Golden Era Hip Hop frames the late 1980s & Early 1990s in mainstream hip hop when Hip Hop music and culture was at the peak of it's creativity, said to be characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence, heavy use of sampling in records and DJ scratching. Associated with Public Enemy, KRS-One, EPMD, Eric B. & Rakim, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest as well as many other underground emcees due to their themes of Afrocentricity and political militancy, their experimental music, and their eclectic sampling.This same period is sometimes referred to as "New School" in hip hop.

Golden Era [Late 80s / Early 90s] '86 - '94

Early 90s underground street bangers before rap was commercialized.

Early 90s Hardcore Rap

A Tribe Called Quest | Electric Relaxation (1993)

Sylk Smoov | Drama (1991)

Uno, Dos, motherfucking tres it's time to flow
Scientifik's back, "Yo what is that?" Act like you know
If you attempt to diss the scientist, you're a sitting duck
And if you're next to the mic get out of there before you're ripped up
Or simply played like lotto, see my motto's no fronts G
And those out of control will get rolled up like a blunt see
I split the fucking philly like I split ya dome you silly
Then I take out all the black shit like I take out all the whack shit
I put in the word and put in the herb and then I roll it up
Before the second round you going down and won't get up
You flipping your lip and talking shit but you ain't saying nothin'
Prepare to get toasted like a fucking English muffin
I believe in fair play, so hey you'll get your turn too
I wasn't paying attention, oh my bad yo I burnt you
Scientifik kicking lyrics can't be taken by no other
"Are you Dope?" you motherfuckin' damn Skippy peanut butter
But these brothers want to flam damn I can't understand son
Yo sweat the other man because yo I ain't the damn one

(Hook)
I ain't the damn one
"I am not the one I got more game than Parker Brothers"
I ain't the damn one
"I am not the one I got more game than Parker Brothers

Don't try to play me like Atari sorry I never played that
Do all my shows live because my homie don't play dat
Your style is too soft you lost 'till next time
You couldn't get off if you was on a phone sex line
Don't disrespect mine, check out the next rhyme
I finished the album, you was stuck on your next line
America's most B-L-U-N-T-E-D, your lyrics is ghost that means empty to me G
You little Bee Gee, stick with John Travolta
Me being whack? picture that with a Minolta
The scientifik man plans the soul songs
You pick the wrong hand and like bam you get rolled on
You better learn that niggas burn when I get ill shit
I make a nigga look like fire marshall Bill
So you see the scientifiks, not the one to be dicked
Dope from the prefix, your album needs a remix
So won't you call my man Rhythm Nigga Joe yo
But don't you try to flam I ain't nobodies ho

If I was Let's Make a Deal G, you'd have the wrong door
If I was a building, you'd be up on the wrong floor
You get the picture, hope it hit ya 'cause I ain't the one
And if you didn't, listen kid because I'm painting one
For all you sorry saps who cannot rap you need some lessons
Come off it black, you couldn't wRap yourself some Christmas presents
You lack the essence that it takes to be a Bulldog
And if I wasn't you I wouldn't have no pull dog
But when it comes to having pull I never been a failure
Matter of fact black I'm pulling like a tractor trailer
See all the skins are moving in because I'm getting paid
But if you take away the P all I got left is AIDS
And I ain't going O-U-T L-I-K-E T-H-A-T
That's simply how it's got to be, that's how I'm living G
And if you couldn't spell I said I wasn't going out like that
And everything was right, rewind it spell it back
So who you telling black?, I'm the one you gelling black
Thinking of rebelling 'cause your album isn't selling jack
I couldn't stand what you can't understand son
But sweat the other man because yo I ain't the damn one

Scientifik | I Aint The Damn One (1991)

Big Mello | Playin The Game (1992) Snippet

B.G. Knocc Out & Dresta | 50,50 Luv (1995)

See if you can step to this

Now try to do this step
And make sure the pace is kept
And this ain't as smooth as Ima get
Nice and easy but hard to catch on to
Move with melodies, rhymes to respond to
The mic's in front of me, so you know it's gonna be
Rough and rugged, plus I'm smooth as I wanna be
I'm something like sipping on Dom Perignon
So absorb the song, til the rhyme's all gone
My beats and speech original, you can't find these
89' is mine, so is the 90's
Telling you what you need to know and more
You unsure? On tour, I explore
From street to street, to speak, from beat after beat
My cipher's complete, when I build with people I meet
So here's the info straight from the source in fact
Paid the cost to be the boss, step back
Give me room to exercise the mind
360 degrees'll be fine
The weight of the world is what we hold
That's a six, followed by twenty-one zeroes
Six sextrillion tons is a lot of weight
My truth is the strength and my thought won't break
What it take, concentration, to rebuild our
Nation but we got to have mind power
And we can make it work, because I know we can
And if something go wrong, make another plan
It's up to us, so strive and be wise and
When we reach the top, don't stop rising
And I'll keep coming up with more of
The most requested songs that you all love
Reach out and touch the mic, take control
Still getting paid and I still got soul
And the only thing I ever wanted you to follow was poetry
Mind takes X-rays, so listen closely
From the darkness came the light, clear out of a dark night
Now I'm here to spark the mic
Send out truth, for other groups and substitutes
With run-on rhymes and weak dubs and loops
They'd rather hear the aRsonist, they insist
No need to reminisce, see if you can step to this

