Gin and Juice is the second single by rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg from his debut album Doggystyle. A top 10 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, peaking at number eight, “Gin and Juice” was nominated for the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. It was listed as number eight on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.”Gin and Juice” was produced by Dr. Dre.
Ricky Walters born 14 January 1965, better known by his stage name Slick Rick, is a Grammy-nominated rapper. He has also been known as Rick the Ruler , MC Ricky D and Ricky Dee. He began his career in late 1983, in the hip hop genre, where he recorded a series of acclaimed recordings such as “La Di Da Di” and “Children’s Story”. He is known for the use of narrative in his raps and has been called “hip hop’s greatest storyteller. Slick Rick rose to stardom in an era known to fans as the Golden age of hip hop. His music has been frequently sampled and interpolated by other artists such as TLC, Black Star, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, and Color Me Badd, with many of these songs later becoming hit singles.
Money, Power & Respect is the debut album by hip hop group The Lox. It was released on January 13, 1998, through Bad Boy Records and featured production from The Hitmen, Dame Grease and Swizz Beatz. The album found huge success, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and spawned two charting singles, “Money, Power & Respect” and “If You Think I’m Jiggy”. In 2008, the single “Money, Power & Respect was ranked number 53 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
Corey Woods born January 12, 1970, better known by the stage name Raekwon, is a rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx in 1995, and has since recorded numerous solo albums, as well as continuing to work with Wu-Tang and providing an extensive number of guest contributions to other hip hop artist’s works. He is the founder of his own label ICEH20 Records. Raekwon is often cited as one of the pioneers of the Mafioso rap subgenre.
Setbacks is the debut studio album by hip hop recording artist ScHoolboy Q, released for digital download on January 11, 2011 under Top Dawg Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from fellow Black Hippy members Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and singer-songwriters Alori Joh, Jhené Aiko and BJ the Chicago Kid. The album’s production was handled by Lord Quest, Willie B, Focus…, Rahki, Phonix Beats, Tae Beast, DJ Wes, King Blue, Sounwave and more. Schoolboy Q titled the album Setbacks, due to the limitations he experienced and endured before releasing the album. After the release of Setbacks, the album reached number 100 on the US Billboard 200, number 12 on the Top Rap Albums, number 25 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 13 on the Top Independent Albums chart. Only a few weeks after Setbacks was released, it already had 4,395 downloads and was praised by fans and critics alike.
Dah Shinin’ is the debut album from Brooklyn Hip Hop duo Smif-N-Wessun released January 10, 1995. Dah Shinin’ has become one of the most heralded New York Hip Hop albums from the mid-1990s, famous for its hardcore lyrical content and dark, dusty beats. Production was handled by Da Beatminerz members DJ Evil Dee, Mr. Walt, Rich Blak and Baby Paul. The album has gone on to sell over 300,000 copies in the United States, and includes the underground smash single “Bucktown”. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums.
Early Mornin’ Stoned Pimp is Kid Rock’s third full-length album. It was distributed by his own label, Top Dog Records. There are two pressings of this CD; the first, the 1996 original pressing, has the Top Dog logo on the actual CD while the 1999 reissue it just a basic labeled disc. Kid Rock used the money he made from his 1994/1995 monthly Bootleg Series cassettes as well as becoming the janitor at The White Room Studios to purchase recording time. “Intro” has been used by the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons at their games. This album is not backed musically by the Twisted Brown Trucker Band as many report. He did not start arranging the group into a full-fledged backing band until he began pushing for major label attention in 1997. There are three different alternative covers for the cassette release. The first is commonly known as the “blurry” version. There is also a “Joe C” version and a very rare “CD cover” cassette as well. Kid Rock sold a green label pressing of the album in concert in 1999. The songs “Where U at Rock” and “Black Chick, White Guy” were remade for his 1998 album Devil Without a Cause, while “Early Mornin’ Stoned Pimp”, “Paid”, “I Wanna Go Back”, and “Ya Keep On” were completely re-recorded for the The History of Rock album with additional samples, piano parts, and guitar parts. “The Prodigal Son Returns” was the intro to “Prodigal Son”, but it was left off the final version of The Polyfuze Method. “Shotgun Blast” was renamed “Blast” in 1999 and was used on the soundtrack to WCW Mayhem: The Music.
Justin Smith born January 8, 1978, better known as Just Blaze, is a hip hop record producer from Paterson, New Jersey. Blaze is also the CEO of Fort Knocks Entertainment.He is most known for producing Jay-Z songs on the albums The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2, and The Black Album. His production can also be found on Eminem’s 2010 album Recovery. Blaze appears in the video for the third single from Recovery entitled “No Love”, which he also produced.
“Hit ‘Em High (The Monstars’ Anthem)” is a 1996 hip hop song performed by B-Real, Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J, and Method Man from the Space Jam Soundtrack. Though the movie received mixed reviews, the soundtrack was a 1990’s rap movement breakthrough. It failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100, but was hugely successful in the United Kingdom. The video (directed by Hype Williams) is featured in black and white form with scenes from the movie, mostly The Monstars. They wore jerseys that the Monstars had in the movie while exchanging lyrics in a basketball court.
“Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check” is Busta Rhymes’ first solo single and was released in 1996 from his solo debut album The Coming. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, and also peaked at the same position in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. In the United States, the song was released as a double A-side single with “Everything Remains Raw”.
Hip hop’s roots as a musical phenomenon are subject to debate, but its roots as a commercial phenomenon are much clearer. They trace back directly to January 5, 1980, when the song “Rapper’s Delight” became the first hip hop single ever to reach the Billboard top 40.
In January 2001, Robert Matthew Van Winkle better known as Vanilla Ice was arrested by police in Davie, Florida for assaulting his wife, Laura. According to the criminal complaint, Ice and his wife argued as they drove on Interstate 595. Ice admitted to pulling hair from her head to prevent her from jumping out of the truck’s window. He pleaded guilty to charges of disorderly conduct four months later and was sentenced to probation and ordered to attend family therapy sessions.
Higher Learning is the soundtrack to the 1995 film of the same name. It was released on January 3, 1995 through Epic Records and contained a mixture of different music genres including hip hop, R&B and rock. The soundtrack did fairly well on the Billboard charts, peaking at #39 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Keith Matthew Boxley born January 2, 1962, better known as Keith Shocklee or Wizard K-Jee, is a hip hop producer and DJ. He was an original member of Public Enemy and The Bomb Squad. He has contributed his talent to several albums including It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet. Shocklee also co-produced the singles “Bring the Noise” and “Fight The Power,” which were included on Rolling Stone’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.”