This Day in Hip-Hop and R&B History: April 18

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1994: American rapper and producer DJ Kool released his second studio album, 20 Minute Workout. The record reached No. 84 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
• 2000: American DJ Tony Touch dropped his debut album, The Piece Maker, which peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard 200. It features a selection of hip-hop greats, including Cypress Hill, Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul, Flipmode Squad, Royce da 5'9", and Prodigy. 
• 2006: Axe Murder Boyz released their second album, Blood in, Blood Out, through Psychopathic Records. It peaked at No. 199 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 22 on the Independent Albums chart.
• 2015: Bill Withers was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the annual induction ceremony held in Cleveland's Public Hall. The R&B/soul icon was inducted alongside luminaries including Lou Reed, Green Day, Ringo Starr, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
• 2019: The song "Power is Power" by American singer SZA, fellow American rapper Travis Scott, and Canadian singer The Weeknd was released. The lead single from the soundtrack album For the Throne peaked at No. 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted in 19 other countries.

Cultural Milestones

• 1945: Charles Love was born in Salina, Kansas. He was a founding guitarist and vocalist for the R&B/soul group Bloodstone, known for hits like “Natural High,” “Give Me Your Heart,” and “Do You Wanna Do a Thing.”
• 1971: Music icon Diana Ross' first solo television musical special, Diana!, aired on ABC. The program, which was choreographed by David Winters of West Side Story fame, featured guest appearances by Bill Cosby and Danny Thomas and performances by The Jackson 5. 
• 1994: American rapper and singer Aminé was born in Portland, Oregon. He first gained prominence with his 2016 debut single “Caroline,” which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. His debut album, Good for You, released in July 2017, peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 19 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. 
• 1996: Ski Mask the Slump God was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He reached the peak of his commercial success in 2018 with his debut album, Stokeley, which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and No. 4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The project spawned the Billboard Hot 100-charting singles “Nuketown,” “Faucet Failure,” and “Foot Fungus,” which peaked at No. 63, No. 87, and No. 81, respectively.
• 2013: Legendary American Hip-Hop group Public Enemy was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by film director Spike Lee and singer Harry Belafonte. The group became the fourth Hip-Hop group to receive this honor.
• 2019: Acclaimed Hip-Hop group Cypress Hill made history again by becoming the first Latino-American rap group to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Los Angeles act was also the first Latino-American hip-hop group to have Platinum- and Multi-Platinum-selling albums.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1994: New Orleans rapper Pimp Daddy (born Edgar Givens) was shot and killed in New Orleans' Florida Projects at the age of 18. He was one of the first artists from Cash Money Records to achieve a degree of mainstream success on the back of singles such as “Got 2 Be Real” and “Caught Slippin.”
• 2014: The Los Angeles Police Department thwarted an alleged multimillion-dollar extortion plot by producer Chauncey Mahan against rap mogul Jay Z. Mahan, who worked with Jay Z from 2008 to 2009, had several of the artist's master recordings, which were valued between $15 million and $20 million and were presumed lost. He had allegedly planned to put them up for auction or return them to Live Nation, with which Jay Z had a partnership, for a $100,000 "storage fee."
• 2015: Rappers Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset from the Atlanta hip-hop group Migos were arrested on drug possession and gun-related charges during a concert at Georgia Southern University, forcing the trio to postpone their Yung Rich Nation Tour until July.