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 | | 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. |
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 | | 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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 | | 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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 | | 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. |
 | | OutKast associate Killer Mike earned his own hit in 2003 with "A.D.I.D.A.S." He debuted two years earlier on "The Whole World," from the greatest-hits Big Boi and Dre Present. |
 | | Born Natassia Zolot, the San Francisco, California-based rapper and director is better known by her stage name, Kreayshawn. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | 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. |
 | | A producer, songwriter, and singer from Southfield, Michigan, Bei Maejor (Brandon Green) broke into the music industry in 2005. |
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 | | YC, aka Yung Chris (not to be confused with Young Chris of Young Gunz), is a rapper who hails from Decatur, Georgia. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | 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. |
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 | | One of the most important, famous, and even infamous players in the mixtape game, Drama certainly lives up to his moniker thanks to some high-profile legal problems. |
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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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 | | 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. |
 | | Part of the strange and underground universe that is Odd Future, MellowHype are a splinter group featuring members Hodgy Beats and Left Brain. |
 | | Mixing the party rap sound of his hometown Atlanta with more of an indie attitude, Roscoe Dash came on the scene in 2009 with the club track “All the Way Turnt Up!” Dash was originally called ATL, a moniker he used when he became friendly with the local hip-hop crew Travis Porter. |
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 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, born Robert Williams, began releasing mixtapes in 2006, debuting with The Real Me. |
 | | Chicago native Yung Berg sat in the music industry background for the first half of the 2000s before his "Sexy Lady" jam blew up in 2007. |
 | | 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. |
 | | A South Carolinian with a self-described "gumbo of crunk, snap, and other popular Southern rap styles," Lil' Ru earned his first stutter-start as a teenager in 2001 when fellow Palmetto-stater Angie Stone took him under her wing and got him inked to Elektra Records. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
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 | | 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. |
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 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
 | | 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. |
