Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is an American rapper. Regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop artists of his generation, and one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is known for his technical artistry and complex songwriting. He was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to receive the honor.
Nikhil Kalimireddy, known professionally as Kalmi, is an Indian music producer and DJ based in Hyderabad. He is perhaps best known for his song "Big Dawgs" with rapper Hanumankind. It entered the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart at #9 and has peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #23, marking an achievement for both artists.
"Swimming Pools (Drank)" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on July 31, 2012, as the lead single (second overall) from his major-label debut studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012), by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), Aftermath and Interscope. The song was written by Lamar and Tyler "T-Minus" Williams, the latter of whom also produced the song. The song, mixed by Dr. Dre and Top Dawg's engineer Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, propelled Lamar to mainstream popularity. The song peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100, in its thirteenth week of charting, after gradually climbing up the chart. It debuted on the Hot 100 at number 100 and progressed from number 55 and 32 to its peak. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" also serves as Lamar's first entry on the UK Singles Chart, where it debuted at number 63.
"Berzerk" is a song by American rapper Eminem. The song, released on August 27, 2013, is the first single from Eminem's eighth studio album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. The song was produced by Rick Rubin and samples Billy Squier's "The Stroke", as well as the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right", taken from their 1986 debut album Licensed to Ill, which Rubin had also produced, and Naughty by Nature's "Feel Me Flow". The song was heavily downloaded in its first week of release, resulting in the song debuting at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Sooraj Santhosh is an Indian singer, songwriter, and composer. He straddles the worlds of independent music and playback singing, moving smoothly between the two. Santhosh is the recipient of a Kerala State Film Award (2016), 2 Mirchi Music Awards, and a Kerala State Film Critics Award (2021). He has sung around 300 songs in 8 languages.
John Smith, known by his stage name Big Smo, is an American country rap musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and film director. After several independent and minor label releases, Smo's major label debut studio album, Kuntry Livin', was released in 2014 and charted on three Billboard charts. He was the subject of an eponymous reality television series on A&E that began in 2014.
"Love" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar featuring American singer Zacari, taken from the former's fourth studio album Damn (2017). It was released to US rhythmic contemporary radio by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records on October 2, 2017, as the third and final single from the album. Lamar and Zacari wrote the song with its producers Teddy Walton, Sounwave, Greg Kurstin, and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith.
Vivian Wilson Fernandes, known professionally as Divine, is an Indian rapper. Born and raised in Andheri, Mumbai, Divine is credited as one of the pioneers of the Indian hip-hop scene and for bringing it to mainstream attention. His lyrics often reflect his experiences growing up in the chawls of Mumbai, focusing on themes such as street life, struggles, and aspirations. He started gaining popularity after the release of his single "Yeh Mera Bombay" in 2013. He broke through with the release of "Mere Gully Mein" in 2015, which featured fellow Mumbai-based rapper Naezy.
Dominique Armani Jones, known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 mixtapes Harder than Hard and Too Hard — the former of which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with its lead single, "My Dawg." He signed with Quality Control Music, an imprint of Motown and Capitol Records to release his debut studio album Harder Than Ever (2018), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "Yes Indeed". Later that year, he released the collaborative mixtape Drip Harder with fellow Georgia-based rapper Gunna, and his solo mixtape Street Gossip; the former spawned his second top-ten single "Drip Too Hard", while the latter peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.
Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper, known professionally as Saweetie, is an American rapper. Her 2017 debut single, "Icy Grl", received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and led her to sign with Warner Records in a joint venture with her then-manager, Max Gousse's record label, Artistry Worldwide.
PGLang is an American independent multidisciplinary creative communications company headquartered in Los Angeles. Founded and owned by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free, it specializes in music and visual media production. The company has won six Cannes Lions Awards, including the Special Award for Independent Agency of the Year – Craft in 2023.
Hitesh Sharma, known professionally as Tesher, is a Canadian rapper, singer-songwriter and producer. He is best known for his singles "Young Shahrukh" and "Jalebi Baby", both released in 2020. A remix version of "Jalebi Baby" was released in 2021 with Jason Derulo.
Febin Joseph better known by his stage name Fejo, is an Indian rapper, singer and songwriter from Kerala who started his solo career professionally in 2009. Rapping in Malayalam, Fejo has worked with music composers including Raftaar, Sushin Shyam, Deepak Dev, Shaan Rahman, Jakes Bejoy, Rahul Raj. He is considered one of the pioneers of Malayalam Rap, noted for his socio political themes & commercially performing tracks.
Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon, known professionally as Doechii, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Following her 2020 release Oh the Places You'll Go, she rose to prominence on TikTok with the viral success of "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake" in 2021. Signing with Top Dawg Entertainment, in a joint venture with Capitol Records, she released the 2022 EP She / Her / Black Bitch. Her 2023 single "What It Is " marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and received platinum certification by the RIAA. Her 2024 mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal garnered generally favorable reviews.
"Churchill Downs" is a song by American rapper Jack Harlow featuring Canadian rapper Drake from the former's second studio album Come Home the Kids Miss You (2022). It was produced by Boi-1da, Audi, BEDRM, and Ace G.
Mohammed Fasil,, known professionally as Dabzee, is an Indian rapper, singer and songwriter from Kerala. He is well known for his film debut as a rapper with the song "Manavaalan Thug" from the movie Thallumaala.
"Big Dawgs" is a song recorded by Indian rapper Hanumankind together with producer Kalmi. It was released on July 9, 2024, by Universal Music India. The music video, in which Hanumankind performs within a classic carnival attraction known as the "well of death", was released on the same day. A remix featuring American rapper ASAP Rocky was released on December 5, 2024.
Anish,, better known by his stage name Paal Dabba, is an Indian rapper, singer, songwriter and choreographer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He is best known for his singles 170CM, Galatta, and Kaathu Mela.
Snehdeep Singh Kalsi is a Mumbai-based Indian singer known for his multilingual rendition of the popular song "Kesariya" from the 2022 Bollywood film Brahmastra. Kalsi's version of "Kesariya" featured performances in five different languages: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam. This display of linguistic and musical versatility was praised for its flawless pronunciation and cultural sensitivity.
"Illuminati" is the 2024 song composed by Sushin Shyam, with lyrics written by Vinayak Sasikumar and performed by Dabzee for the soundtrack to the Malayalam-language film Aavesham directed by Jithu Madhavan, starring Fahadh Faasil. It was released as a single on 28 March 2024 under the Think Music label. The song was featured in the end credits of the film, and a promotional music video, featuring the supporting cast members, was released on 9 May 2024, under the Think Originals banner.
