Hip-Hop

The Gaslamp Killer is a Los Angeles-based DJ whose eclectic style ranges from psychedelia and world music to dubstep and left-field hip-hop. Associated with Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder Records, he made his production debut in the late 2000s with a series of EPs. Born William Benjamin Bensussen, he originally comes from San Diego, CA, whose downtown Gaslamp District's bar scene inspired him to name himself the Gaslamp Killer in disgust for much of the patronage.

De La Soul is a massively influential hip hop group, hailing from Amityville, New York, United States. They are best known for their eclectic sampling and quirky, surreal lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz hop subgenre. They are the best known of the early alternative hip-hop acts. The members are Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos, Mercenary, Plug Wonder Why, Plug One), David Jude Jolicœur (Trugoy the Dove, Dave, Plug Two) and Vincent Mason (Pasemaster Mase, Maseo, Plug Three).

Harley Webster (born 1981), better known as Phrase is an Australian hip hop MC, originating from Melbourne, Victoria. Growing up in the suburbs of Melbourne, Phrase’s love of hip hop kicked off in his early teens when he started listening to Ice T, NWA, Ice Cube, and 2Pac. Whilst he was a certified fan of these US rappers, it wasn’t until he began listening to community radio and new Australian rappers that he started to feel a real affinity with hip hop as an art-form. “These dudes were rapping about issues that I relate to like cops, graffiti, and crime in Australia.

Raekwon (the Chef), one of the nine talented Wu-Tang Clan members, shines as the purist of lyricists. When the time came for him to release his first solo album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995), hip-hop, once again, underwent a momentous transformation. To give an accurate analogy Cuban Linx is to albums what Scarface is to movies. In fact, this classic album, which went gold in three days moves from track to track like a film moves from scene to scene.