Hard Core is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on November 12, 1996, by Undeas Recordings, Big Beat Records, and Atlantic Records. After achieving success with the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. and their album Conspiracy (1995), Kim began working on her solo album with the Notorious B.I.G. serving as the executive producer. She collaborated with a number of producers, such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Stevie J., David "Ski" Willis and Jermaine Dupri, among others. Other rappers, including Jay-Z, Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy were featured on the album.
No Limit Top Dogg is the fourth studio album and second on No Limit Records by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released May 11, 1999, by No Limit Records and Priority Records. Following the mixed reception of his previous two albums, Snoop began to work again with Dr. Dre and returned to the west coast sound of his earlier career while on Death Row Records. The album was generally met with positive reception with many critics citing it as a return to form and his best album since Doggystyle (1993). Many praised the production work for the album with the tracks made by Dr. Dre being highlighted as well as Snoop's delivery while criticism was mainly aimed at the length of the album, the No Limit features, and the lack of new lyrical content. The Source would later put the album on their list of the Top 10 Best Albums of the Year for 1999.
"Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)" is a song by American singer Jennifer Lopez for her remix album J to tha L–O! The Remixes (2002). The song was marketed as a remix of "Ain't It Funny", but is actually an entirely different song with the same title. It features guest vocals from Ja Rule (Jeffrey Atkins) and Caddillac Tah (Tiheem Crocker). It was written by Lopez, Atkins, Tah, Cory Rooney, Irving Lorenzo, and Ashanti. Over a reworking of the beat to Craig Mack's "Flava in Ya Ear" (produced by Easy Mo Bee), Lopez sings about "dropping a boyfriend who keeps messing up".
"Soldier" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child, featuring American rappers T.I. and Lil Wayne, for the group's final studio album Destiny Fulfilled (2004). The artists wrote the song with Sean Garrett and Rich Harrison who produced it with the latter co-produced it with Beyoncé. A Southern hip hop mid-tempo song, it lyrically describes each member's favorite type of male love interest. The song was released as the second single from Destiny Fulfilled on November 9, 2004, by Columbia Records and Sony Urban Music.
There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story is the debut studio album by American rapper Remy Ma. It was released on February 7, 2006, by SRC Records, Universal Records and Terror Squad Entertainment. The album's release date served as the sixth anniversary of her mentor Big Pun's death. The title and cover art coincides with the 1998 film There's Something About Mary. The album sold over 35,000 copies in its first week and as of 2007, has sold over 160,000 copies.
Nakia Shine Coleman, better known by his stage name Kia Shine, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Memphis, Tennessee. He is perhaps best known for his commercial debut single "Krispy", which is also the lead single from his 2007 debut album Due Season. He has worked with several fellow rappers, such as Mike Jones, Yo Gotti, Nelly, Jim Jones, among others. Kia Shine is co-CEO, alongside rapper Jack Frost, of Rap Hustlaz. Kia Shine won the Southern Entertainment Award (S.E.A.) in 2008 for best underground artist having sold over 200,000 albums with his independent label, Rap Hustlaz. His 2007 single "W.O.W." was the inspiration for the "wow" feature on the social media website HellaDoge, where members can earn Dogecoin for making posts and giving "wows" .
"Back & Forth" is the debut single performed by American singer Aaliyah for her debut studio album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994). The song was written and produced by R&B singer R. Kelly, and lyrically the song is about a teenager's excitement for partying on the weekend with friends. "Back and Forth" has been described as being a dance/pop/R&B and new jack swing song. Aaliyah sings in a "laid back" style. Blackground and Jive released the song as the album's lead single on April 8, 1994, to generally positive reviews with many critics praising the song's lyrical content and Aaliyah's vocal delivery on the record.
"Headsprung" is a song by American hip hop artist LL Cool J. It was released on June 7, 2004 as the lead single from his eleventh album, The DEFinition. The song was a success on the charts, it peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 4 on the Hot Rap Songs and number 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne. Young Money's president is Lil Wayne's lifelong friend and fellow rapper Mack Maine. The label was an imprint of Cash Money Records and is distributed by Republic Records.
Real is the fourth studio album by Puerto Rican reggaetón recording artist Ivy Queen, released on November 21, 2004, by Universal Music Latino. Initially to be Queen's debut full-length English-language studio album, it featured collaborations with hip hop and fellow Latino artists Hector El Father, Fat Joe, Getto & Gastam, La India, Gran Omar and Mickey Perfecto. The album was primarily produced by Rafi Mercenario, and included guest production by American producer Swizz Beatz, Puerto Rican producers Ecko, Noriega, Monserrate and DJ Nelson. The executive producers were Goguito "Willy" Guadalupe, Gran Omar and Ivy Queen.
