TOEJAMS

Vincent Jamal Staples is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Staples was once a close associate of Odd Future, Mike G and Earl Sweatshirt in particular. He is currently signed to Motown and Blacksmith Records.

Denzel Rae Don Curry (born February 16, 1995) is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Carol City, Florida, Curry started rapping while in the sixth grade and began working on his first mixtape in 2011. Influenced by underground Florida rapper SpaceGhostPurrp, the mixtape was later featured on Purrp's social media, giving Curry attention in the local music scene and resulting in him joining Purrp's hip-hop collective Raider Klan.

Curry left Raider Klan in 2013, releasing his debut studio album, Nostalgic 64, in September of that year, while still in high school. He has since released three extended plays: 32 Zel/Planet Shrooms in 2015, 13 in 2017, and Unlocked (a collaboration with Kenny Beats) in 2020, and four studio albums: Imperial in 2016, Ta13oo in 2018, Zuu in 2019, and Melt My Eyez See Your Future in 2022. Ta13oo, Zuu, and Melt My Eyez debuted at numbers 28, 32, and 51 on the Billboard 200 chart, respectively, with Melt My Eyez returning at number 17 after the release of a deluxe edition. All of his projects have garnered significant acclaim.

Isaiah Rashad Joel McClain, is an American rapper. His first big break was performing on the 2012 Smoker's Club Tour with rappers Juicy J, Joey Badass and Smoke DZA among others. He is a founding member of the Chattanooga hip hop collective The House along with fellow Chattanooga rappers YGTUT, Michael Da Vinci (MikeyD), Chris P, and Brian Brown.

Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A native of Brooklyn, New York City, he is a founding member of the hip-hop collective Pro Era, with whom he has released three mixtapes as well as his numerous solo projects.

Joey Badass released his debut mixtape, 1999, in June 2012 to critical acclaim and recognition, followed by Rejex in September, and Summer Knights in July 2013. His debut studio album, B4.Da.$$, was released in January 2015. In 2016, he made his television debut on the USA Network series Mr. Robot. His second and third studio album, All-Amerikkkan Badass and 2000, were released in April 2017 and July 22, 2022, respectively.

Clifford Ian Simpson (born July 16, 1996), known by his stage name Kevin Abstract, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter, and was a founding member of Brockhampton. He released his debut album, MTV1987, in 2014 to critical acclaim, and received attention from a number of major music blogs and magazine publications. His second album, American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story, was released in November 2016, and his third, Arizona Baby, was released in April 2019.

Abstract was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. Abstract never met his father and was not close with his mother, not even knowing what her profession was. As Abstract began to realize his sexuality, he isolated himself from his family, feeling ashamed. Many speculate that this is one of the reasons that he ran away from home. He has stated that his family members are "extremely religious" Mormons. Abstract began producing music at 11 and ran away from home at 15, staying at a friend's house for a year before moving to Georgia to live with his sister.

Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 2010, alongside his older brother No Malice. As Clipse, the two released three studio albums and a number of mixtapes, and had hit singles including "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time" (both 2002). They also founded the label Re-Up Records and the fashion label Play Cloths.

In September 2010, Pusha T signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music imprint, under the aegis of Def Jam Recordings. Later that year, he was featured on West's single "Runaway," which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2011, he released his first solo project, the mixtape Fear of God. He released his debut solo album, My Name Is My Name, in 2013. In November 2015, Kanye West appointed Pusha T to take over his role as president of GOOD Music. Pusha T has since then released three more solo albums: King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude (2015), Daytona (2018), and It's Almost Dry (2022), all of which received widespread acclaim; the latter was Pusha T's first number one debut on the Billboard 200.

Danielle Balbuena, better known by her stage name 070 Shake, is an American rapper and singer. Aside from her solo career, she is also a member of the musical collective 070, who have released a mixtape together titled The 070 Project: Chapter 1 (2016). Shake released her solo debut EP, Glitter, in March 2018.

Jacques Bermon Webster II (born April 30, 1992), better known by his stage name Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His stage name is the namesake of a favorite uncle combined with the first name of one of his inspirations, Kid Cudi (whose real name is Scott Mescudi).

In 2012, Scott signed his first major-label contract with Epic Records and a publishing deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music. In April 2013, he signed a joint-recording contract with Epic and T.I.'s Grand Hustle imprint. Scott's first full-length project, the mixtape Owl Pharaoh, was self-released in 2013. It was followed with a second mixtape, Days Before Rodeo, in 2014. His debut studio album, Rodeo (2015), was led by the hit single "Antidote". His second album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016), became his first number one album on the Billboard 200. The following year, Scott released a collaborative album with Quavo titled Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho under the group name Huncho Jack.

