1.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
2.
Rapping
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The components of rapping include content, flow, and delivery. Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that rap is performed in time to a beat. Rapping is often associated with and an ingredient of hip-hop music. Rapping is also used in Kwaito music, a genre originated in Johannesburg, South Africa. Another form of rap that predates hip hop was boxer Muhammad Alis rhythmic poetry used to taunt his opponents in the 1960s and 1970s, rapping can be delivered over a beat, typically provided by a DJ, turntablist or Beatboxer, or without accompaniment. Stylistically, rap occupies an area between speech, prose, poetry, and singing. The word, as used to describe quick speech or repartee, the word had been used in British English since the 16th century. It was part of the African American dialect of English in the 1960s meaning to converse, today, the terms rap and rapping are so closely associated with hip-hop music that many writers use the terms interchangeably. The English verb rap has various meanings, such as to strike, especially with a quick, smart, or light blow, as well to utter sharply or vigorously, to rap out a command. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary gives a date of 1541 for the first recorded use of the word with the meaning to utter sharply, vigorously and it is these meanings from which the musical form of rapping derives, and this definition may be from a shortening of repartee. A rapper refers to a performer who raps, by the late 1960s, when Hubert G. Brown changed his name to H. Rap was used to describe talking on records as early as 1971, on Isaac Hayes album Black Moses with track names such as Ikes Rap, Ikes Rap II, Ikes Rap III, Hayes husky-voiced sexy spoken raps became key components in his signature sound. Del the Funky Homosapien similarly states that rap was used to refer to talking in a manner in the early 1970s. Back then what rapping meant, basically, was you trying to convey something—youre trying to convince somebody, thats what rapping is, its in the way you talk. Rapping can be traced back to its African roots, centuries before hip-hop music existed, the griots of West Africa were delivering stories rhythmically, over drums and sparse instrumentation. Such connections have been acknowledged by modern artists, modern day griots, spoken word artists, mainstream news sources. Grammy-winning blues musician/historian Elijah Wald and others have argued that the blues were being rapped as early as the 1920s, Wald went so far as to call hip hop the living blues. A notable recorded example of rapping in blues music was the 1950 song Gotta Let You Go by Joe Hill Louis, not just jazz music and lyrics but also jazz poetry
3.
Master of ceremonies
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A master of ceremonies, abbreviated M. C. also called compère and announcer, is the official host of a ceremony, a staged event or similar performance. The master of ceremonies sometimes also refers to the officer during an official state function. Today, the term often connotes a master of ceremonies who presents performers, speaks to the audience, entertains people, in addition, the term also exists in various chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The term originated in the Catholic Church, the Master of Ceremonies is an official of the Papal Court responsible for the proper and smooth conduct of the elegant and elaborate rituals involving the Pope and the sacred liturgy. He may also be an involved in the proper conduct of protocols and ceremonials involving the Roman Pontiff, the Papal Court. Examples of official liturgical books prescribing the rules and regulations of liturgical celebrations are Cæremoniale Romanum, the office of the Master of Ceremonies itself is very old. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the most ancient ceremonials and rituals of the Catholic Church are the Ordines Romani, names of Masters of Ceremonies are known since the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. However, copies of books prescribing the forms of rituals, rites and it is reasonable to assume that the ceremonials themselves pre-date Gelasius. However, documentary evidence from the late Roman period is scarce or lost, the ceremonies and practices of the Byzantine emperors are also known to have influenced the papal court. At a large Catholic church or cathedral, the Master of Ceremonies organizes and rehearses the proceedings and he may also have responsibility for the physical security of the place of worship during the liturgy. At major festivities such as Christmas and Easter, when the liturgies are long and complex, the current papal Master of Ceremonies is Monsignor Guido Marini, who succeeded Archbishop Piero Marini. Masters of Ceremonies at weddings and private events also ensure the coordination of their event, became an alternative title for a rapper and for their role within hip hop music and culture. The term is used as a term of distinction, referring to an artist with good performance skills. An MC focuses on skills, lyrical ability, and subject matter, in any comedy show, the compère is the host of the evenings events, but the precise role and responsibilities will vary depending on the country, venue and style of event. The compère will normally do longer bits at the start of the show and after any interval and they may also be required to make announcements, such as birthdays, anniversaries and bar promotions. In some circles the title Master of Ceremonies is also known as Minister of Ceremonies, in the 1940 Disney film, Fantasia, Deems Taylor is the films Master of Ceremonies. Media related to Master of ceremonies at Wikimedia Commons
4.
How to Rap
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How to Rap, The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC is a book on hip hop music and rapping by Paul Edwards. It is compiled from interviews with 104 notable rappers who provide insights into how they write, how to Rap 2, Advanced Flow & Delivery Techniques is a sequel to the book, also on hip hop music and rapping by Paul Edwards. It includes more insights from the interviews done from the first book, how to Rap, The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC was published by Chicago Review Press in December,2009 with a foreword by Kool G Rap. How to Rap 2, Advanced Flow & Delivery Techniques was also published by Chicago Review Press in September,2013 with a foreword by Gift of Gab of Blackalicious. In the sequel, reviewers note that, Edwards asks advanced wordsmiths for advice on rhythm, melody, pitch, timing, enunciation, percussion, playing characters, rhyme schemes, how to Rap is published in the UK by Random House on their Virgin Books imprint. This edition is published by Random House in Australia. It was translated and published in Japanese by P-Vine Books in 2011 and translated and published in Korean by Hans Media, the book is compiled from interviews with rappers, the interviews comprise the majority of the books content. Tupac Shakur The book was received by critics and press outlets. …Edwards has made his bid to become the Aristotle of Hip-Hop poetics”
5.
MC
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A master of ceremonies, abbreviated M. C. also called compère and announcer, is the official host of a ceremony, a staged event or similar performance. The master of ceremonies sometimes also refers to the officer during an official state function. Today, the term often connotes a master of ceremonies who presents performers, speaks to the audience, entertains people, in addition, the term also exists in various chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The term originated in the Catholic Church, the Master of Ceremonies is an official of the Papal Court responsible for the proper and smooth conduct of the elegant and elaborate rituals involving the Pope and the sacred liturgy. He may also be an involved in the proper conduct of protocols and ceremonials involving the Roman Pontiff, the Papal Court. Examples of official liturgical books prescribing the rules and regulations of liturgical celebrations are Cæremoniale Romanum, the office of the Master of Ceremonies itself is very old. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the most ancient ceremonials and rituals of the Catholic Church are the Ordines Romani, names of Masters of Ceremonies are known since the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. However, copies of books prescribing the forms of rituals, rites and it is reasonable to assume that the ceremonials themselves pre-date Gelasius. However, documentary evidence from the late Roman period is scarce or lost, the ceremonies and practices of the Byzantine emperors are also known to have influenced the papal court. At a large Catholic church or cathedral, the Master of Ceremonies organizes and rehearses the proceedings and he may also have responsibility for the physical security of the place of worship during the liturgy. At major festivities such as Christmas and Easter, when the liturgies are long and complex, the current papal Master of Ceremonies is Monsignor Guido Marini, who succeeded Archbishop Piero Marini. Masters of Ceremonies at weddings and private events also ensure the coordination of their event, became an alternative title for a rapper and for their role within hip hop music and culture. The term is used as a term of distinction, referring to an artist with good performance skills. An MC focuses on skills, lyrical ability, and subject matter, in any comedy show, the compère is the host of the evenings events, but the precise role and responsibilities will vary depending on the country, venue and style of event. The compère will normally do longer bits at the start of the show and after any interval and they may also be required to make announcements, such as birthdays, anniversaries and bar promotions. In some circles the title Master of Ceremonies is also known as Minister of Ceremonies, in the 1940 Disney film, Fantasia, Deems Taylor is the films Master of Ceremonies. Media related to Master of ceremonies at Wikimedia Commons
6.
