Brooklyn, NY

The hardcore rap duo Da Cocoa Brovaz paired Tek and Steele, who together first emerged from Brooklyn in 1993 under the name Smif-N-Wessun. Debuting two years later with Dah Shinin', they immediately ran into interference from Smith & Wesson firearms, resulting in a three-year legal battle which ended with the adoption of the name Cocoa Brovaz; under that moniker, they issued The Rude Awakening in 1998. ~ Jason Ankeny