1.
Album
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Album, is a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century album sales have mostly focused on compact disc and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used from the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl, an album may be recorded in a recording studio, in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed live, the majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at times while listening to the other parts using headphones. Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of the recording, historically, the term album was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage the word was used for collections of pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, the LP record, or 33 1⁄3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. It was adopted by the industry as a standard format for the album. Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, the term album had been carried forward from the early nineteenth century when it had been used for collections of short pieces of music. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, as part of a trend of shifting sales in the music industry, some commenters have declared that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs, Albums such as Tubular Bells, Amarok, Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield, and Yess Close to the Edge, include fewer than four tracks. There are no rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as albums. These are known as box sets, material is stored on an album in sections termed tracks, normally 11 or 12 tracks. A music track is a song or instrumental recording. The term is associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks. When vinyl records were the medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves
2.
Hip hop music
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It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements, MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, while often used to refer solely to rapping, hip hop more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. Hip hops early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with the breaks and Jamaican toasting, rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat. The Sugarhill Gangs 1979 song Rappers Delight is widely regarded to be the first hip hop record to gain popularity in the mainstream. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles, prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined within the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began to spread to scenes in dozens of countries. New school hip hop was the wave of hip hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D. M. C. The Golden age hip hop period was a period between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. Notable artists from this era include the Juice Crew, Public Enemy, & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One, EPMD, Slick Rick, Beastie Boys, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that often focuses on the violent lifestyles, in the West Coast hip hop style, G-funk dominated mainstream hip hop for several years during the 1990s. I. G. In the 1990s, hip hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap, at the same time, hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music, examples being Neo soul and nu metal. Hip hop became a pop music genre in the mid-1990s. The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s, with hip hop influences also increasingly finding their way into mainstream pop, the United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk, a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics. Starting in 2005, sales of hip hop music in the United States began to severely wane, during the mid-2000s, alternative hip hop secured a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. Creation of the hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash. However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was known as disco rap. Cowboy later worked the hip hop cadence into a part of his stage performance, the first use of the term in print was in The Village Voice, by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop
3.
Tupac Shakur
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Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known by his stage names 2Pac, Makaveli or just Pac, was an American rapper, record producer, actor, activist and poet. As of 2007, Shakur has sold over 75 million records worldwide and his double disc albums All Eyez on Me and his Greatest Hits are among the best-selling albums in the United States. He has been listed and ranked as one of the greatest artists of all time by publications, including Rolling Stone. He is consistently ranked as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, on April 7,2017, Shakur will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Shakur began his career as a roadie, backup dancer, and MC for the hip hop group Digital Underground. The themes of most of Shakurs songs revolved around the violence and hardship in inner cities, racism, and other social problems. Both of his parents and several people in his family were members of the Black Panther Party, whose ideals were reflected in his songs. I. G. On September 7,1996, Shakur was fatally shot in a shooting at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane in Las Vegas. He was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Shakur was born on June 16,1971, in the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City. His mother Afeni Shakur and his father Billy Garland were active members of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lesane was born a month after his mother was acquitted of more than 150 charges of Conspiracy against the United States government, Many people in Shakurs life were involved with the Black Liberation Army, some were convicted of serious criminal offenses and imprisoned, including his mother. His godfather, Elmer Geronimo Pratt, a high-ranking Black Panther, was convicted of murdering a school teacher during a 1968 robbery and his stepfather, Mutulu, spent four years at large on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list beginning in 1982. Mutulu was wanted for having helped his sister Assata Shakur, Tupacs godmother and she had been imprisoned since 1977 for killing a state trooper in 1973. She lived as a fugitive for years before gaining asylum in Cuba in 1985. Mutulu was caught in 1986, tried and convicted, and imprisoned for the robbery of a Brinks armored truck in two police officers and a guard were killed. Shakur had a stepbrother, Mopreme Komani Shakur, and a half-sister, Sekyiwa. His stepbrother Mopreme performed in many of his recordings, in 1986, his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland. After completing his year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
4.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
5.
