70 Fun Facts About Black 90s

Which network aired The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1990 to 1996?

The theme song was performed by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Will Smith's own rap duo.

On The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will grew up in which city before moving to Bel-Air?

His street-smart West Philly upbringing collides with the wealth of Bel-Air, Los Angeles, which is the whole engine of the show.

Which actress replaced Janet Hubert as Aunt Vivian on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?

The swap became one of the most famous recastings in sitcom history, and the show even joked about it on screen.

The Fox sitcom Martin was set in which American city?

Martin Payne started the series as a radio DJ before moving into local television.

On Living Single, Queen Latifah's Khadijah James publishes which magazine?

The show followed six friends sharing a Brooklyn brownstone, a formula Friends would follow a year later.

Who created, wrote and starred in the Fox sketch show In Living Color?

The show ran from 1990 to 1994 and launched Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, Tommy Davidson and David Alan Grier.

Which future superstar joined In Living Color's Fly Girls dance troupe in its third season?

The Fly Girls opened and closed segments with hip-hop routines, and their alumna went on to Selena and a pop career.

Family Matters, the sitcom that gave the world Steve Urkel, was a spin-off of which show?

Harriette Winslow started as the elevator operator on the parent show; Urkel was meant to appear only once before becoming the breakout star.

Brandy's sitcom Moesha, which premiered in January 1996, aired on which network?

Moesha Mitchell lived with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Which Moesha spin-off followed Kim attending community college alongside her mother, played by Mo'Nique?

Countess Vaughn left Moesha in 1999 to headline the new show, which premiered that August.

Which presidential candidate played saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show in June 1992?

He played 'Heartbreak Hotel' in sunglasses, a moment credited with boosting his appeal to young voters.

A Different World's Hillman College was a fictional historically Black college in which state?

Many viewers later said the show was the reason they chose to attend an HBCU.

Which hip-hop mogul produced HBO's Def Comedy Jam, which ran from 1992 to 1997?

Martin Lawrence and Joe Torry hosted the first six seasons, and the stage launched Bernie Mac, Dave Chappelle and Chris Tucker.

Who was the original host of Yo! MTV Raps?

He later moved to weekends while Ed Lover and Doctor Dré took over the weekday show, which ran on MTV until August 1995.

Which 1994 Fox series starring Malik Yoba and Michael DeLorenzo was the first US cop drama with two leads of colour?

Dick Wolf co-created it, and its Natalie's nightclub scenes turned the show into a weekly R&B showcase.

On The Steve Harvey Show, former funk star Steve Hightower earned his living as what?

He taught at Booker T. Washington High on Chicago's West Side, with Cedric the Entertainer as the school's coach and his best friend.

On Sister, Sister, how do Tia and Tamera discover each other after being separated at birth?

The show started on ABC's TGIF block in 1994 before finishing its run on The WB in 1999.

Who became the youngest and first African American Best Director nominee, for Boyz n the Hood?

He was 24 at the time; the script grew out of his years at USC film school and it was his feature debut.

Which director made both Friday (1995) and Set It Off (1996)?

Friday cost about $3.5 million and grossed more than $27 million in North America, spawning two sequels.

Waiting to Exhale (1995) follows four women living in which metropolitan area?

Forest Whitaker directed the Terry McMillan adaptation, and its all-female Babyface soundtrack went 7x platinum.

What crime do the four friends commit in Set It Off (1996)?

Each woman has her own reason for the scheme, which is what gives the Los Angeles-set film its emotional weight.

In Poetic Justice (1993), Janet Jackson's character rides to Oakland in what vehicle?

She rides along with postal workers Lucky, played by Tupac Shakur, and Chicago, with Maya Angelou's poems as her voice.

Which hip-hop duo starred in the 1990 comedy House Party?

The film premiered at Sundance and won a Filmmakers Trophy for its director, with the late Robin Harris as Kid's father Pop.

In New Jack City (1991), what is the name of Nino Brown's drug gang?

Wesley Snipes's Nino ran the operation as crack hit the streets, and the film became 1991's top-grossing independent release.

Which sibling filmmakers made their feature debut with Menace II Society (1993)?

Set in Watts, it starred Tyrin Turner as Caine and gave Jada Pinkett her film debut; Tupac was cast but fired before shooting.

Eddie Murphy's The Nutty Professor (1996) won an Academy Award in which category?

Rick Baker's fat suits let Murphy play Sherman Klump plus Papa, Mama, Grandma and Ernie Klump around one dinner table.

Boyz II Men's 1992 hit 'End of the Road' was recorded for which Eddie Murphy film?

Babyface, L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons wrote it, and it broke a chart record that had stood since Elvis.

For which 1990 film did Whoopi Goldberg win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress?

Her psychic Oda Mae Brown made her the first Black woman to win the award in nearly 50 years.

Cuba Gooding Jr. won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing a football star in which 1996 film?

His acceptance speech, delivered while the orchestra tried to play him off, is still one of the most replayed Oscar moments.

R. Kelly's 'I Believe I Can Fly', which won three Grammys, was recorded for which 1996 film?

The film paired Michael Jordan with the Looney Tunes and grossed $250 million, the top basketball movie for over 25 years.

What did TLC's Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes set alight in 1994, burning down Andre Rison's house?

She piled the shoes in a bathtub and doused them in lighter fluid; the group filed for bankruptcy the following year despite selling millions.

Who wrote and originally recorded 'I Will Always Love You'?

The original was a 1973 country farewell to Porter Wagoner, Parton's former duet partner.

How many weeks did Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' spend at number one on the Hot 100?

It set a record at the time, and The Bodyguard soundtrack went on to become the best-selling soundtrack album ever.

Which 1998 album by a former Fugees member was the first hip-hop album to win Album of the Year?

Its 422,000 first-week sales were the most ever for a woman at the time, and it won five Grammys in one night.

Dr. Dre's 1992 debut The Chronic popularized which subgenre of gangsta rap?

The title is slang for high-grade cannabis and the cover pays homage to Zig-Zag rolling papers.

When Dr. Dre left Death Row Records in March 1996, which label did he found?

The split provoked Tupac to turn on him publicly; the new label later signed Eminem and 50 Cent.

Which member produced Wu-Tang Clan's 1993 debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)?

The group's de facto leader recorded it at Firehouse Studio in New York, mixing kung fu movie samples with grimy beats.

Nas's 1994 debut Illmatic drew on his adolescence in which New York housing projects?

DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip and Large Professor all produced tracks on what many still call the greatest rap debut ever made.

'The Boy Is Mine', the best-selling US single of 1998, paired Brandy with which singer?

It spent 13 consecutive weeks at number one and won both women their first Grammy.

Coolio's 'Gangsta's Paradise', the top-selling single of 1995, interpolates a 1976 song by which artist?

It came from the Dangerous Minds soundtrack and won the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance; Weird Al answered with 'Amish Paradise'.

Puff Daddy and Faith Evans's 1997 tribute 'I'll Be Missing You' samples a 1983 hit by which band?

The sample was cleared after the fact and Sting ended up with the songwriting royalties; the single debuted at number one.

In which city was Tupac Shakur shot on September 7, 1996, days before his death?

He died six days later; a finished fifth album, recorded under the name Makaveli, was released that November.

Tupac Shakur's first acting role, in Juice (1992), was as which character?

His volatile Roland Bishop is still considered one of the great screen debuts of the decade.

How many days after the Notorious B.I.G. was killed did his album Life After Death come out?

It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and eventually went diamond.

What was the title of Mary J. Blige's 1992 debut album?

It earned her the title Queen of Hip-Hop Soul; My Life followed in 1994.

Who single-handedly produced Missy Elliott's 1997 debut Supa Dupa Fly?

The album debuted at number three, then the highest debut ever for a female rapper.

Before founding Bad Boy Records in 1993, Sean Combs was fired from which label?

He had risen there from unpaid intern to A&R executive; Bad Boy then signed the Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Mase and Total.

Which Atlanta duo was booed at a 1995 awards show, prompting 'The South got something to say'?

Their debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik had come out on LaFace in 1994 with Organized Noize production.

Who wrote Toni Braxton's 'Un-Break My Heart', which spent 11 weeks at number one in 1996-97?

David Foster produced it, and it won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's 1996 hit 'Tha Crossroads' is dedicated to which late rapper, their mentor?

It debuted at number two, the highest debut for a rap single at the time, and won a Grammy in 1997.

Montell Jordan's 1995 number one 'This Is How We Do It' is built on a sample of which Slick Rick song?

It stayed at number one for seven weeks and was Def Jam's first R&B release.

Which rapper had his first two albums both debut at number one within seven months of each other in 1998?

It's Dark and Hell Is Hot arrived in May and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood in December.

Destiny's Child took its name from a passage in which book of the Bible?

The Houston group adopted the name in 1996 and released its self-titled debut in February 1998.

Janet Jackson's record-setting 1991 deal was with which label?

Estimates ran from $32 million to $50 million, and the janet. album opened at number one in 1993.

Which singer was an original member of En Vogue?

The Oakland quartet was assembled in 1989 by producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.

By how many strokes did 21-year-old Tiger Woods win the 1997 Masters?

He became the youngest and first non-white winner at Augusta, finishing 18 under par, a tournament record.

Who called the Million Man March held on the National Mall in October 1995?

The Nation of Islam leader worked with the National African American Leadership Summit to organize the gathering.

In his first NBA retirement, Michael Jordan signed a minor league baseball deal with which club?

He played for the Birmingham Barons before announcing his return in March 1995 with a two-word press release.

Months after his 1991 HIV retirement, Magic Johnson was named MVP of which 1992 event?

He scored 25 points as the West won 153-113, then went on to Barcelona with the Dream Team.

Which rapper wore a FUBU hat in a 1997 Gap commercial, slipping the brand's slogan into his rhyme?

Daymond John had mortgaged his Queens home for $100,000 to launch the 'For Us, By Us' label in 1992.

Which producer co-founded Vibe magazine, launched in 1993?

The magazine was briefly going to be called Volume before editor Scott Poulson-Bryant renamed it.

Chris Rock's 1996 HBO special Bring the Pain, which won two Emmys, was taped in which city?

It was recorded at the Takoma Theatre and took its title from a Method Man song.

On Family Matters, what was Carl Winslow's job?

Reginald VelJohnson landed the role fresh off playing a cop in Die Hard.

Which 1990s clothing brand printed the slogan 'Clothing Without Prejudice' on every garment?

Carl Jones and TJ Walker's label also broadcast messages like 'Stop D Violence' and 'Educate 2 Elevate'.

Which magazine's five-mic album rating was hip-hop's most coveted review score in the 1990s?

It began in 1988 as a one-page newsletter by two Harvard students promoting their college radio show.

On The Wayans Bros., what business does Pops, played by John Witherspoon, run?

Shawn and Marlon Wayans played the brothers on The WB from 1995 to 1999.

Which novelist became the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1993?

Her Nobel lecture was built around a parable of a blind old woman asked by young people to tell them a story.

Who became the first African American woman elected to the US Senate, on 3 November 1992?

She took on her own party's incumbent, Alan Dixon, in the Illinois primary after he voted to confirm Clarence Thomas despite Anita Hill's testimony.

Which world No. 1 did Serena Williams beat in the 1999 US Open final for her first major?

That win made her only the second African-American woman to take a Grand Slam singles title, after Althea Gibson, and she and Venus won the doubles there too.

Donations from Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan and Prince rescued which 1992 biopic?

Spike Lee had already put $2 million of his own salary in, and insisted the gifts were donations rather than investments so the film would be 'my version'.