Today In Hip Hop History: EPMD Dropped Their Fifth LP ‘Back In Business’ 27 Years Ago

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On this date in 1999, one of Hip Hop’s greatest duos of all time, Erick and Parrish Making Dollars, released their fifth full length studio album Back In Business on Def Jam. EPMD were making stellar albums together since Hip Hop’s “Golden Era” and were actually the artists who appeared on the very first copy of The Source Magazine. So this album was actually a bittersweet one, being that Erick, who had now launched Def Squad while PMD maintained the Hit Squad banner, the two put out this album after feuding for the previous three years.

Getting back to their regularly scheduled program, EPMD did most of their own production and, of course, had Grandmaster DJ Scratch, contribute behind the boards along with newcomers Agallah and Rockwilder. Guest appearances included guest appearances from Def Squad members Keith Murray and Redman, while Hit Squad member Das EFX made an appearance on one track.

The album’s only standout track was the radio friendly “Da Joint”, which is partially why the album didn’t receive the critical acclaim that was given to their previous four projects. For the first time in their career, the “Brothers from Brentwood” underdelivered to their fans and most believed that their deliberate hiatus created a disconnect that couldn’t go unnoticed.

Salute to Erick, Parrish, Redman, Keith Murray, DJ Scratch, Rockwilder, Agallah and everyone else involved in this important piece of Hip Hop history!

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GloRilla Gifts Her Cousin Cardi B Flowers Celebrating Newborn Baby

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GloRilla sent Cardi B a beautiful floral arrangement to celebrate the birth of her new baby. In a clip shared on Instagram, Cardi walks down the stairs of her home to find the flowers.

“I love my cousin! They from my cousin! Thank you GloRilla!”

Cardi B and Offset have welcomed their third baby together. The recently divorced duo shared images honoring “the prettiest lil thing” on Sept. 7.

In the images, the duo’s oldest daughter, six-year-old Kulture, is seen holding the new baby. Cardi B and Offset also have a three-year-old named Wave.

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Today In Hip Hop History: The Sugar Hill Gang Released ‘Rapper’s Delight’ 45 Years Ago

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On today’s date, 45 years ago, Hip Hop’s first Billboard Top 40 single, “Rapper’s Delight,” was released by Englewood, New Jersey’s Sugarhill GangAs one of  Hip Hop’s earliest relics, this single, written by The Cold Crush Brothers’ own Grandmaster Caz, is credited with bringing the art of rap to a multicultural mainstream audience.

In the ’70s, disco and soul still reigned supreme in the clubs and lounges of the country’s urban centers. In its most primitive form, Hip Hop was still misunderstood (and exclusive to New York City and California). Breaking, tagging, rapping, and spinning records were widely recognized as the borderline criminal activities of whatever city’s urban youth. The culture’s cult following was majority made up of housing project residence, the type to not frequent the discos and bars of their respective downtown centers. Every once in and awhile, someone would drop a single that would break through and get some shine on the club scene but never make much of a splash nationally. “Rapper’s Delight” was a different story.

On September 20, 1979, new wave bands Blondie and Chic were playing a concert at New York’s renown Palladium with British punk rock band The Clash; Hip Hop’s earliest socialite (and soon to be television host) Fab Five Freddy was on the scene with Sugarhill Gang members Big Bank Hank, Mike Wright, and Master Gee. Having just released a single featuring Chic’s hit single “Good Times” from their recent international album Risqué, it was natural for the gang to hop on stage and start freestyling as soon as Chic dropped the bass line.

Sometime later, Chic’s Nile Rodgers was out at New York’s Club Leviticus and heard a recorded cut of the very song The Sugarhill Gang ever-so-delightfully interrupted his concert weeks earlier. Enraged, Rodgers immediately sought legal action and attempted to sue the Sugarhill Gang for using his band’s instrumental in their single. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and appropriate credit was given to Chic in their part of the song.

With the lawsuit and legal attention came a swarm of popularity. Disc Jockeys in clubs across the country began to spin this record every night of the week. The single gained so much play in the United States that clubs across the globe began to push this song like no tomorrow. Although the single may have peaked at #36 on the Billboard 200, it was #1 in Canada and the Netherlands, #2 in Belgium, France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and #3 in Germany and the UK. This single song sold platinum in both the United States and Canada, with over 5 million copies sold worldwide.

“Rapper’s Delight” may be the most important single of Hip Hop culture. It didn’t event style, it wasn’t the first to gain mainstream success, it wasn’t even from New York, but it was the biggest of its time. What “Rapper’s Delight” did was make it “ok” to listen to and support rap music out in the open. Before this single, Hip Hop was an urban taboo. Upon its release, the connotation transformed from one synonymous with the ghetto to a new and hip musical genre. In a way, “Rapper’s Delight” gentrified Hip Hop in a way that made it profitable. Without it, the culture would not be a powerful as it is today.

