Old heads, how dominant was the west coast in the early/mid 90's?

[Monoblock]

West Coast was so dominant that by 94 NY rappers were "creeping through the hood up to no good" and "born to roll" in a lowrider:





Here you got Da Brat (Chicago) and Biggie (Brooklyn) produced by JD (ATL) sounding like they're from Crenshaw:


The music, the movies, the gear. the slang, gangbanging (Cube said it best: "dying for a street that they never heard of")...West Coast exploded with NWA and then Death Row had a stranglehold on the culture, until Biggie and Wu-Tang blew up.

Not to mention that even Kris Kross go into the act. Even started sampling Snoop.
Boys started wearing Khaki suits and driving 64s

 

[Deltron]

As a west coaster, I heard west coast shot constantly and had to dig for east, south shyt

 

[Digital Omen]

Not to mention that even Kris Kross go into the act. Even started sampling Snoop.
Boys started wearing Khaki suits and driving 64s

Yeah they were also part of the 93 when rappers switched up and went hardcore wave, which of course was the reaction to G-Funk. I subscribed to The Sauce and when their cover story arrived with them on some gangbanger shyt all I did was laugh

That time in 1993 where artists had to switch up and go hardcore

That Gangsta shyt made the industry do a 360... Look at Run DMC: Mc Hammer: DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince Even Vanilla Ice switched his whole shyt and tried to rap like Das Efx :mjlol::russ:

www.thecoli.com

 

[Unbothered]

I'm not old but I'd say they were dominant to a certain extent, particularly regarding sales and media attention but in the world of Hip-Hop as it relates to the cultural and musical aspect not soo much.

As a few others mentioned only certain West Coast artists and acts were big/notable and had the respect. The East Coast for the most part was leading the 90s when it came to talent, music, and culture.

 

[boskey]

I don't know about the charts, but culturally it was super dominant. Like people said already, every non-NY artist and plenty of NY artists were using the West Coast style. For like 10 years if people wanted a stereotypical depiction of hip hop or the hood they would use the west coast stereotype: lowriders, 40's, khakis and flannels etc.

Pretty sure black men rocking braids and tattoos was popular in the West before anywhere else...

 

[ReturnOfJudah]

i'm a put it like this nikkas in mississippi nikkas was wearing G nikes, dikkies, and white tees. If you type any random city in a youtube search bar with rap 1993 and that artist gonna sound like a bay or LA nikka. Just like NY when they had the game locked in the 80s. I grew up using some bay slang way in Louisiana and we got it from E 40 tapes

 

[zayk35]

In Texas being 14-18 yrs old from 92-96 it was Westcoast all day. We had the Geto Boys UGK, Big Mike and Face that was gonna get played in TX regardless. But in my neck of the woods we had "Bay Area" cats that we fukked with heavy too. Like in my hood cats like C-Bo, Mac Mall, obviously E-40 and Too Short and even early Master-P was getting 100x more Plat ran even Biggie, The Wu, Nas, and whatever NYC based rappers that were hot at the time. Me personally, I didn't even respect NY during that time. Most of my love for NYC rappers at that time came in my mid 20s and early 30s. To the point that RZA is my no.1 Hip-Hop producer of all-time. I like Samples but Rza is a Master at chopping them up to where you don't even discover it until decades later. It hurt my soul once ppl started uncovering Dre's Samples he just looped shytand put that "Dre Gloss" for the most part. I never even heard the og sample from California Love until my 30s and even the "Nuthin But a G-thang" sample from the intro to "I wanna do something freaky to you". I really thought he came up with all that shyt, until I realized My Granny's album collection had absolutely everything hip hop has ever sampled. That collection was the only thing I coveted once my Granny passed away.i got about half of the collection because of a hating azz cousin of mine all of a sudden wanted the other half. For what reason she couldn't even tell you. But next time I'm in Texas best believe I'm just gonna straight up just "Jack" that shut. She got them just sitting in her garage, I actually listen to those old records on my $2000 turn table set up. She doesn't deserve them.

Oh shyt I'm on another rant. For no good reason. I'm sorry y'all. I'm a recently divorced man with wayyyy too much time on my hands these days.

 

[parallax]

Yes, it was dominant. Not only did you have Chronic, Doggystyle, and Warren's Regulate, but it was artists that weren't from the West that had West Coast influenced/inspired sounds i.e. Southernplayalistic and Funkdafied. Even Biggie's "Big Poppa" was influenced.

That's not even mentioning Pac, Too Short and E-40. Hammer was a West Coast artist too.

honestly as a kid, i thought outkast and masta ace were west coast acts. southerplaya had dre looking and sounding like la cats(at least to me, a lot of my native la family have a slight southern accent at times) and that sitting on chrome video was like a bunch of the carshows i would go to with my aunt and uncle

the odd thing is that for some reason i always knew acts like the geto boyz werent. they just felt different

 

[3rdWorld]

There was no diversity out West, its like the South today..everyone an NWA clone.

In the East there was diversity in the artform, from styles of rapping to subject matter and content.

 

[Boonapalist]

There was no diversity out West, its like the South today..everyone an NWA clone.

In the East there was diversity in the artform, from styles of rapping to subject matter and content.

