Corey Woods, better known by his stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper and a member of Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in 1995, and has since recorded numerous solo albums, as well as continuing to work with Wu-Tang and providing an extensive number of guest contributions to other hip hop artists' works. He is the founder of his own label ICEH20 Records.
Dennis D. Coles, better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper, songwriter and actor, a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success. Ghostface Killah debuted his solo-career with Ironman in 1996, which was well received by music critics. He has continued his success over the following years with critically acclaimed albums such as Supreme Clientele (2000) and Fishscale (2006). His stage name was taken from one of the characters in the 1979 kung fu film Mystery of Chessboxing. He is the founder of his own label Starks Enterprises.
The Chronic is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his own record label Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records and Priority Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles and at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood. The album is named after a slang term for high-grade cannabis, and its cover is an homage to Zig-Zag rolling papers. It was Dr. Dre's first solo album after he had departed from hip hop group N.W.A and its label Ruthless Records over a financial dispute. On The Chronic, he included both subtle and direct insults at Ruthless and its owner, former N.W.A member Eazy-E. Although a solo album, it features many appearances by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, who used the album as a launch pad for his own solo career.
Kimberly Denise Jones, known professionally by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper, songwriter, model, and actress. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, living much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, Jones would freestyle rap, heavily influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and The Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album as a group, Conspiracy, generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Jordan Michael Houston, known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a founding member of the Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, established in 1991. In 2002, he released his solo debut album Chronicles of the Juice Man, in between Three 6 Mafia projects. In 2011, Juicy J announced that he was a part-owner and A&R rep for Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Records, and the following year, he signed a solo deal with Columbia Records and Dr. Luke's Kemosabe Records. Juicy J released Stay Trippy, his third studio album under the aforementioned labels on August 27, 2013. He is the younger brother of frequent collaborator and fellow rapper Project Pat.
Melvin Glover, better known by his stage name Melle Mel and Grandmaster Melle Mel, is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
Lloyd Polite Jr., better known by his mononym Lloyd, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer and actor. Lloyd began his career in music as a member of the preteen-boy band N-Toon. The group disbanded in 2001 and Lloyd embarked on a solo career in 2003. Lloyd subsequently signed a recording contract with Murder Inc. Records and Def Jam Recordings. In 2004, Lloyd released his solo debut single "Southside," the title track of his debut album, Southside. The single features Ashanti, and it quickly charted on the US Billboard Hot 100, and became a Top 40 hit. His second album Street Love, was released on March 13, 2007. It featured top-twenty hits "You" and "Get It Shawty."
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. Composed of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, The Kidd Creole, Keith Cowboy, Mr. Ness/Scorpio and Rahiem, the group's use of turntablism, break-beat DJing, and conscious lyricism were significant in the early development of hip hop music.
"The Message" is a song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. It was released as a single by Sugar Hill Records on July 1, 1982 and was later featured on the group's first studio album, The Message.
Joseph Antonio Cartagena, better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper and actor from the Bronx, New York. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a solo career and set up his own label, Terror Squad, to which he signed Big Pun, Remy Ma, Tony Sunshine, Cuban Link, Armageddon, Prospect, Triple Seis and DJ Khaled as well as discover producers Cool & Dre.
Ricardo Emmanuel Brown is an American rapper and actor, better known by his stage name Kurupt. His career began in the early 1990s when he was signed to Death Row Records and shortly after formed the duo Tha Dogg Pound with Daz Dillinger. After leaving Death Row in 1996, he signed with A&M and released his debut studio album, Kuruption! in 1998. He is also a member of the hip-hop supergroups The HRSMN and Diirty OGz.
Public Announcement is an American R&B group, which was formed in 1991 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. They teamed with singer R. Kelly for their collaboration album Born into the 90's (1992). The group is known for collection of R&B hit songs like "She's Got That Vibe", "Honey Love", "Slow Dance ", "Dedicated", "Body Bumpin' (Yippie-Yi-Yo)", and "Mamacita".
Before I Self Destruct is the fourth studio album by American rapper 50 Cent, released November 9, 2009 on Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, Interscope Records and Universal Music Group. The album is his final solo release with Shady, Aftermath and Interscope excluding his 2017 Greatest Hits album Best Of. A feature film, also titled Before I Self Destruct was also made, and is available within the album packaging. The Invitation Tour took place in promotion of the album and his then upcoming studio album Black Magic, which has since been shelved.
Dominick Wickliffe, better known by his stage name Crooked I or KXNG Crooked, is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. He is best known as a former member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse with other members Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Royce da 5'9". Slaughterhouse is currently signed to Shady Records. He is currently CEO of his own record labels, Dynasty Entertainment and C.O.B. Digital as well as Senior Vice President of Treacherous Records. Before starting his own label, he was also signed to Virgin Records and Death Row Records.
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop or rap music, is a music genre developed in the United States by inner-city African Americans in the late 1970s which consists of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, and rhythmic beatboxing. While often used to refer solely to rapping, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of hip hop culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.
Keenon Daequan Ray Jackson, better known by his stage name YG, is an American rapper and actor from Compton, California. In 2009, he released his debut single, "Toot It and Boot It" featuring Ty Dolla Sign, which peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single's success resulted in him signing to Def Jam Recordings. In the following years, YG released mixtapes such as The Real 4Fingaz, Just Re'd Up, Just Re'd Up 2, 4 Hunnid Degreez, and many others.
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most skillful and successful hip hop artists of his generation.
Tyrone William Griffin Jr., known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his guest feature on YG's "Toot It and Boot It", which he had written and produced for Def Jam Recordings. In the summer of 2013, he signed a record deal with Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Records. In November 2015, he released his debut studio album, Free TC, which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200.
Maybach Music Group (MMG) is a record label imprint founded by American rapper Rick Ross. Maybach Music Group albums are distributed by Atlantic Records, a division of the Atlantic Records Group. Atlantic took over distribution following the expiration of a deal with Island Def Jam. As of December 12, 2012, the label releases are now distributed by Atlantic Records. 19 solo and three compilation albums have been released by Maybach Music Group, including five certified Gold albums. Although the label has failed to sign any female artists, Maybach is home to many successful artists such as Ross himself, Wale, Meek Mill, Omarion, Gunplay and Torch, among others. The label has also had seven albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200 such as Deeper Than Rap, God Forgives, I Don't, and Mastermind by Rick Ross, The Gifted and The Album About Nothing by Wale and Dreams Worth More Than Money and Championships by Meek Mill.
Jamell Maurice Demons, known professionally as YNW Melly, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Gifford, Florida. He is best known for his single "Murder on My Mind" and for his Kanye West collaboration "Mixed Personalities".
