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A young hardcore rapper from New Orleans, Lil Slim was among the first rappers associated with Cash Money Records. From Apple and Eagle streets neighborhood of New Orleans, Lil Slim released three albums on Cash Money Records. Produced by Mannie Fresh, the albums are typical of the early Cash Money style, influenced by the local bounce style as well as West Coast gangsta rap. Citing contractual problems, including unfair payment of royalties, Lil Slim split from the Cash Money roster prior to the label's commercial breakout in the late '90s. A few years later he reemerged on the independent label Franchise Player with Lil Slim's Back. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Ye Ali has moved from the producer's chair into the spotlight as a solo artist with a predominantly mellow and melodic hybrid of rap and R&B. Having established himself with descriptively titled releases such as Art X Drugs (2014) and TrapHouse Jodeci (2016), the singer/rapper has been remarkably prolific in the 2020s with an array of singles and EPs, along with series like the five-volume project Private Suite (2019-2024). He initiated another series with 2024's THJ Radio, Vol. 1.

Ali was born in Hammond, Indiana, in 1988 in a strict Muslim home. Rap music was frowned upon in his household, so his first brushes with music were listening to his father's modern country music selections. As a teenager, his tastes ran more toward radio-friendly R&B, but he was moved and fascinated after discovering Lil Wayne's Tha Carter II. During college, Ali had a casual interest in music and was on the fast track to a career in sports marketing, but legal troubles and a brief imprisonment left that option in jeopardy, and he decided to pursue music production full-time instead. Beginning around 2012, he started blending his deep love and knowledge of R&B with his rap fixation, developing a style that was equal parts trap beats and Jodeci-inspired R&B grooves. He worked on productions for artists such as Bizzy Crook and Jazz Cartier, and eventually broke out on his own with solo singles like "Yours" and "Ring 4x."

Throughout 2014, 2015, and 2016, Ali kept releasing tracks that he eventually compiled into mixtapes like Art X Drugs, TrapHouse Jodeci, and Private Suite, and he followed in 2017 with more singles, including the viral "Talk Less." The Private Suite concept was expanded into a series, with Private Suite 2 being released in 2019 and the slowed-down remix collection Purple Suite arriving in 2020. Ali also released the stand-alone album JODI, as well as TrapHouse Jodeci 2 and a chopped companion album before rounding out 2020 with the release of the heavily R&B-focused Private Suite 3. Maintaining his high rate of output, he issued Dangerous in 2021 and Private Suite 4: The Mixtape in 2022, and all the while juggled production work, most notably contributing to Chris Brown's Top Ten album Breezy. The EP Ye Ali & Chill 3, Private Suite 5, and THJ Radio, Vol. 1 all appeared in 2024. ~ Fred Thomas

Equally rooted in gospel, soul, and hip-hop, 112 were the first and most successful urban vocal group to emerge from Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Records roster. Not only was the group's eponymous 1996 debut popular, but the group could be heard on records by such Bad Boy artists as Mase and the Notorious B.I.G. Unlike most artists on Bad Boy, 112's image was clean, pure, and wholesome (initially, at least), which helped the group cross over to a more mainstream audience. The four members of 112 -- Marvin, Daron, Q, and Mike -- met each other while attending high school in Atlanta, Georgia. The quartet began to play talent shows at school and local churches, eventually gaining the attention of Courtney Sills and Kevin Wales, who soon became the group's managers. Sills and Wales brought 112 to the attention of Sean "Puffy" Combs at Bad Boy Records. Combs signed on as the executive producer of 112's eponymous debut album, which featured songs the group co-wrote with such professional songwriters as Stevie J, Wayna Morris of Boyz II Men, and Combs himself. "Only You," the group's debut single, was released in the summer of 1996 and climbed to number three on the R&B charts, peaking at number 13 on the pop charts. 112 was released in late 1996, and it steadily worked its way to gold status as the group's second single, "Come Seem Me," reached number 15 on the R&B charts. Room 112 followed in 1998 and Part III was issued three years later. 112 all but left Bad Boy for 2003's Hot & Wet, and the group cemented its new relationship with Def Soul on 2005's Pleasure & Pain. The union didn't last long and 112 parted ways with Def Jam soon after the album's release. Over the following years, the individual members engaged in their own solo pursuits and did not regroup until 2010. They returned to the studio and toured for a stint in 2012, but a new album would not arrive until 2017. That sixth official studio effort, Q Mike Slim Daron, was 112's first in 12 years and featured the singles "Strawberry" and "Dangerous Games." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine