Mario Sentell Giden Mims, known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper. In 1996, he released his debut album Youngsta's On a Come Up under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to release From Da Dope Game 2 Da Rap Game (2000), Self-Explanatory (2001), Life (2003), Back 2 da Basics (2006), Live from the Kitchen (2012), I Am (2013), The Art of Hustle (2016), I Still Am (2017), Untrapped (2020) and CM10: Free Game.
Dominick J. Lamb, better known by his stage name Nottz, is an American hip hop producer and rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Nottz has produced for some of the biggest names in hip hop, including Busta Rhymes, Rah Digga, Scarface, Snoop Dogg, Cassidy, Ghostface Killah, Kardinal Offishall, Royce da 5'9", Little Brother, The Game, Dwele, Termanology, Bilal, Asher Roth, Slaughterhouse, Pusha T, Torae, Rapsody, Shateish and Talib Kweli among many others.
Johnson Barnes III, better known by his stage name Blu, is an American rapper and record producer from Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his group Blu & Exile and their debut album Below the Heavens (2007). He is a forefront member of the California-based collective, Dirty Science. Blu is also co-CEO of New World Color, a label through which he has released many of his projects. He is recognized for his collaboration albums between him and various producers such as Exile, Mainframe, Ta'Raach, Bombay, Damu the Fudgemunk, Madlib, Nottz, and Union Analogtronics.
Asher Paul Roth is an American rapper. He is best known for his debut single "I Love College". Roth released his debut studio album Asleep in the Bread Aisle, on April 20, 2009, by Universal Motown, SRC, and School Boy Records; the latter of which was launched by Roth's former manager Scooter Braun. Roth later left Schoolboy Records in late 2012, due to creative differences with Braun. In 2013, Roth signed with indie record label Federal Prism, on which he released his second studio album, RetroHash.
Gregory Skyler Taylor, known professionally as Skyzoo, is an American rapper and songwriter. He has released a number of notable solo and collaborative albums, including Cloud 9: The 3 Day High with 9th Wonder in 2006, The Salvation in 2009, A Dream Deferred in 2012, Music For My Friends in 2015, and his most recent solo album All the Brilliant Things. Skyzoo has also released a plethora of non-commercial mixtapes including Corner Store Classic and The Great Debater throughout his career, and has worked with artists such as Jill Scott, Wale, Lloyd Banks, Tyrese, Dr. Dre, Raheem Devaughn, Black Thought, Jadakiss, Talib Kweli, Spike Lee, John Legend, and others. Skyzoo has headlined or co-headlined often-yearly tours throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa, Australia, and Asia, and he owns and operates the independent record label First Generation Rich.
Angel Del Villar II, better known by his stage name Homeboy Sandman, is an American rapper from Elmhurst, Queens, New York, United States.
Villa Manifesto EP is an EP by Detroit hip hop group Slum Village, released on December 15, 2009 under Barak Records. The EP leads up to their full-length studio album, Villa Manifesto (2010). The EP was preceded by two singles – "Cloud 9" featuring Marsha Ambrosius, and "Dope Man."
Lord Steppington is the debut studio album by California-based hip hop duo Step Brothers. The album was released on January 21, 2014 by Rhymesayers Entertainment. The record was produced entirely by Alchemist with one track produced by Evidence, and includes guest appearances from Action Bronson, Roc Marciano, Blu, Fashawn, Rakaa, Oh No, Styles P, Domo Genesis and The Whooliganz – Alchemist's old group which included actor Scott Caan.
Death of a Pop Star is a 2010 album by hip hop artists David Banner and 9th Wonder, released on Banner's independent record label, Big Face Entertainment, in conjunction with eOne Music. It is the only collaborative work done together by the two artists and the 9th Wonder's fifteenth collaborative album. The album's title derives from the artists' belief that contemporary black music was declining due to a perceived prioritization of style over substance, and the increasing popularity of music downloads, which they felt was reducing a new artist's chance of reaching the iconic status of previous artists.
Nefew is a multicultural hip hop group currently based in Switzerland. It consists of Polemikk and PA-Double. Nefew is an acronym which stands for New Enlightenment From Every Word. Q Magazine describes Nefew as one of the most promising hip hop acts from Europe. The duo is represented by independent label On Our Feet Ent. and Puma.
