400 Degreez is the commercial debut and overall third studio album by American rapper Juvenile. The album was released on November 3, 1998, by Universal Records and Bryan "Baby" Williams' Cash Money Records. It remains Juvenile's best-selling album of his solo career, with six million copies sold as of 2021. The album received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 19, 2000.
E. 1999 Eternal is the second studio album by American hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, released July 25, 1995, on Ruthless Records. The album was released four months after the death of rapper Eazy-E, the group's mentor and the executive producer of the album. Both the album and single "Tha Crossroads" are dedicated to him. Following up on the surprise success of their breakthrough single "Thuggish Ruggish Bone", it became a popular album and received positive reviews from music critics, earning praise for the group's melodic rapping style. The album title is a portmanteau of Cleveland's eastside neighborhood centering on East 99th Street and St. Clair Avenue where the group is based and the then-future year 1999.
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is an American hip hop group composed of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Flesh-n-Bone. Formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio, the group signed to fellow American rapper Eazy-E's Ruthless Records in late 1993, on which they debuted with their EP Creepin on ah Come Up the next year. The EP included their breakout hit single "Thuggish Ruggish Bone". In 1995, the group released its second album E. 1999 Eternal, which included hits "1st of tha Month" and "East 1999". Their hit song "Tha Crossroads", a tribute to then-recently deceased mentor Eazy-E, won a Grammy Award in 1997.
Brandy is the debut studio album by American singer Brandy. It was released on September 27, 1994, by Atlantic Records. Chiefly produced by Keith Crouch, the album contains a range of contemporary genres, including hip-hop, pop-soul, and R&B. Aside from Crouch, Norwood worked with a range of other writers and producers, including R&B group Somethin' for the People, Arvel McClinton, Damon Thomas, and Crouch's brother Kenneth.
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American R&B singer. He signed to Polygram Records in 1992, and rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things ", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations "Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
The Dynasty: Roc-La-Familia is the fifth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, featuring prominent appearances from signees of Roc-A-Fella Records. It was released on October 31, 2000, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its lead single, "I Just Wanna Love U ", produced by the Neptunes, became one of Jay-Z's most successful singles peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, with 557,789 copies sold in its first week. The album is certified double platinum by the RIAA. The album received positive reviews from critics, and became the 20th highest-selling R&B/Hip-Hop album of the 2000–2010 decade according to Billboard.
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."
Damion Young, also known as Damizza, is an American radio executive, record producer, artist and author.
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.
Thug on da Line is the second solo studio album by American rapper Krayzie Bone. It was released on August 28, 2001 through Thugline/Ruthless/Loud Records under distribution via Epic/Columbia Records and Sony Music. Recording sessions took place at the Backroom in Glendale, at Can-Am Studios in Reseda, and at The Hit Factory Criteria in Miami. Production was handled by L.T. Hutton, Def Jef, Super Sako, Damizza, Darren "Nitro" Clowers, L.D., Lofey, L.S., the Co-Stars, The Neptunes, Tim Feehan, Vachik Aghaniantz, and Krayzie Bone himself, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from LaReece, Asu, K-Mont, Bo$$, The Gunslangers, Kelis, Knieght Rieduz, Tiffany and Wish Bone. The album peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200 and number 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States, and number 33 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart. The first and only single of the album single was "Hard Time Hustlin'" featuring Sade.
Terrorist Threats is the second and final studio album by American West Coast hip hop supergroup Westside Connection. It was released on December 9, 2003 through Hoo-Bangin' Records and Capitol Records. Production was handled by Young Tre, Bruce Waynne, Dirty Swift, Pockets, Rashad Coes, Big Tank, Damizza, DJ Jamal, Fredwreck, Megahertz, Neff-U, and Sir Jinx, with Ice Cube and Mack 10 serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from K-Mac, Butch Cassidy, Young Soprano, Knoc-turn'al, Nate Dogg, Skoop Delania, and Keith David, who voiced the intro track "Threat to the World", and parts of "Potential Victims" and "Gangsta Nation". The album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 136,000 copies sold in the US. It has since sold 679,000 records in the US and has been certified Gold by the RIAA on January 12, 2004.
Mo Thugs III: The Mothership is the third studio album by American hip hop collective Mo Thugs. It was released on June 27, 2000 via Koch Records. Production was handled by Thin C., Rich E., Mike Smoov, Darren Vegas, Damon Elliott, and Layzie Bone, who also served as executive producer. The album peaked at number 45 on the Billboard 200, number 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 2 on the Independent Albums in the United States.
The Truth is the debut studio album by Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel. Originally scheduled for a Fall 1999 release, it was delayed to a February 8, 2000 release. The album was ultimately released on February 29, 2000, to critical and commercial success. The Truth sold 155,000 copies in its first week released. It debuted and peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard 200 and had one charting single, "Anything" by Jay-Z. Beanie Sigel and his debut album were intensely hyped up after "a few dazzling collaborations" according to Matt Conaway of AllMusic and Conaway says that it "is the culmination of that promise".
The Fast and the Furious: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the first of two soundtracks to Rob Cohen's 2001 action film The Fast and the Furious. It was released on June 5, 2001, by Murder Inc. Records, Def Jam Recordings, and Universal Music Group. Production was handled mostly by Irv Gotti, as well as twelve other record producers, including Channel 7, Damizza, Nick "Fury" Loftin and Swizz Beatz. It features contributions from the film star Ja Rule, along with Armageddon, Ashanti, Black Child, Boo & Gotti, Caddillac Tah, DMX, Faith Evans, Fat Joe, Funkmaster Flex, Limp Bizkit, Method Man, Nate Dogg, N.O.R.E., O-1, Petey Pablo, Redman, R. Kelly, Scarface, Shade Sheist, Tank and Vita. The album reached number seven on the Billboard 200, number five on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and went platinum in 2002 in both the United States and Canada.
Next Friday (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to Steve Carr's 2000 comedy film Next Friday. It was released on December 14, 1999, through Priority Records and consisted of hip hop and R&B music.
Irv Gotti Presents... The Murderers is a compilation album by American record producer Irv Gotti and hip hop group The Murderers. Originally scheduled for a January 25, 2000 release, it was released on March 21, 2000, by Murder Inc. Records and Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place at Quad Studios, at Battery Studios, at The Hit Factory, at Sound On Sound, at Right Track Studios, and at Electric Lady Studios in New York, and at Enterprise Studios, and at Westlake Audio in Los Angeles. Production was primarily handled by Irv Gotti, as well as Lil' Rob, Dat Nigga Reb, Mr. Fingaz, Damizza, DL, JB Money and Ty Fyffe. Beside Ja Rule, Black Child, Tah Murdah, Vita, O-1 and Chris Black, it features contributions by the rest of Murder Inc. roster, such as Ronnie Bumps, and Murder Inc., as well as guest appearances from Dave Bing, Shade Sheist, Busta Rhymes, Lil' Mo and Memphis Bleek.
Tramayne Rayel Thompson, known by his stage name Shade Sheist, is an American rapper from Inglewood, California. He began his career in 2000 by contributing the single "Where I Wanna Be" to a compilation executive produced by himself and local producer Damizza. After writing and recording tracks for other artists, television, film and video game soundtracks, Shade Sheist released his debut album Informal Introduction, featuring "Where I Wanna Be" in 2002 under Universal Records.
"Where I Wanna Be" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Shade Sheist featuring Nate Dogg and Kurupt. It was released on October 28, 2000 via MCA Records as the first single from Shade Sheist's debut studio album Informal Introduction. Recording sessions took place at Larrabee West Recording Studios in West Hollywood. Production was handled by Eddie Berkeley and KayGee with Damizza serving as co-producer and presenter.
Informal Introduction is the debut studio album by American rapper Shade Sheist. It was released on September 10, 2002, through MCA Records. Recording sessions took place at Larrabee Studios, at Soundcastle, at Skip Saylor Recording, and at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Production was handled by Damizza, Eddie Berkeley, KayGee, DJ Quik, Howie Hersh and Timbaland. It features guest appearances from Nate Dogg, AMG, DJ Clue, Fabolous, Hi-C, Knoc-turn'al, Kurupt, Vita and Warren G among others.
L.A. Confidential Presents: Knoc-turn'al is the debut extended play by American rapper Knoc-turn'al. Originally it was supposed to be a full-length album titled Knoc's Landin', which was shelved due to undisclosed reasons and reduced to an EP released on July 30, 2002 through Elektra Records. Recording sessions took place at Record One Studio, Westlake Audio and Larrabee West Studios in Los Angeles and at South Beach Studios in Miami Beach. Production was handled by Dr. Dre, Bud'da, Fredwreck, Kanye West, S-Dog, the Production Coalition of America, Wallace Sibley Jr. and Knoc-turn'al himself, with executive producer D. Menefield and associate executive producer Jay Brown. It features guest appearances from Slip Capone, Butch Cassidy, Dr. Dre, Jayo Felony, Missy Elliott, Nate Dogg, Shade Sheist, Timebomb, Too Short, Warren G, Xzibit and Samuel Christian. The album peaked at number 74 on the Billboard 200 and number 26 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States.
