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.
Straight Outta Cashville is the debut studio album by American rapper Young Buck, released on August 24, 2004 by G-Unit Records and Interscope Records.
American rapper and record producer, Ye, better known as Kanye West, has released 10 studio albums, three collaborative studio albums, one compilation album, one demo album, two live albums, one video album, and five mixtapes. All ten of his studio albums have been certified at least gold in the United States. As of June 2021, West has certified 25 million equivalent solo albums units in the United States, placing him among the highest-certified music artists in the United States.
Da Baddest Bitch is the debut album by American rapper Trina. It was released on March 21, 2000 through the label Atlantic/Slip-N-Slide Records. The album debuted at number thirty-three on the US Billboard 200 and number eleven on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and entered the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Catalog Albums in 2002.
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.
Now That's What I Call Music! 19 was released on July 19, 2005. The album is the 19th edition of the Now! series in the United States. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the seventh volume of the series to reach the top of the pop album chart. It is also the only Now compilation to crossover and reach number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Kiss of Death is the second album by American rapper Jadakiss. It is the follow-up to his 2001 Platinum-RIAA selling debut album Kiss tha Game Goodbye. The album was released in the US on the June 22, 2004 and debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
Urban Legend is the third studio album by American rapper T.I., released on November 30, 2004, through Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200, selling 195,000 copies in its first week of release. It also debuted at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and the Top Rap Albums charts.
American singer Usher has released nine studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 81 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 33 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 150 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 five-times platinum in the US for sales of 5 million copies. As of 2010, its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
Eminem Presents: The Re-Up or simply, The Re-Up, is a compilation album performed by various artists of American record label, Shady Records. The album features performances by Shady Records artists Eminem, D12, 50 Cent, Obie Trice, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater and Cashis, while affiliated artists such as Lloyd Banks, Akon and Nate Dogg, made guest appearances. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and has since sold over one million copies in the US alone, being certified platinum by the RIAA.
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.
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.
Exclusive is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Chris Brown. It was released on November 6, 2007, by CBE, Jive Records. The record serves as Chris Brown's second studio release under his CBE record label, as well as with Jive. The record also serves as the follow-up to his multi-platinum selling debut album, Chris Brown (2005).
American R&B singer-songwriter Chris Brown has released 11 studio albums, 1 collaborative album, 1 extended play, 9 mixtapes, 61 singles and 26 promotional singles.
Jason Lee Epperson is an American record producer and DJ from St. Louis, Missouri. He first became known as the primary producer of hometown native Nelly's 2000 debut album Country Grammar, which received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Thereafter, he produced extensively for Nelly and his collaborators, and signed with his record label, Derrty Entertainment as in-house talent. He has since produced songs for other artists including Murphy Lee, St. Lunatics, Justin Timberlake, E-40, Cedric the Entertainer, Lil Wayne, Ron Isley, Three 6 Mafia, and Hilary Duff. Epperson's style is characterized by hip hop mixed with soul, R&B, and pop music. Billboard magazine, in its December 2000 issue, listed Epperson at number 16 on its "Top 100 Producers" list, as well as number 19 on its "Top 100 R&B/Hip Hop Producers of 2000" list. He has received a Grammy Award nomination.
So Far Gone is the debut extended play by Canadian rapper and singer Drake. It was released on September 15, 2009 by Cash Money Records, Universal Motown Records and Young Money Entertainment. This is his reissued project from his third mixtape that was released earlier on February 13, 2009. This EP features five tracks from the mixtape, with the inclusions of two new songs. The EP features guest appearances from Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, Bun B and Young Jeezy. The EP was supported by three singles: "Best I Ever Had", "Successful" featuring Trey Songz and Lil Wayne, and "I'm Goin' In" featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy. In April 2010, the EP won the Rap Recording of the Year at the 2010 Juno Awards.
The Great Depression is the fourth studio album by American rapper DMX. It was released on October 23, 2001 by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Just Blaze, Dame Grease, Black Key and DMX himself. The album also features guest appearances by Stephanie Mills, Faith Evans and Mashonda.
American singer Keyshia Cole has released seven studio albums, one extended play, two mixtapes, 24 singles and 31 music videos. Cole's debut single, "Never", peaked at number 71 on the United States Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and became Cole's first entry on a national record chart. She was later featured on "Let's Get Blown", a 2004 single by American West Coast hip hop rapper Snoop Dogg – it peaked at number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Cole released her debut album The Way It Is on June 21, 2005, through A&M Records. The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 89,000 copies. The Way It Is was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It produced the four singles "I Changed My Mind", "(I Just Want It) To Be Over", "I Should Have Cheated", and "Love", of two of which reached the top ten of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
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