Plan B

English MC and actor Plan B (Ben Drew) came to notice with a track on 679's Run the Road compilation. The London native proceeded to issue singles across 2005 and 2006, which culminated in his debut album, Who Needs Actions When You Got Words. Its title a Meat Puppets reference, with tracks featuring clever samples of Hall & Oates, the Prodigy, and Gary Puckett & the Union Gap (often with acoustic guitars over shuffling breakbeats), the full-length made it clear that there was no easy way to classify the MC. 2010's The Defamation of Strickland Banks, not just an album but also a film directed by and starring Drew, was led by "Stay Too Long," a U.K. Top Ten hit. ~ Andy Kellman

• hip hop/rap