Despite years of substantial cult success on the West Coast throughout the 1990s, E-40 never crossed over to mainstream success despite his increasingly patented style and increasingly polished work. Of course, his uncanny rapping style instantly sets him apart from traditional rap conventions, partly explaining why the mainstream has never caught onto his music. Of his many accomplishments, the Bay Area rapper made a name for himself primarily for his ability to continually come up with fresh lingo, a language all his own. His innumerable self-constructed slang phrases are complimented by his equally unique flow, characterized by varying speeds and voices. Furthermore, E-40 also went out of his way to create a number of alter egos for himself -- Charlie Hustle, Forty Fonzarelli, 40-Watter, etc. -- further showcasing his seemingly limitless creativity. After starting his own record label, signing a distribution deal with Jive, and releasing a number of impressive albums that were critically hailed, E-40 still remained a cult artist by the end of the '90s, never compromising his anomaly status for crossover success.

Growing up in the California Bay Area, the pre-E-40 Earl Stevens came to idolize Too $hort, the prolific prodigy from Oakland who spent years hustling his tapes across the West Coast throughout the '80s long before a West Coast rap scene even existed. By the dawn of the '90s, Stevens was doing the same, struggling as a rapper at a time when rapping didn't seem like a likely profession, particularly for an obese young man in the Bay Area. Yet he defied odds by starting his own record label, Sick Wid' It, and carving his own route through the rap game. After two self-released albums that have become fan favorites -- Federal and, more notably, In a Major Way -- Stevens signed a deal with Jive that put him on the brink of expanding his reach outside of the Bay Area, just as Too $hort had done years earlier after signing to the same label. Stevens' first Jive-distributed album, Tha Hall of Game, was indeed an impressive release, his most meticulously crafted album to date, but he didn't cross over as expected.

Two years later in 1998, he returned with a mammoth double album, The Element of Surprise, that had plenty of impressive moments but ultimately proved a bit too epic for its own good. Never one to be content, Stevens then returned quickly with Charlie Hustle, an autobiographical album full of ambition. Again, the album was successful with already established fans but didn't crossover. By this point, it seemed fairly clear that Stevens' uncanny rapping, superhero-like knack for alter egos, and his self-created dictionary of terminology was a bit too eccentric for the masses. His next album, 2000's Loyalty and Betrayal, was yet another impressive album that debuted at number 18 on Soundscan's Pop Album chart, proving that even if Stevens' wasn't a superstar, he was slowly extending his reach with each successive album.