Indicates 2004 Grammy Winner

Text by Jem Aswad and Paul Zollo

Prince

He was named after his father’s jazz band, the Prince Rogers band, and started playing piano almost as soon as he could reach the keys. He ran away from home as a teen, formed a band, and quickly taught himself to play a profusion of instruments, including bass, guitar and drums. By the age of 19, he landed a record deal with Warner Brothers and, in 1977, he became the youngest producer in Warner history. His debut album in 1978, For You, featured Prince playing 23 different instruments. He formed a band in Minneapolis and established an erotic persona; his hit album, Prince, was followed in 1980 by Dirty Mind, which included the famous songs “Head” and “Sister.” In 1982, his landmark album 1999 was released and he became one of the first black artists on MTV with such hits as “1999” and “Little Red Corvette.” He starred in the autobiographical film Purple Rain in 1984 with its phenomenal song score, including “When Doves Cry,” and “I Will Die 4 U.” He went through an abundance of career and personal changes, changing his name to a symbol, firing his band The Revolution and hiring a new one, The New Power Generation. In 1996 he released a triple CD album called Emancipation. He is without question one of the most important and influential musical artists in the past three decades. This year he was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Album for his CD N.E.W.S.

Juelz Santana

Juelz Santana, aka 20-year-old LaRon James, is a Harlem native who first stepped into the spotlight working with rapper Cam’ron. He began writing rhymes at the age of 12 and formed a duo called Draft Pick with his longtime friend, Malik. the pair won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater two weeks in a row. Soon he was in the studio recording a verse for “Double Up,” from Cam’ron’s second album, “SDE,” and he also appears on the hit singles “Hey Ma” and “Oh Boy.” Juelz linked with Cam’ron’s crew, the Diplomats, appearing on their debut album and signing with Cam’ron’s Roc-a-Fella-affiliated label, Diplomats (Juelz is, in fact, the label’s Vice President). Although Cam’ron and the Dips are all present on Juelz’s disc From Me To U, there’s no question that the album gets its flavor from the young rapper’s highly distinctive style and flow. He was nominated for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: “Dipset (Santana's Town)” (Juelz Santana Featuring Cam'Ron).

Da Brat

Shawntae Harris’s big break came a dozen years ago when she won an MC contest in her native Chicago. First prize was meeting Kriss Kross, and the diminutive duo wasted no time in introducing the tough-talking young rapper to their mentor/producer, Jermaine Dupri. He signed her to his label, So So Def and Da Brat became the first solo female rapper ever to have a platinum-selling album with her 1994 debut, Funkdafied. Two of her four albums topped the Billboard R&B charts and one (2000’s Unrestricted) reached #5 Pop. She’s appeared on records with Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott, Destiny's Child, Jagged Edge, Total, Dru Hill, and Lil' Kim, among others, and she’s appeared in several films, including Shaquille O'Neal’s comedy Kazaam. And now comes this Grammy nomination for a track on her latest outing, Limelight, Luv & Nightclubz. The album, her first in three years, finds Da Brat updating her sound without departing from the attitude and persona that got her where she is. Da Brat was nominated for Best Female Rap Solo Performance: “Got It Poppin.”

Ludacris

Christopher Bridges, aka Ludacris, is one of the most important voices to rise out of the Dirty South movement. With his distinctive flow, incisive lyrics and hilarious videos, he’s become one of the most popular and influential MCs in the game in just three years.

Chris began rapping at an early age but honed his chops as a radio DJ at Atlanta’s Hot 97.5. Later, he financed his debut album, Incognegro, releasing it on his own Disturbing Tha Peace label. A pact with Def Jam soon followed, and they released Incognegro with some new tracks as Back for the First Time, which spawned Chris’s first national hit, “Southern Hospitality.” Since then he released two enormously popular albums, Word of Mouf and Chicken-N-Beer. Ludacris was nominated for Best Male Rap Solo Performance: “Stand Up,” Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: “Gossip Folks” (Missy Elliott featuring Ludacris), and Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media: “Act A Fool” (Christopher Bridges & Keith McMasters, songwriters).

Dianne Reeves

Dianne Reeves is one of the pre-eminent jazz singers working today. The early years of her career found her working with such luminaries as Clark Terry, Sergio Mendes and Harry Belafonte, and early recordings found her pursuing a number of stylistic directions before settling on jazz in the mid-90’s. She won a Grammy with her last album, the lushly orchestral The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan but, with the follow-up, she returned to a simpler setting, opting to record with just her touring trio. Aided in no small part by veteran producer Arif Mardin (who’s worked with everyone from Aretha Franklin to Bette Midler to Norah Jones), the stunning A Little Moonlight finds the singer in stellar form. While The Calling placed her voice in a dramatic setting, A Little Moonlight allows greater nuance and intimacy. Together, the albums present a composite portrait of this extraordinary singer’s talent. Dianne won a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album: A Little Moonlight.

Chink Santana

If the label known as The Inc (formerly Murder Inc) has a most valuable musical player, it's probably Chink Santana, aka Andre Parker. A talented producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and rapper, you'll find his name somewhere on virtually every album the label has put out, most notably on cuts by Ashanti (he also co-wrote the song that gained her the Best R&B Vocal nomination, “Rain On Me”) and Ja Rule. His resume also includes appearances on albums by Beenie Man and Toni Braxton and, considering the solo success of producers from Dr. Dre to Kanye West, it's probably just a matter of time before his own disc hits the streets. Chink was nominated for Best R&B Song: Ashanti: “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)” (A. Douglas & A. Parker, songwriters).

