Who had the best-selling rap album of the 1990s?
The 1990s… What a time. The dawn of the internet age, as we know it today, and an unprecedented globalisation saw new sounds, looks, and ideas boom across the world. Music-wise, the hyper-pop sounds of the 1980s gave way to grunge and hip-hop, two genres very different sonically, but very aligned in lyrical themes of authenticity, rebellion, and alienation from mainstream society.
Yes, of course pop still reigned supreme in the 90s – this is the decade of Britney and the Spice Girls, after all – but for millions, the rise of grunge and especially hip-hop promised a subculture that spoke to many, especially in the States, platforming artists and struggles traditionally excluded from mainstream music.
The rise of hip-hop in the 90s saw the sound evolve from a subculture to a major avenue of charting music, establishing it as the genre we know it to be today. With the East Coast versus West Coast artists and their feuds dominating much of the era, the 90s also saw the emergence of Southern rap, and an abundance of female rappers too.
So who had the best-selling rap album of the 1990s? With titans in this decade, including the likes of Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, and Dr Dre – to name a very, very, mere few – it could be anyone’s game.
Which hip-hop album sold the most copies in the 1990s?
The accolade for the best-selling rap album of the decade goes to The Notorious B.I.G. for his Life After Death. Released in 1997 – mere weeks after his death in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles – the album was met with unanimous critical acclaim, and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200.
Naturally, his murder granted both the album title and the lyrics’ themes of mortality and legacy a tragic, but undeniably otherworldly meaning. The album took on a life of its own; singles like ‘Hypnotize’ and ‘Mo Money Mo Problems’ pioneered the rap genre’s move into something more mainstream and radio-friendly. At the same time, critics celebrated the rapper’s success in blending tight production with lyrical introspection, without losing the themes of swagger and confidence so associated with hip-hop lyrics at the time.
The album is also celebrated for featuring collaborations with the scene’s most iconic names in both performance and production. Jay-Z, Lil’ Kim, R. Kelly, Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and Puffy Daddy – and that’s not even all – lend their voices to the album, whilst big names like Diddy, Mark Pitts, Havoc and RZA are listed on the production team.
And its legacy is even greater than the hype and fanfare surrounding its original release. Music writers and critics have often cited it as one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever made, if not, upon occasion, the greatest hip-hop album. Life After Death, beyond accolades, is also celebrated for merging gangsta rap with commercial music-making.
“It sounded for the first time like an East Coast artist had been able to make the perfect record,” Busta Rhymes said of the album. “It was a pop record, a radio record, a street record, a club record.” And, of course, the best-selling rap album of the 1990s record.