John David Jackson, better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed to Clue's record label Desert Storm Records, in a joint venture with Elektra Records. He rose to further prominence with his debut studio album Ghetto Fabolous (2001), which spawned the hit singles "Can't Deny It" and "Young'n ." Adopting a further commercially-oriented approach, his second album, Street Dreams (2003), was supported by the singles "Can't Let You Go" and "Into You" —both of which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans–based musical acts including Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G., and Hot Boys. It became an imprint of Universal Records, a division of Universal Music Group in March 1998, and remained so during its following iterations as Universal Republic, Universal Motown and ultimately Republic Records.
Jayceon Terrell Taylor, better known by his stage name the Game or simply Game, is an American rapper. Born in Compton, California, he initially released a series of mixtapes under the wing of fellow West Coast rapper JT the Bigga Figga. After releasing his debut album Untold Story independently in 2004, he was discovered by record producer Dr. Dre and signed to his Aftermath Records label imprint. The Game rose to fame in 2005 following the release of his major-label debut album The Documentary, which peaked the Billboard 200 along with its 2006 follow-up, Doctor's Advocate. The former album received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and two Grammy Award nominations—Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for its single, "Hate It or Love It".
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Harris is credited as one the pioneers of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgia-based rappers Jeezy and Gucci Mane. He first became acquainted with local music executive Kawan "KP" Prather, and joined his company Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment by the late 1990s. He was led to sign a major-label record deal with its parent company LaFace Records, an imprint of Arista Records in 1999. His debut studio album, I'm Serious (2001), was met with lukewarm critical and commercial reception, becoming his only release with the label. He then signed with Atlantic Records, where he soon reached his mainstream breakthrough and co-founded his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records by 2003.
Jermaine Alfred Denny,, better known by his stage name Red Café, is a Guyanese-American rapper. He formed the short-lived hip hop group Da Franchise in the late 1990s, who signed with the company Violator and saw local success before his departure in 2001. As a solo act, he signed three ineffective recording contracts with Trackmasters Entertainment, an imprint of Arista Records, Mack 10's Hoo-Bangin' Records, an imprint of Capitol Records, and Motown due to label disputes, company fallouts, and creative differences throughout the 2000s.
Jasiel Amon Robinson, better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known for his 2006 single "It's Goin' Down", which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Prior to its release, he signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy South, an imprint of Atlantic Records in a joint venture with Block Entertainment; the song served as lead single for his debut studio album, New Joc City (2006). Both the album and its sequel, Hustlenomics (2007), peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 despite mixed critical responses. He is also known for his guest appearance on T-Pain's 2007 single "Buy U a Drank ", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100.
Joseph Antonio Cartagena, better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a solo career with the release of his debut studio album, Represent (1993) the following year. Cartegena formed the hip hop group Terror Squad and its namesake record label in the late 1990s, through which he has signed fellow New York artists including Big Pun, Remy Ma, Tony Sunshine, and Cuban Link, as well as then-unknown producers DJ Khaled and Cool & Dre.
Grand Hustle Records, also known as Hustle Gang Music, is an American hip hop record label, founded in 2003, by American rapper and record executive T.I. and his manager Jason Geter. The label was distributed by Atlantic Records until December 2012, and has since operated as an independent record label. Its roster has included acts such as 8Ball & MJG, B.o.B, Killer Mike, Young Dro, DJ Drama, Iggy Azalea, Meek Mill, Chip, Travis Scott,The OMG Girlz and Trae tha Truth, the latter of whom also served as the label's vice president. The label also houses a roster of record producers, which has included Lil' C, Mars and Nard & B.
Cameron Jibril Thomaz, better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor and entrepreneur from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to release his debut studio album, Show and Prove (2006). His contract entered a short-lived joint venture with Warner Bros. Records the following year. His Eurodance-influenced 2008 single, "Say Yeah" received urban radio airplay and entered both the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Songs charts, becoming his first minor hit.
LGBT representation in hip hop music have existed since the birth of the genre even while enduring blatant discrimination. Due to its adjacency to disco, the earliest days of hip hop had a close relation to LGBT subcultures, and multiple LGBT DJs have played a role in popularizing hip hop. Despite this early involvement, hip hop has long been portrayed as one of the least LGBT-friendly genres of music, with a significant body of the genre containing homophobic views and anti-gay lyrics, with mainstream artists such as Eminem and Tyler, the Creator having used casual homophobia in their lyrics, including usages of the word faggot. Attitudes towards homosexuality in hip hop culture have historically been negative, with slang that uses homosexuality as a punchline such as "sus", "no homo", and "pause" being heard in hip hop lyrics from some of the industry's biggest artists. Since the early 2000s there has been a flourishing community of LGBTQ+ hip hop artists, activists, and performers breaking barriers in the mainstream music industry.
