On this day in Hip-Hop History, New York-based supergroup The Firm released the sole studio album, The Album. As a collaborative effort made by Nas, Aftermath label-head Dr. Dre and marketing genius Steve Stoute, The Album was designed to boost the commercial and mainstream appeal of four of New York’s most prolific emcees: Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Cormega (unfortunately Cormega and the rest of those involved never saw eye-to-eye and he was swiftly replaced by Queensbridge Nature prior to finishing The Album).
Around the time of the group’s formation, its future members were at a pivotal moment in their careers. Nas, who had recently released his prolific debut Illmatic, was not receiving his due respect as one of the greatest active rappers of the time. Of course, he was in great standing with the actual rap community (he was the first non-Wu Tang member to appear on a Wu-Tang track), his fame among the public was disproportional. This disparity forced Nas to hire Stoute as his manager in an attempt to change his commercial approach.
Ironically, this was the second collaborative project of East Coast and West Coast artists involved in the coastal beef of that era. The first being the late Tupac Shakur and the Boot Camp Clik’s 1996 One Nation project.
Simultaneously, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Cormega were all experience a momentous rise in success. Foxy Brown’s work from 1995 with Jay-Z’s hit “Ain’t No Nig*a” in 1996 lead to her becoming one of the most coveted female emcees in New York. Her popularity in the industry led to a bidding war for her contract, won by Def Jam Recordings. AZ was coming off the success of his 1995 debut LP Doe or Die and Cormega was just released from serving a bid in prison. It would seem that the stars had aligned so that this project could take place.
This first time the quartet appeared on a single was Nas’ “Affirmative Action” on his sophomore LP It Was Written. The group’s chemistry and the single’s critical and commercial success made coming together as a supergroup a no-brainer for all involved.
Both the group’s name and the title of the album are an illustration of the 1991 John Grisham legal-thriller novel The Firm.
Commercially, the endeavor as a whole was a mass success. The Album debuted at #1 on both the Billboard 200 chart and Top R&B/Hip Hop chart. It sold 147,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell 925,000 in the United States. The record also had international success charting in Canada (where it sold 50,000 units), France, and the Netherlands.
On this day in Hip Hop history, we celebrate the birth of one of Hip Hop and pop culture’s most recognizable icons, Snoop Doggy Dogg. Uncle Snoop was born Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. in Long Beach, California in 1971. Since then he has risen to become a household name in Hip Hop. His image and style are synonymous with the West Coast and his name will forever stand among the Pantheon of legends who helped shape Hip Hop culture.
Over his 22 (and counting) album career, Snoop has always played close attention to visuals. With every album, Snoop has put together a theatrical representation of his G-Funk sound. In honor of his born day, we have compiled a list of the ten best videos from his 26-year career.
#10 “Vato” feat. B-Real – Tha Blue Carpet Treatment
In the streets of Los Angeles, African-Americans and Latinos have never really seen eye-to-eye. Due to the immense gang culture of this southern California metropolitan area, the two races have been at odds. With this video, Snoop and Chicano gangsta rapper B-Real come together to try and ease some of that racial tension. The video was directed by Phillip G. Atwell and premiered on BET on August 30, 2006. An animated version was also released in the following month.
#9 “Faden Away” as 7 Days of Funk – 7 Days of Funk
In 2013, Snoop Dogg amused the pseudonym Snoopzilla, teamed up with LA-based producer DāM-FunK, and became a part of the prolific synth-heavy G-Funk group 7 Days of Funk. The video for “Faden Away” has a very retro feel, reminiscent of the years when funk monopolized the airwaves. Directed by Henry DeMaio, the visuals serve as a funkadelic time machine taking viewers back to a good old fashion house party and is a part of a series.
#8 “Drop It Like It’s Hot” feat. Pharrell Williams – R&G (Rhythm and Gangsta): The Masterpiece
Possible Snoop’s most popular song of the decade, “Drop It Like It’s Hot”‘s simplistic black and white color scheme that perfectly complements the track’s crisp production and smooth lyrics. Directed by Paul Hunter, the video consists of cameos from Terry Kennedy, Lauren London, Neptunes producer Chad Hugo, and Pusha T. In 2005 the video won a MOBO Award for Best Video.
