Showing 5 hip-hop reviews
OutKast - ATLiens
Released: 1996
Thirteen months after André 3000 was booed at the Source Awards and declared 'the South got something to say,' OutKast answered with a self-produced record about outer space and alienation.
Jay-Z - The Blueprint
Released: 2001
Facing two criminal cases, Jay-Z asked the studio for beats and cut nine songs in three days with two unknown producers, Kanye West and Just Blaze — then released it on September 11, 2001.
A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
Released: 1991
Jazz bassist Ron Carter vetted the lyrics for cursing before playing a note, a founding member left mid-session for culinary school, and a 19-year-old Busta Rhymes stole the closing track.
Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
Released: 1986
Built partly on jokes meant as satire that a generation of frat parties took at face value, it became the first rap album ever to hit No. 1, and later the first hip-hop record certified Diamond.
Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell
Released: 1986
Three months at Chung King, an $8,000 Aerosmith cameo, and a sneaker song that landed an Adidas deal made Raising Hell the first rap album to sell three million copies.
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