Alex Larsen (born July 29, 1986), who performs under the pseudonym Kid Twist, is a battle rapper and author. He is known for his humour, rebuttals and hairstyle. [1] He is from Toronto. [2] Kid Twist first gained notoriety in 2007, when he battled at the World Rap Championships. He was the first King of the Dot champion. [3] Kid Twist graduated from York University with a BA in creative writing and is working on the draft of his second novel. [1] [2] He co-wrote the loosely autobiographical [4] film Bodied , from director Joseph Kahn and producer Eminem, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. At the festival, it won the People's Choice Award: Midnight Madness. [5] In January 2018, it was acquired by YouTube for a theatrical release and distribution. [6]
Holly Brook Hafermann, known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer and songwriter from Mazomanie, Wisconsin. In 2004, at the age of 17, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group and a recording contract with Machine Shop Recordings under the name Holly Brook. In 2006, she released her debut studio album, Like Blood Like Honey, under the aforementioned labels.
Keram Malicki-Sánchez is an actor, musician, writer, filmmaker, interactive media and virtual reality developer, multimedia artist, and event producer.
Nicole Arbour is a Canadian comedian, choreographer, singer, actress, and YouTuber.
Donald McKinley Glover Jr., known professionally in music as Childish Gambino, is an American actor, comedian, singer, rapper, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glover was hired at age 23 by Tina Fey as a writer for the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. He later rose to fame for portraying college student Troy Barnes on the NBC sitcom Community from 2009 to 2014. From 2016 to 2022, Glover starred in the FX series Atlanta, which he created and occasionally directed. For his work on Atlanta, Glover won various accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
Shane Bunting, better known by his stage name Madchild, is a Canadian rapper. He is part of the Vancouver-based hip hop group Swollen Members. In 2009, he released a solo EP titled The Madchild EP. In 2012, he released his first album, titled Dope Sick followed by Lawn Mower Man in 2013 and Silver Tongue Devil in 2015. In 1993, he was named a member of the Rock Steady Crew. The Darkest Hour was released in 2017.
DeAndre Cortez Way, known professionally as Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence after his self-released debut single "Crank That " peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks in 2007. He then released his debut album, Souljaboytellem.com (2007), which also included the single "Soulja Girl".
Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, also known by his stage name Kid Cudi, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi moved to New York City in pursuit of a musical career, where he first gained major recognition following the release of his debut single "Day 'n' Nite", which he initially self-published on his MySpace page. The song became a worldwide hit and served as a catalyst for Cudi to team with record producers Plain Pat and Emile Haynie to record his first full-length project, a mixtape titled A Kid Named Cudi (2008). The mixtape helped Cudi rise to prominence and establish a fan base, soon catching the attention of high-profile rapper Kanye West—who subsequently signed Cudi to his GOOD Music label imprint by 2008.
Battle rap is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults, wordplay and disses. Battle rap is often performed, or freestyled, spontaneously in live battles known as Rap battles, where participants will compete on the same stage to see who has the better verses.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the fifth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii after a period of controversy in 2009 following his interruption at the MTV Video Music Awards, he recorded the album at Honolulu's Avex Recording Studio in a communal environment involving numerous musicians. Additional recording sessions took place at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California, and at the New York City studios Electric Lady and Platinum Sound.
"All of the Lights" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). It was produced by West and features additional vocals from several other recording artists, including Drake, John Legend, The-Dream, Alicia Keys, Fergie, Elton John, Ryan Leslie, Charlie Wilson, Tony Williams, La Roux, Alvin Fields, Ken Lewis, Kid Cudi, and Rihanna, with the latter two being credited on the official music video and the official single, but not on the album version of the song. The song is often played along with its accompanying interlude “All of the Lights (Interlude)”
Andrae Hugh Sutherland, known professionally as Popcaan, is a Jamaican singer.
