Crunk is a subgenre of southern hip hop that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the early to mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more nightclub-oriented subgenres. Distinguishing itself with other Southern hip hop subgenres, crunk is marked and characterized by its energetic accelerated musical tempo, club appeal, recurrent chants frequently executed in a call and response manner, multilayered synths, its pronounced reliance on resounding 808 basslines, and rudimentary musical arrangement. An archetypal crunk track frequently uses a dominant groove composed of a nuanced utilization of intricately multilayered keyboard synthesizers organized in a recurring pattern, seamlessly shifting from a lower to a higher pitch that encompasses the song's primary central rhythm, both in terms of its harmonic and melodic aspects. The main groove is then wrapped up with looped, stripped-down, and crisp 808 dance claps and manipulated snare rolls coupled and accompanied by a bassline of thumping 808 kick drums. The term "crunk" was also used throughout the 2000s as a blanket term to denote any style of Southern hip hop, a side effect of the genre's breakthrough to the mainstream. The word derives from its African-American Vernacular English past-participle form, "crunk", of the verb "to crank". It refers to being excited or high on drugs.
Kings of Crunk is the fourth studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on October 29, 2002 through BME Recordings/TVT Records. Recording sessions took place at Stankonia Recording, Soundlabs Studio, Flamingo Studios, The Zone, Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, at Audio Vision Recording in Miami, at Liveson Studios in Yonkers, at Piety Street Studios in New Orleans, at Cotton Row Studios in Memphis, at Quad Studios, Streetlight Studios and TMF Studios in New York, at The Orange Room, at The Den, and at Doppler Studios. Production was handled solely by Lil' Jon, who also served as executive producer together with Bryan Leach, Emperor Searcy, Rob McDowell and Vince Phillips. It features guest appearances from Oobie, Bun B, Chyna Whyte, 8Ball & MJG, Big Gipp, Bo Hagon, Devin the Dude, E-40, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Krayzie Bone, Mystikal, Pastor Troy, Petey Pablo, Styles P, Too $hort, Trick Daddy, Ying-Yang Twins, Luke, Pimpin Ken, Pitbull and T.I.
Jonathan H. Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, DJ, and record producer. He was instrumental in the commercial breakthrough of the hip hop subgenre crunk in the early 2000s, and is often credited as a progenitor of the genre. He was the frontman of the crunk group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, with whom he has released five albums. In addition, Lil Jon served as a producer for most recordings by artists of whom popularized the genre; these include Pitbull, Too Short, E-40, Ludacris, Ciara, and Usher.
Crunk Juice is the fifth and final studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on November 16, 2004, under BME Recordings and TVT Records. The production was primarily handled by Lil Jon himself, who also collaborated in the executive production, alongside Bryan Leach, Rob McDowell, Emperor Searcy, Vince Phillips, the Neptunes and Rick Rubin. The album includes guest appearances from rappers and singers, like R. Kelly, Ludacris, Ice Cube, Usher, Bun B from UGK, Jadakiss, Nas, T.I., the Ying Yang Twins and Pharrell.
Goodies is the debut studio album by American singer Ciara. It was released on September 28, 2004, via Jazze Pha's Sho'nuff Records and LaFace Records. After writing songs for several established acts, Ciara's talents were noticed by Jazze Pha, and she began to work on what became Goodies. The album's conception came through the title track, produced by Lil Jon and created as a female crunk counterpart to other singles produced by Lil Jon such as Usher's "Yeah!" and Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek". Ciara worked with additional writers and producers on the album, including Jazze Pha, Bangladesh, R. Kelly, Johntá Austin, Sean Garrett, and Keri Hilson, among others.
"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.
M.I.A.M.I. is the debut studio album by Cuban-American rapper Pitbull. It was released on August 24, 2004 via TVT Records. The production on the album was primarily handled by Lil Jon, Jim Jonsin, Diaz Brothers and DJ Khaled. The album also features guest appearances by Lil Jon, Bun B, Fat Joe, Lil Scrappy and Trick Daddy among others.
