SOHH (Support Online Hip Hop) is a hip hop news website. Felicia Palmer and Steven Samuel founded the website in 1996. In 2000, Rolling Stone magazine writer Mark Binelli called it the "best overall hip-hop site".

Felicia Palmer attended Cornell University to become a veterinarian, but due to the intense science courses, she changed her focus to business management studies. After graduating, she worked for a small licensing firm founded by two young women. She credited her experience there for giving her the motivation to launch SOHH. Her husband, Steven Samuel, was part the rap group, the Troubleneck Brothers, who released their first album, Fuck All Y'all, in 1992. After leaving the group, Samuel worked as a postal foot messenger in New York. Palmer and Samuel officially launched the website in 1996. After twelve months, the membership grew to 75,000 people. Samuel stated, "We picked up a book on HTML and pretty much figured out how to launch the site in a week". SOHH began as a magazine, but was changed to a website due to high printing costs. It is the longest running online hip hop community. The website averages 1.5 million unique visitors a month.

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and The Massacre (2005). His album Get Rich or Die Tryin' has been certified eight times platinum by the RIAA.

Born in the South Jamaica of Queens, New York City, Jackson began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic. After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his album Guess Who's Back? in 2002, Jackson was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who produced his first major commercial successes, Jackson became one of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.

William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), better known by his stage name Rick Ross (often stylized as RICK RO$$), is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection. Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap and Teflon Don, Ross was also the first artist signed to Diddy's management company Ciroc Entertainment. In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC In The Game.

William Leonard Roberts II was born in Coahoma County, Mississippi. and raised in Carol City, Florida, near Miami. After graduating from Carol City Senior High School, he later attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship.

After being signed to Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG, he eventually signed a deal with Slip-n-Slide Records, which has been under the Def Jam umbrella since 2006. While signed to Slip-n-Slide, Ross toured with fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-n-Slide albums.

Marcus Ramone Cooper (born December 27, 1984), better known by his stage name Pleasure P is an American R&B singer-songwriter, who experienced success as a member of the group Pretty Ricky before embarking on a solo career in 2007.

In 2008 he released his solo debut single, "Did You Wrong". His solo debut album, The Introduction of Marcus Cooper, was released on June 9, 2009. The album was originally to be released in January, but was finally released after several delays. Pleasure P's career received a boost by being featured in the second single from Flo Rida's album R.O.O.T.S., gaining publicity from his presence on its guest list. Pleasure P also released a 2008 EP entitled "Boyfriend #2", including "Did You Wrong" and a promo single "Boyfriend #2", released digitally and as an LP disc. Videos for "Did You Wrong" and "Boyfriend #2" were released digitally and on MySpace. Later on in 2009 he also released the song "Under" from the album. On the 9th of March 5 people got shot during Pleasure P's concert.

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( /ˈluːpeɪ/ LOO-pay), is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. He also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. As an entrepreneur, Fiasco is the chief executive officer of 1st and 15th Entertainment.

Raised in Chicago, Fiasco developed an interest in hip hop after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity. After adopting the name Lupe Fiasco and recording songs in his father's basement, 19-year-old Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak. The group disbanded shortly after its inception, and Fiasco soon met rapper Jay-Z who helped him sign a record deal with Atlantic Records. In 2006, Fiasco released his debut album Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor on the label, which received three Grammy nominations. He released his second album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, in December 2007. The lead single "Superstar" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. He released Lasers on March 8, 2011 after a two-year delay. The album's lead single "The Show Goes On" peaked at number 9 on the chart, thus becoming his most successful single since "Superstar".