Tsidi Ibrahim, known professionally as Jean Grae, is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York City. She rose in the underground hip hop scene in New York City and has built an international fanbase. Her unique music and lyrical style have earned her recognition as a favorite emcee by many rap artists such as Talib Kweli, Jay-Z, and Black Thought of the Roots.
Raheem Jarbo, also known by his stage names Mega Ran and Random, is an American underground nerdcore rapper, chiptune DJ, and record producer. In February 2015, he changed his stage name to Mega Ran, removing Random from any releases.
Promise Jason Jamal Shepherd, professionally known as Promise, is a Canadian rapper from Toronto. He is also 1/2 of Hip-Hop supergroup Perfeck Strangers, based in Scarborough, Ontario. Promise has collaborated with Jhené Aiko, Montell Jordan, LeCrae, No Malice, MC Jin, J. Ivy, Marco Polo, eLZhi of Slum Village, Royce Da 5'9" of Slaughterhouse, Rhymefest, and Ton3x. He has also collaborated heavily with fellow Toronto native Drake, whom he met on the set of Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Ahmad Balshe, known professionally as Belly, is a Palestinian-Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Jenin in the Palestinian West Bank, Balshe was raised in Ottawa. At twenty-one years old, he moved on to his main love hip-hop with the release of his debut mixtape, Death Before Dishonor: Vol. 1. He then released eight additional projects in a span of six years, including his debut studio album The Revolution (2007), as well as two collaborative mixtapes, The Lost Tapes and The Greatest Dream I Never Had, with Kurupt and DJ Drama, respectively.
The discography of Jim Jones, an American hip hop recording artist, consists of seven studio albums, three collaborative albums, two compilation albums, two extended plays (EPs), nineteen mixtapes and 45 singles. Jones is perhaps best known for being a member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats, with whom he recorded several mixtapes with before releasing their debut album Diplomatic Immunity, in 2003. In August 2004, Jones released his solo debut album On My Way to Church, under Diplomat Records and E1 Music. The album was preceded by the release of the singles "Certified Gangstas" and "Crunk Muzik", the latter of which features his Dipset-cohorts Juelz Santana and Cam'ron, and also supported the release of Dipset's second album Diplomatic Immunity 2 (2004).
Sean Jordan, better known by his stage name Wordburglar, is a Canadian alternative hip hop artist from Halifax, Nova Scotia, now based in Toronto. His style is best described as upbeat and charismatic with an emphasis on wordplay and humour. He primarily works with his crews Backburner and Props Dept for all aspects of his music creation, including production, cuts, mixing, mastering and guest vocals.
Clifford Peacock, better known by his stage name Quan or Don Ferquan, is an American rapper, affiliated with Nas and Ill Will Records. In 2008, he signed with Just Blaze label Fort Knocks as a joint venture with Ill Will. He is currently signed to Amalgam Digital, who distributed his album Walking Testimony in 2009.
"Go Hard" is the second single from DJ Khaled's third studio album, We Global. The hip-hop track features American rapper Kanye West and American singer T-Pain and their trademark auto-tune effect. The song is produced by The Runners and it samples Madonna's 1985 song "Angel". It first charted on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip Hop chart on December 4, 2008, debuting at number 25, where it peaked at number 15, and charted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs debuting at number 85 and then rising to number 53. It also debuted at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 the same week the album We Global was released due to digital downloads, also at number 19 on the Hot Rap Tracks.
Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer from Decatur, Georgia. In 2006, B.o.B was discovered by Brian Richardson, who then introduced him to TJ Chapman, who subsequently brought him to American record producer Jim Jonsin. After hearing his music, Jonsin signed B.o.B to his Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint. Two years later, Jonsin and B.o.B signed a joint venture deal, with Atlantic Records and American rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records.
Keith Grayson, professionally known as DJ Kay Slay, is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record executive from New York City. He is referred to by The New York Times as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He has released four studio albums, The Streetsweeper, Vol. 1, The Streetsweeper, Vol. 2, The Champions: North Meets South and More Than Just a DJ.
Rob Bakker, better known by his stage name Muneshine, is a Canadian recording artist, record producer, DJ and mix engineer and performer. Since 2005, Muneshine has released three major label projects in Japan, and contributed production and vocal appearances on more. His sales in this territory exceed 40,000 units His first release debuted on HMV Japan's hip hop charts at No. 8. Since then, Muneshine has collaborated with a number of popular American hip hop musicians, including Pete Rock, Sean Price, DJ Spinna, Buckwild, Guilty Simpson, and Rob Swift.
Timothy Wallace, better known by his stage name Timbuktu, is a Canadian underground hip hop artist and member of the Backburner crew. He is a former member of the group Toolshed, and a member of the groups Wolves, Swamp Thing and My Giants. He also makes up one half of the duos Teenburger and Sequestrians.
Lonnie Alphonso Kimble, better known by his stage name Skeme, is an American rapper from Inglewood, California. Skeme has collaborated with various West Coast rappers such as the group Black Hippy, Bizzy Bone, The Game, Dom Kennedy, Nipsey Hussle, E-40, Casey Veggies and Problem among others. In 2012, Skeme released his debut studio album Alive & Living under RBC Records. His second studio album Ingleworld was released in 2013 by MADE Headlines.
Jason DeFord, known professionally by his stage name Jelly Roll, is an American rapper known for his collaborations with Lil Wyte, Struggle Jennings, Tech N9ne, Merkules, and Ryan Upchurch.
JD Era is a Canadian rapper and lyricist. He has worked with artists such as Nas, Gza, Kardinal Offishall, The Clipse, and has also cut several tracks with longtime friend Drake. In 2008 he won Best Rap at the Toronto Independent Music Awards, and also won the TAG Records’ Survival of The Freshest competition. He has also released a number of mixtapes and singles, and in the Juno Awards of 2013 his album No Handouts was nominated for Rap Recording of the Year.
Chokeules, otherwise known as Choke, is a Canadian underground hip hop artist and member of the Backburner crew. His real name is Justin Lepine. He is a former member of the group Toolshed , and a member of the group Swamp Thing . He also makes up one half of the duo Sequestrians. He is a vegan.
William Perry Moore known professionally as DJ Esco, is an American DJ, record producer, and record executive.
Haviah Mighty is a Canadian rapper from Toronto, Ontario. She rose to prominence in 2016 as a member of the hip hop group The Sorority, before releasing several EPs on her own, most notably Flower City, in 2017. Her first album, 13th Floor, was released in 2019, and won the 2019 Polaris Music Prize.
Dimarjio Antonio Jenkins, better known by his stage name Houdini, was a Canadian rapper from Toronto, Ontario. He first gained recognition from his certified gold single "Late Nights" which contained vocal features from Burna Bandz and was released in 2017. This was followed by the singles "Myself" and "Backseat". He was also known for his frequent collaborations with fellow rappers Pressa, Robin Banks and NorthSideBenji, which includes the latter's certified gold single "Levels" which saw a feature from Houdini. He released his debut mixtape Hou I Am on February 13, 2019. His sophomore mixtape Hou Woulda Thought followed on August 2, 2019. His debut EP underGROUND was released on March 18, 2020. This would be his last release during his lifetime as he was shot and killed on May 26, 2020.
Lorenzo Lee-Jae Wright, better known by his stage name Big Lean, is a Canadian rapper and songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Lean began making music in 2008, two years after his friend and rapper Blits was shot dead as he felt that he should carry on his friends legacy. He gained attention in 2011 being featured on the single "Reality" by DJ Charlie Brown released alongside other Toronto artists P. Reign, Belly and Jahvon. He is independently signed to the label Da Degrees.
