Hip Hop Scriptures Blog — Hip Hop Scriptures

Jasmine Shepherd

Jasmine Shepherd

KRS-One's I Got Next Album Anniversary

KRS-One's I Got Next Album Anniversary

The prodigious talent has released fifteen classic Rap albums; Criminal Minded (1987), By All Means Necessary (1988), Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hiphop (1989), Edutainment (1990), Sex and Violence (1992), Return of the Boom Bap (1994), KRS-ONE (1995), I Got Next (1997), A Retrospective (2000), Sneak Attack (2001), Spiritual Minded (2002), Prophets vs. Profits;The Mix Tape (2003), D.I.G.I.T.A.L (2003), Kristyles (2003), Keep Right (2004), LIFE (2006), Hip Hop Lives (2007), Adventures in Emceein (2007) and Maximum Strength (2008). In 1997 he reached #3 on the Billboard charts with the hit "Step into a World (Rapture's Delight)" featuring a remix by P. Diddy and has since collaborated with a string of artists running the gamut of R.E.M and Ziggy Marley to Chuck D and EPMD.

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Dr. Dre's Dre Day Anniversary

Dr. Dre's Dre Day Anniversary

Breaking out on his own and on a new record label, Dr. Dre hit the top of the hip-hop charts with The Chronic on Death Row Records in 1992. The biggest single from the album was "Nuthin but a 'G' Thang," which featured Snoop Dogg, then a little-known rapper. With this latest release, Dr. Dre helped introduce a new style called G-funk, which incorporated musical samples and melodies from funk with gangster rap. Dr. Dre had always admired the work of such acts as Parliament and Funkadelic.

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The Roots' Rising Down Album Anniversary

The Roots' Rising Down Album Anniversary

A subsequent deal with Def Jam fostered a series of riveting, often grim sets, beginning with Game Theory (August 2006) and Rising Down (April 2008). In 2009, the group expanded its reach as the exceptionally versatile house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The new gig didn't slow their recording schedule; in 2010 alone, they released the sharp How I Got Over (June), as well as Wake Up! (September), where they backed John Legend on covers of socially relevant soul classics like Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' "Wake Up Everybody" and Donny Hathaway's "Little Ghetto Boy."

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Drake's Views Album Anniversary

Drake's Views Album Anniversary

Drake announced in January 2016 that his fourth studio album would be launched during the spring, releasing the promotional single "Summer Sixteen" later that month. The album was originally titled Views from the 6, but was later shortened to Views. "Summer Sixteen" debuted at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, and proved controversial, with Drake comparing his standing in hip hop to more tenured artists.

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Gang Starr's No More Mr. Nice Guy Album Anniversary

Gang Starr's No More Mr. Nice Guy Album Anniversary

Premier, meanwhile, had relocated to Texas to attend college, but left demos of his work with various labels before his departure. In Texas, he put together the Inner City Posse, who finally saw their demo get some attention. Premier was offered a recording contract with Wild Pitch Records, but only on the condition he lost his original rapper. The label put him in touch with Guru instead, who had chanced upon one of Premier’s demo tapes in their offices, and a marriage made in hip-hop heaven was born. However, Premier had to return to college in Texas, and so the duo’s liaison took place largely over the phone, and by sending each other tapes. The fruits of their labour were unveiled on 1989’s debut album, No More Mr. Nice Guy, completed in 10 days while Premier was on vacation.

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Trina's Still Da Baddest Album Annviersary

Trina's Still Da Baddest Album Annviersary

On April 1, 2008 Trina released Still da Baddest after it was pushed back, having a planned release date of February 12. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Rap and R&B charts, and at #6 on The Billboard 200.

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DJ Kool Let Me Clear My Throat Anniversary

DJ Kool Let Me Clear My Throat Anniversary

In 1996, he released the single "Let Me Clear My Throat" on American Recordings, which charted around the world including the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and top 10 in the UK and Netherlands in March 1997. The song prominently features a sample of "The 900 Number" by the 45 King (which itself features a sample from Marva Whitney's "Unwind Yourself", repeated over a breakbeat for six minutes). The song also began by sampling "Hollywood Swinging" by Kool & the Gang. The song is a recognizable dance floor-filler, and the track remains popular to this day.

