January – March
Every week on our Live DJ, we cover This Week in HipHop History and add them to our website here. This page covers January through March.
Home | January-March | April-June | July-September | October-December
Jan 1-10 | Jan 11-20 | Jan 21-31 | Feb 1-10 | Feb 11-20 | Feb 21-29 | Mar 1-10 | Mar 11-20 | Mar 21-31
January
January 1st, 2001: MTV’s “The Box” was taken off the air after 16 years of operation. It was a “Call-to-Program” network that would play music at the request of the viewers.…more!
January 3rd, 2003: The Federal Government raided the offices of Murder Inc. in an attempt to find evidence against the record label being a money-laundering operation for Legendary Queens drug dealer Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff.…more!
January 3rd, 2005: Jay-Z became President of Def Jam for three years while running his own label, Roc-A-Fella. A quote from Jay-Z: “I have inherited two of the most important brands in hip-hop, Def Jam and Roc-a-Fella. I feel this is a great step for me and the entire artistic community.”…more!
January 6th, 2008: Beats By Dre was released in collaboration with Monster Cable Products and Dr. Dre. The $400 headphones aimed to bring studio sound quality to the consumer level. The collaboration would only last until 2012, when Beats didn’t renew their contract with Monster. Since 2014, Beats has been owned by Apple.…more!
January 7th, 2003: 50 Cent released his hit single “In Da Club.” It was released in promotion for his debut studio album, “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.” The track debuted at the #67 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100, and it took eight weeks to reach the #1 spot, making it 50 Cent’s first #1 Single. In March 2003, it broke Billboard’s record as the “most listened-to” song in radio history within a week. Billboard also ranked it as the #1 song in 2003, and it was certified 9x Platinum by the RIAA.…more!
January 9th, 1996: The Soundtrack to the movie “Don’t Be A Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood” was released. It would peak at the #18 spot on Billboard 200 and was certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs on this soundtrack are “Don’t Give Up,” “Renee,” and “Can’t Be Wasting My Time.”…more!
January 10th, 1994: Dr. Dre led the police on a drunken high-speed chase through Beverly Hills in a 1987 White Ferrari Testarossa. He blew over twice the legal BAC in California.…more!
January 11th, 2011: Schoolboy Q released his debut album “Setbacks.” The album peaked at the #100 spot on Billboard 200. Some songs on this album are “LigHt Years Ahead (Sky High),” “#BETIGOTSUMWEED,” and “Rolling Stone.”…more!
January 12th, 2000: Ice Cube’s “Next Friday” was released by his TV and Film Production company “Cube Vision.”
January 15th, 1991: Digital Underground released “This Is An EP Release.” Tupac made his debut on the track “Same Song” and can be heard as a background vocalist and humorous ad-libs on the track “The Way We Sing (Remix).” The project would peak at the #29 spot on Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA. Some songs on this album are “Tie The Knot,” “Nuttin Nis Funky,” and “Arguin’ on the Funk.”…more!
January 16th, 2007: DJ Drama, a well-known mixtape DJ, and Don Cannon, Drama’s Friend/Business Partner, were arrested and taken into custody for illegally distributing mixtapes and violating Georgia’s racketeering laws. They were arrested during a raid on the Aphilliates Music Group in Atlanta, GA. Business accounts were frozen during the raid, and recording equipment, computers, and pressed mixtapes were seized. *The Impact on HipHop* Mixtapes were no longer pressed into CD form. Many Mixtape DJs moved to upload solely online to websites like Datpiff and Live Mixtapes.…more!
January 16th, 2009: The biographical drama film “Notorious” about the Brooklyn-based rapper Notorious B.I.G was released. The film dramatizes key events in Biggie’s life: his criminal lifestyle, his arrest and release from prison, his relationships with Sean Combs, Tupac Shakur, Lil’ Kim, and Faith Evans, his involvement in the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry and his drive-by-shooting murder on March 9. 1997. The Soundtrack was released with the film and debuted at the #4 spot on Billboard 200, selling 124,000 copies in total.…more!
