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HIEROGLYPHICS

2008-05-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

Hieroglyphics, also known as the Hieroglyphics Crew and Hiero, are an American underground hip hop collective based in Oakland, California. The collective was founded in the early-1990s by rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien. The Hieroglypics are considered by many to be hip hop visionaries, combining fundamentally sound deliveries and intelligent lyrical content with smooth, original and sometimes jazzy or funky beats and samples.^[1] Since their inception, Hieroglyphics have amassed a dedicated following of die-hard fans largely through their live concerts, podcasts ("Hierocasts"), and promotion through the collective's own website.

LOST BOYZ

2008-05-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

The Lost Boyz was a hip hop group from South Jamaica, Queens, New York. The original group members were lead MC Mr. Cheeks, backup MC and hype man Freaky Tah (1972–1999), DJ Spigg Nice, and Pretty Lou. There are also the creators of LB fam gang operating out of South Jamaica, Queens

EAZY-E

2008-05-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1963–March 26, 1995), better known by the stage name Eazy-E, was an American rapper, producer, and record executive from Compton, California. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the gangsta rap sub-genre and initially rose to fame as a member of the group N.W.A, but later achieved critical and commercial success as a solo artist. Eazy-E's vocal style was marked by his youthful, high-pitched voice and his lyrics focusing on the elements of urban street life such as guns, drugs, relations between residents and the police, and sexual activity.

DJ PREMIER

2008-05-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), better known as DJ Premier (also Premo/Primo/Preemo/Preme/Preem) is a prominent American hip hop producer and DJ, and the instrumental half of the duo Gang Starr, together with MC Guru on the lyrical side. Originally from Houston, he has lived in Brooklyn, New York virtually his entire professional career. Many fans and hip hop purists consider him to be the greatest hip hop producer ever.
The Source magazine named DJ Premier one of the 5 greatest producers in hip-hop history, while editors from About.com ranked him as #1 in their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list.^[1]

KRS-ONE

2008-05-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

Lawrence Krisna Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage name KRS-One, is an American Grammy-nominated rapper. Over his career, he has been known by several pseudonyms including "Kris Parker", "The Blastmaster", and "The Teacha". KRS-One is a significant figure in the hip hop community and is often credited by critics and other hip hop artists as epitomizing the "essence" of an MC and for being one of the greatest rappers to hold the mic.^[1]

RAKIM

2008-05-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

Rakim (pronounced Rah-Kem) (full name Rakim Allah, born William Michael Griffin Jr. on January 28, 1968 in Wyandanch, Long Island, New York) is a legendary rapper and pioneer of the musical genre of hip hop. Many hip hop/rap artists (both underground and mainstream) acknowledge a huge debt to Rakim's innovative style. He is given credit for popularizing the heavy use of internal rhymes in hip-hop - rhymes that are not necessary to the overall rhyme scheme of the verse, but occur between the endpoints of lines and stanzas, serving to increase the alliteration, assonance, and emphasis of the rap.

EMINEM

2008-05-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972),^[1] better known by his stage name Eminem, is an Academy Award-^[2] and multiple Grammy Award-winning American rap artist. Eminem is one of the highest-selling musicians of the early 2000s. He has sold over seventy million albums worldwide, and is one of the highest-selling rap artists of all time. Eminem was discovered by rapper and producer Dr. Dre, who later signed Eminem to his record label, Aftermath Entertainment. He has been married twice to Kim Mathers (married June 14, 1999; divorced October 11, 2001; remarried January 14, 2006; divorced December 19, 2006).

TUPAC

2008-05-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 — September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, Shakur was a successful film actor and a prominent social activist. He is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-selling rap artist, with over 75,000,000 albums sold worldwide, including over 50,000,000 in the United States.^[2] Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society and conflicts with other rappers. Shakur's work is known for advocating political, economic, social and racial equality, as well as his raw descriptions of violence, drug and alcohol abuse and conflicts with the law.

BIG L

2008-05-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974 – February 15, 1999), better known by his stage name Big L, was an American rapper. Big L was born, raised, lived, and fatally shot in the same New York City neighborhood, Harlem, which frequently appeared in his rhymes. He is mostly remembered for his freestyling, storytelling, punchlines, his critically acclaimed debut album Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, and his murder at the age of 24.

BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS

2008-05-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group originally comprised of KRS-One, D Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from an alternative name for The Bronx, one of the five boroughs of New York City. The group pioneered the fusion of dancehall reggae and hip hop music and their debut LP Criminal Minded contained frank descriptions of life in the South Bronx of the late 80s thus setting the stage for what would eventually become gangsta rap.

ASHERU

2008-05-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

Asheru (pronounced “Ash-er-roo”) (born Gabriel Benn on December 29th, 1974 in Columbia, Maryland) is an award winning, Black American Hip Hop artist, educator, and youth activist. He is most widely known for performing the opening and closing themes for the popular TV series, The Boondocks, as well as his pioneering and innovative efforts to forward the Hip Hop Education movement.

BLACK STAR

2008-05-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

Black Star is the self-titled debut by the pairing of rappers Talib Kweli and Mos Def from the group of the same name Black Star. It is sometimes listed as Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star. The album was released on August 26, 1998 to mass critical acclaim. The title is a reference to a shipping line founded by Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey. Black Star deals with modern day issues, ideas, and life in Brooklyn, New York City as the two artists know it.

