Golden age hip hop

Hip hop's "golden age" is a name given to a period in mainstream hip hop—usually cited as the late 1980s—said to be characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence. [Jon Caramanica, [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/26/arts/music/26jon.html "Hip-Hop's Raiders of the Lost Archives"] , "New York Times", June 26 2005.
Cheo H. Coker, [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/slickrick/albums/album/103326/review/5945316/behind_bars"Slick Rick: Behind Bars"] , "Rolling Stone", March 9 1995.
Lonnae O'Neal Parker, [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-735764.html "U-Md. Senior Aaron McGruder's Edgy Hip-Hop Comic Gets Raves, but No Takers"] , "Washington Post", Aug 20 1997.] [Jake Coyle of Associated Press, [http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2005-06-19-spin-top-cd_x.htm "Spin magazine picks Radiohead CD as best"] , published in "USA Today", June 19 2005.
Cheo H. Coker, [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/slickrick/albums/album/103326/review/5945316/behind_bars"Slick Rick: Behind Bars"] , "Rolling Stone", March 9 1995.
Andrew Drever, [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/10/22/1066631489557.html?from=storyrhs"Jungle Brothers still untamed"] , "The Age" [Australia] , October 24 2003. ] There were strong themes of Afrocentricity and political militancy, while the music was experimental, the sampling eclectic. [Roni Sariq, [http://citypages.com/databank/18/854/article3420.asp "Crazy Wisdom Masters"] , "City Pages", April 16 1997.
Scott Thill, [http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21943?page=1 "Whiteness Visible"] AlterNet, May 6 2005.
Will Hodgkinson, [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/homeentertainment/story/0,12830,1044954,00.html "Adventures on the wheels of steel"] , "The Guardian", September 19 2003. ] The artists most often associated with the phase are Public Enemy, KRS-One and his Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Jungle Brothers. [Per Coker, Hodgkinson, Drever, Thill, O'Neal Parker and Sariq above. Additionally:
Cheo H. Coker, [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/114772/review/5944793 "KRS-One: Krs-One"] , "Rolling Stone", , November 16, 1995.
Andrew Pettie, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/08/11/bmchuck11.xml&sSheet=/arts/2005/08/11/ixartleft.html "'Where rap went wrong'"] , "Daily Telegraph", August 11 2005.
Mosi Reeves, [http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0205,reeves,31875,22.html"Easy-Chair Rap"] , "Village Voice", January 29th 2002.
Greg Kot, [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/81448011.html?dids=81448011 "Hip-Hop Below the Mainstream"] , Los Angeles Times, September 19 2001.
Cheo Hodari Coker, [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/16659783.html?dids=16659783 "'It's a Beautiful Feeling'"] , "Los Angeles Times", August 11 1996.
Scott Mervis, [http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/20040215rap0215aep1.asp "From Kool Herc to 50 Cent, the story of rap -- so far"] , "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette", February 15 2004.] Releases by these acts co-existed and successfully competed commercially in this period with those of gangsta rap pioneers Schoolly D and N.W.A, the sex raps of Too $hort, and party-oriented music by acts such as Kid 'n Play, Heavy D, and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. [Bakari Kitwana, [http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0526,kitwana,65332,22.html/full "The Cotton Club"] , "Village Voice", June 21 2005.]

Some writers, such as Tony Green, have referenced the two year period 1993–1994 as "a second Golden Age" that saw influential, high quality albums using elements of past classicism—E-mu SP-1200 drum sounds, turntable scratches, references to old school hip hop hits, and "tongue-twisting triplet verbalisms"—while making clear that new directions were being taken. Green lists "Enter the Wu-Tang", "Illmatic", "Buhloone Mindstate", "Doggystyle", "Midnight Marauders" and "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik" as releases of this ilk. [Green, Tony, in Wang, Oliver (ed.) "Classic Material", Toronto: ECW Press, 2003. (p. 132)]

References