Early rap didn't have a single sound. It had a dozen scenes growing at once: park jams, radio hits, battle rhymes, party records, and crews trying to be louder than the next block over. That's why ...

Much of the music scene at the end of the 80s, from rock to R&B, felt a little bit stale. Production seemed to overwhelm substance. Luckily, the hip-hop world was in a boom time, bringing fresh sounds ...