Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur, and record executive. Considered among the best rappers of all time, he is regarded as one of the world's most significant cultural icons and has been a global figure in popular culture for over two decades.
The College Dropout is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records.
Dwight Equan Grant, better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper and actor from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became known for his association with Jay Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, releasing his debut studio album The Truth through Roc-A-Fella in February 2000 to critical and commercial success.
The Dynasty: Roc La Familia is the fifth studio album by American hip-hop artist Jay-Z, featuring prominent appearances from signees of Roc-A-Fella Records. It was released on October 31, 2000, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its lead single, "I Just Wanna Love U ", produced by The Neptunes, was one of Jay-Z's most successful singles peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with 557,789 copies sold in its first week and more than 2.3 million copies sold to date. The album received widely positive reviews from music critics and the album ended up becoming the 20th highest selling R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the 2000–2010 decade according to Billboard.
"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" is a song by American hip-hop artist Kanye West. It was released on July 4, 2005, as the lead single of his second studio album, Late Registration. The track was features a sample of the song "Diamonds Are Forever" by Shirley Bassey. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number 8 on the UK Top 40. It won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song at the 48th Grammy Awards. Shirley Bassey had praise for West after hearing the song for herself.
"Touch the Sky" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West. It was released in early 2006 as the fourth single from his second studio album, Late Registration (2005). The song features American rapper Lupe Fiasco on his career debut and was produced by Just Blaze. Blaze uses a sample from the Curtis Mayfield song "Move On Up". The song was certified Gold in the United States and United Kingdom respectively, as well as Platinum in Australia. The official music video was released in February 2006 and directed by Chris Milk. The Soul Rebels played a cover version.
"Drive Slow" is a song by American rap artist Kanye West. The song was released on June 6, 2006 as the fifth and final single of West's second studio album, Late Registration. It contains a sample of the Hank Crawford cover version of "Wildflower," a song by the Canadian pop rock band Skylark. "Drive Slow" features Houston rapper Paul Wall and Chicago rapper GLC, with back-up vocals provided by singer Tony "Penafire" Williams. The song utilizes car culture as a metaphor to comment on people's lifestyles. The single failed to chart, despite receiving critical acclaim.
Diamonds Are Forever is the soundtrack by John Barry for the seventh James Bond film of the same name.
Manny Marroquin is a Guatemalan-born American mixing engineer. He has received eight Grammy awards for his professional audio work.
All Money Is Legal, also known as A.M.I.L.: , is the debut studio album by American rapper Amil. It was released on August 29, 2000, through Roc-A-Fella, Columbia, and Sony Music. Jay-Z, Damon Dash, and Amil served as executive producers with a team of producers that included Just Blaze. Before the album's release, Amil was best known for her feature on Jay-Z's 1998 single "Can I Get A...". She was one of several up-and-coming artists signed to Roc-A-Fella, alongside Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel, who released an album in 2000. Although it was her only album on Roc-A-Fella, Amil had been closely associated with the label and its cofounder Jay-Z, earning the moniker "First Lady of Roc-A-Fella".
Malik Yusef Jones is an American spoken word poet, songwriter, actor and producer based in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by American hip hop producer and vocalist Kanye West. It was released on November 24, 2008, by Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album during September and October 2008 at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the help of producers No I.D., Jeff Bhasker and others. The album features guest appearances from Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, Mr Hudson, and Lil Wayne.
"Move On Up" is a song by Curtis Mayfield from his 1970 debut album Curtis. Nearly nine minutes long on the album version, it was released as a single in the United States, but failed to chart. An edited version of the song spent 10 weeks in the top 50 of the UK Singles Chart in 1971, peaking at #12, and it has become a soul music classic over the years.
Nabil Elderkin is an American Film and music video Director and photographer. Born in Chicago and raised in Australia, he is now based in Los Angeles, California. He is mononymously credited as Nabil in his videos.
Gimel Androus Keaton, better known by his stage name Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from Wilmington, Delaware. Young Guru was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2011 for his work on "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. He has worked with many leading recording artists, most notably Jay-Z, and an April 2015 Wall Street Journal profile called him "the most famous and successful engineer in the history of hip-hop".
"Who Will Survive in America" is the final track of the standard edition of American rapper Kanye West's album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It is built on a sample of "Comment No. 1" by Gil Scott-Heron.
