Christopher Brian Bridges, known professionally as Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age nine, where he first began rapping. Starting out with a brief stint as a DJ, he formed his own record label, Disturbing tha Peace in the late 1990s to independently release his debut studio album Incognegro (1999). The album was re-released by Def Jam Recordings as his major label debut, Back for the First Time (2000) after its single, "What's Your Fantasy", became a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The latter album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and spawned his second top 40 single, "Southern Hospitality".
Fugees are an American hip hop trio formed in 1990 in South Orange, New Jersey. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to prominence in the mid-1990s for their pioneering blend of reggae, R&B, funk and hip hop, which eschewed gangsta rap and made them one of the most significant alternative hip hop acts. They occasionally rapped in Haitian Creole, and were one of the first hip hop bands to incorporate live instrumentation during their performances, along with the Roots.
The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, having served in the same role on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014. Current regular members of The Roots on The Tonight Show are Captain Kirk Douglas, Mark Kelley, James Poyser, Ian Hendrickson-Smith, Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson, Stro Elliot, Dave Guy, Kamal Gray, and Raymond Angry.
The Grammy Award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance was an honor presented to female recording artists at the 45th Grammy Awards in 2003 and the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004 for quality rap solo performances. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
The Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance was an honor presented to male recording artists at the 45th Grammy Awards in 2003 and the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004 for quality rap solo performances. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958, and originally called the Gramophone Awards, are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
Anthony Cornelius Hamilton is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, he signed with Uptown Records, an imprint of MCA Records to record his debut studio album XTC; scheduled for release in 1996, it was ultimately shelved due to its singles failing to chart. He then gained recognition for his guest performance on Nappy Roots' 2002 single "Po' Folks," which peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and led him to sign with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings. His second studio album, Comin' from Where I'm From (2003) received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), earned four Grammy Award nominations, and spawned the 2004 single "Charlene", which peaked at number 19 on the chart. His third and fourth albums, Ain't Nobody Worryin' (2005) and The Point of It All (2008) both peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard 200 and received gold certifications by the RIAA. He then parted ways with So So Def in favor of RCA Records to release fifth and sixth albums, Back to Love (2011) and What I'm Feelin' (2016).
Nappy Roots is an American alternative Southern rap group. The group met in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1995 while attending Western Kentucky University. They are best known for their hit singles "Po' Folks", "Awnaw", "Roun' The Globe" and "Good Day". They were the best selling hip hop group of 2002. The group consists of Milledgeville, Georgia native Fish Scales and Kentucky natives Skinny DeVille, B. Stille and Ron Clutch.
Faheem Rashad Najm, known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electronic-styled vocal performances. Blending its use with R&B and hip hop sensibilities, T-Pain become a prominent figure in both genres throughout the 2000s. Other music industry artists, such as Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Future, and Travis Scott, have since utilized Auto-Tune to a similar effect.
Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz is the commercial debut studio album by American hip hop sextet Nappy Roots from Kentucky. It was released on February 26, 2002 via Atlantic Records.
Ryan Bowser is an American record producer from St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He has worked for many artists during his career, mainly R&B and soul music.
The Humdinger is the third studio album by American hip hop quintet Nappy Roots from Kentucky. It was released on August 5, 2008 under Nappy Roots Entertainment Group record label's partnership with Fontana Distribution. Recording sessions took place at Treesound Studios in Atlanta and at the Kitchen Studios. Production was handled by Sol Messiah, James "Groove" Chambers, 3 Kingz, Big Al, Count Justice, Joe Hop, Kevin Freeman, N.A., Vision and Willy Will. The album features guest appearances from Slick & Rose, Anthony Hamilton, Greg Nice, James "Groove" Chambers and Tracy Hill.
Totally Hip Hop is an album in the Totally Hits series. Released in 2003, the compilation focuses on mostly hip hop singles that were released in the early 2000s. Unlike its Totally Hits counterparts which mainly focus on Top 40/pop hits, Totally Hip Hop and Totally R&B are the only two compilations focused on urban music acts.
"Awnaw" is the first single by the Kentucky rap group Nappy Roots, produced by James "Groove" Chambers. It was released in 2001, taken from Nappy Roots's first album Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz (2002). It peaked at number 51 in the U.S. and features vocals by Jazze Pha who sang the hook/chorus. The instrumental portions are often used on the public radio program This American Life.
"Po' Folks" is a 2002 song by the Kentucky-based hip group Nappy Roots, featuring fellow Southern act, singer Anthony Hamilton. Released on July 10 of that year by Atlantic Records, it served as the second single from their second studio album Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz. The song peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned two Grammy Award nominations—Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Long Form Music Video.
"Headz Up" is the third single by the American alternative Southern rap sextet Kentucky rap group Nappy Roots, from their 2002 debut album Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz.
"Roun' the Globe" is the lead single by the Kentucky rap group Nappy Roots from their second studio album, Wooden Leather. The song peaked at number 96 on the U.S. pop chart. It was featured in the soundtrack for Madden NFL 2004.
Harold Michael Simmons II, better known by his stage name Fyütch, stylized as FYÜTCH, is a Grammy-nominated rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, educator, and content creator best known for his album Family Tree and appearances on The Today Show. In 2021, he began working in children's music, releasing several charting singles on Sirius XM Radio Kids Place Live and collaborating with Divinity Roxx, Rissi Palmer, and Pierce Freelon.
