Initially known best as the youngest Hot Boy, Lil Wayne grew up quickly and enjoyed a steady stream of hits in the process. The New Orleans rapper began his long stint with Cash Money as part of the Hot Boys, a popular late-'90s supergroup also comprised of Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. that set the stage for respective solo careers. Juvenile and B.G. made their solo debuts first in 1999 and racked up a pair of simultaneous big hits, "Back That Azz Up" and "Bling Bling," respectively. Lil Wayne made his solo debut later that year and similarly came out of the gate with a huge hit, the title track of his album, Tha Block Is Hot (1999). Following this wave of astounding success in 1999, the Cash Money frenzy simmered a little bit thereafter. During the two years between Lil Wayne's second album, Lights Out (2000), and his third, 500 Degreez (2002), Cash Money consequently purged itself of Hot Boys, dropping Juvenile, B.G., and Turk while retaining only Lil Wayne. The label's loyalty paid off, as 500 Degreez sold massively, driven by the single "Way of Life." Tha Carter was released two years later, powered by the hit single "Go DJ." In 2005 he became the president of the Cash Money label and began work on a new album. Tha Carter, Vol. 2 appeared at the end of year while Lil Wayne was busy in his native New Orleans raising money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

By being the right person in the right place at the right time, Fabolous became an overnight superstar in late summer 2001 with his debut single, "I Can't Deny It." Though the young rapper represents Brooklyn and is no doubt representative of the East Coast rap style, he also happens to embody a large dose of the "bling, bling" mentality often associated with the Dirty South style as well as the "gangsta" mentality associated with the West Coast -- the makings of a true crossover artist. And the fact that he's young with poster-boy looks doesn't hurt either. So, in sum, Fabolous followed in the footsteps of other early-2000s overnight sensations like Nelly by representing his hood while also making subtle concessions to the masses. At the time, New York didn't have any ice-sportin', Cristal-poppin', hood-representin' rappers -- at least not since the death of the Notorious B.I.G. and the simultaneous popular demise of Puff Daddy. Fabolous filled this gaping niche perfectly.

DJ Clue certainly knew what he was doing when he made the young rapper the flagship of his start-up label, By being the right person in the right place at the right time, Fabolous became an overnight superstar in late summer 2001 with his debut single, "I Can't Deny It." Though the young rapper represents Brooklyn and is no doubt representative of the East Coast rap style, he also happens to embody a large dose of the "bling, bling" mentality often associated with the Dirty South style as well as the "gangsta" mentality associated with the West Coast -- the makings of a true crossover artist. And the fact that he's young with poster-boy looks doesn't hurt either. So, in sum, Fabolous followed in the footsteps of other early-2000s overnight sensations like Nelly by representing his hood while also making subtle concessions to the masses. At the time, New York didn't have any ice-sportin', Cristal-poppin', hood-representin' rappers -- at least not since the death of the Notorious B.I.G. and the simultaneous popular demise of Puff Daddy. Fabolous filled this gaping niche perfectly.

DJ Clue certainly knew what he was doing when he made the young rapper the flagship of his start-up label, Desert Storm. Though a no-name at the time, Clue's calculation proved genius. He hired a handful of producers, rappers, and vocalists for Fabolous' debut album, Ghetto Fabolous: Ja Rule, the Neptunes, Lil' Mo, and Timbaland, to name a few. And by teaming Fabolous with Nate Dogg -- who had become a hot commodity in the rap community that summer, virtually omnipresent on the radio with hits like "Area Codes" and "Lay Low" -- Clue had an undeniable hit song to drive the album's initial sales. This song was the perfect crossover hit, merging Fabolous' East Coast image and rhymes with Nate Dogg and producer Rick Rock's West Coast sound -- and interpolating a trademark 2Pac lyric for the hook obviously didn't hurt. As expected, the song became a huge hit, storming up the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and built up ample anticipation for the album, Ghetto Fabolous, released in September 2001. Street Dreams followed in 2003, and Real Talk in 2004. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
. Though a no-name at the time, Clue's calculation proved genius. He hired a handful of producers, rappers, and vocalists for Fabolous' debut album, Ghetto Fabolous: Ja Rule, the Neptunes, Lil' Mo, and Timbaland, to name a few. And by teaming Fabolous with Nate Dogg -- who had become a hot commodity in the rap community that summer, virtually omnipresent on the radio with hits like "Area Codes" and "Lay Low" -- Clue had an undeniable hit song to drive the album's initial sales. This song was the perfect crossover hit, merging Fabolous' East Coast image and rhymes with Nate Dogg and producer Rick Rock's West Coast sound -- and interpolating a trademark 2Pac lyric for the hook obviously didn't hurt. As expected, the song became a huge hit, storming up the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and built up ample anticipation for the album, Ghetto Fabolous, released in September 2001. Street Dreams followed in 2003, and Real Talk in 2004. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

Dipset member Juelz Santana took two years to release his sophomore album, but he was hardly absent from the scene. Plenty of proper Diplomats releases and twice as many mixtapes have flooded the hood since his debut, and his second solo release date caps off a year where the Dips practically owned half of MTV2's hip-hop programming. Rather than his lukewarm debut, all this Diplomats activity is responsible for the high anticipation What the Game's Been Missing! was graced with, but the album is surprisingly, firmly solo. Diplomats brother Cam'ron makes a big splash with his appearance on "Murda Murda" -- a track that cops the same Ini Kamoze sample as Damian Marley's massive "Welcome to Jamrock" -- but Juelz is responsible for the rest of the numerous highlights and opens the album with a touching, personal conversation between himself and his son. Of course, this is a Diplomats release, so it's only a matter of time before the poignancy of the intro is wiped away by "true tales from the street" that are irresponsible at best, despicable at their worst. There's plenty of redundancy too, but the good news is the Diplomats' stable of producers is at the top of its hook game, churning out memorable beats when it isn't ripping off the Ying Yang Twins. "There It Go (The Whistle Song)" is a thin and way-late attempt to capitalize on the success of "Wait (The Whisper Song)," but on the other hand, "Oh Yes" is a striking and exciting track that stutters a bit of the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" brilliantly. With a robotic beat and upright bass, the great "Clockwork" sounds like little else in the Dipset catalog, while the easy-flowing "Changes" is a lyrical high point for Santana as he reflects how different things are when you become a father. Contrasting these inspired, mostly personal tracks are the usual cocaine-moving numbers that suggest Santana's still involved in, or at least a fan of, dealing and pushing and the harsh reality that comes with it. "Lil' Boy Fresh" wastes its fresh production with tired hustle lyrics, and even Santana admits in the lyrics that "Gone" drags on and on. The spottiness and putting self-aware fatherhood numbers next to "thug and get paper" numbers are just further proof the Diplomats think track by track rather than album, but this hodgepodge gives Santana more of an identity than his debut did and with twice the hooks.