60 Fun Facts About Hard Hip Hop

J Dilla's final album, Donuts, was released how long before his death?

Three days: Donuts came out on 7 February 2006, Dilla's 32nd birthday, and he died on 10 February 2006 from complications of TTP and lupus.

J Dilla and Madlib recorded the album Champion Sound under what duo name?

Jaylib was the J Dilla–Madlib duo; Champion Sound came out on Stones Throw in 2003, with each producer rapping over the other's beats.

DJ Premier formed which duo with Royce da 5'9" in 2014?

PRhyme paired DJ Premier with Royce da 5'9"; their self-titled 2014 debut built every beat from composer Adrian Younge's catalogue.

Producer Pete Rock rose to fame in the early 1990s alongside which rapper, as a duo?

Pete Rock & CL Smooth was the duo; Rock is also cited alongside Premier, RZA and Q-Tip as a pillar of 90s East Coast production.

Madlib recorded The Unseen (2000) under which alter ego?

Quasimoto is Madlib's helium-voiced alter ego; he made The Unseen (2000) by recording his vocals with the tape slowed so they played back high-pitched.

Rakim's first solo album, released in 1997, was called what?

R is the 18th letter of the alphabet; The Master followed in 1999.

Eric B. & Rakim's 1987 debut Paid in Full was released on which label?

4th & B'way, Island's urban imprint, issued Paid in Full on 7 July 1987; the album peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard 200.

Big Daddy Kane's high-school friend who became his DJ was who?

Kane also co-wrote some of Biz Markie's best-known lyrics after they became friends in 1984.

Kool G Rap's 1989 debut Road to the Riches paired him with which DJ?

DJ Polo was Kool G Rap's partner; Road to the Riches (Cold Chillin', 1989), produced by Marley Marl, was the first of three albums billed to Kool G Rap & DJ Polo.

What does the name KRS-One abbreviate?

KRS-One stands for Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone; Lawrence 'Kris' Parker used it as a graffiti tag before forming Boogie Down Productions in 1986.

Boogie Down Productions' name comes from a nickname for what?

'Boogie Down' is a nickname for the Bronx; the South Bronx crew of KRS-One and Scott La Rock put the anthem 'South Bronx' on its 1987 debut Criminal Minded.

Slick Rick signed with which label in 1986?

Def Jam signed Slick Rick in 1986; The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (1988), featuring 'Children's Story', was his debut for the label.

EPMD's 1988 debut album was titled what?

Strictly Business (1988) was EPMD's debut on Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records; its title track rides a sample of Eric Clapton's cover of 'I Shot the Sheriff'.

Which rapper became an unofficial member of the Ultramagnetic MCs in 1989?

Tim Dog, the Bronx rapper behind 1991's 'Fuck Compton' and Penicillin on Wax, ran with Ultramagnetic as an unofficial member and later formed the duo Ultra with Kool Keith.

Under what name did MF Doom rap in the trio KMD?

Zev Love X was Daniel Dumile's KMD alias; his brother and bandmate DJ Subroc died in 1993, and Elektra shelved their second album Black Bastards in 1994.

Before becoming Mobb Deep, Havoc and Prodigy went by which name in 1990?

The pair met at Manhattan's High School of Art and Design.

Which Outkast album is the only one to have debuted at number one on the Billboard 200?

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below went Diamond and won the 2004 Grammy for Album of the Year.

The Geto Boys' 'Mind Playing Tricks on Me' peaked at what position on the Hot 100 in 1991?

'Mind Playing Tricks on Me' peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991, the Geto Boys' biggest pop hit, built on an Isaac Hayes 'Hung Up on My Baby' sample.

UGK's 1992 debut album on Jive was titled what?

Too Hard to Swallow (1992) was UGK's Jive debut; the Port Arthur duo of Pimp C and Bun B followed it with Super Tight (1994) and Ridin' Dirty (1996).

Three 6 Mafia won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for a track from which film?

Hustle & Flow (2005), with Terrence Howard as an aspiring Memphis rapper, featured 'It's Hard out Here for a Pimp', which won Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards in 2006.

Too Short's 1987 album Born to Mack sold an estimated 50,000 copies how?

Too Short sold Born to Mack from the trunk of his car around Oakland, moving an estimated 50,000 copies on his own Dangerous Music label before Jive reissued it in 1988.

E-40's breakthrough 2006 single 'Tell Me When to Go' was produced by whom?

