 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2015) |
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| Editor | Andy Cowan |
|---|---|
| Categories | Music magazine |
| First issue | 1988 |
| Final issue | 2009 |
| Company | Infamous Ink |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Based in | Bath |
| Language | English |
| Website | "Hip Hop Connection". Archived from the original on 7 November 2006. |
| ISSN | 1465-4407 |
Hip Hop Connection (HHC) was the longest running monthly periodical devoted entirely to hip hop culture. [1] It was described by rapper Chuck D as "the best magazine in the world".
Under the editorship of Chris Hunt, the magazine published its first issue in July 1988, six months before The Source began in newsletter form. Prior to the first issue, the magazine's parent company had run a premium rate 0898 telephone information line using the same name, presented by Radio 1 DJ Dave Pearce. It invited MCs to call and record their own rhyme after listening to the best rhyme of the previous week.
HHC's early issues were its biggest selling and saw Hunt bringing together a talented group of writers and photographers, including Ekow Eshun, Malu Halasa and Vie Marshall. Future television presenter and celebrity Normski was given his own section to showcase his rap photography.
Hunt had two stints as editor before leaving for a final time in 1993. His longtime deputy Andy Cowan took over the title in November 1993. HHC changed owners several times (Popular Publications, Future Publishing, Ministry Of Sound, the Cambridge-based Infamous Ink). HHC and Popular Publications were owned by Music Maker Publications throughout the early 1990s until Music Maker was acquired by Future Publishing. Future sold the title to Ministry Of Sound in 2000. The first Ministry issue featured Mariah Carey on the front cover. Ministry tried to continue with a 'female artists only' cover policy, which had proved successful for their dance magazine but – after Kelis and Lauryn Hill – it became apparent that they were running out of suitable candidates. Ministry sold the title after one year and Andy Cowan continued to run and publish the magazine. In April 2006, Hip Hop Connection published its 200th edition, rerunning many classic interviews from its eighteen-year history.
In 2009 the magazine published its final and 232nd issue. [2]
2009: Roots Manuva - Slime & Reason • 2008: Panacea - Scenic Route • 2007: unknown • 2006: unknown • 2005: unknown • 2004: unknown • 2003: unknown • 2002: Jay-Z - The Blueprint • 2001: Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP • 2000: The Roots - Things Fall Apart • 1999: Gang Starr - Moment of Truth • 1998: Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus • 1997: Rass Kass - Soul On Ice • 1996: Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... • 1995: The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die • 1994: Cypress Hill - Black Sunday • 1993: unknown • 1992: unknown • 1991: OG Original Gangsta - Ice-T• 1990: Silver Bullet • 1989: N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
2009: unknown • 2008: unknown • 2007: unknown • 2006: unknown • 2005: Klashnekoff - It's Murda • 2004: unknown • 2003: unknown • 2002: Pharoahe Monch - Fuck You • 2001: M.O.P. - Ante Up • 2000: Pharoahe Monch - Simon Says • 1999: Canibus - Second Round K.O. • 1998: Gang Starr - You Know My Steez • 1997: Jeru The Damaja - Ya Playin Yaself • 1996: Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Part II • 1995: Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear • 1994: Onyx - Slam • 1993: unknown • 1992: unknown • 1991: unknown • 1990: unknown • 1989: Public Enemy - Fight The Power
2009: unknown 2008: unknown 2007: unknown 2006: unknown 2005: unknown 2004: unknown 2003: unknown 2002: unknown 2001: Dilated Peoples 2000: The Roots 1999: Gang Starr 1998: Company Flow 1997: unknown 1996: unknown 1995: unknown 1994: Wu-Tang Clan 1993: unknown 1992: unknown 1991: unknown 1990: unknown 1989: N.W.A.
