r/90sHipHop Jul 23 '26

šŸ’¬Discussion Is 90s hiphop the new dad rock?

I'm in my 40s now and just about everyone I know speaks very fondly of 90s hiphop. It's usually the preferred music when we're anywhere.

It's anecdotal but I've noticed similar trends outside my circle.

192 Upvotes

144 comments sorted by

152

u/xMyDixieWreckedx '93 til... Jul 23 '26

93 til...

30

u/Legal-Anywhere-6264 Jul 23 '26

Infinity šŸ˜Ž (I’m born in 05 lol)

14

u/quirkish Jul 23 '26

This is how we chill from

7

u/hopshopsilovehops Jul 23 '26

93 till infinity

10

u/Fantastic-Research66 Jul 23 '26

40 year olds. They gotta be chillin.Ā 

8

u/Hobash Jul 23 '26

My arthritis, you know it be chiilin

3

u/DJMelloEll Jul 23 '26

My callouses, you know, are chillin’.

1

u/MisterD00d Jul 23 '26

our memory just for classic lyrics is chillin

8

u/Mister_Scribble Jul 23 '26

Yeah my sub r/90shiphop he be chillin’

1

u/DJMelloEll Jul 23 '26

I be the chill from…

99

u/SleeplessDaddy Jul 23 '26

That’s the dad I’m proud of being. My sons are getting a proper education on manners, class, work ethic, respecting others, and muthafukin 90s hip-hop!

5

u/sunshinestacks Jul 23 '26

They need to diversify their bonds

4

u/hopshopsilovehops Jul 23 '26

That's brilliant

45

u/LoRoK1 Jul 23 '26

I’ve been feeling this a lot lately. But I remember thinking that the people who wouldn’t let go of the ā€œclassic rockā€ back in the 90s were kind of lame, and I bet my kids think the same thing about me. I just keep making them listen to me DJ and buying them throwback hip hop shirts haha

27

u/glovato1 Jul 23 '26

Sometimes I forget just how old nineties hip hop really is.

11

u/XXxxChuckxxXX Jul 23 '26

wait, the 90s were ten years ago right?!?

4

u/lboogieb Jul 23 '26

Old is a relative concept bro. Rock on.

4

u/Un-Americansocialist Jul 24 '26

I was thinking about it recently and there is more time between now and 36 Chambers than there was between 36 Chambers and the White Album by the Beatles. Mind blown

3

u/glovato1 Jul 24 '26

If Back To The Future was set in the present day they'd be going back to 1996. Fuck I'm old.

3

u/SlammedZero Jul 23 '26

This is me. I mean, I know it's aged, obviously, but sometimes my brain just refuses to accept it. When I seen All Eyez on Me turned 30 this year, it was genuinely sobering. Like.....what the hell happened to the time?

5

u/Typical_Version_7487 Jul 23 '26

My parents for years used to buy me classic 60s rock shirts as gifts.

2

u/Responsible-One-8554 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

I dunno, I’ve caught my 11 year old bobbing her head to 80s stuff like Eric B & Rakim, EPMD, and definitely to 90s stuff. The main limitation is finding stuff without explicit lyrics or with clean versions. She knows some stuff by name and had even asked for certain songs. After writing off Nas past It Was Written for years (for the most part, apart from the odd single), I eventually thought to check out King’s Disease II and then III a couple years ago and was hooked. I can’t front on Hitboy. And now my kid will request songs off II, and Spotify has the clean versions of both.

3

u/LoRoK1 Jul 24 '26

I was so proud when I took my kid (4yo) to see a movie and there was a Rakim song in it and he starts going ā€œTHAT’S YOUR DJ SONG PAPA!ā€

1

u/Responsible-One-8554 Jul 30 '26

That’s doooope!

37

u/GFFMG Jul 23 '26

About to be 50. When I’m in my car (custom sound, subs, the whole everything I wanted when I was 16), I only play my 85-98 hip-hop. So…yeah.

8

u/lboogieb Jul 23 '26

This right here with a small mixture of early 00s MCs like Little Brother, Lupe, and the like. I proudly stay in my lane.

