The “Kings From Queens” dropped their sophomore LP 38 years ago today.
On this date in 1985, Joseph Simmons, Daryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell successfully avoided the sophomore jinx some three decades ago when they released the follow-up to their self-titled debut album with King Of Rock.
Produced by Run’s brother Def Jam founder Russell Simmons, this album was the project that catapulted the crew from rappers to internationally recognized recording artists. King Of Rock is historic in the sense that it was the first Hip Hop album to go platinum and ended up going double platinum. Singles like “King Of Rock” and “Rock It Like This” appeared in the cult classic flick Krush Groove, which is based on the rise of Run-D.M.C., Def Jam Records, co-starring Jay, Darryl, and Joe. Those two tracks and the comical “You Talk Too Much” all reached the Top 20 R&B charts.
Salute to Run, D.M.C., the Mizell family, the Simmons family, Rick Rubin, Larry Smith (RIP), and everyone at Def Jam and Profile who made this album happen!
Happy Born day to Ahmir Khalib Thompson better known as ?uestlove a.k.a Questlove! Born in 1971, he turns a half-century today. The OG is originally known as the drummer for the legendary Hip Hop band The Roots, but he has many roles.
On February 17, 2014, he became a part of the in-house band for The Tonight Show, and with The Roots, he’s played the same role during the 969-episodes of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.
Let’s not forget about the many artists he has produced such as Jay Z, Common, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, the late Amy Winehouse, John Legend, and old school R&B legend Al Green. The list goes on with all the production teams he has been a part of, including Hip Hop pioneers like The Soulsonics and The Grand Wizards.
The influence of this multi-faceted musician has reached far beyond most in his life thus far, and he’s nearly only halfway thru. Happy Birthday Questlove and many more to come!
On this day in Hip-Hop history, legendary west coast DJ, rapper, and producer DJ Quik was born in 1970.
David Marvin Blake a.k.a. DJ Quik was born in Pomona, California and shortly after relocated to Compton, California. His love for music began at a very young age, and by age 12 he could already play a number of instruments. Quik jumpstarted his path to fame by selling mixtapes he made with the turntable he received while still in school. Through self-promotion, his fame began to rise and he started to DJ and host events in Southern California.
Whether due to knowledge of his coming success or lack of interest, Quik dropped out of high school in the 11th grade. Shortly after, he suffered homelessness when his family home was taken away in foreclosure. There’s little information about what happened over that period of DJ Quik’s life but in 1990, everything changed.
DJ Quik had created so much of a buzz on the streets selling tapes and making appearances at parties and events he gained the attention of local record labels Ruthless Records and Profile Records. Despite a one million dollar offer from Eazy E, Quik went ahead and signed with Profile.
On February 12, 1991, DJ Quik released his debut album, Quik Is the Name, which debuted at #29 on the Billboard 200 chart, where it would peak, and sold 50,000 copies in its first week. After about four years, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA and has to date sold 1,068,203 copies. The album hosted hit singles, “Born and Raised in Compton” and “Tonite.” After his debut success, Quik went on to produce eight more solo studio albums and a collaborative album with rapper Kurupt called Blaqkout in 2009.
Outside of music, DJ Quik has made appearances as an actor on popular TV shows: Method and Red, Entourage, and Everybody Hates Chris. His career is one of the more influential ones on the West Coast. Quik was an instrumental part of the G-Funk sound and helped it to gain popularity early in the rap world. Countless rappers, producers, and DJs alike have noted their influence by DJ Quik and if you ride around SoCal today, there’s no doubt you can hear one of his hits playing on someone’s stereo. If you don’t already listen on the daily, take some time today to appreciated the career of one of the West Coast’s OGs.
On this date in 2005, Compton emcee The Game released his debut album The Documentary on Aftermath/G-Unit/Interscope records.
The Game was the first G-Unit representative from outside of NYC to be a part of the then-dominating roster consisting of Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, and its general, 50 Cent. The album was originally called “Nigga Witta Attitude Vol.1,” but Eazy-E’s wife, Tomica Woods-Wright, legally blocked that N.W.A. title reference from being used.
The album received commercial and critical success, reaching gold status in its first week and 2X platinum within the first two months. The singles that received the most acclaim were 50 Cent-assisted, which many felt was the primary reason for the project’s success. “Hate It Or Love It,” “Westside Story” and This Is How We Do” allowed The Game to see the same degree of fame as his Queens boss, but left many critics to wonder if this feat was capable with no guest appearances. The album’s production was a Hip-Hop producers’ Hall of Fame, with the likes of Kanye West. Scott Storch, Just Blaze, Timbaland, and of course Dr. Dre behind the boards. These key elements make The Documentary The Game’s most notable and successful album to date.
Salute to Dre, 50, Em, The Game, the entire G-Unit and everyone involved in one of the most pivotal Hip-Hop projects of the new millennium.
