1996
What is the New Jack Hip Hop Awards?
A few years ago, everyone on alt.rap and the funky-music mailing list was bitchin' about how lame the Grammy's were in general, and especially how weak they were when it came to rap and hiphop.
Thus was born the New Jack Hip Hop Awards.
You decide on the categories. You nominate. You vote. All we do is count and give out the Jacks. You can't blame us.
Welcome to the 1996 New Jack Hip Hop Awards. I am your host. In many circles I am known as the Homeboy From hell. You may call me Charles.
Last year about this time, I noted several things before closing up shop on the 1995 New Jack Hip Hop Awards. First, one particular trend over the last two years was becoming more pronounced; namely, that the West Coast Gangsta style was on its way out as a dominating force, at least as far as the New Jack Hip Hop Awards was concerned. In fact, for the first time, West Coast gangstas weren't represented in the really big awards. Of course, gangsta influence wasn't gone (A Wu-Tang member won best album of the year, for example), only the center of the hardcore influence had moved.
In any case, the gangsta stranglehold of old just wasn't there. Groups like the Roots and The Fugees began to make serious noise. And there seemed to be a new resurgence of hip-hop as serious social and political commentary, with Goodie Mob, The Coup and Common Sense starting arguments left and right about the current state of Hip Hop.
I thought things might be changing directions for 1996, for good or for ill.
And here we are.
Phattest Progressive/Jazz Rap Group
| 64.4% | The Roots |
| 14.4% | A Tribe Called Quest |
| 11.5% | De La Soul |
| 9.7% | The Fugees |
From 1991 - 1994, ATCQ owned this category lock, stock and barrel. In last year's big upset, the Roots took it with an impressive coup. They repeat their stunning victory this year and take home our first Jack with a rare and impressive majority of the votes.
In the end, this was never a contest. The Roots had it from the first vote cast.
Phattest Progressive/Jazz Male Rapper
| 35.4% | Q-Tip |
| 29.2% | Black Thought |
| 20.4% | Plug Oneder Why (aka Posdonus, Plug One) of De La Soul |
| 15.0% | Common Sense |
On the other hand, Q-Tip won a clear victory here over The Roots' Black Thought (who won last year, by the way). Mark tells me that Black Thought had a commanding lead at first but Q-Tip took over about halfway through. Plug One won out over buddy Common Sense, who only did better than the write-in Lyrics Born.
Phattest Progressive/Jazz Female Rapper
| 57.4% | Lauryn Hill |
| 42.6% | Bahamadia |
Bahamdia actually took a lead in the first round of votes, but after that the ever-popular MC Lauryn Hill just walked over her. I guess L-Boogie was voting for two.
Phattest Progressive/Jazz Rap Single
| 43.9% | "Stakes is High" by De La Soul |
| 22.4% | "Clones" by The Roots |
| 21.5% | "Concerto of a Desperado" by The Roots |
| 12.2% | "1nce Again" by A Tribe Called Quest |
"Stakes" dominated from day one and so walks away with a serious victory. Perhaps the Roots would have done better if they hadn't been split across two singles; however, if you count up all of the votes for the Roots, they only manage to tie De La, so I think they can feel proud. At the bottom is ATCQ and a write in for "The Quickening" by Lateef the truth speaker.
Phattest Progressive/Jazz Rap Album
| 52.8% | Illadelph Halflife by The Roots |
| 15.4% | Stakes is High by De La Soul |
| 15.4% | The Score by The Fugees |
| 15.4% | Beats Rhymes & Life by A Tribe Called Quest |
| 1.0% | Kollage by Bahamadia |
The write-in, Entroducing by DJ Shadow managed about as well as Bahamdia well-done Kollage. Meanwhile, a three-way tie for second is eclipsed by a devastating majority victory for The Roots.
So, while the Roots didn't completely dominate the Progessive category, they came pretty close.
