meta-scriptRe:Generation Moves Music Into The Future | GRAMMY.com

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Re:Generation Moves Music Into The Future

Documentary provides a behind-the-scenes account of the creative collaborations between prominent DJs and artists

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

(A partnership between The Recording Academy and Hyundai, Re:Generation premiered in February during GRAMMY Week. Watch a special online premiere of the film below. Re:Generation will also be screened this week at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. See below for screening information.)

On the surface, Re:Generation addresses a familiar musical theme: What happens when you ask disparate, seemingly incompatible talents to create music together?

But the reality of this documentary, a partnership between The Recording Academy and Hyundai, digs far deeper.

Screening this week at the annual South by Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas, Re:Generation is not only about accepting and appreciating diverse musical genres, but about reimagining music from the past with an ear on the present and future. Five DJs/producers collaborate with artists from five different genres in five attempts to "re:generate" music. Or, in the words of hip-hop's DJ Premier, who tackles a classical composition with composer Bruce Adolphe, conductor Stephen Webber, rapper Nas, and the Berklee Symphony Orchestra: "Music can't die as long as someone keeps on makin' it fresh."

From medieval troubadours and train-hopping folk singers to Top 40 covers of obscure songs, the concept of cross-genre collaboration has always driven both the art and commerce of music. But watching turntablist and beat-maker Premier reimagine the centuries-old works of white-wigged geniuses, waving a baton as he conducts a full orchestra, one can't help but be struck by the level of cross-pollination happening — or the level of joy most of the collaborators share in discovering how to combine their familiar processes into a new whole.

"We were trying to have the possibilities be as wide as possible. That's how we came up with the assignments," says Amir Bar-Lev, the film's director. "One of the things that's most interesting about music films is that most drama has to come from conflict, and music films are an exception. You can really enjoy watching conflict in a music film, and you can also enjoy things going smoothly."

Also featured in the film is Skrillex, who won the first three GRAMMYs of his career in February. As the 24-year-old gets the living members of the Doors into a Santa Monica, Calif., recording studio and tries to explain what he has in mind, their segue from who-is-this-kid skepticism to how-cool-is-this enthusiasm is something to behold.

"I really appreciated the way the Doors handled the collaboration," Bar-Lev says. "I appreciated the way Skrillex did, too, because he had the right amount of humility, and he was genuine and earnest. I enjoyed watching the ice thaw. I enjoyed watching them cook."

While Skrillex and the Doors cover rock with "Breakin' A Sweat," the Crystal Method's Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland re-examine R&B in Detroit with Martha Reeves and the famed Funk Brothers, yielding "I'm Not Leaving." GRAMMY winner Mark Ronson finds a jazz groove with "A La Modeliste" in New Orleans with fellow GRAMMY winner Erykah Badu, Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste, Trombone Shorty, Mos Def, and members of the Dap Kings. Electronica DJ Pretty Lights reinvents the folk standard "Wayfaring Stranger" with GRAMMY winners Ralph Stanley and LeAnn Rimes in Nashville.

Bar-Lev, whose previous credits include My Kid Could Paint That and The Tillman Story, had a DJ project in development for television several years ago and was delighted to revisit the concept in coming onboard for Re:Generation.

The documentary not only shows the environments that shaped the collaborators' foundations (in one heartbreaking scene, Reeves watches the Ford Theater, where she performed her first big show, crushed by a wrecking ball), but the resulting fruits of the DJs' collective labor.

"What you see in the film is electronica artists challenging themselves to dive deeper, and to use their technology, not just to make things extraordinarily accessible, but to make things rich and complex," Bar-Lev says.

"Musicians borrow from the past, learn from the past, and then move music into the future by standing on the shoulders of those who came before them," he adds. "It's a pretty traditional story we're telling … I mean, that's what music is, and that's why I love music."

