Lana Michele Moorer, better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first solo female rapper to release a full album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. She released a total of eight solo studio albums and an EP with Almost September.
Melissa Arnette Elliott, better known as Missy Elliott or Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the early-mid 1990s and later became a member of the Swing Mob collective along with childhood friend and longtime collaborator Timbaland, with whom she worked on projects for American R&B acts Aaliyah, 702, Total, and SWV. Following several collaborations and guest appearances, she launched her solo career in 1997 with her debut album Supa Dupa Fly, which spawned the top 20 single "Sock It 2 Me". The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, the highest charting debut for a female rapper at the time.
William Braunstein, known by his stage name Ill Bill, is an American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York City. Having gained fame in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known for his diverse lyrics and as the producer, founder and CEO of Uncle Howie Records. His brother Ron is rapper and producer Necro.
Shaffer Chimere Smith, known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit "Let Me Love You". The single's successful release prompted a meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam's then-president Jay-Z, resulting in a long-tenured recording contract. He is a recipient of several awards including three Grammy Awards.
Contemporary R&B is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music.
The Hip Hop Caucus (HHC) is a national, non-profit organization in the United States, which aims to promote political activism for young U.S. voters using hip-hop music and culture.
Mario Sentell Giden Mims, known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti 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.
American singer Ne-Yo has released nine studio albums, forty-one singles and several other appearances with other artists.
"Miss Independent" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. It is the second single from his album. Year of the Gentleman (2008), and was produced by Stargate. It samples the song "Forget About Me" by Keesha. The song was written by Ne-Yo and co-written by Stargate. It was released as a music download on August 26, 2008, and physical release on September 2, 2008.
Follow Me Home is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Jay Rock; it was released on July 26, 2011, under Top Dawg Entertainment and Strange Music. The album was preceded by two singles; "All My Life " and "Hood Gone Love It".
American rapper Big Sean has released five studio albums, four mixtapes, thirty-one singles, eight promotional singles, and thirty-nine music videos. In 2008, Big Sean was discovered by American rapper and record producer Kanye West, who signed Sean to his record label GOOD Music—distributed through Def Jam Recordings. Since 2008, after signing a record deal to West's label G.O.O.D. Music, Sean's breakthrough career continued through his mixtapes such as Finally Famous Vol. 2: UKnowBigSean (2009) and Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG (2010). While he was releasing these mixtapes, he collaborated on various tracks and/or singles from West, Royce da 5'9" and Chris Brown.
"Only Wanna Give It to You" is a song by American singer-songwriter and R&B recording artist Elle Varner, released on August 16, 2011 as a digital download. It serves as her debut single and the lead single from her debut studio album, Perfectly Imperfect (2012). The song features American rapper J. Cole and was produced by Oak & Pop. The Elle Varner song was released and her only single with J Records prior to RCA Records before closing down the label.
Gabrielle Serene Varner is an American singer-songwriter. Born into a musical family in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Los Angeles, Varner studied at New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music. In October 2009, she signed with RCA Records along with a co-publishing agreement with Sony Music.
"Refill" is a song by American singer-songwriter and R&B recording artist Elle Varner. The song, produced by Andrew "Pop" Wansel, was released on January 31, 2012 as a digital download, and serves as the second single from her debut studio album, Perfectly Imperfect (2012). A snippet of the song was included on her mixtape Conversational Lush (2012). The song received a nomination for Best R&B Song at the 55th Grammy Awards to be held in February 2013. Robert Christgau ranked it number 14 on his year-end singles list for 2012.
R.E.D., is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, first released on October 31, 2012, in Japan. The album follows the disappointing commercial performance to 2010's Libra Scale and is Ne-Yo's first album with new label Motown Records after being appointed as the label's senior vice president for A&R. The album contains songs that crossover different genres of music, combining elements of R&B, pop and dance-pop.
Perfectly Imperfect is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Elle Varner. It was released on August 7, 2012, under RCA and MBK Entertainment. Recording sessions for the album took place at Jungle City Studios in New York City, Soulstar Studios in Brooklyn, Larrabee Sound Studio in North Hollywood, and Skip Saylor Studios in Northridge, California. For the production of the album Varner enlisted writers and producers including Jermaine Lamar Cole, Pop & Oak, Frankie Storm and Darrhyl Camper.
"Lazy Love" is a song by American recording artist Ne-Yo, premiere online on May 14, 2012. It officially impacted Urban radio on May 29, 2012 and was released on June 12, 2012 by Motown Records for purchase as a digital download. It is the first single from his album R.E.D. The music video for the song premiered on June 11, 2012. The song peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. The music video was directed by Diane Martel.
The discography of Elle Varner, an American singer-songwriter, consists of two studio albums, one mixtape, seven singles, two promotional singles and two music videos.
My Own Lane is the second studio album by American rapper Kid Ink. The album was released on January 7, 2014, by Tha Alumni Music Group, 88 Classic, and RCA Records. Recording for the album took place during 2013 and finished in November 2013. The album's production was handled by DJ Mustard, Cardiak, The Runners, The Futuristics, Arthur McArthur, soFLY and Nius and Ned Cameron, among others. Kid Ink collaborated with various artists on the album including Chris Brown, Tyga, French Montana, ASAP Ferg, Pusha T, Elle Varner, Machine Gun Kelly, King Los, Meek Mill, Wale, and August Alsina, among others.
Non-Fiction is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Ne-Yo. The album was released on January 27, 2015, by Motown Records, serving as the follow-up to his fifth album R.E.D. (2012). The album was preceded by two singles: "Money Can't Buy" featuring Jeezy and "She Knows" featuring Juicy J.
