Crunk is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more dance and club oriented subgenres. An archetypal crunk track frequently uses a main groove consisting of layered keyboard synths, a drum machine clapping rhythm, heavy basslines, and shouting vocals, often in a call and response manner. The term "crunk" was also used throughout the 2000s as a blanket term to denote any style of Southern hip hop, a side effect of the genre's breakthrough to the mainstream. The word derives from its African-American Vernacular English past-participle form, "crunk", of the verb "to crank". It refers to being excited or high on drugs.
Kings of Crunk is the fourth studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on October 29, 2002 through BME Recordings/TVT Records. Recording sessions took place at Stankonia Recording, Soundlabs Studio, Flamingo Studios, The Zone, Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, at Audio Vision Recording in Miami, at Liveson Studios in Yonkers, at Piety Street Studios in New Orleans, at Cotton Row Studios in Memphis, at Quad Studios, Streetlight Studios and TMF Studios in New York, at The Orange Room, at The Den, and at Doppler Studios. Production was handled solely by Lil' Jon, who also served as executive producer together with Bryan Leach, Emperor Searcy, Rob McDowell and Vince Phillips. It features guest appearances from Oobie, Bun B, Chyna Whyte, 8Ball & MJG, Big Gipp, Bo Hagon, Devin the Dude, E-40, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Krayzie Bone, Mystikal, Pastor Troy, Petey Pablo, Styles P, Too $hort, Trick Daddy, Ying-Yang Twins, Luke, Pimpin Ken, Pitbull and T.I.
Jonathan H. Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper and the former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre crunk, and is credited with bringing the genre into mainstream success. Lil Jon frequently collaborates with Miami-based rapper Pitbull, and Bay Area-based rappers Too Short and E-40. He participates as one-third of an unofficial trio consisting of Atlanta-based artists Ludacris and Usher who frequently create songs together.
Crunk Juice is the fifth and final studio album by American Southern hip hop group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. It was released on November 16, 2004, under BME Recordings and TVT Records. The production was primarily handled by Lil Jon himself, who also collaborated in the executive production, alongside Bryan Leach, Rob McDowell, Emperor Searcy, Vince Phillips, the Neptunes and Rick Rubin. The album includes guest appearances from rappers and singers, like R. Kelly, Ludacris, Ice Cube, Usher, Bun B from UGK, Jadakiss, Nas, T.I., the Ying Yang Twins and Pharrell.
The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine and D-Roc. Despite the name, the duo are not twin brothers. They debuted in 2000 and rose to mainstream popularity in 2003 collaborating with Britney Spears on her album In the Zone and with Lil Jon on "Get Low". In 2004 and 2005, the Ying Yang Twins became more popular with party singles "Salt Shaker", "Wait ", "Shake" and "Badd". They have received notoriety for their song "Halftime " which is played at New Orleans Saints homegames after most touchdowns. In 2008, the hip hop duo released The Official Work mixtape. In 2009, they followed with their Ying Yang Forever mixtape. Just three months later, the duo released Legendary Status: Ying Yang Twins Greatest Hits. In 2013, the Ying Yang Twins released the Ass in Session and Twurk or Die mixtapes.
"Slow Motion" is a song by American rapper Juvenile featuring American rapper Soulja Slim. It was released as a single on March 1, 2004 and is Juvenile's and Soulja Slim's only number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song is an original production by Dani Kartel. It held the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks from August 7, 2004, and was the first number one for both Juvenile and Soulja Slim. It was the seventh song to reach number 1 posthumously for a credited artist since "Mo Money Mo Problems" by The Notorious B.I.G. in 1997, and was also the first number 1 hit for Cash Money Records.
Wayne Hardnett Jr., professionally known as Bone Crusher, is an American rapper and hip hop producer. He is credited as being one of the inventors of the crunk sound. In 2003, at the height of his career, his debut album AttenCHUN! reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and his debut single "Never Scared" reached the top 10 on the R&B and Rap charts. The success of the single led him to win a Source Award along with a Grammy Award nomination and an American Music Awards nomination. "Never Scared" was the theme song for the 2003 Atlanta Braves MLB, and was featured in the Madden NFL 2004 video game.
