Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Houston-born record producer DJ Premier and Boston, Massachusetts rapper Guru.
Cam'ron Giles, known mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance "Un" Rivera's Untertainment, an imprint of Epic Records to release his first two studio albums Confessions of Fire (1998) and S.D.E. (2000); the former received gold certification by the RIAA. After leaving Epic, Giles signed with Roc-A-Fella Records in 2001 to release his third studio album, Come Home with Me, the following year. It received platinum certification by the RIAA and spawned the singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. His fourth studio album, Purple Haze (2004) was met with similar success and likewise received gold certification by the RIAA.
LaRon Louis James Sr, better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group, the Diplomats. He is best known for his appearances on group cohort Cam'ron's 2002 singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. His guest appearance on Chris Brown's 2005 single, "Run It!" peaked atop the chart for five weeks and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As a lead artist, he is also known for his 2005 single "There It Go ", which peaked at number six on the chart and received platinum certification by the RIAA.
Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. He is a founding member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats, which he formed in 1997 with 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 City. 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 Jiles, better known by his stage name Freekey Zekey, is an American rapper 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.
Grand Hustle Records, also known as Hustle Gang Music, is an American hip hop record label, founded in 2003, by American rapper and record executive T.I. and his manager Jason Geter. The label was distributed by Atlantic Records until December 2012, and has since operated as an independent record label. Its roster has included acts such as 8Ball & MJG, B.o.B, Killer Mike, Young Dro, DJ Drama, Iggy Azalea, Meek Mill, Chip, Travis Scott,The OMG Girlz and Trae tha Truth, the latter of whom also served as the label's vice president. The label also houses a roster of record producers, which has included Lil' C, Mars and Nard & B.
American rapper Jim Jones has released 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).
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 artist Ron Browz, originally released independently in June 2008. It is most famous for a remix with fellow American rappers Jim Jones and Juelz Santana that was officially released as a single on September 4, 2008 by Columbia and Universal Motown Records. The remixed version of the song serves as the lead single from Jones' fourth studio album Pray IV Reign (2009). "Pop Champagne" received mixed reviews from critics, but 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.
Skull Gang 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 self-titled debut album on May 5, 2009. The "skull" in Skull Gang is an acronym which stands for "Street Kids United by Loyalty & Loot".
Charley 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." Wayne 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.
