Official Blog of Hip Hop Scriptures - Virtual Hip Hop Museum
Released February 23rd, 1999, A Prince Among Thieves is the second studio album by hip hop artist Prince Paul. The album was well received by music critics and features cameos by Kool Keith, Big Daddy Kane, Chubb Rock, Biz Markie, De La Soul, Everlast, Sadat X, Xzibit, Kid Creole, Special Ed, Chris Rock, RZA and Buckshot.
Things Fall Apart is the fourth studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released on February 23, 1999. This was the group's first record to sell over 500,000 copies. It includes the song "You Got Me", which won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, while Things Fall Apart was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album of the same year, losing to Eminem for The Slim Shady LP. Read more about The Roots and their career here.
19 Naughty III is the third album from Naughty by Nature, released on February 23rd, 1993. The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and even went certified platinum. Production was handled entirely by group member Kay Gee himself, with additional production from S.I.D. Reynolds. It includes guest appearances from Heavy D, Queen Latifah, Freddie Foxxx and Rottin Razkals. The album was a success, having the single “Hip Hop Hooray” be the groups second top 10 single. Read more about Naughty by Nature and their career here.
Rappers Fat Joe and Remy Ma released their first collaborative studio album, “Plata O Plomo” on February 17, 2017. The title translates to “silver or lead” in Spanish, which is a saying that means “money or bullets.” The album has a variety of sounds to old school hip-hop from 90s nostalgia heartstrings. Both Fat Joe and Remy Ma made the right intentions to make this album memorable. In the first week the album was released, it earned 11,158 album-equivalent units.
Released on February 16th, 1993, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... is 2Pac’s second studio album. The albums title includes a backronym; N.I.G.G.A, which stands for "Never Ignorant in Getting Goals Accomplished." The Album features many guest appearances such as Ice-T, Live Squad and Ice Cube. Similar to his debut album, 2Pacalypse, 2Pac shares his social and political views. The album received mostly positive views debuting at number 24 on the US Billboard 200 and number 4 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling 38,000 units in its first week. By April 1995 the album was certified platinum selling over 1 million copies in the US. Read more about 2Pac and his career here.
Released on February 16, 2018, Victory Lap is Nipsey Hussle’s debut album. It is also the only album to be released during his life time after releasing a string of mixtapes for thirteen years. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and at number three on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Following Hussle's death on March 31, 2019, the album reached a new peak of number two on the US Billboard 200. Read more about Nipsey Hussle and his career here.
Several days ahead of its release, West again changed the title, this time to The Life of Pablo. On February 11, West premiered the album at Madison Square Garden as part of the presentation of his Yeezy Season 3 clothing line. Following the preview, West announced that he would be modifying the tracklist once more before its release to the public, and further delayed its release to finalize the recording of the track "Waves" at the behest of co-writer Chance the Rapper. He released the album exclusively on Tidal on February 14, 2016, following a performance on SNL.
Released on February 9, 1993, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) is the debut album by hip hop group Digable Planets. The single "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" became a hit in 1993, breaking into the Top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and winning Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1994. Later on, the single was ranked number 62 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. The Album Peaked at #5 on US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #15 on US Billboard 200. Read more about Digable Planets and their career here.
On February 9th, 2018, the sound track for the superhero film Black Panther was released. This album included original soundtracks from Kendrick Lamar and various artist including but not limited to, Travis Scott, The Weekend and Vince Staples. The Album was praised by many critics as a milestone for film soundtracks due to its ideas and lyrics. The Album received the top position on the Billboard 200 chart.
