The College Dropout is the debut studio album by the American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry. Intent on pursuing a solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded the album over a period of four years, beginning in 1999.
Dexter Raymond Mills Jr., better known by his stage name Consequence, is an American rapper from Queens, New York City, New York. He is best known for his collaborative work with A Tribe Called Quest and Kanye West. He later squashed his feud with rapper Pusha T in 2016.
Teairra Marí Thomas is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress. At the age of 16, Jay-Z signed her to Def Jam and she released her first album, Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí. After disappointing sales, she was let go from her recording contract in the middle of production for her second album Second Round. In 2008, she returned to the music scene with the Pleasure P-assisted single "Hunt 4 U". After constant leaks, she re-recorded a second attempt at her second album titled At That Point, which was later shelved. In 2010, she starred in the film Lottery Ticket alongside rappers Bow Wow and Ice Cube. Since 2010, she has released several mixtapes including features from Nicki Minaj, Soulja Boy, and Gucci Mane.
Ernest Dion Wilson, professionally known as No I.D., is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is also a former recording artist, having released his only studio album, Accept Your Own and Be Yourself (1997) through Relativity Records. He is best 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,". He also worked with Kanye 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.
Slum Village is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. The group formerly comprised the rappers Baatin (1974–2009) and T3 and the rapper and producer J Dilla (1974–2006). J Dilla left in 2001 to pursue a solo career with MCA Records. Elzhi joined in his absence, after which Baatin also left due to health complications.
"Through the Wire" is the debut solo single by American rapper and producer Kanye West, who wrote and recorded the song with his jaw wired shut after a car crash on October 23rd, 2002. The song samples Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire" and was released on the last day of September 2003 as the lead single from his debut album The College Dropout (2004).
Karriem Riggins is an American jazz drummer, record producer, DJ and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He met Chicago rapper Common and fellow Detroit musician J Dilla both in 1996, and served as an extensive contributor for releases by both artists. He produced for Common's 1997 album One Day It'll All Make Sense, did so on much of his further projects, and formed the musical trio August Greene with the rapper alongside fellow jazz instrumentalist Robert Glasper in 2018. Furthermore, he formed the Jahari Massamba Unit with Madlib in 2020, and has also worked with prominent music industry artists including Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Denzel Curry, Earl Sweatshirt, and Norah Jones, among others.
Welcome 2 Detroit is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist J Dilla, released on February 26, 2001. The album followed his group Slum Village's critically acclaimed Fantastic, Vol. 2, and kicked off BBE's "Beat Generation" series.
Finding Forever is the seventh studio album by Common, released on July 31, 2007, on GOOD Music and Geffen Records. Like Common's previous album, Be (2005), Finding Forever is primarily produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at the number one on the Billboard 200, selling 155,000 units in the first week, becoming Common's first chart-topper. Selling over 500,000 units in the US, it has been certified Gold. Finding Forever was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, losing to Kanye West's Graduation at the 50th Grammy Awards.
Jason Powers, better known by his stage name Elzhi, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is a former member of Slum Village and now records as a solo artist. In his youth, he made numerous visits to the Hip-Hop shop in Detroit, taking advantage of open-mic nights hosted by fellow Detroit rapper Proof.
Dominick J. Lamb, better known by his stage name Nottz, is an American hip hop producer and rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Nottz has produced for some of the biggest names in hip hop, including Busta Rhymes, Rah Digga, Scarface, Snoop Dogg, Cassidy, Ghostface Killah, Kardinal Offishall, Royce da 5'9", Little Brother, The Game, Dwele, Termanology, Bilal, Asher Roth, Slaughterhouse, Pusha T, Torae, Rapsody, Shateish and Talib Kweli among many others.
Some Kinda... is the second studio album by American musician Dwele. It was released on October 4, 2005 via Virgin Records. Recording sessions took place at Modat Studios in Detroit, Studio A in Dearborn Heights, Waynee Boy Studios in Royal Oak, Planet 2 Planet Studios in New York, 916 Music Studios in Hollywood, and Unsung Studios in Sherman Oaks. Production was mainly handled by Dwele himself, in addition to G-1, J Dilla and Mike City. It features guest appearances from Antwan Gardner, Boney James, Poppa Yo and Slum Village. The album peaked at number 54 on the Billboard 200 and number 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
"The People" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Common, released as the second single from his seventh studio album Finding Forever. The song made its first appearance on fellow American rapper Kanye West's Can't Tell Me Nothing mixtape. The song features production by West and contains background vocals provided by soul singer Dwele. The original version of the song had Common singing the hook by himself, but this was later replaced with Dwele singing the hook. It contains samples of "We Almost Lost Detroit" by Gil Scott-Heron as well as vocal samples of "Long Red" by Mountain. This action was part of West's intention to pay tribute to J Dilla through the production style expressed within the album.
"Flashing Lights" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his third studio album, Graduation (2007). The song features a guest appearance from R&B singer Dwele and additional vocals from Australian singer Connie Mitchell. West co-wrote and co-produced the song with Eric Hudson, who had completed the production before the duo added a live string section in 2007. It was released to US rhythmic contemporary radio as the album's fourth single on November 20, 2007, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. A hip hop, electro rap, and R&B song with elements of numerous genres, it prominently utilizes strings and synths. Lyrically, the song features West rapping about a complicated relationship where a girl has power over him; he also compares the paparazzi to Nazis.
...Sketches of a Man is the third studio album by American musician Dwele. It was released on June 24, 2008 via Koch Records. Recording sessions took place at the Loft in Detroit, at Durt Factory in Norfolk, at 916 Studios in Universal City, and at the Chop Shop in Brooklyn. Production was mainly handled by Dwele himself, in addition to G-1, Mr. Lee, Nottz and Joe Archie. It features guest appearances from J. Tait, Lloyd Dwayne and Slum Village.
We Global is the third studio album by Miami based mixtape DJ and Terror Squad member, DJ Khaled. The album was released on September 16, 2008. This was his third album distributed by Koch Records, and the first released on his We the Best Music Group label. The album's guest appearances from Game, T-Pain, Bun B, Rick Ross, Ace Hood, Plies, Akon, Trick Daddy, Lil Boosie, Nas, Kanye West, Fabolous, Fat Joe, Sean Paul, Busta Rhymes, Pitbull, Casely and Flo Rida among others.
Alternative hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip hop groups that refuse to conform to any of the traditional stereotypes of rap, such as gangsta, bass, hardcore, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres drawing equally from funk and pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae, and even folk."
Villa Manifesto is the sixth studio album by Detroit hip hop group Slum Village. It was released on July 27, 2010, via E1 Records.
W.ants W.orld W.omen is the fourth studio album by American musician Dwele. It was released on June 29, 2010 via RT Music Groupp/E1 Music. Recording sessions took place at the Loft in Detroit, at the Durt Factory in Norfolk, at 916 Studios in Universal City, and at Unsung Studios in Sherman Oaks. Production was mainly handled by Dwele himself, in addition to G-1, Mike City and Nottz. It features guest appearances from David Banner, DJ Quik, Lloyd Dwayne, Kindra Parker, Monica Blaire, Raheem DeVaughn and Slum Village. The album peaked at number 28 on the Billboard 200 and number 9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
"That Part" is a hip hop song by American hip hop recording artist Schoolboy Q featuring Kanye West. It was released on May 13, 2016 by Top Dawg Entertainment and Interscope Records, as the lead single from Schoolboy Q's fourth album Blank Face LP, and was produced by Cardo, Yung Exclusive, Cubeatz and Sounwave. The song was nominated for Best Rap Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. HipHopDX named it the ninth best hip-hop song of 2016.
