The Source
File:The Source (magazine).jpg Cover of November 2008 issue | |
Editor | Jonathan Shecter/Adario Strange/Selwyn Seyfu Hinds/Kim Osorio |
---|---|
Categories | Music magazine |
Frequency | 1–2 per year |
Circulation | 175K |
First issue | 1988 |
Company | The NorthStar Group |
Country | United States |
Based in | New York City, New York, U.S. |
Language | English |
Website | www |
ISSN | 1063-2085 |
The Source is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or semiannually. It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988.[1]
The Source's Five-Mic albums
The Record Report is a section in the publication in which the magazine's staff rates hip-hop albums. Ratings range from one to five mics, paralleling a typical five-star rating scale. An album that is rated at four-and-a-half or five mics is considered by The Source to be a superior hip hop album.[2] Over the first ten years or so, the heralded five-mic rating only applied to albums that were universally lauded hip hop albums.[3] A total of 45 albums have been awarded five mics; a complete, chronological list is below.[4]
Albums that originally received five mics:[2]
- People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm – A Tribe Called Quest
- AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted – Ice Cube
- Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em – Eric B. & Rakim
- One for All – Brand Nubian
- De La Soul Is Dead – De La Soul
- The Low End Theory – A Tribe Called Quest
- Illmatic – Nas
- Life After Death – The Notorious B.I.G.
- Aquemini – Outkast
- The Blueprint – Jay-Z
- Stillmatic – Nas
- The Fix – Scarface[4]
- The Naked Truth – Lil' Kim[4]
- Trill OG – Bun B[4]
- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West[4]
Albums that were not rated upon their releases, but were later rated five mics in 2002:[2]
- Run-D.M.C. – Run-D.M.C.
- Radio – LL Cool J
- Licensed to Ill – Beastie Boys
- Raising Hell – Run-D.M.C.
- Criminal Minded – Boogie Down Productions
- Paid in Full – Eric B. & Rakim
- By All Means Necessary – Boogie Down Productions
- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back – Public Enemy
- Long Live the Kane – Big Daddy Kane
- Critical Beatdown – Ultramagnetic MCs
- Straight Out the Jungle – Jungle Brothers
- Strictly Business – EPMD
- The Great Adventures of Slick Rick – Slick Rick
- Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A
- No One Can Do It Better – The D.O.C.
- All Eyez on Me – 2Pac
Albums that originally received 4.5 mics, and were later re-rated to five:[2]
- Breaking Atoms – Main Source
- Death Certificate – Ice Cube
- The Chronic – Dr. Dre
- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) – Wu-Tang Clan
- Ready to Die – The Notorious B.I.G.
- The Infamous – Mobb Deep
- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... – Raekwon
- 2001 – Dr. Dre
Albums that originally received four mics, and were later re-rated to five:[2]
- Grip It! On That Other Level – Geto Boys
- Doggystyle – Snoop Doggy Dogg
- The Diary – Scarface
- Me Against the World – 2Pac
- The Score – The Fugees
- Reasonable Doubt – Jay-Z
Music
Compilation album
The Source released a compilation album of hip-hop hits.
Albums
Year | Album | Chart Positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
US | US Hip-Hop | |||
1997 | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits | 38 | 25 | |
1998 | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 2 | 46 | 29 | |
1999 | The Source Hip Hop Music Awards 1999 | 45 | 53 | |
1999 | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 3 | 45 | 29 | |
2000 | The Source Hip Hop Music Awards 2000 | 17 | 16 | |
2000 | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 4 | 43 | 35 | |
2001 | The Source Hip Hop Music Awards 2001 | 28 | 34 | |
2001 | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 5 | 47 | 38 | |
2002 | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 6 | 35 | 31 | |
2003 | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 7 | 89 | 46 | |
2004 | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 8 | 45 | 43 | |
2004 | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 9 | 75 | 36 | |
2005 | The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Vol. 10 | 60 | 47 |
References
- ^ Ogunnaike, Lola (January 29, 2003). "War of the Words at Hip-Hop Magazines". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Got Five on It". The Source (150). March 2002.
- ^ Osorio, Kim (May 14, 2012). "5 Mics: Who Got Next?". The Source. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Kanye West Earns 5 Mics In The Source". The Source. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010.
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