Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, known professionally as Nas, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas began his musical career in 1989 under the moniker "Nasty Nas", and recorded demos under the wing of fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. Nas made his recording debut on Professor's group, Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque".
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, better known by her stage name Foxy Brown, is an American rapper. Upon being signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1996, she released her debut studio album, Ill Na Na, in November of that year to critical and commercial success. It peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), sold over seven million units worldwide, and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "I'll Be".
Anthony Cruz, better known by his stage name AZ, is an American rapper. Best known for his affiliation with hometown native and fellow East Coast rapper Nas, they formed the New York City-based hip hop group the Firm along with Foxy Brown, Cormega and Nature in 1996. Cruz first saw recognition for his guest appearance on Nas' 1994 single "Life's a Bitch", from his album Illmatic (1994). Cruz was then signed by EMI to release his debut studio album, Doe or Die (1995), which was met with critical acclaim. Its lead single, "Sugar Hill" peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Moreover, The Firm's sole album (1997) peaked atop the Billboard 200 chart despite unfavorable critical response; the group disbanded two years later.
Corey McKay, better known by his stage name Cormega, is an American rapper.
Jermain Baxter, better known as Nature, is an American rapper, best known for his association with fellow New York City rapper Nas and having replaced Cormega in the original QB group the Firm.
The Firm was an American hip hop supergroup formed in New York City in 1996 by rapper Nas, his manager Steve Stoute, producer Dr. Dre and production team Trackmasters. The group is composed of East Coast-based rappers Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ and Cormega. Rapper Nature is a former member: he served as a replacement for Cormega after he was ousted from the group.
Ill Na Na is the debut studio album by American rapper Foxy Brown. It was released by Def Jam Recordings on November 19, 1996, and reissued on September 29, 1997, in the UK with an additional song "Big Bad Mamma". Brown began working on the album after being discovered by the production team Trackmasters and appearing on a number of singles by other artists, such as LL Cool J, Case and Jay Z. The immediate success of the singles led to a bidding war at the beginning of 1996, and in March, Def Jam Recordings won and signed the then 17-year-old rapper to the label. Mostly produced by Trackmasters, Ill Na Na features guest appearances from Blackstreet, Havoc, Method Man, Kid Capri and Jay Z. Lyrically, the album mainly focuses on themes of fashion, sex and mafia.
The discography of Nas, an American rapper, consists of seventeen studio albums, one collaborative album, one group album, five compilations, four mixtapes, one extended play, and seventy-nine singles. Nas has sold over 20 million records in the United States alone, and 35 million albums worldwide.
"One Love" is a song by American rapper Nas, released October 25, 1994 on Columbia Records. It was issued as the fifth and final radio single in promotion of his debut studio album Illmatic (1994). The song was produced by Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, who also contributed vocals for the chorus line. According to Nas, the title of the song originates from Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician Bob Marley's song of the same name.
"Nas Is Like" is the first single from Nas' third album I Am.... The song is the sixth collaboration between Nas and producer DJ Premier. It was well received by critics as it was a change from the more commercial and pop-oriented singles from It Was Written and Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album. The song contains a combination of braggadocios and introspective lyrics over a choppy string sample.
From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes is an extended play by Nas. It includes six remixed versions of songs from the earlier Nas LPs Illmatic, It Was Written, and Stillmatic. It was released by Columbia Records on July 2, 2002. It features AZ, R. Kelly and Foxy Brown.
"Life's a Bitch" is a song by American rapper Nas, released by Columbia Records on April 19, 1994 as the third single from his debut studio album, Illmatic (1994). Issued as a 12" single, it features guest vocals from AZ and a cornet performance from Nas' father Olu Dara.
The Realness is the debut studio album by American rapper Cormega. It features guest appearances from Mobb Deep and Tragedy Khadafi, as well as production from Havoc of Mobb Deep, J-Love, and The Alchemist, among others. It was released via Legal Hustle Records and LandSpeed Records.
