Crunk is a music style that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-to-late 1990s and gained mainstream success around 2003-2004. Performers of crunk music are sometimes referred to as crunksters. An archetypal crunk track most frequently uses a drum machine rhythm, heavy bassline, and shouting vocals, often in call and response manner. The term crunk is also used as a blanket term to denote any style of southern hip hop, a side effect of the genre's breakthrough to the mainstream.

The term "Crunk" has been attributed mainly to African American slang which holds various meanings. It is theorized that the use of the term came from the past tense form of "crank", which was incorrectly conjugated as "crunk" in the South. Thus, if a person, event or party was hyped or "cranked"- it was said to be "crunk".

In publications, the term crunk can be traced back to 1972 in the Dr. Seuss book Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!. He uses the term "Crunk-Car" without any given definition. The term has also been traced to usage in the 1980s coming out of Atlanta, Georgia night clubs and meaning being "full of energy" or "hyped". In the mid 1990s, crunk was variously defined either as "hype", "phat", or "pumped up". Rolling Stone magazine published "glossary of Dirty South slang", where to crunk was defined as "to get excited".

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.

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Young Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare, released in 1999. Also in 1999, Lil Wayne released his Platinum debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in the U.S.

Although his next two albums Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002) were not as successful (only reaching Gold status), Lil Wayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with Tha Carter, which included the single "Go D.J." Wayne also appeared on the Destiny's Child top ten single "Soldier" that year. In 2005, the sequel to Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, was released. In 2006 and 2007, Lil Wayne released several mixtapes and appeared on several popular rap and R&B singles. His most successful album, Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single "Lollipop" featuring Static Major. It also includes the singles "A Milli" and "Got Money" featuring T-Pain and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

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.

Micah LeVar Troy (born November 18, 1977) is an American rapper, actor, and record producer. He is also a member of the hardcore rap group D.S.G.B. (Down South Georgia Boys).

Micah LeVar Troy was born on November 18, 1977 in Augusta, Georgia. His father, Alfred Troy, is a Haitian-American drill instructor turned pastor.

Troy graduated from Creekside High School, and attended Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, before deciding to fully pursue his career in rap.

After being featured on recordings by Lil Jon and Ludacris, as well as being featured on the soundtrack to the movie xXx, Troy's 2002 album Universal Soldier became popular throughout the United States.

He released his first album, We Ready (I Declare War), in 1999. Ludacris featured Troy on his album Back for the First Time in the song "Get Off Me." In addition, Pastor Troy is the front man of the rap group D.S.G.B. (Down South Georgia Boys). DSGB originated in Augusta, Georgia. He was also featured on the collaborative album Kings of Crunk by Lil Jon in the song "Throw it Up". Troy and then friend Lil' Jon reached the top of the charts in the south with songs such as "Vice Versa" and "Throw it Up". Since being in the music industry, Pastor Troy has been in public conflict with Master P,Lil Scrappy and The BME Click, and Sno, with whom he has since come to terms. In 2002, Troy's album Universal Soldier became popular in the South, especially with the song "Are We Cuttin'" featuring Ms. Jade, which was also featured on the soundtrack for the action film xXx that year. The album debuted at #13 on the Billboard 200. In 2003, Troy appeared on Young Jeezy's 2003 album Come Shop wit' Me on the track titled "GA".