The Making of 3 Feet High & Rising.

It was 20 years ago. Can you believe that? Can you even fathom that? This album is older than some of you reading this right now, and it's one of the greatest albums ever.

In the springtime of 1989, three teenagers from Long Island released an album that changed hip hop history forever. You gotta remember, when they dropped this album, it was unlike anything anybody had heard in hip hop at the time. Rap music has an edge. Artists like Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Eric B & Rakim, Run DMC, and KRS-One reigned supreme. De La ushered in a new style and sound all their own called the "D.A.I.S.E.Y. Age", prompting the masses to call them "hippies" and label their music "alternative." With the success of the album and crossover hit "Me, Myself, and I", De La essentially launched a new jazz-inspired, positive-minded sound to the masses, which we all know as the Native Tongue sound. Although they weren't the first group out the gate (The Jungle Brothers were), they took the Native Tongue sound to new heights, which eventually helped birth groups like A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, Queen Latifah, Leaders of the New School (and Busta Rhymes) and the Jungle Brothers.

To celebrate this timeless classic, the good folks at HIPHOP.COM have a nice little feature on the making of the album. They talk to De La Soul's Posdnous and Dave (formerly Trugoy the Dove), the album's producer, their fellow LI school friend and Stetsasonic member, Prince Paul, and some of their golden age contemporaries about the making of this all-time classic. This is a must read for any hip hop fan. And yes, you have to read. It's not a YouTube video. It's not an mp3. It's an article....with words. Remember those?

PART 1 | PART 2

Happy Birthday Kool Herc.

Hip Hop's Founding Father, Clive Campbell, better known as DJ Kool Herc turns 54 today. Respect Due. This is the man who essentially birthed the Hip Hop Culture back in the Bronx in the 70's. Aside from throwing some of the first hip hop parties in history, he's credited for developing the blueprint for hip hop music, in which he would isolate the "break" part of a record, and prolong it by continuously looping the section by using 2 of the same records on the 2 turntables. This became the section that the dancers enjoyed most. Because they danced to the break part of the record, Herc began calling his dancers "break-boys" and "break-girls", or simply b-boys and b-girls. Herc also contributed to developing the rhyming style of hip hop by punctuating the music with slang phrases from the DJ's microphone, with classic phrases like: "Rock on, my mellow!" "B-boys, b-girls, are you ready?" "This is the joint!" "To the beat, y'all!" "And you don't stop!" For all his cultural contributions, he is credited as the Father of Hip Hop, and an icon and hero in the beginning of hip hop music and culture.

This man is truly a legend. If he wasn't for him, most of us wouldn't be doing what we are doing today. Pay respect and pay Homage. We salute you, Herc.

What's Your Favorite Year In Hip-Hop History?

'85?
'88?
'94?

Don't Know? Can't Decide? No worries, we got you covered. The Rub, a weekly radio show in NY, completed their Hip-Hop History series, which are 20 separate and highly extensive mixes of best songs from that year, ranging from 1979 - 1998. This is no joke.

I would post the playlists, but it's way too extensive... just believe me when i tell you that you have to peep these.


Hip-Hop History Volume 1: 1979
Hip-Hop History Volume 2: 1980
Hip-Hop History Volume 3: 1981
Hip-Hop History Volume 4: 1982
Hip-Hop History Volume 5: 1983
Hip-Hop History Volume 6: 1984
Hip-Hop History Volume 7: 1985
Hip-Hop History Volume 8: 1986
Hip-Hop History Volume 9: 1987
Hip-Hop History Volume 10: 1988
Hip-Hop History Volume 11 - 1989
Hip-Hop History Volume 12: 1990
Hip-Hop History Volume 13: 1991
Hip-Hop History Volume 14: 1992
Hip-Hop History Volume 15: 1993
Hip-Hop History Volume 16: 1994
Hip-Hop History Volume 17: 1995
Hip-Hop History Volume 18: 1996
Hip-Hop History Volume 19: 1997
Hip-Hop History Volume 20: 1998



Where to begin?