Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper Nelly. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. The production on the album was handled by Jason "Jay E" Epperson, with additional production by C-Love, Kevin Law, City Spud, Steve "Blast" Wills and Basement Beats. Nelly contributed to all lyrics on the album, with Epperson and City Spud also contributing. The album introduced a unique St. Louis sound, and introduces Nelly's vocal style of pop-rap singalongs and Midwestern, Missouri twang. It was supported four successful singles: "Country Grammar ", "E.I.", "Ride wit Me" and "Batter Up". Its lead single, "Country Grammar ", peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. "E.I." charted at number 16, number 12 and number 11 on the Hot 100, UK Singles Chart and ARIA Singles Chart, respectively. "Ride wit Me" peaked within the top five on the Hot 100, ARIA Singles Chart, Irish Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart. The album's fourth and final single, "Batter Up" featuring Murphy Lee and Ali, achieved moderate chart success.
Tical 2000: Judgement Day is the second studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man. It was released on November 17, 1998, by Def Jam Recordings. The album's title and overall theme were heavily influenced by the apocalypse theories surrounding the forthcoming end of the second millennium. Judgement Day features production from RZA, True Master, Inspectah Deck, 4th Disciple, Erick Sermon, Havoc, and Trackmasters, among others. The album also features a multitude of guest appearances from artists such as Redman, Left Eye, Mobb Deep, D'Angelo and various Wu-Tang Clan members and affiliates such as Streetlife, who appears on seven of the album's twenty-eight tracks.
Tical is the debut studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man. It was released November 15, 1994, by Def Jam Recordings. It was the first Wu-Tang solo album released after the group's debut, Enter the Wu-Tang . Similar to all first generation solo Wu-Tang projects, Tical was mainly produced by group member RZA, who provided a dark, murky and rugged sound. The album features guest appearances from RZA, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, as well as several affiliates, who would later appear on future group projects. On October 5, 2017, Method Man revealed on the Viceland talk show Desus & Mero that the album's title is an acronym for "taking into consideration all lives."
Brandy is the debut studio album by American singer Brandy. It was released on September 27, 1994, by Atlantic Records. Chiefly produced by Keith Crouch, the album contains a range of contemporary genres, including hip hop, pop soul and R&B. Aside from Crouch, Norwood worked with a range of other writers and producers, including R&B group Somethin' for the People, Arvel McClinton, and Damon Thomas.
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American R&B singer. Born and raised in Columbus, Georgia, he later relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, and signed a record deal with Polygram Records in 1992. He rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things ", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations "Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
American artist Jay-Z has released thirteen solo studio albums, four collaboration albums, one live album, one compilation album, one soundtrack album, two extended plays, one hundred and fifteen singles, nine promotional singles and eighty-two music videos. As of December 2014, Jay-Z has sold 29,179,000 studio albums in United States.
Ill Na Na is the debut studio album by American rapper Foxy Brown, released on November 19, 1996, by Def Jam Recordings. It was reissued on September 29, 1997, in the United Kingdom with an addition of the 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.
American singer Usher has released eight studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 79 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 23 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 100 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, producing three singles that had moderate chart success, and the album sold more than 500,000 copies. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album. It was certified six-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one "You Make Me Wanna..." and first US Hot 100 number-one song "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001 with his third studio album 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles—"U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified four-times platinum in the US for sales of 4 million copies. Its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
Crucial Conflict is an American hip hop group from Chicago, composed of Wondosas "Kilo" Martin, Ralph "Wildstyle" Leverston, Corey "Coldhard" Johnson and Marrico "Never" King, best known for their marijuana-themed 1996 hit single "Hay".
Knowledge Is King is the third solo studio album by American rapper Kool Moe Dee, released on May 30, 1989, via Jive Records.
The discography of Method Man, an American rapper, consists of seven studio albums and 34 singles. Method Man embarked on his music career in 1992, as a member of East Coast hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the Wu-Tang Clan released their highly acclaimed debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (1993), Method Man would be the first member to release his solo debut album. In November 1994, he released Tical, under Def Jam Recordings. His debut album Tical, features his biggest hit single to date, "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By", which features American R&B singer Mary J. Blige and peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. Method Man would then go on to collaborate with fellow East Coast rapper Redman, and subsequently form a duo together.
