John David Jackson, better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive DJ Clue's radio show, then on Hot 97. Jackson subsequently signed to DJ Clue's Desert Storm imprint, and later secured a distribution deal with major-label, Elektra. Jackson gained prominence with his first release, Ghetto Fabolous (2001), which spawned the hit singles "Can't Deny It" and "Young'n ". His second release was 2003's Street Dreams, which was supported by two US top 10 singles, "Can't Let You Go" and "Into You".
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson recorded for his sixth studio album Thriller (1982). It is the opening track of the album and was released as its fourth single on May 8, 1983, by Epic Records. It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The lyrics pertain to strangers spreading rumors to start an argument for no good reason. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" evokes the disco sound of Jackson's previous studio album, Off the Wall, released in 1979. The song is characterized by a complex rhythm arrangement and a distinctive horn arrangement.
"Ghetto" is the second single from American singer-songwriter Akon's debut studio album, Trouble. The single was released on December 21, 2004, exclusively in Latin America and certain countries of Europe. The single peaked at #92 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Akon describes the meaning of the song, reflected in the song's lyrics, as "a description of the cycle of poverty experienced by those living in poor, inner-city areas". Additionally, it describes the physical and psychological oppression with which these residents must deal on a regular basis.
Chris Robinson is an American film director, commercial director, and music video director. He has directed films such as Netflix original Beats (2019). He has directed commercials for brands such as iPod, Coca-Cola and Verizon and music videos for songs like "Fallin'" and "You Don't Know My Name" by Alicia Keys, "Roc Boys" by Jay-Z, the Grammy nominated video for "One Mic" by Nas, and "Bonnie & Clyde '03" by Jay-Z featuring Beyoncé Knowles. Robinson made his debut as a music video director by helming the 1991 clip "Doo Doo Brown" by the group 2 Hyped Brothers & a Dog.
"Soul Survivor" is the second single of American rapper Young Jeezy, and appears on the 2005 album Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101. The song features Akon. The song was released through The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings and Young Jeezy's Corporate Thugz Entertainment
"I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)" (censored as "I'm N Luv (Wit a Dancer)") is a single written and performed by American rapper and singer T-Pain featuring fellow American rapper Mike Jones. Produced by the former, it was released in late 2005 and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it T-Pain's second top 10 single, and Mike Jones's first. This is T-Pain's third most successful single to date, tying with his other "Bartender", and Mike Jones's most successful single to date. The official remix is with Twista, Pimp C, R. Kelly, Too Short and more.
Delroy "Junior" Reid is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, best known for his featuring on the songs "One Blood", "It's Okay " and "This Is Why I'm Hot", as well as being the lead vocalist for Black Uhuru on three albums: Brutal, Positive and Black Uhuru Live in New York.
"I Wanna Love You" is a song written and recorded by singer Akon featuring Snoop Dogg. It was released in October 2006 as the second single from his second studio album, Konvicted. It is also featured on Snoop Dogg's eighth album, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. This song was Akon's first #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also Snoop's second #1 on the same chart. It also reached a peak of #3 on the UK Singles Chart. The track originally had Akon as a featured artist and was performed by rapper Plies from Fort Myers, Florida, but his verse was replaced by Snoop's and his name has been left out from the writers' credits. This song was #88 on MTV Asia's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008.
Cham is a Jamaican-born dancehall singer-songwriter and actor, mostly known for his 2006 single "Ghetto Story" from his major label debut album of the same name, a song which led to multiple "story" songs by other artists in a similar vein. He is currently signed to Atlantic Records, and was known as Baby Cham until 2005. He is still called Baby Cham by his Jamaican fans and fans from around the world despite the name change.
"We Takin' Over" is the first single from DJ Khaled's second album, We the Best. Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Birdman and Lil Wayne are all featured on this hip hop track. Nate "Danja" Hills assisted the artists in writing the song and is also the producer.
"Make Me Better" is the third single from Fabolous' album From Nothin' to Somethin'. The song features Ne-Yo on the hook and is produced by Timbaland.
"Ha" is a 1998 single by rapper Juvenile, from his third album 400 Degreez. It was produced by Mannie Fresh. This song, along with Juvenile's "Back That Azz Up" and B.G.'s "Bling Bling" was responsible for taking Cash Money Records from a small local label in New Orleans to the pop mainstream. The song is notable for its unique style of rapping, with every line except the chorus ending with "ha". The chorus to the song interpolates a line taken from the earlier Juvenile single "Solja Rags".
"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.
"Dangerous" is a song by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall featuring American singer Akon. Produced by DJ Kemo and hAZEL, it was the first single from his fourth album, Not 4 Sale. It was released to radio in March 2008, and on iTunes on April 1. On the week of May 13, at the American iTunes Store, the song was offered as a free download. The song won the award for Single of the Year at the 2009 Juno Awards. In January 2023, the single was certified 4× platinum by Music Canada and 3× platinum by the RIAA.
"Nothin'" is the lead single from American rapper N.O.R.E.'s third studio album, God's Favorite (2002). The song was produced by the Neptunes and features Neptunes member Pharrell Williams performing the song's hook. "Nothin'" reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, surpassing his 1998 hit "Superthug" as his biggest solo hit. At the end of 2002, "Nothin'" was ranked No. 37 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2002.
"Nothin' on You" is the debut single of both American rapper B.o.B and featured American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It is the lead single from the former's debut studio album, B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray (2010). It was first released on December 15, 2009, via digital download by Atlantic Records. The track was written by B.o.B, Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine, with the latter three producing it as the Smeezingtons. "Nothin' on You" was initially written for Lupe Fiasco, but Atlantic Records' chairman, Craig Kallman, gave it to B.o.B after being displeased with Fiasco's version. The song took several months to finish and was born from a hummed melody by Mars and Lawrence.
"Un-Thinkable " is a song by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys from her fourth studio album The Element of Freedom (2009), that features uncredited background vocals from Canadian rapper Drake, although he is credited on the official remix of the song. It was initially scheduled to be the fifth single, but it was released as the fourth single. It was her first single to reach number one on the R&B chart in the United States since 2007's "Like You'll Never See Me Again". "Un-Thinkable " spent twelve consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs, becoming the longest-running number-one single of 2010. The song topped the Billboard Adult R&B Songs, and reached number twenty-one on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Ain't Worried About Nothin'" is a song by American rapper French Montana for his debut studio album Excuse My French (2013). It was released on April 15, 2013, as the third single from the album. The song was written and produced by Rico Love and Earl & E, with additional songwriting provided by Montana. "Ain't Worried About Nothin'" peaked at number 63 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. An accompanying music video was released on May 7, 2013.
"My Story" is a single by American R&B singer R. Kelly featuring 2 Chainz, written by R. Kelly who co-produced it with Nineteen85 from OVO Sound, for his twelfth solo studio album Black Panties. A snippet of the song was first heard at the BET Awards same year, then another a week after the award ceremony. The song was released on November 3, 2012 via R. Kelly's Vevo, and on iTunes a day later. The second snippet was not in the official song, but later heard on the extended version of the song. The song debuted at #89 on the hot 100 during the week of the album's release after many weeks on the bubbling under chart. No official music video will be released, but a documentary music video has been uploaded on R. Kelly's Vevo channel and a fan video was expected, but was never released.
"Take It Easy" is a hip hop and reggae fusion song, recorded by hip-hop/dancehall artist Mad Lion from his debut studio album, Real Ting (1994). The song contains a sample of "When A Man In Love" by Yami Bolo and "Return of the Boom Bap" from collaborator KRS-One from his 1993 debut album of the same name.
