b. Arturo Molina Jnr., 31 May 1964, Los Angeles, California, USA. Mexican-descended rapper who was raised on military bases in Guam and Germany, but did most of his growing up in East Los Angeles, where he began delivering rhymes in 1982. He was indu…

A founding member of seminal West Coast gangsta rap group NWA, Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson) has managed to acheive longevity in the notoriously short-lived world of rap stardom. His earlier solo albums (LETHAL INJECTION, DEATH CERTIFICATE) are among the…

Since releasing his recording debut while still a teenager, LL Cool J has enjoyed one of the most successful and sustained careers in rap history. His aggressive, self-aggrandizing style was one of the form's touchstones in its early incarnation. Aft…

Cross hardcore rap, alternative rock, and a defiantly pro-marijuana agenda, and you get groundbreaking hip-hoppers Cypress Hill. The band's genre-bending approach, as well as its English-Spanish bilingualism and rapper B-Real's distinctive nasal styl…

Like many of his West Coast gangsta peers in the early 90s DJ Quiks career began wonderfully before slowly descending with each passing year In 1991 when a 20-year-old Quik debuted on Priority Records West Coast gangsta rap reigned and his label cont…

This rap crew was among the genre's most faithful advocates of the style of funk created by the likes of Parliament and Funkadelic. The unit was formed in the mid-80s in Oakland, California by Shock-G (b. Gregory E. Jacobs, 25 August 1963, USA; keybo…

b. c.1975. From South Central Los Angeles, Ahmad utilized the half-sung, half-rapped approach invoked by Snoop Doggy Dogg and Domino. He was signed to Giant after rapping freestyle in front of president Cassandra Mills, who signed him on the spot. Th…

b. Warren Griffin III, 10 November 1970, Long Beach, California, USA. Half-brother to Dr. Dre, Griffin's parents relocated to Long Beach from Tennessee and Oklahoma before he was born. He was raised in a staunchly Christian tradition, and despite aff…

One of the first Chicano rappers to carve out a good niche for himself Lil Rob established himself amid the West Coast rap scene during the late 90s jumping around from independent label to independent label before finding a steady home at Upstairs R…

Proteges of Queen Latifah, the New Jersey rap trio Naughty By Nature ruled the air waves for a large part of the early 1990s, thanks to a string of undeniable hip-hop anthems--including "Hip Hop Hooray," "Feel Me Flow," and the infidelity ode "O.P.P.…

Oakland, California's original hip-hop export, Too Short was also one of the very first West Coast MCs, having started self-releasing records as early as 1983. Too Short is very much a prototype of the hustla/pimp/playa figure that has virtually come…

Hailing from Queens, New York, rapper 50 Cent had already garnered a grass-roots reputation as one of the hottest MCs around when he was tapped in the early 2000s by hip-hop golden boy Eminem for inclusion on the soundtrack to his film 8 MILE and a p…

Snoop Doggy Dogg ensured his place in rap history by providing the perfect vocal complement to Dr. Dre's mellow, ominous, West Coast G-funk sound. His distinctively lazy singsong and soft-spoken drawl was first heard on Dre's title cut from the DEEP …

Of the many skilled lyricists among his early-1990s East Coast contemporaries (Nas, Jeru, Black Moon), Biggie Smalls, AKA the Notorious B.I.G., was the only one who lived up to the predictions of a comeback for the East Coast hardcore sound. With the…

Hailed as a potential savior of the East Coast hardcore sound in an era when West Coast G-funk held a monopoly on the hip-hop audience's attention, Nas garnered no end of critical praise and street credibility with his debut album, 1994's influential…

Considered one of the best lyricists to emerge in the wake of the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac's deaths, Jay-Z has since carried the flag of hip-hop narrative skill. His Roc-A-Fella family had already created a solid reputation based on Jay-Z's 1997 de…

This swingbeat trio from Oakland, California, was formed by brothers Dwayne (b. 14 February 1963, Oakland, California, USA; lead vocals, guitar) and Raphael Wiggins (b. 14 May 1966, Oakland, California, USA; lead vocals/bass), and their cousin Timoth…

Delinquent Habits formed in Los Angeles in 1991 The group was one of the first Latino hip-hop acts mixing English Spanish and Spanglish lyrics together Delinquent Habits consists of rappers Kemo David LK Thomas Ives Ivan S Martin and OG Style Alejand…

A three-way collaboration between rappers Ice Cube (b. O'Shea Jackson, 15 June 1969, Crenshaw, South Central Los Angeles, California, USA), Mack 10 (b. D. Rolison, 9 August 1971, Inglewood, California, USA) and WC, Westside Connection was started as …

Self-proclaimed "overweight lover of rap from money earnin' Mount Vernon", Heavy D (b. Dwight Myers, 24 May 1967, Jamaica, West Indies) fronted a mainstream rap outfit which has been considered the genre's equivalent of Luther Vandross. Though the va…