1.
Extended play
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An extended play is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single, but is usually unqualified as an album or LP. EPs generally do not contain as many tracks as albums, and are considered less expensive, an EP originally referred to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play and LP, but it is now applied to mid-length CDs and downloads as well. Ricardo Baca of The Denver Post said, EPs—originally extended-play single releases that are shorter than traditional albums—have long been popular with punk, in the United Kingdom, the Official Chart Company defines a boundary between EP and album classification at 25 minutes of length or four tracks. EPs were released in various sizes in different eras, the earliest multi-track records, issued around 1919 by Grey Gull Records, were vertically cut 78 rpm discs known as 2-in-1 records. These had finer than usual grooves, like Edison Disc Records, by 1949, when the 45 rpm single and 33 1⁄3 rpm LP were competing formats, seven-inch 45 rpm singles had a maximum playing time of only about four minutes per side. Partly as an attempt to compete with the LP introduced in 1948 by rival Columbia, RCA Victor introduced Extended Play 45s during 1952. Their narrower grooves, achieved by lowering the levels and sound compression optionally. These were usually 10-inch LPs split onto two seven-inch EPs or 12-inch LPs split onto three seven-inch EPs, either separately or together in gatefold covers. This practice became less common with the advent of triple-speed-available phonographs. Some classical music albums released at the beginning of the LP era were distributed as EP albums—notably the seven operas that Arturo Toscanini conducted on radio between 1944 and 1954. These opera EPs, originally broadcast on the NBC Radio network and manufactured by RCA, in the 1990s, they began appearing on compact discs. During the 1950s, RCA published several EP albums of Walt Disney movies and these usually featured the original casts of actors and actresses. Each album contained two seven-inch records, plus an illustrated booklet containing the text of the recording, so that children could follow along by reading. Some of the titles included Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and what was then a recent release, because of the popularity of 7 and other formats, SP records became less popular and the production of SPs in Japan was suspended in 1963. In the 1950s and 1960s, EPs were usually compilations of singles or album samplers and were played at 45 rpm on seven-inch discs. Record Retailer printed the first EP chart in 1960, the New Musical Express, Melody Maker, Disc and Music Echo and the Record Mirror continued to list EPs on their respective singles charts. The Beatles Twist and Shout outsold most singles for some weeks in 1963, when the BBC and Record Retailer commissioned the British Market Research Bureau to compile a chart it was restricted to singles and EPs disappeared from the listings. In the Philippines, seven-inch EPs marketed as mini-LPs were introduced in 1970, with tracks selected from an album and this mini-LP format also became popular in America in the early 1970s for promotional releases, and also for use in jukeboxes
2.
N.W.A
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N. W. A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California. The group was banned from many mainstream American radio stations. In spite of this, the group has sold over 10 million units in the United States alone, the group was also known for their deep hatred of the police system, which sparked much controversy over the years. The original lineup formed in 1986 consisted of Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and Dr. Dre would later become platinum-selling solo artists in the 1990s. Rolling Stone ranked N. W. A number 83 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, in 2016, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, following three previous nominations. The group was assembled by Compton-based Eazy-E, who co-founded Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller, Eazy-E sought an introduction to Steve Yano. Although initially rebuffed, Yano was impressed by Eazy-Es persistence and arranged a meeting with Dr. Dre, initially, N. W. A consisted of Eazy-E and Dr. Dre. Together with fellow producer Arabian Prince, Ice Cube was added to the roster after he had started out as a rapper for the group C. I. A, Dre would later bring DJ Yella on board as well. Dre and Yella were both members of the World Class Wreckin Cru as DJs and producers. Ruthless released the single Panic Zone in 1987 with Macola Records, which was included on the compilation album N. W. A. Mexican rapper Krazy-Dee co-wrote Panic Zone, which was originally called Hispanic Zone, also included was Eazy-Es solo track Boyz-n-the-Hood. N. W. A released their studio album, Straight Outta Compton. With its famous opening salvo of three tracks, the reflected the rising anger of the urban youth. The opening song Straight Outta Compton introduced the group, Fuck tha Police protested police brutality and racial profiling, while the group was later credited with pioneering the burgeoning subgenre of gangsta rap, N. W. A referred to their music as reality rap. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, as HighPowered Productions, composed the beats for each song, with Dre making occasional rapping appearances. Ice Cube, and MC Ren wrote most of the lyrics, including Fuck tha Police, perhaps the groups most notorious song. This letter can still be seen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, policemen refused to provide security for the groups concerts, hurting their plans to tour. Nonetheless, the FBIs letter only served to more publicity to the group
3.
