Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Nelly. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. The production on the album was handled by Jason "Jay E" Epperson, with additional production by C-Love, Kevin Law, City Spud, Steve "Blast" Wills and Basement Beats. Nelly contributed to all lyrics on the album, with Epperson and City Spud also contributing. With the album's release, Nelly and his “St. Lunatics” crew cemented the St. Louis sound firmly amongst other southern hip hop artists in the year 2000, such as Juvenile, Trina, Ludacris, OutKast, Three 6 Mafia, Tech N9ne, and UGK. Country Grammar also introduced the world to Nelly's unique musical style of pop-rap and radio “singalongs” with a Missouri twang. It was supported by four successful singles: "Country Grammar ", "E.I.", "Ride wit Me" and "Batter Up". Its lead single, "Country Grammar ", peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. Its second single "E.I." peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100, number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart. "Ride wit Me" peaked within the top five on the Hot 100, ARIA Singles Chart, Irish Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart. The album's fourth and final single, "Batter Up" featuring St. Lunatics members Murphy Lee and Ali, achieved moderate chart success.
Anthony Cruz, better known by his stage name AZ, is an American rapper. Best known for his affiliation with hometown native and fellow East Coast rapper Nas, they formed the New York City-based hip hop group the Firm along with Foxy Brown, Cormega and Nature in 1996. Cruz first saw recognition for his guest appearance on Nas' 1994 single "Life's a Bitch", from his album Illmatic (1994). Cruz was then signed by EMI to release his debut studio album, Doe or Die (1995), which was met with critical acclaim. Its lead single, "Sugar Hill" peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Moreover, The Firm's sole album (1997) peaked atop the Billboard 200 chart despite unfavorable critical response; the group disbanded two years later.
Mario Mendell Winans is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer from South Carolina. An extended member of the Winans musical family, he is best known for his 2004 single "I Don't Wanna Know", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
Worldwide Underground is the third studio album by American singer Erykah Badu, released September 16, 2003, by Motown Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003, following Badu's period of writer's block, and her performances during the Frustrated Artist Tour. Production was handled primarily by the production group Freakquency , consisting of Badu, Rashad Smith, James Poyser, and RC Williams. Prominently influenced by old-school 1970s and 80s hip hop, soul, R&B and funk elements, the album features an unconventional musical structure; the songwriting took a path of somewhat less subliminal, metaphorical lyrics than Badu’s previous work, expressing more lighthearted feelings, instead. The album’s content mainly focused on the general state of hip hop culture, reminiscing on good times, friends, partying, young love, “hood life”, and some references to gang culture. The album features appearances from artists Dead Prez, Common, Queen Latifah, Bahamadia, and singer Angie Stone.
My Way is the second studio album by American singer Usher. It was released on September 16, 1997, by LaFace Records in North America. The album features guest appearances from Monica, Jermaine Dupri, and Lil' Kim. The album was supported by three singles, all multi platinum-selling: "Nice & Slow", "My Way", and "You Make Me Wanna...".
Come Home with Me is the third studio album by American rapper Cam'ron, released on May 14, 2002, by Cam'ron's Diplomat Records and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records; distributed under Def Jam Recordings. There are featured guest appearances from Jimmy Jones, Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey, DJ Kay Slay, Daz Dillinger, Tiffany, Jay-Z, McGruff, Memphis Bleek, and Beanie Sigel. To date, it is his most commercially successful album; it peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 226,000 copies, and eventually sold one million copies in the United States, being certified Platinum by the RIAA.
Contemporary R&B is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music.
Sharissa Dawes is an American singer. Born in New York City's borough of Brooklyn, Bronx raised, she began her musical career in the R&B group 4KaST. 4KaST released their 1998 debut album, Any Weather, on RCA Records, which was promoted with the singles "Miss My Lovin'" and "I Tried". After her time in the groups, Sharissa worked as a backing vocalist before she signed to Henchman/Motown Records.
I Gotta Make It is the debut studio album by American R&B recording artist Trey Songz. It was released on July 26, 2005, by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from 2004 to 2005, with Songz' then mentor Troy Taylor overseeing most of the production. Additional producers include Warryn Campbell, Scott Storch, J.R. Rotem, Bei Maejor, and Organized Noize. Guest vocalists include American rappers Twista, Juvenile and T.I. as well as R&B singer Aretha Franklin.
