Shawntae Harris, better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album Funkdafied (1994) sold one million copies, making her the first female solo rap act to receive a platinum certification, and the second overall female rap act after Salt-N-Pepa. Brat has received two Grammy Award nominations. Some of her most successful songs/features include, "I Think They Like Me", "Funkdafied" and "Loverboy".
Lisa Jane Stansfield is an English singer, songwriter and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition Search for a Star. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first singles, Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris formed Blue Zone in 1986. The band released several singles and one album, but after the success of Coldcut's "People Hold On" in 1989, on which Stansfield was featured, the focus was placed on her solo career.
Kazaam is a 1996 American musical fantasy comedy film directed by Paul Michael Glaser, written by Christian Ford and Roger Soffer based on a story by Glaser, and starring Shaquille O'Neal as the title character, a 5,000-year-old genie who appears from a magic boombox to grant a 12-year-old boy three wishes.
David Marvin Blake, better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is an American rapper, songwriter, DJ and record producer, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, 2Pac, Erick Sermon, Shaquille O'Neal and many more. Blake's stage name reflects his ability to produce records in a short period of time. Some of his top songs include "Dollaz + Sense", "Tonite", "Born and Raised in Compton" and "Jus Lyke Compton".
K-Ci & JoJo is an American R&B duo, consisting of brothers Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey and Joel "JoJo" Hailey. Natives of Monroe, North Carolina, they are also the lead singers of the chart-topping R&B group Jodeci with the DeGrate brothers—Donald and Mr. Dalvin.
"The Best Things in Life Are Free" is a Grammy-nominated duet between American singers Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson, recorded for the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced soundtrack to the 1992 American film, Mo' Money, starring Damon Wayans. The song was composed by Jam, Lewis, as well as Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe. Additionally, the song was remixed by David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, and CJ Mackintosh. The duet became a major hit in several countries, peaking at number two in Australia and the United Kingdom, number six in Ireland and New Zealand, number eight in Canada and Germany, and number 10 in the United States.
Fu-Schnickens were an American hip-hop trio from 1988 to 1995, based in Brooklyn, New York.
Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz were an American hip hop duo, composed of rappers Sean "Lord Tariq" Hamilton and Peter "Peter Gunz" Pankey, from The Bronx, New York. They are best known for their 1997 single "Deja Vu ", which reached the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The discography of Nas, an American rapper, consists of thirteen studio albums, five compilations, one extended play, and seventy-nine singles. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas dropped out of school during ninth grade and began his music career in 1991 with a guest performance on the song "Live at the Barbeque" by Main Source. In 1992, Nas featured on the MC Serch posse cut, “Back to the Grill”, alongside Chubb Rock and Red Hot Lover Tone, and later contributed the track, "Halftime" to the soundtrack to the film, Zebrahead. Soon Nas ignited enough hype and signed to Columbia Records, where he released his debut album Illmatic in 1994. Including Nas's solo debut track "Halftime", Illmatic was certified platinum in the US, spawned several singles including "It Ain't Hard to Tell" and "The World Is Yours", and earned much critical acclaim. With a more mainstream-oriented sound, Nas's second album It Was Written was released in 1996 and included the Lauryn Hill collaboration "If I Ruled the World " and "Street Dreams", the latter of which reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. It Was Written was certified double platinum. In 1999, Nas released two albums: I Am... and Nastradamus. While I Am reached double platinum status like its preceding album It Was Written and spawned two singles that reached the top ten spots of the Hot Rap Singles chart, "Hate Me Now" and "Nas Is Like", Nastradamus signaled a decrease in quality and critical reception and sold only half as many units. Still, Nastradamus featured two charting singles, "You Owe Me", "Nastradamus" and was certified platinum.
Juanita Stokes, currently known as Needa S., is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is the daughter of actress Irene Stokes and younger sister of music executive Chris Stokes.
American rapper Lil' Kim has released five studio albums, one compilation album, four mixtapes, and thirty-six singles. In 1994, Kim was a member of the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A.. Their first album, Conspiracy, was released in August 1995, and sold five-hundred thousand copies in the United States. It produced the gold and platinum-certified top-twenty singles, "Player's Anthem", "Get Money", and "I Need You Tonight".
The discography of American record producer, sound engineer and rapper Dr. Dre consists of three studio albums, forty-two singles,, six compilation albums, one soundtrack album, and twenty-one music videos.
Method Man & Redman are an American hip hop duo, composed of East Coast rappers Method Man and Redman. They are signed to Def Jam Recordings both as solo artists and as a duo. While they had been collaborating since 1994, it was not until 1999 that they released a full-length collaborative effort, Blackout!. The follow-up album, Blackout! 2, was released in 2009.
Ill Al Skratch is a hip hop duo consisting of two rappers, Big Ill from Brooklyn and Al Skratch from Harlem (Uptown). They are best known for their 1994 single, "I'll Take Her".
"Sexy Can I" is the first single from Ray J's fourth studio album All I Feel. It was produced by Noel "Detail" Fisher and features rapper Yung Berg, whose debut album Look What You Made Me also includes the track.
"Men of Steel" is a song performed by American rappers Shaquille O'Neal, Ice Cube, B-Real, Peter Gunz and KRS-One from the soundtrack to Kenneth Johnson's film Steel. It was released on August 26, 1997 through Qwest Records as the only single from the album. Production was handled by Poke and Tone with Ken Ross serving as executive producer.
The discography of Shaquille O'Neal, a former American National Basketball Association (NBA) player and rapper, consists of four studio albums, 2 compilation albums, 2 soundtracks, one unreleased album, and 9 singles. O'Neal played in the NBA from 1992 until 2011. Around 1993, O'Neal was signed to Jive Records where he released his debut album, Shaq Diesel, in that year. The album peaked at number 25 on the Billboard 200, number 10 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Shaq Diesel produced four singles. The first, "What's Up Doc? ", peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 56 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number 22 on Rap Songs, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The second, "(I Know I Got) Skillz", peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 20 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number 3 on Rap Songs, and was certified gold by the RIAA. It also peaked at number 34 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. The third, "I'm Outstanding", peaked at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 29 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number 6 on Rap Songs. Internationally, it peaked at number 43 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. The fourth, "Shoot Pass Slam", did not chart.
Music from the Motion Picture Higher Learning is the soundtrack to John Singleton's 1995 film Higher Learning. It was released on January 3, 1995 through Epic Records and contained a mixture of different music genres including hip hop, R&B and rock music. The soundtrack did fairly well on the Billboard charts, peaking at #39 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
"Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" is a 1980 single by jazz trumpeter Tom Browne. The single—a memoir of the Jamaica neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens where Browne was born and raised—is from his second solo album, Love Approach. Browne got the idea for the song while he was at his parents' home. The vocals for the single were performed by Toni Smith, who also helped compose the song. The song hit number one on the US Billboard R&B chart for a month. "Funkin' for Jamaica" peaked at number nine on the dance chart and made the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, but it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100. It later became one of the most interpolated melodies in R&B with the chorus' chord sequence used by artists such as Johnny Kemp.
"Strait Playin'" is the second single released from Shaquille O'Neal's third album, You Can't Stop the Reign. It was produced by DJ Quik and featured verses from Quik and Peter Gunz. The song was a slight improvement from the album's first single, peaking at number 33 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. The song was also featured on the soundtrack to the film Steel starring O'Neal himself.
