Golden age hip hop
Golden age hip hop refers to mainstream hip hop music created from the mid or mid-late 1980s to the early or early-mid 1990s, particularly by artists and musicians originating from the New York metropolitan area. A successor to the new-school hip hop movement, it is characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence on overall hip hop after the genre's emergence and establishment in the old-school era, and is associated with the development and eventual mainstream success of hip hop. There were various types of subject matter, while the music was experimental and the sampling from old records was eclectic.
| Golden age hip hop | |
|---|---|
Run-DMC and Beastie Boys (with DJ Hurricane) in 1987. Their albums are often considered a start to hip hop's golden era. | |
| Stylistic origins |
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| Cultural origins | Mid 1980s, New York City, Long Island |
| Typical instruments |
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| Local scenes | |
| South Bronx, Hollis, Queens, Brooklyn, Harlem, Long Island | |
The artists most often associated with the period are LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Ultramagnetic MC's, the Jungle Brothers, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, KRS-One, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Eric B. & Rakim, De La Soul, Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, Biz Markie, Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Gang Starr, and A Tribe Called Quest. Releases by these acts co-existed in this period with early gangsta rap artists such as Schoolly D, Ice-T, Geto Boys, N.W.A, the sex raps of 2 Live Crew and Too Short, and party-oriented music by acts such as the Fat Boys, MC Hammer, and Vanilla Ice.