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Refined contemporary R&B artist Mario debuted in his mid-teens with the Top Ten pop hit "Just a Friend 2002." The deeply impassioned (and on-key) update of Biz Markie's humorous 1989 hit ignited a career highlighted by a string of high-performing albums for Clive Davis' J label. Most successful of all was the platinum, Grammy-nominated Turning Point (2004), the source of his similarly successful "Let Me Love You," which also topped the Billboard Hot 100 and provided the breakthrough for song co-writer Shaffer Smith, later known as Ne-Yo. After nearly a decade without releasing an album -- a period that included label differences and shake-ups, scrapped material, and intermittent singles -- Mario returned with his first independently released full-length, Dancing Shadows (2018). He has since released the Closer to Mars EP (2020) and a clutch of singles including the slow jams "Get Back" (2021) and "Used to Me" (2023). He signed with Epic to release 2024's Glad You Came.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Mario Dewar Barrett developed his talent while singing along with his mom using a karaoke machine at home. Discovered at the age of 11 in a local talent show, he later traveled to New York City to establish a career and scored a contract with Clive Davis' Sony-distributed J label. After a contribution to the Dr. Dolittle 2 soundtrack ("Tameeka," featuring Fabolous), Mario was primed for stardom. In February 2002, he paid tribute to Stevie Wonder ("You and I") at Davis' Grammy Awards party, and in the same month released "Just a Friend 2002," produced by Warryn Campbell (Yolanda Adams, Mary Mary, Alicia Keys). Mario's first lead single scaled to number three on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart, and was a major crossover move, peaking just one slot lower on the Hot 100. Mario's self-titled album arrived that July. It went Top Ten R&B/hip-hop and pop, peaking respectively at number three and nine, and within two months was certified gold.

The singer's second album fared even better. Turning Point arrived in December 2004 and was powered by "Let Me Love You," written by producer Scott Storch, Kameron Houff, and background vocalist Shaffer Smith, the artist who would become known as Ne-Yo. The ballad was the first number one pop hit of 2005 and reigned through February. By the time the song was unseated, Turning Point had hit the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 and went platinum. "Let Me Love You" was subsequently nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, and the parent LP was up for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Having appeared as himself in a handful of television shows, Mario soon thereafter landed a true acting role in the first installment of the Step Up franchise, which premiered in 2006. The next year, as he worked on his third album, MTV aired I Won't Love You to Death: The Story of Mario and His Mom, a documentary centering on his mother's struggle with heroin addiction.

Preceded by Mario's work outside music and held back by delays, Go, the follow-up to Turning Point, was released in December 2007. Its biggest single, the Polow da Don collaboration "Crying Out for Me," went Top Ten R&B/hip-hop and Top 40 pop, and it also included a song about Mario's mother, "Do Right." Go peaked at number four on the R&B/hip-hop chart just before Mario competed on the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars. In October 2009, Mario's streak of Top Ten R&B/hip-hop albums continued with D.N.A. "Break Up," featuring Gucci Mane and Sean Garrett, became its biggest single, narrowly missing the top of the R&B/hip-hop chart and topping out on the Hot 100 at number 14.

For much of the following decade, Mario was beset with label issues, including creative differences and organizational changes, and recorded a fair amount of material that was ultimately scrapped. He did manage to release a handful of singles, and after being moved from the dissolved J label to RCA, he hit number 27 on the R&B/hip-hop chart with the 2013 single "Somebody Else," on which he was joined by Nicki Minaj. Independently released tracks were scattered from 2015 through October 2018, the month he released his fifth album, Dancing Shadows, on his New Citizen label. Just before the LP came out, Mario joined the cast of Empire, and in January 2019 he performed in Rent: Live. Mario's first releases of the 2020s included the five-song Closer to Mars EP and a handful of singles, most notably the collaborative "Get Back" (featuring Chris Brown), "Main One" (featuring Tory Lanez), and "Used to Me" (with Ty Dolla $ign). In December 2024, Mario released Glad You Came. His sixth studio album, and first in six years, marked his return to a major label, having signed with Epic a year earlier. ~ Andy Kellman

