97 Fun Facts About 2000s Hip Hop

Which 2002 film gave Eminem the first hip hop song to win the Oscar for Best Original Song?

8 Mile's 'Lose Yourself' won Best Original Song at the March 2003 Oscars; Eminem assumed he would lose and was asleep at home, so co-producer Luis Resto accepted the statue for him.

How many times was 50 Cent shot on May 24, 2000, an incident that became central to his legend?

50 Cent was shot nine times outside his grandmother's house in South Jamaica, Queens, on May 24, 2000, almost three years before his major-label debut Get Rich or Die Tryin' arrived in February 2003.

On what date was Jay-Z's album The Blueprint released?

September 11, 2001, the morning of the attacks, and it debuted at number one anyway, with Kanye West and Just Blaze producing most of it. It was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry in 2019.

Eminem's guest verse, the only feature on Jay-Z's The Blueprint, came on which track?

'Renegade', which Eminem also produced, carries the album's only credited guest verse; Nas's 'Ether' later mocked Jay-Z for being outshone by Eminem on his own track.

Which Nas album contained 'Ether', his 2001 answer to Jay-Z's 'Takeover'?

'Ether' appeared on Stillmatic, released in December 2001; the title signalled a return to the form of his 1994 debut Illmatic after the poorly received Nastradamus.

Kanye West's debut single, recorded with his jaw wired shut after a 2002 crash, samples which Chaka Khan song?

'Through the Wire' samples Chaka Khan's 1984 ballad 'Through the Fire', pitch-shifted and sped up, and its title puns on the original's name.

Which OutKast release won the 2004 Album of the Year Grammy, only the second hip hop album to do so?

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below won Album of the Year at the February 2004 Grammys, five years after Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill became the first hip hop album to take the prize.

Which 2000 OutKast single was inspired partly by André 3000's relationship with Erykah Badu and her mother?

'Ms. Jackson' is addressed to the mother of André 3000's ex, Erykah Badu; Badu later said her mother embraced it and bought a 'Ms. Jackson' licence plate, mug and headband.

Tha Carter III (2008) was the decade's last rap album to hit what first-week US sales milestone?

It shifted 1,005,545 copies in its opening week and went on to win Best Rap Album at the 2009 Grammys.

Nelly's 'Hot in Herre' (2002) won the first-ever Grammy handed out in which category?

'Hot in Herre' won Best Male Rap Solo Performance at the 2003 Grammys, the first year the rap solo award was split by gender; the song had spent seven weeks at number one.

In the 'Dilemma' video (2002), Kelly Rowland tries to text Nelly using what kind of app on her Nokia?

She types her message into a spreadsheet on a Nokia 9210 Communicator; years later the scene became a running internet joke about Kelly Rowland texting in Microsoft Excel.

Who is the featured artist on Snoop Dogg's 'Drop It Like It's Hot' (2004)?

Pharrell Williams is the credited feature, having produced the track with Chad Hugo as the Neptunes; Billboard later named it the most popular rap song of the 2000s.

Dr. Dre's album 2001 was released in November of which year?

It was originally going to be called Chronic 2000 until a trademark tangle with Death Row Records forced the change; 'Forgot About Dre' with Eminem won a Grammy in 2001.

Chamillionaire's 'Ridin'' (2006) won a Grammy and inspired which 'Weird Al' Yankovic parody?

'Weird Al' Yankovic's 'White & Nerdy' parodied 'Ridin'' in 2006 and became his first top-ten hit; 'Ridin'' itself won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2007 Grammys.

Which 2003 Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz single featuring the Ying Yang Twins peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100?

'Get Low' first appeared on the 2002 album Kings of Crunk and spent weeks stuck at number two behind Beyoncé's 'Baby Boy' in autumn 2003.

Which Atlanta group's snap single 'Laffy Taffy' hit number one in January 2006?

D4L, the Atlanta group of Fabo, Shawty Lo, Mook-B and Stoney, topped the Hot 100 with 'Laffy Taffy' in January 2006, a snap hit carried by record-setting download sales.

Soulja Boy produced 'Crank That' (2007) on a demo copy of which software?

Soulja Boy built 'Crank That' in a demo version of FL Studio using its stock sounds; the record spent seven weeks at number one and was nominated for Best Rap Song.

Faheem Najm's Auto-Tune-heavy stage name is short for what phrase?

