Mario Mendell Winans is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from South Carolina, and an extended member of the musical family The Winans. He is best known for his 2004 song "I Don't Wanna Know", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in Germany and the United Kingdom. Winans also co-wrote CeCe Winans's song "Pray" in 2005, which won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance.
Mario Dewar Barrett, known mononymously as Mario, is an American R&B singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Baltimore, he signed a record deal with J Records at the age of fourteen, and released his self-titled debut album in 2002. It contained the Billboard Hot 100 top five single, "Just a Friend 2002." His second album, Turning Point (2004), was preceded by his first single to peak at number one on the chart: "Let Me Love You," which received two Billboard Music Awards, a Grammy Award nomination, and remains his most commercially successful release to date.
Teairra Marí Thomas is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress. At the age of 16, Jay-Z signed her to Def Jam and she released her first album, Roc-A-Fella Records Presents Teairra Marí. After disappointing sales, she was let go from her recording contract in the middle of production for her second album Second Round. In 2008, she returned to the music scene with the Pleasure P-assisted single "Hunt 4 U". After constant leaks, she re-recorded a second attempt at her second album titled At That Point, which was later shelved. In 2010, she starred in the film Lottery Ticket alongside rappers Bow Wow and Ice Cube. Since 2010, she has released several mixtapes including features from Nicki Minaj, Soulja Boy, and Gucci Mane.
Richard Preston Butler Jr., better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and New York City's Harlem neighborhood. He attended Florida A&M and, while visiting Atlanta, Georgia, worked his way into the music industry through connections with singer Usher, who would become one of Butler's frequent collaborators.
Go is the third studio album by American recording artist Mario. It was released by J Records on December 10, 2007. Mario worked with many producers on the album, most notably Scott Storch and Pharrell with whom he recorded a song called, "Faith". Other songs were written and produced by Akon, Timbaland, The Neptunes, Stargate, Mr. Collipark, Polow da Don and with guests such as Juelz Santana and Rich Boy. Go is Mario's first album to receive a parental advisory sticker in the United States, and his second to receive a parental advisory sticker in the UK.
American singer Mario has released five studio albums, one compilation album, one extended play, seventeen singles, six promotional singles and twenty-one music videos. In his career, Mario has charted 15 entries on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. His four studio albums—Mario, Turning Point, Go and D.N.A.—all reached the top 5 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. To date, Mario has sold 2.3 million albums, 4.8 million downloads and earned 591 million streams in the US, according to Nielsen Music.
Gutta is the debut studio album by American rapper Ace Hood. It was released on October 14, 2008, by We the Best Music Group, Dollaz N Dealz Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings. The album debuted at number 36 on the US Billboard 200, selling 24,700 copies in its first week. The videos of "Get Him", "Ride (Remix)" and "Can't See Y'all" were released.
The discography of American rapper Big Boi consists of three studio albums, one mixtape, twenty-two singles, five promotional singles and twenty-five music videos. Big Boi initially achieved success as a member of the hip hop duo Outkast with fellow rapper André 3000; they have recorded and released six studio albums together, and the singles "Ms. Jackson", "Hey Ya!" and "The Way You Move" have all topped the US Billboard Hot 100. In 1995, Big Boi made a guest appearance on the single "Dirty South" by American hip hop group Goodie Mob, which peaked at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, he made several other appearances on commercially successful singles, including "All n My Grill" by rapper Missy Elliott, "A.D.I.D.A.S." by rapper Killer Mike and "Girlfight" by singer Brooke Valentine; these songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
D.N.A. is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer Mario. It was released first in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2009, by RCA Records and the following day in the US with J Records. On the album Mario has worked with some songwriters he already worked with, including Bryan-Michael Cox as well as new collaborators including The-Dream, Soundz and Jim Jonsin amongst others.
Last Train to Paris is a collaborative studio album by American rapper and record producer Diddy and American R&B and hip hop duo Dirty Money, billed collectively as "Diddy – Dirty Money". It was released on December 14, 2010, by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. It is the only album for Dirty Money. The album describes Diddy's alter-ego as he travels from London to Paris to regain his lost love. Last Train to Paris is predominantly hip hop, but incorporates elements of Eurodance, Italo disco and tech house.
