Volume Magazine [ NOV 2020 ]

VOLUME

TOP 90’S

BIGGEST SUPERSTAR

TUPAC

SHAKUR

THE LEGEND

BEST POSITIVE
HIP-hop
RAPPER &
EMINEM RAP GOD
SONG

ALL THE TIME

EVERY FRIDAY
22.00 - 00.00
ON MTV

2

CONTENT

4 Culture And History
8 The 90’s Legends
13 Best 2000 - 2020 Rapper

22 Best Album
30 Best Song All The Time

RAP
‘‘Rythm And Poetry’’

3

CULTURE

Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Amer-
icans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. The
origin of the name is often disputed. It is also argued as to whether hip hop started in the
South or West Bronx.While the term hip hop is often used to refer exclusively to hip hop
music (including rap),hip hop is characterized four key elements: “rapping” (also called
MCing or emceeing), a rhythmic vocal rhyming style (orality); DJing (and turntablism),
which is making music with record players and DJ mixers (aural/sound and music crea-
tion); b-boying/b-girling/breakdancing (movement/dance); and graffiti.Other elements
are: hip hop culture and historical knowledge of the movement (intellectual philosoph-
ical); beatboxing, a percussive vocal style; street entrepreneurship; hip hop language; and hip hop fashion and style,
among others.The fifth element, although debated, is commonly considered either street knowledge, hip hop fashion,
or beatboxing.
The Bronx hip hop scene emerged in the mid-1970s from neighborhood block parties thrown by the Black Spades, an
African-American group that has been described as being a gang, a club, and a music group. Brother-sister duo DJ Kool
Herc, and Cindy Campbell additionally hosted DJ parties in the Bronx and are credited for the rise in the genre. Hip
hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban communities throughout the United States and subsequently the
world. These elements were adapted and developed considerably, particularly as the art forms spread to new continents
and merged with local styles in the 1990s and subsequent decades. Even as the movement continues to expand globally
and explore myriad styles and art forms, including hip hop theater and hip hop film, the four foundational elements
provide coherence and a strong foundation for hip hop culture.Hip hop is simultaneously a new and old phenomenon;
the importance of sampling tracks, beats, and basslines from old records to the art form means that much of the culture
has revolved around the idea of updating classic recordings, attitudes, and experiences for modern audiences. Sampling
older culture and reusing it in a new context or a new format is called “flipping” in hip hop culture.Hip hop music fol-
lows in the footsteps of earlier African-American-rooted and Latino musical genres such as blues, jazz, rag-time, funk,
salsa, and disco to become one of the most practiced genres worldwide.
In 1990, Ronald “Bee-Stinger” Savage, a former member of the Zulu Nation, is credited for coining the term “Six
elements of the Hip Hop Movement,” inspired by Public Enemy’s recordings. The “Six Elements Of The Hip Hop Move-
ment” are: Consciousness Awareness, Civil Rights Awareness, Activism Awareness, Justice, Political Awareness, and
Community Awareness in music. Ronald Savage is known as the Son of The Hip Hop Movement.

4

HISTORY

In the 1970s, an underground urban movement known as “hip hop” began to
form in the Bronx, New York City. It focused on emceeing (or MCing) over house
parties and neighborhood block party events, held outdoors. Hip hop music has
been a powerful medium for protesting the impact of legal institutions on minori-
ties, particularly police and prisons. Historically, hip hop arose out of the ruins of a
post-industrial and ravaged South Bronx, as a form of expression of urban Black and
Latino youth, whom the public and political discourse had written off as margin-
alized communities. Jamaican-born DJ Clive “Kool Herc” Campbell pioneered the
use of DJing percussion “breaks” in hip hop music. Beginning at Herc’s home in a
high-rise apartment at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the movement later spread across the
entire borough. On August 11, 1973 DJ Kool Herc was the DJ at his sister’s back-to-
school party. He extended the beat of a record by using two record players, isolating
the percussion “breaks” by using a mixer to switch between the two records. Kool
Herc’s sister, Cindy Campbell, produced and funded the Back to School Party that
became the “Birth of Hip Hop.”. Herc’s experiments with making music with record players became what we now know
as breaking or “scratching.”
A second key musical element in hip hop music is emceeing (also called MCing or rapping). Emceeing is the rhyth-
mic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay, delivered at first without accompaniment and later done over a beat. This
spoken style was influenced by the African American style of “capping,” a performance where men tried to outdo each
other in originality of their language and tried to gain the favor of the listeners. The basic elements of hip hop—boast-
ing raps, rival “posses” (groups), uptown “throw-downs,” and political and social commentary—were all long present in
African American music. MCing and rapping performers moved back and forth between the predominance of toasting
songs packed with a mix of boasting, ‘slackness’ and sexual innuendo and a more topical, political, socially conscious
style. The role of the MC originally was as a Master of Ceremonies for a DJ dance event. The MC would introduce the
DJ and try to pump up the audience. The MC spoke between the DJ’s songs, urging everyone to get up and dance. MCs
would also tell jokes and use their energetic language and enthusiasm to rev up the crowd. Eventually, this introducing
role developed into longer sessions of spoken, rhythmic wordplay, and rhyming, which became rapping.
By 1979 hip hop music had become a mainstream genre. It spread across the world in the 1990s with controversial
“gangsta” rap.[39] Herc also developed upon break-beat deejaying, where the breaks of funk songs—the part most
suited to dance, usually percussion-based—were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. This
form of music playback, using hard funk and rock, formed the basis of hip hop music. Campbell’s announcements and
exhortations to dancers would lead to the syncopated, rhymed spoken accompaniment now known as rapping. He
dubbed his dancers “break-boys” and “break-girls,” or simply b-boys and b-girls. According to Herc, “breaking” was
also street slang for “getting excited” and “acting energetically”

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6

7

RAPPER'S LE

Rakim is the father of modern day rap. A beaming Ghostface Killah
of Wu Tang Clan once proclaimed, “Rakim is the only god. He taught
me how to rock this.” Rakim’s calm delivery effortlessly carries listeners
through his own personal journey of triumph, money making, and the
fallibility of mankind. The intense cutting, production, and scratching
skills of partner Eric B. served as the perfect contrast to Rakim’s graceful
wordplay.
Tupac and his Me Against the World mentality often bordered upon
sheer lunacy. He made open calls to violence against East Coast rappers,
disloyal acquaintances, corrupt politicians, and even scandalous wom-
en. In contrast to his tough talk, however, were happy-go-lucky dance
mixes, love poetry, spiritual leadership, and an ode to “Dear Mamma.”

Notorious B.I.G. built his legend upon the strength of freestyle bat-
tles throughout the Brooklyn borough. Of Jamaican descent, B.I.G.’s
booming voice and hint of patois dominated the streets, recording
studios, and dancehall clubs. B.I.G. described himself as “Heart throb
never. Black, and ugly as ever.” Still, his alliance with Sean “Puff Dad-
dy” Combs helped to create a flamboyant fat man who maintained a
penchant for beautiful women, fancy clothes, fine dining, and stately
mansions. Taken together, Combs and Smalls emerged as the ultimate
answer to West Coast record label Death Row.
Jay-Z emerged as that rare personality that has successfully melded
street cred, popular mass appeal, swagger, and the classic Horatio Alger
rags-to-riches storyline. As a rapper, Jay-Z may be most notable for
his smooth delivery and authoritative voice that commands listeners
to dance. In addition to Nas, rappers 50-Cent, Camron, Jim Jones, and
Prodigy have resurrected their careers simply through challenging
Jay-Z.

8

EGENDS 90's

In 1994, “Nasty” Nas exploded onto the scene with Illmatic, which may
arguably go down as the greatest hip hop album of all time. At the age
of 19, Nasir Jones had put out a compact, 10-song banger of fierce beats,
gritty storytelling, sharp punch lines, and absolute raging fire on the
microphone. From there, the young emcee was poised to battle Notori-
ous B.I.G. and Jay-Z for the coveted King of New York crown for years
to come.
Scarface legitimized Southern rap as the lead member of his Geto Boys
group. His subject matter was typically dark yet authentic. For the past
20 years, a growling Scarface has grappled with murder, court cases,
hustling, total loss, and humiliating deception throughout his storytell-
ing career.

