Trip hop is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as "a fusion of hip hop and electronica until neither genre is recognizable", and may incorporate a variety of styles, including funk, dub, soul, psychedelia, R&B, and house, as well as other forms of electronic music. Trip hop can be highly experimental.
Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and record executive. Considered one of the best rappers of all time, he is regarded as one of the world's most significant cultural icons and has been a global figure in popular culture for over two decades.
Dennis Coles, better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success. Ghostface Killah debuted his solo-career with Ironman in 1996, which was well received by music critics. He has continued his success over the following years with critically acclaimed albums such as Supreme Clientele (2000) and Fishscale (2006). His stage name was taken from one of the characters in the 1979 kung fu film Mystery of Chessboxing. He is the founder of his own label Starks Enterprises.
The Blueprint is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York City. Contrasting the radio-friendly sound of Jay-Z's previous work, The Blueprint features soul-based sampling and production handled primarily by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink, as well as Timbaland, Trackmasters, and Eminem, who also contributes the album's sole guest feature.
Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Universal Music Group's Interscope Records. Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Anderson Paak, Jon Connor and Justus with former acts including 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, The Game, Raekwon, Eve, Rakim and many others. The label's acts over the years have earned RIAA certifications of platinum or higher on 19 of its 28 released albums.
Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and is largely inspired by hip hop and other predominantly African-American 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 1200 Techniques, Kerser, Manu Crooks, Briggs, Baker Boy, Koolism, Hilltop Hoods and Bliss n Eso achieving 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.
Jayceon Terrell Taylor, better known by his stage name The Game, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene and for being one of Dr. Dre's signees under Aftermath Records. Born in Compton, California, he released his first mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 1 in 2002; shortly after, he was signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment label. He rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his major-label debut album The Documentary and found continued success with the 2006 follow-up Doctor's Advocate. The Recording Industry Association of America certified The Documentary double platinum in March 2005.
British hip hop is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of urban music. British hip hop was originally influenced by the dub/toasting introduced to the United Kingdom by Jamaican migrants in the 1960s–70s, who eventually developed uniquely influenced rapping in order to match the rhythm of the ever-increasing pace and aggression of Jamaican-influenced dub in the UK and to describe street/gang violence, similar to that in the US. UK rap has also been heavily influenced by US hip-hop. British hip hop, particularly that originating from London, was commercially superseded by grime. It can also be referred to as "British Rap", "UK Hip Hop", "UK Rap", and is sometimes informally referred to as "Brit-Hop", a term coined and popularized mainly by British Vogue magazine and the BBC.
The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse is the seventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 12, 2002, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album serves as a sequel to his sixth album The Blueprint (2001). Parts of the album were later reissued for his compilation album, titled Blueprint 2.1 (2003). The album debuted at number one, shipping with first-week sales of 545,000 units. As of February 2012, the album has sold 2,117,000 units in the United States.
Justin Smith, known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Blaze attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue his musical career. His stage name was inspired by the character Blaze Fielding from the Streets of Rage video game series. Blaze is best known for producing Jay-Z songs on the albums The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2, and The Black Album. His production can also be found on Eminem's 2010 album Recovery. He appears in the video for the third single from Recovery entitled "No Love", which he produced. Blaze is also the CEO of Fort Knocks Entertainment. He has also composed soundtracks for video games, and was a character in NBA Street Vol. 2.
Scottish hip-hop is the regional manifestation of the British hip hop culture in Scotland, comprising the five elements of MCing, DJing, beatboxing, graffiti and b-boying.
Juaquin James Malphurs, better known as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's Do It", "Hard in da Paint", and "No Hands", with the latter peaking at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100. His debut studio album Flockaveli was released in 2010. His second studio album Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family was released in 2012 and was preceded by the lead single "Round of Applause".
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most skillful and successful hip hop artists of his generation.
Adventures in Counter-Culture is a studio album by American hip hop musician Blueprint. It was released on April 5, 2011 on Rhymesayers Entertainment. All tracks were written and produced by Blueprint.
Love & Hip Hop is a media franchise that consists of several reality television series broadcast on VH1. The shows document the personal and professional lives of several hip hop and R&B musicians, performers, managers, and record producers residing in various metropolitan areas of the United States. The original franchise version, Love & Hip Hop: New York, premiered on March 6, 2011. Its success resulted in spin-offs based in Atlanta, Hollywood, and Miami.
Tyrone William Griffin Jr., known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his guest feature on YG's "Toot It and Boot It", which he had written and produced for Def Jam Recordings. In the summer of 2013, he signed a record deal with Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Records. In November 2015, he released his debut studio album, Free TC, which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200.
Tavares Taylor, known by his stage name Lil Reese, is an American rapper.
Cabin Fever 2 is the eleventh mixtape by American rapper Wiz Khalifa, it was released on October 16, 2012. The mixtape features guest appearances from Problem, Iamsu!, Menace, Juicy J, J.R. Donato, Chevy Woods, Lavish and French Montana.
William Scott Fyvie, better known as Snak the Ripper is a Canadian rapper from New Westminster, British Columbia.
