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Reasonable Doubt (album)
''Reasonable Doubt'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on June 25, 1996, by Priority Records and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella 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. ''Reasonable Doubt'' debuted at number 23 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, on which it charted for 18 weeks. It was promoted with four singles; including " Ain't No Nigga" and " Can't Knock the Hustle". ''Reasonable Doubt'' was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and, as of 2006, has sold 1.5 million copies in the United States. A critical success, it has been ranked on several publications' lists of the greatest rap albums ever, while many hip hop fans have viewed it as Jay-Z's best ... [...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] |
Ski (producer)
David Anthony Willis, known professionally as Ski Beatz, is an American record producer from Greensboro, North Carolina, mainly working in hip hop. Biography Discovered by DJ Clark Kent, Ski was originally known as "MC Will-Ski" in the late 1980s. He began his recording career as one third of North Carolina's first hip hop groups ''The Bizzie Boyz'', alongside Mixmasta "D", Darius Owens as also from NC. Fanatic and dancers Move & Groove. In the early 1990s, Ski moved to New York City and was a member of the group Original Flavor, the first group managed by future recording industry executive Damon Dash. In the mid-90s, Ski was working on duo Camp Lo's debut album ''Uptown Saturday Night'' when Dash called him in to work on the debut album of his own artist, Jay-Z. Jay's album, ''Reasonable Doubt'', was released in 1996, marking Ski's first major production placement. Ski produced four tracks off the album, including the singles "Dead Presidents" and " Feelin' It". After the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RIAA Certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets.RIAA certification criteria Retrieved on September 11, 2006 Other countries have similar awards (see music recording certification). Certification is not automatic; for an award to be made, the must first request certification. The audit is conducted against net shipments after returns (most often an artist's royalty s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Mafioso Rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappers flaunt associations with real street gangs, like the Crips and Bloods. Gangsta rap's pioneers Ice-T in 1986, and especially N.W.A in 1988 and the rise of Tupac Amaru Shakur in 1992. In 1992, via record producer Dr. Dre, rapper Snoop Dogg, and their G-funk sound, gangsta rap took the rap genre's lead and became mainstream, popular music. Gangsta rap has been recurrently accused of promoting disorderly conduct and broad criminality, especially assault, homicide, and drug dealing, as well as misogyny, promiscuity, and materialism. Gangsta rap's defenders have variously characterized it as artistic depictions but not literal endorsements of real life in American ghettos, or suggested that some lyrics voice rage against social oppression or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Notorious B
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary J
Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blessed Virgin Mary * Mary Magdalene, devoted follower of Jesus * Mary of Bethany, follower of Jesus, considered by Western medieval tradition to be the same person as Mary Magdalene * Mary, mother of James * Mary of Clopas, follower of Jesus * Mary, mother of John Mark * Mary of Egypt, patron saint of penitents * Mary of Rome, a New Testament woman * Mary, mother of Zechariah and sister of Moses and Aaron; mostly known by the Hebrew name: Miriam * Mary the Jewess one of the reputed founders of alchemy, referred to by Zosimus. * Mary 2.0, Roman Catholic women's movement * Maryam (surah) "Mary", 19th surah (chapter) of the Qur'an Royalty * Mary, Countess of Blois (1200–1241), daughter of Walter of Avesnes and Margaret of Blois * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memphis Bleek
Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper who was a protégé of fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. Cox started his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and #Warehouse Music Group, Warehouse Music Group in 2016. He has released four albums, the first two certified Gold. Music career Memphis Bleek was one of the first artists signed to Roc-A-Fella, as a protégé of Jay-Z. He grew up in Brooklyn's Marcy Houses, Marcy Projects, located in Bedford–Stuyvesant, the same neighborhood as Jay-Z. He appears on the Jay-Z albums: ''Reasonable Doubt (album), Reasonable Doubt'', ''Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life'', ''Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter'', ''The Dynasty: Roc La Familia'', and ''The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse''. Bleek's first official appearance was "Coming of Age" from ''Reasonable Doubt''. After the huge success of ''Hard Knock Life'' and the exposure of the Roc-A-Fella camp, (a Memphis Bleek track off the aforemention ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guest Appearance
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other performing group. In music, such an outside performer is often referred to as a guest artist. In performance art, the terms guest role or guest star are also common, the latter term specifically indicating the guest appearance of a celebrity. The latter is often also credited as special guest star or special musical guest star by some production companies. In pop music and hip-hop, such guests are often referred to as featured artists or featured guests. Such a performer may be annotated in credits or even in song titles by the abbreviation ''feat.'' or further abbreviation ''ft.''; or by the word ''with'' or abbreviation ''w/''. In a TV series, a guest star is an actor who appears in one or a few episodes (sometimes a story arc). In some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roc-A-Fella Records
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation and early years Roc-A-Fella Records was founded in 1994, after Jay-Z has been rejected by major record labels, beginning as an independent outlet for rapper Jay-Z's first album. After being turned down by several major labels, Carter, Dash and Burke started their own label through Priority Records, using money from the music videos provided by Payday Records due to their singles only deal. Though ''Reasonable Doubt'' didn't immediately earn commercial success, it spawned several hits, and earned Jay-Z a reputation in hip hop. Starting out as Roc-A-Fella's only artist, Jay-Z was supported by The Notorious B.I.G.'s producer DJ Clark Kent and Camp Lo's producer DJ Ski; affiliated rappers, Sauce Money, Jaz-O, and a young Memphis Bleek, thoug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feelin' It (Jay-Z Song)
"Feelin' It" is the fourth and final single from rapping, rapper Jay-Z's debut album ''Reasonable Doubt (album), Reasonable Doubt''. The song features a chorus sung by Mecca and a beat produced by Ski (producer), Ski. The song's beat contains a sampling (music), sample from "Pastures" by jazz musician Ahmad Jamal. The track was originally meant to be a Camp Lo song, but producer Ski gave it to Jay at the last minute. He describes the situation in an ''XXL (magazine), XXL Magazine'' article: The chorus of the song was mocked by rapper 50 Cent in his song "Be a Gentleman", from his 2002 mixtape, ''Guess Who's Back?'', and is a diss song against Jay-Z. Formats and track listings CD # "Feelin' It [Video Version]" # "Feelin' It [LP Version]" # "Feelin' It TV track" # "Friend or Foe" Vinyl A-Side # "Feelin' It (Video Version)" # "Feelin' It (TV Track)" B-Side # "Feelin' It (LP Version)" # "Friend or Foe" Samples * West Coast rapper Tyga's song, "M.O.E." from his 2013 album ''Hotel C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Can't Knock The Hustle (Jay-Z Song)
"Can't Knock the Hustle" is the third single from American rapper Jay-Z's debut album ''Reasonable Doubt''. The song features a beat produced by Knobody. It is co-produced by Sean C and Dahoud Darien. The chorus is sung by Mary J. Blige. Background "Can't Knock the Hustle" marked Knobody's first foray into outside production after the rap group he was in disbanded. Knobody had been very pleased with the last track he had produced for the band and, together with Sean C, had taken it to the nearby home of Roc-A-Fella's Damon Dash. Dash then showed it to Jay-Z, who was suitably impressed and encouraged the young producer to contribute beats. Knobody then gave Jay-Z the backing track to what would become "Can't Knock The Hustle". The rapper then recorded the track. Combat Jack spoke to Complex about the record. Saying "This song was an effing pain in the ass, as it was the beginning of the end of my run with Roc-A-Fella. Because Dame 'dated' Mary J. Blige briefly, right before she bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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