William Harrison Withers Jr. was an American singer and songwriter. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977) and "Just the Two of Us" (1980). Withers won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for six more.
Timex Social Club is an American R&B group, formed in 1985 and best known for the 1986 hit single "Rumors".
Club Nouveau is an American R&B group formed by record producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in Sacramento, California, following the breakup of the Timex Social Club. The group's name was changed from its original incarnation, "Jet Set", to capitalize on the breakup. The group was signed by Warner Bros. Records, on which Club Nouveau released its first three albums. Club Nouveau's go-go version of Bill Withers's song "Lean on Me" won a Grammy award for Best R&B Song in 1987.
Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy are an American R&B record production and songwriting duo, releasing recordings under the names Foster & McElroy and Fmob. They have written and produced songs for musicians such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Alexander O'Neal, Regina Belle, and Swing Out Sister. Their music has been sampled in hit songs by the Luniz, Puff Daddy, Ashanti, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, LL Cool J, Jessica Simpson, and others. Foster & McElroy are best known as the founders of the group En Vogue, listed by Billboard as one of the Top 10 Girl Groups of All Time. In addition to producing music for various television shows, they are also credited for songs in numerous movie soundtracks including The Great White Hype, Lean on Me, and Who's That Girl.
Concrete Rose is the fourth studio album by American singer Ashanti, released on December 14, 2004, by The Inc. Records and Def Jam Recordings. In addition to working with frequent collaborators Irv Gotti, Chink Santana, and 7 Aurelius, Ashanti also enlisted new collaborators Malcolm Flythe, Jimi Kendrix, and Demi-Doc, to assist. The album features guest appearances from rappers T.I., Ja Rule, and Lloyd.
Maxine Jones, is an American singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman, best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop group En Vogue, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. She sang lead vocals on the group's signature singles "My Lovin' " and "Don't Let Go (Love)", both of which garnered international success and sold over a million copies. Throughout her career, Jones has sold over 20 million records with En Vogue. Her work has earned her several awards and nominations, including two American Music Awards, a Billboard Music Award, four MTV Video Music Awards, and four Soul Train Music Awards.
Grand Champ is the fifth studio album by American rapper DMX. It was released on September 16, 2003 by The Island Def Jam Music Group, Def Jam Recordings, and Ruff Ryders Entertainment. The album was produced by multiple producers, including Swizz Beatz, Dame Grease, Kanye West, and No I.D. It features guest appearances from 50 Cent, Cam'ron, Eve, Styles P, Monica, and Jadakiss, among others.
Born to Sing is the debut studio album by American vocal group En Vogue. It was released by Atlantic Records on April 3, 1990, in the United States. Conceived after their contribution to band founders Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy's 1988 compilation project FM2 for Atlantic, it was chiefly produced by Foster and McElroy, with additional contribution from Hughie Prince, Don Raye, and former the Independents members Marvin Yancy and Chuck Jackson, through song covers. Musically, Born to Sing contains a range of contemporary genres, blending a mix of soft hip hop soul, pop, contemporary early-1990s R&B, rap, and new jack swing.
Forever is the second studio album of American hip hop recording artist Puff Daddy, released on August 24, 1999, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and sold 205,343 units in its first week. Despite this, Forever was met with mixed to unfavorable critical response and trailed the success of his previous album, No Way Out (1997).
"Lean on Me" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bill Withers. It was released in April 1972 as the first single from his second album, Still Bill. It was a number one single on both the soul and Billboard Hot 100 charts, the latter chart for three weeks in July 1972. Billboard ranked it as the No. 7 song of 1972. It was ranked number 208 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2010. Numerous other versions have been recorded, and it is one of only nine songs to have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with versions recorded by two different artists. In 2007, the 1972 recording of the song by Bill Withers on Sussex Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Samuelle Prater, known simply as Samuelle, is an American R&B singer who is a former member of the R&B group Club Nouveau. He was the lead singer on Club Nouveau's #1 Pop and Dance and #2 R&B hit remake of the Bill Withers classic, "Lean on Me".
Soul Flower is the sixth studio album by the American recording group En Vogue. Released through 33rd Street and Funkigirl Records and distributed by Bayside Entertainment on February 24, 2004 in the United States, the album marked the band's debut with the label as well as their first full-length release to feature vocals by new band member Rhona Bennett who had joined remaining founding members Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron the year before following the departure of Amanda Cole, resulting into the partial re-recording of several songs on Soul Flower that Cole had originally lent her voice to.
Best of En Vogue is the first greatest hits compilation album by the American R&B/pop group En Vogue. It was released in 1999 on East West Records. The album comprises nearly all of their hit singles released between the years of 1990 and 1998.
"Why You Treat Me So Bad?" is a 1987 single by Club Nouveau from their 1986 album Life, Love & Pain. The basic melodic hook of the song is taken from a hit by Club Nouveau member Jay King's previous project as producer, Timex Social Club.
"Use Me" is a song, composed and originally recorded by Bill Withers. It was included on his 1972 album Still Bill and was released as a single. An eight-minute live version opens the 1973 album "Live at Carnegie Hall."
Who? is the debut album by American R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné! It was released on April 18, 1988, by Wing Records and produced by Foster & McElroy, friends of the band from their hometown of Oakland, California. The album was recorded at Moon Studios in Sacramento.
"Ooh Boy" is a song recorded by American recording group En Vogue. It was written by Jamie Brewer, Kisha Griffin, Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy for their sixth studio album Soul Flower (2004), while production was helmed by Foster and McElroy. An uptempo R&B song with a funky disco groove, it features lead vocals from Rhona Bennett and Terry Ellis. "Ooh Boy" was released as the second and final single from the album, serving as its lead single. The song reached the top thirty of the US Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart. In support of the song, En Vogue performed it on several US television shows such as Soul Train and On Air with Ryan Seacrest.
Doggumentary is the eleventh studio album by American West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg. It was released on March 29, 2011 on the Priority Records record label. The album was produced by Battlecat, The Cataracs, Gorillaz, David Banner, THX, DJ Khalil, Fredwreck, Jake One, David Guetta, Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker, Lex Luger, Meech Wells, Mr. Porter, Rick Rock, Rick Rude, Scoop DeVille, Scott Storch, Warryn Campbell, Kanye West, DJ Reflex, among others.
"I Know" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Yo Gotti. The song was released on November 15, 2013, as the fourth single from his fourth studio album, I Am (2013). "I Know" features a guest appearance from rapper Rich Homie Quan who produced the song along with Trauma Tone. The song samples Club Nouveau's "Why You Treat Me So Bad", the same song sampled on Luniz's prolific "I Got 5 On It". Following its release, the song peaked at number 31 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
"Thinkin' About Ya" is a 1986 song by San Francisco Bay Area-based music group Timex Social Club, from their debut album Vicious Rumors. The song was mixed by Shep Pettibone and Jay Logan & Dave Luke]. It reached a Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs peak chart position of 15 in the United States.
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