Brand Nubian is an American hip hop group from New Rochelle, New York, composed of three emcees, and formerly three DJs. Their debut studio album, One for All (1990), is one of the most popular and acclaimed alternative hip hop albums of the 1990s, known for socially conscious and political lyrics inspired by the teachings of The Nation of Gods and Earths. In 2008, About.com placed the group on its list of the 25 Greatest Rap Groups of All Time.
Cameo is an American funk band that formed in 1974. Cameo was initially a 14-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo.
"I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto" is a song by American rapper 2Pac. It was released as the first single from the posthumous album R U Still Down? . The original version, titled "I Wonda if Heaven's Got a Ghetto", was released as a B-side on the 1993 single, "Keep Ya Head Up".
"Candy" is a song by American funk band Cameo, released as the second single from their 1986 album Word Up!. The song features a solo by saxophonist Michael Brecker. "Honey", a reworked version with different lyrics was included on their next album, Machismo.
"Scenario" is the third single from A Tribe Called Quest's second album The Low End Theory. The song features the rap group Leaders of the New School. Matt Cibula of PopMatters called the track hip-hop's greatest posse cut. The song is commonly considered a breakout moment for Leaders of the New School member Busta Rhymes, who was 19 when this song was released. Time included the song on its list of its All-TIME 100 Songs in 2017.
One for All is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Brand Nubian, released on December 4, 1990, by Elektra Records. The album was highly acclaimed for its politically charged and socially conscious content. Sales never matched the wide acclaim — the album has only sold 350,000 copies as of May 2013 — but it has remained in print since its 1990 release. The album is mainly produced by Brand Nubian, but it also features production by Skeff Anselm, Stimulated Dummies, and Dave "Jam" Hall. The album's production contains many motifs of hip hop's golden age including James Brown-sampled breakbeats and funky R&B loops. The album is broken down track-by-track by Brand Nubian in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique.
"Regulate" is a song performed by American rapper Warren G featuring American singer Nate Dogg. It was released in the spring of 1994 as the first single on the soundtrack to the film Above the Rim and later Warren G's debut album, Regulate... G Funk Era (1994). It became an MTV staple and the song reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. "Regulate" was number 98 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and number 108 on Pitchfork Media's "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s".
You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish is the second studio album by American funk musician George Clinton released in 1983 by Capitol Records. The album reached No. 18 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart.
"Slow Jamz" is a song by American rapper Twista featuring fellow American rapper and producer Kanye West and American singer Jamie Foxx. Produced by the latter, it was released in November 2003 through Atlantic and Roc-A-Fella Records, as the lead single from Twista's fourth studio album Kamikaze (2004), and the second single from West's debut studio album The College Dropout (2004). The song was written by Twista and West, with additional writing credits going to Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the sampling of Luther Vandross' cover of Dionne Warwick's 1964 song "A House Is Not a Home". Containing genres of hip hop, pop rap, R&B, and soul, the song's lyrics reference slow jam artists and describes the role of lovermen.
"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.
Joe Budden is the debut studio album by American rapper Joe Budden. It was released on June 10, 2003, by On Top, distributed by Def Jam. Recording sessions took place from 2002 to 2003, with production by Dub B aka White Boy, along with the other high-profile producers such as Just Blaze and Lofey. The album features guest appearances from Lil' Mo, Busta Rhymes and 112. Upon the record's release, it was met with favorable reviews from music critics. Joe Budden debuted at number 8 on the US Billboard 200, selling 95,000 units in its first week, later the record sold 420,000+ copies in the United States. It also entered at number 55 on the UK Albums Chart.
"Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down" is a song by the American hip hop group Brand Nubian included on their 1993 album In God We Trust. The song was later included on their 2001 greatest hits compilation album, The Very Best of Brand Nubian. The song samples "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti and "It's Your Thing" by Lou Donaldson.
Next Friday (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to Steve Carr's 2000 comedy film Next Friday. It was released on December 14, 1999, through Priority Records and consisted of hip hop and R&B music.
"You Bring Me Joy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey, and Chucky Thompson for her second studio album, My Life (1994), while overall music production was helmed by Combs and Thompson with the vocal tracks being produced by Jo-Jo. The song is built around a sample of "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" (1977) by singer Barry White. Due to the inclusion of the sample, Ekundayo Paris and Nelson Pigford are also credited as songwriters. "You Bring Me Joy" served as the third single from My Life and peaked at number 29 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, also topping the Hot Dance Club Songs.
"She's Strange" is a song by American funk band Cameo, released in 1984 as a single from their tenth studio album, She's Strange. The single was their first to top the R&B chart, hitting number one for four weeks in April 1984. The single was the band's first to reach the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, peaking at number forty-seven.
"Paid in Full" is a 1987 song by American hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim. Written and produced by group members Eric Barrier and Rakim Allah, the song was released as the fifth single from the duo's debut studio album of the same name. It became one of the group's most successful singles, owing heavily to a popular remix of the song by English electronic dance music duo Coldcut.
"Head Banger", also "Headbanger", is the second single released from EPMD's fourth album, Business Never Personal.
"The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World" is a song by American rapper Keith Murray. It was released on October 10, 1994 through Jive Records as the lead single from Murray's debut studio album The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World. Written by Murray and Erick Sermon, it was produced by the latter, who also provided background vocals. The song utilizes samples of the 1983 hit record "Between the Sheets" originally performed by The Isley Brothers, "Bootsy Gets Live" by Bootsy Collins and "Slow Down" by Brand Nubian.
"Where I Wanna Be" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Shade Sheist featuring Nate Dogg and Kurupt. It was released on October 28, 2000 via MCA Records as the first single from Shade Sheist's debut studio album Informal Introduction. Recording sessions took place at Larrabee West Recording Studios in West Hollywood. Production was handled by Eddie Berkeley and KayGee with Damizza serving as co-producer and presenter.
"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.
