Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. Born and raised in New York City, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. He served as the president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007 before founding the entertainment company, Roc Nation the following year.
The Pharcyde is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani, Slimkid3, Bootie Brown, and Fatlip. DJ Mark Luv was the group's first disc jockey (DJ), followed by producer J-Swift. The group is perhaps best known for the hit singles "Drop", "Passin' Me By" and "Runnin'", as well as their first album, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (1992). The group continues to tour and record, both collaboratively and in solo projects—the most recent being Hardson's collaborative EP with DJ Nu-Mark released in 2014 on Delicious Vinyl.
LaRon Louis James, 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.
Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde is the debut album by the American hip hop collective the Pharcyde, released on November 24, 1992, through the Delicious Vinyl and EastWest labels. The album was produced by former group member J-Swift, and features only one guest appearance, provided by little-known Los Angeles rapper Bucwheed. In the years after its release, Bizarre Ride has been hailed by music critics and alternative hip hop fans as a classic hip hop album and has appeared in numerous publications' "best albums" lists.
Nathaniel Thomas Wilson, better known by his stage name Kool G Rap, is an American rapper. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time, and a pioneer of mafioso rap/street/hardcore content and multisyllabic rhyming. On his album The Giancana Story, he stated that the "G" in his name stands for "Giancana", but on other occasions he has stated that it stands for "Genius".
Jason Terrance Phillips, better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s and formed the hip hop trio the Lox alongside Styles P and Sheek Louch in 1994. The group signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Arista Records to release their debut studio album, Money, Power & Respect (1998); their second album, We Are the Streets (2000) was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment, an imprint of Interscope Records. Both peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200 and yielded critical praise; their two subsequent albums, Filthy America... It's Beautiful (2013) and Living Off Xperience (2020) were both released by Jay-Z's Roc Nation and met with continued praise.
Victor James Santiago, Jr., better known by his stage names N.O.R.E. and Noreaga, is an American rapper and broadcaster. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Santiago first rose to prominence as one half of the East Coast hip hop duo Capone-N-Noreaga (C-N-N), which he formed in 1995 with fellow Queens-based rapper Capone. The duo released five studio albums, briefly disbanding after their second to pursue solo careers.
Christopher C. Rouleau, known professionally by his pseudonym Blaze Ya Dead Homie or simply Blaze, is an American rapper from Mount Clemens, Michigan. A representative of the hip hop music subgenres gangsta rap and horrorcore, his stage persona is a resurrected gang member who had been killed in the late 1980s.
The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine and D-Roc. Despite the name, the duo are not twins, brothers or related in any way.
Robert Manuel Clivillés is an American record producer, songwriter, arranger, and music video director most noted for his work with C+C Music Factory, a group he founded with musical partner David Cole. He is of Puerto Rican ancestry.
MVP was a hip hop act from New York. The line-up of the group featured an R&B singer from The Bronx, Vice Verse ; MC Stagga Lee ; and Robert Clivillés.
Unfinished Business is the second and final collaboration album between American rapper Jay-Z and American singer R. Kelly. The album was released worldwide on October 26, 2004. It was distributed in the United States and Canada by Jive Records and Island Def Jam Music Group, by the Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) and its subsidiary Jive Records, except in Canada and the United States of America where Island Def Jam Music Group and its labels Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records replaced BMG. The album was composed of unreleased tracks from the recording sessions of 2002's The Best of Both Worlds, although slight additions were made.
The Lox is an American hip hop group from Yonkers, New York, formed in 1994. The group is composed of East Coast rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss. They had originally signed to Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records in 1996, before joining Ruff Ryders in 1999, and have since launched their own label, D-Block.
"Roc Ya Body " is the debut single of American hip hop group MVP featuring rapper Stagga Lee. Released in the United States in August 2003, it reached number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first song issued on Casablanca Records to appear on the Hot 100 since Animotion's "I Want You" in 1986. In 2005, the song was released worldwide, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart, number six on the Irish Singles Chart, and number 15 on the Dutch Single Top 100. The group released a follow-up single called "Bounce, Shake, Move, Stop!" in the United Kingdom the following year.
Redhead Kingpin and the F.B.I. was an American hip hop/new jack swing group best known for its debut single and highest-charting song, "Do the Right Thing" from its album A Shade of Red, which peaked at No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart in 1989. The song was featured on the soundtrack of Wes Craven's horror film The People Under the Stairs.
Outkast was an American hip hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of rappers Big Boi and André 3000. Widely regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time, the duo achieved both critical and commercial success from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, helping to popularize Southern hip hop with their intricate lyricism, memorable melodies, and positive themes, while experimenting with a diverse range of genres such as funk, psychedelia, jazz, and techno.
Troy Donald Jamerson, better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.
Bryan Kareen Jones, better known by his stage name The R.O.C., is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is a founding member of the group House of Krazees, which was originally active from 1992 until 1997, when Hektic (Monoxide) and Mr. Bones left to form Twiztid, who were subsequently signed to Psychopathic Records.
Dani Stevenson is an American contemporary R&B singer. She is best known for her background vocals on Nelly's single "Hot in Herre" and her own singles "Honk Your Horn" and "Yo, Yo, Yo", which was featured in the film XXX starring Vin Diesel.
"Move Ya Hips" is a song by American rapper ASAP Ferg featuring Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj and fellow American rapper MadeinTYO. Written alongside producer Frankie P, it was released on July 30, 2020, as the lead single from the former's third mixtape Floor Seats II. The song sees Ferg and Minaj trading verses about their rich lifestyles, while MadeinTYO delivers the chorus over a "bouncy" drum beat.
