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 | | Classifying their sound as "hood rock," the Shop Boyz tried to separate themselves from the Atlanta crunk scene, but as their 2007 breakout single, "Party Like a Rockstar", showed, the trio fit right in with its heavy bass and drums complemented by pop-savvy and edgy guitar riffs. |
 | | A member of the seminal '90s rap trio the Fugees, Pras' solo career didn't rise to the same heights as those of his colleagues, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, in part because he concentrated more on acting than music. |
 | | At only age 13, Bow Wow made his rap debut on Beware of Dog (2000), a double-platinum Top Ten hit, and though he struggled to rival such breakout success in the years that followed, he persevered impressively, maturing as an artist (as well as a man) and releasing a series of albums that met varying degrees of commercial success. |
 | | Born into a Jamaican-American family in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, Shawn Mims grew up influenced by the rappers just south of him, in Harlem. |
 | | No female rap artist paralleled the success of Missy Elliott, neither during her reign nor before, and none was more deserving. |
 | | Pharrell Williams didn't only help change the face of pop music during the late '90s and early 2000s. |
 | | Laid-back Inglewood, California rap group Cali Swag District broke out when each member was a teenager. |
 | | Lead Fugees rapper and sometime guitarist Wyclef Jean was the first member of his group to embark on a solo career, and he proved even more ambitious and eclectic on his own. |
 | | No mere glossy gimmick, despite their youthfulness and their novelty hit, the New Boyz were labeled "the Young Teens of Hip-Hop" by the New York Times before they even had an official single out. |
 | | Latino rapper Fat Joe (aka Fat Joe da Gangsta, Joey Crack, and his real name, Joe Cartagena) was raised in the South Bronx area of New York. |
 | | J-Kwon's path to fame included mooning Arista head L.A. Reid and mocking producer Jermaine Dupri. These events helped gain the MC a contract with the latter's So So Def, a subsidiary of the former's employer. |
 | | Atlanta's party rap duo Ying Yang Twins scored a hit with the single "Whistle While You Twurk," which received nationwide airplay on urban and crossover radio stations. |
 | | Best known as Puff Daddy's favorite sidekick, Mase secured his place as a Bad Boy label favorite through a series of guest appearances on hit singles by other artists. |
 | | As the flagship artist for producer Irv Gotti's Def Jam-affiliated Murder Inc. label, Ja Rule became one of the rap industry's most commercially successful artists during the early 2000s, working closely with the hitmaking producer and his stable of talent. |
 | | Southern rap group Dem Franchize Boyz includes members Gerald "Buddie" Tiller, Bernard "Jizzal Man" Leverette, Maurice "Parlae" Gleaton, and Jamall "Pimpin" Willingham. |
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 | | Exuberant, loud-mouthed, and regularly adorned with a bejeweled pimp chalice at hand, Lil Jon was the charismatic figurehead of the Dirty South crunk movement that arose from the Atlanta area around the turn of the century. |
 | | The kind of talented kid who had a recording contract before a driver's license, Diggy Simmons is a rapper, reality television star, fashion mogul, and descendent of hip-hop royalty. |
 | | Beginning with breakout success in 1992 upon the discovery of teenage rappers Kris Kross, Jermaine Dupri became one of the most consistent and all-persuasive producers of the 1990s, producing practically the entire careers of many artists on his label, So So Def Recordings (including platinum entries like Xscape and Da Brat as well as Kris Kross). |
 | | Before he reached the age of 18, Soulja Boy Tell Em (born DeAndre Way; originally Soulja Boy until copyright issues interfered) was already an ambitious artist and a seasoned businessman, wielding all the hitmaking requirements: producer, live entertainer, and an ability to write catchy hooks. |
 | | Kicking off his career in 2003 with the massive hit "Right Thurr," St. Louis rapper Chingy spent two solid years in the limelight, releasing two platinum-selling albums while becoming a household name thanks to some television appearances and movie roles. |
 | | Dubbed "the Mixtape Messiah," Houston's Chamillionaire arrived late as a major-label artist during his city's 2005 takeover of mainstream rap -- the Top Ten Sound of Revenge, released during November that year, followed albums from Mike Jones, Slim Thug, and former Color Changin' Click partner Paul Wall -- but he had already built a loyal following outside the South and received significant print coverage. |
