Today In Hip Hop History: Onyx Released Their Smash Single “Slam” 29 Years Ago

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The four-man crew from Jamaica, Queens dropped their crossover hit single on this date in 1993

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!

Do remember that Onyx will be going head to head with Cypress Hill this weekend in a VERZUZ battle scheduled for May 14 in Los Angeles!

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Today in Hip Hop History: Nas Released His Iconic ‘Illmatic’ Album 28 Years Ago

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28 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 upon its 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 street certified verses on ‘Illmatic‘ that influenced the majority of the 90’s and is regarded as one of the greatest LP’s of all time by critics and major publications globally.

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Eminem Becomes The Most Certified Artist For Singles In RIAA Gold And Platinum Program History

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The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today announced 73.5 million new Gold & Platinum Program certifications for Eminem. The Shady/Aftermath/Interscope artist is now the number one awarded musician for singles in the program’s history and one of only seven artists in any genre or era with three or more Diamond Album Awards.   

Eminem’s combined six RIAA Diamond awards, three albums and three singles, catapult him into music’s stratosphere and cement his place as one of the most accomplished artists in history. With today’s 73.5 million new award units, Eminem’s RIAA Award career total is now 227.5 million – 166 million single certifications and 61.5 million album certifications. 

RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier says, “These awards recognize Eminem’s unflinching commitment to his craft and the enduring connection he has forged with fans over the last twenty years. With today’s announcement, Eminem becomes the top certified singles artist in our program’s history and adds a rare third Diamond Album to his many creative accomplishments. Congratulations to Eminem and his entire label team who have set the bar higher than ever!”  

“Interscope joins Aftermath in congratulating Marshall, Paul, and the entire Shady team on this remarkable achievement. It has been an honor to be part of one of the greatest journeys in the history of recorded music. The most beautiful part of this is it feels like the journey has just begun,” said Steve Berman, Vice Chairman, Interscope Geffen A&M. 

Created by the RIAA in 1958 to honor artists and create a standard to measure the commercial success of a sound recording, the Gold & Platinum Awards Program is the industry’s premier barometer for recognizing artistic achievement in the music marketplace.  

The program trademarked the Gold Record (500,000 units) and formalized the industry practice of presenting awards to artists for music sales achievements. Later came the Platinum Award (1,000,000), Multi-Platinum Award (2,000,000 plus) and the Diamond Award (10,000,000 plus). In 2000, the RIAA created its Premios de Oro y Platino Awards to celebrate Latin music, specifically albums and songs that are more than 50 percent Spanish language. The RIAA has counted digital sales since 2004 and on-demand streams since 2013. 

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