Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., known professionally as T.I. and Tip, is an American rapper and actor. Harris signed his first major-label record deal in 1999, with Arista subsidiary LaFace. In 2001, Harris formed the Southern hip hop group P$C, alongside his longtime friends and fellow Atlanta-based rappers Big Kuntry King, Mac Boney and C-Rod. Upon being released from Arista, Harris signed to Atlantic and subsequently became the co-chief executive officer of his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records, which he launched in 2003. Harris is also perhaps best known as one of the artists who popularized the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane.
Harris has released nine studio albums, with seven of them reaching the top five of the US Billboard 200 chart. Throughout his career, Harris has also released several highly successful singles, including "Bring Em Out", "Whatever You Like", "Live Your Life", "Dead and Gone", "Ball" and "No Mediocre". Harris began to gain major recognition in 2003, following his first high-profile feature, on fellow Atlanta-based rapper Bone Crusher's hit single, "Never Scared".

Bryan Christopher Williams, known by his stage name Birdman, is an American rapper, record producer and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and public face of Cash Money Records which he founded with his older brother Ronald "Slim" Williams in 1991. He is also one half of the hip hop duo the Big Tymers with producer Mannie Fresh.
Along with his releases with Big Tymers and for his solo career, Birdman has released a collaboration album and numerous tracks with rapper Lil Wayne whom he took under his wing at an early age. Birdman has also made his name by contributing to the making of YMCMB, a combination of the former's "Cash Money" and Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment imprint under the label.

William Leonard Roberts II, known professionally by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper and entrepreneur.
In 2009, Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap, Teflon Don, God Forgives, I Don't, Mastermind, Hood Billionaire, Black Market, and Rather You Than Me. Ross was also the first artist signed to Diddy's management company Ciroc Entertainment. In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC in the Game.

It’s hard not to love an original: the first of many to follow. This notion lends attribution to the world’s adoration with Wiz Khalifa. Born Cameron Jibril Thomaz, Wiz Khalifa is more than a mere M.C. He is a movement and maverick. Four years ago, he simultaneously gave blue collar Americans, as well as his native town of Pittsburgh, a Hip-Hop champion with his #1 mega-hit “Black & Yellow,” a nod to his city’s colors. When rap marketing was primarily focused on street and nightclub promotions, an unsigned yet clairvoyant Wiz decided to share his sinsemilla-scented indie music with an overlooked demo of suburban and collegiate youth. Rap touring mined newer soil and conceived was the soundtrack for a new generation of free-spirited young hippies––fans as well as up-and-coming MCs. “No matter what changes, you’re always gonna want that original feeling,” says Wiz. “Nothing really comes in the way of that. You can’t really fight it.”

Over the last five years, many rappers have latched onto the Wiz Khalifa wave, but while they’ve mostly kept their head above water, Khalifa has soared on both indie and major plains. Before signing his second deal with Atlantic in 2010, Wiz had already amassed a respectable following, fortune and awareness. He was selling out his own 20-city tours, including the Deal Or No Deal tour and Khalifa was being crowned “Rookie of the Year” by top media brands, including The Source Magazine, XXL Magazine, BET and MTV. His mixtapes penetrated the culture not only musically, but also digitally, with 2010’s free download Kush and Orange Juice hashtag becoming #1 on Twitter and was #1 trend search on Google. In 2010, when the reincarnation of Snoop Dogg declined an offer to join the tour of a heralded rookie named Drake, the decision made as much sense as it did dollars. Instead, the PA product took his new Atlantic deal and the triple platinum Stargate produced “Black & Yellow” smash and commenced his own 50-city run entitled the Waken Baken Tour.

Wiz’s Rostrum/Atlantic Records debut Rolling Papers and follow-up ONIF both burned their way into the cultural conscience from atop the Billboard charts, reaching 197,000 and 148,000 in the first weeks, as well as producing street and commercial hits, including “On My Level” feat. Too Short and “Work Hard, Play Hard.” Each year that followed his debut release, Khalifa would appear on Forbes lists and in Grammy Award categories. Solo artist success allowed the lanky MC to spread his label owner wings. In 2011, he tapped Juicy J from the Academy Award winning legendary rap group Three Six Mafia, to be co-CEO of his Taylor Gang Records. The imprint would introduce audiences to new acts including Chevy Woods and Ty Dollar $ign. Though King Khalifa quickly became a pop darling, the music industry wasn’t alone in recognizing his enterprising mind and market magnetism, which is why the Taylor Gang boss’s recent collaboration with Converse’s Chuck Taylor line is symbiotic perfection (it’s hard not to love an original). “When I find that the other ways I express myself are as interesting as my music it opens up doors and makes things more interesting for me.”

