DJ Premier? Large Professor? Pete Rock? DJ Quik? Jay Dee? MF DOOM? Q-Tip? Prince Paul? Dan the Automator?

Come on, man.

I didn't say all Hip-Hop was bad, I do listen to mainstream artists(don't ask me who they are though). I was just saying that the average mainstream rap--head these days usually doesn't recognize the quality of the rap verses they listen to, it's mostly just the beat and some autotuned verse in the chorus that somehow sounds really catchy

80s and 90s rap will tag team rape today's ****.

I could use brushing up obviously. Though I will throw in that i do like Donuts, as for everything else i'll have to research.

I choose 90s rap cause I like more rap artists from that decades than all the other decades.

wow, that made insanely good sense.

The 'golden age' of hip-hop, if you will, was between 1994-2005 IMO. So it's hard to pick between 90's and 00's stuff. i went 90's for the sake of the poll though.

I myself had always thought the Golden Age was much earlier. Like we're talking Slick Rick and Will Smith stuff. Not that I favor that era, it's just what I always thought was the so called Golden Age.

Golden age of rap in terms of mainstream success or artistic value?

You're right on that, the golden age is actually linked to a certain rap sound, not just personal preference. It's generally considered to be the late 80's and early 90's.

I should re-phrase, I knew that wording would confuse. More like the peak years.

Both. It was the most groundbreaking era for hip-hop albums. Look at any legitimate Top 10 Albums list for hip hop and that era dominates.

Again, I should have worded that differently. I was merely using the expression to describe the strongest time for hip-hop. I honestly don't think hip-hop is old enouh to have a golden age by that definition yet.

On digitaldreamdoors's list it looks like the 80s dominate.

That list is very 80's heavy. More so than others I've seen. Most lists have Public Enemy's - It Takes A...blah, blah, blah in the top 2. But normally Ready to Die, All Eyez on Me, and Illmatic make an appearance on the top 5.

It's all preference I suppose, that's just the period of hip-hop I enjoy the most.

Choosing 80's hip hop on a best of list is equivelent to putting skiffle on a Rock List. Its like saying the Sexiest Man Alive this year was a fetus.

Its evident when you pick 80's rap and say its above all else, (on a list, not your preference) that you're a cred-hungry dip**** with your lips planted firmly on your own colon.

Theres a reason KC & The Sunshine band never make lists, and neither should much of raps embriotic phase. It is always going to be wildly apparent you're going for the "how do you not know this ****" vote, as if 16 year olds readily listen to Kool Herc.

This, of course, is the issue with musical critique globally. For some reason we've put a false value behind the currency of "first;" I heard it first, I was the first one who mentioned..., and they were the first ones to use that sound. But for the sames reasons we don't drive model T's or use Apple II's, so should we not use early Rap as some form 2001-Monolith that delivered us from the assumed cave-dwelling that we were relegated to pre-rap.

Anyone who uses anything as a barometer above quality has an agenda. They are carving out their own niche by creating their own economy. I should hope, especially here at musicbanter, we're trading on a stronger unit than the bull**** that is "first."

Calm down, dude.

That's actually pretty mild for Big3.

Mild or not, I can still see the point, and i agree fullheartedly (somehow this word is wrong). If the innovators are less talented than the newer generations, then they shouldn't get the credit of being the best just for being the original. They should get thanks for their pioneering, but that doesn't automatically give them entitlement to being the best there is.

However, if you do find the earlier forms to be better just because you find more talent/heart/whatever in them, then i say the argument doesn't really apply.

wholeheartedly, maybe?

Don't be ridiculous, Big3 or Surell. You guys are implying that pioneering a particular sonic doesn't take much creativity or talent.

Don't think I'm some pioneer whore, either. I can accept when someone else perfects someone else's creation, but pioneers instantly get a fuckload of credit.

