Paris

• Hometown: San Francisco

About

An underrated Bay Area emcee/producer, Paris first hit the scene in 1990 with the release of The Devil Made Me Do It. Known for his Funk-drenched beats and angry but intelligent rhymes, Paris wreaked lyrical havoc on racism and bigotry in America, all the while promoting respect and knowledge of self. In '93 he dropped Sleeping With The Enemy, continuing his political agenda on his Scarface Records label. Fiery tracks like "Bush Killa" and "Make Way For A Panther" generated some high-profile controversy, but he never achieved the massive crossover success of Dre and Snoop. Guerilla Funk followed in '94, after which Paris took several years off from rhyming and produced tracks for Conscious Daughters. Unleashed surfaced in '98 but failed to make much noise. After taking a break from the rap game, Paris worked in the stock market and did very well for himself. In 2002, he returned with a new single addressing George W. and the "war on terrorism," followed by an all-new LP called Sonic Jihad.

- Brolin Winning