Born in 1988 in Fresno, California, Fashawn grew up in a virtually parentless home. His father was incarcerated, while his mom was focused on feeding her drug addiction - a combination that caused a boy to become a man quicker than most. Placed in a group home by child services at the age of 12, Fashawn found solace in music, and began writing rhymes to escape the less than desirable hand he had been dealt so early in life.
In Melbourne sat a King with a large jaw at the helm of independent record label. In Canberra, a whimsical jester oversaw a paint emporium. It was the year two thousand and nine, and these two disparate souls saw fit to unleash a recorded missive that would not be thwarted by the tyranny of distance. Forging Broken Tooth Entertainment’s strengths in Melbourne, Ciecmate is the beat-breaking crate digger out to make figures.
Murs (born Nick Carter on March 16, 1978), is an underground mc from Mid-City Los Angeles. The name 'MURS' is an acronym for Making Underground Raw Shit. Even though his discography spans almost an entire decade he only had limited recognition up until three years ago when he released both the full length Def Jux release The End Of The Beginning and the more introspective Varsity Blues EP, which helped open up a lot of people's eyes to him as a solo artist.
Aubrey “Drake” Graham (born October 24, 1986 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Grammy award nominated Canadian actor, rapper and singer signed to Young Money/Universal Motown. Drake shot to global fame upon the release of his critically acclaimed 2009 mixtape So Far Gone and Best I Ever Had, a single from the mixtape which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Drake's music career began in 2006 with the release of his debut mixtape Room For Improvement.
Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1975 in Brooklyn, New York), better known as Lil' Kim or Queen Bee, is a Grammy Award winning American rapper and actress signed to <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Jay-Z" class="bbcode_artist">Jay-Z</a>'s Roc Nation label. She is known for her sexually explicit lyrics and for being one of the most prominent female rap artists of her time. She began her career with <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Junior+M.A.F.I.A." class="bbcode_artist">Junior M.A.F.I.A.</a>, whose album Conspiracy generated three hit singles.
The current moniker for the artist previously known as Del tha Funkee Homosapien, used now for a number of years on his last few album releases, compilation and guest appearances. He is also a member of Hieroglyphics and Deltron 3030.
Seth Sentry (born 1984) is an MC from Melbourne, Victoria. Emerging from Melbourne’s live hip hop scene with the November release of his highly-anticipated debut EP, The Waiter Minute, Seth Sentry has a busy summer ahead, finalising his debut full-length (due for an early 2009 release) whist touring and promoting in support of the EP. The culmination of several years’ involvement in the local scene and a strong musical partnership with respected Melbourne producer Matik, The Waiter Minute EP has quickly garnered widespread media attention and favourable reviews:
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.
The Winnie Coopers are a five piece hip-hop group from the Gold Coast, Australia consisting of MC's The Educator and Eloquence, Young Tubs on bass and DJ Bigbad. They creat music they describe as "geeky hip hop guaranteed to get cabooses shaking" combining a laid back style with sweet party tunes and lyrics that all nerds can relate to. They have released one album - Being Different on the Starving Kids label.
Edan (born Edan Portnoy) is an independent emcee, DJ and producer based in Boston, USA. He is a former member of the band Fiber 2001 and is known for his eclectic mix of classic mid-80s till early 90s hip-hop with 60s rock, funk and other styles. His mix-tape "Sound of the Funky Drummer" collects hip hop tracks sampling James Brown's "Funky Drummer", which has been called the most-sampled record of all time.