East Coast hip hop
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East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the New York City area during the 1970s. In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip hop music has prioritized complex lyrics for attentive listening rather than beats for dancing, the main components of hip hop culture from that time and still today are MCing, DJing, break dancing, and graffiti. In contrast to the rhyme pattern and scheme utilized in old school hip hop. It has also characterized by multi-syllabic rhymes, complex wordplay. East Coast hip hop has a sound and style, it tends to gravitate to aggressive beats. The aggressive and hard-hitting beats of the form were emphasized by such acts as EPMD and Public Enemy, & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, Nas, Notorious B. I. G and Slick Rick were noted for their lyrical skill. East coast hip hop is occasionally referred to as New York rap due to its origins, according to AllMusic, At the dawn of the hip-hop era, all rap was East Coast rap. Early artists of the form, including DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, the Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Jam Master Jay, pioneered East Coast hip hop during hip hops development. New York-based groups such as De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, later in 1992, Dr. Dres G-Funk record The Chronic would introduce West Coast hip hop to the mainstream. Along with an ability to retain its primary function as party music. Although G-Funk was the most popular variety of hip hop during the early 1990s, during this period, several New York City rappers rising from the local underground scene, began releasing noteworthy albums in the early and mid nineties. Black Moons 1993 debut, Enta Da Stage, was one of the first major recordings to emerge from New Yorks hardcore hip hop scene. The album has been credited with helping spark trends that would come to characterize this period in East Coast hip hop. The Notorious B. I. G. became the figure in East Coast hip hop during most of the 1990s. His success on the charts and rise to the mainstream drew more attention to New York at the time of West Coast hip hops dominance. His commercial success helped pave the way for the success of other East Coast rappers such as Jay-Z, many hip hop aficionados look favorably upon this period as a time of creative growth and influential recordings, describing it as The East Coast Renaissance. Music writer May Blaize of MVRemix Urban comments on the nostalgia felt among hip hop fans for records released during this time, wu-Tang brought the ruckus with 36 Chambers. The world was ours when Nas released Illmatic, Big L, the MVP, came out with Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous
7.
KRS-One
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Lawrence Parker, better known by his stage names KRS-One, and Teacha, is an American rapper and occasional producer from The Bronx, New York City, New York. KRS-One rose to prominence as part of the group Boogie Down Productions, following the release of the groups debut album, Criminal Minded, La Rock was shot dead, but KRS-One continued the group, effectively as a solo project. He began releasing records under his own name in 1993, KRS-One is politically active, having started the Stop the Violence Movement, after the death of Scott La Rock. Lawrence Parker was born in The Bronx, New York in 1965, by the time he met youth counselor Scott Sterling, he was also writing graffiti as KRS-One. DJ Scott La Rock, created Boogie Down Productions, releasing their album, Criminal Minded. KRS-One began his career as one third of the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions, or BDP. After being rejected by radio DJs Mr. Magic and Marley Marl, still, KRS-One dissed the song with the BDP record South Bronx. Next, a round of volleys would ensue with Shans Kill That Noise. KRS-One, demonstrating his nickname The Blastmaster, gave a performance against MC Shan. Many believe this live performance to be the first MC battle where rappers attack each other, Parker and Sterling decided to form a rap group together, initially calling themselves Scott La Rock and the Celebrity Three. That was short-lived, however, as the two peripheral members quit, leaving Parker and Sterling and they then decided to call themselves Boogie Down Productions. Success is the Word, a 12-inch single produced by David Kenneth Eng and Kenny Beck, was released on indie Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records, Boogie Down Productions released their debut album Criminal Minded in 1987. The album, whose cover pictured BDP draped in ammunition and brandishing guns, is credited with setting the template for the burgeoning genres of hardcore. Scott La Rock was killed in a shooting later that year, following the fatal shooting of Scott La Rock in 1987, KRS was determined to continue Boogie Down Productions through the tragedy, releasing the album By All Means Necessary in 1988. He was joined by beatboxer D-Nice, rapper Ramona Ms. Melodie Parker, KRS-One was the primary initiator behind the H. E. A. L. Compilation and the Stop the Violence Movement, for the latter he would attract many prominent emcees to appear on the 12-inch single Self Destruction, after five largely solo albums under the name Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One decided to set out on his own. On his first solo album, 1993s Return of the Boom Bap, Parker worked together with producers DJ Premier, Kid Capri and Showbiz and his second album, 1995s KRS-One, featured Channel Live on Free Mumia, a song in which they criticize Black Civil Rights Activist C. Other prominent guest stars on KRS-One included Mad Lion, Busta Rhymes, Das EFX, in 1991, KRS-One appeared on the alternative rock group R. E. M. s single Radio Song, which appeared on the bands album Out of Time, released the same year
8.
Beef (documentary)
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Beef is a 2003 American film documenting the history of hip-hop feuds. The films producers were Peter Spirer, Casey Suchan and Denis Henry Hennelly and it was written by Peter Alton and Peter Spirer, and was narrated by actor Ving Rhames. This film takes a look at battles dating back to rap musics infancy in the early 1980s. The notable rivalries discussed include KRS-One vs. MC Shan, Kool Moe Dee vs. Busy Bee,50 Cent vs. Murder Inc Records, Tru Life vs. Mobb Deep and it was partly born out of producer Joness belief that Beefs are killing hip-hop. Many prominent hip-hop personalities such as Russell Simmons, Snoop Dogg, Kool Moe Dee, Jay-Z, KRS-One, Mack 10, DMX, Beef also features newly released performances by many musical artists. Subsequent releases in this series include Beef II, Beef 3, and a BET series titled Beef, The Series and these sequels are a continuation of the original film, but cover lesser-known confrontations and developing beefs just prior to the release of each respective film. They include LL Cool J vs. Canibus, Ja Rule vs. DMX,50 Cent vs, the Game, Lil Flip vs. T. I. Nelly vs. Chingy, and Erick Sermon vs. EPMD partner Parrish Smith, in 2011, Spirer speculated on the possibility of a new film, suggesting he was a little tired of the he said/she said drama but he might produce further specials in future. Beef also features never-before seen performances by many of the participants and many others. Although Nate Dogg did not mention them by name, rappers B. G, knocc Out and Dresta were among the alleged participants in the fight. The Los Angeles Times called it engrossing and a lament for the way hip-hop once was. Complex rated it number 10 in its 25 best hiphop documentaries, calling it a classic hip hop doc
9.
Big Daddy Kane
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Antonio Hardy, better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper and actor who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap collective the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential, the name Big Daddy Kane came from a variation on Caine, David Carradines character from TV show Kung Fu and a character called Big Daddy Vincent Price played in the film Beach Party. In 1984, Kane became friends with Biz Markie, and he would some of Bizs best-known lyrics. Both eventually became important members of the Queens-based Juice Crew, a collective headed by renowned producer Marley Marl, Kane signed with Tyrone Williams’s and Len Fichtelberg’s Cold Chillin Records label in 1987 and debuted the same year with the 12 single Raw, which was an underground hit. Kane is known for his ability to syncopate over faster hip hop beats and his sense of style is renowned and set a number of late-1980s and early-1990s hip hop trends. The backronym King Asiatic Nobodys Equal is often applied to his moniker and he released his debut album on Cold Chillin Records in the early summer of 1988 called Long Live the Kane, which featured the hit Aint No Half Steppin. He also had a verse on the Marley Marl-produced track The Symphony released in late 1988, which included Juice Crew members Craig G, Masta Ace. Big Daddy Kane appeared on Patti Labelles 1991 effort, Burnin and he provided the rap chorus to the single Feels Like Another One. He also appeared on the video release Live in New York and he contributed the song Nuff Respect to the soundtrack of the film Juice, which starred Omar Epps and Tupac Shakur, further demonstrating his fast lyrical delivery. In 1991, Kane won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his performance on the Quincy Jones collaborative track Back on the Block off Back on the Block. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers during the age of hip hop, Kanes experimentation with R&B beats. Later albums, such as Looks Like a Job For…, were acclaimed, as an actor, he debuted in Mario Van Peebles 1993 western, Posse, and appeared in Robert Townsends 1993 film The Meteor Man. Big Daddy Kane also posed for Playgirl and Madonnas Sex book during the 1990s, in 1996, he collaborated with 2Pac on his song Where Ever U R. During the early 1990s, Jay-Z toured with Kane, and Kane helped him early on in his career - Ice-T says, Kane brought Jay-Z over to my house. Kane himself says that Jay-Z wasn’t technically his hypeman in the sense of the term—he wasn’t a hypeman. When I would leave the stage to go change outfits, I would bring out Jay-Z and Positive K, Jay-Z was also featured on Big Daddy Kane’s track ‘Show & Prove’ from Daddy’s Home, as well as in the video. In 1995, Kane recorded with MC Hammer and Tupac Shakur on the rap song Too Late Playa and he was also mentioned to signing with Death Row East in 1996. In 1997, Kane team up with Frankie Cutlass on his third single title The Cypher Part 3, in 1998, he released his final solo album Veteranz Day
10.
