it basically boils down to this
the rakim, bdk, kool g, LL, NWA, public enemy, slick rick, etc era
vs
the nas, biggie, jay z, wu tang, outkast etc era
the production styles between the 2 eras is vastly different where the soudn peaked in the mid-late 90s and overcome by the wackness era of 2000+ til now where the udnerground/a few sporatic groups were actually dope
90s production is just too ill to me. rza pete and premier and their like really set it off vs marley marl who is a genius in his own right.
are the 90s overrated? na... the 80s are underrated as fukk tho cause theres some GREAT hip hop there