Katrina Laverne Kearse, 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).
Daniel Denton, better known by his stage name Moka Only, is a Canadian rapper and singer. He has won three JUNO Awards, five MuchMusic Video Awards, and has been nominated for 11 Western Canadian Music Awards. Originally from Langford, British Columbia, near Victoria, he began his musical career in Vancouver. He was previously part of the hip hop group Swollen Members, and was briefly part of the band Len. Moka has released albums through Feelin' Music, Legendary Entertainment, Battleaxe Records, Domination Recordings, Camobear Records, Wandering Worx and URBNET Records.
Luke Boyd, better known by his stage name Classified, is a Canadian rapper and record producer from Enfield, Nova Scotia.
Shadrach Kabango, known professionally as Shad or Shad K, is a Canadian rapper and broadcaster. Beginning his career in 2005, has released seven studio albums and three extended plays. He won a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011 and five of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, the most short-list nominations of any artist in the prize's history. In 2013, CBC Music named Shad the second-greatest Canadian rapper of all time. Shad hosted Q on CBC Radio One from 2015 to 2016, and hosts the International Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution on HBO Canada and Netflix.
"Lock U Down" is a song by American singer Mýa on her fourth studio album Liberation (2007). It was written by Harrison along with Jason Boyd, Dwayne Carter, and Scott Storch, with production handled by the latter, and featured Young Money rapper Lil Wayne. The song was released as the album's official leading single after "Ayo!" failed to find success on the charts or at radio and eventually deemed a promotional single only. The lyrics of the R&B-collaboration speak of a woman locking her man down when she has found the right one.
Shawn Maurice Mims, known mononymously as Mims, stylized as MIMS, is an American rapper. Born and raised in New York City, he is best known for his 2006 commercial debut single "This Is Why I'm Hot", which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following the success of his hit single, Mims' debut album, Music Is My Savior, was released in March 2007.
Derek Christoff, better known by his stage name D-Sisive, is a Canadian rapper, best known for his Juno-nominated EP The Book, his hit single "Nobody with a Notepad" and his 2009 Polaris Music Prize-nominated album Let the Children Die.
Block Starz Music is an American independent record label owned and operated by Bayer Mack. Its catalog includes independent releases by Machine Gun Kelly, Lega-C, Wiz Khalifa, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Big Sean, Rhymefest, and Ceddy Bu Rap Sumo. The label also includes its subsidiaries such as the independent film and television production company Block Starz Music Television.
Daniel Faraldo, known professionally as Dan-e-o, is a Canadian hip hop artist and actor of Jamaican and Spanish descent. In June 2015, Dan-e-o received the award for Best Hip Hop Artist at the Black Canadian Awards. He is a member of the groups Monolith and Perfeck Strangers, both based in Scarborough, Ontario.
"Runaway" is a song by American rapper Kanye West featuring fellow American rapper Pusha T, released as the second single from the former's fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). The song was written by the artists alongside Emile, Jeff Bhasker, Mike Dean, and Malik Yusef with the first three co-producing it with West. The composition features repetitive piano riffs, intricate samples and a production style with several similarities to West's album 808s & Heartbreak (2008). Described as a deeply personal song, it expresses West's thoughts on his failed relationships and his acceptance of the media's perception of him. Lyrically, the song explores criticism aimed at West in the past.
DYLN is a name used by Stephanie Lang, a Canadian Pop/R&B artist, songwriter, and producer based in Los Angeles, California. Her musical style is mainly pop and R&B, with influences of hip hop and electronic sounds.
Runaway Jones is the second studio album from hip hop artist Miles Jones. The album was released via Jones's label Mojo Records & Publishing and distributed in Canada by URBNET/Fontana/Universal. The album will be released by MB3/Caroline in the US in April 2011.
"The Motto" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake featuring American rapper Lil Wayne. It is a digital iTunes Store bonus track from Drake's second studio album Take Care. "The Motto" premiered on Power 106 on October 31, 2011. Drake released the song on his OVO blog a day later. It was first played on rhythmic top 40 radio stations on November 29, 2011 as the album's fourth single.
"Mercy" is a song by American rapper Kanye West featuring fellow American rappers Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz. The song was released April 10, 2012 through GOOD Music and Def Jam as the lead single from the compilation album Cruel Summer (2012). The song's production was handled by Lifted, with additional production from West, Mike Dean, and Mike Will Made It, and additional instrumentation from Hudson Mohawke. The song heavily samples the dancehall song "Dust a Sound Boy" by Super Beagle. The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics who praised the bombastic production, the varying quality of the verses, and the wordplay of the individual rappers. The song was featured on the soundtrack for NBA 2K13.
Doggumentary is the eleventh studio album by American West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg. It was released on March 29, 2011 on the Priority Records record label. The album was produced by Battlecat, The Cataracs, Gorillaz, David Banner, THX, DJ Khalil, Fredwreck, Jake One, David Guetta, Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker, Lex Luger, Meech Wells, Mr. Porter, Rick Rock, Rick Rude, Scoop DeVille, Scott Storch, Warryn Campbell, Kanye West, DJ Reflex, among others.
Michael Len Williams II, known professionally as Mike Will Made It or simply Mike Will, is an American record producer. He is best known for producing trap beats for several Southern hip hop and pop artists on commercially successful singles. His credits include "Black Beatles" and "Powerglide" by Rae Sremmurd, "Mercy" by Kanye West, "No Lie" by 2 Chainz, "Bandz a Make Her Dance" by Juicy J, "Pour It Up" by Rihanna, "Love Me" by Lil Wayne, "Body Party" by Ciara, "We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus, "Formation" by Beyoncé, and "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar. He embarked on a career as a non-performing lead artist in 2013 with his debut single "23", which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. His 2017 follow-up single, "Rake It Up" peaked at number eight on the chart. He has released six mixtapes and one solo studio album, Ransom 2 (2017).
Aulsondro "Novelist" Hamilton, better known by his stage name Emcee N.I.C.E., is an American Christian hip hop recording artist, rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, inventor, entrepreneur and former lead vocalist/rapper of the duo KansasCali. He is the co-creator of the animated music series Da Jammies, The co-founder of The Stellar Award winning radio station God’s House of Hip Hop Radio powered by Dash Radio, A Best Selling Author for his book “Music Release University”. He is president of two non-profit organizations, The iTL Foundation of Los Angeles and Urbanomics 101, the Managing Editor for RYZE Magazine, a christian hip hop lifestyle magazine and an American Inventor. He is the co-producer of 2 Pac's Thugz Mansion acoustic, the first single released from the certified triple platinum album Better Dayz and the Nas acoustic Thugz Mansion (N.Y.), off of the certified platinum album God's Son
HipHopDX is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. HipHopDX has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath Cherian and the Head of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. HipHopDX is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. HipHopDX can be found on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
Christian Anthony Mathis, better known by his stage name Trick Trick, is an American rapper and record producer from Detroit. He is a member of the hip hop group Goon Sqwad.
Daniel Fernandez, better known by his stage name Def3, is a Canadian rapper from Regina, Saskatchewan, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the founder of Ship Records, and a past member of the groups Dead Can't Bounce, and Metropolis Now as well as a touring member of Vancouver's Sweatshop Union. In 2015, Def3 won the Western Canadian Music Award for "Rap/Hip-Hop Recording of the Year" for his 2014 album Wildlif3.
