Jason Terrance Phillips, better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Arista Records to release their debut studio album, Money, Power & Respect (1998); their second album, We Are the Streets (2000) was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records. Both peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200 and yielded critical praise; their two subsequent albums, Filthy America... It's Beautiful (2013) and Living Off Xperience (2020) were both released by Jay-Z's Roc Nation and met with continued praise.
"It Ain't Hard to Tell" is the second single and last track from American rapper Nas' debut album, Illmatic. Although the track was technically the second single on the album, it was the first single to be released after the album was pressed in 1994. The first single, "Halftime," was released two years prior to Illmatic's debut.
Anthony Cornelius Hamilton, is an American singer and songwriter. Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, he signed with Uptown Records, an imprint of MCA Records to record his debut studio album XTC; scheduled for release in 1996, it was ultimately shelved due to its singles failing to chart. He then gained recognition for his guest performance on Nappy Roots' 2002 single "Po' Folks," which peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and led him to sign with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, an imprint of Arista Records.
"Piggy Bank" is the fifth track from 50 Cent's second album, The Massacre. It was not released as a single, but charted at eighty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 due to controversy over its attack on long-time rival Ja Rule, as well as Jadakiss and Fat Joe, who had worked with Ja Rule on his song "New York". The song also takes lyrical swipes at rappers Shyne, Kelis, Sheek Louch, Cassidy, Lil' Kim and Nas. He also mentions Tupac Shakur, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep and Michael Jackson in the song, but not negatively.
Kiss of Death is the second studio album by American rapper Jadakiss. It is the follow-up to his 2001 Platinum-RIAA selling debut album Kiss tha Game Goodbye. The album was released in the US on the June 22, 2004 and debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
"It's Okay (One Blood)" is a song by American rapper and West Coast hip hop artist The Game featuring vocals from reggae singer Junior Reid, from his second studio album Doctor's Advocate. Released as the album's lead single on July 24, 2006, the song was written by The Game himself and Junior Reid, and it was produced by D-Roc, and Reefa. The Game himself revealed that the song would be released on July 31, 2006, but actually was released on July 24, 2006. The song was originally to be released on July 4, 2006 but got pushed back by The Game. Jimmy Rosemond, head of Czar Entertainment and The Game's manager, explained how "One Blood" would receive positive radio airplay and prove the talent that The Game had. A supposed original version of the song was released in late January 2011.
"Dead Presidents" is a 1996 song by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released as the first promotional single for Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt, though it did not directly appear on the album: a different version of the song with the same backing track and chorus but with different lyrics called "Dead Presidents II" appeared on Reasonable Doubt. "Dead Presidents II" was voted number 2 in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Jay-Z Songs.
"Thugz Mansion" is a song by 2Pac, released as a posthumous single with two known popular versions both released on the 2002 album Better Dayz. It was nominated by the Source Awards for Single of the Year.
"Hip Hop Is Dead" is the first and title single taken from Nas' 2006 album of the same name. It is produced by and features will.i.am. It peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, as well as number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. On December 31, 2007, the music video for "Hip Hop Is Dead" appeared at number 93 on BET's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2007 countdown, even though the video was released in December 2006.
"B.U.D.D.Y." is the first single from Musiq Soulchild's fourth album Luvanmusiq. It was released on January 30, 2007 after being given to radio stations in the US in late November 2006. It contains samples from De La Soul's "Buddy ", Taana Gardner's "Heartbeat" and interpolations from the composition "Heartbeat ". The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards but lost to "Future Baby Mama" by Prince. The lyrics are a man's attempts to persuade a girl he can be her "buddy".