Phattest Nasty Group
| 52.5% | Wu-Tang Clan |
| 20.2% | Heltah Skeltah |
| 15.2% | Eightball & MJG |
| 12.1% | Mobb Deep |
This has always been an odd category and even more difficult to define than Progressive. Still, the headz seemed to know whatever we meant, 'cause they've given Wu-Tang a clear victory.
There's not much else to note: Other people showed up and everyone got double digits, but nobody came close to the Wu.
Phattest Nasty Male Rapper
| 44.7% | Redman |
| 31.1% | Dr. Octagon |
| 24.2% | Akinyele |
Tela got a write in for this category (and a lot of others, too; apparently Tela has a big fan out there). He couldn't come close to any of the offical candidates, though. Redman won pretty handily, but was closely followed by Dr Octagon and Akinyele.
Phattest Nasty Female Rapper
| 61.9% | Lil Kim |
| 38.1% | Foxxy Brown |
Meanwhile, on the female tip, Lil Kim tromps her most obvious competitior for nastiness, Foxxy Brown. My guess is that Foxxy's more R&B-styled nastiness just isn't as down and dirty-seeming as relatively deep-voiced and raunchier Lil Kim. Plus, Kim has on fewer clothes on her album cover, and that has to count for something.
Phattest Nasty Rap Single
| 41.7% | "Put it in Your Mouth" by Akinyele |
| 19.8% | "Muddy Waters" by Redman |
| 18.8% | "Wildflower" by Ghosface Killah |
| 11.5% | "Queen B*tch" by Lil Kim |
| 8.2% | "Skin Care" by Kwest Tha Madd Lad |
Tela shows up again with "Sho Nuff" and didn't doing much worse than Kwest. In any case, the winner is easily Akinyele... who gets points just for the title, as far as I'm concerned.
Phattest Nasty Rap Album
| 46.7% | Dr. Octagon by Dr. Octagon |
| 38.9% | Hard Core by Lil Kim |
| 14.4% | This Is My First Album by Kwest Tha Madd Lad |
Speaking of Dr Octagon, he wins the best album category, although Lil Kim does pretty well coming in a strong second over Kwest and write-in Tela's Piece of Mind.
Incidently, Lil Kim becomes only the second woman to be nominated in this category in the six years I've been doing this (Bo$$ was the first in 1993). Overall, women did well this year. In fact, in absolute terms, their vote tallies got much bigger, and the number of folks dissing them (or the very concept of nasty women) dwindled even more sharly that in previous years (a trend we've been seeing for about three years, but has sped up a great deal in 1996). A few see this a negative thing, but others see this as a positive development. As Jack says, "...it's just as applicable for women to be in the nasty rap game as anyone else... after all, we all have egos and genitals, right?"
Well power to the people, then.
Phattest Braggadocio Group
| 32.4% | Wu-Tang Clan |
| 15.7% | OutKast |
| 14.8% | A Tribe Called Quest |
| 14.8% | Heltah Skeltah |
| 12.0% | The Pharcyde |
| 7.4% | Camp Lo |
| 2.9% | Original Gunn Clappaz |
Wu-Tang had this from the nominations on down to the last vote. The race for second was a bit more interesting, but Outkast pulled it out by the end. Represent for the ATL, etc.
Both DAS Efx and Mobb Deep managed write-ins.
Phattest Braggadocio Male Rapper
| 41.3% | Redman |
| 15.4% | Busta Rhymes |
| 11.5% | Chino XL |
| 9.6% | Rass Kass |
| 7.7% | Keith Murray |
| 7.7% | Nas |
| 6.8% | Ghostface Killah |
Did I mention that Tela got a write-in? I didn't? Oh, he did.
Meanwhile, Redman wins handily with Wu-Tang representation at the bottom. Second place clearly belongs to Busta Rhymes who really, really, really tried in the beginning to overtake Redman, but just could make it through the muddy waters (damn, I'm clever).