TLC

Fusing pop, hip-hop and urban soul, TLC is one of the most successful R&B groups of all time. Featuring Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, the late rapper Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, their appeal crossed over to pop and R&B audiences, and resulted in several immense hits.

They first formed in Atlanta, GA, in 1991, and began working with the producer Dallas Austin and landed a record deal with L.A. Reid and Babyface's LaFace label. Their new jack-styled debut album oooooohhh...On the TLC Tip was released in 1992. Their videos established them as colorfully fashionable as they were musical, especially for the first single “Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg.” Next came CrazySexyCool, a blockbuster fueled by the single “Creep.” Soon they had three more Top Five singles, including the #1 “Waterfalls,” their biggest hit. Fanmail, their third album, rocketed to the top of the charts on the energy of the hit single “No Scrubs,” followed by “Unpretty.” Fanmail went platinum six times, and won another Best R&B Album Grammy. Sadly, their next album was stalled by the death of Lopes, who crashed and died in an SUV in the Honduras. Eventually, they regrouped and regained their strength, and recorded the album 3D. This year they were awarded with a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for the song “Hands Up” from 3D.

James Poyser

It’s hard to think of a producer/musician who’s had a hand in a greater number of important hip hop and R&B albums in the last several years than James Poyser. This multi-talented producer/keyboardist has played a major role in albums by the Roots, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, D’Angelo, Jill Scott, Anthony Hamilton, Common, Jermaine Dupri, Talib Kweli, Mya, Kelly Price &ndash and that’s not even half the list. The British-born/West-Philadelphian is a member of several extended musical families, but the strongest one is the Soulquarians, the loose collective that accompanied D’Angelo for his Voodoo album and tour. and has loaned its talents to many extended family members, including Common, Badu, Kweli and many Roots-related endeavors. Several members of that family took home a Grammy last year for their contributions to “Love of my Life (An Ode to Hip Hop),” which won Best R&B Song, but we get the feeling that was the first of many trips to the stage for James Poyser. He was nominated for Best R&B Song: “Danger” (Erykah Badu, J. Poyser, B.R. Smith & R.C. Williams, songwriters).

Murphy Lee

Murphy Lee, aka Tohri Harper, has been trading verses with some of the biggest names in hip hop for years -- P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Beanie Sigel and Jermaine Dupri, not to mention his homeboy Nelly. But this Grammy award, not to mention his solo debut album, Murphy’s Law, find the MC stepping into the spotlight in style.

It’s been a long time coming for the St. Lunatic member. Growing up in St. Louis, Murphy spent a lot of time hanging out with his older brother KyJuan whose best friend just happened to be Nelly. Early on, he earned the nickname “Skool Boy,” an ode to his studious and sporting ways in high school. But when Nelly and his St. Lunatics crew got rolling, Lee was ready. While his face and voice are recognized all over the world, Murphy’s Law shows that Lee’s got more than enough talent to make it on his own. The album features guest appearances from Dupri, Nelly, Sleepy Brown, Li’l Jon and Roscoe, but they’re all playing second fiddle to this talented, up-and-coming young MC. Lee won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: “Shake Ya Tailfeather” (Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee).

Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni is one of the most influential and lauded African-American poets of the past 40 years. Her work is marked by a passion, honesty and humor that is as incisive as it is distinctive. She was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1943 and raised in Cincinnati. While attending Fisk University in the late 1960s, she became active in writers workshops and student non-violence associations; both disciplines were combined in 1967 when she wrote politically activist poems that aimed to raise awareness of black rights and racial equality. She came to question the relevance of art in the face of social change and this concern finds expression in her early collections, Black Feeling, Black Talk, Black Judgement and Re: Creation. The musicality in her work is tellingly demonstrated by the fact that she gave her first poetry reading in 1969 at the New York City jazz club Birdland.

Giovanni’s role as a single mother began to evidence itself in her work. She issued three volumes of poetry for children between 1971 and 1980. Her recent work has found her returning to political issues, but her themes have become more universal and less specifically African-American. Giovanni’s honors include the NAACP Image Award for Literature in 1998 and the Langston Hughes Award in 1996. She is currently a Professor of English at Virginia Tech. Giovanni was nominated for Best Spoken Word Album: The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection.

Keith McMasters

Keith McMasters’ Grammy nominated hit single “Act a Fool” was the first song he ever placed on a major album. Like most seemingly overnight successes, McMasters’ was a long time coming. Hailing from the small town of Asheboro, North Carolina, he began producing local artists in 1995 while working a day-job as a truck driver. In 2001 he had enough steady music work to quit that job. And, although a collaboration with Dave Hollister didn’t pan out, it wasn’t long before McMasters’ demo reached the ears of Ludacris’s manager. Keith was soon set to work on the 2 Fast 2 Furious soundtrack, ultimately working on three songs, and he was soon signed to a deal with EMI Music Publishing. McMasters relocated to Los Angeles earlier this year, and he’s currently working on a tracks for Chingy and for a Disturbing tha Peace compilation. Much as he loves working in hip hop, McMasters hastens to say that R&B is his first love, and he’d love to work on some projects in that style. Keith McMasters was nominated for Best Song Written For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media: Ludacris: “Act A Fool” (from 2 Fast 2 Furious), Christopher Bridges & Keith McMasters, songwriters.