Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is an American hip hop group composed of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Flesh-n-Bone. Formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio, the group signed to fellow American rapper Eazy-E's Ruthless Records in late 1993, on which they debuted with their EP Creepin on ah Come Up the next year. The EP included their breakout hit single "Thuggish Ruggish Bone". In 1995, the group released its second album E. 1999 Eternal, which included hits "1st of tha Month" and "East 1999". Their hit song "Tha Crossroads", a tribute to then-recently deceased mentor Eazy-E, won a Grammy Award in 1997.
Die Fantastischen Vier, often shortened to Fanta 4, is a German hip hop band from Stuttgart. The members are Michael Schmidt (Smudo), Andreas Rieke, Thomas Dürr, and Michi Beck. They were, together with Advanced Chemistry, one of the earlier German-language rap groups.
Nerdcore is a genre of hip hop music characterized by subject matter considered of interest to nerds and geeks. Self-described nerdcore musician MC Frontalot has the earliest known recorded use of the term in the 2000 song "Nerdcore Hiphop". Frontalot, like most nerdcore artists, self-publishes his work and has released much of it for free online. As a niche genre, nerdcore generally holds to the DIY ethic, and has a history of self-publishing and self-production.
Orishas are a Cuban hip hop group from Havana, Cuba, founded in 1999. The group was first called "Amenaza", "threat" or "menace" in Spanish, and appealed to the Cuban youth. The choice of this name for the hip hop group is a way of creating a direct link between this band and the African diaspora. The group is based in France where they made a deal with a record company, although they visit Cuba frequently. In 1999 Fidel Castro threw a party for them and had a meeting with all the musicians. It was the first time the Cuban government showed support for hip hop music. The group was and still is popular in Europe and Latin America. Yotuel Romero and Ruzzo Medina, who moved from Havana to Paris as part of an international studies program, joined Roldán González and Flaco-Pro to form the band in 1999. Their work is influenced by the hip hop movement as well as Cuban and other Latin rhythms. As of October 2009, they had produced a total of five studio albums and a greatest hits album; their latest album is Gourmet. In 2009 they participated in the concert Paz Sin Fronteras II in Plaza de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba. Orishas reunited to record new material in 2016.
EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith. During an interview on college radio station WHOV in 1987, Parrish Smith stated that the name evolved from the original: "We were originally known as "EEPMD", but chose to go with EPMD because it was easier to say." He also stated that they dropped the two "E's" because N.W.A.'s Eric Wright was already using "Eazy-E" as his stage name. The group has been active for 37 years.
Damian Alexander Hess, better known by his stage name MC Frontalot, is an American rapper and web designer. Hess began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. His first successes came through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and recording competition, where he became known for consistently beating opponents. Throughout his history at Song Fight!, he has never lost a competition as MC Frontalot, although he has entered only seven entries in that name. In one such song fight, entitled "Romantic Cheapskate", he likens Song Fight! to a neglected lover who favors him regardless of how he treats her. The song went on to garner a total of 614 votes, while the next closest song ended the round with 28.
People Under the Stairs was an American hip hop duo from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2019. Since their inception, the group consisted solely of Christopher Portugal and Michael Turner. The group employed a DIY work ethic of sampling, MCing, DJing, and producing all of their output.
Bryce Case Jr., otherwise known as YTCracker, is an American rapper from La Mirada, California. His stage name derives from having formerly been a black hat hacker. Case is best known for his contributions to the Hacking community along with nerdcore hip hop subculture.
Andre Louis Hicks, known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper from Vallejo, California. He was an instrumental figure in the emergence of hyphy, a cultural movement in the Bay Area hip hop scene that emerged in the early 2000s. Hicks is considered one of the movement's key pioneers that fueled its popularity into mainstream, releasing songs with fast-paced rhymes and basslines that inspired a new style of dance. As the founder of the independent record label Thizz Entertainment, Hicks recorded dozens of albums and gave aspiring rappers an outlet to release albums locally.
Andrew Robert Nielsen, known professionally as MC Lars, is an American record producer, rapper, cartoonist, podcaster and educator. Lars is one of the self-proclaimed originators of "lit-hop", and is the founder and CEO of the independent record label Horris Records. Lars has been cited as the creator of the term "iGeneration", which he was credited with doing in 2003.
Dan Maynes-Aminzade, mononymously known as Monzy, is a nerdcore hip hop artist and software engineer at Facebook.
K-Minus Initiative is the title of the first album by nerdcore band Commodore 64. It was released in 1999. As their first full-length nerdcore/geeksta rap record to be commercially released, and it had sold over 130,000 copies in its first three months of release. Their sound and beats have been linked to that of the early Beastie Boys.
Arsonists are an underground hip hop group. Their album, As the World Burns (1999), reached No. 78 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums; its single, "Pyromaniax", reached No. 43 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.
Bad Copy are a hip-hop trio group from Belgrade, Serbia known for their humorous lyrics and slang. The members are Ajs Nigrutin, Wikluh Sky and Timbe. Miki Boj, born Milan Šaponja, was active in the band until his death in 1999. They have released several albums as a group and as solo artists and helped the popularization of hip hop music in Serbia and Ex-Yugoslavia in the new millennium.
Raheem Jarbo, also known by his stage names Mega Ran and Random, is an American underground nerdcore rapper, chiptune DJ, author and record producer. In February 2015, he changed his stage name to Mega Ran, removing Random from any releases.
European hip hop is hip hop music created by European musicians. Hip hop is a Great style of music developed by African American and Caribbean communities in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. Due to this success, it has gained worldwide popularity, especially in Europe where many diverse and unique styles of hip hop have been created. This diversity is especially apparent in the forms of hip hop music and culture emanating from settler communities from Europe's former colonies and peripheries.
Tajai Massey, known by the stage name Tajai, is an American rapper and producer. He is one of the four founding members of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop group Souls of Mischief and, with Souls of Mischief, a part of the eight-person, alternative hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. He is also one half of the hip hop duo Rap Noir.
Macedonian hip hop covers the Macedonian hip hop culture and the Macedonian language hip hop music primarily created in Macedonia, but also in the Macedonian diaspora.
Beau Fa'asamala, known as ZeaLouS1, is an American rapper and producer from Oceanside, California. The self-proclaimed "King of the Boss Fights" and "The Sleeping Dragon of Nerdcore" started making beats, producing, and MC'ing while attending California State University, San Marcos as an Audio Production major. He has worked with notable artists such as Dr. Awkward, MC Frontalot, MC Lars, YTCracker, Random, and Beefy.
Dual Core is a hip hop duo composed of American rapper int eighty and British producer c64. Their music is often categorised as nerdcore.
