The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, having served in the same role on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014. Current regular members of The Roots on The Tonight Show are Captain Kirk Douglas (guitar), Mark Kelley (bass), James Poyser (keyboards), Ian Hendrickson-Smith (saxophone), Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson (sousaphone), Stro Elliot, Dave Guy (trumpet), Kamal Gray (keyboards), and Raymond Angry (keyboards).
Quality is the first studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. The album was released on November 19, 2002, by Rawkus Records. It received wide critical acclaim and had some commercial appeal from the song "Get By", produced by Kanye West. Kludge magazine included it on their list of best albums of 2002.
Ernest Dion Wilson, known professionally as No I.D., is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common, as well as his career mentorship of rappers Kanye West, J. Cole and Logic. Wilson first gained success for his role as an in-house producer for Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings—leading to largely uncredited work on Dupri's productions "My Boo" by Usher, "Outta My System" and "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow—before reaching commercial success with his solo productions. He worked with Jay-Z to produce his singles "Run This Town" and "Holy Grail," West to produce "Heartless," and Drake to produce "Find Your Love" and "Nonstop"; each have peaked within the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Special Occasion is the second studio album by American R&B singer Bobby Valentino. It was released by Disturbing tha Peace and Def Jam Recordings on May 8, 2007, in the United States. The singer co-wrote over three quarters of the album, which also features songwriting and production from Tim & Bob, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Timbaland, Sean Garrett, Don Vito, Bryan-Michael Cox and Dre & Vidal. It also features guest appearances by Ludacris, Timbaland and Fabolous.
Brand New is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, released on October 21, 1997, by London Records. The group's international label at the time, Red Ant Entertainment, filed for bankruptcy before the album was officially released; aside from a brief tour and some TV and print ads, almost no promotion was available to boost the record. Brand New spawned two singles: "R U Ready" and "Gitty Up". The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on November 25, 1997, a sharp decline from the group's previous efforts.
Vincent Jamal Staples is an American rapper, songwriter and actor. Based in Long Beach, California, he first became known for his appearances on projects by Odd Future members—Earl, Journey to the 5th Echelon (2010), and Doris (2013). He signed with Talib Kweli's Blacksmith Records prior to releasing his collaborative mixtape with Mac Miller, Stolen Youth (2013). The following year, he signed with No I.D.'s ARTium Recordings, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut extended play, Hell Can Wait (2014)—which marked his first entry on the Billboard 200 and received critical acclaim.
Doris is the debut studio album by American rapper Earl Sweatshirt. It was released on August 20, 2013, through Odd Future Records and Tan Cressida Records, and distributed by Columbia Records. Doris follows his first mixtape, Earl, which was released in 2010 when he was sixteen. After returning from a forced stay in a Samoan boarding school, he began working on his debut album and signed a deal with Columbia, rather than Odd Future's Odd Future Records.
Stolen Youth is a collaborative mixtape by American rapper Vince Staples and rapper/producer Mac Miller, under his production pseudonym Larry Fisherman. The mixtape was released as a free digital download on June 20, 2013, to mixtape hosting websites. Stolen Youth was entirely produced by Miller. The mixtape features guest appearances from Mac Miller, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, Da$H, Hardo, and Staples' Cutthroat Boyz cohort, Joey Fatts.
Nobody's Smiling is the tenth studio album by American hip hop recording artist Common. It was released on July 22, 2014, by Def Jam Recordings and No I.D.'s label ARTium Records. Following the release of his 2011's album The Dreamer/The Believer, Common took a hiatus from musical endeavors. In 2013, he returned to the studio and began working his tenth album and later revealed that the production, much like his previous effort, would be handled entirely by his longtime collaborator and record producer No I.D. In 2014, Common signed a recording contract with No I.D.'s ARTium Records, through Def Jam Recordings, for the distribution of the album.
Shyne Coldchain II is the fourth official mixtape released by American rapper Vince Staples. The mixtape was produced by No I.D., Evidence, DJ Babu, Childish Major, and Scoop DeVille. It also features guest appearances from singer-songwriters Jhené Aiko, and James Fauntleroy.
