Cappella is an Italian Eurodance music group formed in 1987 by producer Gianfranco Bortolotti. The act went through a number of line-up changes over the years but was most successful in the early 1990s when it was fronted by British performers Kelly Overett and Rodney Bishop. Their biggest hit was "U Got 2 Let the Music", which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1993.
The S.O.S. Band is an American R&B and electro-funk group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs "Take Your Time ", "Just Be Good to Me", and "The Finest".
After the Storm is the fourth studio album by American singer Monica. It was first released on June 17, 2003 through J Records. Created over a period of three years, in which Monica experienced personal struggles and its original version, All Eyez on Me, was delayed numerous times following the moderate success of single "All Eyez on Me" as well as the leak to Internet file-sharing services and heavy bootlegging after its Japan-wide release, Monica decided to scrap most of the album in favor of new material for which she consulted new collaborators such as Missy Elliott, who would receive executive producer credit due to her predominant share of contributions on the album.
"Bonita Applebum" is the second single from A Tribe Called Quest's debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. The song contains samples of "Daylight" by RAMP, "Memory Band" by Rotary Connection, "Jagger the Dagger" by Eugene McDaniels and "Fool Yourself" by Little Feat. Rolling Stone featured "Bonita Applebum" on their list of 20 essential songs from the group.
"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.
The Makings of Me is the fifth studio album by American singer Monica. It was released by J Records on October 3, 2006, in the United States. Built upon the hip hop, gospel and modern quiet storm styles of its predecessor, After the Storm (2003), Monica envisioned her follow-up project to sound as close knit and intimate as her previous project. Consequently, she enlisted frequent collaborators Missy Elliott, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jermaine Dupri to work with her on the album, with the latter serving as its executive producer, as well as new partners such as The Underdogs, Tank, The Runners, LRoc, Swizz Beatz, and Sean Garrett.
Still Standing is the sixth studio album by American R&B singer Monica. It was released on March 19, 2010, by J Records. Recording for the album began in 2007, in which the singer intended to take a more traditional approach to the genre and take away any "gimmicks". As executive producer of the album, Monica enlisted a variety of producers including involvement by Missy Elliott, Bryan-Michael Cox, Stargate, The Runners and Jermaine Dupri. Production on Still Standing was chronicled by Monica's BET reality series of the same name which aired between October 2009 and January 2010.
"Just Be Good to Me" is a song by the S.O.S. Band, written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for their fourth studio album, On the Rise (1983). "Just Be Good to Me" was released as the lead single from On the Rise in March 1983, by Tabu Records.
"Poor Georgie" is the second single from hip-hop artist MC Lyte's third album Act Like You Know (1991). The song was produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez, and released on December 12, 1991. The song seeks to convey an anti-addiction message, through the story of George and the dysfunctional relationship MC Lyte has with this individual with self-destructive behaviors. It features a sample of "Georgy Porgy" by rock band Toto.
"Smile" is the lead single released from Scarface's fourth album, The Untouchable. The song features 2Pac and R&B singer, Johnny P. "Smile" is a remix of the 2Pac song "Smile For Me Now", which was produced by 2Pac and Damon Thomas and was released prior on the Death Row Records compilation album, Death Row Greatest Hits. "Smile" was produced by Scarface, Mike Dean and Tone Capone. The song became Scarface's most successful single to date, making it to number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"I'm Looking for the One (To Be with Me)" is a song by American hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, released in November 1993 by Jive Records as the third single from the duo's fifth studio album, Code Red (1993). The song was the follow-up to their highly successful hit single "Boom! Shake the Room" and peaked at number 79 on the US Billboard Hot 100. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 24. It samples "Tell Me If You Still Care", a song sung by the S.O.S. Band, and is written by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, while Teddy Riley produced it.
Friday Night Lights is the third official mixtape from Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper J. Cole. It was released on November 12, 2010. The mixtape was to originally be called Villematic and contain J. Cole's previous leaks and freestyles, however, Cole later stated it would have original material. The mixtape became the second most searched and trending topics on Google and Twitter respectively following its release. Most songs on the mixtape were slated to be on his debut album at one point or another. The mixtape has been viewed over 4,470,000 times, streamed over 1,280,000 times, and downloaded over 1,700,000 times on mixtape site DatPiff. On June 26, 2013, Cole announced that he would be re-releasing The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights for retail sale, in order to "give them the push they deserved".
Just the Way You Like It is the fifth album released by the R&B band The S.O.S. Band on the Tabu label in August 1984. It was produced mostly by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with additional production from the band themselves.
Nobody's Smiling is the tenth studio album by American hip hop recording artist Common. It was released on July 22, 2014, by Def Jam Recordings and No I.D.'s label ARTium Records. Following the release of his 2011's album The Dreamer/The Believer, Common took a hiatus from musical endeavors. In 2013, he returned to the studio and began working his tenth album and later revealed that the production, much like his previous effort, would be handled entirely by his longtime collaborator and record producer No I.D. In 2014, Common signed a recording contract with No I.D.'s ARTium Records, through Def Jam Recordings, for the distribution of the album.
"Oh Cecilia (Breaking My Heart)" is a 2014 single by British pop band the Vamps, with a chorus adapted from Simon & Garfunkel's 1970 hit "Cecilia". The song appeared on their debut studio album Meet the Vamps (2014), but a later version featuring vocals from Canadian singer Shawn Mendes was released on 12 October 2014 as the album's fifth single.
Bruce Fielder, known professionally as Sigala, is an English DJ and record producer. He has had eight songs peak within the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, including his 2015 debut single "Easy Love", which interpolates "ABC" by the Jackson 5.
Code Red is the eighth studio album by American singer Monica. It was released on December 18, 2015, by RCA Records and coincided with the twentieth release anniversary of her debut album Miss Thang (1995). For the project, Monica reteamed with her cousin Polow da Don, who had co-executive produced her previous album New Life (2012). The pair enlisted a variation of producers and songwriters to work with her, including Danja, DJ HardWork, Fatboi, KEYZBABY, Pop & Oak, and Timbaland – in addition to longtime collaborators such as performers Missy Elliott and Akon, and songwriters Crystal Nicole and Johntá Austin.
"Shape of My Heart" is a song by British musician Sting, released in August 1993 as the fifth single from his fourth solo album, Ten Summoner's Tales (1993). The song was co-written by guitarist Dominic Miller and features harmonica played by Larry Adler. It was used for the end credits of the 1994 film Léon and within the 1993 film Three of Hearts. Despite failing to reach the top 50 in the UK upon its release, it has become a pop classic and one of Sting's works most closely associated with his solo career. It has since been sampled in many tracks since its release, including "Shape" (2003) by Sugababes and "Rise & Fall" (2003) by Craig David. Ann-Margret sang a cover over the opening credits of her 1996 movie Blue Rodeo.
"I Cram to Understand U (Sam)" is the debut single by American rapper MC Lyte, in which features their DJ, DJ K-Rock, released in 1987. The song was part of her first album Lyte as a Rock, released the following year.
