Nathaniel Thomas Wilson, better known by his stage name Kool G Rap, is an American rapper. 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 widely considered to be 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".
Hideyuki Yokoi, known professionally as Zeebra, is a Japanese hip hop rapper and DJ who made his first appearance in 1995. Zeebra is a former member of the hip-hop group King Giddra, which also included DJ Oasis and K Dub Shine. He went on to pursue a solo career shortly after in 1997, and signed with the Future Shock record label.
Pinoy hip hop or Filipino hip-hop is a style of hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, especially Filipino-Americans.
Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and was initially largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music that is no longer restricted to the creative underground, with artists such as Onefour, Hilltop Hoods, Kerser and Bliss n Eso and having achieved notable fame. Australian Hip-Hop is still primarily released through independent record labels, which are often owned and operated by the artists themselves. Despite its genesis as an offshoot of American hip-hop, Australian hip hop has developed a distinct personality that reflects its evolution as an Australian musical style. Since the inception of the Australian hip-hop scene, Australian Aboriginals have played a prominent role.
Ron Raphael Braunstein, professionally known by his stage name Necro, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. He founded his own independent record label Psycho+Logical-Records in November 1999. He is a member of hip hop groups the Circle of Tyrants and Secret Society together with his older brother Ill Bill, and one-half of The Godfathers alongside Kool G Rap.
James Christopher D'Agostino, professionally known as DJ Green Lantern, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Rochester, New York. In 2002, D'Agostino was signed by American rapper Eminem, to become the official DJ for Shady Records, after DJ Head stepped down for undisclosed reasons.
M.O.P. is an American hip-hop duo composed of rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, best known for their song "Ante Up." The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier. The group is part of the Gang Starr Foundation. Fame occasionally produces under the moniker Fizzy Womack and has produced tracks on every M.O.P. release since 1996's Firing Squad. He has also worked for other artists, including Kool G Rap and Wu-Tang Clan.
Hijack were a British hip hop group, hailing from Brixton, London, featuring Kamanchi Sly, DJ Supreme, DJ Undercover, Ulysses, Agent Fritz and Agent Clueso. Their first single, "Style Wars" caught the attention of the British hip hop community. Their next release, "Hold No Hostage"/"Doomsday of Rap" became an underground hit across Europe, bringing them to the attention of West Coast rapper Ice-T.
Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Dray and Skoob. They named themselves "DAS" standing for "Dray and Skoob" and "EFX" meaning "effects". They rose to popularity in the early 1990s due to the duo's stream of consciousness lyrical delivery, which became one of the most influential lyrical styles in rap music at the time; as well as their affiliation with EPMD's Hit Squad. Their style combined intricate rhymes, sometimes mixed with made up words, delivered with a fast-paced flow and numerous pop culture and hip hop culture references.
Gunshot is a British hip hop group, formed by MC Mercury, MC Alkaline, Q-Roc, DJ White Child Rix and DJ/MC Barry Blue in the area of Leyton in east London, around 1988/1989. They were originally called Sudden Impact.
Def Wish Cast, are an Australian hip hop group from Western Sydney.
Lordz of Brooklyn is an American hip hop group from New York. The group was started by brothers Michael McLeer (Kaves) and Adam McLeer (ADMoney) as the Verrazano Boys but eventually changed to Lordz of Brooklyn where they were joined by Dino Cerillo (Bottz), Paul Nugent, and Scotty Westerman. In 1995, their debut album All in the Family, received favorable reviews and established them as a well known underground group.
European hip hop refers to hip hop music and culture originating from Europe. Emerging in the 1980s following the genre's popularity in the United States, European hip hop has evolved into a diverse and influential musical movement. It encompasses a wide range of styles and subgenres, reflecting the continent's varied cultural landscapes and the experiences of both ethnic nationals and immigrant communities. Notable regional scenes include British hip hop and grime, German hip hop featuring both ethnic German and Turkish artists, and French hip hop, which has undergone several distinct eras of development. Other countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, and Romania have also produced significant hip hop scenes, each with its own unique characteristics and prominent artists.
Kareem Rhouila, better known as Stylah, is a South London rapper from Greenwich, London. He describes himself as a black Arab, half Omani and half Moroccan. After being interested in music for some time, he decided to pursue it seriously. His first mixtape, 2004's The Prince of Thieves, single-handedly sold 9000 copies on the streets of London and other cities spring one single called "Warfare Part II" featuring Serious.
John R. Austin II, better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop supergroup The HRSMN, along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt in 2014. He is also a member of the group Golden State Warriors with Xzibit and Saafir. About.com ranked him No. 30 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007), while Pitchfork Media called him "one of the best rappers of all time".
Combat Wombat is an Australian hip-hop group from Melbourne. The group comprises Monkey Marc, DJ Wasabi, Elf Tranzporter and MC Izzy.
Supreeme were an American rap group. Members include Shaka "Tom Cruz" Girvan aka Dope Pope, Negashi Armada, and Sam "King Self" Terrell. Girvan produces all of the music, and all three members contribute lyrical content and stylistic elements. They are best known for their release Supremacy but have since been up-streamed to Warner Bros. Records. Supreeme can be found listed under List of current Warner Bros. Records artists. Their music is available through iTunes and Amazon.com. Numerous mixtapes and underground albums have been circulated through free internet downloads. Though Supreeme has enjoyed limited commercial success, they are an influential and critically acclaimed group. They were the critics' pick for best hip hop act in Atlanta in Creative Loafing's annual "Best of Atlanta" in 2007
Keith Grayson, professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by The New York Times as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released four studio albums: The Streetsweeper, Vol. 1 (2003), The Streetsweeper, Vol. 2 (2004), The Champions: North Meets South, and More Than Just a DJ (2010). Known for extensive curation of prominent figures in East Coast hip hop, his albums were met with success in the regional market; his first two were released by Columbia Records. Grayson died from COVID-19 in 2022.
The Brotherhood were a pioneering UK hip-hop group with a solid following across the UK from the early 1990s. Releases with seminal UK Hip Hop label Bite It! Recordings were followed by a later move to Virgin. The 1996 album Elementalz has been described as one of the best UK hip hop albums ever made and "a staggering achievement in British music". The band finally split in 1998 and have since been credited as one of the most influential bands on the 90s UK hip-hop scene.
Jon Kevin Freeman Jr., better known by his stage name Jon Connor, is an American rapper and record producer. Connor has released various mixtapes and an album effort during his career including the Jay-Z inspired The Blue Album, and the Eminem inspired The People's Rapper LP. His debut studio album, Unconscious State was released in 2013. Shortly thereafter, he was signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment from 2013 to 2019, where he did not release an album. In 2015, he garnered notoriety for being featured on Dr. Dre's album Compton (2015) as well as The Game's album The Documentary 2.5 (2015).