"Break Up" is the first single from Mario's fourth studio album D.N.A.. It features and was co-written by Gucci Mane and Sean Garrett with production and additional writing from Shondrae "Bangladesh" Crawford. The single was first premiered on the radio station V-103 at March 30, 2009 with Greg Street.
"Must Be Love" is a song recorded by American singer Cassie. It features guest vocals by American rapper Puff Daddy, who also co-wrote the song with Aion Clarke, Michael Jones, Leroy Watson and the producer Mario Winans. The song was released for digital download in the United States on April 14, 2009, by Atlantic Records under the Bad Boy imprint, impacting urban radio stations in that region on April 27, 2009.
"I Invented Sex" is a song by American R&B singer Trey Songz, and features Canadian recording artist Drake. Together, they wrote the song alongside Tony "Chef Tone" Scales and its producer, Los Da Mystro. It was released to urban airplay as the third single from Songz's third studio album Ready on October 13, 2009. The song features a sensual message, accompanied by heavy percussion. "I Invented Sex" received positive reviews, and reached number forty-two on the Billboard Hot 100, and became Songz's first song to top the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Its official remix features fellow R&B singers Keri Hilson and Usher. The accompanying music video, containing a parental advisory warning, is the lead-up to the "Say Aah" video.
"Loving You No More" is a song by American rapper and producer Diddy and his group Dirty Money, from their debut album, Last Train to Paris. It was written by Dawn Richard of the group, as well as Mario Winans and Canadian rapper Drake, the latter of whom featured on the song. Sean Garrett and his production group, Team S. Dot, receive writing and production credits, as does Miykal Snoddy. The song was released as the album's second single in the United States on September 21, 2010.
"Gone" is a song by American recording artist Nelly, taken from his sixth studio album, 5.0. Featuring additional lead vocals from American recording artist Kelly Rowland, "Gone" is the sequel to Nelly's 2002 worldwide number one single "Dilemma", also featuring Rowland. It was written by Eric Goudy II, Nelly, Earl Hood and co-written and produced by Rico Love & Jim Jonsin as a continuum to the love story outlined in "Dilemma". "Gone" was initially known as "Dilemma p.2" but the title was changed and Nelly stopped referring to the song as "Dilemma"' sequel for fear that it would not match people's expectations and through his desire for "Gone" to be recognised as a separate recording.
"Someone to Love Me (Naked)" is a song recorded by American singer Mary J. Blige for her tenth studio album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (2011). It features guest vocals by American rappers Diddy and Lil Wayne. "Someone to Love Me (Naked)" was written by Blige, Jerry Wonda and Leroy Watson, and was produced by Wonda. The song is a remix of "Someone to Love Me" from Diddy-Dirty Money's debut studio album, Last Train to Paris (2010). It samples "You Roam When You Don’t Get It At Home" performed by The Sweet Inspirations. It was released on March 29, 2011, as the first promotional single from the album.
Kevin Bryant Cossom is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Orlando, Florida, Cossom has written for a variety of artists including Keri Hilson, DJ Khaled, Rihanna, Beyoncé and Mary J. Blige, among others. He frequently writes over productions by fellow Florida-based production groups, such as The Runners, The Inkredibles, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and The Monarch.
"Your Love" is a song by American rapper and producer Diddy and his group Dirty Money, released as the fifth single from their debut album Last Train to Paris (2010). It features R&B singer Trey Songz and production from Polow da Don. The music video version features an additional intro verse by rapper Rick Ross, whom also wrote Diddy's verse on the song.
"Thinkin Bout You" is a song by American singer Frank Ocean, released as the lead single from his debut studio album Channel Orange (2012). The song was written by Ocean and Shea Taylor. Originally to be featured on Bridget Kelly's debut album, Ocean released his demo version of the track for free on his Tumblr account in 2011. In May 2012, the song was officially sent to radio and released on iTunes as a single by Ocean. Kelly released her version of the track entitled "Thinking About Forever" on her debut EP Every Girl released October 19, 2011.
"Ice" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Kelly Rowland, featuring American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on August 24, 2012. It was originally the lead single from Rowland's fourth studio album, Talk a Good Game (2013), however it did not make the album's final cut. The song was written by Rowland, Sean Garrett, Noel Fisher and Wayne, while the production was helmed by Garrett and Fisher. "Ice" is the third collaboration between Rowland and Wayne, following the Destiny's Child collaboration "Soldier" (2004), and her solo single "Motivation" (2011).
