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Miguel Jontel Pimentel (born October 23, 1985), better known as Miguel, is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Raised in Los Angeles, he began creating music at age thirteen. After signing to Jive Records in 2007, Miguel released his debut studio album, All I Want Is You, in November 2010. Although it was underpromoted upon its release, the album became a sleeper hit and helped Miguel garner commercial standing.
After Jive's dissolution in 2011, he moved to RCA Records and released his second studio album, Kaleidoscope Dream in 2012 to critical acclaim. On June 29, 2015, Miguel released his third studio album, Wildheart, which also received universal critical acclaim. Miguel incorporates R&B, funk, hip hop, rock and electronic styles into his music, and has been compared to vocalists Babyface and Prince.
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Tattooed with pictures of AK-47s, Miami's six-foot, 300-pound rap figure known as Rick Ross embraced his city's reputation for drug trafficking on his debut single, "Hustlin'," in 2006. While Atlanta and Houston artists were establishing their cities as Southern strongholds, Ross aimed at putting Miami back in rap's national spotlight. Ross, real name William Roberts, grew up in Carol City, Florida, an impoverished northern suburb of Miami. Influenced by artists like Luther Campbell and the Notorious B.I.G., Roberts formed local rap group the Carol City Cartel and began rapping in the mid-'90s. (He took his rap name from Los Angeles drug kingpin "Freeway" Rick Ross, who ran one of the largest crack cocaine distribution networks in the country during the '80s and early '90s.) Ross had a brief stint on Suave House Records, former label of Eightball & MJG, before he ended up on Miami-based Slip 'N' Slide Records, the label home of Trick Daddy and Trina. During the early to mid-2000s, he became popular and well-known locally through touring with Trick Daddy and appearing as a guest on a few Slip 'N' Slide releases, but didn't release any solo material until 2006.

Once "Hustlin'" caught the ear of a few executives within the national industry, a bidding war ensued that included offers from Bad Boy CEO Sean "Diddy" Combs and The Inc (formerly Murder Inc) president Irv Gotti. Nonetheless, Def Jam president and veteran rapper Jay-Z signed Ross to a multi-million-dollar deal. The Miami anthem "Hustlin'" went on to receive gold status from the RIAA in May 2006 and sold over a million ringtone units before the physical release of his debut album, Port of Miami. Released in August 2006, Ross' debut was Slip 'N' Slide's first project under the Def Jam partnership, and it went to number one on the Billboard album chart. His follow-up, Trilla, was released the following year, prefaced with the Cool & Dre-produced title track. Early 2009 saw the release of Deeper Than Rap, an album greeted with numerous positive reviews in the hip-hop press. In early 2010 he released the Teflon Don album featuring the hit single "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)." The star-studded God Forgives, I Don't followed in 2012, with guest shots from Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige.

At the start of 2013, he announced details of his sixth studio album. He enlisted the help of Scott Storch and DJ Khaled as executive producers and released the pre-album single "No Games" featuring Future. The album, titled Mastermind, landed in March of 2014 with the simultaneous release of the single "War Ready" featuring Young Jeezy. Just six months later, Ross announced that he would be releasing his seventh studio album, Hood Billionaire, toward the end of 2014. The album arrived in November of that year and was preceded by the singles "Elvis Presley Blvd." and "Keep Doin' That (Rich Bitch)." In 2015, he dropped Black Dollar, a high-profile official mixtape that featured production from J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and Jake One. The mixtape previewed that year's official album, Black Market, which landed late in the year, along with the accompanying single "Sorry" featuring Chris Brown. Future, Mary J. Blige, and Nas also made guest appearances on the LP.

