Aquemini is the third studio album by the American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on September 29, 1998, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The title is a portmanteau of the two performers' Zodiac signs: Aquarius and Gemini, which is indicative of the album's recurring theme of the differing personalities of the two members. The group recorded the majority of the album in Bobby Brown's Bosstown Recording Studios and Doppler Studios, both in Atlanta, Georgia.
De La Soul are an American hip hop group formed in 1988 in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres. Kelvin "Posdnuos" Mercer, David "Trugoy the Dove" Jolicoeur, and Vincent "Maseo" Mason formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin'".
John David Jackson, better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed to Clue's record label Desert Storm Records, in a joint venture with Elektra Records. He rose to further prominence with his debut studio album Ghetto Fabolous (2001), which spawned the hit singles "Can't Deny It" and "Young'n ." Adopting a further commercially-oriented approach, his second album, Street Dreams (2003), was supported by the singles "Can't Let You Go" and "Into You" —both of which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lawrence Muggerud better known by his stage name DJ Muggs, is an American DJ, audio engineer and record producer. He has been a member of Cypress Hill, a member of the trip hop band Cross My Heart Hope to Die and the leader of hip hop and art collective Soul Assassins.
Disco Inferno were an English experimental rock band active in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Initially a trio of guitar, bass, and drums performing in an identifiable post-punk style, the band soon pioneered a dynamic use of digital sampling in addition to standard rock instruments. While commercially unsuccessful during their existence, the band is considered to be a key post-rock act.
Critical Beatdown is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Ultramagnetic MCs, released on October 4, 1988, by Next Plateau Records. The album was produced primarily by the group's rapper and producer Ced-Gee, who employed an E-mu SP-1200 sampler as the album's main instrument. Music journalists have noted the album for its innovative production, funk-based samples, self-assertive themes, and clever lyrical rhymes by Ced-Gee and rapper Kool Keith.
Golden age hip hop refers to hip hop music created from the mid or mid-late 1980s to the early or early-mid 1990s, particularly by artists and musicians originating from the New York metropolitan area. A precursor to the new-school hip hop movement, it is characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence on overall hip hop after the genre's emergence and establishment in the old-school era, and is associated with the development and eventual mainstream success of hip hop. There were various types of subject matter, while the music was experimental and the sampling from old records was eclectic.
William G. Shields, better known by his stage name Jehst, is an English rapper and co-founder of hip hop label YNR Productions.
Caveman was a British hip hop group originally from High Wycombe, England, consisting of MCM, the Principal, and Diamond J. They were the first British hip hop group to be signed to a major U.S. record label, Profile Records.
A Rose Is Still a Rose is the thirty-fourth studio album by American recording artist Aretha Franklin. It was released on March 24, 1998, by Arista Records. Conceived after a longer hiatus and a complete departure from her previous studio album What You See Is What You Sweat (1991), the album includes influences of 1990s hip hop as well as modern-day contemporary R&B and soul music. Throughout the project, Franklin worked with many famed hip hop producers and rappers, such as Lauryn Hill, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Jermaine Dupri, and Daryl Simmons. With the latter acts producing most of the album, A Rose Is Still a Rose deviated from the adult contemporary sound of Franklin's older work.
Ghost is a Scottish record producer based in London, who primarily produces British hip hop. His stage name is a reference to his tendency to spend a lot of time working in his studio, rather than being seen in public. He has been described by some journalists as one of the UK's top hip hop producers.
NY's Finest is the fourth studio album by hip hop producer and emcee Pete Rock. The album was Rock's first studio album since 2004's Soul Survivor II, and was released on February 26, 2008 through the Nature Sounds record label. The album's cover art was created by Fuse Green and inspired by the cover of James Brown's Hell. The instrumental version of the album was released on May 13, 2008 and includes two additional songs not available on the ordinary release; "It's So G" and "When I Need It".
A Word of Science is the debut studio album by British electronic producers Nightmares on Wax. Released by Warp Records in September 1991, it is the act's only album as a group before it became a solo vehicle for George Evelyn. Evelyn nonetheless recorded and produced the album alone, incorporating samples and elements from demo tapes he made in the late 1980s. Although Nightmares on Wax debuted with two well-received techno singles in 1989-1990, A Word of Science is eclectic and largely moves the act towards a more mellow style influenced by funk, soul and hip hop, while still incorporating techno, drum and bass, and house styles.
K-Def is an American, New Jersey–based, hip hop producer/DJ who has been actively involved in the music industry since the early 1990s. He has recently produced music for artists such as Ghostface Killah and Puff Daddy. K-Def earned critical praise early in his career for his work with Marley Marl on the album Here Come the Lords by the hip hop group Lords of the Underground. Among the songs from that album that benefited from K-Def's production work include the hits "Funky Child" and "Chief Rocka".
Lady Love is the second studio album by American R&B recording artist LeToya Luckett. It was released in Europe on August 24, 2009, and in the United States by Capitol Records on August 25, 2009. Originally scheduled for release several times in 2008, the album was released after corporate restructuring at the record company. As with her solo debut, the singer worked with a wide variety of collaborators for the album, including Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, Blac Elvis, Ryan Leslie, Harold Lilly, Bei Maejor, Oak, Soundz, T-Minus, and Tank.
"Greasy Geezers" are a dance production unit based in East London whose production portfolio covers commercial urban/pop, electro dance, hip-hop and go-go (DC) remakes. The group is composed of producers and songwriters whose backgrounds include working with Sanctuary Music Management, Trinity Records and Sacred Records.
"Fry You Like Fish @ The Jam" is an electro commercial dance single from the dance production unit Greasy Geezers. The song was released on 3 October 2011 as part of a digital EP under the same name.
Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in East Coast hip hop during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.
Gospel Reprise: A Few More Gems is an EP by rapper MCM, former front man for UK hip hop group Caveman. The EP was digitally released on 23 April 2012 to support the previous MCM album The Gospel: The Missing Gems of MCM Caveman (1994-2011). It features several unreleased songs from the 1990s era not found on the 2011 album.
