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 his 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.
Nivea B. Hamilton, known mononymously as Nivea, is an American R&B singer. She has released three studio albums: her self-titled debut (2001), followed up by Complicated (2005), Animalistic (2006), and an independently released extended play Nivea: Undercover (2011). In 2019, she released her album Mirrors.
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; they had songs chart 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 rapper, songwriter, record producer, music executive, and entrepreneur. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia, 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, singer, 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.
Rodney Roy Jerkins, also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists.
Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. He is a founding member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats, which he formed in 1997 with fellow Harlem native Cam'ron.
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.
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti, known professionally as Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You", which reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart in 2003. This led to him being signed to Virgin Records and having two UK top 10 hits as a solo artist in 2004: "Eyes on You" at No. 6 and "Stolen" at No. 4. They were included in his critically acclaimed debut album Me Against Myself which, though only moderately successful in the UK, sold more than two million copies across Asia and remains his most successful album to date. Alongside the Rishi Rich Project, Sean was a pioneer of Bhangra-R&B fusion, which his debut album helped popularize among the worldwide South Asian diaspora.
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.
Honey Cone is an American R&B and soul girl group. Originally formed by lead singer Edna Wright with Carolyn Willis and Shelly Clark in 1968. They are known for their number-one Billboard Hot 100 single, "Want Ads". Honey Cone were the premier female group for Hot Wax Records, operated by Holland–Dozier–Holland after they had departed from Motown Records.
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.
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.
Gaudencio Sillona III, known professionally as Jay R, is a Filipino-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and model. In 2003, he released his debut album, Gameface, under Universal Records. The album was certified platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI), and included the single "Bakit Pa Ba," which achieved commercial success.
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.
