Monica Denise Arnold is an American singer, rapper and actress. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, she began performing as a child and became part of a traveling gospel choir at the age of ten. Monica signed with record producer Dallas Austin through his label Rowdy Records in 1993, and gained prominence following the release of her debut studio album, Miss Thang (1995). Her follow up releases were met with further commercial success; her second, The Boy Is Mine (1998) remains her best-selling album and spawned three singles that peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100: "The Boy Is Mine", "The First Night", "Angel of Mine".
Confessions is the fourth studio album by American singer Usher. It was released on March 23, 2004, by Arista Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003 to 2004, with its production handled by his longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri, along with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Lil Jon, among others. Primarily an R&B album, Confessions showcases Usher as a crooner through a mixture of ballads and up-tempos, incorporating musical genres of dance-pop, hip hop and crunk. The album's themes generated controversy about Usher's personal relationships; however, the album's primary producer Jermaine Dupri claimed the album reflects Dupri's own personal story.
Faith Renée Evans is an American R&B singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 in pursuit of a recording career. She first performed as a backing vocalist for R&B singers Al B. Sure! and Christopher Williams, and by the age of 20, she signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records as the label's first female artist in 1994. Following her collaborations with labelmates including 112 and Carl Thomas, she released her debut studio album, Faith (1995) to critical acclaim and moderate commercial reception. Evans then guest performed alongside 112 on Puff Daddy's 1997 single "I'll Be Missing You," which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and became the first hip hop song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. Her second and third albums, Keep the Faith (1998) and Faithfully (2001) peaked at numbers six and 14 respectively on the Billboard 200 and saw further positive reception.
Kings of Crunk is the fourth studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on October 29, 2002 through BME Recordings/TVT Records. Recording sessions took place at Stankonia Recording, Soundlabs Studio, Flamingo Studios, The Zone, Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, at Audio Vision Recording in Miami, at Liveson Studios in Yonkers, at Piety Street Studios in New Orleans, at Cotton Row Studios in Memphis, at Quad Studios, Streetlight Studios and TMF Studios in New York, at The Orange Room, at The Den, and at Doppler Studios. Production was handled solely by Lil' Jon, who also served as executive producer together with Bryan Leach, Emperor Searcy, Rob McDowell and Vince Phillips. It features guest appearances from Oobie, Bun B, Chyna Whyte, 8Ball & MJG, Big Gipp, Bo Hagon, Devin the Dude, E-40, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Krayzie Bone, Mystikal, Pastor Troy, Petey Pablo, Styles P, Too $hort, Trick Daddy, Ying-Yang Twins, Luke, Pimpin Ken, Pitbull and T.I.
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American R&B singer. He signed to Polygram Records in 1992, and rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things ", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations "Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
Hard Core is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on November 12, 1996, by Undeas Recordings, Big Beat Records, and Atlantic Records. After achieving success with the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. and their album Conspiracy (1995), Kim began working on her solo album with the Notorious B.I.G. serving as the executive producer. She collaborated with a number of producers, such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Stevie J., David "Ski" Willis and Jermaine Dupri, among others. Other rappers, including Jay-Z, Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy were featured on the album.
My Way is the second studio album by American singer Usher. It was released on September 16, 1997, by LaFace Records in North America. The album features guest appearances from Monica, Jermaine Dupri, and Lil' Kim. The album was supported by three singles, all multi platinum-selling: "Nice & Slow", "My Way", and "You Make Me Wanna...".
Restless is the third studio album by rapper Xzibit. It was released December 12, 2000. It debuted at #14 on the Billboard 200 with approximately 205,000 copies sold in its 1st week released. The album then fell 17 spots to #31 in the 2nd week, but then rose back up 19 spots to peak at #12 the following week. Also since being released the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA with an excess of a million copies sold in America making it Xzibit's most successful album of his career.
The Notorious K.I.M. is the second studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Atlantic Records and was her first album on her new label Queen Bee Entertainment. It debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 229,000 copies in its first week, achieving Lil' Kim's highest peak and biggest first-week sales, and reached the top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A commercial success, The Notorious K.I.M. was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 2, 2000. It was the best-selling female rap album in 2000 with sales of over 1.5 million copies in the United States. To date, The Notorious K.I.M. has sold 3 million copies worldwide.