"Let's Get Down" is a song by American rapper Bow Wow, released on June 24, 2003 as the first single off his third album Unleashed (2003). The song was written by Shad Moss, Phalon Alexander, Rahman Griffin and a then-unknown T.I. It was produced by Jazze Pha and features rapper Birdman under his former alias "Baby". It's the first song to be released by Bow Wow without the "Lil'" moniker in his name after making his film debut in 2002's Like Mike and releasing his cover of "Basketball" for the film's soundtrack. Bow Wow said that following the name change, he wanted to do the same with his music by contributing more into the songwriting process of the album and release a single that matched his new image.
Asleep in the Bread Aisle is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Asher Roth. It was released on April 20, 2009, by School Boy, SRC and Universal Motown Records. The production on the album was largely contributed by Oren Yoel, while the album features guest appearances from Cee-Lo Green, Busta Rhymes, Keri Hilson, Jazze Pha, pop duo Chester French, and the hip hop group New Kingdom.
Tear Gas is the fourth studio album by American rapper The Jacka. It was released on June 16, 2009 through The Artist Records/SMC Recordings. Recording sessions took place at 17 Hertz Studios in Hayward and at Skyblaze Studios in Emeryville. Production was handled by MG, Roblow, Bedrock, Traxamillion, Cellski, Jeffro, Joe Millionaire, Kareem K, Lee Bannon, Lee Majors, Stagmata and The Inkredibles, with The Jacka serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Ampichino, Andre Nickatina, AP.9, Cellski, Cormega, Devin the Dude, Dubb 20, E-40, Freeway, J. Stalin, Jynx, Krondon, Masspike Miles, Matt Blaque, Mistah F.A.B., Mitchy Slick, Paul Wall, Phil da Agony, Planet Asia, Rydah J. Klyde, Sky Balla and Zion I. The album debuted at number 93 on the US Billboard 200, with 5,800 copies sold in its first week of release.
"Mercy" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West featuring GOOD Music rappers Big Sean and Pusha T, along with their Def Jam label-mate rapper 2 Chainz. The song, released April 3, 2012, serves as the lead single from the compilation album Cruel Summer (2012). The song's production was handled by Lifted, with additional production from West, Mike Dean and Mike Will Made It, and additional instrumentation from Hudson Mohawke. The song heavily samples the dancehall song "Dust a Sound Boy" by Super Beagle. The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics who praised the bombastic production, the varying quality of the verses, and the wordplay of the individual rappers. The song was featured on the soundtrack for NBA 2K13.
Trap is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States in the 1990s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word "trap", a house used exclusively to sell drugs. Trap music uses synthesized drums and is characterized by complex hi-hat patterns, tuned kick drums with a long decay, and lyrical content that often focuses on drug use and urban violence. It utilizes very few instruments and focuses almost exclusively on snare drums and double- or triple-timed hi-hats.
"Power Trip" is a song by American rapper J. Cole featuring American singer Miguel. It was released on February 14, 2013 as the lead single from J. Cole's second studio album, Born Sinner (2013). The song was written and produced by J. Cole himself, with Hubert Laws receiving songwriting credits for the sampling of his song "No More".
Latin Rhythm Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. Like all Billboard album charts, the chart is based on sales, which are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based on sales data from merchants representing more than 90 percent of the U.S. music retail market. The sample includes sales at music stores, the music departments of electronics and department stores, direct-to-consumer transactions, and Internet sales of physical albums or digital downloads. A limited array of verifiable sales from concert venues is also tabulated. The chart is composed of studio, live, and compilation releases by Latin artists performing in the Latin hip hop, urban, dance and reggaeton, the most popular Latin Rhythm music genres. It joins the main Latin Albums chart along with its respective genre components: the Latin Pop Albums, Tropical Albums, and Regional Mexican Albums charts.
"Beware" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Big Sean taken from his second studio album Hall of Fame (2013). "Beware" was released on June 25, 2013, as the album's third single, through GOOD and Def Jam. The song was written by Sean Anderson, Dwayne Carter, Dwane Weir II, and Alexander Izquierdo, while production was handled by frequent collaborator Key Wane and Mike Dean and features guest appearances from rapper Lil Wayne and singer Jhené Aiko.
Mark Saint Juste also known as Mark St. Juste is an entrepreneur, television, film and record producer, author and former school teacher. Over the course of his entertainment career he has written, produced and distributed music that has reached the Billboard charts under his independent record label and production company, Street Street Communications. He also wrote, produced and directed Peep Diss Videos, a prime time syndicated Hip-Hop TV show on broadcast television and three documentary films, Shake City 101, Black Beach and Black Beach Weekend. Saint Juste has worked with some of hip-hops most notable artists to successfully explore the realities of hip-hop and leverage its positive messages for the advancement of communities.
