April – June
Every week on our Live DJ, we cover This Week in HipHop History and add them to our website here. This page covers April through June.
Home | January-March | April-June | July-September | October-December
Apr 1-10 | Apr 11-20 | Apr 21-31 | May 1-10 | May 11-20 | May 21-31 | Jun 1-10 | June 11-20 | June 21-30
April
April 1st, 2014: Mobb Deep released their eighth and final album, “The Infamous Mobb Deep.” It’s a double album where one disc is new original music, and the other is unreleased tracks from recording sessions during their second album, “The Infamous.” The album debuted at #29 on Billboards 200. Some songs off this album are “Get Down,” “Survival of the Fittest (Extended Remix),” and “Waterboarding.”…more!
April 3rd, 2012: Obie Trice released his 3rd album, “Bottoms Up.” The album debuted at #113 on Billboards 200 by selling 5k copies in the first week. Some songs off this album are “Battle Cry,” “Spend The Day,” and “Spill My Drink.”…more!
April 4th, 2009: Run-D.M.C. became the second hiphop group inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame.
April 4th, 1995: April 4th, 1995: Montell Jordan released his debut album, “This Is How We Do It.” The album would peak at #12 on Billboard 200 and is Certified Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs on this album are “This Is How We Do It,” “Somethin’ 4 da Honeyz,” and “Daddy’s Home.”…more!
April 5th, 2012: Ab-Soul released his debut album, “Longterm Mentality.” It reached #73 on Billboard’s Top R&B/HipHop Albums. Some songs on this album are “Real Thinkers,” “Moscato,” and “Time Is Of The Essence.”…more!
April 6th, 1999: Nas released his 3rd studio album “I Am…” It was supposed to be a double album, but some songs leaked online, forcing him to record new tracks. This split the project up into two separate discs. Thus, Nastradamus was released later that year. The album debuted at the #1 spot on Billboards 200, selling 470k copies in the first week. It is currently Certified Double Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “Nas Is Like,” “Hate Me Now,” and “N.Y. State of Mind PT. 2.”…more!
April 8th, 2016: NWA is inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame by Kendrick Lamar. He spoke about how important the group was for putting LA on the Map. “Being Gansta is being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.”…more!
April 10th, 1990: A Tribe Called Quest released their debut album “People’s Instinctive Travels and The Paths of Rhythm.” The album would peak at #91 on Billboard 200 and is Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “Can I Kick It?,” “Push It Along,” and “Go Ahead In The Rain.”…more!
April 11th, 1995: The soundtrack to the motion picture “Friday” starring Ice Cube was released. The album debuted at the #1 spot on Billboards 200 and is currently Double Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs off the soundtrack are “Keep Their Heads Ringin,” by Dr. Dre, “Take a Hit,” by Mack 10, and “Hoochie Mama,” by 2 Live Crew.…more!
April 12th, 2011: Kendrick Lamar released his debut single, “Hiiipower,” before he independently dropped “Section.80” album. J. Cole produced the song, and it was the first collaboration between the two. “Hiiipower: the three i’s represent heart, honor, and respect. That’s how we carry ourselves…It basically is the simplest form of representing just being above all the madness, all the bullshit. No matter what the world is going through, you’re always going to keep your dignity and carry yourself with this manner that it don’t phase you. Whatever you think negative is in your life. Overcoming that and still having that self-respect.”…more!
April 13th, 2005: Snoop Dogg holds a ‘Protect The West’ peace summit to squash all his beefs and help unify the West Coast HipHop scene. “I felt we should come together as one, organize, unify, and start making records with each other and be about a cause. It’s time for us to start standing up for something. It’s called Protect the West. We’re all moving together, we ended all our beefs.” Snoop Dogg said after the business meeting in a hotel conference room. In attendance were artists like The Game, Xzibit, D.O.C., Young MC, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, Warren G, Lil Eazy-E, and even comedian Steve Harvey, who helped Snoop organize the meeting.…more!
April 14th, 2017: Kendrick Lamar released his fourth studio album, “DAMN.” The album became the first non-jazz or classical album to earn a Pulitzer Prize for Music and won Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards. It debuted at the #1 spot on Billboards 200 by selling 608k copies in the first week and is Certified Triple Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs off the album are “DNA,” “Humble,” and “Duckworth.”…more!
April 15th, 1991: MC Hammer earned HipHop his first RIAA Diamond Album with “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em.”
April 16th, 1996: Master P released his 5th album, “Ice Cream Man.” It reached #25 on Billboards 200 and is Certified Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “How G’s Ride,” “Selling Ice Cream,” and “Time to Check My Crack House.”…more!
