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 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.
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American R&B singer. He signed to Polygram Records in 1992, and rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things ", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations "Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
Fu-Schnickens were an American hip-hop trio from 1988 to 1995, based in Brooklyn, New York.
Age Ain't Nothing but a Number is the debut studio album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on May 24, 1994, by Blackground Records and Jive Records. After being signed by her uncle Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah was introduced to recording artist and producer R. Kelly. He became her mentor, as well as the lead songwriter and producer of the album. The duo recorded the album at the Chicago Recording Company in Chicago periodically from January 1993 until early 1994.
American singer Usher has released nine studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 81 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 33 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 150 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, producing three singles that had moderate chart success, and the album sold more than 500,000 copies. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album. It is certified seven-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one "You Make Me Wanna..." and first US Hot 100 number-one song "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001 with his third studio album 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles—"U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified five-times platinum in the US for sales of 5 million copies. As of 2010, its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
Ain't Nothin' Like Me is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Joe, released by Jive Records after several delays on April 24, 2007 in the United States. A breakaway from previous projects, Joe co-wrote five songs on the album but left most of the writing and producing to his collaborators, including Bryan Michael Cox and Tank as well as production teams Tim & Bob, Cool & Dre, Stargate, and The Underdogs. Rappers Papoose, Nas, Fabolous, Young Buck, and Tony Yayo appear as guest vocalists.
"(At Your Best) You Are Love" is a song by R&B group the Isley Brothers. It was originally released on their album Harvest for the World. The song was dedicated to their mother, Sally. Although not a single, the song was a radio hit in 1976, and later became a hit for R&B singer Aaliyah in 1994.
Slow Dance is a song by R. Kelly with Public Announcement from the album Born into the 90's (1992). It was released as a single by Jive Records in August 1992.
"Honey Love" a song by American R&B singer R. Kelly and his group Public Announcement from Kelly's debut studio album Born into the 90's (1992). It was released as the album's second single on Jive Records in April 1992.
"Ride wit U" is a song by American singer Joe from his fifth studio album, And Then... (2003). The track was produced by Frankie "Vegas" Romano and co-produced by production duo Carvin & Ivan. The song features guest vocals by rap group G-Unit.
All That I Am is the second album by American R&B singer Joe. It was by Jive Records on July 29, 1997, in the United States, marking his debut with the label. Widely considered his breakthrough album, All That I Am reached number thirteen on the US Billboard 200 and number four on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It was eventually certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"If I Was Your Man" is a song by American recording artist Joe. It was written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen along with Phillip Lamont Jackson for his sixth studio album Ain't Nothin' Like Me (2007), with production handled by the former two for Stargate. The contemporary R&B ballad was selected as the album's second single and released to US radios on July 13, 2007. It peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top forty of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
"Freek-a-Leek" is an American hip hop song co-written and recorded by American rapper Petey Pablo. It was released on December 1, 2003, as the second single from his second album, Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry (2004). It was produced by Lil Jon and is an example of a crunk song. The single peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 2004.
"Your Body's Callin" is a song by American singer and songwriter R. Kelly, released in April 1994 by Jive as the third single from his debut album, 12 Play (1993). The song, both written and produced by Kelly, peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 40 in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Kelly also released a remix as a B-side to the single featuring Aaliyah called the "Your Body's Calling His N Hers Mix". Millicent Shelton directed the song's music video.
"Snake" is a song by the American recording artist R. Kelly, featuring Big Tigger, from his fifth studio album, Chocolate Factory. The remix features Cam'ron. It was released on February 25, 2003, by Jive Records as the second single from the album. The R&B song with Latin music inspiration was written and produced by R. Kelly, and co-written by Darian Morgan, as a tribute to Stevie Wonder's musical experimentation. The song also inspired the dancehall reggae riddim called Baghdad.
"Where You At" is a song by American recording artist Joe. The mid-tempo R&B track was written and produced by Warren "Oak" Felder and Sean Garrett for his sixth studio album Ain't Nothin' Like Me (2007) and features guest vocals by rapper Papoose. Released as the album's lead single, it reached number 79 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 92 on the UK Singles Chart.
"More & More" is a song by American recording artist Joe. It was written and produced by R. Kelly for Joe's fifth studio album And Then... (2003). Picked as the album's lead single, the contemporary R&B ballad was released in September 2003 in the United States and reached number 15 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Outside the US, "More & More" was released on a double A-single along with "Ride wit U", which served as the album's first international single.
"Dedicated" is a song by R. Kelly and Public Announcement from the album Born into the 90's (1992). It is the fifth and last single from Kelly's debut album. It was released on Jive Records in January 1993.
"Hey Love (Can I Have a Word)" is a song by American R&B singer R. Kelly and Public Announcement featuring Mr. Lee from their debut album Born into the 90's. It was released as a single on Jive Records in October 1992.
"Laundromat" is a song by American singer Nivea from her 2002 self-titled debut album. Jive released it in the UK as a double A-side single along with "Don't Mess With My Man" on April 28, 2003. R. Kelly wrote and produced "Laundromat", and performed some uncredited vocals on the recording, which is an R&B and pop track. It was recorded and mixed in Chicago, and was one of the last songs to be produced for the album. The track is structured as a telephone call in which Nivea breaks up with her boyfriend, who is played by Kelly. The lyrics use the laundromat as a metaphor for the washing away of an old relationship.
