The Bronx was in the building heavy during the mid 2000s. The Terror Squad brought New York's northernmost borough to the mainstream, and the high-energy performances displayed by Remy Ma is one of the reasons for the crew's success. The rapper born Reminisce Smith turns 35 (May 30).

Remy Ma had to grind from the bottom to become a mainstream act. Born to drug-abusing parents, the rapper was often left to take care of her young siblings while going through school. She'd channel her anger into raps and eventually got good enough to catch the late Big Pun's ear. Pun became her mentor, which led to Remy receiving her first professional verses on his Yeeeah Baby album.

She rolled with Fat Joe's Terror Squad after Big Pun's death, continuing to make a name for herself in hip-hop circles. She had a verse on Terror Squad's "Lean Back," which became a No. 1 hit and made her one of the few female rappers to have that achievement. "Whuteva" and "Conceited" were also minor hits.

Unfortunately, Remy's run was a short-lived one. Her debut album, There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story, undersold because of poor promotion. Then in 2008, she was sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting a friend she accused of stealing money, which happened the year before.

Papoose, her husband, helped keep her name alive during her incarceration -- mostly thanks to his extremely random Summer Jam appearance in 2013. Remy Ma was eventually released in August 2014. The hip-hop community welcomed her back and, as demonstrated in the BET Cypher that year, her husband was waiting with open arms.

Watch Remy Ma's "Conceited" Video

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