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Sam Sneed | |
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| Birth name | Samuel D. Anderson [1] |
| Born | February 29, 1968 McKeesport, Pennsylvania, U.S. [2] |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Years active | 1991–present [2] |
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Sam Sneed (born Samuel D. Anderson; February 29, 1968) is an American producer and rapper. He originally got his start working as a producer for K-Solo and the Hit Squad. [2]
In 1993, he was signed to Death Row Records, releasing only one single, "U Better Recognize" featuring Dr. Dre in 1994. The single appeared on the Murder Was the Case soundtrack, and peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart, #18 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart and #48 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.. He became well known for a catchphrase, "My name is Sam Sneed, you better recognize!" which originally appeared on the Snoop Dogg debut album, Doggystyle. He also appeared in the Death Row movie, Murder Was the Case . [4]
Sam Sneed also co-produced the hit songs "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" and "Natural Born Killaz" with Dr. Dre. "Natural Born Killaz" was originally supposed to be a Sam Sneed and J-Flexx song called "The Heist". The original alternate version of "Natural Born Killaz" with Sam Sneed rapping a verse was released on the Ultimate Death Row Collection on November 24, 2009. He recorded an album on Death Row Records with his group Street Scholars in 1996 which included J-Flexx, Sharief (now known as Killer Ben) & Drauma (now known as Stocks McGuire) which remains unreleased.
Sneed was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1999, which put a temporary halt to his career; [5] but has since recovered and is once again an active hip hop producer. He has since produced songs for the likes of G-Unit, Scarface, Jay-Z and many others, Sam went to work with Dr. Dre in 2007 again, but nothing manifested. He has since started a new company with his business partner Craig "Stretch" Mason, Nustarz Entertainment. The label features new artists managed by Sam such as The Boy Goldy, Money Ink and British rapper, producer and songwriter Nat Powers. [6]
In 2010, Death Row/WIDEawake Entertainment announced the release date (January 25, 2011) for Sam Sneed's album Street Scholars, which contained four unreleased songs from Sneed's time at Death Row, along with 10 newly recorded tracks.
Andre Romell Young, known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and was the president of Death Row Records. Young began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru in 1985 and later found fame with the gangsta rap group N.W.A. The group popularized explicit lyrics in hip hop to detail the violence of street life. During the early 1990s, Young was credited as a key figure in the crafting and popularization of West Coast G-funk, a subgenre of hip hop characterized by a synthesizer foundation and slow, heavy beats.
N.W.A was an American hip hop group formed in Compton, California. They were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential groups in the history of hip hop music.
The Chronic is the debut studio album by the American hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his own record label Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records. Recording sessions took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles and at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.
Doggystyle is the debut studio album by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. It was released on November 23, 1993, by Death Row Records and Interscope Records. The album was recorded and produced following Snoop's appearances on Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic (1992), to which Snoop contributed significantly. The West Coast style in hip-hop that he developed from Dre's first album continued on Doggystyle. Critics have praised Snoop Dogg for the lyrical "realism" that he delivers on the album and for his distinctive vocal flow.
Death Row Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and 2Pac, during the 1990s. At its peak, Death Row was making over US$100 million a year.
Murder Was the Case is a 1994 short film and soundtrack album starring and performed by Snoop Doggy Dogg. The 18 minute film was directed by Dr. Dre and Fab Five Freddy and chronicles the fictional death of Snoop Dogg and his resurrection after making a deal with the Devil. The film's title comes from Snoop's song of the same name from his debut album, Doggystyle, which had been released a year earlier.
Priest Joseph Brooks, is a hip hop producer and rapper from Long Beach, California. He is a member of the DPGC.
"California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper-producer Dr. Dre and American singer Roger Troutman of the funk group Zapp. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first single as the newest artist of Death Row Records. The original version is featured on the UK version of his fourth album, All Eyez on Me (1996), and is one of 2Pac's most widely known and most successful singles. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and also topped the charts of Italy, New Zealand, and Sweden. The song was posthumously nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997.
