#run-d.m.c.

Today in Hip Hop History:

ROUND 2: good kid, m.A.A.d city vs. Raising Hell

Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012) Genre: West Coast hip-hop, gangsta rap Singles: The Recipe; Swimming Pools (Drank); Backseat Freestyle; Poetic Justice; Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe Grammys: Seven nominations (including AOTY) RIAA Certification: 3x Platinum Rolling Stone Rank: 115th

Although To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN. are Kendrick Lamar's most acclaimed projects, it was his second studio album (and first on a major label) that truly cemented his name in the music industry. good kid, m.A.A.d city, an autobiographical coming-of-age story about Lamar's adolescence growing up in Compton, is often considered one of the best concept albums of all time.

Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell (1986) Genre: Hip-hop, rap rock Singles: My Adidas, Walk This Way, You Be Illin', It's Tricky Grammys: One nomination RIAA Certification: 3x Platinum Rolling Stone Rank: 209

Run-D.M.C.'s third studio outing contained the groundbreaking rap rock version of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way." It was not only the first successful rap/rock collaboration, but the first song by a hip-hop act to reach the Billboard Hot 100's top 5, and they would also become the first hip-hop act to receive a Grammy nomination. Described as "rap's first masterpiece," Raising Hell is widely considered to be the beginning of hip-hop's golden age, as well as one of its most important albums.

*This album is preserved in the National Recording Registry.