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Nathaniel Johnson, also known as Fam-Lay (born May 28, 1974)^{[citation needed]} is an American rapper from Norfolk, Virginia.^[1] Signed to The Neptunes' Star Trak imprint, he first gained notoriety through several guest appearances he made on various Neptunes-related projects, including the Clipse's debut album Lord Willin' in 2002. He also later appeared on The Neptunes' compilation The Neptunes Present... Clones in 2003, which featured his song "Rock 'N Roll". Then in 2004 he had the single and video "Rock N Roll (Remix)" featuring Lil Flip. It gained heavy rotation on MTV Jams.

He planned to release his debut album, titled Traintogo, in March 2004,^[2] through a joint venture between Star Trak and Def Jam Recordings. Unlike most Neptunes-helmed projects, where Pharrell and Chad Hugo handle almost all of the production duties, Traintogo was unique in that it was to feature production from outside producers, including Lil' Jon and David Banner. After suffering several delays, Traintogo failed to meet its scheduled release date. To further complicate matters, Fam-Lay's deal with Def Jam fell through, and he was dropped from the label in July 2004. Traintogo still has yet to be released.^[1]

He is currently wrapping up on the second iteration of Traintogo, re-e seen titled Dat Missile. The time has allowed him to re-tweak Dat Missile into a well crafted and solid effort, with 70% of the production done by The Neptunes, additional beats by DJ Toomp and guest spots from Three 6 Mafia, David Banner and the Clipse. Dat Missile was set to hit stores on October 25 via Star Trak/Interscope Records, but has yet to be released. Its first single is "Da Beeper Song", produced by The Neptunes and the video was shot by Hype Williams.

Fam-Lay can be seen in a cameo shot in 2005's "Can I Have It Like That" video with Pharrell. Also he can be seen sitting in front of a car in the Clipse's music video "Mr. Me Too", as well as briefly standing in front of Pusha T on the video of the remix to N*E*R*D's "Everyone Nose" (also featuring Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco). In 2005 Fam-Lay cut off his signature cornrows, now sporting a low cut. Da Beeper Record Video shot by Hype Williams. The second single is called "No Time 4 No's" with Pharrell and Clipse which is actually from Fam-Lay's unreleased album Traintogo.

In 2011 Fam-lay started his comeback by releasing 'Whats my name' & 'Look into my eyes' both produced by new up & coming London born producer Nana Rogues [1]

Fam-Lay released an official single called "Clap Clap" in January 2012. this single is produced by Nana Rogues

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

• Unreleased: Traintogo
• 2008: Dat Missile Unreleased

Mixtape[link]

• 2004: Star Trak Presents: Fam-Lay (Hosted by DJ Cipha Sounds)
• 2005: Grand Theft Ghetto (Shark City) (Hosted by DJ Noe Dout)[2]
• 2008: DirtyWay - Never released

Singles[link]

(Chart positions from Billboard magazine)

Guest appearances[link]

(All songs feature Fam-Lay unless otherwise noted)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Fam-Lay's MySpace
• Fam-Lay's Boots N' Wigs blog

The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s. The Neptunes' sound is a distinctive brand of off-kilter, stripped-down electronic funk with sounds from Middle Eastern and Asian music including percussion and woodwind. Pharrell sings and (later) raps on records and appears in videos, unlike his production partner Chad, and sometimes vocal partner Shay Haley, who tends to stay behind the scenes.

The Neptunes are estimated to have a net worth of $155 million and are considered one of the most successful producers in music history, noted by twenty-four Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits during the late 1990's and 2000's.^[1] In 2009 Billboard ranked The Neptunes No. 1 on their list of Top 10 producers of the decade. Readers of Vibe Magazine named The Neptunes as the 3rd greatest hip-hop producers of all time behind Dr. Dre and DJ Premier.^[2]

Biography[link]

Pharrell and Chad met at a summer camp from the school of The Gifted and Talented in Virginia Beach, where Williams was a drummer and Hugo played tenor saxophone.^[3] They were also both members of a marching band; Pharrell played kettle drum and Chad was a student conductor. In 1990 Chad and Pharrell formed a 4-piece "R&B type" group along with friends Shay and Mike Etheridge, which they named The Neptunes. Upon entering a local talent contest, they were discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio was close to Pharrell's school.^[4] After graduating from high school, they signed with Riley as a group.^[5]

Through working with Riley, Pharrell went on to write a verse for Wreckx-N-Effect's 1992 #2 (billboard hot 100) hit "Rump Shaker". In 1994, Hugo and Williams had established themselves formally as a production duo under the previously used name "The Neptunes", and produced "Tonight's The Night" from Teddy Riley's group BLACKstreet's self-titled debut. Over the next three years they continued to produce occasionally. Some of the production, such as for SWV (1996) and Total (1996), had little resemblance to what would become their distinctive sound, while other songs such as Mase's 1998 No.8 (Billboard hot 100) hit "Lookin' At Me" (from the Harlem World album, 1997) showed clear signs the Neptunes sound was developing.

Their first major production hit, and the most clear beginning of the distinctive Neptunes sound, came with N.O.R.E.'s "Superthug" in 1998, reaching #36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and gaining them widespread attention for the first time. The duo then went on to work heavily with Kelis, producing her first album Kaleidoscope' which was the duo's very first full album production and Ol' Dirty Bastard's record Got Your Money, on which Kelis is featured. They achieved huge commercial success with tracks like Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)", Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass", and then-newly-renamed Diddy's single "D.I.D.D.Y". Other notable hits during their commercial rise were Busta Rhymes' "Pass The Courvoisier pt. 2" and Usher's "You Don't Have to Call".

Kelis was one of several artists whose careers Hugo and Williams have helped launch; artists such as the Clipse, Vanessa Marquez and Justin Timberlake's solo career were also closely tied to the Neptunes' involvement. They have also helped re-launch the careers of Snoop Dogg, Robin Thicke and Mystikal.

In 2001, The Neptunes gained their first worldwide hit with Britney Spears' single, "I'm A Slave 4 U", which reached #1 in several countries in Europe and South America. The following year they reached #1 in the U.S. with Nelly's single, "Hot in Herre". In August of the same year, The Neptunes were named "Producers of the Year" at both The Source Awards and the Billboard Music Awards.

In 2003, they released a self-credited album called The Neptunes Present... Clones, featuring songs and remixes from various Star Trak artists. This album topped the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart.

The Neptunes went home with two Grammy Awards in 2004, one for "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", and another for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for their work on Justin Timberlake's No.2 Billboard hit Justified. They also gained their first UK #1, again with Nelly, and Flap Your Wings.

The Neptunes sound[link]

Their 'sound' is mostly synthesizer riffs, Sampling Keyboard and modules. The Neptunes sound was first heard on Noreaga's 1998 track "Superthug", although not their first production, the song made it officially known as "The Neptunes Sound". Another example of "The Neptunes Sound" is in the Daft Punk song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," which they did a remix of. The song was released in Daft Punk's remix album titled "Daft Club," which was released Internationally on December 3, 2003 and in the U.S. on January 27, 2004. Along with The Neptunes remix, there were also remixes by Jess and Crabbe, Basement Jaxx, and many more.

Drums[link]

A Neptunes production is typically characterized by flat, punchy drum machine sounds and the use of module presets. "Grindin'" was a drum track that paid tribute to Eric B. & Rakim's song of the same nature, "My Melody". Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You" paid tribute to the drums of the funk era, where the loop consisted of various snare sounds. On Busta Rhymes' "Light Yo Ass On Fire" they used a heavy chorus effect on the rhythm track suggesting an industrial or robotic theme. They have used the popular Roland TR-808 drum sound on such songs as LL Cool J's and Jamie Foxx's collaboration "Best Dress" but later production work introduced 'live' drum sounds similar to the ones they would frequently use under their N*E*R*D guise.

The Neptunes' engineer, in an interview with Sound on Sound magazine, revealed many of their production techniques.^[6] In reference to their drums he said, "Williams will play a standard drum kit, then I will cut 16 bars of it into a loop, before using the same method for other instruments including guitars. That's where a lot of the feel of their records comes from — it's not just machines and loops."^[7]

Vocals[link]

Many Neptunes productions feature a hook with Pharrell singing falsetto, including Jay-Z's "Excuse Me Miss", Jadakiss' "Hot Sauce To Go", Kelis' "Flashback", and Snoop Dogg's "Beautiful". Pharrell also adds his own rhymes to his productions, including "Drop It Like It's Hot" in 2004 and "Can I Have It Like That" from his solo debut album In My Mind. Sometimes he is credited as a featured artist and other times he is not.