Just step, the rhymes create energy
Charged up, by the cut, and it's sending me
For a trip through the mind so I can locate
A laid back rap at a slow rate
It ain't hard at all, cause I invented it
As the days go on, you hear them with it
Brother busting brain cells, thinking of a rap
With the same old style, we had enough of that
We all need something to step to
And don't forget to, cause I won't let you
Dance without hoping that this come on next
And if it go off, the DJ can't flex
Cause here's the tempo, Ima regulate the pace
Here's the step, go find some space
And what we gonna do is in unison, kick
Shake your head, you're influenced with music
By now you're intoxicated, cause I prove I made it
The pep your step so soon you get rejuvenated
From side to side, you pause and clap
But if you came to rap.. (step back)
Aite hold (Outro)

Eric B. & Rakim | Step Back (1989)

Mobb Deep | More Trife Life (1996)

Mellow Man Ace | If You Were Mine (1989)

MF911 | Back to the Lab (1992)

Gang Starr | Much Too Much (1992)

Rello Rell | Fine lu shyt (feat. Sk brim) (2024)

Wu Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck (1993)

2pac - Keep Ya Head Up (1993)

2pac - Do for Love (1996)

2Pac - I Get Around (1993)

NWA ~ Appetite for destruction (1991)

Kriss Kross ~ Jump (1992)

A Tribe Called Quest (ft. Leaders of the New School) - Scenario (1991)

EPMD - So Watcha Sayin (1989)

Nas - If I ruled the world (1996)

A Tribe Called Quest - We've got the Jazz / Buggin Out (1991)

Cypress Hill - Light it up (1995)

2Pac (feat. Snoop Dogg) - 2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted (1996)

NWA - Express Yourself (1988)

Eric B & Rakim - What's On Your Mind? (1991)

Souls of Mischief | 93 til Infinity (1993)

The Pharcyde - Passin me By (1992)

Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing) (1998)

Above the Law - Black Superman (1994)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGOMVuQdjz8
Who's spreadin all the rumors, who's tellin all the lies?
Solo fell off? You must be drinkin St. Ide's
I'm back in effect on my second cassette
Check the untouched rep, scarin emcees like a bomb threat
Rumors and lies, at the same time try to destroy my name
Is this the price for fame?
If people got money, for rumors and talk
They'd have a lot of millionaires livin here in New York
Three number one hits, should kill the negative vibe
Solo's name and fame could never be denied
It's got me trapped in a corner and I wanna attack
I tried to hold it in before but now I can't hold it back!

(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
[K-Solo] I can't hold it back
(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
[K-Solo] I can't hold it back
(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
[K-Solo] I can't hold it back
(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
"K-S-O-L-O" "No longer a fugitive"

I wrote 'Spellbound', to put my face on the map
But rumors have it that another man laid in jail wrote
That's impossible, Kevin Madison will take a stand
If he wrote 'Spellbound', who the hell wrote 'Letterman'?
Mission to make the non-believers there become a witness
When I release the hit, "Tell your moms ta mind her bizness"
It went number two, not far from number one
While the fugitive ran, I came back, to get the job done
Now they wanna tell lies, and take credit from a great
Hard working Solo artist, but this'll set em straight
I came back for ninety-two on a Sam Sneed track
I tried to hold it all in, but now I can't hold it back!

(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
[K-Solo] I can't hold it back
(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
[K-Solo] I can't hold it back
(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
[K-Solo] I can't hold it back
(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
"K-S-O-L-O" "No longer a fugitive"

Verse Three: K-Solo

Cops would arrest me, before, but now I'm on a tour
So what they knockin at my mother's door for?
The cash made I received, the money I was worth
But Solo couldn't change, cause I was taught first
To remember who you are, and where you come from
It won't be hard for you to become, number one
I don't like crowds around me ever, only a true friend
Can become an enemy so I stay Solo forever
I like it that way, but I hate when people say
Put me down on a record, so I can get paid
If I bring crews and other emcees on stage
And help everybody else, I never stay paid
So I write rhymes for Solo, and help myself
So when I get there, I can give another brother help
Kevin Solo demonstration left others and that's that
I tried to hold it in before but now I can't hold it back!

