Today marks the anniversary of several significant events that helped shape hip-hop’s history.

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1. January 6, 1999: Polo G Was Born

Say what you want about Taurus Tremani Bartlett (aka Polo G), but the Chicago rapper has built a pretty impressive résumé. Between billion-stream songs and multiple top-five albums, he’s found major success in a space that’s notoriously hard to navigate. And when it comes to emotional trap hip-hop, there aren’t many artists who’ve done it better. However you slice it, his career is a clear success story. Our favorite track from him? “RAPSTAR,” baby!

2. January 6, 2015: Rae Sremmurd Released “SremmLife”

It feels like the only albums people are willing to call classics came out in the ’90s, and that’s wild. We need to show more love to the ones that dropped in the 2010s, too.

One project that absolutely deserves that respect is SremmLife. With tracks like “No Type,” “No Flex Zone,” and “This Could Be Us” — which is surprisingly the most-streamed song on the album — the project was a full-on vibe.

The album nailed a perfect mix of party records, rebellious energy, and undeniable chemistry between the duo. And yes, it also gave us a song called “Up (Like Trump),” which is… a very interesting title in hindsight.

3. January 6, 2019: Kanye West Began His Weekly Sunday Service Series

On this day in 2019, Kanye West launched his Sunday Service series, which began at his home in Calabasas, California — elite work-from-home behavior, by the way.

The events were undeniably beautiful in execution, blending church-style worship with live music performances across California before eventually expanding to other cities. Along the way, Sunday Service featured appearances by artists such as Charlie Wilson, Kid Cudi, Chance the Rapper, and DMX.

That said, plenty of people felt the whole thing doubled as a goodwill tour following some very questionable things Kanye had said around that time. Whatever your perspective, though, it was still something we hadn’t really seen before — a genuinely unique fusion of faith, music, and spectacle.

4. January 6, 2007: Nas’s “Hip-Hop Is Dead” Debuted at #1 On The Billboard 200

Nas went full-blown provocateur mode when he declared to the world that hip-hop was dead. The wild part is that there wasn’t much anyone could say in response, because the album he literally titled Hip Hop Is Dead debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. Talk about standing on business.

The project featured standout records like “Hustlers” and the title track “Hip Hop Is Dead,” where Nas famously reused the beat from his earlier song “Thief’s Theme.”

Add in guest appearances from The Game, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, and more, and the album came off as both calculated and confident.

Overall, I thought it was polished, occasionally gimmicky, but undeniably diverse and effective at sparking conversation.

4. January 6, 2008: Dr. Dre Debuts “Beats By Dre” Headphones

Dr. Dre debuted Beats by Dre, sold it, and damn near erased his own name from the branding before he ever dropped Detox. Let that sink in.

Jokes aside, Beats by Dre has become completely synonymous with American culture. As someone who’s owned about four pairs myself, it’s basically a standard at this point. Once Apple acquired the brand and slapped its own ecosystem around it — along with giving Dre a truly generational payday — it was over.

Of all hip-hop’s contributions over the past century, Beats by Dre has to rank near the top. It didn’t just change the game… it literally changed the game.

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