The ’90s produced some of the best music compositions the world has ever seen. Industry watchers across the globe enjoyed relative success, both in music and movies.
From Britpop, hip hop and R&B to other extreme genres, these songs have become a main component of entertainment.
Despite the death of some of the artists behind the songs, these tracks continue to make waves.
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Dust off the Discman; enjoy these 9 songs that rocked the ’90s:
Fugees – Killing me softly
Released in 1996, this was the song that set The Fugees on their path to world domination. Despite it being a remake of Roberta Flack’s original released in the ’70s, this song dominated most of the charts across the globe.
Monie Love ft True Image –‘It’s a Shame (My Sister)
A party anthem for the ‘90s, this song was released off the album of South London singer, Monie Love.
Puff Daddy – I’ll be missing you
Composed in memory of Bad Boy Records artist Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, who was murdered in 1997, ‘I’ll be missing you’ was the second single off Puff Daddy’s No Way-Out album. The song featured Faith Evans and R&B group 112.
It had a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and spent 11 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of 1997. With sales of over 8 million in the U.S., it was also successful in Germany and the United Kingdom.
Ginuwine – Pony
Known for its sex metaphor, Pony was the debut single of Ginuwine’s LP, Ginuwine…The Bachelor. Released in 1996, Pony was written with his associate, Static Major and produced by Timbaland.
Pony was also the breakout song for Timbaland as a producer.
Lauryn Hill – That Thing
This single became a U.S. chart-topper upon its release in 1998. With a combination of classic doo-wop and modern hip-hop, the song still has the flare to get heads wagging.
The Notorious BIG – ‘Juicy’
Despite his public hate and fight with rival 2Pac Shakur, Juicy was a song that spoke to the hustle of blacks in the U.S. The first single from his 1994 album, Ready To Die, “Juicy” contained samples of Mtumes’ 1982 song “Juicy Fruit”.
In this song, Christopher Wallace spoke about how he crawled away from the shackles of poverty to become one of the icons of hip-hop in the U.S.
The song is considered to be one of the greatest hip hop songs of all time.
2Pac – Do For Love
Released posthumously in 1998 after his death, Do For Love was recorded in 1994.
The music video, directed by Bill Parker, “contained Tupac as a clay and animated figure.”
TLC – No Scrubs
“No Scrubs” became TLC’s signature song after it was met with international success. The song earned the group Billboard Hot 100 positions and became the second biggest song in the U.S., only behind Cher’s “Believe”.
Michael Jackson – Black or White
Released in 1991, Black or White was released by Epic Records in November and was the first single from Michael Jackson’s eighth studio album, Dangerous.
The last four-minute of the movie was met with controversy as Jackson walks out of the studio as a black panther and then morphs into himself.
