On this day in 1944, Scherrie Payne, sister of the heavily-sampled Freda Payne, was born in Detroit, Michigan. She sang for The Glass House as well as for The Supremes.
On this day in 1966, Kool Rock-Ski (b. Damon Wimbley) of prominent Ol Skool Hip-Hop trio The Fat Boys was born in New York City.
On this day in 1969, Sean John Combs (a.k.a. Puff Daddy; a.k.a. Puffy; a.k.a. P. Diddy; a.k.a. Diddy ...) was born. Ironically, he was born exactly one month before the Shawn (close to Sean) Carter. Sean and Shawn "run New York."
On this day in 1972, 'I'll Be Around' by The Spinners spent it's second-to-last week on the R&B charts. The song was sampled by Rappin' 4-Tay and What Is This.
On this day in 1978, 'One Nation Under A Groove (Part 1)' by Funkadelic spent it's last week on the R&B charts. The song was heavily sampled by artists such as Above the Law, Digital Underground, EPMB, MC Hammer, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Spice 1 & Steady B.
On this day in 1987, Ice-T released his debut album 'Rhyme Pays', a landmark record which sparked plenty of controversy regarding what many began calling 'gangsta rap'. 'Rhyme Pays' was the very first ever Hip-Hop record/album to carry the Parental Advisory warning label. G'lookin' out Tipper... SMH
On this day in 1995, Coolio's groundbreaking hit 'Gangsta's Paradise' shot to the top of the United World Chart, and retained it's #1 spot until mid-January of the next year.
On this day in 1997, Jay-Z dropped his sophomore album (and first Def Jam release) 'In My Lifetime, Vol. 1'. Released soon after the death of Brooklyn's king The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z's 'In My Lifetime' attempted to fill the void that was felt by the power vacuum created after Biggie's murder. Jigga staked the claim of being Brooklyn's new "focal point like Biggie in his prime" adding "the city is mine."
Also on this day in 1997, Rakim released his debut solo album, 'The 18th Letter'. It featured production by legends like DJ Premier, Pete Rock and Clark Kent, among others.
Also on this day in 1997, underrated emcee Mic Geronimo released his sophomore album, 'Vendetta'.
Also on this day in 1997, Three-6-Mafia released 'Chapter 2: World Domination', their third album and first to go gold.
On this day in 1998, the Hip-Hop film favorite 'Belly' was released in the U.S. The movie featured prominent Hip-Hip figures such as Nas, DMX, Method Man, AZ & T-Boz.
On this day in 2000, Ludacris released his major-label debut 'Back for the First Time'. Featuring some smash hits like 'What's Your Fantasy?', 'Ho' & 'Southern Hospitality', the album went 3x platinum.
On this day in 2003, Pete Rock released the double-disc compilation album 'Lost & Found: Hip Hop Underground Soul Classics'. 'Lost & Found' was the official release of two 1995 albums which were never officially released, both fully produced by Pete Rock. The two albums were INI's 'Center of Attention' and Deda's 'The Original Baby Pa'.
Also on this day in 2003, Ja Rule released his diss-heavy album 'Blood In My Eye', heavily directed towards 50 Cent, Eminem and the G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath camp. This album's cover is still one of my all-time favorites.
