Riots broke out in Brixton after Wayne Douglas died in police custody. Cars were set on fire and around £1m worth of damage was done by looters who petrol-bombed and stoned shops. Several people were injured and others arrested.
Around 400,000 black Americans took part in the Million Man march in Washington DC. Organised by Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam who preaches black self-reliance, it was considered a major propaganda victory for him. However many men opted out considering his views to be anti-Semitic, homophobic and sexist.
Gangsta rap pioneer Eazy-E died of an Aids related illness. His death further reinforces the prevalence of HIV/Aids in all communities.
Nigerian writer and human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was sentenced to death by the country’s military regime on fabricated charges. He'd been campaigning for the rights to royalties from the oil reserves under the Ogoni people’s lands. After his hanging, Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth.
South Africa won the rugby World Cup with a multi-racial team, beating New Zealand.
Frank Bruno won the WBC heavyweight title. He defeated American Oliver McCall at Wembley.
OJ Simpson’s trial for the murder of his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman opened to unprecedented media coverage. In spite of overwhelming forensic evidence the jury found Simpson not guilty. In a civil case two years later he was convicted of the murders.
It was a landmark year for jungle. Goldie’s Metalheadz stable ran the underground drum & bass scene. Seminal releases included Doc Scott’s Drums ’95 and Alex Reece’s Pulp Fiction.
Wu-Tang unleashed their masterplan: turning one crew into individual platinum artists. Out of the Clan came a series of incredible RZA-produced solo albums including Raekwon’s Only Built For Cuban Links, GZA’s Liquid Swords and Method Man’s Tical. With RnB’s commercial dominance on the horizon, never again would hardcore hip hop be so dominant.
Tricky painted a difficult yet beautiful picture of UK living with his debut album Maxinquaye. A former member Bristol’s Massive Attack, the MC’s solo vision fused twisted hip hop beats with his own blunted rhymes.
TLC were the perfect fusion of smooth RnB, street hip hop and girl-band sex appeal. Their 1995 global hit Waterfalls helped drive the TLC album sales to a massive 11 million. The group’s off stage antics, including Lisa Lopez’ trial for arson, threatened to derail them but their success continued and they helped make RnB a global phenomenon.
In reggae, Shaggy’s Boombastic was a rare UK and US No.1. Its popularity was helped by global exposure from a jeans advert.
Free jazz innovator Don Cherry died. The trumpeter was noted for his collaborations with Ornette Coleman and his solo work. He was the step-dad of Neneh Cherry.