T-Pain stands for Tallahassee Pain, a nod to the hardships of growing up in Florida's capital; he became the face of Auto-Tune vocals in the late 2000s.

Jay-Z's 'D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)' was partly inspired by hearing the effect in an ad for which fast-food chain?

Produced by No I.D., the track won Jay-Z the 2010 Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance.

Drake released his breakthrough mixtape So Far Gone in February 2009 under which label of his own?

So Far Gone was self-released as a free download under Drake's October's Very Own banner on February 13, 2009; 'Best I Ever Had' then climbed to number two on the Hot 100.

Rick Ross took his stage name from which real person, unconnected to him?

He borrowed the name of 'Freeway' Rick Ross, the Los Angeles drug kingpin of the 1980s crack era, who later sued the rapper unsuccessfully over its use.

Who were the duo behind Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy', the first UK No. 1 on downloads alone?

CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse spent nine weeks at UK number one with 'Crazy' in 2006, then deleted the single so listeners would not tire of it; it was the year's best seller anyway.

Which producer handled the tracks on Common's 2005 album Be that Kanye West didn't?

J Dilla produced 'Love Is...' and 'It's Your World' on Be, with Kanye West handling the rest; the album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2006 Grammys.

Lupe Fiasco's 2006 debut single 'Kick, Push' told a love story set in which subculture?

'Kick, Push' is a love story set in skateboarding: a young skater meets a girl with her own board and they ride the city together; it earned two Grammy nominations.

The Game's 2005 debut, executive produced by Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, carried what title?

The Documentary sold 586,000 copies in its first week of January 2005; The Game's relationship with G-Unit collapsed within weeks, and 50 Cent dropped him from the group that February.

DMX was the first artist to have how many albums in a row debut at number one on the Billboard 200?

Five straight DMX albums debuted at number one, from It's Dark and Hell Is Hot in 1998 through Grand Champ in 2003, a first for any artist.

Federal agents raided which record label in 2003 over alleged money laundering for Kenneth 'Supreme' McGriff?

Murder Inc., home of Ja Rule and Ashanti, was raided in January 2003 and later renamed The Inc.; founders Irv and Chris Gotti were acquitted of money-laundering charges in December 2005.

Which Harlem collective, founded by Cam'ron and Jim Jones, released Diplomatic Immunity in 2003?

The Diplomats, also known as Dipset, were founded in Harlem in 1997 by Cam'ron and Jim Jones; Diplomatic Immunity (2003) was the crew's debut album, led by the Heatmakerz-produced 'Dipset Anthem'.

Cam'ron's 2002 hits 'Oh Boy' and 'Hey Ma' came from which album, released on Roc-A-Fella?

Come Home with Me (2002), Cam'ron's first album on Roc-A-Fella, produced the Just Blaze-made 'Oh Boy' and 'Hey Ma', which reached number three on the Hot 100.

Which 2006 Nas album, his first for Def Jam, carried a title that Southern rappers took as an insult aimed at them?

Hip Hop Is Dead, which Nas said was about the music's commercial decline, though Atlanta's rappers heard a diss. It also holds 'Black Republican', his first collaboration with Jay-Z after their feud, with a will.i.am-produced title track.

Lil' Kim's 2005 perjury conviction concerned a 2001 shooting outside which New York radio station?

The February 2001 gunfight outside Hot 97's Manhattan studios involved Lil' Kim's entourage and Capone-N-Noreaga's; she was convicted in 2005 of lying to a grand jury about who was there.

Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay was shot dead in October 2002 at his studio in which part of New York?

Jam Master Jay was killed at his 24/7 Studio on Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens, on October 30, 2002; two men were finally convicted of the murder in February 2024.

D12 rapper Proof, Eminem's close friend, was shot dead in April 2006 at a club in which city?

Proof was shot at the CCC Club on 8 Mile Road in Detroit on April 11, 2006; he had played battle rapper Lil' Tic in the film 8 Mile opposite Eminem's B-Rabbit.

Madvillain, whose only album was Madvillainy (2004), paired Madlib with which rapper?

MF DOOM rapped over Madlib's beats on Madvillainy, whose 22 tracks mostly run under three minutes with few hooks; it peaked at only number 179 on the Billboard 200 before becoming a cult classic.

BET's countdown show 106 & Park premiered on September 11, 2000, with which pair of original hosts?

AJ Calloway and Free hosted 106 & Park from its 2000 premiere until they left in July 2005; its Freestyle Friday battles became a launchpad for aspiring rappers.

Which album won Best Rap Album at the 2007 Grammys?

Release Therapy, for which Ludacris shaved off his signature cornrows, won Best Rap Album at the February 2007 Grammys; its lead single 'Money Maker' with Pharrell also won Best Rap Song.

Eminem's 'Crack a Bottle' (2009) set a first-week digital sales record with how many downloads, beating T.I. and Rihanna's 'Live Your Life'?

418,000, in February 2009, with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent on the track. The album Relapse, produced almost entirely by Dre, went on to win Best Rap Album.

Which Missy Elliott single sat at number two for ten weeks behind Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' in 2002-03?

'Work It', a Timbaland production, tied the record of ten weeks stuck at number two and won Missy Elliott her third straight Grammy for Best Female Rap Solo Performance in 2004.

Which E-40 and Keak da Sneak hit, produced by Lil Jon, took hyphy national in 2006?

'Tell Me When to Go', a Lil Jon-produced single from E-40's My Ghetto Report Card, reached the Hot 100 top 40 in 2006 and brought the Bay Area's hyphy movement to a national audience.

50 Cent earned around $100 million in 2007 when Coca-Cola bought Glacéau, maker of which product?

50 Cent held a stake in Glacéau, maker of Vitaminwater, and had his own Formula 50 flavour; Coca-Cola paid $4.1 billion for the company in 2007.

Which Ja Rule single with Ashanti topped the Hot 100 in early 2002, giving Ashanti her first number one?

'Always on Time' topped the Hot 100 in February 2002, giving Ashanti her first number one two months before her own 'Foolish'; 7 Aurelius produced the beat.

How many copies did Kanye West's Graduation sell in its first week head-to-head with 50 Cent's Curtis in September 2007?

Graduation sold about 957,000 copies to Curtis's 691,000 in the week of September 11, 2007; 50 Cent had vowed to quit solo recording if he lost, then walked it back citing contract obligations.

Which 2009 Jay-Z anthem with Alicia Keys gave him his first Hot 100 number one as lead artist?

Empire State of Mind, a New York anthem built by producer Al Shux on a piano sample from The Moments' 'Love on a Two-Way Street'. It won two Grammys, and the Yankees played it through their 2009 World Series run.

Where did The Marshall Mathers LP's first-week US sales of 1.76 million rank at the time in the SoundScan era?

Only NSYNC's No Strings Attached had opened bigger, making 1.76 million the second-highest SoundScan week to that point; the album went on to win Best Rap Album at the 2001 Grammys.

Which OutKast video restaged a famous 1964 Ed Sullivan Show appearance with André 3000 playing every band member?

'Hey Ya!' recreated the Beatles' 1964 Ed Sullivan debut with André 3000 playing every member of the fictional band; it won Best Urban/Alternative Performance at the 2004 Grammys.

Which T.I. single set a Hot 100 record in 2008 by leaping from number 71 straight to number one?

The 70-place jump broke the mark set by Maroon 5's 'Makes Me Wonder'; it came from his album Paper Trail.

Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak (2008) takes the first part of its title from what?

The 808 is the Roland TR-808 drum machine, whose booming sounds dominate the record alongside Auto-Tune; West made it after his mother's death and a broken engagement, recording partly in Honolulu.

Producer Timbaland got his stage name from which member of Jodeci, who named him after a boot brand?

DeVante Swing of Jodeci, who mentored Timbaland and Missy Elliott in his Swing Mob collective, gave the Norfolk, Virginia producer a name riffing on Timberland boots.

Which duo did Billboard rank number one on its list of the top producers of the 2000s?

The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of Virginia Beach, topped Billboard's 2009 ranking of the decade's producers; they had won Producer of the Year at the 2004 Grammys and ran the Star Trak label.

Which Kid Cudi debut single reached number three on the Hot 100 in 2009 after a Crookers remix took off in clubs?

'Day 'n' Nite', written and produced with Dot da Genius, peaked at number three in 2009 after the Crookers remix became a club hit and reached number two in the UK.

Which award was Taylor Swift accepting at the 2009 MTV VMAs when Kanye West took the microphone from her?

