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 (2016) and Living Off Xperience (2020) were both released by Jay-Z's Roc Nation and met with continued praise.
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.
"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.
"Trippin'" is a song by American R&B girl group Total, released as the first single from their second studio album Kima, Keisha, and Pam (1998). It was also their second release working with production/writing duo Missy Elliott & Timbaland, after What About Us?, although Timbaland this time provided only co-production and instrumentation, with the pair's longtime collaborator Darryl Pearson instead handling main production with Elliott. The track was by far the group's biggest hit, peaking at number seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
"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 nine 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.
"Po' Folks" is a 2002 song by the Kentucky-based hip group Nappy Roots, featuring fellow Southern act, singer Anthony Hamilton. Released on July 10 of that year by Atlantic Records, it served as the second single from their second studio album Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz. The song peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned two Grammy Award nominations—Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Long Form Music Video.
"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.
"Wasted" is the official first single from Gucci Mane's sixth studio album The State vs. Radric Davis. The song features rapper Plies. The song was originally from Gucci Mane's 2009 mixtape, Guccimania.
"Hello Good Morning" is a song by American musical trio Diddy – Dirty Money, released on March 30, 2010 as the second single from their debut studio album, Last Train to Paris. The electronic dance song incorporates an acid squelch section in the middle eight, and was written by Marcella Araica, Richard "Rico Love" Butler, Clifford "T.I." Harris and Nathaniel "Danja" Hills; the latter also handled its production. Southern rapper T.I. guest performs a verse on the song and Miami-based rapper Rick Ross guest performs on the music video and official remixed version, the latter of which replaces T.I.'s portion with a verse by Trinidadian-born rapper Nicki Minaj.
"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".
"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.
"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.
