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Any upcoming Hip-Hop artist who is not familiar with the golden era needs to learn the history of Hip Hop. A lot has happened since the break of dawn, and in 2011 you just can’t pick up a mic and start rapping if you don’t know what Hip Hop is really about. Well, you could, but you wouldn’t be “real” now would you?
Hip Hop is not a game. People have died over it. Many legitimate artists have come and done their thing, and some of them turned out to be the most heard. I said valid because there are some fake ones out there who should have no business with a microphone. A typical phony artist covets fame and fortune but is too pliable to identify with the actual Kulture. These wannabes ruin it because they’re easily swayed to dress funny, rap about whack shit and promote agendas in contrast with Hip-Hop. They fail to see that with all the criticism against Hip Hop, it remains one of the most influential and favorite genres with a very impressive roster of successful artists.
A legitimate artist amasses street credibility, respect and wealth from his or her art but wealth is never a requirement. Don’t believe me? Go look it up elsewhere. Just make sure you’re not asking a cop or a politician of course. Make sure your source is none bias. Wonder why guys are doing shady deals? Go compare your favorite Country, Pop or Rock and Roll artist to your favorite rapper, and you will see that regardless of wealth and fame if your favorite artist is legitimate, he or she will have substantial street cred. You might have been bred to desist the du-rag, and bling look, the bandana, and sagging pants look; hell, you probably force yourself to look away when a pimp pulls up in his fully loaded SUV, blasting his favorite rap song. But when you check the stats, you will find that the Hip Hop genre consists of a batch of respectable artists who have amassed their credibility/respect from following the code of the streets, regardless of criticism. And irrespective of all negative stereotypes. Needless to say that some may be more successful than others.
What are the most common stereotypes that rap artists have to endure? For one, our lyrics about violence and sex comes to question. Many people are subconscious hypocrites who do not recognize the immorality in their self-justified lives. When a rap artist releases a song referencing drugs or sexual escapades, those hypocrites deliberately misinterpret it.
Another common stereotype that rap artists endure is the association with drug trafficking. Yep, you heard me, a rap song comprises of three verses which are usually concocted by the rapper. You will not hear the haters praise the artist for being brilliant as to have written an enjoyable and educative album of 16 to 20 songs containing three intelligently worded verses each. Instead, you will find those who associate this with drug trafficking, lucid behaviors, and violence; why, because in their minds they cannot perceive how the rapper affords the spoils of life from his talents. To make matters worse, when the rap artist does a song about his or her wealth he or she is immediately termed as being materialistic. This criticism is ten times worst for rap artists who work independently having had stints in the criminal world, but in actuality, rap music has been a social, behavioral and financial rehabilitation for many artists who would otherwise languish in poverty or death.
My List of Best Selling Rap Albums of All Time!
LUDACRIS – Luda has concentrated most of his efforts into acting in the last few years, but he has also released seven hugely successful studio albums in the previous ten years (2000 to 2010). It is approximated that he has sold over 12 million albums worldwide. He is a multi-talented music mogul who uses his music as a way to educate the world about what is really going on.
WILL SMITH – Will Smith might be known as one of the most accomplished actors today, but before his big screen successes he was a rap artist in Philadelphia with DJ Jazzy Jeff. He honed his acting skills on the 90’s TV show “Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.” Between 1987 and 2005 Will Smith released nine successful studio albums, one of which (Big Willie Style) sold over 10 million units and garnered him diamond status. It is estimated that Will Smith has sold over 12.5 million albums during his music career. Smith prides himself on squeaky clean lyrics desisting from profanities in all his records.
SNOOP DOGG – Snoop D. O double G is probably the most unique solo artist of all time. I will go out on a limb and say the only other very unique solo artists out there right now would have to be Twista, DMX, Bone Thug N’ Harmony, Slick Rick, E40 and Eminem (excluding myself, of course, lol) but even at that, Snoop Dogg tops the list. This multi-platinum represent is another accomplished actor who has become a household name. He is loved so much, even Prince Charles didn’t mind inviting the profanity rapping, chronic blazing, D. O double G over to his palace in England just to hear the Dogg Father rip a few rhymes during his bachelor’s party. Snoop has released eleven successful studio albums since 1993 selling an approximated amount of 13 million records worldwide. He has also been featured on a slew of rap songs by other accomplished artists.
BONE THUGS ‘N HARMONY – a legendary rap group that was first introduced to the scene by the late NWA founding father and legend, Easy E. Since then, they have released nine albums selling a whopping 13 million records worldwide. Bone Thugs N’ Harmony helped carry a heavy touch for Hip Hop during a time when the industry’s obsession with gangsta rap was fierce. Their tongue rap style is one of the most respected and admired forms even to this day.
L. L COOL J – Uncle L, short for Ladies Love Cool James is another multi-talented Hip Hop legend who made a transition into acting and saw immense successes in the box office. LL Cool J stormed the scene in 1985. Since then, through to the year 2008, he has released twelve very successful albums including a few classics like “Walking With A Panther,” “Mama Said Knock You Out” and “Phenomenon.” Over the years LL Cool J registered an estimated 13.5 million albums sold.
50 CENT – One thing I always admired about 50 is his business instincts. He might come in wearing a leather jacket with bling and du-rags, but the industry knows not to underestimate his “Piggy Bank.” After many setbacks and near death, he stumbled onto the scene when Eminem signed him. Within a short period of time, he rose to Forbes status. His beef did not hurt his brand right away and has some street credibility. Say what you want, 50 made this list because, since 2003, 50 Cent has merely released four albums, but with those four he amassed an estimated total of 14 million records sold worldwide. His first album is a classic. 50 has also accumulated wealth from endorsing Vitamin Water and starring in a few box office movies.