American rapper Busta Rhymes has released eleven studio albums, three compilation albums, eight mixtapes, one hundred and eight singles, fourteen promotional singles and fifty-six music videos. Busta Rhymes signed his first recording contract with Elektra Records at the age of just 17, as a member of hip-hop group Leaders of the New School. Though the group would disband in 1994, a number of well-received guest appearances on songs by artists including A Tribe Called Quest and Mary J. Blige led Elektra to offer Busta Rhymes a solo contract in 1995. His debut studio album, The Coming, was released the following year, with lead single "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check" reaching number eight on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As of 2019 Busta Rhymes has sold around 9,000,000 albums.
"Firm Biz" is the first and only single by the hip hop supergroup The Firm from their singular collaborative LP The Album. The song was produced by L.E.S, who based the song's track on a sample of Teena Marie's 1981 hit "Square Biz". "Firm Biz" also features a chorus performed by former En Vogue singer Dawn Robinson, reworked from the "Square Biz" chorus. AZ raps the first verse of the song, Nas the second, and Foxy Brown the third and final verse. The song did not reach any US chart positions, but was a UK top 20 hit in 1997. A remix of the song was released, featuring a verse from Half-A-Mill and a chorus by Mary J. Blige, replacing Dawn Robinson. The word "feds" is censored in the explicit version, in verse 2, performed by Nas, when he raps "Never that though Black .4-4's for feds".
"Roc Boys ..." is the second single from Jay-Z's tenth studio album, American Gangster. The song is produced by Skyz Muzik, Diddy and two of his producers known as LV and Sean C from his production team, The Hitmen. It features additional vocals by Beyoncé, Kanye West and Cassie. The song samples "Make the Road by Walking" by The Menahan Street Band. On December 11, 2007, Rolling Stone named it the best song of 2007.
"Game's Pain" is the lead single from The Game's third studio album LAX.
"Hero" is a song by American rapper Nas, released June 2008 as the lead single from his untitled album. The song, which features vocals from American R&B singer Keri Hilson, was produced by Polow da Don.
"Who's Real" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Jadakiss, released June 16, 2009 as the fourth single from his third studio album The Last Kiss. The song features guest appearances from fellow American rappers OJ Da Juiceman and Swizz Beatz, the latter of whom produced the track.
"Hot Nigga" censored on the album as "Hot N*gga", edited for radio as "Hot Boy" or "Hot Ni" is the debut single by American rapper Bobby Shmurda. It was released for digital download on July 25, 2014 by Epic Records and GS9 as the lead single from Shmurda's debut EP Shmurda She Wrote. The song includes production from Jahlil Beats, which was originally used by Lloyd Banks for his 2012 song, "Jackpot". The music video contains a choreography that was later named the "Shmoney dance". The song and the video became popular in 2014 among Vine users, which led to the "Shmoney dance" phenomenon. Additionally, several unofficial remixes by various rappers have been made. The song has peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the artist's first and only top 10 single in the United States. "Hot Nigga" was a commercial success, being certified Platinum in the United States.
"Street Dreams" is a 1996 single by American rapper Nas. The song was It Was Written's second single, following "If I Ruled the World ". "Street Dreams" contains an interpolation from the Eurythmics song "Sweet Dreams " and a sample from Linda Clifford's "Never Gonna Stop". A remix, including an appearance by R. Kelly, was released shortly after the original. It featured samples from The Isley Brothers' "Choosey Lover" along with some elements from Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me." The remix version was performed live on an episode of the Nickelodeon series All That in February 1997.
"Back to Sleep", also known by the censored version title "Sex You Back to Sleep", is a song by American singer Chris Brown from his seventh studio album Royalty. The song was released as the album's third single and its first urban single on November 5, 2015. Three official remixes of the song were released during the first months of 2016: The first featuring Usher and Zayn, the second featuring Miguel, August Alsina, and Trey Songz, and the final featuring Tank, R. Kelly and Anthony Hamilton.
"Wicked" is a song by American rapper Future. It was originally released on January 17, 2016, as a track from his sixteenth mixtape Purple Reign, before being released as the lead single on April 13. The song was also included on the streaming version of EVOL. The song samples "Kanet Rohi" written by Özcan Deniz, and performed by Rayan.
