Barry Adrian Reese, better known by his stage name Cassidy, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first garnered attention for his freestyles and competitions as a battle rapper in the late 1990s, and formed the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective Larsiny Family by the end of the decade. American record producer Swizz Beatz discovered the group in 2000 and signed Cassidy to his newly-established label Full Surface Records, through a joint venture with J Records. He adopted a commercially-oriented approach for his 2003 debut single "Hotel" and its follow-up, "Get No Better" ; the former peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 while both preceded the release of his debut studio album, Split Personality (2004).
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 (2013) 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 and rapper. 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.
It's Dark and Hell Is Hot is the debut 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, better known by his stage name Yung Wun, is an American rapper from Atlanta.
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.
Kiss tha Game Goodbye is the debut studio album by American rapper Jadakiss. Originally scheduled for an April 18th, 2000 release, the album was ultimately released on August 7, 2001, by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood is the second studio album by American rapper DMX. The album was released on December 22, 1998, by Def Jam Recordings and Ruff Ryders Entertainment, over seven months after his debut album, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot.
Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady is the debut studio album by American rapper Eve. It was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Interscope Records on September 14, 1999. All of the songs on the album were written by Eve herself. It sold over 200,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold over 2 million copies and was certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album features singles such as "Gotta Man", and "Love Is Blind" with Faith Evans. Eve became the third female hip-hop artist to have her album peak at number-one on the Billboard 200.
American rapper DMX released eight studio albums, seven compilation albums, three mixtapes, 47 singles and 24 music videos.
Ryde or Die Vol. 1 is a compilation album from American hip-hop record label and collective Ruff Ryders, released on April 27, 1999 through Interscope Records and Ruff Ryders. The album debuted at #1, selling roughly 285,000 copies in its first week and was certified platinum on June 2, 1999.
Opposite of H2O is the debut studio album by American rapper Drag-On. Originally scheduled for a January 25, 2000 release, it was ultimately released on March 28, 2000, through Interscope Records and Ruff Ryders. It was produced by Swizz Beatz, Dj Iroc, and P.K., among others. Critical reception of the album was mixed.
Ryde or Die Vol. 3: In the "R" We Trust is a compilation album from American hip hop record label Ruff Ryders Entertainment, released on December 18, 2001. The album was certified gold by Music Canada in August 2002 for sales of 50,000 units.
"Jigga My Nigga" is a single by Jay-Z from the Ruff Ryders Entertainment compilation Ryde or Die Vol. 1. It was released on May 28, 1999. It also appeared as a hidden track on Jay-Z's fourth album, Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter, contained within the final track "Hova Song (Outro)". Produced by Swizz Beatz, it reached number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song interpolates "Just You Just Me" by The Counts and "What's My Name?" by Snoop Dogg, using the line "what's my motherfuckin' name?". The beat was later remade for "Scenario 2000" by Eve featuring Ruff Ryders.
"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.
The Last Kiss is the third studio album by American rapper Jadakiss. The album was released on April 7, 2009, on D-Block, Ruff Ryders, Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam, after numerous delays. The album features guest appearances from Faith Evans, Swizz Beatz, Bobby V, Pharrell Williams, OJ da Juiceman, Sheek Louch, Mary J. Blige, Styles P, Ghostface Killah, Ne-Yo, Raekwon, Young Jeezy, D-Block, U.S.D.A., Lil Wayne, & Avery Storm. Production on the album is handled by The Alchemist, Buckwild, Swizz Beatz, Neo da Matrix, The Neptunes, Baby Grand, Eric Hudson, Needlz, Sean C & LV.
Richard Anthony Jones, better known by his stage name Fiend, is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. His debut studio album, I Won't Be Denied (1995) was released by local record label Big Boy Records, although he signed with its regional competitor, Master P's No Limit Records to release its follow-up, There's One in Every Family (1998). The latter peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200 and was followed by his third album, Street Life (1999) which peaked at number 15 on the chart and served as his final release with No Limit.
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.
"WW III" is a song by American hip hop collective and record label Ruff Ryders and promotional single from their second compilation album Ryde or Die Vol. 2 (2000). It features American rappers Snoop Dogg, Scarface, Jadakiss and Yung Wun. The song was produced by Swizz Beatz.
