Crunk is a subgenre of southern hip hop that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the early to mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more nightclub-oriented subgenres. Distinguishing itself with other Southern hip hop subgenres, crunk is marked and characterized by its energetic accelerated musical tempo, club appeal, recurrent chants frequently executed in a call and response manner, multilayered synths, its pronounced reliance on resounding 808 basslines, and rudimentary musical arrangement. An archetypal crunk track frequently uses a dominant groove composed of a nuanced utilization of intricately multilayered keyboard synthesizers organized in a recurring pattern, seamlessly shifting from a lower to a higher pitch that encompasses the song's primary central rhythm, both in terms of its harmonic and melodic aspects. The main groove is then wrapped up with looped, stripped-down, and crisp 808 dance claps and manipulated snare rolls coupled and accompanied by a bassline of thumping 808 kick drums. The term "crunk" was also used throughout the 2000s as a blanket term to denote any style of Southern hip hop, a side effect of the genre's breakthrough to the mainstream. The word derives from its African-American Vernacular English past-participle form, "crunk", of the verb "to crank". It refers to being excited or high on drugs.
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, music executive, and entrepreneur. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia, as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music production at the age of nine. He discovered the teen hip-hop duo Kris Kross in 1991. Dupri wrote and produced their 1992 single "Jump," which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the 23rd most successful song of that decade. He established his own record label, So So Def Recordings in a joint venture with Columbia the following year.
Jonathan H. Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, record producer, and DJ. He was instrumental in the commercial breakthrough of the hip-hop subgenre crunk in the early 2000s and is often credited as a progenitor of the genre. He was the frontman of the crunk group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, with whom he has released five albums. In addition, Lil Jon served as a producer for most recordings by artists who popularized the genre; these include Pitbull, Too Short, E-40, Ludacris, Ciara, and Usher.
Lost Boyz are an American hip hop group from Queens, New York, consisting of MC Mr. Cheeks, DJ Spigg Nice, Pretty Lou and Freaky Kah, with the latter replacing his father Freaky Tah who was murdered in 1999. The original line-up released two albums: Legal Drug Money (1995) and Love, Peace & Nappiness (1997). The third album, LB IV Life (1999), was finished by the three remaining group members. In the following years, Mr. Cheeks focused on his solo career, reuniting with the rest of the group for their fourth album, Grand Scheme 12:26 (2020).
Faheem Rashad Najm, known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electronic-styled vocal performances. Blending its use with R&B and hip-hop sensibilities, T-Pain became a prominent figure in both genres throughout the 2000s. Other music industry artists, such as Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Future, and Travis Scott, have since utilized Auto-Tune to a similar effect.
La Bella Mafia is the third studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on March 4, 2003, by Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling one million copies in the United States.
Legal Drug Money is the debut studio album by American hip hop group the Lost Boyz. It was released on June 4, 1996, via Universal Records. The recording sessions took place at Greene St. Recording, Quad Recording Studios and D&D Studios in New York. It was produced by Big Dex, Mr. Sex, Easy Mo Bee, Big L, "Buttnaked" Tim Dawg, Dwarf the Black Prince, Pete Rock, member Mr. Cheeks, with Charles Suitt serving as co-producer and executive producer.
Love, Peace & Nappiness is the second studio album by American hip hop group Lost Boyz. It was released on June 17, 1997, via Universal Records. Recording sessions took place at Unique Recording in New York and at Honey Comb Hideout in Brooklyn. Production was handled by Bink!, "Buttnaked" Tim Dawg, Glenn S.O.N. Faide, Mr. Sexxx, Ron G, Terence Dudley, DJ Rob, Easy Mo Bee, Ike Lee III, "Pito" Jones, and Charles Suitt, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from A+, Canibus, Queens Most Wanted, Da Black Pharaoh, King Keiwanee, Lovebug Starski, Redman and Aarian Pope. The album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200 and number two the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart in the United States. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on September 17, 1997. Its lead single "Me and My Crazy World" reached number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100.
LB IV Life is the third studio album by American hip hop group the Lost Boyz. It was released on September 28, 1999, via Universal Records. Recording sessions took place at Heavy Hand Recordings and Soundtrack in New York. Production was handled by Ralph Lo, Mr. Sex, DJ Rob, Dwayne Lindsey, Glenn S.O.N. Faide, Alex Andino Jr., Charles Suitt, Dre Most, Ron G and "Pito" Jones, with Dodie Walker and members Mr. Cheeks and Freaky Tah serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from LG, Izzy Dead, J-N-J, QB, Queens Most Wanted, Street Connect and Bruce Miller. The album peaked at number 32 on the Billboard 200 and number eight the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States.
