On this date in the infamous year of 1988, the “Human Orchestra” Biz Markie released his debut full-length album Goin’ Off on Cold Chillin’/Warner Brothers Records.
Produced exclusively by legendary Queensbridge superproducer DJ Marley Marl, Goin Off introduced singer TJ Swan and a then-unknown rapper by the name of Big Daddy Kane. The Brooklyn protege of Biz Mark also wrote the first five songs on the album and was even the subject on the second verse of one of Biz’s most famous songs from the ten-track album, “Vapors”.
Forget the fact that he was a member of the World Famous Juice Crew. With several timeless gems from the album including “Nobody Beats The Biz”, “The Biz Dance” and “Make The Music With Your Mouth”, Biz Mark solidified his position in the game single-handedly with his debut release. Back in 1998, this album was even listed by The Source’s Mind Squad as one of The Best 100 Rap Albums of all time.
Salute to the Biz, Marley, TJ Swan, Kane, Shante, Fly Ty and the rest of the Juice Crew and the Cold Chillin’ crew who made this album a piece of Hip Hop history!
Many people may have heard of the “Five Percenters” or the teachings that stem from this cultural phenomenon born in the ghettos of America, but there are very few who are familiar with the origins of the 5% Nation (also known as the Nation Of Gods and Earths) or that of the founder of the Five Percent, who is best known as Allah. Artists and athletes such as Jay-Z and Carmelo Anthony have shown either their allegiance or alliance to Allah’s 56-year-old Nation. Of all of the religious and nationalist movements of the revolutionary 1960s, his story is always left out of Black History Month recognition, even though Allah met the same treacherous fate as many of the Black leaders of that era.
Born on this date in 1928, the man known as Allah was born Clarence Edward Smith to Louis and Mary Smith in Danville, Virginia. He moved to Harlem, New York as a young adult and it was from there that he began his lifelong journey in establishing a legacy of pride, righteousness, and all-inclusivity among the youth that has expanded all over the globe.
In commemoration of Black History Month, TheSource.com brings you seven facts about Allah and what his 5% Nation has brought to the Black, Latino, Asian and white youth in the United States and around the world.
Allah fought in the Korean War; won several medals including the Silver Star and Purple Heart.
He was a member of Nation Of Islam’s Temple No. 7 under Minister Malcolm X, however, left the NOI in 1963 shortly before Malcolm’s departure.
Allah was given the “Street Academy” at 2122 7th Avenue(now known as Allah School In Mecca) by NYC Mayor John Lindsay in 1967.
Allah was proficient at martial arts, which he learned in Korea and was an instructor to the members of NOI security, Fruit Of Islam.
Allah was not anti-white and taught white 5%ers, including Mayor Lindsay’s assistant Barry Gotterher.
Allah was killed by unknown assailants on June 13, 1969, however, it was revealed in a document declassified by the FBI in 1981 that he was a target of J.Edgar Hoover’s COINTELPRO initiative aimed at Black leaders.
The message of the 5% is not a thing of Hip Hop’s past. Artists such as NYC’s Fame Labs, Detroit’s(D-Mecca) Njeri Earth and Allah Magnetic aka Mullah Don who carries on Allah’s tradition through their music.
On this day in 1995, Compton’s own DJ Quik released his third album entitled Safe + Sound. Released on Profile Records, it peaked at number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA by July 11. Executive produced by Suge Knight, the LP featured the singles “Dollaz & Sense” and “Safe + Sound”.
Some say he was 50 Cent before 50 Cent. Some called him “the Robin Hood of The Ghetto”, while the establishment dubbed him “the crack city terminator.” In the hood, his solution is considered the only possible answer to a continuous epidemic of police brutality. Some of your favorite rappers from French Montana to Lloyd Banks to Jay-Z have name-dropped him on their tracks and BET felt he was so important to American culture that their American Gangster series had to open with him, but only an educated few know why the name Larry Davis continues to ring bells more than three decades after that fateful night in November of ’86.
On February 20, 2008, Adam Abdul Hakeem aka Larry Davis, was stabbed to death in Shawangunk State Prison in New York by a fellow inmate after serving 23 years for an illegal weapons charge. Most would say that people die in American prisons daily, so what’s the big deal about another dead prisoner? Well, it must first be explained why Mr. Davis was in prison for so long on a mere gun charge in the first place.
As he said on camera after his capture in 1986, “the police gave me the guns!”, that Davis was finally charged with after being acquitted for shooting 6 NYPD officers. The then 21-year-old BX native’s defense was that he shot the officers in self-defense. Davis exposed that he sold drugs for these Bronx precinct officers, claiming that they wanted to kill him because of what he knew about the drug operation within the department and a Bronx jury believed him. This case was the first and very possibly the only time in American history that a civilian was cleared of all charges in the shooting of a police officer.
The NYPD and then-Mayor Edward Koch were outraged at the outcome. After Larry’s death, the former Mayor Koch was quoted as saying, “The prison system did what the criminal justice system could not.” It’s safe to say that with the endless accusations against the NYPD and other police departments around the country for brutality against Black and brown people, the sentiment of sympathy for Larry Davis has been met with fierce opposition.
