RAP/HIP HOP ARTISTS BIOS

 

50 CENT

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975) is an American East Coast rapper commonly known by his rap name 50 Cent. He rose to fame following the success of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. 50 Cent achieved multi-platinum success with both albums, selling over 28 million albums worldwide. He is known for his gangsta image, and for having been shot nine times of which he was hit in the jaw and leg, amongst other parts of his body. He currently resides in Farmington, Connecticut, in the former mansion of boxing star Mike Tyson.

Background information Origin Jamaica, Queens, New York
United States Genre(s) Hip hopRap Occupation(s) Rapper
Entertainer
Entrepreneur Years active 1998-present Label(s) G-Unit / Shady / Aftermath / Interscope Associated
acts G-Unit, Eminem, Dr. Dre

Biography

Early life

Curtis James Jackson III grew up in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens in New York City. He was raised without a father and his mother, a bisexual crack dealer, was found dead under mysterious circumstances before he became a teenager. The orphaned youth was taken in by his grandparents. He began hanging out on New York Avenue, now known as Guy R. Brewer Blvd. There, he stepped up to get a reputation, amassing a small fortune and a lengthy rap sheet.But the birth of his son put things in perspective for the post adolescent, and he began to pursue rap seriously.

Jam Master Jay Records

Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC signed him to his label for a brief time. His first official appearance on a song was on the group Onyx song "React", on their album "Shut 'Em Down" in 1998. Jam Master Jay began teaching 50 how to make a record.

DMX

Earl Simmons (born on December 18, 1970), better known by his stage name DMX, is an American rapper and actor , who became popular during the late-1990s into the 2000s. He also is one of the higher selling rappers with sales of 20 million albums

Recording career

In and out of jail, DMX decided to focus solely on his rap career. He was first signed to Columbia records in 1992. He had a single "Born Loser" which never got much air play. He was shortly dropped. He began seriously looking for a deal and linked up with Pete McCormick Schaub, an A&R for Small Island at the time. Eventually, he signed a management deal with Ruff Ryders. They negotiated deals with both Bad Boy and Death Row Records, but he eventually landed at Def Jam. He is currently at Sony BMG, set to release his first of three albums on August 1st 2006. Rumors also arose that DMX had signed for 50 Cent's G-Unit Records, but were dismissed in a public news conference. DMX has personally stated that he would like to work with 50 Cent as well as the entire roster of the Shady/Aftermath label.

DR.DRE

Birth name	André Romell Young
Also known as	Dr.Dre
Born	February 18, 1965
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genre(s)	West Coast hip hop, g-funk, gangsta rap, hardcore hip hop
Occupation(s)	Producer, rapper
Instrument(s)	Percussion, synthesizer keyboards, bass, rapping
Years active	1984 – present
Label(s)	Epic Records (1984–1988) Ruthless / Priority (1988–1992) Death Row Records (1992–1995) Aftermath / Interscope (1996 – present)
Associated acts	WCWC N.W.A. Snoop Dogg Eminem 50 Cent Stat Quo The Game Mel-Man Bishop Lamont
Website	www.drdre.com

André Romell Young (born February 18, 1965 in Los Angeles, California), better known by stage name Dr. Dre, is an influential Grammy Award taking American record producer, hip hop producer, rapper, actor and record executive.

Young is a significant figure in the development of rap music. He was a founding member of the influential rap group N.W.A., which popularized the use of explicit lyrics in rap detailing the violence of street life. He has also produced albums for and overseen the careers of some of the biggest stars in rap music, including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, and Busta Rhymes. With over 80 million records sold, he is widely regarded as one of the most popular and powerful figures in rap music of all time.

As a producer, he is credited with revolutionizing rap by creating the style West Coast G-funk, characterized as synthesizer-based with slow, heavy beats. G-funk dominated the U.S. rap charts in the period of 1992–1996, and is still considered one of the major living styles of hip hop today.

Biography

Early Years

Young was born in South Central Los Angeles in 1965. His parents divorced before he was born and his mother later married Warren Griffin Jr., father of future West Coast rapper Warren Griffin III, artistically known as Warren G.

Young started his career as a DJ and poster boy for the rap-influenced electro-pop group World Class Wreckin' Cru during the first half of the 1980s. He made the name Dr. Dre from his first name,.

In addition to work with the World Class Wreckin' Cru, Young gained a reputation as capable mix tape DJ. On one release, '86 in the Mix', he edited 300 hip hop records into one 60 minute mix.He continued to make and sell mix tapes at a local swap meet in L.A. until as late as 1989, before finally dropping the practice to fully concentrate on his rap career.

