B.G.

As the first artist signed to Cash Money Records, B.G. (short for Baby Gangsta) has seven solo albums to his credit, in addition to his work with the Hot Boys and numerous appearances on other Cash Money projects. His first record, 1993's True Story was recorded when he was just 11 years old. Raised in hectic uptown New Orleans, B.G.'s vivid street tales struck a chord in the Dirty South underground and made him into a local celebrity. B.G.'s super-smooth, syrupy rhyme style is distinctly his own, and his personal struggles with drug addiction lend a legitimacy to his no-nonsense ghetto lyrics. It was also B.G. who introduced "Bling Bling" into everyday hip-hop vernacular with his multi-platinum single of the same name. In 2000, he released Checkmate and appeared on "Y.B.E.," the second single from Prodigy's solo album H.N.I.C..