Best Album: Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back • Best Single: Public Enemy - Rebel Without A Pause • Best Group: Public Enemy • Best Rapper: Chuck D • Best DJ: Cash Money • Best British Artist: MC Duke • Best Record Label: Def Jam • Best Non Hiphop: Michael Jackson • Most Important Human Being: Nelson Mandela
Hip Hop Connection published its readers' favourite albums in its March 2000 issue. The result, wrote compiler Mansel Fletcher, was "the essential hip-hop list that beats all others straight into a bloody pulp". [3]
100. No I.D., Accept Your Own and Be Yourself (The Black Album) ("Anyone into top-notch hip-hop blessed with tight rhymes and clear production shouldn't pass this by")
99. Public Enemy, Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black ("It marked their move away from the attentions of hip-hop fans, but was a grand gesture to bow out on"
98. Raw Fusion, Live from the Styleetron ("Reggae had a huge influence on their sound, while the faster beats hint at drum and bass years before it became an official brand")
97. Westside Connection, Bow Down ("Cube set aside his more political rap to fully embrace the G Thang temperament that was serving his other ex-N.W.A members so well")
96. Blak Twang, 19 Longtime ("Wit and intelligence over innovative, soulful production that successfully brought out Tai's conscious lyrics")
95. House of Pain, House of Pain ("In spite of his emerald isle ethnicity gimmick, leader Everlast was well schooled at the academy of rap")
94. Lootpack, Soundpieces: Da Antidote ("A careful blend of imaginative and clever lyrics… over DJ Rone's [sic] tight production")
93. Fugees, Blunted on Reality ("It had a mixed reception publicly, falling awkwardly between the stools of street and alternative hip-hop")
92. Mountain Brothers, Self Vol 1 ("Turning their back on samples, the Brothers record all their instrumentals live in the studio, which goes a long way in explaining the funky, organic feel")
91. Beastie Boys, Ill Communication ("That they received adoration from indie kids was hardly surprising, since Ill has fewer explicit hip-hop tracks than alternative songs")
90. Cocoa Brovaz, The Rude Awakening ("Reaffirmed New York as the home of innovative hip-hop in the late '90s")
89. First Down, World Service ("Sadly the public treated it with the kind of contempt only reserved for UK releases… First Down created hip-hop bohemian rhapsodies")
88. Das EFX, Dead Serious ("Whole legions of rappers moved in to bite their style to the extent it quickly became an irritating novelty")
87. The Goats, Tricks of the Shade ("Full of righteous fury bursting through dynamic tunes")
86. KRS-One, Return of the Boom Bap ("No emcee has ever sounded as sure of himself")
85. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill ("Musical categories are unimportant when records are this accomplished")
84. MC Shan, Down by Law ("The archetypal document of its era")
83. Method Man, Tical ("The brooding darkness, eerie samples and off-key piano tones match Meth's style perfectly")
82. The Notorious B.I.G., Life After Death ("Even with production designed to broaden Biggie's appeal, he couldn't summon much cheer for his lyrics")
81. Organized Konfusion, Stress: The Extinction Agenda ("The mood had clearly darkened and with it the music, the beats, lyrics and flows")
80. Redman, Whut? Thee Album ("His tendency towards the lunatic is evident throughout")
79. Styles of Beyond, 2000 Fold ("Uptempo beats with complex space-age lyrics")
78. The X-Ecutioners, X-Pressions ("Funky enough to make a blind man dance")
77. 2Pac, All Eyez on Me ("Conceived by Death Row as the biggest and grandest gangsta rap album of the '90s")
76. Gang Starr, Hard to Earn ("Guru's simple but devastating flow laid down their hardest lyrics to date")
75. OutKast, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik ("A southern record that let you feel the sunshine")
74. Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-Tang Forever ("There are inevitably weak moments but any other group would kill for some of the tunes here")
73. Tha Alkaholiks, 21 & Over) ("What a relief to hear a crew doing their own thing when the rest of LA was slavishly copying the gangsta blueprint")
72. Brand Nubian, One for All ("This album was never likely to be forgotten in a hurry")
71. De La Soul, Stakes Is High ("Another rounded collection of fantastic songs that managed to entertain, amuse and provoke in equal measure")
70. Jeru the Damaja, The Sun Rises in the East ("Jeru was not content to let hip-hop languish in its gangsta gutter; he was determined to try and improve it")
69. Pete Rock & CL Smooth, The Main Ingredient ("The delivery was sophisticated and expressive without ever being soft or sentimental")
68. Xzibit, At the Speed of Life ("His mid-paced flows were not obviously west coast, but nor were they influenced by the banging joints emerging from NYC")
67. Common Sense, Resurrection ("Resurrection is a mellow and jazzy set but is never less than funky")
66. DMX, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot ("The latest artist to climb aboard the horrorcore bandwagon, DMX is crazy…")
65. KRS-One, KRS-One ("The Blastmaster still shows no sign of flagging in his determination to rule hip-hop")