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(Austin-based journalist Lynne Margolis currently contributes to
American Songwriter, NPR's Song of the Day and newspapers nationwide, as well as several regional magazines and NPR-affiliate KUT-FM's "Texas Music Matters." A contributing editor to The Ties That Bind: Bruce Springsteen from A To E To Z, she has also previously written for Rollingstone.com and Paste magazine.)

Re:Generation is being screening in conjunction with South by Southwest at the following locations:
Tuesday, March 13, 10 p.m.: Alamo Slaughter Lane
Friday, March 16, 2 p.m.: Vimeo Theater
Saturday, March 17, 5 p.m.: Alamo Village

2024 Oscars: Watch Ryan Gosling And Mark Ronson Perform A Soaring, Hilarious Version Of "I'm Just Ken" From The Motion Picture 'Barbie'
Ryan Gosling performs 'I'm Just Ken' from "Barbie" onstage during the 2024 Oscars

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

video

2024 Oscars: Watch Ryan Gosling And Mark Ronson Perform A Soaring, Hilarious Version Of "I'm Just Ken" From The Motion Picture 'Barbie'

At the 2024 Oscars, Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson performed an unforgettable version of "What Was I Made For?" [From The Motion Picture Barbie], which is up for Best Original Song at the ceremony.

GRAMMYs/Mar 11, 2024 - 01:53 am

At the 2024 Oscars, Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson performed a jubilant version of "I'm Just Ken" [From The Motion Picture *Barbie*], which is up for Best Original Song at the ceremony.

With an effervescent backing of black-suited dancers, Gosling leaned into the universal male yearning of the instant Barbie classic. And the arena rock magnitude was helped along by two guitar shredders who rightly dominate that world: Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen.

As Gosling put it at CinemaCon in 2023, Gosling initially doubted his Kenergy.

"It was like I was living my life and then one day I was bleaching my hair, shaving my legs, wearing bespoke neon outfits, and rollerblading down Venice Beach," he said.

"It came on like a light scarlet fever and then I woke up one day and was like, 'Why is there fake tanner in my sheets? What just happened?'"

2024 Oscars: Watch Performances & Highlights

Billie Eilish and FINNEAS won the Oscar for Original Song for "What Was I Made For?" [From The Motion Picture Barbie] at the 2024 Academy Awards.

Keep checking this space for more updates on the 2024 Oscars — including GRAMMY winners and nominees who are featured during the big night!

2024 GRAMMYs: Billie Eilish Wins GRAMMY For Song Of The Year For "What Was I Made For?" From The 'Barbie' Soundtrack

2024 Oscar Nominees Who Have Won A GRAMMY: Billie Eilish, Martin Scorsese & More
Billie Eilish at the 2024 GRAMMYs.

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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2024 Oscar Nominees Who Have Won A GRAMMY: Billie Eilish, Martin Scorsese & More

From Bradley Cooper to Diane Warren, 12 nominees at the 2024 Oscars have a golden gramophone to their name. Ahead of the Oscars ceremony on March 10, check out the GRAMMY history of this year's nominees.

GRAMMYs/Mar 6, 2024 - 04:33 pm

Music's Biggest Night and the film industry's biggest night are a little more intertwined than one might think.

The GRAMMYs have four Categories that tie in with the Hollywood machine, from Best Song Written For Visual Media to Best Music Film. And the Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording award has offered thespians such as John Gielgud, Viola Davis, and Mike Nichols a route to EGOT glory.

The Academy Awards, meanwhile, gives both composers and songwriters their dues in the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories, respectively. And the latter's nominees will often be performed to help break up all the drama at the podium, no matter how un-Oscar-like the track may be. Who can forget the fever dream that was The Lego Movie's "Everything Is Awesome," for example?

The 2024 Oscars bring both ceremonies even closer together, with 12 nominees walking in as previous GRAMMY winners. Half of them were even victorious at the 2024 GRAMMYs, including Billie Eilish, Finneas O'Connell, and Mark Ronson, who all took home golden gramophones for their Barbie contributions (and are all up for the same film at this year's Oscars).

