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Tory Lanez was one of the more versatile artists to surface during the early 2010s. A songwriter and producer who flits between and fuses R&B and rap -- his vocals alternate between swift and rugged boasts and smooth and sensitive come-ons -- he made steady strides toward the mainstream with numerous mixtapes, guest appearances, and self-directed videos. He spent parts of his early life in Toronto, his birthplace, as well as in Montreal, Miami, Atlanta, and New York. Although he was known underground well before his 20th birthday, and was supported early on by Sean Kingston, he made some of his biggest moves in 2014. During that year, he was featured on "Me & My Bitch" -- a track off YG's Top Five album My Krazy Life -- and among his own tracks that circulated in 2014 was "The Mission," his first cut to hit Billboard's Twitter Emerging Artists chart. In July 2015, after he had signed an Interscope-affiliated deal with Benny Blanco's Mad Love label, he released "Say It," an R&B slow jam that sampled Brownstone's mid-'90s hit "If You Love Me." ~ Andy Kellman Follow @torylanez on twitter! facebook.com/SwaveNation

It didn’t take Dwen long at all to go from the young kid writing poetry in high-school to the young man that now raps professionally with confidence today. Based out of South Florida, Dwen first experienced success with the release of his mix-tape, The Rough Draft, and confirmation came from fans and critics alike as the people listened and couldn’t get enough of the vibrant, dynamic big-beats & precision-rhymes. Dwen took the support and love for his music coming from around the globe as inspiration to continually push his career towards the next level. And he did just that. Through hard-work, determination and the effort it takes to be the best, Dwen dominated with a huge online presence to support his music and began to get the crowd on his side through performing electrifying live-shows & events. Recording new mix-tapes, new hit-singles, getting radio-play and consistently contacted to be booked all over town – Dwen continued to outshine & outwork the rest of the rappers in the game by keeping his own sharp, driven, and completely on-point. Currently refining and putting the finishing touches on his new EP entitled Through The Eyes Of A Rare Breed – Dwen is set to release the new EP in September, 2016. With lead-singles “One Mo’ Drank” and “Riding High” already creating a buzz with critics in behind the scenes – the official word on the street is that Through The Eyes Of A Rare Breed has the best music we’ve heard from Dwen to-date. Inspired by the growing response to his style/sound, the man has reached entirely new achievements in his own creativity – Dwen is ready to bring his 100% and make his mark in the history of music. Follow @dwen_music on twitter! http://skopemag.com/2016/06/20/dwen-one-more-drankridin-high www.instagram.com/dwenmusic www.numberonemusic.com/dwen Mixtape on Datpiff The Underdogg (tru life story) http://piff.me/6a11535

The progenitor of what he terms ratchet music (what others might call strip club anthems), DJ Mustard (Dijon McFarlane) is a rap and R&B DJ and producer from South Central Los Angeles, California whose 2010s rise is attributed to a simple, hypnotic sound. He started with YG, as heard on the 2010 mixtape The Real 4Fingaz, but his first big hit came the following year with Tyga's "Rack City," which reached number seven on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and went double platinum. His 2012 hits came with 2 Chainz's "I'm Different" -- another double-platinum smash -- and Young Jeezy's "R.I.P." In 2013, he was behind a quartet of singles that hit the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart: YG's "My N*gga," Ty Dolla Sign's "Paranoid," Kid Ink's "Show Me," and Trey Songz's "Na Na." The year also saw the release of a DJ Mustard mixtape, Ketchup, on which he was joined by many of the above-mentioned rappers, as well as Dom Kennedy, Casey Veggies, and Cashout. Mustard's 2014 involved ten tracks produced for YG's My Krazy Life, collaborations with Tinashe, Ty Dolla Sign, and TeeFlii, and the development of his proper debut album. ~ Andy Kellman Follow @DJmustard on twitter! Follow @NICKIMINAJ on twitter! Follow @Jeremih on twitter!