Synthesizers[link]

Another sound found on Neptunes productions are their distinctive use of synth lines (popularized by Dr.Dre in the early 1990's with his G-funk sub-genre). Examples include the sharp unfiltered sawtooth bass on Busta Rhymes' As I Come Back or Kelis' Milkshake, the heavily phased strings in Jay-Z's "Excuse Me Miss (Remix)", and hard clavi sounds which is used in N.E.R.D's "Lapdance" reminiscent of those associated with rayguns or video game sound effects from the 8-bit era. The synthesizers they use include a MicroKorg, and a Minimoog Voyager.

Studio equipment[link]

There has been much speculation about their tools of the trade. For sequencing they use the Korg 01/W, for drum sounds they use the sampling keyboard Ensoniq ASR-10, their sound modules include the Roland JV 1080 and JV 2080 and for basslines and filtering they have used the MicroKorg. They are also well known for using the Korg Triton and incorporating live percussion and acoustic instruments into their music.^[5]

Other Neptunes-related ventures[link]

Star Trak[link]

The Neptunes' record label, Star Trak Entertainment, includes acts such as Snoop Dogg, Slim Thug and Robin Thicke. Star Trak artists generally benefit from more frequent production from The Neptunes, however, criticisms include poor promotion and release scheduling. Former artist include (due to parent label disputes) Kelis.

N*E*R*D[link]

The alternative group N*E*R*D is composed of Pharrell, Chad and Shay Haley. It is a backronym of No one Ever Really Dies. Their group hits include "Lapdance", "Rock Star" and "She Wants To Move". The first two singles came from their debut album In Search Of... released in 2001, while the latter came from their eagerly anticipated follow-up Fly Or Die in 2004. The band released a third album, Seeing Sounds, on June 10, 2008 and released their fourth studio album entitled "Nothing", on November 2, 2010.

Pharrell as a solo artist[link]

In 2003, Pharrell released his first solo single, Frontin' featuring Jay-Z. At the time he claimed it was a one-off song, and that he was not a singer in his own right. However, after several delays, Pharrell released his debut solo album on July 24 , 2006, titled "In My Mind". The first single from the album was a collaboration with Gwen Stefani titled "Can I Have It Like That", released in 2005. The album features numerous guests, including Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Slim Thug, and Kanye West.

In recent years, Pharrell and Hugo have written many songs and produced beats separately on different projects, despite production still being credited to The Neptunes in all cases except Pharrell's solo debut In My Mind and Hugo's work on Kenna's New Sacred Cow. Notable examples include the Clipse's 2006 release Hell Hath No Fury,& 2009 release of Til The Casket Drops, where Pharrell or P.Williams is the only member of the duo who receives writing credits, as well as N.E.R.D.'s 2008 album Seeing Sounds, where nine songs are written solely by Pharrell and 3 are written by both Pharrell and Chad (Hugo received credits for additional keyboards and horns). Hugo, meanwhile, co-wrote the majority of Kenna's 2007 album Make Sure They See My Face, with the exception of two songs co-written by Pharrell and two written by Kenna alone. Basic speculation has to do with the fact that Pharrell now resides in Miami and Chad still resides in Virginia, but according to Pharrell, the two are very much still a team, despite recent allegations that the duo were splitting ways back in October 2008. The most recent project to receive substantial writing input from both Pharrell and Hugo has been Common's Universal Mind Control while Asher Roth recently confirmed that he was collaborating with both on his latest album.^[8]

Discography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

The duo has received numerous awards, such as from the Grammy Awards, where they have been nominated every year from 2004 to 2007. The Neptunes have received three Grammy Awards: "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", "Best Pop Vocal Album" for Justified, and "Best Rap Song" for "Money Maker". Overall, The Neptunes have received five awards from 17 nominations.

Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards[link]

The Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards are sponsored by Billboard magazine and is held annually in December.^[9][10][11]

Grammy Awards[link]

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States.^{[12][13][14][15]}

References[link]

Torrence Hatch (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Boosie, is an American rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.^[1] Hatch was bestowed the nickname Boosie by his family, and he was raised in southside Baton Rouge. He is currently serving time in the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola); Hatch was sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty to drug charges.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Hatch grew up in a poor neighborhood of Baton Rouge, and his father was absent from his childhood. He played basketball while attending high school but was expelled for drugs, so Hatch decided to become a rapper. He worked with rapper C-Loc and his group Concentration Camp and made his debut on C-Loc's fifth album, It's a Gamble in 2000 as his old alias Boosie. Shortly afterwards, Hatch joined growing record label Trill Entertainment which was backed by its CEO the late Pimp C of UGK. Soon after, Trill independently released his debut album For My Thugz as his new alias Lil Boosie in 2003.^[1] Later, Boosie teamed with label mate Webbie, on their collaboration albums Ghetto Stories and Gangsta Musik.

[edit] 2006-2008: Bad Azz & Survival of the Fittest

In 2006 Boosie's major label debut album Bad Azz, was released.^[1] It contained the single "Zoom" featuring Yung Joc. In 2007, Boosie & Webbie was on the remix of "Wipe Me Down" by rapper Foxx. It was put on the Trill Entertainment Compilation album Survival of the Fittest which was released in 2007, it also blew Boosie's career up as well. In 2008 Boosie was featured on the singles "Independent" by Webbie and was among several rappers to be featured on "Out Here Grindin" by DJ Khaled.

[edit] 2009: Superbad & Bad Azz Entertainment

In 2009 Lil Boosie released his second major album Superbad: The Return of Boosie Bad Azz. The first single from the album, "Better Believe It", featured Webbie and Young Jeezy. There were promotional music videos from the album such as "I'm a Dog" & "Loose as a Goose". Also in 2009 Lil Boosie had presented his debut label Bad Azz Entertainment.

[edit] 2010: Incarcerated album

As of 2010 Lil Boosie has announced while he is still in prison on charges of murder and conspiracy, and potentially facing the death penalty, he wants to move forward with his rap career. Boosie released his fourth studio album Incarcerated on Sept. 28 on Asylum Records. According to MTV News, the project is almost entirely produced by B.J., although Mouse on Tha Track did some work on it as well. Webbie, Foxx and Lil Trill are among the featured guests.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Lil Boosie is married to Walnita Decuir-Hatch. The couple has three children: Torrence Hatch, Jr., Ivyana Hatch, and Tarlaysia Hatch. His mother is Jacquelyn Hatch.^[3] Shortly after Bad Azz was released, Boosie announced that he had diabetes.^[1] On October 22, 2008, Boosie was arrested after East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies found marijuana, another unidentified drug, and a gun in Boosie's car. Boosie pled guilty to third-degree possession of marijuana on September 22, 2009 and was sentenced to two years in prison the next day.^[4] Judge James Moore doubled the sentence on November 10 after finding Boosie had violated probation while awaiting sentencing. Between his plea and sentencing, Boosie was electronically monitored and placed under house arrest.^[5]

Legal issues[link]

On June 17, 2010 Lil Boosie was indicted on federal charges on first-degree murder of Terry Boyd.^[6] He also faces charges for three counts of possession with intent to distribute narcotics (Schedule II-Codeine, Schedule I-Ecstasy and Schedule I-Marijuana), three counts of "conspiracy to commit possession with intent to distribute narcotics", and two counts of "conspiracy to introduce contraband into a penal institution".^[6] He has stated that he is innocent of these charges.^[7] District attorney Hillar Moore stated that the killing seemed to be "over turf". If convicted, Lil Boosie may face the death penalty. Prosecutors have stated that they believe the rapper may have been involved in at least five other murders.^[8] On June 28, Lil Boosie entered a not-guilty plea in a Louisiana court room. While Boosie's defense addressed the fact that the rapper has several ongoing cases, they emphasized that he is not a murderer.^[9]

On November 29, 2011, Hatch was sentenced to eight years in state prison after pleading guilty to drug charges. ^[10]

On May 11, 2012, a jury found Hatch not guilty of first degree murder. ^[11]

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

• Ghetto Stories: The Movie (2010)

Awards[link]

• Ozone Awards
  • 2008: Club Banger of the Year ("Independent") [Won]
  • 2007: Best Rap Album (Bad Azz) [Nominated]
  • 2007: Best Breakthrough Artist [Won]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lil Boosie on Myspace