
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac (or simply Pac) and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He has sold 75 million albums to date and is one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, Shakur was a promising actor and a social activist. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society and conflicts with other rappers. Shakur's work is known for advocating political, economic, social and racial equality. Shakur was initially a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.
André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1974),[1] better known by his stage name André 3000 (and sometimes simply Dre), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor, best known for his work in the group OutKast.
Christopher George Latore Wallace popularly known as Biggie Smalls (after a fictional gangster in the 1975 film Let's Do It Again), Frank White (from the 1990 film King of New York),[1] and his primary stage name The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper.Raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, Wallace grew up during the peak years of the 1980s' crack epidemic and started dealing drugs at an early age. When Wallace released his debut album with the 1994 record Ready to Die, he was a central figure in the East Coast hip hop scene and increased New York's visibility at a time when hip hop was mostly dominated by West Coast artists.[2] The following year, Wallace led his childhood friends to chart success through his protégé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A.. While recording his second album, Wallace was heavily involved in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop feud, dominating the scene at the time.
Eric Lynn Wright better known by the stage name Eazy-E, was an American rapper, producer, and record executive from Compton, California.Eazy-E was a Kelly Park Compton Crip during his teen years, and he openly associated himself with other Crips. He sold drugs during his early teen years and then invested the money he made into a hip hop enterprise. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the gangsta rap subgenre and initially rose to fame as the founder and member of the group N.W.A, but later achieved critical and commercial success as a solo artist. Eazy-E's vocal style was marked by his youthful, high-pitched voice and his lyrics focusing on the elements of urban street life such as guns, drugs, relations between residents and the police, and sexual activity. He had also for some time hosted a hip-hop radio show on Los Angeles-based radio station KKBT.
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972),[1] known by his primary stage name Eminem, or by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer and actor. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The following album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest-selling hip hop album in history.[2] It brought Eminem increased popularity, including his own record label, Shady Records, and brought his group project D12 to mainstream recognition.
Joseph Cartagena, better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper signed to Imperial Records, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad.
Fat Joe's first album was Represent, released in 1993, followed by Jealous One's Envy in 1995. From 1998 to 2006, he was signed to Atlantic Records, releasing four albums under the label, Don Cartagena in 1998, Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) in 2001, Loyalty in 2002, and All or Nothing in 2005. Around the release of All or Nothing, Fat Joe became involved in a highly publicized feud with another New York City-based rapper 50 Cent, who attacked Fat Joe in his song "Piggy Bank". His most popular song in which he performed was his Remy Ma duet "Lean Back" with Terror Squad. The song was a number-one hit in the summer of 2004.
Starting in 2006, when his album Me, Myself, & I was released, Fat Joe was signed to Imperial Records, which distributes through Terror Squad Entertainment. His follow up album wasThe Elephant in the Room, which was released in 2008; Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2), the sequel to Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.), is to be released in late 2009.
William Jonathan Drayton Jr. better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper, television star, and member of the rap group Public Enemy. He is known for his clowning antics as well as outlandish costumes, including wearing over-sized clocks around his neck; he wears the clock to remind people how precious time is. He is also known for yelling "Yeah boy!" and "Flavor Flav!" during performances.
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, record producer, author, and singer. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008. His first three albums (and his fourth to a lesser extent) have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. All have been very commercially successful, with 808s & Heartbreak becoming his third consecutive #1 album in the U.S. upon release. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music. West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his four albums as well as various single covers and music videos.
Cordazar Calvin Broadus (born October 20, 1971),[1][2] better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is a Grammy Award-nominated 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. He popularized the catch phrase suffix "-izzle," a slang term or infix that had been in use for decades, but not nearly to the extent that it currently permeates the pop and hip hop music industry as well as general usage.
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American Grammy Award-winning rapper. Formerly a member of the rap group the Hot Boys, he joined the Cash Money Records collective as a teenager. Get It How U Live!, released in 1997, was Lil Wayne's first album with Hot Boys, and Tha Block is Hot, his solo debut, came out in 1999.After gaining fame with two other albums in the early 2000s, Lil Wayne reached higher popularity with 2004's Tha Carter and its two subsequent albums Tha Carter II (2005) and Tha Carter III (2008). He earned various accolades following Tha Carter III, including being nominated for eight Grammy Awards. He will release a rock album titled Rebirth in 2009.
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