Official Blog of Hip Hop Scriptures - Virtual Hip Hop Museum
Biggie's death came just as the rapper was about to put out his second album, Life After Death. In the wake of Biggie's killing, the record was a giant hit, selling nearly 700,000 copies in its first week. Two years later, Born Again, an album of unreleased material from Biggie, was released. A third album of extra material, Duets: The Final Chapter, was released in 2005.
After his passing in 1997, Bad Boy Records and Arista Records on December 7, 1999 released Born Again as the first posthumous compilation album by the Notorious B.I.G. The album generally received mixed reviews from critics, however the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 485,000 albums sold in the first week, and was certified 2x Platinum on January 14, 2000 and has sold over 2,350,000 copies in the United States. Read more about Notorious B.I.G and his career here.
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States, and used by African-American slaves to escape into freedom. It was a way to communicate without being detected. Hip-hop has carried on this tradition via using symbolism and subliminals in rhyme.
Throughout my years as a hip hop junkie the NEVER ending debate of who was/is the BEST MC has been the topic of discussion. Wheather it was me and Lil Rob (RIP) arguing who’s better between Mobb Deep or 2Pac, the Grandmaster Caz vs. Melle Mel debates of the early 80s, the Rakim or Kane of the late 80s, or who can forget LL and Kool Moe Dee. Some of these fan rivalries resulted in verbal sparring, but more times than not the battle has been soley faught by the followers of a rapper and not the actual artist themselves.
Clearly, hip hop is no longer a music genre or culture by teens, for teens. We have all grown up, and the 35-45 year old parent driving to pick up their child from school is less frequently bumping Boyz to Men but Biggie. It's time to return to our roots, and give these at risk youth something to connect to as Cudi so eloquently put it. Not just behind the scenes, but also in your day job - your lyrics and your message.
Dawud Knuckles' exhibition brilliantly ushered visitors into making the connection between fine art and hip hop. Each selected art piece was presented as Biggie's lyrics personified!
Our funding campaign wraps up this Tuesday, December 11th. We hope you've enjoyed counting down the Top Ten Songs about Hip Hop! We close out this week with Biggie and Tupac!
Hard Core is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim. On November 12, 1996, it was released, in the United States, by the Atlantic subsidiary Big Beat Records. The album was notable for its overt raunchy sexual tone and Kim's lyrical delivery, which was praised by music critics shortly after its release.
Hard Core debuted at number eleven on the U.S. Billboard 200, the highest debut for a female rap album at that time, and number three on Billboard's Top R&B Albums, selling 78,000 copies in its first week of release, and reached the top ten of the Canadian Albums Chart. In the United States, Hard Core was certified double platinum by the RIAA, and is considered by many a classic hip hop album. (via wikipedia)
