 | | 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. |
 | | Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, a ten-member cult rap collective from L.A., bring to mind a younger, crazier Wu-Tang Clan -- if the Clan had skateboarded and rhymed about drugs and gore instead of chess and kung-fu. |
 | | Compton, California's Kendrick Lamar initially rapped as K. Dot and released a series of mixtapes under that name. |
 | | Coming on the scene with a throwback style that betrayed his years, Pittsburgh-based rapper Mac Miller had just turned 18 when he spent 2010 making his name through mixtapes and video sharing websites. |
 | | Kid Cudi is a Brooklyn-based rapper from Cleveland whose debut single, "Day 'n' Nite," became an online favorite in 2008. |
 | | Born Thebe Kgositsile, Earl Sweatshirt is a Los Angeles-based rapper and member of the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) crew. |
 | | Philadelphia's clever alt-hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang burst on the scene in early 2010 with their MGMT-sampling track "The Opposite of Adults. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, a ten-member cult rap collective from L.A., bring to mind a younger, crazier Wu-Tang Clan -- if the Clan had skateboarded and rhymed about drugs and gore instead of chess and kung-fu. |
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 | | Chicago-based MC Lupe Fiasco (born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco) began rapping in junior high school and joined a group called da Pak several years later. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Part of the strange and underground universe that is Odd Future, MellowHype are a splinter group featuring members Hodgy Beats and Left Brain. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Part of the mid-2000s hip-hop movement that found kids in all-over prints rapping about their shoes and their favorite forms of transportation (which often weren't cars), the Cool Kids proved to be both an Internet and live show phenomenon. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | In the span of three short years, Kanye West went from hip-hop beatmaker to worldwide hitmaker, as his stellar production work for Jay-Z led to a major-label recording contract and, ultimately, a wildly successful solo career. |
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 | | Asher Roth is a white suburban rapper who broke through to mainstream success in 2009 with his commercial debut single, "I Love College. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Yelawolf is an underground rapper from a small town in the South who found major-label success in 2011. |
 | | Born Natassia Zolot, the San Francisco, California-based rapper and director is better known by her stage name, Kreayshawn. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Delivering lyrics with the speed of a bullet train, Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly (aka MGK) experienced a meteoric rise in late 2011. |
 | | Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, born Robert Williams, began releasing mixtapes in 2006, debuting with The Real Me. |
 | | Known initially for his role as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Toronto, Ontario, native Drake (born Aubrey Drake Graham) stepped out as a rapper and singer with pop appeal in 2006, when he initiated a series of mixtapes. |
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 | | 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. |
 | | Of all the rap artists who emerged from Atlanta during the late 2000s, B.o.B -- who was only 17 when he signed his first major-label record deal -- was one of the most unique. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | 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 producer, songwriter, and singer from Southfield, Michigan, Bei Maejor (Brandon Green) broke into the music industry in 2005. |
 | | Although the Jamie Kennedy movie Malibu's Most Wanted posited that the beachside Los Angeles suburb is so upper class and lily white that the only rappers it can produce are rich teenagers fronting gangsta poses, real-life Malibu resident Shwayze begs to differ. |
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 | | A rapper who built an indie empire with his Cocaine City imprint, French Montana was born in Morocco, but emigrated to the U. |
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 | | Equally inspired by Prince and 2Pac, Lil B is an eccentric, ambitious rapper who came up with the Bay Area's the Pack, a group that had a hit with the sneaker-loving track "Vans. |
 | | Mixing Shwayze-like beats, the caustic attitude of Kesha, and a tough version of suburban rap, Boston’s Sam Adams caused quite a stir in 2010 when his debut album topped the iTunes hip-hop charts the week of its release. |
 | | Originally formed in 2006 as the Hard Hitters, the trio officially switched to the enigmatic moniker Travis Porter in 2008. |
