Smooth (Smooth Album)
''Smooth'' is the third studio album by American singer and rapper Smooth (singer), Smooth. It was released on August 1, 1995, via TNT Recordings and Jive Records. The album was produced by Chris Stokes (filmmaker), Chris Stokes, Larry "Rock" Campbell, K. Fingers, D-Flow Production Squad, and James Strong, with Atron Gregory serving as executive producer. It features a guest appearance from Tupac Shakur, 2Pac. The album reached number 35 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 17 on the Top Heatseekers charts in the US, and number 18 on the Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart in the UK. It was supported with four charted singles: "Mind Blowin' (Smooth song), Mind Blowin'", "It's Summertime (Let It Get into U)", "Love Groove (Groove with You)" and "Undercover Lover". Its lead single, "Mind Blowin'", peaked at 75 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 36 on the UK singles chart. The song "Good Stuff" was included in 1996 ''Original Gangstas (soundtrack), O ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Smooth (singer)
Juanita Stokes (born 1972), currently known as Needa S. (formerly Smooth), is an American singer and rapper. She is the daughter of actress Irene Stokes and younger sister of music executive Chris Stokes. Career Stokes began her career as MC Smooth, signing a record deal with the independent label Crush Music in 1990. She released her debut single "Smooth & Legit" that year, which peaked at #11 on the U.S. Rap chart. Her debut album '' Smooth & Legit'' followed on April 27, 1990 (peaking at #72 on the R&B/Hip Hop chart) and was produced by her brother Chris Stokes and Arabian Prince. Two singles "You Gotta Be Real" and "Where is the Money?" followed but did not garner much airplay. Three years later, she signed a major label deal with Jive Records and began work on her sophomore album, dropping the MC from her moniker. Her first single under the new deal, "Female Mac" garnered some airplay, and it was soon followed by the release of her second album '' You Been Played'' on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film, video, or television presentation; or the physical area of a film that contains the synchronised recorded sound. In movie industry terminology usage, a sound track is an audio recording created or used in film production or post-production. Initially, the dialogue, sound effects, and music in a film each has its own separate track (''dialogue track'', ''sound effects track'', and '' music track''), and these are mixed together to make what is called the ''composite track,'' which is heard in the film. A ''dubbing track'' is often later created when films are dubbed into another language. This is also known as an M&E (music and effects) track. M&E tracks contain all sound elements minus dialogue, which is then supplied by the for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, the group has enjoyed one of the "longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music". Together with a fourth brother, Vernon, the group performed gospel music until Vernon's death a few years after its formation. After moving to New York City in the late 1950s, the group had their first successes during these early years, and rose to prominence in 1959 with their fourth single, " Shout", written by the three brothers, which became their first single to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and sold over a million copies. In the 1960s, the group recorded songs for a variety of labels, including the top 20 single " Twist and Shout" and the Motown single " This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", before ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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For The Love Of You
"For the Love of You" (sometimes titled "For the Love of You (Part 1 & 2)") is a song recorded by the Isley Brothers, who released the song as the second single off their 1975 album, '' The Heat Is On''. The record showcased the two sides of the act, with the album's first single "Fight the Power" reflecting a fast-paced funk vibe while showcasing a ballad side on the latter. The song later became a crossover hit for the brothers. Release "For the Love of You" was released in September 1975, after the success of its predecessor, "Fight the Power", had started to dwindle, leading to a drop of the charts. "For the Love of You" nearly repeated the success of its predecessor, reaching #22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, giving the brothers the rarity of having two top 40 singles off one album as opposed to one every album, marking it as the first time that had happened since the 1972 album, ''Brother, Brother, Brother'', where two top 40 singles emerged from that album ("Work to Do" ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eric B
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* aina(z)'', meaning "one, alone, unique", ''as in the form'' ''Æ∆inrikr'' explicitly, but it could also be from ''* aiwa(z)'' "everlasting, eternity", as in the Gothic form '' Euric''. The second element ''- ríkr'' stems either from Proto-Germanic ''* ríks'' "king, ruler" (cf. Gothic '' reiks'') or the therefrom derived ''* ríkijaz'' "kingly, powerful, rich, prince"; from the common Proto-Indo-European root * h₃rḗǵs. The name is thus usually taken to mean "sole ruler, autocrat" or "eternal ruler, ever powerful". ''Eric'' used in the sense of a proper noun meaning "one ruler" may be the origin of '' Eriksgata'', and if so it would have meant "one ruler's journey". The tour was the medieval Swedish king's journey, when newly elected, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rakim
William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time. Rakim is considered a transformational figure in hip hop for raising the bar for MC technique higher than it had ever been. Rakim helped to pioneer the use of internal rhymes and multisyllabic rhymes, and he was among the first to demonstrate the possibilities of sitting down to write intricately crafted lyrics packed with clever word choices and metaphors rather than the more improvisational styles and simpler rhyme patterns that predominated before him. Rakim is also credited with creating the overall shift from the more simplistic old school flows to more complex flows. Rapper Kool Moe Dee explained that before Rakim, the term 'flow' wasn't widely used – "Rakim is basically the i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shock G
Gregory Edward Jacobs (August 25, 1963 – April 22, 2021), known professionally as Shock G and by his alter ego Humpty Hump, was an American rapper and musician who was best known as the lead vocalist of the hip hop group Digital Underground. He was responsible for Digital Underground's " The Humpty Dance", 2Pac's breakthrough single "I Get Around", and co-producer of 2Pac's debut album ''2Pacalypse Now''. Early life Gregory Edward Jacobs was born on August 25, 1963 in New York City. He spent most of his childhood moving around the East Coast with his family, eventually settling in Tampa, Florida. As a drummer he won the 1978 "Most Talented" trophy at Greco Junior High School, but after relocating to Queens, New York (as a result of his parents' divorce), he traded his drums in for a set of turntables upon discovering and marvelling over hip hop while the art form was still in an underground developmental stage. He was mentored in the craft by his cousin Rene Negron (a.k.a. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2Pac
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Much of Shakur's music has been noted for addressing contemporary social issues that plagued inner cities, and he is considered a symbol of activism against inequality. Shakur was born in New York City to parents who were both political activists and Black Panther Party members. Raised by his mother, Afeni Shakur, he relocated to Baltimore in 1984 and to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. With the release of his debut album ''2Pacalypse Now'' in 1991, he became a central figure in West Coast hip hop for his conscious rap lyrics. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his follow-up albums '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'' (1993) and '' M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chris Jasper
Christopher Howard Jasper (born December 30, 1951) Allmusic biography/ref> is an American singer, composer, and producer. Jasper is a former member of the Isley Brothers and Isley-Jasper-Isley and is responsible for writing and producing the majority of the Isley Brothers music (1973–1983) and Isley-Jasper-Isley music (1984–1987). He is also a successful solo musician and record producer, recording over 17 of his own solo albums, including 4 urban contemporary gospel albums, all written, produced and performed, both vocally and instrumentally, by Jasper. He also produces artists for his New York City-based record label, Gold City Records. Jasper's keyboard and Moog synthesizer work was a primary ingredient of the Isley Brothers' sound of the 1970s and 1980s (the "gold and platinum" years) when the Isley Brothers were a self-contained band. Biography Jasper is a classically trained musician and composer. The youngest of seven siblings, he started studying classical music a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rudolph Isley
Rudolph Bernard Isley (born April 1, 1939 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American singer-songwriter and is one of the founding members of The Isley Brothers. Life and career Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rudy began singing in church at a young age. By his teen years, he was singing as member of The Isley Brothers with Kelly, Ronnie and Vernon. In 1957, following Vernon's death, the remaining three elder Isleys moved to New York to seek a recording deal, later recording for smaller labels until landing a deal with RCA Records in 1959 where they wrote, recorded and released their first significant recording, " Shout". By the summer of that year, the Isley family had moved from Cincinnati to a home in Englewood, New Jersey. Following "Shout", the brothers recorded for other labels with modest success with exceptions including the top 40 hit, "Twist & Shout" and the Motown hit, " This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)". In the 1960s, Rudy and his brothers founded the T-Neck R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ronald Isley
Ronald Isley (; born May 21, 1941) is an American recording artist, songwriter, record producer, and occasional actor. Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers. Early life Born in 1941 to Sallye Bernice (née Bell) and O'Kelly Isley Sr, Isley was the third of six brothers ( O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley, Vernon Isley, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley). Ronald, like many of his siblings, began his career in the church. Isley began singing at the age of two, winning a $25 war bond (approx. $429 in 2022) for singing at a spiritual contest at the Union Baptist Church. By the age of seven, Isley was singing on-stage at venues such as the Regal Theater in Chicago, alongside Dinah Washington and a few other notables. Career By his early teens, Isley was singing regularly with his brothers in church tours and also first appeared on TV on Ted Mack's ''Amateur Hour''. In 1957, 16-year-old Isley and his two elder brothers O'Kelly and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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O'Kelly Isley Jr
O'Kelly "Kelly" Isley Jr. (December 25, 1937 – March 31, 1986) was an American singer and one of the founding members of the family group the Isley Brothers. Biography The eldest of the Isley Brothers, Kelly started singing with his brothers at church. When he was 16, he and his three younger brothers ( Rudy, Ronnie and Vernon) formed The Isley Brothers and toured the gospel circuit. Following the death of Vernon in a road accident, the brothers decided to try their hand at doo-wop and moved to New York to find a recording deal. Between 1957 and 1959, the Isleys would record for labels such as Teenage and Mark X. In 1959, they signed with RCA Records after a scout spotted the trio's energetic live performance. O'Kelly and his brothers co-wrote their first significant hit, " Shout". While the original version only peaked at the top 50 of the Hot 100, subsequent versions helped the song sell over a million copies. Later moving on to other labels including Scepter and Motown, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |