hip hop

O.B. has been rapping for about 10 years in Sydney, and has now played across Australia. He was a mumbling presence alongside DJ A.L.F. at the legandary Joined at the Bass sessions at the Cricketer's Arms, until the Rum Corps (aka the NSW Police Force) and a yuppie shut down the live music one fateful Christmas eve. They could not, however, stop Alf and Ozi from forging a musical partnership that has taken them everywhere from dingy suburban pokie palaces, bush doofs, kiddiecore raves and the metro's stage.

There is more than one artist with this name: 1.) Plan B (real name Ben Drew, b. 1983) is a rapper from Forest Gate, London. From the age of 11 he attended Anglo European School in Ingatestone Essex, before transfering to Tom Hood, an inner-city comprehensive. He has described his character, in these school days, as "a bit of a cunt". He is signed to 679 Recordings, home to UK rap act The Streets. His unique sound is characterised by his use of acoustic beats and lyrics involving drugs, rape, murder and underage sex. He was placed fourth in the BBC's "Sound of 2006" competition.

Los Angeles producer Nosaj Thing crafts stately, ethereal synth-based instrumental hip-hop, with influences that range from Boards of Canada and DJ Shadow to Danny Elfman and Erik Satie. An L.A. native, Jason Chung was inspired at an early age by the hip-hop radio stations that the bus driver would play on his way to elementary school, and particularly by the Beat Junkies' turntablism on Power 106.

NON PHIXION (pronounced non-fiction) was a hardcore hip-hop group formed in 1995 in Brooklyn, New York. It consisted of three MCs — Ill Bill, Sabac Red, and Goretex — plus DJ Eclipse. Ill Bill and Goretex are considered to be along with a few other key figures responsible for orchestrating the booming and highly popular "Underground Rap" scene in New York City in the early nineties. The group was originally formed in 1995 by Ill Bill and MC Serch of 3rd Bass fame after many years of Bill, Goretex and Necro working together as a unit after growing up together in Glenwood Projects...