2Pacalypse Now is the debut solo studio album by American rapper 2Pac. It was released on November 12, 1991 through TNT Recordings and Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place at Starlight Sound Studio in Richmond, California. Production was handled by members of Digital Underground production team The Underground Railroad, namely Big D the Impossible, Shock G, Pee-Wee, DJ Jay-Z, Raw Fusion and Live Squad. It features contributions from Stretch, Angelique, Dave Hollister, Pogo, Poppi, Ray Luv and Shock G among others. The album's title is a reference to the 1979 war film Apocalypse Now.
Ramon Ibanga, Jr., known professionally as Illmind, is a Filipino American record producer, songwriter, and educator. As of 2012, he lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Bow Down is the debut studio album by American West Coast hip hop supergroup Westside Connection. It was released on October 22, 1996, through Priority Records. The recording sessions took place at Ice Cube's house studio, Westsiiiiide Studios, in California, except for the song "Gangstas Make the World Go Round", which was recorded at Treehouse Studios in South Africa. The production was handled by Bud'da, Quincy Jones III, Binky Mack, and Ice Cube, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Allfrumtha I and the Comrads.
"Pushin' Weight" is a song written and performed by American rappers Ice Cube and Mr. Short Khop. It was released on October 13, 1998 through Priority Records as the lead single from the former's fifth solo studio album War & Peace Vol. 1 . Recording sessions took place at Atomic Dog Studios in Houston. Production was handled by N.O. Joe. An accompanying music video was directed by Gregory Dark starring Westside Connection and Mr. Short Khop.
You Can't Stop the Reign is the third studio album by American basketball player and rapper Shaquille O'Neal. It was released on November 19, 1996, through T.W.IsM./Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place at T.W.IsM. Studios in Orlando, Skip Saylor in Los Angeles and Bosstown Recording Studios in Atlanta, with additional recordings done at Soundtrack Studios and The Hit Factory in New York. Production was handled by Dave Atkinson, Ross "Spyda" Sloan, Domingo, Trackmasters, Darkchild, Bobby Brown, Chris Large, DJ Quik, Easy Mo Bee, G-1, I-Roc, Jammin' James Carter, Mobb Deep and Ralph Tresvant. It features guest appearances from Nas, Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz, S.H.E., Bobby Brown, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep and Peaches.
Radio is the fifth solo studio album by Jamaican reggae musician Ky-Mani Marley. It was released on September 25, 2007 through AAO Music and Vox Music Group. Recording sessions took place at Lions Den, The Hit Factory and Circle House in Miami, at Right Track Studio and SMT Studio in New York, and at Vox Studio. Production was handled by Jason "J-Vibe" Farmer, Alex "Lex" Francis, Ky Miller, BlackOut, Corey Chase, DannyBoyStyles, Larry "Kalid" Chu, Mark Sparks and Red Spyda, with Ky-Mani serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Louie Rankin, Gail Gotti, Maintain, Mýa, Tessanne Chin and Young Buck.
Gregory Skyler Taylor, known professionally as Skyzoo, is an American rapper and songwriter. He has released a number of notable solo and collaborative albums, including Cloud 9: The 3 Day High with 9th Wonder in 2006, The Salvation in 2009, A Dream Deferred in 2012, Music For My Friends in 2015, and his most recent solo album All the Brilliant Things. Skyzoo has also released a plethora of non-commercial mixtapes including Corner Store Classic and The Great Debater throughout his career, and has worked with artists such as Jill Scott, Wale, Lloyd Banks, Tyrese, Dr. Dre, Raheem Devaughn, Black Thought, Jadakiss, Talib Kweli, Spike Lee, John Legend, and others. Skyzoo has headlined or co-headlined often-yearly tours throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa, Australia, and Asia, and he owns and operates the independent record label First Generation Rich.
The Salvation is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Skyzoo. It was released on September 29, 2009, via Jamla Records and Duck Down Music. Production was handled by 9th Wonder, Cyrus Tha Great, Eric G., Nottz, Best Kept Secret, Black Milk, Illmind, Just Blaze and Needlz. It features guest appearance from Carlitta Durand.
Kyle Alfonso Myricks, better known by his stage name Stalley, is an American rapper from Massillon, Ohio.
Dice Game is a collaborative studio album by Detroit-based producer Apollo Brown and rapper Guilty Simpson. It was released online independently under hip hop label Mello Music Group on November 6, 2012 in digital format, and physical copies were made available on November 13, 2012. Recording sessions for Dice Game took place at LabCabInRoyalOak in Royal Oak, Michigan by Tate McBroom. The album was mixed at The Disc by Magnetic, and was mastered at Studio A by Eric Morgeson in 2012. The record was entirely produced and arranged by Apollo Brown, and features guest appearances from Torae and Planet Asia. The album was preceded by Apollo Brown & O.C.'s Trophies (2012).