January 17th, 1992: The crime-thriller film “Juice” featuring Tupac was released. This movie was Tupac’s debut acting role. The film touches on the lives of four black youths growing up in Harlem, following their day-to-day activities, their struggles with police harassment, rival neighborhood gangs, and their families. The Soundtrack accompanying the movie was released on December 31st, 1992.…more!
January 18th, 2005: The Game released his second studio album, “The Documentary.” The album debuted at the #1 spot on Billboard 200 and sold 586k copies in the first week. The album is certified Double Platinum with the RIAA.…more!
January 19th, 1992: Malcolm “Mac Miller” McCormick was born.
January 20th, 1992: Through clues given in the song, this is believed to be the “Good Day” that Ice Cube was having in the song “It Was A Good Day.”
January 20th, 2015: Lupe Fiasco released his fifth studio album, “Tetsuo & Youth.” It debuted at the #14 spot on Billboard 200, selling 42k copies in the first week. Lupe said Tetsuo Shima, a character from the Japanese manga series Akira, loosely inspired the album’s name. Some songs on this project are “Dots & Lines,” “Chopper,” and “Deliver.”…more!
January 21st, 1985: Run-D.M.C. released their second studio album, “King of Rock.” This album was the first rap album to be released on a CD. The album peaked at the #52 spot on Billboard 200 and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Some songs on this project are “Roots, Rap, Reggae,” “You Talk Too Much,” “Can You Rock Like This.”…more!
January 23rd, 1989: Tone Lōc released his debut album “Lōc-ed After Dark.” The album reached the #1 spot on Billboard 200 and was Certified Double-Platinum by the RIAA. Some songs on the project are “Wild Thing,” “Funky Cold Medina,” and “I Got It Goin’ On.”…more!
January 25th, 2011: “2Pac Uncensored & Uncut: The Lost Prison Tapes” was released. The film included unreleased footage of interviews with Tupac inside the Clinton Correctional Facility of New York in 1995. …more!
January 26th, 2014: Kendrick Lamar got robbed of a Grammy for Best Rap Album. It was Good Kid: Madd City vs. Macklemore’s “The Heist.” Even though Macklemore had 4 Grammys from that night, he knew Kendrick’s GK:MC was the better album and sent him an apology text reading, “You got robbed. I wanted you to win. You should have…”…more!
January 26th, 2018: The Migos released their third studio album, “Culture 2.” It’s a double album containing 24 tracks and many features from A-List Artists. The album debuted at the #1 Spot on Billboard 200, selling 199k copies in the first week. It was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA and has 115k pure album sales. Some songs on this project are “MotorSport,” “Stir Fry,” and “Walk It Talk It.”…more!
January 27th, 2004: Twista released his 4th studio album, “Kamikaze.” It sold 312k units in the first week and would reach the #1 spot on Billboard 200. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Some songs on the album are “Slow Jamz,” “So Sexy,” and “Badunkadunk.”…more!
January 28th, 2018: Kendrick Lamar won 5 Grammys for his album “Damn.” Best Rap Performance, Best Rap/Sung Performance, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Album, and Best Music Video.
January 29th, 2015: The Law finally caught up to Suge Knight after he ran over and killed his friend, Terry Carter. He is currently serving his 28-year prison sentence and is eligible for parole in October of 2034 when he will be 69-years-old.…more!
January 31st, 1994: Wu-Tang Clan released their hit single “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me).” It was the second single promoting their debut album “Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).” Its critically acclaimed praise didn’t help it commercially, as it peaked at #60 on Billboard Hot 100, but it was certified Gold by the RIAA. After the release of this track, the slang ‘Cream’ gained popularity referring to money.…more!
