Rufus Johnson, better known by his stage name Bizarre, formerly Bizarre Kid, is an American rapper and producer, best known for his work with the Detroit-based hip hop group D12.
Tsidi Ibrahim, known professionally as Jean Grae, is an American former rapper. She rose in the underground hip hop scene in New York City and built an international fanbase. During her career, Grae's unique music and lyrical style earned recognition as a favorite emcee by many rap artists such as Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, and Black Thought of the Roots.
Raheem Jarbo, also known by his stage names Mega Ran and Random, is an American underground nerdcore rapper, chiptune DJ, author and record producer. In February 2015, he changed his stage name to Mega Ran, removing Random from any releases.
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.
Promise Jason Jamal Shepherd, professionally known as Promise, is a Canadian rapper from Toronto. He is also 1/2 of Hip-Hop supergroup Perfeck Strangers, based in Scarborough, Ontario. Promise has collaborated with Jhené Aiko, Montell Jordan, LeCrae, No Malice, MC Jin, J. Ivy, Marco Polo, eLZhi of Slum Village, Royce Da 5'9" of Slaughterhouse, Rhymefest, and Ton3x. He has also collaborated heavily with fellow Toronto native Drake, whom he met on the set of Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Ahmad Balshe, known professionally as Belly, is a Palestinian-Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Jenin, Balshe was raised in Ottawa. His debut mixtape, Death Before Dishonor: Vol. 1 (2005) was followed by eight additional projects until the release of his debut studio album, The Revolution (2007). After an eight-year hiatus in favor of songwriting for fellow Canadian singer the Weeknd, Balshe signed with his record label, XO, as a recording artist in 2015.
Sean Jordan, better known by his stage name Wordburglar, is a Canadian alternative hip hop artist from Halifax, Nova Scotia, now based in Toronto. His style is best described as upbeat and charismatic with an emphasis on wordplay and humour. He primarily works with his crews Backburner and Props Dept for all aspects of his music creation, including production, cuts, mixing, mastering and guest vocals.
Clifford Ferquan Peacock better known by his stage name Quan or Don Ferquan, is an American rapper affiliated with Nas and Ill Will Records. In 2008, he signed with Just Blaze label Fort Knocks as a joint venture with Ill Will. He is currently signed to Amalgam Digital, who distributed his album Walking Testimony in 2009.
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.
Daniel Domingo Carrillo, better known by his stage name Termanology, is an American rapper and record producer. He first gained major attention with the 2006 single "Watch How It Go Down". A solo album, Politics as Usual, was released in 2008. He has made a number of collaborative albums, such as 1982 and is known also for his prolific mixtape output. He is of Puerto Rican and French descent.
Keith Grayson, professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, was an American disc jockey (DJ) from New York City. He is referred to by The New York Times as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He released four studio albums: The Streetsweeper, Vol. 1 (2003), The Streetsweeper, Vol. 2 (2004), The Champions: North Meets South, and More Than Just a DJ (2010). Known for extensive curation of prominent figures in East Coast hip hop, his albums were met with success in the regional market; his first two were released by Columbia Records. Grayson died from COVID-19 in 2022.
Rob Bakker, better known by his stage name Muneshine, is a Canadian recording artist, record producer, DJ and mix engineer and performer. Since 2005, Muneshine has released three major label projects in Japan, and contributed production and vocal appearances on more. His sales in this territory exceed 40,000 units His first release debuted on HMV Japan's hip hop charts at No. 8. Since then, Muneshine has collaborated with a number of popular American hip hop musicians, including Pete Rock, Sean Price, DJ Spinna, Buckwild, Guilty Simpson, Nature, and Rob Swift.
Timothy Wallace, better known by his stage name Timbuktu, is a Canadian underground hip hop artist and member of the Backburner crew. He is a former member of the group Toolshed, and a member of the groups Wolves, Swamp Thing and My Giants. He also makes up one half of the duos Teenburger and Sequestrians.
Lonnie Kimble, better known by his stage name Skeme, is an American rapper from Inglewood, California. Skeme has collaborated with various West Coast rappers such as the group Black Hippy, Bizzy Bone, The Game, Dom Kennedy, Nipsey Hussle, E-40, Casey Veggies and Problem among others. In 2012, Skeme released his debut studio album Alive & Living under RBC Records. His second studio album Ingleworld was released in 2013 by MADE Headlines.
JD Era is a Canadian rapper and lyricist. He has worked with artists such as Nas, Gza, Kardinal Offishall, The Clipse, and has also cut several tracks with longtime friend Drake. In 2008 he won Best Rap at the Toronto Independent Music Awards, and also won the TAG Records’ Survival of The Freshest competition. He has also released a number of mixtapes and singles, and in the Juno Awards of 2013 his album No Handouts was nominated for Rap Recording of the Year.
Chokeules, otherwise known as Choke, is a Canadian underground hip hop artist and member of the Backburner crew. His real name is Justin Lepine. He is a former member of the group Toolshed, and a member of the group Swamp Thing . He also makes up one half of the duo Sequestrians. He is a vegan.
Jahmarie Wishart Adams, known professionally as Jazz Cartier, is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his mixtapes: Marauding in Paradise and Hotel Paranoia.
Haviah Mighty is a Canadian rapper from Brampton, Ontario. She rose to prominence in 2016 as a member of the hip hop group the Sorority, before releasing several EPs on her own, most notably Flower City, in 2017. Her first album, 13th Floor, was released in 2019 and won the Polaris Music Prize. After her debut, XXL named her one of the "15 Toronto rappers you should know" and CBC Music called her one of the "New Faces of Canadian Hip Hop".
Dimarjio Antonio Jenkins, better known by his stage name Houdini, was a Canadian rapper from Toronto, Ontario. He first gained recognition from his certified gold single "Late Nights" which contained vocal features from Burna Bandz and was released in 2017. This was followed by the singles "Myself" and "Backseat". He was also known for his frequent collaborations with fellow rappers Pressa, Robin Banks and NorthSideBenji, which includes the latter's certified gold single "Levels" which saw a feature from Houdini. He released his debut mixtape Hou I Am on February 13, 2019. His sophomore mixtape Hou Woulda Thought followed on August 2, 2019. His debut EP underGROUND was released on March 18, 2020. This would be his last release during his lifetime as he was shot and killed on May 26, 2020.
Lorenzo Lee-Jae Wright, better known by his stage name Big Lean, is a Canadian rapper from Toronto, Ontario. Lean began making music in 2008, two years after his friend and rapper Blits was shot dead as he felt that he should carry on his friends legacy. He gained attention in 2011 being featured on the single "Reality" by DJ Charlie Brown released alongside other Toronto artists P. Reign, Belly and Jahvon. He is independently signed to the label Da Degrees.
