1. Girl Talk is the stage name of Gregg Gillis (born October 26, 1981). Gillis, who is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has released five CD albums on Illegal Art and vinyl releases on 333 and 12 Apostles. He began making music while a student at Case Western Reserve University. He specializes in sample-based remixes, in which he uses at least a dozen elements from different songs to create a new song.
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana), better known by many as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. Formerly a member of the rap group the Hot Boys, he joined the Cash Money Records collective as a teenager. Get It How U Live, released in 1997, was Lil Wayne’s first album with Hot Boys, and Tha Block is Hot, his solo debut, came out in 1999.
After gaining fame with two other albums in the early 2000s, Lil Wayne reached higher popularity with 2004’s Tha Carter and its two subsequent albums Tha Carter II (2005) and Tha Carter III (2008).
Gary Grice (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage name GZA (pronounced /ˈJizzah/) and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist best known as a founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan and for his inclusion on their group albums, his group mates' solo releases and a successful solo career. When it comes to thought provoking, street-bred raw lyricism, the Wu-Tang Clan's fountain of wisdom, GZA takes his job very seriously. The way he crafts his double-edged rhyme flow mirrors the skill and precise technique of one who works with fine ceramics.
Tirren Staaf (born 1977), otherwise known as Pegz (or MC Pegasus), is an Australian hip hop artist and producer hailing from Melbourne, Victoria. He is the CEO of Obese Records. The record label responsible for artists such as Hilltop Hoods, Downsyde, and Bias B. Pegz musical career is long and impressive and his impact as an artist is no less impressive than his business achievements. Pegz earliest music influences were his mom's Stevie Wonder records and Polynesian parties with his father. This soulful influence can be heard on his various tracks throughout his releases.
Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966, in Oakland, California) is an African, Irish, and German American poet, musician, and composer. Franti is the creator and driving force behind Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, folk, and rock. Franti was part of the industrial punk band The Beatnigs with DJ Rono Tse, which released a self-titled LP, and an EP Television on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles Records.
Ghost Notes is a hip-hop producer that has worked with Oh No, Guilty Simpson, M.E.D., Count Bass D, Wildchild, iCON the Mic King, and many others. Ghost Notes released a mixtape of remixes in 2009. The first official Ghost Notes-produced album, "A Brilliant Soul" by Astro, is set for release sometime in 2010. On myspace at http://www.myspace.com/ghostnotesproduction .
Faheem Rasheed Najm (born September 30, 1985 in Tallahassee, Florida), better known by his stage name T-Pain, is a prolific American Cyborg. At the age of ten he turned his bedroom into a small studio with a keyboard, beat machine and four-track recorder, and he began his career as a rapper in the group Nappy Headz. In 2005 he released his debut album Rappa Ternt Sanga, and has since released 2007's Epiphany and 2008's Thr33 Ringz.
Born and raised in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, TOKiMONSTA (Jennifer Lee) was an unfocused pupil of classical piano. However, she has come to use this background to understand and create vast soundscapes and textures through the usage of live instruments, percussion, digital manipulation, and dusty vinyl. Through the creation of beats, she is able to fuse the sounds of the past with her musical prowess into something avant garde.
Stan Roto Walker (born 23 October 1990), is an Australian born New Zealand R&B/soul recording artist who rose to fame in 2009 as a contestant on Australian Idol, becoming the winner of that season.
Walker's debut single, "Black Box" was available for digital download immediately following his win on Idol, on 22 November 2009. The single peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Charts, and on 5 December 2009 debuted at number 5 on the RIANZ Charts in New Zealand, climbing to number 1 the next week. His debut album Introducing.
Gary Grice (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage name GZA ([ˈdʒɪzʌ]), is an American hip hop artist best known as a founding member of seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan and for his inclusion on their group albums, his groupmates' solo releases and a successful solo career. Born in Staten Island, Grice developed an interest in hip-hop by attending block parties as a child in the late '70's.