No rap group (save, perhaps, N.W.A) has stirred more controversy or provoked more heated debate than the 2 Live Crew. The furor over the graphic sexual content of their X-rated party rhymes -- specifically their 1989 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be -- was a major catalyst in making rap music a flash point for controversy and an easily visible... [+] Read More

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The first artists brought to Rap-a-Lot Records after the infamous Geto Boys, 5th Ward Boyz originally comprised Andre "007" Barnes and Eric "E-Rock" Taylor. The trio originally recorded for Dewey Forker's Underground Records, but moved through a deal between Forker and Rap-a-Lot chief James Smith. The two executives helped produce the debut 5th... [+] Read More

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Devin Copeland aka Devin the Dude was born in St. Petersburg, FL, and later moved to Texas while in the fourth grade. As a child he went back and forth from New Boston and Houston and finally settled in the latter after he graduated high school. In the late '80s, Devin met Rob Quest, a blind rapper and producer who was part of a Houston crew... [+] Read More

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Like many of his West Coast gangsta peers in the early '90s, DJ Quik's career began wonderfully before slowly descending with each passing year. In 1991, when a 20-year-old Quik debuted on Priority Records, West Coast gangsta rap reigned and his label controlled the rap industry. These factors, coupled with Quik's production abilities, resulted... [+] Read More

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While growing up in Houston's South Park -- also the home of the Geto Boys, Scarface, and 5th Ward Boyz -- Ganksta N-I-P was influenced by the rhyming skills of Ice-T and the Nation of Islam knowledge of Rakim. The former Rowdy Jones named himself Ganksta N-I-P -- NIP stands for "Nation of Islam is powerful" -- and began rapping himself,... [+] Read More

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Ice Cube was the first member of the seminal Californian rap group N.W.A. to leave, and he quickly established himself as one of hip-hop's best and most controversial artists. From the outset of his career, he courted controversy, since his rhymes were profane and political. As a solo artist, his politics and social commentary sharpened... [+] Read More

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MC Ren had a much less-celebrated solo career than most of his former bandmates in N.W.A., despite enjoying some commercial success. Born Lorenzo Patterson on June 14, 1969, Ren was recruited to join N.W.A. in 1988 while still attending high school. He was a strong presence on the group's landmark Straight Outta Compton later that year, and also... [+] Read More

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One of hip-hop's most militantly Afrocentric radicals, Paris struggled for most of his career to find acceptance for his fiercely political music, which drew from the provocative intelligence of Public Enemy and the gut-level rage of early Ice Cube. Born Oscar Jackson, Jr. in California, Paris earned a degree in economics from the University of... [+] Read More

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Part of the growing contingent of Islamic-oriented message rappers, Poor Righteous Teachers formed in Trenton, NJ, when teenage friends Culture Freedom and Wise Intelligent (songwriting credits are listed as S. Phillips and T. Grimes) decided to form a more positive rap group as an alternative to the gangsta style (which they vehemently defend).... [+] Read More

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Tru is a three-piece gangsta rap group that No Limit mastermind Master P formed with his younger brothers, Silkk and C-Murder. Tru became the most popular act on No Limit with their 1995 debut album, True; it sold over 200,000 copies with little promotion or airplay, and helped establish No Limit as an underground hip-hop force. Tru released its... [+] Read More

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