by Erik R. Slagle
In addition to being the first year The Showcase arrived on the scene (and in your mailbox), 1996 was also a landmark year for hip-hop. And while some of the genre’s biggest names – Jay-Z, Nas, 2Pac, The Fugees and The Roots – hit it big with unsurprisingly stellar recordings, here are three under-the-radar albums to have on your playlist if you’re looking to turn back the clock 30 years:
“Come Find Yourself,” Fun-Lovin’ Criminals: I was writing for my college paper when a promo CD landed in our office. A few months prior, the Meat Puppets’ “No Joke” had arrived in a similar manner, along with the chance to interview the Kirkwoods if we reviewed the album. Hoping for a similar chance with this band, even though none of us knew who they were, I took the disc back to my dorm, played through it at least a half-dozen times over that weekend, and was hooked. It’s not hip-hop in the strictest sense of the term, more like “rock-hop” or “rap and roll,” but damn if it wasn’t infectious. The NYC-based Criminals’ debut is best known for the wildly popular “Scooby Snacks,” and they wouldn’t hit it big until years later, but this album is absolutely one to check out if you’re in the mood for something that hits a little different.
“Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom”: After the bravado and bombast of their 1991 debut and 1994’s “Black Sunday,” hip-hop fans couldn’t wait for their third release. And in a lot of ways, “Temples of Boom” couldn’t be more different from its predecessors. It lacks the party tracks that made the first two albums accessible (“Throw Your Set in the Air” is the closest this comes) and has a far darker electronic vibe. And the whole thing WORKS, from the buddha-blessed opener “Spark Another Owl” to the beautiful, dismal “Let It Rain” that closes the set. This one’s technically a late-’95 release, but its biggest singles – “Illusions” and “Boom Biddy Bye Bye” – didn’t hit the airwaves until the Spring of ’96, so I’m including it here. If you know Cypress Hill only for “Insane in the Brain” and “Rock Superstar,” check this one out – you’re in for a treat.
“The In Sound From Way Out,” Beastie Boys: A collection of 13 groovy instrumentals; most of the tracks can be found on other albums like “Ill Communication” and “Check Your Head,” but it’s handy to have them all here on one ultra-funky compilation for your listening pleasure.
Beyond these three, other can’t miss selections from 1996 include the debuts of Tupac on Death Row Records (“All Eyez On Me”) and Jay-Z (“Reasonable Doubt”), the second (and last) album from the Fugees (“The Score”), Tricky’s “Pre-Millenium Tension,” and Ras Kass’ cult classic “Soul on Ice,” an album that was maybe just a bit too intellectual for prime-time in its time. All of these – and Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” on “Another Level,” the Roots’ “Illadelph Halflife” and Outkast’s “ATLiens” – make 1996, the year The Showcase was launched, a golden year for hip-hop!
