23 Rappers And Producers On The Music That Changed Their Lives

Hip-hop has come a long way since its beginnings 40 years ago, and its influence has spread out on a global level. Now, another generation of rappers and producers is emerging to take hip-hop further into the next decade, and they've taken the influences of those that walked in the same shoes in the past 20 years and modernized it for what's coming next. But for each of these artists, there has been one song or album that changed their lives and made them want to have a career in hip-hop. With that in mind, XXL asked 23 rappers and producers to pinpoint the one song or album that changed their lives in a way that pushed them to think differently, to relate to their music or to enter hip-hop at all in the first place. —XXL Staff