14 Rappers Name the First Hip-Hop Album They Bought

As a kid, music comes from everywhere: the radio, your parents, the neighborhood, other kids at school. But every true music head remembers that first time when a song clicked, when an artist became more than just the next song on the station, when an album meant more than just its packaging. For many, that transition coincides with the first album they buy themselves, saving up whatever pocket money is around and heading down to the record shop (remember those?) to pick up the latest album by a favorite artist.

Rappers, of course, are no different; hip-hop has at this point been around for over 40 years, long enough for generations of aspiring MCs and producers to grow up on the ever-evolving genre. And anyone who grows up to be an artist will remember that first moment of buying an album with their own, hard-earned cash. To that point, XXL asked 14 rappers of all age groups and demographics to think back to the first hip-hop album they ever bought. —XXL Staff