Wiz Khalifa is very much a brand. Within each relevant brand exists a community (or few), and within each community is a lifestyle. This lifestyle is what Wiz aims to articulate on his upcoming fourth studio album Blacc Hollywood. The 26-year-old millionaire has reaped gold and platinum fruit by being relentless and individualistic. As illustrated on the ONIFC cover, Wiz is inspired by rock star greatness. Khalifa says that the era that exhaled such ethos the most was the 1980’s, when leather-tight geniuses like Eddie Murphy and Ozzie Osbourne reigned supreme. Clarifying the misspelling of “Blacc,” Khalifa says: “It’s not a color, it’s a mind frame of early 80’s Rock & Roll when nobody gave a fuck and everybody was a star and everybody had a limo. The music was so good and there were so many stars born from that attitude that I just wanted to channel that and represent it with the album.”

Every Wiz album must possess the production of the Taylor general’s go-to maestros Jim Jonsin and Stargate. While the track “Drop It Down On It” deliciously invites, premium seduction occurs when Jonsin teams up with decorated scribe Rico Love (Usher, Nelly, T.I.) and allows Khalifa to release the songbird within. Of course there’s a ton of exotic smoke in Blacc Hollywood, demonstrated in tracks “So High” and “KK” featuring Juicy J and Project Pat, and a succession of movies made with white women and white liquor, displayed in the track “Raw.” There are even epic DJ Mustard-produced after parties co-hosted by Snoop and Ty Dollar $ign, shown in the track “You And Your Friends”; and Blacc Hollywood’s grandest fiesta is shaping up to be the Dr. Luke turn-up “Staying Out All Night.” But none of this should be a surprise. The Blacc Hollywood extravaganza began months ago as its lead single “We Dem Boyz,” produced by Detail (Lil Wayne, Beyoncé), snatched the summer anthem of 2014 crown before the season began. Temperatures only got hotter when the remix dropped with the sizzling East/South/West lineup of Nas, Rick Ross and Schoolboy Q.

This is what Wiz Khalifa does: Create moments. This is who Wiz Khalifa is: The rock star with the sexiest wife and the luxurious life who works as hard as he plays, doing it all in jumbotron-sized peacock fashion. “I’m a full-time husband and full-time Dad but I love to have fun. This is pure super stardom. Constant progression. I have a good time living it but I’m gonna have way more fun rapping about it.”

Antoine McColister, better known by his stage name Ace Hood, is an American rapper. He was born in Port St. Lucie, Florida and raised in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He is signed to DJ Khaled's label We the Best Music Group and was formerly signed to Def Jam Recordings and Cash Money Records. His song "Top of the World", from his debut studio album Gutta, was featured in the basketball simulation game, NBA 2K10. He has released four studio albums with his most successful being his last two albums, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Trials & Tribulations. He is best known for the hit singles "Hustle Hard" and "Bugatti".

Aubrey “Drake” Graham is a Grammy-Award winning, platinum-selling recording artist and multi-faceted entertainer. Born in Toronto on October 24th, 1986, Drake is the son of Sandi and Dennis Graham, a drummer who worked with Jerry Lee Lewis. His father is African American, a native of Memphis, Tennessee and his mother is Jewish Canadian. Drake’s interest in performing began at an early age. From summers spent with his dad in Memphis, he gained an appreciation and understanding for music that would later influence the sound he would create in years to come.

Since first being recognized for his role on the highly-successful television series Degrassi: The Next Generation, and going on the road with rap star Lil Wayne after hearing Drake’s music in the summer of 2008, Drake has asserted himself as a trailblazer in the creative world. Drake released his mixtape So Far Gone in 2009 and his massive influence in the hip-hop and contemporary music space has commanded the market since, with no end in sight. Drake now holds the record for the most number one hits on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Chart.

Drake has catapulted into stardom not only as an artist, but as a cultural maven with October’s Very Own. Sharing the story of the thriving music scene in Toronto, Drake has built out OVO from a small-scale blog about his crew to an all-encompassing lifestyle brand, including his clothing company, his record label OVOSOUND and his annual OVOFEST. Drake has reached great heights in recent years and he continues to create and dominate the global market.

