Kendrick Lamar: Rapper Bio Kendrick Lamar Duckworth — born June 17, 1987, in Compton, California — is the most critically acclaimed rapper of his generation and one of the most significant artists in the history of American music. The first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, a Super Bowl halftime headliner, and the man who neutralised Drake's commercial dominance with a single diss track, Kendrick has never made a bad album. Early Life Raised in Compton by pare

Who Is Cassidy? Barry Adrian Reese, known as Cassidy, is a Philadelphia rapper whose technical battle rap credentials were among the best of the mid-2000s mainstream. Hotel (2004) was a top 10 hit. His debut Split Personality debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200. A 2006 involuntary manslaughter conviction, stemming from a 2005 shooting, interrupted his career. B.A.R.S. (2012) was his comeback album, debuting at #121 with approximately 4,000 copies. Quick Stats Career Ov

Who Is Hurricane Chris? Christopher Dooley Jr., known as Hurricane Chris, is a Shreveport, Louisiana rapper who had a top 10 hit with A Bay Bay in 2007 — when he was eighteen years old. Unleashed (2009) arrived two years later and confirmed there was no second A Bay Bay anywhere in his catalogue. Quick Stats Career Overview Hurricane Chris began recording in Shreveport and A Bay Bay (2007) was picked up by regional radio before going nationally viral on YouTube. It

Who Is Mase? Mason Betha, known as Mase or Ma$e, is a Harlem rapper who left a multi-platinum Bad Boy career in 1999 to become an ordained minister, returned in 2004 with Welcome Back, left again, returned again, and left again. His debut Harlem World (1997) went four times platinum. His career arc is one of rap's most unusual. Quick Stats Career Overview Mase emerged as a standout talent on Puff Daddy's No Way Out (1997) and his own Harlem World (1997), which went

Who Is Asher Roth? Asher Paul Roth, known as Asher Roth, is a Pennsylvania rapper who had a top 20 hit with I Love College (2009) — a Weezer-referencing frat-rap anthem that went platinum and briefly made him one of mainstream rap's most commercially anticipated new artists. His long-delayed second album, RetroHash (2014) — once announced under the scrapped title Is This Too Orange? — confirmed the keg was empty. Quick Stats Career Overview Asher Roth grew up in sub

Who Is Blueface? Johnathan Michael Porter, known as Blueface, is a Los Angeles rapper who became famous in 2018 for rapping deliberately off the beat — a quirk that generated viral memes, a Cash Money West signing, and a legitimate hit in Thotiana, which peaked at #8 on the Hot 100 with Cardi B and YG remixes. Find the Beat (2020) sold 13,000 copies in its first week. Quick Stats Career Overview Blueface began uploading to SoundCloud in 2017 and went viral in Octobe

Who Is Mike Jones? Michael Allen Jones, known as Mike Jones, is a Houston rapper whose debut album Who Is Mike Jones? (2005) went platinum on the strength of Still Tippin' — a genuine piece of Houston rap history that placed him alongside Paul Wall and Slim Thug in the mainstream window the Swishahouse sound briefly opened. The Voice (2009) arrived four years later to an audience that had moved on. Quick Stats Career Overview Mike Jones built his reputation in Houst

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 I Know You See It — 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 went

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 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 Bow Wow? Shad Gregory Moss, known as Lil Bow Wow (later Bow Wow), is a Columbus, Ohio rapper who began performing as a child rapper at age 6 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 6 when Snoop Dogg invi

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 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 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 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 double 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 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 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 released his independent debut No Introduction (2008) on Decaydance before Lil Wayne signed him to Young Money/Cash M

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 Silkk the Shocker? Vyshonne King Miller, known as Silkk the Shocker, is a New Orleans rapper and younger brother of Master P who released a string of albums on No Limit Records during the label's commercial peak — 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