Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is often credited for breaking barriers for female rappers, popularizing melodic rap, and pioneering neo soul for mainstream audiences. In addition to being named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR, Hill was listed as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. In 2015, she was named the greatest female rapper by Billboard. Her other accolades include eight Grammy Awards—the most for any female rapper. With over 50 million records sold worldwide, she is one of the best-selling female rappers of all time.
The Fugees are an American hip hop trio formed in 1990 in South Orange, New Jersey. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to prominence in the mid-1990s for their pioneering blend of reggae, R&B, funk and hip hop, which eschewed gangsta rap and made them one of the most significant alternative hip hop acts. They occasionally rapped in Haitian Creole, and were one of the first hip hop bands to incorporate live instrumentation during their performances, along with the Roots.
My Xperience is a reggae album by Jamaican dancehall performer Bounty Killer, released in 1996. Bounty Killer was one of dancehall's biggest stars in the 1990s and his harsh hip hop-influenced songs made him a controversial figure. Most of the songs on My Xperience are morose tales of poverty and violence. The album featured the single "Hip-Hopera".
Nel Ust Wyclef Jean is a Haitian rapper and record producer. At the age of nine, he emigrated with his family to the Northeastern United States. In 1990, he formed the New Jersey–based hip hop trio Fugees with fellow musicians Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel. Jean served as lead guitarist and producer. The group released the albums Blunted on Reality (1994) and The Score (1996), the latter becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. Following their success, Jean released his debut solo album, Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival (1997), which yielded the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Gone till November".
Prakazrel Samuel Michel, known professionally as Pras, is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group Fugees, which he formed with fellow New Jerseyans Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill in 1990.
The Score is the second studio album by the hip hop trio Fugees, released worldwide on February 13, 1996, on Columbia Records. The album features a wide range of samples and instrumentation, with many aspects of alternative hip hop that would come to dominate the hip-hop music scene in the mid- to late-1990s. Primarily, The Score's production was handled by the Fugees themselves, Jerry Duplessis and Warren Riker, with additional production from Salaam Remi, John Forté, Diamond D, and Shawn King. The album's guest verses are from Outsidaz members Rah Digga, Young Zee, and Pacewon, as well as John Forté, and Diamond D. Most versions of the album feature four bonus tracks, including three remixes of "Fu-Gee-La", and a short acoustic Wyclef Jean solo track entitled "Mista Mista".
Judgement Records is a record label, started by Joe Nicolo after Ruffhouse Records was dissolved.
Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival, also known simply as The Carnival, is the debut studio album released by Haitian hip hop musician Wyclef Jean. The album was released on 24 June 1997. Wyclef Jean also served as the album's executive producer. The album features guest appearances from Celia Cruz and The Neville Brothers and multiple appearances from Jean's former Fugees bandmates, Lauryn Hill and Pras.
Ghetto Supastar is the debut solo studio album by former Fugees member and American rapper Pras. The album was released on October 27, 1998, through Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records.
"Hips Don't Lie" is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, featuring Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released by Epic Records in 2006. "Hips Don't Lie" is a reworking of Jean's earlier single "Dance Like This", therefore it features additional composing credits by Omar Alfanno, Duplessis, Luis Días, and LaTavia Parker. The song was released as the first single from the reissue of Shakira's seventh studio album, Oral Fixation, Vol. 2, and second overall. Shakira and Jean wrote the lyrics and jointly composed the music with additional co-writing by Shakira's percussionist Archie Pena. The song was produced by Shakira and Jean with additional co-production by Jerry Duplessis. The song incorporates samples from "Amores Como el Nuestro" written by Alfanno, and "Carnaval " written by Días.
T.I. vs. T.I.P. is the fifth studio album by American rapper T.I., released on July 3, 2007 through Grand Hustle Records, Asylum Records and Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took a year and a half to record towards early 2007, as T.I. stated and confirmed in an interview with MTV News. Production was handled by several record producers, including Kannon "Caviar" Cross, Just Blaze, Mannie Fresh, Lil' C, Wyclef Jean, Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis, Sedeck "All Hands on Deck" Jean, Keith "Lil' Wonda" Duplessis, Kevin "Khao" Cates, Timbaland, Bao Quoc Pham, Steve Holdren, Nate "Danja" Hills, The Runners, Tony Galvin, Eminem, Jeff Bass, and Keith Mack, among others. Notably, it is also his first album not to feature production from his frequent collaborator DJ Toomp.
