2Pacalypse Now is the debut studio album by American rapper 2Pac. It was released on November 12, 1991, by Interscope and Jive Records. 2Pacalypse Now is Tupac's commentary on contemporary social issues facing American society, such as racism, police brutality, poverty, black on black crime, and teenage pregnancy. It featured three singles: "Brenda's Got a Baby", "Trapped", and "If My Homie Calls".
"Baby Got Back" is a song written and recorded by American rapper and songwriter Sir Mix-a-Lot, released in May 1992 as the second single from his third album, Mack Daddy (1992). The song was written and co-produced by him, and samples the 1986 Detroit techno single "Technicolor" by Channel One. It debuted at number 75 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on April 11, 1992 and hit number one twelve weeks later. The single spent five weeks at the top of the chart. At the time of its original release, the song caused controversy with its outspoken and blatantly sexual lyrics about women, as well as specific references to the female buttocks, which some people found objectionable. The song's accompanying music video was briefly banned by MTV.
Bryan Christopher Williams, better known by his stage name Birdman, is an American rapper and record executive. He is the co-founder and public face of Cash Money Records which he founded with his older brother Ronald "Slim" Williams in 1992. Birdman released his debut album in 2002, and has gone on to release four solo studio albums in total. Aside from his solo career, he is also a member of the hip-hop duo Big Tymers, along with producer Mannie Fresh.
"California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper-producer Dr. Dre and American singer Roger Troutman. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first single as the newest artist of Death Row Records. The remix is featured on the UK version of his fourth album, All Eyez on Me (1996), and is one of 2Pac's most widely known and most successful singles. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and also topped the charts of Italy, New Zealand, and Sweden. The song was posthumously nominated Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997.
"Brenda's Got a Baby" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his debut album, 2Pacalypse Now (1991). The song was first released as a promotional CD single a month prior to album's release and then, in February 1992, it was re-released as a double A-side single with the song "If My Homie Calls". The song, which features R&B singer Dave Hollister singing background vocals with Roniece Levias, is about a 12-year-old girl named Brenda who lives in a ghetto and has a baby she can't support. The song explores the issue of teen pregnancy and its effect on young mothers and their families. Like many of Shakur's songs, "Brenda's Got a Baby" draws from the plight of the impoverished. Using Brenda to represent young mothers in general, Shakur criticises the low level of support from the baby's father, the government, and society in general. Shakur wrote the song while filming the feature film Juice, after reading a newspaper article about a 12-year-old girl who became pregnant by her cousin and threw the baby into a trash compactor.
"Ice Ice Baby" is a hip hop song by American rapper Vanilla Ice, K. Kennedy and DJ Earthquake. It was based on the bassline of the song "Under Pressure" by British rock band Queen and British singer David Bowie, who did not receive songwriting credit or royalties until after it had become a hit. Released on Vanilla Ice’s debut album, To the Extreme (1990), it is his best-known song. It has appeared in remixed form on Platinum Underground and Vanilla Ice Is Back! A live version appears on the album Extremely Live, while a nu metal version appears on the album Hard to Swallow, under the title "Too Cold".
"Changes" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring vocals by the group Talent first released as a single from Shakur's greatest hits compilation on October 13, 1998. The song makes references to the war on drugs, the treatment of black people by the police, racism, the reconciliation between the black and white people in America, the perpetuation of poverty and its accompanying vicious-cycle value system in urban African American culture, and the difficulties of life in the ghetto. "Changes" samples Bruce Hornsby and the Range’s song "The Way It Is".
"I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto" is a song by American rapper 2Pac. It was released as the first single from the posthumous album R U Still Down? . The original version, titled "I Wonda if Heaven's Got a Ghetto", was released as a B-side on the 1993 single, "Keep Ya Head Up".
"Dear Mama" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his third studio album, Me Against the World (1995). It was released on February 21, 1995, as the lead single from the album. The song is a tribute to his mother, Afeni Shakur. In the song, Shakur details his childhood poverty and his mother's addiction to crack cocaine, but argues that his love and deep respect for his mother supersede bad memories. The song became his first top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number nine. It also topped the Hot Rap Singles chart for five weeks. As of March 2021, the song is certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA.
