Harvard fellow and respected producer 9th Wonder has selected the first four Hip-Hop albums that will be preserved in the university’s prestigious library.
9th made the reveal on Instagram. The first four albums will be Nas‘ debut Illmatic, A Tribe Called Quest‘s sophomore album Low End Theory, Lauryn Hill’s solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Kendrick Lamar‘s instant classic To Pimp A Butterfly.
He made the reveal and explained the choices on Instagram.
9th writes:
In 2012, I was chosen to be a Harvard University Fellow at The Dubois Institute under the direction of@henrylouisgates and Dr. Marcy Morgan. I chose the research project “These Are The Breaks”….a collection of albums that are the standard of the culture…..200 in all in no particular order. These are the first four we chose to start with….to live for forever in the Harvard Library…and to be forever placed in the canon…complete with liner notes and the vinyl that was used in the production of the album…… To live forever….shouts@levelsoundz and @madtwiinz for the masterful design of the boxes and content.
4 down..
196 to go….
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPtqLRyB9Kv/?taken-by=9thwonder
While there was no Southern Hip-Hop [i.e. Geto Boys, Outkast] representation in the first four, the collection is appearing to start off balanced. Here we have a solo rappers, groups and a woman represented. Even though three of the four albums were released in the 1990s, they still span four different eras and aesthetics in Hip-Hop. Two of the albums, Miseducation… and To Pimp… also managed to achieve commercial success and Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album.
Before the debates start, please note that these are the first four of 200 entries. So there is a chance that the albums that you think should be in there, will be going in.
Photo: Instagram