Single (music)
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In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s
6.
Shock G
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Gregory Jacobs, commonly known by his stage name Shock G is an American musician and rapper, known as the lead vocalist for the hip hop group Digital Underground. He is responsible for Digital Undergrounds The Humpty Dance, 2Pacs breakthrough single I Get Around, Jacobs spent most of his childhood moving around the East Coast with his family, eventually settling in Tampa, Florida. He was mentored in the craft by his cousin Rene Negron, Jacobs liked the idea, but mistakenly thought his friend said Shock-G, and began using that name instead. Shock Gs ethnicity is made up of eight different backgrounds, with each of his great-grandparents being of a different origin, in his song, Whos Clean, he describes himself as an Afroricaneuroasiac. Soon after relocating to Oakland, California, Shock G formed Digital Underground along with Chopmaster J, in addition to Macolas logo, the record displayed the TNT logo which was the start-up label for Digital Underground and Tupac Shakurs management CEO Atron Gregory. The latter was rapped by Humpty Hump, the most flamboyant of Shock Gs several alter egos. By that time, Digital Underground had expanded significantly, with DJ Fuze, Money-B, and Schmoovy-Schmoov joining the group, as Rackadelic he illustrated album covers and provided art direction, as the Piano Man he contributed keyboard tracks and music production. He used a voice for the character Humpty. At most public appearances, Jacobs would show up as one person or the other, Jacobs also sometimes performs as other characters including MC Blowfish, Icey-Michael Boston, The Computer Woman, ButtaFly, and Peanut Hakeem. The episode ends with a performance of Digital Undergrounds No Nose Job on a cruise ship full of Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. With his Digital Underground band members, Jacobs appeared in the Dan Aykroyd directed comedy Nothing, the group makes a cameo music performance, as well as play a small character role in the film as themselves. On June 24,2011, Shock G was featured on an episode of the podcast You Had To Be There with comedians Nikki Glaser, Shock co-produced Tupacs debut album 2Pacalypse Now. In 1996 the Wayans brothers film Dont Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood featured the Shock-G song We Got More, in 1998, Prince included the Shock G produced Love Sign on his triple-CD Crystal Ball album. Shock G has toured and performed on stage with George Clinton, in 2003, Shock G produced the single Risky Business for Los Angeles underground artist Murs, and also appeared in the video, as himself and as Humpty Hump. Murs performed this live with Shock G at the Paid Dues festival. On January 20,2009, Shock Gs single Cherry Flavad Email was renamed and released as an edition called Cherry Flavad Election to commemorate the inauguration of President Barack Obama. U. Paris, Tech & Sway,1991, Trapped, 2Pac,1991, Throw Your Hands in the Air, Raw Fusion,1991, Funkintoyoear, Raw Fusion,1992, Money, Gold Money,1993, I Get Around, 2Pac feat. Digital Underground,1993, Rhythm & Rhyme, George Clinton,1993, Paint the White House Black, George Clinton, Ice Cube, Kam, Yo-Yo, Digital Underground,2008, Crazy, Maddie Lauer,2008, Light of Love feat
7.
