Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. Rooted in Southern hip-hop, he is regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Known for his creative lyrical ability—which often uses punchlines, homonyms, word play—and braggadocio, his music often deals with the subjects of wealth, drugs, and sex. Born and raised in New Orleans, he was discovered by hometown rapper Birdman in 1993 and signed with the latter's record label, Cash Money Records, at age eleven. He emerged as the flagship artist of the label in the following years until his departure in June 2018.
LaRon Louis James Sr, better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of East Coast hip hop group, the Diplomats. He is best known for his appearances on group cohort Cam'ron's 2002 singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", which peaked at numbers four and three on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. His guest appearance on Chris Brown's 2005 single, "Run It!" peaked atop the chart for five weeks and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As a lead artist, he is also known for his 2005 single "There It Go ", which peaked at number six on the chart and received platinum certification by the RIAA.
"Material Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her second studio album, Like a Virgin (1984). It was released on January 23, 1985, by the Sire label as the second single from Like a Virgin. It also appears slightly remixed on the 1990 greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection, in its original form on the 2009 greatest hits compilation, Celebration and Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022). The song was written by Peter Brown and Robert Rans, and produced by Nile Rodgers. Madonna said the concept of the song was indicative of her life at that time, and she liked it because she felt it was provocative.
Joseph Guillermo Jones II, better known by his stage name Jim Jones, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. He is a founding member of the hip hop collective the Diplomats, which he formed in 1997 with fellow Harlem native Cam'ron.
Tha Carter III is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on June 10, 2008, by Cash Money, Universal Motown and Young Money Entertainment. It follows a string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip hop and R&B artists' albums. The album features appearances from Jay-Z, T-Pain, Fabolous, Robin Thicke, Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana, Babyface, Bobby V, and Kanye West, among others. It also features Static Major, who is credited posthumously following his death in February of that year.
"Oh Boy" is a 2002 Grammy-nominated hip hop single by Cam'ron from his album Come Home with Me, and features Juelz Santana. The single was released through Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records, Cam'ron's Diplomat Records and Def Jam Recordings.
LGBTQ representation in hip hop music has existed since the birth of the genre even while enduring blatant discrimination. Due to its adjacency to disco, the earliest days of hip hop had a close relation to LGBT subcultures, and multiple LGBT DJs have played a role in popularizing hip hop. Since the early 2000s there has been a flourishing community of LGBTQ+ hip hop artists, activists, and performers breaking barriers in the mainstream music industry. Despite this early involvement, hip hop has long been portrayed as one of the least LGBT-friendly genres of music, with a significant body of the genre containing homophobic views and anti-gay lyrics, with mainstream artists such as Eminem and Tyler, the Creator having used casual homophobia in their lyrics, including usages of the word faggot. Attitudes towards homosexuality in hip hop culture have historically been negative, with slang that uses homosexuality as a punchline such as "sus", "no homo", and "pause" being heard in hip hop lyrics from some of the industry's biggest artists.
William Leonard Roberts II, known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper and record executive. An influential figure in modern hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "booming" vocal performance, "larger than life" persona, and vivid lyrical imagery. His lyrics form the hardships of street life and black market economic activity into a rags to riches narrative, often describing affluence, wealth, and luxury.
Tauheed K. Epps, known professionally as 2 Chainz, is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Circle, alongside hometown rapper Earl "Dolla Boy" Conyers. The duo signed with fellow Georgia-based rapper Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace label and became best known for their 2007 debut single "Duffle Bag Boy".
Twerking is a type of dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving throwing or thrusting the hips back or shaking the buttocks, often in a low squatting stance. It is individually performed chiefly but not exclusively by women.
Bianca Miquela Landrau, known professionally as Bia, is an American rapper who debuted on the Oxygen reality television series Sisterhood of Hip Hop. She signed to Pharrell's I Am Other record label, in partnership with RCA Records in 2014. Her first EP, Nice Girls Finish Last: Cuidado, was released in 2018. She is best recognized for featuring on the 2016 single "Safari" by J Balvin and "Best on Earth" by Russ in 2019. In early 2020, Bia signed a new record deal with Epic Records, releasing her second EP, For Certain, on December 11, 2020. The EP spawned the single "Whole Lotta Money", which later was released as a remix featuring Nicki Minaj and reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Bill Kahan Kapri, known professionally as Kodak Black, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He gained initial recognition following the release of his 2014 songs "No Flockin" and "Skrt", both of which led him to sign a recording contract with Atlantic Records. The former received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA), while the latter received platinum certification; "No Flockin" marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 two years later as a sleeper hit.
Love & Hip Hop: Miami is an American reality television series that premiered January 1, 2018 on VH1. It chronicles the lives of several people in the Miami area involved with hip hop music. The show features appearances from notable figures associated with Southern hip hop, as well as Latin music and reggaeton.
City Girls was an American hip hop duo consisting of Yung Miami and JT, both of whom originate from Miami, Florida. The duo signed with Quality Control Music, an imprint of Motown and Capitol Records to release their debut mixtape, Period (2018). Two months later, they garnered mainstream attention following their guest performances on Drake's 2018 single, "In My Feelings", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100.
"Act Up" is a song by American hip hop duo City Girls from their debut studio album Girl Code (2018). It reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was released to US rhythmic and urban contemporary radio in as the album's second single March 27, 2019, eventually reaching number one on Billboard's Rhythmic Songs chart in its July 6, 2019 issue. It has peaked at number 26 on the Hot 100, making it their highest charting entry.
Montero Lamar Hill, better known by his stage name Lil Nas X, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2019 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running number-one song since the U.S. Billboard Hot 100's 1958 inception. Simultaneously, he came out as gay, the only artist to do so while having a number-one record.
The third season of the reality television series Love & Hip Hop: Miami premiered on VH1 on January 6, 2020 until April 6, 2020. The show was primarily filmed in Miami, Florida and executive produced by Mona Scott-Young and Stephanie R. Gayle for Monami Entertainment and Dan Cesareo, Lucilla D'Agostino, Donna Edge Rachell, James Knox, Faith Gaskins and Brian Schornak for Big Fish Entertainment. Nina L. Diaz, Sitarah Pendelton, Lashan Browning and Phakiso Collins are executive producers for VH1.
Albert Walker Mondane, known professionally as Sauce Walka, is an American rapper and songwriter from Houston, Texas.
"Walk" and "Spin" are songs by American rapper Kodak Black, released together on September 16, 2022, as a dual single and the lead single from his mixtape Kutthroat Bill: Vol. 1 (2022). Both songs were produced by Tye Beats, while "Spin" was also produced by 8th. The official single cover artwork for "Walk/Spin" was photographed by Zac Schuss in Broward County.
Caresha Romeka Brownlee, better known by her stage name Yung Miami, is an American rapper. She formed the Miami, Florida-based hip hop duo City Girls with JT in 2017, and began her solo career in 2021. Released in October of that year, her single "Rap Freaks" marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo act. She guest performed alongside Latto on the remix of Lola Brooke's 2021 single, "Don't Play with It", which peaked at number 69 on the chart.
