Kurtis Walker, professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major record label. "The Breaks", a single from his 1980 self-titled debut album, is the first certified gold record rap song. Throughout his career he has released 15 albums and is currently an ordained minister.
New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was most popular from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip hop, seeped into pop culture.
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ.
Uptown Records was an American record label, based in New York City, founded in 1986 by onetime rapper Andre Harrell. From the late 1980s into the early 1990s, it was a leader in R&B and hip hop. During the 1990s, aided by its A&R worker Sean Combs, it led the fusion of these two genres. Its artists included Al B. Sure!, Christopher Williams, Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Father MC, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., and Soul for Real.
Dwight Arrington Myers, better known as Heavy D, was a Jamaican-born American rapper, record producer, singer and actor. Myers was the former leader of Heavy D & the Boyz, a group which included dancers/background vocalists G-Whiz, "Trouble" T. Roy, and DJ and producer Eddie F. The group maintained a sizable audience in the United States through most of the 1990s. The five albums the group released were produced by Teddy Riley, Marley Marl, DJ Premier, his cousin Pete Rock, and Eddie F. Myers also released four solo albums and discovered Soul for Real and Monifah.
"End of the Road" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Boomerang soundtrack. It was released in 1992 and was written by Babyface, Antonio L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons. "End of the Road" achieved domestic and international success. In the United States, "End of the Road" spent a then record breaking 13 weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, a record broken later in the year by Whitney Houston's 14-week number one hit "I Will Always Love You"; Boyz II Men would later match Houston's record with "I'll Make Love to You", which spent 14 weeks at number one in 1994, and then reclaim the record with "One Sweet Day", which spent 16 weeks at number one from 1995 to 1996.
"I Think They Like Me" is a song by American hip hop group Dem Franchize Boyz. It was released in August 2005 as a single from their self-titled debut album Dem Franchize Boyz. The song's chorus is sampled from their debut single "White Tee".
Richard Simpson, also known as Chubb Rock is a New York-based rapper who released several successful hip hop albums in the early 1990s. A National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock dropped out of college to pursue his musical career.
"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.
American rapper Bow Wow has released six studio albums, twenty-six singles, fifty-one music videos, and eight mixtapes.
Nuttin' but Love is the fifth and final studio album by rap group Heavy D & the Boyz.
"Tootsee Roll" is a song by rap group 69 Boyz released as the first single from their debut album 199Quad. In the United States, the song sold one million copies and earned a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early January 1995, number nine on Hot R&B Singles and number one on Hot Rap Singles. "Tootsee Roll" took 27 weeks to hit its Hot 100 peak of number 8, spending the previous four months in the top 20 before finally reaching its peak.
This is the discography of rap group Dem Franchize Boyz. It consists of three studio albums and six singles.
Radio Fusion Radio is the debut album by rap group, the College Boyz. It was released on April 7, 1992 through Virgin Records. The album found some success, making it to #118 on the Billboard 200, #25 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #2 on the Top Heatseekers, as did three singles released from the album. Both "Hollywood Paradox" and "Humpin" found decent success on the Hot Rap Singles chart, at #19 but the most successful was "Victim of the Ghetto", which peaked at #68 on the Billboard Hot 100, #28 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and #4 on the Hot Rap Singles.
Nuttin' Less Nuttin' Mo' is the second and final album released by rap group, the College Boyz. It was released on October 4, 1994 through Virgin and Capitol Records. After a successful debut two years prior, this album failed to match the success of Radio Fusion Radio, only peaking at #80 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The only charting single "Rollin" just peaked at #49 on the Hot Rap Singles.
New Boyz were a hip-hop duo that consisted of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas. They debuted in the spring of 2009 with their viral hit "You're a Jerk" taken from their 2009 debut studio album Skinny Jeanz and a Mic. The song peaked in the top thirty of the Billboard Hot 100, and it was the first song to bring the jerkin' style to the national forefront. A second single, "Tie Me Down" featuring Ray J, was also successful and peaked in the top thirty in Early 2010. In May 2011, their second studio album, Too Cool to Care, was released. It includes the top 40 hits "Backseat", featuring The Cataracs and Dev, and "Better with the Lights Off" featuring Chris Brown. The New Boyz have also been featured on Hot Chelle Rae's song "I Like It Like That", which peaked at No. 28 on the Hot 100.
Toi Jackson, known professionally as Sweet Tee and sometimes Suga, is an American rapper who was signed to Profile Records in the 1980s. Her first single in 1986 was the hit "It's My Beat" featuring DJ Jazzy Joyce. She scored minor chart success with her debut album, It's Tee Time in 1988, which peaked at No. 31 on the US Billboard R&B chart. She scored four chart hit singles from her debut album. These included "I Got da Feelin'", "On the Smooth Tip" and "Why Did It Have to Be Me". In the UK, "It's Like That Y'All" peaked in the Top 40.
Crystal Jeanell Johnson is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and actress from Brooklyn, New York. She has performed in a variety of stage productions and has collaborated with a wide array of well-known artists including Anthony Hamilton, Dr. Dre, Heavy D, Mobb Deep, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Angie Stone, Usher and many others.
Nuttin' Nyce was an American girl group from Sacramento, CA that formed in 1992. They signed to Pocketown Records and released an album and five singles before splitting up in 1996.
Eboni Foster is an American R&B singer. Born in Sacramento, California, she became best known for her work as the lead singer of the '90s R&B group Nuttin' Nyce, and then for her solo single "Crazy for You", which became a top 40 hit on the US R&B chart in 1998. Foster went on to release her debut studio album, Just What You Want, the same year. The R&B/pop record drew favorable reviews and spawned a second single, "Everything You Do".
