Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California, formed in 1988. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and they have obtained multi-platinum and platinum certifications. The group has been critically acclaimed for their first five albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast hip hop and 1990s hip hop. All of the group members advocate for medical and recreational use of cannabis in the United States. In 2019, Cypress Hill became the first hip hop group to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Anthony L. Ray, better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot or his CB handle Prime Minista, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 1992 hit song "Baby Got Back", which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lana Michele Moorer, better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, disc jockey, and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a full solo album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. The album spawned the singles "10% Dis" and "Paper Thin". In 1989, she joined the supergroup Stop the Violence Movement, and appeared on the single "Self Destruction", which was the inaugural number-one single on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.
Fugees are an American hip hop trio formed in 1990 in South Orange, New Jersey. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to prominence in the mid-1990s for their pioneering blend of reggae, R&B, funk and hip hop, which eschewed gangsta rap and made them one of the most significant alternative hip hop acts. They occasionally rapped in Haitian Creole, and were one of the first hip hop bands to incorporate live instrumentation during their performances, along with The Roots.
West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and others.
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 and then J Dilla. 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.
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".
New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, new jack swing was most popular from the late 1980s to early 1990s.
Anthony Cruz, better known by his stage name AZ, is an American rapper known for being a longtime and frequent music partner of East Coast rapper Nas and also a member of hip hop group The Firm alongside Nas, Foxy Brown, Cormega and Nature. Online magazine About.com listed AZ as the "Most Underrated [Rapper] of All Time". AZ also made it onto the sites' "Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007)", where he was reiterated as "arguably the most underrated lyricist ever."
Anquette is an American contemporary R&B group from Miami, Florida, U.S. They debuted with their answer version of the 2 Live Crew's "Throw the D", titled "Throw the P" (1986). Anquette's debut LP Respect (1988) featured a version of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" as well as "I Will Always Be There for You", which peaked at #76 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart in 1989) and a rap track titled "Janet Reno". Anquette came back in 1997 with the tune "My Baby Mama," an answer rap to B-Rock and the Bizz's "My Baby Daddy".
In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 is the second studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 4, 1997, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart and was certified Platinum by the RIAA, selling over 138,000 copies in its first week of release. In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 also served as Jay-Z's first album release following the sudden death of fellow Brooklyn rapper and collaborator The Notorious B.I.G. in March 1997.
"Stay Fly" is the first single from hip hop group Three 6 Mafia's 2005 album Most Known Unknown. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 to become the group's biggest hit. The track, which samples "Tell Me Why Has Our Love Turned Cold" by Willie Hutch, features fellow Memphis rap duo 8Ball & MJG and Young Buck, a member of G-Unit. The single helped propel Most Known Unknown to RIAA platinum status. The single itself achieved 2x multi-platinum RIAA certification status on December 11, 2006.
"It's All About the Benjamins" is a song by American rapper and producer Puff Daddy. It was released as the third single from his debut studio album No Way Out. "Benjamins" is a slang word for money, referring to Benjamin Franklin's image on the US $100 bill. The song featured an uncredited vocal arrangement by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, and featured a signature guitar hook played by Marc Solomon.
"Hypnotize" is a single by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. featuring vocals by Pamela Long, released as the first single from his album Life After Death on March 4, 1997. The last song released before his death in a drive-by shooting a week later, it was the fifth song by a credited artist to hit number one posthumously, and the first since "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon in 1980. Rolling Stone ranked the song as number 30 on their list of the "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time".
The discography of American rapper Sean Combs consists of five studio albums, two collaborative albums, one remix album and seventy-two singles – including thirty-three as a lead artist and thirty-nine as a featured artist.
CB4 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the official soundtrack to the 1993 comedy film of the same name. It was released on March 2, 1993, through MCA Records. The album has peaked at #41 on the Billboard 200 and #13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album is composed of twelve R&B and hip hop tracks from various artists and producers. It spawned a Blackstreet-performed single "Baby Be Mine", which peaked at #17 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Three songs on the album were credited to the fictional CB4 group from the movie, the trio consisted of Chris Rock and rappers Daddy-O & Hi-C.
"Been Around the World" is a song by American rapper Puff Daddy, featuring the Notorious B.I.G. and Mase and included on Puff Daddy's debut studio album No Way Out (1997). The song samples David Bowie's 1983 hit song "Let's Dance", and contains an interpolation of Lisa Stansfield's song "All Around the World", sung by the Notorious B.I.G. in the chorus. In the album version, the song concludes with a skit featuring an interview with "The Mad Producer".
"My Baby Daddy" is a single by B-Rock and the Bizz from their debut album Porkin' Beans & Wienes. The song used a sample of "Best of My Love" by The Emotions.
"Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" is the debut single by rapper Puff Daddy. It appears on Puff Daddy's debut studio album No Way Out and it was released as his first single in 1997. The single was released through BMG Music, Arista Records and Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records.
Johnathan Jamall Porter, known professionally as Blueface, is an American rapper. In October 2018, after releasing the music video for his song "Respect My Cryppin'", he became a viral meme due to his offbeat style of rapping. The following month, he was signed to Cash Money West, the West Coast branch of Birdman's Cash Money Records label.
