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Eight Million Stories: Hip-Hop In 1993

Faith Newman, Ralph McDaniels and Prince Paul at the Ace Hotel Sept. 25.
Ebru Yildiz for NPR
Faith Newman, Ralph McDaniels and Prince Paul at the Ace Hotel Sept. 25.

All year Morning Edition and NPR Music have been running radio pieces about rap albums released 20 years ago, in 1993. For a special episode of Microphone Check we invited a group of people who were working in hip-hop back then to meet us at the Ace Hotel in New York City and tell stories about that productive and creative year. At the audio link you can hear an edited version of the evening.

Our guests were:

Faith Newman — A&R at Def Jam and then Columbia, who signed Nas.

Ralph McDaniels — host of Video Music Box, music video director and producer.

Prince Paul — producer for De La Soul and the Gravediggaz, member of Handsome Boy Modeling School and solo musician.

Mike Dean — engineer and producer at Rap-A-Lot Records.

Stretch Armstrong — DJ for WKCR's Stretch & Bobbito radio show.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Stretch Armstrong (left) and Prince Paul at the Ace Hotel Sept. 25.
/ Ebru Yildiz for NPR
/
Ebru Yildiz for NPR
Stretch Armstrong (left) and Prince Paul at the Ace Hotel Sept. 25.
Mike Dean at the Ace Hotel Sept. 25.
/ Ebru Yildiz for NPR
/
Ebru Yildiz for NPR
Mike Dean at the Ace Hotel Sept. 25.
Frannie Kelley and Ali Shaheed Muhammad at the Ace Hotel Sept. 25.
/ Ebru Yildiz for NPR
/
Ebru Yildiz for NPR
Frannie Kelley and Ali Shaheed Muhammad at the Ace Hotel Sept. 25.

Frannie Kelley is co-host of the Microphone Check podcast with Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
Ali Shaheed Muhammad

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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