Shad Gregory Moss, better known by his stage name Bow Wow, is an American rapper and actor. His career began upon being discovered by rapper Snoop Dogg in the late 1990s, eventually being brought to record producer Jermaine Dupri and signed to So So Def Recordings. As Lil' Bow Wow, he released his first album at age 13, Beware of Dog, in 2000, which was followed by Doggy Bag a year later.
Tarik Luqmaan Trotter, better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, singer, actor and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group the Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove. Regarded as "one of the most skilled, incisive, and prolific rappers of his time", he is widely lauded for his live performance skills, continuous multisyllabic rhyme schemes, complex lyricism, double entendres, and politically aware lyrics. With the Roots, he is a singer and rapper on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, frequently playing games with Fallon and his guests.
Grand Hustle Records, also known as Hustle Gang Music, is an Atlanta, Georgia–based hip hop record label, founded in 2003, by American rapper T.I. and his manager Jason Geter. The label was distributed by Atlantic Records until December 2012. It currently operates as an independent record label. Its roster has included the artists 8Ball & MJG, B.o.B, Killer Mike, Young Dro, DJ Drama, Meek Mill, Chip, Travis Scott, and Trae tha Truth, the latter of whom also serves as the label's vice president. The label also houses a roster of record producers, which has included Lil' C, Mars and Nard & B.
Roland "Rollie" Pemberton, better known by his stage name Cadence Weapon, is a Canadian-American rapper based in Toronto, Ontario. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Pemberton released his first album, Breaking Kayfabe, in 2005 with positive reviews. He subsequently signed with the American record label ANTI-, releasing the albums Afterparty Babies in 2008 and Hope in Dirt City in 2012. In 2009, Cadence Weapon was named Edmonton's Poet Laureate. His first book Magnetic Days was published by Metatron in 2014. Cadence Weapon released a self-titled album in 2018.
Shadrach Kabango, better known as Shad or Shad K, is a Canadian rapper and broadcaster. He has released 7 full-length albums and 3 EP's since his debut in 2005. He won a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011 and 5 of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, the most short-list nominations of any artist since the prize's creation in 2006. In 2013, CBC Music named Shad the second-greatest Canadian rapper of all time. Shad hosted Q on CBC Radio One from 2015 to 2016 and hosts the International Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution on HBO Canada and Netflix.
Raw Footage is the eighth studio album by American rapper Ice Cube. It was released on August 19, 2008, by his record label Lench Mob Records and EMI. The album features guest appearances from The Game, Butch Cassidy, Musiq Soulchild, Young Jeezy and WC. The album is his most political effort, since over a decade earlier with the release of his album The Predator (1992).
Melvin Lewis Calhoun Jr., better known by his stage name Kutt Calhoun, is an American rapper and business executive from Kansas City, Missouri. After getting his start in the late 1990s underground rap scene of Kansas City, he subsequently signed to Strange Music when the label was founded in 1999. Calhoun released his debut album B.L.E.V.E. in 2004, and his 2007 sophomore album Feature Presentation debuted at number 60 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Calhoun's third album, Raw and Un-Kutt, made its debut at number 162 on the Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release, as well as charting at No. 19 on the Top Heatseekers chart.
Rebirth is the seventh studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released February 2, 2010, on Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Motown. The album's production was primarily handled by Cool & Dre, DJ Infamous, DJ Nasty & LVM, Kevin Rudolf, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Rebirth was promoted as Wayne's rock music debut, though it includes some hip hop tracks.
The R.E.D. Album is the fifth studio album by American rapper Game. It was released on August 23, 2011, by DGC Records and Interscope Records, which serves as Game's first release under the label. Recording sessions for the album took place from 2009 to 2011 at four different recording studios in California. Dr. Dre, Pharrell Williams and Mars served as executive producers on the album, and includes a wide range of producers such as Boi-1da, Cool & Dre, DJ Khalil, DJ Premier, Don Cannon, Hit-Boy, Maestro, StreetRunner and the Futuristics. The featured guests include rappers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne and Kendrick Lamar, and singers Lloyd, Mario, Chris Brown and Nelly Furtado.
