Earl Simmons, known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album It's Dark and Hell Is Hot in 1998, to both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling 251,000 copies within its first week of release. DMX released his best-selling album, ... And Then There Was X, in 1999, which included the hit single "Party Up ". His 2003 singles "Where the Hood At?" and "X Gon' Give It to Ya" were also commercially successful. He was the first artist to debut an album at No.1 five times in a row on the Billboard 200 charts. DMX sold over 74 million records worldwide.
Michael Lawrence Tyler, better known by his stage name Mystikal, is an American rapper. He initially gained fame in the mid-1990s as an artist under Master P and his No Limit Records collective.
Chad Lamont Butler, better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as one half of the hip-hop duo Underground Kingz (UGK).
PMMP was a Finnish pop rock band fronted by singers Paula Vesala and Mira Luoti and backed by musicians Mikko Virta, Juho Vehmanen and Heikki Kytölä. The name of the band is often said to be an abbreviation of the sentence "Paulan ja Miran Molemmat Puolet", which can be translated in English as "Both Sides of Paula and Mira". However, in an interview on the Finnish talk show Krisse Show, they stated that the name of the band comes, like ABBA, from the names of 4 of its members: so PMMP is Paula, Mira, Mira, Paula. PMMP's albums were produced by former Thergothon drummer Jori Sjöroos, who also wrote the music for all the songs. The lyrics are written by Paula and Mira. The band is an acclaimed live act.
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., better known by the stage names T.I. and Tip, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Harris is known as one of the pioneers of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers Jeezy and Gucci Mane. Harris signed his first major-label record deal in 1999 with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace. In 2001, he released I'm Serious, his solo debut and only album with the label, as well as formed the southern hip hop group P$C. Upon being dropped from Arista, Harris signed to Atlantic and soon co-founded his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records, which he launched in 2002.
Dwight Equan Grant, better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper. He first became known for his association with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, releasing his debut studio album The Truth through Roc-A-Fella in February 2000 to critical and commercial success.
Kimmo Ilpo Juhani Laiho, better known by his stage name Elastinen, is a Finnish rap musician and also known as one of the founders and is the CEO of the Finnish independent rap label Rähinä Records. Together with his colleague Iso H, he founded the Finnish rap duo Fintelligens. He has also released five solo albums.
Albert Johnson, better known by his stage name Prodigy, was an American rapper. With Havoc, he was one half of the hip hop duo Mobb Deep.
Ezekiel Giles, better known by his stage name Freekey Zekey, is an American rapper and music executive best known as a founding member of The Diplomats, a group he helped form in Harlem in 1997 alongside his childhood friend Jim Jones and cousin Cam'ron. Freekey also serves as the owner/CEO of 730 Dips Records.
Maija Johanna Vilkkumaa is a Finnish pop rock singer-songwriter. Beginning her musical hobbies playing piano at an age before school, Vilkkumaa studied in high school where she and her friends set up the band Tarharyhmä in 1990, which broke up in 1995. While studying Finnish language at the University of Helsinki, she started to take singing lessons and went on to start her solo career in 1999.
Fintelligens is a hip hop group from Helsinki, Finland. The band is formed of two MCs: Elastinen and Iso H. The band has released three albums and one compilation, all selling more than 150,000 copies.
Rähinä Records is the biggest independent rap label in Finland. It was founded 1998 by Elastinen, Iso H, Andu, Tasis, and Uniikki, and started actual business in 2003. The name Rähinä Records is a brand name. The company also has a sublabel Alarm Entertainment to release artists outside the Rähinä Label. Rähinä Records expanded in 2005, and started producing videos. In charge of Rähinä Films is a young director promise Lauri Aalto. Rähinä Records Oy continues to grow and started a clothing line called "Varuste" in 2006.
Joseph Antonio Cartagena, better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, he then embarked on a solo career a year later and set up his own label, Terror Squad Productions, to which he signed Big Pun, Remy Ma, Tony Sunshine, Cuban Link, Armageddon, Prospect, Triple Seis, and a then-unknown DJ Khaled; he also discovered producers Cool & Dre.
Seppo Kalervo Lampela, professionally known as Steen1, is a Finnish rap musician. He originally chose the name Steen Christensen, after the Danish criminal who shot two Finnish policemen in 1997, as his moniker, but changed it due to controversy.
Marvin Bernard, better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is an American rapper. He was best known as a member of G-Unit, a hip hop group he formed with his childhood friends, 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks. Yayo released his debut, and to date, only studio album, Thoughts of a Predicate Felon, on August 30, 2005, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.
Kapasiteettiyksikkö was a Finnish hip hop group from Helsinki. The group was formed in 1997 by Anders "Andu" Westerholm, Markku "Tasis" Wettenranta and Dan "Uniikki" Tolppanen. Along with Fintelligens, Kapasiteettiyksikkö was one of the first Finnish-language hip hop groups that gained popularity in the country.
Karri Timo Mikael Sirén, professionally known as Karri Koira, is a Finnish rapper, R&B artist and producer.
Timo Juhani Snellman, professionally known as Timo Pieni Huijaus, is a Finnish rapper and fashion designer.
Mikko Kuoppala, professionally known as Pyhimys, is a Finnish rapper, songwriter and founder of the record company Yellowmic Records. He has gained success both as a solo artist and as a member of groups such as Teflon Brothers and Ruger Hauer. He is also working as a songwriter.
Julma-Henri is a Finnish rapper based in Helsinki. In addition to his solo act, he was part of rap band Forever from 1998 to 2001 under the name Money. He appeared in collective Julma-Henri & Syrjäytyneet (2007–2010) and from 2010 strongly collaborated as duo Julma-Henri & RPK. With RPK, he launched an official duo rap act known as Eurocrack in 2012. He always appears disguised without revealing much of his face.
