This Day in Hip-Hop and R&B History: March 13

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1961: The Temptations, consisting of Otis Williams, Elbridge Bryant, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks, and Paul Williams, auditioned for Motown Records as The Elgins. They were signed two months later and had to change their name due to an existing group called The Elgins.
• 1990: Kid 'n Play released their second album, Funhouse. Certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, the album peaked at No. 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
• 1992: A Tribe Called Quest released "Scenario" as the third single from their second album, The Low End Theory. The song peaked at No. 6 on the Hot Rap Songs chart.
• 2001: Outkast released their hit single "So Fresh, So Clean" from their fourth studio album, Stankonia. The song peaked at No. 10 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs weekly charts.
• 2004: Following the release of his sixth studio album, Red Gone Wild: Thee Album, Redman released a promotional mixtape titled III At Will Mixtape Volume 1.
• 2007: Black Milk dropped his second solo album, Popular Demand. The songs in the album featured samples from popular hits such as "Tracks of My Tears" by Aretha Franklin and "Is There A Place (In His Heart For Me)" by The Supremes.
• 2008: Lil Wayne dropped the hit single "Lollipop" from his sixth studio album, Tha Carter III. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
• 2014: Rick Ross released "Thug Cry" from his sixth studio album, Mastermind. The song received Gold certification for over 500,000 sales and digital streams.
• 2020: Lil Uzi Vert released his reissue studio album, Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World 2.

Cultural Milestones

• 1972: Lonnie Rashid Lynn, better known by his stage name, Common, was born. He'd go on to become a household name, winning a Grammy in 2003 for Best R&B Song for the song "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" with Erykah Badu.
• 1993: The rap-reggae fusion "Informer" by Canadian rapper Snow reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, starting a seven-week run atop the charts.
• 1985: Vado was born in New York City. He was part of the East Coast hip-hop duo U.N. and debuted as a solo artist in 2013 by signing with DJ Khaled's We the Best Music Group.
• 1992: Kamaiyah was born in Oakland, California. She released her debut mixtape, A Good Night in the Ghetto, in 2016 and launched her own label, GRND.WRK, in 2020.
• 1998: Jack Harlow, best known for his hit single "Whats Poppin," was born.
• 2010: Tinie Tempah's hit debut single "Pass Out" reached the top spot on the UK Singles and the UK Hip-Hop/R&B charts.
• 2024: NSYNC performed together for the first time since 2013 at Justin Timberlake's pre-album launch concert. During the concert, the band released a new song titled "Paradise."
• 2025: Lil Nas X released his fourth single from his still unreleased second studio album, Dreamboy, called "Right There!", via Columbia Records. A visualizer was posted on his YouTube channel on the same day the digital download was available.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 2008: Michael Jackson refinanced his Neverland Ranch to save it from a public auction.
• 2014: A drunk driver killed two people and injured 23 others by crashing his car through barricades erected for the South by Southwest Festival. Two more people died in the hospital while undergoing treatment.