2002 in hip hop music

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2002.

List of years in hip hop music
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Events

April

• On April 25, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes died in Honduras

May

• On May 26, The Eminem Show released

June

• On June 15, Big Mello died.

October

• On October 30, Jam Master Jay died in New York City

Released albums

Release Date^[1]	Artist	Album	Label
January 1	Boosie Badazz	For My Thugz	Trill Entertainment
January 8	Deepspace5	The Night We Called It a Day	UpRok
January 22	KRS-One	Spiritual Minded	Koch Records
	X-Raided	Deadly Game	JLM Entertainment
January 29	C-Bo	Life as a Rider	West Coast Mafia Records, Warlock Records
	State Property	State Property Soundtrack	Roc-A-Fella Records, Def Jam Recordings
February 5	Aesop Rock	Daylight	Definitive Jux
February 12	Heather B.	Eternal Affairs	Sai Records
PSD	All I Want	Gateway Entertainment
February 24	Souljahz	The Fault Is History	World Entertainment, LLC.
February 25	Deep Puddle Dynamics/Anticon	We Ain't Fessin' (Double Quotes)	Anticon
February 26	The High & Mighty	Air Force 1	Eastern Conference Records
	The X-Ecutioners	Built From Scratch	Loud Records, Columbia Records
February 26	Aim	Hinterland	Grand Central Records
March 12	N.E.R.D.	In Search Of... [Second Version]	Virgin Records, EMI
	New Breed	Stop the Music	UpRok, EMI CMG
March 19	R. Kelly & Jay-Z	The Best of Both Worlds	Roc-A-Fella Records, Def Jam Recordings, Jive Records, Rockland Records
	Rasheeda	A Ghetto Dream	D-Lo Entertainment
	Edan	Primitive Plus	Lewis Recordings
March 26	Eazy-E	Impact of a Legend	Ruthless Records, Epic Records
	k-os	Exit	Astralwerks
	Non Phixion	The Future Is Now	Uncle Howie Records
	Ying Yang Twins	Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins	Koch Records
April 2	J-Live	All of the Above	Coup D'État
April 5	Pezet/Noon	Muzyka Klasyczna	T1-Teraz
April 8	O.S.T.R.	30 minut z życia	Asfalt Records
April 9	Twiztid	Mirror Mirror	Psychopathic Records
April 16	Sage Francis	Personal Journals	Anticon
April 23	Cee-Lo	Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections	Arista Records
April 26	50 Cent	Guess Who's Back?	Full Clip Records
April 30	Blackalicious	Blazing Arrow	MCA Records
	Count Bass D	Dwight Spitz	High Times
May 7	Kastro & E.D.I.	Blood Brothers	Outlaw Recordz
	Naughty by Nature	IIcons	TVT Records
May 14	Cam'ron	Come Home with Me	Roc-A-Fella Records, Diplomat Records, Def Jam Recordings
	El-P	Fantastic Damage	Definitive Jux
May 18	Noah23	Quicksand	Plague Language^[2]
May 21	Big Syke	Street Commando	Riviera Records
	Camp Lo	Let's Do It Again	Dymond Crook Records
May 26	Eminem	The Eminem Show	Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, Interscope Records
May 28	Lil' Keke	Birds Fly South	Averice
June 4	People Under the Stairs	O.S.T.	Om Records
June 11	Atmosphere	God Loves Ugly	Rhymesayers Entertainment, Fat Beats Records
	AZ	Aziatic	Motown
	Spice 1	Spiceberg Slim	Hard Tyme Records, Riviera Records
June 14	1200 Techniques	Choose One	Rubber Records, Sony Records
June 18	Wyclef Jean	Masquerade	Columbia Records
June 22	Baracuda72	Tetragammoth	Plague Language^[3]
June 24	O.S.T.R.	Tabasko	Asfalt Records^[4]
June 25	Cormega	The True Meaning	Legal Hustle Entertainment
	N.O.R.E.	God's Favorite	Def Jam Recordings
	Nelly	Nellyville	Universal Records
	Will Smith	Born to Reign	Columbia Records
	Mr. Lif	Emergency Rations	Definitive Jux
July 2	Eyedea	The Many Faces of Oliver Hart or How Eye One the Write Too Think	Rhymesayers Entertainment
	X-Raided	City of Kings	Out of Bounds Records
July 8	Roots Manuva	Dub Come Save Me	Big Dada
July 9	Onyx	Bacdafucup Part II	Koch Records
	Styles P	A Gangster and a Gentleman	Ruff Ryders, Interscope Records
July 16	Juicy J	Chronicles of the Juice Man	Hypnotize Minds, North North Records
	KJ-52	Collaborations	BEC Recordings
July 23	Jean Grae	Attack of the Attacking Things	Third Earth Music
	The Beatnuts	The Originators	Landspeed
	Jumpsteady	The Chaos Theory	Psychopathic Records
	Lil Wayne	500 Degreez	Cash Money Records
	Public Enemy	Revolverlution	Koch Records
July 30	Richie Rich	Nixon Pryor Roundtree	Ten-Six Records
	Knoc-Turn'al	L.A. Confidential presents: Knoc-Turn'al	Elektra Records
August 6	Cage	Movies for the Blind	Eastern Conference Records
	Project Pat	Layin' da Smack Down	Loud Records
	Scarface	The Fix	Def Jam South
	Big Mello	The Gift	KMJ Records
August 13	Do or Die	Back 2 the Game	Rap-A-Lot Records, Virgin Records
	Luniz	Silver & Black	Rap-A-Lot Records, Virgin Records, Asylum Records
	Slum Village	Trinity (Past, Present and Future)	Capitol Records
