Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones,known professionally as Nas,is an American rapper and entrepreneur. Rooted in East Coast hip hop,he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara,Nas began his musical career in 1989 under the moniker "Nasty Nas",and recorded demos under the wing of fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. Nas first guest appeared on his group,Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque".
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American rapper,singer,songwriter,record producer,and actress. She is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time,as well as one of the most influential musicians of her generation. She is often credited for breaking barriers for female rappers,popularizing melodic rap,and pioneering neo soul for mainstream audiences. In addition to being named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR,Hill was listed as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. In 2015,she was ranked as the greatest female rapper by Billboard. Her other accolades include eight Grammy Awards—the most for any female rapper.
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 Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the debut solo studio album by American singer and rapper Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 19,1998,by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. Recorded after the Fugees embarked on a hiatus,the album was almost entirely written and produced by Hill. It is a concept album about learning love,with lyrical themes encompassing relationship complexities,interpersonal conflicts,motherhood,and faith. Predominantly a neo soul and R&B record,it incorporates genres such as hip hop,reggae,and soul,and features guest appearances from Carlos Santana,Mary J. Blige,and D'Angelo. The album's title was inspired by the autobiographical novel The Education of Sonny Carson and its film adaptation,and Carter G. Woodson's The Mis-Education of the Negro.
Lonnie Rashid Lynn,known professionally as Common,is an American rapper and actor from Chicago,Illinois. He is the recipient of three Grammy Awards,an Academy Award,a Primetime Emmy Award,and a Golden Globe Award. At the age of 20,he signed with the independent label Relativity Records to release his debut studio album Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992),which was met with critical acclaim along with its follow-ups,Resurrection (1994) and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997). He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s,and achieved mainstream success through his work with the Black music collective,Soulquarians.
Basehead,also known as dc Basehead and Basehead 2.0,is an American alternative hip hop group formed by Michael Ivey in 1992. Ivey serves as the group's songwriter and leader,performing vocals and various instruments. Basehead's 1992 debut album,Play with Toys,was recorded at Ivey's home with various studio musicians. Ivey formed a touring band for live performances,which contributed to Basehead's second album,Not in Kansas Anymore. The group's current lineup consists of Ivey,drummer Aaron Burroughs and bassist Brendan Ciotta.
Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde is the debut album by the American hip hop collective the Pharcyde,released on November 24,1992,through the Delicious Vinyl and EastWest labels. The album was produced by former group member J-Swift,and features a guest appearance by Los Angeles rapper Bucwheed. In the years after its release,Bizarre Ride has been hailed by music critics and alternative hip hop fans as a classic hip hop album and has appeared in numerous publications' "best albums" lists.
The Score is the second and final studio album by the hip hop trio Fugees,released worldwide on February 13,1996,on Columbia Records. The album features a wide range of samples and instrumentation,with many aspects of alternative hip hop that would come to dominate the hip-hop music scene in the mid- to late-1990s. Primarily,The Score's production was handled by Fugees themselves,Jerry Duplessis and Warren Riker,with additional production from Salaam Remi,John Forté,Diamond D,and Shawn King. The album's guest verses are from Outsidaz members Rah Digga,Young Zee,and Pacewon,as well as John Forté,and Diamond D. Most versions of the album feature four bonus tracks,including three remixes of "Fu-Gee-La",and a short acoustic Wyclef Jean solo track entitled "Mista Mista".
The Beatnuts is an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights,Queens. Although only peripheral members,they are routinely acknowledged by Q-Tip as being members of Native Tongues. The Beatnuts were originally a trio before Fashion,now known as Al' Tariq,left the group to start a solo career. V.I.C. was also a member of The Beatnuts' production team for a while.
MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 is a live album by American singer Lauryn Hill. The performance comes from her 2002 MTV Unplugged special recorded on July 21,2001,at MTV Studios in Times Square,New York City. Hill abandoned the hip hop sounds of her debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) in favor of folk and soul songs. It was recorded while she was pregnant with her third child YG Marley. The songs were written solely by Hill,who performed them unaccompanied by a live band,while playing an acoustic guitar. It features lyrics about religion,police brutality,mental health and abuse of authority,along with spoken interludes about her personal and artistic struggles.
