滚石音乐(Rolling Stone Magazine )史上最佳Top 500 Albums之498

Dwight Arrington Myers, better known as Heavy D, was a Jamaican-born American rapper, record producer, singer and actor.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (commonly referred to as The Purple Tape) is the debut studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon, released on August 1, 1995, by Loud Records and RCA Records.[1] The album was loosely composed to play like a film with Raekwon as the "star," fellow Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah as the "guest-star," and producer RZA as the "director."[2] It features appearances from every member of the Wu-Tang Clan except for Ol' Dirty Bastard. The album also features debut appearances for affiliates Cappadonna and Blue Raspberry. It also features an acclaimed guest appearance from rapper Nas, which marked the first collaboration with a non-affiliated artist on a Wu-Tang related album.

Some rappers die because they get shot. Some die of AIDS. But corpulent Latino rapper Big Punisher died of a massive coronary; at the time of his February 2000 death, he weighed over 600 pounds. While this made Punisher a suitable poster boy for the dangers of conspicuous consumption, on his platinum 1998 debut album, Capital Punishment, he's eager to poke fun at the creed of greed: "I'm not a player", he announces, "I just fuck a lot." But while Capital Punishment is perfectly adequate gangsta fare, Big Pun doesn't deserve the deification that dead rappers so frequently receive; here, he deviates little from the egomaniacal posturing that the Notorious B.I.G. branded his own. "If it doesn't make dollars, then it doesn't make sense," splutters compadre Fat Joe on "Glamour Life." Suitable, then, that Big Pun died in an industry where rigor mortis is the ultimate unit-shifter. --Louis Pattison

AZ是90年代中期在纽约涌现的几位有思想,有文化的匪帮饶舌大将之一。他曾经与Nas合作，帮助他发表了那张旷世巨作《Illmatic》。不过AZ却从未得到过与他同辈的艺人，如Nas、Jay z那般的关注。相反，他的第一张专辑《Doe or Die》只是在评论界大受好评，在这样小小的短暂的成功之后，他的音乐生涯便堕入低谷。评论家和B-Boys都喜欢他，但他却始终隐没在Nas与Jay Z的巨大阴影之下。就说唱方面来说，他的精准巧妙饶舌以及让人印象深刻的FLOW，在纽约数不胜数的同类MC中都是独树一帜的。可惜AZ自从第一张专辑之后，一直到2000年才真正觉醒并签约MOTOWN发表新专辑。

Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous is the only album released by American hip hop artist Big L in his lifetime, released March 28, 1995 on Columbia Records. Recording sessions took place primarily at Powerplay Studios in Queens, New York from 1993 to 1994. Production was handled by Buckwild, Craig Boogie, Lord Finesse, and Showbiz. After being discovered by Lord Finesse in 1990, Big L signed a deal with Columbia Records, and he started to work on the album.
The album debuted at number 149 on the US Billboard 200 and number 22 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, but did not chart internationally. Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous spawned three singles: "Put It On", "M.V.P.", and "No Endz, No Skinz", the first two both peaked within the top 25 on the US Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Dance Singles Sales. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from music critics, earning praise for Big L's lyrics and word play. Lifestylez Of Da Poor And Dangerous is considered by many fans as a classic album. As of August 2000, the album has sold 200,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Colored vinyl, Deluxe vinyl 2 LP pressing in gatefold jacket including five color print (full color plus metallic gold pantone) with spot gloss UV effects and flood matte finish. The raised spot gloss application to Big L's face, hand and the album title on the front cover, as well as the full figure on the back cover creates an almost 3D-ish effect. An illustration of Big L's hand has been printed with a unique gold pantone on the inside panels of the gatefold, along with oversized apparitions of his name and figure that have been layered with spot-gloss over a collages of hotographic images on the left and right panels for further Op Art effect. As if that weren't enough, both board based inner-sleeves feature photographic collages in full color with a Matte finish making for a totally pimped-out class act package! Lovingly rendered for the collectors who dig aesthetics and folks with finely refined tastes, this piece not only is an ode to Hip-Hop fans worldwide, but to honor the legacy that Big L created.

辑简介东海岸的Rapper“The Notorious B.I.G.”的绝唱，事实上，专辑发行之前他就已经
被人在街头枪杀，据说与他的对头，同为Rapper 的Tupac 之死有关，帮派的事
情暂且不提，这张专辑在商业上相当成功，迅速登上Billboard 专辑榜的首位，
有440 万的销量，《Hypnotize》和《Mo Money Mo Problems》都成为冠军单曲。
1996注定是值得铭记的一年。曾挑衅声称与Faith Evans有染的BIG的彼岸死敌2pac在9月遭枪击身亡，人们纷纷猜测Tupac的死是否与由来已久的东西海岸说唱帮派之间的斗争有关。“果不其然”，在1997年3月9日早上，the Notorious B.I.G.在参加过“灵魂列车奖”晚会之后回酒店的路上也遭到不明身份枪手的袭击，在被保镖送往医院的途中身亡，而此时距Tupac的死仅有半年。这次的枪杀事件再次震惊了整个美国音乐界。
在the Notorious B.I.G.死后，他生前已经录制好的第二张专辑按原计划在3月底发行。这张名为《Life After Death》的双CD专辑似乎专门就是用来对抗生前死敌Tupac的双CD专辑《All Eyez on Me》的。不出所料，《Life After Death》在发行第一周已近70万张的销量登顶Billboard专辑榜，并连续四周蝉联冠军。首支单曲《Hypnotize》很快成为Pop单曲榜中的冠军单曲，而随着另一支单曲《Mo Money Mo Problems》的再度折桂，the Notorious B.I.G.成为首位在离世之后还能两夺单曲榜冠军的歌手。随后，另一支单曲《Sky´s the Limit》也顺利破金。《Life After Death》在发行不到两年内销量就达到了1000万张。