The five best rappers born in 1991
The year 1991 was a significant one for rap music. 2Pac, Cypress Hill and GZA all released their debut albums that year, which is to say nothing of those who were deeper into their careers.
NWA, Gang Starr, Slick Rick, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah and De La Soul all released their second albums, with DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Public Enemy and Big Daddy Kane releasing new albums in ’91, too.
With artists such as these all releasing music during this period, it’s easy to see why ’91 is considered to sit firmly within hip-hop’s golden age. This was an era of massive innovation and the beginnings of truly mainstream success for the culture, with figures who would, in time, come to be considered as legends really beginning to lay down their markers.
It was within this context that a whole new generation of rappers was born. The babies that arrived in 1991 have only ever known a world with rap music in it, and some of them are now driving the tradition forward in their own ways. Here are five of the most impressive.
Five best rappers born in the year 1991
5. Azealia Banks
It is easy to forget today, in light of the many controversies she’s generated, but Azealia Banks was once a leading rapper of her generation. Born in May 31st, 1991, she had a tough upbringing in New York, but she came to find respite through performance. She once held aspirations to act but eventually shifted her focus towards developing her music career. Her first EP, named after the year of her birth, was released in 2012.
Its lead single, ‘212’, was released shortly before the 1991 EP came out, and it was later also included on Azealia’s debut album Broke with Expensive Taste in 2014. It is widely considered to be among the best songs of the 2010s, and it made her a star. She was clearly once considered to be one of the most important rappers of her generation, but her public pronouncements and behaviour since her heyday have undeniably cast a shadow over her legacy and talent.
4. DaBaby
No stranger to controversy himself, DaBaby was born shortly before Christmas ’91, on December 22nd. A rap fan from a very young age, he grew up listening to the likes of Eminem, 50 Cent and Lil Wayne, before trying his hand at MCing for himself. By his early 20s, he was beginning to take it more seriously, with his first mixtape, Nonfiction, arriving in 2015. He never looked back from there.
Baby released several more mixtapes before his debut album, Baby On Baby, made waves in 2019. Follow-ups Kirk and Blame It on Baby both topped the charts in America, with the latter becoming a defining work of the Black Lives Matter protest era of 2020. His subsequent album releases have failed to reach the same heights, but he is clearly an important member of rap’s ’91 cohort.
3. Young Thug
Young Thug arrived on August 16th, 1991, growing up in the same part of Atlanta, Georgia, that Ludacris once did. There was a history of rap music around him as a kid, and in 2011, he started releasing his own mixtapes. His efforts caught the attention of Gucci Mane, who signed him in 2013 and helped Thug to establish himself as an era-defining rapper in his own right.
Young Thug’s vocals can be quite idiosyncratic and are decidedly his own, unlike anyone else’s out there. He has been a key figure within the development of hip-hop and trap music across the 2010s and 2020s, and he is known as an especially important figure in mumble rap.
2. Tyler, the Creator
Tyler, the Creator’s early career was marked by much grumbling about the extreme content of his music, yet he has still managed to become one of the more prominent figures of his generation. Born on March 6th, 1991, he grew up with a clear tendency towards creating art. As a teenager, he started uploading music and videos online, before helping to set up the Odd Future collective and later releasing his first album, Bastard. All of this happened before he stepped into his 20s.
Tyler has remained prolific and original since his teenage days, with his style evolving through the years. He’s become a considerably more mainstream figure in recent times, with several Grammy Awards and number-one albums demonstrating that he’s been widely embraced as an important artist of his generation.
1. Travis Scott
Travis Scott, during his 34 years, has managed to achieve superstar status. He’s released several number-one hits, been nominated for a Grammy ten times, been part of a world-famous celebrity relationship and breakup, and has also become a fashion icon. He’ll even soon appear in Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey adaptation.
Scott is a true pop culture figure of the age, but without the high quality of his music, he wouldn’t have risen so far. His style is eclectic, drawing on a whole range of influences, and it arguably can’t even be considered to be straight-up hip-hop. His sound has pushed well beyond what the rappers operating during the year of his birth were doing, but that is precisely what makes him such an important figure.