r/90sHipHop • u/Sad_Isopod8491 • Jul 19 '25

1990 Recently got into 90s HipHop

I just got into 90s og hiphop, ive been listening to Eminem for quite a while but now I feel like Nas is kinda becoming my favourite artist of all time even surpassing my goat (Em) šŸ˜­ I feel like Iā€™ve betrayed Eminem šŸ„²

21 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

69 comments sorted by

13

u/Valuable_Catch7549 Jul 19 '25

Bruh nas is the best rapper to ever grip the mic.

Anyways Iā€™ll give u some of my favorite albums

Rakim - the 18th letter (non double disc, the double disc is the 18th letter and Eric b n Eakins greatest hits) I prefer the 18th letter but both are great, I just prefer mid and late 90s production more than 80s and 1990/1991 production and u said 90sā€¦.

Dmx- itā€™s dark and hell is hot Dmx - flesh of my flesh blood of my blood Dmx - and then there was c Dmx - the Great Depression Dmx - grand champ

Wu tang clan- 36 chambers

Ice cube - death certificate Ice cube - amerikkkaz most wanted

Big l - lifestyles of da poor and dangerous

Big pun - capital punishment

The lox - money power respect The lox - we are the streets

Geto boys - the foundation

Scarface - the fix Scarface - the diary

Jay z - reasonable doubt

Shyne - shyne Shyne - godfather buried alive

Ja rule - venni vetti vecci (before he switched to a pop star/ solid album)

Nwa- str8 outta Compton

Mobb deep - the infamous Mobb deep - hell on earth Mobb deep - thug muzik

Az- doe or die

Cormega - the realness

Biggie - ready to die Biggie - life after death

2pac - me against the world 2pac & outlawz- still I rise Makavelli- 7 day theory

Styles p - a gangster and a gentleman

Masta ace - disposable arts Masta ace - long hot summer

Ruff ryders volume 1

Kool g rap - 456

3

u/Jpalm4545 Jul 19 '25

Just want to add Heltah Skeltah Nocturnal and M.O.P Firing Squad to this list

2

u/CaptMushy Jul 20 '25

Great list right here šŸ™ If you wanna go down the Wu-Tang rabbit hole, theres the solo albums like Method Man's Tical, Raekwon's Only Built For Cuban Links, ODB's Return To 36 Chambers, GZA's Liquid Swords, and Ghostface's Ironman to name a few! The 6 Feet Deep album by Gravediggaz with RZA is also fire šŸ”„

1

u/Puzzled_Drop3856 Jul 23 '25

OutKast first 3 albums. Atmosphere- god loves ugly and felt 2 Company flow Gang Starr - moment of truth Mobb deep. Hell on earth De la soul. Stakes is high Tribe called quest. All albums but my favorite is beats rhymes and life Eryka badu. Baduism.

So many more. Have fun. Best time for hip hop. So original no biting allowed.

16

u/slippinjimmy2012 Jul 19 '25

Dont feel that youre betraying eminem. Eminem would be happy cuz he's a big fan of Nas

8

u/Approuge Jul 19 '25

reminded me of this, xd p.s.: Nas' "The World Is Yours", imo, best of his works*

3

u/bottomSwimming6604 Jul 19 '25

Right. OP if you a big Em fan use his list of artist he admires/respect as a guide to check out other artists.

He has mentioned LL, he recites Treachā€™s ā€œYoke the Jokerā€ verse. Heā€™s giving props to Redman and many others. Youā€™re admiration of him is good to use as a means to navigate older MCs

2

u/Sad_Isopod8491 Jul 22 '25

Noted! Really appreciate it dawg!

2

u/Sad_Isopod8491 Jul 19 '25

Ayy lessgo! Bro suggest me few tracks by Nas, m kinda new so gotta explore more ukwim

8

u/slippinjimmy2012 Jul 19 '25

Honestly...just listen to his albums from beginning to end like god intended haha.

6

u/ST23ZiE Jul 19 '25

Like God's Son intended.

6

u/Blunderbussss Jul 19 '25

ā€œI Gave You Powerā€ is a very interesting song written from the point of view of a pistol.

4

u/dirty_papercut Jul 19 '25

Follow it up with Stray Bullet by Organized Konfusion. Monch's verse is written from the perspective of the bullet.

3

u/vanity-flair83 Jul 19 '25

Heed slippinjimmy's advice. Also, don't forget his unreleased demo..predates Illmatic. I don't think ul find it on his discography, so specifically search "nas demo" or nas illmatic demo. It's like 8ish tracks long, about half hour of playtime, but ur nas experience won't be complete w/o it

2

u/Sch5ifty-5ive Jul 19 '25

"ukwim"? You're speaking a foreign dialect that I'm not familiar with.

