I Miss 90s Hip-Hop Vol. 4
Late 1991 (July-December)
The true strength of artists who debuted in the 80s
As new artists achieve successive success, veteran artists who were active in the 80s are also releasing wonderful works. On Nice & Smooth's second album, Ain't A Damn Thing Changed (released September 17th), which boasts immense popularity among core hip-hop fans, the combination of Greg Nice and Smooth B has become even stronger, with singles like "Hip Hop Junkies" and "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow" all being classics.
Nice & Smooth "Hip Hop Junkies"
Nice & Smooth「Sometimes I Rhyme Slow」
Nice & Smooth「Cake & Eat It Too」
Nice & Smooth - How to Flow
Public Enemy's fourth album, "Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Back," released on October 1st, maintained their strong style with its messages, while also featuring new attempts like remaking their signature song "Bring The Noise" with Anthrax, and these attempts were remarkably successful.
Public Enemy - Can't Truss It
Public Enemy "Shut Em Down"
Public Enemy "Bring The Noise feat. Anthrax"
Heavy D & The Boyz's 3rd album, "Peaceful Journey" (released July 2nd), features a lineup from the previous album "Big Tyme" including Teddy Riley and Marley Marl, with the new addition of Pete Rock as producer. Notably, "Now That We Found Love" and "Is It Good To You," produced by Teddy Riley, became huge hits. A version of "Is It Good To You" sung by Tammy Lucas was also released and proved to be very popular.
Heavy D & The Boyz "Now That We Found Love"
Heavy D & The Boyz - "Is It Good To You"
Heavy D & The Boyz "Don't Curse"
Hip-Hop x Movies
The soundtrack album for the movie *Juice* (released December 31) includes Tammy Lucas's version of "Is It Good To You." This soundtrack, released on the label S.O.U.L. (Sound Of Urban Listeners), which we also featured in Vol. 3, includes tracks from various hip-hop/R&B artists such as Naughty By Nature, EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, and Cypress Hill. The overall quality of the album is exceptionally high, and particularly noteworthy is the coolness of Eric B. & Rakim's "Juice (Know The Ledge)," which is also the movie's theme song. Coincidentally, 2Pac stars as one of the main actors, and the movie's story is very strongly influenced by hip-hop.
Eric B. & Rakim's "Juice (Know The Ledge)"
Another important film featuring a rapper that I want to mention is John Singleton's ‘Boyz n the Hood," which stars Ice Cube. This was also his film debut, and he would go on to have a successful career as an actor and film director. The soundtrack album for "Boyz n the Hood" (released July 9) is also very impressive, with Compton's Most Wanted's "Growing Up In The Hood" serving as the main track, linking to the film's story. Furthermore, around the same time, Compton's Most Wanted's second album, "Straight Checkn 'Em" (released July 16), which includes the same song, was also released.
Compton's Most Wanted "Growing Up In The Hood"
South hip-hop legends = Geto Boys
As hip-hop scenes beyond the East Coast and West Coast gradually become more active, classic albums are also emerging from the central and southern regions of America. Among them, the 3rd album from Geto Boys, "We Can't Be Stopped" (released July 9th), based in Houston, Texas, a legendary presence in the Southern hip-hop scene, is a highly significant work. More than the impact of its jacket cover, which was photographed inside a hospital, the distinctive gritty atmosphere of the South is clearly different from artists in other regions, and their single hit "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" encapsulates all of their appeal. Furthermore, three months later, Geto Boys member Scarface's 1st solo album "Mr. Scarface Is Back" (released October 8th) was also released.
Geto Boys "Mind Playing Tricks on Me"
Scarface "A Minute to Pray and a Second to Die"
From Flint, Michigan, in the American Midwest, MC Breed & DFC released their first album, ’MC Breed & DFC,’ on August 13th. The album's hit single, "Ain't No Future In Yo' Frontin'," sampled Ohio Players' "Funky Worm," making him known to hip-hop fans nationwide with just this one song.
MC Breed & DFC 'Ain't No Future In Yo' Frontin'"
Many other veteran artists' works have also been released, and I would like to simply list their titles.
・Slick Rick, *The Ruler's Back* (released July 2nd)
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - "Homebase" (Released July 23)
・Poor Righteous Teachers "Pure Poverty" (released September 3rd)
・Queen Latifah "Nature Of A Sista" (Release Date: September 3)
MC Lyte - "Act Like You Know" (Release Date: September 17)
Slick Rick - "I Shouldn't Have Done It"
Slick Rick "It's A Boy"
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Summertime
Poor Righteous Teachers - Shakiyla
Poor Righteous Teachers「Easy Star」
Queen Latifah "Fly Girl"
MC Lyte "Poor Georgie"
Biz Markie sampling lawsuit controversy
The last topic I want to discuss is the sampling lawsuit surrounding Biz Markie's third album, "I Need A Haircut." The track "Alone Again" from this album was found to have sampled Gilbert O'Sullivan's song of the same name ("Alone Again (Naturally)") without permission. Biz Markie and his record label were sued, and ultimately, the album was recalled and re-released without the song "Alone Again." This event, in a way, was inevitable as hip-hop grew into a significant presence in the business world. It led to soaring sampling clearance fees and profoundly impacted hip-hop sound production.
Biz Markie "Alone Again"
Biz Markie "What Comes Around Goes Around"
＜本文終わり＞
Music writer. Began writing in 1996, contributing to publications such as the hip-hop magazine "blast." Moved to Los Angeles in 2003, where they covered the underground hip-hop scene, including artists like Stones Throw, while also writing about fashion, art, and other fields. Returned to Japan in 2015 and continues to work as a writer for various magazines and web media, focusing primarily on hip-hop.