64. The Roots, Do You Want More?!!!??! ("For a debut album it showed amazing maturity, especially as they were pioneering the world of live hip-hop")
63. Black Moon, Enta da Stage ("Over tight production, raw beats and rough musical samples came dark raps dealing with the reality of inner city street life")
62. Da Lench Mob, Guerillas in tha Mist ("Their murderous revolutionary ambitions [lined] them up alongside Paris in the controversy stakes")
61. Ice Cube, The Predator ("…captured a historical moment and a musical one – few albums share that unique distinction")
60. Main Source, Breaking Atoms ("The overall modd is fresh and jazzy, and the Large Professor's production is never short of inspired")
59. Redman, Muddy Waters ("Funkier than a room full of the finest cheeba smoke")
58. The Roots, Things Fall Apart ("…contained enough hard hip-hop tunes to keep aficionados of the roughest street sounds happy")
57. Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Mecca and the Soul Brother ("As fine a record as Pete Rock has ever produced")
56. Gravediggaz, Niggamortis ("Niggamortis had enough fine material to carry its weight of doom-laden words")
55. Beastie Boys, Licensed to Ill ("Every fan understood it was all a good joke while older people took it all deadly seriously")
54. Black Star, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star ("Every listen to this complex but accessible album reveals new lyrical gems")
53. Cypress Hill, Black Sunday ("…gothic darkness and a cartoonish obsession with smoking dope")
52. Gunshot, Patriot Games ("…warmly received critically, especially by an alternative press thrilled to find a rap record that didn't offend their liberal sensibilities")
51. Jeru the Damaja, Wrath of the Math ("He comes on like the spiritual heir to KRS-One's title of chief edutainer")
50. Wild Style Original Soundtrack ("It captures the spirits of hip-hop's roots (c.1982) and, as such, is a must for all hip-hop fans")
49. Gang Starr, Daily Operation ("A harder sound in keeping with NYC at the time… they're unlikely to surpass this record in a hurry")
48. Ice Cube, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted ("Ice has never been this angry or this focused since… He made a tighter record than almost everyone else in 1990")
47. Onyx, Bacdafucup ("Bacdafucup has a basic attraction that's still hard to beat")
46. StreetSounds Electro 1-10 ("Any excuse to listen to the computerised beats on these records and relive those moments is a good one")
45. Dianond D & the Psychotic Neurotics, Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop ("One of hip-hop's great lost records")
44. EPMD, Strictly Business ("Their love for hip-hop as an art form was always clear")
43. A Tribe Called Quest, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm ("A beautiful set of songs that inspired, amused and touched in equal measures")
42. Big Daddy Kane, Long Live the Kane ("Kane's fearsome reputation is based almost entirely on this record")
41. Soundbombing II ("A perfect demonstration of the wealth of talent at their disposal")
40. Smif-N-Wessun, Dah Shinin' ("A potent cocktail of compressed beats that were springy enough to get necks snapping and heavy lyrics that stayed on the right side of credible")
39. Boogie Down Productions, By All Means Necessary ("The album's success is as much a result of its hard, tight beats as the Blastmaster's lyricism")
38. Beastie Boys, Paul's Boutique ("An entire work of art that would be the bomb if it were released tomorrow and a miracle in the context of 1989")
37. The Roots, Illadelph Halflife ("It showed The Roots were even more innovative than previously thought")
36. The Beatnuts, The Beatnuts ("Hard as nails, straight out of New York and as funny as it was violent… a blast of polluted air from the capital of hip-hop")
35. Jurassic 5, Jurassic 5 ("A great LP conveying the feeling of summer block parties. One for the BBQ")
34. Souls of Mischief, 93 'til Infinity ("Their mellow sound (fairly unique at the time) seemed to match the lyrics and made for a sweet combination")
33. Dr. Octagon, Dr Octagon ("Over crazy, experimental beats (courtesy of The Automator) that are miraculously never less than funky, Keith goes off…")
32. De La Soul, De La Soul Is Dead ("Tunes like 'Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa' and 'Saturday' [sic] are as good as anything to be found on 3 Feet High and Rising ")
31. The Pharcyde, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde ("Their songs brought a smile to the faces of everyone who heard them, without ever falling into the realms of novelty")
30. Eric B. & Rakim, Follow the Leader ("It was never going to have quite same impact as their debut [but] would be almost anyone else's best work")
29. Public Enemy, Yo! Bum Rush the Show ("As hard and solid as their uncompromising polemical stance")
28. Run-DMC, Raising Hell ("The finest moment from the godfathers of hip-hop… This record defined its era")
27. Eminem, The Slim Shady LP ("Few albums have featured such crazy raps but retained enough humour and accessibility to be so good")
26. Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... ("What really bursts from the record is the soul inside – its passion is what makes it great")
