Grand Puba

Maxwell Dixon, better known as Grand Puba, is best-known for fronting Brand Nubian for the group's first album -- and the excellent full-blown reunion album, 1998's Foundation -- but he actually made his commercial debut with the Masters of Ceremony, a group who released a 1988 album (Dynamite) on 4th & Broadway. Puba went solo with 1992's Reel to Reel, which featured the excellent singles "360 Degrees (What Goes Around)" and "Check It Out" (with Mary J. Blige). Never the most prolific rap artist, it took three years for a sophomore release (1995's 2000), and his third album (the lackluster Understand This) didn't come until 2001. Throughout his career, his lyrical schemes have been drizzled with the influence of his Nation of Islam beliefs. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi