The ensuing days found Bobby Valentino reuniting with Mista's producers, Tim & Bob (Jodeci, Jagged Edge, Case), who wound up producing most of the album. Between Bobby's skills as a writer ("I'm a young dude, but I know a little something about relationships," he jokes.) and Tim & Bob's tracks the album was finished in just a few short months.

Bobby's first single, "Slow Down," proved to be a wise choice for his foray as an adult vocalist, picking up hundreds of radio spins nearly from the first week of its release. As listeners hone in on Bobby's extraordinary vocal ability, they will be teased by such tunes as "Love Dream," in which he uses his falsetto in a manner reminiscent of classic singers from the 70's. The poignant "My Angel," focuses on the magical chemistry between a man and his true love.

Bobby Valentino's debut release, 'Disturbing Tha Peace Presents Bobby Valentino' , on Disturbing Tha Peace/Island Def Jam Records, is a testament to young adult relationships from a man's point of view, focusing on Bobby Valentino's incredible vocal range Disturbing Tha Peace Presents: BOBBY VALENTINO purely showcases the haunting, mesmerizing vocal ability possessed by a young male vocalist whose talents belie his age.

Born in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, in 1972 of Jamaican heritage (a definite influence on his rapping style), Busta moved to Long Island in 1983 and, at Uniondale High School, met up with MCs Charlie Brown, Dinco D., and Cut Monitor Milo. Inspired by fellow Long Islanders Public Enemy and Eric B. & Rakim, the foursome united as Leaders of the New School and signed a deal with Elektra Records right out of the gate, when Busta was only 17 years old.

Much respected in the hip-hop underground for their Afrocentric philosophy and tough rapping styles, Leaders of the New School debuted in 1991 with Future Without a Past but released only one more album, 1993's T.I.M.E., before breaking up the following year.

Born as Christopher Brown on May 5, 1989 in Tappahannock, Virginia, he has been drawn to music since his childhood and was heavily influenced by the sounds of Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Anita Baker. However, it was not until the age of 11 that he actually possesses an amazing voice, thanks to his mother who quickly noticed her son's talent after she heard him singing around their house. Encouraged by this supportive woman to see some local producers, the thirteen-years-old boy got the attention of a small production team - swo much so that they agreed to help him record a few songs as his demo. “There were ups and downs,” he described the process. “But I loved it and I knew I wanted to do it.”

In her early teens, she got a piece of paper out and wrote down her life's goal, to become a professional singer. She joined a girl group, worked on her songwriting, left the group, landed a publishing deal, and found a "music soul mate" when she met producer Jazze Pha. With Sean Garrett, the co-writer of Usher's massive hit "Yeah!," Ciara co-wrote "Goodies," and when Lil Jon heard the demo, he knew it was going to be big. LaFace released the Lil Jon-produced track in the summer of 2004, and its quick climb up the charts was remarkable.

With help from Pha, Garrett, and Lil Jon, Ciara released her self-titled debut in September the same year.

Accompanied by DJ Brian "Wino" Dobbs, Coolio recorded his debut album, 'It Takes a Thief,' released in 1994. The lead single, "County Line," was a humorous recounting of the indignities of welfare, but the album really took off when 'Fantastic Voyage' rocketed to number three on the pop charts, pushing 'It Takes a Thief ' into the Top Ten and past the platinum sales mark.Following up his breakthrough success, Coolio teamed up with gospel-trained singer L.V. on a tune based on Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life cut 'Pastime Paradise'.

The triple-platinum Gangsta's Paradise album kept the hits coming: the bright party anthem '1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)' hit the Top Ten in 1996, and the safe-sex anthem 'Too Hot' was fairly popular as well. Meanwhile, Coolio toured the world and began an acting career, making his screen debut with a cameo in the 1996 comedy Phat Beach; he would also land a small role in the following year's Batman and Robin. Coolio's third album, 'My Soul' was released in 1997, My Soul's lead single, the elegiac "C U When U Get There" (which sampled Pachelbel's "Canon in D"), seemed to fit the mood of the times, and despite the backlash the 2Pac/Biggie murders hanging heavily over the hip-hop scene, the album still made the Top 40 and became one of the lowest-profile platinum hits of the year. Coolio
appeared regularly on the revived Hollywood Squares and set up his own label, Crowbar. He continues to take a number of small film roles, but his much-delayed fourth album remained only a rumor (though it was confirmed that he had recorded "The Hustler," a rap update of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" with Rogers himself on vocals, back in 1998). Finally, five years after his last album, 'El Cool Magnifico' appeared on the Dragon Riders label.

The album featured guest appearances by the likes of Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd, and N'Dea Davenport of the Brand New Heavies, and was followed up two years later by a sophomore solo outing, 'Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality', which again featured a variety of special guests (including Ramsey Lewis, Branford Marsalis, and members of Jamiroquai).

Despite his solo career, Guru has remained true to Gang Starr all along, continuing to contribute to such further albums as 1994's 'Hard to Earn' and 1998's 'Moment of Truth'. Five years after his second solo outing appeared, 'Streetsoul' was released in 2000, which again featured a stellar cast of supporting characters: Herbie Hancock, Isaac Hayes, the Roots, Erykah Badu, and Macy Gray.