Swift had just won Best Female Video for 'You Belong with Me' when West insisted Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' deserved it; Beyoncé, winning Video of the Year later that night, invited Swift back to finish her speech.

What was the title of 50 Cent's shelved 2000 debut album, pulled after Columbia dropped him?

Power of the Dollar, which circulated as a bootleg, and its single 'How to Rob', mocking other rappers, helped get him blackballed. Eminem's Shady Records signed him in 2002 and Get Rich or Die Tryin' arrived in 2003.

Eminem's 2000 single "Stan" samples the opening lines of which Dido song?

'Stan' opens with the first lines of Dido's 'Thank You', and Dido played Stan's pregnant girlfriend in the video; the song gave English a word for an obsessive fan.

Which 2003 single gave Twista, Kanye West and Jamie Foxx their first Hot 100 number one, built on a Luther Vandross sample?

Slow Jamz, which samples Vandross's cover of 'A House Is Not a Home', so Burt Bacharach and Hal David got writing credits on a rap number one. Twista's tongue-twisting verse was then the fastest thing on the radio.

Which producer made the beat for Terror Squad's 2004 number one 'Lean Back', the hit that launched a shoulder-rocking dance?

Scott Storch, who also produced Beyoncé's 'Baby Boy' and 50 Cent's 'Candy Shop' in the same stretch, before blowing his fortune. Fat Joe and Remy Ma handled the vocals, and the song held the top spot for three weeks.

Which singer features on Eve's "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", the first Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy winner?

Gwen Stefani of No Doubt sang the hook on 'Let Me Blow Ya Mind', a Dr. Dre co-production that peaked at number two in the US and won the inaugural Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy in 2002.

Kanye West's "Gold Digger" (2005) samples which Ray Charles recording?

'Gold Digger' samples Ray Charles's 1954 hit 'I Got a Woman', with Jamie Foxx, fresh from playing Charles in the biopic Ray, re-singing its opening; the beat had originally been written for Shawnna.

Which singer features on Lil Wayne's 'Lollipop' (2008), his first Hot 100 number one?

Static Major, who had co-written Aaliyah's 'Try Again' and Ginuwine's 'Pony', sang the hook on 'Lollipop' and died on February 25, 2008, aged 33, weeks before the song topped the Hot 100.

Which 2003 single set a Billboard record as the most listened-to song in radio history in one week?

'In da Club' drew a record radio audience in a single week in early 2003 and spent nine weeks at number one, holding R. Kelly's 'Ignition (Remix)' at number two.

How many US copies did Get Rich or Die Tryin' sell in its first week in February 2003?

Get Rich or Die Tryin' sold 872,000 copies in its first week despite being rushed out early to beat bootleggers, then another 822,000 the next week on its way to becoming 2003's best-selling album.

Which 2003 single, produced by Kanye West, became Ludacris's first Hot 100 number one?

'Stand Up', with Shawnna on the call-and-response chorus, topped the Hot 100 in December 2003 over a Kanye West beat; it was the lead single from Chicken-n-Beer.

Nelly's 'Country Grammar (Hot Shit)' took its melody and chorus from what kind of source?

The chorus adapts the children's clapping rhyme 'Down Down Baby'; on the clean version 'street sweeper baby cocked' becomes 'boom boom baby', since a Street Sweeper is a shotgun.

Which Jay-Z Black Album single, built on a Rick Rubin rock beat, peaked at only number 30, below its two top-ten siblings?

99 Problems, which has aged into the album's most famous song despite the chart showing, with a beat borrowed from Mountain, Billy Squier and Wilson Pickett and a hook from an Ice-T song of the same name.

Which duo's 2002 debut single 'Grindin'' was built on a famously sparse drum-and-woodblock beat?

Clipse, brothers Pusha T and Malice from Virginia Beach, debuted with the Neptunes-produced 'Grindin'', which led off Lord Willin' and peaked at number 30 in 2002.

Which pop star sang the uncredited chorus on the Black Eyed Peas' 'Where Is the Love?' (2003)?

Justin Timberlake sang the chorus but went uncredited and skipped the video; his label Jive worried about overexposure while his solo debut Justified was being promoted.

M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' (2008) samples which band's 1982 song 'Straight to Hell'?

'Paper Planes' loops the guitar riff of the Clash's 'Straight to Hell', a sample Diplo suggested; the Clash's members received writing credits, and MTV censored the gunshots in the video.