#7 “High Wit Me” as 7 Days of Funk – 7 Days of Funk
As another release from 7 Days of Funk, “High With Me” takes a unique twist on the conventional music video. Instead of just directing a single video and releasing it per usual, the duo decided to hold a contest and let the fans decide visual would represent the track. The winner was a green screen psychedelic adventure featuring the group’s two members. The runner-up is also posted below.
#6 “Sexual Eruption” – Ego Trippin’
As the first single off of Snoop’s ninth album, “Sexual Eruption” (or the censored “Sexual Seduction”) introduced the world to a Snoop Dogg catered to the grown and sexy. This groovy soul-inspired came with a video straight out of the Blaxploitation era. Directed by Melina and Steven Johnson, the video features Snoop in a Bootsy Collins-ish glam rock outfit holding a keytar while using a voice box, pure nostalgia.
#5 “Peaches N Cream” featuring Charlie Wilson – Bush
As the first single of his thirteenth album, Snoop again revisits his soulful funky roots and brings together another hit with former label-mate Uncle Charlie Wilson. Directed by Aramis Isreal and Hannah Lux Davis, the visuals are an evolution of his past retro style 70’s inspired videos. Using more CGI and green screen effects allows this video to be both a walk down memory lane and an example of what technology is capable of. Prior to the actual video release, there was a computer-animated lyric video directed by Wolf & Crow.
#4 “Who Am I (What’s My Name)”– Doggystyle
As Snoop Doggy Dogg’s debut single, “Who Am I” is simply a perfect introduction to one of the game’s most promising rising stars at the time. Directed by Fab Five Freddy, this video was one of the earliest to utilize CGI as the main plot point. In the video, Snoop and his cohorts have the ability to anamorph in a pack of dogs (with Snoop being a Doberman of course) running amok around Long Beach.
#3 “Beautiful” featuring Pharrell Williams and Charlie Wilson – Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$
Shot on location in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Directed by Chris Robinson and produced by Renata Chuquer, the video loosely tells the story of Snoop Dogg falling for a local woman while away on a vacation. This video could double as a travel video, showcasing some of Brazil’s most beautiful tourist attractions including the Escadaria Selarón in the gorgeous Lapa district, a 1920’s mansion in Parque Lage, and the Copacabana.
#2 “Gin and Juice” – Doggystyle
Probably Snoop Dogg’s most popular singles, “Gin and Juice”‘s music video perfectly embodies what it was like to party on the West Coast in the early ’90s. Directed by Dr. Dre, Calvin Caday, and Anita Sisaath (the producers of 2Pac’s “Dear Mama”), the video features a teenage Snoop throwing a wild party “cuz [his] mama ain’t home”. The video features Ricky Harris, Dr. Dre, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Eddie Griffin, and a six-year-old Bow Wow.
#1 “Murder Was the Case” feat Daz Dillinger – Doggystyle
Since the beginning of his career, Snoop Dogg has been deeply interested in the dark supernatural world. He has starred in and produced multiple horror films and has always kept a tone of evil quietly brewing beneath the majority of his work. The start of that trend came with the release of “Murder was the Case” in 1994. The song and video both spin the tale of Snoop Dogg being shot down in a drive-by and coming back to life after making a deal with the devil. As a part of this bargain, Snoop becomes a famous rapper but eventually turns his back on Satan, landing him in prison for not holding his end of the promise. The single also inspired a short film directed by Dr. Dre and Fab Five Freddy going into full detail about the story narrated in the single.
From everyone here at The Source Magazine and TheSource.com, Happy C-Day Uncle Snoop. May you see many more years of ridiculous success, fame, and fortune.
On this day in Hip Hop history,Eazy-E released his second solo EP It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa. Released one year after his first EP and a long five years after his debut album Eazy-Duz-It, this album was a response to Dr. Dre’s prolific debut The Chronic. Tensions became high between the two NWA heavyweights and after the group’s 1991 split, the beef became public.
The West Coast was in a state of civil war. After NWA’s explosive breakup, its ex-members spared no time to air out their grievances on every other record they released. With Ice Cube attacking the Ruthless Records infrastructure and Dr. Dre siding with the enemy (Suge Knight and Death Row) to bring down all Eazy had built, there was no choice but for Eazy-E to respond as he did. He used the bulk of this album to state his opinion on Dr. Dre and his street authenticity, with each of the eight tracks on the EP attacking Dre’s image, originality, past, and current status in the rap game.