Ahead of the March 10 ceremony, take a look at the GRAMMY stories of 2024 Oscar nominees — from celebrated composers to iconic directors to a few of this year's performers.

2024 Oscars: Watch Performances & Highlights

Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste has had quite the GRAMMY run as of late, picking up 19 nominations in just the last three years alone; he scored five wins for 2021's We Are in 2022, including the prestigious Album Of The Year. The jazz maestro, formerly the bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, has also enjoyed Oscars glory in the same time frame.

Firstly, in 2021, he shared the Best Original Score Oscar with Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor for their work on Pixar animation Soul. And this year, he's nominated in the Best Original Song category for "It Never Went Away," a track featured in his own powerful documentary biopic, American Symphony.

Danielle Brooks 

Two years into her memorable run as prisoner Taystee in "Orange Is the New Black," Danielle Brooks proved her talents extended far beyond the walls of the Litchfield penitentiary with an acclaimed turn in the 2015 Broadway revival of The Color Purple. After the Juilliard graduate picked up a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 2016, she became a GRAMMY winner in 2017, when the cast won Best Musical Theater Album.

The all-singing, all-dancing film adaptation of the Alice Walker novel earned Brooks her first Academy Award nod, too. For she once again stole the show in its Hollywood transfer as the strong-minded Sofia, a character first played on the big screen by Oprah Winfrey.

Bradley Cooper  

Bradley Cooper spent six years practicing conducting just six minutes of music for his portrayal of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein in acclaimed biopic Maestro. And the multi-talent's admirable commitment paid off when he received Academy Award nods for Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture, and Best Actor.

Cooper was also nominated in the latter two categories, along with Best Adapted Screenplay, five years ago for another musical, A Star Is Born, and earned two GRAMMYs for the same project. In 2019, he shared Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Lady Gaga for "Shallow," the spellbinding ballad which also picked up a Record Of The Year nod. A year later, the same film triumphed in Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.

Billie Eilish  

Like Batiste, Billie Eilish has made an impressive GRAMMYs run in a short span of time. The alt-pop phenomenon has already picked up nine awards from 25 nominations (and she's only just turned 22!). And at her first GRAMMYs just four years ago, Eilish already cemented herself in GRAMMY history: not only did she become just the second artist to claim Best New Artist and Record, Song, and Album Of the Year, but she became the youngest artist to do so at 18 years old.

Eilish added to her GRAMMY legacy with two more wins at the 2024 ceremony, for "What Was I Made For?" [From The Motion Picture *Barbie*], which won the star her second golden gramophones for Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media; her James Bond theme, "No Time To Die," won the latter in 2021.

"What Was I Made For?" —  played during the poignant scene where Margot Robbie's titular character meets her creator — has also enamored Oscar voters. In fact, it's the predicted favorite to clinch Best Original Song, which "No Time to Die" helped Eilish claim in 2022.

Ludwig Göransson

Ludwig Göransson is predicted to win his second Best Original Score Oscar this year thanks to his suitably intense arrangements for Oppenheimer; his first win came in 2019 for Black Panther. The Swedish composer has already won Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for the same projects at the GRAMMYs.

But it's in the realm of socially conscious hip-hop where Göransson has been a GRAMMYs awards trailblazer. Childish Gambino's "This Is America," a powerful state of the nation address which he co-produced, picked up both Song and Record Of The Year at the 2019 ceremony — marking the first time a rap track had won either accolade. Göransson's fruitful partnership with Gambino has also seen him receive nods for Album Of The Year and Best R&B Song.

Finneas O'Connell 

Finneas O'Connell might have eight fewer GRAMMY nominations than his sister (Billie Eilish), but he does have one more win under his belt. Indeed, having masterminded Eilish's blockbuster breakthrough, 2019's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, and hit the studio with artists such as Tate McRae, Camila Cabello, and Selena Gomez, the Californian picked up Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical at the 2020 ceremony. (Alongside the nine golden gramophones he's shared with his younger sibling — and primary collaborator — that takes his overall tally up to 10.)

