Five percenters

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (born September 14, 1973), known professionally as Nas (), is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, and investor. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas has released eight consecutive platinum and multi-platinum albums and has sold over 30 million records worldwide. He is also an entrepreneur through his own record label; he serves as associate publisher of Mass Appeal magazine and the co-founder of Mass Appeal Records.

Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and producer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album All Hail the Queen on November 28, 1989, featuring the hit single "Ladies First". Nature of a Sista' (1991) was her second and final album with Tommy Boy Records.

Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, 1970s soul, and 1980s hip hop, Badu became associated with the neo soul subgenre in the 1990s and 2000s along with artists such as D'Angelo. She has been called the Queen of Neo soul. Badu's career began after she opened a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in Fort Worth; record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and signed her to Kedar Entertainment. Her first album, Baduizm, was released in February 1997. It spawned four singles: "On & On", "Appletree", "Next Lifetime" and "Otherside of the Game". The album was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her first live album, Live, was released in November 1997 and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.

Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and record executive. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes. He has received 11 Grammy Award nominations for his work.

Clifford Smith Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also one half of the hip hop duo Method Man & Redman. He took his stage name from the 1979 film Method Man. In 1996, Smith won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By", featuring American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, whom he currently stars with in Power Book II: Ghost, a spin-off of its original show Power.

Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox. After leaving the Bad Boy record label in 2000, they joined rap collective, the Ruff Ryders. He is currently signed to the Def Jam label and to D-Block Records, which he cofounded with other Lox members.

Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known mononymously as Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper. He is best known for his chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastest rapper in the world according to Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds.

Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica, is an American rapper and record producer who first received widespread attention after the release of his debut mixtape, Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), in 2007, and was signed to Jay-Z's record label Roc Nation in 2010. His debut studio album, A Written Testimony was released in 2020 and followed up by Act II: The Patents of Nobility (The Turn) after years of speculation and delay.

Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from Queensbridge, Queens, New York. The group consisted of Havoc and Prodigy, and were a hardcore East Coast hip hop group. They were known for their dark, hardcore delivery as exemplified in "Shook Ones (Part II)." Mobb Deep became one of the most successful rap duos in hip hop, having sold over 3 million records. Three of their notable albums were The Infamous (1995), Hell On Earth (1996) and Murda Muzik (1999), and their top hits include "Shook Ones, Pt. II", "Survival of the Fittest" and "Hell on Earth".

Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group from Staten Island, New York City, originally composed of East Coast rappers RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa. Longtime collaborator Cappadonna became an official member in 2007.