February 10

6 hip-hop anniversaries on February 10

1. 2004

   Kanye West releases 'The College Dropout'

   Roc-A-Fella issues Kanye West's solo debut. By 2004, West is established as a producer (the Blueprint, multiple top-shelf Bad Boy and Roc-A-Fella credits) but has spent two years struggling to be heard as a rapper. *The …

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   Today in hip-hop history — 2004: Kanye West releases 'The College Dropout'. https://hiphopstorian.com/timeline/moment/college-dropout-released-2004

2. 2004

   The College Dropout is released

   The College Dropout is released.

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   Today in hip-hop history — 2004: The College Dropout is released. https://hiphopstorian.com/timeline/moment/the-college-dropout-released

3. 2006

   J Dilla dies

   J Dilla dies (Cardiac arrest from complications of TTP and lupus).

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   Today in hip-hop history — 2006: J Dilla dies. https://hiphopstorian.com/timeline/moment/j-dilla-died

4. 2006

   J Dilla dies

   James Dewitt Yancey — the Detroit producer whose drum programming on the Pharcyde's Labcabincalifornia, Tribe Called Quest's Beats, Rhymes and Life, and his own posthumously canonized Donuts (released three days before h…

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   Today in hip-hop history — 2006: J Dilla dies. https://hiphopstorian.com/timeline/moment/j-dilla-died-2006

5. 2019

   Cardi B becomes the first solo woman to win Grammy Best Rap Album

   At the 61st Annual Grammys, *Invasion of Privacy* wins Best Rap Album — the first time the category, introduced in 1996, goes to a solo female artist. The award caps a year in which the Bronx-born Belcalis Almánzar (rais…

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   Today in hip-hop history — 2019: Cardi B becomes the first solo woman to win Grammy Best Rap Album. https://hiphopstorian.com/timeline/moment/cardi-b-best-rap-album-2019

6. 2023

   AKA is shot and killed in Durban, South Africa

   Kiernan Forbes — the Cape Town-born MC widely considered the face of post-2010 South African hip-hop, with a catalog (Altar Ego, Levels, Touch My Blood) that had repeatedly topped the SA charts — is shot and killed outsi…

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   Today in hip-hop history — 2023: AKA is shot and killed in Durban, South Africa. https://hiphopstorian.com/timeline/moment/aka-killed-2023