I agree!

The great thing about Wikipedia, unlike a lot of sources online, is that it actually has clickable references that you can check out. So I would argue that, yes, it is a pretty good source of reliable info, especially for something like music which is often defined by consensus instead of hard data anyway.

It definetly started in 88. What a great year.

Yeah I use it quite a bit. I was just fooling around.

"Life's a Bitch" is one of the ones I skip. The rapping is good but everything else is so dull that it renders the whole track kind of lifeless for me.

I had my first kiss in 88. You're right, it was a good year!

Seriously though, I'd agree with 88 as a starting point for the golden age. I usually think of it being something like 88-92.

NY state of mind is one of the best rap songs ever, it seriously blew my mind first time i heard it (was also SUPER gone too though) but still.

Judging the entire album i'd say it's overrated, but it does have some timeless songs on it "lifes a bitch" etc

I'm always surprised AZ didn't get more attention, he matches Nas in terms of lyrics on every track he's featured on.

Yeah, I feel you on this. That and Halftime are the two tracks that I can't really get into and tend to skip a lot. Every other track on the album is amazing though, my favorites being "NY State of Mind", "One Time For Your Mind", "Represent" and "It Ain't Hard to Tell". I think it is overrated, but only very slightly. As far as the 90's go, this is just about the best combo of beats and rhyming that I've heard.

I consider the golden age of hip hop to run from at the earliest from 1989 to 1996. The rise of the Wu, ATCQ, Souls of Mischief, the Hiero crew, Big L, the Notorious B.I.G., and of course Nas during the early-to-mid 90's all represent a "golden age" to me, although I do believe the idea is a subjective one.

My understanding of the Golden Age of Hip Hop is that it is centered around the heavy sampling era.

Examples include Raising Hell, Licensed to Ill and Paul's Boutique, and Three Feet High and Rising　

Favourite rapper, favourite album hands down. My favourite beat on the album is It Aint Hard to Tell (brilliant use of sampling), favourite lyrics is Halftime, favourite overall song is Memory Lane or NY.