By the California-based, rap influenced comic books author Kenny Keil.
Straight Outta Asgard
Straight Outta Compton
is the debut studio album by American rap group N.W.A,
released August 8, 1988 on group member Eazy-E's record label Ruthless Records.
Its title refers to the group's native Compton, California.
Production for the album was handled by Dr. Dre,
with DJ Yella giving co-production.
The album has been viewed as
the pioneering record of gangster rap;
with its ever-present profanity and violent lyrics,
it helped to give birth to this then-new sub-genre of rap.
It has been considered groundbreaking
by music writers and has had an enormous
impact on the evolution of West Coast hip hop.
Straight Outta Compton
redefined the direction of rap,
which resulted in lyricism concerning
the gangster lifestyle becoming the driving force in sales figures.
It also helped to shift the power to the West Coast from the East Coast,
which had enjoyed a period of prominence in rap for most of the 1980s.
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King of Rock
King of Rock
is the second album by rap trio Run–D.M.C..
Produced in 1985, the album sees the group adopting
a more rock-influenced sound,
with several tracks prominently featuring heavy guitar riffs.
It was certified Gold by the RIAA on June 3, 1985.
It was certified Platinum by the RIAA on February 19, 1987.
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Mogo fear of a green planet
Fear of a Black Planet
is the third studio album by American rap group Public Enemy,
released April 10, 1990 on Def Jam Recordings in the United States.
Production for the album was handled entirely
by production team The Bomb Squad,
which expanded on the dense,
sample-layered sound of the group's previous album,
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988).
Fear of a Black Planet contains lyrical themes
concerning organization and empowerment
within the African-American community,
while presenting criticism of social issues
affecting African Americans at the time of the album's conception.
The album debuted at number 40
on the US Billboard 200 chart,
elling one million copies in its first week.
It ultimately peaked at number 10 on the chart
and was certified platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America.
Upon its release, Fear of a Black Planet
received general praise from music critics
and has since been recognized as one of
rap´s greatest and most important albums.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 300 on Rolling Stone magazine's
list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
In 2004, it was chosen by the Library of Congress
to be added to the National Recording Registry.
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Kool Von Doom
How Ya Like Me Now
is the second album by emcee Kool Moe Dee.
Kool Moe Dee was an original member of The Treacherous Three.
He had a long running feud with
LL Cool J releasing various "diss tracks" at his adversary.
On the cover, there is LL Cool J's red Kangol
hat under a front wheel of the car in the backdrop.
In 2004, Ludacris references the album
in Usher's number one hit Yeah!.
In 2008, the title track "How Ya Like Me Now"
was ranked number 31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs.
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IPMD; Heroes for hire
Back in Business
is the return album from the rap duo EPMD
which broke up because of personal problems in 1992.
After releasing four successful albums
between 1988 and 1992 (all of them being considered classics),
the duo returned with another successful effort.
The single "Da Joint" became their second Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1997.
The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 17, 1997.
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Dare iz a Darkseid
Dare Iz a Darkside
is the second studio album by
New Jersey rapper Redman released in 1994.
It is almost completely produced by
Redman (credited as Reggie Noble) and Erick Sermon
giving it a highly funky sound.
It is a critical and commercial success,
but it is not nearly as popular
as its predecessor Whut¿ Thee Album.
Two singles, "Rockafella"
and the slightly more successful "Can't Wait",
were released to promote this album.
The cover pays tribute to Funkadelic's album, Maggot Brain.
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Long live the Kang
Long Live the Kane
is the debut album by emcee Big Daddy Kane,
released by Cold Chillin' Records in 1988.
It was produced by Marley Marl and established
both him and Kane as premier artists during rap's golden age.
Kane displayed his unique rapping technique
while covering topics including love ("I'll Take You There"),
Afrocentricity ("Word to the Mother(Land)")
and his rapping prowess ("Set It Off").
Marley Marl displays a sparse production style
- creating beats with fast-paced drums
and lightly utilized James Brown samples.
Four singles were released in promotion of Kane's first album:
"Raw/Word to the Mother (Land),"
"Ain't No Half-Steppin'/Get Into It,"
"I'll Take You There/Wrath of Kane" and
"Set It Off/Get Into It."
The most commercially successful
of these singles were "Ain't No Half-Steppin',"
which reached #53 on the Hot R&B/rap Singles & Tracks chart
and "I'll Take You There," which reached #73 on the same chart,
but also peaked at #21 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
The other two singles did not chart,
but "Raw" and "Set It Off" popularized Big Daddy Kane's
high-speed style and abundant use of word play.
"Raw" and "Ain't No Half Steppin'"
are both described as "underground sensation[s]"
and "classic[s]" by Allmusic's Steve Huey.
"Raw" does not appear on Long Live the Kane,
but a remix which utilizes the same beat does.
Big Daddy Kane's debut album contains many tracks
that were later featured on greatest hits compilations.
"Ain't No Half Steppin'" alone is featured
on The Very Best of Big Daddy Kane,
Marley Marl's House of Hits,
two "best of" Cold Chillin' Records compilations
and over five additional rap hit compilations.
No with standing "Ain't No Half Steppin',"
The Very Best of Big Daddy Kane contains
five songs from Kane's debut album.
llmusic's Steve Huey regards
"'Raw,' 'Set It Off,' and 'Ain't No Half-Steppin'
[as] flawless bids for immortality
[that] haven't lost an ounce of energy."
The album is broken down track-by-track by
Big Daddy Kane in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique.
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Ant Man; Shrinkin Thangs
Big Bear's "Doin Thangs"
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Kenny Keils flickr
Related links;
5 Good or bad rap album covers (part 1)
and
5 Good or bad rap album covers (part 2)
and
5 Good or bad rap album covers (part 3)
and
5 Good or bad rap album covers (part 4)
and
5 Good or bad rap album covers (part 5)
and
5 Good or bad rap album covers (part 6)
and
5 Good or bad rap album covers (part 7)
and
5 Good or bad rap album covers (part 8)
and
5 Good or bad rap album covers (?) part 9
and
Weekend fun part 22;
Kenny Keil’s; rappers who need to be seen in a comic book
These are f'n INCREDIBLE! BRAVO!
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