Earth, Wind & Fire is an American musical group. Their style and sound span various music genres such as jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin, and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide.
Usher Raymond IV is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. He is widely recognized as an influential figure in contemporary R&B and pop music. Raymond first released his self-titled debut album in 1994 at the age of sixteen, and rose to fame in the late 1990s following the release of his second album My Way (1997). It spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Nice & Slow", and saw similar success with its follow-ups "You Make Me Wanna..." and the title track. His third album, 8701 (2001), saw continued success with the number-one singles "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad", as well as the top-three single "U Don't Have to Call". It sold eight million copies worldwide and won his first two Grammy Awards as Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2002 and 2003.
The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos, while Hugo tends to stay behind the scenes.
Maurice White was an American singer, musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey.
The Diary of Alicia Keys is the second studio album by American singer Alicia Keys. It was released on December 2, 2003, by J Records. The album was recorded at several recording studios, and production was handled primarily by Keys with contributions from Kanye West and Kerry Brothers Jr., who described it as "an R&B album".
"Hate It or Love It" is a song by American rapper the Game featuring fellow American rapper 50 Cent. It was released as the third single from the former's debut studio album The Documentary (2005). The song was produced by Cool & Dre with additional production from Dr. Dre. The song features a music sample of "Rubber Band" by the Trammps from their album The Legendary Zing Album (1975).
"I Feel for You" is a song written by American musician Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album. The most successful and best-known version was recorded by R&B singer Chaka Khan and appeared on her 1984 album of the same name. It became the recipient of two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for Khan.
Suit is the fourth studio album by American rapper Nelly. It was intended to be released on August 17, 2004, before being delayed and released on September 13, 2004, by Universal Records. Production for the album was handled by several producers, including the Neptunes, Jazze Pha, Doe, AHM, Jayson "Koko" Bridges, Kuya Productions, Soulshock and Karlin, Ryan Bowser, Big Boi and Beat Bullies. Released in conjunction with Sweat, Nelly intended to release a single album before conceptualizing and releasing two albums simultaneously, both of which would contrast each other's themes. Nelly characterized Sweat as "more up-tempo" and "energetic" while describing Suit as more of "a grown-up and sexy vibe [...] it's more melodic".
"Yeah!" is a song by American singer Usher featuring American rappers Lil Jon and Ludacris. The song is written by the featured artists alongside Sean Garrett, Patrick "J. Que" Smith, Robert McDowell, and LRoc. The song incorporates crunk and R&B—which Lil Jon coined as crunk&B—in the song's production. The song was released as the lead single from Usher's fourth studio album Confessions (2004) on January 10, 2004, after Usher was told by Arista Records, his label at the time, to record more tracks for the album.
Case Woodard, known mononymously as Case, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for the 1990s hits "Touch Me, Tease Me", "Happily Ever After" and "The Best Man I Can Be", as well as the early 2000s hits "Missing You" and "Livin' It Up" with Ja Rule. The latter two earned him two Grammy Award nominations.
"If I Ain't Got You" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys for her second studio album The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003). Inspired by the 2001 death of singer Aaliyah, the September 11 attacks, and other events in the world and in Keys' life, the song is about "how material things don't feed the soul". It was released as the second single from The Diary of Alicia Keys on February 17, 2004, by J Records. The single cover depicts Keys similarly to the subject of Man Ray's 1924 photograph Le Violon d'Ingres.
"Piece of My Heart" is a romantic soul song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart in the United States.
"Never Too Much" is the debut song written, composed, produced, and performed by Luther Vandross. The R&B song was released in 1981, as the lead single from Vandross's debut album of the same name. The title track hit number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, reached number four on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, and peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Dance with My Father" is a song by Luther Vandross and the title track to his thirteenth studio album. It was released in May 2003 as the album's lead single. With Richard Marx, Vandross wrote the song based on his personal experience. The lyrics recall childhood memories with Vandross's father, who used to dance with him and his mother.
"Best of My Love" is a song by American band the Emotions from their fourth studio album Rejoice (1977). It was composed by Maurice White and Al McKay of Earth, Wind & Fire, and produced by White and Clarence McDonald.
"A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne. The song was released February 13, 2008, as the second official single from his sixth album Tha Carter III.
"Without Me" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fourth studio album The Eminem Show (2002). "Without Me" was released on May 15, 2002, as the lead single from the album, and re-released on his greatest hits compilation album Curtain Call: The Hits (2005). "Without Me" is one of Eminem's most successful singles, reaching number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number one in fifteen countries.
"Redbone" is a song recorded by American rapper and singer Childish Gambino, the stage name of Donald Glover. It was released on November 17, 2016, and serves as the second single from his third studio album "Awaken, My Love!" The song received three Grammy Award nominations including Record of the Year at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, eventually winning the award for Best Traditional R&B Performance. In 2021, it was ranked No. 383 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Temilade Openiyi, known professionally as Tems, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer. She rose to prominence after being featured on Wizkid's 2020 single "Essence", which peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the release of the remix version with Justin Bieber. The song earned her a Grammy Award nomination. That same year, she was featured on the song "Fountains" by Drake.
"Damage" is a song by American singer H.E.R., released on October 21, 2020, through RCA Records as the second single from her debut studio album Back of My Mind (2021). It was written by H.E.R., Ant Clemons, Carl McCormick, Tiara Thomas, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and produced by Cardiak, DJ Prince OVO and Jeff "Gitty" Gitelman. It samples Herb Alpert's 1987 song "Making Love in the Rain".
