| The Source | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Editor-in-Chief |
Kimberly Osoroi |
|
Categories |
Music magazine |
|
Frequency |
Ten per year |
|
Publisher |
L. Londell McMillan |
|
First issue |
1988 |
|
Company |
The NorthStar Group |
|
Country |
United States |
|
Based in |
New York City |
|
Language |
English |
The Source is a United-States based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip hop music, politics, and culture. It is the world's second-longest-running hip hop periodical, behind the United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded in 1988 by Jon Schecter, David Mayes, and Ed Young, and began as a two-page newsletter published out of a university dormitory.
The magazine includes many notable features, including the famous "Unsigned Hype" column. The publication has over eight million subscribers worldwide and remains one of the most popular hip hop magazines in the world.
The Source's Five-Mic Albums[]
The Record Report is a section in the publication in which the magazine's staff rates hip hop albums. Ratings range from one to five mics', paralleling a typical five-star rating scale. One mic is "totally wack", two mics are "needs help", three mics are "good, worth checking out", four mics are "slammin' - definite satisfaction" and five mics is "a hip hop classic". A total of forty-five albums have been awarded five mics; a complete chronological list is below.
Albums that originally received five mics:
- People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm - A Tribe Called Quest (1990)
- Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em - Eric B. & Rakim (1990)
- AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted - Ice Cube (1990)
- One for All - Brand Nubian (1990)
- De La Soul Is Dead - De La Soul (1991)
- The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest (1991)
- Illmatic - Nas (1994)
- Life After Death - The Notorious B.I.G. (1997)
- Aquemini - OutKast (1998)
- The Blueprint - Jay-Z (2001)
- Stillmatic - Nas (2001)
- The Fix - Scarface (2002)
- The Naked Truth - Lil' Kim (2005)
- Trill OG - Bun B (2010)
- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West (2010)
Albums that were not rated upon their releases, but were later rated five mics in 2002:
- Run-D.M.C. - Run-D.M.C. (1984)
- Radio - LL Cool J (1985)
- Licensed to Ill - Beastie Boys (1986)
- Raising Hell - Run-D.M.C. (1986)
- Criminal Minded - Boogie Down Productions (1987)
- Paid in Full - Eric B. & Rakim (1987)
- By All Means Necessary - Boogie Down Productions (1988)
- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy (1988)
- Long Live the Kane - Big Daddy Kane (1988)
- Critical Beatdown - Ultramagnetic MC's (1988)
- Straight out the Jungle - Jungle Brothers (1988)
- Strictly Business - EPMD (1988)
- The Great Adventures of Slick Rick - Slick Rick (1988)
- Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A (1988)
- No One Can Do It Better - The D.O.C. (1989)
- All Eyez on Me - 2Pac (1996)
Albums that originally received 4.5 mics, and were later re-rated to five:
- Breaking Atoms - Main Source (1991)
- Death Certificate - Ice Cube (1991)
- The Chronic - Dr. Dre (1992)
- Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - Wu-Tang Clan (1993)
- Ready to Die - The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
- The Infamous - Mobb Deep (1995)
- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... - Raekwon (1995)
- 2001 - Dr. Dre (1999)
Albums that originally received four mics, and were later re-rated to five:
- Grip It! On That Other Level - Geto Boys (1989)
- Doggystyle - Snoop Doggy Dogg (1993)
- The Diary - Scarface (1994)
- Me Against the World - 2Pac (1995)
- The Score - Fugees (1996)
- Reasonable Doubt - Jay-Z (1996)