Hard Core is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on November 12, 1996, by Undeas Recordings, Big Beat Records, and Atlantic Records. After achieving success with the hip hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A. and their album Conspiracy (1995), Kim began working on her solo album with the Notorious B.I.G. serving as the executive producer. She collaborated with a number of producers, such as Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Stevie J., David "Ski" Willis and Jermaine Dupri, among others. Other rappers, including Jay-Z, Lil' Cease and Puff Daddy were featured on the album.
The Score is the second and final studio album by the hip hop trio Fugees. The Score was released worldwide on February 13, 1996, on Columbia Records. The album features a wide range of samples and instrumentation, with many aspects of alternative hip hop that would come to dominate the hip-hop music scene in the mid- to late 1990s. Primarily, The Score's production was handled by the Fugees themselves, Jerry Duplessis and Warren Riker, with additional production from Salaam Remi, John Forté, Diamond D, and Shawn King. The album's guest verses are from Outsidaz members Rah Digga, Young Zee, and Pacewon, as well as Omega, John Forté, and Diamond D. Most versions of the album feature four bonus tracks, including three remixes of "Fu-Gee-La", and a short acoustic Wyclef Jean solo track entitled "Mista Mista".
"I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, Love Tracks (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular disco anthem, as well as being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Chantay Savage is an American R&B/dance singer. She experienced some success in the 1990s on various Billboard singles charts, one of which was "I Will Survive", a reworking of the Gloria Gaynor hit song.
This Time is the third studio album by American R&B singer Chantay Savage. It was released by RCA Records on July 13, 1999 in the United States. Production for the album was handled by several producers, including Kay Fingers, Kenny Flav, Robert Jazayeri, Marc Kinchen, Sean "Mystro" Mather, Keith Sweat, and Daniel Weatherspoon. This Time peaked at number 56 on Billboard's US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album's only single, "Come Around", peaked at number 62 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.
Mr. Smith is the sixth studio album by American hip hop recording artist LL Cool J, released on November 21, 1995, by Def Jam. The album has been certified Double Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
American singer Usher has released eight studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 80 singles. His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive and RCA record labels. Usher has sold more than 23 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide. With over 100 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has nine Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, producing three singles that had moderate chart success, and the album sold more than 500,000 copies. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album. It was certified six-times platinum in the US, and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one "You Make Me Wanna..." and first US Hot 100 number-one song "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001 with his third studio album 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles—"U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified four-times platinum in the US for sales of 4 million copies. Its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.
Nocturnal is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Heltah Skeltah. It was released on June 18, 1996 via Duck Down/Priority Records. Recording sessions took place at Chung King Studios, at Dollar Cab, at D&D Studios, and at Unique Recording Studios in New York City. Production was handled by Da Beatminerz, Buckshot, Shaleek, Shawn J. Period, Supreme, E-Swift, Lord Jamar and Sean Price. It features guest appearances from Originoo Gunn Clappaz, Illa Noyz, Representativz and Vinia Mojica. The album peaked at number 35 on the Billboard 200 and number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
American singer Ciara has released seven studio albums, one extended play, one DVD, one promotional single, 49 singles and 28 music videos, including seven as a featured artist. She made her debut in 2004 with her debut album Goodies which debuted at three in the US and charted within the top 40 in several international markets. The album's title track peaked at number-one in the United States for seven weeks and gave the singer the title of "The First Lady of Crunk&B", while singles "1, 2 Step" and "Oh" reached the top three in the US. All three singles reached the top 10 in many international markets, with "Goodies" topping charts in the UK. Goodies was certified triple-Platinum in the United States, Platinum in Canada, and sold over five million copies worldwide. Ciara also participated in a number of successful collaborations, including US top five hits "Lose Control" with Missy Elliott, and "Like You" with rapper Bow Wow, as well as the US top 10 "So What" with group Field Mob.
