Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, known professionally as Nas, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. 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 under the wing of fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. Nas made his recording debut on Professor's group, Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque".
Sean John Combs, also known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. He is credited with the discovery and development of musical artists including the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher.
Curtis James Jackson III, known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in South Jamaica, a neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, he recorded his debut album Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records; however, he was struck by nine bullets during a shooting in May 2000, causing its release to be cancelled and Jackson to be dropped from the label. His 2002 mixtape, Guess Who's Back? was discovered by Detroit rapper Eminem, who signed Jackson to his label Shady Records, an imprint of Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records that same year.
Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American record label founded in 1993 by Sean "Puffy" Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip hop and contemporary R&B artists, beginning with the Notorious B.I.G. Following his commercial success, the label signed other acts, including Faith Evans, Mase, 112, Total, The Lox, Shyne and Carl Thomas. At its 1997 peak, Bad Boy was worth an estimated US$100 million.
Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. He is a founding member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats, which he formed in 1997 with fellow Harlem native Cam'ron.
"So Seductive" is a song by Tony Yayo as the first single from his debut album Thoughts of a Predicate Felon (2005), it features guest vocals from 50 Cent, and was produced by Punch, who helped write the song along with Tony Yayo and 50 Cent. Released following a highly publicized campaign by G-Unit, to release Tony Yayo from prison prior to the song's release, "So Seductive" is an uptempo "club banger" containing elements of string instruments and a repetitive bassline in its instrumentation. The song received little promotion from Tony Yayo at the time of its release, as he was still under house arrest following the end of his prison sentence, although he has since performed the song during various live performances.
Mason Durell Betha, better known by his mononym Mase, is an American rapper. Best known for his work with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records, he signed with the label in 1996 and quickly found mainstream recognition as Combs' hype man. He guest appeared on Combs' 1997 single "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, while his singles as a lead artist, "Feel So Good" and "What You Want" both peaked within the top ten of the chart. Released in October of that year, his debut studio album, Harlem World (1997) peaked atop the Billboard 200 chart, received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and spawned his third top ten single as a lead artist, "Lookin' at Me". Furthermore, his guest performances on labelmate the Notorious B.I.G.'s single "Mo Money Mo Problems" and Puff Daddy's "Been Around the World" peaked at numbers one and two on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively, that same year.
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, Eminem's Shady Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, 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.
This is the discography of Tony Yayo, an American rapper.
"I Get Money" is the third single from 50 Cent's third album, Curtis. This song was #14 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The song peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
"Roc Boys ..." is the second single from Jay-Z's tenth studio album, American Gangster. The song is produced by Skyz Muzik, Diddy and two of his producers known as LV and Sean C from his production team, The Hitmen. It features additional vocals by Beyoncé, Kanye West and Cassie. The song samples "Make the Road by Walking" by The Menahan Street Band. On December 11, 2007, Rolling Stone named it the best song of 2007.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2008.
Rigo "Riggs" Morales is a music executive, writer, producer, author, and former music journalist. He began his career as a music writer for publications such as The Source, XXL, Vibe and The Fader, and later became a record label executive known for working with artists such as Eminem, 50 Cent, Wiz Khalifa, Janelle Monae, and for producing the Original Broadway Cast Recording for the Tony Award-winning musical, Hamilton.
A hype man, typically in hip hop music, is a backing vocalist who supports the primary performer with exclamations, interjections, or ad-libs in an attempt to increase an audience's excitement or engagement.
"Bad Boy for Life" is a song by American rappers P. Diddy, Black Rob and Mark Curry, featured on Diddy's 2001 third album The Saga Continues.... Produced by Megahertz, it was released as the second single from the album in July 2001 and reached number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"She Knows" is a song by American rapper and record producer J. Cole, released on October 29, 2013, as the fourth single from his second studio album, Born Sinner. The song samples "Bad Things" by Cults and was produced by J. Cole.
Mastermind is the sixth studio album by American rapper Rick Ross. It was released on March 3, 2014, by Maybach Music Group, Slip-n-Slide Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album features guest appearances from Jay-Z, Jeezy, The Weeknd, Kanye West, Big Sean, Meek Mill, Lil Wayne, French Montana, Diddy, Sizzla, Mavado, Z-Ro and Scarface. The album was supported with the official singles "The Devil Is a Lie", "War Ready" and "Thug Cry", in addition to the promotional singles "Box Chevy", "No Games" and "Nobody".
Beg for Mercy is the debut studio album by G-Unit. The album was released on November 14, 2003, nine months after 50 Cent's successful debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
Get Rich or Die Tryin': Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 2005 film of the same name, released on November 8, 2005, on Interscope Records and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. It features artists on the G-Unit label such as 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, Tony Yayo, Olivia, and Mobb Deep. The album sold 320,000 copies in the first week, debuting behind country singer Kenny Chesney's The Road and the Radio. In December 2005, the RIAA certified the album Platinum. To date, the album has sold over three million copies worldwide.
Val Anthony Ronald Lawrence, known professionally as Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence, is an American record producer.