In addition to the aforementioned artists, Guru has collaborated with some of rap music's best-known producers, including fellow Gang Starr member DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Alchemist, Ayatollah, and DJ Spinna, as well as Ice-T, Naughty by Nature's Treach, Killah Priest, and Ed O.G

Ice-T landed his first a major-label record deal with Sire Records in 1987, releasing his debut album, Rhyme Pays. On the record, he is supported by DJ Aladdin and producer Afrika Islam, who helped create the rolling, spare beats and samples that provided a backdrop for the rapper's charismatic rhymes, which were mainly party-oriented; the record wound up going gold. Following the release of the theme song of the same name for Dennis Hopper's 'Colors', Ice-T formed his own record label, Rhyme Syndicate (which was distributed through Sire/Warner) and released Power. Power was a more assured and impressive record, earning him strong reviews and his second gold record. Released in 1989, The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say established him as a true hip-hop superstar by matching excellent abrasive music with fierce, intelligent narratives, and political commentaries, especially about hip-hop censorship.

Jagged Edge signed to Dupri's So So Def label and in the summer of 1997 released their debut single, 'The Way That You Talk', featuring appearances by Dupri and Da Brat - it reached the Top 40 of the R&B chart and was also a pop chart entry. Early in 1998, Jagged Edge released their first album, 'A Jagged Era', which went gold and spawned the Top 20 R&B, Top 40 pop hit 'Gotta Be'.

Continuing and expanding upon the tradition he set with his first two best-selling albums - 1995's "Bonafide" and 1997's "Cool Relax" - multi-talented singer, songwriter, producer and musician Jon B HAS demonstrated his growth and development as a mainstay artist in the contemporary music marketplace with 'Pleasures You Like' on Edmonds Record Group/Epic, representing a new level of hands-on involvement f- with Jon B producing almost all the tracks on the album, writing or co-writing every cut, recording virtually everything at his own VibeZelect Studios in Pasadena. As he notes, "I didn't have a particular concept in mind for my third album. I just wanted to write and produce with some of my favorite artists."

Working with Faith Evans on the late night slow jam 'Overjoyed' was another highlight for Jon B, while on a different musical tip, "Lonely Girl" is a standout collaboration between Jon B. and Babyface:Whether it's the jazzy, slinky, tropical-styled groove of 'All I Want Is You' - featuring Cuban Link - or the straight-ahead sexually-charged 'Inside' (reminiscent in flavor of a vintage Prince cut), 'Pleasures You Like' has showed great creative maturity.

In 1995, Jon B.'s auspicious debut album "Bonafide" met with immediate acclaim, spawning a Top 10 pop and R&B hit in "Someone To Love," a gold single that featured Babyface. The memorable ballad was also included in the movie "Bad Boys."

This flamboyance, of course, made for good press, something West enjoyed plenty of during his sudden rise to celebrity status. He was a media darling, appearing and performing at practically every major awards show (and winning at them, too), delivering theatrical videos to MTV that were events in themselves, and mouthing off about whatever happened to cross his mind. For instance, he once spoke out against the rampant homophobia evident in much rap music, and he also posed for the cover of Rolling Stone as Jesus Christ. He seemed to court controversy. West's boundless energy during his initial surge of activity not only racked up impressive hits for himself like "Jesus Walks" and "Gold Digger," but also graced such fellow rap stars as Jay-Z and Ludacris with smashes.

In the wake of his breakout success, West earned a whopping ten nominations for the 47th annual Grammy Awards, held in early 2005. The College Dropout won the Best Rap Album award, 'Jesus Walks' won Best Rap Song, and a songwriting credit on 'You Don't Know My Name'had West sharing the Best R&B Song award with Alicia Keys and Harold Lilly. Later in the year, he released his second solo album, Late Registration, which met with enormous success, hit the top of the charts, and won the Grammy for Album of the Year in early 2006. That same year, the live album Late Orchestration: Live at Abbey Road Studios found West performing his hits with a 17-piece string orchestra.

Around the time of 1990's Edutainment, BDP's audience began to slip as many fans thought his raps were becoming preachy. As a reaction, KRS-One began to re-establish his street credibility with harder, sparer beats and raps. 1992's Sex and Violence was the first sign that he was taking a harder approach, one that wasn't nearly as concerned with teaching. KRS-One's first solo album, 1993's Return of the Boom Bap, was an extension of the more direct approach of Sex and Violence, yet it didn't halt his commercial decline. Still, he forged on with a high-quality self-titled 1995 effort and 1996's Battle for Rap Supremacy, a joint effort with his old rival, MC Shan.

After 1997's I Got Next, he put his solo career on hiatus for several years, finally returning in early 2001 with The Sneak Attack.

The following year KRS-One reunited with Marley Marl to create Hip Hop Lives, an attempt to preserve the golden age of hip-hop.

He quickly developed an alternate style, a romantic -- and occasionally sappy -- lover's rap epitomized by his mainstream breakthrough single, "I Need Love." LL's first two albums, Radio and Bigger and Deffer, made him a star, but he strived for pop stardom a little too much on 1989's Walking With a Panther.

By 1990, his audience had declined somewhat, since his ballads and party raps were the opposite of the chaotic, edgy political hip-hop of Public Enemy or the gangsta rap of N.W.A., but he shot back to the top of the charts with Mama Said Knock You Out, which established him as one of hip-hop's genuine superstars.