In 2016, Ross appeared with electronic producer Skrillex on the Suicide Squad film soundtrack cut "Purple Lamborghini," which went on to receive a Grammy nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The Maybach don returned the following year with his ninth set, Rather You Than Me, which featured lead singles "Buy Back the Block" with 2 Chainz and Gucci Mane and "I Think She Like Me" with Ty Dolla $ign. ~ Cyril Cordor
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2 Chainz is the stage name of Atlanta rapper Tauheed Epps, once known as Tity Boi in the Atlanta-based Playaz Circle. 2 Chainz launched a successful solo career in 2010 and issued hits like "No Lie" and "Where U Been" while becoming the go-to artist for guest verses. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, 2 Chainz first went solo in 2007 with the mixtape Me Against the World. The 2Pac references continued with his 2009 mixtapes Trap-A-Velli and All Ice on Me, but 2010's Me Against the World 2: Codeine Withdrawal hit his style on the nose with the last bit of its title, and when DJ Teknikz and DJ Frank White collected his best street tracks in 2011, the hard and hazy set of cuts was dubbed the Codeine Cowboy mixtape. That same year he was featured on David Banner's "Yao Ming" and Big K.R.I.T.'s "Money on the Floor," while a year later he landed on Kanye West's "Mercy" as well as Nicki Minaj's "Beez in the Trap." He also signed with the Def Jam label in 2012 and released the single "No Lie" before dropping his official debut, Based on a T.R.U. Story. Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Mike Posner were among the Grammy-nominated album's special guests, while production was handled by the likes of the-Dream and Drumma Boy. Following later announcements that 2 Chainz had been working on new material with Pharrell Williams and Drake, a sequel -- titled B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time -- arrived in September 2013. The album featured the hits "Feds Watching" and "Where U Been," but 2 Chainz was also heard on singles from B.o.B. ("Headband"), Major Lazer ("Bubble Butt"), and Juicy J ("Bandz a Make Her Dance") that same year, while 2014 saw him joining Sage the Gemini on the Imasu! single "Only That Real." In 2016, he released the solo single "Feel Like Cappin'" along with the album ColleGrove, a collaboration with Lil Wayne, although only 2 Chainz was credited due to label issues. Capping off a busy 2016, he dropped both the Hibachi for Lunch mixtape (his third of the year) and debuted the Drake-assisted single "Big Amount." ~ David Jeffries
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***GREATEST HITS FROM 80

Bringing the strange, mumbly style of the Atlanta school up the East Coast, Brooklyn-based MC Desiigner landed a recording contract with Kanye West's GOOD Music imprint in 2016. Sounding like a murky mix of Future and Young Thug, the rapper made his debut in 2014 under the name Dezolo, joining MCs Phresh and Rowdy on the single "Danny Devito." Late the next year, he made his debut as Desiigner on the single "Panda." Kanye West heard the cut, and sampled it for his album The Life of Pablo. He also signed the original song's MC to his label, and re-released the track as a GOOD Music single in early 2016. By April, it had climbed all the way to number one in the U.S.; then in June it landed on his debut mixtape, New English. ~ David Jeffries
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Busting out of Atlanta in 2011 with his hit street track "Tony Montana," rapper Future grew up in Atlanta's Zone 6 section. Born Nayvadius Cash, hip-hop was in his family, as his cousin was producer Rico Wade. It was his local crew who gave him his moniker, dubbing him "The Future of Rap," something the nation got to experience in 2010 when he partnered with Gucci Mane for the mixtape Free Bricks. In 2011, he released the street album Streetz Calling and made a guest appearance on YC's mixtape hit "Racks." In the fall of that year, as "Tony Montana" was catching fire, it was announced that Future would be signing to the Epic Label Group thanks to producer and C.E.O. L.A. Reid. Future's debut album, Pluto, landed on Epic proper in 2012. Featuring valuable input from Snoop Dogg, T.I., and Juicy J, it debuted at number two on the pop chart. Later that year, Future enjoyed high-profile credits (co-writing and performance) on Rihanna's Unapologetic with the track "Loveeeeeee Song," and early 2013 brought a compilation mixtape, F.B.G.: The Movie, on his own Freebandz imprint. Later that year, Future and Ciara announced their engagement. Future's second full-length album, initially known as Future Hendrix but later retitled Honest, was issued in early 2014. It earned both critical acclaim and popular success and peaked at number two. Two singles from the album, "Move That Dope" (featuring Pharrell, Pusha T, and Casino) and "I Won" (featuring Kanye West), charted inside the rap Top 20. A few months after the album's release, Future and Ciara's split was made public. During late 2014 and early 2015, Future was on a creative roll with three mixtapes, as well as another major hit, "Fuck Up Some Commas." They primed his fans for third album DS2, which debuted at number one in July 2015. Only two months later, What a Time to Be Alive, a mixtape collaboration with Drake, reached the same spot. In early 2016 he dropped the surprise album Evol, which arrived unannounced but still debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In November of that year, Future issued another Drake-assisted single, "Used to This," from his Beast Mode 16 mixtape. ~ David Jeffries