Jay Wayne Jenkins, better known by his stage name Jeezy, is an American rapper. In 1998, he launched the label imprint CTE World. Aside from his solo career, Jeezy is the de facto leader of the southern hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America, and is a former member of the Bad Boy Records' rap group Boyz n da Hood. Jeezy is also known for helping pioneer the hip hop subgenre trap music, alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane.
Jeezy embarked on his music career in 2001, as Lil J, with the release of Thuggin' Under the Influence. He later joined Boyz n da Hood in 2005, the same year his solo major label debut Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, was released. Its lead single "Soul Survivor", which features R&B singer Akon, became a top-ten hit in the US. His subsequent albums, The Inspiration and The Recession, both yielded chart-topping singles. Jeezy has also been featured on numerous hip-hop and R&B hit singles, such as "Say I" by Christina Milian, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, "Hard" by Rihanna and "Love in This Club" by Usher, the latter of which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, in 2008.

Micheal Ray Stevenson, known by his stage name Tyga, is an American hip hop recording artist. In 2011, Tyga signed a recording contract with Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. His major label debut Careless World: Rise of the Last King, includes the singles "Rack City", "Faded" featuring fellow Young Money artist Lil Wayne, "Far Away" featuring Chris Richardson, "Still Got It" featuring Drake, and "Make It Nasty". He released his third album Hotel California, on April 9, 2013, and includes the singles "Dope" featuring Rick Ross, "For The Road" featuring Chris Brown, and "Show You" featuring Future.

Hailed by Rolling Stone as “one of rap’s few voices for the everyman,” Meek Mill is without question one of the most electrifying hip-hop talents in recent memory. The North Philadelphia-based rapper made his bones chronicling his hard knock life on a series of stunning mixtapes, ultimately catching the attention of the attention of Rick Ross, who promptly signed him to his Maybach Music Group imprint.

Fueled by the breakthrough singles, “Amen (Feat. Drake),” “Burn (Feat. Big Sean),” and “Believe It (Feat. Rick Ross),” “DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES” – executive produced by Rick Ross – made a remarkable chart debut upon its October 2012 release, entering both Billboard’s Top Rap Albums & Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts at #1 and the Top 200 Albums Chart at #2. But it’s the instant classic title track, which has since proven a milestone, with none other than Drake hailing the album’s introduction as “one of the best rap moments of our generation.” “Dreams and Nightmares” was recently featured in an important new study by the American Psychological Association, which noted “the clear and insightful picture that Mill painted of experiences growing up in a crime and violencefilled environment in Philadelphia,” while also praising the gifted MC’s “ability to articulate the trauma he experienced and how he coped with it.”

After releasing several well received songs, including “B-Boy (feat. Big Sean & A$AP Ferg)” and “Monster,” Meek is hard at work putting the finishing touches on his highly anticipated new album “DREAMS WORTH MORE THAN MONEY,” slated for release soon. In addition to solidifying himself as one of the top rappers in the music industry, Meek has also become an in-demand brand ambassador for PUMA, having released several high successful styles of his own signature sneaker. On top of this, Monster Headphones, whose Meek Mill Edition 24K Gold Over-Ear Headphones are ranked among the industry’s best and Monster Energy, who have partnered with the rapper as a result of his love of dirt bikes, stemming from the Philly bike scene, which he is an integral part of. Meek continues to prove himself as a lucrative businessman, all while expanding his Dream Chasers label imprint.

The 6 foot-5 inch rapper, 2 Chainz, brought a reputation for one-upping the competition by arriving via helicopter at rooftop T.R.U. listening parties, and the kind of grandiose ambition that an MC from Southside Atlanta needs to chase down the American Dream. 2 Chainz is a product of the competitive Atlanta scene that spawned his first group, the duo Playaz Circle (in which he was known as Tity Boi). They made their mark back in '07 with the rap-R&B-pop crossover hit "Duffle Bag Boy" featuring Lil' Wayne on the hook, on the DTP (Disturbing Tha Peace)/Def Jam label. Chainz' solo career began with his first mixtape, 2007's Me Against The World, then the double-disc mixtape All Ice On Me in 2009, followed by his two-part Trapavelli series. Proving that he could write street anthems with crossover appeal, he capitalized on his notoriety with the back-to-back mixtape releases of Codeine Withdrawal in 2010, and Codeine Cowboy in 2011. His 2011 mixtape T.R.U. REALigion mined downloads in the millions. His 'hit' tracks, signatures that include "Riot," "Boo" featuring Yo Gotti, and the Drumma Boy-produced smash single "Spend It," established a new sphere of influence for the lanky, outspoken rapper.

