UPDATE: A tribute video, by Rugged Vision, has been added. The visual captures the making of the mural, along with vigil. Sean Price's wife Bernadette, Illa Ghee, General Steele, Skyzoo and others are shown: Over the weekend, Hip-Hop lost one of its true giants with the death of rapper Sean... Read more

On July 18, 2000, Common released "The Light," and with it came one of Hip-Hop's greatest love songs. Along with Black Star's 1998 track "Brown Skin Lady" and The Roots' breakout 1999 single "You Got Me," "The Light" represented a focus on mutual respect, vulnerability, and a soulful approach to... Read more

On July 13, 1990, the first album to be adorned with a parental advisory sticker hit the shelves, ushering in a new era in the recording industry and re-igniting a heated discussion about censorship, freedom of speech, and morality. Banned in the U.S.A. was 2 Live Crew's fourth album, and... Read more

The cultural bridge between African-American art forms in the '60s and '70s and what would eventually become Hip-Hop as we know it has been the subject of countless documentaries, books, academic papers, and of course, songs. However, despite all of the devotion to preserving the history behind the culture, there... Read more

Earlier this year, House Party celebrated the 25th anniversary of its release (March 9, 1990). After Wild Style and Breakin’ introduced Hip-Hop to the masses through cinema, similar films proliferated popular culture, but, upon its arrival, House Party was one of a kind. The film was among the first to... Read more

A quarter of a century ago today (May 16, 1990), Ice Cube released his solo debut. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted signaled his post-N.W.A. career, and the acrimonious split left fans eager to hear Cube's perspective. However, what those supporters received was more dynamic than one man's tale of anger and revenge,... Read more

During its nascent period, Hip-Hop was dismissed by many as simply a passing fad, much like Disco. As we all can see now, those critics were drastically mistaken, and it has not only grown, but has become the most influential cultural presence in fashion, dance, language, art, and of course... Read more

Released twenty years ago today (April 25, 1995), Method Man's “I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By” featuring Mary J. Blige was not the first duet in Hip-Hop, nor the first Hip-Hop love song, but it seemed to hit a particularly powerful nerve; one that reverberates... Read more

Released twenty years ago today (April 11, 1995), the soundtrack to Friday is exemplary of the musical consciousness emanating from many inner cities in America at the time. Equal parts R&B, funk, and Hip-Hop, the soundtrack went double-platinum, besting soundtracks to other popular films featuring Black lead actors, like Bad... Read more

Eazy-E, who was only 31 when he died 20 years ago today (March 26, 1995), was considered one (if not the) progenitor of West Coast Gangsta Rap. As a record label executive, he established a blueprint for future young, Black entrepreneurs. As a member of N.W.A., he helped lend a... Read more

20 years ago today (March 14, 1995), Tupac Shakur's Me Against The World was released, and with it came the rapper's most introspective work of his career. Released during a time of exceptional turmoil for 2Pac, the album signaled a musical changing of the guards, post-Thug Life and pre-Death Row,... Read more

Beginning his musical career on the mixtape circuit in Compton, California, DJ Quik has gone on to become the most expansive signee to Profile Records. In the 25 years since, he has spent time as an “R&B pretty boy,” the creator of a  Top 10 album, an independent distributor, and... Read more

On the heels of the first expanded Dilla Weekend, it is difficult to ignore the growth in posthumous fame that James Yancey (a/k/a Jay Dee or J Dilla) has accrued since passing away on this date, nine years ago. Like Amadeus Mozart's and Vincent Van Gogh's before him, Dilla's legacy... Read more

Twenty years ago today (February 1, 1995), the Recording Industry Association of America certified A Tribe Called Quest's sophomore album, The Low End Theory as having reached platinum status (shipping 1 million units). Originally released in 1991, the album continues to reverberate, landing on countless Best Albums lists and remains... Read more