Today In Hip Hop History: Rawkus Records’ ‘Lyricist Lounge Volume One’ Turns 25 Years Old!

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On May 5th, 1998 Rawkus Records released the first installment of the Lyricist Lounge albums titled Lyricist Lounge, Volume One, which showcased New York. It was a double-disc compilation that featured De La Soul, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Tash of Tha Alkaholiks, Punch & Words, O.C, Ras Kass, Black Thought, Common, Pharoahe Monch, Saul Williams, Kool Keith, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek, Bahamadia, Rah Digga, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Jurassic 5, KRS-One, Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine, Last Emperor, and Company Flow.

This CD is one of those that you don’t get often. It had incredible and intensely clever wordplay, and was great for the culture because of the positive support it showed for hip hop. Back then everyone thought hip-hop was rap music and rap music was gangsta. It made people think twice before making an assumption like that. Any hip-hop purist who enjoys freestyles and great rhymes that make you think then this is the album for you.

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Today in Hip-Hop History: Big Pun’s Debut Album ‘Capital Punishment’ Turns 25 Years Old!

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A quarter of a century ago, Christopher Rios, aka Big Punisher, put out his first LP, Capital Punishment, on Loud Records.

Released by Fat Joe and the Terror Squad on Loud Records, Pun’s highly anticipated album showcased Pun’s unequaled lyrical ability, comedic punchlines, and ever-evolving style that his son Chris Rivers has inherited from his pops.

Album highlights include joints like “You Ain’t A Killer,” “Super Lyrical,” featuring The Roots’ Black Thought, and the platinum-selling album that propelled the album to a million sales, “Still Not A Player.”

Salute to Fat Joe, the Rios family, the Terror Squad, and the entire Loud staff for this classic!

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Master P And Trick Daddy Headline The 25th Anniversary “No Limit Reunion Tour” In Miami

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Master P and the No Limit Soldiers reunite to celebrate twenty-five years of history with the “No Limit Reunion Tour” and will include performances by special guest Trick Daddy. 

When Master P started No Limit Records, he had no idea it would become a historic hip-hop label that has sold over 100 million records to date.  The tour brings together key artists who recorded for his classic hip-hop label founded in 1994 in New Orleans, such as Mystikal, Silkk the Shocker, Fiend, and Mia X, among others.

With shows selling out across the US, fans can expect to relive to all the original No Limit hits, such as “No Limit Soliders” and “Make ’Em Say Uhh!” 

“We are bringing the fans all the hits from the No Limit catalog. This is a blessing that we’re still friends and still able to get onstage together. Twenty-five years later, we couldn’t do it without them.” – Master P

Twenty-five years later, the No Limit Soldiers are bringing the ‘90s to the 21st Century. 

The No Limit Reunion Tour is hitting the FLA Live Arena on Friday, September 16th. General public sale begin today, June 10th at 10 AM Local Time at the arena box office and through Ticketmaster.com.

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Today In Hip Hop History: Missy Elliott’s Debut LP ‘Supa Dupa Fly’ Turns 25 Years Old!

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On this day in Hip Hop history, rap queen Missy Elliott released her debut LP, Supa Dupa Fly.

Arguably the most influential release by a female rapper in history, this project birthed one of rap’s most important icons, male or female. The Hip Hop/R&B experimental masterpiece not only delivered a fresh sound to a period in between dominant trends, it also set the tone for what would be considered a radio hit at the turn of the millennium.

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The sound and success of this project are due in equal part to Missy and fellow Virginian super-producer Timbaland. In the new age, digital R&B style production pioneered a sound that became the standard of any Top 40 crossover hit of the era. His technical ability as a beatmaker personally complimented Missy’s unorthodox, almost broken-up, flow and smooth, soulful vocals. Missy’s ability as an innovative songwriter allowed for the mind-boggling production to not be wasted. The subjects that were touched on came with a new perspective and the way she rode each beat added such emphasis, giving the project a strong theatrical quality.

Commercially, it performed quite well peaking at #3 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album claimed the #1 spot on the R&B/Hip Hop chart and made appearances on music charts in New Zealand and the Netherlands.  The album was certified platinum in the United States and silver in the United Kingdom, both in the year of its release. Critics across the board praised both Timbaland and Missy Elliot for their work on this album, calling it “a key prophecy of the dominant 21st-century Black pop” and “everything the Hip Hop doctor ordered; a woman who could flip between aggression and romance, sex and nonsense, materialism and imagination, without batting one outrageously spidery eyelash.”

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Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s Epic ‘Wu Tang Forever’ Double CD LP Turns 25 Years Old!

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On June 3, 1997, the Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game gave the world a double dose of their killer bee stings when they dropped the Wu Tang Forever double CD LP.

The album was executively produced by the Abbott himself, RZA, along with assistance from 4th Disciple, Inspectah Deck and True Master. Released to the public under the Loud/RCA imprint with direction from the illustrious Steve Rifkind, this album was certified gold in its first week and was certified 4X platinum by the RIAA within four months of its release.

Some of the hits include the album’s lead, “Triumph”, “Older Gods”, “Duck Season” and the prophetic title of their current album, A Better Tomorrow. The Clan just celebrated 20 years together in 2013 looking back on two decades of music. The Clan is also currently working on an album with Ghostface Killah running the show.

Peace to the entire Clan for giving us such a monumental project without the assistance of radio/video play, which is the mark of true artistry. Salute to RZA, Divine, Power, Steve Rifkind and everyone who helped make this album a timeless classic!

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Today In Hip Hop History: The Notorious B.I.G.’s Posthumous ‘Life After Death’ LP Turns 25 Years Old!

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A quarter century ago today in Hip-Hop history, Notorious B.I.G. released his second album, Life After Death. The double LP was released posthumously by Bad Boy Records. Biggie, who was killed two weeks prior to its release, was nominated for three Grammy’s for this project: Best Rap Album, Best Rap Solo Performance for “Hypnotize” and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “Mo Money Mo Problems.”

Featuring artists like 112, Jay-Z, Lil’ Kim, Ma$e, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Too $hort and R. Kelly, along with tracks like “Kick In The Door,” “What’s Beef,” “Notorious Thugs,” “Ten Crack Commandments” and “Sky’s The Limit,” it can be said that Life After Death is one of the greatest rap albums of all time. The album hit #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and the US Top R&B/Hip Hop chart. It went diamond (that’s 10,000,000 copies sold) in the United States alone, double platinum in Canada, and platinum in the UK. Life After Death has also made appearances on top music charts across the globe. The album has been ranked by countless publications as one of the top rap and Hip-Hop albums of all time (The Source ranked it as #8 in 2005).

Salute to Diddy and the rest of the Bad Bot family for this timeless piece of Hip Hop history!

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Today In Hip Hop History: Scarface’s Fourth LP ‘The Untouchable’ Turns 25 Years Old!

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On this day in Hip-Hop history, Geto Boys frontman and Texas legend Scarface released his fourth solo LP, The Untouchable. Released on Rap-A-Lot Records, this album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also peaked at #1 on the Top Hip-Hop/R&B and kept its spot for two weeks.

Although Scarface never really strayed away from his staple hardcore “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangster” subject matter and style of delivery, it’s apparent this album is influenced by the G-Funk sound made popular by Dr.Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tha Dogg Pound.

The album’s most popular track “Smile” featuring 2Pac was released shortly after his murder and peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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