Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Houston-born record producer DJ Premier and Boston, Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based in Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2003, and are considered one of the best MC-and-producer duos in hip hop history. They are recognized for being one of the pioneers of jazz rap. Some of their top hits include "Mass Appeal", "Take It Personal", "Moment of Truth", "Full Clip" and "Above The Clouds".
LaRon Louis James, better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, also known as Dipset. He is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 singles, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers 4 and 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively, as well as Chris Brown's 2005 triple-platinum single, "Run It!", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks.
Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and record executive. He is an original member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats alongside longtime friend and fellow Harlem native Cam'ron.
The Diplomats is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jimmy Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew up together in Harlem. In 1999, fellow Harlem-based rapper Juelz Santana joined the group.
Bravehearts are an East Coast hip hop group from New York, New York. The group's roster originally included Jungle, Wiz, and Horse. Horse left the group in 2002, and Jungle and Wiz carried on as a duo. Wiz was in turn replaced by Nashawn, Nas's cousin.
Ezekiel Giles, better known by his stage name Freekey Zekey, is an American rapper and music executive best known as a founding member of The Diplomats, a group he helped form in Harlem in 1997 alongside his childhood friend Jim Jones and cousin Cam'ron. Freekey also serves as the owner/CEO of 730 Dips Records.
Diplomat Records is an American hip hop record label co-founded by Harlem rappers Jim Jones and Cam'ron.
The discography of Jim Jones, an American rapper, consists of seven studio albums, five collaborative albums, three compilation albums, two extended plays (EPs), nineteen mixtapes and 47 singles. Jones is perhaps best known for being a member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, with whom he recorded several mixtapes with before releasing their debut album Diplomatic Immunity, in 2003. In August 2004, Jones released his solo debut album On My Way to Church, under Diplomat Records and E1 Music. The album was preceded by the release of the singles "Certified Gangstas" and "Crunk Muzik", the latter of which features his Dipset-cohorts Juelz Santana and Cam'ron, and also supported the release of Dipset's second album Diplomatic Immunity 2 (2004).
Silverback Gorilla is the third studio album by American rapper Sheek Louch. The album was released on March 18, 2008, by Koch Records and D-Block Records. The album's first single is "Good Love", produced by Red Spyda and featuring samples of Betty Wright's "Tonight Is The Night" and "Pure Love" songs. The album features guest appearances from Jadakiss, Styles P, Bun B, DJ Unk, Jim Jones, The Game, Fat Joe, Hell Rell and Bully. The album debuted at number 41 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 17,818 copies in its first week.
Harlem's American Gangster is the sixth mixtape by American hip hop rapper Jim Jones released to digital retailers on February 19, 2008 under Koch Records. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number one on the Top Rap Albums chart. The Koch CD was remixed and remastered from a limited edition release that came out the previous November. There was also a change in the track list, with some tracks added and others omitted. The mixtape is hosted by Dame Dash and features the entire ByrdGang crew. "Love Me No More" was released as a single but didn't reach any major Billboard charts.
"Pop Champagne" is a song by American hip hop recording artists Ron Browz and Jim Jones, officially released as a single on September 4, 2008 by Columbia and Universal Motown Records. The song features a guest appearance from fellow American rapper and Jones' Dipset cohort Juelz Santana. The song serves as the lead single from Jones' fourth studio album Pray IV Reign (2009). The song proved to be Jones' second most successful single to date, behind his 2006 hit "We Fly High".
Pray IV Reign is the fourth studio album by American hip hop rapper Jim Jones, released on March 24, 2009, under E1, Columbia and Sony Music Entertainment. The album, his first not to be released under Diplomat Records, also serves as his first under a major record label. The album includes production from Ron Browz, Chink Santana, No I.D., Ryan Leslie, Michael Crawford, Triple-A and Young Seph. Jones' fourth album also features guest appearances from Ron Browz, Juelz Santana, NOE, Mel Matrix, Rell, Ludacris, Ryan Leslie, Chink Santana, Bree-Beauty, Starr, Rowana and Oshy.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2009.
SkullGang is an American hip hop collective formed in 2007, by Harlem rapper Juelz Santana. The group is best known for their projects Juelz Santana Presents Skull Gang: Takeover (2008) and Jim Jones & Skull Gang Present a Tribute to Bad Santa (2008). Skull Gang released their debut album, entitled Skull Gang, on May 5, 2009. The group as a whole is signed to Skull Gang Entertainment and E1 Entertainment. The "skull" in Skull Gang is an acronym which stands for "Street Kids United by Loyalty & Loot".
M.O.B.: The Album is the debut album by hip hop group ByrdGang. The album was released digitally on June 17, 2008, and the physical copy was in stores July 1, 2008.
Charly Wingate, better known by his stage name Max B, is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his solo Public Domain and Million Dollar Baby series of mixtapes, and introducing the term "wavy" as a slang in popular lexicon.
Skull Gang Entertainment is a hip-hop label formed by Skull Gang member Juelz Santana in 2008. With his usual crew on hold due to infighting and his solo career tied up in contract disputes, Dipset member Juelz Santana formed his own group, Skull Gang, in 2008. Featuring Santana along with Richmond Rab, Starr, Unkasa, John Depp, Deniro, and Riq Rose, the crew first appeared on the mixtape Takeover: The New Movement to Move With released in 2008. A year later, many of the tracks ended up on the group's self-titled debut album released by the E-1 label. In 2011 Juelz Santana will release his second studio album in a joint venture 50/50 with Def Jam on June 15
The MNRK Music Group discography has produced more Billboard hits than any other independent record label. MNRK Music Group was known as Koch Records from its founding in 1987 until 2009 and eOne Music from 2009 to 2021. In its early years, the record label signed many country, classical and rock acts, including artists Ringo Starr, Joan Baez, Chris Brubeck and Bob James. In the early 2000s, the label began to sign more hip hop acts and made deals with hip hop labels, releasing records by 2Pac, Tha Dogg Pound, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger and Gangsta Advisory. MNRK Music has had over 100 albums chart on the Billboard Independent chart and is the largest independently owned record label in the United States.
Michael Elliot Epps is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He played Day-Day Jones in Next Friday and its sequel, Friday After Next, and also appeared in The Hangover and The Hangover Part III as "Black Doug". He was the voice of main character Boog in Open Season 2, replacing Martin Lawrence, with whom he starred in the comedy Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, playing "Reggie", cousin of Roscoe. He played Lloyd Jefferson "L.J." Wade in the films Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). He has had starring roles in the sitcoms Uncle Buck and The Upshaws.
Michael Crawford, better known as Magnedo7, is an American music producer from North Carolina. He has worked with many artists including Jim Jones, Obie Trice, 50 Cent, Eminem and Ice Cube. Michael's first break in the music industry came with the production "Blow the Bank," on Jim Jones' album Pray IV Reign. Crawford holds a bachelor's degree in arts and science from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