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CunninLynguists' SouthernUnderground Album Anniversary

CunninLynguists' SouthernUnderground Album Anniversary

In April 2003, Mr. SOS joined the group on the album SouthernUnderground, which was independently released on Freshchest Records. The album featured guests including Masta Ace, Supastition and others, alongside production from Domingo and RJD2, but again mostly Kno. M.F. DiBella of AllMusic commented on "a lyrical deftness and genuine feel for the music rarely seen in the bling-conscious rap of the latter-day era".

The group landed a distribution contract with Caroline Distribution in 2004, and SouthernUnderground was the first project re-released after inking the deal with Will Rap For Food being re-released shortly thereafter in 2005.

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The Diplomats Diplomatic Immunity Album Anniversary

The Diplomats Diplomatic Immunity Album Anniversary

The Diplomats followed Cam’Ron’s solo album shortly after with their debut album Diplomatic Immunity released in 2003, which featured a remix of "Hey Ma", as well as the lead single, "Dipset Anthem", produced by Heatmakerz which peaked at #64 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The double-disc album was a success and quickly became certified gold by RIAA less than two months after its release. By the time of the release of their 2004 followup, Diplomatic Immunity 2, additional members Hell Rell, 40 Cal., and J. R. Writer had joined the group. Before long the Dipset empire was growing adding members such as: Jay Bezel, Un Kasa, the late Stack Bundles, Max B., comedian Katt Williams, and female first lady, Jha Jha. In 2006, Jim Jones created his own person skating team, called Dipskate.

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Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death Album Anniversary

Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death Album Anniversary

Biggie's death came just as the rapper was about to put out his second album, Life After Death. In the wake of Biggie's killing, the record was a giant hit, selling nearly 700,000 copies in its first week. Two years later, Born Again, an album of unreleased material from Biggie, was released. A third album of extra material, Duets: The Final Chapter, was released in 2005.

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Guilty Simpson's Ode To The Ghetto Album Anniversary

Guilty Simpson's Ode To The Ghetto Album Anniversary

Simpson’s debut album, Ode to the Ghetto, includes production from J Dilla, as well as from Madlib and Black Milk; all three have been frequent collaborators of his. Along with Black Milk and the late Sean Price, Guilty Simpson formed one-third of the rap trio Random Axe. Simpson is also affiliated with the Detroit hip-hop collective Almighty Dreadnaughtz.

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eMC's The Show Album Anniversary

eMC's The Show Album Anniversary

In 2006, the group's first collaborative track was released online, titled "Four Brothers". eMC's first group effort, The Show was released on iTunes on February 26, and the CD release was on March 25. A single from the album, "What It Stand For", was released in July 2007, and is available for free download on the group's MySpace page. It features production from Nicolay.

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The Pharcyde's Passin' Me By Anniversary

The Pharcyde's Passin' Me By Anniversary

Their second single "Passin' Me By" became a minor Billboard hit, peaking at No. 52 on the Hot 100. The song was later featured in the hit movie Big Daddy and was also a crossover modern rock hit. The song is now usually considered a golden-era staple and is the group's most well known song. The album featured a couple of guest MCs, including Bucwheed (known then as Buckwheat, formerly of the alternative hip-hop group The Wascals) on the tracks "On The DL" and "I'm That Type of Nigga".

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Killer Mike's Monster Album Anniversary

Killer Mike's Monster Album Anniversary

In 2003, Killer Mike released his debut studio album, Monster, while being managed by Dayo Adebiyi and Al Thrash of Own Music. The album's lead single was "Akshon (Yeah!)", which featured Outkast on guest vocals. A remix of "Akshon (Yeah!)" was included on the soundtrack of EA Sports' video game Madden NFL 2004. The album's second single was "A.D.I.D.A.S.", featuring Big Boi and Sleepy Brown, which peaked at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It is Killer Mike's highest-charting single to date as a lead artist.

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Del The Funky Homosapien's Eleventh Hour Album Anniversary

Del The Funky Homosapien's Eleventh Hour Album Anniversary

On March 11, 2008, Del released Eleventh Hour through Definitive Jux. On March 31, 2009, Del's next album Funk Man (The Stimulus Package) was made available for free download on the internet. The album is available at his page on Bandcamp,[4] though he gave away some hard copies on his supporting Funk Man tour. In September of the same year, he released a new album, Automatik Statik, for an unfixed rate with a minimum of $3.

