By: Kai Jones
October 28th,17 years ago TODAY, Bad Boy Records dropped one of hip hops greatest albums, Harlem World. Harlem World was the debut of Harlem rap legend, Ma$e. This album was looked at as Puff Daddy’s showcase, of his new protégé to replace the legendary Notorious B.I.G.
Ma$e had “big” shoes to fill, and he filled them masterfully...
While Ma$e was seen as the replacement for B.I.G., he gained national notoriety off of B.I.G.’s posthumous number one hit: “Mo Money, Mo Problems”. Harlem World’s lead single was “Feel So Good," a track produced by Puff Daddy himself; topped out at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song was ranked 67th on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop. The other 2 singles from that album, “What You Want” and “Lookin’ At Me," both hit Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Harlem World debuted at #1 on Billboard Pop and R&B charts selling over 270,000 copies. While Harlem World was commercially successful, it was also an album of substance; which as bad as that sounds, commercial success doesn’t always mean the music is good.
While Harlem World is 17 years old, I can’t help but listen to this album and still hear his influences upon current artists, such as Kanye West and Pusha T. Puff Daddy’s influence upon the project is clear as it has a lot of themes and concepts that are similar to B.I.G.’s classic debut album Ready To Die.
Harlem World also seemed to be a showcase for young talented artists. The Lox, DMX, Jay-Z, Lil Kim, Monifah, Black Rob, 112, Billy Lawrence, and Lil’ Cease. It also featured known artists such as Busta Rhymes, 8 Ball and MJG. The production also featured a great panel of producers with Puff Daddy, Stevie J, Jermaine Dupri, and D-Dot just to name a few, and was also the first surface of the legendary production team The Neptunes. All these reasons are why Harlem World has stood the test of time and quickly became a classic hip hop album.
17 years may not seem that long, but consider 17 years ago gas was not even a $1.50. 17 years in mainstream music is a lifetime considering how quick it changes. While I can’t say that this album is a Top 10 candidate in hip-hop, I must say it’s a album that deserves its place in anyone’s hip-hop catalogue.
Edited by: Dana Pellotta (E.I.C.)
