PAYING HOMAGE TO REVOLUTIONIST GEORGE JACKSON 50 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH.

George Lester Jackson (September 23, 1941 – August 21, 1971) was an American author, activist, and convicted criminal. While serving a sentence for armed robbery in 1961, Jackson became involved in revolutionary activity and co-founded the Marxist–Leninist Black Guerrilla Family. 1970, he was charged, along with two other Soledad Brothers, with the murder of Correctional Officer John Vincent Mills […]

The Fourth of July that Could Have Wrecked the Country

Ted Widmer is Distinguished Lecturer at Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York, and the author of Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington. The Fourth of July began with so much noise in 1861 that a Washington newspaper reported that it “aroused old fogyism from its sleep.” Even at daybreak, there […]

2001 QUESTLOVE WAS HESITANT TO WORK WITH JAY-Z IN FEAR OF LOOKING LIKE A ‘SELLOUT’

Stephen Lovekin/WireImage for Island Def Jam Music Group Before JAY-Z was Hip Hop’s first billionaire and an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was the president of Def Jam Recordings. During his tenure, Hov signed The Roots to the imprint where the Philly group would put out several of their albums, including 2006’s Game Theory, 2008’s Rising Down and 2010’s How I Got […]

IT WAS ON THIS DATE NOV 15, 1986 THE BEASTIE BOYS RELEASED THEIR DEBUT STUDIO ALBUM ” LISCENSED TO ILL”

Licensed to Ill is the debut studio album by American rap rock group Beastie Boys. It was released on November 15, 1986 by Def Jam and Columbia Records, and became the first rap LP to top the Billboard album chart. It is one of Columbia Records’ fastest-selling debut records to date and was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2015 for shipping over ten million copies in the […]

IT WAS ON THIS DATE NOV, 15 KING TEE RELEASED HIS DEBUT STUDIO ALBUM “ACT A FOOL”

Act a Fool is the debut studio album by American West Coast hip hop artist King Tee. It was released on November 15, 1988 via Capitol Records. Audio production was handled by DJ Pooh and King Tee himself with Tim Devine as executive producer. It also features guest appearances provided by Mixmaster Spade and Breeze on the track “Just Clowning”. The album peaked at number 125 […]

IT WAS ON THIS DATE NOV 14, 1989 3RD BASS RELEASED THEIR DEBUT ALBUM “THE CACTUS ALBUM”

The Cactus Al/Bum (also known as The Cactus Cee/D and The Cactus Cas/Ette depending on release format) is the debut album by hip hop trio 3rd Bass, released on Def Jam Recordings on November 14, 1989. The album received positive reviews from the hip hop press. It was certified gold by the RIAA on April 24, 1990,[8] the same day as Biz Markie’s The Biz Never Sleeps,[9] which was released two weeks prior […]

NOV 12, 1996 EMINEM RELEASED HIS DEBUT ALBUM INFINITE

Infinite is the debut studio album by American rapper Eminem. It was released on November 12, 1996, through Web Entertainment. Recording sessions took place at the Bass Brothers’ studio, with production handled by Mr. Porter and Eminem himself. The album features guest vocals from fellow rappers Proof, Mr. Porter, Eye-Kyu, Three, and Thyme, as well as singer Angela Workman. Physical copies of Infinite were released on cassette and vinyl, and Eminem sold […]