Me & My Brother is the third studio album by Southern hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins. It was released on September 16, 2003 via TVT Records. Recording sessions took place at ColliPark Studio and The Zone in Atlanta, at TDD Studios in Miami, and at The Sound Lab Studios in Smyrna, GA. Production was handled by Mr. Collipark, Lil Jon and Derrick Williams. It features guest appearances from Bonecrusher, Hitman Sammy Sam, Khujo Goodie, Killer Mike, K.T., Ms. Flawless, Tha Rhythum, Trick Daddy, Lil' Jon & The East Side Boyz.
"Bojangles" is a song by American rapper Pitbull. It was released in May 2006 as the lead single from his album El Mariel. It was produced by Lil Jon. The remix features Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins. It featured a controversial video featuring the Ying Yang Twins and Lil Jon.
"Hot Boyz" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Missy Elliott featuring American rapper and singer-songwriter Lil' Mo. The remix version of the song was an urban hit featuring Nas, Eve and Q-Tip. The remix broke the record for most weeks at number-one on the US R&B chart on the issue dated January 15, 2000; as well as spending 18 weeks at number one on the Hot Rap Singles from December 4, 1999, to March 25, 2000, a record not broken until "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X in 2019. The song also reached number 5 on the US Hot 100 on January 15, 2000. In the UK, the song became the biggest hit from the Da Real World album; it peaked at #18, being Missy's sixth top 40 and fourth top 20 solo success. On February 4, 2000 the song was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
"Get Low" is the debut single by American rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, featuring American hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins, released as a single in 2003. It first appeared on the 2002 album Kings of Crunk. "Get Low" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Hot Digital Songs chart. It was number five on the top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs of 2003. Outside of the United States, "Get Low" peaked within the top ten of the charts in the United Kingdom, the top twenty of the charts in Germany and the top forty of the charts in Australia, Austria, and New Zealand. It is also known as a breakthrough song for the crunk genre, as the song's success helped it become mainstream. It is listed number 99 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.
"What U Gon' Do" is a single by Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz from their album Crunk Juice and features Lil Scrappy. It is one of the best known songs that Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz recorded together.
"Badd" is the second single from the Ying Yang Twins' album U.S.A. . It features Mike Jones and Mr. Collipark. In 2006 it reached number 6 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was produced by Mr. Collipark. The music video is set inside various casinos and hotels in Las Vegas.
The discography of Lil Jon, an American rapper, consists of 7 studio albums and 15 singles. Lil Jon was the lead vocalist for the group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz from 1997 to 2004. Since the group broke up, Lil Jon has continued to produce his own music and tracks for other artists.
This is the discography of rapper Lil Scrappy.
This is the discography of American rap duo Ying Yang Twins.
"Freek-a-Leek" is an American hip hop song co-written and recorded by American rapper Petey Pablo. It was released on December 1, 2003, as the second single from his second album, Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry (2004). It was produced by Lil Jon and is an example of a crunk song. The single peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 2004.
This is the discography of southern rap duo YoungBloodZ.
"Let's Go" is a song by American rapper Trick Daddy, released as the first single from his 2004 sixth studio album Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets. It features Twista and Lil Jon and was produced by Jim Jonsin and Bigg D. The song became a top ten hit, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Trick Daddy's most successful single of his career. The song samples "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne. It was used in the films Stomp the Yard (2007) and Neighbors (2014) in addition to the extended trailer for Megamind (2010) and the theatrical trailer for Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). In 2019, the song is heard during the trailer for a new mode in Gears 5 called Escape. Despite the sample already being cleared with Osbourne's publishing, Osbourne never heard the song until February 2021 when producer Andrew Watt played him the song to his approval.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 8 is the eighth annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released June 29, 2004, and distributed by Image Entertainment, Hip Hop Hits Volume 8 features sixteen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 43 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and number 45 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It is also one of only two Hip Hop Hits albums to be released in the same year; Volume 9 was released six months later.