August 20	Angie Martinez	Animal House	Elektra Records
	Clipse	Lord Willin'	Star Trak Entertainment, Jive Records
	DJ Jazzy Jeff	The Magnificent	BBE Records
	Tray Deee	The General's List	Empire Music Werks
August 27	Devin the Dude	Just Tryin' ta Live	Rap-a-Lot Records
	Eve	Eve-Olution	Ruff Ryders Entertainment, Interscope Records
	GRITS	The Art of Translation	Gotee Records
	KRS-One	The Mix Tape	Koch Records
	Lil Flip	Undaground Legend	Sucka Free, Loud Records, Columbia Records
	Promatic	Promatic	Koch Records
	Trina	Diamond Princess	Slip-n-Slide Records, Atlantic Records
September 9	Outlandish	Bread & Barrels of Water	RCA Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment
	Jehst	The Return of the Drifter	Low Life Records
September 10	Shade Sheist	Informal Introduction	MCA Records
September 16	Boom Bip	Seed to Sun	Lex Records
September 17	Mr. Lif	I Phantom	Definitive Jux
September 23	DJ Vadim	U.S.S.R. The Art of Listening	Ninja Tune
September 24	54th Platoon	All or Nothin'	FUBU Records
	Nas	The Lost Tapes	Ill Will Records, Columbia Records
	Tech N9ne	Absolute Power	Strange Music
September 25	Paktofonika	Archiwum kinematografii	Gigant Records
October 1	Xzibit	Man vs. Machine	Open Bar Entertainment, Loud Records, Columbia Records
	7L & Esoteric	Warning: Dangerous Exclusives	Brick Records
October 7	K-Gee	Bounce to This	Instant Karma
October 8	Boot Camp Clik	The Chosen Few	Duck Down Music
	Jurassic 5	Power in Numbers	Interscope Records
	Krumb Snatcha	Respect All Fear None	D&D Records
	Large Professor	1st Class	Matador Records
	Tela	Double Dose	Rap-a-Lot Records
	UTP	The Compilation	Orpheus Records
	7L & Esoteric	Dangerous Connection	Brick Records
October 10	Young Buck	Born to Be a Thug	UTP Records, Thug Entertainment
October 15	Coolio	El Cool Magnifico	Riviera Records
	Da Heabussaz (Three 6 Mafia & Fiend)	Dat's How It Happen to'M	Hypnotize Minds, Fiend Entertainment
	LL Cool J	10	Def Jam Recordings
	Supastition	7 Years of Bad Luck	Freshchest Records
October 21	Bushido & Fler	Carlo Cokxxx Nutten	Aggro Berlin
October 22	Big Syke	Big Syke	RideOnUm Records, Rap-A-Lot Records
	Choppa	Choppa Style	Take Fo' Records
	Jay Tee	High Caliber	40 Ounce Records
	Jel	10 Seconds	Mush Records
	The Streets	Original Pirate Material	Locked On Records, 679 Recordings
	Field Mob	From tha Roota to tha Toota	MCA Records
October 28	WWO	We własnej osobie	Prosto^[5]
October 29	Bone Thugs-n-Harmony	Thug World Order	Ruthless Records
	Jungle Brothers	All That We Do	Jungle Brothers Records
	Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz	Kings of Crunk	BME Recordings, TVT Records
	Penny	The Clockforth Movement	Plague Language^[6]
	Various Artists	Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture 8 Mile	Shady Records, Interscope Records
November 5	Insane Clown Posse	The Wraith: Shangri-La	Psychopathic Records
	Soul-Junk	1957
November 9	Sev Statik	Speak Life	UpRock, EMI CMG
November 12	Indo G	Contact	Blackhouse Entertainment
	JAY-Z	The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse	Roc-A-Fella Records, Def Jam Recordings
	Fat Joe	Loyalty	Terror Squad, Atlantic
	Missy Elliott	Under Construction	The Goldmind Inc., Elektra Records
	Swollen Members	Monsters in the Closet	Battle Axe Records
	WC	Ghetto Heisman	Def Jam Recordings
November 19	C-Bo	Desert Eagle	Warlock Records
	Canibus	Mic Club: The Curriculum	Mic Club Music
	Ja Rule	The Last Temptation	Murder Inc Records, Def Jam Recordings
	Talib Kweli	Quality	Rawkus Records, MCA Records
November 22	Fettes Brot	Amnesie	'Yo Mama's Recording
November 26	2Pac	Better Dayz	Amaru Entertainment, Death Row Records
	Birdman	Birdman	Cash Money Records
	Busta Rhymes	It Ain't Safe No More...	Flipmode Records, J Records
	Royce da 5'9"	Rock City	Columbia Records, E1 Music, Game Recordings
	Snoop Dogg	Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$	Doggystyle Records, Priority Records, Capitol Records
	The Roots	Phrenology	Geffen Records, MCA Records
	Will Smith	Greatest Hits	Columbia Records
	Kool G Rap	The Giancana Story	Koch Records
	Erick Sermon	React	J Records
	Nighthawks (Cage & Camu Tao)	Nighthawks	Eastern Conference Records
December 10	Common	Electric Circus	MCA Records
	Felt	Felt: A Tribute to Christina Ricci	Rhymesayers Entertainment
	Proof	Electric Cool-Aid: Acid Testing	Iron Fist Records
	504 Boyz	Ballers	The New No Limit, Universal Records
	GZA	Legend of the Liquid Sword	MCA Records, Universal Records
December 13	Nas	God's Son	Ill Will Records, Columbia Records
December 17	Indo G	Christmas N' Memphis	Big Face
	Lil' Romeo	Game Time	The New No Limit, Universal Records

