Among all of the legendary hip-hop groups to establish themselves during the 1990s Das EFX was one of the most original. Skoob and Dray’s thorough and tough appearance mixed with their expressive flows and “iggity” bar delivery was ambrosia to the ears of many hip-hop heads.

The Brooklyn-based duo, who met at Virginia State University in the late ‘80s, employed their trademark “sewa” style musically, which captured them the respect of their peers, including EPMD’s Erick Sermon and Parish Smith who brought them into the Hit Squad fold and eventually leading to a record deal at EastWest.

In 1992, Das released their debut album Dead Serious to the delight of hip-hop fans, which rewarded them with a platinum plaque. The melodic samples and hard drums became the trademark instrumentals the duo would lay their intricate rhyme patterns and witty and conscious lyrics over – a combination they didn’t depart from a whole lot as their careers progressed.

Skoob and Krazy Drayz’ rise to prominence also coincided with what was happening in hip-hop during the ‘90s. By the end of the year they dropped their debut album, gangsta rap had made its full commercial introduction with Diamond D’s Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop and, more famously, Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. And while the prominence of Native Tongues, The Roots, The Fugees and other more traditional hip-hop-based groups remained strong throughout the decade, the culture was changing.

That brings us to 1998 and Das EFX’s fourth album, Generation EFX. Similar to 1992, more conscious hip-hop was still in strong standing among rap fans, but a new era was starting to settle in. With the emergence of Bad Boy Records, commercial hip-hop began introducing the chicness of mansions and Moët champagne Biggie and Puffy referred to in their music and showed in their videos.

By ‘98, Generation EFX wasn’t charting the numbers of a Life After Death or No Way Out – both classics in their own right – but it did successfully continue Das’ legacy of whimsical, charismatic and commanding deliveries they relayed in their first three albums.

Generation was, however, a departure from their previous work structurally. Released on March 24, 1998, the 15-track record featured a number of guest appearances, including Redman, Miss Jones, M.O.P., Nocturnal, Teflon, EPMD, Agallah – the later two of which produced it.

Songs like “Rap Scholar” and “Shine” paid homage to and reminded heads of their unique “iggity” delivery, which was not unlike Jaz-O’s and a young Jay Z’s stutter-style that was also gaining steam at the time, while “Somebody Told Me” was an introspective editorial about the commercial transition hip-hop had been making over the past few years.

Generation EFX did not receive rave reviews across the board or attain a lot of sales success (peaking at only Number 48 on the Billboard Top 200, selling 22,000 copies in its first week), but it did hold firm in its stylistic truth, while other duos like Mobb Deep started to make a fervid pivot to a more wide-appealing sound (1999’s Murda Muzik, for example).

More recently, during a 2018 interview with DJ Self, Das EFX explained why they never wanted to pivot to the commercial fanfare much of their peers did at the time of Generation EFX’s release.

“Me personally, I don’t ever want to be the Little Richard of hip-hop,” Dray said when asked about their appeal in the ‘90s. “I don’t need all that. I just think maybe the reason why Das EFX doesn’t get its props is because it’s not shown.”

So in honor of the 25th anniversary of Generation EFX and Das EFX in general, give their catalog a listen.