Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. Rooted in Southern hip-hop, 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. Known for his creative lyrical ability—which often uses punchlines, homonyms, word play—and braggadocio, his music often deals with the subjects of wealth, drugs, and sex. 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.
Terius Gray, better known by his stage name Juvenile, is an American rapper best known for his work with Birdman's Cash Money Records in the late 1990s and early 2000s, both solo and as a member of the label's then-flagship group, Hot Boys.
LaRon Louis James Sr, better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group, the Diplomats. He is best known for his appearances on group cohort Cam'ron's 2002 singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. His guest appearance on Chris Brown's 2005 single, "Run It!" peaked atop the chart for five weeks and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As a lead artist, he is also known for his 2005 single "There It Go ", which peaked at number six on the chart and received platinum certification by the RIAA.
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.
Christopher Edward Martin, known professionally as DJ Premier, is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as Vibe. He formed the hip hop duo Gang Starr alongside American rapper Guru, with whom he has released seven albums. He formed another hip hop duo, PRhyme—with American rapper Royce da 5'9"—in 2014, with whom he has released two albums.
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin is an American record producer, rapper, songwriter, 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.
Anthony Henderson, better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper. He is a member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans–based musical acts including Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G., and Hot Boys. It became an imprint of Universal Records, a division of Universal Music Group in March 1998, and remained so during its following iterations as Universal Republic, Universal Motown and ultimately Republic Records.
Clipse, also known as the Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, mainly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Malice was originally known as Malicious, but changed his stage name to Malice soon after the group's formation, before changing it to No Malice once more in 2012 following his conversion to Christianity. Based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the duo was discovered by producer and fellow Virginia Beach native, Pharrell Williams, who convinced the artists to work in tandem. Williams served as executive and lead producer for each of their albums, as part of the Neptunes and as a frequent guest performer. As key figures in establishing Virginia as one of the East Coast's strongholds in hip hop, the duo's frequent subject matter is based around illegal drug trade.
Big Tymers were an American hip hop duo composed of Cash Money Records co-founder Baby and the label's lead producer Mannie Fresh, both of whom originate from New Orleans, Louisiana. Active from 1997 to 2005, and once more in 2018, it was spun off from the label's supergroup, Cash Money Millionaires.
Bryan Christopher Williams, better known by his stage names Birdman or Baby, is an American rapper and record executive. He is the public face of Cash Money Records, a record label he co-founded with his older brother, Ronald "Slim" Williams, in 1991. Birdman released his eponymous debut studio album in 2002, and released three follow-up albums—Fast Money (2005), 5 * Stunna (2007), and Priceless (2009)—to moderate commercial success and mixed critical reception. Along with his solo career, he is a member of the hip hop duo Big Tymers with producer Mannie Fresh, as well as the supergroup Cash Money Millionaires.
Faheem Rashad Najm, known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electronic-styled vocal performances. Blending its use with R&B and hip hop sensibilities, T-Pain became a prominent figure in both genres throughout the 2000s. Other music industry artists, such as Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Future, and Travis Scott, have since utilized Auto-Tune to a similar effect.
Supastition is an American underground hip hop artist from Greenville, North Carolina. He has also recorded under the name of Kam Moye and Blackmel. He has appeared on songs with the likes of KRS-One, The RZA, Ras Kass, Tech N9ne, Little Brother, Croup, The Soulution, S1 (producer), M-Phazes, Tajai of Souls of Mischief, B-Real of Cypress Hill, Royce da 5'9", Elzhi, and countless others.
Keida Brewer, known professionally as Rasco, is an American rapper.
"Good Times" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Styles P, of East Coast hip hop group the LOX. It was released as his solo debut single and served as the lead single from his debut album, A Gangster and a Gentleman (2002). The song, produced by Swizz Beatz and Saint Denson, samples "I Get High ", as performed by Freda Payne.
How the West Was One is the debut album by the rap duo Cali Agents. It was released in 2000 via Nu Gruv Alliance and Ground Control. It contained production from Paul Nice, His-Panik, M-Boogie, Madlib, R'Kasha, Protest, Memo, 427 and Roddy Rod. The album did not make it to any Billboard charts, but a single titled "Good Life" made it to No. 36 on the Hot Rap Singles.
Crystal Johnson is an American singer and songwriter from Brooklyn, New York. She has performed in a variety of stage productions and has collaborated with a wide array of well-known artists including Anthony Hamilton, Dr. Dre, Heavy D, Mobb Deep, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Angie Stone, Usher and many others.
Nayvadius DeMun Cash, known professionally as Future, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Known for his mumble-styled vocals and prolific output, Future is considered a pioneer of the use of Auto-Tuned melodies in trap music. Due to the sustained popularity of this musical style, he is commonly regarded as one of the most influential rappers of his generation.
Mark D. Ross, better known by his stage name Brother Marquis, was an American rapper and a Miami bass pioneer. Ross was born in Rochester, New York. In his teens, he moved with his mother to Los Angeles, California. By the early 1980s, Ross started to release music and made an impression on DJ and producer David Hobbs. Hobbs was part of the group 2 Live Crew, who had just created the Miami Bass blueprint, and were successful in Florida. This led Ross accepting an invitation to join them. Due to his comedic sensibilities, Ross integrated easily into the direction the group was taking. Alongside Hobbs, Christopher Wong Won, and Luther Campbell, they became the most well-known line up of the group. In 1986, they had a breakthrough with their Gold-certified debut album, The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are.
EarthGang is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu and WowGr8. They are co-founders of the musical collective Spillage Village, with JID, Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant, 6lack, Mereba, and Benji.
