Jeffrey Bruce Atkins Sr., better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known as a leading figure in 2000s hip hop for his blending of gangsta rap with commercially oriented pop sensibilities. He signed with Irv Gotti's Murder Inc Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut studio album Venni Vetti Vecci (1999), which spawned his first hit single, "Holla Holla". Ja Rule peaked the Billboard Hot 100 thrice in 2001 with his single "Always on Time" and his guest appearances on Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real " and "Ain't It Funny". His encompassing singles, "Put It on Me", "Mesmerize", "Livin' It Up" and "Wonderful" have each peaked within the top ten of the chart and spawned from commercially successful album releases.
Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, better known by her stage name Foxy Brown, is an American rapper. Upon being signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1996, she released her debut studio album, Ill Na Na, in November of that year to critical and commercial success. It peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), sold over seven million units worldwide, and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "I'll Be".
Jerrell C. Jones, better known by his stage name J-Kwon, is an American rapper from St. Louis, Missouri. He signed with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, an imprint of Arista Records to release his 2004 single "Tipsy," which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It served as lead single for his debut studio album Hood Hop (2004), which peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200 and spawned the single "You & Me". The following year, he guest appeared alongside Mike Jones on labelmate Bow Wow's single, "Fresh Azimiz", which peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Barry Adrian Reese, better known by his stage name Cassidy, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first garnered attention for his freestyles and competitions as a battle rapper in the late 1990s, and formed the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective Larsiny Family by the end of the decade. American record producer Swizz Beatz discovered the group in 2000 and signed Cassidy to his newly-established Full Surface Records, in a joint venture with J Records. He adopted a commercially-oriented approach for his 2003 debut single "Hotel" and its follow-up, "Get No Better" ; the former peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 while both preceded the release of his debut studio album, Split Personality (2004).
Jason Terrance Phillips, better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Arista Records to release their debut studio album, Money, Power & Respect (1998); their second album, We Are the Streets (2000) was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records. Both peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200 and yielded critical praise; their two subsequent albums, Filthy America... It's Beautiful (2013) and Living Off Xperience (2020) were both released by Jay-Z's Roc Nation and met with continued praise.
Moses Michael Levi Barrow is a Belizean rapper and politician. He is the Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, and the leader of the Belize United Democratic Party. Barrow was born in Belize but moved to Brooklyn in New York City as a child and began to rap as a teenager. He is perhaps best known for his 2000 singles "Bad Boyz" and "Bonnie & Shyne". He also wrote and performed on a number of multi-platinum albums, such as Usher's Confessions, Lil Wayne's Carter IV, Notorious B.I.G's Born Again, Mase's Double Up, and Puff Daddy's Forever among other top-selling albums during his tenures with his former labels, Bad Boy Records and Def Jam Recordings.
Dwight Equan Grant, better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his association with Jay-Z and his label Roc-A-Fella Records, to which Grant signed in 1998 and became a flagship artist. His debut studio album, The Truth (2000) was met with critical and commercial success, peaking at number five on the Billboard 200. Along with his solo career, Grant was the de facto leader of the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective State Property, which he formed with Roc-A-Fella labelmates, and who debuted in 2002 with a namesake film in which Grant starred. The group released two well-received studio albums.
Joseph Anthony Budden II is an American media personality, broadcaster, cultural critic, and rapper. He first gained recognition in the latter occupation with his 2003 single "Pump It Up", which peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of his eponymous debut studio album (2003). Met with critical and commercial success, the album peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200, although it served as his only major label release for Def Jam Recordings; he thereafter released seven albums independently to continued critical praise. While doing so, he performed as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, which were signed to Eminem's Shady Records in 2012; the group released two studio albums.
Reminisce Kioni Mackie, known professionally as Remy Ma, is an American rapper. Discovered by the late rapper Big Pun, she came to prominence for her work as a member of Fat Joe's group, Terror Squad. In 2006, she released her debut studio album There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story, which became a modest success, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200 chart. Ma's most commercially successful songs include "Whuteva", "Ante Up (Remix)", "Lean Back", "Conceited", and "All the Way Up".
Keith Omar Murray is an American rapper from New York. He is best known for being a member of the hip hop group Def Squad, which includes fellow rappers Redman and fellow Long Island native Erick Sermon. The group released their debut album, El Niño in 1998.
Swizz Beatz Presents G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories is a compilation album by American record producer and rapper Swizz Beatz, released on December 10, 2002, under Interscope, DreamWorks and his own label Full Surface. It debuted at number 50 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, selling 59,000 copies in its first week.
The Fix is the seventh studio album by American rapper Scarface. The album was released on August 6, 2002. The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart, with well over 160,000 copies sold in its 1st week. Guest artists on the album include Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Nas, Faith Evans, and WC. Producers include Mike Dean, Kanye West, Tony Pizarro, Nottz, and The Neptunes. Upon release, The Fix was met with critical acclaim.
Broken Silence is the third studio album by American rapper Foxy Brown, released on June 5, 2001, by Violator and Ill Na Na Entertainment; distributed under Def Jam Recordings. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 131,000 copies. It has been certified gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. This is Foxy's only album to be released in the 2000s, and remains her most recent release.
"Hail Mary" is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur from his fifth studio album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996). It was released after his September 1996 murder under the Makaveli stage name as the album's third single. Hail Mary features rap verses by Kastro, Young Noble and Yaki Kadafi of the Outlawz rap group and vocals from reggae musician Prince Ital Joe. A music video was shot for the song and can be found on the DualDisc of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.
Shyne is the self-titled debut album by Belizean-American rapper Shyne. It was released by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records on September 26, 2000. Shyne had been hyped prior to the album's release as similar in style and delivery to the deceased Notorious B.I.G. Shyne had also drawn unfavorable media attention for being convicted in June 2000 for his involvement in a nightclub shooting. Shyne was incarcerated at the time of this album's release. The album debuted and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and sold just under 160,000 copies in its first week. It sold very well, eventually achieving Gold status. It contained fewer guest artists than most Bad Boy releases. The singles from the album, "Bad Boyz," "Bonnie & Shyne", and "That's Gangsta" were moderate hits.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2009.
Durk Banks, known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He initially garnered a local following with the release of his Signed to the Streets mixtape series (2013–2014), whose success led to him to sign with Def Jam Recordings. The label released his debut studio album, Remember My Name (2015) and its follow-up, Lil Durk 2X (2016) to moderate commercial reception before parting ways with the artist in 2018.
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper. From 2015 to 2017, he released eight independent mixtapes and garnered a regional following for his work. He signed with Atlantic Records and Artist Partner Group in the latter year to release the singles "Untouchable" and "No Smoke", both of which marked his first entries on the Billboard Hot 100. Released in January of the following year, his single "Outside Today" became his first to reach the top 40 of the chart, and received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It served as both his mainstream breakthrough and the lead single for his debut studio album, Until Death Call My Name (2018), which peaked at number seven on the US Billboard 200 despite mixed critical reception.
Jalen Taheen Foster, known professionally as Real Boston Richey, is an American rapper from Tallahassee, Florida. He is currently signed to Future's record label Freebandz, and is noted for his usage of Michigan-style hip-hop production. His mixtape Public Housing peaked at number 60 on the Billboard 200.
