The College Dropout is the debut studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. In the years leading up to release, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry. Intent on pursuing a solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded the album over a period of four years, beginning in 1999.
No Way Out is the debut studio album by American rapper Puff Daddy. It was released on July 22, 1997, via Arista Records and Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records. The album is credited to "Puff Daddy & the Family"; the latter act refers to guest appearances from his signees at Bad Boy.
Love & Life is the sixth studio album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was released by Geffen Records on August 26, 2003. The album marked Blige's debut on the Geffen label, following the absorption of her former record company MCA Records. In addition, it saw her reuniting with Sean "Diddy" Combs, executive producer of her first two studio albums What's the 411? (1992) and My Life (1994), who wrote and executive produced most of Love & Life with his Bad Boy in-house production team The Hitmen, including Mario Winans, D-Dot, and Stevie J.
Blue Collar is the debut studio album by American rapper Rhymefest. It was released on July 11, 2006 via Allido/J Records.
Finding Forever is the seventh studio album by Common, released on July 31, 2007, on GOOD Music and Geffen Records. Like Common's previous album, Be (2005), Finding Forever is primarily produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at the number one on the Billboard 200, selling 155,000 units in the first week, becoming Common's first chart-topper. Selling over 500,000 units in the US, it has been certified Gold. Finding Forever was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, losing to West's Graduation at the 50th Grammy Awards.
My Life is the second album by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige, released on November 29, 1994, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. Many of the topics on My Life deal with clinical depression, Blige's battling with both drugs and alcohol, as well as being in an abusive relationship. Unlike her debut, What's the 411? (1992), Blige contributed lyrics to fourteen of the album's tracks, making it her most introspective and personal album at the time. Similar to her debut album, My Life features extensive production from Sean "Puffy" Combs for his newly founded label, Bad Boy Entertainment, which was at the time backed by Arista Records.
Celestial is the third studio album by Mexican Latin pop vocal group RBD, released on November 23, 2006, in Mexico and on November 24, 2006 in the rest of Latin America and the United States. The album was recorded in Los Angeles and Mexico City, and was produced by Carlos Lara and Armando Ávila. The group also recorded a special version of the album for their fanbase in Brazil. This edition of the album, recorded in Portuguese, was released on December 4, 2006 and was titled Celestial .
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii after a period of controversy in 2009 following his interruption of Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, West recorded the album at Honolulu's Avex Recording Studio in a communal environment involving numerous musicians. Additional recording sessions took place at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California, along with the New York City studios Electric Lady and Platinum Sound.
Global Warming is the seventh studio album recorded by Cuban-American rapper Pitbull. It was released on November 16, 2012 through Mr. 305, Polo Grounds and RCA Records. A teaser for the release was first released onto Pitbull's official Facebook and YouTube channel on September 17, 2012. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Afrojack, Sir Nolan, DJ Buddha, Adam Messinger and Nasri. The album also features guest appearances by Christina Aguilera, Usher, Kesha, Chris Brown, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira among others.
Doggumentary is the eleventh studio album by American West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg. It was released on March 29, 2011 on the Priority Records record label. The album was produced by Battlecat, The Cataracs, Gorillaz, David Banner, THX, DJ Khalil, Fredwreck, Jake One, David Guetta, Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker, Lex Luger, Meech Wells, Mr. Porter, Rick Rock, Rick Rude, Scoop DeVille, Scott Storch, Warryn Campbell, Kanye West, DJ Reflex, among others.
Nobody's Smiling is the tenth studio album by American hip hop recording artist Common. It was released on July 22, 2014, by Def Jam Recordings and No I.D.'s label ARTium Records. Following the release of his 2011's album The Dreamer/The Believer, Common took a hiatus from musical endeavors. In 2013, he returned to the studio and began working his tenth album and later revealed that the production, much like his previous effort, would be handled entirely by his longtime collaborator and record producer No I.D. In 2014, Common signed a recording contract with No I.D.'s ARTium Records, through Def Jam Recordings, for the distribution of the album.
Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks, known professionally as JPEGMafia, is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, he signed with Deathbomb Arc to release his debut studio album, Black Ben Carson (2016) and his second album Veteran (2018), which received widespread critical acclaim. His third album, All My Heroes Are Cornballs (2019) was released through EQT Recordings and entered the Billboard 200, and had signed to Republic for the release of his fourth album LP! (2021); both were met with continued critical acclaim. In 2023, he released his collaborative studio album Scaring the Hoes with fellow alternative rapper Danny Brown through AWAL. In 2024, he released his fifth studio album I Lay Down My Life for You.
Scorpion is the fifth studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 29, 2018, by Cash Money Records, Republic Records, and Young Money Entertainment. Scorpion is a double album consisting of 25 tracks. Its first disc is primarily hip hop, while its second disc has been described as R&B and pop. It was executive produced by Drake, alongside frequent collaborator 40 and manager Oliver El-Khatib. Scorpion features guest appearances from Jay-Z and Ty Dolla Sign, as well as posthumous appearances from Michael Jackson and Static Major.
Veteran is the second studio album by American rapper JPEGMafia. It was released on 19 January 2018 by Deathbomb Arc and Republic Records. A music video for "Baby I'm Bleeding" was released on 1 December 2017. A second video was released on 18 May 2018 for "Real Nega". On 12 September 2018, a video for "1539 N. Calvert" was released. The album was released to widespread critical acclaim and was featured in numerous year-end lists; in 2019, Pitchfork listed it at number 171 in their list of best albums of the decade.
The Big Day is the debut studio album by American rapper Chance the Rapper, released on July 26, 2019. The album follows several mixtapes by the rapper including the reissue of his collaborative Merry Christmas Lil' Mama in 2017, and was his first solo project since Coloring Book in 2016. The album was heavily influenced by Chance's marriage to his then wife. It received widespread negative attention and backlash from critics and fans alike on social media and other Internet communities citing inconsistencies of quality throughout the work. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, Chance's highest-charting entry to date. In November 2024, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 50 on its list of The 50 Most Disappointing Albums of All Time.
All My Heroes Are Cornballs is the third studio album by American rapper JPEGMafia, released on September 13, 2019 by EQT Recordings. After the release of his record Veteran (2018), he began recording tracks for its follow-up, with a total of around 93 songs by 2019. He handled the production, mixing and mastering in his home studio. The album features guest appearances from Abdu Ali, Helena Deland and Buzzy Lee, as well as additional vocals by Refined Sugar, Vegyn and Young Emoji. Vegyn also serves as a co-producer on one track.
Utopia is the fourth studio album by American rapper Travis Scott. It was released through Cactus Jack and Epic Records on July 28, 2023. The album features guest appearances from Teezo Touchdown, Drake, Playboi Carti, Beyoncé, Rob49, 21 Savage, the Weeknd, Swae Lee, Yung Lean, Dave Chappelle, Young Thug, Westside Gunn, Kid Cudi, Bad Bunny, SZA, Future, and James Blake. Physical releases of the album feature additional guest appearances from Lil Uzi Vert and Sheck Wes. Production was handled by a variety of record producers, including Scott and Blake themselves, WondaGurl, Kanye West, Allen Ritter, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Wheezy, Buddy Ross, Vegyn, 30 Roc, Jahaan Sweet, Boi-1da, Vinylz, Tay Keith, Bnyx, Oz, Justin Vernon, the Alchemist, Dom Maker, Illangelo, DVLP, and Metro Boomin, among others. The album serves as the follow-up to Scott's third studio album, Astroworld (2018), as well as JackBoys (2019), his compilation album that was released in collaboration with Cactus Jack. It is a concept record that was accompanied by a film titled Circus Maximus which was released the day before the album.
LP! is the fourth studio album by American rapper JPEGMafia. Released on 22 October 2021, his 32nd birthday, LP! is JPEGMafia's final studio album released with Republic Records and EQT Recordings. LP! has two versions: an "online" version which was the version released on streaming services, and an "offline" version which was released on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Bandcamp, featuring a slightly different tracklist due to sample-related issues. The album includes guest appearances from DatPiffMafia, Kimbra, Tkay Maidza, and Denzel Curry.
Jane Remover is an American musician. She released her debut studio album, Frailty, in 2021, which was followed by Census Designated in 2023, and Revengeseekerz in 2025. She pioneered the "dariacore" microgenre on SoundCloud with her album of the same name, released under the pseudonym Leroy. She has also released music under the alias Venturing, and her first album under this alias, Ghostholding, is set to release in 2025.
Scaring the Hoes is a collaborative studio album by American rappers JPEGMafia and Danny Brown. It was released on March 24, 2023, through AWAL and Bandcamp as a pay-what-you-want download. It was produced by JPEGMafia and included a sole guest appearance by independent Maryland rapper Redveil. The album had been teased for a year leading up to the release of its first single, "Lean Beef Patty", on March 13, with the album's official title being announced the same day. On March 21, the title track from the album was released as a single. On July 11, an EP expansion to the album, titled Scaring the Hoes: DLC Pack, was released, which expanded the tracklist from fourteen to eighteen songs.
