21st-century American rappers

Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj (), is a Trinidadian-born American rapper, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for her versatility as an artist, her sharp lyrics and animated flow in her rapping and her usage of alter egos and accents. Minaj first gained recognition after releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009. She rose to fame with her debut album, Pink Friday (2010), which topped the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The album's fifth single, "Super Bass", reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the highest charting solo song by a female rapper since 2002. It was certified as diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and businessman. Drake initially gained recognition as an actor on the teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation in the 2000s; intent on pursuing a career in music, he left the series in 2007 after releasing his debut mixtape Room for Improvement. He released two further independent projects, Comeback Season and So Far Gone, before signing to Young Money Entertainment in June 2009.

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (formerly stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Eminem is among the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated worldwide sales of more than 220 million records. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in Middle America and is critically acclaimed as one of the greatest rappers of all time.

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record executive, and entrepreneur. He is regarded by many contemporaries as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and often cited as one of the greatest rappers of all time. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label. For many years, Lil Wayne was the flagship artist of Cash Money Records, before ending his association with the company in June 2018.

Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to Billboard, Brown is one of the most important African American singers ever, also being one of the all-time most successful R&B singers, sharing with singer R. Kelly the honorific nickname of "King of R&B". His musical style has been defined as polyhedric, with his R&B being characterized by several influences from other genres, mainly hip hop and pop music. His lyrics develop predominantly over the themes of sex, lovesickness, regret, romantic love, fast life, desire, and the difficulty of managing emotions.

Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998) sometimes known by just the mononym Jaden is an American actor, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Smith's first role was with his father Will Smith in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness and would again appear with his father in the 2013 film After Earth. He also starred in the remake films The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) and The Karate Kid (2010).

Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), better known as Trey Songz, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, Trey Day, spawned his first top 20 single, "Can't Help but Wait". Songz released his third album Ready in 2009 and a single from the album, "Say Aah", peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it Songz's first top 10 hit. Ready was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards. The following year saw Songz's highest charting song to date, "Bottoms Up" featuring rapper Nicki Minaj from his fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure.

Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in the year 2000, with his debut album Country Grammar, of which the featured title track and the single "Ride wit Me" were top ten hits. The album peaked at number one the Billboard 200, and became Nelly's best-selling album to date, selling over 8.4 million copies in the United States. His following album Nellyville produced the number-one hits "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma" (featuring Kelly Rowland), along with the top five single "Air Force Ones" (featuring Murphy Lee and St. Lunatics).

Ye ( YAY; born Kanye Omari West; June 8, 1977), commonly known as Kanye West ( KAHN-yay), is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip hop musicians of all time, as well as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing singles for several artists and developing the "chipmunk soul" sampling style. Intent on pursuing a solo career as a rapper, he released his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), to critical and commercial success. West subsequently founded his record label GOOD Music later that same year.

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, songwriter, television producer, actor, and businessman. Known for his impact in the hip hop industry, he has been described as a "master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity".