When Love & Hip-Hop’s Stars Were A-List [Photos] - Page 11

It was once joked that there’s no love or Hip-Hop on VH1’s flagship reality franchise, Love & Hip-Hop. And while a solid argument can be made for that statement, many of the show’s cast members had viable careers before they joined the ratchet ranks.

photo: WENN

With three iterations of the show in three cities, VH1 is resurrecting and sustaining a few careers while we cringe each week. Take a look at back when Love & Hip-Hop’s stars were A-list and remember them in their pre-ratchet glory.

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Photo: WENN

Benzino

Before he was being frenemies with Stevie J, Benzino beefed with Eminem and took a lot of somewhat justified heat while a principal at The Source. For what it’s worth, Benzino co-produced Nas’ “Stillmatic (The Intro)” and Prodigy’s “What You Rep” as a member of the Hangmen 3 production team.

Stevie J

You can laugh at “Steebie” nowadays, but in the ‘90s, Steven Jordan was behind plenty of Bad Boy hits as a member of Diddy’s Hitmen production collective. You can find Stevie J’s name in the credits of tracks like “Mo Money Mo Problems,” “I’ll Be Missing You,” and Jay Z’s “Ride Or Die.”

Lil Scrappy

Lil Scrappy and Trillville the modern precursor to Rae Sremmurd. They held down Lil John’s BME imprint with a fun brand of Crunk, and Scrappy managed to get two gold plaques out of the situation. At his mainstream height, Lil Jon and 50 Cent co-executuve produced Scrappy’s 2006 album Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live.

Kalenna

In addition to comprising half of the “Dirty Money” in the group Diddy Dirty Money, Kalenna Harper has penned hits for Christina Milian, Christina Aguilera, Tinashe, and Ciara. Her track record screams of someone who’s above VH1’s weekly ratchet-fest.

Peter Gunz

Before his weekly antics exposed his dirtbag tactics and dirty feet, Peter Gunz and his partner in rhyme, Lord Tariq, had a platinum single with 1998’s “Déjà Vu (Uptown Anthem).” Gunz was also on a single with Shaq, and that’s about where things peaked.

Ray J

Aside from introducing the phrase, “She smashed the homie” to the lexicon, Ray J has ties to the late Whitney Houston. Brandy’s little bro also has three top 40 hits with “Wait A Minute,” “One Wish,” and “Let It Go.”

photo: WENN

Soulja Boy

You can kind of say Soulja Boy invented “ringtone Rap” and revolutionized the way artists use YouTube. The stunting and his proclivity for THOTS really undermine his contributions to pop culture. But he’s still got production credits for work with Migos and Lil Wayne, so there’s that.

Yung Berg

When he’s not getting his chain yapped or allegedly putting hands on his woman, Yung Berg is penning material for Nicki Minaj, Jason Derulo, and Cassie. With royalties from those, he can always buy another chain, but it’s probably a good idea to stay away from Trick Trick.

Fizz

The man formerly known as Lil Fizz was part of the B2K run that earned the group two gold albums and one platinum album. That’s about where the highlights end.

Yandy

Yandy has already earned props from Billboard for her previous work with LL Cool J, 50 Cent, and Missy Elliott while working with the late Chris Lighty at Violator. She’s an editorial advisor on Love & Hip Hop: New York and was the production manager of Jim Jones: A Day In The Fast Life. Trust that the VH1 checks are coming regardless of if she’s on camera or not.

photo: WENN

Teairra Mari

Teairra Mari is just another reminder that sometimes it’s tough sledding for female artists not named Beyonce or Rihanna who hitch their wagon to Jay Z. She’s continued to make music, but she hasn’t really impacted the pop charts since being one of Jay’s initial signings as the president of Def Jam.

Rasheeda

Rasheeda occupied that “about to blow” category for a number of years. But despite rocking with the likes of Akon, Kurupt, Jazze Pha, Jim Crow, Lil Jon, and more, she never managed to crack the top 40 with any of her singles. But the independent game and reality television have presumably been good. As Jalen Rose would say, “Keep getting them checks.”