N.W.A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California. Its members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential groups in the history of hip hop music.
Lorenzo Jerald Patterson, better known by his stage name MC Ren, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of the record label Villain Entertainment.
Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper and songwriter. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap traditions, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laidback lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often grim content. His music was often semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality, but also of debauchery and celebration.
Eric Lynn Wright, known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records, pushing the boundaries of lyrical content.
John David Jackson, better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Jackson's career began when he was a senior in high school and ended up performing live on American record producer and music executive DJ Clue's radio show, then on Hot 97. Jackson was subsequently signed by DJ Clue to his label Desert Storm, and later secured a distribution deal with Elektra Records. Fabolous' first release, Ghetto Fabolous (2001), spawned the hit singles "Can't Deny It" and "Young'n ", which led Jackson to prominence. His second release was 2003's Street Dreams, which was supported by two Top 10 singles "Can't Let You Go" and "Into You".
Roger McBride, better known by his stage name King T, is an American West Coast Hip hop rapper from Compton, California. Emerging as one of Compton's earliest hip hop artists, he was signed to Capitol records, where he released his debut album Act a Fool in 1988 with the hit singles "Act a Fool," "Payback's A Mutha," "The Coolest," and "Bass” [Remix], all of which were considered hip-hop classics. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he worked primarily with producer DJ Pooh, and was responsible for the rise of Tha Alkaholiks, whom he helped guide into the rap game. King T is also the CEO of his own record label, King T Inc.
Tracy Lynn Curry, better known by his stage name the D.O.C., is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. In addition to a solo career, he was a member of the Southern hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew and later collaborated with gangsta rap group N.W.A–where he co-wrote many of their releases–as well as Eazy-E's solo debut album Eazy-Duz-It. He has also worked with Dr. Dre, co-writing his solo debut album, while Dre produced Curry's solo debut album, released by Ruthless Records. He was one of the founders of Death Row Records along with Dr. Dre and Suge Knight.
Louis Mario Freese, known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band Kush (2000–2002), the hip hop supergroup Serial Killers (2013-present) and the rap rock supergroup Prophets of Rage (2016–2019). He has released a variety of solo mixtapes, as well as two solo albums: Smoke n Mirrors (2009) and Tell You Something (2020).
"Ether" is a diss song by American rapper Nas, from his 2001 album Stillmatic. The song was a response to Jay-Z's "Takeover", a diss track directed towards Nas and Prodigy.
"Hit 'Em Up" is a diss song by hip hop artist 2Pac, featuring the Outlawz. It is the B-side to the single "How Do U Want It", released on June 4, 1996. The song's lyrics contain vicious insults to several East Coast rappers, chiefly Shakur's former-friend-turned-rival, Christopher Wallace, also known by his stage name, the Notorious B.I.G. The song was recorded at Can Am Studios in 1996. There is a previous version of this song recorded in October 1995. Reporter Chuck Philips, who interviewed Shakur at Can Am, described the song as "a caustic anti–East Coast jihad in which the rapper threatens to eliminate Biggie, Puff, and a slew of Bad Boy artists and other New York acts." The song was produced by long-time collaborator Johnny "J". The video, itself described as infamous, includes impersonations of Biggie, Puffy and M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Kim.
Randy Walker, of the stage name Stretch, was an American rapper and record producer, working in Live Squad. In the early 1990s, he joined 2Pac's rap group Thug Life. The November 30, 1994, shooting of Shakur led to their split. On November 30, 1995, exactly one year after the shooting of Shakur, Stretch was fatally shot at the age of 27.
"Who Shot Ya?," or often, without the question mark, "Who Shot Ya," is a song by rapper The Notorious B.I.G., backed and produced by Puff Daddy. It was released by Puffy's emerging record label, Bad Boy Records, on February 21, 1995, on the B side of an alternate reissue of Biggie's single "Big Poppa/Warning," out since December 5, 1994. While the A side's "Big Poppa" was already a big pop hit, the reissue's closing track, "Who Shot Ya?"—with menacing lyrics delivered deftly—swiftly became a massive hit on the streets, and highly influential. Biggie's most infamous classic, it was also controversial. Despite never naming him, it started a "rap battle" with rapper Tupac.
