This post has been pending because I never knew how to approach it in a way that would make it whole, but I think I’ve finally cracked it! Today I’m going to take you through the sounds and artists that resonated with me whilst growing up through my music journey.
G-Funk Era
Yes, I was born in 96, so technically this is way past my time, but I still listened heavily to artists from this era (Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Dr Dre, etc.). And let’s not forget Radio Los Santos in GTA: San Andreas. There was even a time I was experimenting with this sound, but never released anything lol. But when it comes to the early 90s sound. G-Funk was the highlight for me.
Nelly
The early 2000s were by far the best era of Hip-Hop to me anyway, and Nelly was the first rapper I could recognise as being my favourite. His last real big hit was “Just A Dream,” and I did force myself to continue listening to him past that point, but when your time is done, it’s done. Nonetheless, that early 2000s run of Nelly was a serious problem, with Hits like “Hot in Herre,” “Dilemma,” “Ride Wit Me,” and others. And Nelly is ONE OF NINE! Hip Hop artists to have a diamond album. You really have to put respect on his name.
Speaking of the early 2000s, because I have to appreciate that whole time, there was a video of Nelly speaking about how his era of Hip-Hop was the hardest, and he sure was right. Giving even more testament to how great the early 2000s of Hip-Hop were.
Eminem
Eminem really resonated with me sonically. He gets a lot of stick because of his “subject matter” and how “people can’t relate,” but I can’t relate to selling drugs on the corner, so who cares lol. At this time in my life, things were incredibly dark for a long time, and Eminem made a lot of music that resonated with me sonically: “Like Toy Soldiers,” “Stan,” “Space Bound,” etc. Over the long run, he became “my guy,” in a sense, which is why it still saddens me after Recovery. The music didn’t hit, and it hurts me to say that because I really tried, because I loved him so much, but like I said with Nelly, everyone has their time.
Tinie Tempah
Yes, Tine Tempah! Being from the UK, and at the time he came out with Pass Out, I am old enough to remember the impact right from the start of his proper rise, and he did become my #1. Not necessarily related to his sound (though I liked the music). But I had never seen a UK Rapper be this successful, not only here, but internationally in my life (at that point). When I think of success, I think of what he achieved as a UK rapper. Even merely having a platinum song in America at that time is absolutely crazy. For me, it was so huge to see someone from here be as large as he was, and even to this day, he holds the record for the biggest first-week sales of any UK rapper!
Afroswing
Oh my days! Afroswing is literally my university life, and to be real, my early music journey. When I initially started writing music, this sound had me and many others in a chokehold. With artists like Not3s, Yxng Bane, early Tion Wayne and many others, Afroswing truly encapsulated UK London culture (at least my demographic anyway); I think it’s a big part of how some UK artists to this day approach their music, so I have to give it huge praise within my journey and spotlight the genre.
Bay Area Sound / DJ Mustard
There was a time when you could not hear a song without it starting with “Mustard on the beat hoe!” And I was ALWAYS here for it. Again, I feel like this is the American side of my uni life, but the amount of bangers that came from this sound, OMD! I genuinely feel there was a point in time when I was only listening to music like this. We had artists like Kid Ink, early Ty Dolla $ign, and songs like Don’t Tell ‘Em by Jeremih, Post to Be by Omarion; I could literally go on.
At DJ Mustard’s peak, he had 8% of songs produced in the Billboard Top 100, which is absolutely ridiculous. Not only that, but songs I recorded early in my career mostly featured that sound (only one of them saw the light of day, though).
Listen to my take on this sound: Osi – Feelin’ U
Drill
I hate Drill now because it’s become so overdone, so I’m glad it’s finally died. Well… not completely, but I will get into that later. For now, I definitely have to talk about how Drill music took over the world, and it seemed to be the only thing coming out of Hip-Hop. Initially, I never touched Drill simply because everything was about violence, and I am not, nor will I be, that type of rapper. The first Drill beat I touched was my song “Tequila Shots.” I’m not going to lie; it was super fun. Rapping on Drill is actually fun simply because of the way it sounds.
For a long time, I was an enjoyer of drill music, so I can’t knock it entirely, but yeah, especially within the UK. I just felt it got to a point where it locked people’s creativity, and we started to hear the same song over and over again, and I just got tired of it.
Jersey/Sample Drill
I said Drill died, but really it evolved. I don’t really know what to call it or explain it. But the drums are strongly reminiscent of Brazilian funk. Seems to be the new sound that is taking over. And I can’t lie. I’m feeling it lol.
Artists like Cash Cobain have this sound (who probably pioneered it), or if you’re not familiar with him, more notable songs with this sound include Sprinter by Central Cee and Dave, or Ice Spice – Baddie Baddie. There’s a bounce to it that my ear cannot ignore, and it’s definitely something I have been experimenting with a lot more frequently, as well as listening to, so you shall be hearing a lot more of this sound from me.
Afrobeats (Honourable Mention)
This one is an honourable mention because, being Nigerian, I grew up with it, way before it became mainstream, because for me, Afrobeats is not an era or a time in my life. It has been my life from the very beginning. I have to big up D’Banj here because he really crawled so everyone can fly now. Without him doing what he did and pushing the way he did, I don’t think Afrobeats would be where it is globally. OSHE!
There are a couple of artists I left out in this post because I’ve touched on them in my previous post, which you should definitely check out. Let me know if there are any sounds or eras in music that you think I’ve missed out on, or any that have shaped your musical journey or just your life growing up. I would love to hear and discuss!