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Nov 17 to 20 in hip-hop history (+ some additional 16th events)

Added 2020-11-21 14:56:22 +0000 UTC

What's up everyone! I know it's 21st already but there are some events in the hip-hop world I must remind of. Between 16th and 20th there have been many great releases and also birthdays of later known hip-hop figures. And as always, check the gallery, preview tracks. This time I will keep it a bit short.

November 16 (Part 2)

This date has had many significant moments. I posted the first ones few days ago here, but turned out I had missed few. So here are 4 more.

[1999] Very significant late 90's g-funk album came out when Dr. Dre dropped his 2nd studio album. Last one The Chronic may be the most significant g-funk album of all time. Well, Dre proved himself again in 1999. Album has since then been widely considered as classic and reached 6xPlatinum status. The album now is rated even higher than it was upon its initial release.

[2004] I've been a fan of MF Doom back when he was kickin' it as Zen Love X and released 1 dope (+1 that was shelved and came out later) with KMD. Nowadays, Doom is the guy with solid following around the globe. In 2004 he released his 5th studio album MM...Food. I love the "The A.V. Club" reception of the album which called it "A crazy pastiche tied loopily together around obsessions with food, comic books, and supervillainy" and wrote that DOOM is "exempt from the law of diminishing returns". Crazy, just crazy. Recommended album. Underground classic! Can't believe it's 16 years already.

[2000] Robert Earl Davis Jr. died at age 29. Better known by his stage name DJ Screw, he was a hip hop DJ from Houston, Texas, and best known as the creator of the now-famous chopped and screwed DJ technique. He was a central and influential figure in the Houston hip hop community and was the leader of Houston's Screwed Up Click. DJ Screw released over 350 mixtapes and has massive following among Southern G rap fans.

November 17

[1973] Lord Infamous, rapper from Memphis, Tennessee was born. He was a co-founder of Three 6 Mafia and the older brother of DJ Paul. He was known for dark and violent lyrics in his works. On December 20, 2013, Lord Infamous died of a heart attack. He and his music massively influenced the Horrorcore scene.

[1992] Ice Cube releases his 2nd studio album 'The Predator'. It was his most praised album critically; however, had most success commercially (2xPlatinum status in the US). Album also contained his most successful and well known single 'It Was A Good Day'. Album thematic patterns are closely related to the fresh memory of L.A. riots which happened few months prior the release. Ice Cube who never was afraid to address the issues of police brutality and social/racial injustice, and this LP addresses these issues as well. A classic!

[1998] Wu Tang Clan affiliate rapper LA The Darkman releases his debut album 'Heist Of The Century'. The album was filled with some dope street jams and intelligent mind elevating lyrics. Wu presence is also felt on most of the tracks as the album features appearances by many Wu-Tang Clan members and affiliates such as Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa and U-God among others.

November 18

[1977] Brooklyn rapper Fabolous is born. He reached his highest popularity in 2000's with material that appealed both to the streets and pop charts with his cool, dexterous flow. Fabolous has had 7 studio albums that have reached Billboard HOT100 and many mixtapes since his debut release in 2001.

[1997] Rapper from Memphis, MJG releases his debut solo album 'No More Glory'. Album was iconic with trying to merge deep lyricism (and political, social issues) with still Southern hardcore, with deep bass and hard-hitting rhythms that were characteristic to MJG's group releases Until this, MJG had already released three albums as a part of the group 8Ball & MJG, but following 1995's On Top of the World, the two rappers decided to each release a solo album before continuing as a group. This was the first solo released from the group, 8Ball would release his solo debut album, in 1998. But 'No More Glory' would be MJG's only solo album until 2008 when he released Pimp Tight.

[1985] LL Cool J drops his debut album Radio. The album was one of first records to have that new school rapping style which put aside old school rap sound. This new sound (actually first evident in another Def Jam release by T La Rock & Jazzy Jay - It's Yours 12'') put another cornerstone in overall hip-hop development. LL's debut was not oriented around old school beats with funk/ soul/pop track samples. It rather had these hard rhymes with heavy beats (props to Rick Rubin). And thus, the hip-hop landscape had changed forever. Soon it was followed by Run-DMC. I consider it the best LL's album (even over Mama Said Knock You Out) and an instant classic. Definitely the most important of his albums.

