Crunk is a subgenre of southern hip hop that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the early to mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more nightclub-oriented subgenres. Distinguishing itself with other Southern hip hop subgenres, crunk is marked and characterized by its energetic accelerated musical tempo, club appeal, recurrent chants frequently executed in a call and response manner, multilayered synths, its pronounced reliance on resounding 808 basslines, and rudimentary musical arrangement. An archetypal crunk track frequently uses a dominant groove composed of a nuanced utilization of intricately multilayered keyboard synthesizers organized in a recurring pattern, seamlessly shifting from a lower to a higher pitch that encompasses the song's primary central rhythm, both in terms of its harmonic and melodic aspects. The main groove is then wrapped up with looped, stripped-down, and crisp 808 dance claps and manipulated snare rolls coupled and accompanied by a bassline of thumping 808 kick drums. The term "crunk" was also used throughout the 2000s as a blanket term to denote any style of Southern hip hop, a side effect of the genre's breakthrough to the mainstream. The word derives from its African-American Vernacular English past-participle form, "crunk", of the verb "to crank". It refers to being excited or high on drugs.
Mario Sentell Giden Mims, known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper and music executive. In 1996, he released his debut album Youngsta's On a Come Up under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to release From Da Dope Game 2 Da Rap Game (2000), Self-Explanatory (2001), Life (2003), Back 2 da Basics (2006), Live from the Kitchen (2012), I Am (2013), The Art of Hustle (2016), I Still Am (2017), Untrapped (2020), and CM10: Free Game (2022).
"U.N.I.T.Y." is a song by American hip-hop artist Queen Latifah from her third studio album, Black Reign (1993). The single was released on November 9, 1993, in the United States, and on January 6, 1994, in the United Kingdom. "U.N.I.T.Y." focused on confronting disrespect of women in society, addressing issues of street harassment, domestic violence, and slurs against women in hip-hop culture. The chorus of the song interpolates "Unity" by Tenor Saw.
The discography of The Game, an American rapper, consists of eleven studio albums, six compilation albums, two soundtrack albums, fifteen mixtapes, 31 singles, and 39 music videos. His music released on major record labels such as Interscope, Geffen, and DGC Records, along with subsidiaries Aftermath Entertainment and G-Unit Records, including independent record labels Get Low Recordz and Fast Life Music, Inc. Records of which has released some of his early material.
"Get Low" is a song by American rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, featuring American hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins, released as a single in 2003. It first appeared on the 2002 album Kings of Crunk. "Get Low" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. It was number five on the top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs of 2003. Outside of the United States, "Get Low" peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom, the top twenty of the charts in Germany and the top forty of the charts in Australia, Austria, and New Zealand. It is also known as a breakthrough song for the crunk genre, as the song's success helped it become mainstream. It is listed number 99 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.
"Still Tippin" is the debut single by American rapper Mike Jones, released on November 12, 2004 as his debut and lead single from his album Who Is Mike Jones? (2005). Prior to this, it was also used as a single to promote Swisha House's compilation album, The Day Hell Broke Loose 2 (2003). The song features vocals from rappers Slim Thug and Paul Wall, the latter in his first single appearance.
"My 64" is the second single from Mike Jones' extended play The American Dream. It features rappers Bun B and Snoop Dogg. It samples "Boyz-n-the-Hood" by Eazy-E. The radio version doesn't feature Snoop's outro and the last chorus that follows thus the airplay single is 3:55 long.
"Get Like Me" is the second single from David Banner's sixth album, The Greatest Story Ever Told. The song features Chris Brown and samples several lines from "It's Goin' Down" by fellow rapper Yung Joc, who, while not officially credited or featured, appears in the song's music video. There was an alternate version of the song featuring Jim Jones, but label troubles prevented his version from being released.
The discography of American disc jockey DJ Khaled consists of thirteen studio albums which contain 54 singles ; his videography consists of at least 58 music videos. Khaled's value proposition is his extensive network of artists of whom he enlists to perform on studio recordings. While first accumulating such connections from his work as a live DJ and radio personality, he's since become known himself for numerous quips and phrases uttered on these records—many of which became Internet memes. Furthermore, his interviews, quotes, or other presentative qualities have often been described as "motivational" or "inspirational". Despite commercial success, the albums in Khaled's discography have often garnered largely mixed receptions from music critics.
"Never Ever" is a song performed by R&B singer Ciara. It is the first single released from her third studio album, Fantasy Ride. The song features rapper Young Jeezy, was produced by Polow da Don, and was co-written by Ciara and Elvis "BlacElvis" Williams, who both produced and co-wrote Ciara's single, "Promise", from her second album, Ciara: The Evolution.