Lil Wayne began his career as a near novelty, a preteen delivering hardcore Southern hip-hop. Through years of maturation and prolific output, during which the delivery of his humorous and wordplay-heavy rhymes gradually changed from ringing and pugnacious to stoned and rasped, he developed into a million-unit-selling artist with a massive body of work, one so inventive and cunning that it makes his claim of being the "best rapper alive" worth considering. Wayne debuted at the age of 12, received his first platinum certification five years later as a member of the Hot Boys, and immediately thereafter became a formidable solo artist with Tha Block Is Hot (1999), his first of 12 Top Ten albums on the Billboard 200. During a period of constant output, entailing not just successful full-lengths but also reputation-building mixtapes and featured appearances on pop hits like Destiny's Child's "Soldier" (2004), he reached mainstream superstar status with Tha Carter III (2008). A triple-platinum blockbuster, it spawned the number one pop hit "Lollipop" and the number six follow-up "A Milli," and netted three Grammy awards, including Best Rap Album. Throughout the 2010s, despite numerous legal and creative battles, Wayne continued to be a regular presence on the upper reaches of the charts with albums such as Tha Carter IV (2011) and I Am Not a Human Being II (2013), additional smash singles as a headliner, and a continually lengthening list of collaborative hits, including the multi-platinum "Sucker for Pain" (for the Suicide Squad soundtrack in 2016) and "I'm the One" (headlined by DJ Khaled in 2017). Since the latter hit, Wayne has topped the Billboard 200 with the consecutive LPs Tha Carter V (2018) and Funeral (2020) and has continued to issue non-album singles and mixtapes like his 2021 Rich the Kid collaboration Trust Fund Babies, 2023's Tha Fix Before Tha VI, and the Lil Yachty- and Kyle Richh-assisted 2024 single "Can't Hold Me Down."

Born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and raised in the infamous New Orleans neighborhood of Hollygrove, Lil Wayne was a straight-A student but never felt his true intelligence was expressed through any kind of report card. He found music was the best way to express himself, and after taking the name Gangsta D he began writing rhymes. Combining a strong work ethic with aggressive self-promotion, the 11-year-old convinced the Cash Money label to take him on, even if it was just for odd jobs around the office. A year later, in-house producer Mannie Fresh partnered him with the 14-year-old B.G. and dubbed the duo the B.G.'z. Although only B.G.'s name appeared on the cover, the 1995 album True Story has since been accepted as the B.G.'z debut album both by fans and the Cash Money label. The 1997 album Chopper City was supposed to be the follow-up, but when Wayne accidentally shot himself in the chest with a 9mm pistol, it became a solo B.G. release.

That same year, he officially took the moniker Lil Wayne, dropping the "D" from his first name in order to separate himself from an absent father. He joined B.G., Juvenile, and Young Turk for another Fresh project, the teen hardcore rap group the Hot Boys, who released their debut album, Get It How U Live!, in 1997. Two years later, Cash Money signed a distribution deal with the major-label Universal. Mainstream distribution helped that year's Hot Boys album Guerrilla Warfare to reach the number one spot on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 1998, Lil Wayne appeared on Juvenile's hit single "Back That Thing Up," or "Back That Azz Up" as it appeared on Juvie's album 400 Degreez. Wayne launched his solo career a year later with the album Tha Block Is Hot, featuring the hit single title track. It went double-platinum, but the rapper was still unknown to Middle America, since his hardcore rhymes and the rough Cash Money sound had not yet crossed over. His second album, Lights Out (2000), failed to match the success of its predecessor but it did go gold, and with an appearance on the Big Tymers' hit single "#1 Stunna," his audience was certainly growing. While Fresh was primarily responsible for launching his career, Wayne was now much closer to Fresh's fellow Big Tymer and Cash Money CEO Birdman. When Juvenile left the label, Wayne -- or "Birdman Jr." as he was calling himself -- showed his allegiance to his CEO by releasing an album with a title much hotter than Juvie's breakthrough effort. 500 Degreez landed in 2002 and while it went gold, rumors began flying about Cash Money's financial troubles and possible demise. The rest of the Hot Boys had defected and Wayne's planned 2003 album was scrapped, coming out instead as an underground mixtape called Da Drought.

