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L.E.S. (producer)
Leshan Antione Lewis, better known as L.E.S., is a hip hop producer commonly associated with Nas and grew up with Nas in the Queensbridge housing project. His first production credit was for Nas' popular song " Life's a Bitch" from the ''Illmatic'' album in 1994. He soon produced a single, "Sugar Hill", for AZ's album ''Doe Or Die''. In the next two years, he produced more songs for Nas as well as songs for Fat Joe, Shyheim, LL Cool J, Royal Flush and The Firm. In 1998, he started working with Poke & Tone and collaboratively produced Will Smith's #1 hit single "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It". From 1998 to 2005, he produced more songs for Nas, Big Punisher, N.O.R.E., Nature, Flipmode Squad, Kool Savas, Azad and others.Anderson, Lincoln (August 18 – 24, 2011L.E.S. hip hop history stars in Baruch brothers’ new film. The Villager. Vol. 81, Number 12 Most recently, he produced three tracks for Nas's album ''Hip Hop Is Dead'', including "Black Republican," which features a verse from Nas' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poke & Tone
The Trackmasters are an American hip hop production duo composed of music producers Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes), best known for their commercial hit records in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel joined forces with the duo to complete the success of "Trackmasters". Throughout their career, they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including Destiny's Child, Nas, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Will Smith, Jay-Z, Cam'ron, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, The Notorious B.I.G. and 50 Cent. Known for their commercially successful singles and many remixes, they have collectively earned over seven gold and twenty platinum plaques throughout their career. They were ranked 6th in ''Vibe'' magazine's "Greatest Hip-Hop Producers of All Time" in the 'Mass Appeal' category. Career 1989−1995: Early career and Trackmasters Entertainment In 1989, Poke connected with childhood friend Frank "Nitty" Pimentel at his recording studio in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cormega
Cory McKay (born December 3, 1970), better known by his stage name Cormega, is an American rapper who attained notice when he was shouted out by Nas on his song "One Love", from the critically acclaimed 1994 album ''Illmatic''. The album was released during Cormega's time in prison, but the mention sparked his career and created anticipation for his own rapping. Early life Cormega was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and raised in Queens. He was childhood friends with Nas, Havoc and Capone, who all went on to become successful rappers. A frequent theme of his music is the countless number of his friends and family that have been killed by violence. Career 1990s He was featured on Hot Day's "Going Straight Up" from his album ''It's My Turn''. He was also featured on Blaq Poet and DJ Hot Day's track "Set It Off" from their album ''Without Warning'' in 1991. During a period of incarceration, Cormega gained some attention following a shout-out from Nas on his song "One Love", ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop artists. He was the CEO of Def Jam Recordings and he has been central to the creative and commercial success of artists including Kanye West, Rihanna, and J. Cole. Born and raised in New York City, Jay-Z first began his musical career in the late 1980s; he co-founded the record label Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995 and released his debut studio album ''Reasonable Doubt (album), Reasonable Doubt'' in 1996. The album was released to widespread critical success, and solidified his standing in the music industry. He went on to release twelve additional albums, including the acclaimed albums ''The Blueprint'' (2001), ''The Black Album (Jay-Z album), The Black Album'' (2003), American Gangster (album), ''American Gangs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hip Hop Is Dead
''Hip Hop Is Dead'' is the eighth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 19, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings. His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label, Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def Jam. The album's title was inspired by Nas's view of the music industry and the state of hip hop music at the time. The album features appearances from Nas's then wife Kelis, Kanye West, Jay-Z, will.i.am, Snoop Dogg, The Game and Chrisette Michele, among others. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 355,880 copies in its first week. His fourth U.S. number-one album, it had sold 941,000 copies by November 2008, eventually over time it went platinum by the RIAA. Upon its release, ''Hip Hop Is Dead'' received generally positive reviews from most music critics. ''Hip Hop Is Dead'' was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, ultimately losing to Kanye West's ''Graduation'' at the 50th Grammy A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azad (rapper)
Azad Azadpour (born 24 November 1973), known professionally as Azad, is a German rapper of Kurdish descent based in Frankfurt. As one of the first German street rappers who become successful, he strongly influenced the German rap scene. Career After having arrived in Germany from Sanandaj in Iranian Kurdistan at the young age of 10, he was into hip hop, rap, beatboxing, and graffiti. In 1988, he joined D-Flame (Daniel Kretschmer), A-Bomb, and Combad in Cold-N-Locco. The group was renamed Asiatic Warriors in 1990 and mixed songs in German, English, Persian and Kurdish and achieved great fame through signing with Ruff'n'Raw Label and the EP ''Told Ya!''. Internal differences between the band members resulted in the Asiatic Warriors breaking up. In 1999, Azad signed as a solo artist with Pelham Power Productions. He became a sensation on the hip hop scene winning "Da Swing DJ Battle". The single "Napalm" followed by his self-produced solo album ''Leben'' and the follow-up album ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kool Savas
