Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She was first discovered as a teenager and signed to Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2002. That same year, she was featured on Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" and Ja Rule's "Always on Time", both of which were two of the biggest hit songs of 2002. She became the first female artist to occupy the top two positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously with "Foolish" and "What's Luv?" at numbers one and two, respectively.
Monica Denise Arnold is an American singer, rapper and actress. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, she began performing as a child and joined a traveling gospel choir by the age of ten. Monica signed with record producer Dallas Austin through his label Rowdy Records in 1993, and gained prominence following the release of her debut studio album, Miss Thang (1995). Her follow up releases were met with further commercial success; her second, The Boy Is Mine (1998) remains her best-selling album and spawned three Billboard Hot 100-number one singles: "The Boy Is Mine", "The First Night" and "Angel of Mine".
Mya Marie Harrison is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. Classified as a "triple threat entertainer," she was born in Washington D.C. and studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Her career began in television as a dance posse member, performing on BET's Teen Summit. She signed with record executive A. Haqq Islam's University Records, an imprint of Interscope Records to release her eponymous debut studio album (1998), which lyrically explored romance and coming-of-age scenarios. Met with critical and commercial success, the album was led by her first single, "It's All About Me", which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Her collaborative singles — "Girls Dem Sugar", "Ghetto Supastar ", and "Take Me There" — were also met with commercial success.
Angela Martinez is an American radio personality, podcaster, former rapper, and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice of New York", she was prominently known for her 28-year run at New York City station Hot 97 (WQHT). She left the station in 2014 to join crosstown competitor Power 105.1 (WWPR).
Lava Records is an American record label owned by Jason Flom, in partnership with Universal Music Group.
LeToya Nicole Luckett is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a founding member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. As a member of Destiny's Child, she achieved four US Top 10 hit singles, "No, No, No", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Jumpin', Jumpin'", and "Say My Name", and won two Grammy Awards. In the 2000s, she began her solo career after leaving the group and signing a record deal with Capitol Records. Her solo debut album, LeToya (2006), debuted at number-one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and was certified platinum by the RIAA, that same year.
Faheem Rashad Najm, better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He is known for his use of Auto-Tune pitch correction to create electronic-styled vocal performances in R&B and hip hop performances. He has produced and written material for other artists, and voice acted in film and television. In 2005 he founded the record label Nappy Boy Entertainment.
Case Woodard is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for the 1990s hits "Touch Me, Tease Me", "Happily Ever After" and "The Best Man I Can Be" with Ginuwine, R.L. and Tyrese, as well as the early 2000s hits "Missing You" and "Livin' It Up" with Ja Rule. The latter two earned him two Grammy Award nominations.
Estelle Fanta Swaray is a British singer, rapper and actress. She is known for her eclectic blending of musical genres including R&B, soul, reggae, grime, hip hop, and dance. She has collaborated with prominent American artists including John Legend, Robin Thicke, Rick Ross, Chris Brown, will.i.am, Kanye West, Akon, and Tyler, the Creator.
Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo is an American R&B singer-songwriter and rapper from Los Angeles, California. Aiko embarked on her musical career in 2002, as a backing vocalist and music video performer for the R&B group B2K. She was signed by their record label, The Ultimate Group that same year and was marketed as the "cousin" of B2K member Lil' Fizz to cultivate her own following, although they are not related. Her debut album, slated for a 2003 release through the label with Epic Records, was shelved due to Aiko instead further pursuing her education.
Stargate is a record producing and songwriting team composed of Tor E. Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen, based in Los Angeles, USA. The team's genres include R&B, pop and hip hop. Stargate was established in Trondheim, Norway.
Joshua Elia Williams, known by his stage name J. Williams, is a New Zealand R&B recording artist and professional hip-hop dancer. He made his musical debut in 2008 with "Blow Your Mind" which peaked at number 13 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. In early 2009 his debut album Young Love was released with the single "You Got Me" featuring Scribe. It was certified platinum and became the #1 selling single of 2010 in New Zealand.
Young Love is the debut album by New Zealand R&B singer J. Williams, released on 13 July 2009 by Illegal Musik. It was a success, certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). The album debuted on the New Zealand Albums Chart at number five, and has sold over 8000 copies.
"Everything to Me" is a song by American recording artist Monica. It was written by fellow singer Jazmine Sullivan and co-produced by Missy Elliott and Cainon Lamb for her sixth studio album Still Standing (2010), incorporating a sample of the 1981 recording "Silly" as penned by Fritz Baskett, Clarence McDonald, and June Deniece Williams and performed by Deniece Williams.
"You Got Me" is a single by New Zealand R&B singer J. Williams featuring Scribe, released in February 2010. Young Love features the track. The single went to number one in New Zealand five weeks after its debut, and was certified gold the week after.
"Takes Me Higher" is a single by New Zealand R&B and hip-hop singer J. Williams, released in May 2010. It features pop singer Dane Rumble.
"Deuces" is a song written and performed by American singer Chris Brown featuring fellow American musicians Tyga and Kevin McCall. Produced by McCall, "Deuces" was released digitally on June 25, 2010, as the lead single from Brown's first collaborative effort with Tyga, titled Fan of a Fan (2010). The song is a slow, down-tempo R&B ballad featuring elements from the genres of house and pop music, while the song is lyrically about "breaking it off with a girl after failed attempts to make the relationship work". "Deuces" was later included on Brown's fourth studio album, F.A.M.E. (2011).
"Wonderful" is the second single by New Zealand pop and R&B singer Erakah. It was released by Illegal Musik on 21 September 2009.
Kaleb "K.One" Vitale is a New Zealand rapper, currently signed to Illegal Musik. The most successful song of his career is featuring with J. Williams on "Night of Your Life" which reached number 4 on the RIANZ charts and received gold certification in 2010.
Charles Kent Wilson, also known as Uncle Charlie, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and the former lead vocalist of The Gap Band. As a solo artist Wilson has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards and 11 NAACP Image Awards, received a 2009 Soul Train Icon Award, and was a recipient of a BMI Icon Award in 2005. In 2009 and 2020, he was named Billboard magazine's No. 1 Adult R&B Artist, and his song "There Goes My Baby" was named the No. 1 Urban Adult Song for 2009 in Billboard.
