Jeffrey Bruce Atkins Sr.,better known by his stage name Ja Rule,is an American rapper,singer,and actor. Born and raised in New York City,Ja Rule became known as a leading figure in 2000s hip hop for his blending of gangsta rap with commercially-oriented pop sensibilities. He signed with Irv Gotti's Murder Inc Records,an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut studio album Venni Vetti Vecci (1999),which spawned his first hit single,"Holla Holla". Ja Rule peaked the Billboard Hot 100 thrice in 2001 with his single "Always on Time" and his guest appearances on Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real " and "Ain't It Funny". His encompassing singles,"Put It on Me","Mesmerize","Livin' It Up" and "Wonderful" have each peaked within the top ten of the chart and spawned from commercially successful album releases.
Tiffany Lane,better known by her stage name Charli Baltimore,is an American rapper and television personality. Her stage name is taken from Geena Davis's character in the film The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Jason Terrance Phillips,better known by his stage name Jadakiss,is an American rapper from Yonkers,New York. He began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records,an imprint of Arista Records to release their debut studio album,Money,Power &Respect (1998);their second album,We Are the Streets (2000) was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment,an imprint of Interscope Records. Both peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200 and yielded critical praise;their two subsequent albums,Filthy America... It's Beautiful (2013) and Living Off Xperience (2020) were both released by Jay-Z's Roc Nation and met with continued praise.
"Piggy Bank" is the fifth track from 50 Cent's second album,The Massacre. It was not released as a single,but charted at eighty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 due to controversy over its attack on long-time rival Ja Rule,as well as Jadakiss and Fat Joe,who had worked with Ja Rule on his song "New York". The song also takes lyrical swipes at rappers Shyne,Kelis,Sheek Louch,Cassidy,Lil' Kim and Nas. He also mentions Tupac Shakur,Jay-Z,Mobb Deep and Michael Jackson in the song,but not negatively.
Cool &Dre are a record production and songwriting duo from North Miami,Florida,consisting of Marcello "Cool" Antonio Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon. The duo were first discovered by New York rapper Fat Joe and began their careers working in tandem to produce his albums Jealous Ones Still Envy (2001) and Loyalty (2002). Two years later,they produced the hit song "New York" by Ja Rule,and "Hate It or Love It" by the Game the following year,which peaked at numbers 27 and two on the Billboard Hot 100,respectively. Cool &Dre were later credited on the Billboard 200 number-one albums Tha Carter III (2008),Tha Carter IV (2011),and Tha Carter V (2018) by Lil Wayne,as well as the collaborative album,Everything Is Love (2018) by Jay-Z and Beyoncé,which won a Grammy Award.
Loyalty is the fifth studio album by American rapper Fat Joe. It was released on November 12,2002,via Terror Squad/Atlantic Records. Recording sessions took place at Sony Music Studios and TMF Studios in New York,PatchWerk Recording Studios in Atlanta and The Hit Factory Criteria in Miami. Production was handled by Cool &Dre,Alchemist,Armageddon,Buckwild,Chink Santana,Irv Gotti,Larry "Precision" Gates,Ron Browz,Teflon and Ty Fyffe. It features guest appearances from fellow Terror Squad members Tony Sunshine,Remy Ma,Armageddon and Prospect,as well as Birdman,Ginuwine,Lamagic,Ronda Blackwell and Scarface.
Joseph Antonio Cartagena,better known by his stage name Fat Joe,is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992 until pursuing a solo career with the release of his debut studio album,Represent (1993) the following year. Cartegena formed the hip hop group Terror Squad and its namesake record label in the late 1990s,through which he has signed fellow New York artists including Big Pun,Remy Ma,Tony Sunshine,and Cuban Link,as well as then-unknown producers DJ Khaled and Cool &Dre.
Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) is the fourth solo studio album by American rapper Fat Joe. Originally scheduled for a summer 2000 release,the album was released on December 4,2001,via Atlantic Records and Fat Joe's Terror Squad Productions. Recording sessions took place at TMF Studios,The Crackhouse,Chung King Studios and Sound On Sound in New York,The Hit Factory Criteria and Circle House Studios in Miami,TransContinental Studios in Orlando,The Studio in Philadelphia,and The Enterprise in California. Production was handled by Buckwild,Irv Gotti,Ron G,Alchemist,Bink!,Chink Santana,Cool &Dre,DJ Nasty &LVM,Psycho Les,Reef,Rockwilder,Sean C,Self and Younglord. It features guest appearances from Remy Ma,Armageddon,Prospect,R. Kelly,Ashanti,Busta Rhymes,Buju Banton,Ja Rule,Ludacris,M.O.P.,Noreaga,Petey Pablo and Xzibit.
"Hail Mary" is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur from his fifth studio album,The Don Killuminati:The 7 Day Theory (1996). It was released after his September 1996 murder under the Makaveli stage name as the album's third single. Hail Mary features rap verses by Kastro,Young Noble and Yaki Kadafi of the Outlawz rap group and vocals from reggae musician Prince Ital Joe. A music video was shot for the song and can be found on the DualDisc of The Don Killuminati:The 7 Day Theory.
