My Birth Year: 1994
Hip-hop has seen so many great albums since the birth of the genre four decades ago. Trends and inventiveness forced hip-hop to travel in many directions, inspired millions of people, and saved others. By the time it reached the late 80's and 90's, legends were introduced and some of the greatest albums were made.
It was the year 1994 that did it for me. The Golden Era which many consider. This year was full with dope records like, Gangstarr's Hard to Earn, Biggie's Ready to Die, and my favorite album of all time, Nas's Illmatic (thousands can agree). What a great time to be born!
Its like I was born into a year full of greatness. At a young age I was introduced to hip-hop. My dad used to play songs like Biggie's "Warning," Snoop's "Gin and Juice," and Esco's "One Love" on the stereo in my living room. When I reached my pre teen years, my brother T used to control the channels and recorded Video Music Box. I had no choice to listen to what came out before my time. But everything goes back to Illmatic. I love everything about it and would always be an album I can listen to no matter how old it gets.
Nas no doubt about it destroys his debut album. One of the best albums of all time, from start to finish. He took the mic and reflected upon his life and depicted young black males trying to find a way to survive in a world with ghetto, crime, incarceration and death. Living in the hood pushes you to grow fast and Nas represented that impression to the point with productions by DJ Premier, Q-Tip and Pete Rock. Timeless!