4 Hip-Hop Artists From The 80s Who Sound Just as Good Today as They Did in Their Prime
· Vice
Oftentimes, 80s hip-hop can go overlooked when considering the rich history of hip-hop. Naturally, people flock to the ‘golden age‘ in the 90s. From the 2000s to the present day is recent enough memory where it’ll always stay in conversation.
But the 80s typically only get regarded by older rap fans who grew up with it. Otherwise, it gets tossed off as the early days of hip-hop, that the genre and culture eventually transcended the decade stylistically.
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However, it doesn’t take much digging to see that there are many artists from that time period who still sound great today. As much as rap has evolved over the years, you can still trace the modern landscape back to its origins.
Consequently, in the spirit of celebrating 80s hip-hop, Noisey has selected four rappers that demonstrates how fresh rap back then can sound today.
Four Rappers That Show How Great 80s Hip-Hop Truly Was
Rakim
The big gold rope chains, the deep, booming voice, the style, Rakim was effortlessly cool. He made rapping look too easy, a dexterous flow that hammered Eric B’s DJ scratching and bombastic drums. No rapper wields power and technique as easily as Rakim did, regardless of decade.
Big Daddy Kane
Similar to Rakim, Big Daddy Kane was a prototype of how cool rappers could be. He was an early proof of how hip-hop could interpolate and reimagine classic samples into something fresh and distinct.
Take “Smooth Operator”, curbing from the Mary Jane Girls’ “All Night Long” to flex his style and prowess. “Confuse and lose abuse and bruise the crews/Who choose to use my name wrong, they pay dues,” he raps. A lot of rappers would sound overly belabored trying to cram all of those rhymes in a few bars. But Big Daddy Kane never sounded out of his comfort zone.
Slick Rick
Slick Rick’s sing-songy flow and storytelling sounded like no one else back in the 80s. Even as hip-hop passed him by during most of the 90s, his knack for detail separated him from the rest of the pack.
Take “Children’s Story”, where his cautionary tale was a vivid depiction of street life that defined his brand of autofiction. Few rappers depict such an empathetic understanding of how kids get caught up in the wrong crowd and meet tragic ends.
LL Cool J
Back in 2024, LL Cool J declared that he was the ‘most important rapper’ of all time. “They’re gonna look and say, ‘Wow, when it comes to the jewelry, this is the guy that introduced all the diamonds, and the ice and the jewelry and the champagne,” he said.
LL continued, “They’re gonna say when it comes to the love songs, they’re gonna say, ‘This is the guy that introduced the love songs and all the love s**t.’ “When it comes to the bad boy vibe, they’re gonna realize that this is the guy who introduced all the rebellious, bad boy vibes before it was done. When it comes to the G.O.A.T terminology, they gon’ say, ‘This is the guy who came up with all the G.O.A.T stuff.’”
Looking back at the history of hip-hop, LL Cool J’s argument tracks. The bravado of “I’m Bad”, the romantic yearning of “I Need Love”, it all transfers to the modern day. The only thing that might sound dated is the loud, brash drum programming that came with 80s hip-hop.
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