Jeffrey Allen Townes, known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff, is an American DJ, record producer and actor. He was a member of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with Will Smith. He is credited, along with DJs Spinbad and Cash Money, with making the transformer scratch famous.
Barry Adrian Reese, better known by his stage name Cassidy, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first garnered attention for his freestyles and competitions as a battle rapper in the late 1990s, soon forming the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective Larsiny Family by the end of the decade. American record producer Swizz Beatz discovered the group in 2000 and signed Cassidy to his newly-established label Full Surface Records, an imprint of Ruff Ryders Entertainment through a joint venture with J Records. He adopted a commercially-oriented approach for his debut singles "Hotel" and "Get No Better" ; the latter peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 while both preceded the release of his debut studio album Split Personality (2004).
Paul Michael Slayton, better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse, and has released several albums under the label and collaborated with numerous other rappers signed to the label. He began his career performing alongside fellow Houstonian Chamillionaire, with whom he released several albums, including 2002's independently released Get Ya Mind Correct. By 2005, he was signed to Atlantic Records and became successful with his major label debut The Peoples Champ, which was followed up by Get Money, Stay True followed in 2007. He has been nominated for one Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance as a Duo or Group for the song "Grillz", his collaboration with rapper Nelly.
Radric Delantic Davis, known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, as the style gained mainstream popularity into the 2000s and 2010s. In 2005, Gucci Mane debuted with Trap House, followed by his second and third albums, Hard to Kill in 2006 and Back to the Trap House in 2007.
Patrick Denard Douthit, better known as 9th Wonder, is a hip hop record producer, record executive, and DJ from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who is also teaching faculty at North Carolina Central University and Duke University, where he collaborates with Professor Mark Anthony Neal.
Faheem Rashad Najm, better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for popularizing creative use of the Auto-Tune pitch correction effect, used with extreme parameter settings to create distinctive vocal sounds. Others followed, including rappers Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Future.
Stanley Petey Cox, better known by his stage name Mistah F.A.B., is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, community organizer and activist.
Cameron Jibril Thomaz, better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper and singer. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His Eurodance-influenced single "Say Yeah" received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008, becoming his first minor hit.
Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, better known by his stage name Wale, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in 2006 when his song "Dig Dug " became popular in his hometown of Washington D.C., leading to Wale gaining local recognition as he continued recording music for the regional audience. Wale became acquainted with English DJ-producer Mark Ronson in 2006, and signed to his label Allido Records the following year. During this time, Wale released several mixtapes which amassed national attention as he appeared on MTV and various Black America-focused magazines.
Laouni Mouhid, commonly known by his stage name La Fouine, with additional aliases such as Fouiny Babe or just Fouiny, is a French rapper and singer of Moroccan descent. He is owner of Banlieue Sale and clothing line "Street Swagg".
DeAndre Cortez Way, known professionally as Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He rose to prominence after his 2007 self-released debut single, "Crank That " peaked the Billboard Hot 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks. After its commercial re-release by Collipark Music, an imprint of Interscope Records, he released the follow-up single "Soulja Girl" in promotion for his debut studio album, Souljaboytellem.com (2007). The album spawned the single "Yahhh!," and peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 despite unfavorable critical reception.
Rodney Ramone Hill Jr., better known by his stage name Rocko, is an American rapper and record executive from Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career as a talent manager in the 2000s; by the end of the decade, he launched the record label A1 Recordings, through which he signed then-unknown rapper Future. Future released six successful albums for the A1 label in conjunction with Epic Records; his sixth album, Hndrxx (2017) served as his final release with A1.
Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years later, Jonsin and Simmons signed a joint venture recording contract with fellow Georgia rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records, an imprint of Atlantic Records. Following his major-label deal, Simmons quickly achieved commercial success when his debut single "Nothin' on You", reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2009, and earned a Grammy Award for Record of the Year nomination.
Leslie Seaforth, better known by his stage name More Or Les, is a Canadian rapper, DJ and producer. He is a member of the Canadian hip hop crew Backburner. He currently resides in his hometown of Toronto, Ontario.
Dee-1 is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the first rapper in Louisiana history to be an appointee of the governor.
J Peezy, is an American rapper, song writer and entrepreneur. J Peezy started in the rap group called The Odyssey, alongside American actor Mahershalalhashbaz Ali. As an independent solo artist, J Peezy has worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and performed or recorded with Ne-Yo, Ice Cube, Too Short, and Baby Bash. On June 10, 2011, J Peezy's single "It's My Time" was the "Most Added Urban Track" along with Rihanna's single "Man Down" according to the DJ Times National Club Charts.
Daniel Dwayne "Diggy" Simmons III is an American rapper and singer and the fourth child of Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons of Run DMC. He currently stars as Doug Edwards on Grown-ish. He, along with his parents and five siblings, were the primary subjects of the MTV reality television show Run's House. Diggy was also the youngest member of Lupe Fiasco's short-lived rap collective, All City Chess Club.
Scott Froml, better known by his stage name Kerser, is an Australian rapper. He has released two mixtapes and several albums since 2009 and his second album No Rest for the Sickest reached No. 15 on the ARIA albums chart, while the album's tour DVD debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Music DVD chart in 2013. His album S.C.O.T. reached No. 5 while his fourth album King was released on 13 November 2014 and reached number 9. Kerser achieved his first number one on the ARIA Albums Chart in 2023 with A Gift & a Kers.
David Lawrence Brewster Jr., known professionally as Dave East, is an American rapper. East began his career in 2010, and gained attention in 2014 from his eighth mixtape, Black Rose. Its release garnered the attention of fellow New York rapper Nas, who signed East to his record label Mass Appeal Records, later in a joint venture with Def Jam Recordings.
Oakley Caesar-Su, known professionally as Central Cee, is a British rapper from Shepherd's Bush, London. He rose to prominence in 2020 with the release of the singles "Day in the Life" and "Loading". His first mixtape Wild West was released on 12 March 2021, which debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. His second mixtape 23 was released on 25 February 2022 and debuted atop the UK Albums Chart.
