On this day in 1975, Andre Antwon Patton, who is best known as Big Boi, one half of the legendary ATL duo Outkast, was born. Patton has morphed into one of the biggest rappers/actors of this generation.
With four Outkast albums as well as four solo full-length releases of his own, Big Boi is recognized as one of the driving forces that helped put the spotlight on A-Town as a Hip Hop powerhouse city. His acting career rivals that of any of ATL’s pioneers except his partner Andre 3000, with appearances in the movies ATL, Idlewild, and Who’s Your Caddy as well as appearances on the sitcoms such as King Of The Hill.
Happy born day to Sir Lucius wish him many more from The Mind Squad!
On this date in 1994, crew members Wyclef Jean, Pras, and a young, talented Lauryn Hill otherwise known as The Fugees formulated their first album entitled Blunted On Reality on Hip Hop indie imprint Ruffhouse Records.
Not as familiar to Hip Hop heads as their follow-up smash sophomore album The Score, Blunted On Reality did not receive the commercial success their first go around, yielding only 12,000 copies sold in the first two years. After the release of The Score, that number jumped to 125K.
With Clef’s hands in every aspect of production, there were very few times when the Haitian national wasn’t behind the boards during the production of this album. Other producers include Salaam Remi, Brand X, Khallis Bayyan and even Pras.
Salute to the trio for bringing us this slept on classic!
Last year on the first day of Black History month, at least a dozen Historically Black Colleges and Universities received bomb threats, causing the schools to either evacuate or dismiss classes for that day altogether, showing the relentless commitment to racism in this country, especially towards its specialized, secondary learning institutions.
**From the report dated Feb 1, 2022**
The FBI is actively investigating bomb threats at the following schools: Mississippi Valley State University, Morgan State University, Alcorn State University, Tougaloo College, Jackson State University, Kentucky State University, Fort Valley State University, Howard University, Xavier University, The University of the District of Columbia, Spelman College, and Edward Waters University.
According to the report, Morgan State closed their campus for the day(February 1) due to the alleged threat.
The FBI released a statement via USA Today about the bomb threats which read, “The FBI is aware of the series of bomb threats around the country and we are working with our law enforcement partners to address any potential threats. As always, we would like to remind members of the public that if they observe anything suspicious to report it to law enforcement immediately.”
On this date in 1994, the legendary Staten Island, NY collective known as the Wu-Tang Clan released one of the crew’s most memorable songs to date; “C.R.E.A.M.(Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” from their debut album Enter The 36 Chambers.
Recorded in Firehouse studios in NYC, Wu-Tang Clan leader/advisor The RZA sampled The Charmels’ 1967 song, “As Long As I’ve Got You.” Since the WTC’s creation of this hit, “cream” became a slang term used for money in hoods all across the country and eventually the globe.
On January 29, 2009, “C.R.E.A.M.” was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 units, 15 years after it was first released.
According to groundbreaking publications such as Time Magazine and Rolling Stone, C.R.E.A.M. is regarded as one of the best rap songs of all time.
On this day in 1989, Bay Area rap legend Too $hort released his second album Life Is …Too $hort on the legendary, but now defunct Jive/RCA imprint.
Not long after $hort retired from selling thousands of units from the trunk of his car, his fifth full-length studio release became his top-selling album to date. Even after dropping over twenty albums, Too $hort’s most successful LP was this ten-track gem laced with creative arrangements of curse words and a crash course on the pimp game. Tracks like “Pimp the Ho” and “Don’t Fight The Feelin’” were instructional tracks to those outside of Oakland unfamiliar with $hort, while songs like “Cusswords” and the title track gave off an “American hood” appeal that many around the country during the crack era could relate to.
Thanks to the Bay Area vet who put it down of Northern California when there wasn’t many well known rappers outside of New York to begin with. Salute for this piece of Hip Hop history!
On today’s date in 2007, Sean Price of the legendary Boot Camp Clik released his second solo album entitled Jesus Price Supastar on Duck Down Records.
Jesus Price Supastar features production from 9th Wonder and Khrysis, as well as Illmind, Tommy Tee, Moss, and P.F. Cuttin. Album guests include Boot Camp Clik members Buckshot, Steele and Rock, Rustee Juxx, Sadat X, Block McCloud, Phonte, Chaundon, and The Loudmouf Choir. The album was met with a positive reception from music critics.
Jesus Price Supastar debuted on the Billboard Hot 200 chart at #196, making it the first Boot Camp Clik album since 1999 to crack the chart.
This album was a superb follow up to Monkey Barz, Price’s solo debut, but not even the BCC expected Sean’s solo ventures to be received so well by an entirely different generation of Hip Hoppers than he was used to that celebrated his Helton Skeltah success.
