debut album
Today in Hip-Hop History: Big Pun Dropped His Debut Album ‘Capital Punishment’ 24 Years Ago
24 years ago on this date, 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 his 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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Today in Hip-Hop History: Outkast Dropped Their Debut Album ‘Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik’ 28 Years Ago
On this day in Hip Hop history, OutKast, the duo that helped pioneer putting southern Hip Hop on the map, released their debut classic LP, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.
This Dungeon Family masterpiece recorded by Andre 3000 and Big Boi paved the way for Atlanta and the rest of the Dirty South to have their unique voice in Hip Hop. Before this album, there weren’t many hit records coming from anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line. Peaking at #20 on the Billboard 200 and being certified platinum less than a year after its release, this album’s achievements speak for themselves.
Produced completely by OutKast and Organized Noize, this project was like none before it. Its sound is perfectly described as southern rap. From the dialect to the instruments used to the references, everything about this album screams Atlanta. The smooth blues and marching band influenced beats blend with Big Boi and Andre 3000’s flows, creating something new that rippled the tide of an industry saturated with G-Funk or New York Hip Hop.
Both commercially and critically this album was immensely successful. It peaked at #20 in the Billboard 200 and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop charts. This album was also the reason OutKast received the Best Newcomer Award at the 1995 Source Awards, which as we all know was met with controversy to say the least. Regardless of the haters, this album came at the beginning of the career of two rappers who changed the game forever.
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Today In Hip Hop History: GangStarr Dropped Their Debut LP ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ 33 Years Ago
On this date in 1989, Boston native Keith Elam and Houston native Christopher Martin, better known as Guru and DJ Premier, came together to continue the legacy of Gangstarr and released the group’s first full studio album entitled No More Mr. Nice Guy.
Released by overseas label Chrysalis Records, Gangstarr, and their debut release ironically had a heavy influence on the NYC Hip Hop sound, even though neither artists were native New Yorkers. Tracks such as “Positivity”, “Conscious Be Free” and the album’s lead single, “Manifest”, exposed Guru’s unparalleled slow flow, while instrumentals like “DJ Premier In Deep Concentration” just set the pace for who Hip Hop would later recognize as one of the greatest producers in the game.
Supreme salute goes out to DJ Premier, Guru(RIP), the Elam family, the Gangstarr Foundation and the entire East New York for creating a pivotal moment in Hip Hop history.
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6ix9ine Continues Throwing Shots at Fivio Foreign Over Album Sales and King of New York Debate
Today In Hip Hop History: West Coast Legend Spice 1 Dropped Self-Titled Debut LP 30 Years Ago
Whether you’re hanging in Coachella Valley or simply mourning the loss of Crenshaw’s fallen hero Nipsey Hussle like the rest of us, West Coast Rap is definitely being bumped at high volumes this weekend. That’s why we had to show some love to the Hayward homie Spice 1 on this lovely Sunday, which happens to fall on the 27th anniversary of his debut self-titled album.
Two years before appearing alongside MC Eiht and Scarface on our June ’94 cover (Issue #57), the rapper born Robert Lee Green Jr. delivered this banger for the Bay Area, which went on to reach way beyond his hood. The album was a big label follow-up to his well-received street EP Let It Be Known, which sold almost 100K in pure sales as an independent release. Once Jive came into the picture, the seven-song project was re-released and retitled as Spice 1, including five songs from the original project in addition to nine new ones. The switch up paid off, with the revamped version giving us the classic cut “Welcome to the Ghetto” and going on to sell almost half a million records.
The tracks on Spice 1 sound like quintessential G-Funk, translated through singles like “187 Proof” and the reggae-tinged “East Bay Gangster,” all the way to deep cuts like “Peace to My Nine” and the low-rider classic “City Streets.” It’s clear to see his style & delivery is inspired by the rap icon that discovered him — Spice 1 hails from Oakland’s The Dangerous Crew created by Too $hort — but the connection is less “flow biting” and more “of the same kin.” At the end of the day, it all just sounds like good gangsta rap.
The initial success of the album helped it rank in the top 20 of Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at #14, later achieving gold certification by RIAA. “Welcome to the Ghetto” proved to be a hit as well, rising to #39 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart and also appearing on the Hot Rap Singles where it faired the best at #5. It ultimately marked a good start to a career that would go on to produce 12 studio albums and more than a handful of compilation LPs and collab albums, the latest being as recent as 2015 with his Bossolo-assisted project Thug Therapy.
We crowned him as one of the 115 greatest MCs from 1988 to 2003 for our 15th anniversary (Issue #167), and we stand by that sentiment as he rings in 27 years of his debut project. The Bay Area is home to an important sound and time in Hip-Hop, and Spice 1 helped cultivate that. Salute, king!
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Coi Leray Seemingly Responds to Reports of Debut Album Sales: ‘I Don’t Fold Under Pressure’
Today In Hip Hop History: Das EFX’s Debut Album ‘Dead Serious’ Turns 30 Years Old!
A couple of dreadheaded backpackers made stuttering rhymes chic when Krayz Drayz and Skoob came together and dropped their Dead Serious album April 7, 1992.
Released on the East/West imprint and recorded in both the famed Firehouse Studios in Brooklyn and North Shore Soundworks in Long Island, Dead Serious became a platinum selling album in just two years, revering it as one of the most influential LPs of the “Golden Era”.
The hit singles “They Want Efx” and “Mic Checka” were both forces to be reckoned with on the Billboard charts, while the virtually production of Chris Charity and Derek Lynch aka “Solid Scheme” ensured the consistent output of quality music for Das EFX until Charity’s untimely passing in 2000.
The Brooklyn, NY/Teaneck, NJ duo met in college at Virginia State University and became a part of EPMD‘s “Hit Squad” collective in just two years after their initial meeting with EPMD and never looked back. Salute to Drayz, Skoob, and the entire former Hit Squad family for bringing us such an historic classic.
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Coi Leray Unveils Features for Debut Album ‘Trendsetter’: Nicki Minaj, Lil Durk, Pooh Shiesty, Chief Keef, and More
