Seventeen years is a long, long time in internet years. Shit, that’s a long time in real-life years. Back on this date in 1995, Microsoft released the newest version of their operating system, Windows 95. (Yes Canibus, you still reign supreme for the “Best Microsoft Reference” in Rap, when you said, “Y’all niggas is microsoft like DOS.”)

Back in those prehistoric days, the Desktop Computer was nothing more than a word processing machine, far from the multimedia entertainment vortex it has become. Imagine for a minute sitting down at a computer (well, first imagine that, if you can….). And sitting down with no RapRadar to check, no WorldStarHipHop videos to watch, no Facebook photos to look through, no Twitter and Instagram feeds. And, most of all, no music to play in the background! Yes, those were the dark days we suffered through in our not-so-distant past.

When Windows 95 first hit, it was issued on CD-Roms or 3.5-inch floppy diskettes (talk about throwbacks…). The retail floppy disk version of Windows 95 came on 13 diskettes, and took over 2 hours to install. [Today I could download the entire Def Jam catalog in that time.]

Because attention spans seem to get shorter by the hour, it’s easy to take for granted how technology has simplified and shaped our music listening. Since the inception of recorded music, constant improvements in technology have dictated the flow of how we interact with it. But in my generation, none of those advancements has been as impactful as the “digitalization” of music.

At this time, we ask you all to ignore your inbox for a minute, put down your iPhones and Blackberries and take a quick trip with us, back to a time when pagers kept you connected, MTV still played videos, CDs cost $16.98 and Chief Keef wasn’t even born yet. Let’s check out August ’95, through the lens of rap music (of course!) …







Awards:

Second Annual Source Awards (August 1, 1995)

Artist of the Year, Solo: Snoop Doggy Dogg
Artist of the Year, Group: Wu-Tang Clan
New Artist of the Year, Solo: Notorious B.I.G.
New Artist of the Year, Group: Outkast
Single of the Year: “Flava In Ya Ear” — Craig Mack
Album of the Year: Ready To Die — Notorious B.I.G.
Lyricist of the Year: Notorious B.I.G.
Producer of the Year: Dr. Dre
R&B Artist of the Year: Mary J. Blige
Reggae/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year: Mad Lion
Video of the Year: “Murder Was The Case” — Snoop Doggy Dogg
Live Performer of the Year: Notorious B.I.G.
Soundtrack of the Year: Above the Rim
Best Acting Performance: Ice Cube — “Higher Learning”
Lifetime Achievement Award: Eazy-E
Pioneer Award: Run-DMC

1995 MTV Video Music Award Nominees for Best Rap Video

Dr. Dre – “Keep Their Heads Ringin’”
Brandy (featuring MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and Yo-Yo) – “I Wanna Be Down”
Da Bush Babees – “Remember We”
Craig Mack – “Flava in Ya Ear”
Public Enemy – “Give It Up”
Rappin’ 4-Tay (featuring The Spinners) — “I’ll Be Around”

Fun Fact: DJ Roc Raider [RIP] won the 1995 DMC World DJ Championships







Notable Summer Hip-Hop Releases:

Raekwon the Chef – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
Junior M.A.F.I.A – Conspiracy
Russell Simmons Presents The Show (Soundtrack)







On The Shelves:

- Source Cover: Bone Thugs N’ Harmony
- Hip-Hop Quotable In The Source: GZA, “Labels”

On The TV:

- Yo! MTV Raps: Aired their final episode on August 17, 1995
- BET’s Rap City: Big Lez and Joe Claire were hosts

- Fun Fact: In the summer of ’95, Billboard magazine recognized Video Music Box as the “Best
Local R&B / Hip-Hop Regional Show.”







In The Streets:

- Dopest Mixtapes: Doo Wop – ’95 Live; DJ Craig G – Sneekin’ Up On That Ass Pt 2; DJ S&S –
Niggaz Still Ain’t Nice
- Fashion Trends: Tommy Hilfiger, Timberland Boots, Oversized Denim Jeans, Carhartt
Hoodies
- Hottest Summer Sneaker Releases: Nike Air Max 95, Nike Penny 1, Nike Air Max CB34,
Fila “Grant Hills”
- Popular Movies: Usual Suspects, Mortal Kombat, The Show
- Top Video Games: NBA Live ’95, Madden ’95, NBA Jams Tournament Edition

- Fun Fact: RIM and BellSouth both competed and released the first interactive pagers with
words.

- Up North Trips (@UpNorthTrips)