Lana Michele Moorer, better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a full solo album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. The album spawned the singles "10% Dis" and "Paper Thin".
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.
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott, also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the R&B girl group Sista during the 1990s, who were part of the larger musical collective Swing Mob—led by DeVante Swing of Jodeci. The former group's commercially unsuccessful debut album, 4 All the Sistas Around da World (1994), was released by Elektra Records and met with positive critical reception. She collaborated with album's producer and Swing Mob cohort Timbaland to work in songwriting and production for other acts, yielding commercially successful releases for 702, Aaliyah, SWV, and Total.
G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the early 1990s. The genre is heavily influenced by the synthesizer-heavy 1970s funk sound of Parliament-Funkadelic, often incorporated through samples or re-recordings. It is represented by commercially successful albums such as Dr. Dre's The Chronic (1992), Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle (1993), and 2Pac's All Eyez on Me (1996).
Sissel Kyrkjebø, also known abroad as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano. Kyrkjebø is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Her musical style ranges from pop recordings and folk songs to classical vocals and operatic arias.
A rap opera or hip hopera is a musical work in hip hop style with operatic form. The terms have been used to describe both dramatic works and concept albums, and hip hopera has also been used for works drawing more heavily on contemporary R&B than other hip hop such as rap.
"Stranger in Paradise" is a popular song from the musical Kismet (1953), credited to Robert Wright and George Forrest. Like almost all the music in that show, the melody was adapted from music composed by Alexander Borodin (1833–1887), in this case, the "Gliding Dance of the Maidens", from the Polovtsian Dances in the opera Prince Igor (1890). The song in the musical is a lovers' duet and describes the transcendent feelings that love brings to their surroundings. Later versions were mostly edited to be sung by male solo artists.
"Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" is a song by American rapper Dr. Dre, featuring fellow American rapper Snoop Dogg, on Dre's debut solo album, The Chronic (1992). As the album's first single it reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 20, 1993, behind "Informer" by Snow, outperforming The Chronic's other singles, "Fuck wit Dre Day ", which peaked at number 8, and "Let Me Ride", which peaked at number 34. The single also reached number 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and was a number 31 hit in the UK. Its music video was directed by Dr. Dre himself.
"Regulate" is a song performed by American rapper Warren G featuring American singer Nate Dogg. It was released in the spring of 1994 as the first single on the soundtrack to the film Above the Rim and later Warren G's debut album, Regulate... G Funk Era (1994). It became an MTV staple and the song reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. "Regulate" was number 98 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and number 108 on Pitchfork Media's "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s".
Take a Look Over Your Shoulder is the second studio album by the G-funk rapper Warren G. It was released on March 25, 1997, under his own label G-Funk Entertainment and Rush Associated Labels, a division of Def Jam Recordings. It contains the hits "I Shot the Sheriff", and "Smokin' Me Out". The album was certified gold in America. The lyrics off the track "Reality" were also used in Prince Igor, a collaboration with The Rapsody and Sissel Kyrkjebø.
"Prince Igor" is a song inspired by the Polovtsian Dances of Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor. It was released as the lead single from the album, The Rapsody Overture in October 1997. The main vocals are performed by Warren G, the Russian refrain by acclaimed Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø and the instrumental background is provided by the Rapsody. Warren G uses the same rap lyrics as in his song "Reality", available on the album Take a Look Over Your Shoulder. "Prince Igor" was successful in Europe, peaking at number-one in both Iceland and Norway. In addition, the single reached the top 10 in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Sweden. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the song peaked at number six in January 1998. Outside Europe, it peaked at number 41 in New Zealand.
This discography of American rapper Warren G consists of 6 studio albums, 1 EP, 17 singles, 1 soundtrack album, and 19 music videos.
"Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" is a popular mezzo-soprano aria from Camille Saint-Saëns's opera Samson and Delilah, known in English as "Softly awakes my heart", or more literally "My heart opens itself to your voice". It is sung by Delilah in act 2 as she attempts to seduce Samson into revealing the secret of his strength.
Marlanna Evans, better known by her stage name Rapsody, is an American rapper. After signing with music producer 9th Wonder's music label It's a Wonderful World Music Group, she released a series of mixtapes and collaborated with Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli. Soon afterwards Rapsody released her debut album The Idea of Beautiful (2012). She would attain further prominence when she was featured on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, on the track "Complexion ".
The Idea of Beautiful is the debut studio album by American rapper Rapsody. It was released on August 28, 2012, by independent record label It's a Wonderful World Music Group. The album was released after the critical acclaim of her mixtapes such as Return of the B-Girl (2010), Thank H.E.R. Now (2011) and For Everything (2011); as well as the release of her EP The Black Mamba (2012).
"Picture Me Rollin'" is a song by American singer Chris Brown, from his seventh studio album Royalty. It was written by Brown, and produced by Dr3amforever and Dj-Wes.
Laila's Wisdom is the second studio album by American rapper Rapsody, released on September 22, 2017, by Jamla Records and Roc Nation. It is Rapsody's first album released under her partnership with Roc Nation. The album features collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, Busta Rhymes, Lance Skiiiwalker, Black Thought, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Musiq Soulchild, among others.
Hip hop music can incorporate elements of classical music, either using live instruments or with recorded samples. Early examples of classical music instrumentation in hip hop date to the 1990s. In the 2000s, artists such as Nas, Kendrick Lamar, The Black Violin, and DJ Premier began to prominently use classical music elements.
On the Come Up (Music from the Motion Picture) is the soundtrack album accompanying the 2022 film of the same name. The album was released on September 23, 2022 by Paramount Music and featured 12 tracks, which were sung by Jamila C. Gray, Lil Yachty and Rapsody, who executive produced the soundtrack with 1500 or Nothin' Bobby Francis and Larrance "Rance" Dopson.
