Music in the 90's

The nineties was a great decade for music. The nineties have such a distinctive sound that one can tell right away if a song is from the nineties.

In the nineties, people had no worries(sort of). There were recessions, things like Desert Shield and tragedies like the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombings and Columbine. But many people regard the nineties a great time to be alive, and that was shown on  TV in shows like friends and Seinfeld, but also through Pop Music. N*SYNC, The Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Boyz II Men were popular groups. Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Michal and Janet Jackson were very successful Solo Artists. They had fun, catchy, memorable songs, which is what made them so successful.

Another Genre of music which was really big in the nineties was Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop had started out in the 80's but in the 90's it was taking the country by storm. With the emergence of Gangsta Rap, hip hop was brought to the forefront. Some people liked it since its message was "real" and they could relate to it, while others blamed it for many of the countries problems, like gang violence. Some big names of Gansta Rap include NWA, Tupac, Snoop Dogg and Biggie. Other rappers that got pretty big in the 90's are Jay-Z, Nas, Gang Starr and the Wu-Tang Clan. Those rappers had both really creative beats and rhymes, and many of today's "rappers" are nowhere near them.

Rock has been around since the 50's but in the 90's it took a turn. Some rockers were doing well and are still at it to this day but many existing bads of the 80's and 70's were winding down and something new needed to step in and take their place. In 1991, an album that would change the country was released, Nirvana's "Nevermind". "Nevermind" kicked off the alternative rock scene. Alternative would become huge and many other bands would follow: Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, Wheezer, Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M, the RHCP and so many other alternative bands would be brought forth to the limelight. People, especially the youth, could relate to the music. Some songs talked of good times, but a lot of alternative songs were angsty and talked of subjects like tragedy and loss, which I why a lot of upset unemployed youth could relate.

And although the nineties had a lot of great artists and music, it was also full of one hit wonders. Cheesy, catchy and sometimes just plain dumb songs got really popular. One hit wonders [artists] got really popular for a short amount of time but would then fade away from people's minds.
"Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba (not making this up), "Barbie Girl" by Aqua. What about the "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex, "What is Love" by Haddaway" and "U Can't Tough This" by MC Hammer"
And who can forget one of the greatest rappers of all time, dare I say the G.O.A.T., Vanilla Ice with his hit song "Ice Ice Baby". There are so many one hit wonders I the list could go on and on and on but you can see the point.

The nineties were great, and although it had its problems, just like any decade, but going back to them would be great, even if it's only for the music.