Tupac Amaru Shakur (1971-1996) is one of the most popular rap artists in history, with over 75 million records sold worldwide. More than half of his eleven studio albums sold over three million copies in the U.S., and both 1996’s All Eyez on Me and his Greatest Hits collection have been certified diamond, surpassing the ten-million mark and placing them among the top-selling albums of all time.
On September 7, 1996, Tupac was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. On September 13, 1996, six days after the shooting, Tupac died of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at University Medical Centre, Las Vegas.
Tupac’s music addresses such topics as the hardships of growing up around violence in United States ghettos, poverty, racism, and his feuds with fellow rappers. He is known for the messages of political, economic, and racial equality that pervade his work as well as the ” Thug Life” that he raps about living in. His music has attracted a large amount of controversy and was showcased in the media a number of times.
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper and songwriter. Rooted in the New york rap scene and gangsta rap traditions, he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. Wallace became known for his distinctive laid-back lyrical delivery, offsetting the lyrics’ often grim content His music was often semi-autobiographical, telling of hardship and criminality, but also of debauchery and celebration.
In the early morning hours of March 9, 1997, Biggie Smalls was shot in Los Angeles after attending a Vibe magazine party. The shooting rocked the attendees of the party, which included R&B group Xscape.
Xscape member Tiny Harris recalled Biggie apologizing to her for calling the singers in Xscape ugly on his 1994 hit single “Just Playing (Dreams). “He basically apologized for saying that, that he thought we were beautiful,” she told VladTV in 2020. “He was like, ‘I’m an ugly motherf—er, and I ain’t had no business talking about nobody.”
“I was just glad that I got a chance to even say anything and speak to him,” Tiny concluded. “We got a chance to talk and he got a chance to tell me how he felt. He apologized and it was all good.”
Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964– March 26, 1995), known professionally as eazy-e, was an American rapper who propelled west coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A ( eazy -e , Dr dre , Ice cube , The DOC, DJ speed, etc) and its label, ruthless records. He is often referred to as the “Godfather of gangsta rap”.
N.W.A’s debut studio album, Straight outta compton, was released in 1988. Controversial upon release, it is now ranked among the greatest and most influential albums ever. The group released its third and final studio album, niggazz4life, in 1991, and soon after disbanded .On February 24, 1995, Wright was admitted to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles with a violent cough. He was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. He announced his illness in a public statement on March 16, 1995. It is believed Wright contracted the infection from a sexual partner. During the week of March 20, having already made amends with Ice cube, he drafted a final message to his fans. On March 26, 1995, Eazy-E died from HIV/AIDS, a month after his diagnosis.
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem ,SLIM SHADY,B-RABBIT formerly stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle america and is critically acclaimed as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Eminem’s global success and acclaimed works are widely regarded as having broken racial barriers for the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work during the late 1990s and early 2000s made him widely controversial, he came to be a representation of popular angst of the American underclass and has been cited as an influence for many artists of various genres. EMINEM is lyrically insane rapper. Eminem is a Grammy-winning rapper. He got his big break starring lead in the film 8 Mile back in 2002. His song from the film “Lose Yourself” won him Best Original Song at the Oscars, the first hip-hop song to win the award. He is now a 15-time Grammy-winning artist with no intention of slowing down.
Dr. Dre began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru in 1985 and later found fame with the gangsta rap group N.W.A. The group popularized explicit lyrics in hip hop to detail the violence of street life. During the early 1990s, Dre was credited as a key figure in the crafting and popularization of West Coast G-Funk, a subgenre of hip hop characterized by a synthesizer foundation and slow, heavy beats. During the 2000s, Dre focused on producing other artists, occasionally contributing vocals. He signed Eminem in 1998 and 50 cent in 2002, and co-produced their albums. He has produced albums for and overseen the careers of many other rappers, including The D.O.C, Snoop Dogg , Xzibit, Knoc-turn’al, The Game, Kendrick lamar, and Anderson .Paak.
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper. He is one of the most influential hip-hop artists in history. He was the CEO of Def Jam Recordings and he has been central to the creative and commercial success of artists including Kanye west , Rihanna, and J.cole . According to his mother, Jay-Z used to wake up his siblings at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table. She bought him a boombox for his birthday, sparking his interest in music, and he began freestyling and writing lyrics. Known as “Jazzy” around the neighbourhood, he later adopted the stage name “Jay-Z” in homage to his mentor jaz- o . Jay-Z can be briefly heard on several of Jaz-O’s early recordings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including “H.P. gets busy”, “The Originators” and “Hawaiian Sophie”. Jay-Z became embroiled in several battles with rapper LL cool J in the early 1990s. He first became known to a wide audience on the posse cut” Show and Prove” on the 1994 Big daddy kane album Daddy’s Home. Jay-Z has been referred to as Big Daddy Kane’s hype man during this period, although Kane explains that he did not fill the traditional hype man role, and was instead basically making cameo appearances on stage.
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jone ( born September 14, 1973), better known by his stage name is Nas , is an American rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Rooted in the New york Hiphop scene , he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time. From 2001 to 2005, Nas was involved in a highly publicized feud with Jay-Z, popularized by the diss track “Ether“. It was this feud, along with Nas’s albums Stillmatic (2001), God’s Son (2002), and the double album Street’s Disciple (2004), that helped restore his critical standing. After squashing the feud, Nas signed to Jay-Z’s Def Jam Recordings in 2006 and went in a more provocative, politicized direction with the albums Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and his untitled 9th studio album (2008). In 2012,The Source ranked him second on their list of the “Top 50 Lyricists of All Time”.
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper, songwriter, media personality, actor, and entrepreneur. His fame dates to 1992 when he featured on Dr . DRE’s debut solo single, “Deep cover”, and then on Dre’s debut solo album, The Chronic. Broadus has since sold over 23 million albums in the United States and 35 million albums worldwide. Broadus’s debut solo album, Doggystyle, produced by Dr. Dre, was released by Death Row Records in November 1993, and debuted at number one on the popular albums chart, the Billboard 200, and on Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Selling 800,000 copies in its first week, Doggystyle was certified quadruple-platinum in 1994 and bore several hit singles, including “What’s My Name?” and “Gin and Juice“
After leaving Death Row Records in January 1998, Broadus signed with No Limit Records, releasing three Snoop albums: Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told (1998), No Limit Top Dogg (1999), and Tha Last Meal (2000). In 2002, he signed with Priority/Capitol/EMI Records, releasing Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss. In 2004, he signed to Geffen Records, releasing his next three albums: R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece, then Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, and Ego Trippin’. Priority Records released his album Malice ‘n Wonderland during 2009, followed by Doggumentary during 2011. In 2022, Snoop Dogg acquired Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group (formerly known as eOne Music), and released his 19th studio album, BODR.[9] Snoop has had 17 Grammy nominations without a win.
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