The Eminem Show is the fourth studio album by American rapper Eminem. After it had originally scheduled for release on June 4, 2002, the album was released nine days earlier on May 26, 2002, through Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records due to pirating and bootlegging of it. The album saw Eminem take a substantially more predominant production role; most of it was self-produced, with his longtime collaborator Jeff Bass. It features guest appearances from Obie Trice, D12, Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg, Dina Rae and Eminem's daughter Hailie Jade Scott-Mathers.
Baduizm is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. It was released on February 11, 1997, by Kedar Records and Universal Records. After leaving university in order to concentrate on music full-time, Badu then began touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, and recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. He set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal. Recording sessions for the album took place from January to October 1996 in New York City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.
Monica Denise Arnold is an American singer, rapper and actress. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, she began performing as a child and became part of a traveling gospel choir at the age of ten. Monica rose to prominence after she signed with Rowdy Records in 1993 and released her debut album Miss Thang two years later. She followed it with a series of successful albums, including the global bestseller The Boy Is Mine (1998) as well as the number-one albums After the Storm (2003), The Makings of Me (2006) and Still Standing (2010). Throughout her career, several of Monica's singles became number-one hits on the pop and R&B charts, including "Before You Walk Out of My Life", "Don't Take It Personal ", "Like This and Like That", "The Boy Is Mine", "The First Night", "Angel of Mine", "So Gone", and "Everything to Me".
Helen Folasade Adu, known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade, is a Nigerian-born British singer, known as the lead singer of her eponymous band. One of the most successful British female artists in history, she is often recognised as an influence on contemporary music. Her success in the music industry was recognised in the UK with an award of the Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2002, and was made Commander in the 2017 Birthday Honours.
Carl Terrell Mitchell, better known by his stage name Twista, is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastest English-speaking rapper in the world according to Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds.
Born Again is the first posthumous compilation album by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G., released by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records on December 7, 1999. It is composed primarily of early recorded verses with newer beats and guest rappers.
Get Rich or Die Tryin' is the debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. It was released on February 6, 2003, by Interscope Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, Eminem's Shady Records, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. After signing with Eminem, 50 Cent also worked heavily with Dr. Dre acting as the album's executive producers, who worked to combine the gangsta rap and R&B combo prevalent in New York hip hop. Additional production is provided by Mike Elizondo, Sha Money XL, Mr. Porter, Rockwilder, Dirty Swift, Megahertz, and more.
Scorpion is the second studio album by American rapper Eve. It was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Interscope Records on March 6, 2001, in the United States. The album's title is a reference to Eve's zodiac sign, Scorpio. It features the hit single "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", a duet with Gwen Stefani, which won the first Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, a new category at the time.
Tracey Lee is an American Hip-Hop artist and entertainment lawyer. He became known in 1997 when his single "The Theme ", which settled on Billboard’s Top 100 for thirty-seven weeks became an overnight hit. His debut album Many Facez followed on April 8, 1997. As a rising star in hip-hop, Tracey Lee also had the opportunity to collaborate with award-winning artists such as Busta Rhymes, Kanye West and The Notorious B.I.G., with whom he released "Keep Your Hands High". Lee also made a guest appearance on Changing Faces' "Goin' Nowhere", a song from the album All Day, All Night. Lee appeared on national television shows such as BET Rap City: The Basement, BET Teen Summit, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, and HBO Original Series: Arliss. Lee released his album ESQ: The Revelation in October 2014 on his independent label LLeft Entertainment with distribution from TuneCore. He has since released two additional independent projects, Expect The Unexpected (2019) and Glory (2020). In Fall of 2016 Lee joined the faculty staff of Coppin State University as an adjunct professor teaching The Business of Music course.
