Black on Both Sides is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Mos Def, released on October 12, 1999, by Rawkus and Priority Records.
Christopher Edward Martin, known professionally as DJ Premier, is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr—alongside the rapper Guru—and presently forms half of the hip hop duo PRhyme, together with Royce da 5'9".
The Coming is the debut studio album by American rapper and record producer Busta Rhymes. It was released on March 26, 1996, by Flipmode Entertainment and Elektra Records. The album contains contributions by Def Squad members Redman, Keith Murray, and Jamal, as well as Q-Tip, Zhané, Leaders of the New School and several Flipmode Squad members. Production of the album was handled by DJ Scratch, Easy Mo Bee and the Ummah, among others. It serves as Rhymes's first solo album after the breakup of Leaders of the New School two years prior, and his first full-length project after numerous guest appearances on other songs with artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, the Notorious B.I.G., Heavy D and the Boyz and Mary J. Blige.
Lamont Dorrell, known as Ayatollah, is a hip hop record producer. He has mainly produced music for New York–based rappers, including Mos Def, Talib Kweli, R.A. the Rugged Man, Tragedy Khadafi, Wordsworth, Vast Aire, Afu-Ra, Guru, M.O.P., Inspectah Deck, Cormega, and Ghostface Killah.
Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "scratching" using record players and the creation of a rhythmic backing track, using a drum machine or sequencer, it is most commonly used to refer to recording the instrumental, non-lyrical and non-vocal aspects of hip hop.
The following list contains songs produced, co-produced or remixed by hip-hop producer DJ Premier.
"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.
"It's Mine" is a song performed by American hip hop duo Mobb Deep for their fourth studio album Murda Muzik (1999). The song features guest vocals from friend and fellow Queensbridge artist Nas.
"The Corner" is the second single released by rapper Common on his sixth album, Be. It features a chorus and production by Kanye West as well as spoken word lyrics by The Last Poets. The song's lyrics deal with street corners in poor neighborhoods. The song's beat contains samples from "You Make the Sun Shine" by The Temprees and "What It Is" by The Temptations. Because of the song's gritty sound, some fans considered it to be a return to Common's Resurrection days. A music video directed by Kanye West was made for "The Corner."
"Shoomp/Much More" is a double A-side single by De La Soul released in 2003. "Shoomp" features Sean Paul, while "Much More" features the high-pitched vocals of Yummy Bingham. Both songs were produced by J Dilla, who at the time was exploring a sound more off-kilter than the neo-soul style that he was known for through his work with Erykah Badu, The Roots, and Common. The song was the first release from the group after they left their longtime label Tommy Boy, in 2002. After receiving poor promotion for their previous album AOI: Bionix, the group decided to find a new home and established their own independent imprint, called AOI Records.
"The Blast" is a hip hop single from Reflection Eternal's debut album, Train of Thought. It features rapping from the duo's emcee, Talib Kweli, as well as from its producer, DJ Hi-Tek. It is the only Reflection Eternal song that Hi-Tek raps on, and like all Reflection Eternal songs, he produces it. The song has a somber and jazzy beat backed by vocals from Vinia Mojica. It has a music video directed by Little X in which Kweli and Hi-Tek are rapping in a rainstorm. Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def, Pharaohe Monch and Kweli's grandmother, Javotti Greene make cameo appearances. The music video version is extended in length, and gives Talib Kweli an extra verse. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks and #49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The official remix features new verses by Talib Kweli as well as neo-soul singer Erykah Badu.
The discography of Yasiin Bey / Mos Def, an American rapper, consists of four solo albums, two compilation albums, and several singles. Mos Def began his hip hop career in 1994 in the underground rap group UTD alongside his sibling group members DCQ and Ces, after which he pursued a solo career. In 1998, he made his mainstream debut on Rawkus Records in the duo Black Star with rapper Talib Kweli. "Definition", the lead single from Black Star's self-titled debut album, reached No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
The Ecstatic is the fourth album by American rapper Mos Def, released on June 9, 2009, by the independent record label Downtown Records. After venturing further away from hip hop with an acting career and two poorly received albums, Mos Def signed a recording contract with Downtown and recorded The Ecstatic primarily at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. He worked with producers such as Preservation, Mr. Flash, Oh No, and Madlib, with the latter two reusing instrumentals they had produced on Stones Throw Records. The work of Stones Throw rapper MF Doom was also cited by Mos Def as an influence, while singer Georgia Anne Muldrow, formerly of the record label, performed as one of the album's few guest vocalists, along with rappers Slick Rick and Talib Kweli.
"Devil's Pie" is a song by American R&B and neo soul musician D'Angelo, released October 31, 1998, on Virgin Records. It was issued as a promotional single for his second studio album, 2000's Voodoo. The song was composed by D'Angelo and hip hop producer DJ Premier of the group Gang Starr. "Devil's Pie" served as a departure for D'Angelo from the urban contemporary style of his previous commercially successful singles to the more experimental, "jam"-like sound that is predominant on Voodoo, as well as the use of sampling in his music. The song appeared on the soundtrack to the 1998 film Belly. DJ Premier originally made the track for Canibus but later offered it to D'Angelo after Canibus rejected the song.
"Criminology" is the second solo single by Wu-Tang Clan rapper Raekwon, from his debut album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., featuring Ghostface Killah, like many of the songs of the album. The song starts with dialogue from the film Scarface, where Alex Sosa insults Tony Montana through phone, calling him a "fucking little monkey", because he failed to blow up the activist's car, then the first verse is performed by Ghostface Killah, and the second by Raekwon, without a chorus. The B-side of the single is "Glaciers of Ice". The song peaked at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"One Step Ahead" is a song by American soul singer Aretha Franklin. The single containing the song was released by Columbia Records in 1965. "One Step Ahead" was the A-side of the single, and peaked at #18 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart. The B-side, "I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face," was taken from her 1964 album Runnin' Out Of Fools. The single was released two years before Aretha achieved stardom when she joined Atlantic Records.
"Ms. Fat Booty" is a song by American rapper Mos Def. It was released on August 2, 1999 through Rawkus Records, as the lead single from the musician's debut solo studio album Black on Both Sides. Production was handled by Ayatollah, who used multiple samples of Aretha Franklin's 1965 single "One Step Ahead".
Donut Shop is a 2-disc collection of previously unreleased instrumental hip hop songs by J Dilla, former founding member of Slum Village. The collection was posthumously released in 2010 by joint venture of Stones Throw, the J Dilla Estate, and Serato.
"Just Begun" is a song by American hip hop duo Reflection Eternal, composed of New York rapper Talib Kweli and Ohio producer Hi-Tek. The song was released on February 2, 2010, as the second single from their second studio album Revolutions per Minute (2010). The song is a posse cut featuring verses from rappers Jay Electronica, J. Cole and Mos Def, the latter of whom also forms a duo with Talib Kweli, known collectively as Black Star.
