Some dates in hip hop history are stacked. November 4 is one of them — two landmark albums on the same day in 1997, a movie that became a cl...
Some dates in hip hop history are stacked. November 4 is one of them — two landmark albums on the same day in 1997, a movie that became a classic, a birthday for a mogul, and a comeback nine years in the making.
November 4, 1997 — Jay-Z released In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, his second album and his first through Def Jam. With Biggie gone, Hov stepped up as the East's new king, trading Reasonable Doubt's mafioso grit for a shinier sound built by Puff Daddy's Hitmen, DJ Premier and Teddy Riley. 'The City Is Mine' with Blackstreet became the anthem, and the album hit #3 on the Billboard 200 on its way to Platinum.
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One year later, November 4, 1998 — Belly opened in theaters. Music-video legend Hype Williams directed his first film, putting Nas and DMX front and center as Queens hustlers Sincere and Buns. The story got mixed reviews, but the visuals were undeniable — and the film tripled its $3 million budget with $9.6 million at the box office before living forever on DVD.
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Also on November 4 — in 1969 — Sean Combs was born in Harlem. As Diddy, he founded Bad Boy Records in 1993, broke Biggie, Faith Evans and Mase, and built an empire that stretched from music to fashion to television.
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November 4, 2008 — Q-Tip ended a nine-year album drought with The Renaissance. Back to his Tribe roots with live musicians and jazz textures, plus guests D'Angelo, Norah Jones and Raphael Saadiq. Critics loved it, it debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200, and the Grammys nominated it for Best Rap Album.
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And back to November 4, 1997 — Rakim's solo debut The 18th Letter arrived the same day as Jay-Z's Vol. 1. Five years after his last record with Eric B., the God MC returned with Premier, Pete Rock and DJ Clark Kent behind the boards. It opened at #4 on the Billboard 200 and went Gold — proof the pen never left.
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