Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper and songwriter. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap traditions, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laidback lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often grim content. His music was often semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality, but also of debauchery and celebration.
Trevor George Smith Jr., known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes. He has received 12 Grammy Award nominations for his work, making him one of the most-nominated artists without winning.
Harlem World is the debut album by American hip hop recording artist Mase, released on October 28, 1997, by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records. The album was nominated at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. It went on to sell 4.8 million copies in the United States, going quadruple Platinum in the US
Reasonable Doubt is the debut studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on June 25, 1996, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Priority Records. The album features production provided by DJ Premier, Ski, Knobody and Clark Kent, and also includes guest appearances from Memphis Bleek, Mary J. Blige, Jaz-O and The Notorious B.I.G., among others. The album features mafioso rap themes and gritty lyrics about the "hustler" lifestyle and material obsessions.
The Black Album is the eighth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 14, 2003, through Roc-A-Fella Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group. It was advertised as his final album before retiring, which is also a recurring theme throughout the songs, although Jay-Z resumed his recording career in 2006. For the album, Jay-Z wanted to enlist a different producer for each song, working with Just Blaze, Kanye West, The Neptunes, Eminem, DJ Quik, Timbaland, 9th Wonder and Rick Rubin, among others. The album also features a guest appearance by Pharrell Williams.
Antonio Hardy, better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hip hop.
"Ether" is a diss song by American rapper Nas, from his 2001 album Stillmatic. The song was a response to Jay-Z's "Takeover", a diss track directed towards Nas and Prodigy.
Tha Blue Carpet Treatment is the eighth studio album by West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg. It was released on November 21, 2006, by Doggystyle Records and Geffen Records. It is also the final album to have Nate Dogg featured on it during his lifetime. Recording sessions took place from November 2005 to September 2006 in several recording studios and artists such as Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, DJ Battlecat, DJ Pooh, Timbaland, Danja, Mark Batson, Terrace Martin, and Mr. Porter appear on the album, among others.
Dawaun Parker is an American record producer and rapper. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2005, he became a producer for Dr. Dre’s record label Aftermath Entertainment. He received his first formal credit on 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin' soundtrack, and contributed to several songs on Busta Rhymes' number 1 album, The Big Bang, as well as Jay-Z's return record, Kingdom Come. Parker co-wrote the number 1 single, "Crack a Bottle", by Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, and co-produced nearly every track on Relapse.
"Dead Presidents" is a 1996 song by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released as the first promotional single for Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt, though it did not directly appear on the album: a different version of the song with the same backing track and chorus but with different lyrics called "Dead Presidents II" appeared on Reasonable Doubt. "Dead Presidents II" was voted #16 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs.
"How to Rob" is a song by American hip hop recording artist 50 Cent, released as his commercial debut single by Columbia Records. The song serves as the lead single from his intended debut studio album Power of the Dollar, which was ultimately shelved by the label due to controversies surrounding 50 Cent. The song, which features vocals from The Madd Rapper, was produced by the Trackmasters. The song was also included on the soundtrack to the film In Too Deep. The song was later included on 50 Cent’s 2017 greatest hits album, Best Of.
Back on My B.S. is the eighth studio album by American rapper Busta Rhymes. It was released on May 19, 2009 through Flipmode and Universal Motown.
"Victory" is a song recorded by American hip hop recording artist Puff Daddy. The song was originally written by The Notorious B.I.G., Jason Phillips and Steven Jordan for his debut studio album No Way Out (1997). It features heavy use of mafioso-style lyrics, as was popular at the time. It features The Notorious B.I.G., who raps two verses, and Busta Rhymes, who raps the song's chorus. The song also heavily sampled the Bill Conti song "Going the Distance", which featured on the soundtrack to the movie Rocky making it a darker start to a rap album that featured many club-standard singles. The song was released as a single in 1998, peaking at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song featured the last verses recorded by The Notorious B.I.G. before his 1997 death as these verses were recorded a day before his shooting. The song was used for the EA Sports video game, Fight Night 2004, and the 2K Sports video game, NBA 2K13 by Puff Daddy and the Family featuring The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes. This was re-used for the soundtrack of NBA 2K18. It was also used on professional wrestling, for Masahiro Chono's Team 2000 faction in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Fort Minor: We Major, often known as We Major, is an official mixtape by American rapper Mike Shinoda's side-project Fort Minor, hosted by DJ Green Lantern. The mixtape was made as a warm-up/prequel to promote their first album The Rising Tied, and was first released on the internet as a free download. It was released on October 30, 2005, through the Warner Bros. and Machine Shop record labels. A hard-copy compact disc was also released to members of the Fort Minor Street Team, and some participants of contests at that time. A limited edition of the mixtape was released in 2006 with a different cover art.
"H•A•M" is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West. It was released as the first single from their collaborative studio album Watch the Throne on January 11, 2011. It was produced by Lexus "Lex Luger" Lewis and Kanye West. The song has served as the opening track to the duo's North American and European Watch the Throne Tour. Various rap artists have remixed it, such as Ace Hood and Busta Rhymes. The song was featured in the 2012 film Project X.
"Otis" is a song by American hip hop artists Jay-Z and Kanye West from their first collaborative album Watch the Throne (2011). The song posthumously features soul singer Otis Redding, whose version of "Try a Little Tenderness" is sampled in the song. The production was covered solely by West. The track was premiered by Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show and was released onto the Internet the day afterward. Lyrically, the song has the two rappers sharing lines discussing wealth, decadence and fame. The track received highly positive reviews from music critics who praised the trading off of verses by the two rappers and the Redding-sampled beat, which was compared to the style heard on West's The College Dropout. Several publications placed the song amongst the best of the year.
Orlando Tucker, better known by his stage name Jahlil Beats, is an American hip hop record producer and songwriter. He is currently signed to Jay Z's Roc Nation. He has produced for artists such as Jay-Z, Diddy, Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Meek Mill, Chris Brown, Tyga, Rick Ross, Ace Hood, Bobby Shmurda, T.I., and 50 Cent among others.
"Calm Down" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes from the album Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God. The song features American rapper Eminem and was produced by Scoop DeVille. It was released for digital download on July 1, 2014 by The Conglomerate Entertainment and Empire Distribution.
"Imagine" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg, featuring guest vocals from rapper Dr. Dre and singer D'Angelo, taken from Snoop Dogg's eighth studio album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2006). The song was written by Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Mark Batson, with production handled by Dr. Dre and Mark Batson.
Todd Gaither also known as Sauce Money, is a rapper who worked with Jay-Z in his early career. He was also featured on Big Daddy Kane's album Daddy's Home; he appears on the track "Show N' Prove", alongside Scoob Lover, Jay-Z, Shyheim the Rugged Child, and Ol' Dirty Bastard of the Wu-Tang Clan.
