 | | Influenced by the Southern-style swagger of UGK and the rhymes of his hometown heroes the Diplomats, ASAP Rocky gave up slinging drugs in Harlem and moved to Elmwood Park, New Jersey, where he started rapping. |
 | | Coming up somewhere between Wiz Khalifa (loose flow, hedonistic lyrics) and Lil B (free spirit, love of alternative-flavored beats), Atlanta's Trinidad James went from viral to Def Jam signee, and all in his rookie season. |
 | | Together with production partner DJ Paul, Juicy J played an important role in the South's rise to prominence within the once East- and West Coast-dominated rap industry. |
 | | Kicking his career off at the age of 16 with the street single "I Don't Like," rapper Chief Keef was a hit on Chicago's high-school circuit before mixtapes and viral videos led to a contract with Interscope. |
 | | A member of the hip-hop duo Clipse, rapper Pusha T was born Terrence Thornton in the Bronx but was raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia along with his brother Gene Thornton. |
 | | Coming across like a less sensitive, Houstonian version of Drake, Kirko Bangz is a Southern rapper -- and occasional singer -- who released his first charting single, “What Yo Name Iz,” in late 2010. |
 | | A rapper who built an indie empire with his Cocaine City imprint, French Montana was born in Morocco, but emigrated to the U. |
 | | Busting out of Atlanta in 2011 with his hit street track "Tony Montana," rapper Future grew up in Atlanta's Zone 6 section. |
 | | Allegedly “shrouded in mystery” despite social media presence (with accompanying photos) on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Soundcloud, and YouTube, as well as major support from fellow Torontonian Drake, alternative R&B act the Weeknd -- a solo outlet for vocalist Abel Tesfaye -- surfaced in March 2011 with House of Balloons. |
 | | Known as Tity Boi in the Atlanta-based Playaz Circle, rapper 2 Chainz launched his solo career while he was still a member of the crew, in 2007, with the mixtape Me Against the World. |
 | | Recalling the Dirty South sound of UGK and Scarface, Mississippi rapper/producer Big K.R.I.T. spent five years on the mixtape circuit honing his skills before his 2010 release took his career to another level. |
 | | The self-proclaimed "Ambassador of Rap for the Capital," Wale (pronounced "wah-lay") was able to transcend his local sensation status and become a national rap contender using go-go-inspired hip-hop as the vehicle for his clever wordplay and music. |
 | | Only 21 when he signed with Epic thanks to the legendary L.A. Reid, Atlanta rapper Cash Out first came on the scene in 2012 with the party-rap hit and personal anthem "Cashin' Out. |
 | | Bay Area vocalist Jonn Hart broke into mainstream R&B radio in 2012 with a chiming, booming, and raunchy number titled "Who Booty" -- an introduction to a sound he called "R&Bay slap. |
 | | Mixing bud smoker's anthems with socially conscious numbers, rapper ScHoolboy Q spent three years in the mixtape underground before launching his career properly in 2011. |
 | | Delivering lyrics with the speed of a bullet train, Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly (aka MGK) experienced a meteoric rise in late 2011. |
 | | Producer and MC J. Cole was the first artist to signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. Born in Germany but raised in North Carolina, Cole grew up with a mother who loved rock and folk while his father was a fan of hardcore hip-hop artists like 2Pac and Ice Cube. |
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 | | Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, born Robert Williams, began releasing mixtapes in 2006, debuting with The Real Me. |
 | | R&B singer/songwriter B. Smyth got his start as one of millions of teenagers uploading YouTube videos of himself covering other artists' songs. |
 | | A founding member of Harlem's A$AP Mob (Always Strive and Prosper), A$AP Ferg was initially the group's main clothing designer but after teaming with Mob member A$AP Rocky he became one of the crew's breakout rappers. |
 | | An R&B vocalist affiliated with the outlandish hip-hop crew Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, Frank Ocean (Christopher "Lonny" Breaux) was born and raised in New Orleans. |
 | | Thanks to his smart lyrics, the Louisiana-based Curren$y landed a label deal in 2003, but it took three labels and seven years of underground releases before the rapper made his official debut. |
 | | Born in California but raised in Detroit, rapper Big Sean made big news in 2007 when he signed with Kanye West’s recently formed label, G. |
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 | | Born Antoine McColister in Port St. Lucie, Florida, Ace Hood was raised by his mother in Deerfield Beach, twenty miles north of Miami. |
 | | With a rangy set of friends from Fall Out Boy to Lil Wayne, it was obvious from the start that Tyga was not your everyday rapper from Compton. |
 | | The ridiculous success of 50 Cent in early 2003 opened the floodgates for other street-level, mixtape-bred rappers, one of whom was Joe Budden, a Jersey City rapper with a distinct loose-cannon style molded from years of freestyling. |
 | | A producer, songwriter, and singer from Southfield, Michigan, Bei Maejor (Brandon Green) broke into the music industry in 2005. |
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 | | Born in Guyana, Brooklyn rapper Red Café immigrated to New York with his family when he was young, settling in the Caribbean-populated Flatbush section of Brooklyn. |
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 | | Hailing from the Bay Area of San Francisco, LoveRance -- real name Rance Oliver -- made the transition between independent local rapper and international major-label star within a head-spinning matter of months. |
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 | | Born Natassia Zolot, the San Francisco, California-based rapper and director is better known by her stage name, Kreayshawn. |
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 | | Originally formed in 2006 as the Hard Hitters, the trio officially switched to the enigmatic moniker Travis Porter in 2008. |
 | | With a series of hits that bundled gangster rhymes, weed talk, pop hooks, and slick production, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania rapper Wiz Khalifa went from breakthrough single ("Black and Yellow") to feature film star (Mac and Devin Go to High School) in the short span of two years. |
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 | | When Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, and Royce da 5'9" joined Joe Budden on his 2008 mixtape Halfway House, the chemistry on their collaborative track meant "Slaughterhouse" the song would quickly become Slaughterhouse the hip-hop supergroup. |
 | | Before rising to the forefront of late-'90s punk-pop with blink-182, drummer Travis Barker honed his chops with the Suicide Machines and the Aquabats. |
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 | | California pop-rap trio Drop City Yacht Club loosely assembled in 2009 when rapper A Wolf was introduced to producer Kristo. |
 | | MGK, or Machine Gun Kelly, is a Cleveland rapper born Richard Colson Baker. Taking his stage name from the notorious mobster and applying it to himself for his rapid-fire lyrical flow, MGK started rapping while still in high school and quickly gained a large local following through the release of several mixtapes, 2006's Stamp of Approval, 2008's Homecoming, and 100 Words and Running and Lace Up, both released in 2010. |
 | | The RZA -- and maybe even GZA -- of Odd Future (short for Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All), Tyler, the Creator is the alternative hip-hop crew's main rapper, producer, and source of inspiration. |