Paul Wall, 8ball & MJG, Trina, Trick Daddy, Slim Thug, Webbie, Devin The Dude, Je'Caryous Johnson, Z-Ro, Lil Keke, et DJ TAB

Paul Wall is proof that being a street team member can pay off and then some. A hip-hop obsessive from an early age, his entry into the music business as a whole came when he was 14 years old and he started doing promotional work for Michael "5000" Watts' record label, Swishahouse. As he approached the end of his teenage years he began rapping himself, regularly collaborating with Chamillionaire and recording any raps that he came up with. At the end of 1999, he convinced Watts to let him and Chamillionaire rap on his radio show, and the resulting freestyle was so good that it essentially made both of their careers.

Their freestyle appeared on one of Watts’ mixtapes, entitled “Choppin Em Up Part 2”, and both rappers were formally signed to Swishahouse for future releases. However, after Slim Thug left the label Wall and Chamillionaire both left with him and they formed their own duo called The Color Changin’ Click. They began releasing their own line of massively acclaimed mixtapes and they eventually inked a record deal with Paid In Full Records, who released their debut album “Get Ya Mind Correct” in 2002. The duo split soon after this but both would go on to have massively succesful solo careers, with Wall’s solo success coming in 2005 with the release of his debut album “The People’s Champ”.

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, knocking Kanye West’s “Late Registration” off the top spot at the same time. Its lead single “Sittin’ Sidewayz” was also a slow-burning hit, stalling at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 but was eventually certified Gold. He was the featured collaborator on Nelly’s 2005 number one hit “Grillz”, however, and ever since then he’s been one of the most beloved names in southern hip-hop. While he might not have achieved the success of some of his peers he’s still massively acclaimed by all who know him, and can blow the roof of any venue he plays in to boot. To this day, he comes highly recommended.

Comprised of two Ridgeway Middle School attendees, Premmro Smith and Marion Jermaine Goodwin, a.k.a. 8Ball and MJG, the pair first met in 1984. The duo’s debut release together was the underground record “Listen to the Lyrics” in 1991, after which 8Ball and MJG signed with the independent label Suave Records. An official debut arrived in 1993 going by the name “Comin’ Out Hard”, a record that proved both a critical and commercial success and served to signficantly increase the pair’s national exposure.

The following year the duo issued their sophomore album “On the Outside Looking In”, followed in 1995 by “On Top of the World”. Both records earned rave reviews from the critical press, cementing 8Ball and MJG’s position as seminal pioneers of Southern Rap, with the latter album peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. In 1996 the duo contributed the track “Listen to Me Now” to the Red Hot Organisation’s “America Is Dying Slowly” compilation alongside acts like Wu-Tang Clan, Common, Biz Markie and Chubb Rock. Rising to No. 10 on the Billboard 200, 8Ball and MJG’s subsequent album “In Our Lifetime, Vol. 1” (1999) once again found favour among critics and proved to be their last release on Suave Records.

Following the move to Diddy’s Bad Boy Records, complete with widespread promotion and distribution, the group enjoyed their greatest success to date with the album “Living Legends” in 2004. The No. 3 charting album, featuring the likes of Twista and Diddy, spawned the singles “You Don’t Want Drama” and “Straight Cadillac Pimpin’”. In collaboration with fellow Tennessee-based hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, 8Ball & MJG appeared on the group’s hit single “Stay Fly” in 2005, which later peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Three years later the duo issued their seventh studio album, “Ridin High”, with guest contributions from The Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun, Project Pat, and Three 6 Mafia. Aided by the single “Relax and Take Notes”, the record proved another popular release charting at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. The duo subsequently signed with T.I.’s Grand Hustle label who issued the group’s eighth full-length album “Ten Toes Down” in May 2010. As well as releasing music together however, 8Ball and MJG have also released strings of albums as solo artists. From 1998 to 2012 8Ball released eight full-length albums, including a pair of split albums with Devius and E.D.I, in which time MJG released five solo albums.

During her free time in high school, Trina began writing rhymes until she caught the eye of Miami rapper Trick Daddy who offered the rapper a guest spot on his single “Nann Nigga” in 1998. The song became Trick Daddy’s lead single from his sophomore album “www.thug.com”, which reached No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100, and exposed Trina to huge audience. Due to the success Trina signed with Slip-n-Slide Records who issued her debut album “Da Baddest Bitch” in March 2001. Although the rapper failed to maintain creative control the album debuted at No. 33 on the Billboard 200, and stayed there for 29 weeks.

Working alongside Missy Elliot for her sophomore album, Trina had complete creative control over the release, which was released in August 2002. “Diamond Princess” debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the singles “Told Y’all” featuring Rick Ross, “No Panties”, and “B R Right” featuring Ludacris. The same year Trina launched her own label Diva Enterprises, which later became DP Entertainment, and signed the nine-year-old rapper Lil Brianna.