So The Pharcyde was the same as NWA? The Alkaholiks were the same as The Pharcyde? Freestyle Fellowship was the same as The Alkaholiks? Etc etc etc.

Stfu you weird ass nikka. You’re not even from America your from Africa or some shyt

 

[iLLusoYuN_Da_Adidas_King]

If they were a cliche gangsta rap group.
After cube souled't out.
That shyt got no play in actual hilhop culture with bboys. That Westcoast gangsta rap shyt is ruthless records runs the world and for nikkaz who were Infstuated with house music.

Bboys in hiphop who were black.
gave that shyt nO light whatsoever.


Art Barr

You a muthafukking lie.
nikka the westcoast had hiphop in a joke hold since nwa and ie T came out and legit RETIrED rakim krs one and the native tongue movement for 5 years. But it felt like a decade. Let’s not forget ice cube was the absolute goat from 89-1992 before pac got reaction. Bboys got played out kool g rap and rakim dropped their dj’s and bboys was getting they ass beat for tagging in nyc and that’s dancing shyt became a sub culture that got overtaken by Filipinos and Mexicans in the west coast.
West coast was dominant af u til pac died and the second westside connection album. After that the south after soaking up game from the west last had their era and it’s been their era since.

 

[3rdWorld]

So The Pharcyde was the same as NWA? The Alkaholiks were the same as The Pharcyde? Freestyle Fellowship was the same as The Alkaholiks? Etc etc etc.

Stfu you weird ass nikka. You’re not even from America your from Africa or some shyt

Youre right, were not from the same place so Dont call me a ****** you fakkit..

 

[DaveyDave]

Good question. Listening to DJ sets from the time it doesn’t seem like death row artists got huge play oversees during those times.

The sun, California and the low rider’s definitely breathed new life into hip hop culture.

I grew up in Australia in the 80s/90s, as far as Hip Hop goes, the West was definitely dominant. Everyone around my age who started listening to Hip Hop at that time, their first exposure was Snoop, Dre, NWA, Ice Cube solo, Bone (Not from the west but had that sound & were affiliated through Eazy obviously), MC Eight, a lot of Bay as well Luniz, Spice 1, Hammer, etc. Unless you had an older brother or cousin or homies with an older brother who was already listening to Hip Hop then that was the starting point. A lot of East Coast too like Wu, Onyx, Black Moon, but some things like Snoop even ended up on the pop charts.

 

[En Sabah Nur]

It was balanced out most of the 90's, but Absolute dominance late '92 through '94, which isn't that long in retrospect. But it was dominance that spilled into TV and movies as well

 

[Monoblock]

Yea the

In Texas being 14-18 yrs old from 92-96 it was Westcoast all day. We had the Geto Boys UGK, Big Mike and Face that was gonna get played in TX regardless. But in my neck of the woods we had "Bay Area" cats that we fukked with heavy too. Like in my hood cats like C-Bo, Mac Mall, obviously E-40 and Too Short and even early Master-P was getting 100x more Plat ran even Biggie, The Wu, Nas, and whatever NYC based rappers that were hot at the time. Me personally, I didn't even respect NY during that time. Most of my love for NYC rappers at that time came in my mid 20s and early 30s. To the point that RZA is my no.1 Hip-Hop producer of all-time. I like Samples but Rza is a Master at chopping them up to where you don't even discover it until decades later. It hurt my soul once ppl started uncovering Dre's Samples he just looped shytand put that "Dre Gloss" for the most part. I never even heard the og sample from California Love until my 30s and even the "Nuthin But a G-thang" sample from the intro to "I wanna do something freaky to you". I really thought he came up with all that shyt, until I realized My Granny's album collection had absolutely everything hip hop has ever sampled. That collection was the only thing I coveted once my Granny passed away.i got about half of the collection because of a hating azz cousin of mine all of a sudden wanted the other half. For what reason she couldn't even tell you. But next time I'm in Texas best believe I'm just gonna straight up just "Jack" that shut. She got them just sitting in her garage, I actually listen to those old records on my $2000 turn table set up. She doesn't deserve them.

Oh shyt I'm on another rant. For no good reason. I'm sorry y'all. I'm a recently divorced man with wayyyy too much time on my hands these days.

This was definitely me back then, especially being in Houston at the time. I mean the west coast influence was so heavy on us back then Screw even said on multiple occasions that C-Bo was his favorite rapper. The connection to the South and West Coast was just the lifestyle (cars, weather, women). Just being outside having a good time. Like you said Mac Mall, E-40, King Tee, The Alkaholiks, CJ Mac, K-Dee, Spice-1, Mc Eiht, DJ Quik, and most definitely Too Short (when Freaky Tales dropped..it shut the city down. Low key the Born To Mack album cover influenced the car culture so heavy down here in Houston) South Central Cartel, Lil Half Dead, Souls of Mischief, Pharcyde... I can go on and on. Rap A Lot at the time had even gotten into the West Coast vibe with 5th Ward Juvenilez, Mass 187, Menace Clan and a bunch of other tracks and affiliates.
I always had love for the East though. Nas and The Wu automatically grabbed my attention along with Tribe. I actually listened to everything and appreciated it but the West Coast had a chokehold on Houston back then.