Lil Jon produced it; E-40, the Vallejo rapper, founded Sick Wid It Records and the group the Click.

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony were formerly known by which name?

B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e was the name on their 1993 Cleveland debut Faces of Death, before Eazy-E signed them to Ruthless Records and they became Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

What record did The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill set at the Grammys?

Lauryn Hill became the first hip-hop artist to win Album of the Year, for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill at the 1999 Grammys, where she took five awards from ten nominations.

The Roxanne Wars began over a B-side by which group?

U.T.F.O.'s 'Roxanne, Roxanne' was the B-side of the flop single 'Hanging Out'; 14-year-old Roxanne Shanté answered it.

Which 2007 album officially retired the Bridge Wars between KRS-One and Marley Marl?

Hip Hop Lives (2007), a joint album by KRS-One and Marley Marl, formally closed the two-decade Bridge Wars sparked by MC Shan's 'The Bridge' and BDP's answer 'South Bronx'.

Kurtis Blow's 1979 deal, the first major-label signing of a rapper, was with which label?

Mercury Records signed Kurtis Blow in 1979, the first major-label deal for a rapper; his debut single for them, 'Christmas Rappin'', came out that December.

Which Kurtis Blow single was the first rap record certified gold?

'The Breaks' (1980) was the first rap single certified gold by the RIAA; Kurtis Blow cut it with a live funk band rather than samples.

Before founding Sugar Hill Records, Sylvia Robinson had a 1973 solo R&B chart-topper called what?

'Pillow Talk' topped the Billboard R&B chart in 1973 and reached No. 3 on the Hot 100; Robinson had first hit in 1957 with Mickey & Sylvia's 'Love Is Strange'.

Yo! MTV Raps actually began on which channel, a year before its US debut?

Sophie Bramly created and hosted the European original from October 1987.

Which of these acts was NOT a principal member of the Native Tongues collective?

Public Enemy, Def Jam's political hardcore crew, were never Native Tongues; the Zulu Nation-linked collective ran from the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul to A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Monie Love and Black Sheep.

De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising takes its title from a song by which artist?

Johnny Cash's 1959 flood song 'Five Feet High and Rising' supplied the title and is sampled on the album, which Tommy Boy released in 1989.

The 1991 Grand Upright ruling that changed sampling law involved Biz Markie sampling which singer?

Gilbert O'Sullivan's 'Alone Again (Naturally)' was sampled on Biz Markie's 'Alone Again' from I Need a Haircut (1991); Judge Kevin Duffy's ruling opened with 'Thou shalt not steal'.

The Juice Crew was founded by which radio DJ?

Mr. Magic (John Rivas), host of WBLS's Rap Attack, founded the Juice Crew and named it after his nickname 'Sir Juice'; his DJ Marley Marl produced the crew's records.

In 2019 Cypress Hill became the first hip-hop group to receive what honour?

A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame came first to Cypress Hill; Sen Dog and Mellow Man Ace, brothers born in Cuba, were founding figures of the South Gate group.

'Push It' was originally released as the B-side of which Salt-N-Pepa single?

'Push It' began as the B-side of 'Tramp', a 1987 single from Hot, Cool & Vicious; DJ Cameron Paul's remix turned it into a Top 20 pop hit in 1988.

MC Lyte's Lyte as a Rock (1988) is credited as what milestone?

First full solo album by a female rapper is the claim; her second, Eyes on This, followed in 1989.

Which 1989 single was the inaugural number one on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart?

'Self Destruction', the Stop the Violence Movement's all-star single led by KRS-One, topped the first Hot Rap Singles chart in March 1989, with MC Lyte, Kool Moe Dee and Public Enemy among its guests.

Queen Latifah's 1989 debut album was titled what?

All Hail the Queen (Tommy Boy, 1989) was Queen Latifah's debut, featuring the Monie Love duet 'Ladies First'; the other three are her later albums.

Tha Carter III sold how many copies in its first week in 2008?

Tha Carter III sold over one million copies (1,005,545) in its first week in June 2008, the year's best-selling US album at 2.88 million, and won Best Rap Album at the 2009 Grammys.

Rawkus Records, home of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, was owned by a member of which media dynasty?

James Murdoch owned the label, which launched in 1995 with releases in hip-hop and drum and bass.

Who founded Stones Throw Records in 1996?

