Today Rawkus Records released "Lyricist Lounge Volume" (May 5, 1998)

The Lyricist Lounge was founded in 1991 by hip hop aficionados Danny Castro and Anthony Marshall. It was a series of open mic events hosted in a small studio apartment in the Lower East Side section of New York City. The Lyricist Lounge is a hip hop showcase of rappers, emcees, DJ's, and Graffiti artists.

It has spawned the album Lyricist Lounge, Volume One, Lyricist Lounge 2 and Lyricist Lounge: West Coast, as well as a television show, The Lyricist Lounge Show.

Lyricist Lounge, Volume One is the first installment of Rawkus Records Lyricist Lounge album series, based on the Lyricist Lounge showcases in New York City. The double-disc compilation features De La Soul, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Tash of Tha Alkaholiks, Punch & Words, O.C., Ras Kass, Black Thought, Common, Pharoahe Monch, Saul Williams, Kool Keith, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek, Bahamadia, Rah Digga, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Jurassic 5, KRS-One, Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine, Last Emperor and Company Flow.