For many hip-hop fans under 30, it seems as though the 1990s “began” around the time of the infamous Death Row Records/Bad Boy Entertainment beef. For a generation that believes that the decade was defined by 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G., it may come as a shock to learn that there was brilliant music being churned out long before those two iconic figures began feuding.
An even lesser-acknowledged truism is the fact that many hip-hop stars who are routinely pigeonholed today as “80s rappers” were still recording brilliant work well into the 1990s. As the decade dawned, several legendary artists–like Public Enemy and Eric B. & Rakim–were still at their creative peaks. As the 1990s progressed, there were still artists like KRS-One and Too $hort, who were releasing music that continued to add to their respective legends.
With that in mind, here are 10 brilliant albums from the 1990s by hip-hop stars that we too often assume peaked in the 1980s…
