Kimberly ("Kim") A. Black (born April 30, 1978 in Liverpool, New York) is an American swimmer from Syracuse, New York.

Black began her collegiate career at the University of Southern California, where she competed alongside future fellow Olympians such as Lindsay Benko, before transferring to the University of Georgia in 1999. She graduated from UGA in 2001 and was named the NCAA Woman of the Year Award for 2001. She is also recipient of a NCAA Post-Graduate scholarship in 2001. She was on the U.S. Women's swimming team in the 2000 Summer Olympic Games where she won a gold medal in the 800 meter freestyle relay. During her swimming career at Georgia, she was a four – time All-American and helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to three straight NCAA championships. Black was also awarded the Today's Top VIII Award as a member of the Class of 2002. She was the female winner of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's highest academic honor, the 2001 Walter Byers Award, in recognition of being the nation's top female scholar-athlete.

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj ( /mɪˈnɑːʒ/), is a Trinidadian-born American rapper and singer-songwriter. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and when she was 5 years of age she moved to the New York City borough of Queens, where she grew up.

After releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and being signed to Young Money Entertainment in August 2009, Minaj released her debut album, Pink Friday, in November 2010. It quickly became a commercial success, peaking at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release. She became the first female solo artist to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. Her second single, "Your Love", reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. She also became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List. Minaj was named the 2011 Rising Star by Billboard. Her second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was released on April 3, 2012.

Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1975), better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and actress who was a member of the group Junior M.A.F.I.A..

Jones was born and raised in Brooklyn, living much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. As a teenager, Kim would rap for fun, being heavily influenced by other female MCs like MC Lyte and Lady of Rage. When word got to The Notorious B.I.G. that she could rhyme, he made Jones perform a freestyle for him on the spot. Impressed with her, he took her in and she began her music career in 1995 with the group Junior M.A.F.I.A., whose debut album Conspiracy generated three hit singles. In late 1996, her solo debut album Hard Core was released. Hard Core was certified double platinum and spawned three consecutive #1 rap hits that included: "No Time" "Not Tonight (Ladies Night remix)" and "Crush on You", a record for a female rapper. Her following albums, The Notorious K.I.M. (2000) and La Bella Mafia (2003), both were certified platinum by the RIAA, making Kim the only female rapper besides Missy Elliott to have at least 3 platinum albums so far. Kim solidified her star power in 2001, when "Lady Marmalade", a song Kim was featured on, went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. That made her the second female rapper to earn a #1 on that chart.

Kwon Ji Yong (Korean: 권지용, born August 18, 1988), better known by his stage name G-Dragon (Korean: 지드래곤), is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, producer and model.

After 6 years as a trainee under the record label YG Entertainment, G-Dragon officially debuted as the leader and one of two rappers for the Korean group Big Bang. G-Dragon has been involved with writing, composing and producing many of Big Bang's tracks, including "Lies", "Last Farewell", and "Haru Haru".

He released his debut solo album, Heartbreaker (2009), which yielded the number-one single of the same name. The album went on to become one of the most successful albums of the year, garnering sales of over 200,000 copies and winning the Mnet Asian Music Awards for Album of the Year. Heartbreaker also sparked major controversies for the artist, including accusations of plagiarism. After almost a year of hiatus, G-Dragon and bandmate, T.O.P collaborated to record and release the album GD & TOP (2010). The album saw the release of three singles: "High High," "Oh Yeah," and "Knock Out," all of which have charted within the top three positions of the Gaon chart, with "High High" becoming a chart-topper.