Out of Long Beach, Calif., Snoop Dogg introduced himself to the en-
tertainment world while trading verses and barbs with Dr. Dre on the
Deep Cover movie soundtrack. From there, Snoop starred as a talented
protégé, who was featured heavily throughout Dr. Dre’s classic album,
Chronic. In 1993, Snoop Dogg was to debut as a solo artist with his own
critically acclaimed Doggystyle LP.
The legacy of Anthony Cruz, or AZ, was somewhat overshadowed be-
neath the star power of close ally Nas. Out of Brooklyn, AZ is arguably
the most underrated rapper to grace the microphone. He’s notable for
his relatively high-pitched delivery and aggressive lyrics that jammed
multiple rhymes into each bar. AZ built his character up as somewhat
of an unwitting gangster, who embraced a life of crime largely out of ne-
cessity, instead of out of calculated malice. As such, AZ fit the ongoing
Robin Hood narrative that has permeated rap.

9

ABOUT

KANYE WEST

Kanye Omari West ( born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, record producer, and fashion designer.
Throughout his career, West has been responsible for cultural movements and musical progressions within
mainstream hip-hop and popular music at large.Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, he was first known
as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing singles for several mainstream artists.
Intent on pursuing a solo career as a rapper, West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004 to

critical and commercial success, and founded the record label GOOD Music.
West experimented with a variety of musical genres on subsequent acclaimed studio albums, including Late
Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), and 808s & Heartbreak (2008). Drawing inspiration from maximal-
ism and minimalism, respectively, West’s fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) and sixth
album Yeezus (2013) were also critical successes. He went on to release The Life of Pablo (2016), Ye (2018),
and Jesus Is King (2019). West’s discography also includes the full-length collaborations Watch the Throne

(2011) and Kids See Ghosts (2018) with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi, respectively.
West’s outspoken views and life outside of music have received significant media attention. He has been a
frequent source of controversy for his conduct at award shows, on social media, and in other public settings,
as well as for his comments on the music and fashion industries, U.S. politics, and race. His Christian faith, as
well as his marriage to television personality Kim Kardashian, have also been a source of media attention. As
a fashion designer, he has collaborated with Nike, Louis Vuitton, and A.P.C. on both clothing and footwear,
and have most prominently resulted in the Yeezy collaboration with Adidas beginning in 2013. He is the

founder and head of the creative content company DONDA.
West is one of the world’s best-selling music artists, with more than 20 million albums and 140 million singles

sold worldwide. He has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of
all time.Among his other awards include the Billboard Artist Achievement Award, a joint-record three Brit
Awards for Best International Male Solo Artist and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.Six of his
albums have been included on Rolling Stone’s 2020 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list; the same publica-
tion named him one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.West is the tied holder for the most albums
(four) topping the annual Pazz & Jop critic poll. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential

people in the world in 2005 and 2015.

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11

12

BEST RAPPER
2000 - 2020

13

14

EMINEM

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (often stylized as
EMINEM), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Credited with popularizing hip hop in
Middle America, Eminem's global success and acclaimed works are widely regarded as having broken racial
barriers for the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work dur-
ing the early 2000s made him hugely controversial, he came to be a representation of popular angst and the
American underclass. He has been influential for many artists of various genres.

After his debut album Infinite (1996) and the extended play Slim Shady EP (1997), Eminem signed with
Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and subsequently achieved mainstream popularity in 1999 with The Slim
Shady LP. His next two releases The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and The Eminem Show (2002) were world-
wide successes and were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. After the release of
his next album, Encore (2004), Eminem went on hiatus in 2005 partly due to a prescription drug addiction.
He returned to the music industry four years later with the release of Relapse (2009), and Recovery was
released the following year. Recovery was the best-selling album worldwide of 2010, making it Eminem's
second album, after The Eminem Show in 2002, to be the best-selling album of the year worldwide. In the
following years, he released the US number one albums The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Revival, Kamikaze and
Music to Be Murdered By.

Eminem made his debut in the film industry with the musical drama film 8 Mile (2002), playing a fiction-
alized version of himself, and his track "Lose Yourself " from its soundtrack won the Academy Award for Best
Original Song, making him the first hip hop artist to ever win the award.[4] He has made cameo appearances
in the films The Wash (2001), Funny People (2009), and The Interview (2014), and the television series En-
tourage (2010). Eminem has developed other ventures, including Shady Records, with manager Paul Rosen-
berg, which helped launch the careers of artists such as 50 Cent, Yelawolf and Obie Trice, among others. He
has also established his own channel, Shade 45, on Sirius XM Radio. In addition to his solo career, Eminem
was a member of the hip hop group D12. He is also known for collaborations with fellow Detroit-based rap-
per Royce da 5'9"; the two are collectively known as Bad Meets Evil.

