Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. A prominent and respected figure in the realm of conscious hip hop, he is often mentioned among the greatest rappers of all time, recognized for his clever wordplay and commentary on social and political issues, such as police brutality, American exceptionalism, and the social status of African Americans.
Fugees are an American hip hop trio formed in 1990 in South Orange, New Jersey. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to prominence in the mid-1990s for their pioneering blend of reggae, R&B, funk and hip hop, which eschewed gangsta rap and made them one of the most significant alternative hip hop acts. They occasionally rapped in Haitian Creole, and were one of the first hip hop bands to incorporate live instrumentation during their performances, along with The Roots.
Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics.
The Native Tongues were a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal members were the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Monie Love, and Queen Latifah. The collective was also closely tied to the Universal Zulu Nation. Rolling Stone cites the track "Doin' Our Own Dang" as "the definitive Native Tongues posse cut".
Reflection Eternal is an American hip hop duo composed of emcee Talib Kweli and producer Hi-Tek. They released their first album, Train of Thought, in 2000. They have since released a mixtape, The RE: Union, in late December 2009, and their second album Revolutions Per Minute was released May 18, 2010.
Quality is the first studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. The album was released on November 19, 2002, by Rawkus Records. It received wide critical acclaim and had some commercial appeal from the song "Get By", produced by Kanye West. Kludge magazine included it on their list of best albums of 2002.
James Jason Poyser is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He performed as a member of the Philadelphia-based hip hop band The Roots since 2009. He met Jimmy Fallon in 2013 and served as a live session musician for his NBC talk shows Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Black Star is an American hip hop duo formed in 1996, from Brooklyn, New York City. The duo is composed of rappers Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli. The duo is named after The Black Star Line, a shipping company founded by Marcus Garvey. Their critically-acclaimed debut album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star was released on September 29, 1998. After decades of only releasing singles and appearing on compilations, Black Star released their sophomore studio album No Fear of Time May 3, 2022 on the podcasting platform Luminary.
The Soulquarians were a rotating collective of experimental Black music artists active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Members of the collective included singer and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, drummer and producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, producer J Dilla, singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, keyboardist James Poyser, singer Bilal, bassist Pino Palladino, rapper-producers Q-Tip, Mos Def ,Talib Kweli, Common, Slum Village. Prior to its formation, Q-Tip, Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli were members of the Native Tongues collective, while Q-Tip's original group A Tribe Called Quest served as another inspiration behind the Soulquarians.
Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry, better known as simply Def Poetry Jam or Def Poetry, is a spoken word poetry television series hosted by Mos Def and airing on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The series features performances by established and up-and-coming spoken word poets. Performances also include special appearances by well-known actors and musicians, as well as occasional performances by Mos Def himself. Co-created by Bruce George, Danny Simmons, Deborah Pointer, Stan Lathan, and Russell Simmons, the show is a spin-off of the popular Def Comedy Jam which began airing on HBO in the 1990s. As with Def Comedy, Simmons appears at the end of every episode to thank the audience.
"The Blast" is a hip hop single from Reflection Eternal's debut album, Train of Thought. It features rapping from the duo's emcee, Talib Kweli, as well as from its producer, DJ Hi-Tek. It is the only Reflection Eternal song that Hi-Tek raps on, and like all Reflection Eternal songs, he produces it. The song has a somber and jazzy beat backed by vocals from Vinia Mojica. It has a music video directed by Little X in which Kweli and Hi-Tek are rapping in a rainstorm. Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def, Pharaohe Monch and Kweli's grandmother, Javotti Greene make cameo appearances. The music video version is extended in length, and gives Talib Kweli an extra verse. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks and #49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and was engineered by Guy Snider. The official remix features new verses by Talib Kweli as well as neo-soul singer Erykah Badu.
"Get By" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Talib Kweli. It was released on March 11, 2003 as the third single from his debut studio album Quality (2002). The hip hop song, produced by Kanye West, samples "Sinnerman" as performed by Nina Simone and features background vocals from Abby Dobson, Chinua Hawk, Kendra Ross, Vernetta Bobien, and William "Na2" Taylor. The song peaked at number 77 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming Kweli's most successful solo hit.
ThisIsRealMusic.com is an online hip-hop, soul and urban alternative music discovery tool. The site hosts a collective of indie, midstream and mainstream artists from across the globe and serves as a source to learn about and listen to new and established musicians. The site was originally created and programmed by its current Editor in Chief, Talib Nelson in 2006 as a music blog. But after a new partnership with indie film producer Terrance Wilmore and a massive overhaul, it turned into a fully functioning music website with articles, music videos, blogs, a music sampler, video interviews, free downloads (legal) and video blogs created by some of the artists themselves. The website relaunched in February 2009 and has since been able to align itself among bigger more established music sites.
The Summer Tour was a concert tour in 2006 by American R&B singer Erykah Badu. The tour started on June 10, in Knoxville, Tennessee with three shows in North America and several shows through the summer in Europe and a second outing in North America. Badu co-headlined dates in August with Jill Scott and Queen Latifah for their "Sugar Water Tour".
D. (Derick) Prosper began his career as a poet on the NPS National Poetry Slam circuit. He won several regional competitions and featured on the 1994 Providence Poetry Slam Team. D. Prosper was the youngest poet featured on the tour. He ranked fourth in the nation at the NPS finals in Asheville, North Carolina. Prosper was also featured in respected publication Fast Folk Music Magazine. He eventually earned a coveted spot on the 1994 Lollapalooza Tour D. Prosper's love of spoken word poetry ignited his passion for hip-hop music.
Talib Kweli Greene is an American rapper. He earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with solo success including collaborations with producers and rappers Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pharrell Williams. In 2011, Kweli founded his own record label, Javotti Media.
The following list is a discography of production by J Dilla, an American hip hop record producer and recording artist from Detroit, Michigan. It includes a list of songs produced, co-produced and remixed by year, artist, album and title.
No Fear of Time is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Black Star. Entirely produced by Madlib, the album marks the duo's first full-length release in 24 years, following 1998's Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, and was released on May 3, 2022, via podcasting network Luminary.