To Pimp a Butterfly is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the United States, with production from Sounwave, Terrace Martin, Taz "Tisa" Arnold, Thundercat, Rahki, LoveDragon, Flying Lotus, Pharrell Williams, Boi-1da, Knxwledge, and several other high-profile hip-hop producers, as well as executive production from Dr. Dre and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Guest appearances include Thundercat, George Clinton, Bilal, Anna Wise, Snoop Dogg, James Fauntleroy, Ronald Isley, and Rapsody.
Peace Is the Mission is the third studio album by American electronic dance music project Major Lazer. It was released on June 1, 2015.
Summertime '06 is the debut studio double album by American rapper Vince Staples. It was released on June 30, 2015, through ARTium Recordings, Blacksmith Records, and Def Jam Recordings. The album was primarily produced by No I.D., alongside a variety of high-profile record producers, including DJ Dahi, Clams Casino, Brian Kidd, Christian Rich, and Mikky Ekko. The album was supported by three singles: "Señorita", "Get Paid", and "Norf Norf".
Freetown Sound is the third album by Dev Hynes recording as Blood Orange. It was released on 28 June 2016, three days before its originally announced release date of 1 July 2016. The album contains guest appearances by Empress Of, Debbie Harry, Nelly Furtado, Kelsey Lu and Carly Rae Jepsen. The album cover is a 2009 photograph titled Binky and Tony Forever by American artist Deana Lawson.
Blonde is the second studio album by the American singer Frank Ocean. It was released on August 20, 2016, as a timed exclusive on the iTunes Store and Apple Music, and followed the August 19 release of Ocean's video album Endless. The album features guest vocals from André 3000, Beyoncé, and Kim Burrell, among others. Production was handled by Ocean himself, alongside a variety of high-profile record producers, including Malay and Om'Mas Keith, who collaborated with Ocean on Channel Orange, as well as James Blake, Jon Brion, Buddy Ross, Pharrell Williams, and Rostam Batmanglij, among others.
Big Fish Theory is the second studio album by American rapper Vince Staples. It was released on June 23, 2017, through Blacksmith Records and Def Jam Recordings. Featuring an avant-garde style that leans toward electronic club music genres such as house and Detroit techno, it contains production work from Christian Rich, Zack Sekoff, Sophie, Ray Brady, Jimmy Edgar, GTA, Justin Vernon and Flume, among others; as well as vocal contributions from a variety of artists including Kilo Kish, Kendrick Lamar, Juicy J, Ty Dolla Sign, Damon Albarn, Ray J, ASAP Rocky and Kučka.
LP1 is the only solo studio album by English singer Liam Payne. It was released on 6 December 2019 through Hampton Records and Capitol Records. The album mixes pop and trap music with hip hop and R&B production, and draws influences from Usher and Justin Timberlake. LP1 was preceded by three singles: "Strip That Down", "Get Low" and "Bedroom Floor", and spawned four further singles, post-release: "Familiar", "Stack It Up", "All I Want " and "Live Forever". Reviews for the record were mixed, according to review aggregator Metacritic, with critics noting how Payne lacked a distinct identity amid the various genres he adopted throughout the track listing.
Vince Staples is the fourth studio album by American rapper Vince Staples. It was released on July 9, 2021, through Motown and Blacksmith Records. At 22 minutes and 2 seconds, it is the shortest album in Staples' discography. It features a single guest appearance from Fousheé; production was entirely handled by Kenny Beats, who had produced most tracks on FM! (2018).
Ramona Park Broke My Heart is the fifth studio album by American rapper Vince Staples, released on April 8, 2022, through Motown and Blacksmith Records. It features guest appearances from Mustard, Lil Baby and Ty Dolla Sign. Production was handled by a variety of record producers, including longtime collaborator LeKen Taylor, Saint Mino, DJ Dahi, and Mustard himself, among others. It follows Staples' eponymous fourth studio album (2021), and shares its conversational themes.
All Is Yellow is the debut studio album by multimedia production company Lyrical Lemonade, executive produced by the company's founder, American music video director Cole Bennett. It was released on January 26, 2024, via Lyrical Lemonade, and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. It features appearances by many prominent hip-hop artists.
