By JayQuan Rap's Golden Era Those who speak of it generally agree that it started around 1986 and ended some time in the early 1990’s. What there is very little disagreement about is what made the era golden. The diversity of style, subject matter and image of the artists during this time was definitely a contributing factor, but the sample-based production of this period was what set it apart from everything before and after it. Before rap records, D.J.’s and M.C.’s rhymed o

By JayQuan When Big Daddy Kane appeared on record at the beginning of 1987's widely celebrated "Golden Era," he was immediately recognized as a top tier MC. His multi-syllabic word play, confident flow, and commanding voice placed him in conversations where he was compared to other up and coming greats of this new era. After delivering the classic album Long Live The Kane, it became obvious that he was not only a superior wordsmith and vocalist, but also an all around enterta

By JayQuan Throughout the four decade history of recorded rap, there have been many great tours. The New York City Fresh Festival, The Def Jam Tour and The Raising Hell Tour were all instrumental in furthering rap as a legitimate genre that could not only generate revenue from recordings, but from live shows as well. As iconic as these tours were, they were not the first, and they were at least partially possible because of the tour that preceded them. In the early 1980's, Su