 

EMINEM

He was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri and was raised in Warren, Michigan and relocated to Detroit, Michigan around the East 7 Mile Rd. & Schoenherr intersection, the same neighborhood where he met his best friend Proof. He got his big break when his rapping ability was discovered by pioneer rapper and producer Dr. Dre. He signed him to his Aftermath Entertainment label, becoming a crossover sensation with his debut single "My Name is".

Eminem has been described as 'the Bix Beiderbecke of rap'.He is noted for his ability to change his vocal pace and style multiple times within one song without losing the beat. Eminem has also been considered one of the best lyricists in hip-hop, rhyming with multi-syllables and using a complex rhyme scheme.Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney has praised Mathers for his "verbal energy" and for arousing popular interest in poetry and lyrics. Mathers is also infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics. With the enormous success of his highly acclaimed album The Marshall Mathers LP and its subsequent nomination for four Grammy awards including Album of the Year, critics such as GLAAD denounced his lyrics as homophobic and misogynist, while others protested that it promoted violence.

Biography

Early life

By most accounts, the Mathers family was poor.They moved constantly, during which Marshall and his mother often lived in public housing, mobile homes, and under the care of relatives.From time to time they also lived in their car, and in fact this is where Eminem's younger brother, Nathan Samra-Mathers, was born.During this time, Debbie Mathers was taking the prescription medications Vicodin and Valium; Marshall Mathers later claimed in numerous interviews and songs that his mother was abusing the drugs, to which she retaliated with a lawsuit pressing defamation charges (see below). In the song "Cleaning Out My Closet" (The Eminem Show, 2002), Mathers also accuses his mother of having a variety of Munchausen Syndrome, Munchausen's By Proxy, "my whole life i was made to believe I was sick when I wasn't." This was not the first time someone had suggested she had the disorder; a social worker had made similar comments in 1996.Marshall's uncle Ronald "Ronnie" Polkingharn, who was born three months before him on July 27, 1972, introduced Mathers to hip-hop and the two were best friends. On December 14, 1991, 19-year-old Polkingharn committed suicide; "I read about your uncle Ronnie too, I'm sorry, I once.." - Stan. This event, Mathers has said, was devastating to him and to his entire extended family. Ronnie Nelson's older brother Steven suffered a stroke as a result of the stress.Mathers was so distraught he abandoned his musical career for a year.References to Ronnie's death appear in several songs, including "Stan," "Cleaning Out My Closet," "Mockingbird," "How Come," (by D12) and "My Dad's Gone Crazy." Mathers has a tattoo on his upper left arm that says "Ronnie R.I.P."

Before dropping out of Lincoln High School in Warren at the age of 17 after failing ninth grade three time, Mathers made a number of significant acquaintances at the school, including Evan Perks, a three-time chess champion who was shot in a drive by, the late rapper Proof, who was to become one of his closest friends, and future wife Kimberly Ann "Kim" Scott, with whom he soon developed a long-term relationship. When she became pregnant, Mathers started working on getting a record deal to support his new family; he discusses this in "Never 2 Far" (Infinite, 1996), saying "I got a baby on the way, I don't even got a car ... I still stay with my moms ... We gotta make some hit records or something [because] I'm tired of being broke." When the Infinite album failed to generate the revenue and acclaim he had hoped for, she ended their relationship, preventing him from seeing his newborn child, a daughter named Hailie Jade Scott (born December 25, 1995); distraught, he attempted suicide with an overdose of Tylenol. After the attempt failed, he resumed his efforts to succeed in the music industry and reconcile with Kim.He ultimately succeeded in doing both, marrying her on June 14, 1999, in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Mathers would go on to mention his daughter extensively in some of his songs, including "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" (The Slim Shady LP, 1999), which takes the form of a one-sided dialogue with Hailie, as well as "Hailie's Song" (The Eminem Show, 2002), "Mockingbird" (‘‘Encore’’, 2004), and "When I'm Gone" (Curtain Call: The Hits, 2005), all of which are proclamations of his love and dedication to her. In addition, he samples her voice in the track "My Dad's Gone Crazy" (The Eminem Show, 2002).

