Big Sean

Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Big Sean signed with Kanye West's GOOD Music in 2007, Def Jam Recordings in 2008 and Roc Nation in 2014. After releasing a number of mixtapes, Sean released his debut album, Finally Famous, in 2011. He released his second studio album, Hall of Fame, on August 27, 2013. Sean's third studio album Dark Sky Paradise was released in 2015 and which earned him his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Life and career

1988–2003: Early life and career beginnings

Sean Michael Leonard Anderson was born on March 25, 1988 in Santa Monica, California to Myra and James Anderson. When he was 3 months old, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he was raised by his mother, a school teacher, and grandmother. He attended the Detroit Waldorf School and graduated from Cass Technical High School with a 3.7 GPA. Big Sean is often heard saying "west side" in his songs; he is referring to the west side of his hometown Detroit, Michigan. In his later years in high school, Sean gained a valuable relationship with Detroit hip-hop station WHTD; he would show his rhyming skills on a weekly basis as part of a rap battle contest held by the station. In 2005, Kanye West was doing a radio interview at 102.7 FM. Hearing about this, Sean headed over to the station to meet West and perform some freestyle. Initially West was reluctant to hear him, however he gave Sean 16 bars to rap for him. According to Big Sean, West enjoyed his freestyle: "As we get to the entrance of the radio station ... we stopped in the middle of the doorway. He starts looking at me and bobbing his head,". After the freestyle, Sean left West his demo tape. Two years later, West signed Big Sean to GOOD Music.

Lil Wayne

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American hip hop recording artist from New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1991, 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, alongside fellow New Orleans-based rapper Lil' Doogie. In 1996, Lil Wayne formed the southern hip hop group Hot Boys, with his Cash Money label-mates Juvenile, Young Turk and Lil' Doogie (who now goes by B.G.). Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live!, that same year. Most of the group's success came with their platinum-selling album Guerrilla Warfare (1999) and the 1999 single "Bling Bling". Along with being the flagship artist of Cash Money Records, Lil Wayne is also the chief executive officer (CEO) of his own label imprint, Young Money Entertainment, which he founded in 2005.

Lil Wayne's solo debut album Tha Block Is Hot (1999), was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His subsequent albums, Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002), went on to be certified gold. Wayne reached higher popularity with his fourth album Tha Carter (2004), which was led by the single "Go D.J." and his appearance on Destiny's Child's Top 10 single "Soldier", that same year. The album was followed by Tha Carter II (2005), as well as several mixtapes and collaborations throughout 2006 and 2007. Wayne gained more prominence with his sixth album Tha Carter III (2008), which became his most successful album to date, with first-week sales of over one million copies in the United States. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and includes the hit singles "Lollipop", "A Milli" and "Got Money".

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande-Butera (born June 26, 1993), known professionally as Ariana Grande (/ˌɑːriːˈɑːnə ˈɡrɑːndeɪ/), is an American singer and actress. She began her career in the Broadway musical 13, before landing the role of Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon television series Victorious in 2009. After four seasons, the show ended, and Grande starred on the spinoff, Sam & Cat, which ended in 2014. She has also appeared in other theatre, television and film roles and lent her voice to animated television and films.

Grande's music career began with the soundtrack Music from Victorious (2011). She signed a recording contract with Republic Records and released her debut studio album Yours Truly in 2013, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. The album's lead single, "The Way", reached the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100, with critics comparing her wide vocal range to Mariah Carey's.

Grande's second studio album, My Everything (2014), also reached number one in the United States and charted well in various other countries. With the singles "Problem", "Break Free", "Bang Bang" and "Love Me Harder" from that album, she spent 34 continuous weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and had the most top 10 singles of any artist in 2014. In 2015, Grande promoted My Everything with her first world tour, The Honeymoon Tour, and guest-starred in the Fox comedy-horror TV series Scream Queens. She also released the lead single "Focus" from her upcoming third album, released a holiday EP album, Christmas & Chill, and was heard on several collaborative projects.

Tech N9ne

Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced Tech Nine), is an American rapper. In 1999, Yates and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two million albums and has had his music featured in film, television, and video games. In 2009, he won the Left Field Woodie award at the mtvU Woodie Awards.

His stage name originated from the TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun, a name given to him by rapper Black Walt due to his fast-rhyming Chopper style. Yates later applied a deeper meaning to the name, claiming that it stands for the complete technique of rhyme, with "tech" meaning technique and "nine" representing the number of completion.

Early life

In 1971, Yates was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He began rapping at a very early age, and would rap the letters of his name in order to remember how to spell it. He never met his father, and his mother suffered from epilepsy and lupus when he was a child, which emotionally affected him and inspired him to "search for God". He would explore abandoned buildings with his best friend, hoping to catch a ghost on film. He attended Southwest High School in Kansas City.