Windows Media Audio (WMA) is a series of audio codecs and their corresponding audio coding formats developed by Microsoft. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs. The original WMA codec, known simply as WMA, was conceived as a competitor to the popular MP3 and RealAudio codecs. WMA Pro, a newer and more advanced codec, supports multichannel and high-resolution audio. A lossless codec, WMA Lossless, compresses audio data without loss of audio fidelity. WMA Voice, targeted at voice content, applies compression using a range of low bit rates. Microsoft has also developed a digital container format called Advanced Systems Format to store audio encoded by WMA.
High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding (HE-AAC) is an audio coding format for lossy data compression of digital audio defined as an MPEG-4 Audio profile in ISO/IEC 14496–3. It is an extension of Low Complexity AAC (AAC-LC) optimized for low-bitrate applications such as streaming audio. The usage profile HE-AAC v1 uses spectral band replication (SBR) to enhance the modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT) compression efficiency in the frequency domain. The usage profile HE-AAC v2 couples SBR with Parametric Stereo (PS) to further enhance the compression efficiency of stereo signals.
People Under the Stairs was an American hip hop duo from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2019. Since their inception, the group consisted solely of Christopher Portugal and Michael Turner. The group employed a DIY work ethic of sampling, MCing, DJing, and producing all of their output.
The Next Step is the debut studio album by People Under the Stairs, released on March 24, 1998. The duo was responsible for nearly every aspect of the album's production and initial release. Quick sales of the album and its sole single, "The Next Step II", also helped to get the group noticed by the label Om Records, with whom the group produced four other albums and found greater success.
Question in the Form of an Answer is the second studio album by the People Under the Stairs. Recorded following their first world tour, the album was their first release on Om Records. The release spawned three singles, each selling their entire first pressing run of 15,000 copies, and a second world tour.
Damien Beebe, known professionally as DJ Day is a DJ, producer and musician from Palm Springs, California. He formed the Innernational Crew with DJ Rip One in 1995, and had subsequent appearances with Innernational on Return of the DJ III & Laid in Full. He has worked with Stones Throw recording artists Aloe Blacc and Clutchy Hopkins, as well as remixes for Quantic, Alice Russell, People Under The Stairs and more.
The following tables compare general and technical information for a variety of audio coding formats.
Om Records is an American record label, established in 1995, which releases electronic music, dance music and hip hop. The label was founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Chris Smith. Om Records releases both artist albums and compilations, including the Om Lounge and Mushroom Jazz series. Om's roster of artists includes Groove Armada, Underworld, Dirty Vegas, Bassnectar, Indiana Taurus, J Boogie, People Under The Stairs, Samantha James, Amp Live, Greenskeepers, Hot Toddy, and Wagon Cookin. Past artists have included Kaskade, Wolfgang Gartner, Ladybug Mecca, and Juan Atkins.
"The Message" is a song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. It was released as a single by Sugar Hill Records on July 1, 1982, and was later featured on the group's debut studio album of the same name.
Stepfather is the fifth album by the People Under the Stairs. The album signified a departure from the group's previous, Golden age hip hop sound, and the album introduced a more widely varied array of sample sources. The album also spawned two singles, "Tuxedo Rap" and "Pass The 40".
MPEG-4 SLS, or MPEG-4 Scalable to Lossless as per ISO/IEC 14496-3:2005/Amd 3:2006 (Scalable Lossless Coding), is an extension to the MPEG-4 Part 3 (MPEG-4 Audio) standard to allow lossless audio compression scalable to lossy MPEG-4 General Audio coding methods (e.g., variations of AAC). It was developed jointly by the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) and Fraunhofer, which commercializes its implementation of a limited subset of the standard under the name of HD-AAC. Standardization of the HD-AAC profile for MPEG-4 Audio is under development (as of September 2009).
Christopher Cesar Portugal, best known as Thes One, was one half of hip hop duo People Under the Stairs, serving as a vocalist/MC, producer, engineer and business manager. He has produced and engineered 8 albums for People Under the Stairs that have sold in excess of 100,000 units in the U.S. alone since 2000, have appeared on the U.S. and International Billboard charts numerous times, as well as numerous remixes and singles for other artists across the globe with numerous appearances as guest vocalist. As a business manager, he has coordinated and managed 21+ successful world tours for People Under the Stairs and co-founded the independent artist-run Tres Records label. He also designs and builds recording studios and custom gear. His musical aliases include Lord Radio.
Fun DMC is the sixth album by People Under the Stairs. The album was a concept album and, at the time of its release, the most widely reviewed and lauded of the group's catalog. In support of the album, PUTS released two singles, as well as the group's first music video for "The Wiz". For the release of the album, the group again chose an independent label, Gold Dust Media.
Asher Paul Roth is an American rapper. His debut single "I Love College" in 2009 is considered the birth of the frat rap genre. 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.
Carried Away is the seventh studio album by People Under the Stairs. The group chose to release the album on the independent label, Om Records, which they had last been on for 2003's ...Or Stay Tuned. The album is a mixture of the Golden age hip hop sound of their earlier Om releases, and a continuation of the more expansive sample-sourcing of their last two albums. Carried Away produced three singles and two music videos, and the album continued the tradition of a steady stream of positive reviews for the group.
Strange Clouds is the second studio album by American rapper B.o.B, released on April 27, 2012, under Grand Hustle Records, Rebel Rock Entertainment, and Atlantic Records. The album features guest appearances from Morgan Freeman, Taylor Swift, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, T.I., Nicki Minaj, Ryan Tedder, Lauriana Mae, Playboy Tre, Trey Songz, Nelly and Roscoe Dash while the production was handled by Dr. Luke, Cirkut, Ryan Tedder, Lil' C, Mynority, Stargate, Frequency, Mike WiLL Made It, P-Nasty, Super Water Sympathy, Kutta, Billboard, Jamieson Jones, Jim Jonsin and B.o.B himself.
H.F.M. 2 is the third studio album by American rapper Lloyd Banks, released on November 22, 2010 through G-Unit Records and EMI.
O.S.T. is the third album by the People Under the Stairs. The album was again produced in Thes One's home entirely by the duo, and it was finally released in June 2002 on Om Records. The album produced three singles, including "Acid Raindrops", one of the group's most successful songs and a constant staple at live shows.
Lifestyle Marketing is the debut studio album by producer and musician Thes One. It is an instrumental concept album consisting almost entirely of samples taken from radio and television advertising jingles created by Herb Pilhofer of Sound 80 Incorporated.
12 Step Program is the ninth album by the People Under the Stairs. It is the second album entirely self-distributed using Thes One's artist-cooperative label, Piecelock 70, and it is also the group's shortest record to be marketed as a full-length album upon its release. 12 Step Program is also the group's first album since their second album, Question in the Form of an Answer, that uses only samples and no live instrumentation.
