Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known professionally as Common, is an American rapper and actor. He is the recipient of three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. At the age of 20, he signed with the independent label Relativity Records to release his debut studio album Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), which was met with critical acclaim along with its follow-ups, Resurrection (1994) and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997). He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s, and achieved mainstream success through his work with the Black music collective, Soulquarians.
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Awards, twelve NAACP Image Awards, and twelve Billboard Music Awards, including the Billboard Icon Award. She has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, including one for her supporting role in the film Mudbound (2017) and another for its original song "Mighty River", becoming the first person nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year.
Katrina Laverne Kearse, known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles "Nann Nigga", "Shut Up", and "Take It to da House". In 2000, she released her debut album Da Baddest Bitch. Afterwards, she made an appearance on the remix of "One Minute Man" by Missy Elliott and Ludacris. In 2002, she released the Kanye West-produced single "B R Right" featuring Ludacris, from her sophomore album Diamond Princess (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.
Be is the sixth studio album by American rapper Common. It was released on May 24, 2005, by Geffen Records and GOOD Music. The album is Common's first album under Geffen, following the mediocre performance of 2002's Electric Circus and the July 2003 merger of preceding label MCA Records, which, like Geffen and its sister label Interscope Records, was a division of Universal Music Group.
Dave Tozer is an American record producer and songwriter. He has worked with several R&B, hip-hop, rock and pop artists including John Legend, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, John Mayer, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Kimbra, Natasha Bedingfield, Needtobreathe, Three 6 Mafia, Musiq Soulchild, Emeli Sande, Craig David, Chrisette Michele, Mayer Hawthorne, James Bay, Estelle, DEV and Jazmine Sullivan.
"Free" is the second single from British singer-songwriter Estelle's debut album, The 18th Day (2004). The song features a rap from So Solid Crew's Megaman. It preceded the album's release by two weeks. In "Free", Estelle raps and sings about living life in a positive way, spreading love, being oneself, and working hard to achieve the most one can in life.
Shine is the second studio album by British singer Estelle. It was released on 23 September 2008 supported by the lead single "Wait a Minute ", released in November 2007.
Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo is an American R&B singer-songwriter and rapper from Los Angeles, California. Aiko embarked on her musical career in 2002, as a backing vocalist and music video performer for the R&B group B2K. She was signed by their record label, The Ultimate Group that same year and was marketed as the "cousin" of B2K member Lil' Fizz to cultivate her own following, although they are not related. Her debut album, slated for a 2003 release through the label with Epic Records, was shelved due to Aiko instead further pursuing her education.
"American Boy” is a song by British singer and rapper Estelle featuring American rapper Kanye West from the former's second studio album Shine (2008). The song was written by the artists, alongside Ethan Hendrickson, will.i.am, John Legend, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, and Keith Harris. It was produced by will.i.am, and uses the instrumental from "Impatient" from his own third studio album Songs About Girls (2007). "American Boy" is a breezy R&B and disco-funk song that lyrically describes a romance with an American suitor. The song's conception came after Legend, Estelle's mentor, suggested she write a song about meeting a man from the United States.
The discography of British singer Estelle consists of five studio albums, five extended plays, twenty-three singles, and six promotional singles.
Melanie Fiona Hallim is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. She began her career in 2002 as part of a Canadian R&B trio X-Quisite, who was nominated for a Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for their self-titled album (2004). She went on to form the duo The Renaissance with hometown native Drake, although they released no albums.
"Run This Town" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna and fellow American rapper Kanye West. Released on July 24, 2009, it was written by the artists alongside Athanasios Alatas, Jeff Bhasker, and No I.D., the latter producing it with West. "Run This Town" was released as the second single from Jay-Z's eleventh studio album, The Blueprint 3.
All of Me is the third studio album by British rapper and singer Estelle. It was first released on 24 February 2012 in Ireland, 28 February in the United States and 12 March in the United Kingdom.
"Thank You" is a song from English R&B singer and rapper Estelle, released as the second single of her third studio album All of Me. The R&B ballad was co-written by the American hip-hop singer Akon and was produced by Jerry Wonda. It was released in the United States on 4 October 2011. On the track, she finds herself expressing gratitude to the man who's helped her, because the experience has helped make her both smarter and stronger. It has charted on the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and it is already her most successful single on the R&B chart. It also debuted at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Nayvadius DeMun Cash, known professionally as Future, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Known for his mumble-styled vocals and prolific output, Future is considered a pioneer of the use of Auto-Tuned melodies in trap music. Due to the sustained popularity of this musical style, he is commonly regarded as one of the most influential rappers of his generation.
Kanye West Presents: GOOD Music – Cruel Summer, commonly referred to simply as Cruel Summer, is a compilation album by recording artists of American record label GOOD Music, released on September 14, 2012, by the label itself and its parent company, Def Jam Recordings. GOOD Music's founder, American rapper Kanye West, first revealed plans for the label's collaborative album in October 2011. It was preceded by four singles—"Mercy", "Cold", "New God Flow", and "Clique"—that saw mixed success on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album features West himself, alongside the label's then-signees Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Common, D'banj and Malik Yusef, as well as affiliates Jay-Z, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, and Cyhi the Prynce, among others. Production of Cruel Summer was primarily handled by members of GOOD Music's production wing, Very GOOD Beats, which included West, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Travis Scott and Lifted, among others.
Michael Len Williams II, known professionally as Mike Will Made It or simply Mike Will, is an American record producer. He is best known for producing trap beats for several Southern hip hop and pop artists on commercially successful singles. His credits include "Black Beatles" and "Powerglide" by Rae Sremmurd, "Mercy" by Kanye West, "No Lie" by 2 Chainz, "Bandz a Make Her Dance" by Juicy J, "Pour It Up" by Rihanna, "Love Me" by Lil Wayne, "Body Party" by Ciara, "We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus, "Formation" by Beyoncé, and "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar. He embarked on a career as a non-performing lead artist in 2013 with his debut single "23", which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. His 2017 follow-up single, "Rake It Up" peaked at number eight on the chart. He has released six mixtapes and one solo studio album, Ransom 2 (2017).
The New Classic is the debut studio album by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. It was released on 21 April 2014 by Def Jam Recordings in a joint venture with Grand Hustle Records. Primarily a hip hop album, The New Classic features elements of EDM, dance-pop and trap in its production.
Tavoris Javon Hollins Jr., known professionally as Vory, is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, he won a Grammy Award for his work on The Carters' album Everything Is Love (2018), and co-wrote hometown native Bryson Tiller's 2015 single "Don't". The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, along with Drake's 2018 single "Mob Ties", which he also co-wrote. He is best known as the frequent collaborator of Chicago native Lil Durk. His further songwriting credits led him to wider recognition as he pursued his recording career, which he first began in 2015. Hollins signed a recording contract with Capitol Records and Electric Feel Entertainment in 2018, which entered a joint venture with Meek Mill's record label, Dream Chasers Records in 2020.
