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	::Drag-On:: People like Drag-On (who is from the Bronx dale projects) with humble beginnings and reach a certain level of celebrity are a source to inner-city youth because they have ‘made it’. “Rappers could be role models. Like a role model meaning you trying to impress and encourage the kids to do something positive. I’ve been through the struggle. The only thing I can tell the kids is to stay focused on what you do and always have faith.”
	::Cassidy:: As controversial as Hip Hop has become over the last decade, one might think adding a new rapper to the game known as the "Da Problem" may seem a little over the top, but 18-year-old Philly native, Barry Reese, a.k.a. Cassidy, could be the solution to what's been missing from rap lyrics-true uncut rhyming ability.
	::L.G.:: Brooklyn has always been a hotbed for producing raw Hip Hop. From Milk and Giz, Dana Dane, and Special Ed to Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and M.O.P. BK has always left a unique stamp on Hip Hop culture. Now it’s time to add another name to that list: L.G. The Brooklyn native, who’s signed to Dreamz R Real Entertainment, has been making crazy moves and is at the forefront of the new wave of talent about to re-energize a stagnant Hip Hop game.
	::Hoodfellaz:: The name says it all, Hoodfellaz, no need to ponder the meaning of that one. The Brooklyn based trio composed of Freddy Blassy, Don Barak, and Poppa Sim are trying to rep and remain hood while navigating through the corporate bullshit that is the industry. Is such a feat possible? The confident and charming group members seem to think so.
	::T.O.N.E.:: Don't get it twisted. T.O.N.E is no new jack to this Hip Hop thing. The One No one Expected has seen first-hand how Hip Hop has gone from battling in the parks to luxury cars and MTV Cribs. Hip Hop is a family thing for T.O.N.E, formerly known as Toney Tone, as he first made noise ghostwriting for his older brother T La Rock. "I wrote half of his album 'Lyrical King,' which was on Sleeping Bag Records."
	::Cuban Link.:: “Basically I had a show to do at Zno‘s, the nightclub out there. Some dudes didn’t like us so they threatened to cancel it a week before I performed there. Fat Joe and his gang were out there. They didn’t want me to perform out there. I didn’t know they were out there, but regardless, we went over there. I got on stage and ripped it down. After the club I went to my hotel, and I see one of the Terror Squad members, he did a turn around my hotel...
	::Wordsworth:: Wordsworth has been one of the illest lyricists in Hip Hop for awhile now. The MC recently got signed to Wolftooth Records. Lately, Wordsworth has been working on some new music. The writer recently “did a pilot for HBO, I was also helping them do the advertisements for “The Wire.” Then it branched off to Prince Paul calling me to do the writing for Dexter’s Laboratory Hip Hop CD. So I wrote a song for that, and it ended up being a big hit, so they did a video for that and now it airs on Cartoon Network.
	::Saigon:: 'A real MC to me is an MC who doesn't need a dope ass beat to make a dope ass song. He makes the beat sound good.. Do you think its a coincidence that 85 % of the past few hit records were done by the same 4 or 5 producers, The Neptunes, Just Blaze, Timbaland, Dr.Dre and now Lil Jon? Niggaz is buying hit records, not making them.'
	::Stimuli:: 'When you can view the industry from an artist standpoint and get an understanding of what's best for your career it's a beautiful thing. Then when you study it from a business standpoint and actually know the ins and outs of record companies and how they operate it makes it that much easier to exist. I'm part owner in 2 production companies so I write and go in the booth thinking like an artist and entrepreneur.'
	::Last Emperor:: “So underground I feel like I’m sub-human.” The Last Emperor is officially here now. After going through enough drama in the industry for a team of MC’s, his debut album, “Music, Magic, Myth” is finally available to the public. The Raptivism MC, who grew up in West Philadelphia, can finally sit back for a minute and his fans finally have something official to bump...
	::Fam-Lay:: When most people hear about MC's from Virginia, they say "From Where?" Showing that Virginia has skills and is more than a spot for lovers, Fam-Lay, the Def Jam-Star Trak MC, is doing all of that and more as he continues to blaze the airwaves in preparation for his first album, "Traintogo."
	::Diabolic:: Like most good things in Hip Hop, once the mainstream discovers it, it'll get over-commercialized, everyone will love it for its trendiness, and then whatever it is will die a slow and painful death, as the Hip Hop Heads sadly watch, shake their head, and go back to the drawing board. The art of battling is currently following this course. "106 and Park" must take some responsibility, but the explosion of the battle didn't really hit the pop fans until "* Mile" came out, and then everyone became an MC.
