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Nas & Damian Marley

Nas & Damian Marley came together to record an album titled Distant Relatives (released May 18, 2010). Distant Relatives is a collaborative studio album by American rapper Nas and Jamaican reggae artist Damian Marley, released May 18, 2010, on Universal Republic and Def Jam Recordings. Production for the album took place during 2008 to 2010 and was handled primarily by Damian Marley and Stephen Marley. Fusing musical elements of hip hop and reggae, Distant Relatives features lyrical themes concerning ancestry, poverty, and the plight of Africa.

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R.A. the Rugged Man

R.A. the Rugged Man, real name R.A. Thorburn, is a rapper from Stony Brook, Long Island. He began his music career at age 12. At 18, he signed to Jive Records. R.A.'s legend, perpetuated by the P.R. biographies at his various labels, say he was dropped due to violent and disgusting behavior, but in interviews he disputes many of the more extreme stories told about him, adding that Jive just didn't know how to break new artists at the time.

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GZA

Gary Grice (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage name GZA ([ˈdʒɪzʌ]), is an American hip hop artist best known as a founding member of seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan and for his inclusion on their group albums, his groupmates' solo releases and a successful solo career. Born in Staten Island, Grice developed an interest in hip-hop by attending block parties as a child in the late '70's.

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Theophilus London

Theophilus London is a Brooklyn, USA based hip hop artist with heavy electro influences. London released his debut mixtape JAM! in 2008. In 2009 he collaborated with Machine Drum for his second mixtape This Charming Mixtape which brought London to a wider audience. In 2010 London released the mixtape I Want You which features covers of classic songs. London's track Flying Overseas (featuring Devonté Hynes and Solange Knowles) enjoyed popularity with music bloggers in November 2010. Most of London's music can be downloaded from his blog: http://theophiluslondon.

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Silent Knight

There are at least two artists called "Silent Knight." 1. Emerging from the New Jersey underground Urban performance circuit comes Silent Knight, a recording artist who brings a new glimmer of hope to Hip-Hop culture. This Brooklyn born - Tri State raised performer is an emcee whose electric stage presence and poignant lyrical abilities are smartly matched by his tastefully scathing social and political views.

DJ Eclipse

DJ Eclipse, renowned indie Hip Hop tastemaker, first gained national notoriety while djing for 3rd Bass front man MC Serch in the early 90's. His reputation grew in the mid 90's by filling in for Stretch Armstrong on his weekly 89.9 radio show on WKCR and then later for Mayhem on 89.1 WNYU. He joined Wild Pitch Records in '94 and became the National Director of Retail Promotion until their closing in '95.

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Wu-Tang Clan

Wu-Tang Clan is a New York City rap group with individuals hailing from Staten Island, Brooklyn and Bronx. They have gone on to become multi-platinum record producers, Grammy winners, TV and film stars, screenwriters, product spokespersons, business owners and, most recently, major motion picture composers. They also called themselves Killa Beez which could interpreted to be a reference to Queens. The Clan featured nine MCs until the death of Ol' Dirty Bastard in 2004.

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Das Racist

Das Racist is a hip hop group, formed in 2008 and based in Brooklyn, New York, comprised of Queens-born Himanshu Suri and San Francisco-born Victor Vazquez. Suri and Vazquez met in 2003 at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut where Victor was Himanshu's resident advisor in a "Students of Color for Social Justice" theme dormitory. Suri was a member of the Eclectic Society and is also an alumnus of School of Oriental and African Studies.

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