Ludacris is a rapper and actor from Atlanta, Georgia, known for his boisterous lyrics and "Dirty South" sound. He made his mainstream breakthrough in 2000 with his second album, Back for the First Time, and has since become a label boss, restaurateur and philanthropist, while still releasing music.
The American rapper known as 21 Savage was born Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph in 1992. Shayaa was born in Dominica, but spent his formative years growing up in Atlanta. His childhood was filled with turmoil; by the time he was in middle school, he’d been charged with gun possession and expelled from every school in the county, ultimately ending up in a detention center as a young teen.
Despite his upbringing, in his early twenties, Shayaa found solace in rap music, adopting the moniker 21 Savage and determining to launch a career for himself as a performer. His debut single, “Picky,” arrived in 2014, produced by friend and mentor DJ Plugg. 21 Savage’s debut mixtape, The Slaughter Tape, arrived a few months later, in May of 2015. Another mixtape, Slaughter King, arrived a few months later, before 21 Savage’s debut EP, Free Guwop, in July of 2015.
21 Savage experienced his first big breakthrough when his second EP, Savage Mode, landed in the top ten on the R&B/hip-hop charts in the United States. The EP also rose into the top forty on the mainstream charts. The EP spawned 21 Savage’s first charting singles—“X” (featuring Future) and “No Heart” (featuring Metro Boomin.) Both songs reached into the top ten on the rap charts, top twenty on the R&B/hip-hop charts, and top forty on the mainstream charts.
Most recently, 21 Savage released his debut studio album, Issa Album, in 2017. On the strength of the lead single, “Bank Account,” the album rose to the number two spot on not only the rap charts, but also the R&B/hip-hop and mainstream charts. The single reached into the top twenty on the mainstream charts as well. Clearly, 21 Savage is an artist on the rise and one to watch in the coming years. His latest work is the top five collaborative album, titled “Without Warning” and recorded with Offset and Metro Boomin. 21 Savage is also featured on the 2017 Post Malone number one single, “Rockstar.”
Tity Boi AKA 2 Chainz is one half of Playaz Circle along with long time friend Dolla Boy. 2 Chainz played basketball at ASU ( Alabama State University) in Montgomery, Alabama. Hailing from the Southside of Atlanta, Playaz Circle came together as a compilation in the late 90's. They released their debut album, and shortly after that, they were introduced to radio DJ Chris Lova Lova AKA Ludacris through mutual friend Lil' Fate. Unfortunately. shortly after that, 2 Chainz was shot and Dolla was incarcerated. After hearing about their misfortune, Ludacris reached out, offering to sign them. DTP began to form, and 2 Chainz was a part of the label and signed to DTP when Dolla Boy was released.
The musician, producer, and personality known as Akon was born Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam in 1973 in St. Louis, Missouri. Most of Akon’s earliest years were spent in Senegal, where he learned to play a variety of instruments, including djembe and guitar. Eventually, his family settled in New Jersey, and then Atlanta, where Akon spent his formative teenage years.
Akon’s talents in music eventually led to a friendship and mentorship with Devyne Stephens of Upfront Megatainment. Stephens signed Akon to his production company and arranged for him to begin recording his music, which eventually garnered the interest of SRC Records at Universal. Additional collaborations with a variety of rappers and other artists helped to increase his exposure, and Trouble, Akon’s solo debut, was released in 2004. Featuring the hit singles “Lonely,” “Pot of Gold,” “Locked Up,” “Ghetto,” and Belly Dancer,” the album rocketed to the top of the charts and firmly established Akon as a music powerhouse.
Konvicted and Freedom followed in 2006 and 2008, and Akon embarked on a series of successful concert performances, including the Konvicted Tour in 2007 and 2008, the Sweet Escape Tour alongside Gwen Stefani in 2007, the Good Girl Gone Band Tour with Rihanna in 2008, and the OMG Tour with Usher in 2011. Quickly gaining a reputation as a solid performer and outstanding musician with whom to collaborate, Akon also began working with other musicians in a variety of capacities. He contributed to Gwen Stefani’s album, The Sweet Escape, collaborated with Chamillionaire on Mixtape Messiah 2, produced Soul Survivor for Young Jeezy, appeared on Strength and Loyalty with Bone Thugs’n’Harmony, produced Not 4 Sale for Kardinal Offishall, co-produced “Mirrors” for Natalia Kills, and co-wrote “Put It on My Tab” for the New Kids on the Block and “Just Dance” for Lady Gaga. He also contributed to Whitney Houston’s 2009 album, I Look To You, recorded “Wake it UP” with E-40 for the album, The Ball Street Journal, and collaborated with Aventura, Reggaeton, Wonder Girls, and Pitbull for a variety of music project. Akon has also fostered up and coming artists by establishing his own record label, Kon Live Distribution, signing such notable performers as Jeffree Star.
Akon’s enormous marketing power has brought him a staggering level of financial success, ranking him in the top 100 on the Forbes list for 2010. His critical accolades include numerous Grammy nominations, four triple platinum singles, and three double platinum singles. Akon’s latest album, titled Stadium, is scheduled for release in 2018. He recently appeared in the film American Heist in 2014, and then in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping in 2016.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie is an American rapper born Artist Julius Dubose in 1995. He was born in the Bronx and raised in the Highbridge section of New York City. At age 12 he began listening to rap music and attended Eagle Academy where he started writing his own material. He sold drugs to get by and at age 16 his parents sent him to Florida once they were made aware. He graduated from Preparatory Academy and was kept under house arrest while he began working on an amateur studio. In 2015 he moved back to New York to pursue a career in music and released his debut project Artist the next year and garnered some critical attention. A Boogie released another project that year with fellow rapper Don Q and caught the attention of Drake who brought him out for three dates on the Summer Sixteen Tour.
A Boogie’s debut EP TBA charted on the Billboard 200 chart. He was quickly named to the 2017 XXL Freshman Class and released his debut album The Bigger Artist after signing with Atlantic. The lead single, “Drowning” with Kodak Black, garnered great critical acclaim and success. He later worked with rapper 6ix9ine on a handful of tracks before dropping his second album Hoodie SZN in late 2018. In 2019, A Boogie was featured on numerous records and would work towards his third project.
A Boogie’s debut Artist was certified Gold and peaked at #70 on the Billboard 200 chart. Both of his studio albums have been certified Platinum and have peaked at #4 and #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, respectively. Two singles from Artist, “My Shit” and “Jungle,” were both certified double Platinum. His hit single “Drowning” was certified quadruple Platinum and peaked at #38 on the Billboard Hot 100. A Boogie has achieved one more Gold record and four more Platinum records.
A Boogie recently dropped “Reply” with rapper Lil Uzi Vert to much success as he prepares for his third album, Artist 2.0. Both “Reply” and his lead single “Mood Swings” have charted on the Hot 100, peaking at #49 and #76, respectively.
6lack was born Ricardo Valentine in 1992 in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the oldest of three siblings, and at age 5 they moved with his parents to Atlanta, Georgia. He started recording music as early as age 4 in his father’s music studio. He picked up rapping in middle school and started a career in battle rapping which involved numerous battles, including one with fellow Atlanta emcee Young Thug.
6lack signed with the International Music Group in 2011 and left Valdosta State University to pursue his career. He often found himself sleeping at the studio while in Miami and struggled for five years before leaving the label due to management issues. In 2015, 6lack joined the Spillage Village collective after living with members EarthGang and appeared on four songs with the group. He soon signed with LoveRenaissance under Interscope in 2016. His debut album, Free 6lack, charted as high as #34 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold. The single “Prblms” hit as high as #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Platinum as he joined The Weeknd on his Legend of the Fall tour in 2017.
In 2018, his second album East Atlanta Love Letter was released and hit the #3 spot on the Billboard 200. It charted successfully in other countries, including top 10 placements on the charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. That year he was featured on the record “OTW” with Ty Dolla Sign on Khalid’s EP Suncity. This song was certified double Platinum and peaked at #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. His single “Switch” was certified Gold in 2018.
6lack has been Grammy-nominated three times and recently won Best R&B Video for “Waves” with singer Normani. He is featured on Jessie Reyez’s remix to “Imported,” which has now been certified Gold. He has contributed numerous features and prepares to follow up with his third album soon.