[1997] Houston, TX rap group 5th Ward Boyz release their 4th studio album 'The Usual Suspects'. It features guest appearances of other notable rap Southern Gangsta figures of the time e.g. Mr. Slimm of 5th Ward Juvenilez, Do or Die, Devin the Dude, Johnny P, Scarface, Spice 1, Willie D, 8Ball & MJG. Album peaked 180 at the 200 Billboard albums chart. However, in the everchanging rap game, this LP was considered rather unoriginal by the 1997 standards.

[1971] Lamar Dupré Calhoun better known as DJ Crazy Toones was born. He was a hip hop producer and DJ, anf a member of the rap group WC and the Maad Circle (WC is his brother) and was latterly signed to Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records. Unfortunately, Crazy Toones died from a heart attack on January 9, 2017, at the age of 45.

November 19

[1996] Mobb Deep release their 3rd studio album 'Hell On Earth'. The album is produced by Mobb Deep and also features guest appearances by emcees Nas, Raekwon, Method Man, and frequent collaborator Big Noyd. Interestingly, since most of the album was recorded during the height of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry, many fans considered the darker songs to be subliminal disses toward 2Pac and other West Coast emcees, but Prodigy sends shout-outs to a list of west coasts artists such as Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and Xzibit in the liner notes. Many consider this album their best, and the LP has received wide critical acclaim.

[1997] One year later, dope female emcee from Brooklyn emerged with her debut album 'Ill Na Na'. Her alter ego was Foxy Brown (inspired by great 70's blaxploitation movie starring Pam Grier). Her lyrics mediated between topics such as fashion, sex and mob. Therefore, the album had both fans and haters due to it's lyricism. Shortly after that she joined Nas' super group The Firm.

[2002] Talib Kweli releases his debut album 'The Quality'. And the quality it was! Talib Kweli had already proven his talents in 2 split album releases with Mos Def (as Black Star) and Hi-Tek (as Reflection Eternal). If you tried to name top albums of that year, you would still wind up with The Quality being one of them. Kweli's intellectual rhymes is on point and the involvement of several notable rap figures as guests or producers only up the ante. Kweli's album(s) is one of those manifestations how hip-hop quality rarely interacts with mainstream and commercial appeal. The Quality has been his best album sales-wise, and it reached only Gold status. Blasphemy...

November 20

[1970] Legendary Phife Dawg was born. Rapper was most notable as the member of golden age heavyweight and one of the most eccentric rap projects of all time - A Tribe Called Quest. Also known the Five Foot Assassin and The Five Footer because he stood at 5 ft 3, Phife was influential to many rappers to come. He released solo album in 2000. Unfortunately, he died on March 22, 2016. ATCQ were working on their last album when Phife died, and album was released posthumously and was finished, and released later that year to honor his legacy.

[1965] Another rap icon from another iconic and influential NYC crew was born 5 years earlier. Michael Louis Diamond better known as Mike D is mostly recognized by his work with Beastie Boys. I wrote a small paragraph about Beastie Boys' influential first album here.

[2001] Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah releases his 3rd solo album 'Bulletproof Wallets'. The album got mainly positive reviews but many consider it far off Ghostface's legendary Ironman. Same as for Foxy Brown album I mentioned above, this one is both hated and loved by specific but different rap sub-groups. Mainly because it's R'n'B influenced and not so hard core as previously. If Wu Tang American Saga tells it accurately, his first alter ego was D-Lover after all. My personal highlight of this album is a guest appearance of Slick Rick. It's not his best feat, but I kinda always enjoy when this legendary storytelling emcee pop up on any releases.

+++ I forgot to mention on previous post, that November 15 was also the birthday of Gravediggaz legendary member Too Poetic. Unfortunately, he passed away on July 15, 2001 - few weeks before the release of Nightmare in A-Minor LP. R.I.P.

As always, find the preview tracks added to this post and if you interested in full HQ's, go to the links below. And enjoy your day! Stay safe!\

Links will be on these 3 URL's soon: