Lisa Jane Stansfield is a British singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition Search for a Star. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first singles, Stansfield, along with Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, formed Blue Zone in 1983. The band released several singles and one album, but after the success of Coldcut's "People Hold On" in 1989, on which Stansfield was featured, the focus was placed on her solo career.
"Get Ready" is a Motown song written by Smokey Robinson, which resulted in two hit records for the label: a U.S. No. 29 version by The Temptations in 1966, and a U.S. No. 4 version by Rare Earth in 1970. It is significant for being the last song Robinson wrote and produced for the Temptations, due to a deal Berry Gordy made with Norman Whitfield, that if "Get Ready" did not meet with the expected degree of success, then Whitfield's song, "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", would get the next release, which resulted in Whitfield more or less replacing Robinson as the group's producer.
"Good Times" is a disco soul song by American R&B band Chic from their third album Risqué (1979). It ranks 68th on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and has become one of the most sampled tunes in music history, most notably in hip hop music. Originally released with "A Warm Summer Night" on the B-side, it was reissued in 2004 with "I Want Your Love" on the B-side, a version which was certified Silver in the UK.
"Let Me Clear My Throat" is a song by American hip-hop artist DJ Kool. It was released in April 1996 as the third and final single from his album of the same name. It was recorded live at the Bahama Bay club in Philadelphia.
"It Ain't Hard to Tell" is the second single and last track from American rapper Nas' debut album, Illmatic. Although the track was technically the second single on the album, it was the first single to be released after the album was pressed in 1994. The first single, "Halftime," was released two years prior to Illmatic's debut.
James "J.T." Warren Taylor is an American singer and actor who achieved fame as the lead singer of Kool & the Gang between 1979 and 1988.
American singer Usher has released eight studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 80 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 23 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 100 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, producing three singles that had moderate chart success, and the album sold more than 500,000 copies. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album. It is certified seven-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one "You Make Me Wanna..." and first US Hot 100 number-one song "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001 with his third studio album 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles—"U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified four-times platinum in the US for sales of 4 million copies. As of 2010, its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
"Celebration" is a 1980 song by American band Kool & the Gang. Released as the first single from their twelfth album, Celebrate! (1980), it was the band's first and only single to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Get Down on It" is a 1981 song by American band Kool & the Gang. It was originally released on their Something Special album in 1981. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA.
"Summertime" is a song by American hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, released in May 1991 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Homebase (1991). The song was produced by Chicago-based producers Hula and K. Fingers, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 1992 Grammy Awards. It spent a week at number #1 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, as well as reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the duo's first single to enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #8.
"The One I Gave My Heart To" is a song recorded by American singer Aaliyah for her second studio album One in a Million (1996). The song was written by Diane Warren and was produced by Daryl Simmons. Musically, it is a pop and R&B power ballad with Aaliyah utilizing her soprano tone. Lyrically, the song is about the protagonist asking how the person that she loved could break her heart. The song was released as the fifth and final single from One in a Million with "Hot Like Fire" on September 16, 1997, by Blackground Records and Atlantic Records.
"Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" is the debut single by American girl group TLC, from their debut album, Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip (1992). It was released by LaFace Records on November 22, 1991 (promo) and late January 1992 (retail). The song would ultimately peak at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. The single also reached the top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. The song describes the group explaining that they don't mind begging for attention from their significant others. Songwriters Dallas Austin and Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes received a nomination for the 1993 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. The song appeared in video games Dance Central 3 and the 2022 reboot of Saints Row.
"It Takes Two" is a song by New York hip hop duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock that became a top-40 single and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Since its release in 1988, the song has been covered and sampled by several recording artists.
"Hollywood Swinging" is a 1974 song by R&B/funk band Kool & the Gang from their album Wild and Peaceful. It was written by Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell, George M. Brown, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Claydes Charles Smith, Dennis R. Thomas and Rick A. Westfield.
"Fresh" is a song by the American group Kool & the Gang. Released as a single in 1984 from the album Emergency, the song peaked at #9 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, and #11 on the UK chart. It also reached number one on both the U.S. R&B chart and U.S. Dance chart.
"Feel So Good" is the debut single by American hip-hop artist Mase. It was released in October 1997 through Arista Records and Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records as the lead single from his debut album, Harlem World, and it appeared on the Money Talks soundtrack. The song was produced by D-Dot and Sean "Puffy" Combs and featured vocals by R&B singer Kelly Price on the chorus. The single was the most successful of the three singles released from the album, having peaked at number 5 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number-one on the Hot Rap Singles chart. "Feel So Good" was certified gold just about a month after its release on November 12, 1997; it was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Chris Tucker, Mase and Sean appears in the music video, which was directed by Hype Williams. They drive around the city in a Mercedes-Benz and a group of female dancers are also shown dancing with them.
Prince released several hundred songs both under his own name and under pseudonyms and/or pen names, as well as writing songs which have been recorded by other artists. Estimates of the actual number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000. He has released 97 singles, 34 promotional singles, 21 internet singles, and eight internet downloads.
"Too Hot" is a song recorded by the American band Kool & the Gang for their 1979 album Ladies' Night. It was written by George Brown and Kool & the Gang, and produced by Eumir Deodato and Kool & the Gang. The song reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"I" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar featuring Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers. It was released on September 23, 2014 as the lead single from Lamar's third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. The song uses music from "That Lady", written by and originally performed by R&B group The Isley Brothers, elements from which were re-recorded rather than being directly sampled from the original record. "I" won two awards at the 2015 Grammy Awards: Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
"Big Fun" is a 1982 song by the American band Kool & the Gang. It was originally released on their As One album.
