Innercity Griots - Freestyle Fellowship (1993)
a run through four decades of the hip hop underground
The top hip hop of 1993 included Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, Tupac and Biggie, and of course, the debut of the Wu Tang Clan. Fewer people knew at the time about the jazzy, super-verbose fresstyle culture in LA and San Francisco that owed a lot to the Native Tongues movement. Native Tongues was getting pushed out of the marketplace by gangsta rap, but its influence was still heard in the jazzy, super-verbose freestyle culture in LA and San Francisco that owed a lot to that aesthetic.
Built for small clubs to showcase each MC’s verbal skills, you get live instruments as opposed to the sample-heavy styles at the top of the charts and fun-loving, joke-laden randy subjects that focused on everyday concerns.
The longest lasting member of this collective is Aceyalone, who still frequently shows up on the modern scene.
