And no I'm not saying that because of my birth year  ;D but because many quintessential 90's hip hop & rap acts along with this being the last hurray for artists like Coolio, Tupac, & Biggie, it just brings a very dream vibe mid 90's vibe  ;)

It also sort of bridged the mid 90's angsty styles with the late 90's party styles

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Though I would like to hear your opinions on your favorite year in the 90's for the genre?

I'd wager 1994 as the decade's biggest year for hip hop, since that's when Illmatic and Ready to Die came out, not to mention it was arguably the peak of gangsta rap, thanks to the success of Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle, Warren G's Regulate...G Funk Era, Ice Cube's Lethal Injection, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's Creepin on ah Come Up, Coolio's It Takes a Thief, and Da Brat's Funkdafied.  2Pac's Keep Ya Head Up was also still popular at the beginning of the year.  Beyond that, 1994 was a solid year for alternative hip hop, with the Beastie Boys' Ill Communication, as well as the debut albums by OutKast and the Fugees, not to mention Beck's Loser was one of the year's major hits.  1994 was also the last hurrah for early 90s style pop rap, with MC Hammer scoring his final top 40 hit with Pumps and a Bump, not to mention Salt-n-Pepa's final two big chart hits, Shoop and Whatta Man.  Also, a lot of the most iconic hip hop albums released in late 1993, such as Midnight Marauders, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and the aforementioned Doggystyle and Lethal Injection achieved primary success during 1994.

To be fair, 1996 was definitely a huge year for rap, as it marked the peak of mafioso rap, as well as the last year that West Coast gangsta rap was a significant cultural force (despite a few more hits of the genre during the following couple of years).  The mid-90s in general are usually considered the absolute height of rap, in fact.  I just think the largest number of timeless releases came out around 1994 (I also think mafioso rap is a little overrated, due to its niched focus on materialism and mafia references as opposed to the hauntingly lucid storytelling of 1994 hip hop).

To be fair, 1996 was definitely a huge year for rap, as it marked the peak of mafioso rap, as well as the last year that West Coast gangsta rap was a significant cultural force (despite a few more hits of the genre during the following couple of years).  The mid-90s in general are usually considered the absolute height of rap, in fact.  I just think the largest number of timeless releases came out around 1994 I agree with this. 1993/1994/1995 to me is the height. Gangsta rap was starting to get going in 1992 with "Nothing But G Thing" and the whole Chronic album. But Doggy style the following year really got things going for Death Row. In 1995 when Pac joined Death Row was one of the biggest record labels of all genres and in my opinion The Hip Hop label. After Tupac's death there were still plenty of releases just not as successful. But when Snoop left for No Limit and Dre for his own venture, Aftermath, the label was over. I'm surprised it stayed around for as long as it did.

Back when I payed attention to Hip Hop well I was always into West Coast artists.

Going to echo the 1993-95 sentiment here.Can't go wrong with any of those years. Many classic hip hop albums were released and it represented rap's commercial zenith before other genres knocked it down a bit in the late 1990s.

"Harry Belafonte, BeatStreet Movie, Sugar Hill Records & The Fever 20th Anniversary Hip-Hop Hall of Fame Awards TV Show Honorees November 18th in NYC Co-Hosted by Roxanne Shante"

https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2016/08/02/860766/0/en/Harry-Belafonte-BeatStreet-Movie-Sugar-Hill-Records-The-Fever-20th-Anniversary-Hip-Hop-Hall-of-Fame-Awards-TV-Show-Honorees-November-18th-in-NYC-Co-Hosted-by-Roxanne-Shante.html

I'd say Hip Hop's peak started with the releases of Midnight Marauders and 36 Chambers on the same day, and ended witb the release of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Nov. 93 to Aug. 95.....so if I had to pick a full calender year I'd go with 1994.

Hip-Hop was very popular in 1998. Remember how popular Puff Daddy, Mase, Master P, DMX, Jermaine Dupri, and Busta Ryhmes were during that time? Jay-Z was getting his start on his music career back in '98 too. Jay-Z's musical career took off with hits like "Can I Get A...." and "Its A Hard Knock Life" back then.