Monica Denise Arnold is an American singer, rapper and actress. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, she began performing as a child and joined a traveling gospel choir by the age of ten. Monica signed with record producer Dallas Austin through his label Rowdy Records in 1993, and gained prominence following the release of her debut studio album, Miss Thang (1995). Her follow up releases were met with further commercial success; her second, The Boy Is Mine (1998) remains her best-selling album and spawned three Billboard Hot 100-number one singles: "The Boy Is Mine", "The First Night" and "Angel of Mine".
The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 14, 2003, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. It was advertised as his final album before retiring, which is also a recurring theme throughout the songs, although Jay-Z resumed his recording career in 2005. For the album, Jay-Z wanted to enlist a different producer for each song, working with Just Blaze, Kanye West, the Neptunes, Eminem, DJ Quik, Timbaland, 9th Wonder and Rick Rubin, among others. The album also features a guest appearance by Pharrell Williams.
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.
"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.
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is the second studio album by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 22, 2012, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Drake, Dr. Dre, Jay Rock, Anna Wise and MC Eiht. It is Lamar's first major label album, after his independently released first album Section.80 in 2011 and his signing to Aftermath and Interscope the following year.
Pluto is the debut studio album by American rapper Future. It was released on April 17, 2012, through A1 Recordings and Freebandz, and distributed by Epic Records. The album features guest appearances from Drake, R. Kelly, T.I., Trae tha Truth and Snoop Dogg, with the production, which was handled by Will-A-Fool, Sonny Digital and K.E. on the Track, among others.
Leland Tyler Wayne, known professionally as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer. Critically acclaimed for his dark production style, he is regarded as one of the most influential producers in modern hip hop and trap music. His frequent collaborators include Future, Young Thug, the Weeknd, Travis Scott, Don Toliver, 21 Savage, Gucci Mane, Gunna and Nav.
Abbas Hamad, known professionally as Bas, is a French-born Sudanese-American rapper. He signed with J. Cole's Dreamville Records, an imprint of Interscope Records to release his debut studio album, Last Winter (2014). It was met with positive critical reception and entered the Billboard 200, along with his second and third albums, Too High to Riot (2016) and Milky Way (2018). His fourth album, We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up (2023) was met with continued praise despite failing to chart.
Nathan John Feuerstein, known by his initials NF, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has released two EPs, I'm Free (2012), and a self-titled EP in 2014 with Capitol CMG. His second and first major-label studio album, Mansion, was released on March 31, 2015. His third studio album, Therapy Session, was released on April 22, 2016, and peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard 200. His albums have earned several accolades, some of which include: the Gospel Music Association Dove Award for Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year.
Miles Parks McCollum, known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night" from his debut EP Summer Songs. He then released his debut mixtape Lil Boat in March 2016, and signed a joint venture record deal with Motown, Capitol Records, and Quality Control Music in June of that year.
Stoney is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Post Malone. It was released on December 9, 2016, by Republic Records. The album features guest appearances from Justin Bieber, Kehlani, and Quavo. The deluxe edition was released on the same day. It features an additional guest appearance from 2 Chainz. The production on the album was handled by Malone himself, Mustard, Metro Boomin, Vinylz, Frank Dukes, Illangelo, Charlie Handsome, Rex Kudo, Foreign Teck, and Pharrell Williams, among others. Malone generally sing-raps on the album, which is noted for its woozy, contemporary R&B-hip hop production. The album also features influence from country and outlaw country music.
Damn is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. Released on April 14, 2017, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. A critical success, it earned Lamar a Pulitzer Prize for Music and the Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards. The album features guest appearances from Rihanna, Zacari, and U2.
Michael Lamar White IV, known professionally as Trippie Redd, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. His debut mixtape, A Love Letter to You (2017) was released by Elliot Grainge's 10K Projects and entered the Billboard 200, while its lead single, "Love Scars" received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Omar Jeffery Pineiro, known professionally as Smokepurpp, is an American rapper. He first became known in the SoundCloud rap scene for his 2017 single "Audi", which received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In March of that year, he signed with Alamo and Interscope Records to release the song and his debut mixtape for which it served as lead single, Deadstar (2017), the following September. It peaked at number 42 on the Billboard 200, while his debut studio album and the mixtape's sequel, Deadstar 2 (2019) narrowly entered the chart. His second album, Florida Jit (2020) failed to chart in any known territory and served as his final album on the label.
Testing is the third studio album by American rapper ASAP Rocky. It was released on May 25, 2018, by ASAP Worldwide, Polo Grounds Music and RCA Records. The album includes guest appearances from Frank Ocean, Kid Cudi, Skepta, French Montana, Kodak Black, Dev Hynes and FKA Twigs, among others, and was produced primarily by Hector Delgado and ASAP Rocky himself, alongside a variety of high-profile record producers.
? is the second studio album by American rapper and singer XXXTentacion and his last studio album to be released before his death. It was released through Bad Vibes Forever, Caroline Distribution, and Capitol Music Group on March 16, 2018, and primarily produced by frequent collaborator John Cunningham, it includes a wide range of guest appearances from PnB Rock, Travis Barker of Blink-182, Joey Badass, Matt Ox, Rio Santana, Judah, and Carlos Andrez, and also succeeds the release of his debut studio album 17 (2017) and the extended play A Ghetto Christmas Carol (2017).
Dominique Armani Jones, known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 mixtapes Harder than Hard and Too Hard, the former of which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with its lead single, "My Dawg." He signed with Quality Control Music, an imprint of Motown and Capitol Records to release his debut studio album Harder Than Ever (2018), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Yes Indeed". He released two additional retail projects that same year: The collaborative mixtape Drip Harder with fellow Georgia-based rapper Gunna—which saw continued success with its singles "Drip Too Hard" and "Close Friends"—and his commercial mixtape Street Gossip, which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.
Sergio Giavanni Kitchens, known professionally as Gunna, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He signed with Young Thug's YSL Records, an imprint of 300 Entertainment in 2016, and rose to fame with his third mixtape, Drip Season 3 (2018). It moderately entered the Billboard 200, while his collaborative mixtape Drip Harder with fellow Georgia rapper Lil Baby, peaked at number four on the chart. Its lead single, "Drip Too Hard" reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100, received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Astroworld is the third studio album by American rapper Travis Scott. It was released on August 3, 2018, through Cactus Jack Records and Grand Hustle Records, and distributed by Epic Records. The album features guest vocals from Frank Ocean, Drake, Swae Lee, Kid Cudi, James Blake, Philip Bailey, Juice Wrld, Sheck Wes, the Weeknd, 21 Savage, Gunna, Nav, Don Toliver, Quavo, and Takeoff, among others. Production was handled by multiple producers, including Scott himself, Mike Dean, Allen Ritter, Hit-Boy, WondaGurl, Tay Keith, Tame Impala, Frank Dukes, Sonny Digital, Murda Beatz, and Thundercat, among others. The album follows Scott's second studio album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016), and his collaborative album with Quavo, Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho (2017).
Rodrick Wayne Moore Jr., known professionally as Roddy Ricch, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter from Compton, California. He rose to fame in 2018 following the release of his single "Die Young," which marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. Moore's first two mixtapes, Feed Tha Streets (2017) and Feed Tha Streets II (2018) received widespread acclaim. Moore guest featured alongside Hit-Boy on Nipsey Hussle's 2019 single "Racks in the Middle"—which earned him a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance—and on Mustard's single "Ballin'" that same year, which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a nomination for the same award.
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