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50 Cent Says Kendrick Lamar is ‘The Guy’ for the Super Bowl Halftime Show

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Conversations surrounding the Super Bowl halftime performance continue. This time, 50 Cent is weighing in.

Appearing on The Talk, 50 cosigned the selection. “I mean, it was a choice. As a solo artist right now, he’s the guy,” 50 said.

Roger Goodell praised the selection of Kendrick Lamar as the Super Bowl halftime performer.

Speaking with TMZ Sports, Goodell revealed he is “feeling great” about taking the spot and he is a fan of the rapper.

Kendrick Lamar will take center stage at the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9, 2025. Roc Nation, Apple Music, and the NFL made the announcement, sparking excitement for the globally anticipated performance.

Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, founder of Roc Nation, praised Lamar’s influence: “Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer. His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision… His impact will be felt for years to come.”

Seth Dudowsky, Head of Music at the NFL, echoed this sentiment, saying, “Few artists have impacted music and culture as profoundly as Kendrick Lamar… Kendrick has proven his unique ability to craft moments that resonate, redefine, and ultimately shake the very foundation of hip-hop.”

Apple Music’s Oliver Schusser emphasized the excitement: “Apple is thrilled to bring this show, starring the absolutely incomparable Kendrick Lamar, to fans worldwide with Apple Music’s industry-leading Spatial Audio quality.”

Lamar, a Grammy and Emmy-winning artist and co-founder of pgLang, continues to redefine hip-hop, earning accolades like a Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 album DAMN. and his chart-topping collaborations earlier this year.

Lamar’s Super Bowl performance will be creatively directed by pgLang and produced by DPS, with Roc Nation’s Jesse Collins as executive producer and Hamish Hamilton as director.

Apple Music’s ongoing partnership with the NFL and Roc Nation has already produced record-breaking halftime shows, and with Kendrick Lamar at the helm, this year’s performance is set to be another groundbreaking moment in Super Bowl history.

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Today in Hip-Hop History: Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Sophomore ‘N***a Please’ LP Turns 25 Years Old!

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On this day in 1999, the late great Ol’ Dirty Bastard of the Wu-Tang Clan released his second LP Ni**a Please on the Elektra label. Before it’s release, ODB was quoted saying that the then-untitled album had two contenders for its name; God Made and Dirt Don’t Hurt and The Black Man Is God, White Man Is The Devil. Ni**a Please was decided on after the original two were considered too outrageous.

Known for his controversial nature, ODB’s idea of promoting this project was to get his name in the headlines as much as possible, whether it be positive or negative. In the time in between his debut and sophomore release ODB was all over entertainment news and tabloids. His antics included a bail money fundraiser, surviving a shootout with police, interrupting the 1998 Grammy Awards, and even popping up at the welfare office in Brooklyn in a limousine to pick up his food stamps.

Obviously, all press is good press because the album debut on the Billboard 200 at #10 and sold 93,000 copies in the first week. The album went on to be certified gold by the RIAA in the year of its release.

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Happy 51st Birthday To Queensbridge Rap King Nas!

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Today marks the 51st birthday of one of hip-hop’s most treasured lyricists, Nas.

By many, Nasir Jones is number one on their top, 10, 5, and 3 lists of the greatest emcees to ever touch the mic in Hip-Hop history. Marbled as the prodigal, deep, and lyrically intellectual spitter, Nas’ coming into Hip-Hop owned multidimensional potency. Not only was he a dexterous battle rapper, but the Queensbridge emcee was also gifted with a melodic touch for wax.

His 1991 debut on Main Source’s “Live At the BBQ” was an impressive display of the young Nas’ lyrical dexterity on a collective track with ridiculous blows.

“Verbal assassin, my architect pleases/When I was twelve, I went to hell for snuffing Jesus,” Nas easily launched the most compelling debut of a Hip-Hop emcee.

The mesmerizing drop eventually leads to a deal with Columbia Records, where he cements a legacy.

Over the course of two years, Nas huddled some of the culture’s best producers of the time, Large Professor, DJ Premier, Q-Tip, and Pete Rock to mold the echo of his debut album, Illmatic. The 1994 gem gained the likes of Hip-Hop purists and the young black youth. Drawing up the panoramic narrative as the young black boy from Queensbridge on the quest for survival, the 10-track piece is considered to be the greatest Hip-Hop album of all time.

The lyrical finesse of Escobar season continued to sizzle throughout Hip-Hop’s most prominent eras with profiled classics such as his certified sophomore debut, 1996’s It Was Written, followed by I Am…(1999), Nastradamus (1999), Stillmatic (2001), God’s Son (2002), up to 2018’s NASIR.

