N.O.R.E.

Emerging as part of Capone-N-Noreaga in the late '90s, N.O.R.E. and his rambunctious bars helped reinforce a rich legacy of East Coast street rap. Born Victor James Santiago Jr. in 1977, the Queens native began making a name for himself when he and Capone released 1997's The War Report, a gritty, unabashedly boom-bap album that succeeded despite rap's shift to the shiny-suit era. When Capone left to serve a prison sentence, N.O.R.E. went the solo route with his eponymous 1998 debut album. Featuring the Neptunes-produced "Superthug," the LP marked a sonic departure from The War Report, with its instrumentals channeling the increasingly futuristic sound of late-’90s hip-hop. After continuing his more linear rap stylings with his following two albums, N.O.R.E. embraced his Latin heritage with 2006's N.O.R.E. y la Familia, fusing reggaeton samples with customary East Coast production. Tracks like the Daddy Yankee–assisted "Oye Mi Canto" embodied that transition.