"93 'til Infinity" is a song by American hip-hop group Souls of Mischief. It was released in 1993 as the second single from their debut album of the same name. It was their only single to ever chart on the US BillboardHot 100, reaching number 72. The single has been hailed by critics as an inspiration for the hip-hop genre, landing at number 5 on the Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest West Coast Hip-Hop Songs of All Time" list in 2023, and number 7 on the BBC's "The greatest hip-hop songs of all time" list.[1][2][3]
Background and writing
The backing track was composed through usage of samples from Billy Cobham's 1974 "Heather", a song from his album Crosswinds.[4]A-Plus told XXL that he created the song, originally titled "91 'til Infinity", when the group was still in high school. He indicated that the song was originally a "slower, more somber beat" and that it was emotional after writing and rapping to the group members. The name was changed to 93 'til Infinity after Souls of Mischief got a record deal in 1992 but knew the song wouldn't be released until 1993. A-Plus went on to say that he originally gave the beat to Pep Love and then took it back when they began working on their debut studio album.[5]