Earl Simmons, known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. The recipient of various accolades, he won an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, and was nominated for six Grammy Awards. Regarded as an influential figure in late 1990s and early 2000s hip hop, his music is characterized by his "aggressive" rapping style, with lyrical content varying from hardcore themes to prayers. His violent lyricism helped popularize the horrorcore genre.
Jason Terrance Phillips, better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Arista Records to release their debut studio album, Money, Power & Respect (1998); their second album, We Are the Streets (2000) was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records. Both peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200 and yielded critical praise; their two subsequent albums, Filthy America... It's Beautiful (2016) and Living Off Xperience (2020) were both released by Jay-Z's Roc Nation and met with continued praise.
Kasseem Daoud Dean, known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, and DJ. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean initially embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the age of 18, he gained recognition in the music industry through his family's record label Ruff Ryders Entertainment and his affiliation with its flagship artist, Yonkers-based rapper DMX. Working with DMX as his producer, DJ, and hype man helped Dean gain prominence as a high-profile figure in hip hop in the following years.
Full Surface is a record label founded in 2001, by American hip hop recording artist and record producer Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean. With the help of his protégé, Cassidy, who was the 1st artist signed, the label was established. The label used to operate through Sony's J and through Universal's Interscope, Motown and Universal Motown. However, the label also had released material through joint ventures with other companies outside the Sony BMG group.
It's Dark and Hell Is Hot is the debut studio album by American rapper DMX. It was released on May 19, 1998, by Def Jam Recordings and Ruff Ryders Entertainment. It was supported by four singles—"Get at Me Dog", "Stop Being Greedy", "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" and "How's It Goin' Down", in order of release—and their accompanying music videos.
James Carlton Anderson, also known by his stage name Yung Wun, is an American rapper from Atlanta.
Melvin Jason Smalls, known professionally as Drag-On, is an American rapper. He is best known for his time on Ruff Ryders, through whom he released his debut album, Opposite of H2O (2000). The album was successful, debuting at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart and eventually sold over 500,000 copies and earning a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Drag-On released his second album Hell and Back, in 2004.
We Are the Streets is the second studio album by hip hop group The Lox. Originally scheduled for a January 11, 2000 release, the album was released on January 25, 2000, by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Interscope Records. It was their second album as a group, and is mainly produced by Swizz Beatz. Its commercial success was driven primarily by the hit singles "Wild Out," produced by Swizz Beatz, and "Ryde or Die, Bitch", produced by Timbaland.
The Lox is an American hip hop trio composed of East Coast rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss. Each hailing from Yonkers, New York, the group formed in 1994 and signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records two years later to release their debut studio album, Money, Power & Respect (1998). Despite critical and commercial success, the group parted ways with the label in favor of Ruff Ryders Entertainment in 1999, through which they released their similarly successful follow-up, We Are the Streets (2000).
American rapper DMX released eight studio albums, seven compilation albums, three mixtapes, 47 singles and 24 music videos.
"We in Here" is a song by American hip hop recording artist DMX, released in June 2006 as the lead single from his sixth studio album, Year of the Dog... Again (2006). The song features vocals and production from longtime friend and collaborator American record producer Swizz Beatz. The song is also known as a diss track towards his old label Def Jam Recordings.
American hip hop recording artist and record producer Swizz Beatz has released two studio albums, one compilation album, one extended play (EP), one mixtape, thirty-nine singles, three promotional singles and thirty-three music videos.
Ryde or Die Vol. 2 is the second compilation album by American hip hop collective and record label Ruff Ryders. It was originally scheduled for release on March 7, 2000, but was delayed to July 4, 2000 and released via Interscope Records and Ruff Ryders. Recording sessions took place at Chung King Studios, Sony Music Studios, Battery Studios, Powerhouse Studios in New York City, at the Record Plant, the Enterprise, Westlake Audio in Los Angeles, at the Hit Factory Criteria in Miami. Production was handled by Swizz Beatz, Mahogany, Teflon, Icepick, P. Killer Trackz and TJ Beatz, with Darrin Dean, Joaquin Dean, Chivon Dean and Leota Blacknor serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Busta Rhymes, Method Man & Redman, Scarface, Snoop Dogg, Trick Daddy, Twista, and Yung Wun.
"Ruff Ryders' Anthem" is a song by American rapper DMX, released on May 5, 1998, as the third single from his debut studio album It's Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998). In 2008, the song was ranked at number 79 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. In the US, upon the song's initial release it had originally peaked at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, before reaching a new peak of number 16 following DMX's death in April 2021.
Larsiny is an American hip hop group from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rapper Cassidy formed the group in the late 1990s with hometown natives Akbar and Shiz Lansky. They first signed with the Ruff Ryders Entertainment-subsidiary label TD Entertainment by 2000, and were subsequently featured on the song "Ryde Or Die Boyz" from the Ruff Ryders Ryde or Die Vol. 2 (2000) compilation album. AR-Ab later joined the group in 2005, while Lansky was featured the song "I Pray" from Cassidy's B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story (2010) album.
"Where the Hood At?" is a song by American rapper DMX, released as the lead single from his 2003 studio album Grand Champ. AllMusic stated "The anthemic lead single, 'Where the Hood At,' is precisely modeled after previous DMX rallying calls like 'Ruff Ryders' Anthem', 'What's My Name?', and 'Who We Be.'"
Damon J. Blackman, better known by his stage name Dame Grease or simply Grease, is an American record producer from New York City. In 1996, he gained recognition in the hip hop industry through his production work with Bad Boy and The LOX, while also establishing the sound of DMX and Ruff Ryders.
The following list is a discography of production by Swizz Beatz, an American hip hop recording artist and record producer from The Bronx, New York. It includes a list of songs produced, co-produced and remixed by year, artist, album and title. With a career spanning three decades, Swizz Beatz has contributed production on over 160 albums, including studio projects, compilations, soundtracks and mixtapes. Beatz has also produced 81 singles, a number of them have received gold certification or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Who's Real" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Jadakiss, released June 16, 2009 as the fourth single from his third studio album The Last Kiss. The song features guest appearances from fellow American rappers OJ Da Juiceman and Swizz Beatz, the latter of whom produced the track.
Ruff Ryders Entertainment is an American hip hop record label and management company founded by siblings and record executives Joaquin "Waah", Darrin "Dee" and Chivon Dean in 1988. It operated as a subsidiary of Universal, and distributed by Interscope Records, with Def Jam Recordings serving as the distributor for DMX albums. The label went on to launch the careers of several successful artists such as DMX, Eve, The LOX, Drag-On, MC Jin, producers Dame Grease and the Deans' nephew, Swizz Beatz among others. The Ruff Ryders namesake also referred to a loose-knit hip hop collective composed of the core signees of the label. Ruff Ryders and its main studio Powerhouse Studios are headquartered at 33 South Broadway in Yonkers, New York.
