Christina Pomoni asked:




Since the 70s when it first appeared, hip hop has developed in many ways. Hip hop in the 90s expressed politically conscious views in a smoother, seemingly effortless way, anchored by soft bass beats and melodic synthesizers. The former ghetto-produced music broke the walls and expanded to the urban America in several sub-genres like G-Funk, Southern hip hop and many others.

One of the most groundbreaking hip hop songs of the 90s is “Welcome to the Terrordrome” by Public Enemy (album: Fear of a Black planet, 1990). Public Enemy, a highly-politicized hip-hop group, often regarded as the chaos theoreticians, who promoted racial and historical theories, expressed their interest in the concerns of the African Americans in the 80s. Welcome to the Terrordrome reflects the need of the Black America for simple, drastic solutions, yet this need is communicated through bewildered, raged, and scary sounds. The song was ranked #3 in Hot Rap Singles, #15 in Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, # 49 in Hot Dance Music/Club Play and #8 in Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales and it is one of the angriest releases global music has ever seen.

The Brooklyn born Notorious BIG is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, not only for the music he produced but also for his lifestyle. Sex, drugs and guns, made The Notorious BIG a huge idol for the obese African Americans of the 90s, who found a stage to express themselves through rhyme and rhythm. The extraordinary sweet rhyming ability of The Notorious Big anchored by melodic synthesizers, smooth trumpets, and soft strings made “Big Poppa” (album: Ready to Die, 1995) a Top Ten smash hit achieving platinum sales.

Dr. Dre could not be missed out from my list. “Nuthin’ but a ‘g’ thang” (album: The Chronic, 1993) was the first G Funk hip hop song. Dr. Dre created an alternative hip hop subgenre, using saxophone and flute instrumentation, slow bass beats and melodic synthesizers to breed elements of hip hop, jazz, funk and soul. Consistent rhyming about sex, drugs, and violence in the black hoods of LA gave voice to the black America for civil rights in a society full of negative stereotypes. Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang reached #1 on Billboard chart and #3 in the big rap singles in the UK, while The Chronic is widely regarded as a groundbreaking album that re-defined West Coast hip hop.

Arrested Development is widely regarded as a groundbreaking, alternative hip hop group having a great impact on the popularization of Southern hip hop music. Focusing on the Woodstock principles of peace and love, while rhyming politically conscious lyrics, the group produced “People Everyday”, a smash hit in the Top Ten Charts. Arrested Development won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and Best New Artist, and the prize of the Band of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine.

Ice Tube, known for his focus on political and racial issues related to the treatment of African Americans in the US, from the time he was in N.W.A. along with Dr. Dre, uses the power of wording to describing a typical day in the black community of the 90s in the West Coast. Rhyming in a smooth, seemingly effortless way, Ice T describes a good day for a black guy in the absence of bad incidents including killing, and cheating. “Plus nobody I know got killed in South Central L.A., Today was a good day”; definitely one of the songs that had a great impact in the further evolution of hip hop music.