. The monumental hits “Juicy” and “Big Poppa” take their place as hip-hop’s greatest songs, but tracks like “Gimme the Loot” and “Suicidal Thoughts” offer insightful honesty into the faulty environment of Biggie’s life and its meanings in his songs. The semi-autobiographical nature of this album and the loose concept of his life from birth to death presented are quite incisive, like the album has a voice of its own above the crowds of numerous others released in the era. Its impact is undeniable, as today’s greatest from Jay-Z to Eminem take their nods from Biggie and this album. Unfortunately, his life was cut too short, and Bad Boy later fell off. It would’ve been amazing to hear the three-disc Life After Death concept he planned before his death.

2) Illmatic (1994) by Nas

Before Biggie released his debut, Nas released his debut. There’s not much I can say about this album that I already haven’t said about Ready to Die since they’re stylistically similar. Nas was seen as the second coming of Rakim (Canibus was supposed to be the third), and he definitely brought in several innovations that set a precedent in hip-hop. First, the internal rhymes that Rakim pioneered were used extensively and were combined with multi-syllabic rhymes to create complex rhyme schemes that wowed everyone. Second, the gritty hardcore production was handled by a multitude of producers instead of the usual MC/DJ combo. And third, his vivid description of Queensbridge with the use of metaphors and realistic imagery captured the essence of his life. On a more regional note, Queensbridge finally caught the attention of the hip-hop community that was more focused on Brooklyn. Mobb Deep and Capone-N-Noreaga later followed in his footsteps with arguably equal albums. His album became the influence for numerous aspiring rappers, including the Game, Clipse, and even underground artists like Talib Kweli, and his songs have been sampled on masterpieces like Jay-Z’s “Dead Presidents.” Even though it didn’t become a big hit, no one could argue the album’s definitive stamp on hip-hop.

1) Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993) by the Wu-Tang Clan

I know many will argue about this. I actually had difficulties in ranking Ready to Die, Illmatic, and this album in the right order because all of them pretty much had the same impact at the same time. But I’m putting this at numero uno because of its diverse cast of rappers’ sheer talent and RZA’s revolutionary hardcore hip hop production that pushed the boundaries of what Boogie Down Productions and Kool G Rap introduced earlier in the ‘80s. RZA, GZA, Ghostface Killah, Rakeown, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Ol’ Diry Bastard, Method Man, and Masta Killa (what a mouthful!) all ripped the shit outta hip-hop, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Starting on “Bring da Ruckus,” you immediately identify that unpolished, rough production with complimenting dialogue from old Chinese kung fu movies. Then, RZA’s chorus kicks in with that “Bring da motherfuckin’ ruckus,” and four verses come in from four different rappers. They all have different flows and different styles in their lyricism, yet it’s amazing how pertinacious they’re verses work together, as if they’re glued together if that makes any sense. And that’s just the beginning, let alone just four rappers. “Protect Ya Neck” has seven rappers spitting sick battle rhymes that blow the water in today’s modern times. Now, imagine that uncanny stupendousness that somehow works and multiply it by twelve, and Enter the Wu-Tang is what you get. RZA’s pervasive gritty, course sampling cued all hardcore hip-hop producers to take notes from him. His distinct borrowed dialogue from Chinese kung fu movies was for the Wu-Tang Clan and the Wu-Tang Clan only; it couldn’t have worked any better with other rapper(s). The album as a whole has got to be without a doubt one of the greatest produced albums of all time. Doggystyle was actually released two weeks later to mad craze and overshadowed this album’s moderate success, but in the long run, Enter the Wu-Tang lasting impact and legacy was much more defining than any hip-hop album of the decade.

Like The Chronic, I’d like to give nods to all Wu-Tang-affiliated albums released after Enter the Wu-Tang and up to 1997 as extensions of this ranking. That includes Gravediggaz’ 6 Feet Deep, Method Man’s Tical, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, GZA’s Liquid Swords, Ghostface Killah’s Ironman, and the Wu-Tang Clan’s sophomore album Wu-Tang Forever. Yep, that’s right. Seven albums. Why, you may ask? Because this was the Wu-Tang era. Everything they released at this time was masterpiece level, and each had their individual successes that contributed to RZA’s “five-year plan” that established Wu dominance. That just cannot be overlooked.

As usual, here are my honorable mentions:

AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (1990) by Ice Cube

Supa Dupa Fly (1997) by Missy Elliott

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) by Lauryn Hill

“Wait a minute… Where the fuck is 2Pac?”

Hahaha! I know people will argue that at least one of 2Pac’s albums should be placed on the honorable mentions, if not the actual list. After all, 2Pac is the defining hip-hop artist of all time. His work is taught at universities and his music still influences modern rappers today. But I believe his overall career and legacy is bigger than the individual albums that made it up. Me Against the World and All Eyez on Me are exceptional albums, but I don’t think they were more defining than the ones listed above.