(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
[K-Solo] I can't hold it back
(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
[K-Solo] I can't hold it back
(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
[K-Solo] I can't hold it back
(Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo! Let it go Solo!)
"K-S-O-L-O" "No longer a fugitive"

Now I got a new album, and a tape and a CD
And those who thought I fell off were really surprised to see
K-S-O-L-O throwin down and all the rumors
And the lies that they were spreadin couldn't keep me down!
Back out my face, keep my name out your mouth
This record got you cornered and there's no way out
Solo killed all the rumors cause I had to attack
I tried to hold it in before but now I can't hold it back!

K- Solo - I Cant Hold it Back (DMX Diss) (1992)

About the degradation of hip-hop music and culture which took place in the early 1990s with the rise of gangsta-rap when many rappers "sold out" for pop mainstream acclaim to chase money, disregarding the art forms roots. Common compares the degradation of hip-hop to a woman which he met in his youth and fell in love with. He follows this woman through different stages of her life, but as she grows older she starts to lose her identity and originality to become more popular and chase a life that is far less wholesome than what Common had known her to be. Eventually this woman becomes famous and world-renown {mainstream success). The woman (hip-hop) falls off so hard she becomes unrecognizable to Common, whom he loved since her youth. 

I met this girl when I was 10 years old
And what I loved most she had so much soul
She was old school when I was just a shorty
Never knew throughout my life she would be there for me
On the regular, not a church girl, she was secular
Not about the money, those studs was mic-checkin' her
But I respected her, she hit me in the heart
A few New York niggas had did her in the park
But she was there for me, and I was there for her
Pull out a chair for her, turn on the air for her
And just cool out, cool out, and listen to her
Sittin' on a bone, wishin' that I could do her
Eventually if it was meant to be, then it would be
‘Cause we related, physically and mentally
And she was fun then, I'd be geeked when she'd come around
Slim was fresh, Yo, when she was underground
Original, pure, untampered, a down sister
Boy, I tell you, I miss her

Now periodically I would see
Ol' girl at the clubs, and at the house parties
She didn't have a body, but she started gettin' thick quick
Did a couple of videos and became Afrocentric
Out goes the weave, in goes the braids, beads, medallions
She was on that tip about stoppin' the violence
About my people she was teachin' me
By not preachin' to me but speakin' to me
In a method that was leisurely, so easily I approach
She dug my rap, that's how we got close
But then she broke to the West Coast, and that was cool
Cause around the same time, I went away to school
And I'm a man of expandin', so why should I stand in her way?
She probably get her money in L.A.
And she did stud, she got big pub, but what was foul
She said that the pro-black was goin' out of style
She said, "Afrocentricity was of the past"
So she got into R&B, hip-house, bass, and jazz
Now black music is black music and it's all good
I wasn't salty, she was with the boyz in the hood
Cause that was good for her, she was becomin' well-rounded
I thought it was dope how she was on that freestyle shit
Just havin' fun, not worried about anyone
And you could tell by how her titties hung

I might've failed to mention that this chick was creative
Once (The man) got to her, he altered her native
Told her if she got a image and a gimmick
That she could make money, and she did it like a dummy
Now I see her in commercials, she's universal
She used to only swing it with the inner-city circle
Now she be in the burbs, lookin' rock and dressin' hippie
And on some dumb shit when she comes to the city
Talkin' bout poppin' Glocks, servin' rocks and hittin' switches
Now she's a gangsta rollin' with gangsta bitches
Always smokin' blunts and gettin' drunk
Tellin' me sad stories, now she only fucks with the funk
Stressin' how hardcore and real she is
She was really the realest, before she got into showbiz
I did her, not just to say that I did it
But I'm committed (girl, he's committed) but so many niggas hit it
That she's just not the same lettin' all these groupies do her
I see niggas slammin' her, and takin' her to the sewer
But I'ma take her back, hopin' that the shit stop
‘Cause who I'm talkin' about, y'all, is hip-hop

I used to love H.E.R quit fuckin' up the shit, y'all buss it

You ain't got your woman in check, man?
I think you’re overstepping your bounds just a little bit
I can't do this anymore

Common - I Used to Love Her (1994)

Wu Tang Clan - Bring da Ruckus (1993) Hip Hop Classics (Exclusive)

Bell Biv Devoe - Poison (Black Radio Mix) (1990) New Jack Swing

The Dream feat. Fabolous - Shawty is a 10 (2007)

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones pt. II (1995)

A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebaum (1989)