February
February 1st, 2007: The beef between 50 Cent and Cam’ron started on ‘The Angie Martinez Show’. Cam’ron called into the show while 50 was promoting his 3rd studio album. Cam wanted to talk about Koch Records and then 50 said Koch Records was a graveyard label. The call was not the best quality as it was mostly talking over each other and yelling on Cam’s end. The beef didn’t end until almost a decade later in 2016. …more!
February 3rd, 2004: Danger Mouse released “The Grey Album.” It’s a mashup between acapella from Jay-Z’s “The Black Album” and the Beatle’s self-titled album, commonly known as “The White Album.” Danger Mouse never asked permission to use copyrighted materials from Jay-Z or The Beatles, he was experimenting with the two acts and intended only to make 3000 copies in a limited release. The holder of the Beatles Music took legal action to prevent the distribution of the project in stores, but that backfired when hundreds of websites posted the download link for free in protest, saying the album falls under Fair Use. Around 100k copies were downloaded in just 24 hours. Some songs on this project are “Public Service Announcement,” “Encore,” and “My 1st Song.”.…more!
February 4th, 2008: G-Unit released their debut mixtape, “Return of the Body Snatchers.” Some songs off the mixtape are “The Mechanic,” “Rider 4 Real,” and “Paper Chaser.”
February 5th, 2003: HipHop had/almost had a boycott against Pepsi for pulling a Ludacris Commercial because Bill O’Riley on Fox News told his viewers to boycott and switch from drinking Pepsi to Coke. O’Riley said that Ludacris was “a man who degrades women.” The O’Riley campaign was successful in making Pepsi drop Ludacris, but then Pepsi replaced Luda with Ozzy Osborne, and this sparked outrage at the fact that Osborne was not much cleaner in his lyrics. The Second Boycott of Pepsi was called by Russell Simmons of HipHop Action Network, asking HipHop Artists and supporters of HipHop culture to not drink Pepsi. Simmons also asked for Pepsi to donate $5m to the Ludacris Foundation, make a public apology, and reinstate the commercial. Pepsi would only make the first of the demands, but ultimately only donated $3 Million to charities that Pepsi and the Ludacris Foundation agreed on. The HipHop boycott came to a halt after this agreement.…more!
February 6th, 1990: Lord Finesse and DJ Mike Smooth released their debut album, “Funky Technician.” Some songs off this album are “Back To Back Rhyming,” “Slave To My Soundwave,” and “Here I Come.”
February 6th, 2003: 50 Cent released his Debut Studio Album “Get Rich Or Die Tryin“. Dr. Dre and Eminem helped with its production. It was released a week in advance to combat bootlegging and internet leakage. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, selling over 872,000 copies in its first week. It is currently 9x Platinum with the RIAA. Some classics off the album: “Many Men”, “In Da Club”, and “P.I.M.P.”…more!
February 8th, 2004: Outkast became the first undisputed HipHop Act to win Album of the Year at the Grammy’s. Their album “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” was 40 songs long, basically two albums in one, 2 hr 15 minutes long and includes classics like “Hey Ya!” “Roses” and “The Way You Move”…more!
February 9th, 1993: Digable Planet released their debut album “Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space).” It peaked at the #15 spot on Billboard 200 and is currently Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs on this album are “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat),” “Jimmi Diggin Cats,” and “Time & Space (A New Refutation of).”…more!
February 10th, 2004: Kanye West released his debut studio album “College Dropout.” Kanye started working on the album in 1999, and it took four years to complete. It debuted at #2 on Billboard 200 and sold 441k copies in the first week. It is currently 4x Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs from this album are “The New Workout Plan,” “Jesus Walks,” and “Through The Wire.”…more!
February 12th, 1990: MC Hammer released his 3rd album, “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em.” The album was #1 on Billboard 200 for 21 weeks and would eventually be Certified Diamond with the RIAA. It was the top-selling album of 1990 in the United States and one of the best-selling hip-hop albums of all time. Some songs from this album are “U Can’t Touch This,” “Here Comes The Hammer,” and “Help The Children.”…more!
February 13th, 1996: Tupac released his 4th studio album and last album during his lifetime, “All Eyes On Me.” The album debuted at the #1 spot on Billboard 200 and sold 566k copies in the first week. It is Certified Diamond with the RIAA. Some songs off of the album “Ambitionz as a Ridah,” “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” and “How do you want it.”…more!
February 13th, 2016: Kendrick Lamar Received the key to the City of Compton. While giving the key to Kendrick, Mayor Brown said “He has a consciousness, and he realizes music is not just for entertainment, but it’s for messaging”…more!
February 16th, 1993: Tupac Released his Sophomore album “Strictly for my N.I.G.G.A.Z.” It’s an acronym that for “Never Ignorant in Getting Goals Accomplished.” Some songs from the project “I Get Around” “Keep Ya Head Up” “Point The Finga”. It was originally going to be called “Troublesome 21” and was set to be released in Sept 1992. However, it was rejected by Time Warner and needed to be redone. Most of the songs were scrapped as only 5 of the 16 current songs were transferred.…more!
February 17th, 2011: Wiz Khalifa released his 9th mixtape, “Cabin Fever.” It’s the 15th most downloaded mixtape on Datpiff.com, with over 1.6 million downloads, making it Certified Diamond with Datpiff. Some songs off this project are “Phone Numbers,” “Taylor Gang,” and “Errday.”…more!
February 20th, 1996: Leading up to Jay-Z’s debut album, he released his first single, “Dead Presidents.” The track sampled multiple artists, but most notable in the chorus is Nas’s “The World Is Yours” with the lyrics “I’m out for dead presidents to represent me.” It didn’t appear on “Reasonable Doubt,” but it is still Certified Gold with the RIAA.…more!
February 21st, 1995: DJ Quik released his 3rd album, “Safe + Sound.” It peaked at the #14 spot on Billboard 200 and is Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “Summer Breeze,” “Get At Me,” and “Sucka Free.”…more!
February 22nd, 1989: Rap was given a category in the Grammys. However, it was not allowed to be televised. DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith, the first recipients of the award, boycotted the show with many others.…more!
February 22nd, 2017: Jay-Z got inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.
February 23rd, 1993: Naughty By Nature released their third album, “19NaughtyIII.” It is Certified Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs from this classic are “HipHop Hooray!” “It’s On,” and “Daddy Was A Street Corner.”
February 23rd, 1999: Eminem released his second studio album, “The Slim Shady LP.” The album debuted at the #2 spot on Billboard 200 by selling 283k copies in the first week. It is Certified 4x Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “My Name Is,” “Guilty Conscious,” and “Bad Meets Evil.”…more!
February 25th, 2003: Nate Dogg’s third and final self-titled album was, not released, bootlegged. Later that year, the record labels released it, but only for digital streaming. Only a few promotional copies were pressed to CDs. You can’t find the whole album online to listen to its entirety. It’s a “lost” album. Some songs off this album are “Get Up,” “Gott Damn Shame,” and “Somebody Like Me.”…more!
February 25th, 2014: Schoolboy Q released his 3rd album, “Oxymoron.” It debuted at the #1 spot on Billboard 200 and sold 139k copies in the first week. The album is Certified Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “Collard Greens,” “Man Of The Year,” and “Hell Of A Night.”…more!
February 27th, 2001: Project Pat released his second studio album, “Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Workin.” The album peaked at the #4 spot on Billboard 200 and is Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs on this project are “Chickenhead,” “Whole Lotta Weed,” and “We Can Get Gangsta.”…more!
February 27th, 2010: MF Doom sent an imposter to perform for him at a Toronto show. Some backstory begins with a joint, 3-show tour between Mos Def and MF Doom that would go to Chicago, New York, and Toronto. After the Chicago show, rumors of an impostor under the iconic MF Doom mask started spreading online. Mos Def dropped out from the tour, and the Toronto show changed to an MF Doom solo show. Ticket holders were given the option of a refund or keeping the ticket and seeing if Doom would be present. What happened at this show was not expected.…more!