Tierra Helena Whack (born August 11, 1995) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. She originally performed as "Dizzle Dizz" as a teenager, but later on reverted to her birth name in 2017. Her debut studio album, Whack World, was released in May 2018 and received widespread critical acclaim.

Whack was born in 1995 and raised by her mother in North Philadelphia. She has two younger siblings. In a 2018 interview with The Fader, Whack mentioned that she and her father are estranged. Whack was an introverted kid growing up; she would write to help herself deal with her insecurities. As a child, Whack loved the author Dr. Seuss so much that she would rhyme together each of her sentences for her homework assignments.

Clifford Ian Simpson (born July 16, 1996), known by his stage name Kevin Abstract, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter, known for his role as a founding member of Brockhampton. He released his debut album, MTV1987, in 2014 to critical acclaim, and received attention from a number of major music blogs and magazine publications. His second album, American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story, was released in November 2016, and his third, Arizona Baby, was released in April 2019.

Abstract was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. Abstract never met his father and was not close with his mother, not even knowing what her profession was. As Abstract began to realize his sexuality, he isolated himself from his family, feeling ashamed. Many speculate that this is one of the reasons that he ran away from home. He has stated that his family members are "extremely religious" Mormons. Abstract began producing music at 11 and ran away from home at 15, staying at a friend's house for a year before moving to Georgia to live with his sister.

The Internet is an American alternative R&B band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of vocalist Syd, keyboardist Matt Martians, bassist Patrick Paige II, drummer Christopher Smith, and guitarist Steve Lacy.

Quincy Matthew Hanley, better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q, is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late 2011, secured a recording contract with major label Interscope Records. Hanley is also a member of the hip-hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside label-mates and fellow California-based rappers Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Kendrick Lamar.

Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), also known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Kgositsile was originally known by the moniker Sly Tendencies when he began rapping in 2008, but soon changed his name when Tyler, the Creator invited him to join his alternative hip hop collective Odd Future in late 2009.

He gained recognition and critical praise for his debut mixtape, Earl, which he released in March 2010, at the young age of 16. Shortly after its release, his mother sent him to a boarding school in Samoa for at-risk teens for a year and a half. He was unable to record music during his tenure there, but returned to Los Angeles in February 2012, just before his eighteenth birthday. Kgositsile rejoined Odd Future and started producing new music, releasing his debut studio album, Doris, in August 2013.

Kathryn-Leigh Beckwith, also known as Kitty Ray, known professionally as Kitty, is an American rapper. She started her career in music as a teenager, uploading original songs to her Tumblr blog under the names Kitty Pryde and ♡kitty♡.

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and melancholia, and is often inspired by personal experiences. He has received numerous accolades, including four Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 17 Juno Awards, six American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Tesfaye began his career in 2009 by anonymously releasing music on YouTube. Two years later, he co-founded the XO record label and released the mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, which gained recognition for his style of contemporary and alternative R&B and the mystique surrounding his identity. In 2012, he signed with Republic Records and rereleased the mixtapes in the compilation album Trilogy. He explored dark wave in his debut studio album Kiss Land (2013), which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. After its release, Tesfaye began contributing to film soundtracks, with his acclaimed single "Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) winning the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance, while also being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape 10 Day in 2012. He began to gain mainstream recognition in 2013 after releasing his second mixtape, Acid Rap. He then released his third mixtape, Coloring Book in 2016, which garnered further critical acclaim and attention. It earned him three Grammy Awards, including the award for Best Rap Album; upon winning, it became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy Award, and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200. His debut studio album The Big Day was released in 2019.

Donald McKinley Glover Jr., also known by his stage name Childish Gambino, is an American actor, comedian, singer, rapper, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glover was hired at age 23 by Tina Fey as a writer for the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. He later rose to fame for portraying college student Troy Barnes on the NBC sitcom Community from 2009 to 2014. From 2016 to 2022, Glover starred in the FX series Atlanta, which he created and occasionally directed. For his work on Atlanta, Glover won various accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

Lakisha Kimberly Robinson (born May 10, 1990), known professionally as Kilo Kish, is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist.

Kilo Kish was born in Orlando, Florida, on May 10, 1990. She attended Glen Rock Elementary School in Bergen County, New Jersey, but later returned to Orlando, where she graduated from Winter Park High School.

Aged 18, she received a scholarship to attend the private art college Pratt Institute in New York. While taking a year off, she worked multiple jobs before enrolling in the Fashion Institute of Technology for textile design, from which she graduated in 2012.

Kish began to pursue a musical career when her roommates, Smash Simmons and Mell McCloud, decided to set up an in-home studio, starting a project called the "Kool Kats Klub". It was through this exposure that she initially met Matt Martians of the neo-soul band The Internet, and collaborated on The Jet Age of Tomorrow's "Want you Still" and The Internet's "Ode to a Dream".