Bilal

For Bilal Sayeed Oliver, dreams started falling into place quite rapidly. A self-confessed jazz junkie from Philadelphia, PA, Bilal started out by singing in small clubs until he began training in jazz and big-band arrangements at the Mannes Music Conservatory in New York. With this formal training, the singer/songwriter learned to sing opera in seven languages. His debut album, 1st Born Second, is a collection of songs entirely by the artist himself, right down to the music, lyrics, and notes. His single "Soul Sista" appears on the Love & Basketball movie soundtrack. In addition, Bilal sang the hook on Common's "The 6th Sense" with neo-soul singer Jill Scott. He also scats and plays keyboards. Bilal has appeared on Common's Like Water for Chocolate, Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Street Soul, and has written and produced for the likes of Erykah Badu. Bilal, the same musician who has called jazz "the original booty shake," is also known for heaping truth in his music. Talks of record contracts came about when Bilal met brothers Fa and Damu Mtume, creators of Moyo Entertainment, in 1995 at a Philly barbershop. After hearing his demo, the Mtumes asked Bilal if he was interested in becoming a recording artist. Eventually Bilal moved to Brooklyn, NY, and began gigging around the city until his tape landed in the hands of Erykah Badu, for whose Mama's Gun album he appeared and produced. Bilal is a member of the Soulquarians collective, along with Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Q-Tip, and D'Angelo. ~ Kerry Smith, All Music Guide

BigDumbFace

When he's not wearing skeleton face makeup alongside Fred Durst in the more-macho-than-thou Limp Bizkit, Wes Borland tends to prefer a more subdued, playful brand of music. Big Dumb Face, which consists of him, his brother, and a group of pre-Limp Bizkit friends, reveals this softer, geekier side. And, because Limp Bizkit has been one of the most popular bands of the late '90s and beyond, this side project's debut has garnered much attention and a major label deal. The group's first LP, Duke Lion Fights the Terror, was released in 2001 on Interscope Records. Although the current incarnation is new, the majority of Big Dumb Face's lineup is descended from Goatslayer, a band Borland left when fulfilling touring duties for Limp Bizkit. Musically and lyrically, it's many solar systems removed from Limp Bizkit. Fans of that band may be disappointed to hear that Big Dumb Face is an attempt to mimic the comic experimental tendencies of Ween and old Mr. Bungle. This is a project created with modest ambitions, though, and therefore does not live up to the musical standards of Borland's idols. Either way, there's no hardcore rap-rock here. Borland reportedly played all the instruments on the first album in his home recording studio, with just a little help from brother Scott and friend Kyle Weeks. The official touring lineup includes both Borlands, Weeks, drummer Greg Isabel, and bassist Chris Gibbs. All have adopted long-winded aliases like "Tongue of Calicab" and "the Cardboard Urinal." In that vein, the album tells the story of a mythical Duke, whom Borland describes as "this idiot barbarian guy." Tracks feature Borland running around the halls of his home making noise, and the music ranges from Dr. Demento-esque variety-show pop to alternative country à la Ween. ~ Kieran McCarthy

The Big Tymers

Comprised of Bryan "Baby" Williams, Cash Money Records' co-founder, and Mannie Fresh, the label's in-house producer, Big Tymers incorporated substantial outside talent into their ranks and scored some huge hits in the process. Beginning with the duo's first release in 1998, How You Luv That? (re-released as How You Luv That?, Vol. 2 later that year), Big Tymers featured all of the rappers on Cash Money's roster: initially Lil' Wayne, BG, Juvenile, and Turk; later T.Q., Boo, and Gotti; and others as well. This plethora of outside assistance served many purposes, among them promoting the label's solo artists and also taking some of the spotlight off from Williams and Fresh, who admittedly weren't two of the label's better rappers, recognized instead for their overly brash style of ghetto haughtiness. The two drastically improved their rapping, and more importantly their songwriting, for I Got That Work (2000) and Hood Rich (2002), their second and third albums, respectively. These albums spawned two sizable hits a piece -- "Get Your Roll On" and "#1 Stunna" on the former, "Still Fly" and "Oh Yeah!" on the latter -- and made Big Tymers the most consistent Cash Money act following the departure of Juvenile from the label. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

