Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Nelly. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. The production on the album was handled by Jason "Jay E" Epperson, with additional production by C-Love, Kevin Law, City Spud, Steve "Blast" Wills and Basement Beats. Nelly contributed to all lyrics on the album, with Epperson and City Spud also contributing. With the album’s release, Nelly and his “St. Lunatics” crew cemented the St. Louis sound firmly amongst other southern hip hop artists in the year 2000, such as Juvenile, Trina, Ludacris, OutKast, Three 6 Mafia and UGK. Country Grammar also introduced the world to Nelly's unique musical style of pop-rap and radio “singalongs” with a Missouri twang. It was supported by four successful singles: "Country Grammar ", "E.I.", "Ride wit Me" and "Batter Up". Its lead single, "Country Grammar ", peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. Its second single "E.I." peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100, number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart. "Ride wit Me" peaked within the top five on the Hot 100, ARIA Singles Chart, Irish Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart. The album's fourth and final single, "Batter Up" featuring St. Lunatics members Murphy Lee and Ali, achieved moderate chart success.
Greatest Hits is a posthumous double-disc greatest hits album by American rapper 2Pac, released by Amaru Entertainment, Death Row Records, Interscope Records, and Jive Records on November 24, 1998.
Curtain Call: The Hits is the first greatest hits album by American rapper Eminem. It was released on December 6, 2005, under Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records. The album collects Eminem's most popular singles, as well as three new songs, including a live version of "Stan", featuring English singer-songwriter Elton John performed at the 43rd Grammy Awards, plus the songs "Fack", "When I'm Gone" and "Shake That" featuring Nate Dogg.
It's Dark and Hell Is Hot is the debut album by American rapper DMX. It was released on May 19, 1998, by Def Jam Recordings and Ruff Ryders Entertainment. It was supported by four singles—"Get at Me Dog", "Stop Being Greedy", "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" and "How's It Goin' Down", in order of release—and their accompanying music videos.
The Way It Is is the debut studio album by American singer Keyshia Cole, released on June 21, 2005, through A&M Records and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Jadakiss, Chink Santana, Metro City and Eve. Cole co-wrote every song on the album, and also worked with a number of producers and writers, including Ron Fair, Sean Garrett, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Polow da Don, John Legend, Alicia Keys and Kanye West. The Way It Is is an R&B album, with some tracks having hip hop and hip hop soul sensibilities. Lyrically, the album speaks of romantic relationships.
The Life is the third studio album from American R&B singer Ginuwine, released on Epic Records in 2001. The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 152,000 copies sold in the U.S. and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. It also spawned a top 5 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Differences". The Life was the first Ginuwine LP not to be primarily produced by Timbaland, who only produced one track, "That's How I Get Down". The song "Two Reasons I Cry" is dedicated to the memory of Ginuwine's parents, who both died a year before the album was released.
Trap Muzik is the second studio album by the American rapper T.I., released on August 19, 2003, by Atlantic and his newly founded record label Grand Hustle. Due to the poor sales on T.I.'s first album, I'm Serious (2001), T.I. asked for a joint venture deal with Arista Records or to be released from his contract; he was subsequently dropped from the label. In 2002, T.I. launched Grand Hustle with his longtime business partner Jason Geter and signed a new deal with Atlantic Records.
American singer Usher has released eight studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 80 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 23 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 100 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, producing three singles that had moderate chart success, and the album sold more than 500,000 copies. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album. It is certified seven-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one "You Make Me Wanna..." and first US Hot 100 number-one song "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001 with his third studio album 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles—"U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified four-times platinum in the US for sales of 4 million copies. As of 2010, its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
This discography documents the releases of albums and singles by Aretha Franklin. Widely regarded as the "Queen of Soul", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling R&B female artists of all time. Billboard ranks her as the 34th Greatest Artist of all time. Franklin has scored 73 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, the most among women for nearly 50 years until Nicki Minaj passed her in 2017. Billboard listed her as the 41st Top Gospel Artist of the 2010s. She has accumulated 20 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Now That's What I Call Music! 7 was released on July 31, 2001. The album is the seventh edition of the (U.S.) Now! series. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart, selling 621,000 copies in its first week, the highest opening week of sales for any U.S. Now! album to date. It is the third number-one album in the series and has been certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA. Now! 7 is the first in the series to also crossover onto the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, peaking at number three.
Now That's What I Call Music! 12 is the 12th edition of the Now! series in the United States, released on March 25, 2003. It debuted and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and has been certified Platinum. With an increased number of hip hop and R&B tracks on this volume, it reached No. 10 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Now That's What I Call Music! 14 was released on November 4, 2003. The album is the 14th edition of the (US) Now! series. It peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and number eleven on the R&B/Hip-Hop albums charts. It has been certified 3× Platinum. The album spent a record 13 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, the most for any multi-artist compilation album since 1963.
American singer Ciara has released seven studio albums, one extended play, one DVD, one promotional single, 54 singles and 28 music videos, including seven as a featured artist. She made her debut in 2004 with her debut album Goodies which debuted at three in the US and charted within the top 40 in several international markets. The album's title track peaked at number-one in the United States for seven weeks and gave the singer the title of "The First Lady of Crunk&B", while singles "1, 2 Step" and "Oh" reached the top three in the US. All three singles reached the top 10 in many international markets, with "Goodies" topping charts in the UK. Goodies was certified triple-Platinum in the United States, Platinum in Canada, and sold over five million copies worldwide. Ciara also participated in a number of successful collaborations, including US top five hits "Lose Control" with Missy Elliott, and "Like You" with rapper Bow Wow, as well as the US top 10 "So What" with group Field Mob.
Now That's What I Call Music! 23 was released on November 7, 2006. The album is the 23rd edition of the (U.S.) Now! series. It sold over 337,000 copies in its opening week to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the tenth chart topper in the series. It also reached number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
The discography of Brian McKnight, an R&B singer, consists of 15 studio albums, six compilation albums, more than 40 singles, and 19 music videos. McKnight has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.
Now That's What I Call Music! 24 is a music compilation that was released on March 27, 2007. The album is the 24th edition of the Now! series in the United States
The discography of American R&B and gospel singer Fantasia, consists of seven studio albums and 24 singles. At the age of nineteen, she won the third season of American Idol, earning a record deal with 19 Entertainment and J Records. The season's coronation song, "I Believe", debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number one in Canada, in addition to reaching numbers four and twenty in Australia and New Zealand, respectively.
Now That's What I Call Music! 27 was released on March 11, 2008. The album is the 27th edition of the Now! series in the United States. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, although, with opening week sales at 169,000 units, it was the lowest opening week for a Now! album from the main series since the first volume.
BLACKsummers'night is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Maxwell, released July 7, 2009 on Columbia Records. It is the follow-up to his third album Now (2001). Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003 to 2009 and production was handled entirely by Maxwell and Hod David.
Wild Wild West is an album of music inspired by the 1999 film Wild Wild West. It was released June 15, 1999, through Interscope Records and consisted mostly of hip hop and R&B songs which were not in the film, with the exception of one by Will Smith and another by Enrique Iglesias played over the end credits. Other artists featured on the album include BLACKstreet, Faith Evans, Dr. Dre, Common, MC Lyte, Tatyana Ali, Slick Rick, Jermaine Dupri and Eminem. The soundtrack was very successful, peaking at number four on the US Billboard 200 and on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and features the hit single "Wild Wild West" which went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified double platinum a week after its release, June 21, 1999. The album is also the debut of famous artists Lil' Bow Wow, Jill Scott and Kel Spencer.
