Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. was an American singer and songwriter. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of successes, which earned him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".
Erick Sermon is an American rapper and producer. He is best known as one-third—alongside PMD & DJ Scratch—of 1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for his production work.
"Sexual Healing" is a song recorded by American singer Marvin Gaye from his seventeenth and final studio album, Midnight Love (1982). It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, following the release of the In Our Lifetime (1981) album the previous year. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is listed at number 198 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Sexual Healing" is written and composed in the key of E-flat major and is set in time signature of 4/4 with a tempo of 94 beats per minute.
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and became a hit again in 1970 when recorded by former Supremes frontwoman Diana Ross. The song became Ross's first solo number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
"Music" is a 2001 hit single by Erick Sermon featuring archived vocals from Marvin Gaye.
Midnight Love is the seventeenth studio album by Marvin Gaye and the final album to be released during his lifetime. He signed with the label Columbia in March 1982 following his exit from Motown.
Keith Omar Murray is an American rapper from New York. He is best known for being a member of the hip hop group Def Squad, which includes fellow rappers Redman and fellow Long Island native Erick Sermon. The group released their debut album, El Niño in 1998.
American music artist Marvin Gaye released 25 studio albums, four live albums, one soundtrack album, 24 compilation albums, and 83 singles. In 1961 Gaye signed a recording contract with Tamla Records, owned by Motown. The first release under the label was The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye. Gaye's first album to chart was a duet album with Mary Wells titled Together, peaking at number forty-two on the Billboard pop album chart. His 1965 album, Moods of Marvin Gaye, became his first album to reach the top ten of the R&B album charts and spawned four hit singles. Gaye recorded more than thirty hit singles for Motown throughout the 1960s, becoming established as "the Prince of Motown". Gaye topped the charts in 1968 with his rendition of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", while his 1969 album, M.P.G., became his first number one R&B album. Gaye's landmark album, 1971's What's Going On became the first album by a solo artist to launch three top ten singles, including the title track. His 1973 single, "Let's Get It On", topped the charts while its subsequent album reached number two on the charts becoming his most successful Motown album to date. In 1982, after 21 years with Motown, Gaye signed with Columbia Records and issued Midnight Love, which included his most successful single to date, "Sexual Healing". Following his death in 1984, three albums were released posthumously while some of Gaye's landmark works were re-issued.
"Ego Tripping Out" is a 1979 funk-styled dance record released by American soul singer Marvin Gaye, released as a single on the Tamla (Motown) label. The record was originally meant to be the lead single for the singer's aborted Love Man album. However, as the album was scrapped and reworked into In Our Lifetime, the song received further work, before being omitted from the final album tracklist. The single was later included in a 1994 re-release of In Our Lifetime and a 2007 re-release deluxe edition featured two different alternate mixes for the sessions of In Our Lifetime as well as the original Love Man single of it.
Muddy Waters is the third studio album by American rapper Redman. It was released on December 10, 1996, through Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place at Mirror Image and Rockin' Reel Recording Studios in New York City. Production was handled by Erick Sermon, who also served as executive producer, Rockwilder, Jerry Duplessis, Pras, Ty Fyffe, and Redman himself. It features guest appearances from Erick Sermon, Jamal, Keith Murray, K-Solo, Method Man, Napalm and Rockwilder. The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on February 12, 1997 for exceeding shipments of 500,000 copies. The album spawned three charted singles: "It's Like That", "Whateva Man" and "Pick It Up" and a promotional single "Smoke Buddah".
Business Never Personal is the fourth studio album by hip hop duo EPMD. It was released on July 28, 1992, on Def Jam Recordings. Following mixed criticism of their previous studio effort, 1990's Business As Usual, the duo was able to return to their past acclaim on Business Never Personal. The lead single, "Crossover," became its biggest success, nearly reaching the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is about keeping it real and not crossing over to the mainstream, but became EPMD's biggest mainstream success.
