- The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 - March 9, 1997), popularly known as Biggie Smalls (after a gangster in the 1975 film "Let's Do It Again"), Big Poppa, Frank White (from the film "King of New York"), and his primary stage name, The Notorious B.I.G. (Business Instead of Game), was an American rapper and hip hop artist. - 50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6 1975) is an American rapper commonly known by his stage name 50 Cent. He rose to fame following the release of his albums "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" and "The Massacre". 50 Cent achieved multi-platinum success with both albums, selling over twenty million records worldwide. Born in South Jamaica, Queens in New York, 50 Cent began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s' crack epidemic. - Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4 1968), better known as Jay-Z, is an American rapper and current president and CEO of Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella Records. In addition, he co-owns The 40/40 Club, and is co-owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team. He is one of the most financially successful American hip-hop artists. Known for his flow and blending of street and popular rap, Jay-Z has become one of the best-selling rappers in the hip hop industry. - Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr (born September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA), better known as Lil' Wayne, is an American, Grammy-nominated rapper, Songwriter, and is known as the president of the New Orleans-based label Cash Money Records and the CEO of Young Money Entertainment. - Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr. (born on May 20 1972), better known as Busta Rhymes, is an American hip hop musician and actor of Jamaican descent. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the name Busta Rhymes (from former NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes) after watching him perform. He is also a follower of the Nation of Islam offshoot, The Nation of Gods and Earths. - Lil' Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974 in Brooklyn, New York), better known by her stage name Lil' Kim or her nickname Queen Bee, is a Grammy Award winning rap artist. Kim rose to fame in the mid 1990s and has become one of the two best selling female rappers of all time (along with Missy Elliott). - Dr. Dre
André Romell Young, better known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, actor and record executive. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records. Young is a significant figure in the development of rap music. He was a founding member of the influential rap group N.W.A., … - Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., better known professionally as Snoop Dogg and previously Snoop Doggy Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as an MC in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of producer Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. His catch phrase is widely known as "fo' shizzle, ma nizzle", meaning, "for sure, my nigga". - Kid Rock
Robert James Ritchie (born January 17 1971), best known as Kid Rock, is an American rapper, singer and rock musician most notable for his albums "Devil Without a Cause" and "Cocky" and his hit singles "Bawitdaba" and "Picture." His backup band is known as Twisted Brown Trucker. Together, they fuse rap, hard rock, southern rock, country and blues. - Ll Cool J
James Todd Smith III (born January 14, 1968), better known as LL Cool J, is an American hip hop artist and actor. He is best known for romantic ballads like "I Need Love" as well as pioneering pop rap like "I Can't Live Without My Radio", "I'm Bad", "Boomin' System", and "Mama Said Knock You Out" "4, 3, 2, 1". He has also appeared in several films. - Vanilla Ice
Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1968), better known as Vanilla Ice, is a Grammy Award nominated, American Music Award winning American rapper and actor known mostly for the 1990 single "Ice Ice Baby." He found major mainstream success, selling twenty million records worldwide. However, his success lasted only about one year, and his rapid fall from popularity remains one of the most notorious in recent decades, … - Mc Hammer
MC Hammer (born Stanley Kirk Burrell on March 30, 1962) is an American MC who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s, known for his dramatic rise to and fall from fame and fortune, his trademark Hammer pants, and for leaving a lasting influence on hip hop culture and music. He became a preacher in the 1990s and now has his own television program. He lives in Tracy, California with his wife Stephanie and six children, 3 boys and 3 girls. - Ice T
