Defining "old school" Hip Hop..

[Kris P Lettus]

This was brought up the other day on here and me and my buddy where talking about it in real life..

What is your definition of "oldskool"??

I realize, that all shit from the 80's will be considered.. Shit like RUN DMC, Beasties, LL Cool J, Herbie Handcock, Afrika Bambata, Fab Five Freddy, Trecherous Three, Eric B and Rakim, Slick Rick The Ruler, The Diabolical Biz Markie, Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, Public Ememy, Boogie Down Productions, Soul Sonic Force, etc, etc, etc..

But what about early 90's shit?? The Chronic, Enter the 36 Chambers of Shaolin, Illmatic, SoutherPlayalisticCaddilacFunkyMusic, Ready to Die, bakdafukup, The Infamous Modd Deep, etc..

I mean, these can't be considered new, as they all came out like 14 years ago..

So, my question again "What is your definition of oldskool??"..

Is it a time frame of when it was released?? Like a car, once an album passes a certain age, is it then cansidered "oldskool"??

Or, is it just the sound of it?? Only oldskool breaks and simplistic lyrics may apply??

I mean, if the latter is the case, shit like Jurassic 5 could be considered "oldskool" because they have that sound and all around vibe..

I dunno, personnally, I consider shit like Illmatic and the first rotation Wu cd's to be oldskool.. They came out when I was in Jr High and I grew up with them.. They are almost 15 years old..

So, discuss..