Wayne became enamored with the mixtape world after Da Drought drew so much attention from the hip-hop press. He used these underground releases to drum up anticipation for his next official album, the breakthrough effort Tha Carter. Released in 2004, the album seemed familiar on one hand with Mannie Fresh's production, but the Wayne on the cover was a dreadlocked surprise, and the rhymes he laid on the tracks showed significant growth. His marketing skills had become sharper, too, and it was no mistake that the album's hit single, "Go DJ," mentioned hip-hop's greatest tastemakers right in the title. It reached number five on the singles chart, and with a guest shot on Destiny's Child's number three single "Soldier," Wayne had officially crossed over. On the flipside, his street cred was supported by a slew of mixtapes released in 2005, including the popular titles Dedication with DJ Drama and Tha Suffix with DJ Khaled. Cash Money's future was no longer in doubt and traditional music business rules no longer seemed to apply, as tracks were leaked onto the Internet and various DJs' mixtapes. "Get Something" was another bold move, as a Universal-funded video was made without the track ever seeing official release.

With his alternative marketing scheme working in overdrive, the 2005 landing of Tha Carter II was a major event, selling over a quarter-million copies the week of its release. "Fireman" and "Shooter" with Robin Thicke were released as singles, while the album -- which for the first time featured no Mannie Fresh productions -- went platinum. It also introduced his Young Money posse, with appearances from Curren$y and Nicki Minaj, and initially came with a bonus disc featuring Wayne's greatest-hits screwed and chopped by Swishahouse DJ Michael "5000" Watts. A year later he collaborated with Birdman for the Like Father, Like Son album, featuring the hit single "Stuntin' Like My Daddy." His mixtapes were still flooding the underground, including the stunning Dedication 2, which came with an iconic image of the rapper on the cover plus the much talked-about track "Georgia...Bush," a venomous response to President George W. Bush's handling of the Katrina disaster. With no official follow-up to Tha Carter II in sight, numerous collaborative tracks kept the rapper in the mainstream with "Gimme That" by Chris Brown, "Make It Rain" by Fat Joe, and "Duffle Bag Boy" by Playaz Circle becoming three of the biggest hits.

Tha Carter III was promised for 2007 but didn't arrive until a year later, setting off Wayne's reputation for delayed releases. Part of the problem was the unauthorized leaks of the album's tracks, something combatted by the official downloadable EP The Leak, released that same year. Preceded by the number one hit "Lollipop," Tha Carter III arrived in May 2008, selling more than a million copies in its first week of release. An appearance on Saturday Night Live and a handful of Grammy Awards -- including Best Rap Album -- spoke to Wayne's mainstream acceptance. He also performed at that year's Country Music Awards with Kid Rock, but rather than rap, he played guitar. The guitar playing was part of Wayne's new involvement with rock music, including his help in signing Kevin Rudolf to Cash Money plus an appearance on Rudolf's massive hit "Let It Rock." His planned rock album was previewed with the 2009 single "Prom Queen," but when the album failed to meet its promised April release, the music press began to portray the rapper as the king of missed street dates. Unconcerned, Wayne forged ahead with his Young Money crew, releasing the underground mixtape Young Money Is the Army, Better Yet the Navy, the aboveground single "Every Girl," plus the official album We Are Young Money that same year. His rock album, Rebirth, finally appeared in early 2010, and coincided with Wayne being sentenced to a nine-month prison term for criminal possession of a weapon. The rapper may have been behind bars on Riker's Island, but that didn’t stop his ten-song EP, I Am Not a Human Being, from seeing the light of day in September 2010. Tha Carter IV was finally released in 2011 along with its lead-off single "6 Foot 7 Foot." The album reached the top spot on the Billboard 200.

In 2013, unfazed by criticism that a controversial verse he contributed to Future's "Karate Chop" -- he made a reference to Emmett Till, a black teenager gruesomely murdered in 1955 by white men -- was in poor taste, Wayne released a second volume of I Am Not a Human Being. The album debuted at number two and featured the singles "No Worries" and "Love Me." A sequence of singles intended for the repeatedly delayed Tha Carter V ensued, with "Believe Me," featuring Drake, an addition to Wayne's stockpile of certified platinum hits. Another track -- "Nothing But Trouble" featuring Charlie Puth -- was released in 2015 as a contribution to the soundtrack for 808: The Movie. That same year -- to make up for fan disappointment over Tha Carter V's delays -- Wayne self-released Sorry 4 the Wait 2.

By 2016, Wayne had become embroiled in a legal battle with Birdman and Cash Money Records, further complicating the fate of Tha Carter V. These continued delays prompted the release of the Free Weezy Album, yet another mixtape to tide over his fans. By the end of the year, he published a memoir about his time spent at Riker's Island (Gone 'Til November) and scored another hit with "Sucker for Pain," a collaboration for the chart-topping Suicide Squad soundtrack. The all-star track topped the Billboard rap chart and rose to number three on the R&B/hip-hop chart. DJ Khaled's "I'm the One" became one of Wayne's biggest collaborations the following year, topping the pop chart on its way to quintuple-platinum status. Primarily collaborative work continued well into 2018, including a contribution to the Future-driven soundtrack for Superfly, until Wayne finally issued the oft-grim Tha Carter V, the chart-topping finale to the Carter series. After joining blink-182 in 2019 for a co-headlining tour and mashup single "What's My Age Again/A Milli," Wayne completed album 13, Funeral. Featuring a broad range of guest MCs -- Jay Rock, Lil Baby, and XXXTentacion among them -- the set was issued in January 2020 and entered the Billboard 200 at the top. In July of that year, Wayne re-released his 2015 mixtape Free Weezy Album as FWA. The project had seen an exclusive release on only one streaming service five years earlier, but the wider release was markedly different, with some tracks omitted completely and new mixes of songs that formerly included uncleared samples. 2021 saw the tracks "B.B. King Freestyle (with Drake)" and "Funeral" top the Billboard charts, and the release of the one-off single "Ain't Got Time" featuring Fousheé. In October of that year, Wayne teamed up with Rich the Kid for the ten-song mixtape Trust Fund Babies. The project included only one featured guest spot from YG. In January of 2022, Wayne's 2011 mixtape Sorry 4 the Wait arrived on streaming services for the first time. Originally a stopgap release intended to sate fans waiting for the long-delayed Carter IV, the newly refreshed version of the tape included four songs recorded around the time of its re-release and included guest spots from Lil Tecca and Allan Cubas. In February of 2023 Wayne included posthumous contributions from DMX on the single "Kant Nobody," which was later the lead-off track of the decades-spanning best-of compilation I Am Music, which materialized a month later. I Am Music included some of Wayne's best-known, best-loved, and best-performing songs from across his career, and debuted at the number 25 position on the Billboard Top 200 charts. In September of that same year, Wayne released the mixtape Tha Fix Before Tha VI, an odds and ends preamble to fill space before the release of the sixth installment of Tha Carter series. The ten-track project included guest appearances from Euro, Fousheé, and Jon Batiste, as well as production from a host of notable producers like Cool & Dre. The mixtape debuted at the number 40 position on the U.S. Billboard charts. Before the end of 2023, Lil Wayne reunited with Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz for the collaborative album Welcome to Collegrove. Released on Def Jam in November of 2023, it was a sequel to the 2016 album ColleGrove, which had been created in equal parts by both rappers but was only credited to 2 Chainz as the main artist due to record label disputes. His output in the front half of 2024 mostly consisted of high-profile features like "Lifestyle" from the second album by Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign's supergroup ¥$ and "Can't Hold Me Down" with Lil Yachty and Kyle Richh. ~ David Jeffries & Andy Kellman

Tyga's self-assured rhymes, natural charisma, and knack for appealing to both the underground and mainstream -- traits he displays with minimum obvious effort -- have translated to platinum success spanning multiple decades. The rapper quickly moved from independent hustling to major-label superstardom. Self-funded mixtapes and a featured role on Chris Brown's Grammy-nominated "Deuces" laid the foundation for his first Top Ten solo pop hit, 2011's prowling "Rack City," leading to consecutive Top Ten albums with 2012's platinum Careless World: Rise of the Last King, 2013's Hotel California, and 2015's Fan of a Fan: The Album, the last of which he recorded with Brown. On the strength of the 2018 Offset collaboration "Taste," another Top Ten crossover hit, Tyga scored a second platinum full-length with 2019's Legendary. The Southern California native collected additional RIAA certifications with featured roles on tracks by the likes of Pia Mia, YG, and Blxst before teaming again with YG for Hit Me When U Leave the Klub: The Playlist, a largely celebratory, if low-slung, set issued in 2023. Singles such as "Sensei" followed in 2024.