Kanye West's 'Stronger' video, shot partly in Tokyo, was inspired by which 1988 anime film?

The 'Stronger' video borrows scenes from Akira, including its hospital and motorcycle imagery; West built the song on Daft Punk's 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' and performed it with the duo at the 2008 Grammys.

Which 2004 EP paired Jay-Z with Linkin Park and produced the Grammy-winning 'Numb/Encore'?

Collision Course, a six-track mash-up EP recorded over four days in July 2004 for MTV, debuted at number one; 'Numb/Encore' won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 2006 Grammys.

Which Philadelphia band, led by Black Thought and Questlove, became Jimmy Fallon's house band in 2009?

The Roots, formed in Philadelphia in 1987 around Black Thought and Questlove, joined Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2009 and followed him to The Tonight Show in 2014.

Who produced Lil Wayne's 'A Milli' (2008) and later Beyoncé's similar-sounding 'Diva'?

Producer Shondrae 'Bangladesh' Crawford built 'A Milli' on a looped vocal snippet and reused the template for Beyoncé's 'Diva'; 'A Milli' won Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2009 Grammys.

Juvenile's 'Slow Motion' (2004) gave which record label its first ever Hot 100 number one?

'Slow Motion' topped the Hot 100 in August 2004, the first number one for Cash Money Records; guest Soulja Slim had been shot dead in New Orleans the previous November.

Shyne, jailed for a 1999 nightclub shooting, later became a politician in which country?

He converted to Orthodox Judaism in prison, was deported after his release in 2009, and went on to lead his country's opposition in parliament.

Ol' Dirty Bastard collapsed and died in November 2004 at the studio of which fellow Wu-Tang member?

ODB collapsed at RZA's 36 Chambers studio in Manhattan on November 13, 2004, two days before his 36th birthday; an autopsy found a lethal mix of cocaine and the painkiller tramadol.

Big Pun, who died in February 2000 aged 28, was the first solo Latino rapper to achieve what, with 1998's Capital Punishment?

A platinum album: Capital Punishment went platinum in 1998 and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 1999 Grammys. The Bronx rapper, born Christopher Rios, weighed nearly 700 pounds when a heart attack killed him.

Which hip hop album was the best-selling album in the world in 2002?

The Eminem Show topped the IFPI's 2002 worldwide sales chart and went on to sell well over 20 million copies; its single 'Without Me' won the Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video.

'Big Pimpin'', Jay-Z's 2000 hit with UGK, samples a 1957 recording from which country?

The sample is 'Khosara Khosara', sung by the Egyptian star Abdel Halim Hafez and composed by Baligh Hamdi; Hamdi's heirs sued in 2007, and Jay-Z testified in 2015 that he had not known the track contained a sample.

UGK's 'Int'l Players Anthem' (2007) video is built around which event in André 3000's life?

The video stages André 3000's wedding: he arrives in a red kilt while Bun B and friends object to his rushing into it. The DJ Paul and Juicy J beat had first been used by Project Pat in 2002.

Which rapper hosted MTV's car-makeover show Pimp My Ride from 2004 to 2007, spawning the 'Yo dawg, I heard you like' meme?

Xzibit, and the meme of putting a thing inside a thing outlived the show, which was staged: cars were often stripped of their upgrades after filming. West Coast Customs did the rebuilds for the first four seasons.

Which rapper's debut Boy in da Corner won the 2003 Mercury Prize?

Dizzee Rascal won the 2003 Mercury Prize for Boy in da Corner, a largely self-produced debut that carried grime out of east London; the Bow teenager beat The Darkness and Radiohead's Hail to the Thief.

Which hip hop group features on Gorillaz's 2005 Grammy-winning single 'Feel Good Inc.'?

De La Soul, the Long Island trio of Posdnuos, Dave and Maseo, rapped the verses on 'Feel Good Inc.', which won Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 2006 Grammys.

How many separate music videos were made for Kanye West's 'Jesus Walks' (2004)?

Three videos were made: two directed by Chris Milk and a lower-budget third by Coodie & Chike; the track samples the ARC Choir's 'Walk with Me' and won Best Rap Song at the 2005 Grammys.

Jay-Z kept his 2007 album American Gangster off which store, refusing to sell it track by track?

