The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997) was an American rapper. He was popularly known asBiggie Smalls (after a character in the 1975 film Let's Do It Again), Big Poppa, Frank White (after the main character of the 1990 film King of New York), and by his primary stage name The Notorious B.I.G..
Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. When Wallace released his debut album Ready to Die in 1994, he became a central figure in the East Coast hip hop scene and increased New York's visibility at a time when West Coast artists were more common in the mainstream. The following year, Wallace led his childhood friends to chart success through his protégé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A.. While recording his second album, Wallace was heavily involved in the East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud, dominating the scene at the time.
On March 9, 1997, Wallace was killed by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. His double-disc set Life After Death, released 15 days later, hit #1 on the U.S. album charts and was certified Diamond in 2000 (one of only 4 hip hop albums to receive this certification). Wallace was noted for his "loose, easy flow",dark semi-autobiographical lyrics and storytellingabilities. Since his death, a further two albums have been released. MTV ranked him at #3 on their list of The Greatest MCs(Rappers) of All Time. He has sold 17 million albums in the United States.
DEEP aka Deep Cold,Deep Da 1, is a Punjabi-American Southern rap artist from Houston, Texas. Raised in Houston, DEEP attended the same high school as Paul Wall and Chamillionaire. His first interest in music came at a young age when a tight family house hold income made him seek other avenues/interests.
After a rough year in 2000, DEEP was forced to re-evaluate his position and decided to co-create Da 1 Records with his cousin. DEEP released his debut album In Trunks Now in 2005 on his independent label. It featured big Southern Rap names such as Slim Thug, David Banner, Big Moe, Big Pokey as well as Too Short.
Since then he has personally signed new artists Lenny Lenn and Kamla Punjabi to the label and has played a major role in the financing of their album.
He also wrote a poem about his name. "My name is deep, i should be called deep because i am so deep." He co-hosted a MTV Desi Show with Kamala Punjabi.
Featured On
2005: Big Suga Kane Records - West Coast Desi
2006: Big Suga Kane Records - First Blood
2006: Kal M, DJ Sanj & Lil Sach - America's Most Wanted 4
2007: Mr. Underground - Underground Road Trip (Mixtape)
2007: J-Nas - Asian R&B
2008: Sonny Brown - Please Come Again
2008: DJ Sanj - Bollywood Punk
2009: Papa Reu & Deep Cold - Get Low (Single)
Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper,record executive, and actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records, also having produced albums for and overseeing the careers of many rappers signed to those record labels, such as Snoop Dogg,Eminem and 50 Cent. As a producer 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.
Dr. Dre began his career in music as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru and he later found fame with the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A with Eazy-E and Ice Cube which popularized the use of explicit lyrics in rap to detail the violence of street life. His 1992 solo debut, The Chronic, released under Death Row Records, led him to become one of the best-selling American performing artists of 1993 and to win a Grammy Award for the single "Let Me Ride". In 1996, he left Death Row to establish his own label, Aftermath Entertainment. Under that label, he produced a compilation album titled Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath in 1996, and released a solo album titled 2001 in 1999, for which he won the Grammy producer's award the next year.
During the 2000s, he focused his career on production for other artists, while occasionally contributing vocals to other artists' songs. Dr. Dre signed Eminem and 50 Cent to his record label in 1996 and 2003 respectively while contributing production on their albums. They have both gone on to become some of the biggest names in hip hop in the 2000s. Rolling Stone named Dr. Dre among the highest-paid performers of 2001 and 2004. Dr. Dre has also had acting roles in movies such as Set It Off, and the 2001 films The Wash and Training Day.
