 | | A resident of Chicago, Cap One had his first major appearance in 1999 on the first album of the all-female group Infamous Syndicate. |
 | | From the onset, Stat Quo wanted to raise the standards (i.e., the status quo) for MCs in the rap game, particularly in Southern hip-hop. |
 | | Given his country slang and drawl plus his edgy, baritone voice, many would think Ray Cash hails from somewhere in the Deep South. |
 | | Part of the large family of groups based around the Wu-Tang Clan, Killarmy consists of Killa Sin, Shogun Assassin, 9th Prince (aka North Star, Madman), Baretta 9, Islord, and Dom Pachino. |
 | | Cappadonna (b. circa 1969) was one of the last members to join the Wu-Tang Clan. He had known the members since grade school in Staten Island, and he had even decided at the age of 15 that he could write and perform lyrics. |
 | | Blending Cypress Hill's weed philosophy with a self-styled hopalong hip-hop sound based on the Old West, Chicago's Crucial Conflict hit the airwaves in 1996 with the marijuana ode "Hay. |
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 | | 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. |
 | | As an underappreciated cult artist, Esham's harsh hardcore rap thrived in this hometown of Detroit, MI, for years before an ensemble of artists with a similar style began crossing over into the mainstream in the late '90s. |
 | | An MC from the south side of Chicago -- and the daughter of blues guitarist Buddy Guy -- Shawnna (Rashawnna Guy) began writing rhymes while in high school. |
 | | Chicago's Do or Die gained a hit with their first single, Po Pimp. Released on a tiny Chicago label, the track became a local hit and sparked the group's signing by Houston's Rap-A-Lot Records. |
 | | Obie Trice went from no one to someone in the rap world quickly when Eminem signed him to Shady Records and executive produced his debut. |
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 | | Bad Boy Records rapper Black Rob began his recording career appearing on albums like the Cru's Da Dirty 30 and collaborating with artists like L. |
 | | Originally, the Murderers were slated to be an East Coast hardcore hip-hop supergroup consisting of Ja Rule, Jay-Z, and DMX. |
 | | In similar company with new-school French progressive dance artists such as Motorbass, Air, Cassius, and Dimitri from Paris, Parisian duo Daft Punk quickly rose to acclaim by adapting a love for first-wave acid house and techno to their younger roots in pop, indie rock, and hip-hop. |
 | | To call Eminem hip-hop's Elvis is correct to a degree, but it's largely inaccurate. Certainly, Eminem was the first white rapper since the Beastie Boys to garner both sales and critical respect, but his impact exceeded this confining distinction. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Born Aljaray Gaston, rapper Al Fatz was raised by his grandmother in Cleveland, OH. In high school he began rapping and performing at local talent shows; at one of these, the reception to one of his songs, "Hold Up Hold Up Mane," was so strong that Al, who at this point was going under Fat Al, decided to record it. |
 | | Peaches (Merrill Nisker) burst into transcontinental favor with her very particular brand of cocksure rapping and groovebox beats. |
 | | One of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, who recorded some of the most influential hip-hop of the '90s, Ol' Dirty Bastard was the loose cannon of the group, both on record and off. |
 | | Rapper Sticky Fingaz was the frontman of hardcore rap group Onyx and is best known for his husky voice and brash rapping style that dragged the hip-hop sound into the mosh pit. |
 | | Cex has no qualms about his desire to be a Rolex-wearing pop and rap star, and his music actually lies in the realm of intelligent dance music. |
 | | Method Man was the first -- and biggest -- solo star to emerge from the groundbreaking Wu-Tang Clan. |
 | | A popular entertainer who recorded frequently for Capitol during 1944-1950, Julia Lee's double-entendre songs and rocking piano made her a major attraction in Kansas City. |
 | | 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. |
 | | Bath, England's singer/composer/keyboardist Allison Goldfrapp began exploring music as part of her studies as a fine art painting major at Middlesex University, mixing sound, visuals, and performances in her installation pieces. |
 | | The most idiosyncratic personality in rap and possessor of its most recognizable delivery, a halting, ragga-inspired style with incredible complexity, inventiveness, and humor, Busta Rhymes formed Leaders of the New School in 1990 and released two albums with the group before breaking out with a 1996 solo hit single, "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check. |
 | | Vitalic is the alter ego of Pascal Arbez, a French programmer/multi-instrumentalist who blends electro, techno, and house -- as well as elements of classical, rock, Italo-disco, and '70s electronic music -- into a sound that recalls the work of fellow countrymen Daft Punk and Air, but has its own hard-edged playfulness. |
