It has happened before, in fact, it has happened many times before. I'm not talking about some flavor-of-the-month making a splash with a hot single or quirky flow, nah, this is the MC or producer who influenced the whole game [or at least the mainstream] to move in a different direction.
The first change for me was the move away from the "bang bang boogie", "yes, yes, y'all" phase of hip-hop. At that point the music was mostly party jams with simple rhymes and simple beats. Most MC's had the same flow and pretty much talked about the same thing [sound familiar?]. Then the game changed:
RUN-DMC 1983
The Kings from Queens came out the box with a hard look and a hard attitude... no crazy costumes, they looked like cats off the block. Run had a rapid flow that was new for the time and he elevated the braggadocio style of rhyming. DMC brought a staccato flow that spoke of the streets but still revealed he went to college. The group also put their DJ, Jam Master Jay, front and center as a group member. They highlighted Jay's skills as a DJ and producer but still integrated his new style of cutting and scratching into the flow of the emcee's. Up to this point, there was an either/or - the MC was the star or there was a "DJ cut" - RUN-DMC seamlessly let each group member shine. They also married hip-hop and rock better than anyone before or since. RUN-DMC took the game to a place where lyrics mattered more, flow was elevated and hip-hop attitude came to the mainstream.
Sample Cuts: Sucker MC’s, It’s Like That, King of Rock, Peter Piper
Eric B. and Rakim 1986 
Rakim elevated hip-hop lyrics from words that rhymed to poetry. His complex rhyming schemes and flawless flow made you "sit by the radio hand on the dial soon, as you hear it pump up the volume." He was so peerless that the scratches and vocal samples on their songs were typically other Rakim lyrics. Eric B. was fairly understated in his style but his production was a good compliment to Rakim's smooth style. Rakim never threw in words just because they rhymed, he intricately built stories where every lyric mattered to the overall theme. He effortlessly kicked it on any kind of cut - party cut, conscious jam, bragging joint, hood joint, whatever - as he said, "so easily do I e-m-c-e-e". While other dudes seemed to be pressing, Rakim was always cool. It's been more than twenty years and I still haven't heard an emcee who is better.
Sample Cuts: I know You Got Soul, My Melody, Follow The Leader, Know The Ledge
Public Enemy 1987 
For the first time I felt the power of hip-hop. Public Enemy showed that hip-hop could be a force, a positive influence. They did more to make Black youth feel a sense of pride and a desire for activism than anyone in hip-hop. No slogans, [Vote or Die? Really?] PE was about a way of thinking and living every day. They had flavors of the Nation of Islam and Black Nationalism but they also had Flav so they weren't above comic relief. I doubt Chuck D's booming bass flow would have hit quite as hard without the production of the Bomb Squad. Sonically, PE was different than any other artist... some cuts had a funky groove but others sounded as if they were trying to piss you off [Bring The Noise]... it was obvious they weren't just making dance music. For a period, Public Enemy represented the "Black CNN", which is how Chuck D. used to describe hip-hop and with his messages he was an emcee who didn't "rhyme for the sake of riddlin'."
Sample Cuts: Rebel Without A Pause, Don’t Believe The Hype, Bring The Noise, Can’t Truss It
NWA/Dr. Dre/Ice Cube 1988 
As an east coast dude the west had nothing for me when it came to hip-hop... they were a joke. Then came NWA. There were plenty of east coast dudes who talked about crime and the grimey side of things, but these dudes were different. Their style, their slang, their sound and most definitely their look was completely different. Suddenly, the west coast had their own thing and people were noticing... even east coast heads. NWA seemed more willing to say "we don't give a f*ck" then anyone up to that point. Once the predictable beef kicked in and cats went to separate camps it became obvious real quick that the architects of the sound were Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. Dre is definitely a top-3 producer of all time [he might be no. 1]. Cube had lyrics of fury that felt straight east coast but were definitely straight outta Cali. When Cube hooked up with the Bomb Squad it was one of the best hip-hop collabos ever. You could argue these dudes had one of the biggest influences on hip-hop because they showed you could change the formula and make it your own... I would say they paved the way for the southern hip-hop movement. Love it or hate it, hip-hop history isn't complete without giving NWA their due.
Sample Cuts: Straight Outta Compton, 100 Miles and Runnin’, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, It Was A Good Day, Dre Day, Let Me Ride
De La Soul 1989 
Full disclosure... I am a native tongues head through and through... loved every crew in the posse. These cats came through the front door shoutin', "I live in the 'burbs, don't own a gun, don't sell drugs, ain't never been in jail but I still love hip-hop and I have my own style." Loved 'em from jump. Two things that De La Soul brought, " a new style of speak" and sampling as an art form. Anyone could loop a beat or two and run that for a whole song... Mase, their DJ, chopped, looped, and scratched joints to the point that they were unrecognizable... you might hear one sample you knew but there were so many others that told you your crates weren't that deep. Their lyrics were also different... more clever... different metaphors... you had to press rewind to get the whole meaning... but, they also made your head nod. Tribe was funkier, Leaders were quirkier but De La led the way into a whole new style of hip-hop... it was kind of like the thinking man's hip-hop... but it still made you move ya ass.
Sample Cuts: Plug Tunin, Me, Myself and I, Ring, Ring, Ring, Breakadawn
Queen Latifah 1989 
Obviously I know Queen was part of the Native Tongues but she kind of broke off and started doing her own thing pretty early on. Latifah wasn't the first female emcee by any stretch but she brought female emcees to the mainstream and she had SKILLS. When Latifah came out the box she could go verse for verse with any dude. Don't believe me, go back and listen to All Hail The Queen. First thing you have to acknowledge is she has about four or five different flows... slow, fast, different rhyme schemes... she could go with anybody. Next, look at her subject matter... women's rights, Black Nationalism, party cuts... crazy, she had range. Latifah wasn't trying to get by on her looks or shakin' her ass any more than the dudes were, she took her place based on her talent... dudes even had to recognize. Her later work was not as strong, I think she missed DJ Mark the 45 King, but by that time she had laid the groundwork for the ladies to find their place in the mainstream.
Sample Cuts: Wrath Of My Madness, Queen Of Royal Badness, U.N.I.T.Y., Ladies First
Notorius B.I.G./Diddy 1993 
This one is a little more controversial. There is absolutely no question that Biggie and Diddy changed the game, in fact, in terms of style, sound and visuals they may be responsible for the most dramatic change. The tricky part is the other changes to the game all felt like a move forward... this one only did to a point. B.I.G. looked like what he was - a dude off the block, sketchy past, suddenly smack in the middle of new found riches. And he talked about it... in a way that made you feelwhat he was saying. He flossed... hard... and he told us what he spent his money on. He also told us, through his joints, he didn't expect it to last... dudes were still coming for him. The backbone for all of B.I.G.'s imagery was a stock of samples that we really hadn't heard before. Puff and his crew of producers provided the perfect grimy soundtrack to Biggie's street tales. Suddenly we were hearing the hardest rhymes over old R&B tracks... country joints... obscure soul riffs and it worked. The "problem" is for the most part the joints were just lifted... whole tracks looped and run for four minutes. It sort of signaled the end of sampling as art form. The other "issue" is rappers decided the stuff B.I.G. talked about was all there was to talk about... guns, drugs, designer labels, women, street life... the game became small. It's hard to lay the blame for the stagnation of imagination, boring tracks and monotonous lyrics on Diddy and Biggie. They did what was true to them - well - it's not on them that less talented dudes used their style as a blueprint and a short-cut into the game. This movement feels like a step forward and a step backward... now we are just stuck.
Sample Cuts: Unbelievable, Warning, Who Shot Ya, Big Poppa, Hypnotize, Kick In The Door
The Neptunes 1994 
From this point forward hip-hop and rap became a producer-driven art form. The Neptunes didn't rely on the sample, they produced a new electronic sound with blip and beeps and repetitive drum patterns that shifted the sound of mainstream hip-hop. This new direction gave the music a more mainstream sound, even a pop feel. Even when the lyrics of the artists they worked with were hard, this was party music. The Neptunes brought the party back without dumbing down the music. We also can thank The Neptunes, specifically Pharrell, for the producer as performer thing. Obviously, Diddy was front and center in his artists videos but Pharrell took his "take that, take that" and raised it to singing hooks and dropping verses... and appearing in all of the videos. In some ways The Neptunes were also responsible for the increasing number of "mash ups" between hip-hop and pop artists because their client roster stretched to pop and R&B... they were bringing (music) worlds together. You would be hard pressed to find a production crew that influenced popular music as widely and for as long as The Neptunes.
Sample Cuts: Superthug-N.O.R.E., Shake Ya Ass-Mystikal, I Just Wanna Love U-Jay-Z, Hot In Herre, Nelly
Master P 1996 
Master P introduced the concept of rapper as entrepreneur and started the southern influence on the game. Master P had a successful production company and label before he signed to a major. He had a regional sound and following and was taking over the South before many of us had even heard his name. Master P was one of the new pioneers of the game... self-contained crew, signature sound, owned his masters, handled his own production, diversified the brand with movies... this dude was a straight up business man. The sound was slow and thick and hard in a different way... it was more about an attitude. I don't know if Master P gets the credit he deserves for resurrecting the careers of Mystikal and Snoop Dogg. No Limit created a model followed to this day... their sound let the south know they could be in the big game on their own terms.
Sample Cuts: I’m Bout It, Bout It, Make ‘Em Say Uhhh, Burbons and Lacs, Them Jeans
Lil Jon 2002 
This is another one that leaves you a little torn. Lil Jon never pretended to make anything other than party music and he did it well. The first time you heard Bia Bia or Get Low you couldn't help but get amped. Short on lyrics, long on grooves... well a groove. Crunk cuts have one simple, catchy rhythm and they run it to the end. The lyrics are basic, easy to remember and became anthems in the clubs. With one of the most basic formulas since the beginning of hip-hop, Crunk music straight took over hip-hop and Lil Jon was leading the charge. For a period every hip-hop cut, and some pop cuts, on the radio and on the top of the charts was Crunk. Recently, Crunk has lost a little steam to Snap music but that is really just a hybrid of Crunk. This style definitely felt like a step back for the music but there is no denying that it was ultimately responsible for the shift of power in mainstream hip-hop from the east to the south. Crunk is the only regional style of hip-hop that became so powerful it influenced east coast artists to change their style or at least their beats.
Sample Cuts: Bia Bia, Get Low, What U Gon’ Do, Snap Yo Fingers
So to my way of thinking we are waay overdue for a change, for a shift to something new. Cats are still talking about the same things and the beats all sound the same. Hip-hop needs a breath of life... where is the new, next movement? Is it possible with the influence of the labels? My hope rests with the power of the web. Hopefully some cat is in a bedroom or basement with a computer, some software and a active imagination and is creating some next ish that his friends don't quite understand but is about to change the music we know and love... and he will upload it somewhere and we will be moved.
Footnote: I welcome your comments and additions but remember the criteria... an innovator that influenced the whole game for a period of time and because of their dominance spurred copycats. I'm not talking about someone who took a movement to another level [sorry Hov] but the person or group who started the movement and created a group of followers. With that in mind... have at it.