DMX – the story gets even more extraordinary. Hip Hop had gone through the G-funk era and the east coast/west coast beef. Everyone was looking for a breath of fresh air. Tupac, the undisputed king of the west coast, had been assassinated. This power vacuum would have been filled by Biggie Smalls, but it was immediately snatched away from when his assassination dealt another throbbing blow. Since lost Tupac’s followers were prone to follow a new leader. Ma$e was next up for the throne, but he ran for the hills, hiding behind a bible which in his own words was his calling to “follow God.”The question was not only who would be the next king of Hip Hop but who would bring an end to the shiny suit era.
That’s when DMX, which stands for Dark Man X, eased into the scene with his raspy rap and dog barks. A hand full of new rap artists emerged; among those were Canibus, Ja Rule, and Joe Budden. However, after all the industry politics was all said and done, and the dust settled DMX and his Ruff Ryder crew pulled the most weight and landed at the top of the pile.
To date, DMX has released six platinum-selling albums worldwide selling 14.5 million records and starred in more than eleven box office movies with another four to five television programs including his own reality show, “DMX – Soul Of A Man.” Since his remarkable success as expected the Dark Man X has faced media and police hounding in a desperate effort to destroy his well-respected image. This time the public refused to be fooled. It’s assumed that some influential figures wish to ruin the chance for Hip Hop to remain as dominant as it was in the days of Tupac and Biggie.
MC HAMMER – When it was Hammer Time, almost everyone in the world was snapping their fingers to “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em.” And if not that then they were sweating it out to “You Can’t Touch This” mimicking the superstar’s awkward dance moves.
It wasn’t until his third release that the “Too Legit To Quit” dancer would sell a whopping 10, million albums off that album. As fame brought success and money, hundreds of groupies flocked in, so also did the money grabbers. The rapper/dancer did himself no favors when he entrusted his entire bank account to lawyers and accountants while living lavishly in his 20 million dollar mansion owning 30 luxury cars and partying with the notorious 367 bitches. It is rumored that Hammer was also very generous with his money often dishing large sums to extended family members, friend and even strangers who streamed to his gate with their troubles.
Before long the wealthiest rapper alive was filing bankruptcy, watching his cars repossessed and his 20 million dollar mansion foreclosed. To date, Hammer has not given up hope for a comeback. He has released a significant twelve studio albums selling an astounding sixteen million records worldwide. MC Hammer remains a Hip Hop legend and is yet to make that comeback.
THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. – the west coast was booming! NWA had given birth to Ice Cube and Dr. Dre. This ushered in the dawn of best selling gangster movies like Boyz N Tha Hood and New Jack City for example. Suge Knight had already figured out a way to allegedly dangle Vanilla Ice over a penthouse balcony. This petrified the Ice into fully endorsing Suge’s new record label, Death Row Records. Suge also bullied Easy E and pried super producer, Dr. Dre, away from Easy’s Ruthless Records. Nineteen-year-old Snoop Doggy Dogg was ready. Dr. Dre’s Chronic went on to tear through the charts, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, The Lady of Rage, RBX, Warren G and Nate Dogg were all breaking records and setting new trends with the G Funk.
It was during this time period when Harlem’s Sean Puffy Combs got fired at Uptown Records. New York was empty of their own super producer and competing rap crew. That was perfect timing for an enticing new 6ft 3in”, 380 pounds, “Black Frank White,” a quick-wit lyrical genius by the name of Christopher Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G to trade in his days of selling crack on the streets of Brooklyn for a dream at Hip Hop stardom. With the right introduction, Diddy’s establishing of Bad Boy Records and a big endorsement from Clive Davis, Biggie was on his way to greatness. From a Mister Cee promoted mixtape to a forthcoming meeting, to chart-topping guest appearances with Heavy D and Mary J Blige. Sadly, the extremely charismatic emcee was only going to release two classic studio albums. “Ready To Die,” Biggie’s first album sold four (4) million copies worldwide and made its way to the top of Hip Hop’s classics.
The Notorious BIG would be pulled into an east coast/west coast beef with 2PAC and Death Row Records that ultimately led to an excuse to assassinate the much loved and highly influential rapper. Biggie also led his childhood friends to commercial success by forming them into a rap group called JUNIOR M. A. F. I. A. that saw chart successes with their debut album. His second album “Life After Death” went on to become one of the only instant success albums that did not only become an immediate classic but also went on to sell ten (10) million copies worldwide. This earned the assassinated rapper a rare and coveted diamond status. To date, it is estimated that The Notorious BIG has sold over 18 million records worldwide.
NELLY – You won’t find too many solo artists who’re debut album has gone nine times platinum. Yes, many have debuted at number one on the charts, but it’s uncommon for their record to sell this well. He went solo in the year 2000 when his high school rap group The Lunatics, after gaining local popularity with their late 90’s hit song “Gimmie What U Got,” failed to secure a record deal. After his nine-time platinum album “Country Grammar,” Nelly followed with “Nellyville” which went on to become a six-time platinum album. Although his third album, a double CD “Sweat/Suit,” sold 3.5 million albums, for Nelly this will not measure up to his previous success. None the less, it garnered him yet another Grammy award. “Brass Knuckles” his fifth album would only sell at gold status, and his sixth “5.0” barely sold 246,000 copies. However, the 5.0 man has two very successful clothing line, Vokal and Apple Bottoms and has appeared in several big box office movies. To date, it is estimated that Nelly has sold over twenty-one million records worldwide.
TOP 5 BEST SELLING HIP HOP ARTISTS OF ALL TIMES
BEASTIE BOYS
OUTKAST
JAY Z
EMINEM
2PAC
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