Savaş Yurderi (born 10 February 1975), known by his stage name Kool Savas, is a German rapper. Along with Taktlo$$, he formed the highly influential German rap duo Westberlin Maskulin (1997–2000). He was also a founding member of the German rap crew Masters of Rap in 1996. In 2012, he collaborated in "Xavas", a duo formation with Xavier Naidoo, a German soul and R&B singer-songwriter and actor in the album ''Gespaltene Persönlichkeit''. The two had already worked together on a number of other releases. Savas is considered one of the most successful, best and influential German rappers. He is often referred to as the King of German rap. His nickname is ''King Kool Savas'' (KKS) and ''Essah''. Early life Born in Aachen to a German mother and a Turkish father, Savas' family moved to Turkey when he was a year old. His father, who is from Çorum, was arrested because of his political posture against the then-military government in Turkey, and, as a result, his mother was forc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flipmode Squad
Flipmode Squad is a hip hop collective founded and fronted by rapper Busta Rhymes. The first Flipmode album debuted in 1998 with ''The Imperial'', Rampage and Rah Digga went on to record solo efforts. In the move to J Records in 2000, Lord Have Mercy left Flipmode Squad in preference of a solo career in 2000, feeling that Busta was holding him down. The original line up also included Serious, who after quickly leaving would later produce for artists on No Limit Records, and later acts like Show Money and M. Dollars who were signed to the label as independent artists. Underground MC Roc Marciano would also be signed to the label for a number of years before going the independent route. A second Flipmode Squad release, ''Rulership Movement'', was set for release in 2003 on J Records, but because of the label change to Aftermath it was never released. It was announced that the album might be released sometime in 2009,J-MOE was in the group until he went solo. The founding member, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature (rapper)
Jermain Baxter (born December 5, 1972), better known as Nature, is an American rapper, best known for his association with fellow New York City rapper Nas and having replaced Cormega in the original QB group the Firm."Queensbridge's Nature Has Musical Knowledge 'For All Seasons'", '' New York Beacon'', November 15, 2000 Career Baxter grew up in Queensbridge, New York, and went to school with Nas.Dillon, Charlotte " Nature Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2010-02-11Wilson, Elliott (1999)Nature: Organic MC, ''Vibe'', June 1999, retrieved 2010-02-11 Nas introduced Nature to the public in 1997, as a member of his supergroup The Firm, whose members also included AZ and Foxy Brown. Nature was brought in to replace rapper Cormega, who had a contractual dispute with Nas' manager Steve Stoute. The Firm's first and only album, '' Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album'', went platinum, and topped the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Punisher
Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the early 1990s, he came to prominence upon being discovered by fellow Bronx rapper Fat Joe, and made his earliest appearance on his 1995 album ''Jealous One's Envy''. In 1997, Pun signed with Fat Joe's label, Terror Squad Entertainment in conjunction with RCA and Loud Records as a solo artist. The same year, he released his Grammy-nominated debut studio album ''Capital Punishment'' in April 1998 to critical acclaim and commercial success, peaking at #5 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and becoming the first solo hip hop record by a Latino artist to go Platinum. Early life Rios was born in The South Bronx in New York City to parents of Puerto Rican descent. He grew up in the Soundview neighborhood and had at least two sisters and one brother. He reg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gettin' Jiggy Wit It
"Gettin' Jiggy wit It" is a song by American rapper and actor Will Smith, released as the third single from his debut solo album, ''Big Willie Style'' (1997). The verse is based around a sample of "He's the Greatest Dancer" by Sister Sledge, and the chorus is sampled from "Sang and Dance" by the Bar-Kays. Released on January 26, 1998, the song was Smith's second hit produced by Poke & Tone and L.E.S., who replaced his long-time partner Jazzy Jeff, though the record-scratching techniques of Jazzy Jeff can be heard in the song. The song spent three weeks at the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart from March 14, 1998. It also won a Grammy Award in 1999 for the Best Rap Solo Performance. It was ranked the 68th greatest song of the 1990s by VH1. However, it was ranked at number 19 on the list of AOL Radio's 100 Worst Songs Ever in 2010. The song was included in ''Pitchfork Media''s 2010 list of "The Seven Worst U.S. No. 1 Singles of the 90s". Composition The song samples the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' (1990–1996). Smith has received List of awards and nominations received by Will Smith, multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and four Grammy Awards. As of , his films have grossed over $9.3 billion globally, making him one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. Smith first gained recognition as part of a hip hop music, hip hop DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff, with whom he released five studio albums and the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 20 singles "Parents Just Don't Understand", "A Nightmare on My Street", "Summertime (DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince song), Summertime", "Ring My Bell (DJ Jazzy Jeff & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
