Oct 23, 20264 min read

Today in Hip Hop: October 23

October 23 stacks a birthday, a fourth straight number one, and three major releases that still tell you where the culture was headed.

OMYGOTTI

Toronto hip-hop artist | 730K+ Facebook

1985

Miguel Is Born In California

Miguel Jontel Pimentel was born on October 23, 1985, and raised in San Pedro, California. He would become one of the defining R and B voices of his generation, bridging soul, funk, hip hop and rock in a way that never sounded forced.

His best known hits include Sure Thing and Adorn, which peaked at No. 11 and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively, and both topped the Billboard Hot R and B and Hip Hop Songs chart. Adorn won Best R and B Song at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, a win that confirmed what fans already knew from the first listen.

My take: My take: Miguel made vulnerability sound confident. That is harder than it looks, and a whole generation of singers learned from it.

2001

DMX Lands A Fourth Straight Number One

On October 23, 2001, DMX released his fourth album, The Great Depression. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming his fourth project to do so, and it topped the Top R and B and Hip Hop Albums chart before being certified Platinum by the RIAA in December of that same year, with later certification reaching triple Platinum.

DMX — Photo: Rzom_ via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The singles tell the story of that era, Who We Be, We Right Here and I Miss You. X was carrying pain, faith and aggression in the same verse, and the public still followed him to the top of the chart. Four straight number one debuts is a run very few rappers in history can claim.

My take: My take: DMX never polished the rough edges off to chase radio. The chart came to him, four times in a row.

2001

Dilated Peoples Drop Expansion Team

The same day, October 23, 2001, Dilated Peoples released their second album, Expansion Team. The project featured collaborations with Tha Alkaholiks, Phil Da Agony and Black Thought, and it peaked at No. 8 on the Top R and B and Hip Hop Albums chart and No. 36 on the Billboard 200.

Its lead single, Worst Comes To Worst, hit No. 29 on the UK Singles Chart and became a signature record for the Los Angeles group. While DMX owned the commercial top, Dilated were proving the underground could build a global audience without watering down the lyricism.

My take: My take: October 23, 2001 had range. The top of the chart and the underground moved on the same day, and both mattered.

2015

DJ Khaled Releases I Changed A Lot

On October 23, 2015, DJ Khaled released his eighth album, I Changed A Lot, with guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Future, Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Usher, French Montana and many others. It peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Top R and B and Hip Hop Albums chart.

Khaled had already mastered the art of the assembled moment, bringing stars into one room on one record. This album arrived just before his social media run turned him into a daily cultural presence, which makes it a useful marker for where his brand was right before it exploded wider.

My take: My take: Khaled understood curation as an art form before the playlist era made everybody a curator.

2020

Ty Dolla Sign Arrives With A Feature Army

On October 23, 2020, Ty Dolla Sign dropped his third album, Featuring Ty Dolla Sign, including collaborations with Kanye West, Big Sean, Young Thug, Future and Quavo. It debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, marking his first album to debut in the United States top ten.

The title was the joke and the truth at the same time. Ty had spent years as the feature everybody called to lift a record, and he turned that reputation into the concept for his own album. Few artists have made a career lane that honest and that effective.

My take: My take: Ty turned being the most wanted guest in rap into a headline act. That is business and art working together.