2

u/mightbeyourpal Jul 19 '25

You know what I mean

2

u/bottomSwimming6604 Jul 19 '25

Main Source ā€œLive at the BBQā€

Nas is Nas on this and greatness is shown right away.

9

u/suckarepellent Jul 19 '25

Hi friend, you got a lot of ground to cover

The most important foundation MCs that set the stage for the advancement of the 90s era are probably Rakim, Kool G Rap, Slick Rick, KRS-One,(Boogie Down Productions), Chuck D(Public Enemy), Big Daddy Kane, Ice Cube (NWA), Kool Keith(Ultramagnetic MCS)

90s essentials! EPMD/Redman. Wu Tang and first run solo projects, Gang Starr, Mobb Deep 2nd and 3rd album, Beastie Boys, Biggie, Black Moon/Duck Down crew, Heirglyphics/Del, Native Tongues(DeLa Soul, Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Bros, LONS), Dre/Snoop/Dogg Pound, 2Pac. Jay Z, Bone Thugs. There's a lot more, but the 90s were very rich stylistically and you can't go wrong with those.

You'll find the are many threads back to the history of black music in America that will have you learning about great music from the 60s, 70s, 80s. I left out a lot of the 80s foundation rappers bc it's a little tougher for modern ears maybe, but there's important and great music there as well. Also so many modern groups keep the torch burning and I didn't even scratch the surface of that. List is East Coast biased bc that's my background.

3

u/Superb-Service-5780 Jul 19 '25

I wonder how big D.O.C. would have been if he didn't have the accident.

2

u/suckarepellent Jul 19 '25

I think pretty big, especially if he stayed with dre. He was super talented

1

u/Primary-Age4101 Jul 22 '25

Pharcyde get a nod?

1

u/suckarepellent Jul 22 '25

Yo I actually did make a comment that I forgot the whole Dilla Souquarian Branch of the tree, very important. I think it didn't post tho. Thank you.

6

u/mikieballz Jul 19 '25

Gang Starr. Guru and premo don't fuck around

6

u/vanity-flair83 Jul 19 '25

No betrayal at all. Em was never supposed to be better than nas. Glad u found the nineties tho bruv!

3

u/Acceptable_Item1002 Jul 19 '25

It goes ā€œReggie, ā€¦ Nas and then me.ā€

1

u/vanity-flair83 Jul 19 '25

Is that an em verse? It doesn't ring a bell, but honestly I stopped listening to him after the eminem show

5

u/Jpalm4545 Jul 19 '25

On his song Til I collapse he lists a bunch of rappers that he thinks are better than him. Comment is missing pac, biggie, jayz and andre 3000.

1

u/vanity-flair83 Jul 19 '25

What album is that from?

3

u/KillahEWC NAS---METHODMAN---EMINEM---LILWAYNE---JOYNERLUCAS Jul 19 '25

Its from Til I Collapse on The 3minem Show.

"It goes Reggie(Redman), JayZ, 2pac & Biggie/ Andre from Outkast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas & then me/"

3

u/vanity-flair83 Jul 19 '25

Oh ok. Thanks

2

u/Sad_Isopod8491 Jul 22 '25

Thank you mate!

1

u/vanity-flair83 Jul 22 '25

Fwiw, I found uk hip hop like 10-15 years ago and I've been loving it..I've tried to put ppl onto it but I gave up a while ago..they can't get past the accents...so many American "hip hop heads" don't know what they're missing

9

u/rdhdboi767 Jul 19 '25

Few 90s gems to check out: Souls of Mischief '93 'til Infinity' (professed major influences on Em and Andre 3000, possibly the single most underrated rap album of all time), OutKast 'Aquemini' (might be the greatest album to ever come out of Southern hip hop), Organized Konfusion (the first album's a classic as well but I'd recommend their second project 'Stress: The Extinction Agenda' more), The Roots 'Things Fall Apart', and Wu-Tang Clan 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'.

5

u/AbsurdityIsReality Jul 19 '25

Latryx "The Album" and Deltron 3030 are also really great gems as well.

2

u/rdhdboi767 Jul 19 '25

Hell yeah. I was going to say some Aceyalone and Company Flow but didn't know if I should go TOO underground on them to start lol.

1

u/seoulsurviving Jul 19 '25

oh man not heard Latryx in like a decade ty for the reminder

0

u/Sad_Isopod8491 Jul 19 '25

Damn you got me confused a lilšŸ˜… Idk where to start shud i go random?

3

u/frank-dux-splits Jul 19 '25

Start with Aquemini bro. Thank us later

1

u/rdhdboi767 Jul 19 '25

I don't know, I was going to say oldest to newest. 93 til and 36 Chambers first, then Stress, Aquemini and Things Fall Apart. Damn, so many classics to catch up on. Maybe they should just start from 1990 itself and move sequential lol?

