Digital Underground was an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Their personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour.
Nina Sky is an American musical duo consisting of identical twins Nicole and Natalie Albino. Their debut single "Move Ya Body", released from their self-titled debut album in 2004, was a success, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second album, Nicole & Natalie, was released in July 2012. Their third studio album, Brightest Gold, was announced for 2016 release through Tommy Boy Entertainment.
Gym Class Heroes is an American rap rock band from Geneva, New York. The group formed in 1997 when Travie McCoy met drummer Matt McGinley during their high school gym class. The band's music displays a wide variety of influences, including hip hop, rock, funk, and reggae. After the addition of guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo and bassist Eric Roberts in 2003, the group was signed to Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records, on which they released their debut album, The Papercut Chronicles. The group gained a strong fanbase while promoting the album, appearing at festivals such as The Bamboozle and Vans Warped Tour.
Hi-top fade is a haircut where hair on the sides is cut off or kept very short while hair on the top of the head is grown long.
Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, known professionally as Cassie, is an American singer, songwriter, model, actress and dancer. Born in New London, Connecticut, she began her career as a result of meeting record producer Ryan Leslie in late 2004, who later signed her to NextSelection Lifestyle Group. During this time, Diddy heard "Me & U" in a club, and Leslie convinced him to partner his Bad Boy Records with Leslie's NextSelection imprint for the release of her debut album.
Shiny Toy Guns is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2002. The band is composed of guitarist/vocalist Chad Petree, vocalist Carah Faye Charnow, keyboardist Jeremy Dawson, and drummer Mikey Martin.
Anthony Ryan Leslie is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur from Washington, D.C. He has produced singles for a number of prominent artists in a variety of genres, ranging from R&B, hip hop, pop and gospel. Artists Leslie has worked with include Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Puff Daddy, LL Cool J, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, and Fabolous.
Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert is an American singer, actress, dancer and choreographer. In 2005, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Afterwards, she choreographed the music video for "Ring the Alarm" by Beyoncé. Taylor would then appear on MTV's My Super Sweet 16, prior to the 2008 release of her debut single "Google Me". Soon after, she landed (uncredited) guest features on the songs "Dark Fantasy" and "Hell of a Life" by Kanye West, from his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010).
"Addiction" is a song written, produced, and performed by American singer and record producer Ryan Leslie. It features vocals by American singer Cassie and American rapper Fabolous, who wrote his guest rap verse. The song contains elements from the composition "I Can't Help It" written by Stevie Wonder and Susaye Greene, as performed by Michael Jackson. Released as the second single from his self-titled debut album, Ryan Leslie (2009), it was sent to rhythmic and urban contemporary radio stations in the United States on July 7, 2008. The track was made available for digital download the following day through Universal Motown Records and Leslie's NextSelection imprint. A version of the song featuring just Cassie was also included in physical versions of the single.
"Official Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Cassie. It features vocals by American rapper Lil Wayne, who wrote his guest verse, while the original composition was written by members of collective The Clutch including Balewa Muhammad, Candice Nelson, Ezekiel Lewis, along with Marcella Araica and Nathaniel "Danja" Hills. Production was also handled by Hills. The song was first released for digital download in the United States on August 5, 2008, through Bad Boy and NextSelection in association with Atlantic Records, who then serviced it to rhythmic contemporary radio stations on September 22, 2008. The single was issued on vinyl as well with a promotional record being released that month.
"Ego" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for the deluxe edition of her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). The song was composed by Elvis Williams, Harold Lilly, and Beyoncé. "Ego" was officially remixed with additional vocals from hip hop artist, Kanye West. Initially planned to be released in January 2009 as the second urban single in the US along with the fourth US and third international single "Halo", the release of "Ego" was canceled and replaced by "Diva". "Ego" was later issued as the third urban single, and fifth overall single in the US on May 19, 2009, alongside the sixth US and fourth international single "Sweet Dreams".
"Bottoms Up" is a song by American singer Trey Songz. It was produced by Kane Beatz and features rapper Nicki Minaj. The song serves as the lead single from his fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure. It is his most successful single to date, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Fading" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her fifth studio album, Loud (2010). The song was written by Darnell Dalton, Jamal Jones, Lamar Taylor, Quinton Amey and William Hodge, with production by Kuk Harrell, Willy Will, Veronika Bozeman and Jones under his production moniker Polow da Don. Originally, the song sampled Irish instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Enya's "One by One", though this was later removed post-album release. Lyrically, the song is about leaving a man in a relationship. After Loud had strong digital download sales in the United Kingdom, "Fading" charted at number 187 on that country's singles chart in November 2010. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised da Don's production, but one critic criticized Rihanna for copying herself and failing to create something different. Some critics also compared it to one of Rihanna's previous singles, "Take a Bow". The song has also been performed on select dates of the Loud Tour (2011).
"Start It Up" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Lloyd Banks, released on November 2, 2010 as the third single from his third studio album H.F.M. 2 . The song, which features vocals from fellow American rappers Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, Ryan Leslie and Fabolous, was produced by American music producer Cardiak.
Sara Baiyu Porritt, known professionally as Baiyu, is a Chinese-born American singer-songwriter and actress. In the early 1990s, her family moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland where she was then given the American name of "Sara". Baiyu has appeared in several independent films and was a VJ for the mtvU show "The Freshmen" from 2006 to 2008. She completed high school in three years' time, and later graduated from Princeton University in 2008 with a degree in Sociology.
Hunter is a full length studio album by Chinese-American artist Baiyu released on June 13, 2012. The studio album component of "Hunter" is part of a larger project that is to be accompanied by a book of poetry as well as a comic book series and animated short entitled "The Illuminators" for which she is basis of the animated heroine. The album features several up and coming, as well as established artists including Los of Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records; Rotimi, a singer-songwriter who is known for his role on the show "Boss" from the Starz Network; Barbadian soul singer Hal Linton; as well as Paul Kim of American Idol.
Fan Fair is a five song extended play by Chinese-American artist Baiyu released on April 15, 2011. In releasing the project, Baiyu also announced her decision to donate all profits from "Fan Fair" towards Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief via the Japanese Red Cross. "Fan Fair" began to generate buzz almost immediately upon release, and her single "Take a Number" featuring Fred the Godson received airplay on Hot 97 along with numerous college radio stations. Her music video for the second single "Together" premiered on MTV Networks' Logo TV in August 2011. Subsequently, the video also got picked up by MTV UK, MTV Latin America, MTV Canada, MTV España, MTV Brasil, and VH1 Latin America among other television stations. She was since then been featured in Celebuzz, GlobalGrind, TheSource, MTVIggy, SoulTrain.com, and various other blogs and magazines. "Fan Fair" hit over 200,000 downloads via the Frostwire platform. The album was produced in conjunction with KQuick of Grand Staff LLC, who is known for his work with artists such as Ryan Leslie, Chris Brown, Fabolous, and Mýa; and is Baiyu's introductory project in working with KQuick.
RockaByeBaby is the first mixtape by American singer Cassie, released on April 11, 2013, by Bad Boy Records. It was her first full-length project released since her self-titled debut studio album Cassie (2006). Following the premiere of the track "King of Hearts" in February 2012, which was initially announced as the lead single from her upcoming second studio album, Cassie announced that she would be releasing a mixtape. The mixtape's concept is based on the 1991 film New Jack City.
Nico & Vinz are a Norwegian duo consisting of Kahouly Nicolay "Nico" Sereba from Holmlia, Oslo and Vincent "Vinzy V" Dery from Lambertseter, Oslo. They formed in 2010 as Envy but changed their name to Nico & Vinz by the end of 2012. They are commonly associated with their biggest hit single "Am I Wrong", which peaked at number 2 in Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and number 1 in the United Kingdom.
Phoebe Holiday Ryan is an American singer and songwriter. In 2015, she released a mashup of R. Kelly's "Ignition" and Miguel's "Do You", followed by her first single "Mine" from her debut EP of the same name. She signed with Columbia Records in 2015.
