To me, the late 90s was the end of hip hop. I can't recall any truly great songs or albums afterward. The Lox, Ruff Ryders and DMX, Jay-Z, even Nas was making great songs and albums still. I know he won't get much love but Juvenile was still the man back then and Lil' Wayne was tolerable in his limited role. Still probably didn't write his own songs then, either.

The anthem of that era to me was Hard Knock Life, a song that everyone can identify with on some level. It's an all-time great track and one I feel is overlooked because of it's oversaturation.


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To me, the late 90s was the end of hip hop. I can't recall any truly great songs or albums afterward. The Lox, Ruff Ryders and DMX, Jay-Z, even Nas was making great songs and albums still. I know he won't get much love but Juvenile was still the man back then and Lil' Wayne was tolerable in his limited role. Still probably didn't write his own songs then, either.

The anthem of that era to me was Hard Knock Life, a song that everyone can identify with on some level. It's an all-time great track and one I feel is overlooked because of it's oversaturation.


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You a Juvenile fan?? I'm a huge Cash Money fanatic and Juvie was there best work in my opinion. And Wayne wrote everything back then from his work to the Big Tymers work, it was around the Carters that Gillie and Mikkey influenced him. But dont believe the hype, Gille didnt do as much as he claims, it was mostly Mikkey that gave that influence

You a Juvenile fan?? I'm a huge Cash Money fanatic and Juvie was there best work in my opinion. And Wayne wrote everything back then from his work to the Big Tymers work, it was around the Carters that Gillie and Mikkey influenced him. But dont believe the hype, Gille didnt do as much as he claims, it was mostly Mikkey that gave that influence

Juvie was the man, he remains one of two Southern rappers I have any regards for (Facemob being the other). Ha and Down Bottom are classic tracks, he was the bomb. So incredibly ghetto, but still, he was the man.

Too bad he smoked a lot of crack, he'd be the man still.

I used to mess with people with the song Ha, my teacher would ask me a question and I'd be like "You want me to answer the question, ha, But I won't cuz I don't know, ha."

Juvie was the man, he remains one of two Southern rappers I have any regards for (Facemob being the other). Ha and Down Bottom are classic tracks, he was the bomb. So incredibly ghetto, but still, he was the man.

Too bad he smoked a lot of crack, he'd be the man still.

I used to mess with people with the song Ha, my teacher would ask me a question and I'd be like "You want me to answer the question, ha, But I won't cuz I don't know, ha."

I dont think he smoked crack, that was the others, Juvie was just stupid period, he had a million kids and didnt know how to spend his money. I love Soulja Rags and Down Bottom is hot too. To answer your question tho, I hated Hard Knock Life and that album period. Volume One was such a great album and it succeeded Reasonable Doubt then when I heard Volume 2, I knew he was gonna change and go commercial, I dont blame him though, money has to be made, it was just a shame seeing him and Nas give up their lyrical genius to please Execs cuz niether cud spit the same again although some tracks come close

I dont think he smoked crack, that was the others, Juvie was just stupid period, he had a million kids and didnt know how to spend his money. I love Soulja Rags and Down Bottom is hot too. To answer your question tho, I hated Hard Knock Life and that album period. Volume One was such a great album and it succeeded Reasonable Doubt then when I heard Volume 2, I knew he was gonna change and go commercial, I dont blame him though, money has to be made, it was just a shame seeing him and Nas give up their lyrical genius to please Execs cuz niether cud spit the same again although some tracks come close

Well, I know everyone else in Cash Money were fiendish in behavior LOL

Juvenile was one of the greatest rappers in the South ever, he had a mix of grittiness, flow and good songs. Plus his voice and energy were entirely his own.

If you compare Jay-Z and Nas to their greatest works, Reasonable Doubt and Illmatic, everything else will always pale in comparison. I think when a rapper can reinvent himself and change with the times, that shows his versatility. It's social Darwinism, stay afloat or drown.

Rap was moving in different directions. Real lyricism wasn't in during the early 2000s, guys like Nelly and Ludacris were coming out with these party bangers and that's what needed to be made to stay relevant.

Nas couldn't do that, he fell by the wayside. Jay-Z came back with Rock La Familia and hooked up with Neptunes on some club bangers.

Are there any real lyricists around today? Yeah, they're signed to Rawkus or indy.

[QUOTE=Asian Sensation;4352688]To me, the late 90s was the end of hip hop. I can't recall any truly great songs or albums afterward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMP__WRvv1Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47FdYqq_i0U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BDVlrkDd7I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgfVOqmQQDA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAnGnevKxJE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n3JxZtEWnQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHEWfjmLwZU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=almbllyL7xk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5UJjQt3bkM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj8j8NqhPgs

shall i continue? :)

[QUOTE=Asian Sensation;4352688]To me, the late 90s was the end of hip hop. I can't recall any truly great songs or albums afterward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMP__WRvv1Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47FdYqq_i0U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BDVlrkDd7I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgfVOqmQQDA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAnGnevKxJE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n3JxZtEWnQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHEWfjmLwZU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=almbllyL7xk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5UJjQt3bkM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj8j8NqhPgs

shall i continue? :)

Believe me, I know where you're coming from. I'd say Uzi fell a little short of being a great hip hop track, though it was one of my faves at the time.

