Hip-Hop Golden Years

19/01/2024

The album has been considered by music writers as the Roots' breakthrough album, earning praise from major publications and critics,[5] while becoming the group's first record to sell over 500,000 copies.[6] It includes the song "You Got Me", which won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, while Things Fall Apart was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album of the same year, losing to Eminem for The Slim Shady LP.[7] Rolling Stone called it a "top-flight record",[8] while AllMusic cited it as "one of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap."[1] The album takes its title from Chinua Achebe's novel of the same name,[9] which in turn took the phrase from William Butler Yeats's poem "The Second Coming".[10] On April 5, 1999, Things Fall Apart was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 units and on April 22, 2013, 14 years after its release, the album was certified Platinum by RIAA for shipments of 1,000,000 units.[6]

13/01/2024

Hip-Hop Today! The LOX released their debut album Money, Power & Respect January 13, 1998

12/01/2024

Untold: Ice Cube At 16, Cube sold his first song to Eric Wright, soon dubbed Eazy-E, who was forming Ruthless Records and the musical team N.W.A, based in Compton, California.[13] Himself from South Central Los Angeles, Cube would be N.W.A's only core member not born in Compton.

Upon the success of the song "Boyz-n-the-Hood"—written by Cube, produced by Dre, and rapped by Eazy-E, helping establish gangsta rap in California—Eazy focused on developing N.W.A,[34] which soon gained MC Ren. Cube wrote some of Dre's and nearly all of Eazy's lyrics on N.W.A's official debut album, Straight Outta Compton, released in August 1988.[1] Yet by late 1989, Cube questioned his compensation and N.W.A's management by Jerry Heller.[35]

Cube also wrote most of Eazy-E's debut album Eazy-Duz-It. He received a total pay of $32,000, and the contract that Heller presented in 1989 did not confirm that he was officially an N.W.A member.[36] After leaving the group and its label in December, Cube sued Heller, and the lawsuit was later settled out of court.[36] In response, N.W.A members attacked Cube on the 1990 EP 100 Miles and Runnin', and on N.W.A's next and final album, Niggaz4Life, in 1991.[37]

11/01/2024

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09/01/2024

Music from the Motion Picture New Jack City is the original soundtrack to Mario Van Peebles' 1991 film New Jack City. It was released by Giant Records through Reprise Records, and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. The soundtrack consists of eleven original songs, most of which were performed by chart-topping R&B and hip-hop artists of the time. The music is heavily influenced by the New Jack Swing genre of R&B. Prominent artists and producers of this sound contributed to the soundtrack, including Guy with Teddy Riley, Keith Sweat, Color Me Badd, and Johnny Gill; Al B. Sure! produced the track "Get It Together (Black Is a Force)," performed by F.S. Effect.

The soundtrack reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for eight weeks, and No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The single "I'm Dreamin'," performed by Christopher Williams, and "For the Love of Money/Living for the City," performed by Troop, LeVert, and Queen Latifah, reached No. 1 and No. 12 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, respectively

09/01/2024

Hip-hop Today!

09/01/2024

Cypress Hill is the debut studio album by the American hip hop group Cypress Hill. It was released on August 13, 1991, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album were held at Image Recording Studios in Los Angeles from August 1990 to May 1991. The production of the album was handled by DJ Muggs. The album was critically and commercially successful proving to be a major success for the group. Receiving major air-play on urban radio and college radio helped the albums popularity. The album went Double platinum in the U.S. with over 2 million units sold. The album is broken down track-by-track by Cypress Hill in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique[3] published in 2007, 16 years after the album release.

07/01/2024

FUBU(For Us By Us)The company was founded in 1992 when Daymond John mortgaged his home for $100,000, and with that seed money, the company's co-founders rebuilt half of his home as a factory while the other half remained living space.[2] The clothing store Montego Bay, on Queens' Jamaica Avenue, was the first to carry the FUBU line. In the mid-1990s, high-end department store retailer Macy's started stocking FUBU apparel, at one point, featured the four FUBU founders in a live, interactive window display in its flagship store on 34th Street.[3]

FUBU founders attended the MAGIC men’s apparel show in Las Vegas with samples and got $300,000 worth of orders, but had no idea how to fulfill them. John’s mother suggested they advertise in the New York Times for an investor.[1] In 1995, South Korean company Samsung answered a classified ad and invested in FUBU.

At its peak in 1998, FUBU grossed over $350 million in annual worldwide sales.[5] FUBU has received several honors for their entrepreneurial achievements. These include two Congressional Awards, two NAACP Awards, the Pratt Institute Award, the Christopher Wallace Award, the Online Hip-Hop Award and a Citation of Honor from the Queens Borough President.

07/01/2024

December 31, 1991 The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to "Juice" was released. Some say Tupac continued to "play" Bishop in real life until his untimely demise.

05/01/2024

Blast from the past! On this day in 1980 Rapper's Delight by the Sugar Hill Gang became The first hip hop single to reach Billboard top 40!

03/01/2024

The internet is undefeated! Smh...

03/01/2024

Ether? Takeover?

01/01/2024

Who you got?

24/12/2023

Criminal Minded is the debut studio album by hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions, released on March 3, 1987 by B-Boy Records. It is considered a highly influential hip hop album[1] and one of the first in the gangsta rap genre.

