Lisa Raye, Doug E. Fresh, Bobby Shmurda, Scrappy, Shawnna, Onyx, e Bun B

There's an argument to be made that Douglas E Davis is responsible for the term beatboxer becoming an expression at all. It was he who coined the nickname “The Original Human Beatbox” while he was making a name for himself as a rapper and performer around Harlem, and while others might have enjoyed more commercial success than him with their skills, they still own one hell of a debt to Doug E. Fresh. His first recorded appearance was on the Spoonie Gee and DJ Spivey single “Pass The Buddha”, and after that, his most notable early performance was with The Treacherous Three for their track “Beat Street”. This exposure meant that Fresh began building up some hype around himself, and began to release solo singles with the labels Enjoy and Vinetertainment.

By the end of 1985, Fresh was one of the biggest names in hip-hop with his group The Get Fresh Crew (which featured a young Slick Rick in its line up). He was having hits on both sides of the Atlantic with his single “The Show” hurtling into the top ten of the UK singles chart at number 7. By 1988, he had gone some way of earning the title he gave himself on his second solo album “The World's Greatest Entertainer”, which is a title he keeps to this very day. Remaining an influence even today, it was even Fresh's dance moves that inspired the Cali Swag District to record the smash hit single “Teach Me How To Dougie” in 2010, a good couple of decades after Fresh's last charting hit. Some talents never truly die, and as long as true hip-hop is still a cultural force, Doug E. Fresh will still be one of the men to thank for that. Highly recommended.

Born Ackquille Jean Pollard in Brooklyn, New York City, Shmurda was raised by his mother since his father was pretty much constantly in and out of jail. He took solace in his music, becoming a devoted hip-hop fan while also skirting dangerously close to a life of crime, selling crack by the time he hit fifth grade. Music was always his true passion though, not to mention his ticket away from a life in. By the age of ten he was remixing songs by his idols Lil Wayne, Jay Z and Juvenile, and began rapping at the age of 10. However, it wasn’t until 2014, when he sample the beat of Lloyd Banks’ track “Jackpot” to create his own track “Hot N*gga”, that he started to create some serious buzz for himself. At first it was localized, becoming huge among the projects of his native Brooklyn, then a video was made for it and the song, along with its “Shmoney Dance” went viral.

The track was a huge hit, hitting number six on the Billboard Hot 100, getting freestyled over by Lil’ Kim, Jeezy and T.I, and Beyoncé herself performed the dance at a show of hers in July 2014. His debut album “Shmurda She Wrote” was released in November of the same year, and ever since then Shmurda has remained one of the hottest (no pun intended) talents in American hip-hop. He’s leapt to stardom quickly, but there’s no reason to believe he won’t have staying power. For that, he comes highly recommended.

Fellow rapper Pimp C founded the rap duo Underground Kings in the late 1980s with friend Mitchell Queen. The lineup didn’t last long however and Bun B ultimately joined, alter securing a record deal with independent Houston label Bigtyme Records. The pair’s debut output was the well-received EP “The Southern Way”, which raised the duo's exposure and led to them signing with Jive Records. Unable to release much of their hardcore, explicitly content on their debut full-length, the EP “Banned” was issued in 1993 to satisfy fans. The studio album “Too Hard to Swallow” arrived in 1993 on Jive Records, succeeded by “Super Tight” in 1994, “Ridin’ Dirty” in 1996, and “Dirty Money” in 2001.

Following the arrest of his UGK partner Pimp C, Bun B began making appearances on songs by Paul Wall, Webbie, and Yung Joc, before releasing the mixtape “Legends” in 2005. The same year Bun B issued his debut solo album “Trill”, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 aided by the singles “Draped Up”, “Git It”, and “Get Throwed”. In 2007 UGK partner Pimp C was found dead in a hotel room, and Bun B’s sophomore album “Il Trill” was in large part a tribute to his former colleague. Debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the album proved his most successful to date, spawning the singles “That’s Gangsta”, “You’re Everything”, and “Damn I’m Cold”.

Two years later Bun B’s third studio album “Trill OG” hit the shelves featuring 2Pac, T-Pain, Trey Songz, Drake, and Slim Thug. Led by the single “Countin’ Money”, the record earned favourable reviews and charted at No. 4 upon release. “Trill OG: The Epilogue” followed in 2013 once again featuring a host of high-profile contributions from the likes of Big K.R.I.T, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, and Redman. Debuting at No. 30 on the Billboard 200, the record received positive reviews and cemented Bun B’s position as one of the most celebrated rappers in hip-hop.