Hip hop's "golden age" (or "golden era") is a name given to a period in mainstream hip hop—usually cited as being a period varying in time frames during the 1980s and 1990s said to be characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence
.There were strong themes of Afrocentricity and political militancy, while the music was experimental and the sampling, eclectic. The artists most often associated with the phrase are Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Jungle Brothers.
Releases by these acts co-existed in this period with, and were as commercially viable, as those of early gangsta rap artists such as N.W.A, the sex raps of 2 Live Crew, and party-oriented music by acts such as Kid 'n Play and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.[9] .
