 | | Ignoring the coastal feuds that dominated hip-hop for most of the '90s, the Alchemist (born Alan Maman) began his career in L. |
 | | Generally acknowledged as the more lyrically gifted member of the New York hardcore rap duo Mobb Deep, Prodigy debuted as a solo artist in 2000 with H. |
 | | Beginning with his classic debut, Illmatic (1994), Nas stood tall for years as one of New York City's leading rap voices, outspokenly expressing a righteous, self-empowered swagger that endeared him to critics and hip-hop purists. |
 | | As golden age rap suddenly gave way to West Coast gangsta in the early '90s, an East Coast variety of hardcore rap arose in turn, with Mobb Deep initially standing tall as one of New York's hardcore figureheads on the basis of their epochal album The Infamous. |
 | | As one of the original members of the seminal '90s rap crew the Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah (aka Tony Starks) made an impact before he released his debut album, Ironman, late in 1996. |
 | | Skutch formed in Sydney, Australia, contributing additional forms to this country's greater tradition in rock music, built upon acts such as hard rockers AC/DC or pop stars like Kylie Minogue. |
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 | | With just a few (mostly underground) releases, Dilated Peoples energized the rap underground in similar fashion to fellow West Coast crew Jurassic 5. |
 | | Speaking out against what he saw as a decline in rap during the mid-'90s, Jeru the Damaja came to the fore as a self-proclaimed prophet and the savior of hip-hop, much as KRS-One had done almost ten years before. |
 | | Judy Small is one of the most influential singer/songwriters to come out of Australia. Her songs, which include one of the hardest-hitting looks at the effects of war, "Mothers, Daughters, Wives," and the ecologically minded tune "Charlesworth Bay," have been covered by Ronnie Gilbert, Eric Bogle, the McCalmans, the Corries, Charlie King, and Priscilla Herdman. |
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 | | Crossing a lyrical distress of frustration with the pleasance of melodic, bouncy pop, the Seattle trio of Flake packaged this sound on their 1993 7" debut Start Without Me. |
 | | Ayers Rock was a jazz-rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1973. Members included drummer Mark Kennedy, Ray Burton, Russell Dunlop, Chris Brown, Jimmy Doyle, Doug Gallacher, Col Loughman, and Duncan McGuire. |
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 | | A fashion of heavy guitar riffs and power-pop harmonies became a part of Superscope's sound upon their formation in 1994. |
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 | | As part of the golden age MC-and-DJ tandem Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, the "Kool Genius of Rap" enjoyed a successful and, above all, influential run during the late '80s and early '90s before embarking on a fitful solo career. |
 | | Rising from the rugged streets and rich musical tapestry of Detroit, Slum Village were poised to carry on the old-school, funk, and soul-filled hip-hop torch of genre pioneers A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and the Pharcyde. |
 | | Just about the time that Sha Na Na was starting to attract attention from the U.S. press as an oldies revival band, half a world away in Australia, Daddy Cool was going in a similar direction on a very different path. |
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 | | One of the more popular Australian bands of their day, Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons was primarily a vehicle for frontman Joe Camilleri, who assembled the group in Melbourne in 1976. |
 | | Foil are a guitar-pop band from West Lothian, Scotland (near Edinburgh); their original lineup featured vocalist/guitarist Hugh Duggie, guitarist Colin McInally, bassist Shug Anderson, and drummer Jim Anderson. |
 | | The Australian pop group Bachelor Girl formed in 1992 when songwriter/producer/keyboardist/vocalist James Roche met vocalist Tania Emilia Doko. |
 | | Ratcat became the first Australian alternative, guitar-driven band to crack the big time locally during the early '90s. |
 | | Axiom was an all-too-short lived Australian ‘supergroup', formed in 1969 by established musicians with successful local careers towards creating a group which could relocate to England as soon as practicable to have a crack at the international market. |
 | | Fronted by singer/ guitarist Dom Mariani (formerly of The Stems and The Lime Spiders) DM3 got their start in 1992 with the accompaniment of bassist Toni Italiano and drummer Pascal Bartolone. |
 | | Aside from Ray Columbus & the Invaders, the La De Das were New Zealand's most popular rock group of the '60s. |
 | | If skills sold, Talib Kweli would have been one of the most commercially successful rappers of his time. |
 | | Rock group 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, featuring Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe, formed in 1992. Crowe and Billy-Dean Cochran had been playing music together since their teens in New Zealand (including a band called Roman Antix), and before that, Crowe had released solo singles. |
 | | Philadelphian rapper Beanie Sigel had a rapidly rising career, beginning with his appearance on one of underground rapper/producer DJ Clue?'s mixtapes, to his cameos on Jay-Z's Vol. |
 | | Yothu Yindi is the most successful and internationally recognized of Australia's aboriginal bands. Their importance lies in their fusion of traditional music and performance with contemporary rock. |
 | | Australia's first guitar hero, Lobby Loyde helped shape the sound of classic local bands such as Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs and Rose Tattoo, as well as have a successful solo career. |
 | | Hailing from Sydney, Australia, Buffalo's hard rock style from the 1970s would ironically earn them their greatest success in the late '80s in countries such as France and Germany, thanks to the band's recordings on the collectible Vertigo label. |
 | | Never quite a superstar, Redman was nonetheless one of the most off-the-wall, beloved, and enduring rappers of the '90s and 2000s. |
 | | In the mid-'70s, the Skyhooks shook and shaped Australian rock almost as much as the Beatles and Elvis Presley. |
 | | By bringing together two very different influences, almost like adding oil to water, the Cruel Sea created a style of rock which extended Australian rock & roll culture and, at the same time, made them one of the most successful Australian groups of the '90s. |
 | | Christine Anu is Australia's premier urban-style pop singer. She was born in 1970 in Cairns, Queensland. |
 | | As their name suggests, Regurgitator's stock in trade is reinventing music, drawing on a vast range of influences and wittily putting the pieces back together in an avalanche of sounds and songs, more pop than the Beastie Boys, less obscure than Primus. |
 | | On the strength of two strong rock anthem singles and the group's vivacious dreadlocked teenage female singer, Killing Heidi emerged as the act dominating the Australian sales charts at the turn of the new Millennium. |
 | | Portland's Supernaut were formed in late 2004 by vocalist/guitarist Scott Chapin, a few years after the dissolution of his previous band, the Daylights, who were together seven years and found minor MTV success. |
 | | The Wu-Tang Clan's chief producer, the RZA (aka the Abbott, Prince Rakeem, the Rzarector, Bobby Steels, and Bobby Digital) was born Robert Diggs. |
 | | While a member of the New York City duo Organized Konfusion, Pharoahe Monch developed a reputation as one of underground hip-hop's preeminent lyricists, crafting intricate and intelligent raps with partner Prince Poetry. |
 | | Something for Kate's confessional post-grunge grandeur has made the group a strong favorite with Australian alternate rock fans. |
 | | Originally a five-piece formed in Melbourne in 1985, Australian rock band Boom Crash Opera, like many before them, got their grounding from the pub rock circuit. |
 | | The Beasts of Bourbon grew from simply being a side project to being a true supergroup on the Australian pub rock scene. |
 | | Jadakiss (born Jason Phillips) became a member of the Ruff Ryders in 1999. Five years earlier, he joined the LOX (who started their saga as a group called the Warlocks) and has remained a member of both groups since. |
 | | When John Paul Young was a boy his family moved from Scotland to Australia, where he quickly learned to imitate the local accent to avoid being teased by his classmates. |
