Hip hop's "golden age" (or "golden era") is a name given to a period in mainstream hip hop usually cited as the late 1980s to the 1990s said to be characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence. There were strong themes of Afrocentricity and political militancy, while the music was experimental and the sampling, eclectic. The artists most often associated with the phrase are Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, De La Soul, A Tribe Cal ...