Booba (France)
Co-founder, with Daddy Ali, of groundbreaking French gangsta rap group Lunatic, Elie Yaffa, aka Booba, went on to become one of Europe's best-selling hip-hop artists, with reported sales of more than 10 million records.
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Bushido (Germany)
The modern face of German gangsta rap, Bushido played himself in a hit 2010 film based on his rags-to-rap-riches life story. His public beefs with other rappers are legendary. In 2013 he released a 10-minute-long diss track attacking German-Filipino rapper Kay One.
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Dizzee Rascal (U.K.)
Arguably the biggest name in the British grime scene, Dizzee Rascal has had multiple singles hit number one on the U.K. charts and has won every major British music honor. He also performed at the opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics.
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Fat Shady (China)
Gangsta rap has come late to China and state censorship means rappers like Fat Shady and his popular Chengdu hip-hop collective focus on the small injustices of daily life. His quit-your-job track, Daddy Ain’t Going to Work Tomorrow was a viral hit.
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Sarkodie (Ghana)
The Ghanaian hip hop artist is widely regarded as one of the greatest, as well among the most successful, African rappers working today. He has long since hit the mainstream, with a major endorsement deal with Samsung and his own clothing line.
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MV Bill (Brazil)
His initials stand for Mensageiro da Verdade, or "Messenger of Truth." The Brazilian rapper has used his street cred to set up a network of NGOs with the goal of getting Brazilian youth out of the drug trade.
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Giggs (U.K.)
Considered one of the most hardcore members of Britain's hip-hop grime scene, Giggs first came to prominence with the single Talkin' da Hardest in 2007 in which he rapped over a Dr. Dre-produced beat on the Stat Quo track Here We Go.
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NTM (France)
One of France's first hardcore rap acts, NTM, who formed in 1989, have repeatedly run afoul of the police (a frequent target of their raps) and French radio, which has in the past boycotted their violent and provocative tracks.
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Racionais MCs (Brazil)
Arguably the most important Brazilian rap group, Racionais MC spring from Sao Paulo's infamous favelas and, from the first 1990 album Urban Holocaust, have used lyrics filed with brutal imagery of gang and police violence as calls for social justice.
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Timati (Russia)
Russia's most successful rap export, Timati has adapted more the image than the substance of gangsta rap, but he has collaborated with some of the biggest names in hip-hop, including Snoop Dogg, P.Diddy and Timbaland.
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Roney (Canada)
Drake is Canada's leading hip-hop export but the North also has a small gangsta rap scene. Toronto-based Roney was a rising hardcore star before being arrested last year on charges of juvenile prostitution and human trafficking.
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Sabotage (Brazil)
One of the most promising rising stars of the Brazilian gangsta rap scene, Sabotage went from Sao Paulo drug dealer to hip-hop star and burgeoning actor before being killed in an unsolved shooting in 2003.
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Sido (Germany)
Berlin rapper Paul Wurdig, known as Sido, was among the first German hip-hop artists to use violent and provocative lyrics in the style of U.S. gangsta rappers. His unlikely rise to fame was turned into the musical comedy film Blutzbrudaz in 2011, with Sido playing the leading role.
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So Solid Crew (U.K.)
By combining U.S.-style hip hop with elements of British two-step electronic dance music, So Solid Crew helped pave the way for a generation of Brit hip-hop and grime acts.
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Youssoupha (France)
Son of Congolese music legend Tabu Ley Rochereau, Youssoupha grew up in France. His latest album, Negritude, the second installment in a "black trilogy" looking at black life in France and police brutality, hit number four on the French charts.
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Hilltop Hoods (Australia)
Image Credit: Photo Credit: AP Pioneers of the Australian hip hop scene, Hilltop Hoods formed in Adelaide back in 1994. Their name refers to Eden Hills, a suburb of Adelaide, where two of the founding members met back in High School.