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. The album introduced a unique St. Louis sound, and introduces Nelly's vocal style of pop-rap singalongs and Midwestern, 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.
8701 is the third studio album by American singer Usher, released in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2001, and in the United States on August 7, 2001, by Arista Records. Recording was handled by several producers including The Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri, Babyface, Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Mike City, Bryan Michael Cox, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Although intended for an October 31, 2000, release under the title All About U, the album was delayed numerous times, following the leak of several tracks onto the online music store Napster. Usher subsequently recorded new tracks and released the album under the new title, 8701, which is derived from Usher singing for the first time in his local church in 1987 and the album's US release date of August 7, 2001. The single "Can U Help Me" was supplied with Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later Windows versions to showcase Windows Media Player 11 and higher WMP versions.
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. 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".
Until the End of Time is the seventh studio album and third posthumous album by American rapper 2Pac.
Gerald Maxwell Rivera, known mononymously as Maxwell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence following the release of his debut studio album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (1996), which received widespread acclaim, and spawned the singles "Ascension " and "Sumthin' Sumthin'". The album has since been cited by music critics for helping form the "neo soul" movement that gained popularity during the late 1990s.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Untouchable is the fourth studio album by American rapper Scarface. The album was released on March 11, 1997, by Rap-A-Lot Records and Noo Trybe Records. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart for the first time in his career with the album; in addition it peaked at the top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for two weeks, giving Scarface his second number one album there. The album sold 169,000 copies in its first week.
Now That's What I Call Music! 4 was released on July 18, 2000. The album is the fourth edition of the Now! series released in the United States. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. This was the first album in the American series to reach number one and marked "the first time ever that an album of previously released hits has debuted at number one in the U.S."
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! 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.
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! 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.
Jason Lee Epperson, known professionally as Jay E, is an American record producer, entrepreneur and DJ. He is a co-founder of the production team Basement Beats. Jay E rose to fame as the producer of rapper Nelly's multi-platinum 2000 album Country Grammar which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. He has produced songs for Murphy Lee, St. Lunatics, Justin Timberlake, E-40, Cedric the Entertainer, Lil Wayne, Ron Isley, Three 6 Mafia, and Hilary Duff. He is credited as one of the producers of St. Louis hip hop, a style characterized by hip hop mixed with soul, rhythm and blues and pop music. Billboard magazine, in the December 2000 issue, listed Jay E at No. 16 of the Top 100 Producers and No. 19 of the Top 100 R&B/Hip Hop Producers of 2000.
American singer Keyshia Cole has released seven studio albums, one extended play, two mixtapes, 24 singles and thirty-one 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.
Nau'Jour Lazier Grainger, better known by his stage name Toosii, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is known for his TikTok-viral song "Favorite Song", and his debut studio album, Poetic Pain (2020), which peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200.
