Smif-N-Wessun, also known as Cocoa Brovaz and Tek-N-Steele, is an American hip hop duo from Brooklyn, New York City. It is composed of rappers Tekomin "Tek" Williams from Bedford–Stuyvesant and Darrell "Steele" Yates from Brownsville. The duo comprise one quarter of supergroup Boot Camp Clik, together with Buckshot, Heltah Skeltah and Originoo Gunn Clappaz. Both members are known for their Jamaican Patois during their raps, which was more evident during the earlier stages of their career.
Boot Camp Clik is an American hip hop supergroup from Brooklyn, New York City, which is composed of Buckshot, Smif-N-Wessun, Heltah Skeltah and O.G.C.. Most of the members are from Brownsville, but Buckshot is from Crown Heights and Tek is from Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Ramon Ibanga, Jr., known professionally as Illmind, is a Filipino American record producer, songwriter, and educator. As of 2012, he lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Nocturnal is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Heltah Skeltah. It was released on June 18, 1996, via Duck Down/Priority Records. The recording sessions took place at Chung King Studios, at Dollar Cab, at D&D Studios, and at Unique Recording Studios in New York City. It was produced by Da Beatminerz, Buckshot, Shaleek, Shawn J. Period, Supreme, E-Swift, Lord Jamar and Sean Price. It features guest appearances from Originoo Gunn Clappaz, Illa Noyz, Representativz and Vinia Mojica. The album peaked at number 35 on the Billboard 200 and number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Kenyatta Blake, known professionally as Buckshot, is an American rapper from New York, best known as a frontman of hip hop groups Black Moon and Boot Camp Clik. He rose to prominence with Black Moon's debut 1993 album Enta da Stage, which is critically acclaimed and influential in hip-hop.
Sean Duval Price was an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Boot Camp Clik. He was one half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruck, along with partner Rock.
Duck Down Music Inc is a New York City based record label, talent management, music-marketing, and consulting company founded by Drew "Dru-Ha" Friedman and Kenyatta "Buckshot" Blake in 1995. In Duck Down's 20-year existence, the company has released over 40 albums and sold more than 3 million collective copies worldwide. Home of established hip hop artists such as Boot Camp Clik, Pharoahe Monch, Black Rob, 9th Wonder, KRS-One, B-Real of Cypress Hill, The Away Team, Statik Selektah, Random Axe, Promise, David Dallas, Marco Polo, Ruste Juxx, Torae, Blue Scholars, Special Teamz and Kidz in the Hall.
Jesus Price Supastar is the second solo studio album by American rapper Sean Price of Heltah Skeltah and Boot Camp Clik. Originally planned to be released on September 19, 2006, it was pushed back to October 31, and then was pushed back for the third time, to a final release date on January 30, 2007. Duck Down Music CEO Drew "Dru-Ha" Friedman stated, "We all just decided together that the extra time would do us right for promotions and raising awareness".
Marco Bruno, better known by his stage name Marco Polo, is a Canadian hip hop record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, he is based in New York City, New York.
D.I.R.T. is the third and final studio album by American hip hop duo Heltah Skeltah. It was released on September 30, 2008 via Duck Down Music, making it their first album in ten years since the release of Magnum Force in 1998.
Gregory Skyler Taylor, known professionally as Skyzoo, is an American rapper and songwriter. He has released a number of notable solo and collaborative albums, including Cloud 9: The 3 Day High with 9th Wonder in 2006, The Salvation in 2009, A Dream Deferred in 2012, Music For My Friends in 2015, and his most recent solo album All the Brilliant Things. Skyzoo has also released a plethora of non-commercial mixtapes including Corner Store Classic and The Great Debater throughout his career, and has worked with artists such as Jill Scott, Wale, Lloyd Banks, Tyrese, Dr. Dre, Raheem Devaughn, Black Thought, Jadakiss, Talib Kweli, Spike Lee, John Legend, and others. Skyzoo has headlined or co-headlined often-yearly tours throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa, Australia, and Asia, and he owns and operates the independent record label First Generation Rich.
