John David Jackson, better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed to Clue's record label, Desert Storm Records in a joint venture with Elektra Records. He first gained mainstream prominence for his debut studio album Ghetto Fabolous (2001), which spawned the hit singles "Can't Deny It" and "Young'n ." His second album, Street Dreams (2003) was further commercially oriented and supported by the singles "Can't Let You Go" and "Into You" —both of which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
Crunk is a subgenre of southern hip hop that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the early to mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more nightclub-oriented subgenres. Distinguishing itself with other Southern hip hop subgenres, crunk is marked and characterized by its energetic accelerated musical tempo, club appeal, recurrent chants frequently executed in a call and response manner, multilayered synths, its pronounced reliance on resounding 808 basslines, and rudimentary musical arrangement. An archetypal crunk track frequently uses a dominant groove composed of a nuanced utilization of intricately multilayered keyboard synthesizers organized in a recurring pattern, seamlessly shifting from a lower to a higher pitch that encompasses the song's primary central rhythm, both in terms of its harmonic and melodic aspects. The main groove is then wrapped up with looped, stripped-down, and crisp 808 dance claps and manipulated snare rolls coupled and accompanied by a bassline of thumping 808 kick drums. The term "crunk" was also used throughout the 2000s as a blanket term to denote any style of Southern hip hop, a side effect of the genre's breakthrough to the mainstream. The word derives from its African-American Vernacular English past-participle form, "crunk", of the verb "to crank". It refers to being excited or high on drugs.
Howard Earl Bailey Jr., known professionally as Chingy, is an American rapper from St. Louis, Missouri. He toured as an opening act with fellow St. Louis rapper Nelly in 2002, and signed with Georgia rapper Ludacris' record label, Disturbing Tha Peace (DTP) that same year. Released in a joint-venture with Capitol Records, his 2003 debut single, "Right Thurr" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Chingy specialized in catchy, club-friendly beats and simplistic lyrics delivered in a sing-song, nursery rhyme style.
Bernard James Freeman, known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK, a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work with UGK, Bun B has released five solo albums, including 2010's Trill OG, which received the rare 5-mic rating from The Source.
"Right Thurr" is the debut single of American rapper Chingy. Written alongside The Trak Starz. It was released on April 14, 2003, by Capitol Records, Priority Records, and Disturbing tha Peace as the lead single from his debut album, Jackpot (2003). The song received positive reviews from critics, who praised the production and Chingy's addictive delivery.
YoungBloodZ is an American Southern hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia composed of J-Bo and Sean Paul formed in 1997. The duo were discovered by Kawan Prather and signed by his company Ghet-O-Vision, an imprint of LaFace Records to release their debut studio album, Against Da Grain (1999). Their second album, Drankin' Patnaz (2003) reached number five on the Billboard 200 and spawned the single "Damn!", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Their third album, Ev'rybody Know Me (2003) was their release by LaFace and Zomba. YoungBloodZ are one of many commercially successful Atlanta-based hip hop acts.
Trap Muzik is the second studio album by the American rapper T.I., released on August 19, 2003, by Atlantic and his newly founded record label Grand Hustle. Due to the poor sales on T.I.'s first album, I'm Serious (2001), T.I. asked for a joint venture deal with Arista Records or to be released from his contract; he was subsequently dropped from the label. In 2002, T.I. launched Grand Hustle with his longtime business partner Jason Geter and signed a new deal with Atlantic Records.
"Snap Yo Fingers" is a 2006 American hip hop single by Atlanta-based rapper/producer Lil Jon. It was originally intended to be the first single from Lil Jon's solo debut album, Crunk Rock. However, the release date of Crunk Rock was subsequently delayed. In August 2006, Lil Jon's label TVT Records released the second volume of its Crunk Hits rap compilation, and "Snap Yo Fingers" was the opening track. When Crunk Rock was finally released four years later, the song was left out of the album.
"Damn!" is a song by the Atlanta rap duo YoungBloodZ. It was released as the second single from their second studio album Drankin' Patnaz, and was produced and guest performed by Lil Jon. A club mix appears on the duo's third studio album. It is their biggest hit song to date, peaking at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and remaining YoungBloodZ's sole top ten single.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits is the first annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released on December 16, 1997, and distributed through Polygram Records, Hip Hop Hits: Volume 1 features eighteen hip hop and rap hits. Five tracks on the album had reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart: "Bow Down," "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", "Crush on You," "Elevators" and "Hypnotize". Two of the songs, "Hypnotize" and "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" reached number-one on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop and pop charts.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 2 is the second annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released November 10, 1998 and distributed by Polygram Records, Hip Hop Hits Volume 2 features eighteen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 29 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and peaked at number 46 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 3 is the third annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released November 30, 1999 and distributed by Def Jam Recordings, Hip Hop Hits Volume 3 features seventeen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 29 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and peaked at number 45 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 4 is the fourth annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released December 12, 2000 and distributed by Def Jam Recordings, Hip Hop Hits Volume 4 features seventeen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 35 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The compilation is tagged as the "Special 2000 Millennium Edition".
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 5 is the fifth annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released December 18, 2001, and distributed by Def Jam Recordings, Hip Hop Hits Volume 5 features sixteen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 37 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and peaked at number 48 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 6 is the sixth annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released December 10, 2002, and distributed by Def Jam Recordings, Hip Hop Hits Volume 6 features eighteen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 31 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and number 35 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 7 is the seventh annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released December 9, 2003, and distributed by Def Jam Recordings, Hip Hop Hits Volume 7 features fifteen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 49 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and number 86 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 9 is the ninth annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released December 7, 2004, and distributed by Image Entertainment, Hip Hop Hits Volume 9 features sixteen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 36 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and number 75 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It is also one of only two Hip Hop Hits albums to be released in the same year; Volume 8 was released six months earlier.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 10 is the tenth annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine and the final album in the Hip Hop Hits series to date. Released July 26, 2005, Hip Hop Hits Volume 10 features sixteen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 47 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and number 60 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album promoted itself on the cover as the "Hip-Hop Hits 10th Anniversary Edition," which is not exactly accurate since the first volume in the compilation series was released eight years ago, and the previous two compilations were released in the same year the year before.
American rapper Lil Wayne has released 286 singles including 19 promotional singles. Lil Wayne attained his first singles chart entry in 1999 as a featured artist on Hot Boys member Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which peaked at number 19 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. Wayne later released his debut solo studio album Tha Block Is Hot in November 1999. Its title track and lead single, which features B.G. and Juvenile, reached number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lights Out followed in December 2000 and produced the singles "Get Off the Corner", "Everything" and "Shine". "Way of Life", the lead single from Wayne's third studio album 500 Degreez, peaked at number 71 on the Hot 100 and became a top 20 hit on the Hot Rap Songs chart. In 2004, Wayne was featured on the single "Soldier" by American girl group Destiny's Child, which became his first top ten hit on the Hot 100 and enjoyed commercial success internationally.
Maurice Samuel Young, better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is an American rapper from the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida. He is best known for his 2003 single "Let's Go", which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. The album of which it preceded, Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets (2004) peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart; both of which remain his most successful releases to date.
