The Source
The Source is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or semiannually. It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter[1] in 1988 by David Mays.[2]
This article is about the hip hop magazine. For the photography magazine, see Source (photography magazine). For other uses, see The Source (disambiguation).Editor
Jonathan Shecter/Adario Strange/Selwyn Seyfu Hinds/Kim Osorio
1–2 per year
175K
1988
The NorthStar Group
United States
New York City, New York, U.S.
English
In 1999 the Los Angeles Times reported that, based on data from Alliance for Audited Media, formerly known as Audit Bureau of Circulations (North America), the print edition of The Source was "the No. 1-selling music magazine on newsstands in America."[3] By 2009, they were among those losing readership and advertising income.[4]
The 1995 Source Awards were noted for their effect on the hip-hop landscape, particularly in escalating tension between the East and West Coast hip-hop communities, which likely precipitated the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.
The Record Report is a section in the publication in which the magazine's staff rates hip-hop albums. Ratings range from one to five mics, paralleling a typical five-star rating scale. An album that is rated at four-and-a-half or five mics is considered by The Source to be a superior hip hop album.[8] Over the first ten years or so, the heralded five-mic rating only applied to albums that were universally lauded hip hop albums.[9] A total of 45 albums have been awarded five mics; a complete, chronological list is below.[10]
Albums that originally received five mics:[8]
Albums that were not rated upon their releases, but were later rated five mics in 2002:[8]
Albums that originally received 4.5 mics, and were later re-rated to five:[8]
Albums that originally received four mics, and were later re-rated to five:[8]