On Nov. 4, 1997, three major Hip-Hop albums dropped — Three 6 Mafia's classic Chapter 2: World Domination, Jay-Z's In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, and Rakim's solo debut The 18th Letter. All three albums were vastly different in terms of scope and delivery, which is what made the 90s such a beloved time in Hip-Hip, diversity of thought, perspectives, and sound.

For Rakim, it was his first time out on a solo run, and of course, the outing was highly anticipated. It came after a five-year hiatus following the release of 1992's Don't Sweat the Technique alongside Eric B. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 and featured production from Hip-Hop's elite, including Pete Rock, Clark Kent, and DJ Premier among others.

In 1997, Jay-Z was riding high off the critical success of his classic debut, 1996's Reasonable Doubt, and with Vol. 1, he debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200. The album was largely shaped by the sudden, massive loss of Biggie just months prior.

"A lot of different songs were influenced by what was happening," he told MTV News back in 1998. "‘City Is Mine,’ the first verse, you could just hear it. I think two hooks on there came from songs that he (The Notorious B.I.G.) had previously recorded...The album to me — this album wasn’t fun to me like Reasonable Doubt, because it was like, it seemed really slow to me, and I didn’t set out to do that, just looking back now and listening to it now."

Even still, the album spawned a number of Jay non-single classics including "Real Niggas" with Too Short and "Imaginary Players."

For Three 6 Mafia, 1997 was a coming-out year. For years, the crew (Infamous, Juicy, and Paul to include Crunchy Black, Koopsta Knicca, and Gangsta Boo) had dominated on the streets of Memphis, one of the underground crews that shaped the city's sound that'd prove to be wildly influential, even if it struggled to be acknowledged for its influence. Chapter 2: World Domination, the group's third album, was its most widely distributed and included previous tracks that became massive hits, including "Late Nite Tip," "N 2 Deep," Body Parts" and of course, "Tear Da Club Up '97".

"I wrote that song at McDonalds eating a Quarter Pounder with mayonnaise on it,” Paul told Vice back in 2019.

A breakout album for the crew, it still stands as a southern classic.