The discography of Common, an American rapper, consists of fourteen studio albums, one collaborative album, one extended play, two compilation albums, forty-nine singles and twenty-one music videos. It also contains the list of Common songs. Common sold more than 2.8 million albums in the United States. Common released his first album, Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), and follow suit with his second album, Resurrection, which met with critical acclaim, calling the album as one of the classic of the 90s. Common released his third album, One Day It'll All Make Sense, which was a little commercial success, follow suit with his fourth album, Like Water for Chocolate, which was met with critical acclaim from music critics, calling it the best rap album of the year. The album was also a commercial success certifying it gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His fifth studio album Electric Circus was met with acclaim from music critics. However, it failed to meet the commercial success with Like Water for Chocolate, which only peaked at number 47 on the US Billboard 200.
"Doin It" is the second single from LL Cool J's sixth album, Mr. Smith, and was released on February 20, 1996 for Def Jam Recordings. Based on a sample of Grace Jones' "My Jamaican Guy", it also featured LeShaun, production from Rashad "Ringo" Smith and LL Cool J. In several interviews, both the artist and producer stated that the instrumental was originally meant for The Notorious B.I.G., to be used for a song and single on his Life After Death album, which was posthumously released.
American singer Ne-Yo has released nine studio albums, forty-one singles and several other appearances with other artists.
Here We Go... is the debut studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Chantay Savage, released on June 22, 1993 on RCA Records. Here We Go... peaked at number 89 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Back to Me is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Fantasia. It was released on August 24, 2010, by J Records. The album's title was suggested to her by comedian Steve Harvey, when Barrino visited his morning radio program. The album sold 117,000 in its first week, debuting at number two on the US Billboard 200 and at number one on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it Fantasia's highest-charting album as of September 2010.
American rapper Big Sean has released five studio albums, four mixtapes, thirty-one singles, eight promotional singles, and thirty-nine music videos. In 2008, Big Sean was discovered by American rapper and record producer Kanye West, who signed Sean to his record label GOOD Music—distributed through Def Jam Recordings. Since 2008, after signing a record deal to West's label G.O.O.D. Music, Sean's breakthrough career continued through his mixtapes such as Finally Famous Vol. 2: UKnowBigSean (2009) and Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG (2010). While he was releasing these mixtapes, he collaborated on various tracks and/or singles from West, Royce da 5'9" and Chris Brown.
American rapper Kendrick Lamar has released five studio albums, one compilation album, one extended play (EP), five mixtapes, 65 singles, and three promotional singles. Lamar initially performed under the stage name K.Dot, releasing three mixtapes under that moniker: Y.H.N.I.C. (2004), Training Day (2005), and C4 (2009). He gained major attention after the release of his fourth mixtape Overly Dedicated, which was released in 2010. It was Lamar's first full-length project to be released under his birth name and fared well enough to enter the United States Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, where it peaked at number 72.
American rapper Lil Wayne has released 285 singles including 19 promotional singles. Lil Wayne attained his first singles chart entry in 1999 as a featured artist on Hot Boys member Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which peaked at number 19 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. Wayne later released his debut solo studio album Tha Block Is Hot in November 1999. Its title track and lead single, which features B.G. and Juvenile, reached number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lights Out followed in December 2000 and produced the singles "Get Off the Corner", "Everything" and "Shine". "Way of Life", the lead single from Wayne's third studio album 500 Degreez, peaked at number 71 on the Hot 100 and became a top 20 hit on the Hot Rap Songs chart. In 2004, Wayne was featured on the single "Soldier" by American girl group Destiny's Child, which became his first top ten hit on the Hot 100 and enjoyed commercial success internationally.
Solo is the debut studio album by American R&B group Solo, released September 12, 1995 via Perspective Records. The album was executive produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and it peaked at No. 52 on the Billboard 200.
The discography of Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage consists of two studio albums, three collaborative albums, two mixtapes, three extended plays, and 30 singles.
American rapper and record producer Ye, better known as Kanye West, has released 138 singles, four promotional singles and charted with 65 other songs.
