On this present day in Hip-Hop Historical past, New York-based supergroup The Agency launched the only real studio album, The Album. As a collaborative effort made by Nas, Aftermath label head Dr. Dre, and advertising genius Steve Stoute, The Album was designed to spice up the business and mainstream attraction of 4 of New York’s most prolific emcees: Nas, Cunning Brown, AZ, and Cormega (sadly, Cormega and the remainder of these concerned by no means noticed eye-to-eye, and he was swiftly changed by Queensbridge Nature previous to ending The Album).
Across the time of the group’s formation, its future members had been at a pivotal second of their careers. Nas, who had lately launched his prolific debut Illmatic, was not receiving his due respect as one of many biggest lively rappers of the time. After all, he was in nice standing with the precise rap group (he was the primary non-Wu Tang member to seem on a Wu-Tang monitor), his fame among the many public was disproportional. This disparity compelled Nas to rent Stoute as his supervisor to alter his business strategy.
Mockingly, this was the second collaborative venture of East Coast and West Coast artists concerned within the coastal beef of that period. The primary was the late Tupac Shakur and the Boot Camp Clik’s 1996 One Nation venture.
Concurrently, Cunning Brown, AZ, and Cormega had been all experiencing a significant rise in success. Cunning Brown’s work from 1995 with Jay-Z’s hit “Ain’t No Nig*a” in 1996 led to her turning into probably the most coveted feminine emcees in New York. Her recognition within the trade led to a bidding warfare for her contract, which Def Jam Recordings gained. AZ was coming off the success of his 1995 debut LP Doe or Die and Cormega was simply launched from serving a bid in jail. It will appear that the celebs had aligned so this venture might happen.
The quartet’s first look on a single was Nas’s “Affirmative Motion” on his sophomore LP, It Was Written. The group’s chemistry and the single’s vital and business success made coming collectively as a supergroup a no brainer for all concerned.
Each the group’s title and the title of the album are an illustration of the 1991 John Grisham legal-thriller novel The Agency.
Commercially, the endeavor was a mass success. The Album debuted at #1 on each the Billboard 200 chart and the High R&B/Hip Hop chart. It offered 147,000 copies in its first week and went on to promote 925,000 in the US. The report additionally had worldwide success, charting in Canada (the place it offered 50,000 items), France, and the Netherlands.
