My Bloody Valentine are an Irish-English alternative rock band formed in Dublin in 1983 and consisting since 1987 of founding members Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig, with Bilinda Butcher and Debbie Googe (bass). Their work is characterized by warped, distorted guitar textures, subdued androgynous vocals, and unorthodox production techniques. They are widely cited as a pioneering act in the shoegaze genre.
Loveless is the second studio album by the Irish-English rock band My Bloody Valentine. It was released on 4 November 1991 in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and in the United States by Sire Records. The album was recorded between February 1989 and September 1991, with vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields leading sessions and experimenting with guitar vibrato, non standard tunings, digital sampling, and meticulous production methods. The band recorded at nineteen different studios and hired several engineers during the album's prolonged recording, with its final production cost rumoured to have reached £250,000.
The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 14, 2003, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. It was advertised as his final album before retiring, which is also a recurring theme throughout the songs, although Jay-Z resumed his recording career in 2005. For the album, Jay-Z wanted to enlist a different producer for each song, working with Just Blaze, Kanye West, the Neptunes, Eminem, DJ Quik, Timbaland, 9th Wonder and Rick Rubin, among others. The album also features a guest appearance by Pharrell Williams.
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is the fifth studio album by the American duo Outkast. It was released on September 23, 2003, by Arista Records. Issued as a double album, its length of over two hours is spread across solo records by Big Boi and André 3000.
Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use of rich vocals, sometimes with rapped verses. This, combined with cutting-edge synthesizers, strong bass rhythm and melodic hooks, establishes the core foundation of Eurodance music.
Stranger in Town is the tenth studio album by American rock singer Bob Seger and his second with the Silver Bullet Band, released by Capitol Records in May 1978. As with its predecessor, the Silver Bullet Band backed Seger on about half of the songs and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section backed Seger on the other half.
Graduation is the third studio album by American rapper Kanye West released on September 11, 2007, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions took place between 2005 and 2007 at several studios in New York and Los Angeles. It was primarily produced by West himself, with contributions from various other producers, including DJ Toomp. The album features guest appearances from recording artists such as Dwele, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Mos Def, DJ Premier, and Chris Martin. The cover art and its interior artwork were designed by contemporary artist Takashi Murakami.
The Devil Makes Three is an Americana band from Santa Cruz, California, United States. The group blends americana, folk, bluegrass, old time, country, blues, jazz, punk and ragtime music. The group's members are guitarist Pete Bernhard, upright bassist MorganEve Swain, and guitarist and tenor banjo player Cooper McBean. The band has released seven full-length studio albums and three live recordings.
Chemical Warfare is the second solo studio album by American hip hop producer and recording artist the Alchemist. It was released on July 7, 2009 via ALC Records and E1 Music. Produced entirely by the Alchemist himself, it features guest appearances from Blu, Eminem, Evidence, Fabolous, Jadakiss, Juvenile, Kid Cudi, Kool G Rap, KRS-One, Kxng Crooked, Lil' Fame, Maxwell, Oh No, Prodigy, Pusha T, Roc C, Snoop Dogg, Talib Kweli, Tha Dogg Pound, The Lady of Rage, Three 6 Mafia and Twista.
"Swagga Like Us" is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and T.I. featuring fellow American rappers Kanye West and Lil Wayne, the latter of whom also produced the song, constructed primarily around a vocal sample of "Paper Planes" by British musician M.I.A. It was released on September 6, 2008, in the United States as the fifth single from T.I.'s sixth album Paper Trail (2008). The track was also initially slated for inclusion on Jay-Z's eleventh album The Blueprint 3 (2009), however it ultimately failed to make the final track listing.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii after a period of controversy in 2009, following his interruption of Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, West recorded the album at Honolulu's Avex Recording Studio in a communal environment involving numerous musicians. Additional recording sessions took place at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California, along with the New York City studios Electric Lady and Platinum Sound.
"One Night Stand" is a song by American singer Keri Hilson, taken from her second studio album, No Boys Allowed (2010). It features American R&B singer Chris Brown who co-wrote the song alongside Kevin McCall and Charlie Bereal, who also produced the track. The R&B and soul ballad was sent to radio as the third single from No Boys Allowed.
"Dirt Road Anthem" is a country rap song written and sung by American singers Colt Ford and Brantley Gilbert first, each of whom recorded his own version of the song. Jason Aldean covered the song for his 2010 album My Kinda Party, and released it as the third single from the album in April 2011. The song debuted as a single as Aldean's previous single, "Don't You Wanna Stay", was at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. On November 30, the song received a nomination at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Country Solo Performance. It is the best-selling song in digital history by a male country solo artist in the United States with over four million sold.
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded is the second studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on April 2, 2012 by Cash Money Records, Universal Republic Records and Young Money Entertainment. Looking to transition from her debut studio album, Pink Friday (2010), Minaj wanted to make a follow-up record about "just having fun". Stylistically, the album is divided by a first half of hip hop tracks and a second half of dance-pop songs. As executive producer, Minaj enlisted a variety of collaborators.
Elise Nicole Testone is an American singer and songwriter from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She placed sixth on the eleventh season of American Idol. Her debut album In This Life was released in February 2014, and her second album, This Is Love, was released in 2019.
Kevin Jerome Gilyard, better known by his stage name Kevin Gates, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is currently signed to Bread Winners' Association with a partnership with Atlantic Records. His debut studio album, Islah, released in January 2016 and peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Prior to Islah, Gates also released a number of mixtapes, including Stranger Than Fiction (2013), By Any Means (2014), and Luca Brasi 2 (2014), all of which peaked in the top 40 on the Billboard 200 chart.
JonatanAron Leandoer Håstad, known professionally as Yung Lean, is a Swedish rapper. Widely cited as one of the most influential figures in the early cloud rap era, Yung Lean rose to prominence in 2013 with his song "Ginseng Strip 2002", which went viral on YouTube. Later that same year, he released his debut mixtape, Unknown Death 2002, and the following year, he released his debut studio album, Unknown Memory.
AIM is the fifth studio album by British rapper and singer M.I.A. It was released on 9 September 2016 by Interscope and Polydor Records. Prior to its release, M.I.A. claimed that it would be her final album. She worked on the composition and production of the album with a range of collaborators, including Blaqstarr, Diplo, and Skrillex. The album was recorded in various countries, including Jamaica and India, and includes vocal contributions from Dexta Daps and Zayn. As with M.I.A.'s earlier releases, the album mixes Eastern and Western musical influences. Lyrically, several tracks on the album contain themes of borders and refugees.
Gaetano John "Gaten" Matarazzo III is an American actor. He began his career on the Broadway stage as Benjamin in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (2011–12) and as Gavroche in Les Misérables (2014–15). Matarazzo gained recognition for playing Dustin Henderson in the Netflix science-fiction-horror drama series Stranger Things (2016–present). He also hosted the Netflix show Prank Encounters (2019–2021). In 2022, he co-starred in the coming-of-age comedy film Honor Society and voiced Boris the Dragon on the animated fantasy comedy film My Father's Dragon.
Ranky Tanky is an American musical ensemble based in Charleston, South Carolina. It specializes in jazz-influenced arrangements of traditional Gullah music, a culture that originated among descendants of enslaved Africans in the Lowcountry region of the US Southeast. Apart from lead vocalist Quiana Parler, four of the group's members, Quentin Baxter, Kevin Hamilton, Clay Ross, and Charlton Singleton, previously played together in the Charleston jazz quartet The Gradual Lean in the late 1990s.