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Vocalist and songwriter Bibi Bourelly is a bold and outspoken talent whose music is informed by a life that's been far from conventional. She was born in Berlin, Germany on July 14, 1994. Her father was Jean-Paul Bourelly, a guitarist who released 12 solo albums and collaborated with Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Cassandra Wilson, and Craig Harris, while her mother was the director of the art department in Berlin's House of the World's Cultures. Bourelly was a rebellious spirit from an early age, and after her mother succumbed to cancer when Bourelly was six, the youngster developed a keen sense of self-reliance. Her reluctance to conform made her a poor fit for school, and when she was 16, she left Germany and relocated to Washington D.C. to strike out on her own. Three years later, she moved to Los Angeles and worked odd jobs while trying to get her foot in the door of the music business. Bourelly began working with producer Paperboy Fabe, whom she met online, and through him she met Kanye West, who brought her into the studio and put her in a vocal booth to see what she could come up with. The end product was the song "Higher," which was recorded by Rihanna, who was pleased enough with the tune that she turned to Bourelly for more material. Bourelly's "Bitch Better Have My Money" became a major hit for Rihanna, and soon she was writing material for Nick Brewer ("Talk to Me") and Selena Gomez ("Camouflage") and appearing with Lil Wayne on "Without You," a cut from his Free Weezy Album. In April 2015, Bourelly released her first solo single, "Riot," and after scoring a deal with Circa 13/Def Jam Records, she dropped a second single, "Ego," in October 2015. ~ Mark Deming
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A teen television star turned pop diva, Ariana Grande emerged in the mid-2010s as an heir to the throne of Mariah Carey. Blessed with powerful vocals that belied her petite frame, Grande had greater singing chops than many of her peers, and her Babyface-produced 2013 debut, Yours Truly, underscored her debt to '90s soul. Nevertheless, her music was flexible enough to incorporate hip-hop and EDM, as proved by her 2014 smash hit single "Problem," featuring Iggy Azalea. A native of Boca Raton, Florida, where she was born in 1993 to graphic designer Edward Butera and Joan Grande (the CEO of Hose-McCann Communications), Grande began singing and acting at an early age, appearing in local theater productions. In 2008, when she was 15 years old, she landed the role of Charlotte in the Broadway production of 13; her performance was well received, winning a National Youth Theatre Association Award. Following an appearance in the 2010 Desmond Child-written musical Cuba Libre, Grande was cast as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television program Victorious. The show ran until 2012, at which time Grande's Cat Valentine was spun off into a show called Sam & Cat, which also starred Jennette McCurdy of iCarly. As she kept herself busy with television, Grande began to pursue a musical career. She frequently made appearances at sporting events and with symphonies and she made her first appearances on record via the soundtracks to Victorious. In 2011, she released the single "Put Your Hearts Up," which was cut during sessions for a teen-oriented pop album; she later disowned the single due to its kiddie feel. Grande felt much more comfortable with "The Way," her 2013 single featuring Mac Miller. This signaled a mature direction and audiences responded, taking it to the Top Ten in the U.S., where it was eventually certified triple platinum. It was the first single from her 2013 debut, Yours Truly, which also featured hits in "Baby I" and "Right There." At the end of the year she released a seasonal EP called Christmas Kisses, but her real efforts went into the recording of her second album, My Everything. Preceded by the single "Problem" -- a song that featured a guest spot from Iggy Azalea, the "it girl" of the summer of 2014; it peaked at two on the U.S. charts and was certified double platinum -- the album featured a host of different producers, including Max Martin, Shellback, Ryan Tedder, and Benny Blanco. It was released at the end of August 2014, hitting number one on charts across the globe. Subsequent singles featured assists by Zedd ("Break Free"), Jessie J and Nicki Minaj ("Bang Bang"), and the Weeknd ("Love Me Harder"). At one point in 2014, three of her songs were in the Billboard Top Ten at the same time, a feat matched only be Adele. By the time fifth single "One Last Time" charted in early 2015, My Everything had sold nearly 600,000 copies. As that album's cycle wound down, Grande guest-starred on Ryan Murphy's campy slasher series Scream Queens and she also recorded another holiday EP, Christmas & Chill. In October 2015, Grande released the single "Focus," which debuted at number seven on the Hot 100 and was certified platinum the following January. That February, she announced her third album, Dangerous Woman, and released the album's title track as a single in March. The song debuted at number ten on the Hot 100, making Grande the first artist to have the lead single from each of her first three albums debut in the Top Ten. Featuring collaborations with Macy Gray, Future, and Nicki Minaj, Dangerous Woman was scheduled for release in May 2016. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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While their rise to fame was somewhere between fast and meteoric, the Atlanta trio Migos are steeped in the Southern tradition of hip-hop groups, having come together due to their shared love of acts like the Hot Boys and OutKast. Members Offset, Quavo, and Takeoff came together in 2009 under the name Polo Club, with the name Migos becoming official in 2010. In 2012, they released the mixtape No Label, which featured the cut "Bando," a regional hit that caught the attention of producer Zaytoven and Kevin Lee, aka Coach K, the manager who launched the careers of Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy. The year 2013 was a whirlwind as June saw the group drop its Young Rich N*ggas mixtape, which featured the instant hit "Versace." That same year, Coach K got them on the Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash, a popular Atlanta festival where Migos came across their newest fan, Drake. The rapper added a verse to the "Versace" remix and put the cut on his 2013 album, Nothing Was the Same. Featuring the hit single "Fight Night," 2014's No Label II was the group's next high-profile release, as it was a mixtape distributed by major-label Atlantic. In 2015, the label released the debut album Yung Rich Nation, which featured the single "One Time." Later that year, Migos issued the mixtape Back to the Bando, which included their hit song "Look at My Dab." In addition to securing a Hot 100 entry for the trio, the track kicked off the dabbing trend, a viral dance phenomenon that became so popular by 2016 that, in addition to athletes and musicians, even politicians were dabbing. As mixtapes continued to drop, Migos released the 3 Way EP in the summer of 2016. By the end of the year, their collaboration with Lil Uzi Vert, "Bad & Boujee," began its ascent to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, hitting number one at the beginning of 2017. ~ David Jeffries
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When her debut album, What's the 411?, hit the street in 1992, critics and fans alike were floored by its powerful combination of modern R&B with an edgy rap sound that glanced off of the pain and grit of Mary J. Blige's Yonkers, New York childhood. Called alternately the new Chaka Khan or new Aretha Franklin, Blige had little in common stylistically with either of those artists, but like them, she helped adorn soul music with new textures and flavors that inspired a whole generation of musicians. With her blonde hair, self-preserving slouch, and combat boots, Blige was street-tough and beautiful all at once, and the record company execs who profited off of her early releases did little to dispel the bad-girl image that she earned as she stumbled through the dizzying first days of her career. As she exorcized her personal demons and softened her style to include sleek designer clothes, she remained a hero to thousands of girls growing up in the same kinds of rough places she came from. Blige reinvented her career again and again by shedding the bad habits and bad influences that kept her down; by the time her fourth album, Mary, was released in 1999, she had matured into an expressive singer able to put the full power of her voice behind her music, while still reflecting a strong urban style. With her fifth album, No More Drama, it wasn't just Blige's style that shone through the structures set up for her by songwriters and producers, it was her own vision -- spiritual, emotional, personal, and full of wisdom, it reflected an artist who was comfortable with who she was and how far she had come. Born in the Bronx on January 11, 1971, Blige spent the first few years of her life in Savannah, Georgia before moving with her mother and older sister to the Schlobam housing projects in Yonkers, New York. Her rough life there produced more than a few scars, physical and otherwise, and Blige dropped out of high school during her junior year, instead spending time doing her friends' hair in her mother's apartment and hanging out. When she was at a local mall in White Plains, New York, she recorded herself singing Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture" into a karaoke machine. The resulting tape was passed by Blige's stepfather to Uptown Records CEO Andre Harrell. Harrell was impressed with Blige's voice and signed her to sing backup for local acts like Father MC. In 1991, however, Sean "Puffy" Combs took Blige under his wing and began working with her on What's the 411?, her debut album. Combs had a heavy hand in What's the 411?, along with producers Dave Hall, Mark Morales, and Mark Rooney, and the stylish touches that they added to Blige's unique vocal style created a stunning album that bridged the gap between R&B and rap in a way that no female singer had before. Uptown tried to capitalize on the success of What's the 411? by issuing a remixed version of it a year later, but it was only a modest success creatively and commercially. Her 1995 follow-up, My Life, again featured Combs' handiwork, and if it stepped back stylistically from its urban roots by featuring less of a rap sound, it made up for it with its subject matter. My Life was full of ghetto pathos and Blige's own personal pain shone through like a beacon. Her rocky relationship with fellow Uptown artist K-Ci Hailey likely contributed to the raw emotions on the album. The period following the recording of My Life was also a difficult time professionally for Blige, as she