Nas has truly made his way into the prestigious lines of Hip-Hop heights. As of 2018, Nasty Nas is respectfully heralded as rap royalty. His influential reach stands beyond his lyrical supremacy, but his unmatched spirit which is true to the art form of rap.

Happy Birthday to one of the greatest lyricists in Hip-Hop history, Nas.

The post Happy 51st Birthday To Queensbridge Rap King Nas! first appeared on The Source.

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Roger Goodell Says He is ‘Feeling Great’ About Kendrick Lamar Headlining Super Bowl Halftime Show

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Roger Goodell praises the selection of Kendrick Lamar as the Super Bowl halftime performer.

Speaking with TMZ Sports, Goodell revealed he is “feeling great” about taking the spot and he is a fan of the rapper.

Kendrick Lamar will take center stage at the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9, 2025. Roc Nation, Apple Music, and the NFL made the announcement, sparking excitement for the globally anticipated performance.

Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, founder of Roc Nation, praised Lamar’s influence: “Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer. His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision… His impact will be felt for years to come.”

Seth Dudowsky, Head of Music at the NFL, echoed this sentiment, saying, “Few artists have impacted music and culture as profoundly as Kendrick Lamar… Kendrick has proven his unique ability to craft moments that resonate, redefine, and ultimately shake the very foundation of hip-hop.”

Apple Music’s Oliver Schusser emphasized the excitement: “Apple is thrilled to bring this show, starring the absolutely incomparable Kendrick Lamar, to fans worldwide with Apple Music’s industry-leading Spatial Audio quality.”

Lamar, a Grammy and Emmy-winning artist and co-founder of pgLang, continues to redefine hip-hop, earning accolades like a Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 album DAMN. and his chart-topping collaborations earlier this year.

Lamar’s Super Bowl performance will be creatively directed by pgLang and produced by DPS, with Roc Nation’s Jesse Collins as executive producer and Hamish Hamilton as director.

Apple Music’s ongoing partnership with the NFL and Roc Nation has already produced record-breaking halftime shows, and with Kendrick Lamar at the helm, this year’s performance is set to be another groundbreaking moment in Super Bowl history.

The post Roger Goodell Says He is ‘Feeling Great’ About Kendrick Lamar Headlining Super Bowl Halftime Show first appeared on The Source.

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Lil Wayne on Not Being Selected for Super Bowl Performance: ‘It Hurt a Whole Lot’

H.E.R., Lil Wayne, The Isley Brothers Are Set To Headline 2021 One Music Festival

Lil Wayne has made his first statement after not being selected to headline the Super Bowl. Appearing in a video, Weezy F Baby thanked his fans for supporting him.

“First of all, I wanna say forgive me for the delay,” Wayne said. “I wanna say, first of all, I had to get strength. I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking. I wanna say thank you. I wanna say thank you to every voice, every opinion, all the care, all the love and the support out there. Your words turned into arms and held me up when I tried to fall back. That hurt. Hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot.

“I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown and for just automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position. So I blame myself for that.”

With widespread support that Lil Wayne should have the Super Bowl stage in NOLA, Drake posted images online. It is worth noting that Drake’s current foe, Kendrick Lamar, has the Super Bowl spot.

Kendrick Lamar’s selection as the Super Bowl halftime performer has rubbed members of the Hip-Hop community the wrong way. Many, including Wayne’s engineer, Marasciullo, believe it should have been Lil Wayne.

“Confused. Disappointed. Angry. But most of all, inspired,” Marasciullo wrote. “Will never again be in a position or have the 🐐 in a position where we are at the mercy of someone else’s decision. We will make the decisions.”

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Kendrick Lamar will take center stage at the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9, 2025. Roc Nation, Apple Music, and the NFL made the announcement today, sparking excitement for the globally anticipated performance.

Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, founder of Roc Nation, praised Lamar’s influence: “Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer. His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision… His impact will be felt for years to come.”

Seth Dudowsky, Head of Music at the NFL, echoed this sentiment, saying, “Few artists have impacted music and culture as profoundly as Kendrick Lamar… Kendrick has proven his unique ability to craft moments that resonate, redefine, and ultimately shake the very foundation of hip-hop.”

Apple Music’s Oliver Schusser emphasized the excitement: “Apple is thrilled to bring this show, starring the absolutely incomparable Kendrick Lamar, to fans worldwide with Apple Music’s industry-leading Spatial Audio quality.”

Lamar, a Grammy and Emmy-winning artist and co-founder of pgLang, continues to redefine hip-hop, earning accolades like a Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 album DAMN. and his chart-topping collaborations earlier this year.