Tha Doggfather is the second studio album by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. It was released on November 12, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records. After the success of his debut album Doggystyle (1993), Snoop was arrested and charged with murder and in 1995, spent time preparing for the case that went to trial. On February 20, 1996, he was cleared of all charges and began working on his second album without Dr. Dre providing work as a record producer. This was Snoop's final album on Death Row until 2022, when he acquired the rights to the Death Row trademarks from MNRK Music Group, releasing BODR the same year. This would also be his last album under the moniker Snoop Doggy Dogg. Recording sessions took place from February 1996 to October 1996, with Suge Knight as the executive producer on the album, alongside the additional production from several record producers such as DJ Pooh, Daz Dillinger, Soopafly and L.T. Hutton; as well as guest appearances from Charlie Wilson, Kurupt, Tray Dee and Warren G, among others.
2001 is the second studio album by American rapper and hip hop producer Dr. Dre. It was released on November 16, 1999, by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records as the follow-up to his 1992 debut album, The Chronic. The album was produced mainly by Dr. Dre and Mel-Man, as well as Lord Finesse, and features several guest contributions from Hittman, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Xzibit, Eminem, and Nate Dogg.
"Natural Born Killaz" is a collaborative single released by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube for the soundtrack of the film Murder Was the Case. It was originally intended for the scrapped album Heltah Skeltah. It would later be used by professional wrestling tag team The Gangstas during their Extreme Championship Wrestling stint before being used by New Jack for the following years. The music video also has a brief appearance from Death Row labelmate 2Pac towards the end of the video.
Gridlock'd – The Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Vondie Curtis-Hall film Gridlock'd and was released on 28 January 1997 by Death Row Records and Interscope Records.
"Hail Mary" is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur from his fifth studio album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996). It was released after his September 1996 murder under the Makaveli stage name as the album's third single. Hail Mary features rap verses by Kastro, Young Noble and Yaki Kadafi of the Outlawz rap group and vocals from reggae musician Prince Ital Joe. A music video was shot for the song and can be found on the DualDisc of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.
"Keep Their Heads Ringin'" is a song by American rapper Dr. Dre featuring vocalist Nanci Fletcher. It was the only single released from the soundtrack of the 1995 movie Friday, starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. Although the soundtrack was released on Priority Records, Death Row Records still owns the masters to the song. In the United States, the song topped the Hot Rap Tracks chart and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certified gold by the RIAA on May 10, 1995, and sold 700,000 copies domestically. It interpolates "Funk You Up" by The Sequence from their 1980 single released under Sugar Hill.
J-Flexx is an American former rapper and producer of Death Row Records.
The discography of American record producer, sound engineer, and rapper Dr. Dre consists of three studio albums, forty-two singles,, two compilation album, one soundtrack album, and twenty-one music videos.
Death Row Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album and second double album released by Death Row Records. Released on November 26, 1996, the thirty-three song compilation contains hits by former and then-current Death Row artists as well as previously unreleased tracks and remixes. The album peaked at number 35 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum on August 12, 1999.
Stephen Anderson, better known as Bud'da, is an American producer, songwriter, composer and rapper for artists such as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Xzibit and Aaliyah. Through the successful Westside Connection stint, and the mutual acquaintance of fellow Pittsburgh producer Sam Sneed, Dr. Dre wanted to feature snippets of a Bud’da-produced track in the beginning and end of the 2pac & Dr. Dre video for “California Love,” off Tupac Shakur’s All Eyez on Me. Soon after Dr. Dre’s historic departure from Death Row Records, Bud’da was once again recruited by Dr. Dre to co-produce the lead single "Been There, Done That" off the Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath album.
"U Better Recognize" is Sam Sneed's first and only single while he was on Death Row Records. The B-side was "Come When I Call" by Danny Boy.
The 1995 Source Awards were held at the Paramount Theater in New York City on August 3, 1995. The awards show was one of the most infamous events in the history of hip-hop. The show escalated tensions between the East and West Side hip-hop communities, thereby likely catalysing the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls within the following two years. Televised nationally, the show also worsened America’s moral panic about the influence of rap and hip-hop on its youth.
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