As a co-writer on Eilish's James Bond theme "No Time to Die," Finneas and his sis will have two Oscars a piece should their co-written song, "What Was I Made For?" [From The Motion Picture Barbie], win Best Original Song as predicted.

Mark Ronson 

Mark Ronson first caught GRAMMYs attention for his behind-the-scenes efforts, winning Best Pop Vocal Album, Record Of The Year, and Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical in 2008 for his work on Amy Winehouse's seminal Back to Black. But eight years later, he scooped two GRAMMYs for his very own throwback, the Bruno Mars-featuring "Uptown Funk," and in 2019, picked up Best Dance Recording as part of the supergroup Silk City alongside Diplo and Dua Lipa.

Ronson and Lipa were once again nominated together at the 2024 GRAMMYs for their global chart-topper, "Dance the Night" [From The Motion Picture Barbie], which didn't receive a Best Original Song Academy Award nod. The DJ-turned-hitmaker still notched an Oscar nomination, though, thanks to a different Barbie number he co-wrote: the Ryan Gosling-sung "I'm Just Ken."

Martin Scorsese 

Here's a staggering fact: Martin Scorsese, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers in Hollywood history, has as many GRAMMYs to his celebrated name as he does Oscars: one.

The auteur received his GRAMMY in 2006, when his Bob Dylan documentary, No Direction Home, won in the Best Long Form Music Video Category. (He had been nominated the previous two years, in the same Category in 2005 for his PBS series Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey, and in the Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media Category in 2004 for Gangs Of New York.)

His sole Best Director victory at the Academy Awards came not for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, or Goodfellas, but for his 2006 remake of The Departed in what many interpreted as a career win. He earned his tenth nomination in the coveted category at the 2024 Oscars, for Killers of the Flower Moon.

Diane Warren 

Diane Warren is responsible for some of the all-time great movie power ballads: see the late '90s holy trinity of Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me," LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live," and Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing." However, the prolific songwriter has never won an Oscar outright (she was awarded an honorary one in 2022). She has another shot at the 2024 Oscars thanks to Becky G's "The Fire Inside" from the Cheetos-inspired Flamin' Hot, which earned Warren her 15th Best Original Song nomination.

The songwriting dynamo has received the same number of nods at the GRAMMYs, and celebrated a win in 1997, when "Because You Loved Me" (from 1996's Up, Close and Personal) took home Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television.

John Williams 

Where to start with John Williams? The veteran composer received his 54th Academy Award nod this year, with his work on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny recognized in Best Original Score. He remains second only to Walt Disney for the most Oscar nominations ever, he's the only individual to be recognized across seven decades in a row (his first came back in 1968 for Valley of the Dolls), and he became the oldest nominee ever in 2023 — a record which he topped again this year at 91.

And Williams has been even more successful at the GRAMMYS, picking up a remarkable 26 golden gramophones from 76 nominations. His latest came only last month when "Helena's Theme," the piece of music composed for Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character in Dial of Destiny, was crowned Best Instrumental Composition.

Dan Wilson 

Dan Wilson picked up the first of his six GRAMMY nominations with his own band Semisonic's anthemic "Closing Time." But following the alt-rock trio's initial split in 2001, all of his other nods have been for his work as an in-demand songwriter. Wilson has won two of the General Field GRAMMYs, first for Song Of The Year for Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice" in 2006 and Album Of The Year for his work on Adele's 21 in 2012.

And he added a third GRAMMY to his trophy haul this year, as his co-written Chris Stapleton track "White Horse" won Best Country Song. Thanks to his contribution to the aforementioned Batiste ballad, the hitmaker can also now call himself an Oscar nominee, too.

