Lana Michele Moorer, better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, DJ, and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a full solo album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. The album spawned the singles "10% Dis" and "Paper Thin". In 1989, she was one of several rappers on the single "Self Destruction", as a member of the supergroup Stop the Violence Movement; which was the inaugural number-one single on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.
Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and singer. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Eve Jihan Cooper is an American rapper, singer, and actress. In 1999, she released her debut album, Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady, which reached number one on the Billboard 200, making her the third female rapper to accomplish this feat, and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album produced the hit singles "What Ya Want", "Love Is Blind", and "Gotta Man". That same year, she was featured on The Roots' Grammy Award-winning single "You Got Me", as well as Missy Elliott's "Hot Boyz", the latter of which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.
Katrina Laverne Taylor, known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles "Nann Nigga", "Shut Up", and "Take It to da House". In 2000, she released her debut album Da Baddest Bitch. Afterwards, she made an appearance on the remix of "One Minute Man" by Missy Elliott and Ludacris. In 2002, she released the Kanye West-produced single "B R Right" featuring Ludacris, from her sophomore album Diamond Princess (2002).
Vibe is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in the summer of 2009, it was purchased by the private equity investment fund InterMedia Partners, then issued bi-monthly with double covers and a larger online presence. The magazine's target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip hop culture. In 2014, the magazine discontinued its print version.
Kanesha Nichole Brookes, better known by her stage name Brooke Valentine, is an American singer. Her single "Girlfight" peaked on U.S. music charts in 2005, paving the way for her debut album Chain Letter released via Subliminal Entertainment imprint on Virgin Records and went on to sell more than 290,000 units worldwide. After a first attempt at a comeback, Brooke officially returned to the spotlight in 2012 with two singles "Forever" and the Adult R&B Top 40 hit "Don't Wanna Be In Love".
Mashonda Karima Dean is an American R&B singer from Boston, Massachusetts. She appeared on several songs from hip hop artists in the 2000s. In 2004, she married record producer Swizz Beatz, and was once signed to his label Full Surface, under the aegis of J Records. Mashonda released her debut studio album January Joy in 2005. In 2011, Mashonda was a member of the first season of VH1's reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York.
Jay Wayne Jenkins, known by his stage name Jeezy, is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, was released the following year and debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, selling 172,000 copies in its first week and receiving platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Jeezy is credited, along with fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, for helping to pioneer and popularize trap music for a mainstream audience.
Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, known professionally as Cassie, is an American singer, songwriter, model, actress and dancer. Born in New London, Connecticut, she began her career as a result of meeting record producer Ryan Leslie in late 2004, who later signed her to NextSelection Lifestyle Group. During this time, Diddy heard "Me & U" in a club, and Leslie convinced him to partner his Bad Boy Records with Leslie's NextSelection imprint for the release of her debut album.
"Wouldn't Get Far" is the third single from The Game's second album Doctor's Advocate. The song, produced by and featuring Kanye West, is about The Game mentioning and criticizing, by both name and alias, up-and-coming and established video vixens, models and actresses. The song peaked at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached numbers 11 and 26 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts respectively.
Algernod Lanier Washington, better known by his stage name Plies, is an American rapper. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Plies was a wide receiver on the Miami Redskins football team of Miami University in Ohio in 1996 and 1997 before beginning his musical career. After dropping out of college, he was signed to Slip-n-Slide Records, he released four studio albums from 2007 until 2010. Plies debuted in 2007 with The Real Testament with successful singles "Shawty" and "Hypnotized". Plies also released two albums in 2008, Definition of Real and Da REAList, and later released Goon Affiliated in 2010.
Fershgenet Melaku, better known as LoLa Monroe and previously known as Angel Melaku, is an American rapper and actress.
The discography of American rapper Wale consists of seven studio albums, three compilation albums, ten mixtapes, one extended play, sixty-five 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 debut 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.
Tyrese Darnell Gibson is an American actor and singer. His self-titled debut album, released in 1998, featured the single "Sweet Lady". The record peaked at number twelve on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. His second and third albums, 2000 Watts and I Wanna Go There, were released in 2001 and 2002, respectively. The latter contained the lead single "How You Gonna Act Like That", which became Gibson's highest-charting single, reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. His fourth album, Alter Ego, explored hip hop, while he was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album for his fifth album, Open Invitation (2011). Gibson's sixth album, Black Rose (2015), debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, becoming his highest-charting album. He has sold over 4 million records in the United States.
Marlanna Evans, better known by her stage name Rapsody, is an American rapper. After signing with music producer 9th Wonder's music label It's a Wonderful World Music Group, she released a series of mixtapes and collaborated with Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli. Soon afterwards Rapsody released her debut album The Idea of Beautiful (2012). She would attain further prominence when she was featured on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, on the track "Complexion ".
Tauheed K. Epps, known professionally as 2 Chainz, is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, alongside longtime friend and fellow rapper Earl "Dolla Boy" Conyers. The duo was signed to Georgia-based rapper Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace label, and are best known for their 2007 debut single "Duffle Bag Boy".
Brianna Perry, also known as Lil' Brianna, is an American rapper and actress from Miami-Dade County, Florida. She was the youngest act signed to Missy Elliott's label The Goldmind Inc. Perry made her debut on Trina's album Diamond Princess (2002) on the track "Kandi". Since then, she has released several mixtapes and starred as a regular cast-member on the reality-television series Sisterhood of Hip Hop. In 2016, Brianna left major label Atlantic Records due to low promotion and moved forward with her indie label Poe Boy Entertainment.
Sharaya Howell, known professionally as Sharaya J, is an American rapper and choreographer. She is known for her singles "BANJI" and "Smash Up the Place," as well as for being signed to Missy Elliott's label The Goldmind Inc. Prior to her work as a musician, she worked as a hip-hop choreographer and urban screenplay writer. On April 17, 2017, she released her debut mixtape, Dope Product.
Darkside III is the third volume in the Darkside series by rapper Fat Joe. The mixtape was released August 26, 2013 via DatPiff.
Maurice "Verse" Simmonds is a Puerto Rican/Virgin Islander rapper, singer, composer, record producer, and record executive. Based in Los Angeles but raised in the Virgin Islands, he moved to the United States after high school and he formed the production duo the Jugganauts in the 1990s. The duo has since co-written and produced tracks such as "Man Down" by Rihanna and "Who Gon Stop Me" by Kanye West and Jay-Z, both of which charted prominently on Billboard.
