"Hit 'Em Up" is a diss song by hip hop artist 2Pac featuring the Outlawz, a group associated with him. It is the B-side to the single "How Do U Want It", released on June 4, 1996. The song's lyrics contain vicious insults to several East Coast rappers, chief among them, Shakur's former-friend-turned-rival, the Notorious B.I.G., also known as Biggie Smalls. The song was recorded in Los Angeles, California at Can Am Studios in May 1996. Reporter Chuck Philips, who interviewed Shakur at Can Am, described the song as "a caustic anti-East Coast crusade in which the rapper threatens to eliminate Biggie, Sean Combs (Puffy), and a slew of Bad Boy artists and other New York acts." The song was produced by long-time collaborator Johnny "J" and samples the bassline from "Don't Look Any Further" by Dennis Edwards and interpolates "10% Dis" by MC Lyte, "Get Money" by The Notorious B.I.G.'s group Junior M.A.F.I.A., which used the Dennis Edwards sample as well. The video, itself described as infamous, includes impersonations of Biggie, Puffy and M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Kim.
Richard Andrew Thorburn, better known by his stage name R.A. the Rugged Man, is an American rapper. He began his music career at age 12, building a reputation locally for his lyrical skills. R.A. signed to major label Jive Records at age 18, but his debut album, Night of the Bloody Apes, was never released.
"One More Chance / Stay with Me (Remix)" is a song written and recorded by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., featuring additional vocals sung by his wife Faith Evans and an uncredited appearance by Mary J. Blige. It was certified platinum by the RIAA on July 31, 1995 and sold 1.1 million copies.
Gregg Michael Gillis, known by the stage name Girl Talk, is an American disc jockey who specializes in mashups and digital sampling. Gillis has released five LPs on the record label Illegal Art and EPs on both 333 and 12 Apostles. He was trained as an engineer.
"Crazy" is the debut single by the American soul duo Gnarls Barkley, taken from their 2006 debut album St. Elsewhere. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and other countries.
"Spit Your Game" is the second single by Notorious B.I.G. from his Duets: The Final Chapter album, a remixed album of Biggie Smalls' work. The song features guest appearances from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's Krayzie Bone and Twista and sampled Walter Jackson's "My Ship Is Coming In". The single is a double A-side with "Hold Ya Head", a song which samples "Johnny Was" by Bob Marley.
Randy Walker, better known by his stage name Stretch, was an American rapper and record producer who was a close friend and collaborator of Tupac Shakur. A member of the Live Squad with his brother Majesty, the group was notable for their early recordings with Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. until the 1994 attack on Shakur at Quad Recording Studios resulted in a highly publicised falling out. On November 30, 1995, Stretch was the first of the three former friends to be murdered.
"Dead Wrong" is a song by the Notorious B.I.G., taken from his third overall album, Born Again. The song features background vocals from Diddy and rap vocals from Eminem, and it was released as a single posthumously in 1999. The song samples the drum break from Al Green's song, "I'm Glad You're Mine".
"Who Shot Ya?" is a controversial gangsta rap song by The Notorious B.I.G., a B-side to his 1995 hit single, "Big Poppa". The track was later released on the posthumous album Born Again, the remastered edition of Ready to Die, and The Greatest Hits.
"Who Cares?" and "Gone Daddy Gone" are songs performed by Gnarls Barkley and are featured on their debut album, St. Elsewhere. The songs were released on November 6, 2006 as a double A-sided single from that album in the United Kingdom. A week later, on November 13, 2006, the single debuted at No. 60 in the UK Singles Chart. "Gone Daddy Gone" is a cover of the Violent Femmes song. The song peaked at No. 26 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 35 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart. The song "Gone Daddy Gone" is also featured in the soundtrack for the video game Tony Hawk's Project 8, the soundtrack for Forza Motorsport 2 and in the trailer for the Chris Rock film I Think I Love My Wife.
Gnarls Barkley is an American soul duo, composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, St. Elsewhere, in 2006. It contained their hit single "Crazy", which peaked at number two on the US Hot 100 and topped the UK Singles Chart. It was nominated at the 2007 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, and was platinum certified for shipping over 1,000,000 records. St. Elsewhere also received a nomination for Album of the Year. The Odd Couple, their second studio album, was scheduled for release in April 2008, but due to a leak of their album over the internet, they decided to release it early. The album in its entirety received good reviews, but it did not have as much commercial success as their first album.
"Party and Bullshit" is a song by American hip hop artist The Notorious B.I.G., then known as Biggie Smalls. The song is the artist's debut single and was released as the fourth promotional single for the soundtrack to the 1993 film Who's the Man?.
The Odd Couple is the second studio album by Gnarls Barkley, released digitally on March 18 and in stores March 25, 2008. Due to an early leak of the album over the Internet in early March 2008, the duo decided to push up the release from April 8. The album was released to the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 on March 18.
the notorious xx is a mashup project that pairs the music of Notorious B.I.G. with the debut album of The xx, xx. It was released on the web March 25, 2010 and at a San Francisco listening party. Since its release, the album received one million downloads, press from thousands of blogs and magazines, including New York Magazine and LA Weekly, and The Guardian called it "the best mashup album of 2010".
The discography of Gnarls Barkley, an American alternative hip hop duo composed of record producer Danger Mouse and soul singer Cee Lo Green, consists of two studio albums, two extended plays, seven singles and seven music videos. The duo originally met in the late 1990s, and began to record music together in 2003 following the release of Danger Mouse's 2003 album Ghetto Pop Life. Their first single, "Crazy", was released in 2006; it achieved worldwide chart success, reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 – where it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) – and reaching the top ten of the Australian, New Zealand and Swiss singles charts, among others. It also topped the UK Singles Chart, attracting considerable attention for becoming the first song ever to top the chart on digital download sales alone, following a change to the chart's eligibility rules allowing songs to chart purely on digital sales providing that it was given a physical release the following week. The song appeared on Gnarls Barkley's debut studio album, St. Elsewhere, which peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 as well as topping the New Zealand and United Kingdom albums charts. Three further singles – "Smiley Faces", which reached the top ten of the UK and Irish singles charts, "Who Cares?" and a cover of the Violent Femmes song "Gone Daddy Gone" – were released from St. Elsewhere, although none of them appeared on the Billboard Hot 100.
Ben H. Allen (III.) is a Grammy Award-winning record producer, mixer and songwriter based in Atlanta, GA. He has produced and mixed records by artists such as Walk the Moon, Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley, Kaiser Chiefs, Cut Copy and Neon Indian.