Phattest Braggadocio Female Rapper
| 36.9% | Lauryn Hill |
| 19.8% | Bahamadia |
| 15.3% | Foxxy Brown |
| 13.5% | MC Lyte |
| 11.7% | Lil Kim |
| 2.8% | Heather B |
On the female tip, no one is surprised to see Lauryn easily dominate the pack. Now all she has to do is make a song about shooting up @#*!#& while having wild sex and she can take home every Jackette. Meanwhile, Foxxy has some revenge by beating Lil Kim.
Phattest Braggadocio Rap Single
| 25.5% | "Woo Hah! Got You All in Check" by Busta Rhymes |
| 21.6% | "Leflah Leflourh" by Fab 5 |
| 15.7% | "Daytona 500" by Ghostface Killa |
| 11.8% | "It's Like That" by Redman |
| 10.8% | "No Complex" by Chino XL |
| 8.8% | "Get Money" by Junior Mafia |
| 5.8% | "If/Then" by Rass Kass |
Woo Hah! After looking at the bottom for a little while, Mr Rhymes decided to Busta a move and take first. The early leaders, Fab 5, held on to second and Wu folk get an edge over Redman...
Phattest Braggadocio Rap Album
| 55.2% | Muddy Waters by Redman |
| 17.2% | It Was Written by Nas |
| 17.2% | Nocturnal by Heltah Skeltah |
| 10.4% | Here to Save You All by Chino XL |
...but so what? With no Wu album in his way, Redman wins with authority. No on else was even close, including Nas. Still, there was no clear domination in this category with just about everyone doing well at something.
Phattest Crossover Group
| 40.0% | The Fugees |
| 28.2% | The Roots |
| 12.7% | A Tribe Called Quest |
| 10.0% | Bone Thugz N Harmony |
| 9.1% | De La Soul |
Wow. De La in the cellar. And at top? The Fugees! From the crossover perspective, it looks like headz think that the Fugees do a better job than the mega-popular Roots.
They have spoken.
Phattest Crossover Male Rapper
| 32.7% | Black Thought of the Roots |
| 27.1% | Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest |
| 27.1% | LL Cool J |
| 13.1% | Wyclef of The Fugees |
And spoken again. Despite a strong showing by Q-Tip and LL (who never gets props in these awards), The Roots win here. The Fugees, meanwhile, don't.
BTW, it never ceases to amaze me (and this is a very good thing) how the headz make distinctions across categories. Q-Tip trounces BT in Progressive, but gets his mic handed to him in the Crossover category. Man, I love y'all; you get it. Give me love, yo.
Phattest Crossover Female Rapper
| 69.8% | Lauryn Hill of The Fugees |
| 16.0% | Bahamadia |
| 14.2% | MC Lyte |
What was I saying about the Fugees again? Oh, yeah, that they were dominating this category, with Lauryn just out and out smakin' mf's and takin' no names.
Phattest Crossover Rap Single
| 39.5% | "Fu-gee-La" by The Fugees |
| 30.3% | "Killing Me Softly" by The Fugees |
| 17.4% | "What They Do" by The Roots |
| 12.8% | "The Love Song" by Bush Babees |
And again. Despite the split vote, the Fugees take first and second. If you add up the votes, you get a serious statement about Fugee La.
Phattest Crossover Rap Album
| 50.0% | The Score by The Fugees |
| 44.4% | Illadelph Halflife by The Roots |
| 5.6% | Gravity by Bush Babees |
Oh, and again. On the edge of majority victory, they take out critical and underground fave The Roots. Oh, yeah, and the Bush Babees got some votes, too (but then so did write-in Endtroducing by DJ Shadow).
Noticably absent from the last two categories were De La and ATCQ. Very little native tongue representation here this year.
Phattest Short Form Video
| 48.5% | "What They Do" by The Roots |
| 22.2% | "Ya Playin Yaself" by Jeru tha Damaja |
| 21.2% | "Drop" by The Pharcyde |
| 8.1% | "Daytona 500" by GhostFace Killah |
We open with a victory by The Roots. Their competition from the last category is nowhere to be found this time around, but let's be honest: the Fugees are the bomb, but by and large their videos just suck.
Whoops, I'm sorry. Can I say that on TV?
Anyway, second place goes to Jeru for his really nice "Ya Playin' Yaself."
Phattest Long Form Video
| 36.3% | "Drop" by Pharcyde |
| 27.5% | "Ready or Not" by The Fugees |
| 26.4% | "The Skills to Pay the Bills" by Beastie Boys |
| 9.9% | "Elevators" by Outkast |
Did I say that the Fugees' videos suck? Well, I mean their short form videos. They do well here, but must give it up for the Pharcyde. Bringing up third are the Beasties, who don't often show up at the New Jacks and those ATL brothers, Outkast.
Phattest Hip Hop Video Show
| 85.5% | Rap City with Joe Claire |
| 14.5% | Rap City Canada on Much Music |
Yes, well. Once this was a fine yearly battle betwixt BET's Rap City and MTV's Yo!. Now it's a battle for the American and Canadian versions of Rap City. For heaven's sake, where ya at Yo!? Where ya at?
Phattest Soundtrack
| 62.5% | High School High |
| 17.7% | Nutty Professor |
| 12.5% | Don't Be a Menace to Society While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood |
| 7.3% | Sunset Park |
No question here. Box office flop High School High justifies its existence with a Jack for a good soundtrack.
Actually, I think these were all box office flops, except for Nutty. I feel like I should draw some kind of conclusion, but I'm not sure what it would be.
Best live performance/tour/live album
| 56.8% | The Roots |
| 30.7% | The Fugees |
| 12.5% | De La Soul |
And the Roots have some more revenge with a live performance victory. And why not? They do put on a good show and deserve this award as much as The Fugees and De La, both of whom are also great live performers.
Best Comeback
| 46.2% | De La Soul for Stakes is High |
| 36.5% | The Fugees for The Score |
| 9.6% | LL Cool J for Mr. Smith |
| 7.7% | Chuck D for The Autobiography of Mista Chuck |
Hey, don't call it a comeback. They've been here for years. The De La folks win their second Jack of the evening over The Fugees.
Personally, I'm not sure what they're coming back from. I thought folks liked their last album. I'm also not sure about the Fugees, who didn't come back. After all, they never really fell, because they started off low (that first album was horr-i-bull). LL also gets a prop or two again, beating out Public Enemy senior statesman, Chuck D. Poor Righteous Teachers also got a write-in for their spectacular New World Order.
Hardest and Ugliest Dis'
| 47.9% | "The B*tch in You" by Common Sense |
| 22.9% | "Hit 'em Up" by Tupac |
| 15.6% | "Ya Playin' Yaself" by Jeru tha Damaja |
| 11.5% | "One Day" by Jeru tha Damaja |
| 2.1% | "Toss it Up" by Tupac |
In the beginning there was Common Sense. By the end there was Common Sense. No contest. Cube, where ya at? BTW, "Drop a Gem on Em" by Mobb Depp and "LA, LA" by Capone & Noriega managed write-ins.
Biggest Sellout
| 36.5% | Ice Cube, presumably for his stuff with Westside |
| 25.0% | It Was Written by Nas |
| 13.5% | The Aftermath by Dr Dre |
| 11.5% | The Doggfather by Snoop Doggy Dogg |
| 8.7% | Mr Smith LL Cool J |
| 4.8% | As Bad As I Wanna Be by MC Lyte |
Ah, here's where we find Cube. In a last minute show of force, Ice Cube pulled ahead of Nas, to claim this dubious honor. None of the nominators explained why they wanted to nominate Mr. Cube, but I guess the underground isn't too impressed with his latest bout of serious West Coast centrism.
Meanwhile ex-Death Row mf Dr Dre shows up in third behind his label-estranged protege Snoop. LL Cool J is near the bottom with his business as usual effort and MC Lyte shows up in last.
