Michael Lawrence Tyler, better known by his stage name Mystikal, is an American rapper and actor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is noted for brash, obstreperous vocal delivery, characterized by a Southern rasp. He signed with local record label Big Boy Records to release his self-titled debut studio album (1994), which was re-released by Jive Records the following year as his major label debut, Mind of Mystikal (1995). He then parted ways with the former label in favor of its local competitor, Master P's No Limit Records, through which he released his second and third albums, Unpredictable (1997) and Ghetto Fabulous (1998), as well as Goodfellas (1999) as a member of its flagship group, 504 Boyz. Following his departure from No Limit, he remained with Jive to release his 2000 singles "Shake Ya Ass" and "Danger ", which peaked at numbers 13 and 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both preceded the release of his fourth album, Let's Get Ready (2000), which debuted atop the Billboard 200.
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 is 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., known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Harris is credited as one the pioneers of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgia-based rappers Jeezy and Gucci Mane. He first became acquainted with local music executive Kawan "KP" Prather, and joined his company Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment by the late 1990s. He was led to sign a major-label record deal with its parent company LaFace Records, an imprint of Arista Records in 1999. His debut studio album, I'm Serious (2001), was met with lukewarm critical and commercial reception, becoming his only release with the label. He then signed with Atlantic Records, where he soon reached his mainstream breakthrough and co-founded his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records by 2003.
The Hot Boys is an American hip hop group from New Orleans, Louisiana, formed in 1997 and composed of rappers B.G., Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Turk.
Christopher Noel Dorsey, better known by his stage name B.G., is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his musical career in 1993 upon signing with Birdman's Cash Money Records at the age of 12. Dorsey and label-mates Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Turk collectively formed the group Hot Boys in 1997, with whom he has released three commercially successful albums. As a solo act, Dorsey has released five solo albums for Cash Money—Chopper City (1996), It's All on U, Vol. 1 (1997), It's All on U, Vol. 2 (1997), the platinum-certified Chopper City in the Ghetto (1999) and Checkmate (2000)—to moderate success. He parted ways with the label in 2001 and founded Chopper City Records later that year.
Dwight Equan Grant, better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his association with Jay-Z and his label Roc-A-Fella Records, to which Grant signed in 1998 and became a flagship artist. His debut studio album, The Truth (2000) was met with critical and commercial success, peaking at number five on the Billboard 200. Along with his solo career, Grant was the de facto leader of the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective State Property, which he formed with Roc-A-Fella labelmates, and who debuted in 2002 with a namesake film in which Grant starred. The group released two well-received studio albums.
Eppu Normaali is one of the most popular rock bands in Finland and one of the key representatives of genre called suomirock. The band formed in 1976 in Ylöjärvi, a small town near Tampere. The band is the best-selling music artist in Finland, with certified sales of nearly two million records, and it has also gained success especially in the use of the Finnish language in rock lyrics. In addition to their studio albums, Eppu Normaali also released live records, DVDs, and over 20 singles.
Kimmo Ilpo Juhani Laiho, better known by his stage name Elastinen, is a Finnish rapper and also one of the founders and CEO of independent Finnish rap label Rähinä Records. Together with his colleague Iso H, he founded the Finnish rap duo Fintelligens. He has released five solo albums.
Ezekiel Jiles, better known by his stage name Freekey Zekey, is an American rapper 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.
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 is 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 studio album, Thoughts of a Predicate Felon, on August 30, 2005, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. After eighteen years of not releasing a sophomore follow-up, due to his association with G-Unit and later disbandment of the group in 2022, Yayo returned with The Loyal Mixtape, which released on February 10, 2023.
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, record producer and singer.
Timo Juhani Snellman, professionally known as Timo Pieni Huijaus, is a Finnish rapper and fashion designer.
Mikko Heikki Matias 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.
