Naked (Marques Houston Album)
''Naked'' is the second studio album by American R&B recording artist Marques Houston. It was released by The Ultimate Group and Universal Records on May 24, 2005 in the United States. The album features guest appearances by Joe Budden, Rufus Blaq and fellow former Immature member Young Rome. In the United States, ''Naked'' peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and peaked at number 5 on ''Billboard''s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.'' Billboard.com'' Critical reception Allmusic editor Andy Kellman rated the album three out of five stars. He found that "''Naked'' is no deeper than 2003's '' MH'', which most of his fans will find perfectly acceptable. It offers a similar mix of earnest slow jams and sexually frank club tracks. The best moments involve adequate production facsimiles of Just Blaze, Kanye West, and The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Studio Album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual Phonograph record#78 rpm disc developments, 78 rpm records collected in a bound book resembling a photograph album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl LP record, long-playing (LP) records played at revolutions per minute, rpm. The album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption from the mid-1960s to the early 21st century, a period known as the album era. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until being phased out by 1983 and was gradually supplanted by the cassette tape during the 1970s and early 1980s; the populari ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its " number ones", those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, and acquired its current name in March 1992. Its previous names include the ''Billboard'' Top LPs (1961–1972), ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984), ''Billboard'' Top 200 Albums (1984–1985) and ''Billboard'' Top Pop Albums (1985–1992). The chart is based mostly on sales – both at retail and digital – of albums in the United States. The weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, tracking week begins on Friday (to coinc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brandon Howard
Brandon Howard , also known as B. Howard, is an American singer, record producer and songwriter. His album ''Genesis'' was released in 2010. Howard was credited as songwriter and producer on the song "I Ain't Gotta Tell You" from Ne-Yo's album ''In My Own Words'', which topped the Billboard 200 chart in 2006. Howard was also credited as a songwriter on "Can't Get Tired of Me" from the album ''Face Off'', a collaborative album by Omarion and Bow Wow, which debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 in 2007. In 2016, Howard's single, ''Don't Say You Love Me'', hit number 11 on Billboard's Top Dance charts. Early life B. Howard was born Brandon Howard in Los Angeles. He was raised between Los Angeles and Chicago. Howard's mother, Billie Jean is also a successful singer-songwriter. Joe Jackson, the patriarch of the Jackson family, was Miki's manager in the '80s. His grandmother was Josephine Howard of The Caravans, the first group to have a gospel song played on secular radio. B. Ho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Antonio Dixon (songwriter)
Antonio "Tony" Dixon is an American songwriter, singer and record producer, also known for his work with production duo The Underdogs and Eric Dawkins under the production moniker The Pentagon. Career Dixon began his songwriting and production career as an associate member of production duo The Underdogs. Along with Harvey Mason Jr. and Damon Thomas and a wider collective, also consisting of Tank, Eric Dawkins and Steve Russell, he co-crafted several singles, including Omarion's " O" (2004), "Naked" (2005), and Monica's "Sideline Ho" (2007), predominantly serving as an instrumentalist and arranger on the tracks. In the late 2000s, Dixon and Dawkins formed the production team The Pentagon. A departure from the R&B sounds of his previous works, the duo worked with a wider range of artists and sounds, particularly in the pop and gospel genres, including Kristinia DeBarge and Justin Bieber. Following their collaboration on Babyface's 2005 album '' Grown & Sexy'' along with The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Durrell Babbs
Artaze Babbs (born January 1, 1976), better known by his stage name Tank, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, producer and actor. He is known for the singles "Maybe I Deserve" (2001), " Please Don't Go" (2007), and " When We" (2017). According to ''Billboard'', Tank has sold 1.76 million albums in the U.S. as of 2013. Early life Durrell Babbs was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and moved with his family as a child to Maryland. He was a multisport athlete in high school and was offered the opportunity to play college football. However, Tank decided to focus on music and his talent eventually led him to an opportunity to sing background vocals for Ginuwine during one of the latter's tours. Tank also became a backing singer for Aaliyah, who he had met through Ginuwine in 1997. Tank later signed as an artist with Aaliyah's record label Blackground Records. Music career 2001–2007: ''Force of Nature'', ''One Man'' and ''Sex, Love & Pain'' In 2001, Tank released his debut al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dawkins & Dawkins
Dawkins & Dawkins is an American gospel music and Christian R&B duo from Davenport, Iowa, who are currently signed to Light Records. The group consist of two brothers, Anson Dawkins and Eric Dawkins. The first album, ''Dawkins & Dawkins'', was released in 1993 by A&M Records. This was the only record released with the label. Their second album, ''Necessary Measures'', was released in 1994 by CGI Records. Their third album, ''Focus'', was released by Harmony Records in 1998. This album was their breakthrough release on the ''Billboard'' charts, by placing on the Gospel Albums chart. They released, ''From Now On'', in 2011 with Light Records a division of Entertainment One Music. The album placed on the Gospel Albums chart along with the Independent Albums chart. Early years The Davenport, Iowa-based duo, Dawkins & Dawkins, are two brothers Anson and Eric Dawkins. They were raised in the Pentecostal church by a preacher for a father and a singer of a mother. The brothers w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Underdogs (record Producers)
