Adam Noah Levine is an American musician who serves as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and sole continuous member of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which he was the lead vocalist and lead guitarist. After the commercial failure of their only album, The Fourth World, the group was reformed in 2001 as Maroon 5 – with James Valentine replacing him as lead guitarist. In 2002, they released their first album, Songs About Jane, which went multi-platinum in the US; since then, they have released six more albums: It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007), Hands All Over (2010), Overexposed (2012), V (2014), Red Pill Blues (2017), and Jordi (2021). As part of Maroon 5, Levine has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards.
The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program Saturday Night Live (SNL).
The Joy Formidable is a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 2007 in Mold, Flintshire, and currently based in London, England. The band consists of Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan, Rhydian Dafydd and Matthew James Thomas. The most recent album, Into the Blue, was released in 2021.
Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr., better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, he signed to the local independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. Through the label, he secured a major label record deal with Warner Bros. Records and Asylum Records to release his 2008 debut single, "All My Life ". Failing to chart, the mergers fell through and Rock departed from both of the latter labels shortly after. He then signed with Missouri rapper Tech N9ne's record label Strange Music, in a joint venture deal with TDE in 2011.
The discography of American comedy music troupe The Lonely Island consists of three studio albums, two soundtrack albums, twenty-four singles and thirty-six music videos. Group members Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone began creating live skits, comedy shorts and music parodies together in the early 2000s, having met the previous decade, during their high school years. The Lonely Island later caught the attention of television producer Lorne Michaels, who was impressed by their material. Michaels subsequently hired Samberg, Schaffer and Taccone as cast members and writers for his live sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. Two musical shorts created by the group for the show, "Lazy Sunday" and "Dick in a Box", gained popularity on the Internet and garnered much media attention.
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.
"The Motto" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake featuring American rapper Lil Wayne. It is a digital iTunes Store bonus track from Drake's second studio album Take Care. "The Motto" premiered on Power 106 on October 31, 2011. Drake released the song on his OVO blog a day later. It was first played on rhythmic top 40 radio stations on November 29, 2011 as the album's fourth single.
"Payphone" is a pop song by American band Maroon 5 featuring American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was released on April 16, 2012, as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Overexposed (2012). The song was written by Adam Levine, Khalifa, Ammar Malik, producers Benny Blanco and Shellback, and additional producer Robopop. The song is a pop ballad that describes a romance that ended abruptly. It received favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the catchy melody and named it "a radio success", but some others dismissed its title and Khalifa's appearance.
"YOLO" is an acronym for "you only live once". It became a popular internet slang term in 2012.
"Radioactive" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons from their major-label debut EP Continued Silence and later on their debut studio album, Night Visions (2012), as the opening track. It was first sent to modern rock radio on October 29, 2012, and then released to contemporary hit radio on April 9, 2013. Musically, "Radioactive" is an electronic rock and alternative rock song with elements of dubstep. In a 2021 podcast interview called The Turning Point, Dan Reynolds revealed that after almost a decade, he had realized that lyrics were actually about him not giving up hope after losing faith in Mormonism.
"My Life" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent featuring fellow American rapper Eminem and American singer Adam Levine of Maroon 5. It was originally released as the second official single of 50 Cent's scrapped studio album Street King Immortal, but was later removed from the project. The single was produced by American music producer Symbolyc One. The song premiered on American radio station Hot 97, and was made available for digital download on iTunes Store on November 26, 2012.
"Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe", is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his major-label debut studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012). The song, produced by frequent collaborator Sounwave of Top Dawg Entertainment in-house production team Digi+Phonics, heavily samples "Tiden Flyver", by Danish electronic group Boom Clap Bachelors. It was originally intended to be a collaboration with American singer Lady Gaga, but her contributions were ultimately excluded from the final recording due to timing issues. A remix of "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" featuring American rapper Jay-Z was sent to radio as the album's fifth single on March 21, 2013, with the original version and another remix featuring British singer Emeli Sandé later being released.
"We Up" is a song by American hip hop artist 50 Cent. It was released as the third single from his shelved studio album, Street King Immortal, and his last to be released under Shady/Aftermath. It was officially released to public on March 22, 2013, on Interscope Records' SoundCloud account, and made available for purchase on March 25, 2013. The song features American rapper and Aftermath labelmate Kendrick Lamar, and production from Roc Nation producer Davaughn. It uses a sample from "Something About Us" by Daft Punk, who received a songwriting credit. The song was released to Rhythmic contemporary radio on May 28, 2013.
The Wack Album is the third studio album by American comedy hip hop group The Lonely Island. Recorded in Los Angeles and New York City with producers including TODAY, DJ Nu-Mark and Asa Taccone, it was released on June 7, 2013 by Republic Records. The album reached number ten on the US Billboard 200 and topped the Comedy Albums and Rap Albums charts. "3-Way ", "YOLO", "Spring Break Anthem", "I Fucked My Aunt", "Diaper Money", "Semicolon", "Go Kindergarten" and "Spell It Out" were released as singles.
"Fragile" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Tech N9ne, taken from his thirteenth studio album Something Else (2013). "Fragile" was released on July 17, 2013 as the album's second single. It was produced by ¡Mayday!, Daniel "Keys" Perez, Ralfy "FAFA" Valencia and Michele Goodfriend. The song features vocals from Kendrick Lamar, ¡Mayday! and Kendall Morgan.
The discography of Action Bronson, an American rapper from Flushing, Queens, New York, consists of six studio albums, one collaborative album, three extended plays (EPs), four mixtapes and thirty-three singles.
"Moves like Jagger" is a song by American band Maroon 5 featuring American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on June 21, 2011, as the fourth and final single from the re-release of the group's third studio album Hands All Over (2010). The song was written by Adam Levine, Ammar Malik, Benny Blanco, and Shellback; the latter two are also the producers. "Moves like Jagger" is an electropop song with modern disco style elements and is backed by synths and electronic drums. The lyrics refer to a male's ability to impress a love interest with his dance moves, which he compares to those of Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the Rolling Stones.
Jonathan Whyte Potter-Mäl, known by his stage name Jonathan Emile, is a Jamaican Canadian singer, rapper, record producer and cancer survivor. In October 2015, he released his debut studio album, The Lover/Fighter Document LP, which incorporates elements of hip hop, reggae, jazz, R&B and electro-pop. The independent album features collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Murs, Buckshot and others. His debut reggae album, Spaces-in-Between, was released in January 2020 through his label MindPeaceLove and Tuff Gong.
"The Greatest" is a song recorded by Australian singer and songwriter Sia for the deluxe edition of her seventh studio album, This Is Acting (2016). Being made available for digital download as the album's third single on 6 September 2016 through Monkey Puzzle and RCA Records, the single version of "The Greatest" features a verse from American rapper Kendrick Lamar. The electropop song was written by Sia, Greg Kurstin, Lamar, and Blair MacKichan, with production handled by Kurstin. The solo version was written by the former three only.
"Don't Wanna Know" is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5 featuring American rapper Kendrick Lamar. The song was released on October 12, 2016, as the lead single from the former's sixth studio album Red Pill Blues (2017), included on both the deluxe and Japanese editions of the album. The song reached the top 10 in 23 countries, including number 6 in the United States. Critical reception to the song was mixed, with critics praising its production but criticizing Lamar's verse and repetitive chorus.
