1990 in hip-hop

Last updated
List of years in hip hop music
+...

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1990.

Contents

Eric B. & Rakim's Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em earned praise within hip-hop circles and marked the group's third consecutive gold album. Eric B. & Rakim - Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em (Album-CD) (Canada).jpg
Eric B. & Rakim's Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em earned praise within hip-hop circles and marked the group's third consecutive gold album.

Released albums

Release Date [1] ArtistAlbum
January 17 Geto Boys The Geto Boys
January 25 Low Profile We're in This Together
February 6 Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth Funky Technician
February 12 Bobby Jimmy and the Critters Hip-Hop Prankster
MC Hammer Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em
February 20 Above The Law Livin' Like Hustlers
March 19 Salt-n-Pepa Blacks' Magic
March 20 Digital Underground Sex Packets
March 27 Everlast Forever Everlasting
March 28 The Dogs The Dogs
April 1 Three Times Dope Live From Acknickulous Land
April 10 A Tribe Called Quest People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. New Funky Nation
Public Enemy Fear of a Black Planet
April 11 MC Shan Play It Again, Shan
April 17 Audio Two I Don't Care: The Album
April 24 X Clan To the East, Blackwards
May 1 Kwamé A Day In the Life: A Pokadelick Adventure
May 18 Ice Cube AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
May 22 K-Solo Tell the World My Name
May 29 Poor Righteous Teachers Holy Intellect
May 30 Antoinette Burnin' at 20 Below
June 12 MC Trouble Gotta Get a Grip
June 19 Compton's Most Wanted It's a Compton Thang
Eric B. & Rakim Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em
July 2 Kid Sensation Rollin' with Number One
July 10 Kid Frost Hispanic Causing Panic
Tragedy Khadafi Intelligent Hoodlum
July 11 Choice The Big Payback
July 13 Luke The Luke LP
July 16 The Jaz To Your Soul
July 17 Boogie Down Productions Edutainment
July 24 D-Nice Call Me D-Nice
Masta Ace Take a Look Around
July 31 Special Ed Legal
August 7 CPO To Hell and Black
August 14 Kool G Rap & DJ Polo Wanted: Dead or Alive
N.W.A 100 Miles and Runnin'
The AfrosKickin' Afrolistics
August 20 Poison Clan 2 Low Life Muthas
August 30 Cool C Life in the Ghetto
September 10 Vanilla Ice To the Extreme
September 11 Too Short Short Dog's in the House
September 14 LL Cool J Mama Said Knock You Out
September 24 King T At Your Own Risk
October 2 Candyman Ain't No Shame in My Game
October 5Ex MovementEx Movement
October 9 Paris The Devil Made Me Do It
October 15 Chubb Rock Treat 'Em Right (EP)
Father MC Father's Day
Lakim Shabazz The Lost Tribe of Shabazz
October 16 Grand Daddy I.U. Smooth Assassin
Run-D.M.C. Back from Hell
October 30 Monie Love Down To Earth
Big Daddy Kane Taste of Chocolate
Lighter Shade of Brown Brown & Proud
November 22 Malcolm McLaren and The World's Famous Supreme Team Round the Outside!, Round the Outside!
November 27 Kid Rock Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast
December 4 Brand Nubian One for All
December 7 J.J. Fad Not Just a Fad
December 18 EPMD Business as Usual
Ice Cube Kill at Will
Unknown DJ Kool The Music Ain't Loud Enuff
Unknown Lil Mac Lyrical Midget
Unknown Isis Rebel Soul
Unknown Professor X the Overseer Years Of The 9, On The Blackhand Side
UnknownThe Afro'sKickin' Afrolistics
Unknown YZ Sons of the Father
UnknownKing SunRighteous But Ruthless
UnknownKings Of SwingStrategy
Unknown Mantronix This Should Move Ya
Unknown Outlaw Posse My Afro's On Fire!
Unknown Rodney-O & Joe Cooley Three the Hard Way
Unknown Michael Peace Loud-N-Clear
UnknownBarshaBarsha's Explicit Lyrics
UnknownShazzyAttitude: A Hip Hop Rapsody
Unknown D-Boy Rodriguez Lyrical Strength of One Street Poet
Unknown Dooley-O Watch My Moves 1990
UnknownP.K.O.Armed and Dangerous
Unknown She Rockers Rockers from London...
Unknown Pooh-Man Life of a Criminal
Unknown Whistle Always and Forever
Unknown MC Shy D Don't Sweat Me
Unknown 415 41Fivin
UnknownI.A.P.Shock The World
UnknownMark DeeAll In A Day's Work
UnknownJoeski LoveJoe Cool

Highest-charting singles

Hip hop singles from any year which charted in the 1990 Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 [2]
SongArtistProjectPeak position
"Ice Ice Baby" Vanilla Ice To the Extreme 1
"Pray" MC Hammer Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em 2
"Have You Seen Her"MC HammerPlease Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em4
"U Can't Touch This"MC HammerPlease Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em8
"Just a Friend" Biz Markie The Biz Never Sleeps 9

See also

Related Research Articles

German hip hop refers to hip hop music produced in Germany. Elements of American hip hop culture, such as graffiti art and breakdancing, diffused into Western Europe in the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice Cube</span> American rapper and actor (born 1969)

O'Shea Jackson Sr., known as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1988 album Straight Outta Compton contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popularity, and his political rap solo albums AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990), Death Certificate (1991), and The Predator (1992) were all critically and commercially successful. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of N.W.A in 2016.