 | | The pioneering force behind the rise of trip-hop, Massive Attack were among the most innovative and influential groups of their generation; their hypnotic sound -- a darkly sensual and cinematic fusion of hip-hop rhythms, soulful melodies, dub grooves, and choice samples -- set the pace for much of the dance music to emerge throughout the 1990s, paving the way for such acclaimed artists as Portishead, Sneaker Pimps, Beth Orton, and Tricky, himself a Massive Attack alumnus. |
 | | The sound of the Go! Team, a six-piece group from Brighton, England, is a stunning blend of indie rock guitars, police show themes, hip-hop beats, and schoolyard chants built on samples and then augmented by live instrumentation. |
 | | Wherever rapper Eminem goes, controversy and headlines are sure to follow. With so many people unsure about whether to love him or hate him, five young rappers have decided to join him on his latest project, D12. |
 | | Falling somewhere between Calvin Harris and Junior Senior, dance-pop singer Tommy Sparks broke through in 2009 with the slick club cut "She's Got Me Dancing. |
 | | Ursula 1000 is a stylish American DJ who spins (and produces) sampladelic easy listening breakbeat tracks in a style similar to continental popsters from Pizzicato Five to Dimitri from Paris. |
 | | Ernest Greene had been involved in a number of musical endeavors by the time he started putting together a series of recordings as Washed Out. |
 | | Killah Priest made his first appearances on such Wu-Tang side and solo projects as Gravediggaz' 6 Feet Deep, Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers, and Genius/GZA's seminal Liquid Swords. |
 | | St. Louis-based Jibbs began writing raps at an early age in an effort to impress his older brother, DJ Beatz (who was gaining a reputation locally producing tracks for Nelly and Chingy). |
 | | Immortalized by a much-publicized legal skirmish that resulted in a stiff ten-year prison sentence (and an acquittal for co-defendant Puff Daddy), Shyne was well-known among the public before Bad Boy Records even released his debut -- which was, for many years, his only -- album. |
 | | Portishead may not have invented trip-hop, but they were among the first to popularize it, particularly in America. |
 | | Graced with a quick and sometimes sung delivery, along with a unique sense of melody, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony burst out of Cleveland, Ohio in the mid-'90s with a pair of massive hits ("Thuggish Ruggish Bone" and "Tha Crossroads") along with a great first album, as well as a successful follow-up, and then quickly unraveled. |
 | | The Chicago, IL-based Rhymefest (born Che Smith) first gained national attention as the co-songwriter of Kanye West's Grammy-winning "Jesus Walks. |
 | | Songwriter/producer Derek Miller and vocalist Alexis Krauss comprise Sleigh Bells, an experimental pop duo that began earning its first fans after a breakout performance at the 2009 CMJ Festival. |
 | | Before she had released any material at all, Foxy Brown appeared on several 1995-1996 platinum singles, including her first credit, LL Cool J's "I Shot Ya," as well as Total's "No One Else" remix of Jay-Z's "Ain't No. |
 | | Originally, Tricky was a member of the Wild Bunch, a Bristol-based rap troupe that eventually metamorphosed into Massive Attack during the early '90s. |
 | | Discovered in the wake of the Strokes' popularity and the subsequent garage rock revival, New York's art punk trio the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are comprised of singer Karen O, guitarist Nicolas Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. |
 | | São Paulo, Brazil's provocative, freewheeling dance-rock sextet CSS take their name from an abbreviation of "cansei de ser sexy," which is Portuguese for "tired of being sexy" (though, considering that the lead singer goes by the name Lovefoxxx, it's arguable how much that phrase actually applies to the band). |
 | | Moby was one of the most controversial figures in techno music, alternately praised for bringing a face to the notoriously anonymous electronic genre and scorned by hordes of techno artists and fans for diluting and trivializing the form. |
 | | Initially regarded as one of the most promising rappers to emerge in the late '90s, Mos Def turned to acting in subsequent years as music became a secondary concern for him. |
 | | Yppah, a reversal of the word happy, pronounced "yippah," started out as Texas native Joe Corrales' solo electronic project before evolving into a full-fledged rock outfit. |
 | | Onyx's shouting, in-your-face brand of high-volume rapping proved to be more at home in the slam pit than on the dancefloor and brought the rap quartet instant chart success. |
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