Clive Jay Davis is an American record producer, A&R executive, and music industry executive. He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer.
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record executive, entrepreneur, and actor. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was discovered by Birdman and joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo The B.G.'z, alongside fellow New Orleans-based rapper B.G. The duo then joined the southern hip hop group Hot Boys, with Cash Money label-mates Juvenile and Turk, in 1997, which foresaw the release of their debut album, Get It How U Live!, that same year. The group became popular following the release of the platinum-selling album Guerrilla Warfare (1999) and the 1999 single "Bling Bling". For many years, Lil Wayne was the flagship artist of Cash Money Records, before ending his long-tenured deal with the company in June 2018.
Arista Records, Inc. is an American record label owned by Sony Music, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by Bertelsmann Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for Columbia Records. Until its demise in 2011, it was a major distributor and promoter of albums throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. Along with Columbia, RCA, and Epic, Arista is one of Sony's four flagship record labels.
Confessions is the fourth studio album by American singer Usher. It was released on March 23, 2004, by Arista Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003 to 2004, with its production handled by his longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri, along with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Lil Jon, among others. Primarily an R&B album, Confessions showcases Usher as a crooner through a mixture of ballads and up-tempos, incorporating musical genres of dance-pop, hip hop and crunk. The album's themes generated controversy about Usher's personal relationships; however, the album's primary producer Jermaine Dupri claimed the album reflects Dupri's own personal story.
Jerrell C. Jones, better known by his stage name J-Kwon, is an American rapper from St. Louis best known for his 2004 rap single "Tipsy," which rose to number 2 in 2004.
8701 is the third studio album by American singer Usher; it was first released on August 7, 2001, by Arista Records. Recording was handled by several producers including The Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri, Babyface, Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Mike City, Bryan Michael Cox, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Although intended for an October 31, 2000, release under the title All About U, the album was delayed numerous times, following the leak of several tracks onto the online music store Napster. Usher subsequently recorded new tracks and released the album under the new title, 8701, which is derived from Usher singing for the first time in his local church in 1987 and the album's release date of 2001.
Angie Stone is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. Soon after, Stone began working with futuristic rap group Mantronix and singer Lenny Kravitz. In the early 1990s, she became a member of the R&B trio Vertical Hold. In 1999, Stone released her solo debut Black Diamond on Arista Records, which was certified gold and spawned the R&B number-one hit "No More Rain ". After transitioning to J Records, she released another gold-seller, Mahogany Soul (2001), which included the hit single "Wish I Didn't Miss You", followed by Stone Love (2004) and The Art of Love & War (2007), her first number-one album on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
"Burn" is a song by American R&B singer Usher, which he wrote with American songwriters Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox. The song was produced by Dupri and Cox for Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions (2004). "Burn" is about breakup in a relationship with an older women who goes by the name of Amy Lewis and the public referred to it as an allusion to Usher's personal struggles. Originally planned as the album's lead single, "Burn" was pushed back after favorable responses for the song "Yeah!" "Burn" was released as the second single from the album on March 21, 2004.
Christopher Alan "Tricky" Stewart is an American record producer, record executive, songwriter, entrepreneur, and music publisher. In a career spanning over 20 years, Stewart, at the helm of his company RedZone Entertainment, has won 5 Grammys and is responsible for over 10 million records sold. He is noted for producing many hip hop, R&B and pop chart topping singles, often with The-Dream. Some of Stewart's record breaking singles are: Beyoncé's Single Ladies " (2008), Rihanna's "Umbrella" (2007), Justin Bieber's "One Time" (2009) and "Baby" (2010), Britney Spears' "Me Against the Music" (2003), Mary J. Blige's "Just Fine" (2007), Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" (2008) and "Obsessed" (2009), Ciara's "Ride" (2010), Mýa's "Case of the Ex" (2000), Karina Pasian's "16 @ War" (2008), and Nicole Scherzinger's "Your Love" (2014).
Jay Wayne Jenkins, known professionally as Jeezy, is an American rapper and actor. Signed to Def Jam Recordings since 2004, his major label debut Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 was released the following year and debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, selling 172,000 copies in its first week and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Jeezy is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, for helping to pioneer and popularize trap music with a mainstream audience.
Unfinished Business is the second collaboration album between R&B singer R. Kelly and rapper Jay-Z and was released worldwide on October 26, 2004. It was distributed in the United States and Canada by Jive Records and Island Def Jam Music Group, by the Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) and its subsidiary Jive Records, except in Canada and the United States of America where Island Def Jam Music Group and its labels Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records replaced BMG. The album was composed of unreleased tracks from the recording sessions of 2002's The Best of Both Worlds, although slight additions were made.
"Lose Control" is a hit song by American rapper Missy Elliott featuring singer Ciara and rapper Fatman Scoop. It was released as the lead single from Elliott's sixth studio album, The Cookbook. It contains samples from Hot Streak's "Body Work" and Cybotron's "Clear". The song peaked at number-three on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, number-two in New Zealand, and in the top thirty in various countries. "Lose Control" received generally favorable reviews and was certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"All Eyez on Me" is a song by American recording artist Monica. It was written in collaboration with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and LaShawn Daniels for her original third studio album, All Eyez on Me, released in 2002. Produced by Jerkins, it incorporates excerpts of Michael Jackson's 1983 hit "P.Y.T. ," penned by Quincy Jones and James Ingram.
"Can't Tell Me Nothing" is a song by American hip-hop recording artist Kanye West. It was released on May 15, 2007 as the lead single of his third studio album, Graduation. The song was produced by Kanye West and Atlanta record producer DJ Toomp. It received acclaim from music critics and was listed amongst the best tracks of the year by several publications. "Can't Tell Me Nothing" was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 50th Grammy Awards, but lost to another one of West's songs, "Good Life". Since its release, West has continually reiterated that it is his favorite song he's done. In 2012 Complex named it their song of the decade.
"Dangerously in Love 2" is a song written and produced by Beyoncé and Errol McCalla, Jr. The ballad was first recorded by Destiny's Child for their third studio album Survivor (2001), under the title "Dangerously in Love". The song later became the title track to Beyoncé's debut album with some minor adjustments instrumentally. "Dangerously in Love 2" is an R&B and soul ballad, the lyrics of which detail romantic obsession.
"A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne. The song was released February 13, 2008, as the second official single from his sixth album Tha Carter III.
GS Boyz are an American hip hop group from Arlington, Texas, formed in 2005. The group gained national popularity and sold over 1 million records under Sony Music, RCA Records, and MWN Music Group after nationally distributing their debut single "Stanky Legg," which was independently released in September 2008 by Todd J. Alexander, Cornelious Brock the Founder of MWN Music Group.
Hanif Muhammad, also known as Neef Buck aka Young Neef, is a rapper from Philadelphia.
"Ten Commandments" is a song by Lil' Mo featuring Grammy Award–winning rapper Lil' Kim from the former's sophomore effort, Meet the Girl Next Door (2003). Although Elektra Records had announced in December 2002 that the song would be released as Meet the Girl Next Door's second single, plans for the release never followed resulting in a promotional "street" release a month prior to the release of Meet the Girl Next Door.
