He spent his early years in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York, where he has been rapping at block parties since the early days of his youth. He first showcased his hardcore Brooklyn style to audiences on "I'm the Man," a track from Gang Starr's 1992 album Daily Operation. The following year he released his first single, "Come Clean", which was produced by DJ Premier and became an instant underground hit.
The Cool Kids are a hip hop duo from Chicago, Illinois consisting of Antoine "Mikey Rocks" Reed and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll (originally from Detroit). They are signed to the independent Chocolate Industries via their own label C.A.K.E. Recordings. After meeting in 2005, and releasing three mixtapes onto the internet through their MySpace page, they released their debut EP The Bake Sale in 2008. They are now preparing to release their debut LP, When Fish Ride Bicycles, sometime in 2010.
Aesop Rock (born Ian Bavitz on June 5, 1976) is an alternative hip hop artist/producer from Northport, New York, United States. He has released five albums: "Music for Earthworms" (1997), "Float" (1999), "Labor Days" (2001), "Bazooka Tooth" (2003) and "None Shall Pass" (2007). He is also a member of the groups Hail Mary Mallon, The Weathermen and Two of Every Animal.
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.
Gift Of Gab (Tim Parker) and Chief Xcel (Xavier Mosley) met at John F. Kennedy High School in 1987 in Sacramento, California and formed the group in the early 1990s. They released their first recording, "Swan Lake", on solesides records. The Solesides Crew consisted of the duo. as well as other friends of theirs they had met at University of California - Davis, including DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born and Lateef The Truth Speaker. The single was an underground hit, but label trouble prevented the duo from immediately capitalizing on their fame.
Lowkey (born Kareem Dennis 23 May 1986) is a Poet, Playwright, Political Activist and award winning Hip Hop Artist of mixed British and Arab descent who has received airplay on numerous major radio stations including BBC Radio 1, 95.8 Capital FM, Kiss 100, Choice FM, BBC 1Xtra and BBC Asian Network and toured internationally, performing to crowds everywhere from Glastonbury and Trafalgar Square to Germany and Amsterdam. Background
Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) is a hip-hop collective from Los Angeles, California, USA formed by Tyler, the Creator in 2007. The group has released three official collaborative mixtapes, as well as several solo and sub-group albums, singles, and music videos. Most of their official content has been released for free in the form of electronic downloads. Commonly referred to as Odd Future, Wolf Gang, or Golf Wang, the collective is known for their dark, violent, and offensive lyrical content, as well as their general "don't give a fuck" attitude.
Chino XL (born Derek Barbosa, April 8, 1971, in The Bronx, New York but raised in East Orange, New Jersey) is a rapper well respected among hip hop enthusiasts for his battling abilities. He is notorious for his usage of self-consciously over-the-top punchlines (which usually take the form of puns or similes) and for his exaggerated egotism. He is also well known to many for a brief feud with Tupac Shakur.
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is a Grammy Award-winning American hip-hop artist and producer. He first became known to the mainstream hip-hop community in 2005 when he appeared on Kanye West's album Late Registration on the track "Touch the Sky." In 2006 Lupe released his debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor on Atlantic Records, and in December 2007 he released his second full length album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool.