Jeffrey Bruce Atkins Sr., better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known for blending gangsta rap with pop and R&B sensibilities. He signed with Irv Gotti's Murder Inc Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut studio album Venni Vetti Vecci (1999), which spawned his first hit single, "Holla Holla". In 2001, he peaked the Billboard Hot 100 on three occasions with his single "Always on Time" and his guest appearances on Jennifer Lopez's songs "I'm Real " and "Ain't It Funny".
Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr., professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American record producer. He co-founded the record label Murder Inc. Records in 1998, which was an imprint of Def Jam Recordings. He received production credits for most of the recordings by artists signed to the label—including Ja Rule, Lloyd, The Inc. and Ashanti (Foolish)—as well as other artists such as Jennifer Lopez, DMX, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Fat Joe, Memphis Bleek, and Eve, among others. Gotti is also the creator of the BET series Tales.
Lloyd Polite Jr. is an American R&B singer. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised in Decatur, Georgia, he began his musical career as a member of the preteen-boy band N-Toon, which was formed by Joyce Irby in 1996. The group disbanded in 2001, and Polite signed with record executive Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2003 to pursue a solo career. His 2004 debut single, "Southside" peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and led his first album Southside (2004), which entered the Billboard 200 at number 11. His second album, Street Love (2007) debuted at number two on the chart and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 singles "You" and "Get It Shawty".
Donell Jones is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He met record producer Eddie F in the mid-1990s and signed with his record label Untouchables Entertainment, beginning his career as a songwriter for its parent label, LaFace Records. He signed with the label as a recording act to release his debut studio album, My Heart (1996), which was met with lukewarm commercial reception despite yielding his first Billboard Hot 100 entries with its singles "In the Hood", and his cover of Stevie Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet."
Venni Vetti Vecci is the debut studio album by American rapper Ja Rule. It was released on June 1, 1999, by Def Jam Recordings and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records. It was the first album to be released on Murder Inc. Production was mostly handled by Irv Gotti, with additional work provided by Lil Rob, Ty Fyffe, Erick Sermon and Self Service. The album features guest appearances from Jay-Z, DMX, Case, Memphis Bleek, Black Child, Ronald Isley and Erick Sermon, among others. The album title alludes to the Latin phrase "veni, vidi, vici", meaning "I came, I saw, I conquered".
Rule 3:36 is the second studio album by American rapper Ja Rule. It was released on October 3, 2000, by The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records. The album features guest appearances from Christina Milian, Lil' Mo, Shade Sheist and Jayo Felony, with producers Irv Gotti, Ty Fyffe, Tru Stylze, Lil' Rob and Damizza contributing to the album. The album marked a significant change in Ja Rule's musical style, shifting from hardcore hip hop to a more radio-friendly pop rap oriented sound to greater success.
Blood in My Eye is the fifth studio album by American rapper Ja Rule, released on November 4, 2003, by Murder Inc., Island Def Jam Music Group and Def Jam. The album was originally planned to be released as a mixtape. The release took place during the feud with Shady/Aftermath rappers 50 Cent, G-Unit, Eminem, D12, Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, along with artists including DMX and Busta Rhymes and was entirely dedicated to dissing them. The album was named after George Jackson's radical book of the same name. Hussein Fatal of Outlawz, Cadillac Tah, James Gotti, Sizzla, Black Child, Young Merc, D.O. Cannon, Shadow, and Sekou 720 are listed as guest appearances on this album. Reviews for the record were mixed, with critics skeptical of Ja's lyrical skills as a hardcore rapper. Blood in My Eye debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 140,000 copies in the United States.
American singer Usher has released nine studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 81 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive, RCA, and gamma record labels. Usher has sold more than 33 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 150 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, which went onto sell 500,000 copies, and produced the singles "Can U Get wit It", "Think of You", and "The Many Ways". The former two peaked in the lower half of the UK and US charts. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album. It is certified seven-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one song, "You Make Me Wanna...", and first US Hot 100 number-one song, "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001, with his third studio album, 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles, such as "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified five-times platinum in the US for sales of 5 million copies. As of 2010, its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
Coming of Age is the debut studio album by American rapper Memphis Bleek. It was released August 3, 1999, via The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records on August 3, 1999. The album spawned the hit single "Memphis Bleek Is...".
It's Real is the second studio album by American R&B duo and brothers K-Ci & JoJo, released on June 22, 1999, on MCA Records. Recording sessions took place from 1998 to 1999. The album peaked within the top 10 on the US Billboard 200 as well as Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. On July 26, 1999, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 1,000,000 copies in the United States. It also appeared on international charts, and was certified gold by Music Canada. Upon release, It's Real received average reviews. The album would spawn four singles including the number-two hit single "Tell Me It's Real".
Trapped in Crime is the third studio album by C-Murder released on September 5, 2000, on No Limit, TRU and Priority. The album was produced by Jermaine Dupri, Donald XL Robertson, Carlos Stephens, Ke'Noe and more. The album features guest appearances by Fat Joe, Snoop Dogg, Da Brat, Jermaine Dupri, Silkk the Shocker, Young Gunz and more Trapped In Crime was another success for C-Murder peaking at #9 on the Billboard 200 and becoming his third straight album to land in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart while simultaneously making it to #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums selling 156,000 copies in its first week.
The discography of Ja Rule, an American rapper. He has released seven studio albums and twenty singles.
The discography of American rapper Memphis Bleek consists of four studio albums, twelve mixtapes, seventeen singles and fifteen music videos. An early signing to rapper Jay-Z's record label Roc-A-Fella Records, Bleek appeared on several of Jay-Z's early songs, and collaborated with him on the single "It's Alright" from the soundtrack to the film Streets Is Watching, which peaked at number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Bleek went on to release his debut album, Coming of Age, in 1999, which contained the singles "Memphis Bleek Is...", "My Hood to Your Hood" and "What You Think of That".
Tru 2 da Game is the fourth studio album released by New Orleans hip-hop group, TRU. It was released February 18, 1997 on No Limit Records and was produced by Beats By the Pound. The album found a large amount of success, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums selling 200,000 copies in its first week. A single from the album entitled "I Always Feel Like" also found some success, peaking at #71 on the Billboard Hot 100, #11 on the Hot Rap Singles and #42 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. The same year the album was re-released with the song "Smoking Green" removed. The re-released version included three new songs, a club mix version of "No Limit Soldiers", a C-Murder solo song "Eyes Of A Killa" and a Silkk The Shocker solo song "Pimp Shit." "FEDz" samples Aaliyah's hit single "If Your Girl Only Knew". The album was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA, on October 2, 1997, and remains the group's most successful album.
"Holla Holla" is the first single by the American rapper Ja Rule from his first studio album, Venni Vetti Vecci (1999). It was produced by Taiwan "Tai" Green and Irv Gotti. The music video was directed by Hype Williams and Irv Gotti.
Goodfellas is the debut studio album by hip hop group 504 Boyz, released on May 2, 2000, by No Limit Records and Priority Records. 504 Boyz consisted of Master P, Silkk The Shocker, Mystikal, C-Murder, Mac, Krazy and Magic. The production was handled by the Neptunes, Carlos Stephens and Donald XL Robertson, while the album features No Limit labelmates Snoop Dogg, Mercedes, Erica Foxx, Samm, Black Felon/X-Con, Ms. Peaches, Mr. Marcelo, Jamo, Traci/Baby Girl, D.I.G. and Ghetto Commission; other guest performers include Pusha T, Pharrell Williams and RBX. A tandem of the songs— such as "Beefing", "I Can Tell", and "No Limit"—were previously released on No Limit's 1999 albums.
Murder Inc. Records, LLC, also abbreviated as The Inc. Records, is an American record label founded by brothers Chris and Irv Gotti in 1998. The label's flagship artist was Ja Rule. According to Chris Gotti, Murder Inc. had sold over 30 million units worldwide and grossed over $500 million. Murder Inc. was headquartered at One Worldwide Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, while their main studio was The Crackhouse, also located in New York City.
The American rapper Jay-Z has released 68 singles as a lead artist, 51 singles as a featured artist, and 14 promotional singles. "Can't Knock the Hustle" was the rapper's breakout hit, serving as lead single for his debut studio album, Reasonable Doubt (1996). During 1997, Jay-Z saw continued success with his singles "Sunshine", which peaked at number 25 on the UK singles chart, and "Wishing on a Star", which peaked at number 13. "The City Is Mine" was the most successful single of his second album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997), which peaked at number three on the US Billboard 200 and received positive reviews from critics. In 1998, he released the singles "Can I Get A..." and "Hard Knock Life ", which peaked at numbers 19 and 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both preceded his third album, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998), and led it to debut atop the Billboard 200. His fourth album, Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999), became his second album to do so, and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Jigga My Nigga" and "Big Pimpin'" ; the latter received platinum certification by the RIAA.
The discography of American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again consists of six studio albums, three compilation albums, 26 mixtapes, three extended plays, and 102 singles. His music has been released on record labels 101 Distribution, Atlantic Records, and Motown Records, along with subsidiaries Never Broke Again and Artist Partner Group. With over 80 million digital units sold in the United States, he is among the highest certified artists in the United States. YoungBoy has achieved three number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and one top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2022, YoungBoy received a plaque from the Recording Industry Association of America which reads "100 RIAA Gold/Platinum Certifications", making him the youngest artist to receive this at just 22-years-old. He is also the youngest artist in history to chart 100 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 at just 23-years-old.
American singer Kelly Price started her singing career in 1992. She worked as a backing vocalist for singer Mariah Carey, before rising to greater prominence after making uncredited guest appearances on singles by rappers The Notorious B.I.G., and Mase. In 1998, Price released her debut album Soul of a Woman. It debuted and peaked at number 15 on the US Billboard 200 and spawned the R&B number-one hit single "Friend of Mine." In 1999, Soul of a Woman was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and by 2003, it had sold 1.13 million copies in the United States.
This is the fifth album released by TRU on no limit records, The crime family was released June 1, 1999 & debut at # 5 on billboard 200 selling 142,000 copies in its first week. By August 13, 1999, Da crime family had sold over 500,000 copies
