Ninja-Parents Blog

Who Is Flo Rida? Tramar Lacel Dillard, known as Flo Rida, is a Miami rapper who built a commercial model in 2007–2009 based on sampling recognisable hooks, adding electro production, and releasing the result to radio. Low (2007) and Right Round (2009) both reached #1 on the Hot 100. Only One Flo Part 1 (2010) peaked at #107 with 11,000 first-week copies, confirming the model had run out of source material. Quick Stats Career Overview Flo Rida released Mail on Sunday

Who Is Yung Joc? Jasiel Amon Robinson, known as Yung Joc, is an Atlanta rapper who had two of 2006's most recognisable Southern rap singles — It's Goin' Down and You Know What It Is — before PopMatters accurately summarised his career in seven words: the Good Charlotte of rap. Quick Stats Career Overview Yung Joc debuted in 2006 with It's Goin' Down — a snap-rap track that reached #3 on the Hot 100 — and New Joc City, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and wen

Who Is Snow? Darrin O'Brien, known as Snow, is a Canadian rapper from a Toronto housing project who watched Informer — his debut single — reach #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks while he was serving a prison sentence for assault. He was then denied entry to the United States because of his criminal record, meaning he could not tour the country where his song was number one. 12 Inches of Snow (1993) went platinum. Quick Stats Career Overview Snow grew up

Who Is Bow Wow? Shad Gregory Moss, known as Lil Bow Wow (later Bow Wow), is an Atlanta rapper who began performing as a child rapper at age 9 under Snoop Dogg's mentorship and became one of the most commercially successful teen rap acts of the early 2000s. New Jack City II (2009) was his attempt to transition into adult rap, and it debuted at #16 with 31,000 copies. Quick Stats Career Overview Bow Wow was performing as Lil Bow Wow at age 9 when Snoop Dogg invited hi

Who Is Tone Loc? Anthony Terrell Smith, known as Tone Loc, is a Los Angeles rapper who scored two of the late 1980s' biggest crossover rap singles — Wild Thing (#2 Hot 100) and Funky Cold Medina (#3) — and whose debut album Loc-ed After Dark became the first album by a Black rap musician to top the Billboard 200. Cool Hand Loc (1991) confirmed those hits were the whole story. Quick Stats Career Overview Tone Loc grew up in Los Angeles and began performing with the r

Who Is Marky Mark? Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg, known as Marky Mark (and now as Mark Wahlberg), is a Boston actor who briefly had one of 1991's biggest rap hits with Good Vibrations before discovering that Good Vibrations was everything his commercial appeal had to offer. You Gotta Believe (1992) confirmed it. He became an actor instead. Quick Stats Career Overview Marky Mark was the younger brother of New Kids on the Block's Donnie Wahlberg and formed Marky Mark a

Who Is Kreayshawn? Natassia Zolot, known as Kreayshawn, is an Oakland rapper who became briefly famous in 2011 when Gucci Gucci went viral on YouTube. Columbia Records signed her almost immediately. Somethin' Bout Kreay (2012) debuted at #112 with 3,502 first-week copies. On January 16, 2014, Kreayshawn tweeted a screenshot of her total profit from the album: $0.01. Quick Stats Career Overview Kreayshawn's entire career can be summarised by two things: the Gucci Guc

Who Is Benzino? Raymond Scott, known as Benzino, is a Boston rapper and co-owner of The Source magazine who used his position at hip-hop's most powerful publication to promote his own rap career and wage a multi-year public war against Eminem. He lost decisively. Eminem called him the worst rapper in the world on Hot 97. Arch Nemesis (2005) sold 10,000 copies. Quick Stats Career Overview Benzino co-founded The Source magazine with David Mays in 1988, building it int

Who Is Nick Cannon? Nick Cannon is an American rapper, comedian, actor, and television host whose music career has existed in the shadow of his entertainment career since his debut single Gigolo in 2003. His second and most recent album White People Party Music (2014) received universally negative reviews and earned a 1/10 from us. Quick Stats Career Overview Nick Cannon began as an actor and comedian before releasing his self-titled debut album in 2003, which earne

Who Is Chingy? Howard Bailey Jr., known as Chingy, is a St. Louis rapper who had two of 2003's biggest singles — Right Thurr and Holidae In — and a debut album Jackpot that went triple platinum, making him briefly the most commercially successful new rapper in mainstream pop-rap. His subsequent releases confirmed that Right Thurr was lightning in a bottle that had struck once and could not be recaptured. Quick Stats Career Overview Chingy was discovered by Ludacris'