Karim Kharbouch, better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to Northeastern United States with his family at the age of 13.
Jeffery Lee Johnson Jr., better known by his stage name Roscoe Dash, is an American rapper. He is best known for his guest appearance alongside Wale on Waka Flocka Flame's 2010 single "No Hands," which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He signed with Zone 4, Geffen, and Interscope Records to release his debut single, "All the Way Turnt Up", in January of that year, which peaked within the top 50 of the chart and preceded his debut studio album, Ready Set Go! (2010). Due to erroneous circumstances regarding its release, it failed to chart and was admitted by Roscoe Dash himself to be unfinished.
Carlos Coleman, better known by his stage name King Los or simply Los, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known for his affiliation with American rapper Puff Daddy, having frequently served as his ghostwriter and been signed to his label, Bad Boy Records from 2005 until 2008. Coleman re-signed to the label in February 2012, although he departed once more in March 2014. His debut studio album, God, Money, War (2015), was released by RCA Records and entered the Billboard 200; Puff Daddy executive produced the album.
Darold Durard Brown Ferguson Jr., known professionally as FERG, is an American rapper from Harlem, New York City. He is a lead member of the hip hop collective ASAP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker and recording contract with Polo Grounds and RCA Records—the same labels that helped launch ASAP Worldwide—in January 2013. Two years prior, the group's cohorts, ASAP Rocky and the late ASAP Yams, effectively negotiated their own contract with the label.
Brianna Perry, also known as Lil' Brianna, is an American rapper and actress from Miami-Dade County, Florida. She was the youngest act signed to Missy Elliott's label The Goldmind Inc. Perry made her debut on Trina's album Diamond Princess (2002) on the track "Kandi". Since then, she has released several mixtapes and starred as a regular cast-member on the reality-television series Sisterhood of Hip Hop. In 2016, Brianna left major label Atlantic Records due to low promotion and moved forward with her indie label Poe Boy Entertainment.
Freebandz is an American record label founded by Atlanta-based rapper Future in 2011. The label's releases are distributed through Epic Records. Freebandz has signed artists including Real Boston Richey, Lil Double O, Doe Boy, Young Scooter and DJ Esco.
"Throw That Boy Pussy" is a song performed by American rapper Fly Young Red, issued as a single in September 2013; with the music video premiering in March 2014. The song heavily references homosexual anilingus with many same gender sexual overtones. The song mainly samples Lil Wayne and Trina's "Wowzers" single also released in 2013.
Rae Sremmurd is an American hip hop duo consisting of brothers Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi, both of whom originate from Tupelo, Mississippi. They signed a recording contract with record producer Mike WiLL Made-It's label EarDrummers Records, an imprint of Interscope Records as the first act to sign with the label in 2013. The duo rose to mainstream prominence following the release of their 2014 singles "No Flex Zone," "No Type" and "Throw Sum Mo". Each received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, and promoted the release of their debut studio album, SremmLife (2015), which itself received double platinum certification. Their 2016 single, "Black Beatles" peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded the release of their second album, SremmLife 2 (2016), which was met with continued commercial success. In that same year, the duo also formed their own record label, SremmLife Crew Records.
Maybach Music Group is a record label founded by American rapper Rick Ross in 2008. An imprint of gamma. since 2023, the label was previously an imprint of Def Jam Recordings (2009–2011), Warner Records (2011–2012) and Atlantic Records (2012–2023). The label, having signed artists including Wale, Meek Mill, French Montana, Omarion, Rockie Fresh, and Stalley, has released a total of 29 studio albums, including three compilation albums in its Self-Made series. The "Maybach Music" vocal tag heard in many of the label's recordings is spoken by Australian model Jessica Gomes.
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper. From 2015 to 2017, he released eight independent mixtapes and garnered a regional following for his work. He signed with Atlantic Records and Artist Partner Group in the latter year to release the singles "Untouchable" and "No Smoke", both of which marked his first entries on the Billboard Hot 100. Released in January of the following year, his single "Outside Today" became his first to peak within the top 40 of the chart, and received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It served as both his mainstream breakthrough and the lead single for his debut studio album, Until Death Call My Name (2018), which peaked at number seven on the US Billboard 200 despite mixed critical reception.
