Best Rap Group

After five years of kicking it locally and fathering some considerable buzz, The Artist Formerly Known as Trick Daddy Dollars has ridden his easy-swinging beats and hard rhymes into the Billboard Top 10. His first LP, Based on a True Story, cracked the R&B Top 100; his followup, www.thug.com, has pushed even higher, with the single "Nann Nigga" rising as high as number five on the rap chart. That tune's rude and riotous exchange between Trick and female rapper Trina is as nasty as Luther Campbell ever wanted to be, but Trick's sound features slower beats, slicker raps, and more melodic flourishes than Luke's brand of booty bass. Other standout cuts are street anthems "For the Thugs" and "Hold On," and the Blowflyesque "Suckin' Fuckin'." Trick, born and reared in Liberty City, achieved national airplay while on the locally based Slip-N-Slide Records, which has since inked a distribution deal with Atlantic. That means Trick Daddy's next release should soar to an even higher level.