Once you step in the arena, cheater; you're gonna be a-
Mazed when you gaze at the armor on this leader
Fully clad and glad to fight a cause, I won't pause
Fear is a joke, slowpoke, I'm like claws
That'll rip 'cause your gift is merely flesh
Superficial and I wish you would give it a rest
But if you don't, I'll unsheath my Excalibur
Like a noble knight, so meet your challenger
A true hero, while you're a true zero
Gettin' beat to a pulp so that you can't run for help
I heard a gulp in your throat 'cause you hope that I'll be merciful
But coo-cluck, I made you strut as I rehearse a few
Battle drills, and watch your bladder spill
Yellow fluid, check how I mellowly do it
Face defeat to this beat, you can tell I'm into it
As I'm pullin' out my lance to kill you and advance to
The winner's throne; 'cause I own you once you step in the arena

In the arena... or rather coliseum
There's people gatherin' by multitudes to see one
Perpretrator fall to the dust after the other
Quickly disposed of at the hand of a known brother
Born with the art in his heart that is Spartacus
And one-to-one combat Jack, just a thought of this
Match-up makes Gang Starr wanna snatch up
One or two phrases from the new book with new pages
Of rhymes that are built like a chariot
Dope vocals carry it to the battle set
If a beat was a princess, I would marry it
But now I must bow to the crowd as I stand proud
Victorius, glorious, understand now
'Cause battles and wars and much fights I have been through
One MC got beheaded, and you can too
Forget it, 'cause you'd rather be just a spectator
An onlooker, afraid you may get slayed or
Struck by a blow from a mic gladiator
I betcha that later you might be sad that you played yourself
'Cause you stepped up, chest puffed out
And in just one lyric, you got snuffed out
'Cause rhymin' is serious, I'm strong, I'm like Hercules
You'll get hurt with these lines, close the curtains please
And suckers can jet 'cause I wreck once you step in the arena

[Scratches: DJ Premier]
Step inside my arena

In the arena or forum, weak MCs, I will floor 'em
Causin' mayhem, I'll slay them, and the blood'll be pourin'
Furthermore I implore that as a soldier of war
I go in only to win and be the holder of more
Trophies, titles, and triumphs 'cause I dump all the sly chumps
Never choosin' to lose my spot, not once
For the mere idea of an opponent that I'd fear
Is foolish utterly, I mean, what nut'd be
Tryin' to toy with a destroyer of many
You shitted your pants 'cause you can't think of any
Foe that could step to this concept so
You better sit again, citizen; weak MC's, I get rid of them
Watch the way they get distraught when they get caught
In the worst positions 'cause they didn't listen
And tried goin' up against a hungry killer who's itchin'
To maim and murder, those who claimed that they were the
Toughest ones, they get done once they step in the arena

Gang Starr - Step in the Arena (1990)

Big L - Street Struck (1995)

NWA - Quiet On Tha Set (1988)

MC Lyte - Another Dope Intro (1991)

Ice Cube | You Know How We Do It (1993)

The Luniz | I Got 5 On It (1995)

NWA | Gangsta Gangsta (1988) Radio Mix

I-Wayne | Can't Satisfy Her (2005)

Chaka Demus & Pliers | Murder She Wrote (1992)

No way you'll never make it
Come with the weak shit, I break kids
Step into my zone, mad rhymes will stifle ya
Lines like rifles go blast when I kick some ass
A lot of rappers be like one time wonders
Couldn't say a fly rhyme if there was one right under
Their noses, I hate those motherfuckin posers
But I'm so real to them it's scary
And with my unique skills naw you can't compare me
And no we don't make wack tracks
and all the suckers get pushed back when I'm kickin real facts
I represent set up shit like a tent boy
You're paranoid cause you're a son like Elroy
And you'd be happy as hell to get a record deal
Maybe your soul you'd sell to have mass appeal

Oh yes I'm greater than all MC's when I breeeze give me room please
I be like fascinatin when I be updatin
Cuttin off wack kids, pullin their trump cards
I thump hard, and mak em say that I'm God
Niggaz be pretendin they hardcore
Never know the meaning of [RAW]
But I get props like a slogan and no man
Could ever try to diss when I kicks my jam
Lyrically def and connecting complete mic wrecking
No double checking vocals kill like weapons
But if I have to I go all out with no mic
Yeah that's right cause I survived mad fights
And for my peeps I truly care
Cause without some of them I wouldn't be here
And they all know how I feel
Cause suckers be like playin themselves to have mass appeal

I know I'm dope but don't wet that
I've suffered setbacks but now I'm makin greenbacks
Just like baggy slacks I'm crazy hip-hop
Check one two and you don't stop
Your head'll bop when I drop my crop
of pure bomb, just like the seashore I'm calm
But wild, with my monotone style
Because I don't need gimmicks
Gimme a fly beat and I'm all in it
Word is bond I go on and on
For you it's tragic I got magic like wands
So I'ma end this lecture and I betcha
Those who kick dirt and do time I'm gonna get cha
Cause I be kickin the real
While they be losin the race tryin to chase mass appeal

Gang Starr | Mass Appeal (1994)

Nas | Get Down (2002)

Hip Hop Classics

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