50 Forgotten Hip-Hop Clips on YouTube You Probably Haven't Seen

Image via Complex Original

Year: 1998

When Outkast sat down with John Reed in 1998, they had just released their album, Aquemini, which was then considered their best work. The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts, and would be a jumping off point for Stankonia. It's fun just watching this video for Big Boi's enthusiam, and his honesty when admitting there would come a time he wouldn't rap anymore.

Year: 1999

Jay and Dame recently reunited at a NYC party, but after a bitter break-up in 2004 when Jay became head of Def Jam, the former best friends and business partners didn't speak. This clip shows a time when the two were still busy cementing a company that would change hip-hop forever, and send them both down very different paths.

Year: 1997

Few things are as polarizing as Puffy Daddy and Mase performing together (just try and deny Mase's signature bop). In 1997 the two appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell Show in support of Puff's No Way Out album to perform the mega-hit "Been Around The World." To say the good times were just beginning would be a gross understatement.

Year: 1999

Eminem and Proof freestyled in this video just when Em was starting to blow up. MTV had just interviewed Em, and they decided to take the interview into a car for this freestyle finale. The two friends trade off rhymes, and their fluidity together is unmistakable.

Year: 1996

Before he became the second half of KimYe, Kanye partnered up with fellow rapper Phenom back in 1996 in Chi-town. Their performance took place at Chicago's Double Door venue. No doubt a star in the making.

Year: 2004

In what was his second to last performance, Bay Area legend Mac Dre performed at Seattle's venue, Tha Wood Shed. A short time later, Mac would be shot while driving on a freeway in Kansas City, Missouri. He left behind the hyphy movement as a lasting legacy.

Year: 1990

A year after Ice Cube left NWA, he joined Dee Barnes on Pump It Up, the long running program that showcased hip-hop talent. Cube talks about how he wants to be a Hollywood writer, and not an actor-which didn't exactly pan out that way. After this interview, Dr. Dre confronted Barnes at a party because he felt NWA wasn't portrayed the way he wanted. So, he literally beat Barnes up: "It ain't no big thing-I just threw her through a door," Dre said.

Year: 2001

Mos Def and Talib Kweli (Black Star) performed in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts, Calif. back in 2001, at the Watts Community Action Center. The group played an entire set, which was an awesome break for a neighborhood filled with gang activity, and known for the Watts Riots.

Year: 1997

LL Cool J, DMX, Red Man and Method Man performed "4, 3, 2, 1" in Harlem at the iconic Apollo Theatre—but someone was missing: Canibus. Canibus was featured on the original version of the song, but a feud between the two arose when Canibus referred to LL's mic tattoo in one of the lines: "L, is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that." LL took offense, and Canibus wasn't invited to this performance.

Year: 1995

Two of New York's finest, freestyling on Video Music Box, the legendary program that broadcasted hip-hop artists on mainstream television.

Year: 1999

Before The Roots landed their steady late-night gig on Jimmy Fallon, they made frequent appearances on BET. In this video, shot in 1999, they performed "The Next Movement," from Things Fall Apart, what many consider their breakthrough album.

Year: 1991

A Future Without a Past... was the Leaders of the New School's first album, released back in 1991 (the year this interview was shot.) The group showed a ton of promise, largely because of Busta Rhymes's energetic flow. The group released one final album before their infamous break-up on Yo! MTV Raps.

Year: 1996

A Tribe Called Quest performed "Stressed Out" from Beats, Rhymes and Life on David Letterman. At the time, it had been three long years since their previous album, Midnight Marauders, was released. Fans would see one more album released two years later when the group announced they would be breaking up.

Year: 1993

The Oakland group performed at a local high school in 1993, two years after they formed. The concert, at Jefferson High in Daly City, was sponsored by 106.1 KMEL and Sunny Delight (yeah). That same year, they released their most well-received album, 93 'til Infinity.

Year: 1991

"This is not Milli Vanilli," KRS-One said as he burst onto the stage of one of the most iconic shows of the early 90s, In Living Color. Back in 1991, he was still a part of Boogie Down Productions. Two years later, he'd break out into the scene for the start his solo career.

Year: 1988

In this revealing interview, a young Tupac (who's was still in high school), opens up about life as a teenager. But, unlike most teenagers his age, Tupac seems enlightened about the environment around him, his place in it, and what he intends to do about it.

Year: 1996

The members of A Tribe Called Quest showed up to talk on Rap City in 1996, for what would be their final interview together on the show. They discussed guns and violence, the same problems we sadly grapple with today.

Year: Unknown

Race is a heated issue, even today. We all come from different experiences, and here, Lauryn Hill and Jeru the Damaja get into a heated debate about their perspectives of being black in America. They try to pinpoint a solution to getting out of the problems they face as minorities, but don't seem settle on anything.

Year: 1997

D'Angelo, one of hip-hop's favorite soulmen, stopped by MTV Live to talk about his remake of Prince's "She's Always in My Hair." The song later was featured in the movie, Scream 2, and MTV Live morphed into Total Request, and then into Total Request Live.

Year: 1998

Marshall Mathers had a few things to say in his first video interview back in 1998. Shot on VHS, with the film constantly going in and out of focus, the interview reveals Eminem's thought process during his early years, and his motivations behind his music. The Source had just featured Em in its "Unsigned Hype" column in March. He was signed to Aftermath before doing this interview, and, well, you know the rest.

Year: 1997

About six years after Missy Elliott's group, Fayze, caught the attention of Jodeci member DeVante Swing, Missy was ready to release her first solo album, Supa Dupa Fly. This news segment profiles Missy's beginnings, before Supa Dupa Fly went on to sell 2.5 million copies.

Year: 1992

Before "No Scrubs" became the anthem of every middle schooler in 1999, TLC appeared on the show Fade to Black. The group co-hosted and showed off their humorous side, with host Todd-1 hittin' on all three members. The envy.

Year: 1998

You read right: Mase and Kanye were chillen at Jermaine Dupri's birthday party back in 1998. The interviewer asks Mase if he was "hittin' Brandy," where he responds, "she just got a crush on me... that ain't my girl though." That's how 90s this video is. Plus, Kanye's smile is too big for his own good.

Year: 1992

Easy E chats it up with MTV's Fab 5 Freddy for Yo! MTV Raps. During the interview, Easy talks about releasing a new NWA album without Dr. Dre, after he departed for Death Row Records. Easy used the opportunity to diss Dre, with MC Ren staying silent.

Year: 1996

Jay appeared alongside Foxy Brown in this 1996 interview, before his iconic Reasonable Doubt was even released. The host gets pretty creepy with Foxy Brown, and Jay just looks pissed toward the end. But as the interview shows, Jay had nothing but business on his mind.

Year: 1986

Schoolly D is given credit by Ice-T as being the first gangsta rapper, and in this interview, you can see why. Schoolly D praises talking about drugs and things other rappers back then might've been too scared to talk about. He even lists words he'd use that others won't, like "crack," "pistol," and "shoot you dead" making the list.

Year: 1998

Remember when Chris Rock had his own show? Yeah, it's been that long. The Beastie Boys made an appearance on The Chris Rock Show back in 1998, a year before winning two Grammy awards for Best Alternative Music Album for Hello Nasty, and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Intergalactic."

Year: 1997

The Hot Boys, one of hip-hop's all-time supergroups, performed at Teen Summit in '97. Under the Superdome, the set was raucous and fervent, with a hint of New Orleans cool. Juvie brought the heat, and the rest is history.

Year: 1995

Despite Stacey Dash's introduction of Mystikal as a group, the New Orleans rapper's national TV debut came on Soul Train. He performed "Y'all Ain't Ready Yet," a song strangely symbolic of his career: off-kilter, anxious, and intense.

Year: 1998

The Firm's live performance of "Phone Tap" in '98 details a crew at its peak. And for a second they seem untouchable—on top of the world, even (Nas' cowboy hat is plenty indication of such). The group would disband soon after, and the good times would never be as good as they were here.

Year: 1990

With Heavy D's blessing, DJ Pete Rock and CL Smooth tore the stage down in their debut at Hard to The Left. "Kick that gangsta shit," CL rapped. And so the legend began.

Year: Unknown

Rakim, arguably hip-hop's greatest rapper of all time, once appeared in a commercial for Gold Teeth USA. We'll just leave it at that.

Year: Unknown

An early show by alt-rap group The Pharcyde depicts a group on the rise: hungry, electric, and determined. You can nearly feel the intensity.

