Amir Ali Said

Otis Clay was a blues and a soul singer from Waxhaw, Mississippi.  As a child, he performed with local gospel groups in Mississippi.  In 1953, at 11 years old, his family moved to Muncie, Indiana, and he continued to sing gospel music.  In…

Big Herk is a rapper from Detroit, Michigan who's been rhyming since the '90s.  He started his career as a member of the Detroit rap group Rock Bottom.  However, in 2003, he left the group to pursue a solo career.  That same year, he…

Dean Fraser is a Jamaican saxophonist from Kingston, Jamaica.  At 12 years old, Fraser started playing the clarinet.  At 15, he switched to the saxophone.  In his 20s, he started his first band, The Sonny Bradshaw 7.  In 1978, he released…

Penny Goodwin is a soul singer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who recorded in the '70s.  Before she started recording music, Goodwin was a popular act in Milwaukee.  First, she sang in church with Al Jarreau, a legendary soul and jazz musician…

One Be Lo is a rapper from Pontiac, Michigan who started rhyming in the late '90s.  In 1998, he created the hip hop duo Binary Star with Senim Silla.  One year later, they released their debut album, Waterworld.  It was a hit on the…

Dave Valentin was a Puerto Rican jazz flutist from the South Bronx.  He was born and raised in New York City, and he was playing music by ten years old.  First, he played the conga and the timables for the majority of his teenage years. …

Illogic is a rapper from Columbus, Ohio who started rhyming in the late '90s.  In the beginning of his career, he mainly participated in freestyle battles.  In 1999, he released his debut album, Unforeseen Shadows.  The entire album was…

Johnny Osborne is a reggae artist from Kingston, Jamaica who sang in the '60s, '70s, and the '80s.  In 1967, Osborne started singing as the lead vocalist for a Jamaican group called The Wildcats.  The Wildcats mainly recorded for Winston…

Marvin Holmes & The Uptights were a funk band from Oakland, California who recorded in the '60s and '70s. In 1969, they recorded "The Funky Mule (Parts 1 & 2)."  It was one of their first hits, and it helped them secure a record…

The Artifacts are a hip hop group from Newark, New Jersey who primarily recorded in the '90s.  The group included three members: El Da Sensei, Tame One, and DJ Kaos.  Before rhyming, El Da Sensei and Tame One were well-known graffiti…