Backpack 1996

1. 01
   " Stakes Is High " (1996)

   — De La Soul

   The title track of De La's fourth LP. J Dilla's first major outside-production credit (one of two on the album). The lyrical posture — exhausted with the violence-rap of the mid-90s, calling for higher standards — sets the tone for the entire conscious-wave through *Black Star*.

2. 02
   " Renee " (1996)

   — Lost Boyz

   Mr. Cheeks's narrative-rap masterpiece off *Legal Drug Money*. The 'four years ago I met Renee' opening becomes one of the most-quoted couplets of the era. The Easy Mo Bee production is the New York mid-90s sound at its most refined.

3. 03
   " If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) " (1996)

   — Nas ft. Lauryn Hill

   The Trackmasters-produced lead single from Nas's *It Was Written* — the LP that takes Illmatic's lyricism and applies it to mafioso themes. Lauryn Hill, two years before *Miseducation*, hooks an entire generation on the chorus.

4. 04
   " Wrath of the Math " (1996)

   — Jeru the Damaja

   Jeru's second LP, DJ Premier produced throughout. The dustiest-sounding record on this list. The Primo aesthetic — chopped jazz loops + Boom Bap drums + Jeru's nasal didactic delivery — is the East Coast underground template that Black Moon, M.O.P., Group Home, and Gang Starr all share.

5. 05
   " ATLiens " (1996)

   — OutKast

   The title track to OutKast's second LP. Already the duo is moving away from the *Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik* funk template toward what will become *Aquemini* (1998) and *Stankonia* (2000). The 'Southern conscious rap' line they pull on here doesn't sound like anyone else in '96.

6. 06
   " The Score " (1996)

   — The Fugees

   Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Pras's second (and final) LP as a trio. The 'Killing Me Softly' cover and 'Ready or Not' singles bring conscious-leaning hip-hop into 6x-platinum territory. The Lauryn-as-MC moments (especially 'Zealots') are the foundation Miseducation will build on.

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