Method Man & Redman are an American hip hop duo, composed of East Coast rappers Method Man and Redman. They are signed to Def Jam Recordings both as solo artists and as a duo. While they had been collaborating since 1994, it was not until 1999 that they released a full-length collaborative effort, Blackout!. The follow-up album, Blackout! 2, was released in 2009.
Off the Hook is the second studio album by American R&B group Xscape. It was released on July 1, 1995, through So So Def Recordings and Sony Music Entertainment. The album was produced by Jermaine Dupri, Organized Noize, and Daryl Simmons and features a guest appearance by MC Lyte. Off the Hook was preceded by the release of four singles — "Feels So Good", "Who Can I Run To" and "Can't Hang/Do You Want To".
Planet Crucon is the third full-length album by American hip hop group Crucial Conflict from Chicago, Illinois. It was released on January 15, 2008 through Buckwild Records. It is the group's first studio album in ten years, their last being 1998's Good Side Bad Side. It features guest appearances from George Clinton, Kendra Foster, Sonny Cool and Teddy Kane. The album peaked at number 73 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
CrazyNDaLazDayz is the only studio album by American hip hop trio Tear Da Club Up Thugs, consisting of DJ Paul, Lord Infamous and Juicy J. It was released on February 2, 1999 via Hypnotize Minds/Relativity. Recording sessions took place at Cotton Row Recording Studio and Hypnotize Minds Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. It features guest appearances from the Hot Boys, the Big Tymers, Crucial Conflict, Hussein Fatal, Spice 1, The Kaze, Too $hort and Twista. The album spawned two singles: "Push 'Em Off" and "Hypnotize Cash Money". The latter peaked at #74 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at #64 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart in the United States.
The discography of Jodeci, an American R&B group, consists of four studio albums, three compilation albums, thirteen singles, and thirteen music videos. The group was signed by Uptown Records after submitting a demo tape during a trip to New York. In 1991, they released their debut album, Forever My Lady, which peaked at number eighteen on the Billboard 200, and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States. On April 28, 1995, the album was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album produced five singles, three of which topped the US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: "Forever My Lady", "Stay", and "Come and Talk to Me". The last of these was certified gold by the RIAA.
The discography of former professional basketball player and rapper Shaquille O'Neal consists of four studio albums, two compilation albums, two soundtracks, one unreleased album, and nine singles. O'Neal played in the NBA from 1992 until 2011. Around 1993, O'Neal was signed to Jive Records where he released his debut album, Shaq Diesel, in that year. The album peaked at number 25 on the Billboard 200, number 10 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Shaq Diesel produced four singles. The first, "What's Up Doc? ", peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 56 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number 22 on Rap Songs, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The second, "(I Know I Got) Skillz", peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 20 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number 3 on Rap Songs, and was certified gold by the RIAA. It also peaked at number 34 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. The third, "I'm Outstanding", peaked at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 29 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number 6 on Rap Songs. Internationally, it peaked at number 43 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. The fourth, "Shoot Pass Slam", did not chart.
So Far Gone is the debut extended play by Canadian rapper and singer Drake. It was released on September 15, 2009 by Cash Money Records, Universal Motown Records and Young Money Entertainment. This is his reissued project from his third mixtape that was released earlier on February 13, 2009. This EP features five tracks from the mixtape, with the inclusions of two new songs. The EP features guest appearances from Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, Bun B and Young Jeezy. The EP was supported by three singles: "Best I Ever Had", "Successful" featuring Trey Songz and Lil Wayne, and "I'm Goin' In" featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy. In April 2010, the EP won the Rap Recording of the Year at the 2010 Juno Awards.
"Hay" is a song written and performed by American hip hop group Crucial Conflict, released as the lead single from their debut full-length album The Final Tic. It was recorded at The Barn in Chicago, Illinois and produced by member Wildstyle, who used a sampled of Funkadelic's "I'll Stay". "Hay" became the group's breakthrough hit, peaking at number 18 in the United States and number 3 in New Zealand. The single was certified gold by the RIAA on July 18, 1996, and helped the album reach gold status less than two months later. Complex placed the song at number 4 on their 50 Greatest Chicago Rap Songs.
Rapper and singer Nicki Minaj has released four studio albums, three compilation albums, three mixtapes, 121 singles, and 19 promotional singles.
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