Rick Ross, Beanie Sigel, and Freeway

It’s difficult to quite put your finger on how conventional Ross’ pre-hip hop life was, by the genre’s usual standards; he certainly didn’t have the most comfortable of upbringings, but it’s also fair to say that serving as a prison officer - as Ross did for a couple of years in the mid-nineties - is hardly something that’s a common occurrence in a genre of music with a general lack of regard for law enforcement. After addressing that particular issue on his commercial breakthrough record “Deeper Than Rap” in 2009, though - he’d initially denied that the rumours were true - he’s gone on to make himself one of the best-respected and most widely-revered rappers in the world, having been named Hottest MC in the Game by MTV in 2012. He’s probably best-known in the hip hop community for having created his own label, Maybach Music Group; named after his favourite brand of luxury car, Ross has signed the likes of Meek Mill, French Montana and Wale to the imprint.

In terms of his own solo career, Ross’ lyricism has usually focused on the decadent lifestyle he enjoys, with money and material possessions clearly his primary motivation. He frequently offsets that kind of imagery, though, against his struggles as a youngster, both with the law and with his family; it’s this dichotomy that makes him one of his genre’s most compelling artists. 2014’s “Mastermind” met with critical acclaim, even if it didn’t have a single quite as big as his signature song, “Hustlin’” - it’s testament to Ross’ work ethic, though, that it’s not the only new album he’ll release this year, with “Hood Billionaire” being readied, too.

The Philadelphia native Dwight E. Grant’s earliest hip-hop excursions came in 1994 when the rapper made appearances on a number of DJ Clue!’s mixtapes. Able to nurture an image and rising career for himself, Grant subsequently appeared on Jay-Z’s “Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life” and signed with Roc-a-Fella Records. Named after a street in South Philadelphia where Grant called home, Sigel’s debut album, “The Truth”, was released in 2000. Introducing Beanie Sigel’s smart, gritty, and hard-hitting rap delivery to a national audience, the record peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and featured the likes of Jay-Z, Eve, Memphis Bleek, and Kanye West on production. Earning a host of critical acclaim the album spawned the singles “Anything”, “Remember Them Days”, and “The Truth” and catapulted Sigel to rap notoriety.

A year later the rapper released his sophomore album “The Reason” this time with guest appearances from Daz Fillinger, Freeway, and Young Chris. Whilst not earning as favourable reviews as its predecessor the record peaked once again at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, after which Sigel starred in the Dame Dash-produced movie “State Property”. The film paved the way for the group State Property to form, who produced the film’s soundtrack in 2002 and subsequently “The Chain Gang Vol. 2” in 2003.

Despite the splintering of Damon Dash and Kareem Burke away from Roc-a-Fella, Sigel’s third full-length “The B. Coming”, released on Dame Dash Music Group, still featured a host of artists from the Roc-A-Fella roster including The Neptunes and Just Blaze. The record spawned the hit single “I Feel it in the Air” and generated a spread of rave reviews. Following a year’s prison sentence for a drugs and weapons possession charge, Sigel signed with Roc-A-Fella Record again and issued his fourth studio album “The Solution” in May 2007. Featuring guest appearances from Jay-Z, Ozzy Osbourne, R. Kelly and Ghostface Killah, the record was led by the single “All the Above” and charted at No. 37 on the Billboard 200.

Two years later the full-length “The Broad Street Bully” arrived marking Sigel's first independently released album. In 2010 he released the State Property collaborative album, “The Roc Boys”, alongside rapper Freeway, which hosts features from Wale, Young Chris and the Young Gunz. The rapper subsequently issued his sixth studio album “This Time” in 2012, following which he returned to prison for a two year sentence for tax evasion.