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!
On this date at the top of the 21st century, legendary Yonkers trio The L.O.X.(Living Off Experience) released their sophomore full-length LP appropriately titled We Are The Streets on the Ruff Ryders/Interscope imprint.
Produced primarily by Double R in-house producer Swizz Beatz, We Are The Streets saw substantially more commercial success than its predecessor Money, Power And Respect, which solidified The L.O.X.’s hardcore Hip Hop fanbase. This sophomore album secured The l.O.X.’s tenure in the game despite their fallout with Sean “Diddy” Combs and Bad Boy Records not long after. The album was propelled by hit singles, but ironically the production of two of the three main singles was outsourced; ‘Ryde Or Die Bitch”, which was produced by Timbaland, and “Recognize”, which was produced by DJ Premier.
The album saw a short tenure on the Billboard charts, reaching Number 5 on Billboard 200 and Number 2 on US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Salute to Jada, Sheek Styles, Swizz, Eve, Dee, Waah, and the entire Ruff Ryder camp for this crucial piece of Hip Hop history!
On this date in 1989, West Coast rap giant Tone Loc released his debut album Loc-ed After Dark on Delicious Vinyl Records. It was a huge success, making it to #1 on the Billboard 200 the week of April 15 and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop album charts. It featured three hit singles — “Wild Thing”, “Funky Cold Medina”, and “I Got It Goin’ On” — and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA.
Lōc-ed After Dark’s album cover is based on Donald Byrd’s 1963 record, A New Perspective.
On this date in 1965, Jeffrey Townes, better known to Hip Hop and television fans as “Jazzy Jeff” was born in the City of Brother Love and has become one of the best to ever place their hands on a pair of Technics 1200s.
Originally known as the DJ for rapper/actor The Fresh Prince aka Will Smith, Jeff’s claim to fame was his seemingly innate ability to play the wheels of steel like instruments, popularizing the “transformer” style scratching sound which was mimicked by many DJs who succeeded and preceded him. The two-time Grammy Award winner later became an established producer, sitting behind the boards for artists like Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, The Roots, Floetry, and many more. Just last year, Jazz worked on the Straight Outta Compton film, doing scratch overdubs for the classic flick.
Happy born day and salute to one of the pioneers of the 1s and 2s of Hip Hop culture!
Hip Hop lost a great DJ over two decades ago, but in celebration of JMJ’s life today, his legacy will forever live on
On this date in 1965 in Brooklyn, New York, Jason Mizell, who later became Jam Master Jay, was born.
Jay was the DJ for the legendary Kings from Hollis, Queens, Run-D.M.C. His musical career took him all over the world and even expanded his talents into Hip Hop filmographies, such as Krush Groove and Tougher Than Leather. JMJ is also responsible for breaking several artists from his Jam Master Jay Records imprint, including Onyx, Chuck D of Public Enemy, and 50 Cent.
On October 30, 2002, Jay was tragically shot and killed by an unknown assailant in a Jamaica, Queens recording studio. To this day, no one has been charged with his murder.
The Source Magazine would like to send a super born day salute to this icon of our culture. He may be physically gone, but his legacy will never be forgotten!
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.