Who Is Tyga? Micheal Ray Nguyen-Stevenson, known as Tyga, is a Compton-born rapper who scored his biggest commercial moment with Rack City (2012) — a DJ Mustard-produced club banger that went double platinum — and subsequently struggled to sustain that momentum across studio albums that critics consistently dismissed. Quick Stats Career Overview Tyga was signed to Cash Money Records by Lil Wayne and released his debut No Introduction (2008). Careless World (2012) de

Who Is Silkk the Shocker? Vyshonne King Miller, known as Silkk the Shocker, is a New Orleans rapper and younger brother of Master P who released five albums on No Limit Records — all of which went platinum or better, none of which were made good by the artistic merits of Silkk himself. Made Man (1999) debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with 240,000 first-week copies and is widely considered one of the worst #1 rap albums ever released. Quick Stats Career Overview Si

Who Is Lil Pump? Gazzy Garcia, known as Lil Pump, is a Miami rapper who became famous at 16 through the viral spread of Gucci Gang (2017) on SoundCloud — a track so stripped-down it consisted almost entirely of the title repeated over a minimal trap beat. He was signed to Warner Bros. Records for a reported $8 million before his debut album was even released. Quick Stats Career Overview Lil Pump began posting to SoundCloud at 16 and Gucci Gang was picked up by algor

Who Is Young MC? Marvin Young, known as Young MC, is a British-American rapper who wrote Bust a Move (1989) — one of the most enduring crossover rap singles of the late 1980s — and also co-wrote Wild Thing and Funky Cold Medina for Tone Loc. His career is defined by the gap between his extraordinary contribution as a songwriter and his modest commercial standing as a solo artist. Quick Stats Career Overview Young MC grew up in Queens, New York, and studied economics

Who Is Kevin Federline? Kevin Earl Federline, known as K-Fed, is a California dancer and backup performer who married Britney Spears in 2004 and subsequently released Playing with Fire (2006) — an album so comprehensively terrible that it received a 1/10 from us and is widely considered the worst rap album ever commercially released by a mainstream label. Quick Stats Career Overview Kevin Federline worked as a professional dancer and backup performer before meeting

Who Is Canibus? Germaine Williams, known as Canibus, is a Jamaican-American rapper whose technical lyricism in the late 1990s made him one of the most anticipated debut artists in hip-hop. His beef with LL Cool J before his first album was released, and subsequent feuds and controversies, made him one of rap's most instructive studies in how to waste extraordinary talent. Quick Stats Career Overview Canibus first appeared on Wyclef Jean's Gone Till November remix in

Who Is Logic? Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, known as Logic, is a Maryland rapper who built one of the most loyal fanbases in rap through a combination of technical lyricism, personal storytelling about biracial identity and mental health, and an extraordinary work rate. 1-800-273-8255 (2017) — a suicide prevention anthem featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid — remains one of the most socially impactful mainstream rap singles of the 2010s. Quick Stats Career Overview Logic

Who Is Ja Rule? Jeffrey Atkins, known as Ja Rule, is a Queens rapper who was one of the most commercially successful artists in mainstream rap from 1999 to 2002, producing a series of R&B-rap crossover hits with Ashanti, Jennifer Lopez, and Mary J. Blige. His career was effectively ended by a sustained commercial and lyrical demolition campaign by 50 Cent, making him one of rap history's most dramatic falls from commercial dominance. Quick Stats Career Overview Ja R

Who Is Iggy Azalea? Amethyst Amelia Kelly, known as Iggy Azalea, is an Australian rapper who relocated to the United States at 16 and built a career that peaked spectacularly with Fancy (2014) — which spent seven weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 — before collapsing almost as quickly under a combination of cultural criticism, industry disputes, and follow-up albums that could not match the moment. Quick Stats Career Overview Iggy Azalea left Australia at 16 and spent years

Who Is MC Hammer? Stanley Kirk Burrell, known as MC Hammer, is an Oakland rapper who became the first rap artist to achieve genuine mainstream pop crossover success. Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em (1990) became the best-selling rap album of all time at that point, spending 28 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 and eventually selling 10 million copies in the US alone. Quick Stats Career Overview MC Hammer began performing at Oakland A's games as a child, earning the nick