― ethan, Saturday, 2 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― alex in nyc, Saturday, 2 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― tarden, Saturday, 2 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
Individual strands *within* hip-hop obviously have golden ages, though (gangsta 92-94 probably, "conscious" rap and Afro-centricity maybe just before that, 91 or so, and so on.)
― Robin Carmody, Saturday, 2 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
These were big changes from rap's lyrical roots, and (let's face it) a hell of a lot more sophisticated than "White Lines." And more to the point, this literate strain of rap sold pretty well in the early 90s, unlike today (where undie types sell in numbers comparable to inie rock.) I wouldn't describe it as "better," but "more likely to appeal to college-educated critics."
I was in college during this period & I do have a tendancy to see that time (more '89 to '95 for me) as special. But what is happening in rap now is so much more interesting sonically than the sampled jazz/James Brown school. The Bomb Squad were masters, but they didn't exactly have a ton of range. Much less than Outkast, I would imagine (though I only know the songs from them on the radio.) Lyrcially, things have changed a lot once again, & not neccesarily for the better in my opinion. But that probably has more to do with my losing faith in words in general.
― Mark, Saturday, 2 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
While this may be true, I think it's important to note that (true to their name) OutKast are *NOT* the norm, these days. Much to their considerable credit, their sound, lyrical content and overal aesthetic owes precious little to the majority of today's most highly touted hip hop.
― Tim, Saturday, 2 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
Interesting comments about Outkast above, kind of like how Kweli has a really unique, clear sound while Mos Def has much more mainstream production (but subverts it with some live instrumentation and interesting sounds, etc). I like both a lot, and Mos Def makes me wonder if I could enjoy mainstream hiphop a lot more if I gave it a chance.
― Jordan, Sunday, 3 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
Also implicit in the Golden Age concept was the notion that the latter ages were when everything interesting happens.
Oh, OK, hip-hop. I think it's fine at the moment, and now is really the only time when I'm even remotely starting to get any kind of coherent grip on 'what's happening'.
― Tom, Monday, 4 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― adam, Monday, 4 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
Very *very* good analogy, Tom.
― Robin Carmody, Monday, 4 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― ethan, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Tom, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Tim, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link