Beastie Boys’ “Paul Revere,” Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend,” and Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” might not dazzle you with state-of-the-art wordplay, but they’re still all bona fide classics. While complex lyrics are synonymous with East Coast rap, some of the region’s finest songs contain verses even your parents could recite word for word. It has encompassed hip-hop at its most pop (Who’s down with O.P.P.?), and its most challenging and arty (Gang Starr, Company Flow). In the case of classics like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message,” Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO Tour Llif3,” and Young M.A’s “OOOUUU,” it means a stripped-down sound driven home by ice-cold bravado and prickly bars. Smooth, or ELUCID, it means innovative samples emboldened by a curative dose of boom-bap. What defines East Coast rap? For artists like Eric B. “East Coast” grew to cover artists like Beanie Sigel and Meek Mill in Philadelphia, Wale and Nonchalant in Washington, D.C., New Jersey favorite son Redman, and Maryland’s own Rico Nasty, among others. After Southern rap rose to dominance in the 2000s, a new generation of stars like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Bobby Shmurda, Pop Smoke, and Ice Spice reminded the world that rap’s birthplace could still be its vital center. When the West Coast scene threatened that hegemony in the early Nineties, the Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan, and other hard-edged, lyrically brilliant titans helped swing the pendulum back. and LL Cool J, and sonic and political agitators like De La Soul and Public Enemy. Hip-hop was born in the Bronx, and though rap’s other regions percolated throughout the Eighties, nearly every major hip-hop artist in the music’s first decade came out of New York - from old-school pioneers like Kurtis Blow and Funky Four +1 More to street-rap progenitors like Run-D.M.C. That’s because there wasn’t any other coast to compare it to. In the early days of hip-hop, no one really talked about the East Coast. To celebrate the music’s 50th anniversary, “Rolling Stone” will be publishing a series of features, historical pieces, op-eds, and lists throughout this year. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Parents Just Don't Understandĩ9.HIP-HOP WAS BORN in the Bronx in the summer of 1973. ![]() Master P ft Sikk, Fiend, Mia-x and Mystical - Make 'Em Say Ughĩ6. NERD ft Lee Harvey and Vida - Lapdanceĩ4. Chamillionaire ft Krayzie Bone - Ridin'ĩ3. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - They Reminisce Over You(T.R.O.Y)ĩ1. Wyclef Jean ft Refugee All Stars - We Tryin' to Stay Aliveĩ0. Three 6 Mafia ft Paula Campbell- Hard Out Here For A PimpĨ6. Big Punisher ft Joe- Still Not A Playerħ7. Spoonie Gee and The Treacherous Three - Love Rapħ6. Ludacris ft Shawna - What's Your FantasyĦ2 Digable Planets - Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)Ħ3. Busta Rhymes - Woo-Ha! Got You All In Checkĥ8. Terror Squad ft Fat Joe and Remy - Lean Backĥ6. ![]() Lox ft DMX and Lil' Kim - Money, Power, Respectĥ5. Boogie Down Productions - My Philosophyĥ1. Blige - I'll Be There For You / You're All I Need to Get ByĤ5. Game, The ft 50 Cent - Hate It or Love ItĤ4. ![]() Queen Latifah ft Monie Love - Ladies Firstģ7. Puff Daddy & The Family ft Notorious BIG, Lil' Kim and The Lox - It's All About The Benjaminsģ3. Digital Underground - The Humpty Danceģ2. Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force - Planet Rockģ0. Kanye West ft Jamie Foxx - Gold DiggerĢ1. LL Cool J - I Can't Live Without My RadioĢ0. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - The Messageġ2. ![]() After a quick glance through, one noticeable absence is Jay-Z's 99 Problems ( the AC/DC remix, of course) and where the hell is Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby? Sacrilege… VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hip Songsĥ. Whether it's in the correct order or not is, obviously, completely subjective. It's a very impressive list in that it's very long.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |