Derek Emmanuel Barbosa (born April 8, 1974), better known by his stage name Chino XL, is an American rapper and actor. He has released four solo studio albums. Ricanstruction: The Black Rosary (2012), won the 2012 HHUG Album of the Year Award.
Loud Records, LLC. is a record label founded by Steve Rifkind and Rich Isaacson in 1991. Rifkind served as the chief executive officer while Isaacson served as the president of the label.
Bryan Christopher Williams, better known by his stage names Birdman or Baby, is an American rapper and record executive. He is the public face of the record label Cash Money Records, which he co-founded with his older brother Ronald "Slim" Williams in 1991. Birdman released his eponymous debut studio album in 2002, and released three follow up albums—Fast Money (2005), 5 * Stunna (2007), and Priceless (2009)—to moderate commercial success and mixed critical reception; in 2020, he announced the latter as his final. Along with his solo career, he is a member of the hip hop duo Big Tymers with producer Mannie Fresh, as well as the supergroup Cash Money Millionaires.
Richard Andrew Thorburn, better known by his stage name R.A. the Rugged Man, is an American rapper and producer. He began his music career at age 12, building a reputation locally for his lyrical skills. Thorburn signed with major label Jive Records at age 18, but his debut album, Night of the Bloody Apes, was never released.
Endangered Species is a posthumous compilation of unreleased tracks, guest appearances, and greatest hits by the late rapper Big Pun, released on April 3, 2001, by Loud Records, following his death in February 2000. The album reached a peak chart position of #7. The proceeds from the album were to be given to Pun's widow, Liza Rios, and their three children. Liza Rios claims to have only received a small royalty check from the sales of Endangered Species, and in response, auctioned off her husband's Terror Squad medallion in July 2005.
There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story is the debut studio album by American rapper Remy Ma. It was released on February 7, 2006, by SRC Records, Universal Records and Terror Squad Entertainment. The album's release date served as the sixth anniversary of her mentor Big Pun's death. The title and cover art coincides with the 1998 film There's Something About Mary. The album sold over 35,000 copies in its first week and as of 2007, has sold over 160,000 copies.
Yeeeah Baby is the second and final studio album by rapper Big Pun, released April 4, 2000 through Columbia Records, SRC Records, Loud Records and Fat Joe's Terror Squad Productions. It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 179,000 units during the first week. It was subsequently certified gold in July 2000, and received platinum certification on October 31, 2017. Fat Joe served as the executive producer of the album.
The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was a dispute between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States, especially from the mid-1990s. A focal point of the rivalry was the feud between East Coast–based rapper the Notorious B.I.G. signed by Puff Daddy and their New York City–based label, Bad Boy Records, and West Coast–based rapper Tupac Shakur signed by Suge Knight and their Los Angeles–based label, Death Row Records. Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. were murdered in drive-by shootings within six months of each other, after which the feud soon ended with a "peace" summit in 1997 at the behest of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
Algernod Lanier Washington, better known by his stage name Plies, is an American rapper. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Plies was a wide receiver on the Miami Redskins football team of Miami University in Ohio for two years in 1995 before embarking on a musical career. After a brief transfer to University of Central Florida, he dropped out and signed with South Florida-based record label Slip-n-Slide Records in 2004; after four mixtapes, he signed a joint venture with Atlantic Records two years later.
Joell Christopher Ortiz is an American rapper and a former member of the group Slaughterhouse. Ortiz grew up in the Cooper Park Houses in the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, formerly signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label. He was featured in the Unsigned Hype column of the March 2004 issue of The Source Magazine and was also selected as Chairman's Choice in XXL Magazine.
Domingo Padilla, better known as Domingo, is an American hip hop producer from Brooklyn, New York of Latino descent. He has produced for some well-known hip hop artists such as Das EFX, Immortal Technique, and Rakim, among others. He is closely associated with Kool G Rap.
Christopher Lee Rios, better known by his stage name Big Pun, was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx, he came to prominence upon discovery by fellow Bronx rapper Fat Joe, and thereafter guest appeared on his 1995 album Jealous One's Envy.
"It’s So Hard" is the first posthumous single by Puerto Rican-American rapper Big Pun, from his 2000 second studio album, Yeeeah Baby. It features singer Donell Jones and was produced by Younglord and Jay "Waxx" Garfield, and was released following his sudden death two months prior.
Deleno Matthews, known professionally as Sean C, is an American producer, DJ and "artists and repertoire" (A&R) specialist. Sean is a member of production duo Sean C & LV which is affiliated with Sean Combs' Hitmen producers. As a DJ, Sean C co-founded the New York DJ crew The X-Men Sean worked as an A&R for Steve Rifkind's Loud Records and SRC Records imprints. He is credited as A&R and executive producer for Mobb Deep, Dead Prez, Big Pun, Terror Squad, Remy Ma and The X-Ecutioners. Sean C has produced songs for Jay-Z, Big Pun, Diddy, Jadakiss and Fabolous among others. He was nominated for best rap album Grammy awards for Jay Z's American Gangster and for Big Pun's debut Capital Punishment.
Jason L. Martin, formerly known by the stage name Problem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Compton, California. His guest appearance alongside YG and Iamsu! on E-40's 2012 single, "Function", entered the Bubbling Under Hot 100 and received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), along with his guest appearance on Childish Gambino's single, "Sweatpants" the following year. His 2013 single, "Like Whaaat" also entered both the chart and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and led his debut extended play (EP), Understand Me (2013).
Christopher Miles Marshak, known by his stage name Chris Miles, is an American rapper signed to T3 Music Group. He gained popularity when his rap audition for America's Got Talent went viral.
Terry Sanchez Wallace Jr., known professionally as Tee Grizzley, is an American rapper. He first began posting music online in 2011; following a two year prison sentence, he released the song "First Day Out" in 2017. It quickly gained viral status—earning two million views on YouTube in under three weeks—due to a social media challenge enacted by basketball player LeBron James, after which the song peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100 and led him to sign with 300 Entertainment. Its release preceded his debut mixtape My Moment (2017), and was followed by the single "From the D to the A", which received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His collaborative mixtape with Lil Durk, Bloodas (2018), was followed by his debut studio album, Activated (2018).
Eric Finnerud, professionally known as E. Smitty,, is an American record producer, audio engineer and songwriter. He has produced and engineered tracks for artists such as ASAP Ferg, Sadat X, Group Home, Lil Dap, Future, and Murdah Baby and collaborated with various artists including, Kool G Rap, Alpha Memphis, Rebel Rodomez, SpiderDaGod, Chino XL, Pacewon, Chris Rivers and many others.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2020.
Frederick Thomas, known as Fred the Godson, was an American DJ and rapper from The Bronx, New York. He was the first high-profile hip hop personality to have died from COVID-19 in April 2020; the early stages of the pandemic.
