First thing I should say is that I am Old School. The fact that I lived through this era proves that. But even from the perspective of 20/20 hindsight this era was when Hip Hop went from a niche interest in and around New York City to a pop culture phenomenon. The art form itself was born in the 1970s, and was catching fire in the underground all over the country. I’m just marking a time when the form broke out into a cultural force that’s run unabated every since.
Here is my list of the Golden Age Canon.
01/21/85: Run DMC - King of Rock
11/18/85: LL Cool J - Radio
04/25/86: Whodini - Back in Black
05/15/86: Run DMC - Raising Hell
7/7/86: Doug E. Fresh - Oh, My God!
11/15/86: Beastie Boys - License to Ill
12/1/86: Schoolly D - Saturday Night! – The Album
12/31/86: Kool Moe Dee - Kool Moe Dee
12/31/86: Just Ice - Back to the Old School
2/10/87: Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show
3/1/87: Too Short - Born to Mack
3/3/87: Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded
7/7/87: Eric B & Rakim - Paid in Full
7/22/87: LL Cool J - Bigger and Deffer
8/8/87: MC Shan - Down By Law
12/8/87: Kool Moe Dee - How Ya Like Me Now
12/31/87: Just Ice - Kool & Deadly (Justicizms)
1/31/88: Too Short - Life is Too Short
2/17/88: Audio Two - What More Can I Say?
2/23/88: Biz Markie - Goin' Off
3/25/88: Doug E Fresh - The World's Greatest Entertainer
4/14/88: Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
5/31/88: Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary
6/21/88: Stetsasonic - In Full Gear
6/21/88: EPMD - Strictly Business
7/25/88: Eric B & Rakim - Follow the Leader
8/8/88: NWA - Straight Outta Compton
8/9/88: Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock - It Takes Two
10/4/88: Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown
11/3/88: Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
11/8/88: The Jungle Brothers - Straight Out the Jungle
3/3/89: De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
3/12/89: Geto Boys - Grip It! On That Other Level
3/14/89: Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Road to the Riches
4/22/89: Gang Starr - No More Mr. Nice Guy
5/12/89: Kool Moe Dee - Knowledge is King
6/16/89: The D.O.C. - No One Can Do It Better
7/25/89: EPMD - Unfinished Business
7/25/89: Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
11/8/89: Jungle Brothers - Done By The Forces of Nature
3/26/90: Digital Underground - Sex Packets
4/10/90: Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
4/16/90: A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels and Paths to Rhythm
