New Jersey
rappers.
Newark, East Orange, South Orange. A short train ride and a different chip on the shoulder.
Jersey artists have spent forty years being a train ride from the center of the industry and not quite counted in it. That chip on the shoulder became a style.
Queen Latifah and Naughty by Nature put Newark and East Orange on the map in the early '90s, Redman built a cult around Newark humor and funk, and the Fugees, formed in South Orange, made one of the best-selling rap albums ever.
Queen Latifah
All Hail the Queen and "U.N.I.T.Y.," proof a rap record could argue and still knock
Golden ageProfile →East Orange1991Naughty by Nature
"O.P.P." and "Hip Hop Hooray," party hooks with East Orange grit underneath
Golden ageProfile →Newark1992Redman
Funk-soaked Def Jam records out of Newark, and half of Method Man & Redman
Golden ageProfile →South Orange1994Fugees
The Score, a self-produced Jersey record that mixed rap, soul and reggae and hit No. 1
Golden ageProfile →South Orange1996Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the record that made rapping and singing one job
Platinum eraProfile →