Photo: WENN
Seminal hip hop albums by the likes of Eminem, 50 Cent, Kanye West, NWA and Public Enemy are set to be re-issued this Autumn as part of a new campaign by Universal Music.
The 'Respect The Classics' campaign aims to "spotlight iconic, genre-defining albums" from the back catalogue of Def Jam, Interscope, Priority and Virgin Records labels.
The campaign has already seen re-releases from NWA, Ice Cube and more, with DMX records due for re-issue in October before the 10-year anniversary of 50 Cent's Het Rich Or Die Tryin' will be celebrated with the release of a platinum vinyl version on 12 November.
Eminem's The Real Slim Shady, Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak, 2Pac's Greatest Hits, In Search Of by NERD and Lil Wayne's Tha Carter are also due for re-release in the coming months, alongside the seminal classics of It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy and Bacdafucup by Onyx.
For more information and full release details, visit here.
Watch the video for 'Bring The Noise' by Public Enemy below:
Public Enemy recently caused controversy, when in an interview with Gigwise, Flavor Flav and Chuck D spoke to us about how today's giants 'weren't real hip hop'.
"I think the element of hip hop left when rap music started being created on a slow tempo," said Flavor Flav. "It's just stayed there for years. Right now, a lot of rap music today is being created at very low tempos. There's no more of that 'wave your hands in the air like you just don't care' - you know, something that makes you wanna get out there and breakdance."
He continued: "Rap music has lost that element right now, mainly over in America. There's not to many great hip hop records out there, but there are some great rap records. L'il Wayne is making some great rap records, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Ludacris, Jay Z, Kendrick Lamarr, 50 Cent, Snoop - everybody is making great rap records, but it's not hip hop.
Chuck D added: "If you love hip hop, ask yourself why. We've done it around the world for 26 years in 90 countries and we have our reasons - but we think it should be along the lines of Bob Marley, Bob Dylan and Bobby Womack. It should be able to cover all aspects.
"When it's just about 'I got money and you don't have money', that's just taking advantage of the naivety of people."
Below: Eminem live in Paris
