Pillar is an American Christian rock band from Tulsa, consisting of members Rob Beckley, Noah Henson, Michael "Kalel" Wittig, and Lester Estelle II. The band has released nine studio albums, three EPs, and 24 singles since its formation in 1998.
Warren Griffin III is an American rapper, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s. A pioneer of G-funk, he attained mainstream success with his 1994 single "Regulate". He is credited with discovering Snoop Dogg, having introduced the then-unknown rapper to record producer Dr. Dre.
West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and others.
Cam'ron Giles, known mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance "Un" Rivera's Untertainment, an imprint of Epic Records to release his first two studio albums Confessions of Fire (1998) and S.D.E. (2000); the former received gold certification by the RIAA. After leaving Epic, Giles signed with Roc-A-Fella Records in 2001 to release his third studio album, Come Home with Me, the following year. It received platinum certification by the RIAA and spawned the singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. His fourth studio album, Purple Haze (2004) was met with similar success and likewise received gold certification by the RIAA.
Kwon Bo-ah, known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actress often called the "Queen of K-pop".
Kevin Michael McKeehan, better known by his stage name TobyMac, is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. His road band is known as Diverse City. He was first known for being a member of the Christian rap and rock trio DC Talk, staying with them from 1987 until they went on hiatus in 2000. He has since continued a successful solo career with the release of ten studio albums: Momentum (2001), Welcome to Diverse City (2004), Portable Sounds (2007), Tonight (2010), Christmas in Diverse City (2011), Eye on It (2012), This Is Not a Test (2015), The Elements (2018), Life After Death (2022), as well as five remixed albums: Re:Mix Momentum (2003), Renovating Diverse City (2005), Dubbed and Freq'd: A Remix Project (2012), Eye'm All Mixed Up (2014) and The St. Nemele Collab Sessions (2019). He became the third Christian artist to have a No. 1 debut on Billboard 200 chart with Eye on It.
Cynthia Leigh Wilson is an American musician and one of the vocalists, songwriters and founding members of new wave rock band the B-52's. She is noted for her distinctive contralto voice and also plays percussion during live shows. She is the younger sister of the late guitarist Ricky Wilson (1953–1985), who was also a founding member of the band.
Christopher C. Rouleau, known professionally by his pseudonym Blaze Ya Dead Homie or simply Blaze, is an American rapper from Mount Clemens, Michigan. A representative of the hip hop music subgenres gangsta rap and horrorcore, his stage persona is a resurrected gang member who had been killed in the late 1980s.
Maurice White was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey.
Regulate... G Funk Era is the debut studio album by American rapper Warren G. It was released on June 7, 1994, by Violator and distributed by Rush Associated Labels, a division of Def Jam Recordings. The album's biggest hit was the eponymous single "Regulate", a gritty depiction of West Coast gang life which samples singer Michael McDonald's hit "I Keep Forgettin' " and featured Nate Dogg. The album also contained the top ten hit "This D.J." The song "Regulate" was also featured on the Above the Rim soundtrack, which was released on March 22, 1994. An altered version of the song "So Many Ways" appeared in the 1995 film Bad Boys.
My Soul is the third studio album by rapper Coolio, released on August 26, 1997 and was his last album for Tommy Boy Records. Production was handled by Romeo, Vic C., Bryan "Wino" Dobbs and DJ I-Roc. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA.
Matthew Guion Maher is a Canadian Roman Catholic, contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist, songwriter, and worship leader from Newfoundland, Canada, who lives in the United States. Three of his nine albums have reached the Top 25 Christian Albums Billboard chart and four of his singles have reached the Top 25 Christian Songs chart. His notable writing credits include "Your Grace Is Enough", "I Will Rise", "Because He Lives (Amen)", "Christ Is Risen", and "Lord I Need You". Maher has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards in his career and was awarded the Songwriter of the Year at the 2015 GMA Dove Awards.
Needtobreathe is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The group first gained fame for their Christian themes, eventually reaching crossover success. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart, Seth Bolt, Josh Lovelace, Randall Harris and Tyler Burkum (guitar). To date, the band has released ten studio albums: The Feature (2001), Daylight (2006), The Heat (2007), The Outsiders (2009), The Reckoning (2011), Rivers in the Wasteland (2014), HARD LOVE (2016), Out of Body (2020), Into the Mystery (2021), and Caves (2023); six of those albums have reached No. 1 on the Christian Albums chart. The band has also charted with a number of singles, including "Washed by the Water" (2007), which reached No. 1 on the Hot Christian Songs chart; the Grammy-nominated "Multiplied" (2014); "Brother" (2015), which charted on the Top 100 and reached No. 1 on the Hot Christian Songs chart; and "Who Am I" (2020), which reached No. 14 on the Hot Alternative Songs chart.
This Is the Shack is the debut studio album by American G-funk trio The Dove Shack. It was released on August 22, 1995 via G-Funk Entertainment/Def Jam Recordings. The album peaked at #68 on the US Billboard 200 and #13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
"Love Shack" is a song by American new wave band the B-52s from their fifth studio album, Cosmic Thing (1989). It was released on June 20, 1989, and was produced by Don Was. The song was a comeback for the band, following their decline in popularity in the mid-1980s and the death of guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985.
South Korean girl group T-ara has released four studio albums, nine extended plays, two compilation albums, two remix albums, two single albums, and thirty-six singles, and six promotional singles. T-ara's debut studio album Absolute First Album (2009) peaked at number two on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart and yielded two South Korean top-ten singles, "Bo Peep Bo Peep" and "Like the First Time". Its 2010 reissue, Breaking Heart, reached number two in South Korea and spawned the number-one single "You Drive Me Crazy", which sold over three million digital downloads.
Teyon Isiah Winfree, better known by his stage name Vado, is an American rapper. He formed the hip hop duo U.N. with hometown native Cam'ron in 2009, with whom he has released two collaborative albums—Heat in Here Vol. 1 (2010) and Gunz n' Butta (2011)—and the Boss of All Bosses mixtape series. As a solo act, Vado signed with DJ Khaled's We the Best Music Group, an imprint of Cash Money and Republic Records in 2013 to release his debut commercial single, "My Bae" the following year. Despite failing to chart, Vado made notable guest appearances on Khaled's studio albums We the Best Forever (2011), Suffering from Success (2013), and I Changed a Lot (2015); he continued releasing mixtapes for the regional New York audience until departing We the Best by 2020.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2023.
"Summertime in the LBC" is the debut single by American rapper The Dove Shack, released in 1995 as the lead single from their debut studio album This Is the Shack (1995). The song also appears on the soundtrack to the 1995 film The Show and features singer Arnita Porter. Produced by Henry "Hank" Thomas and Lamon "Sleepy" Turner, it samples "Feels So Good" by Midnight Star.
