Nipsey Hussle was an activist, entrepreneur, and rapper from America. With every mixtape he released during his fourteen-year career, he gained more and more prominence, eventually emerging as one of the major figures in West Coast rap.
Nipsey Hussle was an activist, entrepreneur, and rapper from America. With every mixtape he released during his fourteen-year career, he gained more and more prominence, eventually emerging as one of the major figures in West Coast rap.
American rapper, songwriter, and producer Jay-Z was raised in the drug-ridden Marcy Projects of Brooklyn. His first appearance on Yo! came from his usage of rap as a means of escape. 1989 saw MTV Raps. Following his Roc-a-Fella label’s millions of record sales, Jay-Z launched an entertainment firm and his own apparel brand. In 2008, …
Known by his stage name Gucci Mane, Radric Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama on February 12, 1980. He is an American rapper and the CEO of 1017 Brick Squad Records. His self-titled debut album, Trap House, was released in 2005. It included the hit song “Icy,” which he co-wrote with Young Jeezy. Since then, …
Bryan Williams, often known by his stage names Birdman or Baby, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 15, 1969. He is an American rapper and record executive. He is one half of the duo Big Tymers and a co-founder of Cash Money Records. In addition to his albums for his solo career and …
The old-school, funk-and soul-infused hip-hop legacy of genre pioneers A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and the Pharcyde has been carried on by Detroit’s Slum Village. The group, originally made up of rappers Baatin and T3 and producer/rapper J Dilla, made their debut as Ssenepod in the early 1990s. When their first album, Fan-Tas-Tic, …
Rapper Memphis Bleek made his recording debut in 1996 on Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt. He was born and raised in the Marcy Projects housing complex in Brooklyn, New York. Bleek, who is signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, released Coming of Age as his solo album in 1999. Even though his debut was well worth the attention, he …
Rappers of the 1990s found 2Pac to be one of the most intriguing and successful due to his unabashed threat, magnetic star power, and innate ability to appeal to both hedonists and revolutionaries. Decades after his sad demise, these attributes—combined with his frequently copied but never duplicated flow—have given him a lasting effect on hip-hop. …
One of the few tracks from Houston to make it to a national audience at the time, “Wanna Be a Baller,” helped Lil’ Troy break out in the late 1990s amid the city’s booming rap industry. Lil’ Troy was signed by Universal Records to release his related album Sittin’ Fat Down South (1998) after the …
Throughout the late ’90s and early 2000s, one of the most surprising mainstream infiltrations was Cam’ron’s increasingly bizarre yet distinctively East Coast gangster rap. The rapper gained support from the Notorious B.I.G. and worked with Big L and the late Mase. His debut album, Confessions of Fire (1998), went on to become a Top Ten …
Hip-hop veteran Juvenile from New Orleans, who grew up in the Hot Boys group with legendary rapper Lil Wayne, is also a chart-topper from the South, having ascended the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with his 2004 hit “Slow Motion.” Juvenile, real name Terius Gray, was among the pioneers of the early 1990s “bounce” movement in …