Del released his next album It Ain't Illegal Yet on August 6, 2010. There is no fixed price for the album, allowing listeners to pay whatever they wish for the album. Paying certain prices for the album will give certain incentives, including opportunities for personal collaborations with Del. Del released the album Golden Era on April 19, 2011, in a three-disc set including Funk Man (The Stimulus Package) and Automatik Statik.

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Scarface's The Untouchable Album Anniversary

Scarface's The Untouchable Album Anniversary

Scarface continued to funnel his efforts into additional solo efforts: The Diary came on October 18, 1994, reaching the heights of #2 on both the USA 'R&B/Hip-Hop' chart and the 'Billboard 200' chart. The album has since been certified platinum. Scarface then dropped Untouchable on March 11, 1997 which again improved on his last chart postions with #1 spots on both the Billboard 200 and the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, aswell as eventually been certified as Platinum.

Fresh off his chart-topping platinum LP Untouchable, Scarface returned to the table with yet another ghetto classic with the double disk set: My Homies. The album was a star-studded LP, bloated with guests, that pairs the godfather of hard-core reality rap with some of the hottest, most talented lyricists in the rap game. "I got everybody that I wanted to work with on this album, except Jimi Hendrix," muses Scarface. "Everybody that's hot on the streets right now, I got 'em on this album- Tupac, Master P, Tela, Too Short, and Yukmouth from the Luniz. Plus I've got some rappers from my label, Interface Records, on it too."

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Lil' Kim's La Bella Mafia Album Anniversary

Lil' Kim's La Bella Mafia Album Anniversary

Kim's next album, The Notorious K.I.M., wasn't released until 2000. She continued to work with Puff Daddy on the album after collaborating with him during her hiatus in an attempt to stay connected to Biggie's legacy. The certified platinum album was well-received by audiences and critics, but failed to live up to her debut.

The celebrity status that Kim had developed would skyrocket with her next project. In March 2001, she remade Patti Labelle's "Lady Marmalade" with singers Christina Aguilera, Pink and Mya for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. The Grammy-winning single was an immense hit, reaching No. 1 on the charts and solidifying Kim as one of the most sought after rappers—either male or female—of the early 21st century.

She released her next album, La Bella Mafia, in 2003, which featured collaborations with Missy Elliott, Timbaland and Kanye West.

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Kid Cudi's Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon Album Anniversary

Kid Cudi's Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon Album Anniversary

While on tour, on October 16, 2013 Kid Cudi announced he would be releasing an extended play (EP), sometime in the next three months. Cudi also revealed he would be producing it alongside Dot da Genius and that frequent collaborator King Chip, would appear on the EP. He then called the EP a prelude to his fourth album Man on the Moon III, which he announced would be released in 2015. On October 19, 2013, Cudi revealed "Going to the Ceremony", a song he had released via online audio distribution platform SoundCloud, earlier in July, would be included in the EP. Cudi would also go on to reveal a remix of his hit single "Day 'n' Nite, which was briefly previewed on the intro of his 2008 breakout mixtape A Kid Named Cudi, would also appear on the EP.

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Little Brother's The Listening Album Anniversary

Little Brother's The Listening Album Anniversary

The Listening was done in Missie Ann. Cesar Comanche, who I met when I was attending North Carolina State University, lived not far from the school. He stayed in a two-bedroom apartment, and that's basically our studio Missie Ann. [Comanche] named it after his sister. And we pretty much did that album in Comanche's other room besides the bathroom. Every song on The Listening has a story to it, which is crazy. We started recording The Listening in August of 2001, which will make this August the ten-year anniversary when we started Little Brother. So the story goes like this. At the time Phonte was doing his 9 to 5 at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the insurance company, and he would come into the studio, and then going back to his 9 to 5, sometimes without even sleeping. That was a repeating fashion.

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Freeway's Philadelphia Freeway Album Anniversary

Freeway's Philadelphia Freeway Album Anniversary

On February 25, 2003, Freeway released his debut album, Philadelphia Freeway. The album was produced primarily by Roc-A-Fella-affiliated beatsmiths Just Blaze, Bink!, and Kanye West and featured a large number of Roc-A-Fella rappers. Many of them also hailed from Philadelphia, and were soon compiled into the group State Property led by Freeway and Beanie Sigel. The album had two singles, the biggest hits of Freeway's career thus far: "What We Do", Featuring Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel, for which a video was released showcasing most of the Roc's roster at the time, and "Flipside", featuring State Property member Peedi Crakk; both records were produced by Just Blaze. The album also sold over 500,000 units in the United States.

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