The Juice Crew was a hip hop collective of largely Queensbridge-based artists in the mid- to late-1980s. Founded by producer Marley Marl and radio DJ Mr. Magic and housed by Tyrone William's Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Crew would introduce New School artists Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shanté and Kool G Rap. The crew produced many answer records and "beefs" - primarily with rival radio jock Kool DJ Red Alert and the South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions - as well as the "posse cut", "The Symphony".

Marley Marl started his career as Mr. Magic's sidekick and DJ on the influential radio show Rapp Attack, the first exclusively-hip hop music program to be aired on a major radio station, New York's WBLS-FM; the show would be instrumental in spring-boarding the careers of the group's various artists. The crew derived its name from Mr. Magic's alias, "Sir Juice". Magic actually had a previous ("original") Juice Crew consisting of himself, record executive Sal Abbatiello, and artists Sweet Gee, DJ June Bug, and Kurtis Blow

Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is a rapper from Brownsville, Brooklyn. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut "The Symphony". He is noted for his high level of rapping skill and for influencing other MCs, including Eminem.

Clear graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1988, after meeting Marley Marl in 1987 during his summer break. Ace made his recording debut as Master Layze on the hip hop posse-cut "The Symphony", along with fellow Juice Crew members Craig G, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane, released on Marley Marl's In Control album. The album also featured two additional Ace tracks, "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" and "Simon Says". In 1989, he released his first solo single, "Together" b/w "Letter to the Better". His debut album, Take a Look Around, was released through Marl's Cold Chillin' label in 1990, featuring production from Marl and DJ Mister Cee. The album featured two minor hit singles in "Music Man" and "Me & The Biz", the latter being a track with Ace's impersonation of Biz Markie, rather than a duet as previously thought the song would be.

Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968) better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MCs in Hip Hop. Regarding the name Big Daddy Kane, he said: "The Big Daddy part and the Kane part came from two different things. The Kane part came from my fascination with the martial arts flicks when I was young. The Big Daddy came from something that happened on a ski trip one time involving a young lady."

In 1984, Kane became friends with Biz Markie, and he would co-write some of Biz's best-known lyrics. Both eventually became important members of the Queens-based Juice Crew, a collective headed by renowned producer Marley Marl. Kane signed with Marl's Cold Chillin' Records label in 1987 and debuted the following year with the 12" single "Raw," an underground hit. Kane is known for his ability to syncopate over faster hip hop beats, and despite his asthmatic condition he is acknowledged as one of the pioneering masters of fast-rap. His sense of style is renowned and set a number of late-1980s and early-1990s hip hop trends (high-top fades, velour suits, and four-finger rings). The backronym "King Asiatic Nobody's Equal" is often applied to his moniker.