Last Chance, No Breaks is the sole solo studio album by American rapper Jamal. It was released on October 10, 1995, via Rowdy Records. Production was handled by Redman, Rockwilder, Easy Mo Bee, Erick Sermon, Mike Dean, Erotic D. and PME, with Dallas Austin serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Redman, Erick Sermon, George Clinton, Keith Murray, L.O.D. and Passion.
Chilltown, New York is the sixth solo studio album by American rapper and producer Erick Sermon. It was released on June 22, 2004 via Def Squad/Universal Motown Records Group. Recording sessions took place at L.I.T.E. Recording Studios in Long Island, New York. Production was handled solely by Sermon. The album features guest appearances from Sy Scott, Redman, 11/29, Dahlia Anderson, Keith Murray, Khari, Slimkid3, Talib Kweli and Whip Montez. The album spawned two singles: "Relentless"/"I'm Not Him" and "Feel It".
React is the fifth solo studio album by American rapper and producer Erick Sermon. It was released on November 19, 2002 via J Records, making it his second and final album for the label. Recording sessions took place at L.I.T.E. Recording Studios in Long Island, New York. Production was handled primarily by Sermon, except for several tracks, which were produced by Just Blaze, Andre Ramseur, Kaos, Megahertz and Rick Rock. The album features guest appearances from Free Marie, Icarus, Keith Murray, Khari, Lyric, MC Lyte, Rah Digga, Red Café, Redman, Sy Scott and Gregory Howard.
Double or Nothing is the second solo studio album by the American rapper and record producer Erick Sermon. It was released on November 7, 1995, via Rush Associated Labels. The production was mainly handled by Sermon, and several tracks were co-produced by Redman, Rockwilder, Rod 'KP' Kirkpatrick and Ty Fyffe. The album features contributions from Keith Murray, Redman, Jazze Pha, Passion and Roz. Double or Nothing spawned two singles: "Bomdigi" and "Welcome".
Insomnia is a hip-hop compilation album presented by American rapper and record producer Erick Sermon. It was released on April 23, 1996 via Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place at Mirror Image, at the Music Palace, and at Rockin' Reel Recording Studios in New York, and at Chuck Simone Studio. Production was handled primarily by Sermon, who also served as executive producer, Redman, and co-producers Rockwilder and Ty Fyffe. Beside Sermon, it features contributions from fellow artists affiliated with or discovered by him, such as Calif, Domo, Duo, Jamal, Keith Murray, L.O.D., Passion, Redman, The Wixtons, Xross-Breed, and Thomas "Tommy Gunn" Blincoe, who was murdered shortly before the album's release, and to whom this album is dedicated. The album peaked at number 53 on the Billboard 200 and number 10 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. It spawned three singles: "Funkorama", which peacked at No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100, "It's That Hit" and "I Feel It".
Word Power is the debut album by American rapper and producer Divine Styler. It was released on October 23, 1989 on Ice-T's Rhyme $yndicate Records under Epic Records. The album peaked at No. 62 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The Scheme Team, a hip hop collective of Divine Styler, made their introduction on the record.
Gordon Banks, a.k.a. Gordon 'Guitar' Banks, was an American guitarist, producer, writer and musical director. He was voted one of the top 100 guitarists in America by Rolling Stone magazine in 1985.
"Crossover" is a single by American hip hop group EPMD released in August 1992 from their album Business Never Personal. The song's lyrics criticize rappers who crossover to R&B or pop in order to sell more. The single became EPMD's highest charting as it climbed the Billboard charts at #42. The song was also certified gold by RIAA, becoming the group's only single to accomplish that feat. The song samples "Don't Worry If There's a Hell Below " by Curtis Mayfield and Roger Troutman's "You Should Be Mine". A music video, colored in blue, was released for the song which features Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith rapping around a building under construction with other people around doing various activities like break-dancing.
Odell Elliott Brown Jr. was an American jazz organist. He was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing soul jazz and jazz funk with his backing band as Odell Brown & the Organ-Izers.
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