90s Hip-Hop

A boombox on the shoulder, a knotted bandana, baggy jeans pooling over work boots. Nineties rap had a sound, but it also had a look. A 90s hip-hop poster captures the era people call the golden age, when every album landed like a manifesto.

The golden age in a few records

In the US it all happened within a couple of years. Dr. Dre released The Chronic in December 1992 and defined the West Coast sound. Wu-Tang Clan answered from Staten Island with Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in November 1993, and their W became a generational logo. In 1994 Nas dropped Illmatic in the spring and The Notorious B.I.G. followed with Ready to Die in September: two New York classics in a single year.

The French scene was just as strong. Suprême NTM put out Paris sous les bombes in 1995 and IAM L'École du micro d'argent in 1997, a record that went diamond. For many young North Africans, those endlessly copied tapes were the way into rap.

The visual codes

Nineties hip-hop looks raw and urban: black-and-white street photography, graffiti, thick type, saturated colour. Boomboxes, microphones, turntables and vinyl, backwards caps and brick walls. A great poster in this world has the grain of a photocopy and the energy of a freestyle.

Building your wall

Hip-hop style loves a full wall. Mix one large central poster with smaller visuals, keep the palette dark and add one accent colour, Wu-Tang yellow or red. In a bedroom, a home studio or a barber's corner, the effect is instant.

To close the loop, cross the American golden age with the scene in our Arab Pop & Rap collection, and add a Tapes & Mixtapes print for the days of taping the radio.

Each poster is printed in Tunisia and paid for on delivery. Mic check, one, two.