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Jeffrey Atkins, better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper and hip hop singer.

Born 29^th February 1976 in Queens, New York City, Atkins took an interest in hip hop from a young age and in 1994, at the age of eighteen, he began his rap career with the group Cash Money Click, for which he chose the pseudonym Ja Rule. The group released one single – Get Tha Fortune – and recorded an entire debut album but it was never released. His first mainstream solo appearance was on Jay-Z’s 1998 single Can I Get A…, along with the rapper Amil, which reached the Top 20 on the Billboard 200.

Ja Rule released his debut album Venni Vetti Vecci on 1^st June 1999. It shot to number three on the Billboard 200, selling over a million copies before the year was out, and producing the Hot 100 Top 40 single Holla Holla. This was followed by the 2000 album Rule 3:36, which hit the top spot, sold over five million copies and scored hits with the singles Between Me and You (ft. Christina Milian), Put It on Me (ft. Lil’ Mo and Vita) and I Cry (ft. Lil’ Mo), then the 2001 release Pain Is Love. Also shooting to the top of the Billboard 200, the rapper’s third album gave him the first two (and to date only two) US number one hits of his career - I’m Real (Murder Remix) (ft. Jennifer Lopez) and Always on Time (ft. Ashanti) – as well as the Top 10 hit Livin’ It Up (ft. Case). The album also earned him three Grammy Award nominations and three MTV Video Music Award nominations – winning one for Best Hip-Hop Video (I’m Real).

The rapper has since released three more albums and scored hits with singles like Mesmerize (ft. Ashanti), Wonderful (ft. R. Kelly and Ashanti) and New York (ft. Fat Joe and Jadakiss). His eighth studio album The Renaissance Project is due for release towards the end of 2010.

Mario Mims, better known by his stage name Yo Gotti (previously Lil Yo), is an American hip hop singer-songwriter and rapper.

Born 19^th May 1980 in Memphis, Tennessee, Yo Gotti took an interest in hip hop music from a young age, and took his name from the late New York mafioso John Gotti – just like several other rappers like Big Gotti, Juan Gotti, Bazooka Joe Gotti, Don Gotti and Irv Gotti. He signed to Inevitable Entertainment at the end of the 1990s and released his debut album From Da Dope Game 2 Da Rap Game in 2000, which included songs like Rebellious Nigga, Snakes and Police in Thug Clothin’. This was followed by 2001’s Self-Explanatory and the songs Go Gotti Go (ft. Playa Fly), Street Talk and Hard to Believe (ft. D’Nero and Ms. V-Dawg).

The rapper’s third album Life, along with songs like Dirty South Soldiers (ft. Lil Jon), Entering the Game and Look at Old Girl (ft. Block Burnaz), was described by The New York Times as “an uncelebrated gem”, while his 2006 fourth album Back 2 da Basics was an even bigger critical hit, with reviewers favouring the tracks Shawty Violating (Wup That Hoe) (ft. La Chat) and Spend It Cuz U Got It (ft. All Star Cashville Prince). It produced a total of three singles: Full Time, Gangsta Party (ft. Bun B and 8 Ball) – which reached number eighty on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts – and I Got Dem (ft. Lil Wayne and Birdman)/That’s What They Made It Foe (ft. Pooh Bear).

Yo Gotti’s fifth studio album Live from the Kitchen is due to be released in late 2010. Produced by Cool & Dre and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Gotti claims to have recorded “probably a couple hundred songs” for the album, but will whittle that down to between fifteen and twenty for the final release. Two singles have been released to date – 5 Star and Women Lie, Men Lie (ft. Lil Wayne) – which have both reached the Top 20 in the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart.

Pharrell Williams, also known as simply Pharrell, is an American hip hop singer-songwriter and rapper, best known as a member of the successful production duo The Neptunes.

Born 5^th April 1973 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Williams took an interest in music from a young age, learning to play instruments like the guitar, piano, keyboards and drums. He was a member of a marching band with future long-term collaborator Chad Hugo, and it was together they founded the hip hop/electro funk group The Neptunes (originally also with friends Shay Haley and Mike Etheridge). While taking part in a high school talent show they were discovered by the influential producer Teddy Riley, and signed with him shortly after.

They first worked as songwriters and gained success writing a verse for Wreckx-N-Effect’s 1992 Billboard Hot 100 number two hit Rump Shaker. This was followed by credits for groups like BLACKstreet, Sisters with Voices (SWV) and Total, and they slowly developed their distinctive Neptunes sound – first showcased on singles like Mase’s Lookin’ At Me and N.O.R.E.’s Superthug. After producing the pop singer Kelis’ debut album, the group scored hits with singles like Jay-Z’s I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me), Diddy’s D.I.D.D.Y and Usher’s You Don’t Have to Call.

In 2001 the group scored their biggest hit to date with Britney Spears’ I’m A Slave 4 U – and this was quickly followed by Nelly’s 2002 mega-hit Hot in Herre. In 2003 the group released their debut album as a duo called The Neptunes Present… Clones, which topped the Billboard 200 chart. Throughout the 2000s they worked on several albums including Justin Timberlake’s Justified (which included the Top 5 singles Cry Me a River and Rock Your Body), Kelis’ Tasty (including the mega-hit Milkshake), Gwen Stefani’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (including the US number one single Hollaback Girl) and Ludacris’ Release Therapy (including Money Maker). Since 2004, the duo have been nominated for a total of ten Grammy Awards and won three.

Since 2002 the duo have also performed under the name N.E.R.D and released three studio albums (with a fourth due in September 2010), which included singles like Rock Star, Provider and She Wants to Move. In 2006 Pharell also released his debut solo album In My Mind, which reached number three on the Billboard 200 and produced the singles Can I Have It Like That, Angel, Number One and That Girl.

Radric Davis, better known by the professional stage name Gucci Mane, is an American rapper.

Born 12^th February 1980 in Birmingham, Alabama but brought up in Atlanta, Georgia, Davis began rapping at the age of fourteen. He also began a long-term friendship with the rapper Otis Williams, better known as OJ da Juiceman and a member of the rap group 1017 Brick Squad. He signed to the local Atlanta label Big Cat Records in the mid-2000s and released his debut album Trap House in 2005. It reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and produced two singles: Icy (ft. Young Jeezy and Boo) and Go Head (ft. Mac Bre-Z).

This was followed by 2006’s Hard to Kill, which produced the smash hit single Freaky Gurl – later remixed with the rappers Lil’ Kim and Ludacris, and the rapper’s third album Trap-A-Thon. This reached number nine on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart but would be Gucci Mane’s last official independent album, as he signed to the major label Asylum Records (part of Warner Bros. Records) in 2007.

Gucci Mane’s first major label release was Back to the Trap House, but it was 2009’s Murder Was the Case that shot the rapper to mainstream fame. Despite being an unofficial album (released by his previous label Big Cat Records) it became his highest charting record to date – reaching number four on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 23 on the Billboard 200 – and also produced the hit single Stoopid.

The rapper’s next official release came just six months later on 8^th December 2009. The State vs. Radric Davis debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200, selling 89,000 copies in its first week of release, and produced the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart Top 20 hits Wasted (ft. Plies), Spotlight (ft. Usher) and Lemonade. The album also features artists like Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Waka Flocka Flame, Nicki Minaj and Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em.

Lauryn Hill is an American R&B/hip hop singer-songwriter and rapper.

Born 25^th May 1975 in South Orange, New Jersey, Hill learned to play guitar and piano at a young age and entered several talent contests in the local area. In 1994, she joined the hip hop group The Fugees along with the singer/rappers Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel.

After releasing their first album Blunted on Reality in 1994, which produced underground hits like Nappy Heads (Mona Lisa) and Vocab, the group shot to fame with their second studio album The Score. Released in February 1996, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over eighteen million copies worldwide – making it one of the best-selling hip hop albums of all time. It produced the number one hit single Killing Me Softly, as well as the singles Ready of Not and Fu-Gee-La and earned the group two Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group (Killing Me Softly). Yet despite this success, the group decided to split up the following year to work on solo projects – making this their last studio album to date.

However, it was just the start of the story for Lauryn Hill. The singer released her debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in August 1998 to phenomenal critical and commercial success. It shot straight to number one on the Billboard 200, selling 422,624 copies in its first week of release and eighteen million records worldwide. It earned her a record ten Grammy Award nominations, winning five (including the coveted Album of the Year), and has since frequently appeared on several critic lists and public polls of the best albums of the decade. It produced three singles in total: Doo Wop (That Thing) (a US number one hit), Ex-Factor and Everything Is Everything.

Hill has since released one live album – 2002’s MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 – and appeared as a featured artist on songs with artists like Bob Marley, Mary J. Blige and John Legend. She has recently announced plans to record a second solo studio album over the next few years.