PgLang will creatively direct Lamar’s Super Bowl performance, which will be produced by DPS. Roc Nation’s Jesse Collins will serve as executive producer, and Hamish Hamilton will serve as director.

Apple Music’s ongoing partnership with the NFL and Roc Nation has already produced record-breaking halftime shows. With Kendrick Lamar at the helm, this year’s performance is set to be another groundbreaking moment in Super Bowl history.

The post Lil Wayne on Not Being Selected for Super Bowl Performance: ‘It Hurt a Whole Lot’ first appeared on The Source.

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Today in Hip Hop History: Notorious B.I.G.’s Debut LP ‘Ready To Die’ Turns 30 Years Old!

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On September 13, 1994, Notorious B.I.G., alongside producers Easy Mo Bee, DJ Premier, Poke of the Trackmasters, and none other than “Puffy” (as Diddy was called then) as the executive producer, released the Hip Hop masterpiece known as Ready To Die.

As Big’s debut album, this highly anticipated release shows the lyrical prowess of the Bed-Stuy big man, and besides Method Man’s assistance on the epic “The What?” track, Mr. Wallace made it happen all by himself. Other than Nas’ Illmatic, no other solo emcee accomplished that feat on the East Coast during that era. Recognized as “The King Of New York” and as seen on a vintage 1995 Source Magazine cover, Big’s legacy was etched in stone with this LP.

Timeless classics from that four-and-a-half mic-er include the DJ Premier-produced “Unbelievable,” the back-and-forth storytelling adventures of “Warning” and “Gimme The Loot,” and the eerie title track itself were just a few of the highlights of this legendary project. That’s not to forget the mainstream success of singles such as “One More Chance,” the Brooklynplayalistic sound of “Big Poppa,” and, of course, the hood inspirational, Mtume-based “Juicy.”

We only had the chance to get one more album(prophetically named Life After Death) out of one of the game’s greatest lyricists before he was prematurely killed in Los Angeles in 1997. Still, this album will always remind us that B.I.G. was “Ready to Die” because his talent was and will always be larger than life.

Salute to Big (RIP), Premier, Easy, Poke, Lord Finesse, Diddy, Lil’ Kim, and the entire Wallace family for this classic masterpiece!

The post Today in Hip Hop History: Notorious B.I.G.’s Debut LP ‘Ready To Die’ Turns 30 Years Old! first appeared on The Source.

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Today in Hip-Hop History: Tupac Shakur Dies After Being Gunned Down on Las Vegas Strip 28 Years Ago

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Cultural icon Tupac Shakur was then taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada hospital after being shot several times in a drive-by on a Las Vegas strip on September 7, 1996, and was under a medically induced coma for six days before dying from internal bleeding on September 13, 1996.

After several failed attempts by doctors to revive 2Pac, his mother Afeni Shakur requested for his life support machine to be turned off. What were the events that transpired the days before the September 7th shooting that caused his early demise and why has the mystery of his death never been solved? These are the questions that remain 28 years later. Chris Carroll, a retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department sergeant, told Vegas Seven Magazine in an interview last year that we may never know;

“Shakur’s murder is still considered an unsolved homicide and an unsolved homicide case is technically never closed. But nothing more is ever going to happen with it.”

After all the documentaries that have been put out pertaining to Pac’s death, most fans attempt to put the clues together and create their own hypothesis yet without hard evidence it’s still just an educated guess as to what really happened the night of September 7, 1996.

The only real evidence police had until last year was the witness account from Outlaw member E.D.I Mean, who claimed to have seen all four men in the vehicle and Yaki Kadafi, who was involved in a scuffle with officers two days following the shooting after they pulled over a driver he was with and he protested. Officers did not try to locate Kadafi, who was later gunned down in Irving, NJ two months after the shooting.

Compton investigators assembled mug shots of several gang members, which included Orlando Anderson, the Crip that Tupac attacked in the MGM Grand lobby hours before the shooting. Anderson is the suspect said to have fired the fatal shots that killed Pac. Las Vegas police later discounted Anderson as a suspect and interviewed him only once. He was later killed in an unrelated gang shooting.

Last year, it was revealed that Duane “Keefe D” Davis will face charges related to the death of Tupac Shakur after years of claiming he was directly involved, but avoided prosecution with a immunity deal. It seems 2023 was the expiration date of that said deal. Davis is currently behind bars while going to trial for the murder of Shakur and was given a $750K bond to released during trial, but he has yet to make bail despite being offered the money because the judge has yet to approve the financial arrangement.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Tupac Shakur Dies After Being Gunned Down on Las Vegas Strip 28 Years Ago first appeared on The Source.

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