certified platinum

Today In Hip Hop History: Nelly Dropped His Debut Album ‘Country Grammar’ 24 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip Hop history, St. Louis rap icon Nelly released his Grammy debut LP Country Grammar. Released by Universal Records, the unique pop-rap-country sound of this project struck well with consumers and critics alike peaking at #1 on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop charts.

Whether it was intended or not, this album set the bar high for all other summertime albums to come in the new millennium. This mixture of Jason “Jay E” Epperson’s production and Nelly’s Missouri slang proved to be the perfect formula for a high energy album hosting some of the decade’s hottest party tracks.

The sing-along appeal of this project is what brought it so much commercial success. Along with topping the US music charts, this album also made chart appearances in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, France, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK. The album was also certified platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and of course the United States (where it sold 9,000,000 copies).

The album contained hit singles “Country Grammar” (which was nominated for a Grammy), “E.I.,” “Ride Wit Me” and “Batter Up” which all made international music chart appearances. Critics across the board hailed this album as a breakthrough in Hip Hop, never before had a project come from the Midwest with so much appeal to other regions of the country.

Following this album, Nelly grew to be one of the brightest stars of the 2000’s putting out multiple multi-platinum albums and winning a plethora of awards for his musical ability. He has also since had a successful career on-screen both in films and on television.

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Today In Hip Hop History: Nas Dropped “If I Ruled The World(Imagine That)” Single Feat. Lauryn Hill 28 Years Ago

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On this date in 1996, Nas released the monumental “If I Ruled The World” single featuring the illustrious Lauryn Hill, which appeared on his sophomore album It Was Written on the Columbia label. If I Ruled The World was a remake of Kurtis Blow’s 1985 hit with the same name, which spawned from the Krush Groove movie soundtrack.

Produced by Trackmasters, If I Ruled The World was sampled directly from Whodini’s “Friends” song, was actually the very first song that Lauryn Hill performed outside of The Fugees camp.

Commercially, If I Ruled The World was a mainstream success, reaching number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while it also peaked in the top 20 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. In total, the single reached the top ten in eight countries. It received a nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards. “If I Ruled the World” also became Nas’ first platinum single, receiving its certification in June 2021.

Salute to NAs, Ms. Hill, The Trackmasters, Hype Williams for the video and everyone else responsible for help making this a piece of Hip Hop history!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Nas Dropped “If I Ruled The World(Imagine That)” Single Feat. Lauryn Hill 28 Years Ago first appeared on The Source.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Nas Dropped “If I Ruled The World(Imagine That)” Single Feat. Lauryn Hill 28 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Today in Hip Hop History: Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘The W’ Album Was Certified Platinum 23 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip Hop history Wu Tang Clan’s third studio LP The W was certified by the RIAA as a platinum LP. As the follow up to the immensely successful Wu Tang Forever, this album fell a little short of its predecessors success but continued in growing the Wu’s legacy as a whole.

At the time of the album’s production and release, Wu Tang member ODB was facing a legal-saga with seemingly no end. Although that may have stopped Dirt Dog’s ability to grace the album more than once, it did not however derail the Clan’s creative process and ability to execute. Much to the tone of their past work, The W once again proved that Wu-Tang is lyrically the strongest rap collective of all time. As far as production however, RZA toned down the intricate instrumentation used on Forever and went back to the 36 Chambers style of soulful samples coupled with melancholic  drum patterns. This back to basic model allowed the Clan to stand out lyrically as they once did.

Commercially, the album was an international success. It peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 as well as #1 in the UK and Ireland. The album won numerous Album of the Year awards from esteemed publications and is herald as one of Hip Hop’s greater albums.

The post Today in Hip Hop History: Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘The W’ Album Was Certified Platinum 23 Years Ago first appeared on The Source.

The post Today in Hip Hop History: Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘The W’ Album Was Certified Platinum 23 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: Jay-Z Released His 11th LP ‘The Blueprint 3’ 13 Years Ago

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On this date in 2009, Hip Hop’s most recognized cultural icon dropped his eleventh album entitled The Blueprint 3 on the Roc Nation/Asylum/Atlantic imprint.

Produced by Hov himself, Kanye, No I.D.This Jigga project boasted more guest appearances than any of his previously released full-length albums, the Neptunes, Swizz Beatz, and several others. The singles from this LP are arguably some of Jay-Z’s most recognized songs by millennials; “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),” “Run This Town,” ” “Empire State of Mind” and “On to the Next One” were chart-topping tracks during the summer and fall of 2009 and will forever be remembered as some of Hov’s most revered hits.

Commercially speaking, this album became Jay-Z’s eleventh number one album, breaking the record of pole position albums he once shared with Elvis Presley. Selling almost a half-million copies in its first week, TB3 was certified platinum by the RIAA within two months of its release. Currently, the album has sold over 3 million copies.

Salute to Jay, Ye, Rihanna, Drake, Alicia Keys, and everyone involved with this essential piece of Hip Hop history!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Jay-Z Released His 11th LP ‘The Blueprint 3’ 13 Years Ago first appeared on The Source.

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Today In Hip Hop History: Onyx’s Smash Single “Slam” Dropped 30 Years Ago

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The four-man crew from Jamaica, Queens dropped their crossover hit single on this date three decades ago

On May 10, 1993, Big DS, Sonny Seeza, Fredro, and Sticky released “Slam”, the smash hit from Onyx’s debut album, Bacdafucup.

