“The Blast” is a hip hop single from Reflection Eternal’s debut album, Train of Thought. It features rapping from the duo’s emcee, Talib Kweli, as well as from its producer, DJ Hi-Tek. It is the only Reflection Eternal song that Hi-Tek raps on and like all Reflection Eternal songs, he produces it. The song has a somber and jazzy beat backed by vocals from Vinia Mojica. It has a music video directed by Little X in which Kweli and Hi-Tek are rapping in a rainstorm. The music video version is extended in length, and gives Talib Kweli an extra verse. It was also very successful, since it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks and #49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
It Ain’t 4 Play is the first and only album released by rap group, Funk Mobb. It was released July 15, 1996 on Sick Wid It Records and Jive Records. The album was produced by G-Note, D-Shot, K-1, K-Lou, Levitti, Mac Shawn, and Studio Ton. It peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number 28 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers. One single was released, “I Wanna See Ya”. The last track, “Mr. Bubble”, is a bonus track exclusive to the CD release.
Hello Nasty is the fifth studio album by the Beastie Boys. It was released on July 14, 1998 via Capitol Records and sold 681,000 copies in its first week, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart. The album took home two awards at the 1999 Grammys, in the categories of Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “Intergalactic”.
Full Clip – A Decade of Gang Starr is a compilation album, featuring 32 songs released by Hip Hop duo Gang Starr between 1989 and 1999, plus a brief ‘intro’ track. It was released by Virgin Records. The album includes 21 tracks taken from the five albums it had released up to that point, eight of which were previously available only on soundtracks or vinyl singles, and three newly recorded tracks “Full Clip”, “Discipline” and “All 4 the Ca$h”. The compilation was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 19, 1999.
Wanted is the fourth studio album by rapper Bow Wow, it was released on July 12, 2005, by Columbia Records. The album debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 120,000 copies in the first week. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping over a million copies in the United States. Clean versions of “Fresh Azimiz” and “Let Me Hold You” were recorded. This was Bow Wow’s first album to contain uncensored profanity.Wanted received mixed reviews from music critics.
Kimberly Denise Jones was born July 11, 1974 and known by her stage name Lil’ Kim. She is a rapper, songwriter, record producer, model, and actress. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, living much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, Jones would freestyle rap, heavily influenced by actress/singer Diana Ross, and fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and The Lady of Rage. Performing a freestyle rap for The Notorious B.I.G. got her music career started in 1995 with his group Junior M.A.F.I.A., whose debut album Conspiracy generated three hit singles. Kimberly Jones’ debut studio album, Hard Core (1996) was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and spawned three consecutive No. 1 hits. In 2005, she served a yearlong prison sentence for lying to a jury about her friends’ involvement in a shooting four years earlier. During her incarceration, her fourth album The Naked Truth was released. She returned to the public eye in 2009 with an appearance on Dancing with the Stars. Throughout her career, Jones has earned several accolades for her work. In 2012, she was honorably listed on VH1’s “100 Greatest Women In Music” list at number 45, the second highest position for a solo female hip-hop artist.
Shame is the second EP by by duo MadGibbs, which consists of Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs and California musician Madlib. It was released on July 10, 2012 through Madlib Invazion in both digital and 12-inch vinyl formats.
Boyz N the Hood is the soundtrack to the 1991 film. It was released on July 9, 1991 through Warner Bros. Records and contained mostly hip hop music. The album was very successful, making it to #12 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&B Albums chart and was certified gold by the RIAA on September 12 of that year.
Whodini is the self-titled debut album by the group Whodini. It was released in 1983 on Jive/Arista Records and spawned two hit singles: “Magic’s Wand” and “The Haunted House of Rock.
