Kid Frost & Scoop DeVille
Scoop DeVille was born in Los Angeles and is the son of hip-hop pioneer Kid Frost, a veteran rapper and founding member of the supergroup Latin Alliance. Scoop appeared in his father’s arms for his first music video, “La Raza,” at three. Raised in a musical family, DeVille started rapping at age two, writing music at age nine. Produced his first hit single, “Mamacita” by Baby Bash featuring Marcos Hernandez, at age fifteen.
This article is part of our complete guide to How Hip-Hop Changed Everything.
DeVille has produced records for a bunch of prominent rappers, like Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, and Fat Joe, among others. He’s probably best known for producing Snoop Dogg’s “I Wanna Rock” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Poetic Justice”, both of which charted in the Top 50 of the US Billboard Hot 100.
E-40 & Droop-E
Droop-E was born into a rapping family with his father, E-40, his cousins B-Legit and Turf Talk, his uncle D-Shot, and aunt Suga-T. His first record appearance came at age 5 when he showed up on “Questions” on E-40’s Federal album. He also rapped on the track “It’s All Bad” from E-40’s 1995 album In a Major Way (credited as Lil E), mimicking his father’s style. His production debut was at 15 for the Turf Talk song “In The Heart Of The Ghetto” on Mack 10’s 2003 compilation, Ghetto, Gutter & Gangster.
Peter Gunz & Cory Gunz
Peter Cory Pankey, Jr. (born June 22, 1987), better known by his stage name Cory Gunz, is an American rapper from The Bronx, New York City, New York. His father is Peter Gunz from the duo Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz. Gunz is signed to After Platinum Records, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Republic Records.
At age 14, Gunz was first signed by Tommy Mottola to Casablanca Records and Def Jam Recordings. Jay-Z shepherded him into a joint venture through The Island Def Jam Music Group. He appeared on a remix of Rihanna’s single “If It’s Lovin’ That You Want.” Gunz’s The Apprentice 3 – Season Finale has amassed over 85,000 listens on the mixtape website DatPiff. He also contributed a verse to the original version of Lil Wayne’s “A Milli” before Wayne replaced it with new verses for the album version.
Will Smith & Jaden Smith
Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998) is an actor and rapper. Jaden’s first movie role was with his father in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness. He also acted in the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still and the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid. He was in the 2013 film and box office flop After Earth with his father too.
Smith rapped alongside Canadian singer Justin Bieber in the song “Never Say Never.” On October 1, 2012, Jaden released his first mixtape, The Cool Cafe. Jaden has never released an official album but has racked up major buzz for his mixtapes and internet viral videos. A release date on his first album is yet to be announced.
Ghostface Killah & Sun God
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Dennis Ames, better known as Sun God, debuted on the hip-hop scene with the song “Man Up” on Put it on the Line in 2005. He appeared twice on Ghostface’s album More Fish in “Miguel Sanchez” and “Street Opera.” He also shows up on “Yapp City” and “Paisley Darts” from Ghost’s album The Big Doe Rehab, “Dogs Of War” on Fishscale, and “Gunshowers” on the Wu-Massacre album. He’s currently signed to Starks Enterprises, his father’s label.
Update: In 2015, Dennis was arrested on two separate gun charges and held on $150,000 bail.
Rev Run & Diggy Simmons
Daniel Dwayne Simmons III (born March 21, 1995), known as Diggy Simmons or Diggy, was primarily known for the MTV reality television show Run’s House. He’s also the youngest member of the hip-hop collective All City Chess Club.
Diggy Simmons released his debut mixtape, The First Flight, in 2009. More than 100,000 people downloaded the album from Simmons’s blog. After the mixtape dropped, according to Simmons, five record labels showed interest in signing him. He went with Atlantic Records.
In 2010, Simmons uploaded a video of himself freestyling over the Nas song “Made You Look.” The video became a viral hit and pulled praise from Kanye West, who responded on his blog: “I knew this kid was [going] to be fresh. I knew it!”
Diggy’s latest work includes the relatively viral hit “Feel Like,” released in July 2016.
Master P & Romeo
Percy Romeo Miller, Jr. (born August 19, 1989) now goes by a slew of names, including his stage names Maserati Rome and Just Rome (formerly Lil’ Romeo and Romeo) and his acting/business name Romeo Miller.
Miller gained fame and fortune in the early 2000s after signing with his father’s popular label at the time, No Limit Records, off the back of his debut and most successful single to date, “My Baby,” which went on to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2001, Miller released his debut and most successful album to date, Lil ‘Romeo. It charted the US Billboard 200 at number six and went on to be certified gold, selling over 500,000 copies.
Eazy E & Lil Eazy E
Eric Darnell Wright (born April 23, 1984), better known by his stage name Lil Eazy-E and Lil Eazy, is a musician and HIV activist. He’s the CEO of NWA Entertainment, LLC, a music and media production company. He also manages Compton MoneyGang with his brother Derrek Wright and his family. The oldest son of Eazy-E, he was born and raised in the same Compton, California house his Eazy Sr. grew up in.
Lil Eazy-E has performed duets with rappers such as Static Major, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Timbaland, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
Frequently Asked Questions
In hip-hop, a “progenitor” is the older artist whose style, signature, or career path another artist clearly inherits, often a parent, mentor, or older relative. Progenitor relationships are common in hip-hop because the genre’s history is short enough that influential first-wave artists are often still living and working alongside their stylistic descendants.
Yes. Notable hip-hop family lineages include Peter Gunz and his son Cory Gunz, E-40 and his son Droop-E, Master P and his son Romeo Miller (formerly Lil Romeo), Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith, and Snoop Dogg and his son Cordell Broadus, who has primarily focused on football and producing.
Yes. Jaden Smith, the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, has released multiple albums as a recording artist, including SYRE (2017), ERYS (2019), and CTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3 (2020). His sound leans more toward alternative hip-hop and experimental pop than his father’s pop-rap era.
Second-generation hip-hop artists carry name recognition that opens doors but also invites comparisons their music has to live up to. Critics typically evaluate them through the lens of whether they have evolved beyond the parent’s style, established their own voice, or simply traded on the family name. The dynamic mirrors second-generation careers in rock, jazz, and country music.