	::Skillz:: Virginia Hip Hop has been on the Hip Hop map for a minute. Timbaland's been doing his thing, you got the Neptunes, Missy, the Clipse, Lonnie B, Danja Mouf… But Virginia Hip Hop would not be the same if it wasn't for the man known as Skillz, formerly known as Mad Skillz.
	::Craig G:: Being a legend is no easy task. Especially when you're known for freestyling, which is something almost everyone thinks they can do. But as Craig G says, "Now when I'm challenged, I look at it as a joke. Kids now, they shouldn't even be challenging me. Every show I go to it's some idiot. And its cool, but I'm here to do the songs, I want you to hear the songs on the album. We'll go to another venue after the show, we can battle in the parking lot. Don't do it to try and make a name for yourself, because I'm not gonna help you do that."
	::Prince Paul:: They always say you have to build up your resume. Why? Who knows, but that's what they tell you. Build it up! Well, Prince Paul has been stacking his resume up since he started dj'ing when he was 11. Now look at all the things that Prince Paul has done: Stetsasonic, De La Soul's "3 Feet High and Rising," the Gravediggaz, "Handsome Boy Modeling School" with Dan the Automator, a Chris Rock comedy album, "Psychoanalysis," and his two compilations, "Prince Among Thieves" and "Politics of the Business," not to mention being the creator of the Hip Hop Skit.
	::Main Flow:: Cincinnati's Main Flow has been doing Hip Hop for a minute now. The former Mood member has been staying busy with his company Wanna Battle, as well as preparing two releases.
	::Sheek Louch:: Shame on you for ever underestimating Sheek. Shame on you for thinking that his membership in the LOX is all he had and all he’d ever be. After dropping two LOX albums, 1998’s platinum debut Money, Power & Respect, and 2000’s chart topping follow up We are the Streets, Sheek became a business man. First, he bought a recording studio in his hometown town of Yonkers, NY.
	::RACK LO:: Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that a Lo-Life can't make moves. Rack-Lo, the chief Lo-Life in charge of the famous "Lo-Life Movement," has done panels with Bill Cosby and been featured on ESPN's commercial with fellow Lo-Life Thirstin Howl III.
	::Kanye West:: The 25-year-old Chicago native, who has built tracks for everyone from Jay-Z to Nelly, is a little bit more impassioned than usual about the tracks he's playing at the moment. Kanye didn't just produce these sonic-boom-powered ditties; he rhymes on them. "I was always rapping, and it just so happened that really phenomenal rappers started rapping over my beats before I got a chance to," West explains. "That put me in the classification of a producer, but I'm a rapper from the heart."
	::Immortal Technique:: Born in a military hospital in South America, Immortal Technique was brought to the United States in the early 80's while a civil war was breaking out in his native Peru. The puppet democracy supported by the US and rebel group known as the Shining path were wrapped in a huge armed conflict which like all others in Latin America ended with the economic and military aid of the State Dept. through channels like the CIA. Although he escaped the struggle and turmoil of a life in the 3rd world, Immortal Technique now resided in Harlem which had it's own share of drama.
	::Juelz Santana:: Oh Boy! Who knew the Harlem born native, LaRon James, now known to his fans as Juelz Santana, would be one of the hottest artists up and coming in the music industry today. Well, Juelz along with Cam'ron, the new Roc-A-fella artist, and the entire Diplomat crew, have been doing their thing for the past year with much success.
	::David Banner:: The mere name Mississippi conjures up hideous images of racism, poverty, violence, and backwardness. It is the poorest state in the union and ranks at the bottom of education, unemployment and healthcare. However, despite these discouraging facts, but inevitably because of them, some of the greatest blues musicians such as BB King, Muddy Waters, and Robert Johnson have exceeded expectations there. Now, some decades later, DAVID BANNER is ready to be added to the list of great musicians spearheading the contemporary blues movement of hip hop.
	::Joe Budden: Ask Joe Budden what was the rap record that changed his life and he laughs. “All of them. I’ve been doing hip-hop since I was 10. I was raised with hip-hop. This is my destiny.”
	::Lloyd Banks::  While followers of mixtapes definitely know his voice, and his name has been forever immortalized via 50 Cent's prop-giving on the most ubiquitous song of the year, "In Da Club," the masses are just now beginning to know his face. "I'mma tell you what Banks told me, 'cause go 'head switch the style up/ If n---as hate, then let 'em hate/ Watch the money pile up," 50 rhymes of his friend and G-Unit group member Lloyd Banks.
	::50 Cent:: When 50 Cent smiles, his eyes narrow into tight little slits. For a guy who has been shot nine times, who began selling crack when he was twelve, who was allegedly stabbed during a recording-studio scuffle with Ja Rule's posse and who typically poses for the covers of his bootleg CDs holding some manner of firearm, 50 smiles with a disarming frequency.