Trevor George Smith Jr., known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes. He has received 12 Grammy Award nominations for his work, making him one of the most-nominated artists without winning.
Hip hop music has been popular in Africa since the early 1980s due to widespread African American influence. In 1985, hip hop reached Senegal, a French-speaking country in West Africa. Some of the first Senegalese rappers were Munyaradzi Nhidza Lida, M.C. Solaar, and Positive Black Soul.
The music of Liberia uses many tribal beats and often one of the native dialects, or vernacular. Liberian music includes traditional Gbema music, as well as the popular genre Hipco.
Jermaine Lamarr Cole is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained attention as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, The Come Up, in early 2007. Intent on further pursuing a musical career, he signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation in 2009 and released two additional mixtapes: The Warm Up (2009) and Friday Night Lights (2010) to further critical acclaim as he garnered a wider following.
Colson Baker, known professionally as MGK, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is noted for his genre duality across alternative rock with hip hop.
Gerald Earl Gillum, better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper, record producer and actor. Based in Oakland, California, he began his career in 2006 and released two independent studio albums until signing with RCA Records to release his third album, These Things Happen (2014). It peaked at number three on the US Billboard 200, while its single, "I Mean It" received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.
Nayvadius DeMun Cash, known professionally as Future, is an American rapper and singer. 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.
Keith Farrelle Cozart, better known by his stage name Chief Keef, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago's South Side, he began his recording career as a teenager and initially garnered regional attention and praise for his mixtapes in the early 2010s. Cozart is often credited with popularizing the hip hop subgenre drill for mainstream audiences, and is considered a progenitor of the genre. Stereogum has referred to Cozart as a "modern rap folk hero".
Tauheed K. Epps, known professionally as 2 Chainz, is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Circle, alongside hometown rapper Earl "Dolla Boy" Conyers. The duo signed with fellow Georgia-based rapper Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace label and became best known for their 2007 debut single "Duffle Bag Boy".
Victor Kwesi Mensah, known professionally as Vic Mensa, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, he was a member of the regional hip hop groups Kids These Days and Savemoney prior to releasing his debut solo mixtape, Innanetape (2013). As a solo artist, Mensa has been signed to Virgin EMI Records, Def Jam Recordings, Capitol Records, and Roc Nation.
Jonathan Koffa, who is known professionally as Takun J, is a Liberian rapper, singer, songwriter and activist. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of hipco, a politically charged music genre. The Liberian Gender Ministry designated him as one of its anti-rape ambassadors. Takun J's music addresses socio-political issues in Liberia. He is best known for the singles "Who Make You Cry", "Police Man", "Gbagba is Corruption", and "A Song for Hawa". Takun J's debut studio album, The Time, was released in 2007. His second studio album, My Way, was released in December 2012. Takun J is the recipient of several accolades, including Male Artist of the Year and Hipco Artist of the Year at the 2014 Liberia Music Awards.
Khaled Mohammed Khaled, known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record producer, and record executive. Originally a Miami-based radio hype man, Khaled has become known for his extensive curation of high-profile music industry artists and producers to record singles or albums. His distinctions are his booming voice presence, "motivational" abstractions, and numerous catchphrases. While his musical contribution is often questioned, Khaled's role has been described as "organization, direction, [and] promotion".
Christopher Smith Jr., better known by his stage name Smino, is an American rapper. Smino is the founder of the musical collective Zero Fatigue with Bari, Monte Booker, Jay2, and Ravyn Lenae. He is one third of the supergroup Ghetto Sage, with Saba and Noname. Smino is signed to Downtown Records and Interscope.
Samuel Sonnyboy Tubman, better known as Scientific, is a Liberian rapper and songwriter who is currently based in Ghana. He released the Quincy B-assisted single "Shawty" in October 2014. Between 2014 and 2016, he won Best Hip Hop Artist at the Liberian Music Awards.
Karwoudou Cole, who is better known by his stage name Bucky Raw, is a Liberian rapper and songwriter from Monrovia. He rose to fame after appearing in a cypher at the 2016 Liberian Entertainment Awards. Raw has released the mixtapes Country Soda (2017) and Cs2 (2018).
Soul Fresh is a Liberian hip hop duo. The Hipco group consists of JB and Shining Man.
Hipco, also referred to as HipCo or co, is a genre of hip hop from Liberia. It has been described by The Guardian as Liberia's "unique musical style" using "vernacular speech and political messages."
Daniel Tom George, who is known professionally as DenG, is a Liberian singer and songwriter from Bong County. He started his music career in 2000 as an R&B artist before making a guest appearance on Emma Smith's single "I Want to Go". DenG rose to prominence after being featured on Queen V's 2013 hit single "Jue You Bad". Following the success of "Jue You Bad", he switched from R&B to Afro pop. DenG released his debut studio album, New Seh, on August 23, 2023.
Caroline Moore, better known as MC Caro, is a Liberian rapper and songwriter. She gained recognition into the Liberian music industry through her viral free style" Pro Poor". MC Caro won Best Female Rapper of the Year Award at the 2020 MTN Liberia Music Awards.
Quincy Luwokollie Borrowes, known professionally as Quincy B, was a Liberian singer, songwriter and record producer. He gained recognition in 2013 after releasing his debut single "My Dream", which features rapper Scientific. In 2014, Quincy B released the Tan Tan B-assisted track "State of Emergency", which promotes awareness of the Ebola virus epidemic in Liberia. His music explored hipco, R&B, and afropop. He primarily sung in Kolokwa English and took pride in being Liberian.
