Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Nelly. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. The production on the album was handled by Jason "Jay E" Epperson, with additional production by C-Love, Kevin Law, City Spud, Steve "Blast" Wills and Basement Beats. Nelly contributed to all lyrics on the album, with Epperson and City Spud also contributing. With the album's release, Nelly and his “St. Lunatics” crew cemented the St. Louis sound firmly amongst other southern hip hop artists in the year 2000, such as Juvenile, Trina, Ludacris, OutKast, Three 6 Mafia and UGK. Country Grammar also introduced the world to Nelly's unique musical style of pop-rap and radio “singalongs” with a Missouri twang. It was supported by four successful singles: "Country Grammar ", "E.I.", "Ride wit Me" and "Batter Up". Its lead single, "Country Grammar ", peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. Its second single "E.I." peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100, number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart. "Ride wit Me" peaked within the top five on the Hot 100, ARIA Singles Chart, Irish Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart. The album's fourth and final single, "Batter Up" featuring St. Lunatics members Murphy Lee and Ali, achieved moderate chart success.
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. Raised in Atlanta as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music production at the age of nine. He discovered the teen hip hop duo Kris Kross in 1991. Dupri wrote and produced their 1992 single "Jump," which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the 23rd most successful song of that decade. He established his own record label, So So Def Recordings in a joint venture with Columbia the following year.
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American R&B singer. He signed to Polygram Records in 1992, and rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things ", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations "Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
And Then... is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Joe. It was released through Jive Records on December 2, 2003, in the United States. A breakaway from his previous album Better Days (2001), the album saw Joe consulting a wider range of collaborators, including labelmate R. Kelly as well as Frank Romano, Roy "Royalty" Hamilton, L.E.S., Kevin "Shekspere" Briggs, Dre & Vidal, Carvin & Ivan and The Underdogs. Rap group G-Unit and rapper Freeway appear as guest vocalists on the album.
My Love Is Your Love is the fourth studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released worldwide on November 17, 1998. The album is one of the best-selling female albums of all time, selling over 10 million copies worldwide. It was Houston's first studio album in eight years, following I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990) although she had participated on three movie soundtracks during that period. My Love Is Your Love is composed of mid-tempo R&B, hip hop soul, pop and dance music, produced by musicians such as Whitney Houston herself, Rodney Jerkins, Soulshock & Karlin, Missy Elliott, Wyclef Jean, David Foster, Lauryn Hill, and Babyface.
Jagged Edge is an American R&B group from Atlanta, Georgia. The group, initially signed to record producer Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, is best known for their string of hit singles including "Let's Get Married" and "Where the Party At", most of which were produced by Dupri. The group's members include identical twin lead singers Brian and Brandon Casey as well as Richard Wingo and Kyle Norman. The group's debut album, A Jagged Era (1997), performed modestly at the time of its release but achieved gold status; however, their subsequent albums until 2007 all became commercial successes—debuting within the top 10 of the Billboard 200.
Donell Jones is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. He met record producer Eddie F in the mid-1990s and signed with his record label Untouchables Entertainment, beginning his career as a songwriter for its parent label, LaFace Records. He signed with the label as a recording act to release his debut studio album, My Heart (1996), which was met with lukewarm commercial reception despite yielding his first Billboard Hot 100 entries with its singles "In the Hood", and his cover of Stevie Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet."
American singer Usher has released nine studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 81 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive, and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 33 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 150 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, producing three singles that had moderate chart success, and the album sold more than 500,000 copies. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album. It is certified seven-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one hit, "You Make Me Wanna...", and first US Hot 100 number-one song, "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001, with his third studio album, 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles, such as "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified five-times platinum in the US for sales of 5 million copies. As of 2010, its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
A Jagged Era is the debut studio album by American R&B group Jagged Edge, released on October 21, 1997, by So So Def and Columbia Records. The quartet worked with So So Def head Jermaine Dupri on the majority of the album. A Jagged Era peaked at a number 104 on the US Billboard 200 and at number 19 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Despite its disappointing peak, the album was moderately successful with sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States, earning a Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2009, the album was the best-selling album in cassette format.
Jagged Little Thrill is the third studio album by American R&B group Jagged Edge. It was released by So So Def and Columbia on June 26, 2001, in the United States. The album's name is a spin on Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill (1995). The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 215,000 copies in the US, outranking their previous album, J.E. Heartbreak (1999) which had peaked at number eighth on the chart; the album is the group's highest peaking album to date. However, it was not as successful as the group's previous album, though still successful; achieving Platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Jagged Little Thrill has sold 1.5 million copies in the US.
Hard is the fourth studio album by American R&B group Jagged Edge. It was released by Sony Urban Music and Columbia Records on October 14, 2003 in the United States. The album debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 178,000 copies in the US. It has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold 871,000 copies domestically. The album spawned two singles, including the top ten single "Walked Outta Heaven."
"I Wish" is an R&B song recorded by American singer-songwriter R. Kelly, from the album TP-2.com. It was released as the album's first single. It spent three weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number 14 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart. The song is dedicated to his mother as well as friends and other loved ones of his who have died. This song was originally going to feature rapper 2Pac, but he died before recording his verse. The remix, which was titled "I Wish – Remix featured Hip Hop duo Boo & Gotti, who were then signed to his Rockland Records imprint.
"Let's Get Married" is a song by American contemporary R&B group Jagged Edge from their second studio album, J.E. Heartbreak (1999). Released on April 11, 2000, the song spent three weeks atop the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in 2000 and reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2001, the song was issued in Australia as a double A-side with "Promise" and reached number two on the Australian Singles Chart. The music video features Fredro Starr and Kent Masters-King as the fictional couple deciding on whether they should get married or not.
Traces of My Lipstick is the third studio album by American R&B group Xscape. The album was released on May 12, 1998, through So So Def Recordings and Sony Music Entertainment. The album was preceded by the release of three singles: "The Arms of the One Who Loves You", "My Little Secret" and "Softest Place on Earth".
Canadian singer and songwriter Tamia has released nine albums, and twenty-six singles. She began her career in 1995 as a protégé of musician Quincy Jones, who offered her the chance to appear on his album Q's Jook Joint (1995). Selected as the album's first single, their collaboration "You Put a Move on My Heart" became a top 20 success on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The song, along with their second collaboration "Slow Jams" and "Missing You", a song she recorded with Brandy, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan for the soundtrack of the 1996 motion picture Set It Off, was later nominated for a Grammy Award.
American R&B singer-songwriter Chris Brown has released 11 studio albums, 1 collaborative album, 1 extended play, 9 mixtapes, 63 singles and 29 promotional singles.
"Walked Outta Heaven" is the second single released by R&B group Jagged Edge from their fourth studio album Hard.
American girl group Xscape has released three studio albums, two compilation albums, one extended play, and twenty singles, including four as featured artists.
"He Can't Love U" is a song performed by American contemporary R&B group Jagged Edge, issued as the second single from their second studio album J.E. Heartbreak. Co-written by group members Brian and Brandon Casey, the song peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999.
J.E. Heartbreak II is the eighth studio album by American R&B group Jagged Edge. The album was released on October 27, 2014, by So So Def Recordings and Hard Case Records. It is a sequel to their multi-platinum album J.E. Heartbreak (2000).