The song’s chorus was the crew’s own remix of “The Champ” by The Mohawks. As one of the album’s most propelling singles, Slam ventured into heavy metal and punk rock’s “slamdance” culture, featuring a violent mosh pit in the song’s video. Onyx even did a remix of Slam with heavy metal giants Biohazard. This platinum single has appeared on TV as well as the silver screen, with Meth and Red using the amp-up track for their How High flick.

Salute to Onyx, Def Jam, and everyone involved with this track!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Onyx’s Smash Single “Slam” Dropped 30 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Today in Hip-Hop History: Kanye West Released His ‘College Dropout’ Debut LP 19 Years Ago

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On this date in 2004, Def Jam Records through the Roc-A-Fella imprint dropped the debut album of the uber-talented producer/emcee Kanye West properly entitled College Dropout.

The LP debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 441,000 copies during its first week. The five singles that achieved chart success and got him a Grammy award at the 47th Grammy Awards include “Through the Wire” and “Jesus Walks”. The singles “All Falls Down” and “Slow Jamz” charted within the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the Jamie Foxx and Twista feature also charted number one.

It is West’s best-selling album in the United States, with domestic sales of 3.4 million and worldwide over 4 million copies. It’s been listed among the greatest debut albums of all time and by Time and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest albums of all time.

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Today In Hip Hop History: Tone Loc Dropped His Debut ‘Loc-ed After Dark’ LP 34 Years Ago

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On this date in 1989, West Coast rap giant Tone Loc released his debut album Loc-ed After Dark on Delicious Vinyl Records. It was a huge success, making it to #1 on the Billboard 200 the week of April 15 and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop album charts. It featured three hit singles — “Wild Thing”, “Funky Cold Medina”, and “I Got It Goin’ On” — and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA.

Lōc-ed After Dark’s album cover is based on Donald Byrd’s 1963 record, A New Perspective.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Tone Loc Dropped His Debut ‘Loc-ed After Dark’ LP 34 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Today in Hip Hop History: Nas Released His Iconic ‘Illmatic’ Album 29 Years Ago

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29 years ago today, Nas dropped his debut LP, ‘Illmatic.’ Released by Columbia Records in 94′ Nas recorded the album at Chung King Studios, D&D Recording, Battery Studios, and Unique Recording Studios in New York City. Produced by DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S., and Nas himself, the bangers on the album will be embedded in Hip Hop culture as classics merely based on their production alone.

The album sold 60,000 in the first week and debuted at number 12 on the US Billboard 200 chart. On January 17, 1996, the album was certified gold by the RIAA. In 2001 it earned a platinum certification after shipping 1,000,000 copies in the United States alone.

Lyrically, Nas delivered certified street verses on ‘Illmatic’ that influenced the majority of the ’90s and is regarded as one of the greatest LPs of all time by critics and major publications globally.

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Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s Third LP ‘The W’ Certified Platinum 22 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip Hop history Wu Tang Clan, their third studio LP The W, was certified platinum by the RIAA. As the follow up to the immensely successful Wu Tang Forever, this album fell a little short of its predecessors success but continued in growing the Wu’s legacy as a whole.

At the time of the album’s production and release, Wu Tang member ODB was facing a legal-saga with seemingly no end. Although that may have stopped Dirt Dog’s ability to grace the album more than once, it did not however derail the Clan’s creative process and ability to execute. Much to the tone of their past work, The W once again proved that Wu-Tang is lyrically the strongest rap collective of all time. As far as production however, RZA toned down the intricate instrumentation used on Forever and went back to the 36 Chambers style of soulful samples coupled with melancholic  drum patterns. This back to basic model allowed the Clan to stand out lyrically as they once did.

Commercially, the album was an international success. It peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 as well as #1 in the UK and Ireland. The album won numerous Album of the Year awards from esteemed publications and is herald as one of Hip Hop’s greater albums, reaching platinum status within a month o its release.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Wu Tang Clan’s Third LP ‘The W’ Certified Platinum 22 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: Jay-Z Released His 11th LP ‘The Blueprint 3’ 12 Years Ago

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On this date in 2009, Hip Hop’s most recognized cultural icon dropped his eleventh album entitled The Blueprint 3 on the Roc Nation/Asylum/Atlantic imprint.

Produced by Hov himself, Kanye, No I.D.This Jigga project boasted more guest appearances than any of his previously released full-length albums, the Neptunes, Swizz Beatz, and several others. The singles from this LP are arguably some of Jay-Z’s most recognized songs by millennials; “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune),” “Run This Town,” ” “Empire State of Mind” and “On to the Next One” were chart-topping tracks during the summer and fall of 2009 and will forever be remembered as some of Hov’s most revered hits.

Commercially speaking, this album became Jay-Z’s eleventh number one album, breaking the record of pole position albums he once shared with Elvis Presley. Selling almost a half-million copies in its first week, TB3 was certified platinum by the RIAA within two months of its release. Currently, the album has sold over 3 million copies.

Salute to Jay, Ye, Rihanna, Drake, Alicia Keys, and everyone involved with this essential piece of Hip Hop history!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Jay-Z Released His 11th LP ‘The Blueprint 3’ 12 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.