Curated playlist

21st-century American rappers

DJ HollywoodDid DJ Hollywood invent hip-hop style rapping? Kurtis Blow points to him, yet little was taped.
Spoonie GeeAfter his mother died, twelve-year-old Spoonie Gee moved in with his uncle, a Harlem record producer.
EminemEminem performed with Elton John at the 43rd Grammy Awards while GLAAD protested outside.
FabolousFabolous got his name by misspelling "Fabulous." The Brooklyn rapper freestyled on Hot 97 as a teenager.
Kanye WestKanye West recorded "Through the Wire" with his jaw still wired shut. A 2002 car accident had shattered it.
Jay-ZNo major label would sign Jay-Z, so he sold burned CDs out of his car.
Roddy RicchRoddy Ricch spent eighteen weeks atop the Hot 100 in 2020, more than any other artist that year.
Coke La RockCoke La Rock quit hip-hop after DJ Kool Herc was stabbed at a party. He said murder had become part of the game.
Dr. DreDr. Dre's G-funk had live musicians replay funk melodies instead of sampling them. It debuted on The Chronic.
Young ThugYoung Thug was expelled in sixth grade for breaking a teacher's arm.
RaekwonRaekwon was accidentally shot four times in a crossfire. He later called it an "important eye opener."
Marley MarlMarley Marl's studio mistake with a snare drum changed how hip-hop beats were built.
Large ProfessorLarge Professor turned down an executive producer credit on Nas's Illmatic. He still produced three of its ten songs.
Birdman (rapper)Birdman was born without a first name and was called "Baby" for nearly a month. He later built Cash Money Records.
Jeru the DamajaRapper Jeru the Damaja answered a Fugees line on record after his album upset the group.
Rick RossRick Ross worked as a prison guard before he became a rap star. He first denied it, then confirmed it.
Sha-RockSha-Rock began in hip hop as a breakdancer, not a rapper. She later became known as the first female rapper.
TimbalandTimbaland taught himself to DJ with his left hand after being shot at 14. A co-worker shot him at a Red Lobster.
Fergie (singer)Fergie, born Stacy Ann Ferguson, sang on a song that held the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 straight weeks in 2009. That song, "I Gotta Feeling," stayed at number one longer than any other song that year. By then her records had…
Pharrell WilliamsPharrell Williams, the American musician, songwriter, record producer and fashion designer, was once behind a startling share of the songs on the radio. An August 2003 survey cited by The Age found that his production duo, the Neptunes,…
Queen LatifahQueen Latifah picked her name from a book of Arabic names at age eight. She added the title "Queen" herself.
Tyler, the CreatorAt the age of seven, Tyler Gregory Okonma, known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, was already making albums that did not exist. He pulled the covers out of CD cases and made new ones for imaginary records, each with a tracklist and…
Will SmithWill Smith turned down the lead role in The Matrix to make Wild Wild West. He later called that choice a mistake.
Lauryn HillLauryn Hill stood at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards and said, "This is crazy. This is hip-hop!" She had just become the first woman to win five Grammys in a single night. Her wins spanned album, song, vocal performance and best new artist,…
MC HammerMC Hammer started out as an 11-year-old selling baseballs in a parking lot. The Oakland A's owner hired him on the spot.
Missy ElliottMissy Elliott and Timbaland wrote and produced nine tracks on Aaliyah's 1996 album One in a Million.
Sean CombsSean Combs founded Bad Boy Records, which launched the Notorious B.I.G. He was later sentenced to four years in prison.
Hi-C (rapper)Compton rapper Hi-C kept turning up on DJ Quik, AMG and 2nd II None records. It lasted from 1991 to at least 2004.
Doja CatIn August 2018, Doja Cat uploaded a homemade music video in which she fantasized about being a cow. Within a week it had passed three million views. The American rapper, singer and producer was born Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, and the…
Kendrick LamarKendrick Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018, the first for a piece outside classical and jazz.
Snoop DoggSnoop Dogg bought Death Row Records, the label that launched his career, in February 2022. It took nearly three decades.
Stephen Glover (screenwriter)Donald Glover hired his younger brother Stephen to co-write Atlanta with no TV writing experience.
Cardi BCardi B reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated the 25th of September 2017, with a song called "Bodak Yellow." No solo female rapper had topped that chart since Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in 1998. The woman behind…
Kid RockKid Rock, born Robert James Ritchie in Romeo, Michigan, was 17 when he signed with Jive Records. Years later, his album Devil Without a Cause sold 14 million copies. Both facts belong to one career, and little else about that career is…
Hulk HoganHulk Hogan held the World Wrestling Federation championship for 1,474 days during his first reign. That is the third-longest run in the history of the title. The man under the bandana and the blond moustache was born Terry Gene Bollea.…
Afrika BambaataaAfrika Bambaataa turned a street gang into a global peace movement. He wanted hip-hop to draw angry kids out of gangs.
50 Cent50 Cent was shot nine times in 2000, then blacklisted by the music industry. He built his comeback on mixtapes.
Megan Thee StallionMegan Thee Stallion's mother took her to recording sessions instead of daycare.
Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'Neal twice broke steel backboard supports with his dunks. The NBA then redesigned its equipment.
NasNas was born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, and every piece of that name carries a meaning. Nasir is an Arabic name for a helper and protector, and bin means son of. The American rapper, entrepreneur and record producer first recorded in 1989…
LL Cool JLL Cool J became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honors in 2017.
KeshaKesha's big break in 2009 came from walking into a recording session by accident.
MadlibMadlib sampled his first song at 11 years old, using his father's record.
Travis ScottTravis Scott, born Jacques Bermon Webster II, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer from Houston, Texas. Within a single twelve-month span, three of his songs entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number one. No artist…
Juice WrldIn 2020, the rapper Juice Wrld was streamed on Spotify more than 5.9 billion times, which made him the fourth most streamed artist in the world. He had died the year before. The name is pronounced "juice world", and it belonged to a young…
Chris BrownChris Brown, born Christopher Maurice Brown, has sold more than 140 million records worldwide. That total places him among the best-selling music artists in the world. Across his career he has collected 219 awards from 566 nominations, and…
DJ Kool HercDJ Kool Herc played two copies of one record to stretch a drum break. He debuted the trick at a Bronx party in 1973.
Lupe FiascoLupe Fiasco finished an album in 2010, but his record label refused to release it.
The Lady of RageThe Lady of Rage rapped on The Chronic and Doggystyle before she had an album of her own.
Donald GloverDonald Glover was voted most likely to write for The Simpsons. At 23 he landed a writing job on 30 Rock instead.