Andre Romelle Young, known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and was the president of Death Row Records. Dr. Dre began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru in 1985 and later found fame with the gangsta rap group N.W.A. The group popularized explicit lyrics in hip hop to detail the violence of street life. During the early 1990s, Dre was credited as a key figure in the crafting and popularization of West Coast G-funk, a subgenre of hip hop characterized by a synthesizer foundation and slow, heavy beats.
Delmar Drew Arnaud, known professionally as Daz Dillinger, is an American rapper and record producer. In the 1990s at Death Row Records, aided the catapult of West Coast rap and gangsta rap into the mainstream. He is one half of the rap duo tha Dogg Pound, along with Kurupt.
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory is the fifth studio album and first posthumous album by American rapper Tupac Shakur, credited as the alias Makaveli. It was released on November 5, 1996, almost two months after his death, and was released through Death Row Records, Makaveli Records and Interscope Records. It is his only album released under a new alternative stage name, Makaveli, and it is the last Tupac album released with his creative input. The album features guest appearances from rap group Outlawz and rapper Bad Azz, as well as R&B singers Aaron Hall, Danny Boy, K-Ci and JoJo and Val Young, along with reggae musician Prince Ital Joe.
David Marvin Blake, better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is an American rapper, songwriter, DJ and record producer, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Tupac, Erick Sermon, and Shaquille O'Neal, among others. Blake's stage name reflects his ability to produce songs in a short period of time. Some of his top songs include "Dollaz + Sense", "Tonite", "Born and Raised in Compton" and "Jus Lyke Compton".
Loyal to the Game is the ninth studio album and fifth posthumous studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur. The album was produced by Eminem and consists of remixes of previously unreleased music recorded by Shakur before his death in 1996. Released in the United States on December 14, 2004, Loyal to the Game debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Gregory Edward Jacobs, known professionally as Shock G, was an American rapper who was best known as the lead vocalist of the hip hop group Digital Underground. He was responsible for Digital Underground's "The Humpty Dance", 2Pac's breakthrough single "I Get Around", and co-producer of 2Pac's debut album 2Pacalypse Now.
Color Me Badd is an American contemporary R&B group that was formed in 1985 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by lead singer Bryan Abrams, tenor Mark Calderon, second tenor Sam Watters and baritone Kevin Thornton. Color Me Badd broke up in 1998 before reuniting in 2010, with various lineups since.
Eric Tyrone Breed, better known as MC Breed, is an American rapper best known for his singles "Ain't No Future in Yo' Frontin'", which peaked at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Gotta Get Mine", that made it to number 6 on the Hot Rap Singles.
"Hit 'Em Up" is a diss song by hip hop artist 2Pac, featuring the Outlawz. It is the B-side to the single "How Do U Want It", released on June 4, 1996. The song's lyrics contain vicious insults to several East Coast rappers, chiefly Shakur's former-friend-turned-rival, The Notorious B.I.G.. The song was recorded at Can Am Studios in 1996. There is a previous version of this song recorded in October 1995. Reporter Chuck Philips, who interviewed Shakur at Can Am, described the song as "a caustic anti–East Coast jihad in which the rapper threatens to eliminate Biggie, Puff, and a slew of Bad Boy artists and other New York acts." The song was produced by long-time collaborator Johnny "J". The video, itself described as infamous, includes impersonations of Biggie, Puffy and M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Kim.
R U Still Down? is the sixth studio album and second double album by American rapper, 2Pac, released posthumously on November 25, 1997. It was the first album to be released without his creative input and contains previously unreleased material from the time period of his albums Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., Thug Life: Volume 1 and Me Against the World. Throughout the album, 2Pac airs his views on life from a time before he became involved in the controversial East Coast–West Coast rivalry. His lyrics foreshadow his death in songs like "Open Fire", "Thug Style" and "Only Fear of Death." The album spawned two hits, "Do for Love" and "I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto", of which "Do for Love" was certified Gold by the RIAA. R U Still Down? sold 549,000 copies in its first week, reached multi-Platinum status in under a month, and topped the R&B charts in the United States for three weeks.
Farid Karam Nassar, better known as Fredwreck, is a Grammy Award-winning American music artist and record producer. He got his big break when he became a producer for Dr. Dre's newly founded record label Aftermath Entertainment, and then went on to work with Snoop Dogg's record label Dogghouse Records and became a known producer on Tha Dogg Pound-affiliated material. He has produced tracks from Kurupt's Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha and most of his next release, Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey; both released during the period the rapper had left Death Row Records. He has also produced for other hip-hop and pop artists such as Eminem, Britney Spears, Ice Cube, Westside Connection, Lil' Kim, Hilary Duff, Xzibit, The Game, Nate Dogg, Everlast, Cypress Hill, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, as well as non-US acts such as Dizzie Rascal, Tamer Hosny, Qusai Kheder and Karl Wolf.
Live Squad was an American hip hop group and production team from Hollis, Queens, New York consisting of brothers Stretch and Majesty and DJ K-Low, best known for their early collaborations with Tupac Shakur.
James Campbell, better known by his stage names Freddie Foxxx and Bumpy Knuckles, is an American rapper and music producer from Long Island, New York.
"Hail Mary" is a single by American rapper Tupac from his final album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, under the new stage name Makaveli. The song, released after his September 1996 death, features rap verses by Kastro, Young Noble and Yaki Kadafi of The Outlawz and 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.
Randy Walker, of the stage name Stretch, was an American rapper and record producer, working in Live Squad. In the early 1990s, he joined 2Pac's rap group Thug Life. The November 30, 1994, shooting of Shakur led to their split. On November 30, 1995, exactly one year after the shooting of Shakur, Stretch was shot and killed at the age of 27.
"To Live & Die in L.A." is a song by rapper Tupac Shakur, released under the stage name Makaveli. The song was released as a single in Europe and parts of Oceania and was included on Shakur's posthumous album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. The song peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and number 2 on the UK R&B chart.
The discography of American record producer, sound engineer, and rapper Dr. Dre consists of three studio albums, forty-two singles,, one compilation album, one soundtrack album, and twenty-one music videos.
"Playa Cardz Right" is a song by American R&B recording artist Keyshia Cole. The song features late rapper 2Pac and was originally included on his sixth posthumously released album Pac's Life (2006), with most of his vocals initially recorded for his fourth studio album All Eyez on Me (1996). Cole's reworked version, produced by Ron Fair and Carvin & Ivan for Karma Productions, was released as the lead single from her third album A Different Me (2008).
Johnny Lee Jackson was a Mexican-American multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper best known for his early career with Death Row Records, and for his work with 2Pac on Me Against the World and All Eyez on Me, as well as 2Pac's posthumously released albums. He was born in Juárez, Mexico, in 1969 and raised in South Central Los Angeles. Johnny "J" was co-owner and CEO of Klock Work Entertainment.
Osten Harvey Jr., better known by his stage name Easy Mo Bee, is an American hip hop and R&B record producer, known for his production work for artists such as Big Daddy Kane and Miles Davis, as well as his affiliation with Bad Boy Records in its early years, and his production involvement in The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut album, Ready to Die. He also produced two songs on 2Pac's album, Me Against the World.
