This Day in Hip Hop & R&B History: August 22
Aug. 22 is an important date in hip-hop and R&B. Veteran American rapper GZA (also known as The Genius) was born on this day in 1966. He is best known…
Aug. 22 is an important date in hip-hop and R&B. Veteran American rapper GZA (also known as The Genius) was born on this day in 1966. He is best known as a founding member and the "spiritual head" of critically acclaimed hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, but he has also released five solo albums, including Liquid Swords, which reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and received a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Also born on Aug. 22 is California rapper EBK Jaaybo, whose 2024 single "Boogieman" reached No. 37 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
Several groundbreaking hip-hop and R&B albums were released on this date. Here are just a few:
- 2006: Legendary hip-hop producer J Dilla's third album, The Shining, was released posthumously six months after his tragic death from cardiac arrest. The album, which was incomplete at the time of his passing, was finished by producer Karriem Riggins, his associate and frequent collaborator. It peaked at No. 103 on the Billboard 200.
- 2006: Influential hip-hop duo Outkast dropped their sixth and final studio album, Idlewild. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA the following month.
Cultural Milestones
Aug. 22 is associated with some iconic cultural moments in R&B and hip-hop:
- 1964: Motown girl group The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go" started a two-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Widely regarded as the influential group's first bona fide hit, it was ranked No. 4 on Billboard's list of the 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.
- 1993: Rap veteran Queen Latifah's trailblazing sitcom Living Single premiered on FOX. The show followed the lives of six friends in their 20s, living in a Brooklyn brownstone, who shared their experiences of life and love while trying to make it in the big city. It would run for five seasons, with its final episode airing on January 1, 1998.
- 2001: Michael Jackson's smash single, "You Rock My World," was released. The third single from his tenth and final studio album, Invincible, it peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the superstar's highest-charting single since his 1995 chart-topper "You Are Not Alone."
Aug. 22 has witnessed many culture-shaping moments in hip-hop and R&B, from the release of seminal albums to chart dominance by some of the industry's leading lights. It's no surprise it's a date that many music fans remember fondly.
