Amir Ali Said

Hiro Yanagida is a Japanese composer and keyboardist who recorded in the '60s and the '70s.  Yanagida was an underground artist in Japan, but a lot of his music has enjoyed a new life through the internet.  His sound featured a blend of…

Ice-T is a rapper, actor, and producer from Los Angeles, California who rose to prominence in the '80s and the '90s.   In the '80s, after a career in the streets, Ice-T decided to pursue a music career.  Initially, he performed as a DJ…

Prince Phillip Mitchell is a singer, songwriter, and producer from Louisville, Kentucky.  His career spanned over three decades.   In the '60s, he bounced between four different groups: The Checkmates, The Cash Registers, The Moonlighters,…

The Floaters were a soul group from Detroit, Michigan who recorded in the '70s and the '80s.  The group featured five members: James Mitchell, Paul Mitchell, Larry Cunningham, Charles Clark, and Ralph Mitchell.   In 1977, they released…

Big Daddy Kane is a rapper from Brooklyn, New York who is one of the most influential artists in hip hop history.  In the '80s, he started his career as a member of The Juice Crew All Stars.  The Juice Crew All Stars was a hip hop crew that…

Cedric "Im" Brooks was a Jamaican saxophonist, flautist, and composer who recorded in the '60s and the '70s.  In addition to playing the saxophone and the flute, Brooks also played the clarinet and the piano.  In fact, at the beginning of…

Lloyd Banks is a rapper from South Jamaica, Queens who is a founding member of G-Unit, a hip hop group from the 2000s that included, 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck. Together, they built G-Unit into one of the biggest hip hop groups in…

Lonette McKee is a actress, singer, and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan who mainly recorded in the '70s.  As a child, McKee played the keyboard and wrote unreleased songs.  In 1968, at 14, she released her debut single, "Don't Worry About…

Johnny Hammond was a jazz organist from Louisville, Kentucky who's career spanned three decades.  Although he started recording in the late '50s, he found most of his success in the '60s and the '70s.  One thing that was dope about Hammond…

Kurupt is a rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who came up in the ‘90s.  As a teenager, he moved to California.  At 19, he signed to Death Row Records. During his time at the label, Kurupt formed the hip hop duo Tha Dogg Pound with…