Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper from the New York rap scene. Artistically, his music is often regarded as emblematic of the mafioso rap subgenre, a East Coast counter-subgenre to West Coast gangsta rap. He is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, and one of the greatest rap storytellers of all time. Wallace's lyricism was often semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality, but also of debauchery and celebration. Vocally, Wallace garnered repute for his distinctive, laidback delivery that offset his lyrically grim content.
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known professionally as Common, is an American rapper and actor from Chicago, Illinois. He is the recipient of three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. At the age of 20, he signed with the independent label Relativity Records to release his debut studio album Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), which was met with critical acclaim along with its follow-ups, Resurrection (1994) and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997). He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s, and achieved mainstream success through his work with the Black music collective, Soulquarians.
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt, Pepa, and DJ Spinderella. Their debut album, Hot, Cool & Vicious (1986), sold more than 1 million copies in the US, making them the first female rap act to achieve gold and platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album included the single, "Push It", which was released in 1987 as the B-side to their single "Tramp", and peaked within the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Naughty by Nature is an American hip hop trio from East Orange, New Jersey, consisting of Treach, Vin Rock, and DJ Kay Gee.
Anthony Shawn Criss, better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature.
Douglas Davis, known professionally as Doug E. Fresh, is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines and various special effects using only his mouth, lips, gums, throat, tongue and a microphone.
Resurrection is the second studio album by American rapper Common Sense. It was released on October 4, 1994, by Relativity Records. It was mainly produced by No I.D., who also produced most of Common's 1992 debut Can I Borrow A Dollar? It is the last album to feature the rapper's full stage name, as after this album the "Sense" portion of the name was dropped, making the rapper simply known to this day as "Common".
The Remix Collection is a 1995 remix LP for R&B group Boyz II Men, issued by Motown Records. Released against the group's wishes, it began a chain of events that led to the eventual dissolution of Boyz II Men's relationship with Motown.
Sharissa Dawes is an American singer. Born in New York City's borough of Brooklyn, Bronx raised, she began her musical career in the R&B group 4KaST. 4KaST released their 1998 debut album, Any Weather, on RCA Records, which was promoted with the singles "Miss My Lovin'" and "I Tried". After her time in the groups, Sharissa worked as a backing vocalist before she signed to Henchman/Motown Records.
William Paul Mitchell, better known by the stage name of Large Professor, is an American rapper and music producer. Based in New York City, he is known as a founding member of the underground hip hop group Main Source and as a mentor and frequent collaborator of Nas. About.com ranked Large Professor at No. 13 on its Top 25 Hip-Hop Producers list.
Thug Mentality 1999 is the debut solo studio album by American rapper Krayzie Bone. It was released April 6, 1999, on Ruthless Records, Relativity Records and Mo Thugs Records.
Sons of the P is the second studio album by American hip hop group Digital Underground. It was released on October 15, 1991, via Tommy Boy Records. Main recording sessions took place at Starlight Sound in Richmond, with additional recordings done at Unique Recording Studios in New York, Axiom Recorders in Tampa and The Disc Ltd. in Detroit. Production was handled by D.U. in-house production team credited as The Underground Production Squad, with Atron Gregory and member Shock G serving as executive producers. It features contributions from George Clinton, Stretch and Treach.
"Hip Hop Hooray" is a song by American hip hop group, Naughty by Nature, released in December 1992 by Tommy Boy Records as the first single from their third album, 19 Naughty III (1993). The song spent one week at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. It contains samples from "Funky President" by James Brown, "Don't Change Your Love" by Five Stairsteps, "Make Me Say it Again, Girl" by Isley Brothers, "You Can't Turn Me Away" by Sylvia Striplin and "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel. Pete Rock made a remix that samples Cannonball Adderley's "74 Miles Away". It was certified Platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 1,100,000 copies in the United States. The music video for "Hip Hop Hooray" was directed by Spike Lee and filmed in Brooklyn, New York City.
Half a Klip is an album by American rapper Kool G Rap, released on February 5, 2008, by Chinga Chang, Latchey and Koch Records. It was the first new solo release from Kool G Rap in six years, and its producers included DJ Premier, Marley Marl, Domingo, and Marks. KL of Screwball, D-Roc and Haylie Duff appeared as a guest vocalists.
"Feel Me Flow" is a song by American hip hop group Naughty by Nature, released in May 1995 by Tommy Boy Records as a single from their fourth album, Poverty's Paradise (1995). The song was the most successful single from the album, peaking at number three on the US Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart in mid-June and at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-July. The sole rapper on the song is Treach. The accompanying music video shows him near a pool and the ocean in the midst of a heat wave, and also shows clips of the winter and people snowboarding. The song was later featured in the 2002 film 8 Mile.
Rottin ta da Core is the first and only studio album by American rap group Rottin Razkals. It was released on March 14, 1995 through Illtown/Mad Sounds Recordings and was produced by the group's mentors, Naughty by Nature. The album managed to make it to three different Billboard charts, #190 on the Billboard 200, #28 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #14 on the Top Heatseekers and featured two charting singles. "Hey Alright" made it to #74 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and #23 on the Hot Rap Singles, while "Oh Yeah" made it to #63 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and #14 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
Sandra Jacqueline Denton, better known by her stage name Pepa or Pep, is a Jamaican-American rapper, best known for her work as a member of the female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa. Denton starred in The Salt-N-Pepa Show, a reality TV series focusing on reforming the group which aired on the VH1 network in 2008. Since January 2016, Denton has appeared as a supporting cast member on the music reality television show Growing Up Hip Hop which airs on We TV.
Outkast was an American hip hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of rappers Big Boi and André 3000. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip hop acts of all time, the duo achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, helping to popularize Southern hip hop with their intricate lyricism, memorable melodies, and positive themes, while experimenting with a diverse range of genres such as funk, psychedelia, jazz, and techno.
Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven is the fifth studio album by American musician Kid Cudi. The album was released on December 4, 2015, through Republic Records and Cudi's Wicked Awesome Records imprint. The album is a complete departure from his previous projects, excluding WZRD, a 2012 collaborative effort which was his first venture into rock music. Inspired by the 1990s indie music scene, Cudi included commissioned skits featuring Mike Judge voicing the titular characters of his '90s animated sitcom, Beavis and Butt-Head.
"Confused!" is a song written and recorded by American musician Kid Cudi, taken from his fifth studio album Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven (2015). The song was officially released on August 1, 2015 as the album's lead single. The song features production, guitar and bass from Cudi.