One Day It'll All Make Sense is the third studio album by rapper Common,released on September 30,1997,on Relativity Records. It was the follow-up to his critically acclaimed album Resurrection and the last Common album to feature producer No I.D. until Common's 2011 album The Dreamer/The Believer. It was also the first album in which Common officially dropped Sense from his name.
"Doo Wop (That Thing)" is a song by American rapper and singer Lauryn Hill from her debut solo studio album,The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). It was written and produced by Hill. The song was released as her solo debut and lead single from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on August 10,1998,by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. No commercial release was originally intended for the single in the US,but limited-quantity physical formats were issued two months later,on October 27.
Right About Now:The Official Sucka Free Mix CD or simply Right About Now was released by Talib Kweli in November 2005 and is generally considered a mixtape. However,some people regard this release as an official album because of its availability through commercial sites and its release of two singles. It also lacks the DJ overlays often accompanied by mixtapes which makes the CD read more like an official album. This CD is notable because,although a low-key release,it features upcoming members of Kweli's record label,Blacksmith Music. The album sold 16,000 copies in its first week of release,debuting at #113 on the Billboard 200.
"Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" is a 1971 song by Stevie Wonder,featured on his album Where I'm Coming From. The song is a ballad,describing a failed relationship using the metaphor of changing seasons. Co-written by Syreeta Wright and released on Tamla 54202 in 1971 as the flip side of "We Can Work It Out",the single stalled at #78 on the Billboard Hot 100,but it remains one of Stevie Wonder's most popular ballads to this day. Cash Box described the song by saying that "lively melodic work is heightened by an exceptional performance."
"The Corner" is the second single released by rapper Common on his sixth album,Be. It features a chorus and production by Kanye West as well as spoken word lyrics by The Last Poets. The song's lyrics deal with street corners in poor neighborhoods. The song's beat contains samples from "You Make the Sun Shine" by The Temprees and "What It Is" by The Temptations. Because of the song's gritty sound,some fans considered it to be a return to Common's Resurrection days. A music video directed by Kanye West was made for "The Corner."
"Champion" is a song by Trinidadian rapper and singer Nicki Minaj featuring Drake,Nas,and Young Jeezy,taken from her second studio album,Pink Friday:Roman Reloaded (2012). "Champion" was written by its performers—Minaj,Aubrey Graham,Jay Jenkins,and Nasir Jones—while the production and additional writing was handled by Pink Friday (2010) collaborators T-Minus and Nikhil Seetharam. Musically,"Champion" is a downtempo hardcore hip hop ballad that also incorporates elements of R&B,new-age,and space music. The lyrics speak of each artist's rise to fame,as well as the trials and tribulations that it carries;it references the death of Minaj's cousin,Nicholas Telemaque,who was murdered near his Brooklyn home on July 3,2011.
"Lost Ones" is a diss song by American rapper and singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 25,1998,through Ruffhouse and Columbia Records. The song was written by Hill and produced by Hill,alongside Vada Nobles and Che Pope. It features an interpolation of "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy. Despite not naming him in the song,the song is widely presumed to be about Hill's former Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean.
"Save the Day" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on August 21,2020 as the lead single from her eighth compilation album,The Rarities (2020) by Columbia and Legacy Records. The music was composed by Carey,and the lyrics and melody were written by Carey,Jermaine Dupri,James "Big Jim" Wright,Charles Fox,and Norman Gimbel. Carey and Dupri produced it.
"Nobody" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Nas from his thirteenth studio album,King's Disease II (2021). The song was produced by Hit-Boy,and features an additional verses from fellow American rapper Lauryn Hill. The song was written by the three aforementioned artists,along with songwriters Dustin James Corbett and Joshua Strange.
