60 Fun Facts About Hard Hip Hop

J Dilla's final album, Donuts, was released how long before his death?

He died at 32 from complications of TTP and lupus, having emerged from Detroit's Slum Village.

J Dilla and Madlib recorded the album Champion Sound under what duo name?

Madlib's other famous pairing, with MF Doom, was Madvillain.

DJ Premier formed which duo with Royce da 5'9" in 2014?

Premier had already produced every Gang Starr release with Guru.

Producer Pete Rock rose to fame in the early 1990s alongside which rapper, as a duo?

He is also cited alongside Premier, RZA and Q-Tip as a pillar of 90s East Coast production.

Madlib recorded The Unseen (2000) under which alter ego?

Raised in Oxnard, California, he first surfaced as a member of Lootpack.

Rakim's first solo album, released in 1997, was called what?

R is the 18th letter of the alphabet; The Master followed in 1999.

Eric B. & Rakim's Paid in Full was released in 1987 by which Island subsidiary?

It was largely recorded at Marley Marl's home studio and peaked at only No. 58 on the Billboard 200.

Big Daddy Kane's high-school friend who became his DJ was who?

Kane also co-wrote some of Biz Markie's best-known lyrics after they became friends in 1984.

On his 2002 album named for a Chicago mobster, Kool G Rap said the 'G' in his name stood for what?

On other occasions he has said it stands for Genius; the mobster Sam Giancana is the album's namesake.

What does the name KRS-One abbreviate?

He founded Boogie Down Productions with DJ Scott La Rock and started the Stop the Violence Movement after La Rock's murder.

Boogie Down Productions' name comes from a nickname for what?

Their debut Criminal Minded pioneered the fusion of dancehall reggae and hip-hop.

Slick Rick was the third artist to sign with which label, in 1986?

He debuted with The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, including 'Children's Story'.

EPMD dropped an extra 'E' from their original name partly because who was already using 'Eazy-E'?

They had been EEPMD, for Easy Erick and Parrish the Microphone Doctor.

Which rapper became an unofficial member of the Ultramagnetic MCs in 1989?

Kool Keith founded the group; the beatboxer Rahzel was once their roadie.

Under what name did MF Doom rap in the trio KMD?

KMD disbanded in 1993 after the death of his brother DJ Subroc.

Before becoming Mobb Deep, Havoc and Prodigy went by which name in 1990?

The pair met at Manhattan's High School of Art and Design.

Which Outkast album is the only one to have debuted at number one on the Billboard 200?

It went Diamond and won the 2004 Grammy for Album of the Year.

The Geto Boys' 'Mind Playing Tricks on Me' peaked at what position on the Hot 100 in 1991?

The Houston group had begun in 1986 as the Ghetto Boys, with a different line-up.

Which UGK founder left the group to pursue a football career, making way for Bun B?

Mitchell 'Big Mitch' Queen stayed on as a frequent collaborator.

Three 6 Mafia won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for a track from which film?

'It's Hard out Here for a Pimp' won at the 78th Academy Awards in 2006.

Too Short's 1987 album Born to Mack sold an estimated 50,000 copies how?

Jive Records reissued it commercially the following year.

E-40's breakthrough 2006 single 'Tell Me When to Go' was produced by whom?

The Vallejo rapper founded Sick Wid It Records and the group the Click.

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony were formerly known by which name?

They signed to Eazy-E's Ruthless Records in late 1993.

What record did The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill set at the Grammys?

Hill also set records for most nominations and wins by a woman at one ceremony.

The Roxanne Wars began over a B-side by which group?

'Roxanne, Roxanne' was the B-side of the flop single 'Hanging Out'; 14-year-old Roxanne Shanté answered it.

Which 2007 album officially retired the Bridge Wars between KRS-One and Marley Marl?

The feud had begun with Marley Marl and MC Shan's 'The Bridge' in late 1985.

Kurtis Blow became the first rapper signed to a major label in 1979. Which label?

His first release for them was 'Christmas Rappin''.

How many times does 'The Breaks' repeat the word 'break' or a homophone?

It was the first certified gold rap song, and its funk beat was played live rather than sampled.

Before founding Sugar Hill Records, Sylvia Robinson had a 1973 solo R&B chart-topper called what?

'Love Is Strange' was her 1957 hit as half of Mickey & Sylvia.

Yo! MTV Raps actually began on which channel, a year before its US debut?

Sophie Bramly created and hosted the European original from October 1987.

Which of these acts was NOT a principal member of the Native Tongues collective?

