Crunk is a subgenre of southern hip hop that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the early to mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more nightclub-oriented subgenres. Distinguishing itself with other Southern hip hop subgenres, crunk is marked and characterized by its energetic accelerated musical tempo, club appeal, recurrent chants frequently executed in a call and response manner, multilayered synths, its pronounced reliance on resounding 808 basslines, and rudimentary musical arrangement. An archetypal crunk track frequently uses a dominant groove composed of a nuanced utilization of intricately multilayered keyboard synthesizers organized in a recurring pattern, seamlessly shifting from a lower to a higher pitch that encompasses the song's primary central rhythm, both in terms of its harmonic and melodic aspects. The main groove is then wrapped up with looped, stripped-down, and crisp 808 dance claps and manipulated snare rolls coupled and accompanied by a bassline of thumping 808 kick drums. The term "crunk" was also used throughout the 2000s as a blanket term to denote any style of Southern hip hop, a side effect of the genre's breakthrough to the mainstream. The word derives from its African-American Vernacular English past-participle form, "crunk", of the verb "to crank". It refers to being excited or high on drugs.
Kings of Crunk is the fourth studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released in October 2002 through BME Recordings/TVT Records. There are conflicting reports about the album's release date, with different publications claiming it was released on October 8, October 22, or October 29. Recording sessions took place at Stankonia Recording, Soundlabs Studio, Flamingo Studios, The Zone, Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, at Audio Vision Recording in Miami, at Liveson Studios in Yonkers, at Piety Street Studios in New Orleans, at Cotton Row Studios in Memphis, at Quad Studios, Streetlight Studios and TMF Studios in New York, at The Orange Room, at The Den, and at Doppler Studios. Production was handled solely by Lil' Jon, who also served as executive producer together with Bryan Leach, Emperor Searcy, Rob McDowell and Vince Phillips. It features guest appearances from Oobie, Bun B, Chyna Whyte, 8Ball & MJG, Big Gipp, Bo Hagon, Devin the Dude, E-40, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Krayzie Bone, Mystikal, Pastor Troy, Petey Pablo, Styles P, Too $hort, Trick Daddy, Ying-Yang Twins, Luke, Pimpin Ken, Pitbull and T.I.
Jonathan H. Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American hip-hop recording artist and record producer. He was instrumental in the commercial breakthrough of the hip-hop subgenre crunk in the early 2000s and is often credited as a progenitor of the genre. He was the frontman of the crunk group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, with whom he has released five albums. In addition, Lil Jon served as a producer for most recordings by artists who popularized the genre; these include Pitbull, Too Short, E-40, Ludacris, Ciara, and Usher.
Crunk Juice is the fifth and final studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on November 16, 2004, under BME Recordings and TVT Records. The production was primarily handled by Lil Jon himself, who also collaborated in the executive production, alongside Bryan Leach, Rob McDowell, Emperor Searcy, Vince Phillips, the Neptunes and Rick Rubin. The album includes guest appearances from rappers and singers, like R. Kelly, Ludacris, Ice Cube, Usher, Bun B from UGK, Jadakiss, Nas, T.I., the Ying Yang Twins and Pharrell.
The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine and D-Roc. Despite the name, the duo are not twins, brothers or related in any way.
"Wait (The Whisper Song)" is a song by American crunk duo Ying Yang Twins, It was released on March 1, 2005, as the lead single from their fourth studio album, U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta) (2005). The song consists of a minimal bass pulse, a few finger-snaps, and whispered, sexually explicit lyrics. The song's unique sound was mixed by Atlanta sound engineer Joel Mullis, who is currently affiliated with the production company 340 Music. "Wait" became a hit single, reaching No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
U.S.A. is the fourth studio album by the American hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins. It was released on June 28, 2005 via ColliPark Music and TVT Records. A chopped and screwed version done by Michael "5000" Watts was released later the same year.
