Anthony Hill, known by his stage name YZ, and alias Ali Sa'id Nur al-Din, is an American rapper from Trenton, New Jersey. [1]
At age 17, YZ and DJ Tony D opened a company called Two Tone Productions in Trenton, New Jersey. YZ and group members G-Rock and DJ Tink released the single "I Am Who I Am/I'm Bad" (1989) on Trenton independent label Rockin' Hard Records. After acquiring half of the company Diversity Records, YZ released the maxi single, "In Control of Things"/"Thinking of a Master Plan", in 1989. [2]
Diversity Records later signed the hip hop group Poor Righteous Teachers (PRT), but because of conflicts with Tony D (the man responsible for producing PRT), Diversity and PRT severed ties before the release of their first single.[ citation needed ]
YZ signed a deal with Tuff City Records in 1990, then released his first LP, Sons of The Father (1990), [3] and another project, YZ EP (1991.) Subsequently, YZ signed with Livin' Large/Tommy Boy/Warner Bros, and released the single "Return of the Holy One" (1992.) In 1993, YZ released his second full-length LP, The Ghetto's Been Good to Me. [3] After 1994, YZ released numerous projects independently, including the LPs The Legend of Floyd Jones (2002) and Muad'ib (2009.) In 1999, YZ performed vocals on two tracks on Aim's album Cold Water Music .
YZ explained in 2008 that he has been deaf in both ears since 2001. [4]
Poor Righteous Teachers was a hip hop group from Trenton, New Jersey, founded in 1989. Often referred to as PRT by its fans, Poor Righteous Teachers was known as a socially and politically conscious hip hop group, with musical content inspired by the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths. Wise Intelligent, as the lead MC, was the most visible and well known member of the group. Culture Freedom provided vocals and production, and Father Shaheed served as a DJ and producer. About.com ranked the group's lead MC, Wise Intelligent, number five on its list of the 10 Most Underrated Rappers, calling him "one of the most creative MCs of our time."
Shawn Moltke better known by his stage name MC Shan, is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist.
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979). The label changed its name to PRT Records in 1980, before being briefly reactivated as Pye Records in 2006.
Tommy Boy Records is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Amber, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital Underground, Coolio, De La Soul, House of Pain, Naughty By Nature, and Force MDs. Tommy Boy is also credited with introducing genres such as EDM, Latin freestyle, and Latin hip hop to mainstream audiences in America.
Mark Howard James, professionally known as The 45 King and also known as DJ Mark the 45 King, was an American hip hop producer and DJ from The Bronx, New York. He began DJing in the mid-1980s. His pseudonym, the 45 King, came from his ability to make beats using obscure 45 RPM records.
Hijack were a British hip hop group, hailing from Brixton, London, featuring Kamanchi Sly, DJ Supreme, DJ Undercover, Ulysses, Agent Fritz and Agent Clueso. Their first single, "Style Wars" caught the attention of the British hip hop community. Their next release, "Hold No Hostage"/"Doomsday of Rap" became an underground hit across Europe, bringing them to the attention of West Coast rapper Ice-T.
Anthony Depula, known professionally as Tony D, was an American hip hop artist from Trenton, New Jersey.
Thomas Alden Page was an American singer-songwriter, best known for his 1990 hit single "I'll Be Your Everything" and was later a music industry executive. Page collaborated with many artists, including Malaysian singers Amy Mastura and Fauziah Latiff.
Cold Chillin' Records was a record label that released music during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. A producer-and-crew label founded by manager Tyrone Williams and run by Len Fichtelberg, most of the label's releases were by members of the Juice Crew, a loosely knit group of artists centered on producer Marley Marl. In 1998, the label shut down, and the majority of its expansive catalog was bought by Massachusetts-based LandSpeed Records.
Sammy Figueroa is an American percussionist. At 18 he joined the band of bassist Bobby Valentín and also co-led the Brazilian/Latin fusion group Raíces.
Anthony Peaks, better known as Apache, was an American rapper.
The Piece Maker is the debut album by Tony Touch, released on April 18, 2000, on Tommy Boy Entertainment and Warner Bros. Records.
George Greeley was an Italian-American pianist, conductor, composer, arranger, recording artist and record producer who is known for his extensive work across the spectrum of the entertainment industry. Starting as an arranger and pianist with several notable big bands in the 1940s, he segued into the Hollywood radio scene, working on several nationally broadcast variety programs. After conducting an Army Air Force Band during World War II, he was hired by Columbia Pictures as a staff pianist and orchestrator. He worked as pianist on several hundred motion pictures, worked with many famous composers orchestrating their soundtrack compositions, and created original compositions of his own in several dozen movies. It was Greeley's hands that performed the piano parts that Tyrone Power mimed in The Eddy Duchin Story. Concurrent with his work at Columbia Pictures, George Greeley also worked at Capitol Records as music director, pianist, and conductor for many artists such as Gordon MacRae, Jane Powell, Jo Stafford, Frankie Laine, and Doris Day. He was hired in the late 1950s by the newly established Warner Brothers Records. George Greeley arranged, orchestrated and performed as primary artist for a series of hit recordings entitled "Popular Piano Concertos." As music tastes changed in the late 1960s, Greeley had already moved into television, composing themes and music for popular TV series like My Favorite Martian,The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,Nanny and the Professor, and Small Wonder. He performed as featured piano soloist and as guest conductor in concert appearances around the world. He died from emphysema at age 89 in Los Angeles, California.
"You Are the Universe" is a song by British acid jazz and funk group the Brand New Heavies, released in June 1997. The composition was issued as the third single taken from their fourth album, Shelter (1997), which remains the only Brand New Heavies album recorded with American singer Siedah Garrett, who afterwards left the group to concentrate on her own songwriting. The song charted at number twenty-one in UK, and at number eleven within the British Chart-Track.
William Joseph Crawford, known by his stage name Ya Boy, is an American rapper from the Fillmore District of San Francisco, California. He is best known for his 2011 single "Lock Down". The year prior, he signed with the latter's record label, Konvict Muzik, having first signed with San Quinn's Done Deal Entertainment to release his debut studio album, Rookie of the Year (2005). The following year, he signed with the Game's Black Wall Street Records, and later Mack 10's Hoo-Bangin' Records in 2009, releasing no albums with both labels.
Paradise Records was an American record label founded by Leon Russell in 1976 in Burbank, California.
The Best of Crystal Gayle is a compilation album by American country music artist Crystal Gayle. It was released in August 1987 on Warner Bros. Records. The album contained Gayle's major hit singles while recording for the latter label between 1982 and 1986. She would depart from Warner Bros. the following year.
Song Bird is a studio album by American country music artist Margo Smith. It was released in July 1976 via Warner Bros. Records and was produced by Norro Wilson. Songbird was the third studio recording of Smith's music career. The album contained a total of ten tracks, including the single release, "Save Your Kisses for Me." The album would reach chart positions and the single would become a major hit.
Happiness is a studio album by American country music artist Margo Smith. It was released in April 1977 via Warner Bros. Records and was produced by Norro Wilson. The album contained ten tracks that mixed country and pop arrangements, according to one critic. Four singles were released off the record, including the major hits "Take My Breath Away" and "Love's Explosion." The album itself also reached charting positions following its release.
Just Margo is a studio album by American country music artist Margo Smith. It was released in October 1979 via Warner Bros. Records and contained 12 tracks. It was the seventh studio release in Smith's music career and spawned two singles: "Baby My Baby" and "The Shuffle Song". The album itself reached peak positions on national publication charts following its release.