Year: 1995

Never one to mince words, ODB was his typical self on Yo! MTV Raps in '95: nonsensical and funny, with pieces of insight peppered throughout. "I'm the drunken master," he said. "Nobody can ever touch me." Too true Dirt, too true.

Year: 1985

In the summer of 1985, and five months before his debut Radio was released, a young LL Cool J performed at Colby College in Maine to a less-than-rapt crowd. And the legend of James Todd Smith was born.

Year: 1998

Accompanied by The Lox and Lil Kim, Puff Daddy took the Soul Train Awards by storm. Infectious as ever, their performance of "All About The Benjamins" was as electrifying as you'd imagine. It was a family affair to remember.

Year: 1988

Silky crooner Al B. Sure and English rhymeslinger Slick Rick paired for this instant classic of a performance. The song appeared on his debut, In Effect Mode, which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Year: 1997

In the aftermath of Biggie's death, Lil Kim made an appearance on the popular daytime talk program, The Ricki Lake Show, with Junior Mafia. The "diva of bad-girl rap" spoke bluntly about music and the importance of family. Crew love, indeed.

Year: Unknown

In the long and storied history of the famed rap club, The Tunnel, Juvenile, Puffy, and a tattoo-less Birdman appeared in a rare interview on Street Funk TV. Towards the end, a 14-year-old Lil Wayne materializes and proclaims: "The block is hot." Call it propechy.

Year: 1990

KMD was comprised of emcees Zev Love X, DJ Subroc, and Rodan. Perhaps most importantly, their performance at Hard to the Left, a hip-hop showcase in 1990, depcits a youthful, mask-less MF Doom (Zev later became Doom). The rap trio eventually disbanded in 1993.

Year: 1990

Rap historians will point to this video years from now as the beginning of Brand Nubian's legend. Their performance at Hard to the Left, a rap showcase, was quintessential Nubian: politically charged, yet full of uplift and enlightenment. Knowledge is power.

Year: Unknown

During All That's heyday in the mid-late '90s, Nas appeared on the program to perform the remix to "Street Dreams," his R. Kelly-assisted track. Decked in a black skully and gold chain—with a perfect flow to match—Nas spit truth to the audience.

Year: 1999

Mase's then budding rap crew, Harlem World, appeared on Soul Train in the spring of 1999 to perform their potent "Cali Chronic" hit from The Movement, the group's only album. Despite Mase's absence, a fresh-faced Loon emerges as the star of the performance.

Year: 2006

After a heated altercation between Rass Kass and The Game (30 versus two, accroding to Rass Kass), Kass replied with a video that was part warning shot, part comedy bit.

Year: 1985

Hip-hop's early vanguards appeared on the popular British music television program in 1985. Their doing so was an early sign of things to come: Hip-hop was becoming a global phenomenon. "I'm like Shakespeare, I'm a pioneer because I made rap something people wanted to hear," Melle Mel proclaims.

Year: 1992

Years before they'd become the legendary Roots crew, a young Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter were spitting fresh rhymes in the streets of Philly. This is rare footage of them in On The Go magazine's Repeat Offender Hip-Hop Graffiti video series.

Year: 2000

In 1999 radio-personality-tunred-TV-host Big Tigger ushered in Rap City's golden age. Among Tig's many guests, Ghostface Killah was one of the more memorable rappers. The basement was the perfect backdrop to the weed smoke and fresh knowledge Ghost kicked.

Year: 2003

Before the beef, before the break-up, and before the eventual reunion shows, The Diplomats reigned as kings of NYC rap. Their heyday took them to far reaches of the globe, and this footage of them in London with radio host Tim Westwood captures the essense of the Harlem crew: raw and real.

Year: 1996

Even back in 1996, a young (and thin) DJ Khaled was declaring his dominance. "DJ Khaled blowing up the whole world," he shouts, peddling what looks to be rap fliers. The statement was both an announcement of his arrival and a foreshadowing of his future.

Year: 1996

The long-running How Can I Be Down? music conference came to Miami in 1996. Among its many events, was a now legendary panel with Chris Lighty of Violator, Steve Stoute of Trackmasters, Shakim Compete of Flavor Unit Entertainment, and Dame Dash of Roc-A-Fella. This is what we talk about when we talk about the business of hip-hop.