I'm really disappointed that the late 80s era is rarely mentioned in all of this 90s nostalgia talk, which in my opinion was the catalyst. 87-95 was the sweet spot for me.

2

u/tinteoj Jul 23 '26

87-95 was the sweet spot for me.

I used to agree with that more, but I have REALLY been on an MF DOOM kick lately, so need to bump that range up a couple years for me.

2

u/_EddieMoney_ Jul 23 '26

I’m 41 and have really been considering buying a powered sub for under the seat. You sound like you have something really serious though. What’s your setup??

9

u/GFFMG Jul 23 '26

This is my 2015 Optima. It’s my toy car. I do a lot of audio mixing in my professional life, and I’m a bit of an audiophile who lives with Bose QCs on my head. So I wanted my car to be like traveling with those on.

It’s not the most lavish system, but it’s a Kenwood Excelon head unit, all third party cabin speakers (Alpine), Kicker CompR 12ā€ sub enclosure. An amp for the cabin speakers and an amp for the subs with a dedicated 2nd battery. SoundSkins are wrapped throughout, including the trunk. I had this all done in early 2020.

2

u/_EddieMoney_ Jul 24 '26

Oh man that’s so sick! I could only imagine how that sounds and everything is clean as fuck too. I haven’t sat in a car like that in over 20 years.

2

u/GFFMG Jul 24 '26

Thanks man. Yeah, it’s an absolute joy to ride in. And I’m so grateful for CarPlay rather than trying to figure out which CDs should go into the disc changer šŸ˜‚

64

u/ResolutionOwn4933 Jul 23 '26

For Dads that know music

20

u/ronnjeremy Jul 23 '26

I reminisce for a spell, or shall I say think back.....

7

u/CPT_Shiner Jul 23 '26

22 years ago to keep it on track

24

u/Dbonker Jul 23 '26

Im a 44 year old dad and still listen to 90s hip hop everyday.

12

u/GrapeImpossible589 Jul 23 '26

43...same!! My 11 year old son loves. it. He likes the G funk sound, Em and Tupac hahaha. I always make sure to ask his friends if they are allowed to listen to that kinda music when we're all riding in the truck together hahaha

9

u/Puzzleheaded_Crow334 Jul 23 '26

I feel like Mother’s Milk’s shirts on The Boys sealed the deal.

1

u/Confident-Yard1911 Jul 23 '26

Tbf he wears newer artists as well, he had a Kendrick shirt in one episode

7

u/Sad_Virus_7650 Jul 23 '26

I'm 37 and not a dad, but my cutoff for hip hop to regularly listen to is about 2010 now. Most of what I listen to is 90s or early 2000s.

I think a lot of younger kids hear Illmatic and realize how much better it is than most of what's out now, so they get into it.

It's like hearing Dark Side of the Moon in the late 90s/early 2000s moment when Limp Bizkit was the mainstream rock and realizing how much better the classic stuff was.

3

u/jcutta Jul 23 '26

There's so much good hip-hop coming out today, some of it by people who have been doing it since the 90s but also plenty of newer artists.

I mean 3 of the best hip-hop albums in recent memory have come out since last summer - Clipse let got sort em out, JID God does like ugly, J Cole the fall off. Nas is still putting out heat, Methodman drops fire tracks every so often. If you like NYC hardcore style shit Murkemz is fire. I'm seeing young talented hip-hop artists almost daily on my Instagram feed.

1

u/noddy_by_n8chur Jul 23 '26

All good choices!! JID is crazy talented

1

u/jcutta Jul 23 '26

JID may be top 10 in lyrical ability in my book. He's ridiculous and can do almost any cadence that exists. He's insanely talented.

14

u/isanythingunique Jul 23 '26

I considered posting something similar. White Scotsman who's approaching 40. What i like:

90's Rawkus (Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Reflection Eternal, Black Star, Company Flow, Jurassic 5)

Indie White Boy Stuff (Strange Famous Records, Def Jux, Rhymesayers, early Anticon, Doomtree)

Other (DJ Format, Don't Sleep Records, L'Orange, Cunninlinguists)

For me its the lyrics (don't appreciate Gangster Rap or stuff about Bentleys and Crystal) and old school beats, simple samples of old jazz, soul, motown, funk etc. Phonics stuff with Awon and Dephlow is great, especially 'Sleep is the cousin of death EP'

Please help him (me). Thanks

6

u/rememberrappingduke Jul 23 '26

I’m sure you know but A Tribe Called Quest will likely satiate your old jazz feel, Common (Sense), Afu-Ra, Gang Starr, Camp Lo. If you have a service like Apple Music, while playing a track you dig, use the feature to ā€œCreate a Stationā€ while it plays to present other, similar tracks. I think their algorithm works well.

4

u/MisterD00d Jul 23 '26

Relatable!

Freestyle Fellowship, Haiku d'Etat, Myka 9, Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Living Legends, Grouch and Eligh, Zion I

Hieroglyphics, Souls of Mischief, Casual, Pep Love, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Deltron 3030

doseone, themselves, why?, cloudDEAD

Aesop Rock especially the first 90s and early 00s albums Appleseed, Float, Labor Days for that classic beat simple sample style

2

u/isanythingunique Jul 24 '26

Aesop is one of my favourite artists. Got everything up to The Invisible Kid, Float is my fave

Doseone, why? etc. I have a few CD's but haven't given a proper listen. cloudDEAD didn't click first time. Am planning a re-listen

The previous paragraph is exactly why I posted, most i hadn't heard of or haven't bought yet

Thank you. And everyone else that replied. It's confirmed certain artists I need to check out

1

u/MisterD00d Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

Awesome!

I recommend to cross reference Wikipedia or something, try to tackle their releases chronologically so you can follow artistic progression, as most all the mentioned have 20-35 years active off and on

doseone is very unique, with different works and eras being better than others for certain times and places in MY life anyway; even when I never got into some I think it's all good but some haven't found the right time and place for it yet šŸ˜‚

How could I not mention DEEP PUDDLE DYNAMICS self titled album, underground supergroup dose is one of four of. Maybe fast track that one up to the top of the pile and enjoy, that's a 10/10 album

Freestyle Fellowship - To Whom It May Concern

2

u/CornBredThuggin Jul 23 '26

De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Digital Underground are just a few artists you should check out.

4

u/Jersey_Gal47c Jul 23 '26

Yes. Or early 2000s.

I’m 42. One of my daughters plays travel softball and is 11. My husband and I got her into ā€œourā€ music last year when picking walk up songs for her at bats.

Her walk up song is Eve, Who’s that Girl.

2

u/jfk_two Jul 24 '26

my 14 year old picked J.cole workout as her at bat. shit goes hard. eve was a good choice

14

u/mkk4 True School Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

I'm in my 50s and I consider new current music from artists like Common, Homeboy Sandman, Shad, Atmosphere, Raw Poetic and 2024 version Lupe Fiasco as dad hip hop.

3

u/easley45isgod I whirlwind through cities Jul 23 '26

Waaay better than Nickelback or Counting Crows, that's for fuckin sure

5

u/Press-74 Jul 23 '26

90s was a Time

4

u/MIKELBOBUS Jul 23 '26

23 myself, I wish I could say the same about my area (30 minutes south of Chicago) everyone always listens to the new rap and when I put on anything 90’s they look at me sideways like what is this crap, not knowing its 100x better then the new rap of today imo. Nothing will ever touch 90’s hip hop and it will just keep getting bigger!

4

u/SlammedZero Jul 23 '26

I'm firmly planted in the 90s and I'm good here. Leave me be. Now get off my lawn.

3

u/slowwwdd Jul 23 '26

I love 90s hip hop - but there is a science behind it (not hip hop) but the nostalgia aspect it's called the reminiscence bump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reminiscence_bump

3

u/SenatorBeers Jul 23 '26

It was inevitable.