Trina’s third full-length album “Glamorest Life” was issued in October 2005 and out-performed both its predecessors, debuting at No. 11 on the Billboard 200. The album was led by the single “Don’t Trip” featuring Lil Wayne, and aided by the single “Here We Go” featuring Kelly Roland. After signing with EMI in 2007, Trina released two mixtapes “Rockstarr Royalty” and “Baddest Chick 2: Reloaded” ahead of her fourth full-length “Still da Baddest” in 2008. Reaching No. 6 on the Billboard 200, and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop chart, the album sold 47,000 in its first week.

Led by the single “That’s My Attitude”, Trina’s fifth studio album “Amazin’” was released in May 2010, and later spawned the hits “Million Dollar Girl”, “White Girl”, and “Always”. In 2011 Trina released the mixtape “Diamonds Are Forever”, which featured the singles “Ghetto”, “Waist So Skinny”, and “Can I”. The single “Beam” arrived in July 2012 featuring GunPlay, as well as the single “Bad Bitch” featuring Lolo Monroe and Shawnna.

Having learned to write rhymes during elementary school, Webbie would later relate to the sounds of hardcore southern rap and used it to cope with his mother’s passing aged eight. Strongly influenced by the likes of Master P, UGK, and Eightball & MJG, the rapper began to focus all of his attention on his songwriting, leading his school grades to suffer. Webbie subsequently signed with Pimp C’s Trill Entertainment before his 16th birthday and began collaborating with fellow Louisiana-native Lil Boosie. The first fruit of the collaboration was the 2003 album “Ghetto Stories”, followed by “Gangsta Musik” a year later. During his time with Trill Entertainment the label went from strength to strength and secured a distribution deal with Asylum Records. Meanwhile on the strength of his tracks “Gimme Dat” and “Bad Bitch”, which began to appear on mixtapes by DJ Smallz and Evil Empire, Webbie was able to sign a deal with Atlantic Records in association with Trill.

The rapper’s debut full-length “Savage Life” subsequently arrived in July 2005 led by the single “Give Me That” featuring Bun B. The album earned positive reviews and charted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 upon release. The record introduced the rapper to many new listeners and in doing so he became much like the Southern rappers he would listen to growing up. Webbie’s sophomore album “Savage Life 2”, peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, aided by his most successful single to date “Independent” featuring Lil Boosie and Lil Phat. With appearances from Rick Ross, Birdman, and Pimp C, the record appeared in February 2008. Continuing his series of “Savage Life” albums, Webbie’s third full-length “Savage Life 3” was released in November 2011, followed by “Savage Life 4” in November 2013.

Though Copeland was born in Florida he moved to Texas by the time he reached 4th grade. Throughout his childhood he moved between Houston and Boston, but after his high school graduation he stabilized in the Houston area. Copeland started to experiment with marijuana in the 7th grade. His love for the herb only grew over the years and as he developed as a rapper he often rotated in themes related to this subject matter. Copeland was also fascinated with the breakdancing subculture as a teenager, joining several dance crews; however, it was not long until hip-hop consumed his entire interest.

Immediately following his high school graduation Copeland formed the hip-hop collective Odd Squad, with blind rapper/record producer Rob Quest. Jugg Mugg later joined the line up and in 1994 they released their debut album “Fadanuf Fa Erybody!!” Though the album was not a commercial success and has been out of print for many years it has nevertheless developed a strong cult following and has been declared by Scarface to be the label’s best release. After the demise of Odd Squad Copeland joined the group Facemob alongside Scarface. The group experienced a fair amount of success, having their debut album “The Other Side of the Law” reach No. 51 on the Billboard 200. The band put out their 2nd and final album “Silence” in 2002; however, by this time Copeland was already releasing solo material under the moniker Devin the Dude.

He released “The Dude” in 1998 and “Just Tryin’ ta Live” in 2002. Also around this time he frequently appeared as a guest rapper on songs by his label mates Scarface and the Geto Boys, as well as high profile acts like De La Soul, Dr. Dre, and Gucci Mane.

Copeland went on to release 2004’s “To tha X-Treme” and 2007’s “Waitin’ to Inhale” through the label “Rap-A-Lot”. The latter release peaked to No. 30 on the US Charts and No. 9 on the R&B charts. The next Devin the Dude release, “Landing Gear” came out in 2008 and was the first album in his career not to be released through Rap-A-Lot. Copeland put out two studio albums in 2012 “Suite 420” and “Gotta Be Me”. He followed these two releases with his 8th studio album “One For the Road”. This recording saw release in October 2013 and was issued through Coughee Brothaz Music.