This Day in Hip-Hop and R&B History: August 8

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1987: East Coast rapper MC Shan released Down by Law, his debut album, through Cold Chillin’ and Warner Records. It went to No. 40 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. 
• 1989: Cool C launched his debut album, I Gotta Habit, on Atlantic Records. It featured the single “Glamorous Life,” which reached No. 11 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. Although it failed to chart on the Billboard 200, it reached No. 51 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
• 2000: De La Soul released their fifth album, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump. It debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 81,000 units.
• 2006: Rick Ross dropped his debut studio album, Port of Miami. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 187,000 copies in its first week. It also went to No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and would later be certified platinum by the RIAA in July 2016.
• 2017: Sean Price released his fourth album, Imperius Rex. With features from Raekwon, Prodigy, MF Doom, Method Man, and Styles P, it went to No. 192 on the Billboard 200.
• 2025: Bryson Tiller dropped The Vices, the first disc for his fifth album, Solace & The Vices. Featuring guest appearances from Rick Ross, Bun B, T-Pain, Plies, and Luh Tyler, the project peaked at No. 52 on the Billboard 200. 
• 2025: Gunna released The Last Wun, his sixth album, through YSL Records and 300 Entertainment. Supported by the singles “Him All Along,” “Won’t Stop,” and “WGFT,” it debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, earning 80,000 album-equivalents in its opening week. The album was his seventh to chart in the top 10. 
• 2025: JID’s fourth album, God Does Like Ugly, was released through Dreamville and Interscope Records. The project went to No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and No. 4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It also received accolades from top music publications, with Complex ranking it No. 7 on its list of the 50 best albums of 2025.

Cultural Milestones

• 1935: R&B/soul singer Joe Tex was born Joseph Arrington Jr. in Rogers, Texas. He scored his first hit in 1964 with the single “Hold What You’ve Got,” which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, his success would reach its zenith in 1965 when he placed six top-40 singles on the R&B chart. He was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame six times but has never been inducted.
• 1977: British R&B songstress Marsha Ambrosius was born in Liverpool, England. She achieved critical acclaim with her 2011 debut album Late Nights & Early Mornings, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Its second single, “Far Away,” was nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards.
• 1988: Pioneering gangsta rap group N.W.A dropped their debut album, Straight Outta Compton. Their most commercially successful album to date, it peaked at No. 37 on the Billboard 200 and No. 9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album has since been certified triple platinum in the US for selling 3 million units.
• 2011: Jay-Z and Kanye West released the collaborative album, Watch the Throne. It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, with 436,000 units sold in its opening week. Two of its singles were also awarded at the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards. “N****s in Paris” won in the Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance categories, while “No Church in the Wild” took home the award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Notable Recordings and Performances 

• 2006: Masta Killa of the Wu-Tang Clan released his second solo album, Made in Brooklyn. The album peaked at No. 45 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at No. 176 on the Billboard 200. 
• 2014: Australian hip-hop group Hilltop Hoods dropped their seventh album, Walking Under Stars. It went to No. 32 on the UK R&B Albums chart and topped the Australian Albums chart. The project was also nominated for Australian Album of the Year at the 2014 J Awards. 
• 2022: Young Nudy released EA Monster, his sixth mixtape, through RCA Records. The project debuted at No. 151 on the Billboard 200.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 2015: Sean Price died in his sleep, aged just 43. He was one half of the Brooklyn hip-hop duo Helter Skelter. Their debut album, Nocturnal, released in June 1996, reached No. 35 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
• 2023: Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting the American hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion. The shooting occurred in July 2020 while the pair were leaving a party at Kylie Jenner’s Los Angeles home.