Interested in rap from a young age, Eminem began performing as early as 13, later gaining some popularity with the group Soul Intent in 1995 and released a two track album under the same name (Soul Intent). In 1996, he released an independent underground album named Infinite.Infinite with The Slim Shady EP demo, which saw his lyrics take a decidedly darker turn, in songs like "No One's Iller" and "Murder Murder", the latter in which he talks about having to commit crimes to feed his daughter. He became famous in the hip-hop underground because of his distinctive, cartoon-ish style and the fact that he was white in a predominantly black genre. Fellow rapper Snoop Dogg refers to him as rap's "great white American hope" in the song "Bitch Please II" on Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP. The album received no airplay and a mixed critical response, with people claiming Eminem's rapping style sounded too similar to Nas and AZ. It was after this that drugs, drama and negativity spread in his life Mathers followed

Eminem had done a notable amount of work with fellow Detroit MC Royce da 5'9" early in his career. They referred to themselves as Bad Meets Evil, with Eminem playing the evil and Royce playing the bad in the song of the same name on The Slim Shady LP. Royce da 5'9" and Eminem were considered to be two of the best underground MC's in Detroit and were both respected for their battling skills.The Jay-Z song "Renagade" uses Eminem's verses from a song originally done with Royce called "Renegade". The song's first verse ends with the words, "Royce, he's the king of Detroit..." which was replaced with Eminem making beat box noises sounding like "He's Jigga Jigga Jigga" (nickname for Jay-Z) for Jay-Z's "Renagade" (note that the two songs are spelled slightly differently). Eminem makes a reference to Jay-Z using his verses in a song when he claims "Go bring Jay-Z, tell him I'm a ghost-write for him on Dre's next cd " from "Stir Crazy" that he recorded with The Madd Rapper.

The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000, quickly selling two million copies. It was the fastest selling rap album of all time.The first single released from the album, the hit: The Real Slim Shady, was a huge hit, thanks in part to the catchy rhythm and chorus line, "Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?" (adapted from the catch phrase of the TV quiz show To Tell the Truth). It also created some buzz by insulting celebrities and making dubious claims about them; he implies, among other things, that Christina Aguilera performed oral sex on Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) and Carson Daly (of MTV's Total Request Live). "The Real Slim Shady" is widely considered to be Eminem's "signature" and best commercial single.In his second single, "The Way I Am," he reveals to his fans the pressures from his record company to top "My Name Is" and sell more records, and dismisses the alleged controversial link between music such as that of Marilyn Manson and shootings such as Columbine High School as absurd, instead blaming the parents. In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank you"), Eminem attempts to deal with his new-found fame, taking on the perspective of a deranged fan who kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend, mirroring "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" on The Slim Shady LP. To this date, "The Marshall Mathers LP" is widely considered to be Eminem's greatest achievement, and a hip-hop classic.

JAY-Z

Birth name Cornell Haynes Jr.

Born November 2, 1979 (age 27).

Origin St. Louis, Missouri

Genre(s) Pop

Occupation(s) Singer

Years active 2000-present

Label(s) Fo' Reel/Derrty Ent./Universal Records

Acts St. LunaticsJay-Z Background information

Birth name Shawn Corey Carter Also known as Jay-Z, Jazzy, Iceberg Slim, S. Carter, S Dot, Jigga, Jiggaman, Jay, Big Homie, Jay-Hova, Hova, Young Hov, Young, Hova, Hov, Hovito, Hovi Baby, President Carter, Coach Carter

Born December 4, 1969 (age 37)

Genre(s) East Coast hip hop Occupation(s) Rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive Years active 1988-2003
2006-present

Biography

Early years: From Young Rapper, to True Mc

Originally from Marcy Houses housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York, Shawn Corey Carter was abandoned by his father Adnes Reeves when he was twelve years old. Jay-Z attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn, along with rapper AZ until it was closed down. After that he attended George Westinghouse High School in Downtown Brooklyn with fellow rappers Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes and Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey but did not graduate. He claims to have been caught up in selling drugs, which he refers to in his music. His best friend Zak Cervasio was known as Big Z. They grew up together and were separated due to Jay Z's fame. They still talk on the phone and like to write from now and then.

Hip-Hop entrepreneur

Apart from being President and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, Jay-Z is also one of the owners and founders of the Roc-A-Fella empire, which includes Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc-La-Familia, Roc-A-Fella Films and Rocawear.

At heart, Jay-Z is an entrepreneur like his fellow hip-hop-moguls-turned-friends Russell Simmons, Dr. Dre and Sean "Diddy" Combs, who also have business holdings such as record companies and clothing lines. He redirected the hip hop culture from hooded sweatshirts and baggy jeans to button-ups and crisp jeans, and received GQ's International Man of the Year award.

Roc-A-Fella Records

Jay-Z co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with partners Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Def Jam purchased a 50% stake in the company in 1997 for a reported $1.5 million.

In late 2004, Jay-Z, Dash and Biggs sold their remaining interests in Roc-A-Fella Records and the Def Jam Recordings by Island Def Jam chairman L. A. Reid. Reportedly this major industry move was prompted by disagreement between Jay-Z and Dash as to what new ventures Roc-A-Fella could undertake.

The publicized split between Jay-Z, Dash and Biggs led to the former partners sending jabs at each other in interviews. Dame Dash has made comments that after the break up he was portrayed as "Osama Bin Laden" to ensure that rappers would stay with Jay-Z and not sign with him.Dash currently operates the recently-founded Dame Dash Music Group as a joint venture with Island Def Jam producing former Roc-A-Fella artists such as Beanie Sigel

Rocawear and fashion

Founded in 1995 by music moguls Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke, The ROC has been at the forefront of hip hop’s evolution into a borderless, global lifestyle. Serving as The ROC’s initial launching pad was Roc-A-Fella Records. Realizing their ability to create culture far transcended the realm of music, the trio founded the apparel company Rocawear. Like Roc-A-Fella Records, Rocawear quickly staked its claim in hip-hop history by becoming the brand of choice for street savvy consumers. Rocawear has concentrated on providing its costumer with clever innovation in terms of fabrication, application, and design. The brand’s attention to detail has given Rocawear an appeal far and beyond its core urban customer. Ten years have passed since the genesis of The ROC and a dynasty now reigns. Today, Rocawear is a dominant lifestyle apparel brand for a wide range of customers, with annual retail sales over $700 million. Inspired by an urban aesthetic rooted in young men’s sportswear, Rocawear has expanded its brand through licensing pacts to develop lines for children (Kids Headquarters), junior’s (Signature), socks and sandals (Gina Group), leather suede and fur outerwear (Gordon & Ferguson and Brandon Thomas) handbags and belts (M.London), loungewear and big & tall (Endurance), headwear (Nas Industries) jewelry (Lucas Design) and sunglasses (Color in Optics); as well as co-branded product with Pro-Keds. By incorporating international impulses into the Rocawear Style, the brand has expanded its appeal beyond the national borders and has become a brand of international significance. As a result, Rocawear boasts offices in the UK, Japan, Canada, and Europe. All in all Rocawear defines the lifestyle for today’s young hip consumer and provides the efficient business acumen to retail partners necessary to be successful. As the ad campaign tag-line goes......WE RUN THE STRIP.
 

LIL JON

Jonathan Mortimer Smith (born 1971), better known as Lil Jon, is an American rapper, hype man and hip hop producer. He is best known as a pioneer of the sub-genre of hip hop known as "crunk" (a combination of elements of Bounce Music, Southern hip hop and bass music). His group, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, is one of crunk's most notable acts.

Biography

Lil Jon was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, but graduated from Atlanta's Douglass High School in 1989. Lil Jon also hosted a radio show on BET. He started doing remixes for artists Jamaal, Too $hort, Xscape, and Total. He worked for So So Def between 1993 and 2000. He has been married since November 4th 2004. He has one son, who plays hockey. Lil Jon was married at the Wyndham El Conquistador Resort and Golden Door Spa in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

Origin Atlanta, Georgia

Genre(s) Crunk/Southern hip hop

Occupation(s) Hype man, Rapper, & Producer

LUDACRIS

Christopher Brian Bridges (born on September 11, 1977 in Champaign, Illinois), better known as Ludacris, is a rapper and actor. Born in Illinois, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he eventually made a name for himself, first as a radio DJ and then as one of the most prominent Southern rappers.Back for the First Time, in October 2000. This album was actually a re-release of the album Incognegro. The album reached as high as #4 on the charts, and was a major success. Ludacris made his mark on the industry with singles such as "Southern Hospitality" and <<What's Your Fantasy>>. Ludacris released his major label debut,

Acting career Champaign, Illinois, United States Origin Atlanta, Georgia Genre(s) Hip hop Years active 1998–present Label(s) MCA Music, Disturbing Tha Peace, Def Jam

Ludacris (bottom center) appeared in and contributed to the soundtrack for the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious

Ludacris has been acting in film since The Wash in 2001, but his big break came in 2005, where he received critical praise for his roles in the Oscar-winning films Hustle & Flow and Crash. Crash includes an ironic sequence where Ludacris's character is dismissive of hip-hop music. Interestingly, in both films, he is physically beaten by characters played by Terrence Howard. He is occasionally credited as "Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges".

On January 29, 2006 he was awarded with a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture for his work in the film Crash. Ludacris also starred in 2 Fast 2 Furious. Ludacris narrated the 2006 Ward Serrill basketball documentary "Heart of the Game." Ludacris recently cut his trademark braids off to project a new image for his upcoming album, Release Therapy.

On March 28, 2006 he appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Ludacris portrayed Darius Randall, the nephew of Detective Odafin Tutuola, portrayed by Ice T.