east coast rap

Anthony Cruz (born March 9, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York), better known by his stage name AZ, is a Grammy-nominated rapper currently residing in Englewood, New Jersey. He is mainly known for his close association with Nas, his membership in the hip hop supergroup The Firm, and his multi-syllabic rhyming pattern and deep content within his solo albums. He released his debut album, Doe Or Die, in 1995 and has since released 1998's Pieces of a Man, 2001's 9 Lives, 2002's Aziatic, 2005's A.W.O.L., 2006's The Format and 2008's Undeniable.

R.A. the Rugged Man, real name R.A. Thorburn, is a rapper from Stony Brook, Long Island. He began his music career at age 12. At 18, he signed to Jive Records. R.A.'s legend, perpetuated by the P.R. biographies at his various labels, say he was dropped due to violent and disgusting behavior, but in interviews he disputes many of the more extreme stories told about him, adding that Jive just didn't know how to break new artists at the time.

Slaughterhouse is a hip hop group consisting of rappers Crooked i, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Royce Da 5'9". The group formed in late 2008 after Crooked I, Joell Ortiz and Royce Da 5'9" appeared on the song "Slaughterhouse" from Joe Budden's album Halfway House. They took their name from the song. The members of Slaughterhouse all share some degree of controversy from their past in the music industry.

Daniel “Diggy” Simmons, III born March 21, 1995 is the second son and fourth oldest in the growing Simmons family. Diggy is starting his own clothing and shoe line originally called “Space Age” but changed due to legal reasons to “Space Cadet” and is currently called "Chivalrous Culture", starting in 2009, along with his mentor Pharrell Williams. Diggy for the most part of 2009 has also been working on his new mixtape FIRST FLIGHT. With help from producer Neako and DJ Spin King. Some of his influences as stated on his blog include Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lupe Fiasco