WAaron Phillip, better known by his stage name Afu-Ra, is an American underground rapper. Afu-Ra is a member of the Gang Starr Foundation, and has worked closely with its members, Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, Big Shug, Group Home, and others.
WDouglas Davis, better known by his stage name Doug E. Fresh, is a Barbadian-born American rapper, record producer and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines and various special effects using only his mouth, lips, gums, throat, tongue and a microphone.
WGravediggaz was an American hip hop group from New York City, known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. Gravediggaz blended hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap and heavy metal with horror elements to pioneer the hip-hop subgenre of horrorcore.
WJungle Brothers is an American hip hop trio composed of Michael Small, Nathaniel Hall, and Sammy Burwell. Known as the pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hip-hop group to collaborate with a house-music producer. The trio released their debut album, Straight out the Jungle in July 1988. Their hip-house club hit single, "I'll House You" was added to the album in late-1988 reissues. The single was the first non-Chicago hip-house record. It changed the course of hip-hop and dance music by expanding it. Fostered by Kool DJ Red Alert, the Jungle Brothers success would pave the way for De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and eventually the Native Tongues collective that they founded.
WPercy Lee Chapman, known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi, is an American rapper and record producer. Chapman hails from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City, who helped spawn other hip hop artists such as Mobb Deep, Capone-N-Noreaga, Nas and many others both through production and influence. His name is a reference to the former leader of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi. He was the first in the Queensbridge projects to create intelligent street music and is documented to be the first to use the phrase "Illmatic" in 1988 on a record called "The Rebel" from the Marley Marl album "In Control Volume 1" which was a huge inspiration and influence on fellow New York rapper Nas.
WKy-Mani Marley is a Jamaican reggae and hip-hop artist. His name is of East African origin, and means "Adventurous Traveler". He is the only child of Bob Marley with Anita Belnavis, a Jamaican table tennis champion.
WMalcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English impresario, visual artist, performer, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provocative way. He is best known as a promoter and manager of bands the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols.
WP.M. Dawn is an American hip hop and R&B act that formed in 1988 by the brothers Attrell Cordes and Jarrett Cordes in Jersey City, New Jersey. They earned significant crossover success in the early 1990s with music that merged hip hop, older soul, and more pop-oriented urban R&B.
WRobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA, is an American musician, rapper, record producer, actor, filmmaker, and author. He is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost all of Wu-Tang Clan's albums, as well as many Wu-Tang solo and affiliate projects. He is a cousin of two other original Wu-Tang Clan members: GZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard. He has also released solo albums under the alter-ego Bobby Digital, along with executive producing credits for side projects. After forming the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA was a founding member of the horrorcore group Gravediggaz, where he went by the name The RZArector.
WStereo MC's are a British hip hop/electronic dance group which formed in Clapham, London, in 1985. They had a transatlantic Top 20 hit with their single "Connected". After releasing eight albums for Island Records, K7, Graffiti Recordings, and Pias, they formed the label Connected with Terranova to release their own material and that of other artists within the house/techno/electronic medium.