De La Soul is an American hip hop group formed in 1988 in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres. Kelvin "Posdnuos" Mercer, David "Trugoy the Dove" Jolicoeur, and Vincent "Maseo" Mason formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin'".
3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by the American hip hop group De La Soul, released on February 6, 1989, by Tommy Boy Records. It was the first of three collaborations with the producer Prince Paul, and was the critical and commercial peak of both parties. The album title comes from the Johnny Cash song "Five Feet High and Rising". The album contains the singles "Me Myself and I", "The Magic Number", "Buddy", and "Eye Know".
After 7 is an American R&B group founded in 1987 by brothers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, and their friend Keith Mitchell. The Edmonds brothers are the older siblings of pop/R&B singer-songwriter and record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, who named the group and helped them get a record deal with Virgin Records in 1988. After 7 released their platinum-selling self-titled debut album in 1989, which spawned three singles "Heat of the Moment", "Ready or Not" and "Can't Stop". "Ready or Not" and "Can't Stop" were No. 1 R&B hits and top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second album Takin' My Time, released in 1992, also went platinum and contained the R&B hit medley "Baby, I'm for Real/Natural High". After 7's Gold-selling 1995 album Reflections was their last album before the group disbanded in 1997. The album included the R&B hit "'Til You Do Me Right. Years later the group resumed touring with Jason Edmonds, son of Melvin Edmonds, replacing his father. Melvin rejoined the group for their successful 2016 comeback album Timeless, which featured 3 adult R&B top 10 hits "Runnin' Out", "I Want You" and "Let Me Know".
Daryl Franklin Hohl, known professionally as Daryl Hall, is an American rock, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the co-founder and principal lead vocalist of Hall & Oates, with guitarist and songwriter John Oates. Outside of his work in Hall & Oates, he has also released six solo albums, including the 1980 progressive rock collaboration with guitarist Robert Fripp titled Sacred Songs and the 1986 album Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine, which provided his best selling single, "Dreamtime", that peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. He has also collaborated on numerous works by other artists, such as Fripp's 1979 release Exposure, and Dusty Springfield's 1995 album A Very Fine Love, which produced a UK Top 40 hit with "Wherever Would I Be". Since late 2007, he has hosted the streaming television series Live from Daryl's House, in which he performs alongside other artists, doing a mix of songs from each's catalog. The show has been rebroadcast on a number of cable and satellite channels as well.
David Ruffin was an American soul singer most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations (1964–1968) during the group's "Classic Five" period as it was later known. Ruffin was the lead voice on such famous songs as "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." He later scored two top-ten singles as a solo artist, "My Whole World Ended " and "Walk Away from Love."
"Adult Education" is a song by American duo Daryl Hall & John Oates, released as a single in February 1984. The song was featured on the duo's second compilation album Rock 'n Soul Part 1 and was one of two new tracks that were recorded specifically for the compilation release. The single hit number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Stakes Is High is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul. It was released on July 2, 1996, through Tommy Boy Records. The album marked a change in the group's sound and direction, as it was their first release not produced in collaboration with Prince Paul. Stakes Is High was mainly produced by the group themselves, with additional tracks provided by Jay Dee, DJ Ogee, Spearhead X and Skeff Anslem. It is considered the group's darkest and most serious album. It received mostly strong reviews but little commercial success.
"La Di Da Di" is a song performed by Doug E. Fresh, who provides the beatboxed instrumental, and MC Ricky D, who performs the vocals. It was originally released in 1985 as the B-side to "The Show". The song has since gained a reputation as an early hip hop classic, and it is one of the most sampled songs in history. It was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in April 2024.
"I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" is a song by American duo Hall & Oates. Written by Daryl Hall, John Oates and Sara Allen, the song was released as the second single from their tenth studio album, Private Eyes (1981). The song became the fourth number one hit single of their career on the Billboard Hot 100. It features Charles DeChant on saxophone.
Private Eyes is the tenth studio album by American pop rock duo Hall & Oates, released on September 1, 1981, by RCA Records. The album includes two number-one singles—the title track and "I Can't Go for That ", as well as the top-10 single "Did It in a Minute". "I Can't Go for That " also spent a week at the top of the R&B chart.
"Me Myself and I" is a song by American hip hop trio De La Soul, released in April 1989 as a single from their debut studio album, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989). It was the group's only number one on the US Billboard R&B chart. The song also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.
A Nu Day is the second studio album by Canadian recording artist Tamia. It was released by Elektra Records on October 10, 2000, following her transition from Qwest Records. A less ballad-driven collection of songs and more progressive approach than her debut effort, Tamia worked with a smaller number of songwriters and producers on the album, including Dallas Austin, Shep Crawford, Missy Elliott, Bink!, Errol "Poppi" McCalla, and Jazz Nixon, some of whom would become frequent collaborators on subsequent albums. As with Tamia, a cover version, DeBarge's 1983 single "Love Me in a Special Way", was also recorded for the album.
"Baby" is a song by American rapper Fabolous featuring singer Mike Shorey, released by Atlantic Records on March 24, 2005 as the second single from Fabolous' third studio album, Real Talk. The song was written by Fabolous, Derryck Thornton, and American singer Ne-Yo, while production was handled by The Flame Throwers, The Chairman of the Boards, J Remy, and Jeremy Skaller.
"It's Tricky" is the fourth single released from Run-DMC's third album, Raising Hell. It was released early in 1987 through Profile Records and was co-produced by Rick Rubin and the group themselves. The song peaked at No. 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In the UK, the song reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart.
Ego Trippin' is the ninth studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on March 11, 2008 by Doggystyle Records and Geffen Records. The album debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200, selling 137,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics.
"Rock Steady" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin, released in October 1971 from her eighteenth album, Young, Gifted and Black (1972). The single reached the #9 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts that same year. It also peaked at #2 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart. The original A-side, a rendition of the song "Oh Me Oh My ", peaked at #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart.
"U Smile" is a song performed by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was written by Jerry Duplessis, Arden Altino, and Dan August Rigo, and produced by Duplessis and Altino. The song was released as the second digital-only single from the latter half of Bieber's first album on March 16, 2010. It was released to mainstream radio in Canada on August 9, 2010, followed by a mainstream and rhythmic release on August 24, 2010, in the United States as the album's third single there.
"Nosetalgia" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Pusha T from his debut studio album My Name Is My Name (2013). "Nosetalgia" features vocals from American rapper Kendrick Lamar, with production handled by Nottz, Kanye West and additional production by The Twilite Tone. The hip hop song features both artists rapping about their experiences and effects of cocaine on their childhoods. On February 3, 2014, the song was officially released as a single in the United Kingdom by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings as the album's fifth official single.
Charles Kent Wilson, also known as Uncle Charlie, is an American singer and the former lead vocalist of the Gap Band. As a solo artist Wilson has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards and 11 NAACP Image Awards, received a 2009 Soul Train Icon Award, and was a recipient of a BMI Icon Award in 2005. In 2009 and 2020, he was named Billboard magazine's No. 1 Adult R&B Artist, and his song "There Goes My Baby" was named the No. 1 Urban Adult Song for 2009 in Billboard.
"Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)" is a song written by Abrim Tilmon and performed by The Detroit Emeralds. It reached #4 on the R&B chart and #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. The song was featured on their 1972 album, You Want It, You Got It.
