Golden Era Special Volume I:

All Star Tracks

How you gonna fit about 50 rappers into an article containing only 4 videos? That’s right, may I introduce to you: the first special on 90shiphop, and it’s all about All Star tracks.

I picked 4 of those, and to make the list the track had to match the following criteria: released before 2000, at least 5 different MCs, and a video, so there’s something to watch. Note that this article isn’t about guest features or posse cuts (otherwise “The Symphony Pt. 1 & 2” by Marley Marl and the Juice Crew most certainly would have been included), but strictly about All Star tracks, so let’s get started!

Part I: The East Coast

The year is 1989, the place is New York, and a fan has just been killed in a fight at a Boogie Down Productions concert, so KRS-One decided to do something about the rise of violence in the streets and in hip hop. So he founded the Stop The Violence Movement, consisting of different rappers from the east coast, pursuing one goal: to influence the people, especially the youth, in a positive way through music, so the violence would decrease. The Movement released their first and only single, titled “Self Destruction“, that same year on Jive.

Here’s the track/video, participating rappers are: KRS-One, Delite (Stetsasonic), Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Daddy O & Wise (Stetsasonic), D-Nice, Ms. Melodie, Doug E. Fresh, Just-Ice, Heavy D, Fruitkwan (Stetsasonic, later part of the Gravediggaz) Chuck D and Flava Flav:

Part II: The West Coast

The equivalent to the Stop The Violence Movement on the west coast was The West Coast Rap All Stars project, who released their single “We’re All In The Same Gang” in 1991 on Warner Bros. On a interesting note, most of the MCs rapping on this one themselves were gangsta rappers, and they didn’t come to apologize for what they were doing, but to tell the world that “we’re not here to preach, because we’re not ministers” (MC Ren), and that they just “tell it like it is” on the streets. Nearly every big name in the west took part in this project (with the exception of Ice Cube, probably because he had left N.W.A that same year and with Dre, Ren and Eazy-E participating there would have been, let’s say, complications).

The All Stars this time: King Tee, Body & Soul, Def Jef, Michel’le, Tone Loc, Above The Law, Ice-T, MC Ren & Dr. Dre, J.J. Fad, Young MC, Digital Underground, Oaktowns 357’s, MC Hammer and Eazy-E.

Part III: All together now

8 years later: in 1999, DJ’s Sway & Tech from the LA radio program “The Wake-Up Show” noticed that the Golden Era was about to end, so they hurried to release an album with help from all kinds of lyrical heavyweights, e.g. Kool Keith, Crooked I, Guru and EPMD, to name just a few… okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly like that. But, I’m sort of happy they released it in ‘99, so the standout track on this record, “The Anthem“, could match the “before 2000″ criterion. RZA, Tech 9, Eminem, Xzibit, Pharaoe Monch, DJ Revolution (Cuts!), Kool G. Rap, Jayo Felony, Chino XL und KRS-One… with a line-up like that, this one is mandatory.

Part IV: On the Air

Last but certainly not least is an All Star appearence on the “Arsenio Hall Show”. He’s the nice guy dressed in white wtching the performance. His show was very popular in the US, while most europeans probably know him as Eddie Murphy’s servant and friend “Semmi” from the motion picture “Coming To America” (yeah, that Zamunda guy).

The MCs at this remarkable event that truly deserves to be called an All Star performance were YoYo, MC Lyte, Treach (Naughty By Nature), Phife & Q-Tip (ATCQ), die Fu-Schnickens, CL Smooth (nice shirt man!), Guru (Gang Starr), Das EFX, GZA (Wu-Tang Clan in the back), KRS-One and Mad Lion. Enjoy!

And that’s it, the first special on this blog is finished. I hope you enjoyed it, because it sure as hell wasn’t the last one, so look out for more to come soon! Peace.