Rakim Mayers (born October 3, 1987 in Harlem, New York NY, United States), better known by his stage name ASAP Rocky (often stylized A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper and director. ASAP Rocky gained recognition among the hip hop community in 2011 after the release of his 2010 mixtape Deep Purple. In 2011 he followed up with the release of LiveLoveA$AP
The Weeknd is a Toronto-based R&B singer named Abel Tesfaye. Abel started uploading songs to YouTube in 2010 and in March of 2011 he dropped his first mixtape, House of Balloons. In August of 2011, he dropped his second mixtape, Thursday. His third mixtape, Echoes of Silence, was released on December 21 2011. The Weeknd takes his ambivalent emotional tenor and stretches it out, building a whole worldview from it. He has sampled artists such as Beach House and Siouxsie and the Banshees. http://the-weeknd.com/
Andrew Hill (born June 30, 1931 – April 20, 2007) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Hill first recorded as a sideman in 1955, but his reputation was made by his Blue Note recordings as leader from 1963 to 1969, which featured several other important post-bop musicians including Eric Dolphy, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, and Tony Williams, as well as two of John Gilmore's rare outings away from Sun Ra.
As a vocal muse for Madlib’s creations, Dudley is unmatched; he’s earned first pick at Madlib’s prized beat collections. Just like Madvillain or Quasimoto, the Dudley/Madlib combination is a facet unto its own – on par with the most illustrious collaboration projects in Madlib’s catalog. His dynamic sophomore effort, entitled Expressions (2012 A.U.), takes an extended detour in the direction of Parliament’s Mothership Connection. The funk is strong this time around – as is the soul music that brought tears to the eyes of Dudley’s and Madlib’s aunts and uncles back in the golden days.
Born Daniel Sewell on March 16, 1981, Danny Brown is a hip hop artist from the Dexter-Linwood area of Detroit, Michigan. Danny is an unconventional hip hop artist employing multiple flows and cadences thus the moniker of “The Hybrid”. His style varies from low pitched gravelly tones to a manic, high pitched, squawk. His lyrics, often dealing with the truth of living in Detroit; poverty, drug abuse, desperate circumstances, etc and his own experiences in the motor city...
Freddie Tipton (born January 28, 1982 in Gary, Indiana), better known as Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper best known for being one of XXL Magazine's ten Freshmen of 2010. He was previously signed to Interscope Records before being let go from his deal without an official record being released. He has released five mixtapes since his first in 2005 including Live From Gary, Indiana, Big Bizness, The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs, midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik and Str8 Killa No Filla. The Str8 Killa EP was released 3rd August.