Wayback, posting from 1994
Holy shit, I have no real recollections of the shit that happened in 1994...
Let's see, here. 14 first half of the year, finishing 9th grade, and 15 the second, starting 10th.
As I lead into this post, I am almost gearing myself for an uneventful year in hip hop.
I guess there is nothing I can do about it but jump on my research and tie it all together, no?
January shows us that some of these years like to get off to slow starts.
February the Fugees released their album neither of you remembers, "Blunted on Reality." A friend of mine had it, but I did not like it and still don't, I left it back there.
March Gangstarr dropped "Hard to Earn," Vanilla Ice with "Mind Blowin'" and Insane Clown Posse had "Ringmaster."
Fuck, 3 months into the year and I own ONE album released of four, even as of when I type this... Sad.
April delivered MOP's "To the Death," Nas' "Illmatic" and Outkast's "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik," making up for the bullshittery of the first quarter by giving us 2 classics in one month.
May arrives with The Beastie Boys' "Ill Communication," Jeru The Damaja's "The Sun Rises in the East" and Heavy D & The Boyz with "Nuttin' but Love," which is not about buttsex (no brokeback).
June finds Warren G releasing his only album worth listening to, "Regulate... G Funk Era," Arrested Development with "Zingalamaduni," Bone Thugs N Harmony with "Creepin on ah Comeup," Da Brat with "Funkdafied," and House of Pain's "Same as it Ever Was"
July ... keep it moving, nothin' to see here. Really odd, though, as people usually bust ass to get out an album for the summertime.
August Public Enemy dropped "Muse Sick in Our Mess Age" and Organized Konfusion had "Stress: The Extinction Agenda"
September is when we get Biggie's "Ready to Die," Craig Mack dropped "Project Funk da World," and 2pac pushed "Thug Life, Vol. 1..." I really thought the Craig Mack album came before BIG did.
October Suge made Snoop capitalize on sensation with "Murder Was the Case," and the corresponding soundtrack, and Fu-Schnickens ruined the MINUSCULE respect they had in the industry by letting Shaquille 'Kobe how my ass taste' O'neal rap on an album. Digable Planets also released "Blowout Comb," and O.C. released "Word... Life" which you should surely own, same applies to Common's "Resurrection." In fact, you should own 3 copies, so go buy them now.
November gives us Brand Nubian's "Everything is Everything," Pete Rock & CL Smooth with "The Main Ingredient," Method Man with "Tical" and Keith Murray with "The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World." Look at these 4 albums for a moment... Brand Nubian and Pete Rock & CL Smooth are following classics, and cannot catch lightning in that bottle again. Method Man comes after the Wu Tang classic debut with a (great, but not classic) solo debut, and would spend the rest of his life making shitty albums trying to recreate. Keith Murray comes off of star guesting and makes a good album, and NEVER even recreates the mediocrity he gained from even that. Ain't that some shit?
Oh yeah, Slick Rick dropped "Behind Bars," and you don't care any more than I do.
December brought nothing more than some cold weather and Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.... HARAMBEE!!!
Nope, not a single album according to my exhaustive search.
As I look back over this list to make it, it seems that listeners of hip hop seem to heap FAR too much praise on this year because of the releases of Biggie and Nas' debut albums. Neglect is given to the fact that there were 3 full months where not a single fucking hip hop album was released. Now January would be understandable, given the post-holiday pinch, but the others were July and December, which I find to be WHOLLY unacceptable. Look, you WANT to have a hot single out for the summer when people are out more to hear it on the radio (yes, people listened to the radio, a largely BULLSHIT medium nowadays), and then you put out a fire hot album to sell on the strength. December is the time where people will have similar time on their hands and are ALREADY OUT and looking to spend moneys, why not give them something to buy?
Oh shit, I haven't scored this shit yet, have I?
A slim 30 releases, with an ownership of 18 of them for a pretty slim 60%.
Somewhere between 4 and 7 "classic" albums in that mix, again depending on who you ask, My call is like a cold Spades hand, "4 and a possible," and this isn't even one of those years where I can exercise good faith in leveling with you to say I'd understand if you had the ones I don't/haven't.
As I was researching this one, people called this the year that hip hop "peaked," but I have the advantage of having had to carry each of these posts in the same manner, and I can clearly name better years AFTER 94. I'm sorry, I just can't be a Stan due only to Biggie and Nas releases.
Let's see, here. 14 first half of the year, finishing 9th grade, and 15 the second, starting 10th.
As I lead into this post, I am almost gearing myself for an uneventful year in hip hop.
I guess there is nothing I can do about it but jump on my research and tie it all together, no?
January shows us that some of these years like to get off to slow starts.
February the Fugees released their album neither of you remembers, "Blunted on Reality." A friend of mine had it, but I did not like it and still don't, I left it back there.
March Gangstarr dropped "Hard to Earn," Vanilla Ice with "Mind Blowin'" and Insane Clown Posse had "Ringmaster."
Fuck, 3 months into the year and I own ONE album released of four, even as of when I type this... Sad.
April delivered MOP's "To the Death," Nas' "Illmatic" and Outkast's "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik," making up for the bullshittery of the first quarter by giving us 2 classics in one month.
May arrives with The Beastie Boys' "Ill Communication," Jeru The Damaja's "The Sun Rises in the East" and Heavy D & The Boyz with "Nuttin' but Love," which is not about buttsex (no brokeback).
June finds Warren G releasing his only album worth listening to, "Regulate... G Funk Era," Arrested Development with "Zingalamaduni," Bone Thugs N Harmony with "Creepin on ah Comeup," Da Brat with "Funkdafied," and House of Pain's "Same as it Ever Was"
July ... keep it moving, nothin' to see here. Really odd, though, as people usually bust ass to get out an album for the summertime.
August Public Enemy dropped "Muse Sick in Our Mess Age" and Organized Konfusion had "Stress: The Extinction Agenda"
September is when we get Biggie's "Ready to Die," Craig Mack dropped "Project Funk da World," and 2pac pushed "Thug Life, Vol. 1..." I really thought the Craig Mack album came before BIG did.
October Suge made Snoop capitalize on sensation with "Murder Was the Case," and the corresponding soundtrack, and Fu-Schnickens ruined the MINUSCULE respect they had in the industry by letting Shaquille 'Kobe how my ass taste' O'neal rap on an album. Digable Planets also released "Blowout Comb," and O.C. released "Word... Life" which you should surely own, same applies to Common's "Resurrection." In fact, you should own 3 copies, so go buy them now.
November gives us Brand Nubian's "Everything is Everything," Pete Rock & CL Smooth with "The Main Ingredient," Method Man with "Tical" and Keith Murray with "The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World." Look at these 4 albums for a moment... Brand Nubian and Pete Rock & CL Smooth are following classics, and cannot catch lightning in that bottle again. Method Man comes after the Wu Tang classic debut with a (great, but not classic) solo debut, and would spend the rest of his life making shitty albums trying to recreate. Keith Murray comes off of star guesting and makes a good album, and NEVER even recreates the mediocrity he gained from even that. Ain't that some shit?
Oh yeah, Slick Rick dropped "Behind Bars," and you don't care any more than I do.
December brought nothing more than some cold weather and Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.... HARAMBEE!!!
Nope, not a single album according to my exhaustive search.
As I look back over this list to make it, it seems that listeners of hip hop seem to heap FAR too much praise on this year because of the releases of Biggie and Nas' debut albums. Neglect is given to the fact that there were 3 full months where not a single fucking hip hop album was released. Now January would be understandable, given the post-holiday pinch, but the others were July and December, which I find to be WHOLLY unacceptable. Look, you WANT to have a hot single out for the summer when people are out more to hear it on the radio (yes, people listened to the radio, a largely BULLSHIT medium nowadays), and then you put out a fire hot album to sell on the strength. December is the time where people will have similar time on their hands and are ALREADY OUT and looking to spend moneys, why not give them something to buy?
Oh shit, I haven't scored this shit yet, have I?
A slim 30 releases, with an ownership of 18 of them for a pretty slim 60%.
Somewhere between 4 and 7 "classic" albums in that mix, again depending on who you ask, My call is like a cold Spades hand, "4 and a possible," and this isn't even one of those years where I can exercise good faith in leveling with you to say I'd understand if you had the ones I don't/haven't.
As I was researching this one, people called this the year that hip hop "peaked," but I have the advantage of having had to carry each of these posts in the same manner, and I can clearly name better years AFTER 94. I'm sorry, I just can't be a Stan due only to Biggie and Nas releases.
Comments
Mayne, snoop, oc, craig mack, biggie, outkast, nas, the majority of those albums you mentioned made up the soundtrack to my 18th year on the planet. Throw in "The Infamous" & I rode to a decent 75% of those albums that year.
I lost my virginity that year too, so I guess there are underlying reasons while it was a memorable year. Rkelly dropped an album that year too, I think. Maybe it was ginuine, or aaliyah or missy. Idk, but that was a good year for your boy. Keep it up, juice.
We both know, for themost part, in the immortal words of Bussa Bus, "there's only 4 years left".....
*random thought* some of the word verication words would make hella rapper/group names. This one says "incaket". Thats a good emo-band name.