Eminem is among the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated worldwide sales of more than
220 million records. He was the best-selling music artist in the United States of the 2000s and the best-selling
male music artist in the United States of the 2010s, third overall. Billboard named him the "Artist of the
Decade (2000–2009)". The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, "Lose Yourself ", "Love the Way You Lie"
and "Not Afraid" have all been certified Diamond or higher by the Recording Industry Association of Amer-
ica (RIAA).Rolling Stone included him in its lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest
Songwriters of All Time. He has won numerous awards, including 15 Grammy Awards, eight American Mu-
sic Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, an Academy Award and a MTV Europe Music Global Icon Award.
He has had ten number one albums on the Billboard 200, which all consecutively debuted at number one on
the chart making him the only artist to achieve this,and five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

15

xxxtentacion

Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18,
2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion was an
American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Despite being a
controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal issues,
XXXTentacion gained a cult following among his young
fanbase during his short career through his depression and
alienation thematic driven music. He was often credited by
critics and fans for his musical versatility, with his music
exploring emo, trap, lo-fi, indie rock, nu metal, hip hop and
punk rock.
Born in Plantation, Florida, XXXTentacion spent most of
his childhood in Lauderhill. He began writing
music after being released from a juvenile detention center
and soon started his music career on SoundCloud in 2013,
employing styles and techniques that were unconventional
in rap music, such as distortion and heavy guitar-backed
instrumentals drawing inspiration from third-wave emo
and grunge. In 2014, he formed the underground collec-
tive Members Only and alongside other members of the
collective he soon became a popular figure in SoundCloud
rap, a trap music scene that takes elements of lo-fi music
and harsh 808s.
XXXTentacion rose to mainstream attention with the
single “Look at Me”. His debut album 17 (2017) was cer-
tified triple platinum by the RIAA. His second album ?
(2018) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and
the album’s lead single, “Sad!”, reached number one on
the Billboard Hot 100. On June 18, 2018, XXXTentacion
was fatally shot at the age of 20, in a robbery at a motor-
cycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The attackers
fled the scene in an SUV after stealing from him a Louis Vuitton bag containing $50,000; four suspects were
arrested. No trial date has been set for the accused.
XXXTentacion has RIAA-certified sales of 61 million units in the US and BPI-certified sales of over 7 mil-
lion units in the UK, bringing his total to 68 million certified records sold within the two countries. Since
his death, he has won an American Music Award, a BET Hip Hop Award, and received 11 Billboard Music
Award nominations. Two posthumous albums were released, Skins (2018) and Bad Vibes Forever (2019); the
former became his second number-one album on the Billboard 200.

16

juice
wrlD

Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8,
2019), known professionally as Juice Wrld (pronounced
“juice world”; stylized as Juice WRLD), was an American
rapper, singer, and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. His
song “Lucid Dreams” has been played on music streaming
platform Spotify over one billion times. “Lucid Dreams”,
along with his earlier hit single “All Girls Are the Same”,
helped him to secure a recording contract with Lil Bibby’s
Grade A Productions and Interscope Records.
“All Girls Are the Same” and “Lucid Dreams” were two of
five singles included on Higgins’ debut studio album
Goodbye & Good Riddance (2018), which went on to
become certified Platinum by the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA). The album enjoyed
positive critical reception, and contained three other
singles: “Lean wit Me”, “Wasted”, and “Armed and Dan-
gerous”, all of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
After collaborating with Future on the mixtape Wrld on
Drugs (2018), Higgins released his second studio album
Death Race for Love (2019), which reached number one
on the Billboard 200. It contains the singles “Robbery”
and “Hear Me Calling”.
Higgins died eight months later following a drug-related
seizure at Chicago’s Midway International Airport. His
death prompted an outpouring of grief across social me-
dia and from the music industry. His first posthumous
album, Legends Never Die (2020), debuted at number
one on the Billboard 200. The album was the most
successful posthumous chart debut in over 20 years and
matched a record for the most top-ten song entries on
the Hot 100 at one time. The album’s fourth of six singles, “Come & Go” with Marshmello, became Higgins’
second song to reach number two on the Billboard Hot 100 after “Lucid Dreams”.
Jarad Anthony Higgins was born on December 2, 1998, in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in the South Suburbs
spending his childhood in Calumet Park and later moved to
Homewood,where he attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School. His parents divorced when he was three
years old, and his father left, leaving his mother to raise him as a single mother along with one older brother.
Higgins’ mother was very religious and conservative, and did not let him listen to hip hop. He was allowed to
listen to rock and pop music, however, and he found this on video games such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and
Guitar Hero, which introduced him to artists like Billy Idol, Blink-182, Black Sabbath, Fall Out Boy, Mega-