Tracy Marrow (born February 16, 1958), better known by stage name Ice-T, is an American rapper, rock musician, author, and actor. He was instrumental in creating gangsta rap and rapcore. Much of his music is politically oriented, like that of Public Enemy, although this has declined with time. Since 2000, he has played the role of Det. Fin Tutuola on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". As of 2007, Marrow resides in North Bergen, New Jersey. - Ja Rule
Jeffrey Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper and actor from Hollis, New York. - Method Man
Method Man (born Clifford Smith, April 1, 1971 in Staten Island, New York) is an American rapper, record producer, actor, and member of the hip hop collective, Wu-Tang Clan. He has appeared in films and TV shows such as "CSI, How High, The Wire, Garden State", and "Soul Plane", among others. He took his stage name from the 1979 film "The Fearless Young Boxer", also known as "Method Man". - Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson (born June 15 1969) is an American rapper, actor and film director. He is better known as Ice Cube. Regarded as one of the greatest hip hop artists, he began his career as a founding member of the famously controversial rap group N.W.A., and later launched a successful solo career in music and cinema. In 1992 he married Kim Jackson, with whom he has four children. Later in 1992, he converted to Islam. - Aesop Rock
Aesop Rock (born Ian Matthias Bavitz, 1976) is an American rap artist. He was in the forefront of the new wave of underground acts that emerged during the late 1990s/early 2000s. He is signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label and remains one of the most popular and critically acclaimed independent hip hop artists today. - Lil' Flip
Wesley Eric Weston, Jr. (born March 3, 1981 in Houston, Texas), better known as Lil' Flip, is an American rapper known for his freestyle ability, and for becoming one of the first Houston rap artists to become mainstream and nationally known. Lil' Flip was given the title of "Freestyle King" by the late DJ Screw. He is also a member of the Screwed Up Click. - KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker (born August 20, 1965), known as KRS-One, is an American hip hop MC of Jamaican and Nigerian descent from South Bronx. Over his career he has been known by several pseudonyms, including "Kris Parker," "The Blastmaster," and "The Teacha." KRS-One is a significant figure in the hip hop community, … - Young Buck
David Darnell Brown (born March 15 1981), better known as Young Buck, is an American rapper who is a member of the popular rap group G-Unit. - Foxy Brown
Inga Marchand (born September 6 1979, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York), better known as Foxy Brown, is an American rapper of Afro-Trinidadian and Indo-Trinidadian descent known for her solo work as well as numerous collaborations and a brief stint as part of hip-hop musicgroup The Firm She has released three albums: "Ill Na Na" (1996), "Chyna Doll" (1999), and "Broken Silence" (2001) while also being featured on "Nas, Foxy Brown, … - Master P
Percy Robert Miller (born April 29, 1967 in New Orleans, Louisiana), better known as Master P is an entrepreneur, businessman, marketer, and rap artist. He is the founder and CEO of No Limit Enterprises, an entertainment and financial conglomerate." Fortune" magazine listed Master P as one of the wealthiest men under the age of 40 in North America, with a net worth of $361 million in 1999 - Pimp C
Pimp C was released on Friday, December 30, 2005 from the Terrell Prison Unit in Rosharon, Texas after serving about half of his eight-year sentence. He will be on parole until December of 2009. Pimp C was treated for minor injuries on April 18, 2006, after he was involved in a car accident while leaving the video shoot for his single "Pourin' Up." A Port Arthur Police officer that was escorting the rappers responded to gunfire and pursued the shooters. - Nate Dogg
Nathaniel Dawayne Hale (born August 19 1969), commonly known by stage name Nate Dogg, is an American hip hop artist born in Long Beach, California. He is known for his melodic flow, and is one of the few hip-hop artists who primarily sings his rhymes instead of simply rapping them. He began singing as a child in the New Hope Trinity Baptist Church choir in Clarksdale, Mississippi where his father (Daniel Lee Hale) was pastor. - Biz Markie
Biz Markie (born Marcel Hall April 8, 1964 in Harlem, New York) is an East Coast hip hop rapper and DJ, best known for humorous singles such as "Just a Friend". He has been labeled The Clown Prince of Hip-Hop. - Bubba Sparxxx
Bubba Sparxxx (born Warren Anderson Mathis on March 6, 1977, in LaGrange, Georgia) is a Southern rapper. In addition to the commercial success of his "Ms. New Booty," Sparxxx is most notable for his hit singles "Ugly" and "Deliverance" and for achieving success as a country rapper. A pioneer of country-rap, his most notable hit is "Ms. New Booty" featuring The Ying Yang Twins which peaked at 7 in the United States. - Timbaland
