West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and others.
Pinoy hip hop or Filipino hip-hop is a style of hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, especially Filipino-Americans.
Charles Kente Williams, better known by his stage name Keak da Sneak, is an American rapper from Oakland, California. He is known for his gravelly voice, for coining the term hyphy in 1994, and for his contributions to the hyphy movement.
Quincy Adams Brooks, known professionally as San Quinn, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California. He is the cousin of Messy Marv, Stevie Johnson, and Ya Boy.
Thizz Entertainment is a Sacramento-based, originally independent record label, started in 1999 by rapper and music producer Andre Hicks, who was professionally known as Mac Dre, a poster child of the hyphy movement that swept through the Bay Area in the early 2000s. The label was relocated to the S.F. Bay Area shortly after his untimely death.
Sultan Banks, better known as Traxamillion, was an American hip hop producer. He produced records such as Keak da Sneak's "Super Hyphy" and Dem Hoodstarz "Grown Man Remix". His first album, The Slapp Addict, was a compilation of Bay Area hyphy artists and was released August 22, 2006.
I'm from Rolling Stone is a MTV reality television show directed by Norman Green. It began airing in January 2007 and was planned for ten episodes. Six aspiring music journalists were given the summer internships in hopes of getting a contributing editor position at Rolling Stone magazine.
Mandolyn Wind Ludlum, better known by her stage name Mystic, is an American singer and rapper from the San Francisco Bay Area. After touring and recording with Digital Underground, she released her debut solo album in 2001.
Polo Grounds Music is a hip hop and R&B record label, distributed by Sony Music's RCA Records. Founded in 2006 by Bryan Leach, Polo Grounds Music is a full-service entertainment company with a focus in publishing, management, marketing and promotions.
Andre Lamond Adams, better known by his stage name Andre Nickatina, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California. He previously performed under the stage name Dre Dog.
Eric Strand, better known as Fatgums, is an American record producer, hip hop DJ and independent record label owner/president. He is best known for his work with rapper Bambu of the rap group Native Guns. Fatgums' independent record label, Beatrock Music, was founded in 2009 in collaboration with the Long Beach based clothing company Beatrock.
Marlanna Evans, better known by her stage name Rapsody, is an American rapper. After signing with music producer 9th Wonder's music label It's a Wonderful World Music Group, she released a series of mixtapes and collaborated with Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli. Soon afterwards Rapsody released her debut album The Idea of Beautiful (2012). She would attain further prominence when she was featured on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, on the track "Complexion ".
Marcel Wade, better known by his stage name Cellski, is an American rapper/records producer from San Francisco. He is also the CEO of his label, Inner City2K Records.
Phillip Anthony Beasley, known professionally as Philthy Rich is an American rapper and convicted felon from Oakland, California.
Danyel SmithWilson is an American magazine editor, journalist, and novelist. Smith is the former and first African-American editor of Billboard and Vibe magazine, respectively. She is author of two novels and a history of African-American women in pop music.
"U.O.E.N.O." is a song written and performed by American rapper Rocko featuring fellow American rappers Future and Rick Ross. It was released independently on March 5, 2013, as the lead single from the former's sixth mixtape, Gift of Gab 2 (2013). Produced by Childish Major, "U.O.E.N.O." peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and landed at number 87 on the year-end Billboard Hot 100.
Bayer Leevince Mack is an American record executive and filmmaker. He is the publisher of the late-1990s, early-2000s urban entertainment website HOT 104.com, the founder of Block Starz Music and the director of The Czar of Black Hollywood.
Ruby Anne Ibarra is a Filipino rapper. She raps in Tagalog, Waray, and English. Her raps concern her cultural heritage and her experiences as an immigrant to the United States from the Philippines. In 2023, Ibarra co-founded a record label, Bolo Music Group, which highlights Filipino American artists.
Chinaka Hodge is an American poet, educator, playwright and screenwriter. She has received national recognition for her publications, especially her artistic work on gentrification.
Silas Wilson, professionally known as Ovrkast. is an American rapper and record producer from East Oakland, California. He rose to prominence for his production on Earl Sweatshirt's 2019 EP Feet of Clay, and has since collaborated with notable artists such as Drake, Mavi, and Pink Siifu.