On this date in 1992, Paramount Pictures presented the highly anticipated hood flick Juice, which stars a still rising rap star by the name of Tupac Shakur, who plays a crooked crimie from Uptown by the name of “Bishop”.
His co-star, Omar Epps(Higher Learning, In Too Deep), plays a local DJ with industry potential named “GQ”, alongside Jermaine “Huggy” Hopkins(Lean On Me) and Khalil Kain, who all form a loosely knit crew of truants who are headed in the wrong direction.
This movie was very instrumental in bringing Hip Hop artists onto the silver screen, with cameo appearances from Treach of Naughty By Nature, Queen Latifah, EPMD’s DJ Scratch and Special Ed. Juice also helped to introduce the soundtrack as a way to market movies for larger budgets.
For those who never took notice, it wasn’t until after ‘Pac made everyone love to hate his character Bishop that Shakur’s run-ins with the law became more frequent and his “Thug Life” persona became more noticeable and for its own intent, purposeful. Many will say that it was life imitating art. Some will say that this was the real Tupac; he was just being filmed.
Ahead of its time to say the least, A Tribe Called Quest’s experimental, alternative, jazz rap was originally unappreciated by mainstream audiences. It took six years for the Tribe’s first album to hit gold. The album might not have been a huge commercial success at first, but their innovative and comedic sound beautifully balanced the light-hearted social consciousness of their tracks. Although “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm” was critically acclaimed, some critics felt that the inspired lyricism and unique humor was at times overshadowed by the group’s immaturity and lack of focus. Their debut album did, however, generate buzz within the Alternative Hip Hop community that has gained them a devout cult following. Today “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm” is certified gold, and in The Source Magazines’s 100 Best Rap Albums. Other accolades include a 5 mic rating from The Source, 4 stars out of 5 by The Rolling Stone Album Guide, and a 3.5 out of 4 stars by the Chicago Tribune.
Regardless of which generation you belong to, every true Hip Hop fan can remember the first time they heard “Can I kick It?” by saying “yes I can!”…and how it changed their perception of the genre. In honor of this special day in Hip Hop history we did some digging and found old school Source articles reviewing “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm”, so feel free to take a look at the history.
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.
James Todd Smith, a.k.a. LL Cool J, nickname “Ladies Love Cool James”; born on Long Island, New York, January 14, 1968. LL Cool J signed to pioneer Hip Hop label Def Jam Records in 1984. His career took off with classic hits, included on albums like: Bigger and Deffer, Walking with a Panther, Mama Said Knock You Out, 14 Shots to the Dome, Mr. Smith. LL turned to act, appearing in movies like B.A.P.S., Halloween H2O, and Any Given Sunday.
LL is undoubtedly one of the most tenured artists in the game, having started his career at the age of 15, signing to Def Jam with the hit demo single “I Need A Beat”. Many artists that are considered the greats on the mic have always been compared to Mr. Smith and his consistency to continue to put out hits and remain relevant over a span of four decades.
Happy born day to one of the GOATs of the game and wish him many more hereafter!
Born Ricky Martin Lloyd Walters on this date in 1965 in London, England, Slick Rick is undoubtedly the best storyteller in the history of Hip Hop.
From stories about his hectic lifestyle just “six minutes” before stage time to his almost unbelievable sexcapades, Rick The Ruler set the bar for rappers to tell their tall tales with style and cadence.
In honor of his born day, TheSource.com has compiled a list of the top five storyline rhymes from his album arsenal.
“La Di Da Di”
“Stepped out the house, stopped short..Oh No! I went back in, I forgot my Kangol..”
“A Children’s Story”
“He ran down the street, there he saw the sister/ shot for his head, he shot back, buit he missed her..”
“Mona Lisa”
“Callin’ me a thief? Please! Don’t even try it! Sit down, eat your slice of pizza and be quiet..”
“The Show”
“I was all alone, no one to be with/ stepped off the D Train at 205th..I saw a pretty girl..”
“Treat Her Like A Prostitute”
“‘Cause all they do is to hurt and trample/ Listen up close here comes my last example..”
On this date in 1970, Wu-Tang Clan swordsman and lyrical legend Raekwon The Chef was born in Staten Island, New York. The Staten Island-based emcee is one of the Wu’s most celebrated artists, with his Only Built 4 Cuban Linx projects reaching cult-like following proportions. Along with his Wu blood kin, Rae has appeared on every WTC project since the group’s inception in 1992, which led up to their monumental debut single “Protect Ya Neck”.
As for the Chef himself, Rae has released six solo albums plus the Wu Massacre project featuring his PNC Ghostface Killah and Method Man. Rae has also appeared in a couple of silver screen hits including the Hip Hop powered The Show and the race-baiting flick Black and White starring Wu-Tang manager Oliver “Power” Grant.
In 2009, Raekwon found religion and converted to Islam.
Happy born day to Shallah Raekwon, wishing him a great day and much more hereafter!
