Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta rap, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often grim content.
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, better known by his stage name Nas, is an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas began his musical career in 1989 under the moniker "Nasty Nas", and recorded demos for fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. He was later featured on the 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque" by his group, Main Source.
The River Gipping is the source river for the River Orwell in the county of Suffolk in East Anglia, England, which is named from the village of Gipping, and which gave its name to the former Gipping Rural District. It rises near Mendlesham Green and flows in a south-westerly direction to reach Stowmarket. From there it flows towards the south or south east, passing through Needham Market then Baylham. The river continues to flow south between Great Blakenham and Claydon, and through Bramford and Sproughton until it flows into Ipswich, where it becomes the Orwell at Stoke Bridge. The river has supplied power to a number of watermills, several of which are still standing. None are operational, although the mill at Baylham retains most of its machinery, and is the only complete mill on the river.
Sean Love Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive and actor. Born in Harlem, Combs worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Records, in 1993. Combs has produced and cultivated artists such as the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher.
Atmosphere is an American hip-hop duo from Minneapolis, Minnesota, consisting of rapper Slug and DJ/producer Ant. Since its formation in 1996, the group has released thirteen studio albums and ten extended plays.
Erik Francis Schrody, known by his stage names Everlast and Whitey Ford, is an American singer, rapper and musician who was the frontman for hip hop group House of Pain. His breakthrough as a solo artist came in 1998 with his album Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, which blended rock and hip-hop, and garnered him his first Grammy Award nomination for the song, "What It's Like". The album peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200 album chart, while the single peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. As of 2023, they remain his highest mainstream chart positions for an album and single respectively.
Stowmarket is a market town in Suffolk, England, on the busy A14 trunk road between Bury St Edmunds to the west and Ipswich to the southeast. The town is on the main railway line between London and Norwich, and lies on the River Gipping, which is joined by its tributary, the River Rat, to the south of the town.
Moses Michael Levi Barrow is a Belizean rapper and politician. He is the Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, and the leader of the Belize United Democratic Party. Barrow was born in Belize but moved to Brooklyn in New York City as a child and began to rap as a teenager. He is perhaps best known for his 2000 singles "Bad Boyz" and "Bonnie & Shyne". He also wrote and performed on a number of multi-platinum albums, such as Usher's Confessions, Lil Wayne's Carter IV, Notorious B.I.G's Born Again, Mase's Double Up, and Puff Daddy's Forever among other top-selling albums during his tenures with his former labels, Bad Boy Records and Def Jam Recordings.
Northenden is a suburb of Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 14,771 at the 2011 census. It lies on the south side of the River Mersey, 4.2 miles (6.8 km) west of Stockport and 5.2 miles (8.4 km) south of Manchester city centre, bounded by Didsbury to the north, Gatley to the east, Sale to the west and Wythenshawe to the south.
112 is an American R&B group from Atlanta, Georgia. Formerly artists on Bad Boy Records, the group signed to the Def Soul roster in 2002. They had great success from the mid 1990s into the early 2000s with hits such as "Only You", "Anywhere" and the Grammy Award–nominated single "Peaches & Cream". The group most notably won a Grammy Award in 1997 for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for featuring on the single by label boss Puff Daddy, "I'll Be Missing You".
Joseph Anthony Budden II is an American media personality, broadcaster, cultural critic, and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper for his 2003 hit single "Pump It Up," which preceded the release of his eponymous debut studio album (2003). The album peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200 and saw positive critical reception, although it would be his only major label project for Def Jam Recordings, thereafter releasing seven studio albums independently. Meanwhile, 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.
Hip hop soul is a subgenre of contemporary R&B music, most popular during the early and mid 1990s, which fuses R&B or soul singing with hip hop musical production. The subgenre had evolved from a previous R&B subgenre, new jack swing, which had incorporated hip-hop influences into R&B music. By contrast, hip hop soul is, as described in The Encyclopedia of African American Music, "quite literally soul singing over hip hop grooves".
Faith is the debut studio album by American singer Faith Evans. It was released by Bad Boy Records on August 29, 1995, in the United States. A collaboration with the label's main producers The Hitmen, including members Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs and Chucky Thompson, as well as Mark Ledford, Herb Middleton, and Jean-Claude Olivier, among others.
Combs is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is also located directly to the south of Stowmarket, with a half-mile (800m) of glacial valley known locally as 'Slough'.
Andre O’Neal Harrell was an American record executive, media proprietor, and former rapper. He initially formed the short lived East Coast hip hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde in 1980, which were signed to Profile Records. After their disbandment, he founded the record label Uptown Records, which would become prominent in the sound of contemporary R&B, new jack swing, and hip hop music into the coming decade. The label entered a distribution deal with MCA Records and signed artists including Jodeci, Heavy D & the Boyz, Mary J. Blige, Guy, and Al B. Sure, as well as then-unknowns the Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy, among others. He is credited for discovering and giving the latter his start in the industry in 1990. Harrell would later be appointed the CEO of Motown from 1995 to 1997.
The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was a dispute between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States, especially from the mid-1990s. Focal points of the feud were East Coast–based rapper The Notorious B.I.G. with Puff Daddy and their New York City–based label, Bad Boy Records, and West Coast–based rapper Tupac Shakur with Suge Knight and their Los Angeles–based label, Death Row Records. The feud culminated in the murders of both rappers in drive-by shootings. Although several suspects have been identified, both murders remain unsolved.
One Love is the seventh studio album by American R&B group New Edition, released on November 9, 2004 by Bad Boy and Universal Records. The album achieved certified gold status.
Hip-hop or hip hop, also known as rap, and formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s by African Americans and Caribbean immigrants in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. Hip-hop music originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre consisting of stylized rhythmic music that often accompanies rapping, a rhythmic delivery of poetic speech. According to the professor Asante of African American studies at Temple University, "hip hop is something that blacks can unequivocally claim as their own". The music developed as part of the broader hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, breakdancing, and graffiti art. While often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of the culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.
Tanya Trotter is an American actress, musician and author. She is one half of the Grammy-nominated duo The War and Treaty.
Hip hop feminism is a sub-set of black feminism that centers on intersectional subject positions involving race and gender in a way that acknowledges the contradictions in being a black feminist, such as black women's enjoyment in hip hop music and culture, rather than simply focusing on the victimization of black women in hip hop culture due to interlocking systems of oppressions involving race, class, and gender.