American rapper Big Sean has released five studio albums, four mixtapes, thirty-one singles, eight promotional singles, and thirty-nine music videos. In 2008, Big Sean was discovered by American rapper and record producer Kanye West, who signed Sean to his record label GOOD Music—distributed through Def Jam Recordings. Since 2008, after signing a record deal to West's label G.O.O.D. Music, Sean's career continued through his mixtapes such as Finally Famous Vol. 2: UKnowBigSean (2009) and Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG (2010). While he was releasing these mixtapes, he collaborated on various tracks and/or singles from West, Royce da 5'9" and Chris Brown.
"9 Piece" is a song by American rapper Rick Ross. There are two versions, one featuring T.I. and the other – Lil Wayne. The song was originally placed on Ross' mixtape Ashes to Ashes and later released as a single from his fifth studio album, God Forgives, I Don't (2011). However, despite peaking at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100, the song did not make the final cut for the album. In 2013, "9 Piece" was featured on the soundtrack of Sofia Coppola's film The Bling Ring.
"Stupid Hoe" is a song by Trinidadian-American rapper and singer Nicki Minaj. The song was written by Minaj and DJ Diamond Kuts, the latter of which handled the production. It was released through Cash Money Records on December 20, 2011, from Minaj's second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), two weeks after the release of the album's first promotional single "Roman in Moscow".
The discography of American rapper Future consists of nine studio albums, three collaborative albums, one soundtrack album, 24 mixtapes, two extended plays, and 117 singles. He first began his career as part of the Georgia-based collective Dungeon Family, although he released no major projects with the group. In the late 2000s, he met fellow Georgia-based rapper Rocko and signed to his label, A1 Recordings as a solo act. He then released a number of independent mixtapes and guest appeared on YC's 2011 hit single "Racks", while earning local recognition as his music was frequented at Atlanta's Magic City nightclub venue. He signed to Epic Records to issue his then-most popular song as a lead artist, "Tony Montana" as his debut single for the label in 2011. He remained signed in a joint venture with A1 until his departure in favor of Epic in 2017.
The discography of American rapper Meek Mill consists of five studio albums, seven extended plays, one compilation album, three collaborative albums, eleven mixtapes, fifty-four singles, ten promotional singles and thirty music videos.
Sonny Corey Uwaezuoke, better known by his stage name Sonny Digital, is an American record producer, rapper, and DJ. He first saw recognition for his production work on YC's 2011 single "Racks", which peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100. Throughout the following decade, he was credited on a string of commercially successful hip hop and trap singles including ILoveMakonnen's "Tuesday", Future's "Same Damn Time", 50 Cent's "I'm the Man", 2 Chainz's "Birthday Song", and Travis Scott's "Stargazing". Uwaezuoke has also produced for XXL Magazine's Freshman Hip Hop Cyphers in 2017 and 2018, and pursued a lukewarmly-received career as a recording artist.
American rapper Schoolboy Q has released six studio albums, two mixtapes, 30 singles, and 36 music videos.
American rapper Lil Wayne has released 285 singles including 19 promotional singles. Lil Wayne attained his first singles chart entry in 1999 as a featured artist on Hot Boys member Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which peaked at number 19 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. Wayne later released his debut solo studio album Tha Block Is Hot in November 1999. Its title track and lead single, which features B.G. and Juvenile, reached number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lights Out followed in December 2000 and produced the singles "Get Off the Corner", "Everything" and "Shine". "Way of Life", the lead single from Wayne's third studio album 500 Degreez, peaked at number 71 on the Hot 100 and became a top 20 hit on the Hot Rap Songs chart. In 2004, Wayne was featured on the single "Soldier" by American girl group Destiny's Child, which became his first top ten hit on the Hot 100 and enjoyed commercial success internationally.
LaPreston Porter, better known by his stage name Snootie Wild, was an American rapper and singer. He was best known for his first single, "Yayo", which success helped launch his career. The song charted in the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In October 2013, it was announced that a fellow Memphis-based rapper, Yo Gotti, had signed Wild to his Collective Music Group (CMG) imprint. In September 2014, Wild released his only extended play, Go Mode. The EP's second single, "Made Me", peaked at number 93 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the highest-charting single of his career. Snooty Wild signed to Epic Records/CMG with Yo Gotti.
Dominique Armani Jones, known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 mixtapes Harder than Hard and Too Hard, the former of which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with its lead single, "My Dawg." He signed with Quality Control Music, an imprint of Motown and Capitol Records to release his debut studio album Harder Than Ever (2018), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Yes Indeed". He released two additional retail projects that same year: The collaborative mixtape Drip Harder with fellow Georgia-based rapper Gunna—which saw continued success with its singles "Drip Too Hard" and "Close Friends"—and his commercial mixtape Street Gossip, which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.