Old school hip-hop
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Old-School Hip Hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music, and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended. Old school hip hop is said to have ended around 1984 due to changes in both rapping technique and the music and rhythms. It is characterized by the simpler rapping techniques of the time, old-school hip hop is noted for its relatively simple rapping techniques compared to later hip-hop music. Artists such as Melle Mel would use few syllables per bar of music, with simple rhythms, much of the subject matter of old school hip hop centers around partying and having a good time. In the book How to Rap, Immortal Technique explains how party content played a big part in old school hip hop, hip-hop was born in an era of social turmoil, in the same way that slaves used to sing songs on a plantation. Thats the party songs that we used to have, as mentioned earlier, a notable exception is the song The Message, which was written, produced and mainly rapped by Duke Bootee. It was offered to Grandmaster Flash and he turned it down, citing that no one wanted to hear reality, Melle Mel however contacted Duke Bootee afterward and expressed that he did want to take part. Melle Mel rapped the verse he rapped in 1979s Super Rappin on the Message, once the song was completed it was released under the banner of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five in order to give it some credibility. The song was a hit and introduced social commentary to hip hop, Duke Bootee solely produced and rapped The Message II with Melle Mel again in 1983. Battle rap was also a part of the old school hip hop aesthetic, while discussing battle rapping, Esoteric said, a lot of my stuff stems from old school hip-hop, braggadocio ethic. A famous old school hip hop battle occurred in December 1981 when Kool Moe Dee challenged Busy Bee Starski. Busy Bee Starskis defeat by the more complex raps of Kool Moe Dee meant that no longer was an MC just a crowd-pleasing comedian with a tongue, he was a commentator. KRS-One also credits this as creating a shift in rapping in the documentary Beef, sci-Fi/Afrofuturism was another theme introduced into hip hop. The release of Planet Rock in 1982 was a game changer, the combination of electronic percussive propulsion and Afrika Bambaataas rap sounded like an orchestra being rocketed into outer space. Light Years Away, by Warp 9, produced and written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scher, a cornerstone of early 80s beatbox afrofuturism, Light Years Away, is characterized as a brilliantly spare and sparse piece of electro hip-hop traversing inner and outer space. Freestyle rap during hip-hops old school era was defined differently than it is today, Kool Moe Dee refers to this earlier definition in his book, Theres a God on the Mic, There are two types of freestyle. Theres an old-school freestyle thats basically rhymes that youve written that may not have anything to do with any subject or that all over the place. Then theres freestyle where you come off the top of the head, in old school hip hop, Kool Moe Dee says that improvisational rapping was instead called coming off the top of the head
11.
Ego trip (magazine)
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Ego Trip was a hip hop magazine started in New York City in 1994. It lasted four years and 13 issues and distinguished based on its irreverence and defiant attitude, eventually adopting the tagline. The roots of the publication began with a hip hop newspaper called Beat-Down Newspaper, founded by Haji Akhigbade, Sacha and Haji met and brought aboard both Elliott Wilson and later Jefferson Chairman Mao. All three also had extensive freelance backgrounds writing for publications such as Rap Pages, Vibe. Technically, Jenkins and Wilson founded Ego Trip, though Mao was a part of the staff from the first issue and eventually became editor-in-chief after Jenkins left to become music editor at Vibe. Likewise, the core member, Gabriel Alvarez, was formerly an editor at the Los Angeles-based Rap Pages until Ego Trip recruited him. The last core member was designer Brent Rollins who joined the magazine in their third year, Ego Trip covered a range of so-called underground scenes, including skateboarders and punk/indie rockers before those scenes became as commonplace as they are today. However, it was most identified as a hip hop magazine and their second book Ego Trips Big Book of Racism. Spawned a relationship with the VH1 cable network, the staff have written and produced three television shows for the cable network, including TVs Illest Minority Moments presented by Ego Trip, the three-part Ego Trips Race-O-Rama. Ego Trips The Rapper Show, and Ego Trips Miss Rap Supreme, Ego Trip is currently authoring a book on the history of white rappers. Ego trips Big Book of Racism
12.
Boogie Down Productions
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Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group, originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27,1987, five months after the release of BDPs debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the South Bronx section of The Bronx, the membership of BDP changed continuously throughout its existence, the only constant being KRS-One. From those beginnings, BDP members and collaborators included Lee Smith, Scott La Rock, D-Nice, Kenny Parker, Mad Lion, DJ Premier, Just-Ice, ICU Channel Live, McBoo, Ms. Melodie, Heather B. Scottie Morris, Tony Rahsan, Willie D. RoboCop, Harmony, DJ Red Alert, Jay Kramer, D-Square, Rebekah Foster, Scott Whitehill, Scott King, Chris Tait and Sidney Mills. BDP as a group essentially ended because KRS-One began recording and performing under his own rather than the group name. Original member Lee Smith, who has co-producer credit on the original 12” South Bronx single, was the last to be jettisoned by KRS-One. In the liner notes on BDPs 1992 album Sex and Violence, KRS-One writes, BDP in 1992 is KRS-One, Willie D, BDP is not D-Nice, Jamal-ski, Harmony, Ms. Melodie, and Scottie Morris. They are not down with BDP so stop frontin, steve Flash Juon of RapReviews. com claimed that this initiated the ultimate breakup of the group. The origins of hip-hop to many, including BDP, are believed to be from the Bronx, a rival hip-hop collective known as the Juice Crews lyrics were misunderstood to contain a claim in the song The Bridge that hip hop was directly a result of artists originating from Queensbridge. The Bridge Wars, however, were only short-lived, and after the death of Scott La Rock prior to the second album. While Criminal Minded contained vivid descriptions of South Bronx street life, producer Lee Smith was dropped and KRS-One adopted the Teacha moniker and made a deliberate attempt at creating politically and socially conscious Hip-Hop. BDP was hugely influential in provoking political and social consciousness in Hip-Hop however the group was overshadowed by the political hip hop group Public Enemy. Jamaican inspirations The Jamaican influence present in Criminal Minded is well illustrated by the use of the Mad Mad or Diseases riddim started in 1981 with reggae star Yellowmans song Zunguzung. BDP used this riff in the song Remix for P is Free, as an album regarded by many as the start of the gangsta rap movement, Criminal Minded played an important role in reaffirming the social acceptance of having Jamaican roots. BDP referenced reggae in a way that helped to solidify Jamaicas place in modern hip-hop culture, the influence of BDP in the creation and development of gangsta rap highlights the cultural significance and impact of the type of music BDP and other early hip-hop artists like it created. This subgenre of hip-hop is most closely associated with hard-core hip-hop and is misinterpreted as promoting violence. This misinterpretation or stigma is closely related to Boogie Down Productions, for instance, the cover art of Criminal Minded displays the two artists in this group brandishing drawn guns and displaying other firearms
13.
LL Cool J
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James Todd Smith, known professionally as LL Cool J, is an American rapper, actor, author, and entrepreneur from Queens, New York. LL Cool J is also known as one of the forefathers of pop rap and he has released 13 studio albums and two greatest hits compilations. His twelfth album Exit 13, was his last for his deal with Def Jam Recordings. His latest album, Authentic, was released in April 2013, in 2010, VH1 considered him to be in their 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time list. LL Cool J has also appeared in films, including In Too Deep, Any Given Sunday. He currently stars in a role as NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna, on the CBS crime drama television series NCIS. LL Cool J is also the host of Lip Sync Battle on Spike, LL Cool J was born James Todd Smith on January 14,1968, in Bay Shore, New York, the son of Ondrea Griffeth and James Louis Smith, Jr. In an episode of Finding Your Roots, LL learned his mother was adopted by Eugene Griffith, the series genetic genealogist CeCe Moore identified LLs biological grandparents as Ethel Mae Jolly and Nathaniel Christy Lewis through analysis of his DNA. LLs biological great-uncle was hall of fame boxer, John Henry Lewis and he began rapping at age 9 and was influenced by hip-hop group The Treacherous Three. His grandfather, a jazz saxophonist, bought him $2,000 worth of equipment, Smith later discussed his childhood background and rapping, stating that By the time I got that equipment, I was already a rapper. In this neighborhood, the kids grow up in rap and its like speaking Spanish if you grow up in an all-Spanish house. I got into it when I was about 9, and since then all I wanted was to make a record and hear it on the radio. In a VH1 documentary, LL Cool J, at 14 years of age, revealed that he wanted to call himself J-Ski. Under his new name, LL Cool J, Smith was signed by Def Jam, which led to the release of his first official record. The single was a hard-hitting, streetwise b-boy song with spare beats, Smith later discussed his search for a label, stating I sent my demo to many different companies, but it was Def Jam where I found my home. That same year, Smith made his debut concert performance at Manhattan Center High School. In a later interview, LL Cool J recalled the experience, stating They pushed the lunch room tables together and me and my DJ, Cut Creator, as soon as it was over there were girls screaming and asking for autographs. Right then and there I said This is what I want to do, LLs debut single sold over 100,000 copies and helped establish both Def Jam as a label and Smith as a rapper
14.
MC Hammer
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Stanley Kirk Burrell, better known by his stage name M. C. Hammer, is an American hip hop recording artist, dancer, record producer, entrepreneur and he had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s, until the late 1990s. Remembered for his rise to fame, Hammer is known for hit records, flashy dance movements, choreography. Hammer is considered a forefather/pioneer and innovator of pop rap, and is the first hip hop artist to achieve diamond status for an album, regardless, BET ranked Hammer as the #7 Best Dancer Of All Time. Vibes The Best Rapper Ever Tournament declared him the 17th favorite of all-time during the first round, Burrell became a preacher during the late 1990s with a Christian ministry program on TBN called M. C. Prior to becoming ordained, Hammer signed with Suge Knights Death Row Records by 1995, throughout his career, Hammer has managed his own recording business. As a result, he has created and produced his own acts including Oaktowns 3.5.7, Special Generation, Analise, DRS, B Angie B, stanley Kirk Burrell was born on March 30,1962 in Oakland, California. His father was a poker player and gambling casino manager. He grew up poor with his mother and eight siblings in an apartment in East Oakland. He recalled that six children were crammed into a housing project apartment. The Burrells would also frequent thoroughbred horse races, eventually becoming owners and winners of several graded stakes, in the Oakland Coliseum parking lot the young Burrell would sell stray baseballs and dance accompanied by a beatboxer. Oakland As team owner Charles O. Finley saw the 11-year-old doing splits and hired him as an assistant and batboy as a result of his energy. Burrell served as a batboy with the team from 1973 to 1980, the colorful Finley, who lived in Chicago, used the child as his eyes and ears. I nicknamed him Hammer, because he looked like Hank Aaron, team players, including Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Pedro Garcia, also dubbed Burrell Little Hammer due to his resemblance to Aaron. Ron Bergman, at the time an Oakland Tribune writer who covered the As, recalled that, He was an informant in the clubhouse, an informant for Charlie, according to Hammer, Charlie said, Im getting you a new hat. I dont want you to have a hat that says As on it, Im getting you a hat that says Ex VP, that says Executive Vice President. Youre running the joint around here, every time I come down to the clubhouse, you know, Rollie would yell out Oh, everybody be quiet. He acquired the nickname M. C. for being a Master of Ceremonies which he used when he began performing at clubs while on the road with the As
15.
Dr. Dre
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Andre Romelle Young, better known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, Dre was previously the co-owner of, and an artist on, Death Row Records. He has produced albums for and overseen the careers of many rappers, including 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Xzibit, Knoc-turnal,50 Cent, The Game and Kendrick Lamar. He is credited as a key figure in the popularization of West Coast G-funk, in 1996, he left Death Row Records to establish his own label, Aftermath Entertainment. He produced an album titled Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath in 1996. During the 2000s, he focused on production for other artists, Dr. Dre signed Eminem in 1998 and 50 Cent in 2002 to his record label respectively, while contributing production on their albums. He has won six Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Dr. Dre has also had acting roles in movies such as Set It Off, The Wash and Training Day. Rolling Stone ranked Dre at 56 on their list of 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time, Young was born in Compton, California, the first child of Theodore and Verna Young. His middle name, Romelle, is derived from his fathers amateur R&B singing group and his parents married in 1964, separated in 1968, and divorced in 1972. His mother later remarried and had three children, sons Jerome and Tyree and daughter Shameka, in 1976, Young began attending Vanguard Junior High School in Compton, but due to gang violence, he transferred to the safer suburban Roosevelt Junior High School. Young is the cousin of producer Sir Jinx and he attended Centennial High School in Compton during his freshman year in 1979, but transferred to Fremont High School in South Central Los Angeles due to poor grades. Young attempted to enroll in a program at Northrop Aviation Company. Thereafter, he focused on his life and entertainment for the remainder of his high school years. Young fathered a son with Cassandra Joy Greene named Curtis, Curtis was brought up by his mother and first met his father 20 years later, when Curtis became rapper Hood Surgeon. Inspired by the Grandmaster Flash song The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel, he attended a club called Eve After Dark to watch many DJs. He subsequently became a DJ in the club, initially under the name Dr. J, based on the nickname of Julius Erving, at the club, he met aspiring rapper Antoine Carraby, later to become member DJ Yella of N. W. A. Soon afterwards he adopted the moniker Dr. Dre, a mix of previous alias Dr. J and his first name, Eve After Dark had a back room with a small four-track studio. In this studio, Dre and Yella recorded several demos, in their first recording session, they recorded a song entitled Surgery, with the lyrics calling Dr. Dre to surgery serving as the chorus to the song
16.
Snoop Dogg
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Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. known professionally as Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper and actor from Long Beach, California. His music career began in 1992 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre of N. W. A and he has since sold over twenty-three million albums in the United States and thirty-five million albums worldwide. Snoops debut album, Doggystyle, was released in 1993 under Death Row Records, Selling almost a million copies in the first week of its release, Doggystyle became certified 4× platinum in 1994 and spawned several hit singles, including Whats My Name. and Gin & Juice. In 1994 Snoop released a soundtrack on Death Row Records for the short film Murder Was The Case and his second album Tha Doggfather, also debuted at number one on both charts with Snoops Upside Ya Head, as the lead single. The album was certified platinum in 1997. After leaving Death Row Records, Snoop signed with No Limit Records, Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told, No Limit Top Dogg, and Tha Last Meal. Snoop then signed with Priority/Capitol/EMI Records in 2002, where he released Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss and he then signed with Geffen Records in 2004 for his next three albums R&G, The Masterpiece, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, and Ego Trippin. Malice n Wonderland, and Doggumentary, were released on Priority, Snoop Dogg has starred in motion pictures and hosted several television shows, including Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, Snoop Doggs Father Hood, and Dogg After Dark. He also coaches a youth league and high school football team. In September 2009, Snoop was hired by EMI as the chairman of a reactivated Priority Records, in 2012, after a trip to Jamaica, Snoop announced a conversion to the Rastafari movement and a new alias, Snoop Lion. Under the new moniker, he released an album, Reincarnated. His fourteenth solo album, Coolaid, was released in July 2016. Snoop Dogg holds the distinction of having seventeen Grammy nominations without a win. Snoop Dogg was born Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. in Long Beach, California and he was named after his stepfather, Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Sr. His father, Vernell Varnado, was a Vietnam veteran, singer, as a boy, his parents nicknamed him Snoopy because of his appearance, but they usually addressed him as Calvin at home. His mother and stepfather divorced in 1975, when he was very young, Broadus began singing and playing piano at the Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church. In sixth grade, he began rapping, as a teenager, Snoop Dogg frequently ran into trouble with the law. He was a member of the Rollin 20 Crips gang in the Eastside of Long Beach, shortly after graduating from high school, he was arrested for possession of cocaine, and for the following three years, was frequently in and out of prison
17.
Luther Campbell
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Luther Roderick Campbell, also known as Luke Skyywalker and simply Luke, is an American record label owner, rap performer, promoter, and actor. He is best known as a member and leader of rap group 2 Live Crew. The Miami New Times described Campbell as the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U. S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech. Born in Miami, Florida, Campbells work as a performer can be characterized as Southern rap, the sexual content of his groups lyrics caused controversy and led to legal cases. Usually, Campbell does not rap but rather shouts or chants—very often in a call and response manner, with him calling and he was not an original member of the 2 Live Crew, only joining them after their first steps as a California rap crew. Only through Campbell did they become Southern rappers, while working as a cook at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach, Campbell was a concert promoter in Miami, bringing popular rap groups of the early 1980s to the city. In 1983, he enrolled in a study course at public radio station WDNA, learning basic audio editing. In 1985,2 Live Crews initial single was a hit on the South Florida club circuit. He took a special interest in the group and began managing them, when 2 Live Crews contracts with Luke Records ended in 1991, the groups producer Mr. Mixx left the group and returned to California. However, the group did decide to do a sequel to their biggest album, however, by the time of the albums completion, they sought to make it appear as if the group was totally intact. Shortly after, all members of the group drew up a lawsuit against Luke for unpaid royalties, a settlement was reached for the remaining plaintiffs. Hobbs and Ross sold their entire catalog, and rights to the 2 Live Crew tradename, to Luke Records, Luke released a solo record in 1991 entitled I Wanna Rock, but he remained true to his call and response style rather than rapping, and hired outside producers. The song is seen as a point in Miami Bass. He released it on the heels of the final 2 Live Crew album and it is suggested that Luke wanted his solo song to be seen as the next 2 Live Crew single, despite not having rights to the groups name. Lil Jon has a style not too dissimilar from Luke—in any case. Crunk music may be seen as the heir of Campbells brand of Miami bass—both lyrically and musically. Lukes latest album, My Life & Freaky Times, was released in March 2006 and featured Trick Daddy, Petey Pablo, Jacki-O, Pitbull, Dirtbag, Campbell was also infamous in the late 1980s–early 1990s for his association with the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. Campbell was interviewed about his involvement with the Miami Hurricanes for the documentary The U, in 1994, Campbell co-founded Liberty City Optimists, an intercity youth sports program
18.
Common (rapper)
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Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. better known by his stage name Common, is an American rapper, actor, film producer and poet from Chicago, Illinois. Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar, and maintained a significant underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. Commons first major-label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received critical acclaim. His first Grammy Award was in 2003, winning Best R&B Song for Love of My Life and its popularity was matched by May 2005s Be, which was nominated for Best Rap Album, at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for Southside and his best-of album, Thisisme Then, The Best of Common, was released on November 27,2007. He also narrated the award-winning documentary Bouncing Cats, about one mans efforts to improve the lives of children in Uganda through hip-hop/b-boy culture and he starred as Elam Ferguson on the AMC western television series Hell on Wheels. Common was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois and he was raised in the Calumet Heights neighborhood. He is the son of educator Dr. Mahalia Ann Hines and they divorced when he was six years old, resulting in his fathers moving to Denver, Colorado. This left Common to be raised by his mother, but his father remained active in his life, while a student at Luther High School South in Chicago, Lynn with his friends, record producer and Corey Crawley formed C. D. R. A rap trio that opened for acts that included N. W. A, Common attended Florida A&M University for two years under a scholarship and majored in business administration. After being featured in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source magazine, Lynn debuted in 1992 with the single Take It EZ, with the 1994 release of Resurrection, Common achieved a much larger degree of critical acclaim, which extended beyond Chicago natives. The album sold well and received a strong positive reaction among alternative. Resurrection was Commons last album produced almost entirely by his production partner. In 1996, Common appeared on the Red Hot Organizations compilation CD, America Is Dying Slowly, alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, the CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as a masterpiece by The Source magazine. He would later contribute to the Red Hot Organizations Fela Kuti tribute album. He collaborated with Djelimady Tounkara on a remake of Kutis track, Years of Tears, the song I Used to Love H. E. R. from Resurrection ignited a feud with West Coast rap group Westside Connection. The lyrics of the song criticized the hip hop music was taking and was interpreted by some as directing blame towards the popularity of West Coast Gangsta rap. Westside Connection first responded with the 1995 song Westside Slaughterhouse, with the lyrics Used to love H. E. R, Westside Connection recorded tracks venting their issues with rival East Coast rappers
19.
Ice Cube (rapper)
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OShea Jackson Sr. known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor and filmmaker. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C. I. A. after leaving N. W. A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music and films such as a role in drama Boyz n the Hood. Additionally, he has served as one of the producers of the Showtime television series Barbershop, both of which are based upon films in which he portrayed the main character. Ice Cube is considered one of the artists in gangsta rap. He was ranked number 8 on MTVs list of the 10 Greatest MCs of All Time, allMusic has called him one of hip-hops best and most controversial artists, as well as one of raps greatest storytellers. In 2012, The Source ranked him number 14 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time, in 2014, About. com ranked him number 11 on their list of the 50 Greatest MCs of All Time. He has a brother as well as a half-sister who was killed when Ice Cube was 12. In his early teens, Ice Cube developed an interest in hip hop music, Jackson penned his first rap song in the ninth grade after a friend, whom Jackson names Kiddo, challenged him to write a song during a typewriting class. He claims Kiddo lost the challenge, on the origins of his rapper name, Ice Cube says that it came from his older brother. He is quoted as saying He threatened to slam me into a freezer, I just started using that name, and it just caught on. At the age of 16, Jackson sold his first song to future N. W. A. member Eazy-E, Jackson also attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California. He enrolled at the Phoenix Institute of Technology in the fall of 1987 in Arizona, being passionate about architecture, he studied architectural drafting. He completed his diploma within one year and returned to Los Angeles to pursue a rap career, not sure of whether his rap career would work out, he would turn to become an architecture draftsman as a career backup. With friend Sir Jinx, Ice Cube formed the C. I. A. Dre soon entered the recording industry as a member of the World Class Wreckin Cru. Dre saw Cubes potential as a writer and had him assist with writing Wreckin Crus big L. A. hit track, Stereo Crew produced a twelve-inch record, Shes a Skag released on Epic Records in 1986. While Dr. Dre was DJing at L. A. dance club Eve After Dark, Ice Cube would rap over his music, one such example of this was the song My Penis, a parody of Run-DMCs My Adidas. In a 2015 interview, club-owner Alonzo Williams said that he felt that this damaged his reputation. In 1987, Ice Cube released the Dr. Dre produced single My Posse under with his group C. I. A, after the collaboration, Ice Cube showed Eazy-E the lyrics to Boyz-n-the-Hood
20.
Canibus
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Germaine Williams, better known by his stage name Canibus, is an American rapper and actor. He is a member of The HRSMN, Sharpshooterz, Cloak N Dagga, The Undergods, Canibus rose to fame in the mid-nineties. About. com placed him at number 32 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time, germaine Williams was born on December 9,1974 in Kingston, Jamaica. He is of West African descent and his father, Basil Williams, was a Jamaican and West Indian cricketer. The family moved frequently, living in The Bronx, Newark, New Jersey, Washington, Atlanta, Miami, Buffalo, and London due to his mothers career requiring constant relocation. Canibus stated that he was a child growing up. After completing high school in 1992, he spent a year working for AT&T Corporation and his interest in computers and the Internet led him to study computer science at DeKalb College in Atlanta. He began rhyming in the early 90s and by 1992 under the name Canibus Sativa, split and Canibus teamed with businessman Charles Suitt. That same year Charles Suitt introduced Canibus to platinum produced Frankie Cutlass, in December 1997, Canibus first publicly discussed a verbal confrontation with LL Cool J in an interview with Tourè for The Village Voice. Also attending the interview was John Forté, DMX, Big Pun, Mos Def, the roundtable discussion was recorded by Kurt Nice and featured in Shades of Hip Hop compilation Hot 2 Def in 1998 and re-released in 2004 on Shades of Hip Hop, The Cypher. Canibus debut album Can-I-Bus was released on September 8,1998, the song Second Round K. O. produced by Wyclef Jean, was a success, with the video featuring Wyclef and a cameo appearance by boxer Mike Tyson. The album contained a lot of material, such as corruption within the U. S. government, AIDS. Canibus had a feud with LL Cool J over a verse that Canibus gave on LLs track 4,3,2,1 from his album Phenomenon, the track featured Canibus, Method Man, Redman, and DMX. Canibuss verse began with the line Yo LL, is that a mic on your arm, let me borrow that, referring to the microphone tattoo on LL Cool Js arm which LL Cool J interpreted as Canibus insulting him. When the final cut of the song came out it featured LL Cool Js verse after Canibuss, mocking an unspecified person believed to be Canibus. Said album,2000 B. C.2000 B. C. featured the first collaboration between Canibus and Kurupt, Ras Kass and Killah Priest, a rap supergroup collectively known as The HRSMN, on the track Horsementality. Wyclef Jean would respond to Canibuss earlier remark on the track However You Want It from his album, whether or not those recordings will appear on the album has not been determined yet. In 2001, Canibus released his album, C True Hollywood Stories
21.
Eyedea
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Micheal David Larsen, better known by his stage name Eyedea, was an American musician, rapper and poet. He was a freestyle battle champion and songwriter from Saint Paul, Larsen had appeared as a solo artist under the pseudonym Oliver Hart, and as the MC half of the duo Eyedea & Abilities. He was first signed under Slugs independent hip-hop label Rhymesayers Entertainment before founding his own record label Crushkill Recordings, Eyedea first stepped into the hip-hop scene battling against other emcees at notable freestyle competitions. Notable wins included a victory at Scribble Jam and the televised Blaze Battle sponsored by HBO, notable hip-hop outlets have labeled Eyedea as a freestyle pioneer. Eyedea has released numerous albums alongside DJ Abilities where the two performed under the duo name Eyedea & Abilities, in 2001, Eyedea & Abilities released their debut studio album First Born, which included their successful single Big Shots. The single was chosen to appear on Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4. In 2004, Eyedea & Abilities released their studio album titled E&A. In July 2009, Eyedea & Abilities released their third and final album called By the Throat. In 2014, Eyedea ranked #2 on Abbey Magazines Top 25 greatest freestyle emcees of all-time, Eyedea grew up near Saint Paul, Minnesota with his mother Kathy Averill, who gave birth to him when she was seventeen years old. He is of Irish and Lebanese descent and he attended Highland Park Senior High School. Eyedea became known as a battle MC, touring the circuit between 1997 and 2001, during this time, he won top prizes at Scribble Jam 99, the Rock Steady Anniversary 2000, and Blaze Battle New York 2000. These battles included him beating notable artists such as Immortal Technique, P. E. A. C. E, in 1999, he made his first national appearance on the Anticon compilation, Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop. He also toured extensively as second MC and support DJ for Atmosphere, in 2001, he released First Born with his partner DJ Abilities. In 2002, under his pen name Oliver Hart, he released the self-produced The Many Faces of Oliver Hart, or, in 2004, he reunited with Abilities to release the self-titled album E&A. All of Eyedeas releases have been on the Rhymesayers record label, with the exception of the Carbon Carousel EP, in addition to touring independently and with Rhymesayers labelmates and members of Face Candy, Eyedea & Abilities participated in the Def Jux-sponsored Who Killed the Robots. He was signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment and collaborated with Slug of the hip hop group Atmosphere as well as Sage Francis, Aesop Rock. He was also a member of the hip hop collective and super group The Orphanage along with Slug, Aesop Rock, Blueprint, although never releasing a full CD to the public, songs were recorded and released. After Eyedea released This Is Where We Were, recorded with his live freestyle rap/jazz group Face Candy, he created Carbon Carousel and they have released one EP, entitled The Some of All Things, or, The Healing Power of Scab Picking
22.
