Smitty | |
|---|---|
 Smitty in a photoshoot in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Varick D. Smith |
| Born | November 30, 1979 |
| Origin | Little Haiti, Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Labels |
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| Website | Official site |
Varick D. Smith, (born November 30, 1979), better known as Smitty, is an American rapper and hip-hop ghostwriter from Little Haiti, a neighborhood in Miami, Florida.
While growing up in Miami, Varick came home one day to find a friend deceased due to an unforeseen incident. [1] The incident made him more aware of his future. In 1997 he decided to enroll at Florida A&M University to major in journalism. However, his aspiration to become a full-fledged artist led him to switch coasts after only two and half years of school. He would eventually, through a friend, get the opportunity to start in the hip-hop industry by flying out to meet with famed producer Dr. Dre while he was filming The Wash . After many hours waiting around on set, Varick finally got the chance to rap in front of Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre was impressed and Varick was asked to work on a few tracks for The Wash soundtrack. [2] He is also a good basketball player.
In addition to working on the soundtrack, Varick wrote two Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers, "Shake Ya Tailfeather" by P. Diddy, Nelly & Murphy Lee for which he won a Grammy for Best Performance at the 2004 awards [3] and "Bump, Bump, Bump" by B2K. He also has collaborated with fellow hip-hop artists such as Trick Daddy, Scarface, Kanye West, T.I., and BMG.
In 2011 Smitty reunited with Breyon Prescott, producer of such acts as Jamie Foxx, Angie Stone, Dr. Dre, Sean Garrett and Brandy. Smitty and Prescott teamed up with Sean Garrett, Bink and Mississippi newcomer Tito Lopez in 2012 to put the finishing touches on Dr. Dre's highly anticipated Detox album. Smitty has a co-writing credit on Rick Ross's 3 Kings featuring Dr. Dre and Jay Z.
Smitty has also written songs for Snoop Dogg, Brandy, Pharrell and his longtime mentor Diddy, who is featured on his new street banger, Money Hungry, which dropped in September 2012. In 2015 Smitty wrote with legendary producer Dr. Dre on the Straight Outta Compton movie soundtrack and in that same year was a ghost writer on several projects produced by Timbaland. He then worked with Pras of the Fugees on their up-and-coming highly anticipated album. In addition to working on the Fugees new project, Smitty co-wrote with producer Bink for West Coast rapper E-40.
Opportunities to sign with Aftermath Records, Arista Records, Capitol Records, Def Jam, Elektra Records, and Jive Records were all offered, but were turned down in lieu of creative freedom. [4] Smitty eventually signed with Clive Davis' J Records in 2003.
In April 2008, Smitty parted ways with J Records, according to an interview with WordofSouth.com. He is now signed with Blackground/Interscope, and will be releasing his debut in the near future. [5]
In July 2005, Smitty released his debut single effort "Diamonds on My Neck", which charted at Billboard charts; a music video was directed by Hype Williams and a mixtape hosted by DJ EFX. His second single, "Died in Your Arms Tonight", failed to chart. However the remix with T-Pain seemed to be a hit on the YouTube website. A debut album, Life of a Troubled Child, was scheduled for release in late 2005 but was shelved. He released three mixtapes, The Voice of the Ghetto, Heart of the South, and Bigger Than Life. Recently Smitty did a record with rapper T.I. called "Mind On My Money". On October 13, 2010, Smitty released a new single entitled "Burr" and guest-starred in DJ King SamS "U Never No" forthcoming album with Mario Winans, Bobby Valentino, Red Café, Young Buck, NORE, Junior Reid and others.
Fugees is an American hip hop group 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.
Murder Was the Case is a 1994 short film and soundtrack album starring and performed by Snoop Doggy Dogg. The 18 minute film was directed by Dr. Dre and Fab Five Freddy and chronicles the fictional death of Snoop Dogg and his resurrection after making a deal with the Devil. The film's title comes from Snoop's song of the same name from his debut album, Doggystyle, which had been released a year earlier.
Mario Mendell Winans is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from South Carolina, and an extended member of the musical family The Winans. He is best known for his 2004 song "I Don't Wanna Know", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Germany and the United Kingdom. Winans also co-wrote CeCe Winans's song "Pray" in 2005, which won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance.
The Documentary is the major-label debut studio album by American rapper the Game. It was released on January 18, 2005, by Aftermath Entertainment, G-Unit Records, and Interscope Records. The record serves as his major-label debut, preceded by his independently released debut Untold Story in 2004. In 2001, while the Game was in hospital recovering from a shooting, he decided to pursue a career in music. He released the mixtape, "Q.B. 2 Compton" under his then record label "Get Low Recordz" in 2002, which was later was discovered by Dr. Dre and led to him signing the Game to his label, Aftermath Entertainment. The album includes production from high-profile producers such as Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Scott Storch and Timbaland, among others, and guest appearances from 50 Cent, Eminem, Nate Dogg and Faith Evans, among others. This would be the Game's only album on Aftermath and G-Unit Records, as he left the label later in 2006 after a feud began between him and fellow G-Unit label-mate 50 Cent.
Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and record executive. He is an original member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats alongside longtime friend and fellow Harlem native Cam'ron.
"Summertime" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé, featuring American rapper P. Diddy. "Summertime" was written by Beyoncé, Angela Beyincé, P. Diddy, Steven "Steven J." Jordan, Adonis Shropshire, Varick "Smitty" Smith and Mario Winans, while production was handled by Winans and P. Diddy. The song was later remixed to feature vocals from American rapper Ghostface Killah. "Summertime" was included on the soundtrack album for the film The Fighting Temptations (2003), in which Beyoncé played the lead female role. The original version of the song was released as a B-side to "Crazy in Love" in the UK and Australia, while it was issued as a 12-inch vinyl single in the United States through Columbia Records.
Richard Preston Butler Jr., better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and New York City's Harlem neighborhood. He attended Florida A&M and, while visiting Atlanta, Georgia, worked his way into the music industry through connections with Usher, who would become one of Love's frequent collaborators.
"Hustlin'" is the debut single by American rapper Rick Ross, and the first single from his debut album Port of Miami, produced by The Runners.
The discography of American record producer, sound engineer, and rapper Dr. Dre consists of three studio albums, forty-two singles,, two compilation album, one soundtrack album, and twenty-one music videos.
Street Hop is the fourth studio album by American rapper Royce da 5'9", released in the United States on October 20, 2009, on One Records. It is the follow-up to his previous album Independent's Day (2005). At the release of Success Is Certain, Street Hop sold approximately 24,000 units in the United States via HitsDailyDouble. Despite being formally released in 2009, the singles "Shake This" and "Part of Me" were leaked online in late 2008.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2008.
Matthew Jehu Samuels, known professionally as Boi-1da, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario.
The R.E.D. Album is the fifth studio album by American rapper Game. It was released on August 23, 2011, by DGC Records and Interscope Records, which serves as Game's first release under the label. Recording sessions for the album took place from 2009 to 2011 at four different recording studios in California. Dr. Dre, Pharrell Williams and Mars served as executive producers on the album, and includes a wide range of producers such as Boi-1da, Cool & Dre, DJ Khalil, DJ Premier, Don Cannon, Hit-Boy, Maestro, StreetRunner and the Futuristics. The featured guests include rappers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne and Kendrick Lamar, and singers Lloyd, Mario, Chris Brown and Nelly Furtado.
Anthony Johnson, better known by his stage name Slim The Mobster, is a Los Angeles-based rapper. He signed with Gang Module Records. Slim The Mobster was known as Dr. Dre's protégé. Johnson's manager is John Monopoly, who ushered in Kanye West's rapping career. His influence includes gangsta rap acts like The D.O.C and The Notorious B.I.G. He took his rap name from notorious pimp Fillmore Slim and from having the mindset of a Mobster.
Two Eleven is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Brandy. Released on October 12, 2012, it served as the singer's debut release with Chameleon Entertainment and RCA Records after departing from Epic Records soon after releasing her previous album, Human (2008). The album's title is taken from Norwood's birthday; it is also the day on which her idol and friend, entertainer Whitney Houston died eight months prior to Two Eleven's release.
Overly Dedicated is the fourth solo mixtape by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on September 14, 2010, via Top Dawg Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Dash Snow, Jhené Aiko, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Ash Riser, Dom Kennedy and Murs, among others. The album's production was handled by several TDE in-house producers, including King Blue, Sounwave, Tae Beast and Willie B; other producers such as Tommy Black, Jairus "J-Mo" Mozee, and Wyldfyer, also contributed production. The mixtape had sold a total of 12,000 copies as of October 2012.
DJ EFN is an American record label executive and DJ, based in Miami, who specializes in hip-hop. Since the early 1990s, operating most often under the banner of Crazy Hood Productions, EFN has worked in the hip-hop industry in a variety of capacities, including as a mixtape producer, album producer and A&R consultant, radio host, marketing and promotions specialist, clothing retailer, artist manager, and film producer. He is currently best known as the creator and co-host of "Drink Champs," a weekly podcast carried by Sean "Diddy" Combs's Revolt TV network.
Jon Kevin Freeman Jr., better known by his stage name Jon Connor, is an American rapper and record producer. Connor has released various mixtapes and an album effort during his career including the Jay-Z inspired The Blue Album, and the Eminem inspired The People's Rapper LP. His debut studio album, Unconscious State was released in 2013. Shortly thereafter, he was signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment from 2013 to 2019, where he did not release an album. In 2015, he garnered notoriety for being featured on Dr. Dre's album Compton (2015) as well as The Game's album The Documentary 2.5 (2015).
Mez, formerly known as King Mez, is an American rapper, producer, writer and director. He is perhaps best known for his work with Dr. Dre and on the 2019 rap album Revenge of the Dreamers III. He was born on a military base in Fort Campbell, KY and grew up in Southeast Raleigh, NC.
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