For the Record is the debut studio album by American rapper Torae, released on November 1, 2011 via his own imprint Internal Affairs Entertainment, in conjunction with Fat Beats Distribution. It was preceded by the collaborative project Double Barrel in 2009 with producer Marco Polo.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2012.
GMB is the second studio album by Southern California-based hip hop trio Pac Div, released on November 27, 2012 under RBC Records & eOne It was preceded by the release of Pac Div's first studio album The DiV (2011). The acronym "GMB" stands for Gabe, Mike and Bryan, the respective first names of Like, Mibbs and BeYoung. The record features guest appearances from Blu, Kurupt, Kendrick Lamar and Mac Miller, among others. The album has spawned three singles with "Bank," "Black Acura" and "Sneakerboxes."
Nitzia Scott, better known by her stage name Nitty Scott, is an American emcee from Brooklyn, New York. Her breakthrough came in 2010, when the video for her freestyle over "Monster" went viral. She has performed at the BET hip hop awards and the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, among others. Scott released her debut street album The Cassette Chronicles in 2011, followed by her critically acclaimed EP The Boombox Diaries, Vol. 1 in 2012 and her debut album Art Of Chill in 2014. She followed it up with her second album, Creature!, in 2017.
7 Days of Funk is the eponymous debut studio album by California-based funk duo 7 Days of Funk, consisting of rapper Snoop Dogg—performing under his funk persona Snoopzilla—and modern-funk musician Dâm-Funk. The album was released on December 10, 2013, by Stones Throw Records and is Snoop's first project with a single producer since his landmark 1993 debut album, Doggystyle. Recording sessions for the album took place in 2013 at The Compound and at Funkmosphere Lab in Los Angeles, and the mastering was performed at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.
Sunset Blvd. is the debut LP by Detroit-based hip hop duo Yancey Boys, released on October 29, 2013 by Yancey Media Group in conjunction with Delicious Vinyl and distributed through Traffic Entertainment Group. The record is built around a recently unearthed batch of music created by Illa J's late elder brother, James "J Dilla" Yancey. The album features the latter's past collaborators like De La Soul's Posdnuos, Slum Village's T3, Common, The Pharcyde's Slimkid3 and Talib Kweli. Additional guests on Sunset Blvd. include DJs Rhettmatic, C-Minus, and J. Rocc as well as rapper Guilty Simpson and R&B singer Eric Roberson.
"Faden Away" is a song by California-based funk duo 7 Days of Funk, released as the lead single of their eponymous debut studio album. The song premiered on October 8, 2013, on Stones Throw Records' SoundCloud page and was made available at the Stones Throw Store and iTunes Music Store on October 15, 2013. Stones Throw released "Faden Away" along with "Hit Da Pavement" on a cassingle on December 10, 2013, with both vocal and instrumental versions. The cassette was given away exclusively with the first week's orders of the LP and 45 box set.
PA2: The Director's Cut is the second solo studio album by Canadian hip hop producer Marco Polo, released on November 12, 2013, via Soulspazm Records. The first installment of the Port Authority series was released in 2007 under Soulspazm and Rawkus. In May 2013, the second installment of the Newport Authority series, Newport Authority 2, was released for free as a prelude to PA2.
Born and Raised is the first extended play by American hip hop duo Smif-N-Wessun. It was released on December 3, 2013, through Duck Down Music. Entirely produced by Beatnick & K-Salaam, the six-song EP is a blend between reggae and hip hop music, and includes guest appearances from Jahdan Blakkamoore, Junior Kelly and Junior Reid. The EP was preceded by one single — "Solid Ground" featuring dancehall icon Junior Reid.
Thomas Louis Jones III, better known by his stage name Big Pooh, is an American rapper, who, along with fellow rap artist Phonte, is a member of the acclaimed North Carolina hip hop group Little Brother. In addition to numerous records and EP's by Little Brother, Pooh released a solo album in 2005 entitled Sleepers to positive critical reception. He has been guest featured on numerous tracks by other artists. Big Pooh also appreciates basketball and has served as a guest writer on a basketball blog.
