Kurtis Walker, known professionally by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Walker is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major record label. "The Breaks", a single from his 1980 self-titled debut album, is the first certified gold record rap song. Throughout his career he has released 17 albums and is currently an ordained minister.
Trip hop is a musical genre that originated in the late 1980s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound, often incorporating elements of jazz, soul, funk, reggae, dub, R&B, and other genres, typically of electronic music, as well as sampling from movie soundtracks and other eclectic sources.
Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll, and jazz and comedy recordings, released on the Chess and its subsidiary labels Checker and Argo/Cadet. The Chess catalogue is owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records and Universal Music Enterprises.
The Turtles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The band achieved several Top 40 hits throughout the latter half of the 1960s, including "It Ain't Me Babe" (1965), "You Baby" (1966), "Happy Together" (1967), "She'd Rather Be with Me" (1967), "Elenore" (1968), and "You Showed Me" (1969).
Newcleus was an American electro and old school hip hop group that gained popularity in the early 1980s. The group is primarily known for its 12-inch single "Jam-On's Revenge" and "Jam on It" (1984).
Christopher Edward Martin, known professionally as DJ Premier, is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as Vibe. He formed the hip hop duo Gang Starr alongside American rapper Guru, with whom he has released seven albums. He formed another hip hop duo, PRhyme—with American rapper Royce da 5'9"—in 2014, with whom he has released two albums.
Rare groove is music that is very hard to source or relatively obscure. Rare groove is primarily associated with funk, R&B and jazz funk, but is also connected to subgenres including jazz rock, reggae, Latin jazz, soul, rock music, northern soul, and disco. Vinyl records that fall into this category generally have high re-sale prices. Rare groove records have been sought by not only collectors and lovers of this type of music, but also by hip hop artists and producers.
Chris Barbosa (1961-2024) was an American record producer and Freestyle pioneer from New York.
Todd Norton Terry is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. His productions helped define the New York house scene in the 1990s and used extensive samples that blend the sounds of classic disco, the Chicago house sound, and elements of hip-hop. He has remixed a wide variety of artists.
Donald Lamont, professionally known by his stage name Donald-D, is an American rapper and record producer from the Bronx, New York. He is a member of the Universal Zulu Nation, a member of the B-Boys, and is best known as a member of Ice-T's Rhyme Syndicate.
Robert A. Hall Jr., known by his stage name Lord Finesse, is an American rapper and hip-hop producer from The Bronx, New York, best known as the leader of the D.I.T.C. crew. About.com ranked him number 29 on its list of the Top-50 Hip-Hop Producers.
Nicolas Jean-Pierre Patrick Dresti, better known by his stage name Space Cowboy, is a French-British singer-songwriter, DJ, and producer. Born in France and raised in England, Dresti first recorded in 1992 under the names of Vibes and DJ Apex, releasing breakbeat hardcore tracks. He then changed his stage name to Nicky Fabulous and produced a four track extended play, Pussy Galore in 1995. He has recorded under various pseudonyms including: DJ Supreme, Kings of Rhythm, Loop Da Loop, and DJ Chrome. In 2002, Dresti changed his stage name to Space Cowboy and did a cover of Prince's song, "I Would Die 4 U." In 2003, Space Cowboy debuted his first studio album Across the Sky. On 22 June 2005, he released his second full-length album Big City Nights and his third album, Digital Rock, the next year. Digital Rock Star, a re-release of Digital Rock, debuted as his fourth studio album on 20 October 2009.
Ryan Farish is an American composer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Originally from Norfolk, Virginia, Farish is now based in Los Angeles, California. Farish is known for his downtempo electronica, chillout, and dance music. His sound infuses dance rhythms with 'uplifting' themes. Farish established the record label RYTONE Entertainment in 2008 to release his own music and that of collaborative artists.
Frederick Crute, known professionally as Kool DJ Red Alert, is an Antiguan-American disc jockey who rose to fame on WRKS 98.7 Kiss FM in New York City and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of hip hop music and culture. His weekly radio show airs on WBLS 107.5 FM from Monday to Saturday at 6pm EST.
Jesse West,, also known as 3rd Eye, is an American record producer and rapper who served as a member of the Hitmen, the in-house production wing of Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records.
Damon J. Blackman, better known by his stage name Dame Grease or simply Grease, is an American record producer from New York City. In 1996, he gained recognition in the hip hop industry through his production work with Bad Boy and The LOX, while also establishing the sound of DMX and Ruff Ryders.
Lance Taylor, also known as Afrika Bambaataa, is an American DJ, rapper, and record producer from South Bronx, New York City. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of hip hop culture. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the originators of breakbeat DJing.
Charles Turner better known as DJ Chuck Chillout, is an American hip hop DJ and producer.
The Triggerman beat, also known as Triggaman, is a one-bar drum loop that originated from sampling "Drag Rap" by the Showboys and "Brown Beats" by Cameron Paul. The one-bar drum loop and bells was known to be used in bounce music, having been used in hundreds of records. The beat has been influential in recent hip hop music, including Juvenile's "Back That Azz Up", David Banner's "Like a Pimp", T.I. and Lil Wayne's "Ball", Drake's "Nice for What" and "In My Feelings", and also "Go Crazy" by Chris Brown and Young Thug.
The B-Boys are an American old-school hip hop group, consisting of rappers Donald D, Brother-B, and formerly DJ Chuck Chillout. They were signed to Vincent Davis' Vintertainment label in the United States and Morgan Khan's Streetwave label in the United Kingdom. The group has released five singles from 1983 to 1985, including a 12-inch extended play Cuttin' Herbie, which debuted on 28 January 1984 at number 90 on the UK Albums Chart. A few of their songs became very sampled among other rappers and producers.