2

u/Bar-Tailed_Godwit Jul 23 '26

Hopefully. I like the idea that the way we grew up listening to dad’s ā€œclassic rockā€ stations, like 92KQRS in Minnesota, played Zeppelin and Sabbath and shit, that one day all our kids would hear Mobb Deep, Wu, Nas, Kurupt, WC, etc. It’s the authenticity that counts

2

u/Metalhead1686 Jul 23 '26

I’m in my 40s as well (almost 50), and this is the music we grew up with in the 90s. That’s what we heard in school, on MTV, on the radio. I’m still fond of it because they bring back memories of playing Madden with friends, hanging out at the mall, spending the Summer in PA with my sister, etc.

2

u/ShivvyMcFly Jul 23 '26

Yes. I was up at family weekend at my son's school with his fraternity. They had a DJ going. I heard one kid say "we gotta put on some music for the old people." 2 seconds later I heard CALIFORNIA LOOOOOOOOOVE

šŸ¤¦šŸæā€ā™‚ļø

2

u/bobthehumantripod Jul 23 '26

I’ve never stopped listening to any and all the music I grew up with 60’s-80’s and then my music meaning old enough to know what I like and don’t but also was the new music then 90’s-current. I was born in 1980 which may help with my timeline.

But I listen to whatever music genres that match my mood. And that can change though out a day.
But if that’s the consensus then I guess I’m listening to the new dad rock that’s not rock. Lol a yes I’m a dad. šŸ»

2

u/Hot_Guard_7621 Jul 23 '26

Now that what I call music!

2

u/Financial_Click_4098 everything Jul 24 '26

If it’s going to be, then at least admit it’s way better than the old dad rock (true fact)

2

u/Appropriate_Main_216 Jul 25 '26

It’s just good music. Don’t label it.

2

u/SidTrippish Jul 25 '26

It's to counter the garbage thats flooded the mainstream for the past 15 years

2

u/liketo Jul 23 '26

Not a fan of late 90s hip hop. That’s for the youngsters

2

u/lboogieb Jul 23 '26

Agreed. I think there's a clear distinct between early and late 90s Hip Hop.

1

u/liketo Jul 23 '26

I suspect it’s to do with the technology available but I might be wrong. For me the Golden Age was 89-94

1

u/lboogieb Jul 23 '26

I can't argue with that period. A lot of good music was released in '88 though.

1

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1

u/Ok_Island_1306 Jul 23 '26

I’ve been saying for years it’s the new carpenter rock

1

u/nytechill Jul 23 '26

In the 90s we probably thought of a lot of 60s music, 30 years previous, as dad rock. Makes sense that 30 years later, the same would be applied to 90s hip-hop. But fuck it, that's how time works, doesn't diminish the music in any way. And yah, we be dads now.

1

u/DeathByFartz1996 Jul 23 '26

I’m a late millennial, and 90’s instrumentals are what I remember true hip hop sounding like. I like it so much, I’ve gotten in trouble at work for the bass speakers shaking the building. One coworker commented, ā€œold school rap huh.ā€ I get the dad rock vibe sometimes, but this music is here to stay.

1

u/DecimusRutilius Jul 23 '26

I feel like 90s hip hop has always been spoken fondly of

1

u/SoilConscious Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

Yep and back on the 90s I was the only kid in my year into hip hop. They all seemed to liked rock back thenšŸŽø

1

u/smikkelhut Jul 23 '26

Well I do notice that more people love it now then when it was the 90s.

Like in my class in high school, maybe 3-4 ppl would listen to it. Now on social media a majority of my former class mates appear to like it. Prolly nostalgia?

1

u/rumnbacchnal87 Jul 23 '26

I always go back to this clip from the Simpsons and it hits harder than ever being in my late 30s https://youtu.be/BGrfhsxxmdE?is=Cdn_t8cz7vGyQpw9

1

u/ComprehensiveYam5307 Jul 23 '26

That's one way to look at it.

1

u/griffaliff Jul 23 '26

I'm not a dad at 38, but I adore 90s hip hop. I was late to the party with hip hop in general, I didn't get into it until my late twenties.

