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.
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., better known by the stage names T.I. and Tip, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Harris is known as one of the pioneers of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers Jeezy and Gucci Mane. He first became aquainted with local music executive Kawan "KP" Prather, and joined his company Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment by the late 1990s. He was led to sign his first major-label record deal in 1999 with its parent company LaFace Records, an imprint of Arista Records. His debut studio album, I'm Serious (2001) was met with lukewarm commercial reception and became his only release with the label. He then signed with Atlantic Records, where he soon reached his mainstream breakthrough and co-founded his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records by 2003.
Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and record executive. He is a founding member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats, which he formed in 1997 with fellow Harlem native Cam'ron.
"Welcome to Atlanta" is a 2002 hip hop song by Jermaine Dupri featuring Ludacris. It was released in 2002 as the second single released from Dupri's 2001 album Instructions and also appeared as a hidden track on Ludacris' second album, Word of Mouf. The song praises Dupri and Ludacris's hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. It samples "Five Minutes Of Funk" by Whodini, as well as "Do It Baby" by The Miracles.
"Pac's Life" is a single written and performed by American rappers Tupac Shakur and T.I and R&B singer Ashanti, produced by L. T. Hutton for Shakur's posthumously released album of the same name. It is a hip hop and R&B song; the second Tupac verse was recycled from a song titled "This Life I Lead". T.I. said in an interview that working on the song was an honor, as he idolized him while growing up.
Back on My B.S. is the eighth studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released on May 19, 2009, through Flipmode and Universal Motown. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Pharrell Williams, DJ Scratch, Danja and Cool & Dre among others. The album also features guest appearances by T-Pain, Jamie Foxx, Akon, Lil Wayne, Mary J. Blige, T.I. and many more.
"It's Me Bitches", is a song by American hip hop recording artist and record producer Swizz Beatz. The song, released February 13, 2007, serves as the lead single from his debut studio album, One Man Band Man (2007). The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 100 and peaked at number 83.
"Bring Em Out" is a song by American hip hop recording artist T.I., released as the lead single from his third studio album Urban Legend. The song, produced by Swizz Beatz, contains a vocal sample from Jay-Z's "What More Can I Say". This became T.I.'s first US top-ten single, peaking at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Tambourine" is a hip hop song by American rapper Eve, released as a single in 2007 and becoming Eve's first charting single as a lead performer in over four years. Written by herself, Sean Garrett, and Swizz Beatz, and produced by the latter, the song samples the 1974 song, "Blow Your Whistle" by The Soul Searchers. In the week of April 19, 2007, the song debuted at number 73 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it continued to gain momentum.
"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.
Paper Trail is the sixth studio album by American rapper T.I., released September 30, 2008, on Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. He began to write songs for the album as he awaited trial for federal weapons and possession charges. Unlike his past albums, he wrote his lyrics down on paper, which he had not done since his debut album, I'm Serious (2001).
"Blow Ya Mind" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Styles P, featuring vocals and production from Swizz Beatz. The song, taken from his third studio album Super Gangster , was released October 9, 2007 as the album's lead single. "Blow Ya Mind" is considered to be the sequel to his 2002 debut single "Good Times" which was also produced by Swizz Beatz.
"No Matter What" is a song by American recording artist T.I., from his sixth album Paper Trail. It was released as the album's first single on April 29, 2008, with its eventual release onto the iTunes Store on May 6. The song was nominated at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Male Video. The song ranked 10 in Rolling Stone's list of 2008's best songs.
"Hi Hater" is a song by American rapper Maino, released as his commercial debut single and the lead single from his debut album, If Tomorrow Comes... (2009). The song is featured in the video game Midnight Club: Los Angeles.
"Gucci Time" is a song by American rapper Gucci Mane, featuring vocals and production from Swizz Beatz. The song premiered on Gucci Mane's official Myspace page on August 6, 2010 and was released on August 30, 2010 as the lead single from Gucci Mane's seventh studio album The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted. The song samples French electronic music duo Justice's song "Phantom Pt. II".
"I Can Transform Ya" is a song by American singer Chris Brown from his third album Graffiti. The song features vocals from American rappers Lil Wayne and Swizz Beatz. The artists co-wrote the song with Lonny Bereal, Trayce Green, and Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, with Beatz producing the track. The song was released as the lead single from Graffiti on September 29, 2009, and was Brown's first official release since his altercation with former girlfriend, Barbadian singer Rihanna. Originally known simply as "Transformer", it is an electro-composed song infused with hip hop, crunk and "industrial" R&B musical genres, while making use of robotic tones. It is lyrically about introducing someone to a life of luxury.
We Are Young Money is the first compilation album by American hip hop record label Young Money Entertainment, and released on December 21, 2009 by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Motown Records. The album garnered a positive reception but critics were divided on the quality of the label's choice of artists. We Are Young Money debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 and spawned three singles: "Every Girl", "BedRock" and "Roger That". The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over 1,000,000 copies in the United States.
"Fancy" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake, from his debut album, Thank Me Later. The song features vocals from American rapper T.I. and producer Swizz Beatz, the latter of whom also co-produced the track alongside Noah "40" Shebib. The song was released to US radio stations on August 3, 2010, as the album's fourth official single, however promotion of the track ended earlier than expected due to Drake's uncertainty towards the song's planned music video and promotion.
The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted is the seventh studio album by American rapper Gucci Mane. It was released on September 28, 2010, by 1017 Brick Squad Records, Warner Bros. Records and Asylum Records. It serves as a sequel to his previous studio release The State vs. Radric Davis (2009), which was released after the Atlanta rapper's incarceration from prison. The album debuted at number 4 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 61,450 copies; it has sold an estimated 169,500 copies as of the week ending of August 21, 2011.
"I'm a Boss" is a hip hop song by American rapper Meek Mill, released on May 17, 2011, as the fifth single from the Maybach Music Group compilation album, Self Made Vol. 1. The song is also included on Meek Mill's mixtape, Dreamchasers. The song features MMG label boss and fellow rapper Rick Ross and was produced by Jahlil Beats. An instrumental version was featured on the soundtrack of NBA 2K13.
