Omari Ishmael Grandberry, better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actor and dancer. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the boy band B2K. The group achieved success in the early 2000s with their singles "Gots ta Be", "Uh Huh", "Girlfriend", and the number-one hit "Bump, Bump, Bump".
Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an American singer and actress. She was first discovered as a teenager and later signed to Murder Inc. Records in 2002. That year, she was featured on Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" and Ja Rule's "Always on Time", both of which became two of the biggest hit songs of 2002. She became the first female artist to occupy the top two positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously with "Foolish" and "What's Luv?" at numbers one and two, respectively.
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Ashburn, Georgia, he later relocated to Atlanta and signed a record deal with Polygram Records in 1992. He 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".
Chapter II is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Ashanti. It was released by Murder Inc. and Island Def Jam on July 1, 2003 in the United States. Ashanti reteamed with Murder Inc. head Irv Gotti and producer Chink Santana to work on the album. Chapter II features a guest appearance by rapper Ja Rule, Chink Santana, and Gunnz. Critical reception towards the album was generally mixed, with critics commending the album's autobiographical lyrics, and its fun yet light nature, while other critics felt Chapter II lacked creativity and personality and relied too heavily on the formula of her debut album (2002).
Ashanti is the debut studio album by American singer Ashanti, released on April 2, 2002, by Murder Inc. and Def Jam Recordings. It was recorded in New York City and Los Angeles between 2001 and 2002, during the period of time where Ashanti was writing for other artists. The album features guest vocals from Gotti, Ja Rule, and the late the Notorious B.I.G. Contributions to the album's production came from a wide range of producers, including Irv Gotti, 7 Aurelius, Chink Santana, Jared Thomas and Reggie Wright.
"One More Chance / Stay with Me (Remix)" is a song written and recorded by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., featuring additional vocals sung by his wife Faith Evans, Keisha Spivey from Total and an uncredited appearance by Mary J. Blige. It was certified platinum by the RIAA on July 31, 1995 and sold 1.1 million copies.
"Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)" is a song by American singer Jennifer Lopez for her remix album J to tha L–O! The Remixes (2002). The song was marketed as a remix of "Ain't It Funny", but is actually an entirely different song with the same title. It features guest vocals from Ja Rule (Jeffrey Atkins) and Caddillac Tah (Tiheem Crocker). It was written by Lopez, Atkins, Tah, Cory Rooney, Irving Lorenzo, and Ashanti. Over a reworking of the beat to Craig Mack's "Flava in Ya Ear" (produced by Easy Mo Bee), Lopez sings about "dropping a boyfriend who keeps messing up".
"Why Don't We Fall in Love" is a song written and produced by Rich Harrison for American R&B singer Amerie's debut album, All I Have (2002). Released as the album's lead single in the United Kingdom in October 2001 and in the United States in July 2002. After being sent to US Urban/Urban AC, Top 40 and Rhythmic radio in April 2002, the song reached number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It performed moderately elsewhere, peaking at number forty in the United Kingdom and number seventy-three in Australia. The song is also used for the promo of the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. It is also one of the songs used in the American version of Donkey Konga 2. Part of the lyrics, along with the background music, was sampled in the song "Rule the World" by 2 Chainz and Ariana Grande.
"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.
"Baby" is the third single from American R&B singer Ashanti's self-titled debut album (2002). Written by Ashanti, Chink Santana, Irv Gotti, and 7 Aurelius, the song was released as the album's third and final single on September 9, 2002. "Baby" contains an interpolation of Scarface's "Mary Jane", which was also co-produced by 7 Aurelius, so Scarface and Mike Dean are credited as writers. A remix of the song features Scarface.
"Only U" is a song by American singer Ashanti from her third studio album, Concrete Rose (2004). The song's introduction uses a sample of Club Nouveau's 1986 song "Why You Treat Me So Bad". "Only U" is a rock-tinged song, that finds Ashanti in love and willing to do anything to be with the one she loves, no matter the cost.
Collectables by Ashanti is a remix compilation album by American R&B-pop singer Ashanti, released in 2005. It is the last Murder Inc. release to be distributed by Def Jam.
"Rain on Me" is a song by R&B singer Ashanti, released in August 2003 as a single from her second album Chapter II. It contains a sample of "The Look of Love" by Isaac Hayes that was used on Snoop Dogg's song "G'z Up Hoes Down", a track that was removed from his debut album Doggystyle for sample clearance issues.
"Step in the Name of Love (Remix)" is a hit song by R&B singer R. Kelly. Taken from the 2003 album Chocolate Factory, the song became the tenth single from Kelly (and the final one to date) to reach #1 on the R&B chart, particularly on the strength of the song's remix. It also peaked at number nine on the pop charts on December 2, 2003. The original "Step in the Name of Love", which is on the unreleased 2002 album "Loveland" as well as the Chocolate Factory album, described a dance style initially created in Chicago called "stepping". That dance, and the music associated with it, was heavily featured on disc one of his 2004 double album, "Happy People/U Saved Me". The song became an impromptu "anthem" for steppers and the dance. In the UK, the song was a double A-side with "Thoia Thoing".
"Pac's Life" is a single written and performed by American rappers Tupac Shakur and T.I and R&B singer Ashanti, produced by L. T. Hutton for Shakur's posthumously released album of the same name. It is a hip hop and R&B song; the second Tupac verse was recycled from a song titled "This Life I Lead". T.I. said in an interview that working on the song was an honor, as he idolized him while growing up.
"Southside" is the debut single from American R&B singer Lloyd and features Ashanti. It was written by T. Hale, W. Morris, Tab and by producer Jimi Kendrix for his debut studio album, Southside (2004). It peaked at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, and peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The remix featured rapper Scarface and Ashanti. The remix was released as the third and final single from the album.
"Tambourine" is a hip hop song written by Eve, Swizz Beatz, and Sean Garrett. The song samples "Blow Your Whistle" from The Soul Searchers. It was released in 2007, becoming Eve's first charting single as a lead performer in over four years. In the week of April 19, 2007, the song debuted at number 73 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it continued to gain momentum. The song has also been made available for purchase as a single on iTunes. In the United Kingdom, "Tambourine" debuted at number 38, two weeks before the song's physical release. The song peaked at number 18 there and was her fifth consecutive top twenty solo hit in the UK. The B-side to "Tambourine" is "Dancefloor" featuring Mashonda. The song features uncredited vocals by the song's producer Swizz Beatz. The song was #68 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007, and was also #70 on MTV Asia's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007.
"Just Fine" is a song by the American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Terius "The-Dream" Nash, Jazze Pha and Tricky Stewart for her eighth studio album, Growing Pains (2007), while production was helmed by Pha and Stewart. It was released as the album's lead single in October 16, 2007. The song peaked at number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, while also topping the US Hot Dance Club Play chart.
"Body on Me" is a song by American rapper Nelly featuring American singers Akon and Ashanti. It was recorded for Ashanti's fourth album The Declaration and Nelly's fifth studio album Brass Knuckles. The track is produced by Akon and Giorgio Tuinfort. It was released as Ashanti's third single from The Declaration, and Nelly's second single from Brass Knuckles.
