ICYMI: Check out ourĀ previous entries/playlists from the 1990s:
Oof.
I had almost forgotten how crazy a year 1996 actually was for hip-hop. So many tracks kept coming to mind when creating this one, and personally, this playlist may be my favourite thus far. A ton of head nodders and a whole bunch of incredible music came out this year. 1996 also holds the distinction as being the last year prior to the grip of the “shiny-suit” era of rap.
Surprisingly, Spotify (@Spotify) managed to come through with a bunch of stuff I wouldn’t have expected them to have the rights to so I’m pretty happy with how this one turned out – should be a good summer listen to reminisce over for the hip-hop heads anyway!
Happy #FlashbackFriday and to all my Guelphites, have an amazingĀ Hillside (@HillsideFest) weekend – hopefully some of you will be able to take this playlist with you to the campground.. or maybe even inside of the fabled Volly Village!
The best rapper of 1996 (according to Complex) : 2PAC
For those who aren’t aware and/or have been living under rocks, Jay-ZĀ (@S_C_) pulled his entire catalogue from Spotify due to his interests in the competing streaming service, TIDAL (@TIDALHiFi) – the absence of Reasonable Doubt should come as no surprise to most. However, as is usually the case, there are always a few others that manage to elude the reach of Spotify and 1996 has been no different in that regard.
The ideal ’96 rap playlist would have also included cuts from each one of these gems:
da Bush Babees āĀ Gravity
De La Soul ā Stakes is High
DJ Honda ā DJ Honda
East Flatbush Project ā Tried by 12 (single)
Frankie Cutlass ā Politics & Bullshit
JaĆæ-Z ā Reasonable Doubt
Jeru the Damaja ā Wrath of the Math
Juggaknots ā Clear Blue Skies
Siah & Yeshua DapoED ā the Visualz
Trigger tha Gambler ā Life’s a 50/50 Gamble (unreleased)
- da Bush Babees: These guys are definitely one of the most overlooked rap crews from the 90’s. GravityĀ is also recognized as being partially responsible for helping to introducing the world to Mos Def.
- De La Soul: Just another album of theirs we can’t have due to their resistance to streaming services. Sigh. They have their new record on there but I’m not really personally feeling that one. Stakes is High is the first De La album without Prince Paul (@DJPrincePaul) and the first with Dilla (@OfficialJDilla1).
- DJ Honda: Very underrated debut from the Japanese DJ with a ton of top features including Common (@common), Redman (@therealredman), Biz Markie (@BizMarkie), and more.
- East Flatbush Project: Classic track. Newer fans will probably recognize this beat from when DJ Premier (@REALDJPREMIER) laced the Shady 2.0 cypher back in 2011.
- Frankie Cutlass: A quick listen of an album with Frankie cooking up some bangers and inviting a ton of dope MCs to rock over ’em. Includes the likes of Redman, Kool G Rap (@TheRealKoolGRap),Ā Biz Markie (@BizMarkie), Roxanne ShantĆ© (@ImroxanneShante), and many more! Forgotten fire.Ā š„
- JaĆæ-Z: Our first complete introduction to the god back when he was still rockin’ the umlaut. Recently blessed us with one of the best albums of his career at damn near 50 years old.
- Jeru the Damaja: Jeru‘s profile picture on Spotify is of this album’s cover – so why can’t I listen to it on there?Ā š¤
- Juggaknots: Fondle ‘EmĀ underground legends. Group of Breezly Brewin’ who some may recognize as theĀ protagonist fromĀ Prince Paul‘s hip-hop masterpiece, A Prince Among Thieves. Clear Blue Skies is honestly one of the best rap debuts and albums, ever, in my opinion. Criminally slept-on by the average fan!
- Siah & Yeshua DapoED: Another act who made a home atĀ Bobbito Garcia‘s (@koolboblove) Fondle ‘Em Records. The Visualz is a lesser-known jewel so be sure to check this one out if you’re not already familiar.
- Trigger tha Gambler: As far as I know, Life’s a 50/50 Gamble was never officially released – which is a shame because the only album from Smoothe da Hustler‘s (@SMOOTHEHUSTLER) partner is a really good one.
Don’t forgetĀ FOLLOW ALL THE PLAYLISTS ON SPOTIFY – grab ’em in the links at the top of this post if you’re just catching up!
See you “next year”!Ā āļøĀ 1ā£ļøĀ 9ā£ļøĀ 9ā£ļøĀ 7ā£ļø