Torrance, California
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Torrance is a city in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has 1.5 miles of beaches on the Pacific Ocean, Torrance has a moderate year-round climate with warm temperatures, sea breezes, low humidity and an average rainfall of 12.55 inches per year. Since its incorporation in 1921, Torrance has grown rapidly and its estimated 2013 population was 147,478. This residential and light high-tech industries city has 90,000 street trees and 30 city parks, known for its low crime rates, the city consistently ranks among the safest cities in Los Angeles County. Torrance is the birthplace of the American Youth Soccer Organization, in addition, the city of Torrance has the second-highest percentage of Japanese demographic in California. Torrance was originally part of the Tongva Native American homeland for thousands of years and it was later divided in 1846 with Governor Pío Pico granting Rancho de los Palos Verdes to José Loreto and Juan Capistrano Sepulveda, in the Alta California territory of independent Mexico. In the early 1900s, real estate developer Jared Sidney Torrance and they purchased part of an old Spanish land grant and hired landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. to design a new planned community. The resulting town was founded in October 1912 and named after Mr. Torrance, the first residential avenue created in Torrance was Gramercy and the second avenue was Andreo. Many of the houses on these avenues turned 100 years of age in 2012, both avenues are located in the area referred to as Old Town Torrance. This section of Torrance is under review to be classified as a historical district, historically the El Nido neighborhood was home to many European immigrants, such as originally Dutch, German, Greek, Italian and Portuguese people. Rapid new growth in Torrance began after World War II as wartime industries transformed into Post-war Aerospace manufacturers, large housing developments were built in the 1950s and 1960s to accommodate the new population. Torrance moved on after the closure of some development and oil refinery plants in the 1990s statewide recession. Torrance survived the deindustrialization, regional economic slowdowns and national recessions in the 1970s to 2000s, large-scale Asian immigration in the past couple of decades has transformed Torrance into a diverse and multicultural city. Torrance is a community in southwestern Los Angeles County sharing the climate. It is about 20 miles southwest of Downtown Los Angeles, Torrance Beach lies between Redondo Beach and Malaga Cove on Santa Monica Bay. The southernmost stretch of Torrance Beach, on a cove at the end of the Palos Verdes peninsula, is known to locals as Rat Beach. A Nature center provides activities, information, and classes for school children, Torrance has a Mediterranean climate or Dry-Summer Subtropical. The rainy season is November through March, as shown in the adjacent table, the Los Angeles area is also subject to the phenomenon typical of a microclimate
4.
West Coast hip hop
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West Coast hip hop is a hip hop music subgenre that encompasses any artists or music that originates in the West Coast region of the United States. The culture is believed to have been a mutual creation which evolved from interaction between people who identified with elements from their respective coasts. A number of laid the foundations for West Coast hip hop, long before the emergence of West Coast rappers such as DJ Flash & The Rappers Rapp Group, Eazy-E, Ice T. According to geniusrap. com, a cataclysmic event helped give rise to it out West, in 1967, Bud Schulberg founded a creative space entitled Watts Writers Workshop, intended to help the people of the Watts neighborhood and provide a place for them to express themselves freely. Out of this background the Watts Prophets formed, its members having moved to the West Coast from southern states such as Texas and Louisiana. The West Coast hip-hop scene started in earnest in 1978 with the founding of Unique Entertainment, a group influenced by Prince, East Coast hip hop, Kraftwerk, Parliament-Funkadelic and others. In 1984, Uncle Jamms Army released their first single, Dial-a-Freak, and in the same year Egyptian Lover released his On the Nile album, which includes the popular 12 single Egypt Egypt. Another early landmark occurred in 1981, when Duffy Hooks launched the first West Coast rap label, Rappers Rapp Records and its first act was the duo of Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp, whose debut single was Gigolo Rapp or Gigolo Groove. Later, in 1983, Captain Rapp would create the classic West Coast song Bad Times, in the mid-1980s, Mixmaster Spade defined an early form of gangsta rap with his Compton Posse. From this group, Spade mentored future rap stars of the West Coast, including Toddy Tee, in the same period, the Compton-based former locking dancer Alonzo Williams formed World Class Wreckin Cru, which included future N. W. A members Dr. Dre and DJ Yella. Williams also founded Kru-Cut Records and established a studio in the back of his nightclub Eves After Dark. During this period, one of the greatest factors in the spread of West Coast hip-hop was the radio station 1580 KDAY, in 1988, N. W. As landmark album Straight Outta Compton was released. As well as establishing a basis for the popularity of gangsta rap, in particular, the controversial Fuck tha Police and the ensuing censorship attracted substantial media coverage and public attention. Following the dissolution of N. W. A. due to in-fighting, the early 1990s was a period in which hip hop went from strength to strength. Tupac Shakurs debut album 2Pacalypse Now was released in 1991, demonstrating an awareness, with attacks on social injustice, poverty. Shakurs music and philosophy was rooted in various philosophies and approaches, including the Black Panther Party, Black nationalism, egalitarianism, and liberty. Also in 1991, Suge Knight founded Death Row Records using money he had extorted from the pop-rapper Vanilla Ice - the West Coast saw the debut of arguably its most influential and popular rapper. Other Death Row releases such as Snoop Doggy Doggs Doggystyle and 2Pacs All Eyez on Me became huge sellers and were critically acclaimed
5.
