Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper and record executive. He is a founding member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats, which he formed in 1997 with fellow Harlem native Cam'ron.
Hakeem Temidayo Seriki, better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American rapper. He began his career with locally-tailored releases in the early 2000s, and signed with Houston's Paid in Full Entertainment to release the collaborative album, Get Ya Mind Correct (2002) with labelmate and hometown native Paul Wall. He signed with Universal Records in 2005 and released his debut studio album, The Sound of Revenge in November of that year to commercial success. It was supported by the singles "Ridin'" —which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group—and "Turn It Up". His second album, Ultimate Victory (2007) was met with continued success; it became notable for its lack of profanity and lead single "Hip Hop Police" —as well as its accompanying music video. His pop rap 2009 single, "Good Morning" peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 was intended to lead his third album Venom, which was ultimately never released.
Percy Carey, also known by the stage names MF Grimm, Grimm Reaper, GM Grimm and originally Build and Destroy, is an American underground rapper, music producer, CEO, and Eisner Award-nominated comic book writer from New York City. Grimm has released five solo albums, five collaborative albums and two compilation albums.
Nappy Roots is an American alternative Southern rap group. The group met in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1995 while attending Western Kentucky University.They have worked with Rob Run Corleone of Empire Distribution. On the South Rituals mixtape. They are best known for their hit singles "Po' Folks", "Awnaw", "Roun' The Globe" and "Good Day". They were the best selling hip hop group of 2002. The group consists of Milledgeville, Georgia native Fish Scales and Kentucky natives Skinny DeVille, B. Stille and Ron Clutch.
"Feeling Good" is a song written by English composers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. It was first performed on stage in 1964 by Cy Grant on the UK tour.
Tyree Cinque Simmons, known professionally as DJ Drama, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record executive and music promoter. He initially gained recognition as the DJ for Atlanta-based rapper T.I., and continued to gain prominence hosting mixtapes for other hip hop artists. His trademark Gangsta Grillz series is present on releases of which he has compiled; it has been popularized by artists including Lil Wayne, Tyler the Creator, Snoop Dogg, Yo Gotti, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Fabolous, Jeezy, Meek Mill, and Gucci Mane, among others. Alongside record producer and fellow Philadelphia native Don Cannon, he co-founded the record label Generation Now in 2015, an imprint of Atlantic Records which has signed artists including Lil Uzi Vert and Jack Harlow.
Cameron Jibril Thomaz, better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper 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.
Acid Rap is the second mixtape by American rapper Chance the Rapper. It was released on April 30, 2013, as a free digital download. In July 2013, the mixtape debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, due to bootleg downloads on iTunes and Amazon not affiliated with the artist. The mixtape has been certified "diamond" on mixtape site Datpiff, for garnering over 1,000,000 downloads. It was rereleased on streaming services on June 21, 2019, alongside his 2012 mixtape 10 Day. A 10th anniversary Complete Edition was later released, including the full version of "Juice", which previously wasn't available for streaming due to sampling issues.
Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, better known by his stage name Wale, is an American rapper. He first became known for his 2006 song "Dig Dug ", which became popular in his hometown of Washington D.C. and led Wale to gain further local recognition as he amassed a number of follow-up releases. Wale signed with English DJ-producer Mark Ronson's Allido Records in 2007, and after a three-label bidding war, he entered a joint venture with Interscope Records for US$1.3 million the following year. During this time, Wale's mixtapes and singles saw national attention as he appeared on MTV and various Black America-focused magazines.
Micheal Ray Stevenson, known professionally as Tyga, is an American rapper. After a number of independent releases, he signed a recording contract with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, an imprint of Cash Money Records and Republic Records in 2008. His second album and major label debut, Careless World: Rise of the Last King (2012), peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was met with critical praise. It spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Rack City" and "Faded". His third album, Hotel California (2013) was met with trailing critical and commercial response, along with his collaborative album with singer Chris Brown, Fan of a Fan: The Album (2015).
Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons signed with producer Jim Jonsin through his Rebel Rock Entertainment label in 2006. Two years later, he 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 2009 debut single, "Nothin' on You", peaked the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and received three nominations—Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration—at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popularity following the release of his third mixtape, Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big (2010). His debut studio album, Finally Famous (2011) peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "My Last", "Marvin & Chardonnay", and "Dance (Ass)". His second album, Hall of Fame (2013) saw a matched chart position and was supported by the top 40 single "Beware".
Karim Kharbouch, better known by his stage name French Montana, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of 13. He embarked on a musical career in 2002, releasing a slew of underground material until signing a joint-venture record deal with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records and Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group in 2012.
Dominique Marquis Cole, known professionally as Domo Genesis, is an American rapper, DJ, and songwriter. He is best known for being a member of Los Angeles hip hop collective Odd Future. He has since continued his solo career, releasing his debut album Genesis in 2016 and founding his own record label in 2018.
Theophilus Musa London is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. He is best known for his guest appearance alongside Allan Kingdom and Paul McCartney on Kanye West's 2015 single "All Day", which received two Grammy Award nominations. London has also worked on West's demo album Donda 2 (2022), as well as many of his other unreleased projects.
Nayvadius DeMun Cash, known professionally as Future, is an American rapper and singer. Known for his mumble-styled vocals and prolific output, Future is considered a pioneer of the use of Auto-Tuned melodies in trap music. Due to the sustained popularity of this musical style, he is commonly regarded as one of the most influential rappers of his generation.
Christian Walcott Webster, better known by his stage name Chris Webby, is an American rapper from Norwalk, Connecticut. Webster has released many mixtapes such as the DJ Drama-hosted Bars On Me (2012) and his EP There Goes the Neighborhood (2011), which peaked at number 101 on the Billboard 200. He has worked with various artists such as Freeway, Mac Miller, Joell Ortiz, Big K.R.I.T., Method Man, Apathy, Prodigy, Bun B, Tech N9ne, Jarren Benton and Kid Ink. In 2013 he and his label, Homegrown Music, signed a deal with E1 Music. He then released Homegrown, another EP, in November 2012. Webster released his debut studio album Chemically Imbalanced on October 27, 2014.
The Hamilton Mixtape is a 2016 mixtape album featuring assorted songs from the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton performed by various artists, including Kelly Clarkson, Wiz Khalifa, Nas, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Dessa, Miguel, Chance the Rapper, Nate Ruess, K’naan, Aloe Blacc, and the Roots. It was widely well received by critics.
Navraj Singh Goraya, better known as Nav, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Nav originally began his career as a producer, in which he notably co-produced the 2015 single "Back to Back" by fellow Canadian rapper and singer Drake. He is signed to Canadian singer the Weeknd's record label, XO, and its parent label, Republic Records, where he is managed by XO managers Amir "Cash" Esmailian and Wassim "Sal" Slaiby.
Dark Lane Demo Tapes is the sixth mixtape by Canadian rapper Drake. The mixtape is a compilation of songs that were released on SoundCloud or leaked on the internet, as well as new songs, and is considered a "warm-up" to Drake's sixth studio album Certified Lover Boy (2021). It was released on May 1, 2020, by OVO Sound and Republic Records. Production was handled by Drake's longtime collaborator 40, among others. Featured guest appearances include Future, Young Thug, Chris Brown, Playboi Carti, Giveon, Fivio Foreign, and Sosa Geek.
