What's the 411? is the debut album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige. It was released on July 28, 1992, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. After signing a record contract with Uptown, Blige began working on the album with producer Sean "Puffy" Combs. Other producers and songwriters included DeVante Swing, Tony Dofat, Dave Hall, Mark Morales and Mark "Cory" Rooney. The resulting music covered hip hop soul, contemporary R&B, and new jack swing styles.
Anita Denise Baker is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for her soulful ballads, particularly from the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s.
Brandy is the debut studio album by American singer Brandy. It was released on September 27, 1994, by Atlantic Records. Chiefly produced by Keith Crouch, the album contains a range of contemporary genres, including hip-hop, pop-soul, and R&B. Aside from Crouch, Norwood worked with a range of other writers and producers, including R&B group Somethin' for the People, Arvel McClinton, and Damon Thomas.
Hard Core is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on November 12, 1996, by Undeas Recordings, Big Beat Records, and Atlantic Records. After achieving success with the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. and their album Conspiracy (1995), Kim began working on her solo album with the Notorious B.I.G. serving as the executive producer. She collaborated with a number of producers, such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Stevie J., David "Ski" Willis and Jermaine Dupri, among others. Other rappers, including Jay-Z, Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy were featured on the album.
Whitney is the second studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released on June 2, 1987, by Arista Records as the follow-up to her debut album. The album features five top 10 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100, which also became international hits. The album's first four singles—"I Wanna Dance with Somebody ", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"—all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100, making her the first female act to achieve four number-one hits from one album.
Ill Na Na is the debut studio album by American rapper Foxy Brown. It was released on November 19, 1996, by Def Jam Recordings. It was reissued on September 29, 1997, in the UK with an addition of the song "Big Bad Mamma". Brown began working on the album after being discovered by the production team Trackmasters and appearing on a number of singles by other artists, such as LL Cool J, Case and Jay Z. The immediate success of the singles led to a bidding war at the beginning of 1996, and in March, Def Jam Recordings won and signed the then 17-year-old rapper to the label. Mostly produced by Trackmasters, Ill Na Na features guest appearances from Blackstreet, Havoc, Method Man, Kid Capri and Jay Z. Lyrically, the album mainly focuses on themes of fashion, sex and mafia.
American singer Whitney Houston, who is known as “The Voice”, released seven studio albums, eight compilations, three soundtrack albums, five box sets, six extended plays, and 57 singles. She has sold over 220 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Houston is the best-selling female R&B artist of the 20th century, and has sold 100 million certified records in the United States. She is also the fourth best-selling female album artist in the US with 61 million certified album sales. In addition, until the launch of the RIAA's digital certification program in 2004, she had sold 16.5 million physical singles—more than any other female solo artist in history. According to the Official Charts Company in October 2012, Houston is the fourth-biggest-selling female singles artists of all-time list with a sales total of 8.5 million singles in that country.
Barbadian singer Rihanna has released eight studio albums, two remix albums, one reissue, seven box sets and three extended plays. Since the beginning of her career in 2005, Rihanna has sold 60 million album units and 215 million digital tracks worldwide, making her one of the best-selling artists of all time. All of her albums have been certified platinum and multi-platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and have totalled sales of over 10 million copies in the country.
Rapture is the second album by American vocalist Anita Baker, released in 1986. This became Baker's breakout album and earning her two Grammy Awards. The album's first track, "Sweet Love", was a top 10 Billboard hit in addition to winning a Grammy Award. The music video for the track "Same Ole Love" was filmed at Baker's Keyboard Lounge.
American singer Usher has released eight studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 80 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 23 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 100 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 four-times platinum in the US for sales of 4 million copies. As of 2010, its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
American singer Brandy Norwood entered the music business as a backing vocalist for R&B boy bands such as Immature, prior to launching her own career in 1994. Her discography, as a solo artist, includes eight studio albums, one compilation album, one extended play, 42 singles, 46 album appearances and 25 soundtrack appearances. Norwood has sold over 8.6 million albums in the United States, and more than 40 million records worldwide. Additionally, she has won over 100 awards as a recording artist. In 1999, Billboard ranked Norwood among the top 20 of the Top Pop Artists of the 1990s.
EV3 is the third studio album by American female vocal group En Vogue. It was released by East West Records on June 17, 1997, in the United States. Recorded after a lengthy break during which the group members became mothers or established solo careers, the album was En Vogue's first project to include a diverse roster of collaborators including credits from Babyface, David Foster, Diane Warren, Andrea Martin, Ivan Matias, and Organized Noize along with regular contributors Foster & McElroy. It marked their first album without Dawn Robinson, who decided to leave the group late into the recording of EV3 in favor of a solo recording contract, prompting the remaining trio to re-record much of the material for the album.
Giving You the Best That I Got is the third album by American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker, released in 1988. It was Baker's first and only #1 Pop album in the US, her second #1 R&B Album, and was certified 3x platinum in 1989 by the RIAA. The title track was released as the first single from the album and became Baker's highest-charting single in the US, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album earned Baker three Grammy Awards and three Soul Train Music Awards.
Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He was a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In 2011, Kuk Harrell and partner Tricky Stewart joined the ranks of Fox's American Idol along with music mogul Jimmy Iovine, producing many of the songs performed on television by the contestants and released via iTunes. 2011 marked the highly anticipated return of Jennifer Lopez and her album LOVE? in which Kuk served as Album Vocal Producer. Earning his fourth Grammy for the vocal production of Rihanna's No. 1 Billboard Single "Only Girl ", Harrell is also the vocal producer and co-writer of Rihanna's Grammy-winning single "Umbrella". A composer and engineer on Beyoncé's chart topping "Single Ladies " from the album I Am... Sasha Fierce, he is also vocal producer and engineer of the Diane Warren-penned "I Was Here" from Beyoncé's 2011 album 4. He also produced the majority of the vocals on Mary J. Blige's Platinum album Growing Pains, which won the 2008 Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album. The first single from Growing Pains, "Just Fine", earned a Grammy nomination for best R&B vocal performance in 2007.
Michael J. Powell is an American R&B musician, record producer and arranger who is best known for his work as producer for eight time Grammy Award-winning soul / R&B vocalist Anita Baker.
The Best of Anita Baker is a compilation album by the American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker. It was released on June 18, 2002, in the United States by Rhino Records, and compiles material from Baker's career spanning 1983–2002. As of March 2004, the album has sold 402,000 copies and been certified Gold by the RIAA. The album spent 92 weeks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming the longest-charting album by a female artist on the chart and 16 weeks on the Billboard 200.
American singer and rapper Lauryn Hill has released one studio album, one live album, and 20 singles. She has also written for and performed on several other tracks.
Nova Wav is a record production and songwriting duo composed of Brittany "Chi" Coney and Denisia "Blu June" Andrews. Over the course of their career, Nova Wav has written and produced on tracks and albums for artists including Beyoncé, Rihanna, DJ Khaled, Ariana Grande, Jay-Z, Saweetie, Nicki Minaj, Teyana Taylor, Kehlani and more. They were signed to Warner Chappell Music by Ryan Press and "Big Jon" Platt. They were named Billboards 2018 R&B/Hip-Hop 100 Power Players and listed on Revolt's Top 9 producers of 2019 that demanded the sound of Hip Hop and R&B.
The albums discography of American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson consists of eleven studio albums, four compilation albums, and two remix albums. When she was fifteen, her father arranged a contract for her with A&M Records. Her debut album, Janet Jackson (1982), peaked at number 64 on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 250,000 copies in the US. Her next album, Dream Street (1984), peaked at number 147 on the Billboard 200, a weaker effort than her previous album. Her third album, Control (1986), which became known as her breakthrough album, topped the Billboard 200 and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Her fourth album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989), topped the Billboard 200 for four consecutive weeks and sold three million copies within the first four months of its release. The album went on to produce seven consecutive top 5 hits, four of them reaching the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in three separate calendar years, a record yet to be broken. The album was certified 6× Platinum by RIAA, and sold over 12 million copies worldwide.
