Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr., better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he signed with local independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. He secured a major label joint venture deal with Warner Bros. Records and Asylum Records to release his 2008 debut single, "All My Life ". Failing to chart, the mergers fell through and Rock departed from both of the latter labels shortly after. He then signed with Missouri rapper Tech N9ne's label Strange Music in a joint venture deal with TDE in 2011.
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is the only musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Publications widely believe that his regular infusion of political criticism and social commentary influenced a rise of social consciousness within his generation.
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is the second studio album by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 22, 2012, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Drake, Dr. Dre, Jay Rock, Anna Wise and MC Eiht. It is Lamar's first major label album, after his independently released first album Section.80 in 2011 and his signing to Aftermath and Interscope the following year.
Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label. Specializing in hip hop and R&B artists, TDE is based in Carson, California. The label was founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who is the chief executive officer. His son, Anthony "Moosa" Tiffith Jr., and Terrence "Punch" Henderson are the presidents of the label.
Michael Len Williams II, known professionally as Mike Will Made It or simply Mike Will, is an American record producer and rapper. He is best known for producing trap beats for several Southern hip hop and pop artists on commercially successful singles. His credits include "Black Beatles" and "Powerglide" by Rae Sremmurd, "Mercy" by Kanye West, "No Lie" by 2 Chainz, "Bandz a Make Her Dance" by Juicy J, "Pour It Up" by Rihanna, "Love Me" by Lil Wayne, "Body Party" by Ciara, "We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus, "Formation" by Beyoncé, and "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar. He embarked on a career as a non-performing lead artist in 2013 with his debut single "23", which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. His 2017 follow-up single, "Rake It Up" peaked at number eight on the chart. He has released six mixtapes and one solo studio album, Ransom 2 (2017).
Robin Hannibal Mølsted Braun is a Danish record producer and songwriter, best known for being one half of the musical duo Quadron and for being a founding member of Rhye, which he has since left. Besides being involved in both, he is also known for producing two tracks for Little Dragon's Nabuma Rubberband and received co-writing credits for Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe by Kendrick Lamar, as the song contained a sample of "Tiden Flyver" performed by his band Boom Clap Bachelors.
Mark Anthony Spears, known professionally as Sounwave, is an American record producer and songwriter. He is a frequent collaborator of rapper Kendrick Lamar, having worked on all of his projects since his 2009 self-titled extended play. Sounwave has also worked with artists such as Taylor Swift, Chloe x Halle, Baby Keem, Mac Miller, and Bleachers. He has won three Grammy Awards, including two for Best Rap Album.
David Isaac Friley, known professionally as Dave Free, is an American filmmaker and record executive. Born and raised in Inglewood, California, he is best known for his creative partnership with rapper Kendrick Lamar. During his tenure as co-president of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), Free directed music videos and short films with Lamar under the name the Little Homies. Following his departure from TDE in 2019, he co-founded the creative company PGLang. Among Free's accolades are one Grammy Award and three MTV Video Music Awards.
Alexander Anyaegbunam better known by his stage name Rejjie Snow, is an Irish rapper and songwriter from Drumcondra, Dublin.
"I" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar featuring Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers. It was released on September 23, 2014 as the lead single from Lamar's third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. The song uses music from "That Lady", written by and originally performed by R&B group The Isley Brothers, elements from which were re-recorded rather than being directly sampled from the original record. "I" won two awards at the 2015 Grammy Awards: Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
To Pimp a Butterfly is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the United States, with production from Sounwave, Terrace Martin, Taz "Tisa" Arnold, Thundercat, Rahki, LoveDragon, Flying Lotus, Pharrell Williams, Boi-1da, Knxwledge, and several other high-profile hip hop producers, as well as executive production from Dr. Dre and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Guest appearances include Thundercat, George Clinton, Bilal, Anna Wise, Snoop Dogg, James Fauntleroy, Ronald Isley, and Rapsody.
Dacoury Dahi Natche, professionally known as DJ Dahi, is an American record producer, songwriter, disc jockey and singer from Inglewood, California. Working primarily in hip hop and R&B music, Dahi is best known for producing "Money Trees" by Kendrick Lamar, “Worst Behavior" by Drake, and "I Don't Fuck with You" by Big Sean, which reached the top 20 of the US Hot 100 chart.
Untitled Unmastered is a compilation album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 4, 2016, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. It consists of previously unreleased demos that originated during the recording of Lamar's album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), continuing that work's exploration of politically charged and philosophical themes, as well as its experimentation with free jazz, soul, avant-garde music, and funk styles. The album received widespread acclaim from critics, and it debuted atop the US Billboard 200.
Gabriel Stevenson, professionally known as Like, is an American record producer, rapper, DJ and songwriter. A three time Grammy nominee, he began working with the Pacific Division, a hip hop trio, better known as Pac Div in 2006.
Damn is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. Released on April 14, 2017, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records, critical accolades followed including a Pulitzer Prize for Music and the Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards. The album features guest appearances from Rihanna, Zacari, and U2.
"DNA" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar from his fourth studio album Damn. Despite not being released as a single, the song received support at rhythmic radio after its official music video was released. The second track on the album , it was written by Lamar, while the production was handled by Mike Will Made It.
"Pride." is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, taken from his fourth studio album Damn, released on April 14, 2017. The seventh track on the album, the song was written by Lamar, Steve Lacy, Anna Wise, and Anthony Tiffith, and produced by Lacy and Tiffith, with additional production by Bēkon. "Pride" charted in multiple countries in 2017.
Cameron Osteen, better known by his stage name Cam O'bi, is an American record producer, singer-songwriter and audio engineer. He has produced for Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, Mick Jenkins, Noname, J. Cole, Bas, Saba, and Isaiah Rashad. His upcoming debut album is titled Grown Ass Kid.
Hykeem Jamaal Carter Jr., known professionally as Baby Keem, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Las Vegas, he gained recognition in the late 2010s with his contributions to Black Panther: The Album, Redemption, Crash Talk, and The Lion King: The Gift. He rose to prominence in 2019 through his sleeper hit single "Orange Soda".
Daniel "Danny" Tannenbaum, known professionally as Bekon, previously known as Danny Keyz, is an American record producer, songwriter and musician.
