The Top 5 Hip Hop Music Groups of All Time
In this blog post, we will be countdown the top 5 hip hop music groups of all time. This will be based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, commercial success, critical acclaim, and influence within the genre.
N.W.A
N.W.A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California. They were one of the earliest and most significant popularizers of the gangsta rap subgenre, and are widely considered one of the seminal groups in the history of hip hop music. N.W.A’s debut studio album Straight Outta Compton was released on August 8, 1988. Straight Outta Compton marked the beginning of the new gangsta rap era as it exploded onto radio airwaves and shocked listeners with its brutally honest depictions of life in Southern California’s gang-ridden neighborhoods. The album’s success led to N.W.A’s signing with Priority Records, which released their next two albums, Efil4zaggin (1991) and Niggaz4Life (1991).Both albums were critical and commercial successes, further cementing N.W.A’s place as one of the most important groups in hip hop history.
Public Enemy
Public Enemy is an American hip hop group from Long Island, New York, formed in 1982. The group’s lineup consists of Chuck D (vocals, production), Flavor Flav (vocals), Khari Wynn (guitar), DJ Lord (turntables), the S1W group (security), and Professor Griff (disc jockey, vocals).
Public Enemy is considered one of the most influential and controversial rap groups of all time. Their music used samples from a wide range of sources, including funk, rock, reggae, and disco. They were also one of the first rap groups to use a live band on stage. Their debut album was released in 1987 to critical acclaim. Their biggest hit single, “Fight the Power”, peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The group has won two Grammy Awards, been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and received a nomination for the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Run DMC
1) Run DMC – Hailing from Queens, New York, Run DMC is considered one of the most influential hip hop groups of all time. They were the first rap group to be nominated for a Grammy Award and their 1984 single “Rock Box” was the first rap song to receive heavy airplay on MTV. They are also credited with helping to bring hip hop into the mainstream with their 1986 album, Raising Hell.
2) Public Enemy – Another groundbreaking hip hop group from New York, Public Enemy rose to prominence in the late 1980s with their politically charged lyrics and dynamic live performances. They are best known for their 1990 album Fear of a Black Planet which is widely considered one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.
3) A Tribe Called Quest – A Tribe Called Quest was a hugely successful hip hop group from Queens, New York who released five classic albums between 1990 and 1998. Their unique style incorporated elements of jazz and funk into their music and they were widely lauded for their inventive lyricism.
4) Beastie Boys – The Beastie Boys were a hugely successful rap group fromNew York City who became one of the first mainstream white rap groups with their 1986 debut album Licensed to Ill. They went on to release a string of critically acclaimed albums throughout the 1990s and 2000s before frontman Adam “MCA” Yauch passed away in 2012.
5) Outkast – Outkast is a legendary hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia who rose to prominence in the mid-1990s with their distinctive southern-fried brand of rap music. They are best known for their ground-breaking albums ATLiens (1996) and Aquemini (1998), which are considered two of the greatest hip hop albums ever made.
Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys are an American hip hop group from New York City, formed in 1981. The group is composed of Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, and Adam “MCA” Yauch. They are one of the longest-lived hip hop acts of all time, having been active for over thirty years.The Beastie Boys were originally a four-piece punk rock band called the Young Aborigines. The band was formed in 1979 by Diamond (vocals), John Berry (guitar), Yauch (bass) and Kate Schellenbach (drums) in New York City. They opened for bands such as the Bad Brains, the Misfits, and Reagan Youth at venues such as CBGB, A7, and Max’s Kansas City; Page Hamilton of Helmet was an early fan, and would go on to produce their 1992 album Check Your Head.
The Beastie Boys eventually settled on a rap-rock sound and added Horovitz as their fourth member in 1982. The band signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1985 and released Licensed to Ill—the first rap album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts—in 1986. With seven platinum or better studio albums from 1986 to 2004, the Beastie Boys were one of the most successful hip hop acts worldwide. In 2009, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after having won six Grammy Awards since they were originally formed two decades earlier. They received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. By 2004, when they released To the 5 Boroughs, Horovitz had become better known for his acting roles—he played Tugg Speedman in Tropic Thunder—while Diamond and Yauch had taken on occasional production duties outside of the band; all three members continued to focus on songwriting and rapping rather than instrumentation during live shows or studio sessions. The group’s final studio album was Hot Sauce Committee Part Two; it was released in 2011 after a nearly eight year hiatus that saw Diamond recovering from cancer treatments while Yauch directed films including 2006’s Awesome; I Fuckin’ Shot That!, 2009’s Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot and 2010’s Fight for Your Right Revisited, an expanded version of1987’s Fight for Your Right video which featured cameos from actors including Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen playing younger versions of themselves as well as appearances by Busta Rhymes playing fictional rapper/mogul Flavor Flav and Will Ferrell playing former U.S. president George W Bush.”
Wu-Tang Clan
Formed in 1992, the Wu-Tang Clan is a nine-member group from Staten Island, New York. The group is composed of rappers RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. One of the most critically acclaimed groups in hip hop history, the Wu-Tang Clan has released four gold and platinum studio albums. The group’s 1993 debut album “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” is considered one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.