March
March 2nd, 1983: CDs hit the streets in America. They were launched in Japan a few months prior. CDs changed the game of music and HipHop for a while. In hiphop specifically, it was how mixtapes were passed around and made mainstream music a portable commodity.…more!
March 3rd, 1989: De La Soul released their debut album, “3 Feet High and Rising.” The album title comes from the Johnny Cash song “Five Feet High and Rising.” In 2010, the album was inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry. The album peaked at the #24 spot on Billboard 200 and is Certified Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs from the album are “The Magic Number,” “Change in Speak,” and “Transmitting Live From Mars.”…more!
March 4th, 2005: 50 Cent released his second studio album, “The Massacre.” The album debuted at the #1 spot on Billboard 200 after selling 1.15 million copies in the first four days. It is currently 6x Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “Candy Shop,” “Disco Inferno,” and “Just A Lil Bit.”…more!
March 5th, 1991: Ed O.G. and The Bulldogs released their debut album “Life Of A Kid In The Ghetto.” The album peaked at #166 on Billboard 200 and #21 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. Some songs off the album are “Feel Like A Nut,” “Let Me Tickle Your Fancy,” and “Be A Father To Your Child.”…more!
March 7th, 1987: Beastie Boys debut album, “Licensed to Ill” was the first Rap album to hit the #1 spot on Billboard’s 200 albums chart. It would go Diamond with the RIAA 29 years after release on March 4, 2015.…more!
March 7th, 2011: “The Eminem Show” by Eminem moved 10 million units and went Diamond with the RIAA in less than nine years from its debut.
March 9th, 1990: Some of the most significant and influential 80s HipHop artists from the east and west coast did two shows in New York and California simultaneously! The once-in-a-lifetime concert was called “Rap Mania: A Salute to the 15th Anniversary of HipHop” and was about 2 hours long. It was available on Pay-Per-View via Satellite and is now online. Some names on the show: Ice-T, LL Cool J, Run DMC, Slick Rick and many more!…more!
March 9th, 1997: Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down in the streets of LA. Around 1am, Big was leaving an after-party in the Hollywood Hills after it got shut down by the LA fire department. Big’s car was stopped at a stoplight when the killer’s car rolled up next to them and opened fire. Notorious BIG was just 24-years-old. While many may claim they know or think they know who committed the hit, officially, it has been an unsolved case.…more!
March 10th, 2017: JID released his debut album, “The Never Story.” The album reached #197 on Billboard 200. Some songs from this album are “EdEddNEddy,” “8701,” and “Hoodbooger.”…more!
March 11th, 2012: Chief Keef released his debut album, “Finally Rich.” The album reached #29 on Billboard 200 by selling 50k copies in the first week. It is currently Certified Platinum with the RIAA. He was just 17 when this album dropped. Some songs on this album are “Love Sosa,” “I Don’t Like,” and “Hate Bein’ Sober.”…more!
March 11th, 2015: Wiz Khalifa released the Paul Walker tribute, “See You Again” It was commissioned for the soundtrack of the 2015 film Furious 7 as a tribute to actor Paul Walker, who died in a single-vehicle crash on November 30, 2013. The song is currently 11x Platinum with the RIAA.…more!
March 11th, 2016: Flatbush Zombies released their debut studio album, “3001: A Laced Odyssey” It debuted at #10 on Billboard 200 and sold 28k copies in the first week. Some songs off the album are “Bounce,” “Ascension,” and “Your Favorite Rap Song.”…more!
March 13th, 2001: Outkast released their single “So Fresh, So Clean” leading up to their fourth album, “Stankonia.” The song would reach the #30 on Billboard Hot 100 and has been Certified Platinum with the RIAA.…more!
