Golden Age

The reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England & Wales, the last monarch before the kingdom united with Scotland, and a very prosperous one indeed.

A Golden Age is when your at the right age for sex or get married

-n.- the time when a person hasn't cleaned their nose for a while. During this period of time, the nose becomes clogged and full of crusty, gold-colored boogers and is unable to breathe through their nasal canal.

Nickelodeon's prime years. Lasted from 1991 to the early 2000s where shows such as Rugrats, Doug, Rocko's Modern Life, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Global Guts, and the original All That were running on Nickelodeon. Many young adults who were kids at the time of these golden years refer to it as the best years on television.

The exaggerated belief that something (politics, news, morals, video games) used to be substantially better than it is now, expressed usually with bitterness about the present condition. Often associated with long-time players of online RPGs.

The Golden Age of Hip Hop refers to roughly the mid eighties up to the late nineties when Hip Hop, in this sense the rapping and beatmaking aspect of it, was known and appreciated for its Lyrical content (MCing or Emceeing) its musical depth and its stark differentiation from other musical genres of the day. Influenced by earlier forms of music such as R and B, Jazz and The Blues; Hip Hop during this time matured and touched upon many political and social issues affecting urban America which overwhelmingly focused on the African American experience of ghettos, gang life, drugs, black identity, poverty and racism. This era is known for the flourishing of different regional styles and a freeing up of the manner in which rap music was written, composed and performed these regional styles contributed to much tension and rivalry as well. This friction was exploited by record companies to boost interest and sales. It is this rivalry along with other factors that led to a decline and eventual end of the Golden Age.

Some of the Most popular artists who helped define the era include: Run DMC, LL Cool J, Kool Moe Dee, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, A Tribe Called Quest, Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy, MC Lyte, KRS-ONE, NWA, Cypress Hill, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G, Geto Boys, Big Punisher.

Hip Hop to many fans is still very much about the quality of its content which developed during the Golden Age. As shown through the use of such vocal and lyrical devices such as using: metaphors, similes, storytelling, clever cadences, changes in tempo and word play. Modern artists talented in the application of the aforementioned vocal and lyrical devices are still very popular but have moved away from what is considered the mainstream which receives the most tv and radio airtime.

The trend in contemporary Hip Hop has become one in which the importance of image and "club friendliness" has become the defining factors and lyricism has ceased to be as important. Hip Hop has a much more Pop vibe and emphasis on material objects and hedonistic pursuits have become the main subject matter. Interestingly, Hip Hop during the early to mid eighties was also known for its rappers rhyming about self promotion and oppulent lifestyles, the Golden Age marked a shift away from that aspect of Hip Hop music.

The period of time, roughly between 1977 and 1988 when Black music was at it's prime is what is referred to the golden age of Black Music. Disco was going downhill and Black people wanted something new. Artists like Chic, Chaka Khan, Atlantic Starr, Prince, Cherrelle and Alexander O’Neal ruled the dance floor back in the day.

The soul music back then wasn't quite mainstream enough for MTV or the top 40 radio stations to play and if you didn't have BET or an Urban radio station in your town, you only got to hear about what was happening from friends, clubs or when the artists actually came to play in your town.

Early Rap music focused more on the music and beats and the rhymes then were somewhat light hearted, often about having a good time or boasting about the MC’s prowess and abilities with the mike. It was always about the mike.

Around 1989, “Gangsta rap” was born and artists like NWA and 2 Live Crew took off. Soul artists started to make their music sound more mainstream to appeal to a larger audience. Some artists, like Keith Sweat, Teddy Riley, and his group GUY, created what was known as the New Jack Swing sound to give people an alternative to the new rap scene, but by then, BET and now MTV started to feature more hardcore rap in heavy rotation. Even mainstream radio got in on the action and the new jack artists, while talented and promising, never enjoyed the full glory of the golden age era.

In the new millennium, Rap/Hip Hop became the dominant format of black music, with empires positioned to make producers like Sean 'Puffy' Combs, Russel Simmons, Suge Knight and Master P the next Black billionaires
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Unfortunately, the new generations of producers seem to care more about the money, ego and fame than the quality of music they produce, churning out cookie cutter hits based on sex, gang violence and excessive lifestyles. Also its questionable as to what image it gives young children to aspire to.

Who knows what the future promises for black music; the new Neo-soul sound seems promising enough, with talented singers like Jill Scott, John Legend, Alicia Keyes and Kem in the forefront, but only time will tell if there will be another golden age for neo soul or if it will go the way of the new jack.