April 18th, 2013: Public Enemy was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame–The fourth HipHop Act to do so.
April 19th, 1994: Nas dropped his debut album “Illmatic“. Some classics on the album were “N.Y. State of Mind,” “Life’s a Bitch”, and “The World is Yours.”
April 20th, 2018: J. Cole released his 5th album, “K.O.D.” It’s an acronym for Kids On Drugs, King Overdose, and Kill Our Demons. The album debuted at the #1 spot on Billboard 200 by earning 397k album-equivalent units, including 174k pure sales. It is currently Certified Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “ATM,” “Motivate,” and “Kevin’s Hart.”…more!
April 22nd, 2016: Birdman arrived at his interview with the radio show “The Breakfast Club,” angry and upset with the host for “playing with his name.” He showed up in the tiny radio room with at least ten people. It was the shortest interview in “The Breakfast Club” history.…more!
April 24th, 1976: Johnnie Taylor’s “Disco Lady,” composed by Milwaukee singer-songwriter and producer Harvey Scales, became the first Platinum RIAA single in history by selling 1 million copies. The RIAA did not have an award for 1 million copies, so they had to create the Platinum Certification. This was the first Hot 100 record with the word ‘disco’ in its title; however, the track is not Disco. It just talks about Disco. The single would remain at No.1 for four weeks. When the record took off, it was reported that Columbia executive Bruce Lundvall sent crates of Dom Perignon to Taylor, who drank some and bathed in what was left. The record eventually went Double Platinum with the RIAA.…more!
April 25th, 1995: Mobb Deep released their second album, “The Infamous“. Some classics on the album were “Survival of the Fittest,” “Shook Ones Pt. 2,” and “Temperature’s Rising.”
April 25th, 1996: Tupac’s “All Eyez On Me” album went 5x Platinum just two months after its release. It went 9x Platinum in 1998. As of 2019, it has sold 11,000,000 copies in the US. Because it is a double-disc, the RIAA counts each album sold as two units.…more!
April 26th, 1994: Outkast released their debut album, “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik.” Some classics on the project are “Player’s Ball” and “Git Up, Git Out.”
April 27th, 1999: The label Ruff Ryders released a compilation album, “Ryde or Die Vol. 1.” The album debuted at #1 on Billboard 200 by selling 285k copies in the first week. It is currently Certified Platinum with the RIAA and has features from Jay-Z, DMX, Big Pun, and more. Some songs on this album are “Down Bottom,” “Bug Out,” and “Some X Shit.”…more!
April 28th, 2003: Apple launched its digital media store, iTunes. At launch, it was the only legal digital catalog to offer music from the five major labels: EMI Records, Sony, Vivendi Universal, AOL Time Warner, and BMG. They avoided the subscription model initially and implemented the buy-to-own model, where almost every song would cost just 99 cents.…more!
May
May 1st, 1991: The first HipHop acts performed on MTV’s “Unplugged” concert series. Previous “Unplugged” artists include legendary acts such as Elton John, Sting, and Paul McCartney, but was billed as a merge between “Yo! MTV RAPS” and “MTV Unplugged” to create “Yo! Unplugged Raps.” They had performances from LL Cool J, MC Lyte, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest.…more!
May 2nd, 2003: Brother Ali released his 2nd album, “Shadows on the Sun.”
May 2nd, 2000: 504 Boyz released their debut album, “Goodfellas.” It peaked at number 2 on the Hot 200.
May 2nd, 2006: Mobb Deep released their 7th album, “Blood Money.” It would peak at #3 on the Hot 200. Song classics off the project were “Put ‘Em In Their Place,” “Creep,” and “Give It To Me.” It was their only release under Interscope and 50 Cent’s G-Unit. Features from G-Unit, Nyce, Mary J. Blige, and Nate Dogg.…more!
May 4th, 1993: Run-DMC released their 6th album, “Down With The King.” The album would peak at #7 on Billboards 200 and is Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs of this album are “OH, Whatcha Gonna Do,” “Can I Get It, Yo,” and “Whats Next.”…more!
May 5th, 2017: Logic released “Everybody,” his 3rd studio album. It also became his first number 1 album ever.
May 7th, 2013: Talib Kweli released his 5th album, “Prisoner of Conscious.” It’s a highly produced album with the lyrism that Talib always brings.
May 8th, 2001: Hi-Tek released his debut album, “Hi-Teknology.” The album would peak at #66 on Billboard’s 200. Some songs on this album are “Scratch Rappin,” “The Sun God,” and “Round and Round.”…more!
May 9th, 1995: The “Tales from the Hood” soundtrack was released for the horror film that was titled the same. The album contains tracks from various artists like Wu-Tang Clan, Facemob, Gravdiggaz, Scarface, and many more. It would peak at #16 on Billboards 200 and is Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs off this soundtrack are “Let Me At Them,” “Born II Die,” and “From The Dark Side.” [Spotify partial album]…more!
May 10th, 2011: Tyler, The Creator released his debut studio album, “Goblin.” The album was almost entirely produced by Tyler, with help from fellow Odd Future member Left Brain. The album debuted at #5 on Billboards 200 by selling 45k copies in the first week, and is Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs on this album are “Yonkers,” “She,” and “Sandwitches.”…more!
May 14th, 2002: Cam’ron released his 3rd album, “Come Home With Me.” It would peak at #2 on the Hot 200. Some hits off the project were “Hey Ma” and “Live My Life”
May 14th, 2002: Diddy released “We Invented the Remix.” The mixtape featured P. Diddy and members from his Bad Boy Family remixing major hits from artists on his label.
May 15th, 1986: Run D.M.C. released their third studio album, “Raising Hell.” This album became the first Platinum and Multi-Platinum HipHop Record with the RIAA, as it is currently Certified 3x Platinum. The album peaked at #3 on Billboard 200 and is hailed as ushering in the Golden Age of HipHop and HipHop’s Album Era. The album was inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2018. Some songs off this album are “Walk This Way,” “It’s Tricky,” and “My Adidas.”…more!
May 17th, 1988: Run DMC released their 4th studio album, “Tougher than Leather.” Described as Hip-Rock. Some hits off the album were “Run’s House,” “Mary, Mary,” and “I’m Not Going Out Like That” …more!
May 17th, 2005: Memphis Bleek released his 4th studio album, “534.” The title references Marcy Houses, 534 Flushing Ave, where Bleek and Jay-Z both grew up. This album contains the song “The One,” which was Rihanna’s debut appearance as the vocalist on the chorus. Some songs off this album are “Dear Summer,” “Like That,” and “Smoke The Pain Away.”…more!
May 18th, 2010: Nas and Damian Marley, one of Bob Marley’s sons, released a joint album titled “Distant Relations.” The title is in reference to their personal relationship, their shared African Ancestry, but also the shared ancestry of the whole human race. The album debuted at #5 on Billboard 200 by selling 57k copies in the first week. Some songs off this album are “As We Enter,” “Leaders,” and “Land Of Promise.”…more!
May 19th, 1998: DMX released his debut album, “It’s Dark and Hot As Hell.” It debuted at #1 on the Hot 200 and sold over 250k copies in the first week. Some classics off the album were “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” “How’s it goin’ down,” and “Stop Being Greedy.”…more!
May 22nd, 2012: HipHop Squares Debuts. Narrated by Ice Cube and hosted by Peter Rosenburg. It’s a game show where two contestants battle to get tic-tac-toe or be the first to capture five squares. Calling on a celebrity in a square, the host would ask a question, and the celebrity would give an answer to the question. The contestant would agree or disagree with the celebrity’s answer, and if correct, they would successfully turn the square into an X or O, wrong, and it would change to the opponent’s control. It ran for five seasons over four years.…more!
May 23rd, 2000: Eminem released his 3rd studio album, “The Marshall Mathers LP.” It debuted at #1 on the Hot 200. Some classics off the album were “Stan”, “The Way I Am,” and “The Real Slim Shady.”
May 24th, 2000: 50 Cent was hospitalized after getting shot nine times in the hand, arm, hip, legs, chest, and face. He was outside his grandmother’s home in Queens, New York. 50 Cent says the man who shot him is dead, and the one who paid him got life in jail. This was a huge backstory to a lot of his music.…more!
May 25th, 1999: Slick Rick released his fourth studio album, “The Art of Storytelling.” It would peak at #8 on Billboards 200 and is currently certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “Street Talkin’,” “2 Way Street,” and “King Piece in a Chess Game.”…more!
May 26th, 2002: Eminem released his 4th studio album, “The Eminem Show“. It debuted at the #1 spot on the Hot 200. It went Platinum 22x and became the second best-selling album of the 21st century, behind Adele’s album “21”. Some classics on this album were “Cleaning out my Closet,” “Without Me,” “My Dad’s Gone Crazy.” They recently released a 20-year extended version of the album this year. …more!
May 27th, 1998: Master P and No Limit Records released their first movie, “I Got The Hook-Up.” It’s an American Crime Comedy starring Anthony Johnson, Master P, Ice Cube, C-Murder and directed by Michael Martin. A soundtrack accompanied it and would peak at #3 on Billboards 200. A sequel was released in 2019.…more!
May 28th, 1996: Tupac almost drowned off the coast of Mexico while on vacation. Tupac was determined to prove that he was better at swimming than Suge Knight. Tupac ended up nearly drowning and had to be carried to shore by Suge. Tupac threw up salt water and was taken to the hospital nearby. We almost lost Tupac early. Snoop Dogg was also there to witness and tell the story. …more!
May 29th, 1984: The Fat Boys released their debut self-titled album. The project opens with an 8:30-minute song, “Jail House Raps”. Some other songs on the project were “Can You Feel It” and “Human Beat Box.”
May 31st, 1988: HipHop Group Boogie Down Productions released their second album, “By All Means Necessary.” The album’s cover art and title are a reference to Malcolm X. The album peaked at number 75 on Billboard 200 and is currently Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs off the album are “My Philosophy,” “Stop The Violence,” and “Jimmy.”…more!
June
June 1st, 1999: Ja Rule released his debut album, “Venni Vetti Vecci.” The album alludes to the Latin phrase “Veni Vidi Vici,” meaning “I came, I saw, I conquered.” The album sold 184k copies in the first week, helping it debut at #3 on Billboards 200. It is Certified Platinum with the RIAA, and some songs off this album are “We Here Now,” “Holla Holla,” and “Story To Tell.”…more!
June 1st, 2018: The term “stan” was added to the Oxford Dictionary. The term comes from the Eminem song with the same name that talks about an obsessed fan. The official definition reads “an overzealous or obsessive fan, esp. of a particular celebrity.”…more!
June 3rd, 2014: 50 Cent released his 5th studio album “Animal Ambitions.” Some songs off the album were “Don’t Worry About It”, “Pilot”, and “Smoke.” In the first week, it only sold 46,000 copies with no certification. His 4th album, “Before I Self Destruct,” sold 160k in its first week and got the gold certification, so a significant drop-off. …more!
June 3rd, 1997: Wu-Tang Clan released their second album, “Wu-Tang Forever.” It has 27 tracks and runs for 1 hour and 52 minutes. Some classics on this album were “Reunited,” “Triumph,” and “It’s Yourz.” It debuted at #1 on the Hot 200, went 4x Platinum, and sold 612k copies in the first week. It’s another one of the double-disc albums, so each copy sold counts as two sales, with a total of 2 million copies being sold to date. …more!
June 4th, 2000: Eminem got arrested for either punching or pistol-whipping a 6′ 2″ bouncer after seeing Kim, at the time Em’s wife, kissing the club bouncer, John Guerra. This happened just two weeks after releasing the Marshall Mathers LP. He then talks about the incident in his next album, “The Eminem Show.” The assault charges were dropped in 2001 when Em took a plea deal of carrying a concealed weapon, and a settlement of $100,000 was reached in 2002, with both parties denying any wrongdoing. …more!
June 5th, 2012: Curren$y released his sixth studio album, “The Stoned Immaculate.” The album would feature some major artists like Pharrell, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, Wale, and more, helping the album peak at #8 on Billboard 200. Some songs on this album are “What It Look Like,” “Capitol,” and “Sunroof.”…more!
June 7th, 1994: Warren G released his debut studio album “Regulate…G Funk Era.” The album debuted at #2 on Billboard 200 after selling 176k copies in the first week. It is Certified Triple Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs on this album are “Regulate,” “This D.J.,” and “Do You See.”…more!
June 8th, 1984: The movie “Beat Street” was released. The film is set in the South Bronx, and follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to various elements of early hip-hop culture, including breakdancing, DJing, and graffiti. Many artists, such as Notorious B.I.G. and Jay Electronica, have referenced this film in their lyrics.…more!
June 11th, 1990: A Miami-based group, 2 Live Crew, got arrested for violating a prohibition against obscenity in the county. A federal judge ruled that their album “As Nasty As They Want To Be” had tracks that were too obscene and couldn’t be sold in some Florida counties. This led to the arrest of some retail shop owners who defied the ban on sales. After a Live performance in Hollywood, FL, of some of the banned songs, police arrested the two members, Luther Campbell and Chris Won Wong, for being concerned with the “prohibition on certain acts in connection with an obscene, lewd performance.” The crew stuck it to the law and fought the case, taking it all the way up to the Supreme Court. They were acquitted of the charges as their music was an exercise in freedom of speech. The album went on to sell over 2 million copies.…more!
June 12th, 2012: Joey Bada$$ released his debut mixtape “1999.” Some songs off the project were “Survival Tactics,” “Hardknock,” and “Waves.”
June 13th, 2000: The hiphop duo Quasimoto, comprised of Madlib and his animated alter ego Lord Quas, released their debut album “The Unseen.” It’s reported that Madlib took Mushrooms for a month while creating this album. Some songs off this album are “Microphone Mathematics,” “Welcome to Violence,” and “Discipline 99 Pt. 0.”…more!
June 14th, 2011: Royce Da 5’9 and Eminem collaborated as “Bad Meets Evil” to make their debut EP “Hell: The Sequel”. Some songs off the album were “Fast Lane,” “Lighters,” and “Welcome 2 Hell.” It reached #1 on Billboard’s Hot 200 and sold 171k copies the first week.…more!
June 15th, 2017: Jay-Z became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame.
June 16th, 2016: Oakland, CA recognized this day as ‘Tupac Shakur Day,’ as this was the day he was born. Though he was born in Harlem, New York, in 1971, he regularly expressed his love for Oakland and said he got his ‘game’ from Oakland.…more!
June 18th, 2013: J . Cole released his second album, “Born Sinner.” It debuted #2 on the Hot 200 and sold 297k copies in the first week. It is Certified Double Platinum with 796k copies sold. Some songs off the album were “Power Trip,” “She Knows,” and “Born Sinner.”…more! …more!
June 18th, 2013: Mac Miller released his second studio album, “Watching Movies With The Sound Off.” It would reach #3 on the Hot 200 and sold 102k copies in the first week. Some songs off the project were “Avian,” “Matches,” and “Objects In The Mirror.”…more!
June 19th, 1989: N.W.A. got arrested after performing their song “Fuck The Police” at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The Detroit Police Sergeant told the group they couldn’t perform the song as it may incite violence. The group performed it anyway, and authorities pulled the plugs on the show mid-song. A total of 18 people were arrested for misdemeanors when the crowd turned angry at the action of the cops. N.W.A. was not arrested outside the venue but in the hotel lobby, where they stayed for the night. Ultimately, the song did not incite violence, it was the actions the police took that sparked the event and made the crowd upset.…more!
June 20th, 1995: Mack 10 released his self-titled debut solo album “Mack 10.” The album would peak at #33 on Billboard 200 and is Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs on this album are “Foe Life,” “Wanted Dead,” and “On Them Thangs.”…more!
June 21st, 1994: Bone Thugz-N-Harmomy released their debut EP, “Creepin On Ah Come Up.” The album peaked at #12 on Billboard 200 and Certified 4x Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs on this album are “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” “Foe tha Love of $,” and “No Surrender.”…more!
June 22nd, 1999: Missy Elliott released her second studio album, “Da Real World.” The album debuted at #10 on Billboard 200 and is Certified Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs on this album are “All n My Grill,” “She’s a Bitch,” and “Hot Boyz (Remix).”…more!
June 26th, 2013: Run The Jewels released their debut self-titled album. The collaboration is between Brooklyn Rapper and Producer El-P and Atlanta Rapper Killer Mike. It’s the first of their current four albums together.
June 27th, 2000: Nelly released his debut album “Country Grammar.” It sold 235k copies in the first week and became Diamond Certified. Some songs off the album were “Country Grammar,” “Ride Wit Me,” and “Batter Up.”
June 28th, 2011: Big Sean released his debut album “Finally Famous.” Song songs of the album were “My Last,” “Wait For Me,” and “Dance.”
June 29th, 1993: The soundtrack to “Poetic Justice” was released, consisting of a blend of HipHop and R&B. The album peaked at #23 on Billboard 200 and is Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs on this soundtrack are “Get It Up,” “Indo Smoke,” and “Call Me Mack.”…more!
June 30th, 2017: Jay-Z released his thirteenth album, “4:44.” It was released as an exclusive to Sprint and Tidal and was planned to be the first of many to be released under the same exclusivity, but nothing would fruit from it after the Sprint X T-Mobile merger three years later. On July 2nd, the album was free to download on Tidal, and a physical copy was released on July 7th. The album still debuted at #1 on Billboard 200 by selling 262k copies in the first week, which would help it become Double Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs on this album are “Kill Jay-Z,” “The Story of O.J.,” and “Family Feud.”…more!
Apr 1-10 | Apr 11-20 | Apr 21-31 | May 1-10 | May 11-20 | May 21-31 | Jun 1-10 | June 11-20 | June 21-30