In this episode of Melonious Thonk, we'll explore '90s Hip Hop. Hip Hop during the '90s was a pivotal era that fundamentally designed my persona and outlook on life. I couldn't necessarily relate to the lyrics, but the music still had a profound influence on me -- from the slang, fashion, and demeanor.

For this post, rather than looking at the history, I will be sharing something more personal.

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East Coast vs. West Coast

Now, I'm not going to get into the classic debate between these two coasts. Instead, I'll get into a conversation I recently had with a friend. Several weeks ago, a friend and I were discussing our affinity for Hip Hop, specifically about the key elemental differences in our preference in that genre. He preferred the West Coast and I obviously preferred the East Coast. He preferred the melodic funk inspired production and I preferred the grittiness of the emcee's lyricism backed by grimy production. That's not to say West Coast rappers are not lyrical.

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N.Y. State of Mind

After the 'Golden Age of Hip Hop' (the late '80s to early '90s), I religiously listened to the following New Yorck City-based artists/groups during the mid-1990s to even the early-2000s: Nas, Mobb Deep (Prodigy & Havoc), Capone-N-Noreaga, Tragedy Khadafi, Nature, Cormega, Big Noyd, Infamous Mobb (Godfather: Pt. III, Ty Nitty, Twin Gambino (aka Big Twins)), AZ, Wu-Tang Clan (RZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Gza, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, & U-God), Cappadonna, Redman (New Jersey), Notorious B.I.G., The Lox (Jadakiss, Styles P, & Sheek Louch), Jay-Z, DMX, et cetera. Just a couple artists that come to mind right now.

Anybody remember BET Rap City "The Basement" with Big Tigger and the freestyle booth?

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Blahze Blahze

In 2000, I continued to listen to many of the artists mentioned previously, but my awareness of artists expanded. Some were artists introduced in the 2000's, some were during the 'Golden Era', some were from different regions of USA, and some were artists I simply missed during my early experiences with Hip Hop. In addition, I started beatmaking, which began my obsession with digging for samples. I will cover that another time.

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The Illest

Let's finally get into the music. There are hundreds of songs I could list, so for this episode of Melonious Thonk, I'll list a couple that came to mind first.

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Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Part II

The Firm (AZ, Nas & Nature) Feat. Dr. Dre - Phone Tap

GZA Feat. Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Killah Priest & RZA - Shadowboxin'/4th Chamber

Capone-N-Noreaga - Bloody Money

Jay-Z - Dead Presidents

Nas, Raekwon & Mobb Deep - Eye For An Eye (Your Beef Is Mine)

The LOX feat. Lil Kim & DMX - Money, Power, Respect

Wu-Tang Clan - Method Man

Mobb Deep - Survival of The Fittest

Capone-N-Noreaga

Biggie Smalls - The Wickedest Freestyle

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Phat, Bomb, & Bangin'

That's just an appetizer of what I'll be sharing with you for the next couple weeks. There are countless quality songs and I hope you can join me go back in time to explore the songs that I had on multiple Verbatim 700mb 80-min writable CD-Rs which was played on my portable Anti-Shock Panasonic Diskman.

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Final words: