Heralded instantly as one of New York's leading rap voices, Nas expressed an outspoken, self-empowered swagger that rallied the streets of his city and elsewhere. Whether proclaiming himself "Nasty Nas" or "Nas Escobar" or "Nastradamus" or "God's Son," the self-appointed King of New York battled numerous adversaries for his position atop the... [+] Read More

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Acknowledged as the more skilled member of the duo Mobb Deep on the mic, Prodigy spent years making a name for himself alongside partner Havoc on acclaimed albums such as Hell on Earth (1996) and Murda Muzik (1999) before releasing his first solo album, HNIC, on Loud Records in late 2000. With this album, Prodigy teamed up with a roster of... [+] Read More

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One of the numerous thoughtful, literate gangsta rappers to emerge from New York during the mid-'90s, AZ never garnered the attention of peers like Nas and Jay Z. Instead, he saw his debut album, Doe or Die, become a critical favorite in late 1995 before his career suddenly went downhill after such modest and short-lived success. Critics and... [+] Read More

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To the admiration of a generation, Jay-Z led an incredibly storied career in the rap industry, pulling himself up by his bootstraps as a youth to one day become the reigning rapper of New York City and then a major-label executive following his retirement from music-making. More than anyone, Jay-Z embodied the ultimate rags-to-riches rap dream,... [+] Read More

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One of the numerous thoughtful, literate gangsta rappers to emerge from New York during the mid-'90s, AZ never garnered the attention of peers like Nas and Jay Z. Instead, he saw his debut album, Doe or Die, become a critical favorite in late 1995 before his career suddenly went downhill after such modest and short-lived success. Critics and... [+] Read More

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Before she had released any material at all, Foxy Brown appeared on several 1995-1996 platinum singles, including her first credit, LL Cool J's "I Shot Ya," as well as Total's "No One Else" remix of Jay-Z's "Ain't No...," Toni Braxton's "You're Makin' Me High" remix, and Case's "Touch Me, Tease Me." The incredible success led to a major-label... [+] Read More

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As golden age rap suddenly gave way to West Coast gangsta in the early '90s, an East Coast variety of hardcore rap arose in turn, with Mobb Deep initially standing tall as one of New York's hardcore figureheads on the basis of their epochal Infamous album. Released in April 1995, The Infamous was released almost exactly a year after Illmatic and... [+] Read More

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Jermaine Baxter, known by fans as Nature, went to school with rapper Nasir "Nas" Jones. In fact, it was Nas who first took notice of Baxter's strong rhyming style, a style that seemed to come to the young hip-hop artist effortlessly.

Nature skipped the normal course of demo tapes and moved ahead to intros on recordings for other... [+] Read More

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Acknowledged as the more skilled member of the duo Mobb Deep on the mic, Prodigy spent years making a name for himself alongside partner Havoc on acclaimed albums such as Hell on Earth (1996) and Murda Muzik (1999) before releasing his first solo album, HNIC, on Loud Records in late 2000. With this album, Prodigy teamed up with a roster of... [+] Read More

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In just a few short years, the Notorious B.I.G. went from a Brooklyn street hustler to the savior of East Coast hip-hop to a tragic victim of the culture of violence he depicted so realistically on his records. His all-too-brief odyssey almost immediately took on mythic proportions, especially since his murder followed the shooting of rival... [+] Read More

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