Despite his name, Charlie Manhattan calls San Francisco his home, his style influenced by other West Coast rappers like 2Pac, Xzibit, and E-40. Born Charles Williams, he took his name from the 1989 movie Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, and though his childhood circumstances were tough (his father was in jail since before his birth), he soon took to hip-hop. After appearing on many locally-distributed underground mixtapes, Manhattan released his solo debut, The Manhattan Project, in June 2007. ~ Marisa Brown