Since its release, the album has been sampled, interpolated and paraphrased. Its samples and direct influences were unusual at the time, ranging from liberal use of dancehall reggae (as well as the more commonly used James Brown) to rock music artists such as AC/DC, The Beatles and Billy Joel. The album was eventually certified Gold by the RIAA.

The songs "South Bronx" and "The Bridge Is Over" ignited the rivalry with the Brooklyn-bred but Queens resident emcee MC Shan and the Juice Crew. Throughout the album, KRS-One gives honor and praise to Scott La Rock for producing the album and he mostly goes on about the importance of originality and being "real" instead of a "Sucker MC".

In 2003, the album was ranked number 444 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and was later ranked number 239 in the 2020 edition.

24/12/2023

BET debuted Hip Hop’s youngest syndicated video show, known best under the name Rap City, which was a spin-off of Rap Week hosted by long time BET VJ Alvin Jones aka “The Unseen DJ.” Rap City was an underdog competitor to MTV’s Yo! MTV Raps, however, the appeal of Rap City was not only the guest DJs but more importantly Rap City‘s catering to the up and coming rappers seeking some shine to get on.

Rap City featured numerous hosts including the original “Mayor of Rap City” comedian Chris Thomas, Joe Clair, Big Lez(Leslie Segar), and the longest tenure was held by Big Tigger. Lasting almost two decades, Rap City’s coveted freestyle booth, otherwise known as “The Basement”, was where guests on the show would go in the booth and unleash their bars, luring hosts Joe Clair and Big Tigger into their zone to spit their hottest off the dome bars.

BET canceled Rap City in October 2008, airing its last episode in November 2008, ironically hosted by Big Tigger and special guest Eminem. BET replaced Rap City with The Deal with DJ Diamond Kutz, however, to little fanfare.

22/11/2023

Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) was an American hip-hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. The Geto Boys enjoyed success in the 1990s with the group's classic lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D, earning several certified albums and hit singles, including "Mind Playing Tricks on Me" which reached No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs and #23 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] The group was formed in 1986, and was active until the 2019 death of Bushwick Bill.

15/11/2023

East Coast vs West Coast or Bad Boy vs Deathrow?

15/11/2023

The world's most dangerous group?
Straight Outta Compton is the debut studio album by American gangsta rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987.[3][4] Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988,[1] the album was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by N.W.A members Ice Cube and MC Ren[5] along with Ruthless rapper The D.O.C.[3] Not merely depicting Compton's street violence, the lyrics repeatedly threaten to lead it by attacking peers and even police. The track "F@ck tha Police" drew an FBI agent's warning letter, which aided N.W.A's notoriety, with N.W.A calling itself "the world's most dangerous group.

11/10/2023

"Shook" became an infamous adjective in the hood!
The Infamous (stylized as The Infamous...) is the second studio album by the American hip hop duo Mobb Deep. It was released on April 25, 1995, by BMG, RCA Records and Loud Records. The album features guest appearances by Nas, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Q-Tip. It was largely produced by group member Havoc, with Q-Tip also contributing production while serving as the mixing engineer. Most of the leftover songs from the album became bonus tracks for Mobb Deep's The Infamous Mobb Deep album (2014).

09/10/2023

Who you got?

From the raw and unfiltered narratives of the Geto Boys to the glossy, triplet-laden flows of Migos, here are the top 25 best rap trios of all time.

08/10/2023

Fun Fact: This Trio earned the 1st 5 mic rating 💪🏾

A Tribe Called Quest came to prominence as members of the Native Tongues collective, which they co-founded in 1988. The group's debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990), established them as a critically acclaimed act, earning the first five 'mic' rating in The Source's history.

07/10/2023

05/10/2023

Yo! MTV Raps” was created by Peter Dougherty and Ted Demme, and launched in 1988 — originally hosted by Fab 5 Freddy, and later by Doctor Dre and Ed Lover. The series ran until 1995.

03/10/2023

West Coast Legend. Hip-Hop Icon.
Top Producer of All Time?

The Chronic is the debut studio album by the American hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his own record label Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles and at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.[3]

01/10/2023

G.O.A.T? Jay-Z

Reasonable Doubt is the debut studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on June 25, 1996, by his own record label Roc-A-Fella Records and distributed by Priority Records. The album features production provided by DJ Premier, Ski, Knobody and Clark Kent, and also includes guest appearances from Memphis Bleek, Mary J. Blige, Jaz-O, and the Notorious B.I.G., among others. The album features mafioso rap themes and gritty lyrics about the "hustler" lifestyle and material obsessions.

The music. The movies. The fashion. What a time to be alive!

01/10/2023

Greatest Group All Time?

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is the debut studio album by the American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released on November 9, 1993, by BMG, RCA Records and Loud Records. Recording sessions took place during late 1992 to early 1993 at Firehouse Studio in New York City, and the album was produced by the group's de facto leader RZA.

The music. The movies. The fashion. What a time to be alive!

01/10/2023

OutKast The South got something to say!

In 1994, their first album was released. It was called Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik and featured singles including “Player's Ball,” “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,” and “Git Up, Git Out.” The album was certified platinum, selling over a million units and winning the 1995 Source Award Best New Rap of the Year.

01/10/2023

King of N.Y.?

Illmatic
1994, Nas's debut album, Illmatic, was released. It featured production from Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, LES and DJ Premier, as well as guest appearances from Nas's friend AZ and his father Olu Dara. The album spawned several singles, including "The World Is Yours", "It Ain't Hard to Tell", and "One Love".