Anniversaries

Celebrating Big Pun 12 Years Later

by Arasia Magnetic February 7, 2012 Anniversaries
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“Dead in the middle of Little Italy little did we know that we riddled some middleman who didn’t do diddily”   I remember the first time I heard Big Pun spit. It was 1997 and I was entering my senior year in high school. My boyfriend, homegirl and I were on our way to school [...]

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Ski Beatz Celebrates the 15th Anniversary of Camp Lo’s Uptown Saturday Night

by Jeremiah January 28, 2012 Anniversaries
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As hard as it may be to believe, Camp Lo’s Uptown Saturday Night turns 15 years old today. I remember listening to this album for the first time like it was yesterday. And being able to take a trip down memory lane with the albums producer, the one and only Ski Beatz, truly made this [...]

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Anniversary: Redman – Muddy Waters 15 Years Later

by Alex Edelstein December 10, 2011 Anniversaries
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As the third offering in the mercurial Redman’s repertoire, Muddy Waters served as a defining album with respect to his career trajectory. After two differing but successful releases in Whut? Thee and the sophomore follow up Dare Iz a Darkside, the mainstream public was unsure of what to make of the oddball thug from Newark. [...]

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Ghostface Killah: Five Favorite Songs From Bulletproof Wallets (10th anniversary)

by Thomas November 20, 2011 Anniversaries
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http://youtu.be/COA1TFI54_Y

Ghostface’s third solo album, Bulletproof Wallets is one that I feel “got away” from him (Ghost believes this as well). The album suffered from sample clearance issues, poor backing from the label, and the liner notes (along with the tracklist/running order) were incorrect.  At its best, BWP was Tony Starks creatively turning loveable cartoon characters [...]

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Mobb Deep: Five Favorite Song’s From Hell On Earth (15th anniversary)

by Thomas November 19, 2011 Anniversaries
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb-0a8tIpUQ”

Today marks the 15th anniversary of Mobb Deep‘s third album, Hell On Earth. H.O.E. is a personal classic for me as P was at the top of his game lyrically (his second verse on “Hell On Earth (Frontlines)” is one of his best) and Havoc‘s production still had that gritty, bone chilling effect found on [...]

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Time To Get Ill: Beastie Boys’ Licensed To Ill 25 Years Later

by Daniella Kohavy November 15, 2011 Anniversaries
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Lewdness, shpritzing cans of beer, and debauchery depict a regular night out for three dudes from New York City in the mid eighties.  So it’s safe to say that if you had a teenage daughter that year, there was no way in hell you would’ve allowed her to go out with Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, Michael [...]

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Lil Kim: Hard Core [15th Anniversary]

by Arasia Magnetic November 12, 2011 Anniversaries
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For most heads, 1996 was a golden year in Hip Hop. We saw classic albums from Redman, Outkast, UGK, and The Roots [and a slew of others], however one album that often goes ignored is Lil Kim’s debut, Hard Core. Say what you will about Kim now, but 1996 was the year she grabbed the [...]

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Ghostface Killah: Five Favorite Song’s From Ironman (15th anniversary)

by Thomas October 29, 2011 Anniversaries
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Ghostface Killah‘s Ironman turns 15 today. To celebrate this milestone, I’ve put together my favorite five songs from the album. A little commentary and stream of each song after the jump. Also, don’t forget to tell us what your favorite tracks are from the album in the comments!

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Retrospective: Ice Cube’s Death Certificate [20th Anniversary]

by Jeff Leon October 29, 2011 Anniversaries
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“Oh yeah, it ain’t over muthafuckas.” South Central, 1991… In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the name had gained national notoriety — the title synonymous with poverty and crime. Located just south of the dizzying heights of downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood, the area had long been plagued by unemployment, decay, gang violence, racial [...]

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