Population Control is the fourth studio album by East Coast hip hop producer Statik Selektah. The album was released on October 25, 2011. The album features guest appearances from Sean Price, Termanology, Big K.R.I.T., Freddie Gibbs, Mac Miller, Styles P, Saigon, Jared Evan, Action Bronson, Bun B, Talib Kweli, XV, Colin Munroe, Lil Fame, Pill, Reks, Mitchy Slick, Dom Kennedy, Strong Arm Steady, Skyzoo, Chuuwee, Nitty Scott, MC, Rapsody, Smoke DZA, Joell Ortiz, Brother Ali, Lecrae, DJ Premier, DJ Babu and Scram Jones among others. The album debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard Top Heatseekers chart in the first week of its release.
Barrel Brothers is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Skyzoo and Torae. It was released on May 27, 2014 via First Generation Rich, Inc./Internal Affairs/Loyalty Digital Corp. Production was handled by Illmind, Antman Wonder, Auréli1 a.k.a Tiga, Black Milk, DJ Premier, Jahlil Beats, Khrysis, MarcNfinit, Oh No, Praise and The Stuyvesants. It features guest appearances from Blu, Guilty Simpson, Livin Proof, Sean Price and Sha Stimuli.
Mello Music Group (MMG) is an American independent record label based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 2007, Mello Music has released hip hop compilations and albums by producers and rappers such as Oddisee, Apollo Brown, Mr. Lif, Ghostface Killah, Open Mike Eagle, L'Orange, Quelle Chris, Jean Grae, Kool Keith, Nottz, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Pete Rock, and Rapper Big Pooh. In 2012, MTV Hive described MMG as having a "dedication to intelligent, street-wise boom bap", although the label has released a number of purely instrumental albums as well. In 2016, Forbes magazine called Mello Music Group the most successful indie rap label of the decade.
Music for My Friends is the third studio album by Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo. The album was released on June 23, 2015 under his label First Generation Rich. It is the follow-up to A Dream Deferred in 2012. Among the singles are "Luxury," which features Westside Gunn, and had an official music video released. It peaked at No. 15 on the US Top Heatseekers chart, and at No. 36 at Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and was positively received in the music press.
Sidewalk Exec... is the debut studio album by American rapper Bodega Bamz. It was released on April 14, 2015, through 100 Keep It/Duck Down Music. Production was handled entirely by Tivon "V Don" Key, with Ohla and Bodega Bamz serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from A$ton Matthews, Flatbush Zombies, Joell Ortiz, Lil' Eto and Youth Is Dead. The album appeared on several Billboard charts, peaking at No. 3 on the Top Heatseekers, No. 26 on the Independent Albums, No. 25 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 20 on the Top Rap Albums.
Handshakes With Snakes is the fifth solo studio album by American hip hop recording artist Apathy. It was released on June 10, 2016 through Dirty Version Records. Production, arrangement, sequencing, mixing and mastering duties were handled entirely by Apathy himself at The Danger Room in New London, Connecticut. It features guest appearances from O.C., Blacastan, B-Real, Bun B, Celph Titled, Kappa Gamma, Mariagrazia, Marvalyss, Nutso, Oh No, Pumpkinhead, Ras Kass, Sick Jacken, Spit Gemz and Twista.
First Weapon Drawn is the fourth studio album by American hip hop trio Czarface, which consists of rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck and underground hip hop duo 7L & Esoteric. It was released on April 22, 2017 via Silver Age. The album peaked at number 44 on the Independent Albums and number 16 on the Heatseekers Albums in the United States.
Erik Vincent Stephens, better known professionally as Apollo Brown, is an American record producer from Detroit, Michigan, United States. He is a member of the hip hop group Ugly Heroes and has released numerous collaborations with the likes of Guilty Simpson, O.C., Ras Kass, Skyzoo and Planet Asia.
Anchovies is the first collaborative studio album by American DJ/record producer Apollo Brown and West Coast hip hop recording artist Planet Asia. It was released on August 25, 2017, through Mello Music Group. Production was handled entirely by Apollo Brown, with Michael Tolle serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Guilty Simpson, Tri-State and Willie The Kid. The duo premiered their first song off of the project, "Dalai Lama Slang", on July 6, 2017, following-up with the song "Panties In a Jumble", which was premiered exactly a month prior to the album's release.
Retropolitan is a collaborative studio album by rapper Skyzoo and producer Pete Rock. The album was released on September 20, 2019 on Mello Music Group. The album was entirely produced by Pete Rock. The album features guest appearances, including Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Benny the Butcher, Styles P, Elzhi, Raheem DeVaughn and Pete Rock. The song "It's All Good" become the first single off the album and it features a music video released by Mello Music Group.
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