severed her ties with Combs and Uptown, hired Suge Knight as a financial advisor, and signed with MCA. Released in 1997, Share My World marked the beginning of Blige's creative partnerships with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The album was another hit for Blige and debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. Critics soured somewhat on its more conventional soul sound, but Blige's fans seemed undaunted. By the time her next studio album, Mary, came out in 1999, the fullness and elegance of her new sound seemed more developed, as Blige exuded a classic soul style aided by material from Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Stevie Wonder, and Lauryn Hill. Mary made it obvious that the ghetto-fabulous style and more confrontational aspects of her music were gone, while the emotive power still remained. That power also helped carry the more modern-sounding 2001 release No More Drama, a deeply personal album that remained a collective effort musically yet reflected more of Blige's songwriting than any of her previous efforts. The Mary J. Blige on No More Drama seemed miles away from the flashy kid on What's the 411?, yet it was still possible to see the path through her music that produced an older, wiser, but still expressive artist. In 2003 she was reunited with P. Diddy, who produced the majority of that year's patchy Love and Life album. The Breakthrough followed two years later and was a tremendous success, spawning a handful of major singles. By the December 2006 release of Reflections (A Retrospective), The Breakthrough's lead single, "Be Without You," had spent nearly a year on the R&B chart, while the album's fifth single, "Take Me as I Am," had been on the same chart for over four months. A year later Blige came out with her eighth studio album, Growing Pains. It was her third consecutive studio album to top both the Billboard 200 and the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. While on tour with Robin Thicke during 2008, Blige began working on Stronger with Each Tear, which was released near the end of the following year and came one spot short of topping the Billboard 200. My Life II...The Journey Continues (Act 1), previewed through the Eric Hudson-produced single "25/8," followed in 2011 with appearances from Beyoncé, Drake, Rick Ross, and Busta Rhymes. Like her previous nine studio albums, it reached gold status. (Her first eight surpassed gold to reach either platinum or multi-platinum status.) Her first holiday album, A Mary Christmas, was released in 2013. Early in 2014, she linked with Disclosure for an alternate version of the U.K. dance-production duo's single "F for You." A few months later, Blige -- supported by extensive assistance from the-Dream and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, as well as a few other associates -- provided the soundtrack to the comedy Think Like a Man Too. It entered the Billboard Top 200 at number 30 and also reached the Top Ten on Billboard's R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Released on Epic, rather than on her home label, it didn't receive the typical level of promotion for a Blige album and, as a result, sold significantly less than her prior releases. Inspired by Disclosure and other genre-blurring singer/songwriters and producers who were emerging from the U.K., she recorded her 13th album in London that summer with the likes of Sam Smith, Naughty Boy, and Emeli Sandé, as well as Disclosure once more. The London Sessions, her first album for Capitol, was released that November. ~ Stacia Proefrock
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After working a string of behind-the-scenes jobs -- including writing songs for Brandy, singing backup for the Sugababes, and impersonating Elvis -- songwriter/producer Bruno Mars put his name on top of the charts in 2009 by co-writing Flo Rida's hit song "Right Round." One year later, he collaborated with rapper B.o.B on “Nothin’ on You,” and co-wrote Travie McCoy's "Billionaire," both of which became Top Ten hits. Mars used that momentum to launch a solo career, quickly becoming the first male vocalist in two decades to crack the Top Ten with his first four singles. Born Peter Hernandez in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mars kicked off his career at the age of four by fronting his uncle’s band, becoming Oahu's youngest Elvis impersonator in the process. Ten years later, he was impersonating the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, as part of the Legends in Concert show. After graduating high school in 2003, he took his uncle's advice and moved to California to pursue a music career. After months of frustration, he met songwriter Phillip Lawrence, who convinced Mars to try his hand at writing songs for other artists. The two dubbed themselves the Smeezingtons and co-wrote “Long Distance,” which was recorded in 2008 by R&B singer Brandy. More offers arrived after that, and Mars and Lawrence scored their first number one hit in 2009, when they co-authored Flo Rida's international smash "Right Round." By 2010, Mars seemed to be everywhere: singing alongside B.o.B on the chart-topping "Nothin' on You," co-writing Travie McCoy's "Billionaire," and collaborating with Cee-Lo Green on the Grammy-nominated hit "F*ck You!" He also began issuing his own material, starting with the May 2010 release of his first EP, It's Better If You Don't Understand. Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Mars' full-length debut, appeared later that year and quickly produced a number one single, "Just the Way You Are." In 2012, Mars both hosted and performed as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, debuting tracks from his upcoming album. That album, the genre-jumping effort Unorthodox Jukebox, was released that same year, and featured the lead-off single "Locked Out of Heaven," along with production from Mark Ronson, Diplo, and others. "Locked Out of Heaven" topped the pop charts, and the album reached number two in the U.S. (The second single, "When I Was Your Man," also hit number one.) All that success made Mars a natural for one of the world's most prestigious gigs, the halftime show for Super Bowl XLVIII in February 2014, where he performed with Red Hot Chili Peppers as a musical guest and drew record ratings. Also in 2014, Unorthodox Jukebox won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. The following year, he fronted Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk," a song he co-wrote that was among the most popular singles of that year. ~ David Jeffries & Andrew Leahey
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Born in California but raised in Detroit, rapper Big Sean made big news in 2007 when he signed with Kanye West's then-recently formed label GOOD Music. Sean had met West through a hip-hop radio station in Detroit. He was just trying to impress the superstar by displaying his freestyle skills, but after Sean's in-studio performance, West offered him a recording contract and helped set up his debut mixtape, Finally Famous, Vol. 1, released in 2007. A second volume arrived in 2009, with a third following in 2010. In 2011, Sean issued his official debut, Finally Famous, featuring the single "My Last" with special guest Chris Brown. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and later that year the single "Dance (A$$)," featuring Nicki Minaj, became his first in the pop Top Ten. Hall of Fame followed in 2013, also on GOOD Music, with Lil Wayne, Minaj, Nas, and Miguel on the guest list; it too reached number three on the pop chart. Dark Sky Paradise, released in early 2015, featured a similarly impressive guest list, including repeats in Kanye West, John Legend, and Lil Wayne, plus Drake, Ariana Grande, and E-40. It also featured the chart-topping single "I Don't Mess with You" and debuted at number one. ~ David Jeffries
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Busting out of Atlanta in 2011 with his hit street track "Tony Montana," rapper Future grew up in Atlanta's Zone 6 section. Born Nayvadius Cash, hip-hop was in his family, as his cousin was producer Rico Wade. It was his local crew who gave him his moniker, dubbing him "The Future of Rap," something the nation got to experience in 2010 when he partnered with Gucci Mane for the mixtape Free Bricks. In 2011, he released the street album Streetz Calling and made a guest appearance on YC's mixtape hit "Racks." In the fall of that year, as "Tony Montana" was catching fire, it was announced that Future would be signing to the Epic Label Group thanks to producer and C.E.O. L.A. Reid. Future's debut album, Pluto, landed on Epic proper in 2012. Featuring valuable input from Snoop Dogg, T.I., and Juicy J, it debuted at number two on the pop chart. Later that year, Future enjoyed high-profile credits (co-writing and performance) on Rihanna's Unapologetic with the track "Loveeeeeee Song," and early 2013 brought a compilation mixtape, F.B.G.: The Movie, on his own Freebandz imprint. Later that year, Future and Ciara announced their engagement. Future's second full-length album, initially known as Future Hendrix but later retitled Honest, was issued in early 2014. It earned both critical acclaim and popular success and peaked at number two. Two singles from the album, "Move That Dope" (featuring Pharrell, Pusha T, and Casino) and "I Won" (featuring Kanye West), charted inside the rap Top 20. A few months after the album's release, Future and Ciara's split was made public. During late 2014 and early 2015, Future was on a creative roll with three mixtapes, as well as another major hit, "Fuck Up Some Commas." They primed his fans for third album DS2, which debuted at number one in July 2015. Only two months later, What a Time to Be Alive, a mixtape collaboration with Drake, reached the same spot. In early 2016 he dropped the surprise album Evol, which arrived unannounced but still debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. ~ David Jeffries
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Launched while they were a teen quartet, Atlanta's We Are Toonz came on the scene in early 2014 with the pop-rap hit "Drop That Nae Nae." Formed in 2013, the group based "Drop That Nae Nae" on comedian Martin Lawrence's character Sheneneh Jenkins. The track was released late that same year, but didn't catch on until it appeared on social media and video-sharing sites in early 2014. Momentum continued when the Michigan State locker room burst into the "Nae Nae" dance after their Rose Bowl victory that same year, and when Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard posted his own video of the dance, radio latched onto the track, making it a bona fide hit. ~ David Jeffries
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Willie Maxwell II, better known by his stage name Fetty Wap, is an American rapper from Paterson, New Jersey. He rose to prominence with his single "Trap Queen", which peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 2015.
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