Love Hip Hop Photos? Check These Gems Out!
Rap music has been a fixture of the music scene since the late 1980s and the Hip Hop culture has been steadily expanding since then. Hip Hop has borne some of music's most innovative and edgy musicians with messages against violence, experiences growing up and even drug addiction. Hip Hop culture and music continues to inspire and enlighten generations of music lovers.
Notorious B.I.G.
An American rapper and Hip Hop artist Notorious B.I.G. was also known as Biggie Smalls. He released his debut album in 1994 entitled Ready to Die and became one of Hip Hop's central figures and helped to increase the significance and presence of rap music into the mainstream. His death on March 9, 1997 didn't deter the sales of his albums and he in fact remains a top selling Hip Hop artist.
Jay-Z
Jay-Z is an American rapper, record producer, actor and entrepreneur; also one of the most successful Hip Hop artists in the United States. He has sold approximately 50 million albums worldwide and has received seventeen Grammy awards for his work and is ranked #1 by MTV consistently. Jay-Z is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings and founder of Roc Nation and co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records.
Tupac - Only God Can Judge Me
Tupac Shakur was a rapper and actor during the late 1990s, who sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2010. He is one of the best-selling music artists in the world and Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time. Like many rappers, his music focused on violence, racism and social problems as well as conflicts during the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry.
Eminem
An American rapper and Hip Hop artist, he is also known by his alter ego, Slim Shady. He is a producer, songwriter and actor, he is one of the best-selling artists in the world and was ranked 82nd by Rolling Stone Magazine of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He began as an underground rapper and gained mainstream popularity in 1999 from the release of his album The Slim Shady LP.