Tuesday, July 6, 2010

YOUNG MONEY-TYGA


Michael Stevenson, better known by his stage name Tyga is a rapper who signed to Young Money Ent in 2007. He is the cousin of Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes), and has released over eight mixtapes in his career so far.

YOUNG MONEY-NIKKI MINAJ


Onika Maraj (Born December 8, 1984) known as Nicki Minaj is a female rapper from Southside Jamaica, Queens, NewYork. She grew up in a troubled home, with a father on drugs and a struggling single mother. Despite her hectic environment, Minaj went on to graduate from LaGuardia High School in Manhattan where she studied singing and acting.
Working as an administrative assistant, she dedicated all of her free time to pursuing a potential music career. Nicki Minaj started off singing, from background vocals, to hooks for local rappers. Minaj wanted to “stand out” more, from the average dime-a-dozen young aspiring singer and began writing raps. Starting out as the lone female in a group, (which she left in 2006)
Nicki soon branched out and was noticed on Myspace by Dirty Money CEO Fendi. Who signed her and put her on the front of his Dirty Money Label, and his The Come Up DVD.
Appearing on The Carter Edition of the DVD series, Minaj was noticed by rapper Lil’ Wayne who immediately called Fendi to negotiate meeting Nicki. He was convinced by not only her different style of rapping, but her ability to full on write her own material that she was perfect to be the face of his Young Money label. The two collaborated on mixtape styled remakes of tracks such as “Sunshine”, “Big Spender” and more recently a song entitled “Higher than a Kite” which uses T.I.’s “My Swag” beat. In April of 2007, she released her first mixtape entitled Playtime is Over. Where she posed as a Barbie doll on the cover. Lil’ Wayne appeared on the track “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop”.
Nearly a year later, Minaj released her second mixed cd titled Sucka Free. Controversy surrounded this as Nicki paid tribute to rapper Lil’ Kim by posing with her legs spread for promotional posters. She describes it as something to “pull people in”, so that they would listen to what she had to say. Nicki Minaj graced the pages of the July issue of the XXL magazine giving a brief overview of her life up to that point in time.
Originally using her real last name Maraj, Nicki boasts she started calling herself Minaj because she started “eating chicks”, with her vicious rap skills. Its pronounced as Menage, only spelled to compliment her real last name with a J instead of the traditional spelling.
Aside from her original moniker, Minaj also uses an array of Aka aliases to describe herself, such as; “Nicki Lewenski”, and “AKA Sit on your favorite rapper’s face”

BEST HIP HOP ARTIST OF 2010!!!


THE BEST OF DRIZZY DRAKE!




as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Toronto, Ontario, native Drake (born Aubrey Drake Graham) stepped out as a rapper and singer with pop appeal in 2006, when he initiated a series of mixtapes. A year later, despite being unsigned, he scored major Known initially for his role as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Toronto, Ontario, native Drake (born Aubrey Drake Graham) stepped out as a rapper and singer with pop appeal in 2006, when he initiated a series of mixtapes. A year later, despite being unsigned, he scored major exposure when his cocky and laid-back track "Replacement Girl," featuring Trey Songz, was featured on BET's 106 & Park program as its "Joint of the Day." He raised his profile throughout the next several months by popping up on countless mixtapes and remixes, and as rumors swirled about contract offers from labels, he gradually became one of the most talked-about artists in the industry. It did not hurt that he had support from the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne. By the end of June 2009, "Best I Ever Had," a promotional single, had climbed to number two on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. After a fierce bidding war, Drake signed with Universal Motown in late summer and released an EP (So Far Gone) made up of songs from his popular So Far Gone mixtape. It peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and won a 2010 Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year. Thank Me Later, a full-length featuring collaborations with the Kings of Leon, the-Dream, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne, was issued through Young Money the following year. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide