Daniel Alan Maman, professionally known as The Alchemist, is an American musician, record producer, DJ, rapper and songwriter. He began his music career in 1991 in the hip hop duo The Whooliganz under the moniker Mudfoot, along with now-actor Scott Caan. After rising to prominence in the late 1990s, as a close associate of Dilated Peoples and Mobb Deep, he went on to produce for many of hip hop's leading artists in the 2000s, and has been hailed as one of the genre's leading producers. He produces for many artists, most of his recent production is for a close group of frequent collaborative rappers. He focuses on producing entire albums for rappers and instrumental projects of his own. He is currently Eminem's official DJ.
Ramone Johnson, better known by his stage name Cashis, is an American rapper who was born and raised in Chicago, but moved to Irvine, California. He was most notably featured on the Shady Records album Eminem Presents: The Re-Up with Eminem and the record label, and released The County Hound EP in 2007. The County Hound EP sold 6,700 copies in its first week and debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number 106. He's best known for appearing on Eminem's song, "You Don't Know", featuring 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks.
Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Sean signed with Kanye West's GOOD Music in 2007, Def Jam Recordings in 2008 and Roc Nation in 2014.
Jermaine Lamarr Cole is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and record executive. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, The Come Up, in early 2007. Intent on further pursuing a solo career as a rapper, he went on to release two additional mixtapes, The Warm Up (2009) and Friday Night Lights (2010), after signing to Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint in 2009.
Santiago Leyva, known by his stage name Fashawn, is an American hip hop recording artist from Fresno, California. He first gained major attention after releasing his debut album Boy Meets World in 2009, which was produced entirely by Exile. The album received critical acclaim and landed him on the cover of XXL Magazine's Top 10 Freshmen issue in 2010. Since then, Fashawn has collaborated with other artists and producers such as Nas, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, Evidence, Murs, Aloe Blacc, Blu, The Alchemist, and 9th Wonder. In 2014, Fashawn performed the entrance theme to WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley's rematch against Manny Pacquiao.
Donavan LaMond Johnson better known by his stage name XV is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Wichita, Kansas. He first gained major attention after the release of his twelfth mixtape Everybody's Nobody, for which he received two awards from DJBooth.net. His name, XV, refers to the age (15) at which he began his musical career. On Monday July 26, 2010, XV announced that he had signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records via his Twitter page.
American hip hop recording artist J. Cole has released five studio albums, one live album, three compilation albums, two extended plays, three mixtapes, 50 singles, two promotional singles and twenty one music videos. J. Cole first took up rapping in his teens, collaborating with the local Fayetteville hip hop duo Bomm Sheltuh. The Come Up, his debut mixtape, was released on May 4, 2007 to positive reception. Following the release of The Come Up, J. Cole was contacted by American rapper Jay Z and subsequently signed to his record label Roc Nation. Cole released his second mixtape The Warm Up on June 15, 2009. "Lights Please", the first single from The Warm Up, peaked at number nine on the United States Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and became Cole's first entry on a national record chart. He was later featured on "All I Want Is You", a 2010 single by American R&B singer Miguel – it peaked at number 58 on the US Billboard Hot 100. J. Cole's third mixtape Friday Night Lights was released on November 12, 2010.
The discography of Wale, a Nigerian-American hip hop recording artist, consists of six studio albums, three compilation albums, ten mixtapes, one extended play, forty-six singles, two promotional singles and forty-one music videos. In 2005, Wale started his music career by releasing mixtapes in the Washington, D.C. area. His first mixtape was titled Paint a Picture. Following that, Wale released his second mixtape in 2006, Hate Is the New Love. In the same year, Wale signed with a local record label in Studio 43. In 2007 Wale was discovered by Mark Ronson, and was signed by Allido Records, which released his third mixtape, 100 Miles & Running, featuring artist Daniel Merriweather.
Self Made Vol. 1 is a compilation album by MMG. The album was released on May 23, 2011, by Maybach Music Group and Warner Bros. Records. It features MMG's new roster additions, Wale, Meek Mill, Teedra Moses, Pill and Stalley along with Torch and Gunplay of Triple C's. Outside of the label, the album features guest appearances from Curren$y, Jadakiss, Jeremih, J. Cole, CyHi the Prynce and French Montana.
Tyrone William Griffin Jr., known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his guest feature on YG's "Toot It and Boot It", which he had co-written and produced for Def Jam Recordings. In the summer of 2013, he signed a record deal with Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Records. In November 2015, he released his debut studio album, Free TC, which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200.
Dominic Ross Hunn, better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 independent mixtapes, most notably his 2010 "critically acclaimed mixtape" From the Westside with Love. His first commercial studio album From the Westside with Love II was released on iTunes June 28, 2011. Despite it being his iTunes debut, FTWSWL2 received "a top 10 spot on Hip Hop/Rap albums chart during its release week" and was Kennedy's first album associated with The OpM Company, Kennedy's self-established record label. His song "My Type of Party" was ranked by Complex at #43 in the magazine's Best 50 Songs of 2012 list.
Keith Grayson, professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, is an American hip hop disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He was referred to by The New York Times as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". Kay Slay goes by several monikers, namely The Drama King, Dezzy Dez and Slap Your Favorite DJ. He has released four studio albums, The Streetsweeper, Vol. 1, The Streetsweeper, Vol. 2, The Champions: North Meets South and More Than Just a DJ.
Brian Todd Collins, best known by his stage name Kid Ink, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles, California. Collins released his debut independent album Up & Away in 2012, following an EP titled Almost Home, and his first major studio album, My Own Lane in 2014. The latter spawned the singles "Show Me", "Iz U Down", and "Main Chick". On February 3, 2015, he released his third studio album Full Speed, which spawned the singles "Body Language", "Hotel", and "Be Real". On December 25, 2015, he released a surprise commercial mixtape Summer in the Winter with the supporting single "Promise" featuring Fetty Wap. Kid Ink has also released RSS2 in 2016, and EP 7 Series with leading single "F with U" in 2017. In December 2018, he dropped Missed Calls with the single “YUSO”.
Claudia Alexandra Feliciano known professionally as Snow Tha Product, is a Mexican American rapper and actress from San Jose, California. She released her first album Unorthodox in 2011. In 2012, she signed a record deal with Atlantic Records. She is best known for the singles "Holy Shit" and "Drunk Love", as well as her mixtape Good Nights & Bad Mornings. She has several songs with millions of views on YouTube including Waste of Time, Cookie Cutter, Doing Fine and Till Death.
Bryan James Sledge, better known by his stage name BJ the Chicago Kid, is an American singer and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. Sledge is best known for frequently collaborating with Top Dawg Entertainment recording artists Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay Rock. He has also worked with several other prominent rappers, such as Freddie Gibbs, Warren G, Nekfeu, Big K.R.I.T., GLC, Kanye West, and Anderson Paak among numerous others.
Abbas Hamad, better known by his stage name Bas is a Sudanese–American rapper from Queens, New York. He is signed to J. Cole's Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. His first studio album Last Winter, was released on April 29, 2014, followed by his second studio album, Too High to Riot that was released on March 4, 2016. His third album, Milky Way, was released on August 24, 2018.
Mass Appeal Records is an American independent record label founded in 2014. The label is the music division of the Mass Appeal Media Group. In May 2014, it was announced that American rapper Nas was launching an indie label with Mass Appeal with Peter Bittenbender of company Decon. The label's current roster includes artists such as: Nas, DJ Shadow, Mannie Fresh, Dave East, Fashawn, Black Milk, and Keyon Harrold.
The Ecology is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Fashawn. The album was released on February 24, 2015 by Nas' Mass Appeal Records. Nas serves as executive producer for the album, and guest features include Nas himself, Aloe Blacc, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Dom Kennedy. The album's production, similar to Fashawn's debut album Boy Meets World, is handled primarily by Exile, with additional contributions by DJ Khalil, The Alchemist, and more.
Champagne & Styrofoam Cups is a mixtape by American hip hop recording artist Fashawn, released on November 20, 2012. The mixtape contains 16 original tracks, with guest features by Wiz Khalifa, Taylor Gang Records artists Chevy Woods and Berner, singer Kobe, and more. Contributing producers included DJ Dahi, Jake One, Exile, Evidence, and Rahki.
"Something to Believe In" is a song by American rapper Fashawn, with guest appearances by Nas and Aloe Blacc. It was released on February 19, 2015 as a single from Fashawn's second studio album The Ecology. The song is produced by DJ Khalil. It has received positive critical reception and is also featured on the soundtrack for the video games Madden NFL 16 and WWE 2K16.
