Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop group St. Lunatics. He signed with Universal Records in 1999 as a solo act to release his debut studio album, Country Grammar (2000) in June of the following year. Its namesake lead single and follow-up, "Ride wit Me" both entered the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, while the album peaked atop the Billboard 200 and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second album, Nellyville (2002) spawned two consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma", along with the top-five single, "Air Force Ones".
Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas-Haynes is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She was first discovered as a teenager and signed to Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2002. That same year, she was featured on Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" and Ja Rule's "Always on Time", both of which were two of the biggest hit songs of 2002. She became the first female artist to occupy the top two positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously with "Foolish" and "What's Luv?" at numbers one and two, respectively.
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. Raised in Atlanta as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music production at the age of nine. He discovered the teen hip hop duo Kris Kross in 1991. Dupri wrote and produced their 1992 single "Jump," which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the 23rd most successful song of that decade. He established his own record label, So So Def Recordings in a joint venture with Columbia the following year.
Ashanti's Christmas is the third studio album by American singer Ashanti, released on November 18, 2003, by The Inc. Records. Chiefly produced by label head Irv Gotti, it is a follow-up to her second studio album, Chapter II (2003) and her first Christmas album. Ashanti's Christmas consists of ten tracks, featuring four original songs co-penned by Ashanti and six cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, including "The Christmas Song", "Silent Night", "Winter Wonderland" and others.
Chapter II is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Ashanti. It was released by Murder Inc. and Island Def Jam on July 1, 2003 in the United States. Ashanti reteamed with Murder Inc. head Irv Gotti and producer Chink Santana to work on the album. Chapter II features a guest appearance by rapper Ja Rule, Chink Santana, and Gunnz. Critical reception towards the album was generally mixed, with critics commending the album's autobiographical lyrics, and its fun yet light nature, while other critics felt Chapter II lacked creativity and personality and relied too heavily on the formula of her debut album (2002).
Ashanti is the debut studio album by American singer Ashanti, released on April 2, 2002, by Murder Inc. and Def Jam Recordings. It was recorded in New York City and Los Angeles between 2001 and 2002, during the period of time where Ashanti was writing for other artists. The album features guest vocals from Gotti, Ja Rule, and the late the Notorious B.I.G. Contributions to the album's production came from a wide range of producers, including Irv Gotti, 7 Aurelius, Chink Santana, Jared Thomas and Reggie Wright.
Southside is the debut studio album by American R&B recording artist Lloyd. It was released on July 20, 2004, by The Inc. Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group. The singer teamed with several of record producers such as Chink Santana, Rodney Jerkins, Irv Gotti and Jasper Cameron, among others.
"Rock wit U (Awww Baby)" is a song by American R&B singer Ashanti. Written by her along with Irv Gotti and Chink Santana for her second studio album, Chapter II (2003), and produced by Gotti and Santana, the song was released by Murder Inc. on May 19, 2003, as the lead single from Chapter II, peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 for one week and became her first international hit from her second album, reaching number 7 in the UK and number 19 in Australia.
American rapper and singer Nelly has released eight studio albums, two compilation albums, one remix album, three extended plays, two mixtapes, 49 singles, three promotional singles and 48 music videos. He was also a member of the hip hop group St. Lunatics, which included fellow rappers Ali, City Spud, Murphy Lee, and Kyjuan. Nelly has sold a total of 21,815,000 albums in the US as of June 2014, making him the fourth bestselling rap artist in the country.
Brass Knuckles is the fifth studio album by American rapper Nelly, released on September 16, 2008 after several delays. In 2008 Nelly embarked on The Brass Knuckles Tour in support of the album.
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).
"The Way That I Love You" is a song recorded by American singer Ashanti from her fourth studio album, The Declaration (2008). It was released as the album's lead single on February 26, 2008, through Universal and The Inc. Ashanti wrote and produced the song with L.T. Hutton. Backed by piano, guitar, and horns, "The Way That I Love You" is a midtempo R&B ballad whose lyrics tell of betrayal.
"Body on Me" is a song by American rapper Nelly featuring American singers Akon and Ashanti. It was recorded for Ashanti's fourth album The Declaration and Nelly's fifth studio album Brass Knuckles. The track is produced by Akon and Giorgio Tuinfort. It was released as Ashanti's third single from The Declaration, and Nelly's second single from Brass Knuckles.
"Good Good" is a song by American singer Ashanti from her fourth studio album The Declaration (2008), which was released as the album's second single. Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal produced the song and wrote it with Ashanti. The lyrics revolve around sexuality and innuendo with the title phrase "Good Good". It received positive reviews from music critics, and several commentators cited it as the best track from the album. The song peaked at number 30 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Billboard chart. A well-received music video, directed by Melina Matsoukas, was released to promote the single; Ashanti said that it focused on sexual fantasy with influences from pin-up models. She promoted "Good Good" through live performances.
New Jack City II is the sixth studio album by American rapper Bow Wow. It was released on March 31, 2009 through LBW Entertainment and Columbia Records. This is Bow Wow's first album to be released on his new label LBW Entertainment, and his first album to be receiving a parental advisory label for Adult Language. The production on the album was handled by Jermaine Dupri, LRoc, Nitti, T-Pain and Swizz Beatz among others. The album also features guest appearances from Swizz Beatz, Jermaine Dupri, Nelly, Trey Songz, T-Pain, Ron Browz, Dondria and T.I.
The R.E.D. Album is the fourth studio album by American rapper Game. It was released on August 23, 2011, by DGC Records and Interscope Records, which serves as Game's first release under DGC and his first album for Interscope since 2005's The Documentary. His previous two, Doctor's Advocate (2006) and LAX (2008), were released under Interscope's subsidiary imprint, Geffen Records.
Braveheart is the sixth studio album by American singer Ashanti, released on March 4, 2014, by Ashanti's independent record label Written Entertainment. This was her first studio album to be released in six years, with her last studio album having been 2008's The Declaration. It was also her first release since leaving Murder Inc Records.
M.O. is the seventh studio album by American hip hop recording artist Nelly. The album was released on September 30, 2013, by Republic Records, as the follow-up to his sixth album, 5.0 (2010). The album is preceded by the release of its lead single, "Hey Porsche", released on February 19, 2013, and reached number forty-two on the US Billboard Hot 100. "Get Like Me", featuring Nicki Minaj and Pharrell, premiered online on June 18, 2013, and was officially released on July 2, 2013, as the album's second single. The album features guest appearances from Nicki Minaj, Pharrell, Future, T.I., Daley, 2 Chainz, Trey Songz, Fabolous, Wiz Khalifa, Florida Georgia Line, Nelly Furtado and Yo Gotti.
Blame It on Baby is the third studio album by American rapper DaBaby. The album was released on April 17, 2020, by Interscope Records and South Coast Music Group. The album features guest appearances from Quavo from the hip-hop trio Migos, Future, JetsonMade, Roddy Ricch, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, London on da Track, Ashanti, and Megan Thee Stallion. The deluxe edition was released with ten bonus tracks on August 4, 2020. It features additional guest appearances from Young Thug, Stunna 4 Vegas, Gunna, and Rich Dunk.
"Woo Baby" is a song by American rapper Pop Smoke, featuring American singer Chris Brown, from the former's posthumous second studio album, Faith (2021). The song was written by the two artists alongside Steven Victor, Brittany "Chi" Choney, Denisa "Blue Jeans" Andrews, Linden Bascom, Ryan Press, and producers BoogzDaBeast (Boogz), 2300, and Jess Jackson, with additional writing credits going to Ne-Yo and Stargate for the sampling of the former's "So Sick".
