Chino XL (born Derek Barbosa, April 8, 1971, in The Bronx, New York but raised in East Orange, New Jersey) is a rapper well respected among hip hop enthusiasts for his battling abilities. He is notorious for his usage of self-consciously over-the-top punchlines (which usually take the form of puns or similes) and for his exaggerated egotism. He is also well known to many for a brief feud with Tupac Shakur.
Bad Meets Evil is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan that consists of rappers Eminem and Royce da 5'9". They are best known for collaborating on the self-titled song that appeared on Eminem's major-label debut album The Slim Shady LP in 1999 and their early association with Dr. Dre and his label Aftermath Entertainment. The duo recorded numerous well received underground songs including the popular song "Renegade" which would later be used on Jay-Z's The Blueprint album with Royce's verses replaced by Jay-Z.
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.
Jason Hunter, (born July 6, 1971) better known as Inspectah Deck (aka Rebel INS), is an American rapper, producer, and actor. A member of the Wu-Tang Clan, known for his lyricism, he has not achieved the same level of commercial success in his solo career as some of his counterparts (such as Ghostface Killah or Method Man) though he continues to be respected and actively releases material. Hunter routinely mentions the Park Hill Projects in Clifton, Staten Island, NY, where he grew up, going to school with the future Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Method Man.
Cory McKay (born 1970 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn) , better known as Cormega or "MC Cor", is an American emcee best known for his vivid and poignant narratives about inner-city life. Cormega came up as part of the early-'90s Queensbridge, Queens, New York scene that also fostered such name acts as Nas and Mobb Deep, among many others (not to mention the preceding generation of artists affiliated with Marley Marl and the Juice Crew).
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.