I Am the West is the ninth studio album by American rapper Ice Cube. It was released on September 28, 2010 by Lench Mob Records and EMI.
TSOL is the third studio album by Canadian rapper Shad. It was released in Canada on May 25, 2010 and in the United States on October 5, 2010. It is his second album released on Black Box Recordings, and his first album of new material since 2007's Polaris Music Prize-nominated The Old Prince.
"Devil in a New Dress" is a song by American hip hop recording artist and rapper Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). Originally released through West's GOOD Friday initiative, a weekly free music giveaway started by the rapper to promote My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, it later appeared on the album with an added guitar solo by producer Mike Dean and an additional guest verse featuring rapper Rick Ross. "Devil in a New Dress" was produced by Bink. It was the only song on the album not to be produced by West. The song samples Smokey Robinson's slow jam recording "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", and is themed lyrically to lust and heartache. Both the topics of love and religion serve as the main inspiration to the song.
"So Appalled" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song was produced by West, along with No I.D. and Mike Dean, and features verses by Jay-Z, Cyhi the Prynce, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz, and RZA respectively, who all receive writing credits. Lyrically, the song explores topics such as the troubles produced from being famous, social concerns and features numerous pop culture references.
Rolling Papers is the third studio album by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was released on March 29, 2011, by Atlantic Records and Rostrum Records. It is his first album under a major label after his independent releases, Show and Prove and Deal or No Deal. The album features guest appearances from Too $hort, Curren$y and Chevy Woods. Rolling Papers was supported by five singles: "Black and Yellow", "Roll Up", "On My Level", "No Sleep" and "The Race". The album has been noted by music writers for having a pop rap style.
Revolver, is the fourth studio album by American musician T-Pain, released through Konvict Muzik, RCA Records and his own label Nappy Boy Entertainment on December 6, 2011. It is his first album released after the dissolution of his previous label, Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album have taken place from 2009 to 2011. T-Pain stated that the two R's in the word, RevolveЯ have been capitalized so that in the middle, it says "evolve", indicating that T-Pain has evolved as an artist, and as a person in the period from Thr33 Ringz up till RevolveЯ. He later stated that the R's were put to show how people can be deceived, and understand things incorrectly without looking at the inside of things and this is the scheme of the album.
The Return of Mr. Zone 6 is the eighth studio album by American rapper Gucci Mane. It was released on March 22, 2011, by 1017 Brick Squad Records and Asylum Records. The album features guest appearances from Birdman, Waka Flocka Flame, Master P and Rocko, while the majority of the production was provided by Drumma Boy, except for two tracks that were produced by Zaytoven and Southside.
"Everybody Breaks a Glass" is a song by Canadian recording artist Lights. It was released on July 19, 2011 as a promotional single from her second studio album Siberia (2011). It features music by electronica band Holy Fuck and guest vocals from Canadian rapper Shad.
G.D.O.D. is a series of compilation mixtapes released by American hip hop and R&B record label Grand Hustle Records, under the namesake Hustle Gang. The first installment in the series was released on May 7, 2013.
Bankroll Mafia is an American hip hop collective from Atlanta, Georgia. The collective was formed in 2015, after southern rappers T.I., Young Thug and Shad da God began frequently working together. Other Atlanta-based rappers also joined the collective, including Label No Genre’s London Jae, and Young Thug's close affiliates Peewee Roscoe and Lil Duke. In an interview with Billboard, T.I. described the group's dynamic as "a collective that includes a lot of personal and professional constituents throughout the industry, in and out of our elements." The collective released their self-titled debut album in April 2016.
Bankroll Mafia is the eponymously titled debut studio album by American hip hop collective Bankroll Mafia, composed of American rappers T.I.P., Young Thug, Shad da God, PeeWee Roscoe, Lil Duke and London Jae. The album was issued on April 22, 2016, by Grand Hustle Records and Empire Distribution. The album features guest appearances from fellow Atlanta-based rappers Bankroll Fresh, Young Dro, Lil Yachty, 21 Savage and Yung Booke, as well as Quavo and Offset of Migos. The album was supported by two singles, "Bankrolls on Deck" and "Out My Face".
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