Sage Francis
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Paul William Sage Francis is an American hip hop recording artist and spoken word poet from Providence, Rhode Island. He is a founder of Strange Famous Records, Francis began writing and recording original lyrics at age 8, being inspired by acts such as Run DMC and Public Enemy. According to artistdirect. com, Francis began sneaking out of his parents house at age 12 to participate in rap battles, in 1996, he recorded his first official demo tape, and by 1998 he had a radio show on WRIU called True School Session. He won the Superbowl MC Battle in Boston in 1999, beating Esoteric, Francis is a founder and CEO of the independent hip hop record label Strange Famous Records. The label first began as a way for him to release his previously unreleased songs in the late 1990s and it has since evolved into an official enterprise with an expanding roster of like-minded artists. He released several Sick Of mixtapes available on his website, Francis won the Scribble Jam emcee battle in 2000, beating Blueprint. In 2001, the song Makeshift Patriot, recorded on October 11,2001, became an Internet hit for its critique of American media during, and immediately following and he released the critically acclaimed first solo album Personal Journals in 2002. He signed to Epitaph Records, making himself the first hip hop artist to sign with the rock label. He subsequently released three albums with Epitaph Records, A Healthy Distrust, Human the Death Dance and Lie and he made a guest appearance on Bad Religions The Empire Strikes First on the track Let Them Eat War. Francis is also part of the spoken word movement. His relationship with the Providence poetry slam community led to it being called The House that Sage Francis Built, from 2000 to 2002, he also DJ-ed for the NYC-Urbana poetry slam, a weekly slam series held at the legendary punk rock venue CBGB. Francis has done live shows as well, whether it was battling during Scribble Jam, or doing live shows. He has performed shows with Atmosphere, Brother Ali, and Eyedea & Abilities, in 2014 he released his Copper Gone album and announced national and international tour dates. Shows were scheduled in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, other American dates have been scheduled in December 2014 with B. Dolan who is also on Strange Famous Records, Francis received a degree in communications from Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts and a degree in journalism from the University of Rhode Island. Personal Journals Hope A Healthy Distrust Human the Death Dance Lie Copper Gone Sick of Waiting, Interview with Sage Francis 2010 Interview, Sage Francis | The Find Magazine
23.
HBO
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Home Box Office is an American premium cable and satellite television network that is owned by Time Warner through its respective flagship company Home Box Office, Inc. HBO is the oldest and longest continuously operating pay television service in the United States, in 2014, HBO had an adjusted operating income of US$1.79 billion, compared to the US$1.68 billion it accrued in 2013. HBO has 49 million subscribers in the United States and 130 million worldwide as of 2016, the network provides seven 24-hour multiplex channels, including HBO Comedy, HBO Latino, HBO Signature and HBO Family. It launched the streaming service HBO Now in April 2015, and has over 2 million subscribers in the United States as of February 2017. In addition to its U. S. subscriber base, HBO distributes content in at least 151 countries, HBO subscribers generally pay for an extra tier of service that includes other cable- and satellite-exclusive channels even before paying for the channel itself. Cable providers can require the use of a converter box – usually digital – in order to receive HBO, many HBO programs have been syndicated to other networks and broadcast television stations, and a number of HBO-produced series and films have been released on DVD. The new system, which Dolan named Sterling Information Services, became the first urban underground cable system in the United States. In that same year, Time-Life, Inc. purchased a 20% stake in Dolans company, in the summer of 1971, while on a family vacation in France, Charles Dolan began to think of ideas to make Sterling Manhattan profitable. He came up with the concept for a television service. Dolan later presented his idea to Time-Life management, though satellite distribution seemed only a distant possibility at the time, he persuaded Time-Life to back him on the project. To gauge whether consumers would be interested in subscribing to a pay television service, in a meeting of Dolan and some Time-Life executives who were working on the project, various other names were discussed for the new service. Home Box Office launched on November 8,1972, however, HBOs launch came without fanfare in the press, as it was not covered by any local or national media outlets. Home Box Office distributed its first sports event immediately after the film, Four months later in February 1973, Home Box Office aired its first television special, the Pennsylvania Polka Festival. Home Box Office would use a network of relay towers to distribute its programming to cable systems throughout its service area. Sterling Manhattan Cable continued to lose money because the company had only a small base of 20,000 customers in Manhattan. Time-Life dropped the Sterling name and the company was renamed Manhattan Cable Television under Time-Lifes control in March 1973, Gerald Levin, who had been with Home Box Office since it began operations as its vice president of programming, replaced Dolan as the companys president and chief executive officer. In September 1973, Time-Life, Inc. completed its acquisition of the pay service. HBO would eventually increase its fortunes within two years, by April 1975, the service had around 100,000 subscribers in Pennsylvania and New York state, in 1974, they settled on using a geostationary communications satellite to transmit HBO to cable providers throughout the United States
24.
MTV
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MTV is an American cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom Media Networks and headquartered in New York City. Launched on August 1,1981, the originally aired music videos as guided by television personalities known as video jockeys. In its early years, MTVs main target demographic was young adults and it has received criticism towards this change of focus, both by certain segments of its audience and musicians. MTVs influence on its audience, including issues involving censorship and social activism, has also been a subject of debate for several years, in recent years, MTV had struggled with the secular decline of music-related cable media. In April 2016, MTV announced it would start to return to its original music roots with the reintroduction of the classic MTV series MTV Unplugged. It was also reported that the series MTV Cribs would be making a return on Snapchat, MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the US and affiliated channels internationally, some of which have gone independent. As of July 2015, approximately 92,188,000 US households have received MTV, several earlier concepts for music video-based television programming had been around since the early 1960s. The Beatles had used music videos to promote their records starting in the mid-1960s, CBS rejected the idea, but Williams premiered his own musical composition Classical Gas on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, where he was head writer. The series featured clips from various popular artists, but was canceled by its distributor in 1971. The channel, which featured video disc jockeys, signed a deal with US Cable in 1978 to expand its audience from retail to cable television, the service was no longer active by the time MTV launched in 1981. The QUBE system offered many specialized channels, One of these specialized channels was Sight on Sound, a music channel that featured concert footage and music-oriented television programs. With the interactive QUBE service, viewers could vote for their favorite songs, the original programming format of MTV was created by media executive Robert W. Pittman, who later became president and chief executive officer of MTV Networks. Pittman had test-driven the music format by producing and hosting a 15-minute show, Album Tracks, the inspiration for PopClips came from a similar program on New Zealands TVNZ network named Radio with Pictures, which premiered in 1976. The concept itself had been in the works since 1966, when record companies began supplying the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation with promotional music clips to play on the air at no charge. Few artists made the trip to New Zealand to appear live. A shortened version of the shuttle launch ID ran at the top of hour in various forms. The first music video shown on MTV was The Buggles Video Killed the Radio Star and this was followed by the video for Pat Benatars You Better Run. Sporadically, the screen would go black when an employee at MTV inserted a tape into a VCR, MTVs lower third graphics that appeared near the beginning and end of music videos would eventually use the recognizable Kabel typeface for about 25 years
25.
8 Mile (film)
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8 Mile is a 2002 American drama film written by Scott Silver, directed by Curtis Hanson, and starring Eminem, Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, Michael Shannon, and Kim Basinger. Filmed mostly on location in Detroit and its areas, the film was both a critical and financial success. Eminem won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Lose Yourself, in Fall 1995 in Detroit, Jimmy B-Rabbit Smith Jr. a blue-collar worker from a poor family, struggles with various aspects of his life. He has moved north of 8 Mile Road to the rundown trailer home in Warren, Michigan of his alcoholic mother Stephanie, his little sister Lily. Although encouraged by his friends who hail him as a rap music artist. This causes him to panic during a rap battle one night at a club called The Shelter, Jimmy works at an automotive factory, but when he asks for extra shifts, his supervisor dismisses his request on account of his habitual tardiness. Jimmy befriends a woman named Alex, over time Jimmy begins to take more responsibility for the direction of his life. When he exhibits an improved attitude and performance at work, his supervisor grants him the extra shifts he requested, at work one day, Jimmy sees a rap battle in which a worker named Mike insults a gay co-worker Paul with his lyrics. Jimmy joins the battle to defend Paul by insulting Mike, Alex is impressed by this and she and Jimmy have sex in the factory. Wink arranges for Jimmy to meet with producers at a recording studio, enraged, he beats up Wink and their friendship is ended. In retaliation, Wink and the Leaders of the Free World attack, the leader of the gang, Papa Doc, holds Jimmy at gunpoint, threatening to kill him but Wink dissuades Papa Doc. Jimmys best friend Future pushes him to get his revenge by competing against the Leaders of the Free World at the rap battle. However Jimmys late-night shift conflicts with the battle tournament. But a goodbye visit from Alex, who is moving to New York, Paul, the co-worker whom Jimmy had stood up for, agrees to cover for him at work, and Jimmy enters the battle. In each of the three rounds of the battle, Jimmy is pitted against a different member of the Leaders, in the last round he is paired against Papa Doc. With nothing to say in rebuttal, Clarence hands the microphone back to Future, after being congratulated by Alex and his friends, Future offers him a position hosting battles at The Shelter. Jimmy declines, saying he has to get back to work and he walks back to work, with a renewed sense of confidence about his future. Eminem as Jimmy B-Rabbit Smith, Jr. Jackson as a Chin Tiki club-goer 8 Mile received generally positive reviews, with praising the music
26.