Paid in Full is the debut album of hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, released on July 7, 1987, by Island-subsidiary label 4th & B’way Records. The duo recorded the album at hip hop producer Marley Marl’s home studio and Power Play Studios in New York City, following Rakim’s response to Eric B.’s search for a rapper to complement his disc jockey work in 1985. The album peaked at number fifty-eight on the Billboard 200 chart. Paid in Full is credited as a benchmark album of golden age hip hop. Rakim’s rapping, which pioneered the use of internal rhymes in hip hop, set a higher standard of lyricism in the genre and served as a template for future rappers. The album’s heavy sampling by Eric B. became influential in hip hop production. The record has sold over a million copies and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it platinum in 1995. In 2003, the album was ranked number 228 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Curtis James Jackson III was born July 6, 1975, better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is a rapper, singer, entrepreneur, investor and actor from New York City. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of the borough of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic. Although he left drug-dealing to pursue a musical career, he was struck by nine bullets in a 2000 shooting. After Jackson released the compilation album Guess Who’s Back? in 2002, he was discovered by Eminem and signed by Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. With the aid of Eminem and Dr. Dre who produced his first major-label album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Jackson became one of the world’s best selling rappers and rose to prominence with East Coast hip hop group G-Unit which he leads de facto. In 2003 he founded G-Unit Records, signing his G-Unit associates Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. Jackson had similar commercial and critical success with his second album, The Massacre, which was released in 2005. He released his fifth studio album, Animal Ambition, in 2014 and is working on his sixth studio album: Street King Immortal, scheduled for release in 2015. During his career Jackson has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won several awards, including a Grammy Award, thirteen Billboard Music Awards, six World Music Awards, three American Music Awards and four BET Awards. He has pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2005), the Iraq War film Home of the Brave (2006) and Righteous Kill (2008). 50 Cent was ranked the sixth-best artist of the 2000s, the third-best rapper (behind Eminem and Nelly) and Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and The Massacre were ranked the 12th and 37th best albums of the decade by Billboard.
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs born July 5, 1969, better known by his stage name RZA is a music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, rapper, actor, director, composer and screenwriter. A prominent figure in hip hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost all of Wu-Tang Clan’s albums as well as many Wu-Tang solo and affiliate projects. He is a cousin of the late band-mate, Ol’ Dirty Bastard and The GZA (who also formed the group with RZA). He has also released solo albums under the alter-ego Bobby Digital, along with executive producing credits for side projects. In addition to the Wu-Tang Clan and his solo releases, RZA was also a founding member of the horrorcore Hip Hop group Gravediggaz where he used the name The RZArector. Furthermore, he has acted in several movies, including Coffee and Cigarettes, American Gangster, Gospel Hill, Life Is Hot in Cracktown, Ghost Dog, Funny People, Derailed, Due Date and Repo Men. He also appeared in the Showtime TV series Californication. His directorial debut is for the film he co-wrote and in which he plays the title role, The Man with the Iron Fists, also starring Russell Crowe. On November 1, 2012, he introduced the movie at a preview screening in the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, the evening before the Universal picture opened nationwide. The magazine The Source placed him on its list of the 20 greatest producers in the magazine’s twenty-year history.[3] He also made the “Elite 8” in the search for The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All Time by Vibe. NME placed him on their list of the 50 Greatest Producers ever.
Brown Sugar is the debut album of recording artist D’Angelo, released on July 4, 1995, by EMI Music. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1994 to 1995 at Battery Studios and RPM Studios in New York City and at the Pookie Lab in Sacramento. Production, instrumentation, arrangements, and songwriting were primarily handled by D’Angelo, who employed both vintage recording equipment and modern electronic devices. Brown Sugar contains themes of love and romance, and features a fusion of contemporary R&B and traditional soul music, along with elements of funk, quiet storm, and hip hop music. Brown Sugar debuted at number six on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart, selling 300,000 copies in its first two months. With the help of its four singles, it spent 65 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and attained platinum shipments within a year of its release. Upon its release, Brown Sugar received acclaim from music critics and earned D’Angelo several accolades, including four Grammy Award nominations. Regarded by music writers as a pivotal album in neo soul, the album provided commercial visibility to the musical movement, amid the prominence of producer-driven, digitally approached R&B.
Lil’ Romeo is the self-titled debut studio album by rapper, Lil’ Romeo. It was released July 3, 2001 on No Limit Records and Priority Records. The album has feature productions by Master P, Carlos Stephens and Sean “Barney” Thomas, the album also has guest appearances by Silkk the Shocker, Lil’ Zane, Allusion, Little D, 6 Piece and Afficial. The album garnered mixed reviews from music critics. It spawned two singles: “My Baby” and “The Girlies”. The album debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA.