Highest-charting singles

Hip hop singles from any year which charted in the 2002 Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100^[7]

Song	Artist	Project	Peak position
"Lose Yourself"	Eminem	8 Mile	1
"Dilemma"	Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland	Nellyville
"Hot In Herre"	Nelly
"Without Me"	Eminem	The Eminem Show	2
"What's Luv?"	Fat Joe featuring Ashanti	Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.)
"Hey Ma"	Cam'ron featuring Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey & Toya	Come Home with Me	3
"Cleanin' Out My Closet"	Eminem	The Eminem Show	4
"03' Bonnie & Clyde"	Jay-Z featuring Beyonce	The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse
"Luv U Better"	LL Cool J	10
"Oh Boy"	Cam'ron featuring Juelz Santana	Come Home with Me
"Nothin'"	N.O.R.E.	God's Favorite	10
"Pass the Courvoisier, Part II"	Busta Rhymes featuring Puff Daddy & Pharrell Williams	Genesis	11
"We Thuggin'"	Fat Joe featuring R. Kelly	Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.)	15
"The Whole World"	OutKast featuring Killer Mike	Big Boi and Dre Present... OutKast	19
"Thugz Mansion"	2Pac	Better Dayz
"When the Last Time"	Clipse	Lord Willin'
"Trade It All"	Fabolous featuring Jagged Edge	Ghetto Fabolous	20
"Break Ya Neck"	Busta Rhymes	Genesis	26
"Grindin'"	Clipse	Lord Willin'	30
"Young'n (Holla Back)"	Fabolous	Ghetto Fabolous	32
"Welcome to Atlanta"	Jermaine Dupri featuring Ludacris	Instructions	35
"React"	Erick Sermon featuring Redman	React	36

Highest first-week sales

List of top ten albums with the highest first-week

Number	Album	Artist	1st-week sales	1st-week position
1	The Eminem Show	Eminem	1,322,000	1
2	Nellyville	Nelly	714,000	1
3	8 Mile OST	Various Artists	702,000	1
4	The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse	Jay-Z	545,000	1
5	Better Dayz	2Pac	366,000	5
6	Under Construction	Missy Elliott	259,000	3
7	The Last Temptation	Ja Rule	237,000	4
8	God's Son	Nas	176,000	12
9	Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss	Snoop Dogg	174,000	12
10	Man vs. Machine	Xzibit	156,000	3

All critically reviewed albums ranked (Metacritic)

Number	Artist	Album	Average score	Number of reviews	Reference
1	The Streets	Original Pirate Material	90	25 reviews	^[8]
2	The Roots	Phrenology	87	23 reviews	^[9]
3	N.E.R.D.	In Search of...	83	20 reviews	^[10]
4	Missy Elliott	Under Construction	81	19 reviews	^[11]
5	Nas	God's Son	81	18 reviews	^[12]
6	Mr. Lif	I Phantom	81	12 reviews	^[13]
7	Common	Electric Circus	80	22 reviews	^[14]
8	Talib Kweli	Quality	79	19 reviews	^[15]
9	Jurassic 5	Power in Numbers	76	20 reviews	^[16]
10	Snoop Dogg	Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss	76	14 reviews	^[17]
11	Atmosphere	God Loves Ugly	76	9 reviews	^[18]
12	Eminem	The Eminem Show	75	20 reviews	^[19]
13	DJ Jazzy Jeff	The Magnificent	75	11 reviews	^[20]
14	Nelly	Nellyville	70	15 reviews	^[21]
15	Eve	Eve-Olution	68	12 reviews	^[22]
16	Public Enemy	Revolverlution	65	17 reviews	^[23]
17	Busta Rhymes	It Ain't Safe No More...	65	8 reviews	^[24]
18	Jay-Z	The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse	64	19 reviews	^[25]
19	The X-Ecutioners	Built from Scratch	62	11 reviews	^[26]
20	LL Cool J	10	60	8 reviews	^[27]
21	Wyclef Jean	Masquerade	60	8 reviews	^[28]
22	Slum Village	Trinity (Past, Present and Future)	59	12 reviews	^[29]
23	Xzibit	Man vs. Machine	59	9 reviews	^[30]
24	Ja Rule	The Last Temptation	57	9 reviews	^[31]

See also

• Previous article: 2001 in hip hop music
• Next article: 2003 in hip hop music

References

1. "The Top 100 Hip-Hop Albums of 2002".
2. "Quicksand by Noah23" – via music.apple.com.
3. "Baracuda72 Tetragammoth | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca.
4. "Tabasko by O.S.T.R." – via music.apple.com.
5. We Własnej Osobie by W Wyjątkowych Okolicznościach on Apple Music
6. . Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
7. "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
8. "Original Pirate Material by The Streets" – via www.metacritic.com.
9. "Phrenology by The Roots" – via www.metacritic.com.
10. "Critic Reviews for In Search Of... by N.E.R.D." Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
11. "Under Construction by Missy Elliott" – via www.metacritic.com.
12. "God's Son by Nas" – via www.metacritic.com.
13. "I Phantom by Mr. Lif" – via www.metacritic.com.
14. "Electric Circus by Common" – via www.metacritic.com.
15. "Quality by Talib Kweli" – via www.metacritic.com.
16. "Power In Numbers by Jurassic 5" – via www.metacritic.com.
17. "Paid Tha Cost To Be Da Boss by Snoop Dogg" – via www.metacritic.com.
18. "God Loves Ugly by Atmosphere" – via www.metacritic.com.
19. "Critic Reviews for The Eminem Show by Eminem". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
20. "Critic Reviews for The Magnificent by DJ Jazzy Jeff". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
21. "Critic Reviews for Nellyville by Nelly". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
22. "Critic Reviews for Eve-Olution by Eve". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
23. "Critic Reviews for Revolverlution by Public Enemy". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
24. "Critic Reviews for It Ain't Safe No More... by Busta Rhymes". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
25. "Critic Reviews for The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse by Jay-Z". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
26. "Critic Reviews for Built from Scratch by The X-Ecutioners". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
27. "Critic Reviews for 10 by LL Cool J". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
28. "Critic Reviews for Masquerade by Wyclef Jean". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
29. "Critic Reviews for Trinity by Slum Village". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
30. "Critic Reviews for Man V. Machine by Xzibit". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
31. "Critic Reviews for The Last Temptation by Ja Rule". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 July 2021.