Amir Ali Said

Stack Bundles was a rapper from Far Rockaway, Queens who made a big impact on the mixtape circuit in the early-2000s.  He's well-known for his crew Riot Squad and his contributions as an artist with DJ Clue's Desert Storm Records.  He's…

Linda Jones was a soul singer from Newark, New Jersey who released a few notable singles in the '60s and '70s.  Her most successful single, "Hypnotized," (1967) was a song that she recorded for Loma Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros.…

21st Century was a young soul group from Chicago, Illinois most well-known for their song "Remember The Rain."  The group was made up of five members: Pierre Johnson, Fred Williams, Alphonso Smith, Tyronne Morris, and Alonzo Martin.  In…

Tony Yayo is a rapper from South Jamaica, Queens who is a founding member of G-Unit.   In the early 2000s, 50 Cent, along with Yayo and Llloyd Banks, released a slew of mixtapes after 50 Cent was blacklisted from the music industry.  50…

Bob James is a jazz keyboardist and arranger from Marshall, Missouri.  He was discovered by Quincy Jones in 1963 during a band competition at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival.  Later that year, James recorded his first solo album,…

The L.O.X. are a hip hop group from Yonkers, New York that is comprised of Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch.  In the late '90s, The L.O.X. enjoyed a successful run with Bad Boy Records. They were featured on "It's All About the…

The Whatnauts were a soul group from Baltimore, Maryland that released a few albums and singles during the early '70s.  They recorded three albums for Stang Records: Introducing the Whatnauts (1970), Reaching for the Stars (1971), and…

The Controllers were a soul group from Fairfield, Alabama that began their career singing gospel.  The group was made up of two brothers, Reginald and Larry McArthur, and their cousins Ricky Lewis and Leonard Brown.  They cycled through two…

On December 31st, 2009, Kendrick Lamar released his debut self-titled EP, The Kendrick Lamar EP. Featuring production from Sounwave, Black Milk, and Jake One, with features from Black Hippy members Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock, the EP…

Ohio Players are a funk band from Dayton, Ohio that enjoyed a successful career throughout the '70s.  They're known for songs like, "Funky Worm," "Fire," and "Love Rollercoaster."  Their second album, Pain (1972), was their first album that…