Aside from the disrespect that served as the core of this project, Eazy-E truly flexed his musical muscles with every track. Whether the inspiration surged from his emotional reaction to what was going with his ex-bandmates or simply from him being a seasoned veteran of gangsta rap is uncertain. What can be seen and heard however is that Eazy-E ate his Wheaties before hopping on the microphone to lay down this EP. With this project, we hear Eazy more comfortable with his own flow and who knows exactly where his lane is and how to be the fastest in it. As his final completed work in life, it is a great depiction of his growth and maturity as an artist.
Commercially, the album was a success. Peaking at #5 on the Billboard 200 and claiming the #1 spot on the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart, It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa sold 110,600 copies in it’s first week and was certified double platinum in 1994.
On this date in 1993, BuckshotShorty, the 5 Foot MC amd DJ Evil Dee released their first full-length album, Enta Da Stage, in 1993 on Nervous Records. This is undoubtedly one of the most pivotal albums to the sub-genre now coined as “backpack rap”.
With total in-house production from Evil Dee and The Beatminerz’ Mr. Walt, Enta Da Stage tells the narrative of the gritty streets of Crown Heights, Brooklyn from the perspective of young, Black teenagers submerged in that environment. With a very cinematic feel, the album captures the essence of the unforgiving streets while maintaining its conceptual focus of using the music to magnify the environment. The album also introduced fans to the poetic, weed-puffing duo Smif N Wessun and Heltah Skeltah, the origin of the late, great Sean Price.
Recorded entirely in the world-renowned and now-defunct D&D Studios, tracks that propelled the project include songs like “I Got Cha Opin”, “How Many MCs”, which was powered by a KRS-One sample, and the lead single, “Who Got The Props?”, the track that would forever etch Black Moon in Hip Hop history.
Salute to Buck, Evil Dee, 5Ft., Mr. Walt, Dru Ha, and the rest of the Duck Down/Boot Camp Clik family for this timeless classic!
30 years ago today rapper Brad “Scarface” Jordan dropped his third studio album The Diary. The album was released on October 18th, 1994 by Rap-A-Lot Records. With singles like “Hand of the Dead Body” released on September 27, 1994, and “I Seen A Man Die” on November 1, 1994, The Diary was certified platinum by the RIAA on December 5th, 1994.
This album was a lot different from his first two releases, Mr. Scarface Is Back and The World Is Yours. On The Diary, Producers N.O., Joe, Mike Dean, Uncle Eddie, and Scarface himself chose a different route when it came to sounds. They were influenced by live instruments, southern blues, and the relaxed pace of that California G-Funk. This became a Rap-A-Lot trademark.
Classic tracks from this album include the haunting “Hand Of A Dead Body”, which features Ice Cube and Devin The Dude, the action-packed storyline of “Goin’ Down” and the epic “I Seen A Man Die”, which was followed by the unforgettable visual.
Salute to J. Prince, Uncle Face, Mike Dean, N.O. Joe, Uncle Eddie, the entire crew at Rap-A-Lot for this timeless classic!
Today in Hip-Hop history, Brooklyn trio Digable Planets released their sophomore LP Blowout Comb. Serving as a more politically charged follow-up to their jazzy debut, Reachin’: A New Refutation of Time and Space, this album showed the group’s stance on Black nationalism and inner-city living in the mid-’90s.
On this album, the trio abandoned their radio-friendly style to focus on a more militant agenda. Fundamentally, the group metamorphosed, leaving behind their once-coveted insect-centered imagery. As a group, they felt misunderstood. Their original intention with relating their cause to insects was to focus on the fact that bugs, although small, have a “nature to stick together and work for mutually beneficial causes,” according to frontman Ishmael Butler. While working on Blowout Comb, the group completely shed their insect facade and emerged anew with a new focus and new identities. The former “Butterfly” changed his moniker to “Ish,” “Ladybug” became “Mecca,” and “Dooblebug” was now “C-Know”.
Lyrically, this album was something straight out of the Black Power Movement. With references to The Nation of Islam, The Black Panther Party, Allah’s 5% Nation, and the racial and class struggles of the impoverished minorities of the United States, it is no secret what statement Digable Planets was trying to make. They did not want their Afrocentrism to be overshadowed by crossover appeal as it did on their debut. As a result, this LP did not receive much backing from their label, Pendulum/EMI. Despite its lack of internal support, the album still peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200 and #13 on the Top R&B chart.