25. Gang Starr, Step in the Arena ("Premier always let the freedom of jazz inform his production while Guru let its certainty breathe through his delivery")
24. GZA, Liquid Swords ("The Wu's rhyme master giving ample expression to his verbal gifts over RZA beats as tight as any he had produced")
23. Mobb Deep, The Infamous ("Darker than December and littered with off-key piano sounds that chilled the blood")
22. Showbiz and A.G., Runaway Slave ("Real uncut hip-hop from its opening beats to the final rap")
21. Slick Rick, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick ("Funky, funny and endlessly entertaining")
20. Ice-T, O.G. Original Gangster ("The stories are great and Ice's hustler savvy and sophistication burns through every cut")
19. Cypress Hill, Cypress Hill ("Their styles were fresher than good sushi and the murderous stories they recounted a perfect foil to the funky tunes")
18. Canibus, Can-I-Bus ("His power on the mic didn't rely on lyrical conceit or crazy abstraction, just simple force and confident delivery")
17. Company Flow, Funcrusher Plus ("It's too out there, too challenging to the ears, and only with repeated listening does their obtuse funk start to make sense")
16. Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet ("Never again would truly political rap reach an audience of this size or produce such a great record")
15. Gang Starr, Moment of Truth ("Despite their vintage they're still making futuristic records that never rely on formula")
14. Gang Starr, Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr ("…proves just why Guru's simple flow over Primo's incredible beats is such a potent combination")
13. The Notorious B.I.G., Ready to Die ("His hunger and despair can be heard all over this record")
12. Snoop Doggy Dogg, Doggystyle ("The tunes are still great and the beats bumping")
11. Dr. Dre, The Chronic ("What made the whole trunk-bumping package so great was Dre's production… Hundreds of albums since have tried to bite his style but none have managed it")
10. A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory ("ATCQ came back with something harder, funkier and deeper than their light-hearted debut. It was a brave and bold move")
9. Boogie Down Productions, Criminal Minded ("…boasted lyrics that were always much more conscious than those of their competitors, and the beats broke new ground")
8. A Tribe Called Quest, Midnight Marauders ("Funky, funny, sweet but hard (where necessary) and utterly charming… There isn't a wasted note")
7. Ultramagnetic MCs, Critical Beatdown ("The tight funk-based tracks, the thumping drums and the inspiring selection of samples are perfect")
6. De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising ("…took rap somewhere it had never been before and, given the important role De La Soul's naivety played, it was probably an unrepeatable feat")
5. N.W.A, Straight Outta Compton ("Rappers have said many outrageous things on record since it was released, but NWA said it first and did it much better")
4. Eric B. & Rakim, Paid in Full ("Rarely has hip-hop heard an emcee so full of self-belief and with the raw skills to fulfil his boasts")
3. Nas, Illmatic ("Tighter than Lil' Kim's hotpants, there isn't a moment wasted on Illmatic… every track is a classic")
2. Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) ("Their rhymes sounded like true life tales, something the west coast no longer even aspired to, and the passion was perceptible")
1. Public Enemy, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back ("Chuck D recently admitted he set out with the intention of making a record that girls wouldn't like… he undoubtedly succeeded)"
Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the South Bronx section of New York City. The group pioneered the fusion of dancehall reggae and hip hop music and their debut LP Criminal Minded contained frank descriptions of life in the South Bronx during the late 1980s, thus setting the stage for what would eventually become gangsta rap.
Rapping is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The components of rap include "content", "flow", and "delivery". Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that it is usually performed off-time to musical accompaniment. Rap is a primary ingredient of hip hop music commonly associated with that genre; however, the origins of rap predate hip-hop culture by many years.
The new school of hip hop was a movement in hip hop music, beginning in 1983–84 with the early records of Run–D.M.C., Whodini, and LL Cool J. Predominantly from Queens and Brooklyn, it was characterized by drum machine-led minimalism, often tinged with elements of rock; rapped taunts, boasts, and socio-political commentary; and aggressive, self-assertive delivery. In song and image, its artists projected a tough, cool, street b-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with funk and disco, novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers, and party rhymes of artists prevalent in the early 1980s. Compared to their older hip hop counterparts, new school artists crafted more cohesive LPs and shorter songs more amenable to airplay. By 1986, their releases began to establish hip hop in the mainstream.
