July 2005

Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy released his major-label debut which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, helping define the trap music sound and aesthetic that would dominate hip-hop for years and influencing countless subsequent artists.

Chicago R&B artist R. Kelly began releasing Trapped in the Closet, an episodic hip-hopera musical narrative delivered as a series of music videos and chapters that became a singular and widely discussed work in pop culture.

Chicago R&B artist R. Kelly began releasing Trapped in the Closet, an episodic hip-hopera delivered as a series of music videos and chapters that became a singular and widely discussed work in pop culture.