Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with Midwest hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in the year 2000, with his debut album Country Grammar, of which the featured title track and the single "Ride wit Me" were top ten hits. The album peaked at number one the Billboard 200, and became Nelly's best-selling album to date, selling over 8.4 million copies in the United States. His following album, Nellyville, produced the number-one hits "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma", along with the top five single "Air Force Ones".
Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was first discovered as a teenager and later signed to Murder Inc. Records in 2002. That year, she was featured on Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" and Ja Rule's "Always on Time", both of which became two of the biggest hit songs of 2002. She became the first female artist to occupy the top two positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously with "Foolish" and "What's Luv?" at numbers one and two, respectively.
Howard Earl Bailey Jr., known professionally as Chingy, is an American rapper, record producer and actor. Chingy grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and began rapping in his late teens. He toured as an opening act with Nelly in the summer of 2002 and then became a protégé of Ludacris, who signed him to his newly formed Disturbing Tha Peace (DTP) record label. The rapper's 2003 summer debut single, "Right Thurr", put him on the musical map as a good-time rapper who specialized in catchy, club-friendly beats and simplistic lyrics delivered in a sing-song, nursery rhyme style.
"Right Thurr" is a song by American rapper Chingy. It was co-written and produced by St. Louis production team The Trak Starz. It was released on April 14, 2003, by Capitol Records, Priority Records, and Disturbing tha Peace as the debut single from his debut album, Jackpot (2003). The song received positive reviews from critics, who praised the production and Chingy's addictive delivery.
Powerballin' is the second studio album by the rapper Chingy, released on November 16, 2004, through Capitol Records and Chingy's Slot-A-Lot label. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 172 with first week sales of 7,000 copies in the US, but then climbed to number 10 with another 120,000 copies sold in the following week. It has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA for shipping over a million copies in the US. The song "I Do" was used in the video game Need for Speed: Underground 2.
"I Want You" is a song recorded by American singer Janet Jackson for her eighth studio album, Damita Jo (2004). It was released April 5, 2004, by Virgin Records as the second single from the album. It was written by Harold Lilly, Kanye West, and John Legend, while it was produced by West, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and Jackson. The mid-tempo ballad consists of a retro sound and arrangement, paying homage to the classic pop sound of the Motown era. Its composition is based on Jackson's passion and desire for an estranged lover. "I Want You" is notable for being among the first singles produced with West and co-written by Legend, who were both upcoming artists at the time.
Jackpot is the debut studio album by American rapper Chingy. Sales of the album achieved Double Platinum in the US. It was released on July 15, 2003, by the Disturbing tha Peace label. Anchored by the smash single "Right Thurr", this album also had two other top three hits, "Holidae In" featuring Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, and "One Call Away" featuring J-Weav. The album was produced by The Trak Starz except for "Bagg Up", which was produced by DJ Quik. The enhanced version of the album features the uncut video of "Right Thurr".
"One Call Away" is a song by American rapper Chingy, featuring actor Jason Weaver singing the chorus, credited as J-Weav. It was released as the third and final single off his debut album, Jackpot (2003), on January 12, 2004. The song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart for three weeks, and peaked at numbers three and six on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Mainstream Top 40 charts, respectively. It also reached the top 40 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. A video for the single was released that featured actress Keisha Knight-Pulliam and streetball player Philip "Hot Sauce" Champion.
It's Already Written is the first and only studio album by American R&B singer Houston. It was released on August 10, 2004 via Capitol Records. Production was handled by Ralph B. Stacy, Roy "Royalty" Hamilton, Ben Daka, Blaze Da Track, Burton Paul, Jazze Pha, Michael Angelo Saulsberry, Mischke Butler, Soulshock and Karlin, The Trak Starz and The Underdogs. It features guest appearances from Chingy, Don Yute, I-20, Jazze Pha, LeToya and Nate Dogg. The album peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200, number 8 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on September 21, 2004.
20 Y.O. is the ninth studio album by American singer Janet Jackson. It was released on September 20, 2006, by Virgin Records. Its title makes reference to her third studio album Control (1986), and is a commemoration to its twentieth anniversary. 20 Y.O. represents the "celebration of the joyful liberation and history-making musical style" of Control. An R&B and dance album, Jackson enlisted a range of producers to work on material with, including LRoc, Manuel Seal, The Avila Brothers and No I.D., in addition to her longtime partners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and then-boyfriend Jermaine Dupri.
"Holidae In" is a song by American rapper Chingy with guest appearances from fellow rappers Ludacris and Snoop Dogg. It was released on August 25, 2003, by Capitol and Disturbing tha Peace as the second single off his debut album Jackpot (2003). It was co-written by Chingy, Ludacris and both Alonzo Lee and Shamar Daugherty of the Trak Starz, who also produced the song. It garnered positive reviews from critics, heralding praise to all three artists for their respective performances.
"Call on Me" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson with guest vocals from American rapper Nelly from Jackson's ninth studio album, 20 Y.O. (2006). It was written by Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin, James Phillips, Cornell Haynes Jr., James Harris III and Terry Lewis, and produced by Dupri, Phillips, Jam and Lewis, in addition to Jackson. "Call on Me" was released as the album's lead single on July 19, 2006, by Virgin Records. The song is a mid-tempo ballad which talks about calling on a person when a friend or somebody to listen is needed.
"So Excited" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson featuring guest vocals from rapper Khia. It was released in August 2006 on Virgin Records as the second single from Jackson's ninth studio album, 20 Y.O.. The song was written by Jackson, Jermaine Dupri, James Phillips, Johntá Austin, James Harris III, Terry Lewis and Khia Chambers, with Herbie Hancock, Michael Beinhorn and Bill Laswell also receiving songwriting credits for sampling Hancock's 1983 song "Rockit". Production for "So Excited" was handled by Dupri, LRoc, Jam, Lewis and Jackson. "So Excited" is musically a hip hop and dance song which lyrically expresses submission from a woman to her lover.
Hoodstar is the third studio album by the hip hop artist Chingy, following the release of Powerballin'. Released on September 19, 2006, the disc is split into two sides with different musical styles. While the "Hood" segment has the tracks "Hands Up" and "Cadillac Door", "Star" has more uptempo and club-oriented tracks like "Brand New Kicks" and "Dem Jeans". The guest features are by Three 6 Mafia, Chopper and Chingy's cousin Young Spiffy. The album was produced by Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, the Trak Starz, Mannie Fresh, Mr. Collipark and the dance group Hoodstarz, among others. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 9 with first week sales of 77,000 copies in the US. It was certified Gold by RIAA for shipping over 500,000 copies in the US.
"Balla Baby" is a song by American rapper Chingy. It was released as the lead single from his second album, Powerballin' (2004). It garnered a mixed reception from critics, was the only single from the album to be released worldwide, and reached number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 34 on the UK Singles Chart. A music video by Jeremy Rall was made to promote the single that features Chingy inside a pinball machine that's named after the album's title. The remix features Lil Flip and Boozie of G.I.B. and a music video was made for the remix.
The Trak Starz are an American hip hop record production duo from St. Louis, composed of Alonzo "Zo" Lee Jr. and Shamar "Sham" Daugherty.
"Can't B Good" is a song by American recording artist Janet Jackson, taken from her tenth studio album Discipline (2008). The song was written and produced by D. DoRohn Gough and Ne-Yo, and was released as the fourth and final single from Discipline on March 18, 2008. The song is a soulful, "jazzy" R&B track about Jackson's relationship with Jermaine Dupri.
The Writing Camp is an American songwriting collective, founded by Evan "Kidd" Bogart and David "DQ" Quiñones. Since its formation in 2007, the team has been responsible for a series of successful released in pop, R&B and dance music, including 2008's "Right Here (Departed)" by Brandy and Beyoncé's "Halo."
"Make Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson included on her second greatest hits compilation Number Ones (2009). The song was written by Jackson, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Thomas Lumpkins, and Michaela Shiloh. Initially presented as an audio stream to those who joined her web site's official mailing list in September 2009, it was released via digital download later that month, on September 22, 2009, as the lead and only single from Number Ones by A&M Records.
St. Louis ("Blues") Bounce is a hip-hop music sound made popular by a number of St. Louis, Missouri hip-hop artists and musical production teams, which include Basement Beats, The Trak Starz, The Trackboyz production teams and Steve “Blast” Wills, who claims to be the originator of "St. Louis Bounce". The sound was popular throughout the first decade of the 2000s. However, not all track productions created by St. Louis production teams were St. Louis Bounce.
