The 90s were a fascinating time for music. G-Funk, grunge, and eventually boy bands held primary real estate in the cultural zeitgeist. In between were a lot of strange one-hit wonders that couldn’t be replicated today if we tried. Hip-hop, though, was in its lauded Golden Age, where every region was operating at the peak of its power, and the genre and culture hadn’t been fully exploited by record labels for maximum profit.
However, just because 90s rap was in its prime doesn’t mean there wasn’t its fair share of oddities. We’ve looked back at four 90s rap songs that are strange blips on the radar that are hard to imagine being made today or just generally hard to explain.
Four 90s Rap Songs That Still Leave Me Scratching My Head Today
“No Pigeons” by Sporty Thievz
The fragility of the male ego is the reason for one of the strangest hip-hop one-hit wonders of all time. For some reason, King Kirk, Big Dubez, and Marlon Bryant Brando of the Sporty Thievz took offense that TLC didn’t want to date “No Scrubs“.
Consequently, in the spirit of equality, they made “No Pigeons”, a direct remix and response to all the stuck-up women who think they’re better than them. It is, unfortunately, extremely clunky in its delivery, interjecting with a jarring ‘uh-oh’ between lines. Sorry guys, but the ladies had us beat on this one.
“The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground
The Digital Underground were such a colorful, imaginative rap collective in their day. It’s weird to think that their biggest song is “The Humpty Dance”, a comedic rap song that made everyone do the hump.
Shock G riffs all over the place with strange, hilarious outbursts about getting busy in the Burger King bathroom. He’s spunky, likes his oatmeal lumpy, and will eat up all your crackers and licorice. It’s easy to wonder if Shock G’s goofy jokes and fake nose would’ve resonated in the land of calloused internet jokes. Maybe it was actually ahead of its time.
“Tennessee” by Arrested Development
When you think of the first Southern rap artists, you probably think of Outkast or UGK. Maybe you go back to the Geto Boys or even 2 Live Crew. But you rarely think of Arrested Development. You might even think of the TV show before you get to the Atlanta-based group.
The same goes for conscious rap fans too. They might’ve picked A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul before them. Still, they won Best New Artist at the Grammys and raked in the awards in the hip-hop categories. So it’s really hard to explain where they exactly fit within hip-hop’s history. Regardless of the larger, confusing legacy, “Tennessee” is warm, fuzzy, and extremely catchy, and it’s still worth our time today.
“Luchini – This Is It” by Camp Lo
People have been trying to figure out what “Luchini – This Is It” is about for decades. Skimming through the lyrics, Sonny Cheeba and Sonny Suede of Camp Lo are essentially riffing, stitching syllables together with ease even though there’s no thematic through-line. But in a sense, that’s the true essence of hip-hop— finding the coolest way to say something, even if it isn’t really much of anything. In that way, Camp Lo succeeded in spades.
Photo by David Corio/Redferns
The post No Matter How Many Times We Listen, We Still Can’t Explain These 4 Rap Songs From the 90s appeared first on VICE.
