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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".
Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. Born and raised in New York City, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. He served as the president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007 before founding the entertainment company Roc Nation the following year.
The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, having served in the same role on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014. Current regular members of The Roots on The Tonight Show are Captain Kirk Douglas, Mark Kelley, James Poyser, Ian Hendrickson-Smith, Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson, Stro Elliot, Dave Guy, Kamal Gray, and Raymond Angry.
The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 14, 2003, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. It was advertised as his final album before retiring, which is also a recurring theme throughout the songs, although Jay-Z resumed his recording career in 2005. For the album, Jay-Z wanted to enlist a different producer for each song, working with Just Blaze, Kanye West, the Neptunes, Eminem, DJ Quik, Timbaland, 9th Wonder and Rick Rubin, among others. The album also features a guest appearance by Pharrell Williams.
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. Carter issued his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996) as the label's first release, in a joint venture with Priority Records. The label has signed and released albums for acts including Kanye West, Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Juelz Santana, Freeway, Jadakiss, Teairra Marí, State Property, and The Diplomats before its dissolution in 2013.
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. He also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. As an entrepreneur, Fiasco was the chief executive officer of 1st and 15th Entertainment.
"99 Problems" is the third single released by American rapper Jay-Z from The Black Album. It was released on April 27, 2004. The chorus hook "I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one" is taken from the Ice-T single "99 Problems" from the album Home Invasion (1993). The hook was coined during a conversation between Ice-T and Brother Marquis of Miami-based 2 Live Crew. Marquis used the phrase in the 1996 2 Live Crew song "Table Dance".
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (1995) is a memoir by Barack Obama that explores the events of his early years in Honolulu and Chicago until his entry into Harvard Law School in 1988. Obama originally published his memoir in 1995, when he was starting his political campaign for the Illinois Senate.
Kingdom Come is the ninth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 21, 2006, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. It was considered a "comeback album" for the rapper, as 2003's The Black Album was promoted as his final release. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Just Blaze, DJ Khalil, Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz and Kanye West among others. The album also features guest appearances by John Legend, Beyoncé, Usher, Ne-Yo and more.
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American Gangster is the tenth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was conceived as a concept album—inspired by the 2007 film of the same name—and was released on November 6 of that year through Roc-A-Fella Records. The album features production from Diddy & the Hitmen, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Just Blaze, Danja and the Neptunes, among others. It also includes guest appearances by Beanie Sigel, Lil Wayne, Pharrell, and Nas. The album's production is built around 1970s soul and funk, with instruments featured on the album played by professional musicians including, horns, string arrangements, drummers, and unconventional percussion created with bottles. The album's theme is based around the gangster lifestyle, the American Dream, and Jay-Z's memories of growing up in Brooklyn, New York's Marcy.
The Blueprint 3 is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released September 8, 2009, on Roc Nation and Roc-A-Fella, through distribution from Asylum Records and Atlantic Records. It is the third album in the Blueprint series, preceded by The Blueprint (2001) and The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse (2002). Production for the album took place during 2008 to 2009 at several recording studios and was handled by Kanye West, No I.D., The Neptunes, Jeff Bhasker, Al Shux, Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, The Inkredibles, Swizz Beatz, and Timbaland. The album also features guest appearances by Kanye West, Rihanna, Drake, Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, J. Cole and Alicia Keys among others.
"My President" is the fourth official single from rapper Young Jeezy's third studio album, The Recession. The song also features rapper Nas and is produced by Tha Bizness. This song was number 16 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. Jeezy and Nas recorded the song on the day Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for the presidency. "My President" is also notable for the unified collaboration between the two artists, who had been having a feud since the 2006 release of Nas' album Hip Hop Is Dead, which contained statements to which Young Jeezy took offense.
Jaydiohead is the mashup project of the music of Jay-Z and Radiohead that was mixed and produced by New York producer Minty Fresh Beats. Tannone premiered the album Jaydiohead on his Myspace page on December 30, 2008, which was officially released to download January 1, 2009. The first album was followed up by the July 12, 2009 release of Jaydiohead: The Encore, which featured five new mixes. The album Jaydiohead has been called an internet sensation.
"So Appalled" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song was produced by West, along with No I.D. and Mike Dean, and features verses by Jay-Z, Cyhi the Prynce, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz, and RZA respectively, who all receive writing credits. Lyrically, the song explores topics such as the troubles produced from being famous, social concerns and features numerous pop culture references.
Watch the Throne is a collaborative studio album by the American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, collectively known as The Throne. It was released on August 8, 2011, by Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Prior to its release, Jay-Z and West had collaborated on various singles, and with the latter as a producer on the former's work. They originally sought to record a five-song collaborative extended play, which evolved into a full-length album. The album features guest appearances from Frank Ocean, The-Dream, Beyoncé and Mr Hudson. It also features vocal contributions from Kid Cudi, Seal, Justin Vernon, Elly Jackson, Connie Mitchell, Charlie Wilson, and Pete Rock, among others; samples of vocals by soul musicians Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield are both credited as guest features on the album.
"Otis" is a song by American hip hop artists Jay-Z and Kanye West from their first collaborative album Watch the Throne (2011). The song posthumously features soul singer Otis Redding, whose version of "Try a Little Tenderness" is sampled in the song. The production was covered solely by West. The track was premiered by Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show and was released onto the Internet the day afterward. Lyrically, the song has the two rappers sharing lines discussing wealth, decadence and fame. The track received highly positive reviews from music critics who praised the trading off of verses by the two rappers and the Redding-sampled beat, which was compared to the style heard on West's The College Dropout. Several publications placed the song amongst the best of the year.
Decoded is the autobiography and memoir of rapper Jay-Z, published by Random House and released November 16, 2010 on hardcover and November 1, 2011 on paperback. The book combines lyrics, their explanations, anecdotes, reflections, and autobiographical information. Jay-Z explains three reasons he wanted to write the book; it being a case for hip-hop lyrics as poetry, tells a generational story turned into powerful experiences, and revolved as a story everyone can relate to.
Obama BasedGod is a mixtape by American rapper Lil B. It was released digitally for free on July 30, 2012 through Lil B's own record label, BasedWorld Records.
"Public Service Announcement (Interlude)" (also "My Name is H.O.V") is a song by American rapper Jay-Z from his eighth studio album The Black Album (2003). Produced by Just Blaze, it serves as an interlude on the album.
References
- 1 2 3 Jay Z (2010). Decoded (1st ed.). New York: Spiegel & Grau. ISBN 978-1-4000-6892-0.
- ↑ Slava, Kuperstein (31 October 2010). "Song List for Jay-Z's "Decoded" Book Released". October 31, 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
- ↑ Sager, Jessica (21 October 2012). "President Barack Obama Gives Jay-Z + Beyonce Parenting Tips" . Retrieved 8 November 2012.
