b. Sean Paul Henriques, 8 January 1973, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. Paul was educated at Wolmers High School near the National Heroes Stadium, and the exclusive Bel Air High School in uptown Mandeville. His principal vocational research was at th…

b. O'Neil Bryan, 11 September 1975, Seaview Gardens, Jamaica, West Indies. One of the more colourful characters on the "glam" dancehall scene, Bryan was originally known as "Dumbo the Elephant" as it was perceived that he had larger than average ears…

Watching the local Calypsonians marching by from his mothers shoulders and then going home and watching Michael Jackson perform Billie Jean on television was an influential mix for the seven-year-old Kevin Lyttle a mix that stuck with him Soca was th…

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…

St. Louis, Missouri rapper Nelly (of the St. Lunatics clique) dominated MTV and radio in late 2000 with his debut COUNTRY GRAMMAR, which featured irresistible hooks, a danceable tempo, newly styled bounce beats different from the New Orleans-based No…

Atlanta, Georgia-based rapper Ludacris was a local success story. As a former intern on an Atlanta radio station, he became known for his theatrical station IDs. In 2000 he parlayed this notoriety into a successful debut album that he self-marketed t…

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…

Kanye West first gained fame as an acclaimed hip-hop producer, working with Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, Mase, and others. West's solo debut was delayed due to a serious car accident, but when THE COLLEGE DROPOUT finally appeared in 2004, it took the hip-hop w…

Hailing from Chattanooga, TN, Usher Raymond (best known by his given name) emerged in the '90s as a young R&B singer full of promise. The stars must have been aligned correctly for him, as he snagged Puffy Combs as a producer for his eponymous 1994 d…

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…

b. Austin, Texas, USA. R&B vocalist Ciara enjoyed immediate commercial success when her debut "Goodies', climbed up the US charts to reach the peak position in September 2004. As a child of a military family, Ciara spent an itinerant childhood moving…

This US R&B duo enjoyed one of the party hits of 2004 when the dancehall-inspired "Move Ya Body" crossed over into the upper regions of the mainstream chart during the summer. Nina Sky comprises New York-based identical twins Natalie and Nicole Albin…

One of the most acclaimed Jamaican DJs of the '90s, Buju Banton was among those in the thriving ragga dancehall scene who turned their backs on the "slackness" to focus once again on "cultural" statements and "conscious" lyrics. He was huge in Jamaic…

Videos and albums are not always the preferred formats for gaining success as a recording artist--it was an appearance in the hit Will Smith movie MEN IN BLACK that gave Destiny's Child a major boost to their recording career. From there, the all-fem…

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 …

The Los Angeles-based hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas has made a name for itself by taking an eclectic and organic approach to rap, R&B, and funk. Led by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Will.I.Am., the band also includes two other MCs, Apl.de.Ap. and Ta…

b. Howard Bailey, 9 March 1980, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. This US rapper burst into the mainstream charts in summer 2003 with the anthemic "Right Thurr', a catchy slice of southern hip-hop that briefly threatened to unseat the reigning king of pop ra…

b. 26 September 1981, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA. Urban pop singer Milian was born to Cuban native parents in New Jersey and raised in Waldorf, Maryland. The child prodigy relocated to California to make her first foray into entertainment in the mu…

Aside from 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks is the most successful member of G-Unit to go solo. Banks was a founding member of the Queens rap group along with Tony Yayo and Fiddy himself; he released his first solo album, THE HUNGER FOR MORE, in 2004. Bringing t…

Chicago rapper Carl Mitchell, better known as Twista, once made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's fastest rapper (not for nothing was his original moniker Tung Twista). An influential artist since the early 1990s, Twista combi…