Today in Hip Hop: October 24
October 24 gave hip hop two major birthdays and a stack of albums that still get played, from 1995 New York to a 2014 critics favourite.
Drake Is Born in Toronto
Aubrey Drake Graham was born in Toronto on October 24, 1986. Britannica lists that date and city in its quick facts, and V101.9's history of this date notes the scale that followed, including more than 170 million albums sold and a run of number one albums and singles that put him among the most certified artists in United States history.
He turns 40 today, in 2026, after a May release run where three of his albums held the top three Billboard 200 spots at once. A birthday and a chart record in the same year is a rare combination at any age, and it happened for an artist who started as a teenage actor in the same city where he was born.
Monica Is Born in Georgia
Singer and actress Monica was born on October 24, 1980. V101.9's rundown of this date points to her second album, The Boy Is Mine from 1998, as the breakthrough, a record that reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 and number two on the Top R and B and Hip Hop Albums chart.
The title track, her duet with Brandy, spent 13 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy for Best R and B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. More than 25 years later that song still anchors conversations about that era, and Monica remains an active touring voice from it.
Fat Joe and Onyx Drop on the Same Day
October 24, 1995 was a heavy release day in New York rap. Fat Joe released his second album, Jealous One's Envy, which V101.9 notes reached number 71 on the Billboard 200 and number seven on the Top R and B and Hip Hop Albums chart, carried by the singles Envy and Success.
The same date brought Onyx's second album, All We Got Iz Us, and Jayo Felony's Take a Ride, according to Blax Radio's week in hip hop history listing for October 19 to 25. Three hard edged records landing together says a lot about 1995, a year when New York labels were releasing serious albums almost every week and expecting each one to fight for attention.
Hybrid Theory Brings Rap Into Rock's Main Room
Linkin Park released their debut album, Hybrid Theory, on October 24, 2000. Melodic Magazine's anniversary coverage notes that the record mixed rock with hip hop elements, including rapping and turntables, at a moment when that blend was driving the charts. The album went on to be certified 12 times Platinum by the RIAA and sold more than 32 million copies worldwide.
Mike Shinoda's verses and Joe Hahn's DJ work were not decoration on that record. They were part of its structure, and a generation of listeners who came in through rock radio heard rap phrasing every day because of it. Crossover records get debated, but their reach is hard to argue with.
Run the Jewels 2 Raises the Bar
Run the Jewels, the duo of Killer Mike and El-P, released Run the Jewels 2 on October 24, 2014. V101.9's history notes that the album peaked at number 50 on the Billboard 200 and was named the best album of 2014 by several publications, including Complex, Stereogum and Pitchfork.
A number 50 chart peak with that kind of critical sweep tells its own story. The record's influence ran through reviews, year end lists and other artists more than through radio, and the duo built a touring and festival career off the back of it. Some albums win the week. This one won the year in the rooms that write the history.
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