Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Awards, twelve NAACP Image Awards, and twelve Billboard Music Awards, including the Billboard Icon Award. She has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, including one for her supporting role in the film Mudbound (2017) and another for its original song "Mighty River", becoming the first person nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year.
Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, better known by her stage name Foxy Brown, is an American rapper. Upon being signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1996, she released her debut studio album, Ill Na Na, in November of that year to critical and commercial success. It peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), sold over seven million units worldwide, and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "I'll Be".
Ill Na Na is the debut studio album by American rapper Foxy Brown. It was released by Def Jam Recordings on November 19, 1996, and reissued on September 29, 1997, in the UK with an additional song "Big Bad Mamma". Brown began working on the album after being discovered by the production team Trackmasters and appearing on a number of singles by other artists, such as LL Cool J, Case and Jay Z. The immediate success of the singles led to a bidding war at the beginning of 1996, and in March, Def Jam Recordings won and signed the then 17-year-old rapper to the label. Mostly produced by Trackmasters, Ill Na Na features guest appearances from Blackstreet, Havoc, Method Man, Kid Capri and Jay Z. Lyrically, the album mainly focuses on themes of fashion, sex and mafia.
The Notorious K.I.M. is the second studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Atlantic Records and was her first album on her new label Queen Bee Entertainment. It debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 229,000 copies in its first week, achieving Lil' Kim's highest peak and biggest first-week sales, and reached the top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A commercial success, The Notorious K.I.M. was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 2, 2000. It was the best-selling female rap album in 2000 with sales of over 1.4 million copies in the United States. To date, The Notorious K.I.M. has sold 5.1 million copies worldwide.
Share My World is the third studio album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, released by MCA on April 22, 1997. The album became Blige's first to open at number one on the US Billboard 200 album chart. Moreover, it is her first album where she serves as an executive producer, alongside Steve Stoute, who also shared executive producer credits on the album.
"I Love You" is a 1995 single by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, taken from her second album My Life.
"Enough Cryin" a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Sean Garrett, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins for her seventh studio album, The Breakthrough (2005), while production was helmed by the latter. The song introduces Blige's rap alter ego, Brook Lynn, who delivers the song's rap verse. Blige's rap verse was originally written by Jay-Z for Foxy Brown, but Jerkins rejected Brown's vocals and it was instead suggested that Blige record the verse herself.
The Album is the only studio album by American hip hop supergroup The Firm. It was released on October 21, 1997, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The project was created by rapper Nas, his manager Steve Stoute and producers Dr. Dre and Trackmasters, who came up with the idea of forming a hip hop supergroup. The original line-up included Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown and Cormega who were all featured on the song "Affirmative Action" from Nas' album It Was Written (1996). However, Cormega later left the group due to artistic differences between him and Nas, as well as contract disagreements with Stoute. He was replaced by Nature prior to recording of the album. The Album is a concept album that revolves around the themes of mafia and "gangsta" lifestyle. The songs on the album were mainly produced by Dr. Dre, Chris "The Glove" Taylor and Trackmasters, and feature guest vocals from Pretty Boy, Wizard, Canibus, Dawn Robinson, Noreaga and Half-a-Mill.
"I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" is a duet song by American rapper Method Man, featuring American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. The song is a remix of Method Man's "All I Need", which appears on his debut studio album Tical (1994). The song, a hip hop soul record, was released as a single by Def Jam Recordings and PolyGram Records on April 25, 1995.
"No One Else" is a song by American girl group Total featuring American rapper Da Brat. It was released as the second single from Total's self-titled debut studio album on November 28, 1995, by Bad Boy and Arista Records. The song was produced by Bad Boy founder Sean "Puffy" Combs and Poke of the Trackmasters, while the songwriting was handled by the two alongside the featured Da Brat and Terri & Monica vocalist Terri Robinson. The song also contains a sample from the track "South Bronx" by Boogie Down Productions.
"Love Is All We Need" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige, with a guest rap from Nas. It was written by Blige, Nas, James Harris III, and Terry Lewis for Blige's third studio album, Share My World (1997), while production was helmed by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The song contains a sample of the song "Moonchild" (1985) as performed by American singer Rick James. With its more buoyant tone, it stood in conspicuous contrast to much of the more dark-rooted material featured on Blige's earlier albums.
"Everything" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written and produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis for Blige's third album, Share My World (1997). The song contains samples from "You Are Everything" (1971) by American soul group The Stylistics and "The Payback" (1973) by American singer James Brown, also incorporating elements from "Sukiyaki" (1961) by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto. Due to the inclusion of the samples, Brown, Hachidai Nakamura, Rokusuke Ei, Linda Creed, Thom Bell, John Starks, and Fred Wesley are also credited as songwriters.
"Missing You" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written and produced by Babyface for her third studio album, Share My World (1997). In the United Kingdom, the song was released as the album's third single where it reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. "Missing You" features background vocals from singer Shanice and talks about a woman in a dilemma over a relationship with a man that she at first claimed she "wasn't in love" with but then finds herself "thinking about him all the time" and her missing him.
"The One" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige featuring Canadian rapper Drake. Written alongside Ester Dean and producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, it was released on July 21, 2009 as the lead single from her ninth studio album Stronger with Each Tear. The song marked Blige's 5th entry on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, on which it reached number 32. Blige's sum extended her lead for most charted titles among women in the 1990s and 2000s.
The Trackmasters, also known as Poke & Tone, is an American hip hop production outfit composed of Poke and Tone. Active from the mid-late 1980s to the early 2000s, the group was more often known as a duo, Poke & Tone; it was joined by now-former members Frank "Nitty" Pimentel, Alex Richberg and Curt Gowdy to form Trackmasters. Throughout their career, they have been credited on albums and singles for hip hop and R&B artists including Destiny's Child, Nas, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Will Smith, Jay-Z, Cam'ron, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, The Notorious B.I.G. and 50 Cent.
"Someone to Love Me (Naked)" is a song recorded by American singer Mary J. Blige for her tenth studio album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (2011). It features guest vocals by American rappers Diddy and Lil Wayne. "Someone to Love Me (Naked)" was written by Blige, Jerry Wonda and Leroy Watson, and was produced by Wonda. The song is a remix of "Someone to Love Me" from Diddy-Dirty Money's debut studio album, Last Train to Paris (2010). It samples "You Roam When You Don’t Get It At Home" performed by The Sweet Inspirations. It was released on March 29, 2011, as the first promotional single from the album.
Hot Coko is the debut solo studio album by American R&B singer Coko. It was released by RCA Records on August 10, 1999.Hot Coko served as the singer's debut effort following the release of her band SWV's third album Release Some Tension (1997), which led towards the group's first disbandment in 1998. Guest appearances on the album are made by rapper Eve and singer Tyrese. Hot Coko features production from the likes of Damon Thomas, Rodney Jerkins, Marc Anthony, Missy Elliott, Timbaland and Brian Alexander Morgan, whom Coko worked with while a member of SWV earlier in the decade.
Think Like a Man Too is the first soundtrack album by American singer Mary J. Blige. It serves as the soundtrack from the romantic comedy film of the same name (2014). The album was released on June 17, 2014, by Epic Records. It features guest appearances from The-Dream and Pharrell Williams, while production was handled by Rodney Jerkins, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Williams, Pop & Oak, Jerry Duplessis, Darhyl "Hey DJ" Camper, Mark J. Feist, and Ronald "Flippa" Colson, among others.
Burton Rashad "Ringo" Smith is an American hip hop and R&B record producer. He was born in England and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, in a Jamaican and Haitian family. Rashad grew up alongside notable hip hop artists such as Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, among others.
