Legacy of JAY-Z

Mobb Deep were an American hip-hop duo formed in Queens, New York, in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy and Havoc, they are considered to be among the most influential artists in East Coast hip-hop. Mobb Deep are one of the most successful rap duos of all time, having sold over three million records. Their best-known albums are The Infamous (1995), Hell on Earth (1996) and Murda Muzik (1999), and their most successful singles were "Shook Ones, " and "Survival of the Fittest". They were known for their dark and hardcore delivery.

Jude Lemfani Abaga, known professionally as M.I Abaga or M.I, is a Nigerian rapper, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. He gained recognition after releasing the 2006 single "Crowd Mentality", which appeared on his debut studio album Talk About It (2008).

Miles Caton is an American musician and actor. He gained recognition for his role as Sammie in Ryan Coogler's horror film Sinners (2025), for which he received various accolades, including the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer and nominations for two Actor Awards and the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Karon Malcolm Vantrees, known professionally as Veeze, is an American rapper and singer. He pursued a recording career in 2017 and released his debut single, "Itself," in 2019. His debut mixtape, Navy Wavy, was released in September of that year. He signed with Warner Records to release his debut studio album, Ganger (2023), which peaked at number 97 on the Billboard 200. It was supported by the single "GOMD".

Sneaky Sound System is an Australian dance music group formed in late 2001 by Angus McDonald on guitar, MC Double D on vocoder and vocals, Damien Hesse (DJ) and Nick Broadhurst on saxophone. They were joined in 2004 by Connie Mitchell (ex-Primary) on vocals; Downey left the band in September 2009, Hesse in 2005 and Broadhurst in 2006. On 12 August 2006, they released their self-titled debut studio album, which peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart in mid-November 2007 and was certified 3× platinum by December 2011, denoting shipments of 210,000 copies. The group's breakthrough single, "I Love It", which was issued on 8 July 2006, peaked at No. 24 on the ARIA Singles Chart and spent 73 weeks in the Top 100 – this broke the record as the longest charting single previously held by The Living End's 1997 hit, "Second Solution / Prisoner of Society", at 69 weeks. Their second studio effort, 2, which appeared on 16 August 2008, became their first number-one album. On 7 October 2011, From Here to Anywhere was released and reached at No. 11. At ARIA Music Awards ceremonies they have been nominated fourteen times winning twice in 2007 for Best Dance Release and Breakthrough Artist – Album for their eponymous album.

Clifford Smith Jr., known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip-hop duo Method Man & Redman. His debut solo album, Tical (1994), peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and spawned the single "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By", which won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards. The song also peaked within the top five of the Billboard Hot 100; he and Blige later starred in Power Book II: Ghost, a spin-off of Power.

Theophilus Musa London is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. He is best known for his guest appearance alongside Allan Kingdom and Paul McCartney on Kanye West's 2015 single "All Day", which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received two Grammy Award nominations. London has also worked on several iterations of West's eleventh album Donda 2 (2022), as well as several of his unreleased projects.

Fort Minor was a hip hop side project by American musician Mike Shinoda, who is better known as the rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, producer, and rapper of the rock band Linkin Park. The project's only album, The Rising Tied, was released in 2005. The album's fourth single "Where'd You Go" reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Hold Steady is an American rock band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn, Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), Franz Nicolay (keyboards) and Steve Selvidge (guitar). Noted for their "lyrically dense storytelling," and classic rock influences, the band's narrative-based songs frequently address themes such as drug addiction, religion and redemption, and often feature recurring characters based within the city of Minneapolis.

Patrick Denard Douthit, better known as 9th Wonder, is an American record producer, record executive, educator, and DJ who is the CEO of Jamla Records, distributed and marketed by Roc Nation, and Empire Distribution. As of Fall 2022, Douthit is Professor of the Practice in Residence in the Program in African American Studies at Wake Forest University. He also continues to teach courses at Duke University alongside his longtime collaborator, Professor Mark Anthony Neal.

Tyron Kaymone Frampton, better known by his stage name Slowthai, is a British rapper. Raised in Northampton, he rose to popularity in 2019 for his gritty and rough instrumentals and raw, politically charged lyrics.

Victor Kwesi Mensah, known professionally as Vic Mensa, is an American rapper and activist. Born and raised in Chicago, he was a member of the regional hip-hop groups Kids These Days and Savemoney prior to releasing his debut solo mixtape, Innanetape (2013). As a solo artist, Mensa has been signed to Virgin EMI Records, Def Jam Recordings, Capitol Records, and Roc Nation.

Hugo Chakrabongse Levy, known under the mononym Hugo or Thai name Chulachak Chakrabongse is a British Thai actor and singer-songwriter. Based in New York City and signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation label, his musical style has been dubbed by Roc Nation as "gangsta-rock". He is best known for his bluegrass re-working of Jay-Z's "99 Problems". His debut album, Old Tyme Religion, was released on 10 May 2011. He can trace direct royal heritage back from his maternal great-grandfather, Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, a son of King Rama V of Thailand, and is a second cousin once removed of the King of Thailand, King Vajiralongkorn.

Sean Joseph Pompey, better known by his stage name Smoke DZA, is an American rapper and songwriter.