Snap music is a subgenre of hip hop music derived from crunk that originated in southern United States in the 2000s, in Bankhead, West Atlanta, United States. It achieved mainstream popularity throughout the mid-late 2000s, but declined shortly thereafter. Popular snap artists include D4L, Dem Franchize Boys and K-Rab.
My Ghetto Report Card is the ninth studio album by American rapper E-40. It was released on March 14, 2006, by BME Recordings, Sick Wid It Records and Warner Bros. Records. My Ghetto Report Card was supported by two singles: "Tell Me When to Go" featuring Keak Da Sneak, and "U and Dat" featuring T-Pain and Kandi Girl.
"Snap Yo Fingers" is a 2006 American hip hop single by Atlanta-based rapper/producer Lil Jon. It was originally intended to be the first single from Lil Jon's solo debut album, Crunk Rock. However, the release date of Crunk Rock was subsequently delayed. In August 2006, Lil Jon's label TVT Records released the second volume of its Crunk Hits rap compilation, and "Snap Yo Fingers" was the opening track. When Crunk Rock was finally released four years later, the song was left out of the album.
The discography of American hip hop recording artist Lil Jon consists of seven studio albums and fifteen singles. Lil Jon was the lead vocalist for the group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz from 1997 to 2004. Since the group broke up, Lil Jon has continued to produce his own music and tracks for other artists.
"A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne. The song was released April 23, 2008, as the second official single from his sixth album Tha Carter III.
"Lovers and Friends" is a song by American rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring American singer Usher and American rapper Ludacris, from the group's fifth and final studio album, Crunk Juice (2004). The song was written by the artists alongside Michael Sterling, while produced by Lil Jon. It was released by BME and TVT Records in 2004, as the third single from the album. An R&B slow jam, the song consists of a piano melody and hook, and contains a sample of Sterling's song of the same name. The lyrics depict the three artists attempting to seduce women.
Malice n Wonderland is the tenth studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg; it was released on December 8, 2009, by Doggystyle Records, Capitol Records and Priority Records. Production for the album took place from January 2009 to September 2009 at several recording studios and the production was handled by Battlecat, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, The Neptunes, Teddy Riley, Lil Jon and Terrace Martin.
"Day Dreaming" is a song by American hip hop artist DJ Drama. The song serves as the lead single from his second studio album Gangsta Grillz: The Album . The hip hop song, produced by Drumma Boy, features guest vocals from American singer Akon, as well as American rappers Snoop Dogg and T.I. The song was released onto iTunes on February 9, 2009. Originally, the song was meant for Akon's album Freedom, under the title "Go Go Dancer". The song peaked at #33 in New Zealand and #59 in Sweden, becoming DJ Drama's only entry in those countries.
No Mercy is the seventh studio album by American rapper T.I. Originally titled King Uncaged, It was released on December 7, 2010, by Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2009 to 2010. Production was handled by several high-profile record producers, including Kanye West, Polow da Don, The-Dream, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, The Neptunes, TrackSlayerz, Jake One, T-Minus, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Rico Love, Alex da Kid, DJ Toomp, Jim Jonsin, Danja and Dr. Luke, among others. The album also features guest appearances from several prominent artists such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Scarface, Chris Brown, Eminem, The-Dream, Trey Songz, Pharrell, Drake, Christina Aguilera and Rick Ross, among others.
Darryl Raynard Richardson III, better known by his stage name Lil Scrappy, is an American rapper.
"Ms. Chocolate" is the first official single from Lil Jon's 2010 album Crunk Rock. The song features singers R. Kelly and Mario.
Follow Me Home is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Jay Rock; it was released on July 26, 2011, under Top Dawg Entertainment and Strange Music. The album was preceded by two singles; "All My Life " and "Hood Gone Love It".
Flockaveli is the debut studio album by American rapper Waka Flocka Flame. It was released through 1017 Brick Squad, Asylum, and Warner Bros. Records on October 5, 2010. The title of the album is a portmanteau of Waka Flocka Flame's name and that of the Italian political theorist Machiavelli, and was inspired by fellow American rapper Tupac Shakur, whose final stage name and pseudonym before his death was Makaveli. The album was recorded at Next Level Studios in Houston, NightBird Recording Studios in West Hollywood, and S-Line Ent. in Atlanta.