Big Punisher

The first solo Latino rapper to go platinum, Big Punisher was also yet another member of the hip-hop community to fall victim to an early death -- though in his case, it was due to health problems, not violence. In contrast to his large frame, Big Pun was a surprisingly graceful and nimble rapper, delivering his often clever, tongue-twisting rhymes at a torrential pace. Big Pun was born Christopher Rios on November 10, 1971, and grew up in the South Bronx's Puerto Rican community. He endured a rough childhood in an unstable home, and moved out when he was 15, dropping out of high school around the same time. Still, he continued his education on his own, and became interested in rapping and breakdancing (he was a solid athlete during his teen years). In 1989, under the name Big Moon Dog, he and several friends formed a street-corner rap group called the Full a Clips Crew. He later changed his name to Big Punisher, after the Marvel Comics superhero, and caught his big break when he met and impressed fellow Bronx rapper Fat Joe in 1995. He guested on a couple of Fat Joe tracks, "Fire Water" (which also featured Raekwon) and "Watch Out," and following an appearance on Funkmaster Flex's The Mix Tape, Vol. 1, quickly made a name for himself in the underground community. He guested prominently on the Beatnuts' "Off the Books" in 1997, and also worked with B Real and Flesh-N-Bone. Pun scored an underground hit of his own with "I'm Not a Player" in 1997, and also contributed "You Ain't a Killer" to the Soul in the Hole basketball documentary. With Fat Joe's help, he secured a deal with Loud Records.

Big Pun's solo debut, Capital Punishment, was released in 1998 and debuted in the Top Five thanks to "Still Not a Player," a club-ready remix of "I'm Not a Player" that proved massively popular. Earning credibility in the hardcore rap world as well, Capital Punishment went on to sell over two million copies. The following year, Pun teamed up with his mentor, Fat Joe, and several up-and-coming MCs to form the Terror Squad, which released a self-titled debut album. Pun stayed in the public eye with guest work on records by Noreaga and Jennifer Lopez (the hit "Feelin' So Good," which also featured Fat Joe) while working on his second album. Unfortunately, his longtime struggles with overeating and obesity were beginning to get the better of him. At Fat Joe's urging, he checked into a weight-loss clinic in North Carolina, where he lost 80 pounds. However, he returned to the Bronx before finishing the program, and gained back everything he'd lost, plus some extra; reports had his weight fluctuating between 450-700 pounds during his last few years. Tragically, but perhaps not unpredictably, Big Punisher suffered a fatal heart attack on February 7, 2000; he was only 28 years old, and left behind a wife and three children. His completed second album, Yeeeah Baby, was released two months later to positive reviews and entered the charts at number three. 2001's Endangered Species was a compilation mixing hits, guest appearances, and unreleased material; it, too, was a Top Ten seller. Big Pun's life was the subject of the 2002 documentary film Still Not a Player. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Big L

A member of Fat Joe's DITC crew, rapper Big L was born Lamont Coleman on May 30, 1974. He made his solo debut with 1995's Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous, scoring a series of underground hits including "No Endz, No Skinz," "Street Struck" and "Da Graveyard"; Big L's best-known effort, the single "Ebonics," followed on his own Flamboyant label in the summer of 1998. Around the same time, he joined the Bronx-based hip-hop supergroup DITC (Diggin' in the Crates), appearing on their single, "Dignified Soldiers." On the evening of February 15, 1999, Big L was shot and killed just blocks away from his Harlem home; he was just 24 at the time of his death. Both the DITC album Worldwide and the second Big L solo effort, The Big Picture, followed in 2000. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide