Snap music is a dance-centric subgenre of hip hop music, that originated in the South in the late-1990s, in Bankhead, West Atlanta, the United States. Early snap artists include D4L, Dem Franchize Boys, and K-Rab.

Tracks commonly consist of an 808 bassdrum, hi-hat, bass, snapping, a main groove and a vocal track. Hit snap songs include "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It" by Dem Franchize Boys, "Money in the Bank" by Lil Scrappy, "Laffy Taffy" by D4L, "It's Goin' Down" by Yung Joc and "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em

Crunk has been called the "predecessor of snap". Hip hop DX magazine described snap music as a "laid back version of its forbearer, crunk music".

It is suggested that snap music has appeared around 2000 in a crime-infested neighbourhood of Bankhead, Atlanta, Georgia. Bankhead was a place where the difference between poor and rich was striking, and, as it has been described, "a lighter sound" of snap was born "in the midst of all the aggression". Very soon after creation, snap music took on the another type of music of Atlanta - crunk. In 2003, Dem Franchize Boys, who had already produced some snap hits for local clubs by the time, got signed to Universal Music Group. It has been said, that due to weak promotion and the decision of Universal music to put out the debut album of Dem Franchize Boys and Nelly's - "Sweat and Suit" the same day were reasons why their first album wasn't a success. The same year, 2005, they got an attention of Jermaine Dupri, who remixed their single "I Think They Like Me" and signed them to So So Def. The remix of "I Think They Like Me" topped Hot Rap/R&B songs chart and spotted №15 on Billboard Hot 100 charts. Jermaine Dupri was later described as the key figure of bringing snap music into mainstream.

Jonathan Smith (born January 27, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and international DJ who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004. He then went solo and released a new album in 2010 called Crunk Rock.

Lil' Jon was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Frederick Douglass High School.

After working as a DJ for Atlanta night clubs, he started working for So So Def Recordings between 1993 and 2000. The group signed to the Atlanta-based Mirror Image Records and were distributed by Ichiban Records. In 1997, Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz debuted with Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album. It included singles "Who U Wit?" and "Shawty Freak a Lil' Sumthin'", the latter of which came out in 1998. Both singles charted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at No. 70 and No. 62 respectively. In 2000 Jon took part in starting up his own label BME Recordings and signed a distribution agreement with Norcross, Georgia based Southern Music Distribution. There he released his break through album titled We Still Crunk. Among the tracks on that project was the hit single "I Like Dem Girlz", which reached No. 55 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.

Loick Mark Essien (born 29 April 1990) is an English singer signed to record label Sony Music. Essien began his musical career after featuring on rapper Chipmunk's single "Beast". He released his debut album, Identity, on 5 March 2012.

Loick is from Harrow, North West London, and went to school at Hatch End High School in Harrow. He studied vocals at The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. His mother is Nigerian

Essien began his musical career in 2007 when he sang the chorus on Bashy's controversial track, "Black Boys". Essien was uncredited on the track, however. His next appearance was in 2008 when he appeared on rapper Chipmunk's debut single "Beast". The single, released on 8 October 2008, debuted at number 181 in the UK Singles Chart and later appeared on the album I Am Chipmunk. Essien also featured on artist Bashy's lead single from his upcoming second album, "When the Sky Falls". The single, which was released independently on 12 March 2010, debuted at number 114 in the United Kingdom. On 12 October 2010, Essien released his debut solo single "Love Drunk" in the United Kingdom through Sony Music, where it debuted at number 56 in the UK chart. It was then confirmed in February 2011 that Essien would release his debut album, entitled Identity later that year. The second single to be released from the album, entitled "Stuttering" was released on 6 February 2011 and featured rap group N-Dubz, although only Dappy and Fazer appeared in the single's accompanying music video. The single marked Essien's top 40 debut, when it charted at number 36 on the UK Singles Chart.

Malcolm McCormick (born January 19, 1992), known by his stage name Mac Miller (previously Easy Mac), is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is signed to Rostrum Records and released his debut album Blue Slide Park on November 8, 2011.

Malcolm McCormick was born on January 19, 1992, the son of an architect and a photographer, and raised in the Point Breeze part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father is Christian and his mother is Jewish; Miller was raised Jewish and had a Bar Mitzvah. Before attending Taylor Allderdice High School, Miller attended Winchester Thurston School. In high school, Miller decided to focus on his hip-hop career, later noting, "Once I hit 15, I got real serious about it and it changed my life completely ... I used to be into sports, play all the sports, go to all the high school parties. But once I found out hip-hop is almost like a job, that's all I did." Miller, a self-taught musician, plays piano, guitar, drums, and bass.

Before embarking on a solo career, Miller was part of rap group The Ill Spoken together with fellow Pittsburgh rapper, Beedie. The Ill Spoken released the mixtape How High in 2008. Prior to changing his name to Mac Miller, he was known as EZ Mac and released the mixtape But My Mackin Ain't Easy in 2007 at 15 years old. In 2009 Mac Miller released two mixtapes The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown and The High Life before getting signed to Rostrum Records.