Algernod Lanier Washington, better known by his stage name Plies, is an American rapper. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Washington was a wide receiver on the Miami Redskins football team of Miami University in Ohio in 1996 and 1997 before beginning his musical career. After dropping out of college, he was signed to Slip-n-Slide Records, he released four studio albums from 2007 until 2010. Plies debuted in 2007 with The Real Testament with successful singles "Shawty" and "Hypnotized". Plies also released two albums in 2008, Definition of Real and Da REAList, and later released Goon Affiliated in 2010.
DeAndre Cortez Way, known professionally as Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer. In September 2007, his debut single "Crank That " peaked at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The single was initially self-published to the internet, and later became a number-one hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007. On August 17, Way was listed at number 18 on the Forbes list of Hip-Hop Cash Kings of 2010 for earning $7 million that year.
Micheal Ray Nguyen-Stevenson, known professionally by his stage name Tyga, is an American rapper. After a number of independent releases, Tyga signed a recording contract with Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records in 2008. His major label debut Careless World: Rise of the Last King was released in 2011 and included the successful singles "Rack City", "Faded", "Far Away", "Still Got It", and "Make It Nasty". The album's success was followed up with Hotel California (2013) and Fan of a Fan: The Album (2015), in collaboration with singer Chris Brown.
Michael Allen Jones is an American rapper. He reached national fame in 2004 on Swishahouse with the release of his breakout single "Still Tippin'", which peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. Jones subsequently released his single "Back Then", which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard. "Still Tippin'" and "Back Then" acted as singles for his debut studio album Who Is Mike Jones?, released on April 19, 2005, which peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 and is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
DVS Mindz was an underground rap music group from Topeka, Kansas that was active primarily from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. The group's name stands for Dope Versatile Styles Manifested IN a Direction to Zucceed. The group's classic lineup consisted of four MCs: Str8jakkett, Killa The Hun, D.O.P.E., DL; and a DJ, Kutaculous. The group's sound was sparse, with raw beats and furious, nonstop rhyming from all members. While the group had very catchy material, many of its songs featured no chorus, just a sparse beat and verse after verse from the MCs. The group's lyrics were packed with inside jokes, mythology, pop-culture references, puns, numerology, religion, violence, and obscure references to the group's history. Each member also had alter egos and pseudonyms, and they sometimes rapped in those voices. During its decade-long career, DVS Mindz released one critically acclaimed CD, and opened for a number of notable rap acts, including Run DMC, Wu Tang Clan, Sugarhill Gang, Redman, De La Soul, Digital Underground, Das EFX, Black Sheep, and Goodie Mob.
Sudan Ameer Williams, better known by his stage name Iamsu!, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is also a part of the production team The Invasion and lead member of the hip hop group The HBK Gang. Iamsu! has released numerous mixtapes in his career including Suzy 6 Speed, Million Dollar Afro with fellow California rapper Problem and the Kilt series. He is also known for featuring on LoveRance's "Up!", E-40's "Function", and Sage the Gemini's "Gas Pedal". His debut album Sincerely Yours was released on May 13, 2014.
Ricardo Lamarre, known professionally as Rico Beats, is an American record executive, record producer, and songwriter. His most notable production credits are DJ Khaled's "Take That Off", Nicki Minaj's "Roman Reloaded", Soulja Boy's "Mean Mug", Iggy Azalea's "Comme Des Garcons" and Pusha T's "Exodus 23:1".
Rodrick Wayne Moore Jr., known professionally as Roddy Ricch, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame in 2018 with his single "Die Young", which peaked at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ricch's first two mixtapes, Feed Tha Streets (2017) and Feed Tha Streets II (2018), also received widespread acclaim. In 2019, Ricch was featured on Nipsey Hussle's single "Racks in the Middle", which earned him a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance, and on Mustard's Grammy-nominated single "Ballin'", which reached the top 20 of the Hot 100.
