Warren Griffin III is an American rapper, record producer, and DJ who helped popularize West Coast hip hop during the 1990s. A pioneer of G-funk, he attained mainstream success with his 1994 single "Regulate". He is credited with discovering Snoop Dogg, having introduced the then-unknown rapper to record producer Dr. Dre.
Richard Martin Lloyd Walters, better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence as part of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs "The Show" and "La Di Da Di" are considered early hip hop classics. "La Di Da Di" is one of the most sampled songs in history.
Russell Wendell Simmons is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has promoted veganism and a yoga lifestyle, and published books on lifestyle, health, and entrepreneurship. Simmons' net worth was estimated at $340 million in 2011.
Kirk Jones, better known by his stage name Sticky Fingaz, is an American rapper, record producer and actor best known as a member of multi-platinum hardcore rap group Onyx.
Fear of a Black Hat is a 1993 American mockumentary film on the evolution and state of American hip hop music. Written and directed by Rusty Cundieff in his directorial debut, the film stars Cundieff, Larry B. Scott and Mark Christopher Lawrence. Fear of a Black Hat is similar in format to the satirical film about early 1980s heavy metal, This is Spinal Tap. It is told from the point of view of a graduate student who is documenting the hip hop group N.W.H. for a year as part of her thesis.
David Anthony Love Jr. is an American DJ and rapper.
Krush Groove is a 1985 American musical comedy-drama film distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures that was written by Ralph Farquhar and directed by Michael Schultz. This film is loosely based on the early days of Def Jam Recordings and up-and-coming record producer Russell Simmons, portrayed by Blair Underwood in his feature film debut. Simmons was the film's co-producer and story consultant; he also had a cameo in the film as a club owner named Crocket.
Brown Sugar is a 2002 American romantic comedy film written by Michael Elliott and Rick Famuyiwa, directed by Famuyiwa, and starring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan. The film is a story of lifelong friends, A&R Andre and Editor-in-Chief Sidney. The two can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to a single, seminal childhood moment – the day they discovered hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, as they lay down the tracks toward their futures, hip-hop isn't the only thing that keeps them coming back to that moment on the corner.
Dave Chappelle's Block Party, also known as Block Party, is a 2005 American documentary film hosted and written by comedian Dave Chappelle, and directed by Michel Gondry.
"Regulate" is a song performed by American rapper Warren G featuring American singer Nate Dogg. It was released in the spring of 1994 as the first single on the soundtrack to the film Above the Rim and later Warren G's debut album, Regulate... G Funk Era (1994). It became an MTV staple and the song reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. "Regulate" was number 98 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and number 108 on Pitchfork Media's "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s".
Terrence Ronnie Keaton known by the stage name T La Rock, is an American old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 single "It's Yours."
Steven Harold Carr is an American film director, music video director, and film producer from Brooklyn, New York. After studying fine arts on a full scholarship to Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts, Carr founded design firm The Drawing Board with Cey Adam to create iconic album artwork for Def Jam Recordings artists such as Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J and more. Asked to take his vision to film, Carr created groundbreaking videos for influential hip-hop artists from Slick Rick to Jay-Z, and was signed to Quentin Tarantino's A Band Apart Music Video production company in Los Angeles, CA.
Backstage is a 2000 American documentary film directed by Chris Fiore, chronicling the 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour that featured several of hip hops top acts including Jay-Z, DMX, Method Man and Redman. Produced by Damon Dash, Backstage featured live performances by several members of Def Jam's roster and gave an in-depth look at what happened backstage. Originally scheduled for a Fall 1999 release, the film was ultimately released on September 8, 2000.
Tougher Than Leather is an American film released in 1988 and distributed by New Line Cinema. The film was directed by Rick Rubin and stars the hip-hop superstars Run–D.M.C. They created the film to coincide with the release of their fourth studio album that was also titled Tougher Than Leather.
"Slam" is a song by American hip hop group Onyx. It was released on May 11, 1993 by JMJ Records and Rush Associated Labels as the second single from Onyx's debut album, Bacdafucup. The song introduced slamdancing into hip-hop.
Darren Robinson, also known as Big Buff, Buff Love, Buffy, The Human Beat Box, The Ox That Rocks, and DJ Doctor Nice, was a rapper, beatboxer, and actor who was a member of the 1980s hip hop group The Fat Boys. He, along with Doug E. Fresh and others, were pioneers of beatboxing, a form of vocal percussion used in many rap groups throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
"Sucker M.C.'s" is a song by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C. It was first released in 1983 as B-side to "It's Like That". The two-sided release marked the start of Run-D.M.C.'s career as their first single, and it is widely regarded as ushering in a new school of hip hop artists with a street image and an abrasive, minimalist sound that marked them out from their predecessors. Both tracks were collected on the trio's self-titled debut album in 1984. WBAU was the first station to play the two songs.
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap is a 2012 American documentary film directed and executive produced by Ice-T and co-directed by Andy Baybutt. It focuses on the craft of writing and performing rap verses, and all the interviewees are musicians of the genre and friends of Ice-T. Producer Paul Toogood states on the DVD release that the genesis of the project stemmed from a conversation he had with Ice-T in which he asked him how he wrote "seminal tracks" such as "6 in the Mornin'" and "Colors".
Cey Adams is an American visual artist, graphic designer and author. He was the founding creative director of Def Jam Recordings and is known for his work with Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, and Mary J. Blige. He has been described as "legendary" for his work in hip-hop graphic design.
Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, formed 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 especially one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Public Enemy, the group pioneered new-school hip hop music and helped usher in the golden age of hip hop. The group was among the first to highlight the importance of the MC and DJ relationship.
