40 Cal.

Harlem-rooted mixtape crew the Diplomats, also known as Dipset, counted 40 Cal—born Calvin Alan Byrd—among its members. He first surfaced with the self-titled track “40 Cal” on the group’s 2004 album Diplomatic Immunity, Vol. 2. His stature, however, stems chiefly from his rhyme-battling prowess, which received its clearest showcase on MTV2’s Fight Klub MC battles. Those contests let him reveal a street-level method that fused lethal metaphors with gangsta braggadocio. Through independent solo mixtapes he built a separate profile from the Dipset circle, moving several thousand units on his own. Starting in 2006 he broadened his reach by cutting mixtapes expressly for national retail through major labels. Cleopatra released Broken Safety that year, followed by Babygrande’s issuance of Broken Safety 2 in 2007.