7 Hip-Hop Songs That Remind Me Of My ’90s Childhood

You, me, Chance The Rapper, and Joey Bada$$ are ’90s kids. We ate the same breakfast cereals. We watched the same cartoons. And now, 20-plus years later, we’re influencing culture with our childhood memories. I overly dedicate this list to orange VHS tapes, worn-in analog sticks, and Saturday mornings.

Chance The Rapper and The Social Experiment, “Wonderful Everyday”

Covers the theme song of Arthur.
Chance The Rapper teams up with Wyclef Jean, The O’ Mys, and more for this lullabye recreation. Now Chance just needs to lay a verse on “Library Card.”

G-Eazy, “I Be In The Lab”

Samples: The theme song of Dexter’s Laboratory.
This track comes off G-Eazy’s early Malcolm-Gladwell-inspired project, The Tipping Point, and samples a conversation between Dexter and DeeDee.

[Intro: Sample]
Dexter: Now do you understand? That by combining the positive and negative polarities of sucrose and radium… We can excrete the elements from any variety of [?] And unificate them with the superlative percussions of the magnetic osprium. Thusly, this machine should not be used by a person of lower intelligence such as…

Deedee: Teeheeheee

Dexter: Ugh, you’re not listening to me! Pay attention!

Lupe Fiasco, “Lamborghini Angels”

Samples “The Amanda Show.”

Unbelievably, the apocalyptic intro is the voice of a 14-year-old Amanda Bynes.

[Intro: Sample]

“It’s a mad world out here, I tell you!
The world’s gone stark, raving mad!
I rule the world! It’s a mad, crazy world!”

Joey Bada$$, World “Domination”

Samples: “Pinky And The Brain.”

This is the first track I ever heard of Joey Bada$$ and this intro immediately grabbed my attention. I’ve been a fan ever since.

[Intro: Sample]
Pinky: Say, Brain, what do you wanna do tonight?
Brain: The same thing we do every night, Pinky… Try to take over the world!

Logic, “No Biggie”

Samples: “The Boondocks”

Quoted from episode 108, Riley Freeman sets the tone of the track, by turns ignorant, aggressive, and hilarious. Would Riley Freeman listen to Logic? I have no doubt.

[Intro: Sample]
Yeah, my name is Riley, son/
But you know what [people] call me?
AKA, Riley Escobar, know what I’m saying?
Cause I be in the streets you know?
I got all kinds of names like HR Paper Stacks Uh,
also known as AKA Horse Choker, uh…

XV, “Wonkavator” (Ft. Emilio Rojas)

Samples: Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory

XV’s mixtape Popular Culture is stacked with ’90s references. Other tracks on the tape include AaaHH!! Real Monsters and Mary Kate & Ashley.

This track starts of with a sample from the end of Willy Wonka, right as Charlie and Grandpa board the glass elevator.

[Intro: Sample]
Wonka: It’s a Wonkavator. An elevator can only go up and down, but the Wonkavator can go sideways, and slantways, and longways, and backways…
Charlie: And frontways?
Wonka: …and squareways, and front ways, and any other ways that you can think of. It can take you to any room in the whole factory just by pressing one of these buttons. Go ahead, Charlie
Charlie: Me?
Wonka: Here it goes! Hold on tight. I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen…

Jhene Aiko, “July” (ft. Drake)

References: Disney’s Lady And The Tramp.
It’s funny that my dream woman, Jhene Aiko, should reference the freakish cats that used to give me nightmares. In unison, they meow, “I am siamese, if you please.” Jhene ends this song with the words, “I am Japanese, if you please.”

If you know ‘90s-inspired hip-hop that I should look at, tweet me at @Kaisermane.

Originally published on Green Label.