After four successful solo albums, Price’s life was cut short in August 2015 by what has still been ruled undetermined.
Salute to the Price family, his wife Bernie, his daughter Shaun, Buckshot, Steele, Tek and the entire Duck Down team for sharing the unparalleled talent of an artist like Sean Price. P!
Born on this date in 1968, William Griffith Jr. aka Rakim Allah is considered the greatest emcee to ever touch the mic. His debut album along with DJ Eric B., Paid In Full, is a necessary piece of Hip-Hop’s creative history, used as an instructional tool to many up-and-coming emcees and deejays as a style and sound to emulate. There were a few emcees who cashed checks sounding like the “R”, so since it’s said that mockery is the best form of flattery, TheSource.com put together this list of Rakim soundalikes who owe the God some recognition for borrowing from his style.
King Sun The 6’8″ emcee, whose raps were also saturated with Five Percent Nation vernacular, had a flow and vocal tone that was very similar to Rakim, and being that he came out after Ra, his music immediately drew many comparisons.
MC Rell With all due respect, this guy was the epitome of what Hip-Hop considered a “biter.” Rell not only dressed exactly like Rakim on his Follow The Leader album cover but only true Rakim fans and Hip-Hop aficionados could tell the difference between this copycat and the 18th Letter. Needless to say, his career was very short-lived.
Antoinette As the only female on this list, her voice couldn’t possibly sound like the God, but she tried extremely hard to mimic his flow in order to get recognition in the male-dominated field of emceeing. Needless to say, her nemesis and pioneer femcee MC Lyte, used that in her “Beat Biter” battle record, saying, “..you should win a prize as a Rakim soundalike..”
Will Smith on “Summertime” In possibly one of his most celebrated singles, the lyrical funnyman borrowed Rakim’s slow flow and monotone voice instead of his regular, quirky octave that most fans of his TV sitcom, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, are familiar with.
Grand Daddy I.U. The rapper known for his “Something New” fame dropped several albums with a voice, flow, and cadence that was identical to Rakim. I.U. passed away in December 2022. RIP
Today in Hip-Hop history, Twista released his Kamikaze album, the Chi-Town MC’s fourth studio LP, in 2004. As Twista’s only platinum release, it was his most successful album to date.
During this era, Twista’s Guinness Book of World Records rap speed was chic in the rap game, which made many forget that he began his career on the mic in the late 80s with his signature tongue twister style. In commemoration of Kamikaze, TheSource.com has chosen five tracks from Twista’s arsenal that made you forget that he’s been in this game for three decades.
“Welcome 2 My Hood(Remix)” – DJ Khaled feat. Mavado, Birdman, Ace Hood, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Bun B, Waka Flocka Flame and Twista
On this date in 1999, Brooklyn emcee Inga Merchand aka Foxy Brown dropped her sophomore effort, Chyna Doll, on the Violator/Def Jam imprint. This album rode the successful wave of previous projects released by Brown including her appearance on The Firm album with Nas, AZ, and Nature as well as her own 1996 debut LP Ill Nana. The album debuted at the pole position of Billboard 200, which was only accomplished previously by Lauryn Hill with The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill just a year earlier.
With production, courtesy of the likes of Kanye West, D-Dot, Irv Gotti, Lil Rob, Swizz Beatz along with Foxy’s salacious lyrics, this album was guaranteed success as proved in selling over a million copies.
Tracks such as “Bonnie And Clyde Part II” featuring Jay-Z and the unexpected “Ride(Down South)” with 8-Ball, MJG, Too Short, and Juvenile was Foxy’s evidence of her versatility and willingness to bring the Hip Hop culture together regardless of geographic origin.
Salute to Foxy, Young Gavin, and the entire Def Jam staff for putting together this piece of Hip Hop history!
On this date in 2000, neo-soul pioneer D’Angelo dropped his second full-length studio album, Voodoo, to follow up on the epic 1995 Brown Sugar LP.
Recording sessions for the album took place from 1998 to 1999 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, featuring an extensive line-up of musicians associated with the Soulquarians musical collective. Produced primarily by D’Angelo, Voodoo also features production from the legendary DJ Premier and neo-soul mainstay Raphael Saadiq. The album features lyrical themes regarding relationships, sexuality, growth, and fatherhood.
With the armor of heavy promotion and an anticipated release, the album was released to commercial and critical success. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 320,000 copies in its first week, and spent 33 weeks on the chart. It was promoted with five singles, including the hit single “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” whose music video garnered D’Angelo mainstream attention and controversy. Upon its release, Voodoo received general acclaim from music critics and earned D’Angelo several accolades. It was named one of the year’s best albums by numerous publications.
Salute to D’Angelo and everyone who took part in creating this timeless masterpiece!
