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.
"C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" is a song by American Florida-based musical group Quad City DJ's, released in February 1996 as a single from their debut album, Get On Up and Dance (1996). It is based on a sample of Barry White's 1974 main theme from soundtrack to the film Together Brothers. The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 40 in Australia and New Zealand. It was ranked the number-one song of 1996 by Village Voice magazine, and in 2010, Pitchfork Media included the song as one of their "Ten Actually Good 90s Jock Jams". In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it number 86 in their list of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time". The song is also used in a wide variety of sports events.
Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock were an American hip hop duo from Harlem, New York City. Rob Base is the stage name of Robert Ginyard and DJ E-Z Rock was Rodney "Skip" Bryce (1967–2014). They are best known for the 1988 single "It Takes Two", a "hip-hop staple" that was a top 40 hit and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. That song was a part of the duo's album of the same name, which also has been certified platinum. They are known for being pioneers of the crossover success that rap music would have in the popular music mainstream.
"Bump, Bump, Bump" is a song by American boy band B2K, featuring P. Diddy. It was released October 2002 as the lead single from B2K's second album Pandemonium!. It was written by R. Kelly and Varick Smith and produced by Kelly. It became B2K's first and only top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and reached number one for one week starting on February 1, 2003.
The discography of Nas, an American rapper, consists of seventeen studio albums, one collaborative album, one group album, five compilations, four mixtapes, one extended play, and seventy-nine singles. Nas has sold over 20 million records in the United States alone, and 35 million albums worldwide.
Mario is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Mario. It was released on July 23, 2002, by J Records. The album debuted at number 9 on the US Billboard 200, with first week sales of 96,000 copies and was eventually certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States. Mario was supported by three singles, including "Just a Friend 2002", "Braid My Hair" and "C'Mon".
Nivea is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Nivea. It was released by Jive on September 25, 2001. A contemporary R&B album with major influences of the pop and hip hop genres, Nivea worked with a wide range of producers and songwriters on her self-titled album which features credits by Leslie Braithwaite, Bryan-Michael Cox, Roy "Royalty" Hamilton, R. Kelly, The Neptunes, Organized Noise, Adonis Shropshire, Teedra Moses, Johnta Austin, and Ne-Yo, among others.
"Summertime" is a song by American hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, released in May 1991 by Jive and RCA as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Homebase (1991). The song was produced by Chicago-based producers Hula and K. Fingers, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 1992 Grammy Awards. It spent a week at number #1 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, as well as reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the duo's first single to enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #8.
"Headsprung" is a song by American hip hop artist LL Cool J. It was released on June 7, 2004 as the lead single from his eleventh album, The DEFinition. The song was a success on the charts, it peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 4 on the Hot Rap Songs and number 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
"It Takes Two" is a song by New York City hip hop duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock that became a top-40 single and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Since it was released in 1988 by Profile Records, the song has been covered and sampled by several recording artists.
"Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.'s. It was the title track of Collins' 1972 debut album. The song is very popular for its raw drumbeat dressed with tambourine and multiple background vocals, which suggest the song was recorded altogether in one take, with Jabo Starks playing drums. It peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles chart and No. 66 on the Hot 100. Owing to the composition, it became a fan favourite and has been featured on various compilation albums posthumously. In the closing lyrics, Collins sings lines from "Think", which shows that this song was one of the few adaptations of the 5 Royales song that Brown loved to do. "Think (About It)" is among the most sampled songs of all time.
The discography of Fabolous, an American rapper, consists of seven studio albums, two extended plays, 58 singles, and eleven mixtapes, and amongst various other recordings. Throughout his career, he’s been primarily known as a flagship artist for Def Jam Recordings and Desert Storm Records, however, his first of three studio albums were released through Elektra and Atlantic Records.
"No Time" is the debut single by American rapper Lil' Kim featuring Puff Daddy. It was released as the lead single for her debut album Hard Core in October 1996. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, reached the top ten on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and peaked the US Rap Songs for nine weeks—becoming Kim's first number one hit on the chart. Additionally, the song charted at number 45 on the UK Singles Chart. "No Time" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and contains a sample of Vicki Anderson's "Message from the Soul Sisters" and Lyn Collins's "Take Me Just As I Am."
"Just a Friend 2002" is a song by American singer Mario. It was written by Warryn Campbell, Harold Lilly, and John "Jubu" Smith and recorded for Mario's self titled debut album (2002). Produced by Campbell, the song is a loose cover of Biz Markie's hit single "Just a Friend" (1989). Due to the interpolation Markie is also credited as a songwriter on "Just a Friend 2002." Mario's version is different, as the story is changed from a man who discovers his girlfriend has been cheating on him to a story about unrequited love.
"Pump It Up" is a song by American rapper Joe Budden. It was released on March 24, 2003, as the lead single from his first album, Joe Budden (2003). The song peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 13 in the United Kingdom.
"Can't Let You Go" is a song by American hip-hop artist Fabolous. It was released on February 23, 2003 as the second single from his second studio album Street Dreams. It is a hip hop and R&B song that features Mike Shorey and Lil' Mo and was produced by Just Blaze.
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.
Child of the Ghetto is the debut studio album by American rapper G. Dep. It was released on November 20, 2001, through Bad Boy Entertainment/Arista Records.
American rapper Big Sean has released six 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.
"Peaches N Cream" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg, featuring vocals from American singer Charlie Wilson. was released on March 10, 2015, as the first single of his thirteenth studio album Bush, with the record labels I Am Other and Columbia Records. The song was produced by Pharrell Williams, who also participated in the band composition, along with the interpreters and Nelly, Garry Shider, George Clinton, James Brown, Robert Ginyard, Jr., Mary Brockert, and Walter Morrison.