"It's Okay (One Blood)" is a song by American rapper and West Coast hip hop artist The Game featuring vocals from reggae singer Junior Reid,from his second studio album Doctor's Advocate. Released as the album's lead single on July 24,2006,the song was written by The Game himself and Junior Reid,and it was produced by D-Roc,and Reefa. The Game himself revealed that the song would be released on July 31,2006,but actually was released on July 24,2006. The song was originally to be released on July 4,2006 but got pushed back by The Game. Jimmy Rosemond,head of Czar Entertainment and The Game's manager,explained how "One Blood" would receive positive radio airplay and prove the talent that The Game had. A supposed original version of the song was released in late January 2011.
"The Set Up (You Don't Know)" is a song performed by American rapper Obie Trice,featuring vocals from singer Nate Dogg,released as the third and final single from Trice's debut studio album,Cheers. The track was produced by Dr. Dre.
"What's Luv?" is a song by American rapper Fat Joe,released through Atlantic Records and Fat Joe's Terror Squad Productions as the second single from his fourth studio album,Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) (2001). The song features additional vocals from singer Ashanti and from rapper Ja Rule on the remix and album version on the song. "What's Luv" was produced by Irv Gotti and Chink Santana. The lyrics of the song's chorus are based in part on the title refrain of the 1984 Tina Turner hit "What's Love Got to Do with It". The song additionally includes a lyric that references the 1998 song "Still Not a Player" by Big Pun. Fat Joe,Ja Rule,and the song's two producers are credited as the writers of "What's Luv",as are Big Pun and the lyricist of "What's Love Got to Do with It",Terry Britten.
"Roc Boys ..." is the second single from Jay-Z's tenth studio album,American Gangster. The song is produced by Skyz Muzik,Diddy and two of his producers known as LV and Sean C from his production team,The Hitmen. It features additional vocals by Beyoncé,Kanye West and Cassie. The song samples "Make the Road by Walking" by The Menahan Street Band. On December 11,2007,Rolling Stone named it the best song of 2007.
Violator:The Album,V2.0 is the second and final installment in the Violator hip hop compilations series. It was released on July 24,2001 through Violator/Loud Records as a sequel to 1999's Violator:The Album. Production was handled by several record producers,including Scott Storch,Bink!,Bryce Wilson,Irv Gotti,Just Blaze,7 Aurelius,and Eric Nicks,who also served as executive producer together with Chris Lighty. It features guest appearances by the likes of JoJo Pellegrino,Remy Ma,Capone-N-Noreaga,Butch Cassidy,Mobb Deep,Big Noyd,CeeLo Green,Fabolous,Fat Joe,Ja Rule,Jadakiss,Kurupt,Memphis Bleek,Missy Elliott,Rah Digga,Spliff Star and Styles P among others. The album debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
"Holla at Me" is the debut single by American musician DJ Khaled featuring American rappers Lil Wayne,Paul Wall,Fat Joe,Rick Ross,and Pitbull,released in 2006 from the former's debut studio album Listennn... the Album. Produced by Cool &Dre,it samples Afrika Bambaataa &the Soulsonic Force's 1983 song "Looking for the Perfect Beat".
"All I Do Is Win" is a song from DJ Khaled's fourth studio album Victory (2010). It was the third single from the album. The track features American rappers T-Pain,Ludacris,Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross. It was released on February 8,2010,along with "Put Your Hands Up". The song peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Beamer,Benz,or Bentley" is the first official single from Lloyd Banks' third album H.F.M. 2,which was released on November 23,2010. The song was released as a digital download on February 9,2010. It was added to KAMP-FM in Los Angeles in four days from release.
"Down 4 U" is the lead single from Murder Inc. Records' compilation album Irv Gotti Presents:The Inc.,released through Def Jam Recordings and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records. The song features rapped verses from Ja Rule,Charli Baltimore,and Vita while Ashanti provides the chorus and sung vocals. The song is a remix as well as its music video being the sequel of Ja Rule's 2002 single,"Down Ass Bitch".
"All the Way Up" is a hip hop song by American rappers Fat Joe and Remy Ma,featuring American rappers French Montana and Infared. It was released on March 2,2016 by RNG and EMPIRE,as the first single from their collaborative album Plata O Plomo. The song was produced by Edsclusive and Cool &Dre and recorded at Diamond District Studios by Dwayne Shippy iLL Wayno in New York City,New York. At the 59th Grammy Awards,it was nominated for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
"Checkmate" is a song by the American rapper Jadakiss,released as a promotional single on March 9,2005,by Ruff Ryders Entertainment/Interscope Records. The song uses the instrumental "Air It Out" from Big Noyd's album Only the Strong,produced by The Alchemist.
