Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, known professionally as Nas, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. Rooted in East Coast hip hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas began his musical career in 1989 under the moniker "Nasty Nas", and recorded demos under the wing of fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. Nas made his recording debut on Professor's group, Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque".
Leslie Edward Pridgen, better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper. Originally hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he first gained recognition after appearing on Jay-Z's fifth album, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia in 2000. The following year, he became a member of the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective State Property, which were signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings. After releasing their debut album, Pridgen signed to Roc-A-Fella as a solo artist and began work on his debut album, Philadelphia Freeway (2003). Upon release, the album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and saw positive critical response. He released a follow-up, Free at Last (2007) to moderate reception before him and fellow State Property cohorts were dropped from the label.
Rodolfo Antonio Franklin II, known professionally as DJ Clark Kent, was an American hip hop DJ and record producer. His crew of DJs was called "The Supermen", and his DJ moniker was derived from the name of Superman's alter ego.
Cool & Dre are a record production and songwriting duo from North Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Antonio Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon. The duo were first discovered by New York rapper Fat Joe and began their careers working in tandem to produce his albums Jealous Ones Still Envy (2001) and Loyalty (2002). Two years later, they produced the hit song "New York" by Ja Rule, and "Hate It or Love It" by the Game the following year, which peaked at numbers 27 and two on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Cool & Dre were later credited on the Billboard 200 number-one albums Tha Carter III (2008), Tha Carter IV (2011), and Tha Carter V (2018) by Lil Wayne, as well as the collaborative album, Everything Is Love (2018) by Jay-Z and Beyoncé, which won a Grammy Award.
Hip Hop Is Dead is the eighth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 19, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings. His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label, Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def Jam. The album's title was inspired by Nas's view of the music industry and the state of hip hop music at the time. The album features appearances from Nas's then-wife Kelis, Def Jam label-mates Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Chrisette Michele, as well as will.i.am, Snoop Dogg, and The Game, among others.
Ramon Ibanga, Jr., known professionally as Illmind, is an American record producer, songwriter, and educator. As of 2012, he lives in Brooklyn, New York.
"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.
"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.
The untitled ninth studio album by American rapper Nas, commonly referred to eponymously as Nas, or simply Untitled, was released on July 15, 2008 by The Jones Experience, Columbia Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group. Its original title Nigger was omitted due to controversy surrounding the racial epithet. The album is distinguished for its political content, diverse sources of production, and provocative subject matter. The album features guest appearances from Chris Brown, Keri Hilson, Busta Rhymes, and The Game, among others.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2008.
Gregory Skyler Taylor, known professionally as Skyzoo, is an American rapper and songwriter. He has released a number of notable solo and collaborative albums, including Cloud 9: The 3 Day High with 9th Wonder in 2006, The Salvation in 2009, A Dream Deferred in 2012, Music For My Friends in 2015, and his most recent solo album All the Brilliant Things. Skyzoo has also released a plethora of non-commercial mixtapes including Corner Store Classic and The Great Debater throughout his career, and has worked with artists such as Jill Scott, Wale, Lloyd Banks, Tyrese, Dr. Dre, Raheem Devaughn, Black Thought, Jadakiss, Talib Kweli, Spike Lee, John Legend, and others. Skyzoo has headlined or co-headlined often-yearly tours throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa, Australia, and Asia, and he owns and operates the independent record label First Generation Rich.
Sha Stimuli is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York City. He is known for his mixtape releases, beginning with Let Me Show You the Way in 2002, which earned him a spot in Source Magazine's "Unsigned Hype" section. Sha Stimuli is the cousin of Dre Knight and is the younger brother of producer and rapper Lord Digga, through whom he was introduced to Brooklyn rappers such as Notorious B.I.G. and Masta Ace.
Torae Liston Carr, known mononymously as Torae, is an American rapper from the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York. He has released a number of solo albums and collaborative works, and operates the independent record label Internal Affairs Entertainment.
John Regan: Sorry I'm Late is the debut album by American rapper John Regan. It was released by Culture VI Records on November 16, 2010 and distributed by Fat Beats Distribution. The album features collaborations with 6 Grammy Award winning and 10 multi-platinum selling musicians, having received over 880,000 paid song streams and purchases, to date.
Coalmine Records is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent hip-hop record label. Coalmine's catalog includes Pharaohe Monch, El Da Sensei, Kool G. Rap, Talib Kweli, Large Professor, Heltah Skeltah, Dilated Peoples, Bekay, Big K.R.I.T, Custom Made, Emilio Rojas, Torae, Skyzoo, Termanology, Alchemist, J.R.Rotem, M-Phazes, Illmind, Khrysis, Shuko, Domingo, DJ Kayslay, DJ Revolution, and DJ Babu.
Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr., known professionally as Hit-Boy, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He first signed with fellow producer Polow da Don in 2007 as in-house production staff for his label Zone 4, and later signed with Kanye West's GOOD Music in 2011 to serve a similar role. He first gained major recognition for his work on Lil Wayne's 2009 single "Drop the World", which entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 18. The following year, he produced West and Jay-Z's 2011 single "Niggas in Paris", which peaked at number five on the chart and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
R. Malcolm Jones is an American music video and motion picture director. Jones is a graduate of the University of Miami. While a student at the university, Jones was granted the Eastman Kodak Scholarship. He is its youngest recipient. Jones also received a Merit Scholarship.
Barrel Brothers is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Skyzoo and Torae. It was released on May 27, 2014 via First Generation Rich, Inc./Internal Affairs/Loyalty Digital Corp. Production was handled by Illmind, Antman Wonder, Auréli1 a.k.a Tiga, Black Milk, DJ Premier, Jahlil Beats, Khrysis, MarcNfinit, Oh No, Praise and The Stuyvesants. It features guest appearances from Blu, Guilty Simpson, Livin Proof, Sean Price and Sha Stimuli.
Daily Conversation is a mixtape by American rapper Torae, released on January 29, 2008, under his own Internal Affairs Entertainment imprint, Soulspazm Records and Fat Beats Records. The mixtape was executive produced by Torae and DJ Vega Benetton. Production was handled by several producers including DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, Black Milk, Khrysis, Marco Polo. Guest appearances include Tash, Sha Stimuli, Chaundon, Skyzoo, and others. The mixtape was preceded by the DJ Premier-produced 12-inch single "Get It Done", with B-side "Click", both featuring Skyzoo.
Khaled Mohammed Khaled, known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry artists to perform on singles and albums, for which he often serves as hype man. His distinctions are his booming voice presence, "motivational" abstractions, and numerous catchphrases. While his musical contribution is often questioned, Khaled's role has been described as "organization, direction, [and] promotion".