17

CARDI B

Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar (born October 11, 1992), known
professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper, songwriter,
television personality, and actress.Born in Manhattan and
raised in the Bronx, New York City, she became an Internet
celebrity after several of her posts and videos became popu-
lar on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to 2017, she appeared
as a regular cast member on the VH1 reality television series
Love & Hip Hop: New York, which depicted her pursuit of
her music aspirations. She released two mixtapes—Gangsta
Bitch Music, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, before signing with label
Atlantic Records in early 2017.
Her debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy (2018), de-
buted at number one on the Billboard 200, broke several
streaming records, was certified triple platinum by the
RIAA and named by Billboard the top female rap album
of the 2010s. Critically acclaimed, it won the Grammy
Award for Best Rap Album, making Cardi B the only
woman to win the award as a solo artist, as well as the
first female rap artist in 15 years to be nominated for
Album of the Year. It spawned two number-one singles
on the Billboard Hot 100; “Bodak Yellow”, which made
her the second female rapper to top the chart with a solo
output—following Lauryn Hill in 1998—and “I Like It”,
which made her the first female rapper to attain multiple
number-one songs on the chart. Her Maroon 5 collabo-
ration “Girls Like You” made her the only female rapper
to top the Hot 100 three times. “WAP”, the lead single
of her second album, expanded her record as the female
rapper with the most Hot 100 number-one singles as her
fourth leader, and made her the only female rap artist to
achieve chart-topping singles in two decades (2010s and 2020s).
Recognized by Forbes as one of the most influential female rappers of all time, Cardi B is known for her ag-
gressive flow and candid lyrics, which have received widespread media coverage. She is the highest-certified
female rapper of all time on the RIAA’s Top Artists (Digital Singles) ranking, also appearing among the ten
highest-certified female artists and having the top certified song by a female rap artist. She is the only female
rapper with multiple billion-streamers on Spotify. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, seven Billboard
Music Awards, five Guinness World Records, four American Music Awards, eleven BET Hip Hop Awards.

18

DRAKE

Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986) is a
Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, record produc-
er, and entrepreneur. A prominent figure in popular music,
Drake is credited for popularizing the Toronto sound. He
first gained recognition as an actor on the teen drama tel-
evision series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-2007);
intent on pursuing a career in music, he left the series after
releasing his debut mixtape Room for Improvement. He
released two more independent projects, Comeback Season
and So Far Gone, before signing to Young Money Entertain-
ment.
Drake released his debut studio album Thank Me Later in
2010, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard
200. He achieved major critical success with Take Care
(2011), and commercial success with
Nothing Was the Same (2013) and his first commercial
mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (2015); the
later two were certified multi-platinum in the US.Drake’s
fourth album Views (2016) sat atop the
Billboard 200 for 13 nonconsecutive weeks, becoming
the first album by a male solo artist to do so in over a
decade.Marketed as a playlist, Drake’s second solo com-
mercial mixtape More Life (2017) set multiple
streaming records.In 2018, he released the double album
Scorpion, which produced three number-one
singles on the Billboard Hot 100.[ Drake’s third commer-
cial mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020) featured the
Hot 100 number-one lead single “Toosie Slide”.
As an entrepreneur, Drake founded the OVO Sound re-
cord label with longtime collaborator 40 in 2012. In 2016,
Drake was announced as the new “global
ambassador” for the Toronto Raptors, thereby joining the
executive committee of the NBA franchise. In the same year, Drake announced his development with Amer-
ican entrepreneur Brent Hocking of the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black; it eventually broke sale records in
Canada. In 2018, Drake was reportedly responsible for 5% (CAD$440 million) of Toronto’s CAD$8.8 billion
total annual tourism income.

19

20

21

BEST ALBUM
1990 - 2020

22

ALL EYES ON ME

At 27 songs long, 2Pac’s fourth and final album to be released during his lifetime is a tour de force of hip-hop,
the first of its kind to ever be released for mass consumption and a ferocious return to music after spending
eleven months in jail for sexual assault. In today’s world, no label in their right mind would have bailed him
out for his crime, but that’s what Death Row Records did in 1995, forking out $1.4 million on the condition
he would make three albums for them once released. The rapper died in a drive-by shooting less than a year
later, but not before the release of All Eyez On Me, an album that was hastily recorded in two weeks. While

a tone of urgency runs through it, 2Pac’s work on this album is anything but sloppy, eschewing the more
self-reflective themes explored on Me Against The World for an unashamed celebration of Thug Life.