"Gorgeous" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The track features a hook provided by Kid Cudi, a recording artist formerly signed to West's label GOOD Music, and a rap verse provided by the Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon. The song was written by West, Cudi, Raekwon, No I.D., Mike Dean and Rhymefest, and was produced by West, No I.D. and Dean. It contains elements of Enoch Light and the Glittering Guitars' cover version of The Turtles' song "You Showed Me". "Gorgeous" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who generally praised the intricacy of the production, the quality of the guest features and the rock music inspired aesthetic of the song. Several critics cited West's verses as a highlight of the track, complimenting his lyricism and delivery.
Peter Alexis Shukoff, best known as his stage name Nice Peter or Bluesocks, is an American musician, rapper and Internet personality. A self-described "Comic/Guitar Hero", he is best known for the comedy on his YouTube channel, Nice Peter, and especially for the comedic series Epic Rap Battles of History which he co-created with Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist. As of June 8, 2016, NicePeter has over 2.6 million YouTube subscribers. The day after hitting one million subscribers, the video game channel G4 crowned Nice Peter the King of Dot Comedy on Attack of the Show. His two channels, Nice Peter and ERB, have a total of over 17 million subscribers and 4 billion views as of February 2019. He also has a third channel that he uses for vlogs and "Monday Shows", a show that he uploads on either Mondays or Tuesdays consisting of different segments including "Viewer Mail", "Twitter Question Time", and "Ask a Giraffe". They have been featured on the Huffington Post, Billboard.com, Forbes and the January 2012 issue of Wired.
King of The Dot Entertainment, also known as KOTD, is a Canadian rap battle league founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2008. The company's HQ is based in Toronto, from which it gets its name. Successful battlers such as Pat Stay, Dizaster, Head Ice, Rone, Arsonal, Charron, Math Hoffa, Madchild, and many more have battled in King of the Dot.
Flula Borg is a German actor, comedian, and musician, often known simply as Flula, known for his comedic personality. Borg's acting career includes roles in feature films, including Pitch Perfect 2 and The Suicide Squad, as well as in a number of television shows, including Curb Your Enthusiasm,The Good Place, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, and The Rookie. He has made multiple appearances on Conan and has participated in a number of other collaborations with Conan O'Brien.
Jacques Bermon Webster II, known professionally as Travis Scott, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Throughout his career, Scott has achieved four number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, along with a total of over a hundred charted songs. Scott has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards and won a Latin Grammy Award, Billboard Music Award, MTV Video Music Award, and multiple BET Hip Hop Awards. As of 2020, Scott has sold over 45 million certified records in the US alone. Scott's musical style has been described as a "blend between traditional hip-hop and lo-fi" and often characterized as "ambient," with a heavily appraised influence from rappers Kanye West and Kid Cudi. His stage name is derived from the latter's real name, Scott Mescudi, combined with the name of a favorite uncle.
Bodied is a 2017 American battle rap comedy-drama film directed by Joseph Kahn. It was written by Alex Larsen and produced by Eminem, his manager Paul Rosenberg, and Adi Shankar. The film first premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars Calum Worthy as Adam, a graduate student who becomes a competitive battle rapper after becoming immersed in the scene while working on his graduate thesis on the subject.
David Paul Brown, known professionally as Boyinaband, is an English musician, songwriter, rapper, and YouTuber. Brown is known for his song "Don't Stay in School" and collaborations with other YouTubers such as iDubbbz, Roomie, Andrew Huang, TheOdd1sOut, Jaiden Animations, Emma Blackery, Dan Bull, Corpse Husband, and PewDiePie. His work spans various genres including electronic, hip hop and heavy metal as a producer, vocalist, rapper, songwriter, DJ and instrumentalist.
Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard, known professionally as the Kid Laroi, is an Australian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He originally gained recognition from his association with American rapper Juice Wrld while he was on tour in Australia. He gained a local following before signing a joint venture record deal with Lil Bibby's Grade A Productions and Columbia Records. He garnered mainstream recognition with his 2021 single "Stay", which peaked the charts in numerous countries including his native Australia, as well the Canadian Hot 100 and Billboard Hot 100.