The Humpty Dance
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The Humpty Dance is a song by Digital Underground, which was featured on their debut album Sex Packets. The single climbed to #11 on the pop charts, #7 on the R&B charts, the song has been sampled by many different artists and producers. In the songs video, a young Tupac Shakur is visible in the background, in 2008, The Humpty Dance was ranked number 30 on VH1s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop and number 65 on VH1s 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s in 2007. The song was selected as one of songs to hear and download in the musical reference book,1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. The song was nominated for Best Rap Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, canadian television channel MuchMoreMusics series Back In. Rated the songs video as one of the worst of 1990, of the five raw elements that make up the Humpty Dance drum track, one is a sample from Sing a Simple Song by Sly & The Family Stone, in the form of a one-measure-long drum loop. The vocal sample that happens in the chorus sections is from Parliaments Lets Play House from their 1980 album. The Humpty Dance is a tribute to Humptys sexual prowess despite his ridiculous appearance, Humpty introduces the appearance theme with the opening line, Im about to ruin the image and the style that youre used to, a protest against the uniformity among successful rappers of the time. In the final verse, Humpty describes the Humpty Dance itself as a loose, easy dance, the contrast is with the precision dancing in MC Hammers videos. The song ends with an invitation for people of all races to join in the dance, the Humpty Dance is Shock Gs second song to feature his alter-ego Humpty Hump, who debuted on Doowutchyalike which was Digital Undergrounds first video release in 1989. The character, which sports a buffoon persona, colorful clothes, because of the accident, the character is seen wearing a large nose disguise. The song was featured in the VH1 series I Love the 90s, and also on Americas Best Dance Crew, the song was also featured in Charlies Angels. Weird Al Yankovic covered the song for the polka medley Polka Your Eyes Out from his 1992 album Off the Deep End, the song is also available for play in the 2004 karaoke video game Get On Da Mic for PlayStation 2. It was sampled by Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a performance of the song was featured in the movie Nothing But Trouble. The song was featured in The Wood, Dope, The Green Hornet, Step Up 2, The Streets. The song is part of Barney Stinsons Get Psyched Mix on How I Met Your Mother, the song was lip synced by Abbi Jacobson on the LL Cool J hosted Lip Sync Battle. The song is sung by an alligator in the animated film Sing. The song was featured in commercials for Intuit and TurboTax featuring Humpty Dumpty, the Humpty Dance is one of the most sampled songs recorded by a hip hop/rap artist, boasting over 50 usages in other songs
8.
Digital Underground
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Digital Underground was an alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Their personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour, heavily influenced by the various funk bands of the 1970s, Digital Underground sampled such music frequently, which became a defining element of West Coast rap. As Rackadelic, Jacobs designed album covers and cartoon-laced liner notes, Digital Underground is also notable for launching the career of member Tupac Shakur, as well as spinning off side projects and solo acts including Raw Fusion, Saafir, and singer Mystic. Following the release of their Doowutchyalike single and video in the summer of 1989, Digital Underground toured nearly every year until 2008, this consisted of live shows in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the U. S. While the groups origins lay mostly in Oakland and Berkeley, California, various characters, Shock G and Money-B were the only individuals to appear on every album. Other recurring key contributors were David DJ Fuze Elliot, and deejay/producer Jeremy J-Beats Jackson, the group appeared in and donated music to the 1991 Dan Aykroyd film Nothing but Trouble. After approximately 20 years of touring, Shock G announced that the group would disband in 2008. Shortly after that announcement was made, the group confirmed that their May 2008 album. Cuz a D. U. Party Dont Stop. would be their last studio effort, Jacobs spent most of his youth in Tampa, Florida and New York City. Founded in 1987, the image was originally more militant. However, when Public Enemy became a prominent band, Jacobs chose to take the image in a more whimsical direction, sex Packets, the groups debut album, was released in the spring of 1990 following the success of its two lead off singles. It was rapped by Shock Gs alter ego Humpty Hump, sex Packets features P-Funk samples, jazz-influenced interludes, and a combination of samples and live instrumentation, earning it positive reviews and platinum sales. Tie The Knot, features jazzy piano tracks and an interpretation of Bridal Chorus. Same Song has a solo and improvised organ bits throughout the song, making it one of hip hops first singles to successfully integrate live instrumentation with music samples. Tupac Shakur made his debut on the song and portrayed an African king in the video. Tupac also can be heard joking around on the version of The Way We Swing as a background vocalist. Tupac first began to appear on stage with the group as one of its dancers, despite the fact that a choir of singers were portrayed in the video, the actual studio singing was exclusively Boni on all tracks, excluding the male voices. It has been reported that Kiss You Back was co-written and co-performed by George Clinton