THE NOTORIOUS BIG

Anyone who likes to critique rap music for its glorification of violence and criminal activity ought to give The
Notorious BIG’s Ready To Die a proper listen. Yes, iconic singles such as “Juicy” and “Big Poppa” linger on
the pros of his lifestyle – his rags-to-riches story and getting laid, respectively – but elsewhere on Ready To

Die Biggie opens up about the cons with frank honesty, with tracks such as “Everyday Struggle” and “Suicidal
Thoughts” tackling themes of depression and the shame that accompanies a life of crime. Behind the bravado
and his booming delivery, there’s real vulnerability on Ready To Die and, paired with his storytelling ability

and the album’s slick production, it’s not hard to see why he’s regarded by many as the greatest rapper of all
time.

23

JAY-Z THE BLUEPRINT

If we’ve learned anything from the Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance, it’s that the best way to
come back at critics is to excel and that’s exactly what Jay-Z did on his sixth album, The Blueprint. At the
time, he was one of the most dissed rappers in the game, with everyone from Nas to Prodigy firing shots his
way, but while he fights back on “Takeover”, the rest of the album speaks for itself, reviving hip-hop’s sample
culture with the help of a young Kanye West and Just Blaze’s production. The result is soul-influenced exer-
cise in bravado, as Jay-Z toots his own horn over carefully refined samples, confidently assuring listeners on
“Hola’ Hovito” that “If I ain’t better than BIG, I’m the closest one”. While it’s debatable that The Blueprint is

Jay-Z’s best record – he himself has said that he believes his debut album

MY BEATIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY

Many balked and laughed when Kanye West said, “I’m a creative genius and there’s no other way to word it,”
on Jimmy Kimmel in 2013, but on 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy he walks with a swagger that
backs up the talk. Released alongside the short film Runaway, featuring music from the album, it’s clear that
West set out to showcase the full breadth of his talent with this record, excelling across the board with lavish
production and lyrics musing on the manic highs and sobering lows of fame and excess. No two tracks sound
the same, but they’re all tied together by a distinctly darker sound that emerges through their production,
from the echoing chants on “Power” to the furious drums on “All Of The Lights”. Enlisting the industry’s
finest for features – Jay-Z, RZA, Raekwon, Rick Ross, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, to name a few – West craft-
ed a modern masterpiece that rewrote the hip-hop rule book and confirmed that, actually, he probably is a

creative genius after all.

24

TO PIMP BUTTERFLY

Kendrick Lamar’s third studio album, To Pimp A Butterfly, has been compared to Public Enemy’s It Takes A
Nation by many, which should give you an idea of what to expect from this modern epic. A creative culmi-
nation of decades of black music influences, from jazz to funk to soul, Lamar weaves together a politically
charged tapestry charting the black experience on To Pimp A Butterfly, with the likes of George Clinton and
Thundercat on board to lend their talents to the album. Hitting themes of race and injustice for the Black
Lives Matter generation, the album is a cinematic piece of work, with Lamar playing theatrics with a host
of characters within his tracks to drive his points home. Masterfully crafted, it’s not only one of the greatest

modern hip-hop albums, but it’s also one of the best albums of the past decade of any genre.

THE SLIM SHADY

The Slim Shady LP (stylized as THE SLim Shady LP) is the second studio album and the major-label debut-
by American rapper Eminem, released on February 23, 1999 by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope
Records. Recorded in Ferndale, Michigan, following Eminem’s recruitment by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, the
album features production from Dr. Dre, the Bass Brothers, and Eminem himself. The Slim Shady LP is his
first album with a major label after his first album Infinite was released on an independent label in 1996.

25

DEATH RACE FOR LOVE

Death Race for Love is the second studio album by American rapper Juice Wrld and the last album to be
released during his lifetime. It was released on March 8, 2019, through Grade A Productions and distributed
by Interscope Records. It follows his two 2018 projects: his solo project, Goodbye & Good Riddance, and his
collaborative mixtape with Future, Wrld on Drugs. The album’s artwork and title is inspired by the Twisted
Metal series of games for the original PlayStation console. The album features guest appearances from Brent

Faiyaz, Clever, and Young Thug.