March 15th, 2015: Kendrick Lamar released his third studio album, “To Pimp A Butterfly.” It debuted at the #1 spot on Billboard 200 and sold 324k copies in the first week. It is Certified Platinum with the RIAA. Some classics from the album are “i,” “King Kunta,” and “Alright.”…more!
March 18th, 1983: Considered to be the first HipHop motion picture, Wild Style is released. The film was approached as a hybrid between a musical and documentary of how HipHop culture formed and used many pioneers in the genre to play as themselves. Some of the artists were Fab 5 Freddy, Busy Bee, and Grandmaster Flash. Many HipHop albums have sampled the film, such as “Illmatic” by NAS, “Midnight Marauders” by A Tribe Called Quest, and “Check Yo Head” by Beastie Boys.…more!
March 18th, 2014: YG released his debut album, “My Krazy Life“. The album debuted at #2 on Billboard 200 by selling 61k in the first week. It is Certified Platinum with the RIAA. Some classics of the project are “I Just Wanna Party,” “Left. Right,” and “Who Do You Love.”…more!
March 19th, 1991: HipHop Group Whodini released their 5th studio album, “Bag-A-Trix.” The album peaked at #48 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart. Some songs on the album are “Freaks,” “Judy,” and “Inside The Joint.”…more!
March 20th, 2012: Odd Squad released their debut studio album, “The OF Tape Vol. 2.” It was a follow-up to their 2008 mixtape, “The Odd Future Tape.” The album peaked at #5 on Billboard 200, selling 40k copies in the first week. Some songs off this album are “Bitches,” “Forest Green,” and “Rella.”…more!
March 20th, 2019: Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint” was inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry. Music is added to the library if it is culturally, historically, or aesthetically important and/or informs or reflects life in the US.…more!
March 21st, 2000: Ice Cube released his 6th studio album, “War & Peace Volume 2 (The Peace Disc).” It is the second part of the two-album project, the first installment being “War & Peace Volume 1 (The War Disc)” which was released in 1998. The album debuted at #3 on Billboard 200 and sold 185k in its first week. It is Certified Gold with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “Supreme Hustle,” “Hello,” and “Until We Rich.”…more!
March 27th, 2001: Tupac’s seventh and third posthumous album, “Until The End Of Time” was released. The album debuted #1 on Billboard 200 by selling 426k copies in the first week. It is Certified 4x Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “Letter 2 My Unborn,” “Lil Homies,” and “Happy Home.”…more!
March 28th, 1981: Blondie’s song “Rapture” was the first song featuring a rap verse to sit on top of the Hot 100 chart. The song was released in the album “Autoamerican” in 1980 but was released as a single on January 12, 1981.…more!
March 28th, 2011: Big K.R.I.T. released his self-produced mixtape “Return of 4Eva.” It includes features from Chamillionaire, David Banner, Joi, and more. Some songs from this mixtape are “Country Shit (Remix),” “Free My Soul,” and “Highs & Low.”…more!
March 29th, 1988: DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince released their second studio album, “He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper.” It was the first double album in hiphip history and the 8th Rap album to become a Platinum album. It would reach #4 on the Billboard 200 chart and is currently 3x Platinum with the RIAA. some songs off this album are “A Nightmare On My Street,” “Brand New Funk,” and “Human Video Game.”…more!
March 30th, 1993: HipHop Group Onyx released their debut album, “Bacdafucup.” The album reached #17 on Billboard 200 and is Certified Platinum with the RIAA. Some songs off this album are “Throw Ya Gunz,” “Onyx is Here,” and “Getdafucout.”…more!
March 31st, 1992: Kriss Kross released their debut album “Totally Krossed Out.” One big hit from the project was “Jump.” It has two release dates, March 17th, 1992, and March 31st, 1992.…more!
Jan 1-10 | Jan 11-20 | Jan 21-31 | Feb 1-10 | Feb 11-20 | Feb 21-29 | Mar 1-10 | Mar 11-20 | Mar 21-31