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

2008-05-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

A Tribe Called Quest is a critically acclaimed and highly-influential American hip-hop group, formed in 1988. The group is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip (Kamal Fareed), rapper Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but appears to have rejoined the group since 2006. Along with De La Soul, the group was a central part of the Native Tongues Posse, and enjoyed the most commercial success out of all the groups to emerge from that collective.

DEL THA FUNKEE HOMOSAPIEN

2008-05-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

Del tha Funkee Homosapien is an alternative hip hop artist. Del was born Teren Delvon Jones on August 12, 1972 in Oakland, California. He currently lives in Richmond, California. Cousin of renowned rapper Ice Cube, Del began his career writing lyrics for Cube's backing band, Da Lench Mob. In 1991, with the help of Ice Cube, Del released at 19 years old his first solo album, I Wish My Brother George Was Here.[2] The album was a commercial success, largely due to the popularity of the hit single, "Mistadobalina". Ultimately Del, who was not pleased with the limited musical range of the album, took matters into his own hands, and severed his production-artist relationship with Ice Cube for his next album, No Need for Alarm.

COMMON

2008-05-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (and previously known as Common Sense), is an American hip hop artist and actor. Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow A Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 90s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. His first major label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received widespread critical acclaim and moderate commercial success.

DE LA SOUL

2008-05-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

De La Soul is a Grammy Award-winning hip hop group from Amityville, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling and quirky, surreal lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap subgenre. The members are Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos, Mercenary, Plug Wonder Why, Plug One), David Jude Jolicoeur (Trugoy the Dove, Dave, Plug Two) and Vincent Mason (P.A. Pasemaster Mase, Maseo, Plug Three). The three formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Paul Huston (Prince Paul) with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin'". Prince Paul was also sometimes referred to as Plug Four.

GANG STARR

2008-05-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

Gang Starr is an influential East Coast rap group that consists of Guru and DJ Premier. The group is known mainly for their unique style, which combines elements of New York swing jazz and hip hop. Despite the fact that neither member is from New York City, many consider[who?] Gang Starr a pillar in the New York hip hop community.

MAIN SOURCE

2008-05-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

Main Source was an innovative, acclaimed Toronto and New York-based hip hop group comprised of Toronto natives Sir Scratch, K-Cut, and Queens natives Large Professor and Mikey D.

MOS DEF

2008-05-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

Dante Terrell Smith (born December 11, 1973), better known by his stage name Mos Def, is an American rapper and actor. Mos Def started his rap career as a member of the Native Tongue Posse collective and by guesting on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. He released a well-received album with Talib Kweli as Black Star, and was a major force in the late 1990s underground hip hop explosion spearheaded by Rawkus Records. His name does not have anything to do with the words 'most definitely,' which is often misrepresented as the reason for his stage name being Mos Def. Instead, Mos Def refers to his belief that he is in fact the most 'def' of all. 'Def' being the old school Hip Hop term for cool.

NAS

2008-05-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

Nasir Jones (born September 14, 1973), better known by his stage name Nas, formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper. Son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas is well known for his 1994 debut album Illmatic.[1] This album established Nas as one of hip-hop's most profound lyricists, introducing his signature poetic style. Raised in the notorious Queensbridge housing projects in New York City, he represents a continuation of a hip-hop tradition in Queensbridge that has spanned through early hip-hop, including the Juice Crew, Mobb Deep, and MC Shan.

O.C.

2008-05-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

Omar Credle (born in 1972 in Brooklyn, New York), known by his stage name, O.C., is an American rapper who has been involved with several renowned underground rap groups and also released many solo albums.

PETE ROCK

2008-05-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

Pete Rock (born Peter Phillips, June 21, 1970[1] in Bronx, New York) is an American hip hop DJ, producer and rapper, of Jamaican descent. He rose to prominence in the early '90s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth. After the duo went their separate ways, Rock continued with a [2] solo career that has garnered him worldwide respect, if little in the way of mainstream success. Rock played a major role in the merging of elements from jazz into hip hop music, along with Stetsasonic, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots and Gang Starr. Considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time[3][4][5], he is often mentioned alongside DJ Premier, and RZA, as one of the mainstays of 1990s East Coast hip hop production. Pete Rock is also the older brother and younger cousin, respectively, of rappers Grap Luva and Heavy D.

REFLECTION ETERNAL -- A.K.A. -TALIB KWELI & DJ HI-TEK

2008-05-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

Reflection Eternal is a hip hop duo composed by rapper Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek. They released their first, and only album, Train of Thought in 2000.

SOULS OF MISCHIEF

2008-05-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Souls of Mischief is an alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1993 and is composed of emcees A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai.

THE ROOTS

2008-05-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

The Roots, a.k.a. The Legendary Roots Crew, are an influential, Grammy Award-winning American band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, famed for a heavily jazzy sound and live instrumentation. They made their debut in 1993 and have gone on to collaborate with artists from a range of genres, such as Roy Ayers and Cody Chesnutt. Inspired by Stetsasonic, The Roots themselves have garnered critical acclaim and influenced later beat and R&B acts.