Paul Edward Huston, better known by his stage name Prince Paul, is an American disc jockey, record producer and recording artist from Amityville, New York. Paul began his career as a DJ for Stetsasonic. Since then he has worked on albums by Boogie Down Productions, MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane and 3rd Bass, among others. Major recognition for Prince Paul came when he produced De La Soul's debut album 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), in which he pioneered new approaches to hip hop production, mixing and sampling, as well as by adding comedy sketches.
The Ultramagnetic MCs is an American hip hop group based in The Bronx, New York City, NY, United States. Founded by Kool Keith, the group also includes Ced Gee, TR Love, and Moe Love. Tim Dog became an unofficial member in 1989. In 1990, DJ Jaycee was added as a road manager and backup DJ. Big.D was put down with the crew by Kool Keith in 1989. In 1999, Big.D and D.J Moe-Love formed the group Slaughterhouse-Cartel, and in 2006, Kool Keith and Big.D formed The Commissioner. A former member, Rooney Roon, was fired following an assault arrest. Beat-boxer Rahzel was also involved with the group early in its career. The group's work was associated with unorthodox sampling, polysyllabic rhymes, and bizarre lyrical imagery.
Nathaniel Thomas Wilson, better known by his stage name Kool G Rap, is an American rapper from Queens. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew. He is often cited as one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time, and a pioneer of mafioso rap/street/hardcore content and multisyllabic rhyming. On his album The Giancana Story, he stated that the "G" in his name stands for "Giancana", but on other occasions he has stated that it stands for "Genius".
The Beatnuts are a New York-based hip hop group and production duo from Queens, New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights. The Beatnuts are the only Latino members of the Native Tongues collective. Although only peripheral members, they are routinely acknowledged by Q-Tip. The Beatnuts were originally a trio before Fashion, now known as Al' Tariq, left the group to start a solo career. V.I.C. was also a member of The Beatnuts' production team for a while.
Mirah is an American musician and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. After getting her start in the music scene of Olympia, Washington in the late 1990s, she released a number of well-received solo albums on K Records, including You Think It's Like This but Really It's Like This (2000) and Advisory Committee (2002). Her 2009 album (a)spera peaked on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart at #46, while her 2011 collaborative album Thao + Mirah peaked at #7.
"Cheap Sunglasses" is a 1979 single by ZZ Top from their 1979 album Degüello. It is one of their most famous songs and includes the use of some odd instruments. The song captures many of the sounds and beats for which ZZ Top is famous. It is also featured on the greatest hits collections ZZ Top's Greatest Hits, Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, and Rancho Texicano. In addition, a live version of the song appears on Chrome, Smoke & BBQ and Rancho Texicano.
Born Again is the first posthumous compilation album by American rapper the Notorious B.I.G., released by Bad Boy Records and Arista Records on December 7, 1999. It is composed primarily of early recorded verses with newer beats and guest rappers.
Ricardo Emmanuel Brown, of the stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper who aided West Coast and gangsta rap's rise via 1990s verses helping set lasting trends. With Daz, he forms a rap duo, Tha Dogg Pound, but in 1996 left Death Row Records. His first solo album arrived in 1998. After feuding, the duo reunited in 2005. Kurupt has been in rap supergroups, too, like the DPGC, including Snoop Dogg.
Funk Your Head Up is the second studio album by American hip hop group Ultramagnetic MCs. It was released on March 17, 1992 via Mercury Records/PolyGram.
Grayskul is an American hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, consisting of rappers Onry Ozzborn and JFK Ninjaface. Since its formation in 2003, the group has released ten solo albums. The duo often collaborate with artists from the Pacific Northwest hip hop collective Oldominion.
Are U Xperienced? is the debut and only studio album by American hip hop duo Yomo & Maulkie. It was named after the Jimi Hendrix 1967 album Are You Experienced. It was released on September 17, 1991 via Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, and was produced by DJ Yella. Though the album was met with some positive reviews, it was a commercial failure and did not appear on any album charts. Three singles were released: "Mama Don't", "Mockingbird", "Glory"/"Are U Xperienced?", but the only single "Glory" made it to the Billboard charts, peaking at number 7 on the Hot Rap Songs. Labelmates Jimmy Z and Jewell Caples were featured on the album.
