Life After Death is the second and final studio album by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G., released on March 25, 1997, on Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. A double album, it was released sixteen days after his murder. It features collaborations with guest artists such as 112, Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Mase, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Too $hort, Angela Winbush, D.M.C. of Run-D.M.C., R. Kelly, the Lox, and Puff Daddy. Life After Death exhibits the Notorious B.I.G. further delving into the mafioso rap subgenre. The album is a sequel to his first album, Ready to Die, and picks up where the last song, "Suicidal Thoughts", ends.
Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Hard Core is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on November 12, 1996, by Undeas Recordings, Big Beat Records, and Atlantic Records. After achieving success with the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. and their album Conspiracy (1995), Kim began working on her solo album with the Notorious B.I.G. serving as the executive producer. She collaborated with a number of producers, such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Stevie J., David "Ski" Willis and Jermaine Dupri, among others. Other rappers, including Jay-Z, Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy were featured on the album.
Crunk Juice is the fifth and final studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on November 16, 2004, under BME Recordings and TVT Records. The production was primarily handled by Lil Jon himself, who also collaborated in the executive production, alongside Bryan Leach, Rob McDowell, Emperor Searcy, Vince Phillips, the Neptunes and Rick Rubin. The album includes guest appearances from rappers and singers, like R. Kelly, Ludacris, Ice Cube, Usher, Bun B from UGK, Jadakiss, Nas, T.I., the Ying Yang Twins and Pharrell.
The Notorious K.I.M. is the second studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Atlantic Records and was her first album on her new label Queen Bee Entertainment. It debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 235,000 copies in its first week, achieving Lil' Kim's highest peak and biggest first-week sales, and reached the top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A commercial success, The Notorious K.I.M. was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 2, 2000. It was the best-selling female rap album in 2000 with sales of over 1.5 million copies in the United States. To date, The Notorious K.I.M. has sold 3 million copies worldwide.
Complicated is the second studio album by American singer Nivea, released in the United States on May 3, 2005 on Jive Records. It was primarily produced by her then-husband The-Dream, with additional production from Lil Jon, R. Kelly, Bryan Michael Cox and Jermaine Dupri. The album peaked at No. 37 on the US Billboard 200 album charts and peaked at No. 9 on the R&B chart. Complicated was critically acclaimed, but failed to receive major commercial success, eventually becoming Nivea's lowest selling album to date with just over 100,000 copies sold in the US.
La Bella Mafia is the third studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on March 4, 2003, by Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling one million copies in the United States.
Tha Carter II is the fifth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on December 6, 2005, by Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Records. Recording sessions took place from 2004 to 2005, with Birdman and his brother Ronald "Slim" Williams serving as the record's executive producers. Additional producers on the album included The Runners and The Heatmakerz, among others. The album serves as a sequel to his fourth album Tha Carter (2004), and was supported by three singles.
"Lighters Up" is a single written and recorded by rapper Lil' Kim appearing as the first single off her fourth album, The Naked Truth. It was produced by her ex-boyfriend, record producer Scott Storch. The song has a similar tone to Damian Marley's Welcome to Jamrock. It was released on August 30, 2005. The album was originally due to be released September 13, but was delayed until September 27 because Queen Bee Entertainment felt that sales would not hold with the single "Lighters Up". The single debuted at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100, then quickly climbed up to number 31. The single had a moderate chart performance in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets is the sixth studio album by American rapper Trick Daddy. It was released on October 26, 2004 via Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic Records. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 with 145,000 copies sold in the first week released. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 1, 2004.
American rapper Lil' Kim has released five studio albums, one remix album, four mixtapes, forty-two singles, and thirteen promotional singles. In 1994, Kim was a member of the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. Their first album, Conspiracy, was released in August 1995, and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It spawned the gold and platinum-certified top-twenty singles, "Player's Anthem", "Get Money", and "I Need You Tonight".
"No Matter What They Say" is a song by Lil' Kim from her second album The Notorious K.I.M. (2000). It was released as the lead single from the album on May 30, 2000 by Atlantic Records and Queen Bee Entertainment.
"How Many Licks?" is a song by American rapper Lil' Kim featuring vocals by American musician Sisqó from Lil' Kim's second studio album, The Notorious K.I.M. (2000). Mario Winans and Sean Combs produced the song, and wrote it with Lil' Kim and Sisqó. The hip hop song samples the Knight Rider theme song, with lyrics expressing a woman's desire for oral sex and her sexual relationships with a variety of men. The chorus is a reference to the advertising slogan for Tootsie Pops. A remix by the Neptunes has additional vocals from American artists Kelis, Lil' Cease, and Snoop Dogg. "How Many Licks?" was released as the second and final single from The Notorious K.I.M. on November 21, 2000, by Queen Bee Entertainment and Atlantic Records.
"Whoa" is the second single from the album The Naked Truth by rapper Lil' Kim which is produced by J.R. Rotem. "Whoa" never made it to the Billboard Hot 100 but charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 for five weeks peaking at number 4. Also, the single made it to the R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks chart, where it peaked at number 30. Originally sent to US radio on November 22, 2005, it was then re-released in February to coincide with the airing of her reality show, Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown, for which it served as the theme song. It was released in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2006.
Life Story is the debut studio album by American rapper Black Rob. It was released on March 7, 2000 via Arista Records and Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment. The album was praised by critics for its production and Rob's vocal presence and lyricism being similar to the late Notorious B.I.G. Life Story debuted and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and sold close to 178,000 copies in its first week released. The album spawned two singles: "Whoa!" and "Espacio". Life Story was ultimately certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 1,000,000 copies in the United States on August 17, 2000.
Based on a True Story is the debut album by American singer Lil' Mo. It was released on June 26, 2001, through Elektra Records and Warner Music Group. Created over a period of three years, in which its original version was delayed numerous times following arguments with Elektra executives over her image and material, and with preceding singles such as "5 Minutes" and "Ta Da" failing to chart noticeably on the mainstream charts, it went through major reconstructions throughout its creation process. Lil' Mo worked with production duo Flavahood on the majority of the album, with Shep Crawford, Duro and DJ Clue also contributing.
"Let It Go" is a song by American R&B singer Keyshia Cole featuring American rappers Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim. It was written by Cole, Jack Knight, Cainon Lamb, Lil' Kim, and Missy Elliott for her second album Just Like You (2007) and samples "Juicy Fruit" by Mtume, and "Don't Stop the Music" by Yarbrough and Peoples, while also interpolating "Juicy" by The Notorious B.I.G., who also sampled "Juicy Fruit." An uptempo song written by all three artists with Jack Knight, Cainon Lamb and James Mtume and produced by Lamb and Elliott, it marked the first collaboration between any of the three artists with one another.
"No Time" is the debut single by American rapper Lil' Kim featuring Puff Daddy. It was released as the lead single for her debut album Hard Core in October 1996. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, reached the top ten on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and peaked the US Rap Songs for nine weeks—becoming Kim's first number one hit on the chart. Additionally, the song charted at number 45 on the UK Singles Chart. "No Time" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and contains a sample of Vicki Anderson's "Message from the Soul Sisters" and Lyn Collins's "Take Me Just As I Am."
"I Can Love You" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige along with her sister LaTonya Blige-DaCosta, Rodney Jerkins, and Lil' Kim for her third album, Share My World (1997), with Jerkins producing the song and Lil Kim having featured vocals. The contains elements of the song "Queen Bitch," a track from Kim's debut album Hard Core (1996), co-written by Carlos Broady and Nashiem Myrick. Due to the inclusion of the sample, they are also credited as songwriters.
