Before They Were Famous

Don Toliver is more or less the Valedictorian of the Travis Scott school of hip-hop. His feature on “Can’t Say” off the chart-topping “ASTROWORLD” helped catapult the man to the very top of the mainstream. But to suggest that Toliver’s success was wholly contingent on his association with Scott is to do this promising young artist a great disservice. Scott may have opened some doors for the man after signing him to his Cactus Jack label, but it was Toliver who has put in the work since day one to earn this opportunity. Toliver has emptied his blood, sweat, and tears into his craft from the time he was just a teenager – and few kids his age hustled half-as-hard as he did. Want to learn how he transformed himself into one of hip-hop’s most promising stars? Then keep watching Before They Were Famous!

Over the past decade, K-Pop has gradually grown into an international musical force. Gone are the days when only South Korean’s were enjoying some extremely upbeat tunes with ear-worm hooks -- now, the entire world is in on the secret, and K-Pop’s gaining thousands of followers with each passing week. But despite K-Pop’s immense success, it’s been hard to ignore that under all the glitz and glamour, there’s a frighteningly oppressive industry churning out emotionally damaged artists who are forced to live under the thumb of management companies that are more oppressive than most dictatorships. Worse yet, not all of these wannabe superstars are lucky enough to survive the process.

The K-Pop superstar Pranpriya Manobal known simply as “Lisa” is having herself a moment, to say the least. As one-quarter of the world’s most popular girl group, Lisa got her start back in 2016 when BLACKPINK dropped their first record, “Square One”. Ever since then, she’s become the most popular female K-Pop idol in the world. A pretty remarkable accomplishment for someone who isn’t even Korean. But this young lady has got even more secrets – for instance, did you know that Lisa isn’t her real name? That’s right -- had it not been for a chance encounter with a fortune teller, she might have never landed on the moniker that would completely change her life around. Want to learn more about your favorite K-Pop idol? Then keep watching Before They Were Famous.

Originally a member of one of Britain’s most successful music groups, Little Mix – today, singer Jesy Nelson is a solo artist looking to strike out on her own after a tumultuous and drama-filled departure from the band she was part of for close to ten years. But if we’re being honest, Jesy’s life has almost always been chockful of drama, starting from before she was even born when her father was once convicted criminal! How has Jesy managed to overcome some incredible obstacles on her path to success? And why do more people than ever want to tear her down by accusing the star of “blackfishing” in her new music video? Those answers and more are coming up after the jump on Before They Were Famous.

Nigerian performer CKay is one of the music industry’s newest double-threats whether he’s behind the boards crafting beats as a producer or in front of the microphone performing out of his self-penned tracks. This young man has been making waves since 2018, but his journey to re-inventing the Nigerian music scene has taken years to come to fruition. It all started back in 2014 when CKay decided to take the most drastic action of his life and run away from home. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was one that would change everything from that point forward. How did CKay go from a teenaged runaway to having his music chart in 160 different countries? Stay tuned to Before They Were Famous and you’ll find out!

It's hard to imagine the legendary hip hop group that we all know as G-Unit without their lieutenant general Tony Yayo, a man who is always outspoken and will be sure to let you know how he feels was an instrumental part of the group run and I feel like his contributions kinda get glossed over so I thought why not take a look at the recent history at the former bonafide G-Unit soldier. We will talk about it all from his musical career to him inventing John Cena's You Can't See Me hand gesture, him having maybe the shortest Hot One's interview of all time to this infamous video of 50 throwing him in a bush. Like many of the former G-Unit members, his story is filled with all kinds of legal issues, people making attempts on his life, and beef with 50 Cent because are you really a 50 Cent affiliate if y'all didn't beef at least once?

There are few rappers in the game that have had an interesting career arc such as New York lyricist and former G Unit more solid Lloyd Banks has had, he truly has cultivated himself quite the career, catalog and critical acclaim from his peers. While being one of the core members of the hip hop crew G-Unit alongside 50 Cent, Young Buck, Tony Yayo, and The Game, much of his legacy was lead through the legendary run that the group had. However Lloyd Banks did have solo albums and a solo career of his own that differs from any member of G Unit, he actually released a project just a few months ago. Bank’s story is one that involves tragedy, fallouts, It is also a story of rebirth and resurgence, as well as beef with his once childhood friend and former boss 50 Cent, were you ever really affiliated with 50 if you don't have some sort of beef storyline with him?
We will be covering all of this and more as we dive into the recent history of the punchline king Lloyd Banks, we covered G-Unit as a group as well as The Game which is a recent drop so please be sure to check those out when you get a chance, also let us know if there are other G Unit members you would like to see maybe even a video chronicling all of 50 Cents beef although if you want that you gotta comment, anyways let's get into it.

I don’t know if you guys have been living under a rock or not, but the South Korean Netflix drama “Squid Game” is on track to becoming the streamer’s biggest series of all time. Among the hundreds of contestants in desperate need of cash and vying to survive a series of sinister games is Ali Abdul played by newcomer Anupam Tripathi. This young man has finally begun to earn the type of roles he’s been in search of all his life after moving to South Korea from India with the hopes of making it big. In this sense, Anupam was the perfect selection to portray a character with a journey so similar to his own. How did Anupam overcome his parents’ skepticism to accomplish his life’s goal? You’re about to find out in our newest episode of Before They Were Famous!

If any of you guys are looking to break into show business this is definitely a video you are gonna wanna sit tight for. Today we are talking about a girl boss who has been working behind the scenes in this digital revolution for over a decade. She has photos with everyone from LeBron James, Snoop Dogg, a young Justin Beiber, the cast of Entourage and the Hills, Nelly, Floyd Mayweather, Joe Rogan, Michael Jordan, and a personal fav of mine Coolio. Life in Hollywood is great but it was this new era of social media stars that Ari was the first to see potential in and was able to land a few kids some major brand deals while being a coach, mentor, and representative for the likes of Addison Rae and Charli D’Amelio, helping them turn into the superstars they are today!!!!

In his 58 years in showbiz, the veteran actor has appeared in more than 200 plays, dramas, and movies, but it was not until Squid Game that he became a household name. He's already a famous face in South Korea often portraying a Monk in everything from films to cell phone commercials. Oh has been working as an actor since way back in 1963, his previous work has mostly included playing supporting roles, but if you want to see him in something else, check out the 2003 feature film A Little Monk, about a generation of three monks living in one temple, or Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring, a 2003 film about the life of a Buddhist monk. For those who have yet to finish the series on Netflix, I'll do my best to keep this video spoiler-free. With that said, it's impossible to talk about player 001 without getting into the nitty-gritty of the show, after all, he was mine and a lot of people's favorite characters in the show. My name is Michael McCrudden and let's get into this Before They Were Famous video.