Born in Compton and raised in South Central Los Angeles until he moved with his family to Gardena -- just before his teens -- Tyga (Michael Ray Stevenson) began rapping in the early 2000s. Tyga (which stands for Thank You God Always) produced multiple mixtapes that showcased his swagger-heavy style. After recording a mixtape and promoting it around the city, Tyga ran into his cousin, Gym Class Heroes member Travis McCoy, in the Flight Club L.A. sneaker shop. Their conversation went from shoes to rappers, and as Travis' group rose from unknowns to MTV stars, he would always remember that talk and his cousin's unique style.

Travis signed Tyga to his Bad Squad label and then invited him along when the punk-pop group Fall Out Boy came calling. Travis and Tyga would appear on the remix to Fall Out Boy's "Arms Race," which also featured Kanye West, Paul Wall, Skinhead Rob, Lupe Fiasco, and Lil Wayne. When the remix became a hit, Tyga found himself performing the track on MTV's Video Music Awards in 2007. He soon entered the studio to do some guest shots for his new friend Lil Wayne before shifting the focus to his solo career. His first single became the hooky "Coconut Juice," a S*A*M & Sluggo production that borrowed a bit of Harry Nilsson's hit "Coconut." As the club track was climbing the charts in the spring of 2008, Tyga was hard at work on his debut album, No Introduction, which was officially released that June.

He returned in 2012 with Careless World, a record that featured Game, Snoop Dogg, and Drake among its guests. Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Rick Ross, and 2 Chainz landed on his 2013 effort Hotel California -- his second straight Top Ten album. Among his many guest verses around the time were a pair of hit collaborations with Chris Brown, "Deuces" (nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Rap/Sung Collaboration) and "Loyal." The two opted to take their success to another level with Fan of a Fan: The Album, released in 2015. Later in the year, Tyga followed up with his fourth proper LP, The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty, as well as the mixtape Fuk What They Talkin Bout. "Do It Again," his collaboration with headliner Pia Mia, cracked the Hot 100 and also went platinum that year. Another tape, Rawwest Nigga Alive, arrived in 2016. The release featured appearances by Goapele, Chris Brown, Rick Ross, and 2 Chainz. Before the end of the year, Tyga signed with Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label, though nothing would materialize from the deal.

In 2017, Tyga released a series of high-profile collaborative singles including "Feel Me" with Kanye West, "Act Ghetto" with Lil Wayne, and "100's" with Chief Keef and A.E. His fifth official album, BitchI'mTheShit2 (the sequel to a 2011 mixtape), appeared in July, containing the singles featuring West and Keef as well as additional features by Vince Staples, Young Thug, Pusha T, and others. Tyga's prolific run continued a few months later with the Bugatti Raww mixtape, followed in early 2018 by his sixth album, Kyoto. Tyga subsequently scored a hit that summer with "Taste," featuring Migos' Offset. The slinky track broke into the Top Ten of the Hot 100, one of his highest showings to date. In 2019, he issued the quick follow-up Legendary, a typically horny set that included "Taste" and recruited guests Lil Wayne, Blueface, J Balvin, Bazzi, and Chris Brown.

Tyga appeared as a guest on a series of singles from various artists in 2020, as well as releasing "Freak," a collaborative song with Megan Thee Stallion. In the front half of 2021, he hit platinum again as the co-star of Blxst's "Chosen" and collaborated with Iggy Azalea on "Sip It" and Moneybagg Yo on "Splash." He also released the solo tracks "Mrs. Bubblegum" and "Lift Me Up." In February 2022, he paired with Doja Cat for the Billboard-charting "Freaky Deaky" and with Chris Brown for "Nasty." The year 2023 saw Tyga team up with YG on "Platinum" and the end-of-summer anthem "Party Time," tracks previewing the duo's Hit Me When U Leave the Klub: The Playlist, issued that September. Tyga surprisingly made an appearance on Cher's holiday album Christmas, then guested on Oscar Maydon's song "Kim Kardashian." The solo singles "Sensei" and "Hello B*tch" were released in 2024. ~ Fred Thomas & Andy Kellman