Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture and values typical of urban gangs, reality of the world and street hustlers. Emerging in the late 1980s, gangsta rap's pioneers include Schoolly D of Philadelphia and Ice-T of Los Angeles, later expanding in California with artists such as N.W.A and Tupac Shakur. In 1992, via record producer and rapper Dr. Dre, rapper Snoop Dogg, and their G-funk sound, gangster rap broadened to mainstream popularity.
Percy Robert Miller, better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, dancer, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relaunched into the spin-off labels New No Limit Records and No Limit Forever Records. Miller gained fame in the mid-1990s as the lead and founding of the label's hip hop group TRU, as well as his fifth solo album, Ice Cream Man (1996), and its namesake lead single. His 1997 single, "Make 'Em Say Uhh!" received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Todd Anthony Shaw, better known by his stage name Too Short, is an American rapper. A pioneer of West Coast hip hop, Shaw was among the first acts to receive recognition in the genre during the late 1980s. His lyrics were often based on pimping and promiscuity, but also drug culture and street survival; exemplified respectively in his most popular singles "Blow the Whistle" and "The Ghetto." He is one of few acts to have worked with both Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. during the height of their respective careers.
Percy Romeo Miller Jr., also known by his stage name Romeo, is an American rapper, singer, actor and television personality. He gained fame as a rapper in the early 2000s after signing with his father, Master P's record label No Limit Records. His 2001 debut single, "My Baby" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded his debut studio album Lil' Romeo, which peaked at number six on the US Billboard 200.
Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans–based musical acts including Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G., and Hot Boys. It became an imprint of Universal Records, a division of Universal Music Group in March 1998, and remained so during its following iterations as Universal Republic, Universal Motown and ultimately Republic Records.
Earl Tywone Stevens Sr., better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 studio albums to date, appeared on numerous movie soundtracks, and has also done guest appearances on a host of other rap albums. Initially an underground artist, his 1995 solo album In a Major Way opened him up to a wider audience. Beginning in 1998, he began collaborating with mainstream rappers outside the San Francisco Bay Area. He rose to higher mainstream popularity in 2006 with his single "Tell Me When to Go", which was produced by Lil Jon.
Loud Records, LLC. is a record label founded by Steve Rifkind and Rich Isaacson in 1991. Rifkind served as the chief executive officer while Isaacson served as the president of the label.
G-Unit Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group. Founded in 2003 by rapper 50 Cent, the label was operated by Interscope Records until February 2014. Thereafter, distribution of G-Unit operated under Caroline Records and Capitol Music Group. The label had also launched the subsidiary label G-Note Records, which caters to R&B and pop. The label's flagship artist is its founder 50 Cent, as well as the label's namesake group of which was formed prior.
Disturbing tha Peace Records is an American record label founded by Jeff Dixon, Chaka Zulu, and Ludacris in 1998.
M.O.P. is an American hip-hop duo composed of rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, best known for their song "Ante Up." The group has frequently collaborated with DJ Premier. The group is part of the Gang Starr Foundation. Fame occasionally produces under the moniker Fizzy Womack and has produced tracks on every M.O.P. release since 1996's Firing Squad. He has also worked for other artists, including Kool G Rap and Wu-Tang Clan.
Lloyd Polite Jr. is an American R&B singer. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised in Decatur, Georgia, he began his musical career as a member of the preteen-boy band N-Toon, which was formed by Joyce Irby in 1996. The group disbanded in 2001, and Polite signed with record executive Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2003 to pursue a solo career. His 2004 debut single, "Southside" peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and led his first album Southside (2004), which entered the Billboard 200 at number 11. His second album, Street Love (2007) debuted at number two on the chart and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 singles "You" and "Get It Shawty".
Kejuan Waliek Muchita, better known by his stage name Havoc, is an American rapper and record producer. He was one half of the hip hop duo Mobb Deep with Prodigy.
Blood Money is the seventh studio album by American hip hop duo Mobb Deep. Originally scheduled for a March 21, 2006 release, it was released on May 2, 2006 via G-Unit/Interscope Records, making it the their only studio album for the label.
Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from Queens, New York formed in 1991. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy and Havoc, they are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hop. Mobb Deep became one of the most successful rap duos of all time, having sold over three million records. Their best-known albums are The Infamous (1995), Hell on Earth (1996) and Murda Muzik (1999), and their most successful singles were "Shook Ones " and "Survival of the Fittest." They were known for their dark and hardcore delivery.
Zane Copeland, Jr., better known as Lil' Zane or simply Zane, is an American rapper. He is perhaps best known for his single "Callin' Me" from his debut studio album Young World: The Future (2000).
Brandt Jones, better known by his stage name B-Legit, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California.
Funk Mobb was an American, short-lived rap group composed of Bay Area rappers, K-1, G-Note and Mac Shawn who were signed by Sick Wid It and Jive Records. They were active from 1994 to 1998, first appearing on Little Bruce's debut album, XXXtra Mannish and then releasing their one and only album in 1996, It Ain't 4 Play. It peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number 28 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers. After the album the group would disband with Mac Shawn releasing two albums, 1997's Music fo' the Mobb and 2001's Worldwide Bosses and Playas and even joining Death Row Records for a short while. In 1999 G-Note joined No Limit Records and changed his name to Lil Italy. There he released his debut solo album, On Top of da World.
Little Bruce, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California, best known for this 1994 debut album released on Sick Wid It, now known as Heavy on the Grind Entertainment, and Jive Records, XXXtra Manish.
New Life is the seventh studio album by American singer Monica, released by RCA Records on April 6, 2012. It marked the singer's debut release with the label following the dissolution of her former label, J Records in October 2011. A musical continuation of her commercially successful previous album Still Standing (2010), Monica began working on the album only weeks after the release of the former. She returned to work with frequent collaborators; writers and producers including Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, and Cainon Lamb, as well as such as singer and songwriter Rico Love, whose songs replaced much of her cousin, producer Polow da Don's original material.
"My Nigga," censored as "My Hitta" or "My N*gga," is a song by American rapper YG, released by Def Jam Recordings and CTE World on September 17, 2013, as the lead single from his debut studio album My Krazy Life (2014). The song, produced by frequent collaborator DJ Mustard, features guest appearances from CTE World label boss Jeezy and Atlanta-based rapper Rich Homie Quan. It interpolates "The Sky is the Limit", as written and performed by Lil Wayne as well as the refrain from C-Murder's single "Down for My N's".
