Ahmad Balshe, known professionally as Belly, is a Palestinian-Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Jenin, Balshe was raised in Ottawa. His debut mixtape, Death Before Dishonor: Vol. 1 (2005) was followed by eight additional projects until the release of his debut studio album, The Revolution (2007). After an eight-year hiatus in favor of songwriting for fellow Canadian singer the Weeknd, Balshe signed with his record label, XO, as a recording artist in 2015.
DeAndre Cortez Way, known professionally as Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He rose to prominence with his self-released 2007 debut single, "Crank That ", which peaked the Billboard Hot 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks. After its commercial re-release by Collipark Music, an imprint of Interscope Records, the song and its follow-up, "Soulja Girl", both preceded the release of his debut studio album, Souljaboytellem.com (2007). Despite unfavorable critical reception, it peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and spawned the single "Yahhh!."
Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model, dancer, choreographer, and music video director. After choreographing the video for Beyoncé's 2006 single "Ring the Alarm," she signed a recording contract with the Neptunes' Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records the following year. Taylor appeared on MTV's My Super Sweet 16 prior to the release of her 2008 debut single, "Google Me." She gained further attention for her uncredited guest performances on Kanye West's 2010 songs "Dark Fantasy" and "Hell of a Life" — both from his album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). She parted ways with Star Trak and Interscope in favor of West's GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings two years later.
In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists more creative freedom and less commercial pressure. The term has significantly increased in popularity over the years due to high-profile artists marketing their projects as such. Mixtapes also have been inconsistently referred to as albums by reputable media outlets such as Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and Complex. This has caused notable confusion on the differences between an album and a mixtape.
Neon Hitch is a Romani singer and songwriter from England. She was signed to Mike Skinner and Ted Mayhem's label, The Beats, before it closed down. She was later discovered on MySpace by Benny Blanco, who flew her to New York City to work with him. Their work together earned her a music publishing deal with EMI and a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. Neon's debut album, Anarchy, was released on 22 July 2016 via WeRNeon.
Tyrone William Griffin Jr., known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer from Los Angeles, California. He gained initial recognition for his guest appearance on fellow Los Angeles rapper YG's 2010 single "Toot It and Boot It", which entered the Billboard Hot 100. He signed with Atlantic Records in 2012, and Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Entertainment the following year.
Dominic Ross Hunn, better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. His fourth mixtape, From the Westside with Love (2010), was met with critical acclaim; its sequel, From the Westside with Love II (2011), served as his debut studio album and entered the Billboard 200. His second and third albums, Get Home Safely (2013) and By Dom Kennedy (2015), both peaked at number 23 on the chart and were met with continued praise.
Agápē is the second mixtape by American singer JoJo. It is of EP length, unlike the previous mixtape. The mixtape was announced in early November 2012. JoJo recorded material specifically intended for the mixtape as she did not want to keep her fans waiting for new music any longer. Released on her 22nd birthday on December 20, 2012, it marked the follow-up to her 2010 mixtape Can't Take That Away from Me, which spawned the single and video for "In the Dark". The mixtape's first single "We Get By" was released for free online on November 15, 2012 on JoJo's official SoundCloud with a limited number of downloads, with JoJo stating that "there's a limit on the download because we want you to download the entire mixtape once it's released". She recorded the song with a group of her friends known as The Backpackkids who all got together to create what they call "genre-less music".
Kehlani Ashley Parrish is an American singer and songwriter. They are originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen pop group PopLyfe in 2011.
Symere Bysil Woods, known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, they gained initial recognition following the release of the commercial mixtape Luv Is Rage (2015), which led to a recording contract with Atlantic Records, to whom they signed under DJ Drama's Generation Now imprint.