Unfortunately, following this album, Digable Planets disbanded. The cause of the split is said to be creative differences and dissatisfaction with the music industry. Luckily for the fans, the trio delivered a masterpiece of conscious rap before fading into the pages of Hip Hop history. Take some time today to appreciate one of rap’s most slept-on albums.
Richard Bond, the director of a shocking new documentary “Tupac: Cover Up” (available on XUMO), and the producer of FOUR (4) other documentaries about the killing of the late rap star, also has a small YouTube “Live” show on the air two times a week. The show serves as an open discussion with the director, whose work on the 26-year investigation of the homicides has made him a constantly invited Subject Matter Expert by Fox, A&E, Discovery Channel, The History Channel, and hundreds of other outlets. He uses the unadvertised YouTube channel “The Tupac Assassination Channel” and the new “Tupac Cover Up channel to directly reach out to his hardcore base.
Yesterday(October 18), Bond had an unexpected caller into the show. The caller was Duane Keith Davis, Jr., the son of the man alleged to have murdered rap star Tupac Shakur, Duane “Keefe D” Davis. Recently, dozens of tabloid-level articles have described secondhand accounts as they pertain to Mr. Davis and his preparations for his trial in March of 2025. Davis himself has done no interviews since his arrest over a year ago. Aside from a periodic court appearance regarding bail or a random court filing, the world has had no insight into what is happening in the world of the man charged with one of the most notorious and infamous crimes in modern American history.
Not anymore. “Keefe-D’s” son, Duane Keith, Jr., in an exclusive interview with Bond- largely in response to having watched the Xumo Play docuseries “Tupac: Cover Up”- reached out to Bond to give the world an update on his dad, and to straighten out some bad facts, and introduce a few new ones.
One such rumor put out by the YouTube channel belonging to the former head of Death Row Records security was that Keefe-D had been beaten up in prison.
“He’s good. He’s good. He’s up in there getting fat from all that eating…. it ain’t been no big deal, no problems, no big problems for him. You know what I’m saying? I know many people claim that” said Davis Jr., speaking on the beating rumors.
“That was false. Nobody touched him. No, he didn’t get beat up by anybody. He had a problem with an officer over a mattress, an extra mattress…that’s all. (The alleged fight) that would’ve been another reason if he would’ve reacted…They would use, they would use that against him.”
Bond then turned the question to what was happening in the case and how little to nothing was coming out of the defense camp about how they planned to defend Davis. He asked Davis, Jr., when Davis’s next court date would be.
“It wasn’t one coming up anytime soon, but expect one to be coming up because we, going back to get him out of this situation again,” said Davis Jr., speaking on the recently failed attempt to have “Keefe D” released on $750,000 bail. The bail was recently denied because the Judge in the case did not believe the story of rap artist “Wack 100” as to where the bail money would be coming from.
“We gonna do it the right way and get him out. And, uh, so be expecting a court date very soon, I would say in the next couple weeks, honestly.”
For his part, Keefe D has claimed he fabricated entirely his “confessions” about the shooting for money. Documents in “Tupac Cover Up” tend to allege his “story” may have been a result of police coercion. This news may likely come as a surprise to Vegas investigators, who are still trying to connect “Keefe D” to the crime by first establishing that he was in Vegas that night. So far, all Vegas police have come up with is a receipt from “Keefe D’s” now-wife Paula Clemons, who paid for a hotel room at the Monte Carlo.
Davis Jr. Spoke on that as well.
“I understand what you just said, though, but I’m gonna just stop you right there,” said Davis Jr.
“Okay. You can go (get) Court documents from my mother and my father. They didn’t get married till 2000…2005, I believe, in 2005. And, um, just because my mother was out there, what does that have to do with my father? What if she…it’s all a rumor, right? That, uh, Mob James (A.K.A. James McDonald, a former associate of Death Row Records), and uh, Reggie said she was F—ing with Buntry!”
Buntry (A.K.A. Alton Mc Donald) was a Death Row Records associate known as a “henchman.” Buntry was also the brother of “Mob James”, who made this claim. “Buntry” was the man in the now famous MGM videotaped beating of additional Vegas suspect Orlando Anderson- Keefe D’s nephew. Police claim that this MGM beating was the triggering event for Anderon and Keefe D to go get a gun and shoot at Tupac and Marion “Suge” Knight later that evening.
“What if she was out here with Buntry? Nobody knows…That’s all I’m saying,” said Davis Jr.
