Tag Archives: 15th anniversary

Today In Hip Hop History: J Dilla’s First Posthumous LP ‘The Shining’ Turns 15 Years Old!

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On this day in Hip Hop history, The Source celebrates the 10th anniversary of the late great J Dilla’s first posthumous album The Shining. This relic of the culture is one of Hip Hop’s more cherished albums. In its “unfinished” glory, The Shining serves as the first LP that Jay Dee spits on since his debut Welcome 2 Detroit in 2001.

As J. Dilla’s time on this Earth was coming to a close, he was persistently working on what would become his final masterpiece. Unable to finish on his own, Dilla called upon fellow Detroit artist Karriem Riggins to put the final touches on the project for him. With Riggins acting as if inside Dilla’s head, this style of completion brought about an interestingly unique sound for the album. Although some may call it “disjointed”, the warm and unpolished mastering of this album give it the nostalgic quality of a Golden Age LP.

With features from Common, D’Angelo, and Black Thought this album is a staple of Hip Hop soul. Dilla’s trademark smooth cut production beefed up with live instrumentation created a sound that showed a matured J. Dilla more refined than before. Short and to the point, like the majority of his work, this project is project was the perfect remedy to aid the loss of one of the most loved and respected figures in Hip Hop.

Commercially, the album was met with success as well as critical acclaim. Despite being put out by the independent Barely Breaking Even Records, The Shining peaked at #103 on the Billboard 200 chart and #35 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart. Although sales may have not been on par with the hit albums of the time, Dilla’s work still received a momentous amount of praise and admiration on his phantom album.

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Today in Hip-Hop History: Queen Latifah Receives Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame 15 Years Ago

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On this date in 2006, Dana Owens, who is best known to the Hip Hop world as Queen Latifah, received a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the very first Hip Hop artist to receive the prestigious honor.

Recognized for her contribution to the film world, Latifah’s appearances in 1997’s Set It Off and 2003’s Bringing Down The House helped put her in a position to receive accolades as a seminal actress, but her appearance in 2002’s Chicago is what earned her an Oscar nomination and brought international attention to her other talents besides on the mic.

“I think the reason I am here is to inspire African-American women who are rappers, full-figured women to know that they can do it too,” said a 35-year-old Latifah at her star reception ceremony in 2005.

Salute to Latifah for paving the way on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the other Hip Hop artists who now have their stars on Hollywood Boulevard. Remember who did it first!

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Queen Latifah Receives Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame 15 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

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Today In Hip Hop History: MF DOOM Dropped His Fifth LP ‘MM…FOOD’ 15 Years Ago

On this date in 2004, MF DOOM dropped his fifth full length studio release MM..FOOD. Put out on the underground Rhymesayers Entertainment label, some songs from the project were previously released under the name Madvillian on another label. The album featured classic samples from several superhero cartoons including the Fantastic Four, Spiderman and Superman.

The album featured production mainly from DOOM himself, with Count Bass D and Madlib on the help out on just two tracks on the 15 track project. Some of the standout tracks include “Hoe Cakes”, “Guinnesses”, which featured Tennessee born/ATL bred femcee Empress StaHHr and 4ize and the kaleidoscopic “Fig Leaf Bi-Carbonate”.

Salute to DOOM and everyone involved with this timeless album!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: MF DOOM Dropped His Fifth LP ‘MM…FOOD’ 15 Years Ago appeared first on The Source | The Magazine of Hip Hop Music,Culture and Politics.

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Today in Hip Hop History: Jay-Z Dropped ‘The Black Album’ 15 Years Ago

On this day in Hip Hop history Brooklyn’s own Jay-Z released he would-be retirement album The Black Album. Although there was virtually no pause between The Black Album and new Jay-Z music (collaboration albums with both R. Kelly and Linkin Park were released the following year), this album is easily the greatest retirement project of all time.

In it’s entirety, this album sounds more like a greatest hits album than the eighth project of an illustrious career. Starting with the first track, “December 4th”, this album takes the listener on a nostalgic journey. This opening tale of Hov’s origin sets the tone of the album and properly introduces Jay to an industry that he feels has taken him for granted. This album is an opus to Jay’s distaste with the rap game a whole. On numerous tracks, specifically “Encore” and “What More Can I Say”, Hov can be heard stating his frustration with being the one punch man (a fictional super hero who can defeat any opponent with merely one punch causing him to become bored with super hero work) of Hip Hop.

Aside from staking his claim as the greatest, Hov spent this album perfectly juggling his unique brand of bragging with the dropping of street knowledge you couldn’t pay for. Singles “Change Clothes” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” are perfect examples of the particular swagger Jay-Z brought to rap. His mature yet flamboyant lyricism is on par with the life described by Robin Leach. As the album progresses, Jay begins more and more to put his would-be competition in its place with sheer will power. From “Threats” to “Lucifer” it seems Jay is directly challenging the rest of the rap world to get on his level before the never again get the chance.

The album ends with two songs that could interchangeably be used as an outro. Both “Allure” and “My 1st Song” show Jay-Z coming to terms with the final chapter of his career coming to a close, even if he was planning a comeback.

Featuring production from Kanye West, Just Blaze, The Neptunes, Timbaland, 9th Wonder, Rick Rubin, DJ Quik, and even Eminem, its easy to see why this album is as amazing as it is. Aside from the prolific production team, Jay-Z put together one of his most successful albums without any features (aside a hook sung by Pharrell) . Commercially, the album peaked at #1 on both the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart and the Billboard 200 chart (where it appeared twice, each for a week). The album also went triple platinum in the United States and made appearances on music charts of eight different countries.

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