Gangsta rap
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Gangsta rap or gangster rap is a subgenre of hip hop music with themes and lyrics that generally emphasize the gangsta lifestyle. After the national attention that Ice-T and N. W. A attracted in the late 1980s and early 1990s, gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip hop. Many gangsta rap artists openly boast of their associations with various street gangs as part of their artistic image, with the Bloods. Gangsta rap is closely related to other indigenous gang and crime-oriented forms of music, the subject matter inherent in gangsta rap has caused a great deal of controversy. The White House administrations of both George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton criticized the genre, many gangsta rappers argue that in the world of their genre exists the emotions and perspectives of a people whose suffering is too often overlooked and belittled by society. Gangsta rap, some argue, was an effect of the various wrongdoings perpetrated against African-Americans in underprivileged neighborhoods. The various riots sparked by the Rodney King beating and the acquittal of the officers responsible for the beating sparked anger. Gangsta rap acted as an outlet so such people could express themselves angrily and they often used gangsta rap to tell the stories of their lives, which sometimes included strong violence, hypersexuality, and drug abuse. The 1973 album Hustlers Convention by Lightnin Rod and Jaren Clark featured lyrics that deal with life, including pimping. Many rappers, such as Ice-T and Mac Dre, have credited pimp, rudy Ray Moores stand-up comedy and films based on his Dolemite hustler-pimp alter ego also influenced gangsta rap and are still a popular source for samples. Finally, blaxploitation films of the 1970s, with their depictions of black underworld figures, were a major inspiration as well. Tracy Ice-T Morrow, was born in Newark, New Jersey, as a teenager, he moved to Los Angeles where he rose to prominence in the West Coast hip hop scene. In 1986, Ice-T released 6 in the Mornin, which is regarded as among the first gangsta rap songs. In an interview with PROPS magazine, Ice-T said, Heres the exact order of what really went down. Then the syncopation of that rap was used by me when I made 6 in the Mornin, the vocal delivery was the same. P. S. K. is makin that green. six in the morning, police at my door. When I heard that record I was like Oh @#. *%, and call it a bite or what you will but I dug that record. My record didnt sound like P. S. K, but I liked the way he was flowing with it. P. S. K. was talking about Park Side Killers and that was the only difference, when Schoolly did it, it was. one by one, Im knockin em out
6.
Ruthless Records
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Ruthless is an American record label, founded by Jerry Heller and gangsta rapper Eazy-E. The record label was founded in Torrance, California in 1986. The labels acts over the years have earned RIAA certifications of Platinum or higher on 15 of its albums, including releases by N. W. A, Eazy-E, MC Ren. It also put out singles by underground California acts such as Frost, Fad, but the labels first full-length release was N. W. As Straight Outta Compton, which was eventually certified Triple Platinum by the RIAA. Immediately following this was the release of Eazys solo debut, Eazy-Duz-It, as the six members went on tour in support of their project, some began to voice their displeasure with the financial situation at Ruthless. According to group member MC Ren, it was an opinion that N. W. A manager and Ruthless co-founder Jerry Heller was the one receiving their due. We were the making the records, traveling in vans. You do all those fucking shows trying to get known, then you go to his house, and this motherfucker lives in a mansion. There’s gold leaf trimmings all in the bathroom and all kinds of other shit, the label also experienced outside pressure due to the group. The success of their song Fuck tha Police led to a threatening F. B. I. letter to distributor Priority Records, after coming off tour, group member Ice Cube voiced his opinions on the groups finances. Nineteen eighty-eight also saw the release of J. J, above the Laws Livin Like Hustlers was also released during this period. In 1989, Eazy signed hip-hops first white female rapper Tairrie B to Ruthless new Comptown label subsidiary and she released her debut album The Power of a Woman in 1990 featuring the single and video for Murder She Wrote which Eazy and Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D appeared in. The album also featured guest vocals by Dr. Dre, D. O. C. and future House of Pain frontman Everlast, Suge became such a problem for the label-heads that at one point Eazy-E allegedly suggested killing him, a move vetoed by Heller. Eventually, Suge succeeded in procuring Dre, D. O. C. now short of his main producer, Eazy-E signed various other acts that would assist him in a subsequent rivalry with Death Row. Knocc Out were among the most vocal of these rappers, with DJ Yella, while MC Ren stayed neutral, he remained with Ruthless, releasing several albums. Eazy-E released several high-profile albums dissing Dr. Dre, including most famously Its On 187um Killa, ya know, it was fucked up. Like Eazy came to me one night and he said “Man, shit is fucked up, Eazy-E allegedly fired Jerry Heller, shortly before his death. In February 1995, Eazy-E was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, around this time he was beginning to work on his third album Money + Sex = Eazy
