Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott, also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. She began on her musical career as a member of the R&B girl group Sista during the 1990s, who were part of the larger musical collective Swing Mob—led by DeVante Swing of Jodeci. The former group's debut album, 4 All the Sistas Around da World (1994) was released by Elektra Records and met with positive critical reception despite commercial failure. She collaborated with album's producer and Swing Mob cohort Timbaland to work in songwriting and production for other acts, yielding commercially successful releases for 702, Aaliyah, SWV, and Total. She then re-emerged as a solo act with numerous collaborations and guest appearances by 1996, and in July of the following year, she released her debut studio album, Supa Dupa Fly (1997).
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".
Katrina Laverne Taylor, known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles "Nann Nigga", "Shut Up", and "Take It to da House". In 2000, she released her debut album Da Baddest Bitch. Afterwards, she made an appearance on the remix of "One Minute Man" by Missy Elliott and Ludacris. In 2002, she released the Kanye West-produced single "B R Right" featuring Ludacris, from her sophomore album Diamond Princess (2002).
MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 is a live album by American singer Lauryn Hill. The performance comes from her 2002 MTV Unplugged special recorded on July 21, 2001, at MTV Studios in Times Square, New York City. Hill abandoned the hip hop sounds of her debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) in favor of folk and soul songs. It was recorded while she was pregnant with her third child YG Marley. The songs were written solely by Hill, who performed them unaccompanied by a live band, while playing an acoustic guitar. It features lyrics about religion, police brutality, mental health and abuse of authority, along with spoken interludes about her personal and artistic struggles.
"So Gone" is a song by American R&B recording artist Monica. It was one out of several tracks rapper-producer Missy Elliott wrote and produced along with Kenneth Cunningham and Jamahl Rye from production duo Spike & Jamahl for Monica's fourth studio album, After the Storm (2003), following the delay and subsequent reconstruction of her 2002 album, All Eyez on Me. Incorporating elements of hip hop and 1970s-style smooth jazz as well as soul music, it features a sample from the 1976 song "You Are Number One", penned by Zyah Ahmonuel and performed by The Whispers.
"Everytime tha Beat Drop" is a song by American recording artist Monica from her fifth studio album The Makings of Me (2006). It was written by Johnta Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Robert Hill, Charles Hammond, Deangelo Hunt, James Phillips, and rap group Dem Franchize Boyz, while production was hemled by Dupri, with additional credits by LRoc. Musically, the downbeat uptempo track was greatly influenced by crunk and snap music, incorporating beats of rapper Nelly's 2005 song "Grillz" and containing a vocal sample of Dem Franchize Boyz' "Lean wit It, Rock wit It" (2006).
The Makings of Me is the fifth studio album by American singer Monica. It was released by J Records on October 3, 2006, in the United States. Built upon the hip hop, gospel and modern quiet storm styles of its predecessor, After the Storm (2003), Monica envisioned her follow-up project to sound as close knit and intimate as her previous project. Consequently, she enlisted frequent collaborators Missy Elliott, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jermaine Dupri to work with her on the album, with the latter serving as its executive producer, as well as new partners such as The Underdogs, Tank, The Runners, LRoc, Swizz Beatz, and Sean Garrett.
"A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me)" is a song by American singer Monica taken from her fifth studio album The Makings of Me (2006). It was written by rapper-producer Missy Elliott and Corte Ellis, with production helmed by the former along with David "Davey Boy" Lindsey and Cliff Jones. Similar to songs that Monica used to record with Elliott for her previous album, After the Storm (2003), the mid-tempo love song draws from the genres from R&B, hip hop, neo soul, as well as quiet storm and contains elements of 1960s Motown soul music. Built around a sample of the 1972 recording "The Makings of You" as written and performed by Curtis Mayfield, its lyrics detail a woman's admiration for a man.
Brandy Norwood, an American singer, songwriter and actress, has released various music videos. She first appeared in the music video for her debut single "I Wanna Be Down (1994). The Keith Ward-directed clip won the Billboard Music Award for Best New Clip, R&B/Urban. A second version, shot alongside female rappers MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, and Yo-Yo for the Human Rhythm Hip Hop Remix of "I Wanna Be Down", earned Norwood her first MTV Video Music Award nomination in the Best Rap Video at the 1995 ceremony, and received Billboard Music Award and Billboard Music Video Award nods. Norwood's video for follow-up "Baby", a collaboration with director Hype Williams, garnered a Best Choreography nomination at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. Other videos from the album included for the singles "Best Friend", and "Brokenhearted".
"Ego" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for the deluxe edition of her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). The song was composed by Elvis Williams, Harold Lilly, and Beyoncé. "Ego" was officially remixed with additional vocals from hip hop artist, Kanye West. Initially planned to be released in January 2009 as the second urban single in the US along with the fourth US and third international single "Halo", the release of "Ego" was canceled and replaced by "Diva". "Ego" was later issued as the third urban single, and fifth overall single in the US on May 19, 2009, alongside the sixth US and fourth international single "Sweet Dreams".
"He Ain't wit Me Now (Tho)" is a song by R&B girl group RichGirl. The song serves as the group's debut single from the quartet's self-titled debut album, RichGirl, which was later shelved following the group's disbandment. The single was produced and written by Rich Harrison, who has additionally worked with Beyoncé on her chart-topping 2003 hit "Crazy in Love" and Amerie on "1 Thing". The song was digitally released on June 2, 2009 on iTunes, and released onto "Rhythmic and Urban" radio the following July.
"Everything to Me" is a song by American recording artist Monica. It was written by fellow singer Jazmine Sullivan and co-produced by Missy Elliott and Cainon Lamb for her sixth studio album Still Standing (2010), incorporating a sample of the 1981 recording "Silly" as penned by Fritz Baskett, Clarence McDonald, and June Deniece Williams and performed by Deniece Williams.
"Over" is the debut solo single by Canadian rapper Drake. The lead single from his debut album, Thank Me Later, it was written by Drake with Boi-1da, and produced by the latter and Al Khaaliq. The orchestral samples were composed and arranged by Brongers. The single was released for digital download on March 8, 2010. The song is midtempo hip-hop with an orchestral backdrop, whose lyrics concern an introduction to fame.
"Massive Attack" is the debut single by Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, featuring Sean Garrett. It was released on April 13, 2010 by Young Money, Cash Money and Universal Motown. It was produced by Garrett and Alex da Kid, who wrote the song together with Minaj. It was initially intended to be the lead single from Minaj's debut studio album, Pink Friday, but the song was dropped from the album due to the single's underwhelming commercial performance. The song was a distinct change in Minaj's previous work on mixtapes and features and received mixed reviews from critics, who commended its lyrical content and distinctiveness but criticized that it did not fit her "Barbie" persona well. An accompanying music video which features a helicopter chase, and militaristic jungle and desert scenes, was positively received.
"Not Afraid" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his seventh studio album Recovery (2010). It was released as the album's lead single on April 27, 2010, by Interscope Records. "Not Afraid" was first revealed as a single by Eminem via Twitter, after which the song debuted on radio. To promote the single's release, a freestyle rap, "Despicable", was released on the Internet and received attention for its tone and lyrical content. "Not Afraid" was written and produced by Eminem, Boi-1da, Jordan Evans and Matthew Burnett; keyboardist Luis Resto was also attributed with songwriting credit. According to Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg and music critics, "Not Afraid" carries a positive message and depicts Eminem's change in direction from drugs and violence. The hip hop song features a choir that assists Eminem in a heavily layered chorus and vocals are sung over a guitar, synthesizer and piano; no Auto-Tune was used on the sung vocals, but many reverberation tools were.
"Find Your Love" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake. The song was written by Drake, Patrick Reynolds, Jeff Bhasker and Kanye West and produced by the latter two and No I.D. It serves as the second single from his debut album, Thank Me Later (2010), and was released to radio on April 28, 2010, and digital download on May 5, 2010. The song became a hit on June 17, 2010.
New Life is the seventh studio album by American singer Monica, released by RCA Records on April 6, 2012. It marked the singer's debut release with the label following the dissolution of her former label, J Records in October 2011. A musical continuation of her commercially successful previous album Still Standing (2010), Monica began working on the album only weeks after the release of the former. She returned to work with frequent collaborators; writers and producers including Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, and Cainon Lamb, as well as such as singer and songwriter Rico Love, whose songs replaced much of her cousin, producer Polow da Don's original material.
"Put It Down" is a song by American singer Brandy, featuring fellow American singer Chris Brown. Taken from her sixth studio album Two Eleven (2012), it was written and produced by Sean Garrett, Shondrae "Bangladesh" Crawford and Dwayne "Dem Jointz" Abernathy along with Brown, telling the story of Norwood complimenting a prospective beau on his swag. The bass-heavy, R&B up-tempo track served as Norwood's first release under RCA Records, since signing to Chameleon Records under the label, and was released to US digital outlets on May 4, 2012.
American recording artist Alicia Keys has appeared in numerous music videos. Her videography includes more than thirty music videos and three video albums. In 2000, Keys signed a recording contract with J Records and released her debut single "Fallin'", taken from her first studio album Songs in A minor (2001). The plot of its music video had Keys traveling to a prison to visit her incarcerated boyfriend and was continued in the video for her next single, "A Woman's Worth;" both videos marked Keys' first collaboration with director Chris Robinson, who would become a regular collaborator later. In 2004, another regular, American director Diane Martel, directed the accompanying music video for the second single from the singer's second album The Diary of Alicia Keys, "If I Ain't Got You", which featured rapper Method Man as Keys' love interest. It won the Best R&B Video accolade at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.
Never Say Never is the second studio album by American singer Brandy. It was released on June 9, 1998, by Atlantic Records. Atlantic consulted David Foster, as well as producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and his team to work with Norwood on the record; Jerkins went on to craft the majority of the album and would evolve as Norwood's mentor and head producer on her succeeding projects.
