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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 Follow @rickross on twitter! smarturl.it/RatherYouThanMe

K. Michelle was one of the frankest contemporary R&B artists of the late 2000s and 2010s. The singer and songwriter, a native of Memphis born Kimberly Michelle Pate, signed to Jive in 2008, releasing a pair of singles ("Self Made," "Fakin' It") that brushed the charts soon after. During 2010, "Fallin'" and "I Just Can't Do This" performed better on the R&B chart, and she also featured on tracks by R. Kelly, Juicy J, and Ruben Studdard. By 2012, she had signed to appear on the VH1 reality show Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, and she inked a contract with Atlantic soon after. Her debut album, Rebellious Soul, was released in August 2013 and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. Two singles peaked outside the Top 20 of the R&B chart, but the singer later picked up a Soul Train award for Best New Artist. After a headlining tour, a stint opening for Robin Thicke, and a Rebellious Soul musical, directed by Idris Elba and aired on VH1, K. Michelle starred in another VH1 series, K. Michelle: My Life. Its first episode premiered a few weeks prior to the release of Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?, her second Top Ten album of blunt yet imaginative storytelling. In March 2016, while K. Michelle: My Life was in its second season, she released her third album, More Issues Than Vogue. ~ John Bush Follow @kmichelle on twitter! thekmichelle.com

Camila Cabello is a founding member of the girl group Fifth Harmony. Born Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao in Cojimar, Cuba, Cabello moved to Miami, Florida at the age of six. Growing up in a Spanish-speaking environment (her mother is Cuban and her father is Mexican), she fostered her love of music by listening to Celia Cruz and Alejandro Fernández. At the age of 15, she auditioned for The X Factor in Greensboro, North Carolina. Even though she was eliminated (along with her four future groupmates), the judges brought her back. Simon Cowell combined the girls into a quintet and formed Fifth Harmony. Despite finishing in third place, they went on to be the most successful contestants from that season. Their debut EP, Better Together, was released in October 2013, with acoustic reworkings, Spanish versions (Juntos and Juntos Acoustic), and a remix album following a month later. Their debut single, "Miss Movin' On," was the highest-charting U.S. X Factor single at the time, a feat beaten only by each successive Fifth Harmony single. Their debut LP, Reflection, was released in early 2015, featuring the hits "Sledgehammer" (written by Meghan Trainor) and "Worth It," featuring rapper Kid Ink. While backstage on Taylor Swift's 1989 world tour, Cabello wrote a duet with Canadian singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes. "I Know What You Did Last Summer" was released in November 2015 and immediately hit the Billboard Top 20. Fifth Harmony's sophomore set, 7/27, was issued in 2016, supported by a world tour and the hit single "Work from Home." That same year, a duet with rapper Machine Gun Kelly, "Bad Things," made its slow climb toward the top of the Billboard singles chart, garnering Cabello her first Top Ten song as a solo artist. Soon after, on December 18, Cabello announced her departure from Fifth Harmony. ~ Neil Z. Yeung Follow @Camila_Cabello on twitter! camilacabello.com

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