Andrew Wyatt 

Ronson co-produced and co-wrote "I'm Just Ken" [From The Motion Picture Barbie] with longtime collaborator Andrew Wyatt. The pair won the 2019 Best Original Song Oscar for their co-write on A Star Is Born cut "Shallow," and also picked up Best Song Written for Visual Media with the same tearjerker (alongside Cooper) at the GRAMMYs.

Wyatt, who first found fame as one-third of electronic trio Miike Snow before launching a solo career, has also enjoyed a taste of GRAMMY recognition elsewhere. The New Yorker's first nod came in 2012 when Bruno Mars' "Grenade," the emotive heartbreak anthem that counted him as one of six songwriters, was nominated for Song Of The Year.

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'On The Lips' Of Whistler Molly Lewis: How Her Debut Album Harnessed The Power Of Collaboration & Mood Lighting
Molly Lewis

Photo: Shervin Lainez

interview

'On The Lips' Of Whistler Molly Lewis: How Her Debut Album Harnessed The Power Of Collaboration & Mood Lighting

Molly Lewis' unique instrument has caught the ear of Dr. Dre and soundtracked a pivotal scene in 'Barbie.' Out Feb. 16, the whistler's first LP takes listeners to a less glamorous — but equally vivid — space: the Hollywood lounge.

GRAMMYs/Feb 16, 2024 - 07:36 pm

To properly consume her music, whistler Molly Lewis suggests incorporating the following into your listening experience: candlelight, cold libations and, if possible, a hot date.

Though all are merely suggested tips for conjuring an ideal mood, the 33-year-old Australian says her debut full-length album was conceived with these conditions in mind. On the Lips captures the oft ethereal, sometimes sensual energy of Lewis' live act, which she's honed for years in legendary Hollywood lounges.

“I thought it would be a good idea if my first LP was like the essence of my live show,” Lewis shared. “At one point, we even talked about putting clapping in between the songs to make it feel more like a live album.”

Lewis is hesitant to place any demands on listeners, though she holds firm in her belief that having the right lighting is always a plus. For proof, look no further than last fall, when Lewis performed at Children's Fairyland — a historic amusement park in Northern California credited as a source of inspiration for the original Disneyland.

Curated by Oakland experimental pop artist SPELLLING, the bill for September's Through the Looking Glass festival included a slot for Lewis, who was staged in an area decorated like The Wizard of Oz's Emerald City. Bathed in an eerie glow of green lights, Lewis emerged in a sparkling red evening gown and the crowd bewitched before she'd ever pursed her lips.

"That night [in Oakland] was very surreal and magical," Lewis recalled. "Lighting helps me get into the feeling of the music and, of course, it's helpful to the audience too. If I'm doing a show in L.A., I try to dress the stage and create an atmosphere. Obviously, with budget limitations, it never goes too far but maybe one day I'll get around to pyrotechnics."

Until that day arrives, the highlight of seeing Lewis perform is unquestionably the opportunity to hear her world-class whistling skills. From recording sessions with Dr. Dre to her sonic contributions to a pivotal scene in 2023 Oscar Best Picture nominee Barbie, Lewis continues to lend her lips to all manner of notable projects. At the same time, she's also simultaneously nurtured a solo career that's seen her grow from open mics at Canter's Deli to touring with Weyes Blood and taking calls from Mark Ronson

In an upbeat conversation via Zoom from her home in Los Angeles, Lewis detailed her roots as a whistler, mused on her skills as a raconteur, and paid tribute to the L.A. lounge legends who helped her pave a truly singular career.

**You recorded On the Lips in a studio equipped with a tiki bar and an open-door policy that saw a slew of talented folks swing by. What was the atmosphere like during those sessions?**

[Producer] Tom Brenneck and I have made my last three records together. Basically, one of my best friends in L.A. is an artist named Ariana Papademetropoulos. For many years, she was like, "Molly, you have to meet my brother-in-law, Tom. I feel like you guys would make such good music together." When we finally met up and worked on something, it was easy and fun. We obviously have very similar taste in music.

