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…

If you're looking for the perfect music to cap a romantic evening or, for that matter, get one started, slow-jam master R. Kelly might just do the trick. Whether he's turning out heart-on-sleeve love ballads (the R. Kelly-penned Michael Jackson 1995 …

Jamie Foxx is best known for his film and television roles, most notably his Oscar-winning turn as Ray Charles in the biopic RAY. More than simply a lip-syncher in the movies, however, Foxx released a debut album of slowjam R&B in 1994, though to li…

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…

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…

b. Tyrese Darnell Gibson, 30 December 1978, Los Angeles, California, USA. This photogenic urban R&B singer is also a highly successful model and actor. Gibson grew up in Los Angeles' tough Watts ghetto, gaining his big break when he starred in a 1995…

Rapper Jayceon Taylor, better known in the hip-hop world as the Game, turned to music for redemption after his wild youth led to his near-fatal shooting. By the time he recovered from his wounds, he had developed a formidable style rooted in old-scho…

The biggest hip-hop impresario of the mid-90s Sean Combs -- known as Puff Daddy both here and in the world of rap until his professional name change to P Diddy then just Diddy -- created a multi-million-dollar industry around Bad Boy Entertainment wi…

New York native Mary J. Blige was one of the first female artists to successfully merge classic soul sounds with modern day hip-hop, resulting in a string of hit singles and albums in the 1990s and early 2000s. Her influence was felt quickly by other…

The '90s saw the emergence of several soulful vocal groups in the R&B/pop world, namely 112, SWV, and Jagged Edge. Updating the smooth vocal harmonies of such genre groundbreakers as Boyz II Men, Jagged Edge caught the record buying public's eye in a…

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…

The fiercest, most provocative, and most infamous female rapper of the late '90s, Lil' Kim emerged as a guest rapper on Puff Daddy and Notorious B.I.G.'s side project, Junior M.A.F.I.A.. Blowing all who heard her away, the petite Kimberly Jones becam…

With more successful releases under his belt--including IRONMAN and the SUPREME CLIENTELE--than any other member of the venerable Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah is arguably the Wu's biggest star. While other members of the rap collective have broaden…

Originating from Atlanta, Georgia, US party rap trio Lil Jon And The East Side Boyz became mainstays in the mainstream charts during the early years of the twenty-first century, both as a solo act and more frequently as guests on other artist's recor…

b. Malik Cox, 23 June 1978, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. This New York-based rap artist was raised in the same Marcy Projects as his mentor, Jay-Z. Cox survived the trials and temptations of his neighbourhood by opting to use his rapping t…