An influential figure in the development of gangsta rap and East Coast hip-hop,
Kool G Rap was born as Nathaniel Thomas Wilson in Queens, New York, on July 20,
1968. He was raised in the borough's Corona neighborhood and began collaborating
with DJ Polo in the early 1980s. The two soon became members of the Juice Crew,
a neighborhood hip-hop collective that included future stars like Big Daddy
Kane, and notably appeared on the Crew's collaborative single "The Symphony" in
1988. One year later, Kool G Rap and DJ Polo released Road to the Riches, their
debut album as a rap duo. Cre...