"The Jump Off" is a song by American rapper Lil' Kim featuring fellow American rappers Mr. Cheeks and Timbaland, who produced the track. It was released by Atlantic Records on February 10, 2003 as the lead single from her third studio album La Bella Mafia (2003).
"Lights, Camera, Action!" is the debut single by Mr. Cheeks, from his debut album John P. Kelly. The song was released in August 2001 and produced by Bink, who used a sample of "Keep on Truckin'" by Eddie Kendricks. The song became Mr. Cheeks' first and only major hit as a solo artist, reaching No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the R&B charts for one week.
"Hot Boyz" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Missy Elliott featuring American rapper and singer-songwriter Lil' Mo. The remix version of the song was an urban hit featuring Nas, Eve and Q-Tip. The remix broke the record for most weeks at number-one on the US R&B chart on the issue dated January 15, 2000; as well as spending 18 weeks at number one on the Hot Rap Singles from December 4, 1999, to March 25, 2000, a record not broken until "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X in 2019. The song also reached number 5 on the US Hot 100 on January 15, 2000. In the UK, the song became the biggest hit from the Da Real World album; it peaked at #18, being Missy's sixth top 40 and fourth top 20 solo success. On February 4, 2000 the song was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
"Get Low" is a song by American Southern hip hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, featuring American hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins, released as a single in 2003. It first appeared on the 2002 album Kings of Crunk. "Get Low" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. It was number five on the top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs of 2003. Outside of the United States, "Get Low" peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom, the top twenty of the charts in Germany and the top forty of the charts in Australia, Austria, and New Zealand. It is also known as a breakthrough song for the crunk genre, as the song's success helped it become mainstream. It is listed number 99 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.
John P. Kelly is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Mr. Cheeks. It was released on October 16, 2001 through Universal Records. Production was handled by Mr. Sexxx, Stephen Marley, DJ Sage, Bink!, Caspa, Dejah, Easy Mo Bee, J.J. Brown, Mas, Rated R, Terence Dudley, and Mr. Cheeks himself. It features guest appearances from Stephen Marley, Big Gipp, Horace Brown and W. Walt.
The discography of American rapper Birdman consists of four studio albums, three collaborative albums, two mixtapes, 23 music videos, 48 singles, including 23 as a featured artist, and 7 promotional singles. In 2002, Birdman released his debut studio album Birdman under the stage name Baby. It peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard 200, spending 23 weeks on the chart. Three singles were released from the album; the first, "Do That...", reached number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and the second, "What Happened to That Boy", reached number 45 on the same chart. The third single, "Baby You Can Do It", only charted on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart. In 2003, Birdman collaborated with singer Ginuwine on the single "Hell Yeah" and rapper Bow Wow on the single "Let's Get Down", which reached numbers 17 and 14 respectively on the Hot 100.
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by Billboard. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 positions but was shortened to 50 positions in October 2012.
"Shake That Monkey" is a song by American rapper Too Short, released by Jive Records on July 22, 2003 as the lead single from his fifteenth album, Married to the Game. It features a guest appearance from hip-hop trio Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, the former of whom also handled the song's production.
"Freaky Friday" is a song by American rapper Lil Dicky featuring American singer Chris Brown and uncredited vocals from Ed Sheeran, DJ Khaled, and Kendall Jenner. Written alongside Ammo and Nicholas Audino and produced by Mustard, Benny Blanco and Twice as Nice, it was released by Dirty Burd on March 15, 2018, alongside its music video.
The discography of American rapper Lil Dicky consists of one studio album, one soundtrack, two mixtapes, one EP, ten singles. His debut studio album, Professional Rapper, was self-released on July 31, 2015. It peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200, as well as charting on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums at number two and one respectively. Lil Dicky's debut mixtape, So Hard, was released on May 22, 2013.
Lontrell Donell Williams, Jr., better known by his stage name Pooh Shiesty, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He signed with Gucci Mane's 1017 Records, an imprint of Atlantic Records in 2020, he rose to prominence following his collaborations with the label's founder and cohorts. That same year, his single "Back in Blood" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It preceded the release of his debut commercial mixtape Shiesty Season (2021), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. His stage name was given by his late brother, who adapted his childhood nickname "Mr. Pooh" with the vernacular slang term "shiesty"—referential of his lifestyle.