Timothy Z. Mosley (born March 10, 1971), better known as Timbaland, is an American musical composer, R&B record producer and rapper whose style blurs the distinction between R&B, hip-hop, pop and dance music. With partner Magoo, he is a member of hip-hop duo Timbaland & Magoo. Timbaland has been considered similar to producers such as Brian Eno, … - Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), better known by his stage name Chuck D, is an American rapper, composer, actor, author, radio personality and producer. Chuck was born in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York, USA. He helped further 1980s political rap music as the controversial and influential lead rapper of Public Enemy. - Lloyd Banks
Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30 1982 in New Carrollton, Maryland, USA), better known as Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper and member of the popular rap group G-Unit. - Chingo Bling
Chingo Bling is a Mexican American rapper from Houston, Texas. He is known for his gimmick as a Tamale Kingpin, dressed with his notable cowboy boots adorned with the Nike logo. Chingo Bling graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas with a BS in business administration, was a member of the national business fraternity ΑΚΨ, and is CEO and founder of the record label Big Chile Enterprises,LLC. - Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones was an American MC known by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often shortened to ODB). He was one of the founding members of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. Ol' Dirty Bastard simultaneously brought a measure of humor and a touch of the absurd to the Wu-Tang Clan. Often noted for his unusual microphone technique (critic Steve Huey writes of Jones' "outrageously profane, … - Ghostface Killah
Ghostface Killah, also known as Ghost Face Killer, Tony Starks, Ironman, or simply Ghostface, was born Dennis Coles on May 9, 1970 in Staten Island, New York. A rapper, he first rose to fame as a member of the hip hop collective, the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the early-mid 1990s, … - Mannie Fresh
Mannie Fresh (born Byron O. Thomas on March 20, 1974 In New Orleans, Louisiana) is the former in-house producer for the successful New Orleans-based record label Cash Money Records. Among his biggest hit productions are "Back That Azz Up" by Juvenile, "Tha Block is Hot" by Lil' Wayne, and "Bling Bling" by B.G., and most recently T.I.'s "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)." He is seen as one of the pioneers of Bounce music. - Flavor Flav
William Jonathan Drayton Jr., known by the stage name "Flavor Flav" (born March 16, 1959), is an American rap artist and television star and member of the politically conscious hip hop group Public Enemy. After falling out of the public eye in former years, he has recently reappeared as a star of American reality television. He has starred in multiple VH1 programs, most recently the Flavor of Love series. - Stat Quo
Stanley Benton (born July 24, 1979), better known as Stat Quo, is an Atlanta-based African-American rapper signed to Eminem's Shady Records and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. He has been generating mixtape buzz since 2002. He is also a part of Grown Man Music, a record label he founded with LT Moe. Benton attended University of Florida, where he majored in economics, before pursuing a musical career. - Bun B
Bun B (born Bernard Freeman March 19, 1973) is an African American rapper, one half (with Pimp C) of Southern hip hop act UGK from Port Arthur, Texas. He now resides in Houston where he is a member of Rap-A-Lot Records, an underground hip hop record label. He is also co-owner of Trill Entertainment with Pimp C. Bun B is short for Bun Beater, or Big Bun B-Da. With Houston's emergence as a hip hop hotbed in 2005, … - David Banner
David Banner (born Levell Crump in Jackson, Mississippi in c. 1973) is a rapper, occasional actor, hip hop music record producer, record label executive, and philantropist. He takes his name from the lead character of the 1980s CBS television series "The Incredible Hulk". - Fat Pat
Fat Pat (born Patrick Lamont Hawkins, February 21, 1970 - February 3, 1998) was a rapper from Houston, Texas and an original member of DJ Screw's Screwed Up Click. Also known as Mr. Fat Pat and P-A-T, he was most prolific in the mid-1990s alongside his brother Big Hawk and longtime friend Lil' Keke. Fat Pat was signed to Wreckshop Records. - Spider Loc
Curtis Norvell Williams (born on January 21, 1979 in Compton, California) is a rapper known as Spider Loc, who is part of the G-Unit clique. - U-God
U-God (born Lamont Hawkins, October 11, 1970 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, USA) is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective, Wu-Tang Clan. Though not as well known as other Clan members such as Method Man and Ol' Dirty Bastard, he has been with the group since not long after its inception, and released his debut solo album "Golden Arms Redemption" in 1999.
|
| |