Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and record executive. He is a founding member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats, which he formed in 1997 with fellow Harlem native Cam'ron.
"Drop It Like It's Hot" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg featuring fellow American musician Pharrell Williams. It was released on September 27, 2004, as the lead single from Snoop Dogg's seventh studio album, R&G : The Masterpiece (2005). The song was produced by the Neptunes. It is regarded as an iconic song, with Snoop performing the chorus and the second and third verses while Pharrell performs the first verse.
"Frontin'" is the debut single by American musician Pharrell Williams featuring fellow American rapper Jay-Z. It was written by the artists alongside Chad Hugo, who produced it with Williams as the Neptunes. At the time of its release, Williams insisted the single was a one-off, and that he was purely a producer and not an artist in his own right. However, he released his own solo studio album, In My Mind, in 2006.
"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 16 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs and number 42 in Rolling Stone's Top 50 Jay-Z Songs.
"Oh Boy" is a 2002 Grammy-nominated hip hop single by Cam'ron from his album Come Home with Me, and features Juelz Santana. The single was released through Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records and Cam'ron's Diplomats Records.
"Wouldn't Get Far" is the third single from The Game's second album Doctor's Advocate. The song, produced by and featuring Kanye West, is about The Game mentioning and criticizing, by both name and alias, up-and-coming and established video vixens, models and actresses. The song peaked at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached numbers 11 and 26 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts respectively.
"Go Getta" is the second single from Def Jam artist Young Jeezy off his second album The Inspiration, it features singer R. Kelly. The song samples "Born On Halloween" by Blue Magic. It was released in late January. This song was #76 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.
"I Get Money" is the third single from 50 Cent's third album, Curtis. This song was #14 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The song peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
"Duffle Bag Boy" is the debut single by American hip hop duo Playaz Circle featuring Lil Wayne, released as the lead single from the former's debut album, Supply & Demand (2007). The song was produced by M16 and Liam Kantwill. The song peaked at number 15, reaching in the Top 40 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
American Gangster is the tenth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was conceived as a concept album—inspired by the 2007 film of the same name—and was released on November 6 of that year through Roc-A-Fella Records. The album features production from Diddy & the Hitmen, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, Just Blaze, Danja and the Neptunes, among others. It also includes guest appearances by Beanie Sigel, Lil Wayne, Pharrell, and Nas. The album's production is built around 1970s soul and funk, with instruments featured on the album played by professional musicians including, horns, string arrangements, drummers, and unconventional percussion created with bottles. The album's theme is based around the gangster lifestyle, the American Dream, and Jay-Z's memories of growing up in Brooklyn, New York's Marcy.
"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.
"I Know" is a song written and performed by American rapper Jay-Z featuring fellow American musician Pharrell. Produced by The Neptunes, the song was released on November 4, 2007 as the third and final single from Jay-Z's tenth studio album, American Gangster.
Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model, dancer, choreographer, and music video director. After choreographing the video for Beyoncé's 2006 single "Ring the Alarm," she signed a recording contract with the Neptunes' Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records to embark on a career as an recording artist the following year. Taylor appeared on MTV's My Super Sweet 16 prior to the release of her 2008 debut single, "Google Me." Despite lukewarm commercial response, she later gained wider attention in 2010 for her uncredited guest performances on the songs "Dark Fantasy" and "Hell of a Life" by Kanye West, from his highly-acclaimed album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). She parted ways with Star Trak and Interscope in favor of signing with West's GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings two years later.
"Put On" is a song by American recording artist Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West, from Jeezy's third studio album The Recession. The song was released as the album's lead single on June 3, 2008. The song received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, and was featured in the video games Midnight Club: Los Angeles and Skate 3.
"Go Hard" is the second single from DJ Khaled's third studio album, We Global. The hip-hop track features American rapper Kanye West and American singer T-Pain and their trademark auto-tune effect. The song is produced by The Runners. It first charted on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip Hop chart on December 4, 2008, debuting at number 25, where it peaked at number 15, and charted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs debuting at number 85 and then rising to number 53. It also debuted at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 the same week the album We Global was released due to digital downloads, also at number 19 on the Hot Rap Tracks.
"D.O.A. " is a song written by American rapper Jay-Z and produced by No I.D. The song was released as a digital download on June 23, 2009, and as the first single from Jay-Z's 11th studio album, The Blueprint 3. The song made its world premiere on the New York radio station Hot 97 on June 5. Its lyrics address the overusage of Auto-Tune in the music industry. The song samples "In the Space" by French composer Janko Nilović. The bridge is inspired by Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" and interpolates lyrics from Kanye West's "Big Brother", and "You're Nobody " by The Notorious B.I.G. The song won Jay-Z his eighth Grammy Award, and his second for Best Rap Solo Performance. It peaked at No. 24 on Billboard Hot 100.
Hustle Hard is the first official single from Ace Hood's third studio album Blood, Sweat & Tears. It originally appeared on Ace Hood's preceding mixtape The Statement. It is produced by Lex Luger. The official remix features Rick Ross and Lil Wayne. The original music video and half of the remix music video was made on the same day. A version of the track featuring Swizz Beatz was also a part of Swizz' "Monster Mondays" program. The remix music video was released to 106 & Park: BET's Top 10 Live, on his birthday, May 11, 2011.
Daniel Dwayne "Diggy" Simmons III is an American rapper and singer from Queens, New York City. The fourth child of Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons of Run DMC, he began his recording career in 2009 and signed with Atlantic Records the following year. In 2011, his single "Do It Like You" and guest appearance on Mindless Behavior's single "Mrs. Right" marked his first and only entries on the Billboard Hot 100. The former preceded the release of debut studio album, Unexpected Arrival (2012), which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200 and saw positive critical reception. He was chosen as part of XXL magazine's 2011 Annual Freshman List, and joined Lupe Fiasco's short-lived rap collective, All City Chess Club as its youngest member that same year.
"Niggas in Paris" is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West from their collaborative album Watch the Throne (2011). The song is built around a synth bell loop from the Dirty South Bangaz music library, and contains vocal samples from "Baptizing Scene" by Reverend W.A. Donaldson, an interpolation of "Victory" by Puff Daddy featuring The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes, and dialogue excerpts from the 2007 film Blades of Glory. On the week of the album's release, "Niggas in Paris" debuted at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually peaking at number five. Outside of the United States, "Niggas in Paris" peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom. As of 2018, it has sold 6.7 million archetype digital units in the United States. The song won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
American singer Teyana Taylor has released three studio albums, one compilation album, three mixtapes, and fifteen singles. In 2009, Taylor released her first mixtape, From a Planet Called Harlem, which included her debut single "Google Me". It debuted at its peak of number ninety on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Around this time, Taylor featured on songs with the likes of Trey Songz, Missy Elliott, and Kanye West. Taylor has spoken about her inspiration from fellow female musician Lauryn Hill, which was noted with the release of her second mixtape in 2012. The mixtape, entitled The Misunderstanding of Teyana Taylor, takes its name from Hill's album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