West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kool G Rap</span> American rapper

Nathaniel Thomas Wilson, better known by his stage name Kool G Rap, is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time, and a pioneer of mafioso rap/street/hardcore content and multisyllabic rhyming. On his album The Giancana Story, he stated that the "G" in his name stands for "Giancana", but on other occasions he has stated that it stands for "Genius".

<i>Peoples Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm</i> 1990 studio album by A Tribe Called Quest

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm is the debut studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on April 10, 1990, on Jive Records. After forming the Native Tongues collective and collaborating on several projects, A Tribe Called Quest began recording sessions for People's Instinctive Travels in late 1989 at Calliope Studios with completion reached in early 1990. The album's laid back production encompassed a diverse range of samples which functioned as a template for the group's unorthodox lyrics.

<i>Mama Said Knock You Out</i> 1990 studio album by LL Cool J

Mama Said Knock You Out is the fourth studio album by American rapper LL Cool J. It was produced mostly by Marley Marl and recorded at his "House of Hits" home studio in Chestnut Ridge and at Chung King House of Metal in New York City. After the disappointing reception of LL Cool's 1989 album Walking with a Panther, Mama Said Knock You Out was released by Def Jam Recordings on September 14, 1990 to commercial and critical success.

Brazilian hip hop is a national music genre in Brazil. From its earliest days in the African-Brazilian communities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the genre has grown into a countrywide phenomena. Rappers, DJs, break dancers and graffiti artists are active across the complete spectrum of society blending Brazil's cultural heritage with American hip hop to form a contemporary musical fusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cold 187um</span> American rapper and producer (born 1967)

Gregory Fernard Hutchison, known as Big Hutch and Cold 187um, is an American rapper and producer, and leader of the rap group Above the Law. He currently records for his self-founded label.

Asian hip hop is a heterogeneous musical genre that covers all hip hop music as recorded and produced by artists of Asian origin.

Hip-hop or hip hop, formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music,that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s primarily from African American, Afro-Latin, and Afro-Caribbean musical aesthetics practiced by youth in the South Bronx. Hip-hop music originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence social movement led by the Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation. The genre is characterized by stylized rhythmic sounds—often built around disco grooves, electronic drum beats, and rapping, a percussive vocal delivery of rhymed poetic speech as consciousness-raising expression. The music developed as part of the broader hip-hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, breakdancing, and graffiti art or writing. Knowledge is sometimes described as a fifth element, underscoring its role in shaping the values and promoting empowerment and consciousness-raising through music. In 1999, emcee KRS-One, often referred to as "The Teacher," elaborated on this framework in a Harvard lecture, identifying additional elements that extend beyond the basic four. These include self-expression, street fashion, street language, street knowledge, and street entrepreneurialism, which remain integral to hip-hop's musical expression, entertainment business, and sound production. Girls’ double-dutch was also recognized as a key stylistic component of breakdancing, according to KRS. While often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, "hip-hop" more properly denotes the practice(s) of the entire subculture. The term hip-hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping may not be the focus of hip-hop music. The genre also centers DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.

Alternative hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip hop groups that refuse to conform to any of the traditional stereotypes of rap, such as gangsta, bass, hardcore, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres drawing equally from funk and pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae, and even folk."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 in hip-hop</span> Overview of the events of 1997 in hip hop music

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 in hip-hop</span> Overview of the events of 1995 in hip hop music

This article summarises the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 in hip-hop</span> Overview of the events of 1994 in hip hop music

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1994.

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 in hip-hop</span> Overview of the events of 1989 in hip hop music

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 in hip-hop</span> Overview of the events of 1986 in hip hop music

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 in hip-hop</span> Overview of the events of 1985 in hip hop music

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run-DMC</span> American hip hop group

Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, formed in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 Live Crew</span> American hip hop group

The 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, that had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's best-known lineup was composed of Uncle Luke, Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx, and Brother Marquis. They were considerably controversial in the U.S. due to the sexually explicit content in their songs, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be.

References

  1. "The Top 50 Hip-Hop Albums of 1990".
  2. "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard .