Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Malice was originally known as Malicious, then changed his stage name to Malice soon after the group's formation, before changing it again to No Malice in 2012 following a conversion to Christianity. The duo were based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and were heavily affiliated with producer and fellow Virginia Beach native, Pharrell Williams, who convinced the two in 1992 to be a rap duo instead of solo artists. Williams would go on to serve as their label head, main producer and frequent guest artist through most of their career. The duo frequently rapped about the drug dealing they had done in their youth. Clipse was integral in establishing Virginia as one of the East Coast's strongholds in hip hop.
GOOD Music is an American independent record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label entered an exclusive long-term worldwide distribution contract with the Island Def Jam Music Group in 2011. In 2012, the label released its only compilation album, Cruel Summer. In 2015, Pusha T was appointed the president of the label by West, while record executive Steven Victor was appointed COO. In late 2022, Pusha T stepped down from the position as he was no longer on speaking terms with West.
Faheem Rashad Najm, better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for popularizing creative use of the Auto-Tune pitch correction effect, used with extreme parameter settings to create distinctive vocal sounds. Others followed, including rappers Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Future.
Terrence LeVarr Thornton, known professionally as Pusha T, is an American rapper and songwriter. He rose to prominence as one-half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 2010, alongside his older brother No Malice. As Clipse, the two released three studio albums upon signing to Pharrell's Star Trak Entertainment; they became best known for their 2002 debut single "Grindin'".
Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model, dancer, choreographer, and music video director. In 2006, she choreographed the music video for Beyoncé's single "Ring the Alarm". In the following year, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records to embark on a career as an recording artist. Taylor would then appear on MTV's My Super Sweet 16, prior to the 2008 release of her debut single "Google Me". Despite lukewarm commercial response, she later gained wider attention for her uncredited guest performances on the songs "Dark Fantasy" and "Hell of a Life" by Kanye West, from his highly-acclaimed album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). She asked to be released from her contract with Star Trak and signed to West's GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings two years later.
"Good Morning" is the first song from American hip hop recording artist and record producer Kanye West's third studio album Graduation (2007). The song was produced by West and contains samples from the recording "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" by English singer and pianist Elton John. As the opening track, the song serves as an introduction to the musical and lyrical themes of the album. West establishes the academic narrative of it, celebrating his graduation in the realm of hip hop and rapping about his skepticism of higher education over thumping, off-kilter boom bap drums.
Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Anderson began his musical career in 2007 and gained popularity following the release of his third mixtape Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big (2010). He became acquainted with high-profile rapper Kanye West prior to signing with his GOOD Music record label, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. His debut studio album, Finally Famous (2011) peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and spawned the successful singles "My Last", "Marvin & Chardonnay", and "Dance (Ass)". His second album, Hall of Fame (2013) was met with similar success, preceded by the single "Beware".
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.
Antony Von Williams, known professionally as the WRLDFMS Tony Williams, is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Williams is perhaps best known for his vocals on his first-cousin, American musician Kanye West's debut album, The College Dropout (2004), as well as his subsequent albums. He is currently managed by David Bullock.
Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big is the third mixtape by American rapper Big Sean. It was released as a free online download on August 31, 2010, by Kanye West's label GOOD Music. The production was handled from Sean himself, alongside his boss and label-mate Kanye West, Clinton Sparks and No I.D.; as well as the guest appearances from Bun B, Big K.R.I.T., YG, Drake, Asher Roth, Mike Posner, Tyga and Currensy, among others.
Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr., known professionally as Hit-Boy, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. In May 2011, he signed a two-year deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music production branch. With this stimulus, he produced chart-topping singles such as the Diamond Certified "Niggas in Paris" by Jay-Z and Kanye West, "Trophies" by Drake, "Clique" by GOOD Music, and "Racks in the Middle" by Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch. "Racks in the Middle" won Best Rap Performance at the 2020 Grammy Awards.
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 and Def Jam Recordings. American rapper Kanye West, head of the label, first revealed plans for a label collaborative album in October 2011. The album produced four singles—"Mercy", "Cold", "New God Flow", and "Clique"—that charted on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album features West himself, alongside the label's then-signees Pusha T, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Cyhi the Prynce, 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 on the album 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.
Sonny Corey Uwaezuoke, better known by his stage name Sonny Digital, is an American record producer, rapper, and DJ. He rose to prominence after producing YC's hit single "Racks" in 2011. He is best known for his production on ILoveMakonnen's "I Dont Sell Molly No More" and "Tuesday" featuring Drake, Future's single "Same Damn Time", 50 Cent's "I'm the Man" and 2 Chainz's "Birthday Song", as well as the XXL Freshman Cyphers for 2017 and 2018. He has worked with multiple hip-hop artists, such as Future, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Drake, Chief Keef, 50 Cent, and more.
My Name Is My Name is the debut studio album by American rapper Pusha T. It was released on October 7, 2013, by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings. While leading up to the album's announcement, Pusha T released the mixtape Fear of God and the EP Fear of God II: Let Us Pray during 2011, along with collaborating on the GOOD Music's compilation album Cruel Summer. In 2013, he also released another mixtape Wrath of Caine. The album's production was handled primarily by Kanye West, along with several producers, including Pharrell Williams, The-Dream, Hudson Mohawke, Sebastian Sartor, Don Cannon, Swizz Beatz, Rico Beats, Mano and Nottz. It also features guest appearances from Rick Ross, Jeezy, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Future, Pharrell Williams, Chris Brown and Kendrick Lamar, among others.
Owl Pharaoh is the debut solo mixtape by American rapper and singer Travis Scott. It was released on May 21, 2013, on the iTunes Store and available for free download by Grand Hustle Records and Epic Records. The mixtape features guest appearances from 2 Chainz, T.I., Wale, Toro y Moi, A$AP Ferg, Theophilus London, Paul Wall, James Fauntleroy and Meek Mill.
Victor Kwesi Mensah, known professionally as Vic Mensa, is an American rapper. He was a member of the group Kids These Days, which broke up in May 2013, after which he released his debut solo mixtape Innanetape. Throughout his career, he's been signed to Virgin EMI Records, Def Jam Recordings, Capitol Records, and Roc Nation.
Leland Tyler Wayne, known professionally as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer. He is known for his dark production style and its influence on modern hip hop and trap music. He is widely considered one of the greatest producers of his generation. He is also credited for popularizing stylized producer tags in modern hip hop; these include "If Young Metro don't trust you, I'm gon’ shoot you" and "Metro Boomin want some more, nigga," respectively spoken by frequent collaborators Future and Young Thug; his other collaborators include Kanye West, the Weeknd, Travis Scott, Drake, 21 Savage, Nav, and Gucci Mane.
Cydel Charles Young, known professionally as CyHi the Prynce, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2009, he signed his first major-label recording contract in a joint venture with Akon's Konvict Muzik and Def Jam Recordings. In 2010, Young gained further mainstream attention for his work with rapper Kanye West after appearing on his highly acclaimed fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). Young would also heavily co-write lyrics for West's discography in the following years, resulting in six Grammy Award nominations for Best Rap Song.
Some of My Best Rappers Are Friends is the second mixtape by American R&B and soul recording artist The World Famous Tony Williams, released for free on January 13, 2012. It was presented by The Source Magazine, YouHeardThatNew.com & CloudKicker Clothing. Some of My Best Rappers Are Friends features guest appearances from Kanye West, Macklemore, Wale, Big K.R.I.T., Outlawz, Emilio Rojas, Freddie Gibbs, King Chip, GLC, STS, Mama Sol, Mickey Factz, Fonzworth Bentley, Kyle Lucas, CyHi The Prynce, Vonnegutt, Naledge, Gary the Storyteller, Fred Nukes and Kid Daytona.
Jordan Timothy Jenks, known professionally as Pi'erre Bourne, is an American record producer, audio engineer, beatmaker, and rapper. He is best known for producing the singles "Magnolia" by Playboi Carti and "Gummo" by 6ix9ine, entering the Top 30 of the US Billboard Hot 100.
