3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by the American hip hop group De La Soul, released on February 6, 1989, by Tommy Boy Records. It was the first of three collaborations with the producer Prince Paul, and was the critical and commercial peak of both parties. The album title comes from the Johnny Cash song "Five Feet High and Rising". The album contains the singles "Me Myself and I", "The Magic Number", "Buddy", and "Eye Know".
The Chronic is the debut studio album by the American hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his own record label Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place in Death Row Studios in Los Angeles and at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.
Raising Hell is the third studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on May 15, 1986, by Profile Records. The album was produced by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Raising Hell became the first Platinum and multi-Platinum hip hop record. The album was first certified as Platinum on July 15, 1986, before it was certified as 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 24, 1987. It is widely considered as one of the most important albums in the history of hip hop music and culture.
The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 14, 2003, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. It was advertised as his final album before retiring, which is also a recurring theme throughout the songs, although Jay-Z resumed his recording career in 2005. For the album, Jay-Z wanted to enlist a different producer for each song, working with Just Blaze, Kanye West, The Neptunes, Eminem, DJ Quik, Timbaland, 9th Wonder and Rick Rubin, among others. The album also features a guest appearance by Pharrell Williams.
The Blueprint is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York City. Contrasting the radio-friendly sound of Jay-Z's previous work, The Blueprint features soul-based sampling and production handled primarily by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink, as well as Timbaland, Trackmasters, and Eminem, who also contributes the album's sole guest feature.
EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith. During an interview on college radio station WHOV in 1987, Parrish Smith stated that the name evolved from the original: "We were originally known as "EEPMD", but chose to go with EPMD because it was easier to say." He also stated that they dropped the two "E's" because N.W.A.'s Eric Wright was already using "Eazy-E" as his stage name. The group has been active for 36 years.
The Platform is the debut studio album by American hip hop trio Dilated Peoples. It was released on May 23, 2000, through Capitol Records. Recording sessions took place at Audio X in Burbank, D&D Studios in New York, Can Am Studios in Tarzana and Threshold Studios in Santa Monica. Production was handled by members Evidence and DJ Babu, as well as Alchemist, Joey Chavez, E-Swift, KutMasta Kurt and T-Ray. It features guest appearances from Aceyalone, B-Real, Everlast, and Likwit Crew members Defari, Phil Da Agony, Planet Asia and Tha Alkaholiks. The album 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.
Paid in Full is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, released on July 7, 1987, by Island-subsidiary label 4th & B'way Records. The duo recorded the album at hip hop producer Marley Marl's home studio and Power Play Studios in New York City, following Rakim's response to Eric B.'s search for a rapper to complement his disc jockey work in 1985. The album peaked at number fifty-eight on the Billboard 200 chart, number eight on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and produced five singles: "Eric B. Is President", "I Ain't No Joke", "I Know You Got Soul", "Move the Crowd", and "Paid in Full".
Lord Willin' is the major label debut and second studio album by hip hop duo Clipse. The album was released on August 20, 2002 in the United States by Star Trak and Arista. Recording sessions took place over a year, beginning in 2001. Production was handled by The Neptunes.
Get Rich or Die Tryin' is the debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. It was released on February 6, 2003, by Interscope Records, Eminem's Shady Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. After signing with Eminem, 50 Cent also worked heavily with Dr. Dre acting as the album's executive producers, who worked to combine the gangsta rap and R&B combo prevalent in New York hip hop. Additional production is provided by Mike Elizondo, Sha Money XL, Mr. Porter, Rockwilder, Dirty Swift, Megahertz, and more.
Whut? Thee Album is the debut studio album by American rapper Redman. It was released on September 22, 1992, by Def Jam Recordings, Rush Associated Labels and Chaos Recordings, a dimension of Columbia Records. Taking place at Ian London Studios, North Shore Soundworks, and Power Play Studios, recording sessions began in 1991 and continued into 1992. The album features production from mentor and fellow Hit Squad member Erick Sermon; as well as Redman himself under his birth name Reggie Noble, with additional production from Pete Rock.
"O.P.P." is a song by American hip hop group Naughty by Nature, released in August 1991 by Tommy Boy as the lead single from the group's self-titled second album, Naughty by Nature (1991). It was one of the first rap songs to become a pop hit when it reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart. Rodd Houston and Marcus Raboy directed the music video for the song. Its declaration, "Down wit' O.P.P", was a popular catchphrase in the US in the early 1990s.
Unfinished Business is the second album by hip hop duo EPMD. Released July 25, 1989, the album built upon the success of the group's previous album Strictly Business, which was released the previous year. The lead single, "So Wat Cha Sayin'," was the only charting single released from the album. It was the second album from the group to hit No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Business as Usual is the third album by hip hop duo EPMD. It was released on December 18, 1990, and was their first on Def Jam, after being signed from their former label, Fresh Records. It was also the first release under Def Jam's new Rush subsidiary, which allowed founder Russell Simmons more control and more ownership over its material, as the masters for proper Def Jam releases at that time were primarily owned by Sony Music's Columbia Records.
Out of Business is the sixth studio album by American hip hop duo EPMD. The album was originally scheduled for a December 1998 release under Def Jam Recordings, but had been delayed numerous times as a result of a merger between Seagram's PolyGram and Universal Music Group's MCA Records, combining Def Jam and Island Records' operations together under the Island Def Jam Music Group. Ultimately, the album was released on July 20, 1999. It is the first official Def Jam album released under the newly-formed Island Def Jam Music Group and the group's last album released under the label as they left the imprint a year later before going inactive for the second time.
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is the second studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on June 28, 1988, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. It was recorded from 1987 to 1988 in sessions at Chung King Studios, Greene St. Recording, and Sabella Studios in New York.
"Crossover" is a single by American hip hop group EPMD released in August 1992 from their album Business Never Personal. The song's lyrics criticize rappers who crossover to R&B or pop in order to sell more. The single became EPMD's highest charting as it climbed the Billboard charts at #42. The song was also certified gold by RIAA, becoming the group's only single to accomplish that feat. The song samples "Don't Worry If There's a Hell Below " by Curtis Mayfield and Roger Troutman's "You Should Be Mine". A music video, colored in blue, was released for the song which features Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith rapping around a building under construction with other people around doing various activities like break-dancing.
This is the discography of American rap duo, EPMD.
Stephen Jerome Williams, known by his stage name Stezo, was an American rapper and producer.
"Juicy" is the first single by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. from his 1994 debut album, Ready to Die. It was produced by Poke of the duo Trackmasters and Sean "Puffy" Combs. "Juicy" contains a sample of Mtume's 1983 song, "Juicy Fruit", though it is directly sampled from the song's "Fruity Instrumental" mix, and has an alternative chorus sung by Bad Boy Records cohorts, the girl group Total and label boss, Combs. The song is widely considered to be one of the greatest songs of all time.