 | | Lloyd Banks was raised in Jamaica, Queens, by his Puerto Rican mother; his father spent much of his son's childhood behind bars. |
 | | The first MC of significance to be supported by Swizz Beatz's J-affiliated Full Surface label, Cassidy is a fresh-faced Philadelphian who gained a lot of attention as a battle rapper -- with a successful bout against Freeway as one of the first feathers in his cap. |
 | | Dancehall superstar Sean Paul began scoring hit singles in Jamaica in 1996 and steadily attracted international attention thereafter, eventually breaking into the pop mainstream in 2002 with Dutty Rock. |
 | | Prior to gaining mainstream exposure during late 2004 and early 2005 with his single "Still Tippin'," Houston-based MC and self-promoter extraordinaire Mike Jones had long been a stalwart of the Swishahouse label, with a handful of releases under his belt. |
 | | Jumping onto the airwaves at 17, Lil Mama cleared a wide path for herself with the major radio hit "Lip Gloss" in early 2007. |
 | | Along with fellow Harlem-based player Cam'ron, Jim Jones founded the Diplomat label, home to the Diplomats/Dipset and many of that crew's prolific solo activities. |
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 | | When he's doing business, Cash Money Records CEO Bryan Williams uses his real name, but when he grabs the mike to spit Dirty South raps, Williams goes by the names Birdman or Baby. |
 | | Rapper Cam'ron was born and raised in Harlem, attending Manhattan Center High School, where one of his basketball teammates was Mason "Mase" Betha, who also became a successful rapper. |
 | | Rather than taking the underground route like most Southern rappers, Petey Pablo took the direct route into the rap game: he went straight to the top. |
 | | A savvy pop-rapper with crossover appeal, Nelly seemed like a novelty when he first debuted in 2000 with "Country Grammar (Hot. |
 | | Tallahassee-based MC and vocalist T-Pain (born Faheem Najm) came up in a rap group called Nappy Headz but went pro as a solo R&B artist after he recorded "I'm F**ked Up," a personal take on Akon's Top Ten hit "Locked Up. |
 | | Mowii (a onetime touring dancer for Madonna), Pee W33, and Bounc3 broke out as the Rej3ctz, a Los Angeles-based rap group, in late 2010, when the video for their low-slung single “Cat Daddy” -- also a dance -- was uploaded to YouTube. |
 | | Eve was one of a new breed of tough, talented, commercially viable female MCs to hit the rap scene during the late '90s. |
 | | Although he was born in St. Louis, Missouri, singer, songwriter, and producer Aliaune Thiam -- aka Akon -- grew up in Senegal before he and his family (including his father, jazz percussionist Mor Thiam) returned to the United States and settled in New Jersey when he was seven. |
 | | Hip-hop is notorious for short-lived careers, but LL Cool J is the inevitable exception that proves the rule. |
 | | Fabolous scored a bit hit, "Can't Deny It," right out of the gate in 2001, instantly establishing himself as a rising East Coast rap star, the song's combination of street-savvy toughness and pop crossover appeal representative of the rapper himself. |
 | | A Southern rapper associated with Grand Hustle Records, Yung L.A. made his chart debut in 2008 with "Ain't I," a collaboration with labelmates T. |
 | | b. William Ray Norwood Jnr., 17 January 1981, McComb, Mississippi, USA. The younger brother of R&B vocalist Brandy, Ray J broke into the world of entertainment at an early age. |
 | | After making her presence known on Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s debut album, Conspiracy, Lil' Kim launched a solo career in 1996 with the release of her first record, Hard Core. |
 | | Young Gunz began as just two of the numerous rappers in Roc-a-Fella's State Property collective, yet all it took was one runaway hit, "Can't Stop, Won't Stop," to distance them from the pack and elevate them into the spotlight. |
 | | A favorite on the New York mixtape circuit, Brooklyn rapper Maino, born Jermaine Coleman, grew up in the borough's Bedford-Stuyvesant section in a household with two drug-addicted parents. |
 | | One half of the rap duo Crooked Lettaz, David Banner helped put Mississippi on the map in 1999. In 2000, he released his first solo album in Them Firewater Boyz, Vol. |
 | | Smooth rapper Baby Bash can't recall where he got the "Bash" moniker but his alternate name, Baby Beesh, comes from the fact he used to drive around in a Mitsubishi. |
 | | Timbaland ascended to the top of the pop industry in the late '90s, impressively balancing his in-demand hitmaking abilities with his outlandish production style. |
 | | Born and bred on Chicago's South Side, R&B singer Jeremih taught himself how to play several instruments and didn't consider himself a vocalist until a warmly received performance at a talent show. |