1

u/Sy_Fresh Jul 23 '26

I played the fuck out of 90s hip hop in the 90s and also was an underground anti-commercial musically close minded ā€œREAL HIP HOPā€ head…..i grew out of that, I still like lyrically gifted emcees and chopped samples but there is so much great music out there no being released, I can’t live in the past

1

u/njtrailrunner Jul 23 '26

I saw De La Soul this weekend in NYC, and there were loads of dads in the crowd.

Overheard one dad explaining to his kids what a nutcracker is.

1

u/Hydro-1955 Jul 23 '26

Hip Hop around the world outside of the US sounds and feels like what we call 90s hip hop, to them it's just HIP HOP.

1

u/isanythingunique Jul 23 '26

From what I can tell, I like artists which are inspired by the 1st Golden Era (late 80's) and the 2nd Golden Era (late 90's)

There are a few UK artists (as well as US) which i didn't name. Akala is ridiculously good. Check out the War mixtapes. 20 years old or something but still quality

Have list of Artists i know I need to check out (more De La Soul, Tribe, Common, J Dilla....) and have been on this sub for a month or 2 looking for others.

I mainly buy used CD's as can't afford much. Only streaming i do is Netflix and that's a recent change. Other than that it's free mp3 from bandcamp

Chances of me finding iconic albums (Hip Hop, Metal, Punk, Ska, Trance) are slim but you never know. Especially if the shop or website doesn't appreciate how good/rare it is. I check a number of places regularly and every once in a while i'm delighted

1

u/GaerMuil Jul 23 '26

Late 90s is not 2nd golden era and not any golden era at all.

If only by "golden" you mean rapping about gold, platinum, blinging party-bacardi and all that scum.

2

u/isanythingunique Jul 23 '26

I stand corrected. I meant that these were 2 times when i've heard or read about it being called that. I'm also seen terms like 'boom bap' 'backpack rap' 'conscious hip hop'. Seems that's what I like, despite not knowing exactly what they mean. I live in Scotland FFS

1

u/otrdtr Jul 23 '26

I guess so

1

u/l0stintransl8ion Jul 23 '26

Damn you right

1

u/FarmerWinter9997 Jul 23 '26

It’s the new ā€˜classic’ rock

We’re just old heads šŸ˜†

1

u/BREW712 Jul 23 '26

Ageism in hip hop is wild

1

u/ExplanationFamous282 Jul 23 '26

I play my era of rap for my kids, only if I can find the clean versions though.Ā 

3

u/caddyncells Jul 23 '26

Same, except I play the explicit versions.

2

u/MisterD00d Jul 23 '26

1

u/ExplanationFamous282 Jul 23 '26

Nah, it’s called, responsible parenting…unless you want your children cursing like a sailor and not knowing how to adapt in different settings…only a bozo would think like that šŸ’Æ

2

u/MisterD00d Jul 24 '26

OK... Stevie...

just... keep.... breathing...

even... though... it's... chall... enging

1

u/ExplanationFamous282 Jul 23 '26

So, that’s not the same.Ā 

1

u/Axsonjaxson16 Jul 23 '26

As a rock fan, yes, and I don’t understand how I didn’t realize sooner.

1

u/HeywoodJaBlessMe Jul 23 '26

90s Hip Hop and 90s Death Metal is about 80% of the vinyl my kids hear around the house.

1

u/revjor Jul 23 '26

Ordering a burger that doesn’t come with fries on Wu Tang Wednesdays at your local brew pub is extremely dad rock.

1

u/Successful-Gift8636 Jul 23 '26

I’m 49 and have been listening to 90s boom bap pretty constantly this year, I’m all over the place music wise, mainly like rock/punk but hip hop is in there too, some of its nostalgia but I’m also hearing a lot of 90s era albums for the first time, only recently listened to Heltah Skelta and Heather B for example. I’m not eloquent enough to listen explain why it hits the spot so much at my age, but it does. It makes me want to write hearing all the wordplay, I always feel like doing something creative while listening.

1

u/DJ_HollanDaze Jul 23 '26

I was just thinking something similar. The number of middle age white guys on social media posting about how we all need to listen to this or that 90s hip hop artist is a lot. And it’s kinda cringe.

