The meeting of two West Coast rappers fuelled this talented Canadian band In 1996 Mad Child was a solo artist performing in San Francisco when he returned to his hometown of Vancouver There he met Prevail who was gaining attention for his energetic l…

These US turntablists, formerly known as the X-Men, officially became the X-ecutioners when they made the leap from battle-DJs to recording artists in their own right. Founded in 1989 with the stated intention of dethroning the reigning battle-DJs of…

L.A.'s Dilated Peoples' origins run deep within the Cali independent hip-hop scene. MCs Evidence and Iriscience met while participating in freestyle battles, eventually hooking-up with DJ Babu of crate-digging turntable crew the Beat Junkies. The tri…

The music of the Chemical Brothers, a pair of DJs who helped popularize the "Big Beat" electronic subgenre in the '90s, has the heft of rock, the groove of club music, and the spirit of experimentation that lifts all boats. Through their collaboratio…

DJ Andy Hunter is a rare find in the electronic community While dance bridges music with a higher spirituality Hunter fully lives by the latter Hes a devout Christian and mixes a funky break Born in the midlands of England in the mid-1970s Hunter got…

Featuring an infamous human beatbox/turntable backing up three MCs, the Roots have elevated hip-hop music by using live instrumentation instead of samples. Performing in the underground hip-hop circuit since 1987, the group has made waves in both the…

Los Angeles-bred Ima Robot makes hooky punky modern rock out of terribly fashionable musical byproducts The band started in the early 90s just willowy Alex Ebert and crazy Timmy Anderson making beats and trying to rap The stardom-dreaming duo was eve…

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…

Best known for the iPod commercial-soundtracking single Jerk It Out Swedens Caesars -- originally known as Caesars Palace -- formed in 1995 Singer Csar Vidal and guitarist Joakim Ahlund who had known each other since kindergarten began playing with b…

As much an art project as an actual band, Fischerspooner is the brainchild of Casey Spooner and Warren Fischer, two New York City-based multi-media artists. Drawing heavily on 1980s U.K. synth and dance pop, Fischerspooner plays infectious club music…

Born Lonnie Rashied Lynn in Chicago, the rapper who would become an integral part of the 1990s underground hip-hop scene started out as Common Sense. His 1992 debut CAN I BORROW A DOLLAR? showcased a politically conscious, musically eclectic artist i…

Norman Cook's first foray into the music biz came as the bass player for 1980s UK pop/rock band the Housemartins, but once he got into the DJ world, he hung up his bass for good. As Fatboy Slim, he was at the forefront of the mid-'90s "big beat" move…

Brooklyn-born Talib Kweli got his start as a hip-hop recording artist when he collaborated with DJ Hi-Tek. After numerous guest appearances and compilation tracks, the intelligent and thoughtful lyricist teamed up with his longtime friend Mos Def in …

Felix Burton and Simon Ratcliffe started out as two British DJ's enamored of the sounds of '70s funk and '80s house. By the mid-'90s, the pair were turning heads with singles and remixes that used house as a starting point for innovative explorations…

The early-1990s advent of A Tribe Called Quest represented one of the key evolutions in rap music. The New York group signaled a shift from the boisterous braggadocio of the old school to a more laid-back, fun-loving form buoyed by sophisticated prod…

Like many rappers, New York underground hip-hop hero Mos Def was first heard on guest appearances with other artists, in this case Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. It was his 1998 collaboration with the like-minded Talib Kweli in the duo Black Star tha…

Autopilot Off is an emo-punk four-piece from Orange County NY Composed of Chris Hughes guitar Chris Johnson guitarvocals Phil Robinson drums and Rob Kucharek bass they formed in 1996 under the name Cooter Building a fan base through its live shows th…

This west coast hip-hop duo, comprising MC The Gift Of Gab (b. Tim J. Parker, USA) and DJ Chief Xcel (b. Xavier Mosley, USA), has attracted the same attention as the members of the east coast-based Black Star crew for their promotion of a new "consci…

As the lead singer of California neo-ska pop-punks No Doubt, Gwen Stefani gained notoriety for her spunky, riot grrrl-lite approach to fronting a rock band. On her 2004 solo debut, LOVE. ANGEL. MUSIC. BABY., Stefani pulled a musical about-face and fu…