The Isley Brothers are an American family musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly "Kelly" Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over six decades, the group has enjoyed one of the "longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music".
"Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns. It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers in 1962. The song has been covered by several artists, including the Beatles, Salt-N-Pepa, and Chaka Demus & Pliers, who experienced chart success with their versions.
Age Ain't Nothing but a Number is the debut studio album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on May 24, 1994, by Blackground Records and Jive Records. After being signed by her uncle Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah was introduced to recording artist and producer R. Kelly. He became her mentor, as well as the lead songwriter and producer of the album. The duo recorded the album at the Chicago Recording Company in Chicago periodically from January 1993 until early 1994.
"Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" is a song by British jazz-rap group Us3, originally released in October 1992 as the lead single from their debut album, Hand On the Torch (1993). The song was recorded as a demo a year before the group's first release and features a sample of Herbie Hancock's song "Cantaloupe Island". Another sample, the announcement by Pee Wee Marquette, is taken from the Blue Note album A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 by The Art Blakey Quintet. "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" did not chart in the group's native UK, but in the US, it reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's only top 40 single. It was subsequently re-released in UK where it peaked at No. 23. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 25, 1994 for selling over 500,000 copies.
"Bump n' Grind" is a song written, produced, and performed by American singer-songwriter R. Kelly. It was released on January 28, 1994, as the second single from his debut solo studio album, 12 Play (1993). The track became a number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100, and it also spent twelve weeks at number one on the US Hot R&B Songs chart as Kelly's third number-one R&B hit, becoming the longest-running number-one of 1994 in the US, and the longest-running R&B single at that time. The song also reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart, following the massive success of his previous single, "She's Got That Vibe".
"(At Your Best) You Are Love" is a song by the Isley Brothers, originally a radio hit in 1976. It was originally dedicated to their mother.
"Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" is an R&B song about infidelity by American singer and songwriter R. Kelly featuring The Isley Brothers, released in 1995 from Kelly's second and self-titled album (1995). The song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart for seven weeks, making it Kelly's fifth single to do so on the latter. It also gave the Isley Brothers their first Top 40 pop record since 1980's "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time For Love)", and was Kelly's third top 5 pop record. The lyrics are from the perspective of a man who has an affair with another man's woman and tells her to keep their relationship a closely guarded secret.
"You Remind Me of Something" is a song by American R&B singer R. Kelly. Released as the lead single from his self-titled album (1995), it became the fourth song from Kelly to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, where it stayed for a week, and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Worldwide, it peaked at number 13 in New Zealand and found moderate success in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
"Back & Forth" is the debut single performed by American singer Aaliyah for her debut studio album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994). The song was written and produced by R&B singer R. Kelly, and lyrically the song is about a teenager's excitement for partying on the weekend with friends. "Back and Forth" has been described as being a dance/pop/R&B and new jack swing song. Aaliyah sings in a "laid back" style. Blackground and Jive released the song as the album's lead single on April 8, 1994, to generally positive reviews with many critics praising the song's lyrical content and Aaliyah's vocal delivery on the record.
"Sour Times" is a song by English trip hop group Portishead, from their debut album, Dummy (1994). It was written by all three members of the band and released as a single by Go! Beat Records in August 1994, accompanied by three bonus tracks: "It's a Fire", "Pedestal", and "Theme from To Kill a Dead Man". NME ranked it number 32 in their list of the 50 best songs of 1994. Slant Magazine placed it at number 77 in their ranking of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s" in 2011.
"I'm So into You" is a song recorded by American R&B vocal trio SWV for their debut studio album, It's About Time (1992). Written and produced by Brian Alexander Morgan, the song was released in January 1993 as the second single from the album. It was commercially successful, becoming their first top-ten single in the United States, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached number two on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 600,000 copies.
"The Right Kinda Lover" is a song by American singer and actress Patti LaBelle. It was written by Ann Bennett-Nesby, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, and James "Big Jim" Wright, while production was helmed by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, with Wright as co-producing. The song was released as the first single from her LaBelle's 12th album, Gems (1994), and appeared on the soundtrack to the 1994 film Beverly Hills Cop III, starring Eddie Murphy.
"She's Got That Vibe" is the debut single of American R&B singer R. Kelly and band Public Announcement. It was released as the first single from Kelly's debut studio album, Born into the 90's (1992), on November 22, 1991, and was written and produced by Kelly.
"Home Alone" is a single by American musician R. Kelly, released from his third solo studio album, R. The song features rapper Keith Murray and uncredited vocals from Kelly Price. It was also produced by G-One & DJ Quik. "Home Alone" was the fifth single from the album and charted at number 65 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Its chart success was better abroad, reaching the top 40 in Canada, France and the United Kingdom. In Canada it topped the RPM Dance Chart.
"Heaven Knows" is a song by American singer-songwriter Luther Vandross, released in September 1993 as the second single from his eight studio album, Never Let Me Go (1993). The song peaked in the top 30 on both Billboard's Hot R&B Singles and the Hot Dance Club Play, and also at thirty-three on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Singles chart.
"A Deeper Love" is a song written by American producers Robert Clivillés and David Cole, and performed by them as Clivillés & Cole featuring vocals by Deborah Cooper and Paul Pesco. The song was the duo's fifth number-one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. On other US charts, "A Deeper Love" peaked at number 83 on the soul singles chart and number 44 on the pop chart. Overseas, especially in Europe the single charted higher, going to number 15 in the UK and number eight on the Dutch Top 40.
"i" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar featuring Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers. It was released on September 23, 2014 as the lead single from Lamar's third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. The song uses music from "That Lady", written by and originally performed by R&B group The Isley Brothers, elements from which were re-recorded rather than being directly sampled from the original record. "i" won two awards at the 2015 Grammy Awards: Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
American singer Tinashe has released five studio albums, four mixtapes, one extended play and thirteen singles, including seventeen as featured artist. Tinashe's debut album, Aquarius, was released on October 7, 2014. It debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard 200, and peaked within the top ten of the US, UK and Australian urban albums charts. Aquarius was supported by three singles. The lead single from the album was titled "2 On", and featured rapper ScHoolboy Q. "2 On" peaked at 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the US rhythmic chart. "2 On" also reached the top 30 in Australia, and entered the charts in Canada, France and the UK. "2 On" was later certified platinum in the US by the RIAA and in Australia by the ARIA.
"Shake Your Thang" is a 1988 single released by American R&B and hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa. The single was released as the first single taken from their second studio album A Salt with a Deadly Pepa. It features the Washington, D.C.-based go-go musical band, E.U. The song samples "It's Your Thing" by The Isley Brothers and "Funky President" by James Brown.
"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.