In the span of three short years, Kanye West went from hip-hop beatmaker to worldwide hitmaker, as his stellar production work for Jay-Z led to a major-label recording contract and, ultimately, a wildly successful solo career. West paired his beats with tongue-twisting raps and a self-assured, flamboyant personality. His dapper fashion sense set him apart from many of his rap peers, and his confidence often came across as boastful or even egotistical, albeit amusingly so. This flamboyance, of course, made for good press, something that West enjoyed in spades during his sudden rise to celebrity status. He was a media darling, appearing and performing at countless awards shows (and winning at them, too), delivering theatrical videos to MTV, and mouthing off about whatever happened to cross his mind. He frequently spoke out against the rampant homophobia evident in much rap music, posed for the cover of Rolling Stone as Jesus Christ, and even claimed during a televised Hurricane Katrina fundraiser that "George Bush doesn't care about black people." West courted controversy, no question about it, but his steady presence in the celebrity limelight couldn't eclipse his musical talent. His production abilities seemed boundless during his initial surge of activity, as he not only racked up impressive hits for himself (including "Jesus Walks" and "Gold Digger"), but also collaborated on smash hits with the likes of Jay-Z and Ludacris. As his career progressed throughout the early 21st century, West shattered certain stereotypes about rappers, becoming a superstar on his own terms without adapting his appearance, his rhetoric, or his music to fit any one musical mold. Coming out of left field (i.e., Chicago, a city rarely praised for its hip-hop exports), West was an unlikely sensation and more than once defied adversity. Like so many others who were initially inspired by Run-D.M.C., he began as just another aspiring rapper with a boundless passion for hip-hop, albeit a rapper with a Midas touch when it came to beatmaking. Indeed, it was his beatmaking prowess that got his foot in the industry door. Though he did quite a bit of noteworthy production work during the late '90s (Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, Mase, Goodie Mob), it was West's work for Roc-a-Fella at the dawn of the new millennium that took his career to the next level. Alongside fellow fresh talent Just Blaze, West became one of the Roc's go-to producers, consistently delivering hot tracks to album after album. His star turn came on Jay-Z's classic Blueprint (2001) with album standouts "Takeover" and "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)." Both songs showcased West's signature beatmaking style of the time, which was largely sample-based; in these cases, the former track appropriated snippets of the Doors' "Five to One," while the latter sampled the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." More high-profile productions followed, and before long word spread that West was going to release an album of his own, on which he planned to rap as well as produce. Unfortunately, that album was a long time coming, pushed back and then pushed back again. It didn't help that West was in a tragic car accident in October 2002 that almost cost him his life. He capitalized on the traumatic experience by using it as the inspiration for "Through the Wire" (and its corresponding video), which would later become the lead single for his debut album, 2004's The College Dropout. As the album was continually delayed, West continued to churn out big hits for the likes of Talib Kweli ("Get By"), Ludacris ("Stand Up"), Jay-Z ("'03 Bonnie & Clyde"), and Alicia Keys ("You Don't Know My Name"). Then, just as "Through the Wire" was breaking big-time at the tail end of 2003, another West song caught fire, a collaboration with Twista and comedian/actor Jamie Foxx called "Slow Jamz," which gave the rapper/producer two simultaneously ubiquitous singles and a much-anticipated debut album. As with so many of West's songs, the singles were driven by somewhat recognizable sample-based hooks: Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire" in the case of "Through the Wire," and Luther Vandross' "A House Is Not a Home" in the case of "Slow Jamz." In the wake of his breakout success, West earned a whopping ten nominations at the 47th annual Grammy Awards, held in early 2005. The College Dropout won the Best Rap Album award, "Jesus Walks" won Best Rap Song, and a songwriting credit on "You Don't Know My Name" for Best R&B Song award was shared with Alicia Keys and Harold Lilly. Later that year, West released his second solo album, Late Registration, which spawned a series of hit singles ("Diamonds in Sierra Leone," "Gold Digger," "Heard 'Em Say," "Touch the Sky"). The album topped the charts, as did the "Gold Digger" single, and Late Registration eventually won a Grammy for Rap Album of the Year. West's production work continued more or less unabated during this time; particularly noteworthy were hits for Twista ("Overnight Celebrity"), Janet Jackson ("I Want You"), Brandy ("Talk About Our Love"), the Game ("Dreams"), Common ("Go!"), and Keyshia Cole ("I Changed My Mind"). West also founded his own label, GOOD Music (i.e., "Getting Out Our Dreams"), in conjunction with Sony BMG. The label's inaugural release was John Legend's Get Lifted (2004), followed one year later by Common's Be. In addition to all of his studio work, West also toured internationally in support of Late Registration and released Late Orchestration: Live at Abbey Road Studios (2006) in commemoration. After retreating from the spotlight for some time, West returned to the forefront of the music world in 2007 with a series of album releases. Consequence's Don't Quit Your Day Job and Common's Finding Forever, both released by GOOD, were chiefly produced by West; the latter proved to be particularly popular, topping the album chart upon its release in July. And then there was West's third solo album, Graduation, which was promoted well in advance of its September 11 release (a memorable date that pitted Kanye against 50 Cent, who in one interview swore he would quit music if his own album, Curtis, wasn't the top-seller). A pair of singles -- "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and "Stronger," the latter an interpolation of Daft Punk's 2001 single "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" -- led the promotional push. It became his third consecutive chart-topping album, and its success culminated in eight Grammy nominations. West was the victor in four of the categories, and he performed two songs during the ceremony, including Late Registration's "Hey Mama," chosen in honor of his recently deceased mother. That loss, compounded by a breakup with his fiancée, informed 2008's 808s & Heartbreak, a major change of pace that saw West singing most of his emotionally pained lyrics with the assistance of Auto-Tune. As polarizing as it was, it went platinum. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, most of which was recorded in Hawaii and involved guest vocal spots from the likes of Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi, Rick Ross, and the RZA, was released in November 2010. It was preceded by the bombastic, King Crimson-sampling single "Power." A sprawling and audacious album, MBDTF debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and also went platinum. While the album was still hot, West recorded the aggressive and boast-heavy Watch the Throne with Jay-Z and numerous producers and songwriters. Billed as a set by the Throne, it was released in August 2011 and entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at number one. In September 2012, he released the GOOD Music collaboration album Cruel Summer, which featured artists such as Big Sean, Pusha T, and Lifted. Four singles ("Mercy," "Cold," "New Flow," and "Clique") were released as promotion for the record. Toward the end of 2012 there were rumblings from acclaimed producers that a new album would emerge soon. These murmurs were soon confirmed when West himself announced that he was working on his sixth album with the likes of Daft Punk, King L., Justin Vernon, Rick Rubin, Chief Keef, and many more contributing. As one of the most eagerly anticipated albums of 2013, Yeezus was released to rapturous reviews from critics. West touched upon controversial and sensitive topics and delivered an astonishing and bold record, described as his most confrontational and bravest album to date. Despite leaking four days early upon its release, Yeezus sold almost 327,000 copies during its first week and the album's first single, "Black Skinhead," was certified gold by mid-October. The year 2013 also proved to be a personal milestone for West, as he became a father for the first time, with partner Kim Kardashian giving birth to a baby girl in June of that year. In 2014, he announced a new album and released "Only One" featuring Paul McCartney, which, like his 2015 single "FourFiveSeconds" with McCartney and Rihanna, remained a non-LP release. In 2015, he announced another, different album, titled So Help Me God, which later turned to SWISH, then Waves, and finally T.L.O.P.. The album was released in 2016 and featured the single "No More Parties in L.A." with guest Kendrick Lamar, and production from Madlib. ~ Jason Birchmeier & Andy Kellman Follow @kanyewest on twitter! KANYEWEST.COM