Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California, formed in 1988. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and they have obtained multi-platinum and platinum certifications. The group has been critically acclaimed for their first five albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast hip hop and 1990s hip hop. All of the group members advocate for medical and recreational use of cannabis in the United States. In 2019, Cypress Hill became the first hip hop group to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta rap, he is cited in various media lists as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics' often grim content. His music was often semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality, but also of debauchery and celebration.
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, rapper Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and rapper Jarobi White. The group is regarded as a pioneer of alternative hip hop and merging jazz with hip hop, influencing numerous hip hop and R&B musicians.
Fugees are an American hip hop group formed in 1990 in South Orange, New Jersey. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to prominence in the mid-1990s for their pioneering blend of reggae, R&B, funk and hip hop, which eschewed gangsta rap and made them one of the most significant alternative hip hop acts. They occasionally rapped in Haitian Creole, and were one of the first hip hop bands to incorporate live instrumentation during their performances, along with The Roots.
Rap metal is a fusion genre which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables.
Alternative metal is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by heavily downtuned, mid-paced guitar riffs, a mixture of accessible melodic vocals and harsh vocals and sometimes unconventional sounds within other heavy metal styles. The term has been in use since the 1980s, although it came into prominence in the 1990s.
Underground hip-hop is an umbrella term for hip hop music that is outside the general commercial canon. It is typically associated with independent artists, signed to independent labels or no label at all. Underground hip hop is often characterized by socially conscious, positive, or anti-commercial lyrics. However, there is no unifying or universal theme – AllMusic suggests that it "has no sonic signifiers". "The Underground" also refers to the community of musicians, fans and others that support non-commercial, or independent music. Music scenes with strong ties to underground hip hop include alternative hip hop and conscious hip hop. Many artists who are considered "underground" today were not always so, and may have previously broken the Billboard charts.
Erik Francis Schrody, known by his stage names Everlast and Whitey Ford, is an American singer, rapper and musician who was the frontman for hip hop group House of Pain. His breakthrough as a solo artist came in 1998 with his album Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, which blended rock and hip-hop, and garnered him his first Grammy Award nomination for the song, "What It's Like". The album peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200 album chart, while the single peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. As of 2023, they remain his highest mainstream chart positions for an album and single respectively.
Rap rock is a music genre that developed from the early to mid-1980s, when hip hop DJs incorporated rock records into their routines and rappers began incorporating original and sampled rock instrumentation into hip hop music. Rap rock is considered to be rock music in which lyrics are rapped, rather than sung. The genre achieved its greatest success in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Douglas Arthur Wimbish is an American bass player, primarily known for being a member of rock band Living Colour and funk/dub/hip hop collective Tackhead, and as a session musician with artists such as Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, Depeche Mode, James Brown, Annie Lennox, Tarja Turunen, and Barrington Levy.
"Another Body Murdered" is a 1993 single by Faith No More and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., taken from the soundtrack album for the film Judgment Night. The brainchild of Cypress Hill's manager, Happy Walters, the soundtrack paired rock and hip-hop acts on each of its songs; Faith No More sought out the American-Samoan Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. after becoming interested in Samoan a capella singing. Charting in several countries, including Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, "Another Body Murdered" has received mixed reactions from music critics, with some seeing it as a harbinger of later acts such as Korn or Limp Bizkit, and others comparing it unfavourably to Public Enemy and Anthrax's earlier crossover single "Bring the Noise".
Craig A. Miller, better known by his stage name Kam, is an American rapper known primarily among hip hop fans and music critics during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Todd Ray, known professionally as T-Ray, is an American record producer and mixing engineer, known for producing Cypress Hill 1993 single "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" and having founded the Venice Beach Freakshow in 2006, as well as creating and executive producing the TV Series Freakshow for AMC. He has also worked with the Beastie Boys, Biz Markie, MC Serch, Double X Posse, Kool G Rap, Bo$$, Funkdoobiest, MC Thick, The Whooliganz, Artifacts, Mick Jagger, Helmet, Korn, Audioslave, (həd)pe, Snot, Ugly Americans, G. Love & Special Sauce, Dilated Peoples and Non Phixion among others. He has won two Grammy Awards and a Latin Grammy Award for his work with Santana and Ozomatli and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That".
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. is an American hip hop band from Carson, California, consisting of the American Samoa Devoux brothers Paul, Ted, Donald, Roscoe, Danny, David and Vincent. It is noted for its use of a live band, utilizing funk and metal influences, and gangsta rap lyricism.
The discography of former professional basketball player, rapper, and DJ Shaquille O'Neal consists of four studio albums, two compilation albums, two soundtracks, one unreleased album, and 19 singles. O'Neal played in the NBA from 1992 until 2011. Around 1993, O'Neal was signed to Jive Records where he released his debut album, Shaq Diesel, in that year. The album peaked at number 25 on the Billboard 200, number 10 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Shaq Diesel produced four singles. The first, "What's Up Doc? ", peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 56 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number 22 on Rap Songs, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The second, "(I Know I Got) Skillz", peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 20 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, number 3 on Rap Songs, and was certified gold by the RIAA. It also peaked at number 34 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. The third, "I'm Outstanding", peaked at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 29 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and number 6 on Rap Songs. Internationally, it peaked at number 43 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. The fourth, "Shoot Pass Slam", did not chart.
Blade II: The Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Guillermo del Toro's 2002 film Blade II. It was released on March 19, 2002 via Immortal Records, serving as a sequel to Blade: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture.
"I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" is a song by American hip hop group Cypress Hill, released in December 1993 as the third single from their second studio album, Black Sunday (1993). During a scheduled Saturday Night Live performance, the song was cut short and the group was banned after DJ Muggs lit up a cannabis joint on-air just before the song. It contains a sample of the opening bars from Black Sabbath's song "The Wizard". It was revealed that the band was high on mushrooms when this final track of the album was recorded.
Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, formed in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and especially one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.
Chylow Parker, known by the stage name Chyskillz, was an American record producer, beatmaker, DJ, hardcore rapper, and a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx.
