Brooklyn, NY

Part of the celebrated '90s underground rap group Black Moon (with producer Evil Dee and fellow MC 5Ft), Buckshot released his first solo album, The BDI Thug, in 1999 with Duckdown (which later reissued a longer version in 2003). In 2005, with help from producer 9th Wonder (Little Brother, Murs, Jay-Z), he issued Chemistry, an album that presented a more mature and less violent Buckshot, and gave him back some of the recognition he once had had with Black Moon. It worked well enough that the two decided to pair up again in 2008, releasing The Formula in April of that year. ~ Marisa Brown