VIEWS

Views is the fourth studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on April 29, 2016, by Cash Mon-
ey Records, Republic Records, and Young Money Entertainment. Recording sessions took place from 2015 to
2016, with both Drake and his longtime collaborator and record producer 40 serving as the record’s executive
producers. 40 also primarily handled the production on the album alongside other record producers such as

Nineteen85, Maneesh Bidaye, Kanye West, and Jordan Ullman, among others. Featured guest appearances
include PartyNextDoor, Pimp C, Dvsn, Wizkid, Kyla, and Rihanna.

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INVASION OF PRIVACY

Invasion of Privacy is the debut studio album by American rapper Cardi B. It was released on April 6, 2018,
by Atlantic Records. Primarily a hip hop record, Invasion of Privacy also comprises trap, Latin and R&B.
It features production from 30 Roc, Allen Ritter, Andrew Watt, Ayo, Benny Blanco, Boi-1da, Cassius Jay,

Cheeze Beatz, Craig Kallman, Cubeatz, Darrale Jones, DJ Mustard, DJ Official, DJ SwanQo, DJ TeeOh, Frank
Dukes, Invincible, J. White Did It, Jonathan “Brooklyn Johnny” Descartes, Keyz, Klenard Raphael, Murda
Beatz, Matt Allen, Needlz, NES, Nonstop Da Hitman, Scribz Riley, Tainy, and Vinylz, among others.[3] The

album features guest appearances by Migos, Chance the Rapper, Kehlani, SZA, 21 Savage, J Balvin, Bad Bun-
ny, and YG.

BAD VIBES FOREVER

Bad Vibes Forever is the fourth and final studio album by American rapper XXXTentacion. It is his second
posthumous solo album and his last album following his death on June 18, 2018. The album was released
on December 6, 2019, and features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Blink-182, Tory Lanez, Stefflon Don,

Mavado, Ky-Mani Marley, Rick Ross, Vybz Kartel and others.
“Royalty” was released on July 19, 2019, as Bad Vibes Forever’s lead single. “Hearteater”, originally a scrapped
track from ?, was officially released on October 22, 2019. Bad Vibes Forever failed to match the chart success

of XXXTentacion’s previous albums, debuting at number five on the Billboard 200.It drew similar under-
whelming reviews to Skins.

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BEST HIP - HOP

SONGS

ALL THE TIME

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JUICY
The Notorious B.I.G
FIGHT THE POWER

Public Enemy
TANG CLAN
WU-Tang Clan

G.E.T.O
Geto Boys
IT WAS A GOOD DAY
Ice Cube
BONE THUGS
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
MS. JACKSON
Outkast
SHOOK ONE, PT. II
Mobb Deep

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N.Y STATE OF MIND
Nas
O.P.P

Naughty By Nature
MASK OFF
Future

THEY REMINISCE OVER YOU
Pete Rock

THEY REMINISCE OVER YOU (TROY)
Pete Rock & CL Smooth
FUCK THA POLICE
N.W.A

MIND PLAYING TRICKS ON ME
Geto Boys
Losts Ones
Lauryn Hill

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IN DA CLUB
50 Cent

SCENARIO
A tribe Called Quest
OLD TOWN ROAD

Lil Nas X
Bodak Yellow

Cardi B
THE MESSAGE

Furious Five
TOP BILLIN
Audio Two
WHATS POPPIN
Jack Harlow
WALK THIS WAY
Pun-D.M.C

33

LA DI DA DU
Slick Rick

THE CHOICE IS YOURS
Black Sheep
STAN
Eminem

SICKO MODE
Travis Scott

BAD AND BOUJES
Migos

HOT N*GGA
Bobby Shmurda

C.R.E.A.M
WU-Tang Clan
HYPNOTIZE
The Notorious B.I.G

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LOSE YOURSELF
Eminem

CAN I KICK IT
A Tribe Called Quest
THE RAIN (SUPA DUPA FLY)

Missy Elliot
LAUGH NOW CRY LATER

Drake
HOTLINE BLIG+NG

Drake
GET LOW
Lil John & The East Slide Boy
MERCY
Kanye West
LUCID DREAMS
Juice Wrld

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THANK YOU FOR PURCHASE

“For every dark night,
there’s brighter day.
Reality is wrong.
Dreams are real.”

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