Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop group St. Lunatics. He signed with Universal Records as a solo act in 1999 to release his debut studio album, Country Grammar (2000). Its lead single of the same name and follow-up, "Ride wit Me",, both entered the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. The album peaked atop the Billboard 200 and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second album, Nellyville (2002), spawned two consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma", along with the top-five single, "Air Force Ones".

Jason Drew Harrow, better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall, is a Canadian rapper and record producer. Often credited as Canada's "hip hop ambassador", he has been regarded as one of the country's most prominent hip hop producers during the 2000s and is distinctive for his reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip hop.

"Jesus Walks" is a song by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on May 25, 2004, as the fourth single from his debut album The College Dropout (2004). The song contains a sample of "Walk with Me" as performed by the ARC Choir. "Jesus Walks" was acclaimed by music critics, who praised its compelling sonic atmosphere and boldness in its open embrace of faith. It was met by widespread commercial success, peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming West's fourth consecutive top-twenty hit in the United States.

Faheem Rashad Najm, known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. T-Pain is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electronic-styled vocal performances. Blending its use with R&B and hip hop sensibilities, T-Pain became a prominent figure in both genres throughout the 2000s. Other music industry artists, such as Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Future, and Travis Scott, have since utilized Auto-Tune to a similar effect.

Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam, known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, songwriter, record producer, and businessman. An influential figure in world music, he rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of his debut single "Locked Up". Styled in hip hop, it preceded the release of his debut studio album Trouble (2004), which became his commercial breakthrough and spawned the R&B-styled follow-up, "Lonely" the following year.

"I Am Not My Hair" is a song by American soul and R&B singer–songwriter India.Arie from her third studio album, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (2006). Written by Arie, Shannon Sanders, and Drew Ramsey, it was released as the album's lead single in late 2005 to moderate chart success. The song was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2007 Grammy Awards. A remix version of "I Am Not My Hair" featuring Akon was also released.

Konvicted is the second studio album by Senegalese-American singer-songwriter Akon. It was released on November 14, 2006. The album features collaborations with Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Styles P and T-Pain.

"Smack That" is a song by Senegalese-American singer Akon featuring American rapper Eminem from the former's second studio album Konvicted (2006). Produced by Eminem, it was written by the artists alongside Mike Strange and Luis Resto. The collaboration came after the two artists met during a recording session for Shady Records rapper Obie Trice. The song received widespread acclaim from contemporary music critics for being a great club song.

"I Wanna Love You" is a song written and recorded by Senegalese-American singer Akon featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released in October 2006 as the second single from his second studio album, Konvicted. It is also featured on Snoop Dogg's eighth album, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. This song was Akon's first #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also Snoop's second #1 on the same chart. It also reached a peak of #3 on the UK Singles Chart. The track originally had Akon as a featured artist and was performed by rapper Plies from Fort Myers, Florida, but his verse was replaced by Snoop's and his name has been left out from the writers' credits. This song was #88 on MTV Asia's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008.

"The Sweet Escape" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her 2006 second solo studio album of the same name. It was written by Stefani, Aliaune "Akon" Thiam and Giorgio Tuinfort, and produced by the latter two. Akon, who is also a featured artist, developed the song's beat before collaborating with Stefani. He designed it based on her previous work with No Doubt, and Stefani later commented that it put her "on the yellow brick road to the No Doubt record I might do". "The Sweet Escape" is an apology for a fight between two lovers and describes a dream of a pleasant life for them. As the album's title track, its title was chosen to help market Stefani's music and fashion lines.

Play-N-Skillz are a Latin/American record production/DJ group duo from Dallas, Texas, consisting of brothers Juan "Play" Salinas and Oscar "Skillz" Salinas. Their production has won several Grammys including the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 2007 for their production on the single "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone, and the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album for Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III (2008), which included their production on the single "Got Money".