east coast rap | Musicosity

east coast rap

R.A. the Rugged Man

R.A. the Rugged Man, real name R.A. Thorburn, is a rapper from Stony Brook, Long Island. He began his music career at age 12. At 18, he signed to Jive Records. R.A.'s legend, perpetuated by the P.R. biographies at his various labels, say he was dropped due to violent and disgusting behavior, but in interviews he disputes many of the more extreme stories told about him, adding that Jive just didn't know how to break new artists at the time.

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Sadat X

Sadat X (born Derek Murphy) is an American rapper, most famed as a member of hip hop group Brand Nubian. Originally known as Derek X, Sadat takes his name from former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. The X is taken from the Nation of Islam practice of members changing their surnames simply to X. He is well known for his unique, high-pitched voice, as well as his Pro-Black, and at times controversial, lyrical content.

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Inspectah Deck

Jason Hunter, (born July 6, 1971) better known as Inspectah Deck (aka Rebel INS), is an American rapper, producer, and actor. A member of the Wu-Tang Clan, known for his lyricism, he has not achieved the same level of commercial success in his solo career as some of his counterparts (such as Ghostface Killah or Method Man) though he continues to be respected and actively releases material. Hunter routinely mentions the Park Hill Projects in Clifton, Staten Island, NY, where he grew up, going to school with the future Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Method Man.

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Meyhem Lauren

Meyhem Lauren is a street savvy Queens-bred wordsmith in his mid twenties. He represents a genre in Hip Hop that is currently on the verge of extinction. While most artists of today compromise to industry standards, Meyhem continues to make pure uncut music for the street. His style is reminiscent to Hip Hop's golden era. A major factor that separates Mey from other artist in this category is the fact that he can rhyme about anything and still keep his identity. Several lyrically inclined artists

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Prince Paul

Prince Paul (born Paul Huston) is a legendary DJ and hip hop producer. Prince Paul is known for having a very unorthodox, but mostly well-received sense of humor. Musically, he was one of the driving forces of what was to become known as alternative rap, by using surprising samples and quirky humour. Originally a member of Stetsasonic, he produced De La Soul's 1989 debut album 3 Feet High and Rising (It was on this album that Prince Paul invented the hip hop skit which has a long-standing and pervasive tradition on Hip hop albums to this day).

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Freeway

There is more than one artist with the name Freeway: The first is: 1. Leslie Edward Pridgen (born March 24, 1977), better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper. Freeway a.k.a. Philly Freeway began rapping while in high school. He later met fellow rapper Beanie Sigel, who would be signed to Roc-A-Fella and later help Freeway get a contract with the record label. Freeway became one of the label's most visible artists after making his first appearance on The Dynasty: Roc La Familia and appearing on several other Roc releases before putting out his solo album...

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Cormega

Cory McKay (born 1970 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn) , better known as Cormega or "MC Cor", is an American emcee best known for his vivid and poignant narratives about inner-city life. Cormega came up as part of the early-'90s Queensbridge, Queens, New York scene that also fostered such name acts as Nas and Mobb Deep, among many others (not to mention the preceding generation of artists affiliated with Marley Marl and the Juice Crew).

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Naughty by Nature

Naughty by Nature is a hip hop group that at the time of its formation in 1991, consisted of Treach, Vinnie, and the DJ Kay Gee. The group formed in East Orange, New Jersey, and first appeared on the music scene in the late 1980's releasing an album titled The Independent Leaders, under their then name The New Style. The album generated the minor hit "Scuffin' Those Knees". After the release of their first album, the group was subsequently mentored by fellow New Jersey native Queen Latifah and consequently changed their name.

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Remedy

After emerging with the “Seen it All”/“Everything is Real” 12-inch single, Remedy appeared on the 1997 Wu-Tang_Killa_Bees:_The_Swarm compilation with his track "Never Again", a song about the Holocaust. This track remains his best-known work as well as his most highly regarded, and appeared on both his debut album, The Genuine Article, from 2001, and its follow-up, Code Red, from 2003 (Remedy considers the track to be effectively his signature theme song).

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