BEST RAP FLOWS FROM THE 90s

No bullshitting today… Let’s talk best rap flows from the 90’s. These are my top 10 flows you might neva heard of… There’s nothing like a guest feature coming onto a posse track and out to prove themselves. And yet, these sometimes fairly unknown rappers do the imaginable… they captivate listeners for a verse and put so much into that verse that they break outside of who they envisioned themselves as artists.. Or sometimes they pull up, and pull out with a classic flow on a verse that will live on through the OG’s and fade away in a digital age. Right out the gate I gotta start with some Memphis shit….

Koopsta Knicca (RIP) was an OG member of Three 6 Mafia when he joined the crew in 1994. Shortly after he got his Three 6 chain, they dropped a mixtape helping put on other notable rappers in the area like Kingpin Skinny Pimp, 211, and Gangsta Blac. I’ve always loved how the Memphis rap scene all supported each other in the 90’s to put Memphis on the map. How wild was Gangsta Pat’s flow though??? Sure I could put on for “I Wanna Smoke” again but I gotta bring new fiya to your walkmans.

Yes, I know Bone Thugs-N-Harmony are fresh AF but let’s not sleep on the fact that Myka 9 out of Freestyle Fellowship in Cali was on those Bone harmonizing tip at a time in the early 90’s. The Good Life was a home for aspiring emcees in the 90’s to stay out of trouble and express themselves creatively on a small stage in the heart of Los Angeles. Rappers like Ice Cube, Snoop, Kurupt, and Common would drop by to see what these new abstract hip hop kids from Cali were really like. Shit… Even Lenny Kravitz, Shannon Doherty, and Macy Gray dropped by to see what these kids were inventing on that stage. And if you listen to the video below starting 39 seconds in you will say, “holy shit, is that Bone?”… Nah it’s not… It’s Bone before Bone… Listen to that first Bone album and then go to their official debut… they TOTALLY got influenced by styles out of LA…. Long live Freestyle Fellowship and one of the best emcees to ever grace the mic, Myka 9. And long live Bone who are just as fresh today as they were back in the Mid90s.

Now we gotta go to Tech N9ne… This flow that kicks off at 0:42 is next level. I don’t know much Tech N9ne but drop this song and I’m ready for whatever… I’ll still make my way back to Tech’s entire catalog at some time but for now I’ll keep bumping “Now It’s On” because it’s a goat verse.

I’ll never forget listening to late night radio as a kid in the 90’s with my fingers ready on play/record in hopes I could record some heat to bump in my walkman. Little did I know that I’d first hear of a rapper named Tung Twista in ‘91 at the age of 11. I never got it on tape but the flow has lived in my head for 30+ years. I knew Carl Mitchell aka Twista had talent on a whole other level based on his flow and breath control here. Straight impeccable! Chicago stand up!

How about CCG though? Coming straight out Kansas City, MO and landing a feature on Down South Hustlers: Bouncin’ and Swingin’ tho??? Master P had an amazing eye for rappers, beats, and entrepreneurs that could soldiers for him in the No Limit army. It’s crazy to me that CCG didn’t pop right after this dropped. These flows????????????????????? WILD.

Y’all ready to go the deep underground in Cali in the early/mid-90s? While I was a youngster getting schooled on independent hip hop, there was always chatter about a crew called Log Cabin that was soooooooooooooooo ahead of their time. They were a huge posse of youngsters that got inspired by everything going on at Good Life. They wanted to be like the OG’s who graced the stage at Good Life. On this track from the unreleased Log Cabin album, you hae Eligh from 3MG aka 3 Melancholy Gypsies, Radioinactive from The Shapeshifters, and Tom Slick who is the best emcee you never heard of… Really… He is. Enjoy this rabbit hole… your mind is ready to be blown.

Let’s keep things in Cali but slide up to the Crestside in The Bay… Production handled by Khayree and the flow??? YOUNG LAY. The whole YBB aka Young Black Brotha roster of talent back in the 90’s was crazy. Mac Dre, Mac Mall, Young Lay, and Dubee the Sugawolf Pimp? With Khayree on production there was just no way to lose here. Lay had that stutter step like Spice 1 but it was just different. Ill flow!

Do or Die… Don’t need to say anything here… just peep…

My fans out on the east coast are probably feeling a certain kind of way right now so let’s give the cats out in NYC some love… out the gate I’m going with Pun.

Gotta have Pharoahe Monch in the mix but let’s not sleep on Prince Po either. Organized Konfusion are one of those legendary duos fam!

Putting Jigga in here but the OG shit… Where my true heads at?

Lost my Mapquest directions so now we're about to go out to Detroit on the way down to Atlanta… Lots of Eminem I could roll with but “Rap God” is so fuckin dope… Shout out Alex in PHX who will debate anybody on Em’s greatness.

Dungeon Family time… Andre 3000 or Cee-Lo? Big Boi or Future? Yup… Future is a part of The Dungeon Fam if you didn’t already know… Go get em 3 stacks…

JID always got next… And for anybody fact checking, JID is from outer space so he can be wherever he needs to be.

Memphis could have this whole article right??? Project Pat one of the goats with crazy longevity in the game with that flow that will never be matched. Shout out to Juicy J as well who deserves his own article and will get one. Now let’s give Pat the room to murder this shit.

I should absolutely have Elzhi in the mix here but I’m trying to go in a little different lane. And Elzhi, if this makes it to you, I’ll be in touch shortly… Need a 16 for a classic homie and ain’t nobody better to do it than you fam… But in the meantime… some Max B? PIMP SHIT fam…

Lateef the Truth Speaker definitely gotta be in the top 5 flows of all time discussion. Shit…That whooooooooooooole Latyrx album is insane… Lateef and Lyrics Born is what’s up past, present, and future. The intro title track of their debut is mastery at its finest. Go ahead and listen to this below… then put this in some headphones but only go off one ear at the time…. spare the 5 minutes away from the fam and do this… this is creativity at its finest

Sauce Walka’s flow might be the best out right now. The way he’s able to YELL without yelling is top notch artistry. When is his new solo album dropping? He should have already dropped… But he’s a summer, fall, winter, spring, all seasons type emcee.

well shit… Sauce Walka got me outside of the 90s title I had in this article… but hear me out… 90s isn’t 1990 - 1999… It’s just the feels of some throwback shit so now we got out there, Sauce Walka down with the crew. Same with Bruiser Wolf. Just search Bruiser Wolf anywhere you are and tap in… And then realize that Bruiser Wolf is the gateway drug towards young Christopher Crack out the Chi.

aight… i gotta end this at some point… follow this playlist below to find tracks that I feel have the best flows of all time. Please join the party too… This playlist is collaborative for the hustlers out looking to build something dope to spread the word on good hip hop and epic breath control and cadences. Appreciate you spending the time to read this. It’s therapeutic for me and hopefully helps you too. But before I get to the Spotify Playlist called HOTTEST FLOWS in da gamE, here’s one last flow to let you marinate with….