When I first got a small budget to record some music with, I didn't know where to start. Explaining music is a skill that you can learn and get better at, but when I first started, I didn't know how to articulate what I was feeling and wanting. It reminded me of when you go to the hairdresser and show them a photo of what you want, then they start cutting and you're like, "Ah, it doesn't look like that." But they're a professional, so you don't say anything, and then you get home and wish you'd said something.

Working with Tom was easy because he's very encouraging and generous. He really made me feel like I could do this. I'm not a trained musician. I don't know how to play a lot of instruments. I can play very basic guitar but I don't know how to read music. Sometimes I felt like I didn't belong, but Tom really encouraged me and helped me bring my little demo ideas to life. 

A lot of his musician friends and people he works with would come by to hang out and to see what was going on. [Samba guitarist and Latin GRAMMY nominee] Rogê would be over and we'd write a song together. Chester Hansen of BADBADNOTGOOD was there to work on his record and luckily, he was down to record with me too. It was a very relaxed atmosphere.

 To see you live is to also be treated to your exceptional stage banter. How did that element of your craft develop?

Thank you! It isn't something that was very thought out when I first started performing. When you're the singer — or the whistler, as it is with me — and you have a microphone in front of you, there are moments of silence between songs. I just started doing the thing I do when I'm nervous, which is to make some chit chat. 

I was always a bit jealous of musicians who could remain very mysterious and silent in between songs. That also says a lot and conveys something beautiful and mysterious and untouchable. I always felt like I really need to just shut up and be this other character on-stage — this ethereal whistler — and leave the other parts of myself, like the awkward silly chit chat, at home, but I didn't want to put on an act in that way.

I saw Mary Lattimore, this incredible harpist, perform once and I was just so taken by her playing this incredible, ethereal, magical instrument and, in between the songs, telling these funny anecdotes and stories about the [origins of] song names and little things about her life. It was such a wonderful contrast, and it's so wonderful to get to know the musician or artist in that way. I think that's when I realized that it is a nice thing to include banter and little stories and silly jokes. 

I try not to think too much about it because I don't want it to be rehearsed, but of course, I've got a few little tricks up my sleeve. It's fun to be on the spot and to see what happens. That also keeps it fun.

Chromeo On Their New Album 'Adult Contemporary,' Taking Risks And 30 Years Of Friendship

How 1994 Changed The Game For Hip-Hop
Notorious B.I.G. in Brooklyn, 1994

Photo: Clarence Davis/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

feature

How 1994 Changed The Game For Hip-Hop

With debuts from major artists including Biggie and Outkast, to the apex of boom bap, the dominance of multi-producer albums, and the arrival of the South as an epicenter of hip-hop, 1994 was one of the most important years in the culture's history.

GRAMMYs/Feb 13, 2024 - 05:22 pm

While significant attention was devoted to the celebration of hip-hop in 2023 — an acknowledgement of what is widely acknowledged as its 50th anniversary — another important anniversary in hip-hop is happening this year as well. Specifically, it’s been 30 years since 1994, when a new generation entered the music industry and set the genre on a course that in many ways continues until today.

There are many ways to look at 1994: lists of great albums (here’s a top 50 to get you started); a look back at what fans and tastemakers were actually listening to at the time; the best overlooked obscurities. But the best way to really understand why a single 365 three decades ago had such an impact is to narrow our focus to look at the important debut albums released that year. 

An artist’s or group’s debut is their entry into the wider musical conversation, their first full statement about who they are and where in the landscape they see themselves. The debuts released in 1994 — which include the Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die, Nas' Illmatic and Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik from Outkast — were notable not only in their own right, but because of the insight they give us into wider trends in rap.

Read on for some of the ways that 1994's debut records demonstrated what was happening in rap at the time, and showed us the way forward. 

Hip-Hop Became More Than Just An East & West Coast Thing

The debut albums that moved rap music in 1994 were geographically varied, which was important for a music scene that was still, from a national perspective, largely tied to the media centers at the coasts. Yes, there were New York artists (Biggie and Nas most notably, as well as O.C., Jeru the Damaja, the Beatnuts, and Keith Murray). The West Coast G-funk domination, which began in late 1992 with Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, continued with Dre’s step brother Warren G

But the huge number of important debuts from other places around the country in 1994 showed that rap music had developed mature scenes in multiple cities — scenes that fans from around the country were starting to pay significant attention to.

To begin with, there was Houston. The Geto Boys were arguably the first artists from the city to gain national attention (and controversy) several years prior. By 1994, the city’s scene had expanded enough to allow a variety of notable debuts, of wildly different styles, to make their way into the marketplace.

Read more: A Guide To Texas Hip-Hop: Definitive Releases, Artists & Events

The Rap-A-Lot label that first brought the Geto Boys to the world’s attention branched out with Big Mike’s Somethin’ Serious and the Odd Squad’s Fadanuf Fa Erybody!! Both had bluesy, soulful sounds that were quickly becoming the label’s trademark — in no small part due to their main producers, N.O. Joe and Mike Dean. In addition, an entirely separate style centered around the slowed-down mixes of DJ Screw began to expand outside of the South Side with the debut release by Screwed Up Click member E.S.G.

There were also notable debut albums by artists and groups from Cleveland (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Creepin on ah Come Up), Oakland (Saafir and Casual), and of course Atlanta — more about that last one later.

1994 Saw The Pinnacle Of Boom-Bap

Popularized by KRS-One’s 1993 album Return of the Boom Bap, the term "boom bap" started as an onomatopoeic way of referring to the sound of a standard rap drum pattern — the "boom" of a kick drum on the downbeat, followed by the "bap" of a snare on the backbeat. 

The style that would grow to be associated with that name (though it was not much-used at the time) was at its apex in 1994. A handful of primarily East Coast producers and groups were beginning a new sonic conversation, using innovations like filtered bass lines while competing to see who could flip the now standard sample sources in ever-more creative ways. 

Most of the producers at the height of this style — DJ Premier, Buckwild, RZA, Large Professor, Pete Rock and the Beatnuts, to name a few — worked on notable debuts that year. Premier produced all of Jeru the Damaja’s The Sun Rises in the East. Buckwild helmed nearly the entirety of O.C.’s debut Word…Life. RZA was responsible for Method Man’s Tical. The Beatnuts took care of their own full-length Street Level. Easy Mo Bee and Premier both played a part in Biggie’s Ready to Die. And then there was Illmatic, which featured a veritable who’s who of production elites: Premier, L.E.S., Large Professor, Pete Rock, and Q-Tip.

The work the producers did on these records was some of the best of their respective careers. Even now, putting on tracks like O.C.’s "Time’s Up" (Buckwild), Jeru’s "Come Clean" (Premier), Meth’s "Bring the Pain" (RZA), Biggie’s "The What" (Easy Mo Bee), or Nas’ "The World Is Yours" (Pete Rock) will get heads nodding.

Major Releases Balanced Street Sounds & Commercial Appeal

"Rap is not pop/If you call it that, then stop," spit Q-Tip on 1991’s "Check the Rhime." Two years later, De La Soul were adamant that "It might blow up, but it won’t go pop." In 1994, the division between rap and pop — under attack at least since Biz Markie made something for the radio back in the ‘80s — began to collapse entirely thanks to the team of the Notorious B.I.G. and his label head and producer Sean "Puffy" Combs. 

Biggie was the hardcore rhymer who wanted to impress his peers while spitting about "Party & Bulls—." Puff was the businessman who wanted his artist to sell millions and be on the radio. The result of their yin-and-yang was Ready to Die, an album that perfectly balanced these ambitions. 

