Warren Griffin III is an American rapper, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s. A pioneer of G-funk, he attained mainstream success with his 1994 single "Regulate". He is credited with discovering Snoop Dogg, having introduced the then-unknown rapper to record producer Dr. Dre.
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. Carter issued his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996) as the label's first release, in a joint venture with Priority Records. The label signed and released albums for acts including Kanye West, Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Juelz Santana, Freeway, Jadakiss, Teairra Marí, State Property, and The Diplomats before its dissolution in 2013.
The Dove Shack was an American G-funk group from Long Beach, California. Consisting of C-Knight, Bo-Roc and 2Scoops, the group made their debut with the song "This Is the Shack" on Warren G's album Regulate...G Funk Era. Under the same name they released their first album in 1995 with the substantial hit single "Summertime in the LBC" featuring Arnita Porter. They later contributed to a few compilations, and released Reality Has Got Me Tied Up in 2006.
Regulate... G Funk Era is the debut studio album by American rapper Warren G. It was released on June 7, 1994, by Violator and distributed by Rush Associated Labels, a division of Def Jam Recordings. The album's biggest hit was the eponymous single "Regulate", a gritty depiction of West Coast gang life which samples singer Michael McDonald's hit "I Keep Forgettin' " and featured Nate Dogg. The album also contained the top ten hit "This D.J." The song "Regulate" was also featured on the Above the Rim soundtrack, which was released on March 22, 1994. An altered version of the song "So Many Ways" appeared in the 1995 film Bad Boys.
Free at Last is the second studio album by Philadelphia rapper Freeway. It was released on November 20, 2007 by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings in the United States. The album enlists guest performances from Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Marsha Ambrosious, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, and Jadakiss.
"Regulate" is a song performed by American rapper Warren G featuring American singer Nate Dogg. It was released in the spring of 1994 as the first single on the soundtrack to the film Above the Rim and later Warren G's debut album, Regulate... G Funk Era (1994). It became an MTV staple and the song reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. "Regulate" was number 98 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and number 108 on Pitchfork Media's "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s".
"Get Low" is a song by American Southern hip hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, featuring American hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins, released as a single in 2003. It first appeared on the 2002 album Kings of Crunk. "Get Low" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. It was number five on the top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs of 2003. Outside of the United States, "Get Low" peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom, the top twenty of the charts in Germany and the top forty of the charts in Australia, Austria, and New Zealand. It is also known as a breakthrough song for the crunk genre, as the song's success helped it become mainstream. It is listed number 99 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.
"How High" is a song by American hip hop duo Method Man & Redman, released on August 15, 1995, as the duo's first single. It was originally featured on the soundtrack to the 1995 hip hop documentary film, The Show, and has since appeared on several compilation albums such as The Hip Hop Box and Def Jam's Greatest Hits, among several others. The song, produced by Erick Sermon, is the first official collaboration from longtime friends and East Coast rappers Method Man of Wu-Tang Clan and Redman of Def Squad, marking their debut as a duo. The song performed exceptionally well commercially, reaching number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single has since been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"Hollywood" is a song recorded by American rapper Jay-Z for his ninth studio album, Kingdom Come (2006). It features Jay-Z's now-wife, American singer-songwriter Beyoncé, and was released as a single in the US on January 23, 2007. Jay-Z co-wrote the song with its producers Ne-Yo and Reggie "Syience" Perry. "Hollywood" is a disco-influenced R&B song with lyrics that detail the tiredness music stars, working in the American cinema industry, sometimes feel. The song was well received by music critics who praised its musical arrangement as well as the guest vocals by Knowles.
"The City Is Mine" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z, released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on February 3, 1998 as the second single from his second album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997). It features vocals from American R&B group Blackstreet and production from its founder and lead member, Teddy Riley. Riley samples "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" by The Jones Girls for the song's instrumentation, while his group interpolates "You Belong to the City" by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin for the song's chorus.
This Is the Shack is the debut studio album by American G-funk trio The Dove Shack. It was released on August 22, 1995 via G-Funk Entertainment/Def Jam Recordings. The album peaked at #68 on the US Billboard 200 and #13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Malik Yusef El Shabazz Jones is an American spoken word artist, poet, rapper, record producer, and director based in Chicago, Illinois.
"My Mind Right" is a song by American rapper Memphis Bleek, released by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings on March 5, 2000 as the lead single from his second studio album, The Understanding (2000). It also served as lead single for Roc-A-Fella Records' soundtrack album, Backstage: A Hard Knock Life.
This page lists a discography of albums and extended plays released under or distributed by Def Jam Recordings, a division of Universal Music Group, which had been created in 1984. Records distributed by another label, but released under Def Jam, are also included or otherwise reviewed. Also included are albums or EPs that were released under Rush Associated Labels and subsidiaries like Original Black Recordings, DJ West, Def Soul, Disturbing tha Peace, Def Jam South, Roc-A-Fella Records, Murder Inc. Records, and GOOD Music.
"Get By" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Talib Kweli. It was released on March 11, 2003, as the third single from his debut studio album Quality (2002). Produced by Kanye West, the hip hop track samples "Sinnerman" as performed by Nina Simone and features background vocals from Abby Dobson, Chinua Hawk, Kendra Ross, Vernetta Bobien, and William "Na2" Taylor. The song peaked at number 77 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming Kweli's most successful solo hit.
"Throw Ya Gunz" is the first single by American hip hop group Onyx from their debut album, Bacdafucup. It was released on November 27, 1992, by JMJ, Rush Associated Labels and Chaos Recordings. Produced by Jam Master Jay, Chylow Parker, and Randy Allen, "Throw Ya Gunz" was a success and made it to four Billboard charts, including number 1 on the Hot Rap Singles for two weeks. The song achieved even greater success in the UK, where it peaked at number 34 on the UK Top 40 in 1993.
"Live Niguz", also known by its censored title "Live!!!" is a song by American hip hop group Onyx. It was released on July 18, 1995 by Def Jam, Rush Associated Labels and JMJ Records as a single from Def Jam's The Show: The Soundtrack and as the first single from Onyx's second album, All We Got Iz Us.
Vincent Jamal Staples is an American rapper, songwriter and actor. Based in Long Beach, California, he first became known for his appearances on projects by Odd Future members—Earl, Journey to the 5th Echelon (2010), and Doris (2013). He signed with Talib Kweli's Blacksmith Records prior to releasing his collaborative mixtape with Mac Miller, Stolen Youth (2013). The following year, he signed with No I.D.'s ARTium Recordings, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings to release his debut extended play, Hell Can Wait (2014)—which marked his first entry on the Billboard 200 and received critical acclaim.
"FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt" is a song by rapper Jay-Z recorded for his 12th studio album Magna Carta Holy Grail. The song features Def Jam labelmate rapper Rick Ross. The song was produced by the Toronto, Canada producer Boi-1da, Vinylz, Timbaland and J-Roc. The song peaked at number 64 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Complex ranked "FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt" number 20 on their list of the 50 best songs of 2013. David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox used the song as his batter intro while stepping onto the field.
