Crunk is a subgenre of southern hip hop that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the early to mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more nightclub-oriented subgenres. Distinguishing itself with other Southern hip hop subgenres, crunk is marked and characterized by its energetic accelerated musical tempo, club appeal, recurrent chants frequently executed in a call and response manner, multilayered synths, its pronounced reliance on resounding 808 basslines, and rudimentary musical arrangement. An archetypal crunk track frequently uses a dominant groove composed of a nuanced utilization of intricately multilayered keyboard synthesizers organized in a recurring pattern, seamlessly shifting from a lower to a higher pitch that encompasses the song's primary central rhythm, both in terms of its harmonic and melodic aspects. The main groove is then wrapped up with looped, stripped-down, and crisp 808 dance claps and manipulated snare rolls coupled and accompanied by a bassline of thumping 808 kick drums. The term "crunk" was also used throughout the 2000s as a blanket term to denote any style of Southern hip hop, a side effect of the genre's breakthrough to the mainstream. The word derives from its African-American Vernacular English past-participle form, "crunk", of the verb "to crank". It refers to being excited or high on drugs.
Kings of Crunk is the fourth studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on October 29, 2002, through BME Recordings/TVT Records. Recording sessions took place at Stankonia Recording, Soundlabs Studio, Flamingo Studios, The Zone, Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, at Audio Vision Recording in Miami, at Liveson Studios in Yonkers, at Piety Street Studios in New Orleans, at Cotton Row Studios in Memphis, at Quad Studios, Streetlight Studios and TMF Studios in New York, at The Orange Room, at The Den, and at Doppler Studios. Production was handled solely by Lil' Jon, who also served as executive producer together with Bryan Leach, Emperor Searcy, Rob McDowell and Vince Phillips. It features guest appearances from Oobie, Bun B, Chyna Whyte, 8Ball & MJG, Big Gipp, Bo Hagon, Devin the Dude, E-40, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Krayzie Bone, Mystikal, Pastor Troy, Petey Pablo, Styles P, Too $hort, Trick Daddy, Ying-Yang Twins, Luke, Pimpin Ken, Pitbull and T.I.
Micah LeVar "Pastor" Troy is an American rapper and producer. He is also a member of the hardcore rap group D.S.G.B..
Jonathan H. Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper and record producer. He was instrumental in the commercial breakthrough of the hip hop subgenre crunk in the early 2000s and is often credited as a progenitor of the genre. He was the frontman of the crunk group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, with whom he has released five albums. In addition, Lil Jon served as a producer for most recordings by artists of whom popularized the genre; these include Pitbull, Too Short, E-40, Ludacris, Ciara, and Usher.
Crunk Juice is the fifth and final studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on November 16, 2004, under BME Recordings and TVT Records. The production was primarily handled by Lil Jon himself, who also collaborated in the executive production, alongside Bryan Leach, Rob McDowell, Emperor Searcy, Vince Phillips, the Neptunes and Rick Rubin. The album includes guest appearances from rappers and singers, like R. Kelly, Ludacris, Ice Cube, Usher, Bun B from UGK, Jadakiss, Nas, T.I., the Ying Yang Twins and Pharrell.
Goodies is the debut studio album by American singer Ciara. It was released on September 28, 2004, via Jazze Pha's Sho'nuff Records and LaFace Records. After writing songs for several established acts, Ciara's talents were noticed by Jazze Pha, and she began to work on what became Goodies. The album's conception came through the title track, produced by Lil Jon and created as a female crunk counterpart to other singles produced by Lil Jon such as Usher's "Yeah!" and Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek". Ciara worked with additional writers and producers on the album, including Jazze Pha, Bangladesh, R. Kelly, Johntá Austin, Sean Garrett, and Keri Hilson, among others.
M.I.A.M.I. is the debut studio album by Cuban-American rapper Pitbull. It was released on August 24, 2004 via TVT Records. The production on the album was primarily handled by Lil Jon, Jim Jonsin, Diaz Brothers and DJ Khaled. The album also features guest appearances by Lil Jon, Bun B, Fat Joe, Lil Scrappy and Trick Daddy among others.
Crunk Rock is the debut solo album and sixth overall album by American rapper Lil Jon, released on June 8, 2010 by BME and Universal Republic. The characters at the bottom of the album's cover are Japanese katakana characters, which read "Kurunku Rokku", an approximation of the Japanese transliteration of the album's title. The album predominantly consists of guest appearances from artists including Ice Cube, Pitbull, the Ying Yang Twins, Waka Flocka Flame, The Game, Travis Porter, Damian Marley, Soulja Boy, R. Kelly and Whole Wheat Bread; the latter of whom assisted with its production alongside Drumma Boy, Benny Blanco, Dr. Luke, Steve Aoki, R. City and Shawty Redd, among others. Crunk Rock received mixed reviews and peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard 200.
Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album is the debut studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on October 21, 1997, via Mirror Image Entertainment. The recording sessions took place at Entertainment International Studios, Purple Dragon Studios and KALA Studios in Atlanta. The production was handled by Lil' Jon and DJ Toomp, with Kool-Ace and Carlos Glover serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Playa Poncho, Disco Rick, DJ Kizzy Rock, Kool-Ace, Darryl E., DJ Pryme, Shorty Pimp, Jazze Pha, Romance and the East Side Girlz, with cameo appearances from Ayuna Burnett, Chris Smith, Nikki Jones, Jermaine Dupri, Emperor Searcy, Greg Street, Robert McDowell, Candice Austin, Stephanie Holder, Dee Dee Hibbler-Murray and Organized Noize's Ray Murray.
We Still Crunk!! is the second studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on August 15, 2000 through BME Recordings. Recording sessions took place at The Zone, Blue Basement Recordings and Dangerous Music in Atlanta. Production was handled by Lil' Jon, Emperor Searcy and Oomp Camp Foundation. It features guest appearances from Chyna Whyte, Too $hort, Bohagon, 6 Shot, Don Yute, Khujo, Lyrical Giants, Oobie, Quint Black, Skyy, The Nation Riders, Three 6 Mafia, YoungBloodZ, Jazze Pha, Vince "VP" Phillips, with cameo appearances from Carolyn, Convict, Sir Yay, Sonya & The Eastside Girlz.
Part II is the second part to the Kings of Crunk album. It is an EP by Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz that consists mainly of remixes of the studio album Kings of Crunk.
"Get Low" is a song by American rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, featuring American hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins, released as a single in 2003. It first appeared on the 2002 album Kings of Crunk. "Get Low" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. It was number five on the top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs of 2003. Outside of the United States, "Get Low" peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom, the top twenty of the charts in Germany and the top forty of the charts in Australia, Austria, and New Zealand. It is also known as a breakthrough song for the crunk genre, as the song's success helped it become mainstream. It is listed number 99 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.
"What U Gon' Do" is a song by Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz, released in November 2004 as the lead single from their album Crunk Juice and features Lil Scrappy.
The discography of American hip hop recording artist Lil Jon consists of seven studio albums and fifteen singles. Lil Jon was the lead vocalist for the group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz from 1997 to 2004. Since the group broke up, Lil Jon has continued to produce his own music and tracks for other artists.
"Party Like a Rockstar" is a song by American hip-hop group Shop Boyz. It was released as their commercial debut single and also served as the lead single from their debut album Rockstar Mentality (2007). It reached huge success during mid-2007, namely in the United States, peaking in the top five of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Tracks, and Hot 100 charts. The song was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 50th Grammy Awards.
"Lovers and Friends" is a song by American rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring American singer Usher and American rapper Ludacris, from the group's fifth and final studio album, Crunk Juice (2004). The song was written by the artists alongside Michael Sterling, while produced by Lil Jon. It was released by BME and TVT Records in November 2004, as the third single from the album. An R&B slow jam, the song consists of a piano melody and hook, and contains a sample of Sterling's song of the same name. The lyrics depict the three artists attempting to seduce women.
Babel is the second studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. As with Sigh No More, the album was produced by Markus Dravs. The vinyl LP version of the record was pressed by United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tennessee. It was released on 21 September 2012 in Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Australia and New Zealand. It was released on 24 September 2012 in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe, South America, and on 25 September 2012 in the United States and Canada.
Certified Crunk is a compilation album by American Southern hip hop group Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on November 4, 2003 via Mirror Image Entertainment/Ichiban Records. Production was handled by Midnight Black, Kool-Ace, Mr. Collipark and Lil' Jon. It features guest appearances from Jazze Pha, 404 Soldierz, Darryl E., DJ Pryme, Hitman Sammy Sam, Killer Mike, Ludacris, No Surrender, Playa Poncho, Ying Yang Twins, Organized Noize and Jermaine Dupri. The album peaked at number 197 on the Billboard 200, number 40 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number nine on the Independent Albums in the United States.
"Babel" is a song performed by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons, released as the fourth single from their second studio album Babel (2012). It was released on 9 July 2013 as a digital download. The song was written by Mumford & Sons and produced by Markus Dravs.
Old Boots, New Dirt is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Jason Aldean. It was released on October 7, 2014 via Broken Bow Records. Its lead single, "Burnin' It Down", reached the top of the US Hot Country Songs chart during its second week of availability. The album was produced by Aldean's longtime producer Michael Knox. The album's second single, "Just Gettin' Started", was released on November 10, 2014. "Tonight Looks Good on You" was released as the album's third single. "Gonna Know We Were Here" was released as the album's fourth single.