The Naked Truth is the fourth studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on September 27, 2005. The album was released the same week she started her year-long prison sentence for perjury and it was her last studio album released by Atlantic Records before deciding to part ways in 2008. Two official singles were released from the album: "Lighters Up" as the lead single, released in September 2005, and "Whoa", as the second and final single, in February 2006. The Naked Truth remains the only album by a female rapper to be rated five mics by The Source. The album has sold over 1 million copies in the United States.
Dare Iz a Darkside is the second studio album by American rapper Redman. It was released on November 22, 1994, by Def Jam Recordings. The album debuted at 13 on the US Billboard 200. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Terrorist Threats is the second and final studio album by American West Coast hip hop supergroup Westside Connection. It was released on December 9, 2003 through Hoo-Bangin'/Capitol Records. Production was handled by Young Tre, Bruce Waynne, Dirty Swift, Pockets, Rashad Coes, Big Tank, Damizza, DJ Jamal, Fredwreck, Megahertz, Neff-U, and Sir Jinx, with Ice Cube and Mack 10 serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from K-Mac, Butch Cassidy, Young Soprano, Knoc-turn'al, Nate Dogg, Skoop Delania, and Keith David, who voiced the intro track "Threat to the World", and parts of "Potential Victims" and "Gangsta Nation". The album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 136,000 copies sold in the US. It has since sold 679,000 records in the US and has been certified Gold by the RIAA on January 12, 2004.
Ain't Nothin' Like Me is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Joe, released by Jive Records after several delays on April 24, 2007 in the United States. A breakaway from previous projects, Joe co-wrote five songs on the album but left most of the writing and producing to his collaborators, including Bryan Michael Cox and Tank as well as production teams Tim & Bob, Cool & Dre, Stargate, and The Underdogs. Rappers Papoose, Nas, Fabolous, Young Buck, and Tony Yayo appear as guest vocalists.
Exposed is the fourth studio album by American singer Chanté Moore. It was released by Silas Records and MCA Records on November 14, 2000, in the United States. Recorded between January and August 2000, the album saw Moore working with a range of new collaborators, including duo Tim & Bob, Bryan Michael Cox, and executive producer Jermaine Dupri whose sound took her work further into the contemporary R&B genre and introduced a more "edgy and street-oriented" emphasis to her music.
From Nothin' to Somethin' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Fabolous. The album was released on June 12, 2007, by Desert Storm Records, Street Family Records and Def Jam Recordings. The production on the album was handled by Akon, Timbaland, Jermaine Dupri, Just Blaze and Polow da Don, among others.
God's Favorite is the third solo studio album by American rapper Noreaga. After six months of label delays, the album was released on June 25, 2002, via Thugged Out Entertainment/Def Jam Recordings.
X is the third studio album by American R&B duo and brothers K-Ci & JoJo, released December 5, 2000 on MCA. Recording sessions took place during 1999–2000. Production was handled by various producers, including Mike Smoov, Rory Bennett, and DeVante Swing. The album peaked at number twenty on the US Billboard 200. It achieved acceptable international charting and produced two singles that had minor success charting. The lead single "Crazy" would peak at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Upon its release, X received average reviews from music critics. The album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 1,000,000 copies in the United States.
Guy is the 1988 debut studio album by American R&B band Guy. Released on June 14, 1988 by Uptown Records. It was produced by group member Teddy Riley and manager Gene Griffin. The album peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200 chart. In July 1994, it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of two million copies in the United States. In 2007, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the album, Geffen Records reissued the recording complete with a remastered version of the original album and a second CD of remixes.
"Nothin' on You" is the debut single of both American rapper B.o.B and featured American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It is the lead single from the former's debut studio album, B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray (2010). It was first released on December 15, 2009, via digital download by Atlantic Records. The track was written by B.o.B, Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine, with the latter three producing it as the Smeezingtons. "Nothin' on You" was initially written for Lupe Fiasco, but Atlantic Records' chairman, Craig Kallman, gave it to B.o.B after being displeased with Fiasco's version. The song took several months to finish and was born from a hummed melody by Mars and Lawrence.
Cole World: The Sideline Story is the debut studio album by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on September 27, 2011, by Roc Nation and Columbia Records, with distribution from Sony Music. The album is his first studio release, following three successful mixtapes. In 2007, the album was first recorded and ended, and then began to take place from 2009 to early 2011, featuring the production that was handled mainly by Cole himself, with some production from high-profile producer No I.D. It includes four guest appearances from Trey Songz, Drake, Jay-Z and Missy Elliott.