East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in The Bronx, New York City.
Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Houston-born record producer DJ Premier and Boston, Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2003, and are considered one of the best MC-and-producer duos in hip hop history. They are recognized for being one of the pioneers of jazz rap. Some of their top hits include "Mass Appeal", "Take It Personal", "Moment of Truth", "Full Clip" and "Above The Clouds".
Jazz rap is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American music of the past with a newly dominant form of the present, paying tribute to and reinvigorating the former while expanding the horizons of the latter." The rhythm was rooted in hip hop over which were placed repetitive phrases of jazz instrumentation: trumpet, double bass, etc. Groups involved in the formation of jazz rap included A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, De La Soul, Gang Starr, The Roots, Jungle Brothers, and Dream Warriors.
Christopher Edward Martin, known professionally as DJ Premier, is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr—alongside the rapper Guru—and presently forms half of the hip hop duo PRhyme, together with Royce da 5'9".
The Platform is the debut studio album of the West Coast hip hop group Dilated Peoples. It was released in 2000 under the Capitol Records label, and represents a movement of several California underground hip hop artists away from the violence and misogyny of gangsta rap, towards a more traditional, conscious form of rap.
Criminal Minded is the debut studio album by hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions, released on March 3, 1987 by B-Boy Records. It is considered a highly influential hip hop album and one of the first in the gangsta rap genre.
Kendrick Jeru Davis, known as Jeru the Damaja, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his 1993 single "Come Clean" from his debut album, The Sun Rises in the East, ranked as one of the 100 greatest hip-hop albums of all time by the editors of About.com. He has worked extensively with Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr, whom he has known since he was in high school.
The Sun Rises in the East is the debut album by American hip hop rapper Jeru the Damaja, released May 24, 1994 on Payday Records. Production on the album was handled by DJ Premier. The album features fellow Gang Starr Foundation member Afu-Ra. The album cover depicts the World Trade Center on fire only one year after the 1993 bombing of the North Tower.
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.
D&D Studios was a recording studio located in New York City on the west side of 37th street. Artists that recorded there include Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, The Notorious B.I.G., Fat Joe, Nas, Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, Afu-Ra, KRS-One, Frankie Cutlass,Violadores del Verso, Big L and Black Moon, among others.
Lord Finesse is an American rapper and hip-hop record producer from The Bronx, New York best known as the leader of the D.I.T.C. crew. About.com ranked him number 29 on its list of the Top-50 Hip-Hop Producers.
Golden age hip hop is a name given to mainstream hip hop music created from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, particularly by artists and musicians originating from the New York metropolitan area. An outgrowth of the new school hip hop movement, it is characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence on hip hop after the genre's emergence and establishment in the old-school era, and is associated with the development and eventual mainstream success of hip hop. There were various types of subject matter, while the music was experimental and the sampling from old records was eclectic.
Showbiz and A.G. is an American hip hop duo from The Bronx borough of New York City, composed of record producer Rodney "Showbiz" Lemay and rapper Andre "A.G." Barnes. The duo formed soon after their debut on the song "Back to Back Rhyming" from Lord Finesse's Funky Technician album and joined the hip hop collective D.I.T.C. along with Lord Finesse, Diamond D, Fat Joe, O.C., Buckwild and Big L.
Aaron Ocosice Phillip, better known by his stage name Afu-Ra, is an American underground rapper. A member of the Gang Starr Foundation, he has worked closely with its members, including Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, Big Shug and Group Home.
Gang Starr Foundation is a collective of east coast rappers led by the hip hop group Gang Starr. It was co-founded by Boston legend Big Shug. It was established in 1993.
Hip hop music or hip-hop music, also known as rap music and formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that originated in the Bronx borough of New York City in the early 1970s by African Americans, and it had been around for years prior before mainstream discovery. This genre of music originated as anti-drug and anti-violence, while consisting of stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. According to the professor Asante of African American studies at Temple University, “hip hop is something that blacks can unequivocally claim as their own”. It was developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, and rhythmic beatboxing. While often used to refer solely to rapping, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of hip hop culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.
Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in East Coast hip hop during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.