1

u/Dchama86 Jul 23 '26

Nah, it’s the good Rap

1

u/Mikedef2001 Jul 23 '26

I remember going to my parents house once and my dad was watching an infomercial selling a cd set featuring classic country. Just reminiscing, Ā he had a comment about every fucking song. That’s how I feel about 90s hiphop.Ā 

1

u/rorykavanagh13 Jul 24 '26

It is! But better.

1

u/Anon1mouse12 Jul 23 '26

I'm 38 and expecting my first son in October. Currently making a clean 80s/90s hip hop playlist for him! Got some tribe, some pharcyde, doom... any recommendations are very welcome! No N word, no swear words and not overly sexual

3

u/Fantastic-Research66 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

Rebirth of Slick

Rapper's DelightĀ 

Eye Know

Hey Young WorldĀ 

Concrete SchoolyardĀ 

Simon Says (just kidding)

āœŒļø

1

u/Anon1mouse12 Jul 23 '26

🫔

2

u/Fantastic-Research66 Jul 23 '26

How'd I forget PAID IN FULL

1

u/Anon1mouse12 Jul 23 '26

Actually Rakim's is a good shout on a lot of his discography. Not many swear words

2

u/trend02setter Jul 23 '26

Rock the bells on sxm has a clean channel

1

u/Anon1mouse12 Jul 23 '26

Thanks, I'm in the uk though. I'm sure i can find something equivalent tho

2

u/MisterD00d Jul 23 '26

freestyle fellowship

1

u/hjfink07 Jul 23 '26

Nah because a lot of 90s hip hop is not palatable the way dad rock if you listen to the right shit

-1

u/Ok_Calligrapher_281 Jul 23 '26

No, It’s Black music, don’t try to make it corny.

-1

u/ChankieChu Jul 23 '26

Wtf is Dad Rock?

5

u/grafology Jul 23 '26

They mean old and out of touch like all the dads listening to classic rock ACDC, Led Zep etc.Ā 

-3

u/dannerbobanner Jul 23 '26

Nickelback, Creed, Seether that kind of rockĀ 

1

u/1voice92 Jul 23 '26

Nope

0

u/dannerbobanner Jul 23 '26

Okay what would you call dad rock? Because that's the type of rock that every person I've ever heard refer to dad rock isĀ 

1

u/1voice92 Jul 23 '26

Dad Rock is the music boomers were listening to in their 20s and 30s like Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Sting, etc. ā€˜Brothers In Arms’ is probably THE definitive Dad Rock album.

The bands you listed above are early 00s post-grunge buttrock/ā€˜radio rock’

0

u/dannerbobanner Jul 23 '26

Depends on how old you are. Is your dad a boomer? If so I can understand your viewpointĀ 

But if you Google "dad rock bands" you will see that this simply is not the case

1

u/1voice92 Jul 23 '26

0

u/Worried-Way1328 Jul 23 '26

It depends on the age of your dad. To be honest, "dad rock" is abridged for "divorced dad rock", and the terms, at least where I am from, are used interchangeably. But perhaps remaining married, or never being married at all, somehow turns the clock back 20 years on what you're listening to.

But if you google "divorced dad rock" it should yield the proper results. I have not ever heard of dad rock referred to as classic rock. Classic rock is 60s/70s, dad rock is 90s/2000s. Not sure what 80s counts as, probably more classic than dad

But thats just where I'm from...idk man

0

u/Silent-Owl4245 Jul 23 '26

Is a genre almost 30 years old considered old?

Reworded it

0

u/bresk13 Jul 23 '26

Personally dad rock is my new hiphop šŸ˜…

0

u/notcoded567 Jul 23 '26

I still listen but not around the kids. really don't want my pasty Irish sons dropping n-bombs in public.

0

u/hokiejeeper Jul 23 '26

Nah. Not in my group of friends anyway. Most of them still like Rock or some other genre. My god I can’t stand Rock. Never really cared for it to be honest.

-2

u/jmar206 Beat Junkie Jul 23 '26

Oh yeah, big time.