This template — hardcore songs like "Machine Gun Funk" for the die-hards, sing-a-longs like "Juicy" for the newly curious — is one that Big’s good friend Jay-Z would employ while climbing to his current iconic status. 

Solo Stars Broke Out Of Crews

One major thing that happened in 1994 is that new artists were created not out of whole cloth, but out of existing rap crews. Warren G exploded into stardom with his debut Regulate… G Funk Era. He came out of the Death Row Records axis — he was Dre’s stepbrother, and had been in a group with a pre-fame Snoop Dogg. Across the country, Method Man sprang out of the Wu-Tang collective and within a year had his own hit single with "I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By." 

Anyone who listened to the Odd Squad’s album could tell that there was a group member bound for solo success: Devin the Dude. Keith Murray popped out of the Def Squad. Casual came out of the Bay Area’s Hieroglyphics. 

Read more: A Guide To Bay Area Hip-Hop: Definitive Releases, Artists & Subgenres From Northern California

This would be the model for years to come: Create a group of artists and attempt, one by one, to break them out as stars. You could see it in Roc-a-fella, Ruff Ryders, and countless other crews towards the end of the ‘90s and the beginning of the new millennium.

Multi-Producer Albums Began To Dominate

Illmatic was not the first rap album to feature multiple prominent producers. However, it quickly became the most influential. The album’s near-universal critical acclaim — it earned a perfect five-mic score in The Source — meant that its strategy of gathering all of the top production talent together for one album would quickly become the standard. 

Within less than a decade, the production credits on major rap albums would begin to look nearly identical: names like the Neptunes, Timbaland, Premier, Kanye West, and the Trackmasters would pop up on album after album. By the time Jay-Z said he’d get you "bling like the Neptunes sound," it became de rigueur to have a Neptunes beat on your album, and to fill out the rest of the tracklist with other big names (and perhaps a few lesser-known ones to save money).

The South Got Something To Say

If there’s one city that can safely be said to be the center of rap music for the past decade or so, it’s Atlanta. While the ATL has had rappers of note since Shy-D and Raheem the Dream, it was a group that debuted in 1994 that really set the stage for the city’s takeover.

Outkast’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik was the work of two young, ambitious teenagers, along with the production collective Organized Noize. The group’s first video was directed by none other than Puffy. Biggie fell so in love with the city that he toyed with moving there

Outkast's debut album won Best New Artist and Best New Rap of the Year at the 1995 Source Awards, though the duo of André 3000 and Big Boi walked on stage to accept their award to a chorus of boos. The disrespect only pushed André to affirm the South's place on the rap map, famously telling the audience, "The South got something to say." 

Read more: A Guide To Southern Hip-Hop: Definitive Releases, Artists & Subgenres From The Dirty South

Outkast’s success meant that they kept on making innovative albums for several more years, as did other members of their Dungeon Family crew. This brought energy and attention to the city, as did the success of Jermain Dupri’s So So Def label. Then came the "snap" movement of the 2000s, and of course trap music, which had its roots in aughts-era Atlanta artists like T.I. and producers like Shawty Redd and DJ Toomp. 

But in the 2010s a new artist would make Atlanta explode, and he traced his lineage straight back to the Dungeon. Future is the first cousin of Organized Noize member Rico Wade, and was part of the so-called "second generation" of the Dungeon Family back when he went by "Meathead." His world-beating success over the past decade-plus has been a cornerstone in Atlanta’s rise to the top of the rap world. Young Thug, who has cited Future as an influence, has sparked a veritable ecosystem of sound-alikes and proteges, some of whom have themselves gone on to be major artists. 

Atlanta’s reign at the top of the rap world, some theorize, may finally be coming to an end, at least in part because of police pressure. But the city has had a decade-plus run as the de facto capital of rap, and that’s thanks in no small part to Outkast. 

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