Hip Hop's Defining Years Day 3

1988. If you need a reminder of what albums dropped in 88, you ain't a hip hop fan.

1988 album wise really doesn't move me much personally as later years. I was not buying albums during that time but I was a fan of the artform. I probably owned a few dubs of some albums but that was it. That is why i'm not as attached to this era of albums as some of the other cats my age. I am more attached to the singles that dropped in that era because they are what I heard the most. Rap City and Yo MTV Raps were my main gateway into the many different styles. I was in 7th-8th grade during this year and rap was the sountrk to my life. This is around the time I started rapping.

My favs
Eazy Duz-It
Straight Outta Compton
It Takes A Nation
Life Is....
Great Adventures Of...
In Control Vol. 1
Long Live The Kane
By All Means
Power

Dope year...fa sho.... Power, Life Is..., It Takes A Nation, In Control Vol. 1 - etc... a lot of those classics have aged well...

wasn't Life Is really released earlier though?

A few more that got my money:

Tougher Than Leather
2 Hype
Swass
Colors

1988 was EASILY one of the greatest years in hip-hop history, while 1994 is my personal favorite, 1988 may objectively be the best because it released the most consensus classics.

Some of my favs from that year were:

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
By All Means Necessary
Straight Outta Compton
Long Live The Kane
The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick
Follow The Leader
Road To The Riches
Strictly Business
In Control Vol. 1
Critical Beatdown
Lyte As A Rock
He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper
Tougher Than Leather
Power
A Salt With A Deadly Pepa
Straight Out The Jungle
and many more....

1988 was also the year that Yo! MTV Raps debuted, which became the greatest show in hip-hop history. There will never be another show like it, and not many years in hip-hop history can quite match up with 88.

Rap City>>>>>>Yo MTV Raps.

KRob86 wrote:

Rap City>>>>>>Yo MTV Raps.

I disagree with that. Yo had high personality cats like Ed Lover, Dr Dre, T Money, and Fab 5 Freddy. Not to mention all those live performances that Rap City didn't start to get until the Big Tigger era. Yo MTV Raps also made stars out of people, Rap City while dope, really didn't.

I wish I listened to more than the radio in 02/03 when Rap City was good. I never knew a single song they played.

Shaun wrote:

I wish I listened to more than the radio in 02/03 when Rap City was good. I never knew a single song they played.

You're a baby still Shaun. Everything that was dope at the time was played on Rap City. I still give the edge to Yo! because of the antics of Ed and Dre and how in depth that Fab 5 Freddy would get with MC's.

Flava TV>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Flava TV ain't got shit on Yo MTV Raps or Rap City.

"You're a baby still Shaun. Everything that was dope at the time was played on Rap City. I still give the edge to Yo! because of the antics of Ed and Dre and how in depth that Fab 5 Freddy would get with MC's."

Uh... I didn't say Rap City was better...

Shaun wrote:

"You're a baby still Shaun. Everything that was dope at the time was played on Rap City. I still give the edge to Yo! because of the antics of Ed and Dre and how in depth that Fab 5 Freddy would get with MC's."

Uh... I didn't say Rap City was better...

I know you didn't. Just sayin....

You were like 5 when Yo! went off the year (if that) so you wouldn't really know about it. Was just giving a history lesson.

Flava TV>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

1988...what a fuckin year for me personally being a high school student (10th and 11th grade shit was going on at the time) and playing on the basketball team as the starting PG and averaging 26 a game (yeah I was a scoring PG)

Pete Rock played for the football team..(he was the starting strong safety)


Anyway IN MY OPINION this is the GREATEST year that hip-hop has seen and will ever see

the classics released that year are still the best to ever come out right now in 2010...and to me that is the truest test right there....over 20 years later and this year still cannot be beaten IN MY OPINION

Public Enemy-It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (my GOAT hip-hop album of all-time right there)
EPMD-Strictly Business
Run-D.M.C.-Tougher Than Leather
Ice-T-Power
Superlover Cee And Casanova Rud-Girls I Got 'Em Locked
Rob Base/E-Z-Rock-It Takes Two
Marley Marl-In Control Vol 1
Big Daddy Kane-Long Live The Kane
Jungle Brothers-Straight Out The Jungle
Slick Rick-The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick
MC Lyte-Lyte As A Rock
Ultramagnetic MC's-Critical Beatdown
BDP-By All Means Necessary
NWA-Straight Outta Compton
Eric B and Rakim-Follow The Leader
Eazy-E-Eazy Duz It
Biz Markie-Goin' Off
Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince-He's The DJ and I'm The Rapper
Kool G Rap And Polo-Road To The Riches


And there's a few more I'm forgetting to mention but no matter...IN MY OPINION there is no other hip-hop year that can beat that line-up of albums listed up above...there is just so many classics there it's ridiculous....the 90's had more artists doing the artform and some potent years but I don't think they were honestly doing it better than those listed up above...1988 IN MY OPINION was the year hip-hop music was at it's zenith....every artist was being extremely creative and most importantly no one sounded like anyone else...plain and simple..the rules of NO BITING were followed to the tee...you could've gotten fucked up for either biting someone else or being wack...the fans in the audience were known to rob and jump hip-hop artists back then for being either one of those two things (a biter or wack)

And then to top shit off the R&B movement at the time was crazy too:

Keith Sweat-Make It Last Forever
Guy-Guy
Al.B.Sure-In Effect Mode
Bobby Brown-Don't Be Cruel
New Edition-Heartbreak
Tony,Toni,Tone'-Who?
Anita Baker-Giving You The Best That I Got
Cherrelle-Affair
Prince-Lovesexy
Johnny Kemp-Just Got Paid

I mean what a YEAR for music in my two favorite genres......but as far as hip-hop goes this was the greatest year IN MY OPINION!

Arguably the best year for hip-hop ever...

My top 5 most beloved 1988 personal classics (in order):

1. N.W.A "Straight Outta Compton"
2. Boogie Down Productions "By All Means Necessary"
3. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince "He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper"
4. Public Enemy "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back"
5. Ice-T "Power"

This is a good idea, to look back this way. I was in 6th grade. I was taken out of my school district for fighting the superintendents son. Tuition was actually cheaper to go to Catholic school than public, out of district.

So there I was, taken from all my friends, girls I was starting to play with, all that. All the kids in that school were listening to Def Leppard and Bon Jovi. I was letting kids use my 2 Live and Stetsasonic tapes.

It's funny, in my mind it seemed like BDP and Biz were around way before the rest of those albums. The Run DMC and Jazzy Jeff albums were in my walkman all summer long, too, though. I didn't really get into some of the other classics from this year until later. I had been cut off from my friend who spent weekends in Rochester, and cash was tight at 12 yrs old.

The next school year we moved and I got back into public school. I remember that's when girls' asses became beautiful works of Godly art. Boy oh boy, seventh grade girls were bad as hell in 88. Jean jackets and Aqua Net. I hope I never have a daughter.

Rochester sucks.

I agree. I'm not exactly in love with Syracuse or Buffalo, either. Ithaca is where the goods are goin down.

To be fair, I could get to know Buffalo a bit better. Always seemed kind of uptight.

Ithaca is indeed, dope. As is Buffalo.

Nation Of Millions is my favorite from the 80's, and my 4th favorite of all time.

It Takes A Nation>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (except Criminal Minded)