A Study of Rap Music The Late 1990’s to early 2000’s Era

William (Carter) Pearen 8th December 2018

Abstract

In this project we explored the history and evolution of rap music. I was responsible for the era between the late 1990’s to the early 2000’s. This was a fairly new topic for me, so I enjoyed learning more about the topic through my research. I tried to focus on some of the most influential and prominent figures throughout the decade; most notably being Wu-Tang Clan, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Eminem, and Kanye West. I also explored two major events which rippled through the hip-hop world, being the murders of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. amidst the infamous East Coast - West Coast rivalry. Contents

Contents i

1 Mid-1990’s 1

2 The East vs. West Rivalry 1

3 Native Tongues Rap 2

4 The Rise of Jay-Z and Eminem 2

5 The Early 2000’s 3

6 The End of the Era; Looking Forward 4

References 5

i 1 Mid-1990’s

By the mid-1990s, rap and hip-hop music had become the best selling genre, and by 1990 they had sold the industry best, 81 million CD’s1. The genre had become dominated by artists such as:

• Wu-Tang Clan

• Diddy

• Twista

An example of one of Wu-Tang Clan’s most influential works can be found here.2

2 The East vs. West Rivalry

The famous East vs. West rivalry reached its peak in the late 1990s, ledbyprom- inent East-Coast, New York rapper, The Notorious B.I.G. and West-Coast, Los- Angeles rapper, Tupac Shakur. In the heat of the rivalry, both figures within a year (1996-97) were fatally shot in drive by shootings. To this day, the assailants remain unknown and unsolved3. Songs embedded on website4,5. 1A. Batey, ‘Why Aren’t Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions and Other Classic Hip- Hop Acts Lovingly Reissued in the Same Way as Other Genres? Because Guardians of Rap’s Heritage Need to Be Crate-Diggers, Lawyers and Counsellors All in One,’ The Hip-Hop Heritage Society, October 7, 2010, accessed December 1, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/ music/2010/oct/07/hiphop-heritage-public-enemy-krs-one 2Protect Ya Neck (Music Video) (LOUD Records, February 12, 2013), https://www.yout ube.com/watch?v=1_-3Bh1VFI8 . 3J. Caramanica, ‘Review: Who Killed Biggie and Tupac? ‘Unsolved’ Might Know,’ The New York Times, February 26, 2018, accessed November 25, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/ 2018/02/26/arts/television/unsolved- murders- tupac- notorious- big- review.html 4California Love, in collab. with T. Shakur (1996) 5Juicy, in collab. with T. N. B.I.G. (1994)

1 Figure 1: Pictured: Tupac Shakur and ’The Notorious B.I.G., used from ht- tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyBjKN3zQP4

3 Native Tongues Rap

Laced throughout the violence and rivalry prevalent throughout late 90’s rap music was the growing popularity of “Native Tongues Rap,” a positive-minded style of rap and lyricism which would eventually help to shape parts of the future of hip-hop. This was led by groups such as A Tribe Called Quest andDe La Soul.6

4 The Rise of Jay-Z and Eminem

The emergence of Native Tongues Rap represented the diversification thatthe rap genre was experiencing through the late 90’s. Hip-hop saw the impacts of prominent artists like Nas and the Beastie Boys, and additions of new styles from artists like Detroit’s Eminem and New York City’s Jay-Z. Each presented the genre’s audience with a raw new taste of what rap music could be and the potential it could hold. Lyricism and rhyming became idolized, and beats be- came more diversified. Eminem helped to shift the direction of rap in 1999with his platinum record The Slim Shady LP produced by former N.W.A. member, Dr. Dre.

6Electric Relaxation (Music Video) (Legacy Recordings, December 5, 2012), https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=WHRnvjCkTsw .

2 Figure 2: Pictured: Eminem’s breakout album cover for ’The Slim Shady LP’

5 The Early 2000’s

Enter: the 2000’s. A period when rap music and its popularity would continue to grow to all new heights. Jay-Z and Dr. Dre continued to build their legacy in the genre, and as this happened we saw newcomers enter the stage with their own twist on Rap. With artists like Kanye West (who is still influential today), emerged the rap sub-genre: trap music.

“Trap is the It-Genre of the moment, characterized by crisp snares, sweeping sub-bass and pitched-down vocals, among other things.” -Houston-Born Producer Lōtic.7

This style of rap would quickly mainstream and arguably take over themusic world, dominating the future of the billboard8. An example of one of Kanye 7Trigger:EarlyCivs. 8S. Setaro, ‘How Trap Music Came to Rule the World,’ Complex, June 1, 2018, accessed November 28, 2018, https://www.complex.com/music/2018/02/how-trap-music- came-to-rule-the-world

3 West’s most influential and ’break-out’ works can be found9 here.

6 The End of the Era; Looking Forward

As new artists shaped the future of rap, the world followed along and has watch the rap and hip genre become what it is today. The late 1990’s to the early 2000’s will always be noted as a very influential and crucial era for the genre that we as music consumers see today.

9Touch The Sky (MTV Version) Ft. Lupe Fiasco (Reservoir Media, June 16, 2009), h t t p s : //www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkwQbuAGLj4 .

4 References

References

Batey, A. ‘Why Aren’t Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions and Other Clas- sic Hip-Hop Acts Lovingly Reissued in the Same Way as Other Genres? Be- cause Guardians of Rap’s Heritage Need to Be Crate-Diggers, Lawyers and Counsellors All in One.’ The Hip-Hop Heritage Society, October 7, 2010. Ac- cessed December 1, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/music/ 2010/oct/07/hiphop-heritage-public-enemy-krs-one . California Love. In collaboration with T. Shakur. 1996. Caramanica, J. ‘Review: Who Killed Biggie and Tupac? ‘Unsolved’ Might Know.’ The New York Times, February 26, 2018. Accessed November 25, 2018. h t tps://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/arts/television/ unsolved-murders-tupac-notorious-big-review.html .

Electric Relaxation (Music Video). Legacy Recordings, December 5, 2012. h t t p s : //www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHRnvjCkTsw . Juicy. In collaboration with T. N. B.I.G. 1994.

Protect Ya Neck (Music Video). LOUD Records, February 12, 2013. h t t p s : / / www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_-3Bh1VFI8 . Setaro, S. ‘How Trap Music Came to Rule the World.’ Complex, June 1, 2018. Accessed November 28, 2018. https://www.complex.com/music/ 2018/02/how-trap-music-came-to-rule-the-world . Touch The Sky (MTV Version) Ft. Lupe Fiasco. Reservoir Media, June 16, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkwQbuAGLj4 .

5