Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., better known by the stage names T.I. and Tip, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Harris is known as one of the pioneers of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers Jeezy and Gucci Mane. Harris first became aquainted with local music executive Kawan "KP" Prather, and joined his company Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment by the late 1990s. He was led to sign his first major-label record deal in 1999 with its parent company LaFace Records, an imprint of Arista Records. His debut studio album, I'm Serious (2001) was met with lukewarm commercial reception and became his only release with the label. He then signed with Atlantic Records, where he soon reached his mainstream breakthrough and co-founded his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records by 2003.
Christopher Noel Dorsey, better known by his stage name B.G., is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his musical career in 1993 upon signing with Birdman's Cash Money Records at the age of 12. Dorsey and label-mates Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Turk collectively formed the group Hot Boys in 1997, with whom he has released three commercially successful albums. As a solo act, Dorsey has released five solo albums for Cash Money—Chopper City (1996), It's All on U, Vol. 1 (1997), It's All on U, Vol. 2 (1997), the platinum-certified Chopper City in the Ghetto (1999) and Checkmate (2000). He parted ways with the label in 2001 and to form Chopper City Records that same year.
Percy Carey, also known by the stage names MF Grimm, Grimm Reaper, GM Grimm and originally Build and Destroy, is an American underground rapper, music producer, CEO, and Eisner Award-nominated comic book writer from New York City. Grimm has released five solo albums, five collaborative albums and two compilation albums.
Grand Hustle Records, also known as Hustle Gang Music, is an American hip hop record label, founded in 2003, by American rapper T.I. and his manager Jason Geter. The label was distributed by Atlantic Records until December 2012, and has since operated as an independent record label. Its roster has included acts such as 8Ball & MJG, B.o.B, Killer Mike, Young Dro, DJ Drama, Meek Mill, Chip, Travis Scott, and Trae tha Truth, the latter of whom also served as the label's vice president. The label also houses a roster of record producers, which has included Lil' C, Mars and Nard & B.
The Black Mafia Family (BMF) is a drug trafficking and money laundering organization in the United States. It was founded in 1985, in Southwest Detroit by brothers Demetrius Edward "Big Meech" Flenory and Terry Lee "Southwest Tee" Flenory. By 2000 it had established cocaine distribution sales throughout the United States through its Los Angeles-based drug source and direct links to Mexican drug cartels. The Black Mafia Family operated from two main hubs: one in Atlanta for distribution run by Demetrius Flenory and one in Los Angeles to handle incoming shipments from Mexico run by Terry Flenory.
The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in American inner city neighborhoods, a resulting backlash in the form of tough on crime policies, and a massive spike in incarceration rates.
Frank Lucas was an American drug lord who operated in Harlem, New York City, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia. Lucas boasted that he smuggled heroin using the coffins of dead American servicemen, as depicted in the feature film American Gangster (2007), which fictionalized aspects of his life. This claim was denied by his Southeast Asian associate Leslie "Ike" Atkinson.
Griselda Blanco Restrepo was a Colombian drug lord who was prominent in the cocaine-based drug trade and underworld of Miami, during the 1970s through the early 2000s, and who has also been claimed by some to have been part of the Medellín Cartel. She was shot dead in Medellín on September 3, 2012 at age of 69.
Kathryn Johnston was an elderly woman from Atlanta, Georgia who was killed by undercover police officers in her home on Neal Street in northwest Atlanta on November 21, 2006, where she had lived for 17 years. Three officers had entered her home in what was later described as a 'botched' drug raid. Officers cut off burglar bars and broke down her door using a no-knock warrant. Police said Johnston fired at them and they fired in response; she fired one shot out the door over the officers' heads and they fired 39 shots, five or six of which hit her. None of the officers were injured by her gunfire, but Johnston was killed by the officers. Police injuries were later attributed to friendly fire from each other's weapons.
Street Fame is the third solo studio album by American rapper Twisted Black. It was released on March 6, 2007 via Scarred 4 Life Entertainment and TVT Records. Recording sessions took place at 3R Studios in Arlington and N'Zone Studios in Atlanta. Production was handled by Nick Magallanes, Tim Hunt, Brian Allen, Ernie G., Cleo Butler, Daryl Marshall, Daryl Ray Law, DJ Toomp and Erotic D., with Steve Gottlieb and James Eichelberger serving as executive producers. It features guest appearances from Butta, Chyna Whyte, Daryl Marshall, Gold Finger, Hogg, Keese, Kylo, Mike Dollars, Sielio, Syi, Thump and Yo Gotti.
One Gud Cide was an American hip-hop duo based out of Fort Worth, Texas. Formed in 1991 by Twisted Black and Shawn Jackson the group is revered among many modern rappers for their pioneering approach to portraying urban violence through hip hop. In 2006 Twisted Black was sentenced to 30 years in jail for a fourth offense cocaine conspiracy charge.
Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85 (2007), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court confirmed that federal district judges utilize, in an advisory fashion, Federal Sentencing Guidelines, in cases involving conduct related to possession, distribution, and manufacture of crack cocaine.
Sean Merrett, better known by his stage name Big Kuntry King, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He is perhaps best known as a member of Southern hip hop group Pimp $quad Click, along with longtime friend and fellow Atlanta-based rapper T.I. After signing to T.I.'s Grand Hustle imprint, Big Kuntry King secured a recording contract with Atlantic Records. His debut studio album, My Turn to Eat, was released September 30, 2008.
Charly Wingate, better known by his stage name Max B, is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his solo Public Domain and Million Dollar Baby series of mixtapes, and introducing the term "wavy" as a slang in popular lexicon.
The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 was an Act of Congress that was signed into federal law by United States President Barack Obama on August 3, 2010, that reduces the disparity between the amount of crack cocaine and powder cocaine needed to trigger certain federal criminal penalties from a 100:1 weight ratio to an 18:1 weight ratio and eliminated the five-year mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine, among other provisions. Similar bills were introduced in several U.S. Congresses before its passage in 2010, and courts had also acted to reduce the sentencing disparity prior to the bill's passage.
Jerreley Zanian John Slijger, known by his stage name Kempi, is a Dutch rapper.
James Rosemond, often known as Jimmy Henchman or sometimes Jimmy Henchmen, is an American former entertainment record executive and convicted criminal.
Abdul Ibrahim West, better known by his stage name AR-AB, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a member of OBH, the label and rap group he co-founded with fellow rapper Dark Lo. Complex named him one of "15 Unsigned Rappers Who Should Get a Deal After SXSW" in March 2013, the same year he turned himself in to authorities following legal trouble. OBH members have included: Dark Lo, Lik Moss, Shamoney "Da Wolf", p90 smooth, Breeze Begets, Pretty Flock, Skinny me, Newz, Lord Grimey, Kylledge, Kallie Ziltz, NoBrakes Bras, Young Mir, Wiz Lo & others.
Maurice Samuel Young, better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is an American rapper from the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida. He is best known for his 2003 single "Let's Go", which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. The album of which it preceded, Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets (2004) peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart; both of which remain his most successful releases to date.
Jeremie Damon Pennick, known professionally as Benny the Butcher, or simply Benny, is an American rapper and songwriter. He came to prominence in 2018 following the release of his debut album, Tana Talk 3. Along with his cousins and fellow rappers Westside Gunn and Conway The Machine, with which he forms the collective Griselda, he is known for his '90s inspired rap songs and is often credited with leading a revival of so called 'grimy' and 'gritty' hip hop music, influenced by mafioso and drug dealing themes.