Leshan Lewis, professionally known by his pseudonym L.E.S., is an American DJ and record producer commonly associated with New York rapper Nas, with whom he grew up in the Queensbridge housing project. His first production credit landed on Nas' popular song "Life's a Bitch" from Illmatic album in 1994. The following year saw him producing his first charted single, AZ's "Sugar Hill" from Doe or Die. Since the mid-90's, Lewis has produced songs for hip hop acts such as Shyheim, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, Royal Flush, LL Cool J, Big Pun, Capone-N-Noreaga, MC Lyte, Flipmode Squad, Rahzel, Benzino, Cassidy and Cormega, Fat Joe, as well as R&B singer Joe, and German rappers Kool Savas and Azad.
The Benzino Project is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Benzino. It was released on October 30, 2001 through Motown and ZNO Records. Recording sessions took place at Daddy's Home and at The Hit Factory in New York, at Source Sound Lab, at Future Recording Studios in Virginia Beach, at Audio Vision Recording Studio, Hit Factory and Bogart Studio in Miami. Produced primarily by Benzino's production team Hangmen 3, as well as Teddy Riley, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, Sean "Puffy" Combs and Trackmasters, it features guest appearances from Bobby Brown, Black Rob, Cormega, Foxy Brown, Outlawz, Pink, Prodigy, P. Diddy, Raekwon, Ray Ray, Scarface, Snoop Dogg, Superb, and Made Men. The album peaked at number 84 on the Billboard 200 and number 24 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Its lead single, "Boottee", made it to #11 on the Hot Rap Songs.
"Firm Biz" is the first and only single by the hip hop supergroup The Firm from their singular collaborative LP The Album. The song was produced by L.E.S, who based the song's track on a sample of Teena Marie's 1981 hit "Square Biz". "Firm Biz" also features a chorus performed by former En Vogue singer Dawn Robinson, reworked from the "Square Biz" chorus. AZ raps the first verse of the song, Nas the second, and Foxy Brown the third and final verse. The song did not reach any US chart positions, but was a UK top 20 hit in 1997. A remix of the song was released, featuring a verse from Half-A-Mill and a chorus by Mary J. Blige, replacing Dawn Robinson. The word "feds" is censored in the explicit version, in verse 2, performed by Nas, when he raps "Never that though Black .4-4's for feds".
"I'll Be" is a song recorded by American rapper Foxy Brown for her debut studio album, Ill Na Na (1996), featuring Brooklyn-based rapper Jay-Z. It was released as the second single from the album on March 4, 1997, by Violator and Def Jam Recordings. The song was written by Shawn Carter, Jean-Claude Olivier, Samuel Barnes, Angela Winbush, René Moore, Bobby Watson and Bruce Swedien with production by Trackmasters, and samples René & Angela's 1985 song "I'll Be Good". It was recorded at Chung King Studios in New York City, while the mixing of the track was finished at The Hit Factory. "I'll Be" is a hip hop and R&B song with explicit lyrics that revolve around sex and money.
The Trackmasters, also known as Poke & Tone, is an American hip hop production outfit composed of Poke and Tone. Active from the mid-late 1980s to the early 2000s, the group was more often known as a duo, Poke & Tone; it was joined by now-former members Frank "Nitty" Pimentel, Alex Richberg and Curt Gowdy to form Trackmasters. Throughout their career, they have been credited on albums and singles for hip hop and R&B artists including Destiny's Child, Nas, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Will Smith, Jay-Z, Cam'ron, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, The Notorious B.I.G. and 50 Cent.
It Was Written is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 2, 1996, by Columbia Records. After the modest commercial success of his debut album Illmatic (1994), Nas pursued a more polished, mainstream sound for It Was Written. Produced largely by Trackmasters, it departed from the debut's raw, underground aesthetic and embraced mafioso and gangsta themes.
The discography of American rapper Cormega, consists of eight studio albums, two compilation albums, one extended play, and 11 singles.
