I forgot to post this during the 1989 discussion. For the chart fans, here is the very first Hot Rap Singles chart in Billboard Magazine.
Billboard also published a year-end Top Rap Singles starting in 1989 (30 positions). Here is what the biggest rap singles were, according to Billboard, those years. 1989 Top Rap Singles (from "The Year In Music" issue dated December 23, 1989) 1. Self Destruction - Stop The Violence Movement 2. Me Myself & I - De La Soul 3. Bust A Move - Young MC 4. Fight The Power - Public Enemy 5. It's Funky Enough - The D.O.C. 6. Children's Story - Slick Rick 7. Express Yourself - NWA 8. Turn This Mutha Out - MC Hammer 9. Rollin' With Kid 'N Play - Kid 'N Play 10. We Got Our Own Thang - Heavy D & The Boyz 11. Smooth Operator - Big Daddy Kane 12. Funky Dividends - Three Times Dope 13. They Want Money - Kool Moe Dee 14. The Man We All Know And Love - Kwame 15. Me So Horny - 2 Live Crew 16. Funky Cold Medina - Tone Loc 17. I'm That Type Of Guy - LL Cool J 18. They Put Me In The Mix - MC Hammer 19. Girl You Know It's True - Milli Vanilli (their only song to chart on the Hot Rap Singles chart) 20. Pump It Up - MC Hammer 21. Joy And Pain - Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock 22. So Wat Cha Sayin' - EPMD 23. We Want Eazy - Eazy-E 24. Why Is That - Boogie Down Productions 25. Life Is...Too Short - Too Short 26. Wild Thing - Tone Loc 27. Do The Right Thing - Redhead Kingpin & The FBI 28. L.A. Posse - Breeze 29. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah - Oaktown's 3-5-7 30. I Got It Made - Special Ed 1990 Top Rap Singles (from "The Year In Music" issue dated December 22, 1990) 1. Expression - Salt-N-Pepa 2. The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground 3. Buddy - De La Soul 4. The Power - Snap! 5. Call Me D-Nice - D-Nice 6. Beepers - Sir Mix-A-Lot 7. Murder Rap - Above The Law 8. Ownlee Ewe - Kwame & A New Beginning 9. Funhouse - Kid 'N Play 10. Me So Horny - 2 Live Crew 11. New Jack Swing - Wrecks-N-Effect 12. We're All In The Same Gang - West Coast Rap All-Stars 13. The Boomin' System - LL Cool J 14. Treat Them Like They Want To Be Treated - Father MC 15. The Power - Power Jam feat. Chill Rob G. 16. Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em - Eric B. & Rakim 17. Amerikkka's Most Wanted - Ice Cube 18. 911 Is A Joke - Public Enemy 19. Welcome To The Terrordome - Public Enemy 20. Pump It Hottie - Redhead Kingpin & The FBI 21. The D.O.C. & The Doctor - The D.O.C. 22. U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer 23. Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice 24. Cha Cha Cha - MC Lyte 25. Rock Dis Funky Joint - Poor Righteous Teachers 26. Knockin' Boots - Candyman 27. Somebody For Me - Heavy D & The Boyz 28. Love's Gonna Get'cha - Boogie Down Productions 29. Pawns In The Game - Professor Griff 30. Just A Friend - Biz Markie
It's interesting to me, in a lot of the music video examples being posted, this trend of remixes being used in the video or video-exclusive songs. Is this unique to rap or was it going on in other pop-related genres at the time?
Single remixes were fairly common in pop and R&B music, too. Looking at the top 10 rap singles of the year for 1990, here are the song versions that could be considered the official single mixes, which were often used in the music videos: 1. Expression - Salt-N-Pepa (both LP version and Brixton Remix appear on the singles; video uses the LP version) 2. The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground (single is an early fade of the LP version) 3. Buddy - De La Soul (video uses the Radio Edit of the stellar "Native Tongue Decision" remix; US singles have both the remix and LP versions) 4. The Power - Snap! (Single Version appears on US singles and video, which is similar to LP version) 5. Call Me D-Nice - D-Nice (LP version used on US singles and video) 6. Beepers - Sir Mix-A-Lot (LP version appears in video and on cassette single; 12" uses the In Touch Remix) 7. Murder Rap - Above The Law (LP version appears on US singles; censored LP version used in video) 8. Ownlee Ewe - Kwame & A New Beginning (single has the Poka Dellie Mix, which I think is just the LP version without the skit at the beginning) 9. Funhouse - Kid 'N Play (LP version appears on video and US singles) 10. Me So Horny - 2 Live Crew (clean version used on video and US singles)
De La Soul "Buddy" (Native Tongue Decision-Radio Edit) LOVE this remix. Off the top of my head, I can't think of an earlier remix that not only is a completely different recording but also includes a number of additional artists that were not on the original.
I see you, @kanno1ae ! This thread is a treasure - I completely forgot about it. Ah, '89, '90. Right before G-Funk took over. The year of Paul's Boutique. The era of hella De La remixes and crazy b-sides (.... Did he say "hella"? RrrrrrrrrAh!!) As a house party dj at that time, it was great fun to drop "Under Pressure" or "Let's Play House" and watch the kids bug out on the sample sources.
Can't leave 1990 without discussing Fear Of A Black Planet (Public Enemy). Call me crazy, but I always liked this album more than It Takes A Nation..., and I think it's simply because it has four killer singles that are some of the best tracks they've ever recorded: "Brothers Gonna Work It Out," "911 Is A Joke," "Welcome To The Terrordome," and "Fight The Power." Even the album's introduction, "Contract On The World Love Jam," is a killer! There are a handful of filler tracks, especially on the second half, but many of the songs are pretty short (under 3:00), and it's an album I can enjoy listening all the way through rather than just cherry picking the best tracks. I also love the way that they end it with the interviewer saying "OK, talk to me about the future of Public Enemy," to which we only hear the first few words of Chuck D's answer, and then the record abruptly ends. Brilliant. Side note: Rolling Stone ranked it #300 on their greatest 500 albums list, and The Source selected it as one of the 100 greatest rap albums.
I'm glad to see this one sneaked onto your list at number 10a. The EPMD albums I find myself listening to most often are the debut, Strictly Business, and this one. Their first three albums are all self-produced (although their DJ, DJ Scratch, produced four tracks on Business As Usual), and it really is anything but business as usual. Their samples are more creative and more densely layered, and their lyrics are a bit more mature. They also introduce the world to Redman (on "Hardcore") and continue the saga of "Jane." The standout tracks, though, are I'm Mad, Rampage, Gold Digger, Underground, and Give The People. (A vocal sample from "Undergound" would later appear as part of the hook in "They Want EFX.")
I could use some help with this one. Does anyone (probably someone in Europe) have the CD of Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em without the blank spot in "Step Back"? I know it exists, but maybe not on a US pressing. Here's a video with the song that does not have the blank spot: Trivia: The reason many/most pressings have the blank spot is because Rakim says "Six sextrillion [sic] tons is a lot of weigh." The word should have been "sextillion" (no "r"), and presumably Rakim didn't want to have the wrong word in his rhyme, but it was too late to recut the vocal.
1995 This great 2Pac song was released. In my opinion, I think that it is the greatest 2Pac song of all time.
I was just thinking the other day I needed to pick this back up. Life and work caused me to take a break from a couple threads I had started on here. Let's move onto... 1991 It seemed like hip-hop really exploded in '91 with a ton of major albums. Released on my 13th birthday, The Low End Theory by ATCQ still remains one of my all-time favorite albums in any genre. But there were just SO MANY incredible albums from that year. I think this album cover collage best sums it up: Pictured above: 2Pac 2Pacalypse Now, Pete Rock & CL Smooth All Souled Out, Public Enemy Apocalypse 91, Black Sheep A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing, Main Source Breaking Atoms, Chubb Rock The One, Cypress Hill (self-titled), Del Tha Funkee Homosapien I Wish My Brother George Was Here, De La Soul Is Dead, Diamond Shell The Grand Imperial, Digital Underground Sons Of The P, Genius (GZA) Words From The Genius, Geto Boys We Can't Be Stopped, Ice-T OG Original Gangster, Ice Cube Death Certificate, A Tribe Called Quest The Low End Theory, KMD Mr. Hood, Naughty By Nature (self-titled), Nice & Smooth Ain't A Damn Thing Changed, NWA Efil4zaggin, Organized Konfusion (self-titled), DJ Quik Quik Is The Name, Slick Rick The Ruler's Back, Scarface Mr. Scarface Is Back, Gang Starr Step In The Arena That doesn't even cover them all! Your top 5 favorite albums and singles from 1991...what are they?
Nope, just reviving the thread after a hiatus! Glad you're enjoying it. I absolutely love the period from '91 to '94, so there's no way I'd skip it!
My top 5 favorite hip-hop albums of 1991: 5. Step In The Arena (Gang Starr) 4. Cypress Hill (Cypress Hill) 3. Niggaz4life (NWA) 2. Death Certificate (Ice Cube) 1. The Low End Theory (A Tribe Called Quest) Honorable mention: A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing (Black Sheep), Breaking Atoms (Main Source) My top 5 favorite hip-hop singles of 1991: 5. "How I Could Just Kill A Man" by Cypress Hill 4. "Just To Get A Rep" (Remix) by Gang Starr 3. "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince 2. "Mind Playin' Tricks On Me" by Geto Boys 1. "The Choice Is Yours" (Revisited) by Black Sheep Honorable mention: "Ain't No Future In Yo' Frontin'" by MC Breed, "OPP" by Naughty By Nature, "Flavor Of The Month" by Black Sheep, "Steady Mobbin'" by Ice Cube
top 5 from '91 Main Source - Breaking Atoms A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead Ice Cube - Death Certificate The Freestyle Fellowship - To Whom it may Concern superb year with some absolutely game changing albums
Do you prefer the original or the Pe-te Rock Mixx?!? ^^^Dope interview with Pete Rock talking about the remix.
Love the list, but did you mean Death Certificate? The Predator didn't come out until the very end of 1992.
glad this thread has been resurrected btw. cliché I know, but this reaaaaally was the golden age of hip hop