The discography of American singer Kehlani consists of four studio albums, four mixtapes, and 70 singles. Kehlani released their debut commercial mixtape, Cloud 19, exclusively on August 26, 2014, and released it on streaming services on its seven-year anniversary in 2021. They released their second commercial mixtape, You Should Be Here, on April 28, 2015, which reached number 36 on the Billboard 200. On January 27, 2017, Kehlani released their debut studio album, SweetSexySavage, which reached number three on the Billboard 200. In 2018, Kehlani was featured on American rapper Cardi B's single, "Ring", from her debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy, which reached number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. They released their third commercial mixtape, While We Wait, on February 22, 2019, which reached number nine on the Billboard 200. On May 8, 2020, Kehlani released their second studio album, It Was Good Until It Wasn't, which debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. On April 29, 2022, they released their third studio album, Blue Water Road, which debuted and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200.
Gary Maurice "Joyner" Lucas Jr. is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur. Lucas first received widespread exposure and critical acclaim after the release of his single "Ross Capicchioni" in 2015. In June 2017, he released his fourth mixtape, 508-507-2209, which was his first on a major label. In November 2017, Lucas released his single "I'm Not Racist", which quickly went viral, gaining him further mainstream attention. The video was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 61st Grammy Awards. Since 2016, Lucas has also become known for remixing popular hip hop songs like "Gucci Gang" by Lil Pump, "Bank Account" by 21 Savage, "Panda" by Desiigner, "DNA" by Kendrick Lamar and many others. In October 2018, he announced his debut studio album ADHD, which was released in 2020.
"Nights Like This" is a song by American singer Kehlani featuring Ty Dolla Sign. It was released on January 10, 2019, on Zane Lowe's World Record on Beats 1, as the lead single from their mixtape While We Wait. The song has surpassed over 600 million streams on Spotify as of September 2024.
While We Wait is the second commercial and third mixtape by American singer Kehlani. The album was released on February 22, 2019, by Atlantic Records. While We Wait features guest appearances from Musiq Soulchild, Dom Kennedy, Ty Dolla $ign, and 6lack.
We Love You Tecca is the debut mixtape by American rapper Lil Tecca. It was released on August 30, 2019, through Republic Records. The mixtape contains a sole guest appearance from Juice Wrld. It features Tecca's breakout hit, "Ransom", which peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the remix is with the guest.
India Ambré Perkins, known mononymously as Ambré, is an American singer and songwriter. She is currently signed to Roc Nation. She has released three full-length projects with Wanderlust (2015), 2090's (2016), and 3000° (2022). Her debut major label EP, Pulp, was released in November 2019, by Roc Nation. She first gained recognition after collaborating with Kehlani on a cover of Drake's "Preach" in 2015. She also co-wrote two tracks which featured on H.E.R.'s 2017 self-titled album, which was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards.
Brown Boy 2, also known as Good Intentions , is a reissued studio album by Canadian rapper Nav. It was released on May 11, 2020, as the deluxe edition of his third studio album, Good Intentions, which was released three days prior, on May 8, 2020. The album also serves as the sequel to Nav's unofficial 2019 extended play, Brown Boy, that his manager Cash released on Audiomack to help Nav come out of retirement at the time. It features additional guest appearances from Quavo and Lil Duke. The original album features guest appearances from Young Thug, Future, Gunna, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, the late Pop Smoke, Don Toliver, and Lil Durk.
D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape is the fourth compilation album by American record label Dreamville. It was released on March 31, 2022, by Dreamville and Interscope as a Gangsta Grillz mixtape hosted by DJ Drama.
Flo is a British girl group formed and signed with Island Records. The London-based group is composed of three members: Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma, and Renée Downer. The trio gained popularity on social media for their debut song "Cardboard Box". They later released their debut extended play (EP), The Lead, on 8 July 2022.
"After Hours" is a song by American singer-songwriter Kehlani. It was released through Atlantic Records as the lead single from her fourth studio album, Crash, on April 4, 2024. The song was produced by Lionel Bermingham and Elijah Wells. On May 24, 2024, a remix of the song using the instrumental of Destiny's Child's 2005 song "Cater 2 U" was released. An official remix of the song, featuring Brazilian singer Ludmilla, was released on August 28, 2024, through Kehlani's While We Wait 2 mixtape. The song received a Grammy nomination for "Best R&B Song" at the 67th Grammy Awards.
