hip hop was born and came of age in the
boroughs of new york city among the
projects and tenements as it matured it
quickly permeated neighborhoods and
locales around the world while its reach
was broad several hip-hop artists from
its birthplace were instrumental in
solidifying the genre here we look at
east coast artists that changed hip-hop
depending on who you ask the notorious
b.i.g is the greatest hip-hop artist of
all time no matter who you believe holds
the title one thing's for sure biggie's
delivery creativity and words missing
are characteristic that make his rank
nearly indisputable when fans discuss
big the conversation doesn't progress
without mentioning his flows one of the
attributes that set biggie smalls apart
from others was his ability to assemble
rhymes atop one another in a manner
unlike his peers
no one else took listeners on an
auditory joyride combining words that
matched musically weaving a visual story
like the notorious b.i.g
journalists at time marveled at how
wallace could make multi-syllabic rhymes
sound so smooth
veteran hip-hop lyricist big daddy kane
observed how big didn't require an
extensive vocabulary because he knew how
to make multiple words sound good
together in an era when many rappers
glamorized the spoils of the nouveau
riche and celebrated avenues that
elevated them out of impoverished
environments biggie also rhymed about
the ills that plagued the layman
biggie's lyrics were gritty like his
home borough brooklyn
they told stories from the perspective
of a young man experiencing angst and
struggle coupled with wild fun accounts
of the streets like the lives of his
listeners hustling to attain upward
mobility while keeping one eye open for
jake around the corner
one of the greatest contemporary
storytellers of his time
big blessed us with tracks like juicy 10
crack commandments and i got a story to
tell these tales were ostentatious
braggadocious and excessive much like
the hip-hop story shared in songs a
generation before his every song was
like a playbook for successfully
engaging in the narcotics trade hitting
the streets to sip champagne and make
money or kicking game to beautiful women
his in-depth layered stories enthralled
listeners and took them on a ride
superior to many other street poets
one would be seriously remiss if
christopher wallace's flows aren't
highlighted as a reason for a drastic
shift in hip-hop that we're still
hearing today
onika tanya mirage petty more
affectionately known as nicki minaj
changed the game the trinity born young
money alumni's distinct rhyme flow and
eccentric lyricism carved out a lane all
her own
her animated vocal delivery alternate
personas and dynamism channeling rhyming
styles placed minaj in a league of her
own
nikki came onto the scene dropping
mixtapes in 2007 however it was in 2010
with her debut studio album pink friday
that nikki solidified her spot as a
hip-hop icon the release rocketed to
number one on the billboard 200 and was
later certified triple platinum the
single super bass on the album became
the second female rap song to be diamond
certified by the riaa
aside from accolades in album sales and
ratings nikki's claim to fame can be
attributed to animated rhyme cadence her
use of double entendres and wit to
express herself on the mic fans are in
for a surprise waiting to see which of
her personas deliver those hard-hitting
lyrics one of minaj's frequently used
personas is roman zelanski a violent
explicitly uninhibited british man with
a cockney accent
roman made musical appearances on
bottoms up and monster among other
tracks another identity minaj adopts is
harajuku barbie who exhibits a sense of
naivete and is soft-spoken yet overtly
sexual as displayed in bedrock nicki
minaj's flow has been heralded by
veteran rhyme sayers including ice tea
and kanye west comparing the way she
rhymes to lyrical magicians busta rhymes
and west considering her flow on monster
her sentence composition has been
described as a roller coaster of
emotions ebbing and flowing from
belligerent to theatrical and entranced
to repulse all in one song at times
the self-proclaimed queen of hip-hop is
cited as an artist who's helped battle
misogyny in hip-hop re-branding women's
roles in the genre her candid
expressiveness aided in paving the way
for careers of other contemporary female
hip-hop artists nicki minaj's credits
transcend hip-hop music and help her
solidify an important role in pop
culture as an innovator
when hip-hop fans mentioned 90s hip-hop
one group is largely referenced for
their pivotal role in helping to define
an era a tribe called quest
bred in queens original members q-tip
fife dog ali shaheed muhammad and jerobi
white are collectively credited for
providing an alternative to the extreme
themes of east coast and west coast
hip-hop a tribe called quest
compositions featured horns riffs and
instrumentations unconventional to
hip-hop of the time
the group's lyrical concepts touched on
light-hearted coming-of-age experiences
a stark contrast to rappers from both
coasts rhyming about life in
impoverished environments and achieving
success through illicit means hip-hop
artists including pharrell williams and
scarface credit a tribe called quest for
helping them view music as art
east coast producing freedom pete rock
noted how he would go into record stores
and see q-tip sitting on the floor
rifling through records on a quest for
beats
west coast rap juggernaut dr dre's
multi-platinum released the chronic was
inspired by the way a tribe called quest
incorporated samples in their tracks
q-tip and ali shahid muhammad's
knowledge of jazz had hip-hop heads
unknowingly expanding their musical
palettes
the combination of q-tips philosophical
musings and five dogs layman points of
view were a departure from what was
considered the norm when hardcore and
gangster rap dominated the airwaves when
the mainstream media boxed hip-hop into
one of two camps a tribe called quest's
packaging of whimsical lyrical floetry
funky jazz beats and melodic riffs gave
hip-hop fans the agency and confidence
to be diverse but still love appreciate
and advance the art form their obvious
adoration of black culture bohemian
vibes and association with native
tongues a hip-hop collective featuring
rap luminaries like queen latifah busta
rhymes and de la soul earned them
adoration from fans around the world
midnight marauders released in 1993 was
certified platinum in 1995 and
journalists at the time credited it as a
rap classic
the notorious b.i.g nicki minaj and a
tribe called quest paved the way for
change in hip-hop
individually each offer something
special and unique to the game
collectively as new york bred artists
they personify why the city is owed
immeasurable respect as the birthplace
of the genre and there's no doubt
respect is due