Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. Born and raised in New York City, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. He served as the president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007 before founding the entertainment company Roc Nation the following year.
Scooter is a German happy hardcore, rave and techno music band founded in Hamburg in 1993. To date, the band has sold over 30 million records and earned over 80 Gold and Platinum awards. Scooter is considered the most commercially successful German single-record act with 23 top ten hits. Since December 2022, the band is composed of lead vocalist H. P. Baxxter, musician/producer Marc Blou, DJ/producer Jay Frog and manager Jens Thele.
Tetsuya Komuro is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and has introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the disco Velfarre located in Roppongi, Tokyo.
Reginald Noble, better known by his stage name Redman, is an American rapper, DJ, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame in the early 1990s as an artist on the Def Jam label.
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams, often known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo the Neptunes, which he formed in 1992 with Chad Hugo. 15 of their productions peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, which includes four songs that peaked atop the chart. The two also formed the alternative band N.E.R.D. with drummer Shay Haley in 1999, for which Williams served as lead vocalist. He has been considered one of the most influential music producers of the 21st century for his impact on popular music.
Thomas Wesley Pentz, known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD, with Labrinth and Sia; a member of electronic duo Jack Ü, with producer and DJ Skrillex; and a member of Silk City, with Mark Ronson. He founded the record company Mad Decent in 2006, as well as the non-profit organization Heaps Decent the following year. His 2013 extended play (EP), Revolution, debuted at number 68 on the US Billboard 200. The EP's title track was later featured in a commercial for Hyundai and is featured on the WWE 2K16 soundtrack.
The term hyphy is an Oakland, California slang meaning "hyperactive". More specifically, it is an adjective describing the hip hop music and the culture associated with the Oakland area. The term was first coined by Oakland rapper Keak da Sneak.
Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam, known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer-songwriter, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influential figure in world music, he rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of his debut single "Locked Up". Styled in hip hop, it preceded the release of his debut studio album Trouble (2004), which became his commercial breakthrough and spawned the R&B-styled follow-up, "Lonely" the following year.
Infinity on High is the third studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on February 6, 2007, by Island Records. Recorded from July to October 2006 at Pass Studios in Los Angeles, California, its music was composed by lead singer and guitarist Patrick Stump and the lyrics were penned by bassist Pete Wentz. The album features collaborations with new producers and guest artists, such as Babyface and Jay-Z, and sees the band experimenting with genres including R&B, soul, and flamenco. Fall Out Boy also utilized instruments such as horns, violins, and pianos, which had not been used on previous releases.
Kisean Paul Anderson, known professionally as Sean Kingston, is an American reggae fusion singer. He signed with J. R. Rotem's label Beluga Heights Records to release his 2007 debut single, "Beautiful Girls", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100. Preceded by the song and its top 20 follow-up single "Eenie Meenie", his eponymous debut studio album (2007) peaked at number six on the Billboard 200, and spawned the top 40-single "Take You There". His second album, Tomorrow (2009), was supported by the top five-single "Fire Burning", and met with moderate commercial response. His third album, Back to Life (2013), failed to chart and served as his final release on a major label, but spawned the moderate hit single "Beat It".
Hermitude are an Australian electronic-hip hop duo, originating from the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
Keidran Jones, better known by his stage name Iyaz, is a British Virgin Islands singer and songwriter, formerly signed with the record label Warner Music Group. He is known for his singles "Replay", "Solo", and "Pretty Girls". He released his debut album Replay in 2010.
Geoffrey Royce Rojas, known professionally as Prince Royce, is an American singer. At an early age, Royce took an interest in music, and in his teenage years began experimenting with music and writing poetry. By age nineteen, Royce met Andrés Hidalgo, who became his manager. Hidalgo later introduced Royce to record producer Sergio George, who immediately signed him to his label after hearing three of his demos.
Anton Zaslavski, known professionally as Zedd, is a German music producer and DJ.
Stefan Kendal Gordy, better known by his stage name Redfoo, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and DJ. He was one-half of the EDM-hip house duo LMFAO, which he formed with his half-nephew Sky Blu in 2006. The duo became best known for their 2011 singles "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It," both of which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100. They signed with will.i.am Music Group, an imprint of Interscope Records to release two studio albums—Party Rock (2009) and Sorry for Party Rocking (2011)—until their disbandment in 2012. Redfoo released his debut solo album, Party Rock Mansion, in 2016.
Hirdesh "Honey" Singh, known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh, is a music producer, singer and actor. He commenced his career as a hip-hop music producer in 2003, working as a session and recording artist within the underground music scene until the release of his debut studio album, International Villager.
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.
Joshua Howard Luellen, known professionally as Southside, is an American record producer, rapper and songwriter. Based in Atlanta, he is recognized in the music industry for his aggressive, trap-infused production work for prominent hip hop artists. His association with hometown rapper Waka Flocka Flame led Luellen to sign to his label Brick Squad Monopoly, an imprint of Gucci Mane's 1017 Records, as in-house talent in 2010. Luellen and labelmate, fellow producer Lex Luger established the production team 808 Mafia that same year, who were credited on several commercially successful releases throughout the remaining decade.
Kevin Adam Christie, known professionally as Majestic, is a musician from North London. His singles "Creeping in the Dark", "Naughty Sesh", and "Set My Heart on Fire" charted at numbers 75, 52, and 39 on the UK singles chart, his remixes of Boney M.'s "Rasputin" and Whitney Houston's "Million Dollar Bill" charted at numbers 11 and 67 on said chart, and his vocals have also been sampled in Skrillex's "Ruffneck " and Droideka's "Get Hyper", which charted at numbers 89 and 29. In 2020, his, FooR, and Dread MC's 2018 Friends of FooR album track "Fresh" was used in an advertising campaign for Coors Light.
Kye Beom-ju, better known by the stage name Bumzu, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bumzu is best known for writing and producing much of the discographies of boy bands NU'EST and Seventeen.