Khaled Mohamed Khaled is an American record producer, radio personality, DJ, record label executive and author. He was a radio host for the Miami-based urban music radio station WEDR "99 Jamz" and the DJ for the hip hop group Terror Squad. From 2004 to 2006, Khaled assisted in the production of the hip-hop albums Real Talk by Fabolous, True Story by Terror Squad, All or Nothing and Me, Myself, & I by Fat Joe.
In 2006, Khaled released his debut studio album Listennn... the Album. He went on to release We the Best, We Global, Victory, We the Best Forever, Kiss the Ring and Suffering from Success. In 2009, Khaled became the president of record label Def Jam South, and he is also the CEO and founder of We the Best Music Group. Khaled released his eighth studio album, I Changed a Lot, on October 23, 2015. In July 2016, he released his ninth studio album Major Key, and on June 23, 2017, his tenth studio album, Grateful, was released.

The self-proclaimed "Ambassador of Rap for the Capital," Wale (pronounced "wah-lay") was able to transcend his local sensation status and become a national rap contender using go-go-inspired hip-hop as the vehicle for his clever wordplay and music. Olubowale Victor Akintimehin was born in Washington, D.C. in 1984 to Nigerian immigrants who first arrived in America five years prior. Although the family moved to Maryland when the future rapper was ten years of age, Wale was mostly raised in suburban D.C. He attended both Robert Morris College and Virginia State University on football scholarships, eventually transferring a third time to Bowie State. The music bug had already bit him hard, though, and soon he quit college altogether to turn toward a recording career.

Wale got his first airplay circa 2003-2004 with "Rhyme of the Century," thanks to the help of a local radio DJ who believed in his potential. This landed him in the Unsigned Hype column in Source magazine the following year. In 2006, Wale signed with the local start-up imprint Studio 43, owned by a former VP of Roc-A-Fella Records, and enjoyed a string of hits in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area that year. Many of those records sampled from '80s go-go -- a more raw, percussion-driven offshoot of disco originating in D.C. -- like the popular "Dig Dug," a tribute to Ronald "Dig Dug" Dixon of go-go band the Northeast Groovers. Smart use of the Internet and MySpace was also a big factor in his success, as it helped British über-producer and DJ Mark Ronson (known for his work with Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera, and Rhymefest) catch wind of the go-go MC in 2007.

Wale struck a production deal with Ronson's own imprint, Allido, and released the 100 Miles and Running mixtape that summer. Despite not being signed to a major label, he was met with a good deal of positive press, ranging from XXL magazine to The New York Times. After a bidding war that included offers from Epic, Atlantic, and Def Jam, Interscope finally grabbed Wale for its roster in early 2008. The full-length Attention Deficit followed the next year. In 2011 the Ambition album landed along with its single, Chain Music.

Christopher Brian Bridges, known professionally as Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Ludacris is the founder of Disturbing tha Peace. Ludacris has won Screen Actors Guild, Critic's Choice, MTV, and Grammy Awards. Along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers Big Boi and André 3000 of OutKast, Ludacris was one of the first and most influential "Dirty South" rappers to achieve mainstream success during the early 2000s. In 2014, Ludacris was featured in Forbes list titled "Hip-Hop Cash Kings", as he earned $8 million.
Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta at age nine, where he began rapping. After a brief stint as a DJ, he released his first album Incognegro in 1999, followed by Back for the First Time also in 2000, which contained the singles "Southern Hospitality" and "What's Your Fantasy". In 2001, he released Word of Mouf, followed by Chicken-n-Beer in 2003 and The Red Light District in 2004. He took a more serious approach with his next two albums, Release Therapy, and Theater of the Mind. His next record, Battle of the Sexes, was released in 2010 and featured the tone of his previous albums. Ludaversal was released on March 31, 2015.

Juaquin James Malphurs, better known as Waka Flocka Flame or simply Waka Flocka, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's Do It", "Hard in da Paint", and "No Hands", with the latter peaking at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100. His debut studio album Flockaveli was released in 2010. His second studio album Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family was released in 2012 and was preceded by the lead single "Round of Applause".