106 & Park
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106 & Park was an American hip hop and R&B music video show set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast Monday to Friday at 6/5c on BET. Since its inception, it had been the networks number-one rated show, on November 14,2014, BET cancelled 106 & Park. The show was produced in Harlem, New York City. Viacoms acquisition of BET prompted a change to the CBS Broadcast Center at 524 West 57th Street between 10th & 11th Avenues, in the Hells Kitchen section of Midtown Manhattan, around this time, Terrence J would be guest co-host the show with Julissa. And notable celebrities hosted the show as well, on July 6,2006, Rocsi, who was a radio host on Power 92.3 in Chicago in the afternoon, and Terrence Jenkins became the hosts after winning the BET New Faces Contest. On May 29,2012, Rocsi and Terrence J announced they would be leaving 106 & Park in 2012, thus beginning a nationwide search for the next hosts of 106 & Park, which has been active since June 1,2012 and ended on October 1,2012. Terrence J and Rocsis last episode as hosts was broadcast on September 28,2012, the announcement for the new hosts of 106 & Park was broadcast on Monday, October 1,2012. The highly anticipated farewell episode aired on September 28,2012 and was hosted by La La Anthony, in the taped video messages, several celebrities wish their farewell for Terrence J and Rocsi. They included Jim Jones, French Montana, Julissa Bermudez, Big Tigger,2 Chainz, Ace Hood, Alicia Keys, Amare Stoudemire, Big Sean, B. o. B, Bobby V. On October 1,2012, the new hosts for 106 & Park were announced, including Shad Bow Wow Moss, Jordan Shorty da Prince Johnson, Kimberly Paigion Walker and Mykel Miss Mykie Gray. For the first time in the shows 12-year history, there were officially four hosts for 106 & Park, on January 15,2013,106 & Park revealed a new set, graphics, logo, and theme song. On January 23,2013, the former hostess Rocsi Diaz made an appearance on the show. New segments included The Mykie Report, The Battle of the Sexes, Girl Chat, Inside the Rappers Studio, the hosts had not appeared on the show in nearly two months dating back to May 2013. On November 14,2014, BET cancelled 106 & Park, the series aired its final episode on December 19,2014. The show began for one hour and, until 2005, the show was broadcast late night at 2am/1am, immediately before BET After Dark, in 2001, it was extended to 90 minutes. In 2008, the show was extended to two hours, but still reverts to 90 minutes depending on BETs scheduling for that day, the show celebrated its 2, 000th episode on August 20,2008. From July 25,2011, to September 2,2011, the shows tenth anniversary special was on October 6,2010. The previous hosts A. J. Calloway & Free, Julissa & Big Tigger, Terrence J & Rocsi, The Search consisting of Miss Mykie, Paigion, & Shorty da Prince, Angela Simmons, Bow Wow & Keshia Chanté returned to the show to celebrate
27.
FlipTop
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A pack or packet of cigarettes is a rectangular container, mostly of paperboard, which contains cigarettes. The pack is designed with a foil, paper or biodegradable plastic. By pulling the pull-tabs, the pack is opened, hard packs can be closed again after opening, whereas soft packs cannot. Cigarette packs often contain warning messages depending on which country they are sold in, the size of a pack is often regulated. Government agencies usually set a minimum pack size, in Australia, the most common quantity per pack is 25, although some brands have changed them to 26, second to 20 which by law, is the minimum. 30,40 and even 50 packs are also sold, in Canada, most packs sold have 25 cigarettes, but packs of 20 are also popular. In many European countries, increases of cigarette tax can cause the quantity of cigarettes in the pack to change, in Malaysia, the selling of packs containing fewer than 20 cigarettes is prohibited. In the United States of America, the quantity of cigarettes in a pack must be at least 20, certain brands, such as Export As, come in a pack of 25. For many years, half-packs of 10 cigarettes were commonly available, in the United Kingdom brands are usually sold in packets of 20 but most popular brands are also available in 10s. Vending machines often dispense packets containing 16 or 18 cigarettes, although the dimensions of the packaging are the same as the equivalent packet containing 20. Despite this, due to plain packaging laws being enforced in May 2017, packs of 10 will be banned from UK markets, a carton of cigarettes usually contains 10 packs, totaling 200 cigarettes. Some cartons contain twenty packs, totaling 400 cigarettes, a hard pack is the usual style of paperboard packaging for store bought cigarettes, which consists of a relatively stable box. This successfully prevents the crumpling of cigarettes when kept in a pocket or handbag. The flip-top hard pack cigarette case was introduced in 1955 by Philip Morris, a soft pack is a box packaging made of thin paper, usually containing 20 cigarettes. Soft packs may be considered inconvenient as they easily and cannot be resealed. They offer the convenience of not having to open the package each time the smoker wants a cigarette. They require less physical space when fewer cigarettes remain in the pack. With American brands, cigarettes from a pack are usually a few millimeters longer than their hard-boxed counterparts
28.
Competition
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It arises whenever at least two parties strive for a goal which cannot be shared, where ones gain is the others loss. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment, for example, animals compete over water supplies, food, mates, and other biological resources. Humans usually compete for food and mates, though when these needs are met deep rivalries often arise over the pursuit of wealth, power, prestige, and fame. Competition is often considered to be the opposite of cooperation, however in the real world, optimal strategies to achieve goals are studied in the branch of mathematics known as games theory. Also competition inside a company is usually stimulated with the purpose of meeting and reaching higher quality of services or improved products that the company may produce or develop. Competition can have both beneficial and detrimental effects, many evolutionary biologists view inter-species and intra-species competition as the driving force of adaptation, and ultimately of evolution. However, some disagree, citing competition as a driving force only on a small scale. Some social Darwinists claim that competition also serves as a mechanism for determining the best-suited group, positively, competition may serve as a form of recreation or a challenge provided that it is non-hostile. On the negative side, competition can cause injury and loss to the organisms involved, competition within, between, and among species is one of the most important forces in biology, especially in the field of ecology. Third parties within a species often favour highly competitive strategies leading to extinction when environmental conditions are harsh. Competition is also present between species, when resources are limited, several species may depend on these resources. Thus, each of the species competes with the others to access to the resources. As a result, species less suited to compete for the resources may die out unless they adapt by character dislocation, according to evolutionary theory, this competition within and between species for resources plays a significant role in natural selection. This is illustrated by living plant communities where asymmetric competition and competitive dominance frequently occur, game theory is the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers. Game theory is used in economics, political science, and psychology, as well as logic, computer science, biology. Originally, it mainly addressed zero-sum games, in one persons gains result in losses for the other participants. Game theory is a method used in mathematical economics and business for modeling competing behaviors of interacting agents. This research usually focuses on particular sets of strategies known as solution concepts or equilibria, a common assumption is that players act rationally
29.
Insult
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An insult is an expression, statement which is disrespectful or scornful. Insults may be intentional or accidental, an insult may be factual, but at the same time pejorative, such as the word inbred. Erving Goffman points out that every crack or remark set up the possibility of a counter-riposte, topper, or squelch, that is, examples of backhanded compliments include, I did not expect you to ace that exam. Which could impugn the targets success as a fluke and that skirt makes you look far thinner. I wish I could be as straightforward as you, but I always try to get along with everyone and you have the boldness of a much younger woman. Verbal insults often take a form, this includes offensive profanity. would insult each other grossly. Various typologies of insults have been proposed over the years, shakespeare himself set up an insult-hierarchy of seven-fold degrees. Thomas Conley, Toward a rhetoric of insult, university of Chicago Press,2010, ISBN 0-226-11478-3. Language Sciences, Volume 33, Number 3, May 2011, media related to Insults at Wikimedia Commons
30.
