50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III, better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, entrepreneur, investor, record, film, and television producer. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of the borough of Queens, Jackson began selling drugs at age twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic. Although he left drug-dealing to pursue a musical career, he was struck by nine bullets in a 2000 shooting. After Jackson released the compilation album Guess Who's Back? in 2002, he was discovered by Eminem and signed by Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. As of 2007, Shakur has sold over 75 million records worldwide. His double disc albums All Eyez on Me and his Greatest Hits are among the best selling albums in the United States. He has been listed and ranked as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines, including Rolling Stone which ranked him 86th on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He is consistently ranked as one of the greatest rappers ever, as well as one of the most influential rappers of all time.
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, better known as Nas, is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, record producer and actor. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas has released eight consecutive platinum and multi-platinum albums and sold over 25 million records worldwide since 1994. He is also an entrepreneur through his own record label; he serves as associate publisher of Mass Appeal magazine and is the owner of a Fila sneaker store. He is currently signed to Mass Appeal Records.
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young, known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics. Dre was previously the co-owner of, and an artist on, Death Row Records. He has produced albums for and overseen the careers of many rappers, including The D.O.C., Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Xzibit, Knoc-turn'al, 50 Cent, The Game and Kendrick Lamar. He is credited as a key figure in the popularization of West Coast G-funk, a style of rap music characterized as synthesizer-based with slow, heavy beats. In 2014, Dr. Dre was ranked as the second richest figure in the American hip hop scene by Forbes with a net worth of $550 million; he is at the top of the 2015 Forbes list, with an estimated pre-tax take of $620 million in 2014.
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor from Detroit, Michigan. In addition to his solo career, he is a member of D12 and half of the hip-hop duo Bad Meets Evil. Eminem is the best-selling artist of the 2000s in the United States. Rolling Stone ranked him 83rd on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, calling him the King of Hip Hop. Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has had ten number-one albums on the Billboard 200. He has sold more than 172 million albums, making him one of the world's best-selling artists. As of June 2014, Eminem is the second-bestselling male artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era, the sixth-bestselling artist in the United States and the bestselling hip-hop artist, with sales of 45.1 million albums and 42 million tracks.
JAY Z
Shawn Corey Carter, known by his stage name Jay Z, is an American rapper, entrepreneur and investor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists in America. In 2014, Forbes estimated Jay Z's net worth at nearly $520 million. He is one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records, while receiving 21 Grammy Awards for his musical work, and numerous additional nominations. Consistently ranked as one of the greatest rappers ever, he was ranked number one by MTV in their list of The Greatest MCs of All-Time in 2006. Three of his albums, Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album, are considered landmarks in the genre with all of them featured in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1991, at the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo The B.G.'z, alongside fellow New Orleans-based rapper Lil' Doogie. In 1996, Lil Wayne formed the Southern hip hop group Hot Boys, with his Cash Money label-mates Juvenile, Young Turk and Lil' Doogie. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that same year. Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare. Along with being the flagship artist of Cash Money Records, Lil Wayne is also the chief executive officer of his own imprint, Young Money Entertainment, which he founded in 2005. Lil Wayne's solo debut album Tha Block Is Hot, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. His following albums, Lights Out and 500 Degreez, were certified gold. He reached higher popularity with his fourth album Tha Carter, which was led by the single "Go D.J." and his appearance on Destiny's Child's top ten single "Soldier", that same year.
Rakim
William Michael Griffin, Jr., better known by his stage name Rakim, is an American rapper. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential and most skilled MCs of all time.
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., known professionally as Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper and actor from Long Beach, California. His music career began in 1992 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre of N.W.A and, as a result, was prominently featured throughout Dr. Dre's solo debut album, The Chronic. He has since sold over 21 million albums in the United States and 35 million albums worldwide.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G, Biggie, or Biggie Smalls, was an American rapper. Murdered at age 24, Wallace is consistently ranked as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time.
