Loon

The US rapper known as Loon was born Chauncey Hawkins in 1975 in Harlem, New York. His career in music began when he joined a rap collective assembled by Mason Betha (aka Mase) who had previously enjoyed considerable success in the 1990s. Being associated with Mase helped launch Hawkins into the public eye and in 2003 he released his self-titled debut album.

Over the next four years he released a further three albums but he is best known for his collaboration with P. Diddy on Diddy's 2002 brace of hits 'I Need a Girl (Part One)' and 'I Need a Girl (Part Two)'. After travelling to Dubai in 2008 Hawkins converted to Islam and his music career effectively ended. The US authorities later uncovered evidence that at the height of his rap career Hawkins was involved in drug trafficking. In 2011 whilst living in Belgium he was arrested on drug charges, subsequently extradited to the US and eventually sentenced to 14 years in prison.