With the recent killings of Black youth by police and civilians becoming the norm, the question in the urban community is whether or not Larry Davis’ solution to police brutality is the only option left. With normal citizens being given the option to shoot first and ask questions later when it comes to Black youth and the prison industrial complex as the penalty for defending yourself, the bare truth is that it has become the only option to some. With landmark cases from Emmitt Till to Botham Jean, history reveals that people such as Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, and even Larry Davis will always be heroes. We’ve heard Larry’s name come from the mouths of everyone from ATCQ to Jay-Z.
Check out Larry’s story on Troy Reed’s Street Stories Larry Davis: A Routine Typical Hit, BET’s American Gangster series and is also rumored to be in the hands of several filmmakers, which could possibly spawn the story on the silver screen.
Today we celebrate the birth of one of the most influential figures in Hip-Hop. Not only was this man the first rap billionaire, but he was also an instrumental part (literally and figuratively) in the creation of a new sub-genre of rap known as G-Funk. The living legend is described is none other than Dr. Dre.
Andre Romelle Young was born in Compton, California on February 18, 1965. He was the first child born to Theodore and Verna Young. His father had a history in music and was a member of an amateur R&B group called The Romells from which Dre gets his middle name.
In 1986, Dre met O’Shea Jackson aka Ice Cube while collaborating on some music for Ruthless Records. Ruthless Records was a famous record label founded by N.W.A. member Eazy-E and west coast rapper Ice-T. These two are widely credited with starting the gangster rap movement on the West Coast. This meeting and the addition of MC Ren birthed one of the greatest music groups of all time, N*ggaz With Attitude.
After a disagreement with Eazy-E, Dre decided to leave N.W.A. to build his own musical empire. Due to advice given to him by his close friend and fellow rapper, The D.O.C., and his bodyguard at the time, Suge Knight, Dre became the flagship artist of Death Row Records, a label started by Knight in 1992. On Death Row Records, Dre released his first solo album titled The Chronic. This album cemented Dr. Dre’s place as one of the top rappers out of California. While working with Death Row, Dre produced the majority of new artist Snoop Dogg’s music helping him in his rise to superstardom, along with tracks for 2Pac who was also a label member.
In ’96 due to a disagreement between Knight and Dre, Dre left Death Row to build his own label called Aftermath Records. This changed the path of Dre’s career forever. The growth began when the head of Interscope Records, Jimmy Iovine, suggested that Dre sign white rapper Eminem. The success of Eminem’s music made Dr. Dre not only one of the most respected rappers/producers in the game but also one of the more powerful moguls.
Dr. Dre was set to release his third album Detox in 2007 but decided to not and instead produce for other artists. Since then Dre has been mostly behind the scenes shaping the current state of rap music. Most recently he produced the uber-successful N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, which has created a rise in N.W.A. support from a new generation. His third studio album, Compton, was released shortly after the film and finally ended the long wait for more work from Dre.
The life and career of Dr. Dre is one that has been able to make Rap and Hip Hop what they are today. Without his influence, who knows where rap music would be today. From everyone at The Source, Happy Birthday Dr. Dre, may you have many more success filled years.
On this day in Hip-Hop History, Texas OGs The Geto Boys released their debut LP Making Trouble 31 years ago. Although the start of the career of one of the most prolific southern rap groups to ever grace the mic, this project may have been their least heard and most unknown album.
Coming at a time in the group’s history where they were referred to as the more conventionally spelled “Ghetto Boys”, this album showcased the lyrical ability of a then four-member underground group. At the time the group was composed of DJ Reddy Red of Trenton, NJ(RIP), Prince Johnny C, and the Slim Jukebox, with Bushwick Bill on the roster as a hypeman and a dancer. It wasn’t until after the release of this project that Rap-A-Lot Records dropped Reddy Red, Johnny C, and Slim Jukebox to add Scarface and Willie D.
On this project, the group used a style of rap and aesthetics that resembled the legends Run-DMC. The mimicry of the New York rap trio was deep. The group wore all black with top hats and thick gold chains, their music featured heavy rock influence with guitar riffs and high energy drum patterns, and their group dynamic of two emcees and a DJ is exactly what Run-DMC sported.
This album was not the most popular album from the Geto Boys camp, but it is, however, an interesting piece of the group’s history. This project shows the growth and development it took for the group to grow to become the legends that they are respected as today.
On this date in 1993, Tupac Shakur released his second full-length studio album, Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z… on Jive Records and T.N.T. Recordings. With the ‘N-word always having a negative connotation, ‘Pac flipped it to an acronym, meaning Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished, with the “Z” in the title making it plural.
This album continued on the same wavelength as his debut, with his sociopolitical viewpoint as the basis of the album’s overall subject matter. The most recognizable singles from the album are “I Get Around,” “Holler If Ya Hear Me,” and the inspirational “Keep Ya Head Up,” which helped to propel the album to platinum status.
