Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known professionally as Common, is an American rapper and actor from Chicago, Illinois. He is the recipient of three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. At the age of 20, he signed with the independent label Relativity Records to release his debut studio album Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), which was met with critical acclaim along with its follow-ups, Resurrection (1994) and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997). He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s, and achieved mainstream success through his work with the Black music collective, Soulquarians.
The Beatnuts is an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights, Queens. Although only peripheral members, they are routinely acknowledged by Q-Tip as being members of Native Tongues. The Beatnuts were originally a trio before Fashion, now known as Al' Tariq, left the group to start a solo career. V.I.C. was also a member of The Beatnuts' production team for a while.
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik is the debut studio album by the American hip hop duo Outkast, released on April 26, 1994, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. Having befriended each other two years prior, rappers André 3000 and Big Boi pursued recording music as a duo and worked with production team Organized Noize, leading to a record contract with LaFace. With the team producing, Outkast recorded the album at the Dungeon, D.A.R.P. Studios, Purple Dragon, Bosstown, and Doppler Studios, all in their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.
Critical Beatdown is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Ultramagnetic MCs, released on October 4, 1988, by Next Plateau Records. Production for the album was handled primarily by the group's rapper and producer Ced-Gee, who employed an E-mu SP-1200 sampler as the album's main instrument. Music journalists have noted the album for its innovative production, funk-based samples, self-assertive themes, and clever lyrical rhymes by Ced-Gee and rapper Kool Keith.
Long Live the Kane is the debut album by American rapper Big Daddy Kane, released by Cold Chillin' Records on June 21, 1988. It was produced by Marley Marl and established both as premier artists during hip hop's golden age. Kane displayed his unique rapping technique while covering topics including love, Afrocentricity and his rapping prowess. Marley Marl and Big Daddy Kane display a sparse production style - creating beats with fast-paced drums and lightly utilized James Brown samples.
Resurrection is the second studio album by American rapper Common Sense. It was released on October 4, 1994, by Relativity Records. It was mainly produced by No I.D., who also produced most of Common's 1992 debut Can I Borrow A Dollar? It is the last album to feature the rapper's full stage name, as after this album the "Sense" portion of the name was dropped, making the rapper simply known to this day as "Common".
Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his vinyl record shop, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metropolitan New York City. The IRD distribution name was later known as RED Distribution and again as RED Music.
Enta da Stage is the debut album by American East Coast hip hop group Black Moon, released on October 19, 1993, through Nervous Records. The album was produced by Black Moon member DJ Evil Dee along with Mr. Walt of Da Beatminerz. Enta da Stage features the debut of underground hip hop duo Smif-N-Wessun, as well as appearances from Havoc of Mobb Deep and Dru Ha, the co-founder of Duck Down Records.
Organized Konfusion is the debut album by Queens hip hop duo Organized Konfusion. The album was released in 1991 under Hollywood Basic. The album and the group have received a large cult following throughout the years. Group members Pharoahe Monch and Prince Po were praised for their highly skilled lyrical ability, making use of intelligent vocabulary and metaphors. The content on the album ranges from light-hearted tales, to extreme, politically influenced songs, to religious influence. "Walk into the Sun" peaked at No. 15 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart.
A Future Without a Past... is the debut studio album from American hip hop group Leaders of the New School. It was released in 1991 on Elektra Records.
Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop is the debut album by the American hip hop producer and rapper Diamond D, released on September 22, 1992. The album features some of the earliest appearances from Diamond's later D.I.T.C. partners Big L and Fat Joe da Gangsta, as well as his crew the Psychotic Neurotics. Although Diamond D handles the majority of the album's production, other popular beat makers such as Large Professor, Q-Tip, Jazzy Jay, Showbiz and The 45 King co-produce on several tracks. The album features three singles: "Best-Kept Secret", "Sally Got a One-Track Mind", and 'What U Heard". The album was not released on vinyl; however, there were promotional copies pressed with full artwork which were highly sought-after. The vinyl edition was eventually made available as a reissue years later. The original promo version has a sticker on it; the reissue had this sticker scanned into the artwork.
Oddjobs was an alternative hip hop group from Minnesota formed in 1995. The band released three studio albums and several EPs including 2003's critically praised Drums; it broke up in 2004 and the members re-formed as Kill the Vultures and Power Struggle.
"Take It EZ" is the debut single by Chicago rapper Common from his debut album Can I Borrow a Dollar?. It is produced by 2 pc. DRK, a production team made up of Immenslope and The Twilite Tone. The song's beat mixes keyboards and saxophone playing by Lenny Underwood and Tony Orbach respectively, as well as a sample from "When Will the Day Come" by Rasa. Its beat anticipates the soulful production from Common's second album, Resurrection. It reached #5 on the Hot Rap Singles chart making it the most popular single from Common's debut album. Stanton Swihart of Allmusic considers it to be a standout track on the album.
"Breaker 1/9" is a song by Common, released in 1993 as the second single from his debut album Can I Borrow a Dollar?. Produced by Immenslope and The Twilite Tone, it samples both "Between the Sheets" by The Isley Brothers and also contains a lyric from the theme to Three’s Company. Its beat also contains "booming" drums sampled from "Get Out of My Life, Woman" by Lee Dorsey and made for the "jeep beat collective." Its lyrics recount romantic adventures humorously. It holds the worst chart position of any single from that album, yet still reached #10 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
"Soul by the Pound" is the third single from rapper Common Sense's 1992 debut album, Can I Borrow a Dollar?. Its beat, produced by Immenslope and The Twilite Tone, is similar to much production from Common's second album, Resurrection. Its beat contains samples from "I Like It" by DeBarge, "Feelin' It" by Ultramagnetic MC's, "Sneakin' in the Back" by Tom Scott, and "A Chorus Line" by Ultramagnetic MC's. It is considered to be a "black solidarity" track, but has been attacked for its misogyny. A music video was made for the "Thump Mix" version of this song, but not for the album version. "Soul by the Pound " contains samples from "Pot Belly" by Lou Donaldson, "I Know You Got Soul" by Eric B. & Rakim, "Jazz " by A Tribe Called Quest (Q-Tip), "Tonight's Da Night" by Redman, and "Check It Out" by Grand Puba with Mary J. Blige. The "Thump Mix" can be found on the Guidance Recordings compilation album 2001: A Rhyme Odyssey.
"Off the Books" is the third single from Stone Crazy, a 1997 album by East Coast hip hop group The Beatnuts.
The Beatnuts are a hip hop group and production team from Queens, New York. Its two current members, Psycho Les and Juju, have been involved in every Beatnuts album, while Al' Tariq left the Beatnuts after their eponymous 1994 release. The Beatnuts have released six full-length studio albums, two extended plays, one instrumental album, three compilation albums and 21 singles. They have also been featured on other artists' songs as both vocalists and producers. The Beatnuts self-produce all of their songs.
Drums is a studio album by American hip hop group Oddjobs. It was released November 9, 2002, on Third Earth Music.
Anthony Christopher Khan, known by his stage name The Twilite Tone, is an American record producer, recording artist, composer, DJ, and radio host. Among others, he has worked with Gorillaz, Kanye West, Common, Big Sean, John Legend, My Brightest Diamond and U-God among others.
