Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, better known by his stage name Nas, is an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Jones began his musical career in 1989 as he adopted the moniker of "Nasty Nas" and recorded demos for Large Professor. He was later featured on the 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque" by Main Source.
Corey Woods, better known by his stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang , in 1993. Raekwon would subsequently pursue a solo career, releasing his first solo album, entitled Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., in 1995. The album received critical acclaim, and is regarded by many critics as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, as well as a staple of 1990s rap.
Keith Edward Elam, better known by his stage name Guru, was an American rapper, record producer and actor. He was a member of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
Melissa Arnette Elliott, also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the early-mid 1990s and later became a member of the Swing Mob collective along with childhood friend and longtime collaborator Timbaland, with whom she worked on projects for American R&B acts Aaliyah, 702, Total, and SWV. Following several collaborations and guest appearances, she launched her solo career in 1997 with her debut album Supa Dupa Fly, which spawned the top 20 single "Sock It 2 Me". The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, the highest charting debut for a female rapper at the time.
Marcel Theo Hall, known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper and singer. Markie's 1989 single "Just a Friend", became a Top 40 hit in several countries and was named No. 100 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs of all time in 2008. Markie was sometimes referred to as the "Clown Prince of Hip Hop".
Daniel Dumile, best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom, was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and "supervillain" stage persona, Dumile became a major figure of underground hip hop and alternative hip hop in the 2000s. After his death, Variety described him as one of the scene's "most celebrated, unpredictable and enigmatic figures".
UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop, is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/Hip-Hop. British hip hop can also be referred to as Brit-hop, a term coined and popularised mainly by British Vogue magazine and the BBC. British hip hop was originally influenced by the dub/toasting introduced to the United Kingdom by Jamaican migrants in the 1950s–70s, who eventually developed uniquely influenced rapping in order to match the rhythm of the ever-increasing pace and aggression of Jamaican-influenced dub in the UK. Toasting and soundsystem cultures were also influential in genres outside of hip hop that still included rapping – such as grime, jungle, and UK garage.
Joseph Anthony Budden II is an American media personality and retired rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single "Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In 2018, he retired from rap, and found success as a broadcaster, having a much publicized run as a co-host on Everyday Struggle for Complex. He currently hosts The Joe Budden Podcast, released twice a week on Patreon and YouTube, and State of the Culture on Revolt. He has been described as "the Howard Stern of hip-hop".
Jay-Z: Unplugged is rapper Jay-Z's 2001 live album that contains some of his past songs with live instruments performed by the hip-hop band the Roots. The album, which sold more than 600,000 copies, was recorded during the taping of an MTV Unplugged 2.0 episode on November 18, 2001.
Ghetto Fabolous is the debut studio album by American rapper Fabolous. The album was released on September 11, 2001 through Desert Storm Records and Elektra Records. The production on the album was handled by DJ Clue, The Neptunes, Rockwilder, Timbaland, Rick Rock and Just Blaze, among others.
Tarantula is the fifth studio album by New Orleans-based rapper Mystikal, released on December 18, 2001 by Jive Records. The production was done by Rockwilder, Scott Storch, The Medicine Men and The Neptunes, and features artists like Juvenile, Butch Cassidy and Method Man & Redman.
Christopher Scott Greenwood, known by his stage name Manafest, is a Canadian Christian rapper and rock artist from Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He has won multiple awards for the GMA Canada Covenant Awards, GMA Dove Awards, and has been nominated for multiple Juno Awards. Signed for a decade with BEC Recordings, Manafest became independent in 2015.
Hip hop or hip-hop, also known as rap and formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that was originated in the Bronx borough of New York City in the early 1970s by African Americans, having existed for several years prior to mainstream discovery. Hip hop originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre, while consisting of stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. According to the professor Asante of African American studies at Temple University, "hip hop is something that blacks can unequivocally claim as their own". It was developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti art. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, and rhythmic beatboxing. While often used to refer solely to rapping, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of hip hop culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.
Cats & Dogs is the second studio album by American rapper Evidence, released on September 27, 2011. It was his first release since signing with the Minneapolis-based label Rhymesayers. The album won the 2011 HHUG Best Album of the Year award.
Typical Cats is an American underground hip hop group from Chicago, Illinois. The group consists of MCs Denizen Kane, Qwazaar and Qwel, and producers / DJs Kid Knish and DJ Natural. They have released three albums to date. Their song "Any Day" from their self-titled debut was featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Project 8.
Dennis Kim, better known by his stage name Denizen Kane, is an underground rapper and spoken word artist. Denizen Kane is co-founder of the underground rap crew Typical Cats, with fellow MCs Qwazaar and Qwel, and producers / DJs Kid Knish and DJ Natural. He is also a founding member of Asian-American spoken word group I Was Born with Two Tongues.
Marty Brown, better known by his stage name Qwazaar, is an American underground hip hop artist from Chicago, Illinois. Qwazaar is co-founder of the underground rap crew Typical Cats, with fellow MCs Denizen Kane and Qwel, and producers / DJs Kid Knish and DJ Natural. He is also a member of the group Outerlimitz, with rapper Hellsent and producer Silence. Qwazaar also collaborates with Silence under the name Dirty Digital, and has released several collaborative records with Florida-born, Berlin-based producer Batsauce.
3 is the third studio album by underground hip-hop group Typical Cats. It was released on September 25, 2012, on Galapagos4.
? is the second studio album by American rapper and singer XXXTentacion and his last studio album to be released before his murder. It was released on March 16, 2018, by Bad Vibes Forever, Caroline Distribution, and Capitol Music Group. It succeeds the release of his debut studio album 17 (2017) and the extended play A Ghetto Christmas Carol (2017). The album was primarily produced by frequent collaborator John Cunningham, and includes guest appearances from PnB Rock, Travis Barker, Joey Badass, Matt Ox, Rio Santana, Judah, and Carlos Andrez.
Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, known professionally as Doja Cat, is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song "So High" caught the attention of Kemosabe and RCA Records, with which she signed a joint record deal before releasing her debut EP Purrr! in 2014.
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