Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta rap, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often grim content.
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known by his stage name Common, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. He has received three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar?, and gained wider critical acclaim with its follow-ups, Resurrection (1994) and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997). He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s, and achieved his first mainstream success through his work and affiliation with the black music collective, Soulquarians.
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt, Pepa, and DJ Spinderella. Their debut album, Hot, Cool & Vicious (1986), sold more than 1 million copies in the US, making them the first female rap act to achieve gold and platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album included the single, "Push It", which was released in 1987 as the B-side to their single "Tramp", and peaked within the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Naughty by Nature is an American hip hop trio from East Orange, New Jersey, consisting of Treach, Vin Rock, and DJ Kay Gee.
Marques Barrett Houston is an American R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, model and actor. A member of the R&B group Immature/IMx from 1990 until 2002, Houston went solo in 2003. As an actor, he is known for his role as Roger Evans in the television comedy Sister, Sister. As a solo artist, Houston has released a number of successful studio albums that went platinum in the United States.
Anthony Shawn Criss, better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature.
Resurrection is the second studio album by American rapper Common Sense. It was released on October 4, 1994, by Relativity Records. It was mainly produced by No I.D., who also produced most of Common's 1992 debut Can I Borrow A Dollar? It is the last album to feature the rapper's full stage name, as after this album the "Sense" portion of the name was dropped, making the rapper simply known to this day as "Common".
Sharissa Dawes is an American singer. Born and raised in New York City's borough of Brooklyn, she began her musical career in the girl groups Triple Dose and 4Kast. 4Kast released their 1998 debut album, Any Weather, which was promoted with the singles "Miss My Lovin'" and "I Tried". After her time in the groups, Sharissa worked as a backing vocalist before she was discovered by Jimmy Henchman.
Thug Mentality 1999 is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Krayzie Bone. It was released April 6, 1999, on Ruthless Records, Relativity Records and Mo Thugs Records.
Jamal Phillips, known professionally mononymously as Jamal and formerly as Mally G, is an American rapper and record producer. He started his career as one-half of rap duo Illegal, the rap act formed by Dallas Austin in the early 1990s.
"Temptations" is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur (2Pac) from his third studio album, Me Against the World (1995). It was released as a single in the US on August 29, 1995, and was released as a CD, cassette, and 12" promo. While rapping is solely performed by Shakur, Erick Sermon and producer Easy Mo Bee are also featured in the song primarily as background vocalists. The song uses the bassline from the "Computer Love", and the theme focuses on relationship and infidelity issues. Debuting at number sixty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100, the song did fairly well in the United States. It was also well received by critics, with many writers commenting on its romantic tone.
"Hip Hop Hooray" is a song by American hip hop group, Naughty by Nature, released in December 1992 as the first single from their third album, 19 Naughty III (1993). The song spent one week at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. It contains samples from "Funky President" by James Brown, "Don't Change Your Love" by Five Stairsteps, "Make Me Say it Again, Girl" by Isley Brothers, "You Can't Turn Me Away" by Sylvia Striplin and "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel. Pete Rock made a remix that samples Cannonball Adderley's "74 Miles Away". It was certified Platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 1,100,000 copies in the United States.
"Feel Me Flow" is a 1995 single by hip hop group Naughty by Nature from their fourth album Poverty's Paradise. The song was the most successful single from the album, peaking at number 3 on Hot Rap Singles in mid-June and at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-July. The sole rapper on the song is Treach. The accompanying music video shows Treach near a pool and the ocean in the midst of a heat wave, and also shows clips of the winter and people snowboarding. The song was later featured in the 2002 film 8 Mile.
Rottin ta da Core is the first and only studio album by American rap group Rottin Razkals. It was released on March 14, 1995 through Illtown/Mad Sounds Recordings and was produced by the group's mentors, Naughty by Nature. The album managed to make it to three different Billboard charts, #190 on the Billboard 200, #28 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #14 on the Top Heatseekers and featured two charting singles. "Hey Alright" made it to #74 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and #23 on the Hot Rap Singles, while "Oh Yeah" made it to #63 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and #14 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
Apache Ain't Shit is the only studio album by American rapper Apache. It was released in 1993 via Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions took place at Unique Recording Studios in New York. Production was handled by S.I.D. Reynolds, Double J, Diamond D, Large Professor, Q-Tip, The 45 King, and Apache himself, with Benny Medina, Queen Latifah and Sha-Kim serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Nikki D, Cee, Collie Weed, Cut Monitor Milo, Double J, Latee, The Jigaboos, The My Dick Posse, Treach and Vin Rock.
Sandra Jacqueline Denton, better known by her stage name Pepa or Pep, is a Jamaican-American rapper, best known for her work as a member of the female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa. Denton starred in The Salt-N-Pepa Show, a reality TV series focusing on reforming the group which aired on the VH1 network in 2008. Since January 2016, Denton has appeared as a supporting cast member on the music reality television show Growing Up Hip Hop which airs on We TV.
American hip hop group Naughty by Nature have released seven studio albums, two compilation albums and eighteen singles.
Outkast was an American hip hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of the rappers Big Boi and André 3000. The duo achieved both critical and commercial success from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, helping to popularize Southern hip hop with their intricate lyricism, memorable melodies, and positive themes, while experimenting with a diverse range of genres such as funk, psychedelia, jazz, and techno.
Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven is the fifth studio album by American musician Kid Cudi. The album was released on December 4, 2015, through Republic Records and Cudi's Wicked Awesome Records imprint. The album is a complete departure from his previous projects, excluding WZRD, a 2012 collaborative effort which was his first venture into rock music. Inspired by the 1990s indie music scene, Cudi included commissioned skits featuring Mike Judge voicing the titular characters of his '90s animated sitcom, Beavis and Butt-Head.
"Confused!" is a song written and recorded by American musician Kid Cudi, taken from his fifth studio album Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven (2015). The song was officially released on August 1, 2015 as the album's lead single. The song features production, guitar and bass from Cudi.
