Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, better known by his stage name Nas, is an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas began his musical career in 1989 under the moniker "Nasty Nas", and recorded demos for fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. He was later featured on the 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque" by his group, Main Source.
Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed by rappers Charles Stewart, Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson, Marc Stuart ; and disc jockeys Mark Potsic and Lucas Macfadden. The six piece crew that was formed, came out of the [Los Angeles venue Good Life. The group broke up in 2007, shortly after releasing the LP Feedback, citing "musical differences," but returned to the stage in 2013 and released a new track in 2014. The members have continued to release music individually.
Christopher Brian Bridges, known professionally as Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age nine, where he first began rapping. Starting out with a brief stint as a DJ, he formed his own record label, Disturbing tha Peace in the late 1990s, closing the decade with his debut album Incognegro (1999). The album was re-released as his major label debut, Back for the First Time (2000) upon signing with Def Jam Recordings. Its singles, "Southern Hospitality" and "What's Your Fantasy", became top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
God's Son is the sixth studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on December 13, 2002, by Ill Will and Columbia Records. Production took place during 2001 to 2002, and was handled by several producers, including Salaam Remi, Chucky Thompson, Ron Browz, Eminem, and The Alchemist. Partly inspired by the death of his mother in early 2002, God's Son covers lyrical themes such as religion, violence, and his own emotional experiences. It has been recognized by critics as some of Nas' most personal work.
"Hate Me Now" is the second and final single by rapper Nas featuring Sean Combs, from Nas' third studio album I Am.... The backbeat is inspired by, and contains some samples from, Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana". It was ranked 119 on XXL's 250 Best Songs of the 1990s.
"The World Is Yours" is a 1994 song by American rapper Nas. It was the fourth single from his debut album Illmatic, released a month after the album. It is considered by music critics as one of the greatest hip-hop songs ever recorded; About.com ranked it seventh greatest rap song of all time. It reached number 13 on the Hot Rap Singles chart in 1994. It contains a sample of Ahmad Jamal's 1970 song, "I Love Music".
"Nas Is Like" is the first single from Nas' third album I Am.... The song is the sixth collaboration between Nas and producer DJ Premier. It was well received by critics as it was a change from the more commercial and pop-oriented singles from It Was Written and Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album. The song contains a combination of braggadocios and introspective lyrics over a choppy string sample.
"Got Ur Self a Gun", also known as "Got Ur Self A..." for the clean versions of the album and single, respectively, is the second single from the 2001 album Stillmatic by the American rapper Nas. The song is produced by Megahertz and samples The Sopranos theme song "Woke Up This Morning", performed by Alabama 3. It reached #87 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"I Can" is a single by American rapper Nas from his sixth album, God's Son. It was released internationally February 11, 2003. Unlike the rest of the album, this does not have the Parental Advisory (or Explicit and other labeling on digital stores) label on the song, as it is aimed at children. The song peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Party Up (Up in Here)" is a song by American rapper DMX, released as the second single from his third album ... And Then There Was X (1999) and as of 2020 his most successful single (in the US). There are three versions of the song: an explicit/album version; a censored album version, and a radio/video edit version. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance but lost to Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady".
"Thugz Mansion" is a song by 2Pac, released as a posthumous single with two known popular versions both released on the 2002 album Better Dayz. It was nominated by the Source Awards for Single of the Year.
"Passin' Me By" is a song by American hip-hop group The Pharcyde, released in March 1993 through Delicious Vinyl Records. The song was the second single released from the group's 1992 debut album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. The song, produced by J-Swift, samples "Summer in the City" by Quincy Jones, "125th Street Congress" by Weather Report, and "Are You Experienced?" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
"Hip Hop Is Dead" is the first and title single taken from Nas' 2006 album of the same name. It is produced by and features will.i.am. It peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, as well as number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. On December 31, 2007, the music video for "Hip Hop Is Dead" appeared at number 93 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2007 countdown, even though the video was released in December 2006.
"Can't Forget About You" is the second and final single from American hip hop artist Nas' 2006 album Hip Hop Is Dead, released on January 23, 2007. It features Chrisette Michele, and the track is produced by will.i.am. Its lyrics deal with Nas reciting various unforgettable memories such as Mr. T becoming a wrestler and when DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince won the first Rap Grammy. Its b-side is "Hustlers" featuring The Game and Marsha from Floetry. It features a sample of "Unforgettable by Nat King Cole. The song reached number forty-six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, making it, to date, his highest charting R&B song since "I Can" peaked at 7 in 2003.
"My President" is the fourth official single from rapper Young Jeezy's third studio album, The Recession. The song also features rapper Nas and is produced by Tha Bizness. This song was number 16 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. Jeezy and Nas recorded the song on the day Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for the presidency. "My President" is also notable for the unified collaboration between the two artists, who had been having a feud since the 2006 release of Nas' album Hip Hop Is Dead, which contained statements to which Young Jeezy took offense.
"Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" is the first official single from Lloyd Banks' third album H.F.M. 2 , which was released on November 23, 2010. The song was released as a digital download on February 9, 2010. It was added to KAMP-FM in Los Angeles in four days from release.
"I'm on One" is a song by American hip hop artist DJ Khaled, released as the second single from his fifth studio album, We the Best Forever. The hip hop song features Canadian rapper Drake and American rappers Rick Ross and Lil Wayne and features production from Canadian producers T-Minus, Nikhil S. and Noah "40" Shebib. It was released for digital download in the United States on May 20, 2011. Remixes and freestyles were released from rappers such as Tyga, Meek Mill, Jamie Drastik, including other rappers.
"I Won" is a song by American rapper Future featuring fellow American rapper Kanye West. The song was released on April 8, 2014, as the fifth single from the former's second studio album, Honest (2014). The song features Future and West rapping about their respective then-fiancées, Ciara and Kim Kardashian, whom they see as their "trophy wives". Following its release, the song peaked at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"I" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar featuring Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers. It was released on September 23, 2014 as the lead single from Lamar's third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. The song uses music from "That Lady", written by and originally performed by R&B group The Isley Brothers, elements from which were re-recorded rather than being directly sampled from the original record. "I" won two awards at the 2015 Grammy Awards: Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
"Under the Sun" is a song released by record label Dreamville Records, performed by American rappers J. Cole and Lute featuring fellow American rapper DaBaby. It also has extra vocals from fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar, who performs the short two-lined chorus of the song. The song was released as the first track on the label's album, Revenge of the Dreamers III. DaBaby received praise for his guest verse, with Billboard,Complex, and HotNewHipHop all ranking it as his best feature of 2019.