The discography of Tupac Shakur, an American rapper, consists of 11 studio albums. Throughout his career, Shakur has sold 125 million records worldwide. He has scored 5 No. 1 albums on Billboard 200 and 8 No. 1 albums on Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums. In 2001, Guinness World Records hailed him as the then Best-selling artist of rap in the US. According to Recording Industry Association of America, he has sold 55.3 million albums and an additional 4 million under his alias Makaveli with "The Don Killuminati", making him the second best-selling hip-hop artist in history.
"Ghetto Story" is a dancehall/ragga single performed by dancehall artist Baby Cham. It is the first single to be released from his album of the same name. The song is most known for its reggae fusion remix called "Ghetto Story Chapter 2" featuring American R&B singer Alicia Keys. The single peaked at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 15 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart, and number 13 on the Billboard Rap Tracks chart. It received heavy airplay on MTV2 and BET, and some airplay on Canada's MuchMusic. The song is about growing up in the ghetto and how it was for Cham in his younger years. The video entered BET's 106 & Park at number 9 before peaking at number 5, making it one of the very few reggae videos to reach the top 5 on that countdown. Another remix features singer Akon. Rapper Lil Wayne has freestyled over the instrumental.
"A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne. The song was released February 13, 2008, as the second official single from his sixth album Tha Carter III.
"Baby" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, featuring American rapper Ludacris. It was released as the lead single on Bieber's debut album, My World 2.0. The track was written by Bieber, Ludacris, Christina Milian, Tricky Stewart, and R&B singer The-Dream, with production helmed by the latter two.
Keenon Dequan Ray Jackson, better known by his stage name YG, is an American rapper from Compton, California. In 2010, he released his debut single, "Toot It and Boot It", which peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single's success resulted in his signing to Def Jam Recordings. In the following years, YG released mixtapes such as The Real 4Fingaz, Just Re'd Up,Just Re'd Up 2, 4 Hunnid Degreez, among others.
Dequantes Lamar, known professionally as Rich Homie Quan, is an American rapper. He was previously signed to labels T.I.G. Entertainment and Motown, and is an independent artist as of 2021. Quan experienced commercial success with the 2013 single "Type of Way", and the 2015 single "Flex ". In addition, Quan joined the Cash Money Records spin-off project, Rich Gang in 2014, which had successful singles such as "Lifestyle" and the mixtape Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1 (2014). Quan's debut studio album Rich as in Spirit was released on March 16, 2018, and debuted at number 32 on the US Billboard 200.
"My Nigga" is a song by American rapper YG, released on September 17, 2013, as the lead single from his debut studio album My Krazy Life (2014). The song, produced by frequent collaborator DJ Mustard, features guest appearances from CTE World founder Jeezy and Rich Homie Quan. It interpolates "The Sky is the Limit", as written and performed by Lil Wayne as well as the popular refrain from C-Murder's single "Down for My N's".
"Show Me" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kid Ink. The song was released on September 17, 2013, by Tha Alumni Music Group, 88 Classic and RCA Records as the lead single from his second studio album, My Own Lane (2014). The song, produced by DJ Mustard and Mike Free, features a hook by American recording artist Chris Brown. The song peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 23 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Lifestyle" is a song by American hip hop group Rich Gang, featuring rappers Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. The song, produced by London on da Track, was released on June 5, 2014. It has been certified Platinum in the United States.
"Anaconda" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj from her third studio album, The Pinkprint (2014). Released on August 4, 2014 by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Republic Records as the second single from the album, the song was produced by Polow da Don, DJ Spydr, and Da Internz, and prominently samples "Baby Got Back" (1992) by Sir Mix-a-Lot. The song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Minaj's highest charting single at the time. The song also peaked within the top ten in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, top forty in Austria, France and Portugal and top fifty in Czech Republic.
Dominique Armani Jones, known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape Perfect Timing. His debut studio album, Harder Than Ever (2018), spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 single "Yes Indeed". In 2018, he released two more mixtapes: Drip Harder, which contained the single, "Drip Too Hard", that reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); and Street Gossip, which reached #2 on the US Billboard 200.