Jay-Z withheld American Gangster from iTunes, arguing that a concept album should not be sold as individual songs any more than a film is sold scene by scene.

Kanye West's 'Touch the Sky' (2005) slows down a sample of which Curtis Mayfield song?

Just Blaze, not West, built the beat by slowing the horn riff of Curtis Mayfield's 1970 'Move On Up'; the track also gave a then little-known Lupe Fiasco his first big guest spot.

Lil' Kim's 2001 number one 'Lady Marmalade' was recorded for which film's soundtrack?

The Moulin Rouge! version by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa and Pink spent five weeks at number one in 2001, repeating Labelle's 1975 chart-topper and winning the Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Which 2003 album was Bow Wow's first release after he dropped 'Lil'' from his stage name?

Unleashed (2003) was the first album credited to plain Bow Wow, released after he left Jermaine Dupri's So So Def for Columbia; Snoop Dogg had given him the Lil' Bow Wow name in 1993.

A January 2007 police raid on DJ Drama's Atlanta studio seized roughly how many mixtapes?

Police and RIAA investigators seized about 81,000 mixtape CDs, recording equipment and four vehicles; Drama and Don Cannon were booked under Georgia's racketeering law before being released on bail.

Jay-Z sold the rights to his Rocawear brand to Iconix in 2007 for roughly how much?

Iconix Brand Group paid about $204 million for Rocawear in March 2007, with Jay-Z keeping a role in the brand's operations; he had co-founded the label with Damon Dash in 1999.

Jay-Z opened his 2008 Glastonbury headline set with a cover of which Oasis song?

Jay-Z walked out singing a deliberately ragged 'Wonderwall' after Noel Gallagher said hip hop had no place at Glastonbury; he had replied, 'We don't play guitars, Noel, but hip hop has put in its work'.

Kanye West said George Bush 'doesn't care about black people' on live TV after which 2005 disaster?

Kanye went off script on NBC's Concert for Hurricane Relief on September 2, 2005, days after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans; in 2010 he apologised, saying he had lacked grounds to call the president a racist.

Which Jay-Z song did he and Nas perform together in October 2005 to mark the end of their feud?

'Dead Presidents' was a pointed choice: the 1996 track samples Nas's 'The World Is Yours' hook, which Nas performed live at the 'I Declare War' show in New Jersey; he signed to Def Jam months later.

Whose album kept Kanye West's The College Dropout stuck at number two on the Billboard 200 in 2004?

Norah Jones's Feels Like Home, which opened with over a million copies, held The College Dropout at number two even though Kanye's debut sold 441,000 in its first week.

T.I. was a guest on which Atlanta rapper's 2003 single 'Never Scared'?

'Never Scared', Bone Crusher's 2003 breakout from the album AttenCHUN!, featured Killer Mike and T.I. and peaked at number 26 on the Hot 100, riding the crunk wave out of Atlanta.

Which Mystikal album, home to 'Shake Ya Ass', topped the Billboard 200 in 2000?

Let's Get Ready, Mystikal's first album after leaving No Limit for Jive, debuted at number one in October 2000; 'Shake Ya Ass' peaked at number 13 with an uncredited Pharrell Williams singing the hook.

Asher Roth's 'I Love College' (2009) originally sampled which Weezer song before being reworked?

The early version of 'I Love College' borrowed Weezer's 'Say It Ain't So'; when Weezer declined to clear the sample, producer Ben H. Allen rebuilt the track for the 2009 single release.

Which TV commentator branded Jadakiss a 'smear merchant' over a 9/11 line in 'Why' (2004)?

Bill O'Reilly called Jadakiss a 'smear merchant' on Fox News over the line 'Why did Bush knock down the towers?'; the Havoc-produced track features Anthony Hamilton on the hook.

Fabolous first rapped under a longer name that referenced which fashion line?

He started as Fabolous Sport, a nod to Ralph Lauren's Polo Sport line, before DJ Clue signed him to Desert Storm after a freestyle on his Hot 97 show; Ghetto Fabolous followed in 2001.

Which Big Boi-run label released Bubba Sparxxx's 2006 album The Charm and its hit 'Ms. New Booty'?

Purple Ribbon, Big Boi's label distributed by Virgin, put out The Charm in 2006; its Ying Yang Twins collaboration 'Ms. New Booty' peaked at number seven, above his 2001 Timbaland-produced breakthrough 'Ugly'.