Name	D4L
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Genre	Pop rapSnap music
Label	Dee Money, Asylum
Years active	2004–2006
Url	www.atlanticrecords.com/d4l
Current members	FaboMook-BStoney (Stuntman)Shawty Lo

D4L was an American rap group. They were composed of Fabo, Mook-B, Stoney and Shawty Lo. They are best known for their hit song "Laffy Taffy," which reached number-one in the U.S. in 2006.

Biography

Rapper Shawty Lo (born Carlos Walker) self-funded the group in its early days. He explained that the group's name stands for "Down for Life". D4L signed to the independent Dee Money Entertainment, which released the group's debut in conjunction with Asylum Records. The group debuted with "Betcha Can't Do It Like Me", which Billboard claimed to have popularized snap music. In January 2006, D4L's single "Laffy Taffy" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. As was another Atlanta rap group Dem Franchize Boyz, D4L was part of the snap music trend in 2006 and later then rapper Soulja Boy Tell 'Em came out with the #1 hit song Crank That in 2007.

After D4L's debut album, Shawty Lo embarked on a solo career. He released his solo debut Units in the City in 2008.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Title ! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Details ! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2" style="width:8em;"| Certifications(sales threshold) |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width="35"| US ! width="35"| US R&B; ! width="35"| US Rap |- ! scope="row"| Down for Life |

Release date: November 8, 2005

Label: Ice Age Entertainment

Formats: CD, music download

| 22 | 4 | 3 | align="left"| US: Gold |- |}

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2" style="width:15em;"| Single ! colspan="7"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Certifications(sales threshold) ! rowspan="2"| Album |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width="35"| US ! width="35"| US R&B; ! width="35"| US Rap ! width="35"| US Pop ! width="35"| IRE ! width="35"| NZ ! width="35"| UK |- | 2005 ! scope="row"| "Laffy Taffy" | 1 | 15 | 6 | 14 | 48 | 25 | 29 | align="left"| US: 3× Platinum | align="left" rowspan="2"| Down for Life |- | 2006 ! scope="row"| "Betcha Can't Do It Like Me" | 72 | 23 | 13 | — | — | — | — | align="left"| US: Gold |- | colspan="15" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released to that country |- |}

References

Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Music of Atlanta, Georgia Category:Musical groups established in 2004 Category:Southern hip hop groups

Name	Young Jeezy
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jay Wayne Jenkins
Alias	Jeezy, Lil J, Jeezy the Snowman
Born	October 12, 1977 Columbia, South Carolina),
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, songwriter
Years active	2000–present
Label	Corporate Thugz/Def Jam, Def Jam South
Associated acts	USDA, Blood Raw, Slick Pulla, Jay-Z, Bun B, Drake, Lil Wayne

Jay Wayne Jenkins (born October 12, 1977) , Because his parents were separated, custody of him transferred between family members frequently. In an interview with XXL magazine, he described his childhood as "empty". In 1994, he spent nine months in YCA (Youth Challenge Academy), a boot camp in Fort Stewart, Georgia, for narcotics possession.

Music career

Independent debut

Young Jeezy released his first independent album, Thuggin' Under the Influence (T.U.I.), in 2001 under the name Lil J. It featured artists such as Freddy J.,Kinky B, Fidank, and Lil Jon, who also produced some of the tracks. In 2003, Jeezy released (also independently) Come Shop wit Me, a two CD set featuring completely new tracks with some songs from T.U.I. Jeezy signed with Bad Boy Records in 2004 and joined the group Boyz n da Hood, whose self-titled album was released in June 2005 and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 albums charts.

Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 (2005)

In May 2004, Jazze Pha's manager Henry 'Noonie' Lee showed Young Jeezy's demo to his friend Shakir Stewart, VP A&R; at Def Jam. Stewart "fell in love with it the first time [he] heard it" and promptly took it to L.A. Reid. It spawned several hit singles: "Soul Survivor" featuring Akon, which reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts, "And Then What" featuring Mannie Fresh, which reached #67 on the Hot 100 and #13 on the Hot Rap Tracks, and "My Hood", #19 on the Rap chart. In an interview with HitQuarters, A&R; Shakir Stewart said that Jeezy had recorded over 60 songs for the album. Jeezy put out a track called "Stay Strapped" dissing Gucci Mane to the beat of T.I.'s song "A.S.A.P." Jeezy responded to Gucci Mane's diss, rapping "even his own momma know, Radric Davis a bitch". In a recent Cutmaster C mixtape, The Hood News Page 3: Jay-Z Boycotts Cristal, Gucci disses Jeezy along with Jay Z in his track, "745". Jeezy also addresses Gucci on the same mixtape, in the track "Break It Down", featuring Cmillz. On "Streets On Lock", from The Inspiration, Jeezy once again addressed Gucci Mane, saying "What type of real nigga name himself after a bag?/Nigga you's a hoe, a Louis Vuitton fag". Near the end of 2009, DJ Drama brought Young Jeezy to the radio station and called up Gucci Mane to settle the beef once and for all. The two stopped feuding but throughout early 2010, the crews of Jeezy & Gucci (CTE & Brick Squad) have been in and out altercations with each other despite the fact Jeezy & Gucci have nothing to do with that.

In interviews and on several records, Jeezy has affirmed his resistance to commercialism in his music. Maintaining his street credibility, according to Jeezy, is of the utmost concern to him as an artist. and Boyz n da Hood's "Dem Boyz". Due to having a successful solo career, he left the group. From time to time he still keeps in contact with a few of the members but early 2010 Jeezy & Jody Breeze (who is still a member of Boyz N Da Hood) began to diss each other which started a new beef between them two.

The Inspiration, U.S.D.A. (2006–2007)

In 2006, he was featured in Christina Milian's single "Say I". Jeezy's second major label album was The Inspiration, released in 2006. The album's first single "I Luv It" peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Bury Me a G" and "Go Getta" featuring R. Kelly, and "Dreamin’" featuring Keyshia Cole followed.

He also portrayed himself in the hip-hop fighting themed game . In 2007, Jeezy released , an album by rap group USDA which consists of Jeezy, Slick Pulla, and Blood Raw.

The Recession (2008)

His third album, The Recession, was released in 2008. "Put On" featuring Kanye West was the lead single, which also led to a Grammy Nomination for Best Rap performance by a duo, but it came short. Put On was followed by "Vacation", "Crazy World", "My President" with Nas, and "Who Dat" to complete the Recession's singles. Jeezy appeared on the R&B; singles "Love in this Club" by Usher and "I'm So Paid" by Akon (also with Lil Wayne). "Love in this Club" peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later, he performed on Ciara's single "Never Ever", from her album Fantasy Ride.

In the summer of 2008, Jeezy was at the center of a controversy over his choice for president. While he had previously endorsed Barack Obama, he spoke about meeting and supporting John McCain during an interview with Vibe magazine. The statement caused a stir, and Jeezy quickly clarified his choice, via a viral video. In the four-minute explanation, Jeezy made it clear, Obama was his main choice. "I represent the Democratic party. ... I've never been nor do I ever plan to be a John McCain supporter", the rapper said. "I support Barack Obama." Jeezy and Jay-Z performed in a concert to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 18, 2009. On The O'Reilly Factor, commentator Bill O'Reilly criticized their performance as a "rant that offended people", but Jeezy responded: "I got white friends. It's nothing like that. I'm a taxpayer, I got a right to voice my opinion at any point in time. I don't think he really understands my struggle."

TM 103 (2009–present)

Jeezy is working on TM 103, his latest LP, as of November 2009. In March 2010, It was reported that Young Jeezy dropped "Young" from his stage name. But in April 2010, Young Jeezy denied name change and it was just a rumor. Yet on the cover for his single "Lose My Mind", his name is printed as "Jeezy". After a few push backs there is currently no release date for the album.

On March 04, 2010 Jeezy released the track "Illin", featuring the group Clipse; specifically Pusha T. On the track Pusha T raps, "No amount of record sales could derail this ...Stuffing dead prezzies in the wall like that Yale bitch..." The line was controversial and many felt the line was in bad taste and demeaned Yale student Annie Le, who was murdered on September 8th, 2009, by making light of a crime that had grabbed a lot of media attention due to its extremely upsetting and tragic nature.

Personal life

He is a personal friend of fellow Atlanta rapper Yung Joc. After Hurricane Katrina, Jeezy opened his house to the victims in an effort to help them have a place to stay. In October 2005, the mother of his 9 year old son used this as the basis to petition for child support. Early in the year, she had claimed that she had little income, no assets and didn't even have a house.

On March 11, 2005, Jeezy was arrested after an alleged shooting involving some of his friends in Miami Beach, Florida. He was charged with two counts of carrying a concealed firearm without a permit; however, prosecutors dropped his charges two months later over lack of evidence. In the early hours of September 29, 2007, Jeezy totaled his Lamborghini when it was hit by a taxi crossing Peachtree Street, outside of Justin's, Sean Combs’ restaurant in Atlanta. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported his claim that this gave him "a new appreciation for life". In Atlanta on June 18, 2008, police arrested him for DUI.

Discography

Solo albums

2005:

2006:

2008: The Recession

2011: TM103

Independent albums

2001: Thuggin' Under the Influence (T.U.I.)

2003: Come Shop wit Me

Filmography

2009: Janky Promoters

Awards

BET Awards

*2010, Viewer's Choice Award ("Hard") with Rihanna [Won]

*2009, Best Male Hip-Hop Artist [Nominated]

2008, Best Collaboration ("I'm So Hood [Remix]") with DJ Khaled, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Lil Wayne, Fat Joe, Birdman, & Rick Ross [Nominated]

BET Hip-Hop Awards

2008, Best Hip-Hop Video ("I'm So Hood [Remix]") with DJ Khaled, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Lil Wayne, Fat Joe, Birdman, & Rick Ross [Nominated]

2008, Best Hip-Hop Collabo ("I'm So Hood [Remix]") with DJ Khaled, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Lil Wayne, Fat Joe, Birdman, & Rick Ross [Won]

2008, People's Champ Award ("Put On") with Kanye West [Nominated]

2006, Hip-Hop CD of the Year ("Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101") [Nominated]

2006, Hip-Hop MVP of the Year [Nominated]

*2010, Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group ("Amazing") with Kanye West (Nominated)

*2011, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("Lose My Mind") with Plies (Nominated)

Ozone Awards

*2008, Best Rap Artist [Nominated]

*2008, Best Rap/R&B; Collaboration ("Love in this Club") with Usher (Won)

*2007, Best Rap Album The Inspiration (Won)

*2007, Best Rap/R&B; Collaboration ("Go Getta") with R. Kelly [Nominated]

*2007, Best Video ("Grew Up a Screw Up") with Ludacris [Nominated]

*2007, Best Group with Slick Pulla & Blood Raw as USDA [Nominated]

References

External links

Official website

Young Jeezy Interview at prefixmag

Young Jeezy Circulate Music Video

Official Young Jeezy Mixtapes

Young Jeezy Talks About Nas

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:Def Jam Recordings artists Category:Musicians from South Carolina Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:People from Columbia, South Carolina Category:Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia

Name	Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
Landscape	no
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	DeAndre Cortez Way
Alias	Soulja Boy, S. Beezy, Dre
Born	July 28, 1990 Chicago, Illinois
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Occupation	Rapper, record producer
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	2004–present
Label	Stacks on Deck/Interscope
Associated acts	Mr. Collipark, Gucci Mane
Url
Notable instruments	FL Studio

DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer.

In September 2007, his single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was initially self-published on the Internet, and it became a number-one hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007.

Despite his commercial success, his music has been the subject of ridicule from his peers and critics.

Early life

DeAndre Way was born in Chicago and moved to Atlanta at age six, where he became interested in rap music. At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi, with his father, who provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions.

In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the website SoundClick. Following positive reviews on the site, he then established his own web pages on YouTube and MySpace. In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album , followed by a low-budget video filmed demonstrating the "Crank That" dance. By the end of May 2007, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" received its first airplay and Way met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records.

On August 12, 2007, the song appeared on the Emmy-award winning HBO series Entourage, and by September 1, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot RingMasters charts. Way's major label debut album Souljaboytellem.com, which was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio, was released in the United States on October 2, peaking at #4 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums charts. On December 9, 2007, Way was sued by William Lyons (a.k.a. Souljah Boy of Mo Thugs Family) who claims he first created the stage name "Souljah Boy".

For the 50th Grammy Awards, Way was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song with "Crank That (Soulja Boy)". He lost to Kanye West's and T-Pain's "Good Life".

Souljaboytellem.com received a favorable review from Allmusic, Several reviewers credited Soulja Boy with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he will likely be a one-hit wonder.

iSouljaBoyTellem (2008–2009)

In June 2008, on DJ Cisco's Urban Legend mixtape, Ice-T criticized Way for "killing hip-hop" and his song "Crank That" for being "garbage" compared to the works of other hip-hop artists such as Rakim, Das EFX, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube. One of the comments in the exchange was when Ice-T told Way to "eat a dick". The two then traded numerous videos back and forth over the Internet. These videos included a cartoon and video of Ice-T dancing on Way's behalf and an apology, but reiteration of his feelings that Way's music "sucks", on Ice-T's behalf. Rapper Kanye West defended Way by arguing that the younger artist created a new, original work for hip-hop, thus keeping the authentic meaning of the music.

The follow-up to souljaboytellem.com, iSouljaBoyTellem, was released on December 16, 2008, to negative critical reception. The first single from the album, "Bird Walk", peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the top 20 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. "Kiss Me Thru the Phone", with Sammie, followed, peaking at #3 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.

The DeAndre Way (2009–present)

The DeAndre Way is Way's third studio album, released on November 30, 2010. Way has stated that the album is intended to be his most personal and successful album thus far. When speaking on possible collaborations, he stated he wished to work with artists such as Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West, Eminem, among others. The album was originally called "The DeAndre Way" but was changed in early 2010 to Dre, however it was changed back to The DeAndre Way in July 2010.

