Hip hop music Southern hip hop, gained considerable popularity via Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins. Jay-Z represented the cultural triumph of hip hop. As his career progressed, he went from performing artist to entrepreneur, label president, head of a clothing line, club owner, and market consultant—along the way breaking Elvis Presley's record for most number one albums on the "Billboard" magazine charts by a solo artist. Alternative hip hop, which was introduced in the 1980s and then declined, resurged in the early 2000s with the rejuvenated interest in indie music by the general public. In the 2000s alternative hip hop reattained
Uzi (hip hop artist) Uzi (hip hop artist) Uzi (pronounced as "Uji") is a popular Japanese hip-hop artist. He has released four major albums, most recently his “Natural 9” album released in March 2008. Uzi is one of the rappers to incorporate more overt elements of Japanese culture into his music and videos, specifically aspects referring to the samurai (to which he claims direct ancestry). He is a great example of an artist who maintains the localization of hip-hop music through his dependence on the incorporation of Japanese themes into his work. Such non-Americanization of his hip-hop music has been met with varying opinions;