Weakest Rapper
| 37.0% | Bone Thugz N Harmony |
| 29.1% | Coolio |
| 18.4% | Lost Boyz |
| 15.5% | Foxxy Brown |
Nas also appears here as a write-in along with Pras and Too $hort. But alas, the victory goes to those Bone people. A close second is Coolio, who is considered worse that both the Lost Boyz and Foxxy Brown. I have no comment (well, that's not true, but I'm not sure it's appropriate to comment on just how much I HATE Bone Thugz N Harmony, so I won't).
Biggest Disappointment
| 42.1% | It Was Written by Nas |
| 29.9% | The DoggFather by Snoop Doggy Dogg |
| 12.1% | Beats, Rhymes & Life by A Tribe Called Quest |
| 6.5% | Iron Man by Ghostface Killa |
| 5.7% | Mr Smith by LL Cool J |
| 3.7% | Six by Whodini |
No contest. From the first vote to the last, many Nas fans showed just how disappointed they were with someone who was once described as the New and Improved Rakim. It's hard to live up to pre-hype sometimes. Both Snoop and Tribe discovered this in 1996. There was a little bit of annoyance with Whodini, Ghostface and LL. Presumably, someone was expecting LL to come out with some new kind of stuff. I dunno.
Most Overrated Rapper
| 36.8% | Makavelli by 2Pac |
| 27.2% | Ill Na Na by Foxxy Brown |
| 24.3% | It Was Written by Nas |
| 11.7% | Legal Drug Money by the Lost Boyz |
Dissatisfaction shows up again with Nas placing a strong third behind the overrated(?) Foxxy (I think it was that picture of her with the see-thru costume in Vibe that did her in) and the late Tupac Shakur. The Lost Boyz also did well, I guess, and Here to save you all by Chino XL managed a write-in.
Most Overplayed Song
| 47.6% | "Killing me Softly" by the Fugees |
| 36.2% | "Crossroads" by BONE |
| 6.7% | "If I Ruled the World" by Nas |
| 4.8% | "Gotta Get You Home" by Foxxy Brown |
| 1.8% | "Ready or Not" by the Fugees |
| 2.9% | "Ain't no N*gga" by Jay Z & Foxxy |
Well, here's a surprise. Fan fave the Fugees did get mad airplay last year and their Roberta Flack remake did get the most of that radio time. Personally, I don't think it was out there as much as "Crossroads," but maybe my view is colored by trauma over hearing "bom-bom-bom" as a child. Who knows?
Most Overdone Trend
| 52.9% | Materialistic lyrics as exemplifed by the Bad Boy crew, Foxxy Brown and so on |
| 24.5% | The East-West Beef as exemplified by 2Pac, Noriega & Cormega, Westside Connection and so on |
| 13.7% | East Coast Mafiosa style as exemplified by the Firm, Mobb Deep, Wu Tang and so on |
| 6.9% | Smokin blunts as exemplifed by just about everybody |
| 2.0% | Dissin' Big Willies (really, what's the matter with big willies?) |
Speaking of played out things, that materialism tip seems to be the overplayed theme of the year. It grabbed a commanding lead early and then widened it at the end. In a distant-but-significant second comes The East-West Beef. I think we all know how out of hand that kind of silliness can get.
Lamest Lyric
| 47.1% | "She said she wants to be a lawyer, in other words shorty studies law" by Mr Cheeks of the Lost Boys, "Renee" |
| 33.7% | The "Bom Bom Bom Bom..." thing done by Bone Thugz N Harmony |
| 19.2% | "How many MCs must get dissed before somebody says 'don't f*ck with Rich'" by Richie Rich, "Let's Ride" |
And our final award for the evening goes to Mr Cheeks for his non-rhyming occupational description of his shorty boo in "Renee".
Damn, that's funny.
Not too far behind are those lyrical wizards BTNH and a distant last is Richie Rich, who almost certainly was giving the nod to KRS-ONE's immortal line from "My Philosophy".
And that's it for today children. As you can see, we've had some serious winners this time around, an unusual thing among the awards. And De La Soul, The Roots and The Fugees appear to be jockeying for position. And the Gangsta styles?
Well, we'll see tommorrow.
Peace. Get some rest.