Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Raised in Opelika, Alabama, he later relocated to New Jersey and he signed a record deal with Polygram Records in 1992. He 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".
Nice & Smooth is an East Coast hip hop duo from New York City that consists of Gregory O. "Greg Nice" Mays and Darryl O. "Smooth B" Barnes plus their deejay Tedd "DJ Teddy Tedd" Whiting. The duo released four albums between 1989 and 1997. Their first collaborative appearance was on the single "Dope on a Rope"/"Skill Trade" on Strange Family Records in 1987. On the strength of that underground single they managed a guest spot on the song "Pimpin Ain't Easy" by Big Daddy Kane on his 1989 album It's a Big Daddy Thing.
Snowflakes is the fourth studio album by American singer Toni Braxton. It was released on October 23, 2001, by Arista Records. Her first Christmas album, it is a follow-up to her 2000 studio album The Heat. Snowflakes consists of 11 tracks, featuring five R&B-led original songs co-penned with her former husband Keri Lewis and longtime collaborator Babyface, as well as several remixes and cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, one of which is a collaboration with Jamaican musician Shaggy. Throughout the creation process, Braxton also collaborated with L.A. Reid, Poke & Tone, Daryl Simmons and her younger sister Tamar Braxton.
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop and electronic music.
American singer Usher has released eight studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 79 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 23 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 100 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles. 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 was certified six-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one "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—"U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified four-times platinum in the US for sales of 4 million copies. Its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
Hard to Earn is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo Gang Starr. It was released on March 8, 1994, by Chrysalis and EMI Records in North America. The album featured the singles "Mass Appeal",, "DWYCK", and "Code of the Streets". Guest appearances on the album include Group Home, Jeru the Damaja, and Big Shug. At the time, all were part of the Gang Starr Foundation, which made the album a stepping-stone for future DJ Premier-helmed projects by Group Home and Jeru. Hard to Earn received acclaim and commercial success upon release.
American singer Ciara has released seven studio albums, one extended play, one DVD, one promotional single, 39 singles, including ten as a featured artist, and 28 music videos, including seven as a featured artist. She made her debut in 2004 with her debut album Goodies which debuted at three in the US and charted within the top 40 in several international markets. The album's title track peaked at number-one in the United States for seven weeks and gave the singer the title of "The First Lady of Crunk&B", while singles "1, 2 Step" and "Oh" reached the top three in the US. All three singles reached the top 10 in many international markets, with "Goodies" topping charts in the UK. Goodies was certified triple-Platinum in the United States, Platinum in Canada, and sold over five million copies worldwide. Ciara also participated in a number of successful collaborations, including US top five hits "Lose Control" with Missy Elliott, and "Like You" with rapper Bow Wow, as well as the US top 10 "So What" with group Field Mob.
Ain't a Damn Thing Changed is the second studio album by American hip-hop duo Nice & Smooth, released on September 17, 1991 via Rush Associated Labels and Columbia Records. Recording sessions took place at Unique Recording Studios and Power Play Studios in New York City. Production was handled primarily by Gregg Nice and Smooth Bee, except song "Paranoia" produced by Louie Vega. Ain't a Damn Thing Changed spawned four singles: "Hip Hop Junkies", "How to Flow", "Cake & Eat It Too" and "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow".
Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen is a compilation album by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was released by Arista on November 12, 2007 in the United States. The album comprises a combination of classic duets spanning Franklin's career, and two newly recorded duets with Fantasia and John Legend, also containing two live duets, one from 1993, the other from 1998. The album concludes with a previously released rendition of "Nessun Dorma", of which Franklin had performed a version at the Grammy Awards of 1998, when she filled in last minute for Luciano Pavarotti.
Joe Thomas, New Man is the seventh album by American recording artist Joe, released on September 23, 2008 in the United States. It marked his debut on longtime collaborator Kedar Massenburg's independent record label Kedar Entertainment, following his split with Jive Records in 2007. The album debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, and reached the top of the Independent Albums chart.
Love Zone is the sixth album recorded by British R&B singer and songwriter Billy Ocean, released in 1986 through Jive Records. The album includes Ocean's second US #1 hit "There'll Be Sad Songs " and the US top ten hit "Love Zone". It also features the UK #1 and US #2 single "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going", which had originally been released on the soundtrack to the 1985 film The Jewel of the Nile.
Canadian rapper Drake has released five studio albums, three compilation albums, two extended plays, seven mixtapes, 139 singles, five promotional singles and 84 music videos. His music has been released on record labels Universal Motown Records and Universal Republic Records, along with subsidiaries Aspire Music Group, Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records. He has the most number one singles on the US Hot Rap Songs chart with fifteen, and the most number one singles on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with nineteen.
Trinidadian-born American rapper and singer Nicki Minaj has released four studio albums, three compilation albums, three mixtapes, 117 singles, and 18 promotional singles.
Ridin' Solo is the tenth studio album by American R&B singer Keith Sweat. It was released on June 22, 2010 by Kedar Entertainment and Fontana Distribution. It debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard 200, also reaching number four on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
American hip hop recording artist J. Cole has released five studio albums, one live album, three compilation albums, two extended plays, three mixtapes, 54 singles, two promotional singles and twenty one music videos. J. Cole first took up rapping in his teens, collaborating with the local Fayetteville hip hop duo Bomm Sheltuh. The Come Up, his debut mixtape, was released on May 4, 2007 to positive reception. Following the release of The Come Up, J. Cole was contacted by American rapper Jay Z and subsequently signed to his record label Roc Nation. Cole released his second mixtape The Warm Up on June 15, 2009. "Lights Please", the first single from The Warm Up, peaked at number nine on the United States Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and became Cole's first entry on a national record chart. He was later featured on "All I Want Is You", a 2010 single by American R&B singer Miguel – it peaked at number 58 on the US Billboard Hot 100. J. Cole's third mixtape Friday Night Lights was released on November 12, 2010.
Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom is the debut album by Mystic, released on June 19, 2001 through GoodVibe Recordings and JCOR Entertainment. The album elicited highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the album's lyrics and themes, but the album was less successful commercially, peaking at number 170 on the Billboard Hot 200. The album was re-released in 2011 by Universal Music Group.
The discography of American hip hop duo Run the Jewels consists of four studio albums, a remix album and fifteen singles.
Port of Miami is the debut studio album by American rapper Rick Ross. Originally titled Career Criminal, the album was renamed, in reference to Miami being a major arrival destination for cocaine shipments to America. The album was released August 8, 2006, on Slip-n-Slide Records, Def Jam Recordings and Poe Boy Entertainment. The album was engineered by Miami-based songwriting and production team The Monsters & The Strangerz. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with 187,000 copies sold in its first week.
Demario DeWayne White Jr., better known by his stage name Moneybagg Yo, is an American rapper and songwriter. He signed to Yo Gotti's record label, Collective Music Group (CMG) in October 2016, as well as N-Less Entertainment and his own label Bread Gang Music Group. His first two projects to debut in the Top 20, Federal 3X and 2 Heartless, debuted at No. 5 and No. 16 on the Billboard 200, respectively. His highest charting project is the album, Time Served, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in 2020.
H.E.R. is a compilation album by American singer H.E.R., released on October 20, 2017, by RCA Records. The album comprises songs from the singer's EPs H.E.R., Vol. 1 (2016) and H.E.R., Vol. 2 (2017), and includes six additional songs. The album won Best R&B Album and received four other nominations at the 61st Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist for H.E.R.
