forces, maybe even four of them, changed at once.

The West Coast....the early G-Funk era basically ended. Got a bit darker for some artists, but less synthy as a whole. And not as much in yo face...the rappers laid back a little bit, from Warren to Quik to Dogg Pound. Even those who were most influenced, like JD, went from a "Jump Jump" synth sound to a "Give it to ya" and "Live and die for Hip Hop" type sound.

R&B...New Jack Swing was clearly done, so it really started sounding Rap influenced, even more so than NJS. They all followed the lead of Mary J's "Real love"...and this ended up influencing commercial Rap, especially by 96-97.

The Down South Bass style went from the 2 Live Crew, Luke sound, and ended up being the So So Def All Star type sound by 96. More melody, more commercialized and not strictly for the clubs.

And for the East Coast...I think the best example is the sound Tribe went for on Beats, Rhymes, and Life, which showed the difference from the sound of NY Rap from 94 to 96. I am sure someone else could expound in detail, but I can almost tell what songs were made in 94 or 96, even if I have never heard them before...a lot of minor elements made it different to me.