N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group from Compton, California, widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre, sometimes credited as the most important group in the history of hip hop.

Active from 1986 to 1991, the rap group endured controversy due to the explicit nature of their lyrics, and was subsequently banned from many mainstream U.S. radio stations. In spite of this, the group has sold over 10 million CD units in the U.S. alone.

The original lineup consisted of Arabian Prince, DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and MC Ren; Arabian Prince embarked on a solo career in 1989 and Ice Cube left in December of that year over royalty disputes. Several members would later become platinum-selling solo artists in the 1990s. Their debut album Straight Outta Compton marked the beginning of the new gangsta rap era as the production and social commentary in their lyrics were revolutionary within the genre.

Rolling Stone ranked N.W.A number 83 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."

Lee Bannon, born September 22, 1987, is a hip-hop producer from Sacramento, California. His work is spread along the vast hip-hop scene and he has worked with the likes of Talib Kweli, The Alchemist, Big Shug of Gangstarr, Planet Asia, Krondon Phil Da Agony Mitchy Slick Strong Arm Steady, The Jacka, U-n-i, GOOD Music artist, Consequence (rapper),Talib Kweli, Wutang’s Inspectah Deck, Curren$y, Saigon.
Bannon's first solo project, "Me and Marvin[EP] (2009)" exclusively used Marvin Gaye samples "as a tribute to the 25th anniversary of the [untimely] passing of the beloved soul singer" and featured verses from S.O.L., Singapore Kane, Termanology, Skyzoo, Donny Goines, Torae, Reks & Supastah Snuk, Uptown Suite, The Jacka, Kali, and C-Plus. He later released an instrumental album, "The Big Toy Box" in 2009 and his latest solo project is "The Checkpoint Mixtape" (2009) that includes verses from U-N-I, Talib Kweli, Zoin I, Sha Stimuli, Willie the Kid, Uptown Suite, Trife Diesel, C-Plus, Saigon, Poor, Curt@!n$, S.O.L., The Jacka, Phil the Agony, Termanology, and Ea$y Money.

Zadie Smith (born on 25 October 1975) is a British novelist. To date she has written three novels. In 2003, she was included on Granta's list of 20 best young authors. She joined New York University's Creative Writing Program as a tenured professor on September 1, 2010.

Zadie Smith was born as Sadie Smith in the northwest London borough of Brent – a largely working-class area – to a Jamaican mother, Yvonne Bailey, and a British father, Harvey Smith. Her mother had grown up in Jamaica and emigrated to Britain in 1969. Their marriage was her father's second. Zadie has a half-sister, a half-brother, and two younger brothers, one of whom is the rapper and stand-up comedian Doc Brown and the other is rapper Luc Skyz. As a child she was fond of tap dancing; as a teenager she considered a career as an actress in musical theatre; and as a university student she earned money as a jazz singer and wanted to become a journalist.

Her parents divorced when she was a teenager. When she was 14, she changed her name to "Zadie". Despite earlier ambitions, literature emerged as her principal interest and would provide a model for her future career.