Robert Sylvester Kelly, known as R. Kelly, is an American former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames such as "the King of R&B", "the King of Pop-Soul", and "the Pied Piper of R&B". Kelly's career ended in 2019 following his arrest and subsequent convictions on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving sexual abuse of minors.
Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American record label founded in 1993 by Sean "Diddy" Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip hop and contemporary R&B artists, beginning with the Notorious B.I.G. Following his commercial success, the label signed other acts, including Faith Evans, Mase, 112, Total, The Lox, Shyne and Carl Thomas. At its 1997 peak, Bad Boy was worth an estimated US$100 million.
Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Music Group and Interscope Communications, it differed from most record labels by letting A&R staff control decisions and allowing artists and producers full creative control. Interscope's first hit records arrived in under a year, and it achieved profitability in 1993. Chair and CEO until May 2014, Iovine was succeeded by John Janick.
Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre in 1996. It operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed through Interscope Records.
Joanna Noëlle "JoJo" Levesque is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She began performing in singing competitions and local talent shows as a child. In 2003, record producer Vincent Herbert noticed her after she competed on the television show America's Most Talented Kids and asked her to audition for his record label Blackground Records. After signing with the label, JoJo released her eponymous debut studio album in 2004. It peaked at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling over four million copies worldwide to date.
Blackground Records 2.0 is an American record label founded and owned by Jomo and Barry Hankerson. Initially named Blackground Enterprises, the label switched its name to Blackground Entertainment then later Blackground Records in 2000. In 2021, the label rebranded as Blackground Records 2.0, reviving its company and catalogue onto streaming services, with a partnership with Empire Distribution. It co-operated with a publishing company founded by Hankerson, named Black Fountain Music.
Lloyd Polite Jr. is an American R&B singer. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised in Decatur, Georgia, he began his musical career as a member of the preteen-boy band N-Toon, which was formed by Joyce Irby in 1996. The group disbanded in 2001, and Polite signed with record executive Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2003 to pursue a solo career. His 2004 debut single, "Southside" peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and led his first album Southside (2004), which entered the Billboard 200 at number 11. His second album, Street Love (2007) debuted at number two on the chart and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 singles "You" and "Get It Shawty".
Jesse Powell was an American R&B and soul singer. Discovered by Louil Silas Jr., Powell was best known for his hit "You", which peaked at No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Powell released four albums and was the older brother of fellow contemporary R&B singers Trina & Tamara. Powell was credited with a four-octave vocal range. He was a Grammy nominee.
Samuel Joshua Watters is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I Adore Mi Amor", and "All 4 Love". Watters has also written and produced songs for Grammy-winning and nominated artists such as American Idol winners Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks, and other superstars such as Céline Dion, Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis, and Anastacia. Watters is a member of the production/songwriting team The Runaways including fellow hitmakers Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Ryan Tedder, and Louis Biancaniello.
Stephanie Edwards, better known by her stage name Sparkle, is an American R&B singer. She began her career in 1998 as a protégé of fellow Chicago native R. Kelly. Sparkle is best known for her 1998 R&B debut hit single "Be Careful".
Richard Preston Butler Jr., better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Harlem, New York City. He attended Florida A&M and, while visiting Atlanta, worked his way into the music industry through connections with singer Usher, who became one of Butler's frequent collaborators.
"Fiesta (Remix)" is a song by singer R. Kelly featuring rappers Jay-Z & Boo & Gotti. The hit song spent five weeks at number-one on the US R&B chart and peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. R. Kelly and Jay-Z have worked several times together. In 2002, they released the album The Best of Both Worlds, which sold 285,000 copies in its first week. The single is ranked by Billboard as the best selling and most played R&B/Hip Hop song of 2001.
"I Wish" is an R&B song recorded by American singer-songwriter R. Kelly, from the album TP-2.com. It was released as the album's first single. It spent three weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number 14 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart. The song is dedicated to his mother as well as friends and other loved ones of his who have died. This song was originally going to feature rapper 2Pac, but he died before recording his verse. The remix, which was titled "I Wish – Remix featured Hip Hop duo Boo & Gotti, who were then signed to his Rockland Records imprint.
Interscope Geffen A&M Records (IGA) is an American umbrella label operating as a unit of Interscope Capitol Labels Group, owned by Universal Music Group. It currently consists of record labels Interscope Records and Geffen Records.
Life is the soundtrack to the 1999 film, Life. It was released on March 16, 1999, by Rockland Records and Interscope Records. The soundtrack was almost entirely produced by R&B singer R. Kelly, with Wyclef Jean and Jerry Duplessis producing four tracks on the album. The soundtrack was a huge success, making it to No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It spawned the hit single "Fortunate" by Maxwell, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The soundtrack was certified platinum on June 18, 1999, while "Fortunate" was certified gold on June 2 that same year. "What Would You Do?", by City High, would go on to chart in 2001. A version of the classic Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes song "Wake Up Everybody" plays during the film's opening credits.
Perfect Timing is the only studio album by American hip hop duo Boo & Gotti. It was released on August 26, 2003, through Cash Money Records and Universal Records. Recording sessions took place at Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, at Circle House Studios in Miami, at Quad Recording Studios in New York City, at Rockland Studios in Chicago, and at Cash Money Studios in New Orleans. Production was handled by Mannie Fresh, Kanye West, Jazze Pha, Leslie Brathwaite and R. Kelly. It features guest appearances from Big Tymers, Cadillac Tah, Gillie Da Kid, Jazze Pha, Lac, Lil' Wayne, Mikkey, R. Kelly, Stone, Tateeze and TQ.
Kiana Ledé Brown is an American singer and actress. She first starred as Zoe Vaughn on the second season of MTV's horror series Scream (2015–2019). She also starred as Veronica Washington on Netflix's original series All About the Washingtons. As a recording artist, Brown first began her musical career in 2012 and signed with Republic Records to release her third extended play (EP), Selfless (2018). It spawned the single "Ex", which received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her debut studio album, Kiki (2020), peaked at number 30 on the Billboard 200.
Maurice "Verse" Simmonds is a Puerto Rican / Virgin Islander rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. Based in Los Angeles but raised in the Virgin Islands, he moved to the United States after high school and he formed the production duo the Jugganauts in the 1990s. The duo has since co-written and produced tracks such as "Man Down" by Rihanna and "Who Gon Stop Me" by Kanye West and Jay-Z, both of which charted prominently on Billboard.
Marinna Teal, better known as Strings and Tateeze, is an American rapper and songwriter formerly signed to Epic and Cash Money Records. She is best known for being featured on R. Kelly's "Gotham City Remix" and Keith Sweat's "Im Not Ready Remix" in the mid and late 1990s.
Summer Marjani Walker is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Atlanta, she signed with the local record label Love Renaissance, an imprint of Interscope Records in late 2017. The following year, she released her debut commercial mixtape Last Day of Summer (2018), supported by its lead single, "Girls Need Love." The song became her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned a remix featuring Canadian rapper Drake. Her debut studio album, Over It (2019) was met with critical and commercial success, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart—briefly breaking the record for the biggest debut streaming week for a female R&B artist—and receiving triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
