Nelly

Originally born in Austin, Texas, Nelly moved to Missouri as a result of his parents’ separation at the age of 7. It was there that he found initial musical success, with the formation of the hip-hop group “St. Lunatics” with his high school friends in 1993.

After achieving moderate local interest with their song “Gimme What U Got” it became apparent to Nelly and the rest of the group, that he was the star of the group, and they encouraged him to push forward with his solo career.

He was finally signed by Universal, despite concerns about his geographical background not being commercially viable, as the majority of well-liked rappers hailed from New York or California at the time.

However Nelly’s debut release Country Grammar in 2000, was fairly successful, with the title track’s popularity helping pull the album to the top of various charts in the US. The album established Nelly’s personal pop-rap style, matched with his southern drawl that made him distinctive in the genre at the time.

Two years later, Nelly released his second full-length album, “Nellyville”, which took the rapper to superstardom. Tracks such as the catchy “Hot In Here” and R&B collaboration jam “Dilemna” with Destiny Child’s Kelly Rowland, established Nelly at the top of the charts around the globe, with the album certified as six times platinum and ranked as the fourth best selling rap album of all time.

Suddenly, Nelly and his trademark plaster were everywhere. His third LP, a “dual” album called Sweat, Suit, was a half Rap, half R&B album, Both albums were released simultaneously in 2004, with the latter featuring the hit single “Over and Over” a surprise joint track with country singer Tim McGraw. The album was yet another commercial triumph for the rapper, cementing his place as one of the true icons of the 2000’s.

Alongside his musical career, Nelly became known for his business acumen, during a time when rappers could seemingly release anything! Nelly’s ventures included, collaboration with Nike for a limited edition sneaker, his own brand of energy drink “Pimp Juice” and a women’s clothing range called “Apple Bottoms.” He also made a name for himself in the acting industry, starring in comedy sports movie “The Longest Yard” with comedians Adam Sandler and Chris Rock.

Shaggy is mostly known for his hit singles "Boombastic", "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel". It's said he got his idea for his stage name from the look of his hair.

He was born in Jamaica, but at the age of 18 he moved to Booklyn, New York with his family, which is where he began taking singing courses.

He originally enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and throughout his time in the military service he carried on singing, which he decided to officially pursue in 1993.

In the year 2000, he released the album "Hot Shot", which included the single "It Wasn't Me". Shaggy actually went on to remake the Scooby-Doo theme tune and titled it "Shaggy, Where Are You?".

In 2007 he performed at the ICC Cricket World Cup and sung "The Game of Love and Unity" next to the likes of Bajan and Rupee.

In 2008 he had completed a six date arena tour with Natalia, a belgian singer. The following year he performed at the closing ceremony of the 2009 IPL tournament in South Africa.

In January 2010 he released "Rise Again", which collaborated with Sean Paul and other artists. And in 2012 he confirmed that he was working on a new album.

Born on August 19, 1970, Fat Joe released a number of recordings which have lead to the explicit rapper attaining great success. He was raised by parents of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent, and was influenced by the Latino lyricist Big Pun in his early life; Fat Joe claimed he respected Big Pun for aiming to “represent our people”.

Between the years of 1992-1995, Joseph Cartagena performed under the show-name Fat Joe da Gangsta whilst being part of the Diggin’ in the Crates (D.I.T.C) rap collective. He released the debut album ‘Represent’ in 1993, which included the single ‘Flow Joe’; it gained Joe widespread recognition and forced people to start noticing his talents after it peaked at number one the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.

In 1998, Fat Joe released the album ‘Don Cartagena’ - featuring the likes of Nas, Diddy, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and his own group Terror Squad - on Atlantic Records. It peaked at number two on the US R&B chart, and signaled the begging of prolonged success for the east-coast rapper.

In 2001, Fat Joe released ‘Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E)’ - a production from Irv Gotti - which featured Busta Rhymes, Ludacris and R. Kelly. It included the hip-hop, club-classic single ‘What’s Luv’ featuring Ja Rule and Ashanti, which peaked at number four in the UK, at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and featured in the 2002 movie Juwanna Mann; the single has since sold over 4,500,000 copies. Fat Joe also featured heavily with Remy for Terror Squad’s single ‘Lean Back’ in 2004, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, topped the R&B charts for over a month and won the Single of the Year award at The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards.

Fat Joe is comparable to Mase, Redman and Indo G, whilst the Puerto Rican enthusiast is commended for his charitable work, having visited his old school and donated new computers for students, whilst also speaking at a School is Cool assembly in Public School 5 in New Jersey US in 2009. He has performed at prestigious settings such as The Black Music Festival and BET Hip-Hop Awards 2012, and continues to demand respect from the hip-hop scene and beyond for a career decorated with credible accolades.

The rapper and musician is best known for his hit single 'Because I Got High' which was released in 2001. He showed signs of musical interests when he sold his first tape whilst in the eighth grade featuring a rap about a teacher who got Foreman removed from the school for sagging his pants.

In 1998, Afroman released his first full length album 'My Fro-losophy', he later relocated to Mississippi where he met drummer Jody Stallone, Bass player Darrell Havard and future producer Tim Ramenofsky. The latter produced his second record 'Because I Got High', it's main promotional methods were touring and the file sharing site Napster. The title track was later played on The Howard Stern Show.

The song went on to become a worldwide hit in late 2001, it was featured in several high profile films including The Perfect Score, Disturbia and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, to add to the accolades the single went on to earn Afroman a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance in 2002. Leading on from this, the rapper went on the join the line up of Cypress Hill's 'Smoke Out' festival. He went on to sign a six album deal with Universal who released a compilation record titled 'The Good Times' which included picks from the rapper's first two LPs and some new material.

He never managed to achieve the success of that release commercially yet he continued to consistently release full length albums along with other material that surfaced online. In 2014 he remixed 'Because I Got High' to support the efforts to legalise marijuana in the US.