Survival Skills is a collaborative studio album by American rappers KRS-One and Buckshot. It was released on September 15, 2009 through Duck Down Music. Production was handled by Illmind, Black Milk, Khrysis, 9th Wonder, Coptic, DJ Mentplus, Havoc, Marco Polo, MoSS and Nottz. It features guest appearances from Bounty Killer, Heltah Skeltah, Immortal Technique, K'naan, Mary J. Blige, Melanie Fiona, Naledge, Pharoahe Monch, Slug, Smif-N-Wessun, Talib Kweli, the Loudmouf Choir and DJ Revolution.
The Salvation is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Skyzoo. It was released on September 29, 2009, via Jamla Records and Duck Down Music. Production was handled by 9th Wonder, Cyrus Tha Great, Eric G., Nottz, Best Kept Secret, Black Milk, Illmind, Just Blaze and Needlz. It features guest appearance from Carlitta Durand.
The following is a list of productions by !llmind, an American hip hop producer. He has had a number of co-written and/or produced singles and studio albums reach the Billboard 200 charts since the mid-2000s, including his 2010 album Live from the Tape Deck. He has also worked with musicians such as Joell Ortiz, Symbolyc One, Skyzoo, and 50 Cent.
Coalmine Records is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent hip-hop record label. Coalmine's catalog includes Pharaohe Monch, El Da Sensei, Kool G. Rap, Talib Kweli, Large Professor, Heltah Skeltah, Dilated Peoples, Bekay, Big K.R.I.T, Custom Made, Emilio Rojas, Torae, Skyzoo, Termanology, Alchemist, J.R.Rotem, M-Phazes, Illmind, Khrysis, Shuko, Domingo, DJ Kayslay, DJ Revolution, and DJ Babu.
For the Record is the debut studio album by American rapper Torae, released on November 1, 2011 via his own imprint Internal Affairs Entertainment, in conjunction with Fat Beats Distribution. It was preceded by the collaborative project Double Barrel in 2009 with producer Marco Polo.
A Dream Deferred is the second studio album of Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo. The album was released on October 23, 2012. The album met with a largely positive critical response, earning 86/100 from Metacritic. It is one of Skyzoo's best charting albums, reaching No. 7 on the Top Heatseekers chart, No. 191 on the Billboard 200, No. 25 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, No. 18 on Top Rap Albums, and No. 40 on the Independent Albums chart.
Barrel Brothers is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Skyzoo and Torae. It was released on May 27, 2014 via First Generation Rich, Inc./Internal Affairs/Loyalty Digital Corp. Production was handled by Illmind, Antman Wonder, Auréli1 a.k.a Tiga, Black Milk, DJ Premier, Jahlil Beats, Khrysis, MarcNfinit, Oh No, Praise and The Stuyvesants. It features guest appearances from Blu, Guilty Simpson, Livin Proof, Sean Price and Sha Stimuli.
Daily Conversation is a mixtape by American rapper Torae, released on January 29, 2008, under his own Internal Affairs Entertainment imprint, Soulspazm Records and Fat Beats Records. The mixtape was executive produced by Torae and DJ Vega Benetton. Production was handled by several producers including DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, Black Milk, Khrysis, Marco Polo. Guest appearances include Tash, Sha Stimuli, Chaundon, Skyzoo, and others. The mixtape was preceded by the DJ Premier-produced 12-inch single "Get It Done", with B-side "Click", both featuring Skyzoo.
Double Barrel is an album made in collaboration between American rapper Torae and Canadian hip hop producer Marco Polo. The album was released on June 2, 2009 by Duck Down Music Inc. It was preceded by Marco Polo's critically well-received debut album Port Authority (2007), and Torae's inaugural release Daily Conversation (2008) on which Polo has produced three tracks.
