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The Wu-Tang Clan- Enter The Wu-Tang Clan – 36 Chambers (1993) In 1993, Ghostface Killah and RZA decided to create a hip hop group whose ethos would be a blend of “Eastern philosophy picked up from kung-fu movies, watered-down Nation of Islam preaching picked up on the New York streets, and comic books.” Recruiting the best rappers they could find, RZA set out to produce an album layered with eerie beats, martial-arts movie clips and soul music samples.

Key Tracks: Bring the Noise, Don’t Believe the Hype, Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos.

Public Enemy- It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988) Channeling the black anger and urban tension so in need of an outlet, Nation of Millions was one of the first truly socially conscious hip hop albums.

Key Tracks: Dead Presidents, Brooklyn’s Finest, Can’t Knock the Hustle. Jaz-O had given Jay-Z his first break by recruiting him on the 1989 song “Hawaiian Sophie.” Two decades later, Jigga is a true hip hop tycoon. Sean Carter had been known as “Jazzy”, a nickname that developed into his stage name Jay-Z as an homage to his musical mentor Jaz-O and to the J-Z subway lines that stop by Marcy Avenue.

Jay-Z – Reasonable Doubt (1996) In 1996, Jay-Z blew audiences away with his debut effort and first release on label Roc-A-Fella records.

Key Tracks: Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang, F*ck wit Dre Day, Let Me Ride. The Chronic would introduce Parliament-laced G-funk to the mainstream and made Snoop Dogg, Warren G, and Nate Dogg stars before they’d ever even released albums of their own. Dre- The Chronic (1992) Fresh off of his split with supergroup NWA, Dre took it solo and ended up creating perhaps the best produced rap album of all time. Calling the album Illmatic after his incarcerated friend Illmatic Ice, Nas originally wanted the cover to feature himself with Jesus in a headlock.

Nas- Illmatic (1994) Five months prior to Ready to Die, this 20-year-old Queensbridge native paired with producers Large Professor, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Q-Tip and burst onto the scene with what would be his masterpiece.

Key Tracks: Warning, Juicy, Ready to Die. Sick beats, brilliant lyrics, crazy flows, and that intoxicating voice of Biggie Smalls. During the short flash that was his career, only one album was to be released, a top-to-bottom classic with the eerily prophetic title ‘Ready to Die’. Six years later, he was the biggest rapper in the world.

The Notorious BIG- Ready to Die (1994) Around the years ’87-’88, a young crack dealer named Christopher Wallace began entertaining local passersby by rapping into a beat-up amp on the street corners around Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

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