Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. Rooted in Southern hip-hop, he is regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Known for his creative lyrical ability—which often uses punchlines, homonyms, word play—and braggadocio, his music often deals with the subjects of wealth, drugs, and sex. Born and raised in New Orleans, he was discovered by hometown rapper Birdman in 1993 and signed with the latter's record label, Cash Money Records, at age eleven. He emerged as the flagship artist of the label in the following years until his departure in June 2018.
Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida—often titled "The Big 5," five states which constitute the "Southern Network" in rap music.
Nivea B. Hamilton, known mononymously as Nivea, is an American R&B singer. She has released three studio albums: her self-titled debut (2001), followed up by Complicated (2005), Animalistic (2006), and an independently released extended play Nivea: Undercover (2011). In 2019, she released her album Mirrors.
Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans–based musical acts including Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G., and Hot Boys. It became an imprint of Universal Records, a division of Universal Music Group in March 1998, and remained so during its following iterations as Universal Republic, Universal Motown and ultimately Republic Records.
Kasseem Daoud Dean, known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, and DJ. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean initially embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the age of 18, he gained recognition in the music industry through his family's record label Ruff Ryders Entertainment and his affiliation with its flagship artist, Yonkers-based rapper DMX. Working with DMX as his producer, DJ, and hype man helped Dean gain prominence as a high-profile figure in hip hop in the following years.
YoungBloodZ is an American Southern hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia composed of J-Bo and Sean Paul formed in 1997. The duo were discovered by Kawan Prather and signed by his company Ghet-O-Vision, an imprint of LaFace Records to release their debut studio album, Against Da Grain (1999). Their second album, Drankin' Patnaz (2003), peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and spawned the single "Damn!", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The duo's third album, Ev'rybody Know Me (2003), was released by LaFace and Zomba. YoungBloodZ are one of many commercially successful Atlanta-based hip hop acts.
Listennn... the Album is the debut studio album by American disc jockey and record producer DJ Khaled. It was released on June 6, 2006, by Terror Squad Entertainment and Koch Records. The album also features guest appearances from Fat Joe, Young Jeezy, Kanye West, Bun B, Trick Daddy, Rick Ross, Lil' Wayne, Birdman, Juelz Santana, Slim Thug, Krayzie Bone, Chamillionaire, Trina, Twista, Freeway, T.I., John Legend, Akon, Jadakiss, Beanie Sigel, Styles P, Cool & Dre, Paul Wall, Pitbull, and Lil Scrappy, among others. Reviews for the record were generally positive, but divided over the production, lyrical content and Khaled as an artist. Listennn... the Album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200, selling 44,000 copies in its first week in the United States. The album was supported by three singles: "Holla at Me", "Grammy Family", and "Born-N-Raised".
The Runners are an American electronic and hip hop production duo from Orlando, Florida, consisting of Andrew "Dru Brett" Harr and Jermaine "Mayne Zane" Jackson. Formed in 2000, their foray into musical production was inspired by Timbaland and the Neptunes. Their trademark is an exhale sound effect echoing "Ahhh" at the beginning of their productions.
"Grew Up A Screw Up" is the second single from Ludacris' Release Therapy. The song features Young Jeezy and a sample of The Notorious B.I.G. who sings the hook "I grew up a fucking screw up." In the video, Young Jeezy raps a verse different from the one which appeared on the Release Therapy album. The video premiered on BET's 106 & Park as a New Joint on Friday October 13, 2006. The video has already been released on MTV Jams.
"Party Like a Rockstar" is a song by American hip-hop group Shop Boyz. It was released as their commercial debut single and also served as the lead single from their debut album Rockstar Mentality (2007). It reached huge success during mid-2007, namely in the United States, peaking in the top five of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Tracks, and Hot 100 charts. The song was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 50th Grammy Awards.
"Mr. Carter" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring fellow American rapper Jay-Z, released on July 1, 2008, as a promotional single from the former's sixth album Tha Carter III (2008). Produced by DJ Infamous and Drew Correa, the title refers to the two artists' shared surname, although the two are not related. In the song, Wayne borrows lyrics from Jay-Z's song "Lucky Me", from his 1997 album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Lil Wayne had said that this track is his favorite from Tha Carter III.
"I'm Me" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on December 24, 2007, as the second single from his first extended play The Leak.
Play-N-Skillz are a Latin/American record production/DJ group duo from Dallas, Texas, consisting of brothers Juan "Play" Salinas and Oscar "Skillz" Salinas. Their production has won several Grammys including the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 2007 for their production on the single "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone, and the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III (2008), which included their production on the single "Got Money".
I Am Not a Human Being is the eighth studio album by the American rapper Lil Wayne. It had a digital release on September 27, 2010, and on compact disc on October 12, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Motown. It was recorded before Wayne's eight-month prison term for criminal possession of a weapon. Production for the album was by Wayne and several record producers, including Boi-1da, Cool & Dre, Streetrunner, Noah "40" Shebib and DJ Infamous.
"Welcome to My Hood" is a song by American record producer DJ Khaled featuring American rappers Rick Ross, Plies, Lil Wayne, and T-Pain from the former's fifth studio album We the Best Forever. The album also contains the remix of the song featuring Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Mavado, Twista, Birdman, Ace Hood, Fat Joe, The Game, Jadakiss, Bun B, and Waka Flocka Flame. The song is Khaled's first single to be produced with The Renegades, Cubic Z & DJ Nasty and LVM. It was released for digital download in the United States on January 18, 2011.
We the Best Forever is the fifth studio album by American disc jockey and record producer DJ Khaled. It was released on July 19, 2011, by Cash Money Records, We the Best Music Group and Universal Motown Records. It is his first album to be released on a major label, his first four albums being released on the independent label Koch Records, which later changed its name to E1 Music.
Leigh Elliott, known professionally as Lee Major, is an American hip hop producer also known by the monikers Lee Major Kid and The Inkredibles. Lee Major has received production credit on tracks for artists such as Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Jadakiss, Ace Hood, Young Jeezy, DJ Khaled, and others. In 2011, Lee Major established So Major Music.
"Ice" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Kelly Rowland, featuring American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on August 24, 2012. It was originally the lead single from Rowland's fourth studio album, Talk a Good Game (2013), however it did not make the album's final cut. The song was written by Rowland, Sean Garrett, Noel Fisher and Wayne, while the production was helmed by Garrett and Fisher. "Ice" is the third collaboration between Rowland and Wayne, following the Destiny's Child collaboration "Soldier" (2004), and her solo single "Motivation" (2011).
Khaled Mohammed Khaled, known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry artists to perform on singles and albums, for which he often serves as hype man. His distinctions are his booming voice presence, "motivational" abstractions, and numerous catchphrases. While his musical contribution is often questioned, Khaled's role has been described as "organization, direction, [and] promotion".
The 2010 show was hosted by Mike Epps. DJ Khaled was the host DJ and DJ Premier DJed the cyphers.
