Robert Sylvester Kelly, known as R. Kelly, is an American former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames such as "the King of R&B", "the King of Pop-Soul", and "the Pied Piper of R&B". Kelly's career ended in 2019 following his arrest and subsequent convictions on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving sexual abuse of minors.
Lloyd Polite Jr. is an American R&B singer. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised in Decatur, Georgia, he began his musical career as a member of the preteen-boy band N-Toon, which was formed by Joyce Irby in 1996. The group disbanded in 2001, and Polite signed with record executive Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2003 to pursue a solo career. His 2004 debut single, "Southside" peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and led his debut studio album of the same name (2004), which entered the Billboard 200 at number 11. His second album, Street Love (2007) debuted at number two on the chart and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 singles "You" and "Get It Shawty".
"Burn" is a song by American R&B singer Usher, which he wrote with American songwriters Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox. The song was produced by Dupri and Cox for Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions (2004). A downtempo track about the breakup of a relationship, it was originally planned as the album's lead single, but "Burn" was pushed back after favorable responses for the song "Yeah!". "Burn" was eventually released as the second single from the album on March 21, 2004. "Burn" is considered to be one of Usher's signature hits.
"You Are Not Alone" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). It was released on August 15, 1995, by Epic and Sony, as the second single from the album.
Gerald Maxwell Rivera, known mononymously as Maxwell, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence following the release of his debut studio album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (1996), which received widespread acclaim and spawned the hit singles "Ascension " and "Sumthin' Sumthin'". Through the album and its follow ups, Maxwell has been cited—along with Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo, and Erykah Badu—for ushering in the neo soul movement and its sensibilities into mainstream popular music during the late 1990s.
Robin Alan Thicke is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single "Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, he received two nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
"Who Is She 2 U" is a song by American recording artist Brandy Norwood from her fourth studio album, Afrodisiac (2004). It was written by Candice Nelson, Walter Millsap III and Timbaland, and produced by the latter. The song is built around a sample of "Instant Love" (1977) by American singer Leon Ware. Due to the inclusion of the sample, he and Jacqueline Hilliard are also credited as songwriters. Based on true events, the song describes a woman who is suspicious about her mate's awkward behavior around a seemingly unfamiliar woman. The dramatic up-tempo incorporates piano keys, flutes, chamber pop string melodies and go-go drum programming.
Cherish is an American R&B music group consisting of sisters Fallon, Felisha, Farrah, and Neosha King. Originating from Atlanta, Georgia, both their parents are musicians, their father having been in the band Professions of Sounds, who frequently toured with acts such as the Emotions and Earth, Wind & Fire. The group was signed to Capitol Records and Sho'nuff Records. They experienced chart success with the hit song "Do It to It".
Gnarls Barkley is an American soul duo composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, St. Elsewhere, in 2006. It contained their hit single "Crazy", which peaked at number two on the US Hot 100 and topped the UK Singles Chart. It was nominated at the 2007 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, and was platinum certified for shipping over 1,000,000 records. St. Elsewhere also received a nomination for Album of the Year. The Odd Couple, their second studio album, was scheduled for release in April 2008, but due to a leak of the album over the internet, they decided to release it early. The album in its entirety received similarly positive reviews.
"Like This" is a song by American singer Kelly Rowland, featuring vocals by rapper Eve. Recorded late into the production of Rowland's second solo album Ms. Kelly (2007), the song was released on March 13, 2007, as the lead single from the album. The artists co-wrote the song with its producers Sean Garrett, Polow da Don, Blac Elvis, and Jason Perry, with additional production from S-Dot. "Like This" is a R&B song, with its lyrics referring to a woman growing out of a past relationship.
Double Up is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter R. Kelly. It was released by Jive Records on May 29, 2007 in the United States, with distribution handled by Zomba Label Group. The album features the contributions with guest appearances and also the productions, which was handled by R. Kelly, along with Swizz Beatz, The Runners, Snoop Dogg, Khao, Nelly, Chamillionaire and Polow da Don.
The Odd Couple is the second studio album by Gnarls Barkley, released digitally on March 18 and in stores March 25, 2008. Due to an early leak of the album over the Internet in early March 2008, the duo decided to push up the release from April 8. The album was released to the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 on March 18.
"Chopped 'n' Skrewed" is the second single released from R&B singer-songwriter T-Pain's third album, Thr33 Ringz. The song features American rapper Ludacris. It was first released on the Canadian iTunes on September 22, 2008, the same day the song was also added to T-Pain's MySpace. It was released in the US on iTunes on September 30.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2009.
"Whip My Hair" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Willow Smith, released in 2010 under the name Willow. The song was written by Ronald "Jukebox" Jackson and Janae Liann Ratliff, and produced by Ronald Jackson. "Whip My Hair" peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Whip My Hair" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark, and the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top 20 of the charts in Australia, Canada, and Ireland.
"Hold My Hand" is a duet performed by American singer-songwriters Michael Jackson and Akon, from Jackson's first posthumous album Michael (2010). The song was originally recorded by Akon and Jackson in December 2007. The song was an international top 10 hit in nations such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
"Mr. Know It All" is a song recorded by American pop recording artist Kelly Clarkson. It was written by Brian Kennedy, Ester Dean, Brett James, and Dante Jones, with the production handled by Kennedy, Dean, and Jones. Clarkson described the song as a "vocally raw record" and stated that she and her producers strove to record her voice as it is heard at live performances, using as little auto-tune processing as possible. It was released by RCA Records as the lead single from her fifth studio album, Stronger on September 5, 2011.
Madison Elle Beer is an American singer and songwriter. Beer first gained substantial media coverage when Justin Bieber posted a link to one of her covers she posted on YouTube. In 2013, she released her debut single "Melodies". In 2018, she released her debut extended play (EP), As She Pleases, which produced the singles "Dead" and "Home with You".
"Say Yes" is a song by American singer Michelle Williams, taken from her fourth studio album Journey to Freedom (2014). It features Williams' former Destiny's Child groupmates Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland. The song was written by Williams, Carmen Reece, Al Sherrod Lambert and Harmony Samuels who also produced it. E1 Music released "Say Yes" as the album's third single on June 2, 2014. "Say Yes" marks the third time the trio collaborated as solo artists following the disbandment of their group in 2006.