I'm not sure where you're based out of, but Hot97 wasn't playing any of those songs except for Burn. But as I've said in this thread, there have been loads of great hip hop tracks from real lyricists, they just haven't gotten much mainstream love.

Mainstream radio would never play Wu-Tang, Chino XL or Kool G Rap, not in this decade atleast. Those guys don't play the game, they don't give an F about mainstream radio. The ones that do are guys like Souljah Girl and Gucci Man, guys would couldn't rap a sandwich with 100 feet of aluminum foil.

Even The Whole World, that song only got airplay on MTV2. Yet the latest wack G-Unit joint would debut on TRL at number 1. Long gone are the good old days when Nas could sit in a staircase and do a video and spit real raps or when Ruff Ryders were the party bangers. Now, we have this guy:

http://brownsugarpages.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/soulja-boy-tell-em.jpg

[QUOTE=GodzHand;4352799]

Believe me, I know where you're coming from. I'd say Uzi fell a little short of being a great hip hop track, though it was one of my faves at the time.

I'm not sure where you're based out of, but Hot97 wasn't playing any of those songs except for Burn. But as I've said in this thread, there have been loads of great hip hop tracks from real lyricists, they just haven't gotten much mainstream love.

Mainstream radio would never play Wu-Tang, Chino XL or Kool G Rap, not in this decade atleast. Those guys don't play the game, they don't give an F about mainstream radio. The ones that do are guys like Souljah Girl and Gucci Man, guys would couldn't rap a sandwich with 100 feet of aluminum foil.

Even The Whole World, that song only got airplay on MTV2. Yet the latest wack G-Unit joint would debut on TRL at number 1. Long gone are the good old days when Nas could sit in a staircase and do a video and spit real raps or when Ruff Ryders were the party bangers. Now, we have this guy:

http://brownsugarpages.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/soulja-boy-tell-em.jpg

I see where you're coming from as well. I was just out of high school when uzi came out. that **** came on at a party, and people went nuts.

[QUOTE=Asian Sensation;4352835]

I see where you're coming from as well. I was just out of high school when uzi came out. that **** came on at a party, and people went nuts.

I was just entering high school when Uzi came out. That song was really hot but to be real, I was the only person I knew who had heard of the song. Where I was living in New Jersey, either you heard rap on Hot 97 or Power 105.1 or it didn't matter.

I loved the song but Wu-Tang never gets played on the radio up North. It's ridiculous, they are hip hop pioneers and still putting out great stuff but it doesn't seem to matter.

I haven't heard Triumph on the radio since Triumph came out.

To me, the late 90s was the end of hip hop. I can't recall any truly great songs or albums afterward. The Lox, Ruff Ryders and DMX, Jay-Z, even Nas was making great songs and albums still. I know he won't get much love but Juvenile was still the man back then and Lil' Wayne was tolerable in his limited role. Still probably didn't write his own songs then, either.

The anthem of that era to me was Hard Knock Life, a song that everyone can identify with on some level. It's an all-time great track and one I feel is overlooked because of it's oversaturation.


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its one of my favorites.

"i gave you prophecy on my first joint and you all lamed out. You didn't really appreciate it until the second one came out/so I strecthed the game out. Xed ya name out, put jigga on top and dropped albums non stop for ya n****." -Hov

classic track

The fact that the chorus has been sampled from an old classic of a muscial called Annie escapes most of the fools that rate this track. Ripping off another song and rapping in between is NOT hip hop. Sampling is meant to be used sparingly. Jay Z is an ugly ****smoker anyway and his wife has thighs because she plays Rugby League for the Leeds Rhinos

I don't care for that track so much - it's "over sampling" to me... it borrows too heavily from the original

The only 2 classic rap albums in the 2000s to me are Marshall Mathers LP and The Blueprint

The fact that the chorus has been sampled from an old classic of a muscial called Annie escapes most of the fools that rate this track. Ripping off another song and rapping in between is NOT hip hop. Sampling is meant to be used sparingly. Jay Z is an ugly ****smoker anyway and his wife has thighs because she plays Rugby League for the Leeds Rhinos

http://telepromptedanthems.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/u-mad1.jpg

:lol1: @ chavez gettin styled on by the truth


Hard knock life was very influential...I think its a real good song, but i wouldnt call it great. BUt its influence was great, you saw alotta rappers doing samples like that after jay-z did. But in my opinion the biggest song at the end of the 90's was the ruff ryders anthem.

Very true Asian Sensation. The standard of hip hop has dropped so low nowadays that these catchy beat party songs are considered good hits. It's sad because the late 80's into the 90's were the "goldenage" of hip hop.