"My Friend Jack" is a psychedelic rock song released by the English freakbeat group The Smoke in 1967. It was included originally in their debut album It's Smoke Time, and It was also included in the collection Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969.
Eden Daniel Pearlstein, better known by his stage name Eprhyme, is an American Jewish rapper and producer based in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in a Reform family, he later found himself drawn to greater observance and became Orthodox, a change which influenced his music. While attending The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, he became involved with the Olympia music scene as half of the hip hop duo Saints of Everyday Failures, with which he released two albums. According to Nic Leonard of the Weekly Volcano, Eprhyme "played a major roll [sic] in the creation of the Olympia hip-hop scene." He was noticed by local independent label K Records, who released his first two singles, "Punklezmerap" and "Shomer Salaam". He then released his debut album, Waywordwonderwill (2009), through Shemspeed Records, before returning to K Records for his follow-up, Dopestylevsky (2011). He is currently part of the alternative hip hop group Darshan with singer-songwriter Shir Yaakov and Basya Schechter.
Nissim Baruch Black is an American-Israeli rapper and producer from Seattle, Washington. Originally performing under the name D. Black, he released two albums, The Cause and Effect (2006) and Ali'yah (2009), and was featured on producer Jake One's debut album White Van Music (2008). He retired in 2011 to focus on his conversion to Orthodox Judaism, but returned in 2012 under his Hebrew name, Nissim Black, and began writing from a more religious standpoint. Nissim and his wife made Aliyah to Israel in 2016 and live in the Haredi neighborhood of Mea Shearim with their six children. He appeared on the Shtar song "Rabbit Hole" from their album Boss EP, released in 2012. In 2013, he released a mixtape, Miracle Music, followed by his debut album, self-titled Nissim. In March 2017, he released his second album Lemala. A third album, Gibor, was released in 2019.
Cloud rap is a sub-genre of Southern rap and trap music that has several sonic characteristics of lo-fi in its hazy, dreamlike and relaxed sound. Many music experts credit rapper Lil B and producer Clams Casino as the early pioneers of this style. The term “cloud rap” is related to its internet birth and its ethereal style. A$AP Rocky and Yung Lean are two popular artists who have been known to incorporate cloud rap styles within their music.
The State of the Art is Failure is the second and final album by rapper Eprhyme with his group Saints of Everyday Failures. It was released on March 21, 2006 through Old Growth Records, with production by My Left Foot, Tha Goonie, Smoke M2D6, and Paul Schrag. Among the album's featured artists are members of Typical Cats, Oldominion, and Shape Shifters, including Awol One, 2Mex, and Sleep.
Waywordwonderwill is the debut solo album by Jewish rapper Eprhyme, released on September 8, 2009 through Shemspeed Records. It was produced by Smoke M2D6 of Oldominion. The album's two singles, "Punklezmerap" and "Shomer Salaam", were originally released by K Records as part of its International Pop Underground series, marking the label's first hip hop releases in more than ten years. A release party for the album was held in New York's East Village.
Michael Sean Martinez, better known by his stage name Onry Ozzborn, is a rapper and producer from Farmington, New Mexico, who is currently based in Seattle, Washington. He is a founding member of alternative hip hop groups such as Grayskul, Dark Time Sunshine, and Oldominion, among others.
Ryan McMahon, better known by his stage name Iame, is an American hip hop recording artist, record producer and record executive from Portland, Oregon. He is a member of the hip hop groups Oldominion and Sandpeople. In 2012, he released the album Lame$tream, which was given favorable reviews including Williamette Week, who on said "This is an MC at the very top of his game" and the albums's songs "shines a light on the MC's powerful grasp of storytelling." He has shared stages with Grayskul, Sleep, The Chicharones and Boom Bap Project, among many others.
Hustle Gang Presents We Want Smoke, commonly referred to as We Want Smoke, is a compilation album by recording artists of American record label Grand Hustle Records, released under the namesake Hustle Gang. The compilation was issued on October 13, 2017, by the label, under exclusive license to Roc Nation. American rapper T.I., head of the label, first revealed plans for a label collaborative album in 2013. The compilation produced three singles—"Game 7", "Do No Wrong" and "Friends".
