Hard Core is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim,released on November 12,1996,by Undeas Recordings,Big Beat Records,and Atlantic Records. After achieving success with the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. and their album Conspiracy (1995),Kim began working on her solo album with the Notorious B.I.G. serving as the executive producer. She collaborated with a number of producers,such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs,Stevie J.,David "Ski" Willis and Jermaine Dupri,among others. Other rappers,including Jay-Z,Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy were featured on the album.
"One More Chance / Stay with Me (Remix)" is a song written and recorded by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G.,featuring additional vocals sung by his wife Faith Evans and an uncredited appearance by Mary J. Blige. It was certified platinum by the RIAA on July 31,1995 and sold 1.1 million copies.
Junior M.A.F.I.A. was an American hip hop group from Bedford-Stuyvesant,Brooklyn,New York City. The backronym M.A.F.I.A. stands for Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes. They were formed and mentored by New York rapper The Notorious B.I.G. In 1995,they released their debut album,Conspiracy. The success of the group's singles "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money" helped launch the career of Lil' Kim as a solo artist.
The Notorious K.I.M. is the second studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim. It was released on June 27,2000,by Atlantic Records and was her first album on her new label Queen Bee Entertainment. It debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart,selling 229,000 copies in its first week,achieving Lil' Kim's highest peak and biggest first-week sales,and reached the top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A commercial success,The Notorious K.I.M. was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 2,2000. It was the best-selling female rap album in 2000 with sales of over 1.5 million copies in the United States. To date,The Notorious K.I.M. has sold 3 million copies worldwide.
"It's All About the Benjamins" is a song by American rapper and producer Puff Daddy. It was released as the third single from his debut studio album No Way Out. "Benjamins" is a slang word for money,referring to Benjamin Franklin's image on the US $100 bill. The song featured an uncredited vocal arrangement by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott,and featured a signature guitar hook played by Marc Solomon.
La Bella Mafia is the third studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim,released on March 4,2003,by Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200,was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling one million copies in the United States.
"Hypnotize" is a single by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. featuring vocals by Pamela Long,released as the first single from his album Life After Death on March 4,1997. The last song released before his death in a drive-by shooting a week later,it was the fifth song by a credited artist to hit number one posthumously,and the first since "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon in 1980. Rolling Stone ranked the song as number 30 on their list of the "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time".
American rapper Lil' Kim has released five studio albums,one remix album,four mixtapes,forty-two singles,and thirteen promotional singles. In 1994,Kim was a member of the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. Their first album,Conspiracy,was released in August 1995,and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It spawned the gold and platinum-certified top-twenty singles,"Player's Anthem","Get Money",and "I Need You Tonight".
"No Matter What They Say" is a song by Lil' Kim from her second album The Notorious K.I.M. (2000). It was released as the lead single from the album on May 30,2000 by Atlantic Records and Queen Bee Entertainment.
"Dead Presidents" is a 1996 song by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released as the first promotional single for Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt,though it did not directly appear on the album:a different version of the song with the same backing track and chorus but with different lyrics called "Dead Presidents II" appeared on Reasonable Doubt. "Dead Presidents II" was voted number 16 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs and number 42 in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Jay-Z Songs.
"Notorious B.I.G." is a song and single by the Notorious B.I.G. from the album Born Again,which features Lil' Kim,and Puff Daddy. As a tribute song,Lil' Kim and Puff Daddy's verses have little relevance to Biggie's verse,which is about being in the hospital while being comforted by attractive female nurses. It samples the song "Notorious" by Duran Duran.
The discography of the Notorious B.I.G.,an American rapper,consists of two studio albums,three posthumous albums,two compilation albums,one soundtrack and 27 singles.
"No One Else" is a song by Total,from their 1996 debut album. The track was a collaboration between the group's record label owner Sean "Puffy" Combs,now infamous member of the Trackmasters Jean-Claude "Poke" Olivier and Terri &Monica vocalist/writer Terri Robinson. It featured a rap verse from Da Brat,a sample from the track "South Bronx" by KRS-One/Boogie Down Productions and was a top 40 hit,peaking at number twenty-two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and faring even better at number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
"Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" is the lead single from Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean's sixth studio album,Carnival Vol. II:Memoirs of an Immigrant. The R&B and hip hop song features vocals from Niia and Akon,as well as rapper Lil Wayne. Verizon Wireless released the song on their V CAST service on August 7,2007. It peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2008.
"No Time" is a song by American rapper Lil' Kim. It was released as her debut single in 1996 which served as the first single from Kim's debut album Hard Core. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the Top 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. "No Time" topped the US Rap Songs for nine weeks,becoming Kim's first number 1 hit on that chart. Additionally,the song charted at number 45 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA. "No Time" contains a sample of Vicki Anderson's "Message from the Soul Sisters" and Lyn Collins's "Take Me Just As I Am".
"Crush on You" is a song by rapper Lil' Kim,released as the second single from her debut album,featuring fellow Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease. The Notorious B.I.G. raps the hook. It peaked at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart. The original album version had Lil' Cease rapping alone,while the single version featured him with Lil' Kim.
"Player's Anthem" is the first single released from the Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s debut album Conspiracy. Produced by Clark Kent,the song contains a sample of The New Birth's song "You Are What I'm All About". Featuring a chorus by the Notorious B.I.G.,"Player's Anthem" became a big hit for the group,peaking at 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the RIAA on September 7,1995 for sales of over 500,000 copies. The remix sounds similar to the original,but samples "Memory Lane" by Minnie Riperton.
"Give It 2 You" is the third and final single released from Da Brat's debut album,Funkdafied,the first album from a female rapper to go platinum.
"Juicy" is the first single by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. from his 1994 debut album,Ready to Die. It was produced by Poke of the duo Trackmasters and Sean "Puffy" Combs. "Juicy" contains a sample of Mtume's 1983 song,"Juicy Fruit",though it is directly sampled from the song's "Fruity Instrumental" mix,and has an alternative chorus sung by Bad Boy Records cohorts,the girl group Total and label boss,Combs. The song is widely considered to be one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.
"So Excited" is a song by American rapper Fat Joe,released on August 2,2017. The song was produced by his longtime producer Streetrunner and features Dre from Cool &Dre on the hook.