I chose 80s rap but it actually hinges between 80s and 90s rap/hiphop because i think there was a real point making these music. Now it's "look at me i've got a gun, hookers, millions of cash" music. The same music over, over and over again. I hate the state of todays hiphop.:nono:

90s-today. cant say i was a fan of most 80s rap, but there were a couple songs that werent too bad

That's pretty much always been around in hip hop.

there is still good music today, artist that were heavily influenced by the greats from the 90's and beyond. hip-pop is unfortunately the majority -_- smh

I definetly listen to 90s Rap most, and I think it's the best. I like how it's more developed than 80s Rap but less poppy than a lot of today's rap. Today there are great artists in the underground, back then there were great artists in the mainstream and underground.

The people who founded the Americas (Christopher Columbus and whatnot) and also the framers of my great nation (merikuh) are given a ****load of credit, sure; but not for talent, just for their findings. If they're a piece of ****, that doesn't change just under their pioneering credit. I don't think pioneers should be called the best just because they found/created a sound; i'll show my gratitude to them absolutely, but that doesn't mean their sound wasn't raw or not quite developed into the greatness it could truly reach.

I don't think I can choose as of right now I listen to alot more modern Rap but I have recently got really into 90's Rap so I can see my taste changing pretty soon.

This is fairly difficult for me. If we're speaking terms of best artists, I go with the 90s. Now, the 00's have had some of the best rap I've ever heard, but sadly, its mostly unknown isn't what I'd classify as being the popular style of today. So uhh, I guess I'll go with 90s. I really like some late 80s stuff also though. I mean N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton was released in 88' and while the album may have some filler, it will always be a staple in the rap genre. Also released in the same year was Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, both of these albums helped me realize just how good and enjoyable rap can be though, so maybe I'm just biased? Plus Boogie Down Productions released Criminal Minds around the same time. I know the mid 80s had some really dated sounding stuff, but hey, it is dated. So, while all three decades has some very solid acts, I'm going with the 90s.

Why? They had more solid acts than the other two decades.

90s's-early 00's rap is pretty good. I like Dre, Snoop Dogg (back when he was Snoop Doggy Dogg), Coolio, and Outkast.

The 90s east coast scene is AWESOME.. So many great dudes comin outta the NY area at the time. 80s was too basic for my liking, i think 90s was the era of true talent on the mic. Modern rap is too flashy and just about making as much $ as possible and dudes aren't talented. Take me back to the days of Illmatic and Enter the 36 Chambers.

I almost agree with what you said...

Good for you

90's for sure.

It depends. Im big into the production of music and i love the production of rap music. I just love all the possibilities of todays rap game. Sure its easy for anyone to make a quick buck off rap now, but with some really talented producers such as Pharrell and some really talented rappers, there is always possibility for some great rap today. I would pick 90's rap over **** like gucci maine and stuff like that. I can't put my finger on a song im really feeling right now, but with newer technology possibilities are at an all time high. Unfortunately the accessibility of the rap game now makes the ratio of great rappers to horrible rappers lop sided in favor of the lesser talented.

Although there are many great lyricists and producers who have put out good music exclusively in the 00's, I feel that any new artist I develop a liking of is only an extension of the 90's sound. Wordplay and production were at a unfathomable level in the 1990's, and it's the artists who've been able to maintain or imitate that level of creativity faithfully who have caught my eye.

all eras have their own classics...

I love the old school stuff - Ice Cube - NWA - Can feel all that pain and those bass lines where insane - learn some - Very fun to play :)

Easily the late eighties early 90's and everything in between.

That's pretty much like saying the sky's blue.
Doesn't really speak to which era is the best.

I can't cast a vote on it simply because for me it's a mixture between 90s hip hop and todays underground. Both time periods had great artists like: A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, Gangstarr, etc... during the 90s era and Talib Kweli, Cannibal Ox, Jurassic 5, etc... for 00s era.

I think of Jurassic 5 as much more of a 90s band than a 00s band.

Well maybe because that's the era they began in but I choose them because that was the late 90s going into 00s.

Easily 90s.

- Low End Theory
- Illmatic
- Enter the Wu-Tang
- Cuban Linx
- etc...

Personally, I find 80s rap to be dull and uninteresting. Of course it was extremely influential, but that doesn't mean it was necessarily good. For instance, Run-DMC is overrated in my opinion.