Jason Terrance Phillips, better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with Bad Boy. After leaving the label in 1999, they signed a joint venture deal between Interscope and Ruff Ryders. He is currently signed to Def Jam and D-Block.
Full Surface is a record label founded in 2001, by American hip hop recording artist and record producer Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean. With the help of his protégé, Cassidy, who was the 1st artist signed, the label was established. The label used to operate through Sony's J and through Universal's Interscope, Motown and Universal Motown. However, the label also had released material through joint ventures with other companies outside the Sony BMG group. It operates as a subsidiary of Warner and is distributed by Atlantic.
Ramon Ibanga, Jr., known professionally as Illmind, is an American record producer, songwriter, and educator. As of 2012, he lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Damon J. Blackman, better known by his stage name Dame Grease or simply Grease, is an American record producer from New York City. In 1996, he gained recognition in the hip hop industry through his production work with Bad Boy and The LOX, while also establishing the sound of DMX and Ruff Ryders.
Jermaine Lamarr Cole is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and professional basketball player for the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. He is regarded as one of the most influential rappers of his generation. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, The Come Up, in early 2007. Intent on further pursuing a musical career, he went on to release two additional mixtapes, The Warm Up (2009) and Friday Night Lights (2010) both to critical acclaim, after signing to Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint in 2009.
Donavan LaMond Johnson better known by his stage name XV is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Wichita, Kansas. He first gained major attention after the release of his twelfth mixtape Everybody's Nobody, for which he received two awards from DJBooth.net. His name, XV, refers to the age (15) at which he began his musical career. On Monday July 26, 2010, XV announced that he had signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records via his Twitter page.
Friday Night Lights is the third official mixtape from Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper J. Cole. It was released on November 12, 2010. The mixtape was to originally be called Villematic and contain J. Cole's previous leaks and freestyles, however, Cole later stated it would have original material. The mixtape became the second most searched and trending topics on Google and Twitter respectively following its release. Most songs on the mixtape were slated to be on his debut album at one point or another. The mixtape has been viewed over 4,470,000 times, streamed over 1,280,000 times, and downloaded over 1,700,000 times on mixtape site DatPiff. On June 26, 2013, Cole announced that he would be re-releasing The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights for retail sale, in order to "give them the push they deserved".
"Work Out" is a song by American hip hop recording artist and record producer J. Cole, and released as the lead single from his debut studio album Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011). The song was officially released on June 27, 2011, through Roc Nation and Columbia. Nas voiced his displeasure with the song, which inspired Cole to create the song "Let Nas Down" for his album Born Sinner. It interpolates the chorus from "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul, and samples the ending production of "The New Workout Plan" by Kanye West.
Overly Dedicated is the fourth solo mixtape by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on September 14, 2010, via Top Dawg Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Dash Snow, Jhené Aiko, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Ash Riser, Dom Kennedy and Murs, among others. The album's production was handled by several TDE in-house producers, including King Blue, Sounwave, Tae Beast and Willie B; other producers such as Tommy Black, Jairus "J-Mo" Mozee, and Wyldfyer, also contributed production. The mixtape had sold a total of 12,000 copies as of October 2012.
Born Sinner is the second studio album by American rapper and record producer J. Cole. It was released on June 18, 2013, by ByStorm Entertainment, Columbia Records, Dreamville Records and Roc Nation. The album serves as the follow-up to his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011). The album features guest appearances from Miguel, Amber Coffman, Jhené Aiko, James Fauntleroy, Bas, TLC, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent. The album was also primarily produced by Cole himself, along with others such as Jake One, Syience, and Elite.
"Power Trip" is a song by American hip hop recording artist and record producer 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".
"Crooked Smile" is a song by American hip hop recording artist and record producer J. Cole, released June 4, 2013, as the second official single from his second studio album, Born Sinner (2013). The song was produced by Cole himself, and Elite. The song samples Jennifer Hudson’s "No One Gonna Love You" and features guest vocals from R&B group TLC. The song peaked at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Shit" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Future. It was released on September 24, 2013, as the third single from his second studio album, Honest (2014). The song has since peaked at number 34 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas, Ari Lennox, Cozz, Omen, Lute, JID, EarthGang, and Cole himself. Dreamville also houses American record producers Elite, Ron Gilmore, and Cedric Brown.
Abbas Hamad, better known by his stage name Bas, is an American rapper. He is signed to J. Cole's Dreamville Records via Interscope Records. His first studio album Last Winter, was released on April 29, 2014, followed by his second studio album, Too High to Riot, which was released on March 4, 2016. Bas' third album, Milky Way, was released on August 24, 2018.
Cody Rashad Osagie,, better known by his stage name Cozz, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is signed to J. Cole's label Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. His debut studio album Cozz & Effect, was released on October 3, 2014.
Damon Coleman, better known by his stage name Omen, is an American rapper and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He is signed to J. Cole's Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. His debut studio album Elephant Eyes, was released on July 21, 2015.
Revenge of the Dreamers is the first compilation album by American record label Dreamville Records and was released on January 28, 2014. The album includes contributions by Dreamville artists, J. Cole, Bas, Omen, K-Quick as well as Treasure Davis. Producers on this album include, J. Cole, Omen, Ron Gilmore, Cedric Brown, K-Quick, and Jay Kurzweil. The project is the first in the series and spawned two sequels: Revenge of the Dreamers II (2015) and Revenge of the Dreamers III (2019).
Destin Choice Route, better known by his stage name JID, is an American rapper and singer. He is a part of the musical collective Spillage Village, founded by EarthGang in 2010, with Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant, and 6lack, among others. He is signed to J. Cole's Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. He is also a member of the hip hop supergroup Zoink Gang, with Smino, Buddy, and Guapdad 4000.
Truly Yours 2 is the second extended play by American hip hop artist J. Cole. It was released digitally for free download and stream on April 30, 2013. The EP features guest appearances from Young Jeezy, 2 Chainz and Bas. Production came from J. Cole, Canei Finch, Jake One, and Ron Gilmore. The EP has been downloaded over 500,000 times on mixtape site DatPiff.
