Chubb Rock

Having moved to Brooklyn, New York from Kingston, Jamaica at an early age, Simpson later studied at the revered Brown University before dropping out to concentrate on his music. The rapper was subsequently discovered by his cousin and producer Howie Tee, who produced Chubb Rock’s debut, self-titled album in 1988. Whilst not making any headway into the mainstream chart, the record peaked at No. 54 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart and paved the way for his sophomore album “And the Winner Is…” a year later. Peaking at No. 28 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Chart, "And the Winner Is..." subsequently spawned the No. 15 Rap single “Ya Bad Chubbs”.

In 1991 Chubb Rock issued his third full-length album “The One”, which charted at No. 13 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Led by the singles “Treat’em Right”, “Just The Two of Us”, and “The Chubbster”, the album introduced the rapper’s authoritative delivery to a national audience, and peaked at No. 71 on the Billboard 200. To capitalise on this success, the rapper wasted little time in releasing his fourth studio album “I Gotta Get Mine Yo” in 1992. Self-produced alongside future production stars Trackmasters, the record rose to No. 24 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Chart and hosts appearances from Grand Puba, Rob Swinga, and Poke.

Following a guest contribution to the MC Serch single “Back to The Grill” in 1992, Chubb Rock joined the rap group Crooklyn Dodgers in 1995 alongside OC and Jeru The Damaja. A year later the rapper appeared on the critically acclaimed Red Hot Organisation’s “America is Dying Slowly”, which also hosted the artists Wu-Tang Clan, Coolio, and Fat Joe. Chubb Rock’s fifth full-length “The Mind” arrived in 1997, peaking at No. 45 on the U.S. Rap Charts, after which a recording hiatus ensued which would last until 2009 with the release of the collaborative album “Bridging the Gap” alongside rapper Wordsmith.

Singer-songwriter Adina Howard first came on the scene with the release of her debut album “Do You Wanna Ride?” in 1995. The platinum record propelled Howard to national stardom aided by the hugely popular single “Freak Like Me”. The heavily sexualised and provocative studio album peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard 200 aided by “Freak Like Me” and the subsequent singles “My Up and Down” and “It’s All About You”. Following the release Howard collaborated with Warren G to produce the single “What’s Love Got to Do with It” for the “Police Story 3: Super Cop” soundtrack, followed by a contribution to the “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” soundtrack.

The singer’s sophomore album “Welcome to Fantasy Island” was led by the single “(Freak) And U Know It”, however was shelved by Elektra Records in 1997. A few years later the album was leaked onto the internet, and the track “T-Shirt & Panties” (featuring Jamie Foxx) found its way on the 1998 film “Woo” soundtrack and later released as a single. Howard subsequently released the studio album “The Second Coming” in 2004 after moving to Rufftown Records, led by the single “Nasty Grind”. The album didn’t sell well however, and plans to release a second single were dropped after Howard left the label shortly after the release.

An official mixtape “Let You Hit” followed in 2005 with a host of new songs, remixes and unreleased tracks. The full-length “Private Show” arrived in 2007 led by the singles “L.O.V.A”, “My Hips”, and “Tease”. Following the release the singer took a hiatus from music in which time she started her own restaurant and released her own cook book. Howard returned to music in 2015 with the release of her full-length “The Switch Up” led by the singles “Switch” and “Bad 4 Me”.