Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip-hop group and collective formed in the New York City borough of Staten Island in 1992, originally composed of rapper-producer RZA and rappers GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa. An important act in the East Coast and hardcore hip-hop styles, Wu-Tang Clan are regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop groups of all time. Their 1993 debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang , is considered one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in St. Albans, Queens, New York in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, rapper Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and rapper Jarobi White, who left the group amicably in 1991. Later that year, the group released its jazz-influenced second album, The Low End Theory, regarded for helping shape alternative hip hop in the 1990s. In 1998, the group broke up shortly before releasing its fifth album, The Love Movement, but in 2006, the group's original members reunited and toured the United States. In 2016, the group released its sixth and final album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, which was still incomplete when Phife Dawg died suddenly in March 2016, and was completed by the other members after his death. A Tribe Called Quest was the most commercially successful act in the Native Tongues collective, with all six of its albums certified either gold or platinum.
O'Shea Jackson, called Ice Cube, is an American rapper, actor, and filmmaker. His lawless lyrics on N.W.A's 1988 album Straight Outta Compton led gangsta rap's outbreak. Yet his solo albums of 1990 and 1991 rank high in political rap. In 1991 and 1995, entering film, he starred in Boyz n the Hood and cocreated Friday.
Trevor George Smith Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, musician, singer, record producer, record executive, and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes. He is known for his outlandish style and fashion sense as well as his intricate and high-speed rhyming technique. He has received 11 Grammy Award nominations for his work.
Todd Anthony Shaw, better known by the stage name Too Short, is an American rapper and record producer famous for his rap lyrics' focus on pimping, promiscuity, drug culture, street survival, as in the songs "The Ghetto" and "Blow the Whistle".
Anthony Cruz, better known by his stage name AZ, is an American rapper from East New York, Brooklyn, New York. He is known for being a longtime and frequent music partner of Nas and also a member of hip hop group The Firm alongside Nas, Foxy Brown, Cormega and Nature. In a countdown of the 10 Most Underappreciated Rappers—Most Underrated Rappers of All Time, the editors of About.com listed AZ as #1 on the list. He was also included on About.com's list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007), where he was described as "arguably the most underrated lyricist ever."
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, actor and DJ. Nicknamed The Abstract, he is noted for his innovative jazz-influenced style of hip hop production and his philosophical, esoteric and introspective lyrical themes. He embarked on his music career in the late 1980s, as an MC and main producer of the influential alternative hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. In the mid-1990s, he co-founded the production team The Ummah, followed by the release of his gold-certified solo debut Amplified in 1999. In the 2000s, he released the Grammy Award-nominated album The Renaissance and the experimental album Kamaal the Abstract.
André Lauren Benjamin, better known by his stage name André 3000, is an American rapper and actor best known for being a part of hip hop duo Outkast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi. Both Billboard and Showbiz Cheatsheet have listed André 3000 as one of the top 10 rappers of all time. As an actor, Benjamin has made appearances in a number of films and television series, including Families, The Shield, Be Cool, Revolver, Semi-Pro, Four Brothers, and in the lead role of Jimi Hendrix in All Is by My Side. He currently plays Fredwynn on the AMC anthology series, Dispatches from Elsewhere.
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and record executive. He was born in Asheville, North Carolina and was raised in Atlanta. He has worked with and produced for Kris Kross, Mariah Carey, Usher, Jay-Z, Nelly, Monica, Migos, Da Brat, Xscape, Janet Jackson, TLC, Aretha Franklin, Ludacris, Alicia Keys, Jagged Edge and Bow Wow.
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label founded by rapper/entrepreneur Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1995. It was operated as a division of Def Jam Recordings.
Jonathan Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and DJ based in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the lead frontman of the multi-platinum selling rap group, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz and was instrumental in the emergence of the hip/hop subgenre crunk. He is credited with bringing the genre into mainstream success, producing Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles "Get Low," "Goodies," "Cyclone," "Freek-a-Leek," and "Yeah!". "Yeah!" won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance. Lil Jon is also a frequent collaborator with friend and fellow rapper Pitbull. In 2013, Lil Jon collaborated with DJ Snake and released the EDM multi-platinum hit, "Turn Down for What," that won Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Song. The music video for the single, released in 2014, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, and has been viewed over 900 million times on YouTube as of October 2019. As of 2016, Lil Jon is listed as one of the Top Billboard Music Award Winners of All Time. In 2019, Lil Jon achieved his 8th #1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Chart as a songwriter on the song "My Type" by Oakland rapper Saweetie.
Christopher Noel Dorsey, better known by his stage name B.G., is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his music career signing to Cash Money Records in 1996. He, Lil Wayne, along with rappers Juvenile and Turk, collectively formed the group, the Hot Boys in 1997. B.G. released several solo albums for Cash Money, including the platinum-selling Chopper City in the Ghetto in 1999. In 2001, he resigned from Cash Money Records and created his own label, Chopper City Records.
Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper, record executive and music video director. Jones, an original member of hip hop collective the Diplomats, is also the co-CEO of Diplomat Records, alongside longtime friend and fellow Harlem-bred rapper, Cam'ron. Jones is also a noted music video director under the pseudonym CAPO, having directed videos for artists including Cam'ron, Juelz Santana, Remy Ma and State Property.
Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... is the second studio album by American rapper 2Pac, released by Interscope Records on February 16, 1993. N.I.G.G.A. in the title is punctuated to refer to 2Pac's backronym "Never Ignorant in Getting Goals Accomplished". The album features guest appearances from the group Live Squad, 2Pac's stepbrother The Wycked, Ice-T, Ice Cube, Treach, Apache, Poppi, Deadly Threat, R&B singer Dave Hollister and Digital Underground.
Bruce Edward Washington, Jr., better known by his stage name, Hussein Fatal or sometimes as Fatal Hussein was an American rapper and member of the hip hop group Outlawz. He was best known for his collaborative work with Tupac Shakur, as a member of Outlaw Immortalz.
Ewart Everton Brown, better known by his stage name of Mad Cobra or simply Cobra is a Jamaican reggae musician.
Snypaz are a Chicago hip hop group formed in 1993. Their first release was the 1995 cassette tape Ridin' High; their 1996 EP, My Life as a Snypa, sold 80,000 copies. Relocating to Houston, Texas, the group recorded tracks with Do or Die for their album Headz or Tailz, and soon after appeared on Scarface's 1998 album, My Homies. In 2001, Snypaz signed with Virgin Records and issued their major-label debut, Livin' in the Scope. The title single from this album peaked at #174 on the Billboard 200. Their latest appearance was in 2016 on Chicago artist Fatus Fee album, Tayo song titled Drug Love.
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.
Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new school hip hop music. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.
Brad Terrence Jordan, better known by his stage name Scarface, is an American rapper, record producer, and politician, best known as a member of the Geto Boys, a hip hop group from Houston, Texas. He grew up in Houston and is originally from the city's South Acres neighborhood. In 2012, The Source ranked him #16 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time, while About.com ranked him #6 on its list of the 50 Greatest MCs of Our Time (1987–2007).