Joust
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Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horsemen wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The joust became a characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The participants experience close to three and a quarter times their weight in G-forces when the lances collide with their armor. The term is derived from Old French joster, ultimately from Latin iuxtare to approach, the word was loaned into Middle English around 1300, when jousting was a very popular sport among the Anglo-Norman knighthood. Jousting is based on the use of the lance by heavy cavalry. It transformed into a sport during the Late Middle Ages. In England, jousting was the highlight of the Accession Day tilts of Elizabeth I and James I, Jousting was discontinued in favour of other equestrian sports in the 17th century, although non-contact forms of equestrian skill-at-arms disciplines survived. There has been a revival of theatrical jousting re-enactment since the 1970s. The medieval joust has its origins in the tactics of heavy cavalry during the High Middle Ages. From the 11th to 14th centuries when medieval jousting was still practised in connection to the use of the lance in warfare, by 1400, knights wore full suits of plate armour, called a harness. In this early period, a joust was still a meeting, i. e. a duel in general and not limited to the lance. Combatants would begin riding on one another with the lance, Tournaments in the High Medieval period were much rougher and less gentlemanly affairs than in the late medieval era of chivalry. The rival parties would fight in groups, with the aim of incapacitating their adversaries for the sake of gaining their horses, with the development of the courtly ideals of chivalry in the late medieval period, the joust became more regulated. This tendency is reflected in the pas darmes in general. This romanticised chivalric revival was based on the romances of the high medieval period. The development of the term dates to this period. Before the 12th century, cniht was a term for a servant, in the 12th century, it became used of a military follower in particular. Also in the 12th century, a class of noblemen serving in cavalry developed
31.
Flyting
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Flyting or fliting is a contest consisting of the exchange of insults, often conducted in verse, between two parties. Flyting is a ritual, poetic exchange of insults practised mainly between the 5th and 16th centuries, the root is the Old English word flītan meaning quarrel. Examples of flyting are found throughout Norse, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, the exchanges would become extremely provocative, often involving accusations of cowardice or sexual perversion. Norse literature contains stories of the gods flyting, for example, in Lokasenna the god Loki insults the other gods in the hall of Ægir and the poem Hárbarðsljóð in which Hárbarðr engages in flyting with Thor. In the confrontation of Beowulf and Unferð in the poem Beowulf, in Anglo-Saxon England, flyting would take place in a feasting hall. The winner would be decided by the reactions of those watching the exchange, the winner would drink a large cup of beer or mead in victory, then invite the loser to drink as well. The 13th century poem The Owl and the Nightingale and Geoffrey Chaucers Parlement of Foules contain elements of flyting, Flyting became public entertainment in Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries where makars would engage in verbal contests of provocative, often sexual and scatological but highly poetic abuse. Flyting was permitted despite the fact that the penalty for profanities in public was a fine of 20 shillings for a lord or a whipping for servant, James IV and James V encouraged court flyting between poets for their entertainment and occasionally engaged with them. The Flyting of Dumbar and Kennedie records a contest between William Dunbar and Walter Kennedy in front of James IV, which includes the earliest recorded use of the word shit as a personal insult. In 1536 the poet Sir David Lyndsay composed a ribald 60 line flyte to James V after the King demanded a response to a flyte, flytings appear in several of William Shakespeares plays. Margaret Galway analysed 13 comic flytings and several other exchanges in the tragedies. Flytings also appear in the Nicholas Udalls Ralph Roister Doister and John Stills Gammer Gurtons Needle from the same era, while flyting died out in Scottish writing after the Middle Ages, it continued for writers of Celtic background. Robert Burns parodied flyting in his poem, To a Louse, joyce played with the traditional two character exchange by making one of the characters society as a whole. Taunting songs are present in the Inuit culture, among many others, Flyting can also be found in Arabic poetry in a popular form called naqā’iḍ, as well as the competitive verses of Japanese Haikai. Echoes of the genre continue into modern poetry, hugh MacDiarmids poem A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle, for example, has many passages of flyting in which the poets opponent is, in effect, the rest of humanity. In Finnic Kalevala the hero Väinämöinen uses similar practice of kilpalaulanta to win opposing Joukahainen, for example, Mattaeus, ic þé onsecge þæt þín scofl is nú unscearp æfter géara ungebótes. Beot Slam poetry The Dozens Battle rap Flyting – britannica. com
32.
King of the Dot
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King of the Dot Entertainment, also known as KOTD, is a rap battle league founded in Toronto, Canada in 2008. The companys HQ is based in Toronto, Ontario, from which it gets its name, successful music artists such as 360, and Madchild have battled in King of the Dot. King of the Dot is hosted by its founder, Organik, the league began in August 2008 in an alleyway near Toronto Eaton Centre, and now features over 150 emcees, battling in Toronto, California, Calgary, Arizona, Massachusetts and Vancouver. The influence of King of the Dot has spread globally, inspiring the creation of other leagues such as Flip Top in the Philippines. King of the Dot has three leagues — PY Battles, GZ Battles, and KOTD. The two teamed up with the help of promotion guru Avi Rex to put together the first event which was intended to be a flash mob style event at Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto. However, the presence and private security at the location forced the event to move down the road to an alley beside radio station Flow 93.5. After a few events at that location, they were unable to accommodate the crowds, so Organik opted to re-locate to Alexandra Park for the wide open space. The crisp visuals and production value, as well as celebrity guest judges contributed to King of the Dots rise. The King Of The Dot battle is usually a set of three rounds, there are varying round times, between 60 seconds and 3 minutes. The rules are not overall that strict and rappers are allowed to stretch beyond the time limits. KOTD magazine is available to be read online on the official King of the Dot Entertainment website, there is also an option to order the magazine in hard copy. There have been six issues released to date, the magazine has articles discussing past events, interviews with various rappers and much more. In 2010, King of the Dot hosted its first Grand Prix, kid Twist was the first King of the Dot Champion. Several major battles events have been hosted by King of the Dot, american rapper Illmaculate defeated Bender during this event, which was featured in Forbes. On November 5,2011, King of the Dot hosted Flatline and this promo event was co-hosted by Canadian hip hop artist Drake, who put up $3000 of his own money for both rappers. On July 9,2012, King Of The Dot hosted Vendetta, the battle spurred minor controversy in the Hip-Hop community, when Canibus appeared to forget his lines and pulled out a notepad to read his lyrics from. Blackout 3 took place on January 26,2013 and was located at The Guvernment Nightclub in Toronto, lush One, Maestro Fresh Wes, Scott Jackson and Drake, KOTD sold out club that night with over 1400 patrons
33.
Don't Flop
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Dont Flop Entertainment is the largest rap battle league based in the United Kingdom. It was founded by longtime friends Eurgh and Cruger in 2008, since then, notable performers include Oshea, Sensa, Lunar C, Rizzle, Tony D, Blizzard, Mercury Music Prize nominee Soweto Kinch, Mark Grist and Afghan Dan. Several rappers from Dont Flop have also made appearances in the Canadian rap battle league King of the Dot, as well as youth, american rappers Illmaculate and Soul Khan have also made appearances on Dont Flop, both as rappers and judges. A coin flip typically decides who goes first, and the emcees alternate after each round, sometimes however, the battlers will decide between themselves off camera who will go first, and in a championship match, the Champion will decide who goes first. A panel of 3-5 judges then decide the winner, up until recently, an overtime round would settle a draw. However, this has now removed from most leagues and a winner has to be decided after the 3 standard rounds. Dont Flop events are divided across England. A London rap battle event entitled Blood in the Water was thrown every year from 2009 to 2011, emcees from other rap battle leagues such as Grindtime, King of the Dot, and Basementality Battles came to the UK to battle other opponents. Dont Flop held its first USA vs Canada battle in 2011 with Jonny Storm vs Charron, today, there are a minimum of 2 events each month and are held all over the country. In recent times Dont Flop has led the way in introducing new forms of battling, in 2012, Dont Flop hosted its annual April Fools event. Here, many new formats of the written battle style were introduced, at the same event, Dont Flop also hosted its first ever 3-way battle. Then, at the Second Quarter Try-Outs event in Manchester, a battle which involved both rapping and guitar playing was showcased for the first time, Dont Flop has also shown innovation in the way battles are judged to ensure the right decision is made. Moving away from a format, in the 2013 tag team tournament, judging was done after the event by judges that video their decision. Until 2012, there was no crowning achievement within Dont Flop, many people thought that Oshea and Sensa were the two best battlers in the league. They battled once already, and planned to again for the title. Oshea defeated Sensa to become the leagues first champion, since then the title has changed hands twice. Tony D, the champion, is the only champion to successfully defend the title three times, subsequently relinquishing the title after the third defense. At Checkpoint 2, Soul and Cee Major battled for the vacant title, in which Soul won, in 2016, Soul successfully defended his title against Raptor Warhurst