“When it gets to the news, and many people hear it, like I said, they say my mom was in bed with him. Yeah. Then maybe they were staying out there, whatever. I don’t even know. What was it, the Monte Carlo? So what if they were staying at the Monte Carlo? Because Buntry was out here. And they said that my mom was f***ing him. So ,what if that was the case?”
These series of statements made by Davis Jr. highlight the lack of evidence Vegas PD has been able to come up with in 27 years of investigation. They are allegedly trying to scrounge up any video footage from 1996 they can find to try to place Keefe D in Vegas- a major problem for the prosecution. It also shows how quickly any evidence collected may have a different explanation.
Bond’s docuseries “Tupac Cover Up” tells the story of an old narrative that has been re-invented to indict Dwayne “Keefe-D” Davis in Clark County, Nevada. And he thinks all this media trying to link Diddy to Tupac’s 1996 killing is vapor.
“They (Clark County Prosecutors) are running with a stale and debunked hood legend that falls apart under its weight,” claims Bond.
“In 2012, an unreliable ex-L.A.P.D cop invented a story that filled in and re-enforced that old narrative with the help of a man they were, to some degree, possibly collaborating within a profit motive. The man who validated this theory after 14 years of never hearing this story before- Mr. Davis- looked to be coerced into what he said to Vegas Police. We show it in the documentary- “Stick to the Story,” one LAPD officer tells Davis- after Las Vegas Police leave the room so you can “sleep well” at night. It’s total coercion. “
According to several reports, including a DOC report, reputed BMF kingpin Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory has been released from federal prison.
According to TMZ, Big Meech has been removed from FCI Coleman Low in Wildwood and moved to BOP’s Miami Residential Reentry Management Office. He will complete his 30-year sentence in a halfway house.
Earlier this year, Meech’s sentence was reduced by nearly three years. He was initially sentenced in 2008.
Meech’s attorney, Brittany K. Barnett, claims Meech used his 20 years in prison to focus on personal growth and begin a new chapter in his life.
Adding to his long list of over 100 accusers, another woman has recently come forward to file a lawsuit alleging that Diddy sexually assaulted her over taunts she made about his alleged involvement in the drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur in September 1996 that left him mortally wounded.
Ashley Parham claims that back in 2018, she teased the Bad Boy mogul about being involved in ‘Pac’s death and she claims that because of the verbal jab, he targeted her and eventually sexually assaulted her with a television remote.
Parham claims that the taunt was made in her initial contact with Diddy over FaceTime, to which he replied that she would “pay” for her comments. Parham says that a month later, she was invited to a home in Orinda, California, but contends that the meeting was a set up orchestrated by Diddy. She says that upon her arrival, Diddy held her at knifepoint and threatened to give her a “Glasgow smile” for her Tupac cooments.
A Glasgow smile is where an assailant cuts their victim’s face at the corners of their mouth.
Parham then claims that Diddy took his clothes off, covered her body in a liquid-like substance, then proceeded to sexually assault her with a television remote. She also said that Diddy threatened to make her disappear before he and two other men raped her.
Parham alleged that the mogul told her he “hadn’t had any a*s that tight in a while” and offered to pay her to say their encounter was consensual.
In court docs obtained by TMZ, Parham says that she declined the offer and threatened to go to the police, but Diddy responded by threatening the safety of her family. Parham alleges that she reported the incident to Walnut Creek Police and the Orinda Police Department, however, no investigation was ever conducted into the incident.
Diddy’s reps have yet to publicly address these new allegations.
OnlyFans content creator Gucci Third Leg is currently under fire after a female TikTok collaborator accused him of transmitting herpes to her.
Danae Davis says that she was only 19 at t the time of their collaboration and never disclosed that he had a sexually transmitted disease. She also claims that GTL knew about his diagnosis and purposely kept it a secret from her and his other female social media collaborators.
Being that Gucci Third Leg has collaborated with some of the biggest porn stars in the world, Davis claims that he has exposed dozens of women to the disease. Streamers Adin Ross and Deshae Frost have slept with some of the women that GTL has collaborated with, which now has the industry abuzz about who could’ve been exposed and possibly even contracted the disease.
Gucci Third Leg claims to have slept with over 3,000 women in his lifetime. Someone took to X to post a list of the women with whom Gucci Third Leg either shot content, slept, or created content in the past year.
GTL has yet to step forward and issue a statement regarding these allegations.
