Celebrate Hip-Hop History Month with two hours of chronological Hip-Hop classics every day in every Hard Rock Hotel.
What am I listening to?
5:00 pm – Origins of Hip-Hop
5:10 pm – 80’s Classics
5:30 pm – 90’s Renaissance
6:00 pm – 2000’s Bling Era
6:30 pm – Contemporary
wax® offers guests the opportunity to tune in to the vinyl resurgence and experience music as it was intended to be listened to. Hard Rock has amplified the in-room listening experience by offering a turntable, over-ear premium acoustic headphones, and a curated collection of vinyl chosen by Hard Rock’s team of music experts.
To celebrate Hip-Hop History Month we’ve added ten classic Hip-Hop albums on vinyl to your hotel’s Wax collection. Ask the staff or Vibe Manager to rock out in your room now.
Release Date - November 1986
Producer Rick Rubin, who later worked with Johnny Cash and Red Hot Chili Peppers, harnesses the power, youthful energy and b-boy wit of three boys from New York City. With their roots in Punk Rock, after the release of ‘Licensed to Ill’ the Beastie Boys became one of the most influential groups of all time with albums like ‘Paul’s Boutique’. ‘Ill Communication’ and ‘Hello Nasty’.
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Release Date - July 1987
If Hip Hop is poetry then Rakim is Shakespeare. The original master. Hip-Hop would not be the billion dollar industry it is now without this seminal album. Thoughtful, powerful, and fun tunes that made the mastery of lyric writing look easy.
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Release Date - June 1988
Rolling Stone called this album the ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ of Hip-Hop, and boy were they right. Hip-Hop’s birth remained largely cultural and unpolitical until artists like Public Enemy and NWA emerged in the late 80s. A mixture of politics, rage, and unbelievably catchy choruses.
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Release Date - June 1988
As timeless as a renaissance paintings, and with lyrics that similarly paint a picture perfectly encapsulating the nineties, ‘Illmatic’ went far beyond Nas’s years of just 20 when this album was released.
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Release Date - September 1990
Mama Said Knock You Out’ sounds like something a boxer would say before a fight, and for good reason - LL Cool J wanted to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of Hip Hop. And he won. Packing rhyme-punches and beats that have more hooks than Mike Tyson!
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Release Date - December 1992
If you need ill rhymes, call the doctor. With synthesized basslines and funk samples Dre trailblazed what is now called ‘G-Funk’ (Gangsta Funk). Packed with catchy tunes and an easy, party feel ‘The Chronic’ is the Mona Lisa of 90s West Coast rap.<
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Release Date - September 1994
Modern Hip-Hip wouldn’t be what it is without ‘Ready To Die’. From his early days pummelling competitors in street freestyle battles, ‘Biggie’s’ lyricism and ability to inject poignant, nostalgic humor into his words established his ongoing influence in the genre, even with his untimely death in 1997.
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Release Date - August 1998
You probably know Ms Hill from the Fugees, but by the mid-90s Ms. Hill felt the urge to express herself in ways that went beyond her multi-million rap troupe. Full of insecurity (a rare trope in Hip-Hop), soul, R&B and melodies, ‘The Miseducation’ is a seminal, genre defying album, and a benchmark for women in music.
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Release Date - Septmber 1998
Jay-Z is the definition of New York Hip-Hip; rough, gritty, brutal and beautiful. A true wordsmith that stands up against great American lyricists like Paul Simon and Cole Porter, Jay’s ability to use words as weapons has been nothing short of a marvel for four decades.
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Release Date - April 2018
An iron-fist wrapped in Chanel, Cardi-B is one of the biggest selling female Hip Hop artists of all time, which is remarkable given this record was released in 2018 and is HER ONLY ALBUM!
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The Birth of Hip Hop: early 1970's to the mid-1980s
Birthed in The Bronx, NY, Hip Hop and Rap has redefined the landscape of American music, and is now a billion dollar industry. The earliest performances combined MCs (master of ceremonies) and DJ's, with break dancers and graffiti writers. Hip-hop music culture is a product of African American, Afro-Caribbean and Latino inner-city communities. DJ Kool Herc gave the community its blueprints and its first brand of hip-hop music, called b-beat.
Major record companies formed partnerships with independent labels and producers specializing in rap music, thanks to initial trailblazers likes.
Sugarhill Gang, Afrika Bambaataa. Influences include James Brown, Kraftwerk and Captain Sky.
The Golden Era (mid-1980s to the mid-1990s)
In 1984 the term 'New School Rap' was coined for artists like Run DMC, The Fresh Prince and Fat Boys. And importantly, female artists like Salt N Pepa, Queen Latifah, Mc Lyte and Roxanne Shante broke into the mainstream, whose influence is still seen today with the likes of Cardi B and Lizzo.
The Hardcore era of Hip Hop soon took hold with politics and racism emerging in lyricism and presentation with groups like N.W.A, Public Enemy and Eric B and Rakim.
Soon after came Gansta Rap with Biggy, 2Pac, Luniz, Master P and T.I to name a few. Afrocentric and conscious rappers like Lauryn Hill, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and Gang Starr favored soul and jazz samples in their mixes.
21st Century Hip Hop (mid-90s to the mid-2000s)
In the 2000s, hip-hop music was mainstream. Kanye West’s production and lyricism redirected attention away from gangsta rap and explored a range of topics including his middle-class upbringing, anti-Black racism, corporatism, and his faith presented in full self-aggrandizing style. Additionally, Eminem will become a most revered lyricist, by rap artists and rap fans alike, breaking past an obstacle of white inauthenticity laid down by Vanilla Ice a decade earlier.
Contemporary Hip Hop (2010's to present)
Hip Hop is and remains the biggest selling genre in America, and even globally in most key markets. Kendrick Lamar, Metro Boomin, Lizzo, Travis Scott, Ashnikko and J Cole.