Peanut Butter Wolf (Chris Manak) founded Stones Throw in 1996 to release the music he had made with his partner Charizma, who was killed in 1993.

Rhymesayers Entertainment, co-founded by Slug and Ant of Atmosphere, is based in which city?

Minneapolis is home to Rhymesayers, founded in 1995 by Slug, Ant, Musab and Brent 'Siddiq' Sayers; the label staged the Soundset festival in the Twin Cities from 2008 to 2019.

Tom Silverman founded Tommy Boy Records in 1981 with how large a loan from his parents?

Tom Silverman started Tommy Boy in 1981 with a $5,000 loan from his parents, spinning it out of his Dance Music Report tip sheet; 'Planet Rock' (1982) was its breakthrough.

Eazy-E co-founded Ruthless Records in 1987 with which manager?

Jerry Heller, a veteran manager, co-founded Ruthless Records with Eazy-E in 1987 and managed N.W.A; Ice Cube's 1989 exit and Dr. Dre's 1991 exit both stemmed from disputes over Heller's deals.

Rap-A-Lot Records was co-founded in 1986 by James Prince and whom?

Cliff Blodget co-founded Rap-A-Lot with James Prince in Houston in 1986; the label's first nationally distributed album was Raheem's The Vigilante (1988), ahead of the Geto Boys' breakthrough.

Cash Money Records became an imprint of Universal Records in which year?

Cash Money signed its $30 million distribution deal with Universal Records in 1998, seven years after the Williams brothers founded the label in New Orleans; Juvenile's 400 Degreez followed that November.

Who were the three founders of Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994?

Damon Dash, Jay-Z and Kareem Burke ('Biggs') founded Roc-A-Fella after major labels passed on Jay-Z; its first album, Reasonable Doubt (1996), was distributed by Priority.

Kool Moe Dee first found fame with which pioneering group?

The Treacherous Three launched him in the 1980s, and he is considered a forerunner of the New Jack Swing sound in hip-hop.

Which graffiti artist was the first US host of Yo! MTV Raps?

Debbie Harry name-checked him on Blondie's 1981 hit 'Rapture'.

Wild Style, regarded as the first hip-hop film, was directed by whom?

Charlie Ahearn wrote and directed Wild Style, shot in the Bronx and Lower East Side with Lee Quiñones and Fab 5 Freddy; it opened in US cinemas in 1983.

Which German band inspired Afrika Bambaataa and Arthur Baker's 'Planet Rock'?

Kraftwerk supplied the melody of 'Trans-Europe Express' and the rhythm of 'Numbers'; Bambaataa and Arthur Baker rebuilt them on a Roland TR-808 for Tommy Boy in 1982.

Grandmaster Flash is credited with inventing what piece of DJ equipment?

Grandmaster Flash is credited with inventing the slipmat, a felt disc that lets a DJ hold a record motionless while the platter keeps turning; his Quick Mix Theory used two copies of a record to extend a break.

In 2019 Grandmaster Flash became the first hip-hop artist to receive which honour?

The Polar Music Prize, Sweden's music award, went to Grandmaster Flash in 2019, the first hip-hop artist honoured, alongside violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's second album, released in 1995, spawned which two hit singles?

1st of tha Month and East 1999 were the first singles from E. 1999 Eternal (1995); Tha Crossroads, released in 1996, later won the group a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

Marley Marl grew up in which housing project?

Queensbridge, the Long Island City housing project, raised Marley Marl; MC Shan's 'The Bridge' celebrated it, and Marl's home studio there produced early Juice Crew records.

How many copies did Illmatic sell in its first week, debuting at number 12 on the Billboard 200?

Illmatic sold 59,000 copies in its first week in April 1994, entering the Billboard 200 at No. 12; it took until 2001 to reach platinum despite its canonisation.

Under which nickname did Nas rap before adopting the alias 'Nasty Nas'?

Nas started as 'Kid Wave' with best friend Ill Will as his DJ, then met Large Professor at 15 and debuted on Main Source's 'Live at the Barbeque'.

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was released in November 1993 on which label?

Loud Records, Steve Rifkind's RCA-distributed label, released Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) on 9 November 1993; the deal famously let each member sign solo deals elsewhere.

Which Wu-Tang member appears on only one track of 36 Chambers, closing 'Da Mystery of Chessboxin''?

Masta Killa contributes just the last verse of that song; every other rapper appears on at least two tracks.