Infamy is the fifth studio album by the American hip hop duo Mobb Deep. Infamy was released after Jay-Z dissed Prodigy and Nas on his song "Takeover," from the 2001 album, The Blueprint, which caused Prodigy to strike back on the track "Crawlin". Infamy has been certified Gold by the RIAA, selling over 800,000 copies in the United States. It has been successful critically as well as commercially, getting good scores from The Source and HipHopDX, as well as AllMusic and Rolling Stone magazine.
Aziatic is the fourth solo studio album by American rapper AZ. It was released on June 11, 2002 via Motown. Recording sessions took place at Sweet Mountain Studios in Englewood and Power Station in New York. Production was handled by Chop D.I.E.S.E.L., Buckwild, Miller Time, Precison, Baby Paul, DR Period, L.E.S., Mike Risko, Portiay and Big Joe, with Damian "Deo" Blyden, Kedar Massenburg and AZ serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Animal, DJ Rogers Jr., El Shabar, Nas and Trav.
Veteran is the third studio album by American R&B recording artist Marques Houston. It was released by The Ultimate Group and Universal Motown Records on March 20, 2007, in the United States, following the merger of Universal Records in 2005. The album features a wide range of collaborators, including Bryan-Michael Cox, Rob Knox, Ne-Yo, Chris Stokes, The Stereotypes, Tank, and The Underdogs. Guest vocals were provided by singer Mýa as well as rappers Shawnna and Yung Joc.
Take Me Higher is the twenty-first studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on September 5, 1995, by Motown Records. Ross' first regular studio release in four years, following The Force Behind the Power (1991) and the holiday album A Very Special Season (1994), the album features work from urban producers such Narada Michael Walden, Mike Mani, Louis Biancaniello, Jon-John and the Babyface protégés, The Boom Brothers.
Chrisette Michele Payne is an American R&B and soul singer. She won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2009 for her song "Be OK".
2000 Watts is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Tyrese. It was released by RCA Records on May 22, 2001 in the United States.
The Benzino Project is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Benzino. It was released on October 30, 2001 through Motown and ZNO Records. Recording sessions took place at Daddy's Home and at The Hit Factory in New York, at Source Sound Lab, at Future Recording Studios in Virginia Beach, at Audio Vision Recording Studio, Hit Factory and Bogart Studio in Miami. Produced primarily by Benzino's production team Hangmen 3, as well as Teddy Riley, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, Sean "Puffy" Combs and Trackmasters, it features guest appearances from Bobby Brown, Black Rob, Cormega, Foxy Brown, Outlawz, Pink, Prodigy, P. Diddy, Raekwon, Ray Ray, Scarface, Snoop Dogg, Superb, and Made Men. The album peaked at number 84 on the Billboard 200 and number 24 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Its lead single, "Boottee", made it to #11 on the Hot Rap Songs.
Sex, Love & Pain is the third studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Tank. It was released on May 15, 2007 by Blackground Records and Universal Motown Records. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 103,000 copies in its first week, while reaching number one on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Tank's first album to have a Parental Advisory sticker, Sex, Love & Pain was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 50th Grammy Awards. Its first single was "Please Don't Go", followed by "Heartbreaker".
Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA is the tenth studio album by Boyz II Men. It was released on November 13, 2007 by Decca Records. The album was produced by American Idol's Randy Jackson and Boyz II Men. David Simone and Winston Simone were Executive Producers for the album. The album is a tribute to some of Motown's classic songs, including "Just My Imagination" by The Temptations, "The Tracks of My Tears" by The Miracles and "Reach Out I'll Be There" by The Four Tops. The first single off the album is "The Tracks of My Tears".
"All This Love" is a single by DeBarge, released on October 17, 1982. The song was released as the third and final single from their second studio album of the same title on the Gordy label. The single would help DeBarge rise to R&B stardom. A cover version of the song was recorded by Patti LaBelle on her 1994 gold album Gems. A video for her version was also filmed.
Thank Me Later is the debut studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 15, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Motown Records. Production for the album took place at various recording studios during 2009 to 2010 and was mostly produced by longtime collaborators 40 and Boi-1da. It features contributions from Alicia Keys, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, The-Dream, and Kanye West, among others.
