Born Paul Michael Slayton in Houston in 1981, Paul Wall seemed destined at first to join a different career path than a hip hop and rap star. In fact, when he attended college at the University of Houston, he majored in Mass Communications instead of music. Nonetheless, while he was working for the station KBXX, … Read more
Born to a teenage mother in 1979, Yelawolf spent most of his childhood impoverished. In fact, because of his mother’s addiction to cocaine, he and his mother moved often, sometimes staying in poor neighborhoods and projects. During his time in the projects in Nashville, Yelawolf, born Michael Wayne Atha, first came into contact with hip-hop … Read more
MGK, or Machine Gun Kelly, was born Richard Colson Baker in Houston, Texas in 1990. His parents were Christian missionaries who took their young son on their missionary trips around the world. In fact, he lived in Egypt until the age of four and spoke fluent Arabic before ever learning English. After the family returned … Read more
Hip hop performer and rapper Macklemore was born Ben Haggerty in Seattle in 1983. He began listening to hip hop music as a young boy. This early exposure influenced his aspirations to join suit and join his favorite performers in this industry. By the time he was 14 years of age, he was already writing … Read more
Born Marshall Mathers III in 1972, Eminem famously grew up on Detroit’s 8 Mile neighborhood. He endured a difficult childhood that was marked by blue collar poverty, bullying, parental abandonment, and frequent moves. Despite dropping out of high school, Mathers fostered a love for literature and story telling, interests that would contribute greatly to his … Read more
Mac Miller, whose birth name is Malcolm McCormick, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1992. He developed a love for hip hop music early in his life, writing his own songs by the time he turned 14 years of age. By 15, he began seriously honing his hip hop songwriting and performance style, stating that … Read more
Arguably the longest living hip hop band, the Beastie Boys was formed in New York City in 1981. Its three main members at one time were Mike D, or Michael Diamond, Adam Yauch, also known as MC, and Ad-Rock, whose given name is Adam Horovitz. In its earliest days, the Beastie Boys was a hardcore … Read more
The daughter of former country music heartthrob Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus was born in 1992 and initially named Destiny Hope. Her family noted that she was always smiling, thus giving her the nicknames “Smiley” and later “Miley”. The latter nickname stayed with her, and in 2008 she changed her name legally to Miley Ray … Read more
Born Shad Gregory Moss in 1987, Bow Wow got his start in hip hop and rap music early. He first performed at age six at a rap concert attended by hip hop icon Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg took immediate notice of the young rapper and took Bow Wow under his tutelage, giving the boy the … Read more
Nick Cannon, the affable and highly recognizable Nickelodeon star, continues to enjoy a lucrative career as a creative consultant to the TV network that helped launch him to stardom. Along with helping develop and promote Nickelodeon’s talent, Cannon also serves as TeenNick’s chairman and promotes and manages many of that network’s leading talents. Outside of … Read more