Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Born and raised in New Orleans, he was discovered by hometown rapper Birdman in 1993 and signed with the latter's record label, Cash Money Records, at age eleven. He emerged as the flagship artist of the label in the following years until his departure in June 2018.
Omari Ishmael Grandberry, better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, dancer and actor. He rose to prominence as lead vocalist of the boy band B2K, which was formed in 1998 and managed by record executive Chris Stokes. The group achieved success in the early 2000s with their singles "Gots ta Be", "Uh Huh", "Girlfriend", and the Billboard Hot 100-number one hit "Bump, Bump, Bump".
John David Jackson, better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed to Clue's record label Desert Storm Records, in a joint venture with Elektra Records. He rose to further prominence with his debut studio album Ghetto Fabolous (2001), which spawned the hit singles "Can't Deny It" and "Young'n ." Adopting a further commercially-oriented approach, his second album, Street Dreams (2003), was supported by the singles "Can't Let You Go" and "Into You" —both of which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
Jordan Michael Houston III, known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, established in 1991. He released ten studio albums with the group, which began as an underground act until attaining mainstream recognition and signing with Loud Records, an imprint of Columbia Records in 2000. The group's 2005 single, "Stay Fly", yielded their furthest commercial success, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year, they recorded the song "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" for the film Hustle & Flow, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Blaque is an American girl group that charted from 1999 to 2004. Outside of the United States, they are known as Blaque Ivory. Their self-titled debut album Blaque sold more than 1 million copies and was certified Platinum. The group's debut included the platinum-selling lead single "808", a second single, "I Do", and the international pop hit "Bring It All to Me". In 1999, Billboard named Blaque the 4th Best New Artist of the year, with "Bring It All to Me" landing at number 30 on the 2000 Year End Chart. In 2002 and 2003, the group released three less successful singles, "Can't Get It Back", "Ugly", and "I'm Good", the latter appearing in the film Honey.
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. Raised in Atlanta as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music production at the age of nine. He discovered the teen hip hop duo Kris Kross in 1991. Dupri wrote and produced their 1992 single "Jump," which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the 23rd most successful song of that decade. He established his own record label, So So Def Recordings in a joint venture with Columbia the following year.
Percy Romeo Miller Jr., also known by his stage name Romeo, is an American rapper, actor, and television personality. He gained fame as a rapper in the early 2000s after signing with his father, Master P's record label No Limit Records. His 2001 debut single, "My Baby" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded his debut studio album Lil' Romeo, which peaked at number six on the US Billboard 200.
Total is an American R&B girl group and one of the signature acts of the Bad Boy Records imprint during the mid-1990s. The group consists of founding members Kima Raynor, Keisha Spivey, and Pamela Long. Total is best known for their feature on Mase's "What You Want", as well as their hits "Kissin' You", "Can't You See", and "What About Us?" and "Trippin'", both featuring Missy Elliott. Long also sung the chorus of The Notorious B.I.G.'s hit song "Hypnotize", although she was not officially credited. Total made their first appearance singing the hook on The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut single, "Juicy", widely considered one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.
Dawn Sherrese Robinson is an American singer and actress best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop group En Vogue, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. Following her departure from En Vogue, Robinson joined Lucy Pearl and released their self-titled debut album Lucy Pearl in 2000, which went platinum worldwide and produced the successful singles "Dance Tonight" and "Don't Mess with My Man".
Joseph Anthony Budden II is an American broadcaster and rapper. He first gained recognition in the latter occupation with his 2003 single "Pump It Up", which peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of his eponymous debut studio album (2003). Met with critical and commercial success, the album peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200, although it served as his only major label release for Def Jam Recordings; he thereafter released seven albums independently to continued critical praise. While doing so, he performed as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, which were signed to Eminem's Shady Records in 2012; the group released two studio albums.
Lavell William Crump, better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor.
Junior M.A.F.I.A. was an American hip hop group from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City. The backronym M.A.F.I.A. stands for Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes. They were formed and mentored by New York rapper The Notorious B.I.G. In 1995, they released their debut album, Conspiracy. The success of the group's singles "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money" helped launch the career of Lil' Kim as a solo artist.
Terrence LeVarr Thornton, better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice. Mainly active from 1994 to 2010, the duo were discovered by Pharrell Williams and signed with his record label Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Arista Records in 2001. They released three studio albums—Lord Willin' (2002), Hell Hath No Fury (2006) and Til the Casket Drops (2009)—to mild commercial success; the former spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time", for which they became best known.
Joe Budden is the debut studio album by American rapper Joe Budden. It was released on June 10, 2003, by On Top, distributed by Def Jam. Recording sessions took place from 2002 to 2003, with production by Dub B aka White Boy, along with the other high-profile producers such as Just Blaze and Lofey. The album features guest appearances from Lil' Mo, Busta Rhymes and 112. Upon the record's release, it was met with favorable reviews from music critics. Joe Budden debuted at number 8 on the US Billboard 200, selling 95,000 units in its first week, later the record sold 420,000+ copies in the United States. It also entered at number 55 on the UK Albums Chart.
Xtreme is an American music duo consisting of members Danny D and Steve Styles of Dominican descent. The duo focuses on the Dominican genre bachata. Xtreme was formed in 2003 and has enjoyed success among Hispanics in the United States. The original line-up included another vocalist, Elvis Rosario, who was also a guitarist in the group. He left after 2005 or 2006. Xtreme has enjoyed success with singles like Te Extraño, Shorty, Shorty, ¿Adónde Se Fue?, No Me Digas Que No, among others.
Jimmy Cozier is an American R&B singer and songwriter. He is best known for his hit single "She's All I Got" and for being one of the inaugural artists signed to Clive Davis' J Records label.
Kevin Winston Rudolf is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 2008 debut single "Let It Rock", which peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He signed with Birdman's Cash Money Records, an imprint of Universal Republic Records to release the song along with the parent album of which it preceded, In the City (2008). The album received mixed reviews and underperformed commercially at number 94 on the Billboard 200, along with his third album To the Sky (2010), which peaked at number 78. Prior, he released his then-eponymous debut album (2001)—under the name Binocular—through Madonna's record label Maverick.
Get With Me is the second studio album to be released by the R&B and hip hop group 3rd Storee, released on April 16, 2002 by Universal. The leading single track of the album "Get With Me", also features rapper Joe Budden The soulful ballad "I'm Sorry" was featured on the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack. "Superstar" was marketed as another single on the album's packaging promotion however didn't reach commercial success.
J'son is an American R&B singer who was signed to Hollywood Records in the 1990s with three charting hits on the US Billboard Hot 100. He also scored two top 5 singles in New Zealand.
Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head is the eighth studio album by American rapper T.I. It was released on December 18, 2012, by Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. The production was provided by some of T.I.'s longtime collaborators; including DJ Toomp, Jazze Pha, Pharrell Williams and Lil' C. These high-profile record producers such as T-Minus, Cardiak, No I.D., Rico Love, Planet VI, Tommy Brown and Chuck Diesel, also contributed to the album. The album features guest appearances from P!nk, Lil Wayne, André 3000, R. Kelly, Akon, Meek Mill, CeeLo Green, ASAP Rocky, Trae tha Truth, Victoria Monet and Grand Hustle's own D.O.P.E.
