3 One-Hit Wonder Rap Songs That Personify the 1990s

Music boasts many powers, many special abilities. One of those is its chance to transport the listener back to a different time. Want to feel the vibrant 1960s? Put on early Bob Dylan. The strange 1980s? It’s Prince’s synth-rock all the way. But if you want to feel like you’re back in the 1990s—the decade many call the Golden Era of rap—there are many songs to put on your stereo.

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Here below, we wanted to dive into three examples. More specifically, these three one-hit wonders from the 90s are a trio of tracks from artists who had great success with them but who never quite followed it up with other offerings. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonder rap songs that perfectly personify the decade of the 1990s.

“Jump Around” by House Of Pain from ‘House Of Pain’ (1992)

Anyone who has been to a professional sporting event over the past 30 years has likely heard this song at some point in time. It’s a go-to for hyping up a crowd. It also brings any listener back to an earlier time in history. Things were simpler and rap music boasted bombastic beats and clear, declarative lyrics. This track, which hit no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, will likely never vanish. That’s thanks to the aforementioned sporting events and its message of simply jumping around.

“The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground from ‘Sex Packets’ (1990)

This track, which hit no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, was a major hit for the comedic eyebrow-raising rapper Shock G of Digital Underground. Wearing a fake nose and big glasses, Shock G knew how to get a party started with his bouncy voice and silly lyrics.

Digital Underground is also famous for introducing the world to Tupac Shakur, who was a background dancer for the group before he got his start as a sharp-tongued rapper. But more than anything, this one-hit wonder oozes early 1990s appeal, back when we didn’t take things so seriously.

“Just A Friend” by Biz Markie from ‘The Biz Never Sleeps’ (1989)

While this song from rapper Biz Markie dropped in the fall of 1989, the song rose to fame in the early 1990s and remained a favorite of the generation. It was played in college dorms on repeat for the next decade-plus, a beloved offering that combined herky-jerky rhyming with a love triangle that we could all understand.

You’re in love with someone, and they say they love you too. But then you find out their “friend” is really your competition. Sounds like an episode of Friends, doesn’t it? RIP, Biz.

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