Plies, 8ball & MJG, Bun B, and Trick Daddy

Prior to becoming a rapper, Washington had a fair amount of success playing football at Miami University from 1995 to 1997. He played wide receiver for the team before transferring to the University of Central Florida, eventually dropping out to focus on his music.

Washington’s stepbrother Ronnell Lawrence Lavatte, also known as Big Gates, established the independent record label Big Gates Records at the tail end of the 1990s. Initially reluctant to rap, Washington lay down a verse on the track “Tell Dem Krackers Dat” and the two traveled to Miami to promote the single, which led to Plies signing with Slip-n-Slide Records in 2004.

In 2007 came the rapper’s debut album “The Real Testament” which was led by the debut single “Shawty” featuring T-Pain and peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album later spawned the Akon featured single “Hypnotized” and was certified Gold selling over 500,000 copies. Due to the album's success Washington secured guest slots on singles and albums by artists including DJ Khaled and Fat Joe.

A year later in 2008 Washington released his second offering “Definition of Real” led by the single “Bust It Baby Pt. 2” featuring Ne-Yo and “Please Excuse My Hands” featuring Jamie Foxx and The-Dream. The same year brought his third album “Da REAList” and guest spots on Ludacris’s single “Nasty Girl” and Khaled’s “Out Here Grindin’”.

Washington has subsequently release the albums “Goon Affiliated” in 2010 and “Purple Heart” in 2014, as well as the 2014 mixtape “Da Last Real Nigga Left”.

Comprised of two Ridgeway Middle School attendees, Premmro Smith and Marion Jermaine Goodwin, a.k.a. 8Ball and MJG, the pair first met in 1984. The duo’s debut release together was the underground record “Listen to the Lyrics” in 1991, after which 8Ball and MJG signed with the independent label Suave Records. An official debut arrived in 1993 going by the name “Comin’ Out Hard”, a record that proved both a critical and commercial success and served to signficantly increase the pair’s national exposure.

The following year the duo issued their sophomore album “On the Outside Looking In”, followed in 1995 by “On Top of the World”. Both records earned rave reviews from the critical press, cementing 8Ball and MJG’s position as seminal pioneers of Southern Rap, with the latter album peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. In 1996 the duo contributed the track “Listen to Me Now” to the Red Hot Organisation’s “America Is Dying Slowly” compilation alongside acts like Wu-Tang Clan, Common, Biz Markie and Chubb Rock. Rising to No. 10 on the Billboard 200, 8Ball and MJG’s subsequent album “In Our Lifetime, Vol. 1” (1999) once again found favour among critics and proved to be their last release on Suave Records.

Following the move to Diddy’s Bad Boy Records, complete with widespread promotion and distribution, the group enjoyed their greatest success to date with the album “Living Legends” in 2004. The No. 3 charting album, featuring the likes of Twista and Diddy, spawned the singles “You Don’t Want Drama” and “Straight Cadillac Pimpin’”. In collaboration with fellow Tennessee-based hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, 8Ball & MJG appeared on the group’s hit single “Stay Fly” in 2005, which later peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Three years later the duo issued their seventh studio album, “Ridin High”, with guest contributions from The Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun, Project Pat, and Three 6 Mafia. Aided by the single “Relax and Take Notes”, the record proved another popular release charting at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. The duo subsequently signed with T.I.’s Grand Hustle label who issued the group’s eighth full-length album “Ten Toes Down” in May 2010. As well as releasing music together however, 8Ball and MJG have also released strings of albums as solo artists. From 1998 to 2012 8Ball released eight full-length albums, including a pair of split albums with Devius and E.D.I, in which time MJG released five solo albums.

Fellow rapper Pimp C founded the rap duo Underground Kings in the late 1980s with friend Mitchell Queen. The lineup didn’t last long however and Bun B ultimately joined, alter securing a record deal with independent Houston label Bigtyme Records. The pair’s debut output was the well-received EP “The Southern Way”, which raised the duo's exposure and led to them signing with Jive Records. Unable to release much of their hardcore, explicitly content on their debut full-length, the EP “Banned” was issued in 1993 to satisfy fans. The studio album “Too Hard to Swallow” arrived in 1993 on Jive Records, succeeded by “Super Tight” in 1994, “Ridin’ Dirty” in 1996, and “Dirty Money” in 2001.

Following the arrest of his UGK partner Pimp C, Bun B began making appearances on songs by Paul Wall, Webbie, and Yung Joc, before releasing the mixtape “Legends” in 2005. The same year Bun B issued his debut solo album “Trill”, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 aided by the singles “Draped Up”, “Git It”, and “Get Throwed”. In 2007 UGK partner Pimp C was found dead in a hotel room, and Bun B’s sophomore album “Il Trill” was in large part a tribute to his former colleague. Debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the album proved his most successful to date, spawning the singles “That’s Gangsta”, “You’re Everything”, and “Damn I’m Cold”.

Two years later Bun B’s third studio album “Trill OG” hit the shelves featuring 2Pac, T-Pain, Trey Songz, Drake, and Slim Thug. Led by the single “Countin’ Money”, the record earned favourable reviews and charted at No. 4 upon release. “Trill OG: The Epilogue” followed in 2013 once again featuring a host of high-profile contributions from the likes of Big K.R.I.T, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, and Redman. Debuting at No. 30 on the Billboard 200, the record received positive reviews and cemented Bun B’s position as one of the most celebrated rappers in hip-hop.