A Tribe Called Quest & Wu-Tang Clan Albums Archived In Library Of Congress
Every year, the Library Of Congress selects a few recording to be archived in the National Recording Registry. Those recordings are chosen because they “are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.” Over the years, the Library Of Congress has archived a few classic rap albums, including De La Soul’s 3 Feet High And Rising, Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton, Run-DMC’s Raising Hell, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint, Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, and Nas’ Illmatic. Today, the Library Of Congress has announced that it’s added two more rap masterpieces to its archive.
As Pitchfork reports, a Tribe Called Quest’s 1991 sophomore LP The Low End Theory and the Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) are now part of the National Recording Registry. Future historians will have to contend with the prospect of laying your nuts on the dresser, just your nuts, and banging them shits with a spiked fucking bat. Along with those two albums, the National Registry is also adding a strange, fascinating group of records.
The National Recording Registry is also preserving two big pop albums, Alicia Keys’ Songs In A Minor, Bonnie Raitt’s Nick Of Time. It’s also adding classic jazz albums like Duke Ellington’s Ellington At Newport and Max Roach’s We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite, along with the Shirelles’ Tonight’s The Night, Linda Ronstadt’s Canciones De Mi Padre, the self-titled Buena Vista Social Club album, and Terry Riley’s experimental opus In C. Singles have also been chosen for the Registry: James P. Johnson’s “Harlem Strut,” Ernest Tubb’s “Walking The Floor Over You,” the Soul Stirrers’ “Jesus Give Me Water,” Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song,” Andy Williams’ “Moon River,” the Disneyland Boys Choir’s “It’s A Small World,” the Four Tops’ “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” The Registry is also preserving non-musical recordings like Franklin Roosevelt’s complete presidential speeches, Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, WNYC broadcasts from 9/11, and Marc Maron’s WTF interview with Robin Williams. You can read more about those selections here.