Da Dirty 30 is the only studio album by American hip hop trio Cru. It was released on June 15, 1997, as a joint production by Def Jam Recordings and Violator Entertainment, with the entire production of the album coming from the group's producer Yogi. It features guest appearances from Black Rob, Anthony Hamilton, Antoinette, Jim Hydro, Ras Kass, Slick Rick, The Lox and Tracey Lee. The album was met with positive reviews but was not a huge commercial success, peaking at number 102 on the Billboard 200, number 26 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and topped the Top Heatseekers.
"The Theme (It's Party Time)" is the lead single released from Tracey Lee's debut album, Many Facez. The song was produced by D-Dot, Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence and was a mild success, making it to 4 different Billboard charts, including 55 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Solána Imani Rowe, known professionally as SZA, is an American singer and songwriter. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she began making music in the early 2010s, releasing two extended plays before signing with the hip hop record label Top Dawg Entertainment, through which she released Z (2014), her third EP and first retail release. That same year, she co-wrote "Feeling Myself" with Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé. In 2016, she was featured on Rihanna's song "Consideration".
Kim Han-bin, known professionally as B.I (Korean: 비아이) is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and executive producer under 131. In 2014, he was a contestant on Show Me the Money 3. In 2015, he debuted as the leader of the South Korean boy band iKon under YG Entertainment and is credited with the production and songwriting for all releases by the group. After his departure from iKon in 2019, B.I was appointed as the executive director of IOK Company in 2020. In 2021, B.I debuted as a solo artist under IOK Music affiliate 131 Label, with the release of his self-written charity single album Midnight Blue and full-length charity studio album Waterfall. In November 2021, he released the first part of his self-written second studio album, Cosmos. In October 2022, B.I resigned from his position as IOK's executive director, going on with 131 as an independent label. In November 2022, B.I made the first EP release under his global album project Love or Loved, consisting of the pre-release single "BTBT" and the lead single “Keep Me Up".
Kim Nam-joon, known professionally as RM, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the leader of South Korean boy band BTS.
David Orobosa Omoregie, also known as Santan Dave, or just Dave, is a British rapper. He has gained acclaim for his socially conscious lyricism and wordplay.
Damn is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on April 14, 2017, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Lamar assembled numerous artists and producers to produce the album, including executive producer and Top Dawg Entertainment label-head Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, Sounwave, DJ Dahi, Mike Will Made It, and Ricci Riera, as well as further production contributions from James Blake, Steve Lacy, BadBadNotGood, Greg Kurstin, The Alchemist, and 9th Wonder, among others. The album features guest vocals from singer Rihanna and Top Dawg singer Zacari, along with Irish rock band U2.
Omar Jeffery Pineiro, known professionally as Smokepurpp, is an American rapper. Originally a record producer, Pineiro later found success on the audio distribution platform SoundCloud in 2017 from his surge in popularity due to his track "Audi".
? is the second studio album by American rapper and singer XXXTentacion and his last studio album to be released before his murder. It was released on March 16, 2018, by Bad Vibes Forever, Caroline Distribution, and Capitol Music Group. It succeeds the release of his debut studio album 17 (2017) and the extended play A Ghetto Christmas Carol (2017). The album was primarily produced by frequent collaborator John Cunningham, and includes guest appearances from PnB Rock, Travis Barker, Joey Badass, Matt Ox, Rio Santana, Judah, and Carlos Andrez.
Dominique Armani Jones, known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape Perfect Timing. His debut studio album, Harder Than Ever (2018), spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 single "Yes Indeed". In 2018, he released two more mixtapes: Drip Harder, which contained the single, "Drip Too Hard", that reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); and Street Gossip, which reached #2 on the US Billboard 200.
Queen is the fourth studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on August 10, 2018, through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. It is Minaj's first album in nearly four years, following The Pinkprint (2014). She started recording the album in late 2016 and finished in August 2018 and collaborated with a handful of producers to reach her desired sound. It features guest appearances by rappers Eminem, Foxy Brown, Future, Swae Lee, and Lil Wayne; and singers Ariana Grande, Labrinth, and the Weeknd.
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