The Underdogs are an American R&B/ pop production duo composed of Harvey Mason Jr. and Damon Thomas. Biography Harvey Mason Jr. is the son of session drummer Harvey Mason Sr. Damon Thomas was a songwriting and production partner for R&B producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds during the late 1990s, and worked with Babyface on hits such as Dru Hill's "These Are the Times", Faith Evans' " Never Gonna Let You Go", and Pink's " Most Girls". Harvey Mason Jr. was part of the Darkchild crew working alongside Rodney Jerkins before teaming up with Thomas. Mason and Thomas began working together in 1999, with their first major production being Tyrese's single "I Like Them Girls". Since then, the duo has worked with a number of R&B performers, among them Lionel Richie, Omarion, J. Valentine, Justin Timberlake, Victoria Beckham, Joe, Donell Jones, Olivia, Mario, JoJo, Mario Vazquez, Stacie Orrico, R. Kelly, Jessica Mauboy, Chris Brown, Jordin Sparks, Marques Houston, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harvey Mason Jr
Harvey Jay Mason Jr. (born June 3, 1968) is an American record producer, songwriter, movie producer and current CEO of The Recording Academy. He has written and produced songs for artists including Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Deniece Williams, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Chris Brown, EXO, Red Velvet, Kim Jong-hyun, Taemin and NCT. In addition, he has produced music for television and films, including ''Dreamgirls'' (with Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson), ''Sparkle'' (with Whitney Houston), ''Pitch Perfect'' (with Hailee Steinfeld and Anna Kendrick), ''Sing'' (with Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and Tori Kelly), ''Straight Outta Compton'' (with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube), and ''The Wiz Live!'' (with Mary J. Blige and Neyo). He was elected as the chairman of The Recording Academy in June 2019, became its interim president and CEO on January 16, 2020, and then assumed the permanent role of CEO on May 13, 2021. Biography Mason Jr. was born into a musical family. His ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Van McCoy
Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his credit, and produced songs by such recording artists as Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Stylistics, Aretha Franklin, Brenda & the Tabulations, David Ruffin, Peaches & Herb, Lesley Gore and Stacy Lattisaw. Biography Early life Van McCoy was born in Washington, D.C., the second child of Norman S. McCoy, Sr. and Lillian Ray. He learned to play piano at a young age and sang with the Metropolitan Baptist Church choir as a youngster. By the age of 12, he had begun writing his own songs, in addition to performing in local amateur shows alongside his older brother, Norman Jr. The two brothers formed a doo-wop combo named the Starlighters with two friends while in Theodore Roosevelt High School. In 1956, they recorde ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rico Love
Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and New York City's Harlem neighborhood. He attended Florida A&M and, while visiting Atlanta, Georgia, worked his way into the music industry through connections with Usher, who would become one of Love's frequent collaborators. The first song Love ever wrote in his career was " Throwback" which ended up on Usher's 2004 album ''Confessions''. Love's success continued writing and producing hit records such as Usher's " There Goes My Baby" and "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)", Nelly's " Just a Dream" and " Gone", as well as Beyoncé's " Sweet Dreams". and has contributed to works which have gone on to win Grammys such as Beyoncé's 2009 Best Contemporary R&B album '' I Am... Sasha Fierce'', Usher's 2010 Best Contemporary R&B album ''Raymond ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Neptunes
The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos, while Hugo tends to stay behind the scenes. The Neptunes have produced hit songs for a multitude of artists, including N.O.R.E., Clipse, Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Mystikal, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Usher, Nelly, Gwen Stefani, and Snoop Dogg. In 2009, '' Billboard'' ranked the Neptunes number one on their list of the top 10 producers of the decade. In January 2020, the Neptunes were announced to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a part of the 2020 class, and in May 2021, Hugo and Williams received Honorary Doctorates from Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. History Williams and Hugo met at a summer camp for the school of the Gifted and Talented in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where Williams pl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing singles for several artists and developing the "chipmunk soul" sampling style. Intent on pursuing a solo career as a rapper, he released his debut studio album, '' The College Dropout'' (2004), to critical and commercial success. He founded the record label GOOD Music later that year. West explored diverse musical elements like orchestras, synthesizers, and autotune on the albums ''Late Registration'' (2005), '' Graduation'' (2007), and ''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008). His fifth and sixth albums '' My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010) and '' Yeezus'' (2013) were also met with critical and commercial success. West further diversified his musical styles on ''The Life of Pablo'' (2016) and '' Ye'' (2018) and explored ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |