Jill Heather Scott is an American singer, songwriter, model, poet, and actress. Her 2000 debut album, Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1, went platinum and the follow-ups Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2 (2004) and The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 (2007) both achieved gold status.
CunninLynguists is an American hip hop group from Lexington, Kentucky. The group currently consists of Deacon the Villain, Kno, and Natti.
Pedro Antonio Rojas, Jr., better known by his stage name Tonedeff, is an American rapper, producer, singer-songwriter and record executive.
A Piece of Strange is the third studio album by the Southern hip hop trio CunninLynguists, consisting of Kno, Deacon the Villain and Natti. It was released January 24, 2006, by The LA Underground, a record label based in New Mexico.
Jun Seba, better known by his stage name Nujabes, was a Japanese record producer, audio engineer, DJ, composer and arranger best known for his atmospheric instrumental mixes sampling from hip hop, soul, and jazz, as well as incorporating elements of trip hop, breakbeat, downtempo, and ambient music.
The Harlem shake is a style of hip-hop dance and is characterized by jerky arm and shoulder movements in time to music. The dance was created by Harlem resident Al B. in 1981; the dance was initially called "The Albee" or "The Al. B.". As indicated by the name, it is associated with the predominantly African-American neighborhood of Harlem, in New York City. The dance became known as the Harlem Shake as its prominence grew beyond the neighborhood. In 2001 G. Dep's music video for the song "Let's Get It" introduced the dance to the mainstream.
Hydeout Productions 1st Collection is a compilation album, the first of two released by Nujabes' Hydeout Productions label. It showcases Nujabes' style of combining the music genres of hip hop and jazz, and features artists Funky DL, Apani B, Substantial, Shing02, L-Universe, Pase Rock, Five Deez, and Cise Starr.
Shingo Annen, better known by his stage name Shing02, is a Japanese hip hop recording artist, record producer, activist and investor. He was described by Patrick Neate as one of the Japanese emcees who "has addressed important issues from Japanese ethnicity to sexual exploitation to the education system."
Daniel Domingo Carrillo, better known by his stage name Termanology, is an American rapper and record producer. He first gained major attention with the 2006 single "Watch How It Go Down". A solo album, Politics as Usual, was released in 2008. He has made a number of collaborative albums, such as 1982 and is known also for his prolific mixtape output. He is of Puerto Rican and French descent.
Strange Journey Volume Two is the fourth mixtape by Southern hip-hop group CunninLynguists, released on November 3, 2009. The album features guest appearances from E-40, Sean Price, Witchdoctor, Evidence, Geologic of Blue Scholars and Tonedeff, among others. The production is mostly handled by Kno, with contributions from Blue Sky Black Death and J-Zone. Strange Journey Volume Two followed the July 2009 release of Strange Journey Volume One.
Willis Garnett Polk II, better known by his stage name Deacon the Villain, is an American hip hop recording artist and record producer from Versailles, Kentucky. He is a founding member of the hip hop group CunninLynguists. Deacon has produced for the likes of KRS-One, King Tee, and J-Ro from Tha Liks, among others. Deacon the Villain has been featured in notable journalism sources such as XXL, Pop Matters, HipHopDX, and Exclaim!, among others.
Victor Kwesi Mensah, known professionally as Vic Mensa, is an American rapper. He was a member of the group Kids These Days, which broke up in May 2013, after which he released his debut solo mixtape Innanetape. Throughout his career, he has been signed to Virgin EMI Records, Def Jam Recordings, Capitol Records, and Roc Nation.
Mello Music Group (MMG) is an American independent record label based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 2007, Mello Music has released hip hop compilations and albums by producers and rappers such as Oddisee, Apollo Brown, Mr. Lif, Ghostface Killah, Open Mike Eagle, L'Orange, Quelle Chris, Jean Grae, Kool Keith, Nottz, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Pete Rock, and Rapper Big Pooh. In 2012, MTV Hive described MMG as having a "dedication to intelligent, street-wise boom bap", although the label has released a number of purely instrumental albums as well. In 2016, Forbes magazine called Mello Music Group the most successful indie rap label of the decade.
Cristalle Elaine Bowen, better known by her stage names Psalm One and Hologram Kizzie, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. She has been a member of the groups Nacrobats, Rapperchicks, and Big Silky.
Ryan Dean Wisler, better known by his stage name Kno, is an American alternative hip hop rapper, producer, and singer. He is a founding member of the hip hop groups CunninLynguists and Built to Fade. Kno is currently signed to QN5 Music and APOS Music. In 2010, Kno was named "one of the top loop-miners east of the Mississippi" by URB.
Still Motion is the first studio album by American hip hop artist Natti, a member of the hip hop group CunninLynguists. It was released September 24, 2013 on APOS Music.
Playback 808 is an Australia-based independent record label and creative movement founded in 2011 by recording artist, activist and poet Gabriel Akon. The imprint is independently distributed and releases most of its content digitally.
Lofi hip hop is a form of downtempo music that combines elements of hip hop and chill-out music. It was popularized in the 2010s on YouTube.
Luv(sic) Hexalogy is an album collaboration created and finalized posthumously by the Japanese producer Nujabes and Japanese hip hop artist Shing02. It is a jazz hip hop album that incorporates latin jazz/soul samples and drum beats to create the instrumentals. The scratching was performed by various DJs and the vocals/lyrics were created by Shing02.
The music of the 2004 anime series Samurai Champloo, created by the studio Manglobe, was produced by a team of four composers drawn from the hip hop musical scene. They were Shinji "Tsutchie" Tsuchida of Shakkazombie, Fat Jon, Nujabes and Force of Nature. The musical direction was chosen by series creator and director Shinichirō Watanabe as part of his planned blending of hip hop culture with the anime's setting in the Edo period, additionally incorporating contributions from guest artists. The opening theme "Battlecry" was performed and co-written by Shing02, while the various ending themes were performed by Minmi, Kazami, and Azuma Riki. The final episode's ending theme was "San Francisco", licensed from the rapper band Midicronica.