Welcome To Haiti: Creole 101 is the fifth studio album by Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released on October 5, 2004. The album, which was co-produced by Jean and long time collaborator Jerry 'Wonda' Duplessis, combines elements of reggae, kompa, dancehall, bachata, and world music. The album contains guest appearances from the likes of Sweet Mickey, Foxy Brown, 2Face Idibia and Sound Sultan. The album was inspired by Jean's love for Creole music, and Jean stated that the album was designed to be as "far from Billboard Hot 100-topping music as possible", describing the record as an instant "cult classic".
The Preacher's Son is the fourth studio album by Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released on November 4, 2003. The album, which was co-produced by Jean and long-time collaborator Jerry 'Wonda' Duplessis, combines elements of hip hop, reggae and reggae fusion, and uses a number of samples, including the Motown-inspired "Industry", which samples "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted". The album contains guest appearances of the likes of Missy Elliott, Patti LaBelle, Rah Digga and Redman, as well as a guitar feature by Carlos Santana on the song "Three Nights In Rio".
Unexpected is the second studio album by American singer Lumidee. It was released by TVT Records on April 17, 2007 in the United States and on June 21, 2007 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced primarily by J. Marty with additional contributions made by Scott Storch, T.C. Love, Lenky, Ron Browz, Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplessis and Red Spyda.
Richard E. Chertoff is an American record producer and songwriter. He is credited on the singles Joan Osborne's "One of Us", Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time" and Sophie B. Hawkins' "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover". Chertoff has received five Grammy Award nominations—twice for Album of the Year, twice for Record of the Year, and also for Producer of the Year.
From the Hut, to the Projects, to the Mansion is a concept album released by Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean, released on November 10, 2009. The album, Jean's seventh overall, is a collaboration with disc jockey DJ Drama, which tells the story of the fictional character Toussaint St. Jean, who is based on the 18th century Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture. The album, which was co-produced by Jean and long-term collaborator Jerry 'Wonda' Duplessis, contains guest appearances from Timbaland, Eve, Cyndi Lauper and Lil' Kim, and production from The Runners.
Che Pope is an American record executive, record producer, and songwriter from Boston, Massachusetts, also the former COO of GOOD Music and the founder of Wrkshp Media. He is perhaps best known for producing on the Grammy Award for Album of the Year winning album Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and the Grammy-nominated "Bound 2" by Kanye West, as well as executive producing Cruel Summer and co-executive producing Yeezus.
"Lost Ones" is a diss song by American rapper and singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 25, 1998, through Ruffhouse and Columbia Records. The song was written by Hill and produced by Hill, alongside Vada Nobles and Che Pope. It features an interpolation of "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy. Despite not naming him in the song, the song is widely presumed to be about Hill's former Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean.
"Rumble in the Jungle" is a song recorded for the 1996 documentary film When We Were Kings, which depicts the 1974 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman that the song is named after: The Rumble in the Jungle. The song was written and performed by American hip hop group Fugees along with fellow hip hop artists A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, and John Forté. Additional writers credited on the song are Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Stig Anderson, and Chip Taylor since "Rumble in the Jungle" samples recordings written by them. The lyrics of the song focus mostly on Ali and his life, as well as the boxing match itself.
Arden Altino is an American musician and music producer. Known in the industry as "Keyz", Altino produced numerous records for a wide range of artists such as "Hold On" for Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish, and "OUT OF MY HEAD" by Lupe Fiasco Featuring Trey Songz. He collaborated with Parisian artists such as Passi and Jocelyne Labylle on several records while adding to his roster of artists, Mary J. Blige, Justin Bieber, Estelle, and P. Diddy. Altino co-produces now with Jerry Wonda out of Platinum Sounds Recording Studio in New York City.
