Jazz Hop

Lyrics Born (a.k.a. Asia Born) is Tom Shimura (b. 1972), originally from Berkeley, California, though through his childhood he lived in Tokyo, Japan, and Salt Lake City, Utah. He began his hip hop career while at college at UC Davis, where he was a DJ at the college station KDVS. He is a founding member of the group of artists known as Quannum Projects. He is also one half of the group Latyrx with fellow MC Lateef The Truth Speaker.

Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985 in Frankfurt, Germany), better known simply as J. Cole, is an American rapper and producer from Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is best known for being the first artist to be signed to Jay-Z's label Roc Nation after Jay heard his single Lights Please. He released his debut mixtape The Come Up in 2007 and followed this up with 2009's The Warm Up and 2010's Friday Night Lights. He is now working on his highly anticipated but yet untitled debut album.

Rapper, DJ, and producer Pete Rock first emerged in 1991 as one half of a duo with C.L. Smooth, debuting with the All Souled Out EP. A hit LP, Mecca and the Soul Brother, followed before the two went their separate ways in the wake of 1994's The Main Ingredient, with Rock remaining a prolific studio presence prior to the release of his solo debut, Soul Survivor, on Loud/rca four years later. Dropped from the label, he continued his career as an independent producer, and later signed to Rapster/Bbe in 2001 for PeteStrumentals.

Detroit Hip-Hop's Ambassador to the World. Michael "HouseShoes" Buchanan has been an integral part of the long burgeoning Motown resurgence. Ask the people coming out of Detroit and they will confirm all of this. Houseshoes, a resident DJ at the Hip-Hop staple St. Andrews Hall from 1994-2004, has had personal influence over (at least) a full generation of emcees, producers, and then-future-DJs. Through House Shoes Recordings he pressed the now classic Jay Dee - Unreleased EP" (1996), Phat Kat