Rap music was invented in the late ’70s in the parks of New York City. At that moment, lyricists used spoken word techniques over disco breaks to create an entirely new and effective sound. Playing turntables like instruments, those mid-20th century innovators changed the world.
Videos by American Songwriter
Over the decades, there have been subgenres of hip-hop, and one of those, which rose to popularity in the 1990s, is known as “backpack rap.” What this moniker is meant to impart is the idea of city poets and lyricists riding around subway stations or streets via skateboard with notebooks, pens, and other writer’s objects tucked safely away in their unassuming backpacks.
The backpack, in this way, indicated a level of intelligence. Maybe there were some paperback books, a memoir, a tome on philosophy. Either way, the wearer of said backpack was likely learned. Oh, and he or she also liked to spit on the mic.
Below, therefore, are six backpack rap albums that everyone should own today.
1. Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, Black Star (1998)
Released toward the end of the decade, this all-time classic rap album was put forth by the two friends and M.C.s—Mos Def and Talib Kweli. The album symbolized thoughtful rhyming and a deep bond. It also was emblematic of the state of Brooklyn, New York, where the two were from. As well as the duo’s developing crew, some of which, from Common to Black Thought of the Roots, are on this list.
2. Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor, Lupe Fiasco (2006)
A later-generation version of backpack rap, Chicago’s Lupe Fiasco is almost the godson of the genre. You can tell he grew up listening to Mos Def, Talib, the Roots, and more. And he took it and made it his own, giving the style a bit more of a mainstream feel. Not much, just a sprinkle of pop. Enough to get it on the radio but also keep the roots. Songs like “Kick, Push” and “Daydreamin'” are especially evidence of this skill.
3. Resurrection, Common Sense (1994)
Before he was Common, an actor and well-known musician, he was Lonnie Lynn from Chicago and he became known in the underground as Common Sense. It was with albums like Resurrection in 1994 that people began to take notice of the lyricist who had a knack for wordplay and wisdom. “I Used to Love H.E.R.” is an especially powerful song about Common’s distaste for the state of rap at the time.
4. Do You Want More?!!!??!, The Roots (1995)
The Roots, a group many music fans know today, rose to underground acclaim as the first live band of hip-hop. The musical genre was born from turntables and samples. But the Roots brought a direct jazz sensibility to the music. Over time, that morphed into something completely unique and essential. But it’s their major label debut in 1995 that set them on a path toward success.
5. Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), Digable Planets (1993)
The key single on this early ’90s album is the song “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat),” which earned this New York City trio a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Fronted by the Seattle-born rapper Ishmael Butler, this album changed the way a lot of people thought about rap music and its myriad of possibilities. And its Grammy Award-winning single is one of the greatest rap songs of all time with one of the greatest lines, We be to rap what key be to lock.
6. Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, the Pharcyde (1992)
If any rap album has a cult following, it’s this one. Featuring mind-bending songs like “Passing Me By” and “Otha Fish,” this record is as much a lesson in art and history, sociology and economics as it is a piece of entertainment. And that’s the core definition of backpack rap. Inspirational and educational while also being excellent on the ears.
Photo by Gladys Vega/Getty Images