The collective, closely tied to the Zulu Nation, also included De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah and Chi-Ali.

De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising takes its title from a song by which artist?

'Five Feet High and Rising' is about a flood; the album came out on Tommy Boy in February 1989.

The 1991 Grand Upright ruling that changed sampling law involved Biz Markie sampling which singer?

The track was 'Alone Again' from I Need a Haircut; the court said sampling without permission is infringement.

The Juice Crew was founded by which radio DJ?

Marley Marl started as Mr. Magic's sidekick on Rapp Attack, the first all-hip-hop show on a major station.

In 2019 Cypress Hill became the first hip-hop group to receive what honour?

Sen Dog and Mellow Man Ace, brothers born in Cuba, were founding figures of the South Gate group.

'Push It' was originally released as the B-side of which Salt-N-Pepa single?

Their debut Hot, Cool & Vicious made them the first female rap act certified gold and platinum.

MC Lyte's Lyte as a Rock (1988) is credited as what milestone?

Her second album, Eyes on This, followed in 1989.

Which 1989 single was the inaugural number one on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart?

It was the Stop the Violence Movement's all-star record, featuring MC Lyte among others.

Which 2017 film dramatised the life of the 14-year-old who answered U.T.F.O. in 1984?

Her answer record was cut when she was 14 and became rap's first diss track.

Tha Carter III sold how many copies in its first week in 2008?

It reached 2.88 million by year's end and won Best Rap Album at the 2009 Grammys.

Rawkus Records, home of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, was owned by a member of which media dynasty?

James Murdoch owned the label, which launched in 1995 with releases in hip-hop and drum and bass.

Who founded Stones Throw Records in 1996?

Chris Manak started it to release music he'd made with his late partner Charizma.

Rhymesayers Entertainment, co-founded by Slug and Ant of Atmosphere, is based in which city?

The label sponsors the Soundset festival over Memorial Day weekend.

Tom Silverman founded Tommy Boy Records in 1981 with how large a loan from his parents?

The label grew out of his bi-weekly Dance Music Report; Warner Bros. bought half of it in 1985.

Eazy-E co-founded Ruthless Records in 1987 with which manager?

Michel'le, the D.O.C. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony all released certified albums on the label.

Rap-A-Lot Records was co-founded in 1986 by James Prince and whom?

Its first distributed release was Raheem's 1988 debut The Vigilante.

Cash Money Records became an imprint of Universal Records in which year?

The Williams brothers had founded it in New Orleans in 1991.

Who were the three founders of Roc-A-Fella Records in 1994?

Reasonable Doubt was the label's first release, in a joint venture with Priority.

Kool Moe Dee first found fame with which pioneering group?

He is considered a forerunner of the New Jack Swing sound in hip-hop.

Which graffiti artist was the first US host of Yo! MTV Raps?

Debbie Harry name-checked him on Blondie's 1981 hit 'Rapture'.

Wild Style, regarded as the first hip-hop film, was directed by whom?

Filmed in 1981, it premiered in Montreal in November 1982.

Which German band inspired Afrika Bambaataa and Arthur Baker's 'Planet Rock'?

They built it on Roland TR-808 beats and released it through Tommy Boy in 1982.

Grandmaster Flash is credited with inventing what piece of DJ equipment?

His Quick Mix Theory used duplicate records to elongate drum breaks.

In 2019 Grandmaster Flash became the first hip-hop artist to receive which honour?

He later competed on The Masked Singer as Polar Bear.

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's second album, released in 1995, spawned which two hit singles?

They are credited with helping pioneer chopper-style rap and bringing exposure to Midwestern hip-hop.

Marley Marl grew up in which housing project?

Madlib has said Marley was the first producer who inspired him to make beats.

How many copies did Illmatic sell in its first week, debuting at number 12 on the Billboard 200?

Initial sales fell short of expectations, and none of its five singles charted strongly, despite the album's later canonisation.

Under which nickname did Nas rap before adopting the alias 'Nasty Nas'?

Nas started as 'Kid Wave' with best friend Ill Will as his DJ, then met Large Professor at 15 and debuted on Main Source's 'Live at the Barbeque'.

Why does the cover of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) show only six of the nine members?

U-God was in jail for a parole violation and Method Man had been arrested that day for marijuana possession; those present wore stocking masks.

Which Wu-Tang member appears on only one track of 36 Chambers, closing 'Da Mystery of Chessboxin''?

Masta Killa contributes just the last verse of that song; every other rapper appears on at least two tracks.