De La Soul

De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres. The members are Posdnuos, Dave and Maseo. The three formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin'". With its playful wordplay, innovative sampling, and witty skits, the band's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, has been called "a hip hop masterpiece."

It is the band's biggest commercial success to date, with their subsequent albums selling progressively less, despite receiving high praise from critics. They were influential in the early stages of rapper/actor Mos Def's career, and are a core part of the Spitkicker collective. They are the second longest standing Native Tongues Posse group, after the Jungle Brothers. In 2006, the group won a Grammy for their collaboration with Gorillaz on the single "Feel Good Inc."

De La Ghetto

Rafael Castillo (born September 17, 1984), better known by his stage name De La Ghetto, is an American reggaeton singer-songwriter originally of the duo Arcángel & De La Ghetto.

Biography

Rafael was born in New York and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was born to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother. In 2004, he collaborated with reggaeton artist Arcángel (born Austin Santos) to form the duo Arcángel & De la Ghetto; the group debuted with the single "Pégate", which was featured on Naldo's mixtape Sangre Nueva in 2005. He along with Arcángel signed to Zion's label Baby Records, and have appeared on numerous reggaeton albums including the compilation Mas Flow: Los Benjamins. In 2006, De la Ghetto began his solo career and appeared the next year on two hit singles, the remix of "Siente el Boom" by Tito el Bambino and a collaboration with Randy, "Sensación del Bloque". De la Ghetto's solo debut album which has been watched on YouTube over 26 million times. Masacre Musical was released in 2008.Masacre Musical peaked at #46 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in the U.S.; its single "Tu te Imaginas" peaked at #33 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart.

Daddy Yankee

Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known by his stage name Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer, songwriter, producer and actor. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was raised in the neighborhood of Villa Kennedy Housing Projects.

Ayala aspired to be a professional baseball player, and tried out for the Seattle Mariners Major League baseball team. Before he could be officially signed, he was hit by a stray round from an AK-47 rifle while taking a break from a studio recording session with reggaeton mix tape icon DJ Playero. Ayala spent roughly one and a half years recovering from the wound; the bullet was never removed from his hip, and he credits the shooting incident with allowing him to focus entirely on a music career. Since then, he has sold over 18 million albums.

Musical career

1992–2003: Early music career

Daddy Yankee first appeared on the 1992 DJ Playero's Mixtape, Playero 34, with the song "So' Persigueme, No Te Detengas". Ayala was originally going to become a professional baseball player but he was shot in his leg while taking a break from a studio recording session. The bullet was never removed and he credits this incident with allowing him to pursue a musical career. He made a few songs talking about the shooting incident, but his most "complete" song about it was "6 De Enero", released in 2012. His first official studio project as a solo artist was No Mercy, which was released on April 2, 1995 through White Lion Records and BM Records in Puerto Rico. Early in his career he attempted to imitate the style of Vico C. He went on to emulate other artists in the genre, including DJ Playero, DJ Nelson, and DJ Drako, taking elements from their styles in order to develop an original style. In doing so, he eventually abandoned the traditional model of rap and became one of the first artists to perform reggaeton.

Ñengo Flow

Edwin Laureano Rosa Vazquez Ortiz (born October 15, 1981), known professionally as Ñengo Flow, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer and songwriter. He was born in the Río Piedras district of San Juan, Puerto Rico and grew up in Bayamón, Puerto Rico where he would get his start in the music business. It was there that from a young age he would develop interest in the world of urban music. His lyric content came from personal experiences in his neighborhood with other children and classmates. It is not until age 14 when Edwin Rosa was first presented on stage in the neighborhood where he lived in a community movement. There he discovered his mission and dream in life to be an advocate of life in the neighborhood and the streets in his town vent to his experiences in his lyrics.

Singing career

After a few years the name “Ñengo Flow,” became known, baptizing the name as a subject of his community. His beginnings as an artist started by releasing a mixtape with colleagues and friends. It came to be heard on Univision. This allowed him to easily release his first studio album Flow Callejero in 2005. He would continue to release mixtapes including El Combo Que No Se Deja in 2007 and La Verdadera Calle in 2010. He would also appear on various reggaetón compilation albums including Los Anormales (2004), Sangre Nueva (2005), DJ Joe - Abusando del Género (2006). In 2011, he launched his highly acclaimed mixtape Real G4 Life and in 2012 Real G4 Life 2 as well as a Real G4 Life 2.5. Real G4 Life 2 peaked at number 75 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart while the 2.5 edition peaked at number 61 on the same chart. Also in 2012, he would appear on various artists' album including Ivy Queen's Musa while also providing uncredited vocals to the song "La Killer".