Roots of Lil Wayne

Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr., better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Southern California, Rock signed with the Carson-based independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. He secured a major label joint venture deal with Warner Bros. Records and Asylum Records to release his 2008 debut single, "All My Life ". Failing to chart, the mergers fell through and Rock departed from both of the latter labels shortly after. He then signed with Missouri rapper Tech N9ne's label Strange Music in a joint venture deal with TDE in 2011.

Aaron Dontez Yates, better known by his stage name Tech N9ne, is an American rapper, songwriter, and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two million albums and his music has been featured in film, television, and interactive media. In 2009, he won the Left Field Woodie Award broadcast on mtvU.

Justin Lewis Scott, known professionally as Big K.R.I.T., is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he began his musical career in 2005. He was signed to Def Jam Recordings by Sha Money XL in 2010, and first gained recognition following the release of his single "Country Shit" in September of that year. The following year, he guest appeared on T.I.'s promotional single "I'm Flexin'", which became Scott's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.

Little Brother was an American hip-hop duo from Durham, North Carolina, that consists of rappers Phonte and Big Pooh. DJ and producer 9th Wonder was an original member of the group but departed in 2007. The group has produced five acclaimed studio albums and six mixtapes. Little Brother is highly regarded among hip-hop fans and critics.

Freddie Ross Jr., better known by her stage name Big Freedia, is an American rapper, singer and performer known for her work in the New Orleans genre of hip-hop called bounce music. Freedia has been credited with helping popularize the genre, which had been largely underground since developing in the early 1990s.

Tyler Gregory Okonma, known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his eclectic and experimental music, raw lyrical style, and frequent use of alter egos and alternate personas across his albums. During the 2010s and 2020s, he was described as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop.

Rakim Athelston Mayers, known professionally as ASAP Rocky, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, fashion designer, and model. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop collective ASAP Mob, from which he adopted his stage name. In August 2011, Mayers' single "Peso" was leaked online and began receiving radio airplay within weeks, propelling cloud rap into mainstream attention. He signed with Polo Grounds Music, an imprint of RCA Records, that October and released his debut mixtape, Live. Love. A$AP to widespread critical acclaim.

Sammie Lee Bush, Jr., known by the mononym Sammie, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for his 1999 hit single, "I Like It", from his debut album, From the Bottom to the Top (2000). He returned with his second studio and self-titled album, Sammie in 2006. Since then, he has released several EPs, mixtapes, and albums including Indigo, Coming of Age, and Everlasting. Sammie announced via Instagram that he would be releasing a new album in 2020 after the completion of the Millennium Tour 2020.

Byron Otto Thomas, better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his production work for Cash Money Records releases, as well as being half of the hip hop duo Big Tymers with the label's co-founder, Birdman.

Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr., known professionally as Hit-Boy, is an American record producer, rapper, and record executive. A three-time Grammy Award winner and eleven-time nominee, he is the founder of Surf Club Inc., an independent label, publishing company, and entertainment company.

Gamal Kosh Lewis, better known by his stage name LunchMoney Lewis, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 2015 single "Bills", which topped the charts in Australia and peaked within the top 10 in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. His debut extended play (EP) of the same name includes the song, along with the single "Mama", which entered charts in New Zealand. His second EP, Songs in the Key of Quarantine (2020). He is also known for his guest appearance alongside Flo Rida on Pitbull's 2017 single "Greenlight", which received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Big Tymers is an American hip hop duo composed of Cash Money Records co-founder Baby and the label's in-house producer Mannie Fresh, both of whom originate from New Orleans, Louisiana. Formed in 1997, the act is a spin-off of the label's supergroup, Cash Money Millionaires.

Lavell William Crump, known professionally as David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, and activist.

Niia Bertino, known professionally as Niia, is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter.

Michael Lawrence Tyler, better known by his stage name Mystikal, is an American former rapper and actor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is noted for his brash and explosive vocal delivery, characterized by a Southern rasp. He signed with the New Orleans-based record label Big Boy Records to release his self-titled debut studio album (1994), which was re-released by Jive Records the following year as his major label debut, Mind of Mystikal (1995). He then parted ways with the former label in favor of its local competitor, Master P's No Limit Records, through which he released his second and third albums, Unpredictable (1997) and Ghetto Fabulous (1998), and Goodfellas (1999) as a member of its flagship group, 504 Boyz.

Joshua Tyler Huie, known professionally as Clever, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He gained recognition in 2019 by being featured on Juice Wrld’s song "Ring Ring". He has been a featured artist on Billboard charting singles by Justin Bieber, Post Malone, and Juice WRLD and has recorded songs with several artists including Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Polo G, Rylo Rodriguez, NLE Choppa, Rich Homie Quan, and Lil Baby, among others. He toured with Juice WRLD on the "Death Race for Love" tour and has performed at Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud, Firefly, and others. In 2021, Huie's debut studio album, "Crazy," was released, which received favorable reviews. As of March 2024, he had over 650 million streams on Spotify.

LaRon Louis James Sr., better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper. A member of now-defunct hip-hop group the Diplomats, he is best known for his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 singles "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma", both of which peaked within the top five of the Billboard Hot 100. He later guest appeared on Chris Brown's 2005 single, "Run It!", which peaked atop the chart for five weeks and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). As a lead artist, he is also known for his 2005 single "There It Go ", which peaked at number six on the chart and received platinum certification by the RIAA.