Young Jeezy x Source Magazine Cover
“I think they deserve a classic. They’ve waited long enough. I think that every record on this album is an anthem.”—Young Jeezy
Jeezy covers the August/September issue of The Source. Hits news stands August 23. As for his new album, TM103, September 20 is the due date. Also, wrote about his show at the Highline Ballroom last week for MTV News.
Rare Joints: The Source Magazine – Mad Flavor Vol. 1
A compilation called Mad Flavor Volume One from The Source Magazine. Not to be confused with those The Source Presents Hip-Hop Hits albums, this promo only CD dropped circa 1991, packaged with an issue of mag. I can’t for the life of me remember which exact issue it was, though. Kept the CD in my files and thought I’d share.
Some familiar joints (2Pac “Words of Wisdom,” Del the Funky Homosapien “Dr. Bombay”), a few rarities (Hard Knocks was a duo out of The BX signed to Wild Pitch, Pretty Tone Capone was part of the infamous Azie Faison’s MobStyle rap group ) and some oddball picks (Jodeci. word? not without any Rae & Ghost in the mix buddy). Strangely, there isn’t a single Almighty RSO song on here. Go figure.
Tracklist after the Hard Knocks and Sir Mix-A-Lot vids, download here [Mediafire].
Note: The Cookie Crew and Two Kings in a Cipher songs are actually #9 and #8, respectively, in the sequence.
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Who Deserves the Precious 5 Mics? [TheSource.com]
J. Cole Covers The Source Magazine
Starring...
So much for sharing that XXL cover. Roc Nation artist J. Cole covers the April/May issue of The Source Magazine. Not a bad look for a new jack with no album.
J. Cole is nice with the words and verbs, though.
Props to the stylist who gassed him into wearing that jacket. No shots. Video of “A Star is Born” peformance in NC below via Nah Right.
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Quality vs. Quantity: 5 Mic Sales?
The sun will still shine...
The Deputy! over at XXL chastised the loud minority (big on praise, short on album support) of Clipse advocates that didn’t cop Til the Casket Drops its first week out. It got me thinking about my longstanding theory that album sales and classic albums are not mutually exclusive. Read: Your album is so great, no one bought it, or Your sales are spectacular, you’re still a horrible rapper.
So how have “classic albums”—a loaded term on its best day—faired in the sales race? For the sake of saving my time, for this list I used all the albums that received the former gold standard for rap long player excellence, a 5 mic rating in The Source Magazine. Also worth noting is that The Source had a “do-over” moment when they gave some albums 5 mic honors they didn’t originally receive (i.e. The Score originally received only 4 mics).
I then looked up each album on the database provided by the RIAA (those cats that certify record sales and hate mixtapes) to see what is its latest sales award (Gold, Platinum, Platinum+, etc) which is then listed next to the title in parentheses.
Keep in mind that if a label really wants to they can cook the books to keep the sales down (as convenient a reason to tell an artist they haven’t recouped as any). Considering how many people had the vinyl, tape, and CD, there is just no way De La Soul’s 3 Feet High & Rising debut hadn’t moved a milli’s worth of albums before finally being certified Platinum in 2000, 11 years after its initial release.
It’s tough to get a handle on the sales of albums like Boogie Down Productions’ Criminal Minded and Main Source’s Breaking Atoms since their original labels are defunct (B-Boy Records and Wild Pitch, respectively), and were operating under code 4,080 when they were up and running.
After looking over the list below, consider that Vanilla Ice’s To the Extreme is 6x Platinum and MC Hammer’s Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em is 10x Platinum (aka Diamond).
Also…
•Eminem being absent from this list, besides guest verses, didn’t stop him from being the best selling artist of the decade.
•Being a Hip-Hop martyr scores you plenty of record sales (Notorious BIG & Pac)
•A gang of you probably never even listened to Grip It! On That Other Level, same goes for Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop.
•I still feel a ways LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out isn’t on here.
•Considering Nas’ sales, it was cheaper to keep her. But he’s still Top 5 Dead or Alive.
•OutKast has more than one classic album and UGK gets no respect.
2001 by Dr. Dre (6x Platinum)
All Eyez On Me by 2Pac (9x Platinum)
AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted by Ice Cube (Platinum)
Aquemini by Outkast (2x Platinum)
The Blueprint by Jay-Z (2x Platinum)
Breaking Atoms by Main Source
By All Means Necessary by Boogie Down Productions (Gold)
The Chronic by Dr. Dre (3x Platinum)
Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions
Critical Beatdown by Ultramagnetic MCs
De La Soul Is Dead by De La Soul (Gold)
Death Certificate by Ice Cube (Platinum)
The Diary by Scarface (Platinum)
Doggystyle by Snoop Doggy Dogg (4x Platinum)
Edutainment by Boogie Down Productions (Gold)
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan (Platinum)
The Fix by Scarface
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick by Slick Rick (Platinum)
Grip It! On That Other Level by Geto Boys
Illmatic by Nas (Platinum)
The Infamous by Mobb Deep (Gold)
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy (Platinum)
Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em by Eric B. & Rakim (Gold)
Licensed to Ill by The Beastie Boys (8x Platinum)
Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G. (10x Platinum)
Long Live the Kane by Big Daddy Kane (Gold)
The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest (Platinum)
Me Against the World by 2Pac (2x Platinum)
The Naked Truth by Lil’ Kim
No One Can Do It Better by The D.O.C. (Platinum)
One for All by Brand Nubian
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… by Raekwon (Gold)
Paid in Full by Eric B. & Rakim (Platinum)
People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm by A Tribe Called Quest (Gold)
Radio by LL Cool J (Platinum)
Raising Hell by Run-D.M.C. (3x Platinum)
Ready to Die by The Notorious B.I.G. (4x Platinum)
Reasonable Doubt by Jay-Z (Platinum)
Run-D.M.C. by Run-D.M.C. (Gold)
The Score by The Fugees (6x Platinum)
Stillmatic by Nas (Platinum)
Straight Out the Jungle by The Jungle Brothers
Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A. (2x Platinum)
Strictly Business by EPMD (Gold)
Grandmaster Flash: Resolve Around Science*
Flash, Bam & Herc
The good Jake Paine asked me to connect with Grandmaster Flash for a feature on HipHopDX and I readily obliged. It’s not often you can speak to a rap godfather, something Flash no doubt is. Even if there were DJ’s before him.
I remember picking up this November 1993 issue of The Source (pic above) around my way and greedily reading it cover to cover. I wasn’t too pressed about particular bylines back then but looking back, this issue was just sick. You got Herc, Flash and Bambaataa on the cover of The Source being interviewed by the legendary Nelson George no less. The first few reviews alone broadcast The Source’s weight: Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage (written by Cheo H. Coker), Casual’s Fear Itself (written by the homie Brett Johnson) and Leaders of the New School’s T.I.M.E. (written by dream hampton) all received 4 mic ratings (as did KRS-1’s Return of the Boom Bap).
Not sure how this issue sold when it was released, but any editor pitching the idea of placing these legends on a mainstream magazine cover would be considered a lunatic. The reality is that a greater respect for Hip-Hop’s elders and the culture’s history are sorely lacking in many of today’s fans and artists. Sad, really.
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