A life-long resident of Milan and its suburbs, J-Ax (short for "Joker Alex") was born Alessandro Aleotti on August 5, 1972. Beginning in 1990, he spent nearly 15 years as the frontman for the hip-hop duo Articolo 31, whose first album, Strade di Città, came out in 1993. With partner DJ Jad, J-Ax helped define Italian rap, mixing deft rhymes with both American and Italian rock influences. In fact, by the time Articolo got to their sixth album, 2002's Domani Smetto, they had practically turned completely to pop and rock -- also perhaps because J-Ax worked on this album almost completely alone. Although a formal split was never officially announced, after the release of 2003's Italiano Medio, Articolo 31 decided to take a break and work on their own projects.

J-Ax, who had always gravitated toward American rock -- particularly punk -- soon began writing pieces for a solo album. In order to get the sound he wanted, he went to Los Angeles to record, getting help from former Hole and Shift drummer Samantha Maloney, bassist Brian O'Connor (Eagles of Death Metal), and guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen (A Perfect Circle, Failure). Released in 2006, Di Sana Pianta saw J-Ax continuing his often politically incorrect rants against society and for marijuana use. It was an immediate success in Italy, despite the fact that it was much more California punk-inspired pop and rock than hip-hop (an exception being the opener, "S.N.O.B."). J-Ax next put out two albums at the same time -- Rap n' Roll and Deca Dance -- both released in 2009 and both featuring more of the same sounds and styles, although with a heavily Italian lineup and guests including Gué Pequeno, Jovanotti, Marracash, Space One, and Pino Daniele. Together, the albums sold 100,000 copies, earning platinum certification separately.

His fourth album, Meglio Prima, was released in 2011, featuring productions from familiar J-Ax associates like Guido Style and Fabio B, plus one track with Two Fingerz; the live album Meglio Live! appeared in 2012. In 2014 J-Ax became a judge on the TV talent contest show The Voice of Italy. His fifth album, Il Bello d'Esser Brutti, debuted at number one upon release in February 2015, thanks in part to the success of the single "Uno di Quei Giorni," a duet with Nina Zilli. In 2017 he scored another number one album in Comunisti col Rolex, a collaboration with fellow Milanese rapper Fedez. Its pop-rap-EDM sound saw both performers singing and rapping; the singles "Vorrei Ma Non Posto" and "Assenzio" both topped the chart. ~ Marisa Brown

Born Federico Leonardo Lucia in Milan, socially minded Italian rapper Fedez first made a splash in 2011, when he released the download-only sets Penisola Che Non C'è and Il Mio Primo Disco da Venduto. Signed to the Sony label, his first official album, Sig. Brainwash: L'arte di Accontentare, was issued in March 2013. It topped Italy's FIMI chart and was eventually awarded three-times platinum status. Re-releases of his first two sets caused them both to hit the Top Ten in June of 2013. Fedez served as a judge on the Italian version of X Factor.

His second album for Sony, Pop-Hoolista, followed in October 2014. It also topped the Italian charts, spending the rest of 2014 and nearly half of 2015 charting on its way to a double-platinum certification. In 2017, he scored another number one album in Comunisti col Rolex, a collaboration with fellow Milanese rapper J-Ax. Its pop-rap-EDM sound saw both performers singing and rapping, and the singles "Vorrei Ma Non Posto" and "Assenzio" both topped the chart. ~ Andy Kellman

T-Pain's singing ability has been on clear display since he first broke through to mainstream success in the early 2000s, and his use of Auto-Tune created a widespread ripple effect that defined certain areas of music for an entire generation. Following Rappa Ternt Sanga (2005), his descriptively titled debut album, the Floridian made a quick rise to the top of the Billboard 200 with Epiphany (2007), led by the number one Hot 100 hit "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')." Over the next few years, T-Pain released several albums of his own while appearing on numerous tracks, exemplified by Kanye West's "Good Life" and Jamie Foxx's "Blame It," both of which won Grammys. By the release of Happy Hour: The Greatest Hits (2014), T-Pain had racked up five headlining platinum singles. He has remained an enduring cultural figure, winning the first season of The Masked Singer in 2019 and issuing albums like his 2023 covers set, On Top of the Covers, which tackles versions of classic songs originally performed by everyone from Sam Cooke to Black Sabbath.

The Tallahassee native born Faheem Najm came up as a rapper in a group called Nappy Headz. As a solo artist, he went pro as T-Pain after he recorded "I'm Fucked Up," a personalized take on Akon's "Locked Up." Akon heard it and signed T-Pain to the Jive/Zomba-supported Konvict Muzik label. The self-produced and self-written "I'm Sprung," T-Pain's proper debut single, was released in August 2005 and went Top Ten pop and R&B/hip-hop. That December, the album Rappa Ternt Sanga arrived, supported by the follow-up single "I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)," another Top Ten hit on multiple Billboard charts. The two singles earned RIAA platinum certifications, and the parent full-length eventually went gold, situating T-Pain as a major breakthrough artist of the mid-2000s.

The success wasn't a fluke. During the next several years, as Auto-Tune usage became increasingly common in commercial music -- used more frequently to mask vocal deficiency than as the equivalent of an effect pedal for a guitar -- T-Pain continued to make hits. Through 2012, a period that involved the guest-loaded albums Epiphany, Thr33 Ringz, and the RCA-supported rEVOLVEr, he entered the pop Top Ten as a lead artist four additional times, highlighted by the chart-topping "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')." Through assists on songs such as Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss," Kanye West's "Good Life," Jamie Foxx's "Blame It," and Pitbull's "Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)," his name was either near or at the top position with even greater frequency. Additionally, "Good Life" and "Blame It" made T-Pain a two-time Grammy Award winner. The former took Best Rap Song, and the latter won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

T-Pain's lasting commercial appeal was reaffirmed in 2014 with Happy Hour: The Greatest Hits, an anthology containing all five of his platinum singles as a lead artist. "Up Down (Do This All Day)," a new inclusion released to promote the set, became the singer's sixth headlining single to go platinum. A fifth LP provisionally entitled Stoicville was in the works, but by mid-2017, T-Pain had released only singles, including collaborations with Juicy J, Lil Yachty, and Young M.A. That November, however, he issued Oblivion, a gleefully hedonistic album -- his last one for RCA -- with singles featuring Blac Youngsta and Tiffany Evans.

Subsequently signed with the independent Cinematic Music Group, he quickly returned the next year with Everything Must Go, Vol. 1 and Everything Must Go, Vol. 2, his first commercially available mixtapes. After he was revealed to be the winner of the first season of Fox's The Masked Singer, T-Pain offered his sixth proper full-length, 2019's 1Up, which fared better on the Billboard 200 than Oblivion. Later that year, Tory Lanez sampled "I'm Sprung" for "Jerry Sprunger," a number 44 pop hit crediting T-Pain as a featured artist. In 2020, RCA compiled The Lost Remixes, and T-Pain continued issuing singles such as "Wake Up Dead," another collaboration with Chris Brown.

In 2023, he released his long-labored covers album On Top of the Covers. The record's eight genre-diverse selections included T-Pain's interpretations of songs by Journey, Black Sabbath, Sam Smith, and more. He returned in early 2024 with uplifting ballad "Dreaming." ~ Andy Kellman & Neil Z. Yeung