80s hip hop

Run-D.M.C.'s It's Like That Album Anniversary

Run-D.M.C.'s It's Like That Album Anniversary

Their first release, the 12-inch single “It’s Like That”/”Sucker MCs” inaugurated a revolution in rap.

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Rob Base + DJ E-Z Rock's It Takes Two Album Anniversary

Rob Base + DJ E-Z Rock's It Takes Two Album Anniversary

It Takes Two is the debut studio album by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock.

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Eric B & Rakim's Paid In Full Album Anniversary

Eric B & Rakim's Paid In Full Album Anniversary

Paid in Full is credited as a benchmark album of golden age hip hop.

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Doug E Fresh's Oh My God! Anniversary

Doug E Fresh's Oh My God! Anniversary

His first LP, 1987's Oh, My God!, featured most of his showpieces, like "Play This Only at Night" and "All the Way to Heaven," along with nods to reggae and even gospel.

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J.J. Fad's Supersonic Album Anniversary

J.J. Fad's Supersonic Album Anniversary

Both the single "Supersonic" and the album Supersonic were certified Gold.

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Run D.M.C.'s Walk This Way Aerosmith Collaboration Single Anniversary

Run D.M.C.'s Walk This Way Aerosmith Collaboration Single Anniversary

After the single and video for Walk This Way conquered radio and MTV, the racial and stylistic barriers between rock and rap were never again quite so pronounced.

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Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's The Message Single Anniversary

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's The Message Single Anniversary

This slice of unvarnished social realism sold half a million copies in a month, topped numerous critics’ and magazines’ lists of best singles for 1982, and cemented Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s place in hip-hop’s vanguard.

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LL Cool J's Walking with a Panther Album Anniversary

LL Cool J's Walking with a Panther Album Anniversary

Two years later, LL was back on the charts with his album Walking with a Panther.

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The Fat Boys 'Fat Boys' Album Anniversary

The Fat Boys 'Fat Boys' Album Anniversary

It was their manager Charles Stettler who, after being presented with an inflated hotel food bill for the group suggested they change their name to the Fat Boys.

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LL Cool J's Bigger and Deffer Album Anniversary

LL Cool J's Bigger and Deffer Album Anniversary

In his follow-up album, 1987's Bigger and Deffer, LL Cool J showed his softer side with the popular ballad, "I Need Love."

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Chill Rob G's Ride the Rhythm Album Anniversary

Chill Rob G's Ride the Rhythm Album Anniversary

Ride the Rhythm’s tracks alternated between a somewhat hardcore sound and an easygoing, conversational tone.

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Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell Album Anniversary

Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell Album Anniversary

Run-D.M.C.’s third album, Raising Hell, made them rap’s first superstars. The album sold 3 million copies in the first year of its release, making it the best-selling rap album to date and pointing the way toward the ascension of rap and hip-hop as the dominant genres in popular music in the Nineties.

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Special Ed's Youngest In Charge Album Anniversary

Special Ed's Youngest In Charge Album Anniversary

Special Ed's debut album Youngest in Charge was released in 1989.

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Run-D.M.C.'s Self-Titled Debut Album Anniversary

Run-D.M.C.'s Self-Titled Debut Album Anniversary

Run-D.M.C. gave rap both its first gold album (Run-D.M.C., 1984) and its first platinum album (King of Rock, 1985).

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3rd Bass' The Cactus Album Anniversary

3rd Bass' The Cactus Album Anniversary

The two first performed as '3 the Hard Way', a name referenced in the song "Wordz of Wisdom" but later redubbed themselves '3rd Bass' before recording their first album. Sever, Prince Paul, and the Bomb Squad produced their 1989 debut, The Cactus Album, a critically acclaimed LP that went gold and contained a minor hit in "The Gas Face."

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