"Bojangles" is a song by American rapper Pitbull. It was released in May 2006 as the lead single from his album El Mariel. It was produced by Lil Jon. The remix features Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins. It featured a controversial video featuring the featured artists.
"What U Gon' Do" is a song by Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz, released in November 2004 as the lead single from their album Crunk Juice and features Lil Scrappy.
American rapper Busta Rhymes has released eleven studio albums, three compilation albums, eight mixtapes, one hundred and nine singles, fourteen promotional singles and fifty-six music videos. Busta Rhymes signed his first recording contract with Elektra Records at the age of just 17, as a member of hip-hop group Leaders of the New School. Though the group would disband in 1994, a number of well-received guest appearances on songs by artists including A Tribe Called Quest and Mary J. Blige led Elektra to offer Busta Rhymes a solo contract in 1995. His debut studio album, The Coming, was released the following year, with lead single "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check" reaching number eight on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of 2019 Busta Rhymes has sold around 9,000,000 albums.
The discography of American rapper Lil Jon consists of seven studio albums and fifteen singles. Lil Jon was the lead vocalist for the group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz from 1997 to 2004. Since the group broke up, Lil Jon has continued to produce his own music and tracks for other artists.
This is the discography of American rapper Lil Scrappy.
This is the discography of American rap duo Ying Yang Twins.
"Break Ya Neck" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released as the second single from his fifth studio album Genesis on August 25, 2001, by Flipmode Entertainment and J Records. The song was produced by Dr. Dre, while singer Truth Hurts provides additional vocals. The song contains an interpolation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Give It Away". The official remix of the single features Twista and Do or Die.
"Lovers and Friends" is a song by American Southern hip-hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring American singer Usher and American rapper Ludacris, from the group's fifth and final studio album, Crunk Juice (2004). The song was written by the artists alongside Michael Sterling, while produced by Lil Jon. It was released by BME and TVT Records in November 2004, as the third single from the album. An R&B slow jam, the song consists of a piano melody and hook, and contains a sample of Sterling's song of the same name. The lyrics depict the three artists attempting to seduce women.
"Salt Shaker" is a song released by rap group Ying Yang Twins featuring Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on their third studio album, Me & My Brother (2003). It was produced by Lil Jon with guitars played by Craig Love. The song reached the top 10 in the United States, peaking at number 9.
"Let's Go" is a song by American rapper Trick Daddy, released as the first single from his 2004 sixth studio album Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets. It features Twista and Lil Jon and was produced by Jim Jonsin and Bigg D. The song became a top ten hit, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Trick Daddy's most successful single of his career. The song samples "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne. It was used in the films Stomp the Yard (2007) and Neighbors (2014) in addition to the extended trailer for Megamind (2010). In 2019, the song is heard during the trailer for a new mode in Gears 5 called Escape. Despite the sample already being cleared with Osbourne's publishing, Osbourne had not listened to the song until February 2021 when producer Andrew Watt played him the song to his approval.
"Look at Me Now" is a song by American singer Chris Brown featuring American rappers Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes released as the second single from Brown's fourth studio album F.A.M.E. on February 1, 2011. The artists co-wrote the song with its producers Afrojack, Diplo, and Free School, with additional writing from Ryan Buendia. Musically, "Look at Me Now" is a "dirty south–inspired" hip hop song that features "thumping bass, spacy synth and horn jam sounds."
Certified Crunk is a compilation album by American Southern hip hop group Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on November 4, 2003 via Mirror Image Entertainment/Ichiban Records. Production was handled by Midnight Black, Kool-Ace, Mr. Collipark and Lil' Jon. It features guest appearances from Jazze Pha, 404 Soldierz, Darryl E., DJ Pryme, Hitman Sammy Sam, Killer Mike, Ludacris, No Surrender, Playa Poncho, Ying Yang Twins, Organized Noize and Jermaine Dupri. The album peaked at number 197 on the Billboard 200, number 40 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number nine on the Independent Albums in the United States.
This is the discography of Jamaican musician Elephant Man.