The lead single from the album, "POW", was released in January 2009 but failed to garner success and was dubbed a promo single. The official lead single from the album, "Pretty Boy Swag", was released in June 2010. The single has reached number thirty-four on the Billboard Hot 100, number six on the Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number five on the Billboard Rap Songs chart. The album's second single was due to be "Digital", then "Speakers Going Hammer", but "Blowing Me Kisses" was released on August 31, 2010 as the second single instead. Soulja Boy was to be part of the Summerbeatz tour held in Australia alongside Flo Rida, Jay Sean and Travie McCoy in November 2010, but in lieu of his current album release date and a new tour, Soulja Society, Soulja Boy had declined the offer.

Musical style

Critics and hip hop figures such as Method Man have cited Soulja Boy as artistically typical of contemporary rap trends such as writing for the lucrative ringtone market, and the ascendence of "Southern hip hop", emphasizing catchy music that discards rap's traditional emphasis on message. Soulja Boy identifies his goal as making upbeat, party-themed music that avoids the negative, violent image that he sees in most hip-hop. In the original YouTube video for "Shootout", Soulja Boy demonstrates his dance while holding a handgun in each hand and pretending to shoot into the audience.

Personal life

On December 30, 2008, Way was robbed and assaulted in his home. Initial reports indicated that the robbers were six masked men with AK-47s and pistols but on December 31, 2008, video clips surfaced on the Internet of two masked men claiming sole credit for the crime. Soulja Boy described the incident to MTV News a month later: He had come home very late at night after attending an album release party and was recording songs with friends when the robbers came in pointing their guns.

On October 7, 2009, Way was arrested on one count of obstruction, a misdemeanor, for running from police when he'd been ordered to stop. The rapper was released on $550 bond.

Discography

; Studio albums

Souljaboytellem.com (2007)

iSouljaBoyTellem (2008)

The DeAndre Way (2010)

Awards and nominations

BET Awards

*2007: Best New Artist (Nominated)

*2008: Viewer's Choice Award: "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (Nominated)

*2009: Viewer's Choice Award: "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" (Nominated)

BET Hip-Hop Awards

*2007: Best Hip-Hop Dance (Won)

Grammy Awards

*2008: Best Rap Song: "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (Nominated)

Ozone Awards

*2007: Patiently Waiting: Mississippi (Won)

*2008: Best Breakthrough Artist (Nominated)

*2008: TJ's DJ's Tastemaker Award (Nominated)

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

*2007: Favorite Male Singer (Nominated)

Teen Choice Awards

*2009: Choice Music: Rap Artist (Nominated)

*2009: Choice Music: R&B; Track for "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" (Nominated)

*2009: Choice Music: Hook Up for "Kiss Me Thru the Phone"

*2009: Choice Music: Artist (Nominated)

References

External links

Official website

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:American dance musicians Category:Hip hop record producers Category:Interscope Records artists Category:People from Panola County, Mississippi Category:Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia Category:People from Chicago, Illinois

Name	Crime Mob
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Genre	Rap, Southern hip hop, Crunk
Occupation	Rappers
Years active	2004–present
Label	Crunk Incorporated, Warner Bros., Reprise, BME,
Associated acts	Lil Jon, Lil Scrappy
Url	http://www.crime-mob.com
Current members	M.I.G.Cyco BlackLil' Jay
Past members	Killa CPrincessDiamond

Crime Mob was a hip hop/crunk group consisting of six members, M.I.G., Cyco Black, Princess, Lil' Jay, Diamond, and Killa C.

Killa C ended up getting kicked out of the group before they released their second studio album partly due to his December 2005 conviction on child molestation charges.

Diamond left the group to pursue a solo career in 2007. Since going solo she has released 3 mixtapes titled Bitch Music Vol. 1-3. During an interview in 2010, Diamond stated that she would like to work on a new Crime Mob album.

Princess left the group also and released an album separate from the rest of Crime Mob, entitled Class is in Session.

Discography

Albums

Crime Mob

*Released: August 10, 2004

U.S. Billboard 200: #90

*Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums: #11

*U.S. Sales: 270,000+

*RIAA Certification: N/A

Hated on Mostly

*Released: March 20, 2007

*U.S. Billboard 200: #31

*Top Rap Albums: #4

*Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums: #10

*U.S. Sales: 67,000+

*RIAA Certification: N/A

Singles

References

External links

Crime Mob's Official WebSite

Official justRHYMES.com profile

The Official Fight-N-Shoot Mixtape Album WebSite

Category:Musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Southern hip hop groups Category:Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia