Golden age hip-hop

Golden age hip-hop refers to hip-hop music created from roughly the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, building on the genre's advances of the mid-1980s. The golden age is characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation, and influence on overall hip-hop, and is associated with the genre's development and mainstream success. Subject matter was varied, while the music was experimental and the sampling eclectic. The artists most associated with the period are LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Ultramagnetic MCs, the Jungle Brothers, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, KRS-One, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Eric B. & Rakim, Kid 'n Play, De La Soul, Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, Biz Markie, Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Gang Starr, and A Tribe Called Quest. These acts coexisted with early gangsta rap artists such as Schoolly D, Ice-T, Geto Boys, N.W.A, the sex raps of 2 Live Crew and Too Short, and party-oriented music by acts such as the Fat Boys, MC Hammer, and Vanilla Ice. Most of these artists and musicians originated from the New York metropolitan area.