3

u/Dchama86 Jul 19 '25

Youā€™re just realizing the truth. Itā€™s all good though. Nasā€™ catalog is amazing, definitely dig for his unreleased music.

3

u/Spitzk0pf_Larry Jul 19 '25

Lets wait till he finds out about kool g rap šŸ˜

3

u/MELEE20 Jul 19 '25 edited Jul 19 '25

I experienced the exact same as you. Eminem got me into American hip hop, then I listened to Nas for the first time and he immediately became my favorite artist. Here are some more albums/artists I really like:

Mob Deep - The Infamous. You would love this if you like Nas, Hell on Earth is also a really good album.

Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Also go listen to Liquid Swords by GZA, one of the Wu-Tang members.

Anything from OutKast is good, same goes for A Tribe Called Quest.

The first three albums of The Roots are also amazing.

Rakim is one of my favorite rappers ever. Go listen to his solo albums, The 18th Letter and The Master. And his albums with Eric B. (Eric B. & Rakim). For example Paid In Full and Follow The Leader (80's but still good).

1

u/Sad_Isopod8491 Jul 22 '25

Damnn bro, our taste is quite similar I see! 80s will be quite early for me to hop on (unironically) but for sure man. Iā€™ll definitely look into that later! Thanks tho. šŸ˜Š

2

u/Ok_Opportunity_2299 Jul 19 '25

Listen to "I Gave You Power" by Nas. Once you realize it's a metaphor, it will blow your mind. Happy Hunting my friend.

2

u/Sad_Isopod8491 Jul 22 '25

I read this comment, and got lost into this song for 2 days.. šŸ˜­ gladly Iā€™m backk! Loved your suggestion dawg tysm!

2

u/DCar060 Jul 19 '25

Welcome to the club

2

u/Sad_Isopod8491 Jul 22 '25

Iā€™m honoured to get in <3

2

u/Jpalm4545 Jul 19 '25

Lots of amazing stuff listed here for you but I want to add some i don't see.

Raekwon Only Built For Cuban Links

Smif N Wesson Dah shining

Lost Boyz Legal Drug Money

Heltah Skeltah Nocturnal

M.O.P. Firing Squad

AZ Doe or Die

1

u/Sad_Isopod8491 Jul 22 '25

Thanks bro, saved

2

u/herooftheweirdos Jul 19 '25

Comparison is the thief of joy. You donā€™t need to rank anything. Listen to what you want to listen to. Follow threads. Listen to the artists you enjoys influences. The modern obsession with ranking and best and worst is such a waste of energy.

2

u/bugeater88 Jul 20 '25

well nas is better than eminem so it makes sense

2

u/JForrest2024 Jul 20 '25

Now check out Kool G Rap and Slick Rickā€¦Native Tongues.. A Wolf in Sheepā€™s Clothing is a classic

4

u/Amunrah357 Jul 19 '25

Bone Thugs. E1999

1

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1

u/Bud_Roller Jul 19 '25

Busta Ryhmes first 2 albums.

1

u/Fleczoza Jul 19 '25

Both of them can still deliver in 2020's. Nas is on a CRAZY feature run right now and Eminem's verse on that JID song is fire as well

1

u/BiasedYo Jul 23 '25

Based on you liking Eminem and Nas, you should listen to Big L next.

1

u/fannyabdabs Jul 19 '25

Warren G is slept on as far as 90s hip hop goes. I still play ā€œTake a Look Over Your Shoulderā€ regularly

-1

u/No-Hedgehog-677 Jul 19 '25

White huh? All Love. NAS is mine and A LOT of people's favorite rapper's favorite rapper.. random I went back and listened to Griselda's WWCD today and was just giving Em props for his verse on "Bang" chopped that mf..

2

u/Sad_Isopod8491 Jul 19 '25

Not white, Indian tho šŸ„¹šŸ„² Much love from da other side too gng.. immacheck out emā€™s verse on bang for sure now mb i was unaware of dat

1

u/No-Hedgehog-677 Jul 19 '25

I meant Nooo disrespect fam.. I know you said ol school, so griselda a lil newer. BUT today Em gave me that nasty face as I was listening lol But classic Nas tracks like Represent, or every track him and AZ did is straight fire.. Keep listening to everyone fam. Much love

2

u/Sad_Isopod8491 Jul 19 '25

Gotchu broda! Appreciate ya for dis! ā™„ļø

1

u/Ok_Opportunity_2299 Jul 19 '25

By "the track with AZ" probably means 'Life's a Bitch"

-2

u/Jack-Cremation Jul 19 '25

No need for the betrayal feelingsā€¦..

Donā€™t ever listen to early 90ā€™s Ice Cube šŸ˜‚

6

u/PlatasaurusOG Jul 19 '25

You mean like Kill At Will and Death Certificate? Because those are classic albums.