1.
Can't Tell Me Nothing
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Cant Tell Me Nothing is a song by American hip-hop recording artist Kanye West. It was released on May 15,2007 as the single of his third studio album. The song was produced by Kanye West and Atlanta record producer DJ Toomp and it received acclaim from music critics and was listed amongst the best tracks of the year by several publications. Cant Tell Me Nothing was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 50th Grammy Awards, the cover art of the single was designed by the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. Though Cant Tell Me Nothing didnt impact pop radio as significantly as the subsequent singles. The song is featured as the track on Now Thats What I Call Music. It was nominated for Track of the Year at the 2007 BET Hip Hop Awards and it was also featured in the movie The Hangover. Cant Tell Me Nothing features slow, moody synth-driven production, exemplifying the new direction that would come to dominate much of Graduation. West stated that he drew inspiration from rock bands such as The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. He also explained that, with the track, he wanted to make anthemic music, the song contains audio samples of ad-libs provided by Young Jeezy as well as background vocals provided by Connie Mitchell of the Australian electronic group Sneaky Sound System. Lyrically, Cant Tell Me Nothing serves as Wests reflection on his fame, West begins the song by expounding his conflicted feelings regarding wealth and desire, describing a compulsion to spend that overwhelms any and all other objectives in life. PopMatters described Cant Tell Me Nothing as a powerful single, the Chicago Tribune chronicled Wests performance as, defiant, defensive, rueful, sarcastic and deadly passionate. The song debuted at number eighty on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 7,2007, two separate music videos accompanied Cant Tell Me Nothing, with the first aired on television and the second made available solely online. The first music video was directed by Hype Williams and released on Wests official website on May 25,2007, to visually complement the thematically distanced, alienated feel of the track, the video was filmed in a desert. It carries an aesthetic, with scenes shot in a barren, wide-open desert landscape. For a limited time, the video was available as a free download on the U. S. iTunes Store. On July 25,2007, West premiered a music video for Cant Tell Me Nothing on his website. This version was directed by Michael Blieden and featured comedian Zach Galifianakis, West had been introduced to Galifianakis work through his personal trainer, and eventually asked him to perform in his second video after attending one of Galifianakis stand-up shows in Los Angeles
2.
Mixtape
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A mixtape is a home-made compilation of music recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto a cassette tape, though later replaced by CD or MP3 playlist formats. The songs can be sequential, or by beatmatching the songs and creating overlaps, compilations may include a selection of favorite songs, or music linked by theme or mood, perhaps tailored to the tapes intended recipient. Writing in 2004, essayist Geoffrey OBrien called the mix tape perhaps the most widely practiced American art form. Homemade mix tapes became common in the 1980s, but improvements in fidelity finally allowed the cassette to become a major player. The growth of the mixtape was also encouraged by improved quality and increased popularity of audio players in car entertainment systems. These recordings tended to be of technical ability than home-made mixtapes. One 12 October 1974 article in Billboard Magazine reported, Tapes were originally dubbed by jockeys to serve as standbys for times when they did not have disco turntables to hand, the tapes represent each jockeys concept of programming, placing, and sequencing of record sides. The music is heard without interruption, one- to three-hour programs bring anywhere from $30 to $75 per tape, mostly reel-to-reel, but increasingly on cartridge and cassette. Club proprietors, as well as DJs, would often prepare such tapes for sale, throughout the 1980s, mixtapes were a highly visible element of youth culture. The high point of traditional culture was arguably the publication of Nick Hornbys novel High Fidelity in 1995. Some mix enthusiasts also appreciate the potential of the mix CD for extended, continuous mixes, MP3 players have further enhanced track accessibility, though ones without a screen defeat that purpose. Today, websites concerned with electronic music provide mixes in a digital format and these usually consist of recorded DJ sets of live, beat-matched mixes of songs, which are used by DJs seeking to demonstrate their mixing skills to an online audience. Some radio shows worldwide specialize in mix series, including The Breezeblock on BBC Radio 1, The Solid Steel Show, and Eddy Temple-Morris/The Remix on Xfm. Additionally, DJs such as Grandmaster Flash, DJ QBert, DJ Spooky, DJ Z-Trip or DJ Shadow, The Avalanches, and Rjd2 have gained fame for creating new songs by combining fragments of existing songs. This practice is derived from the use of song loops as musical backdrops for an MCs rhymes in hip hop music. Frank Creighton, a director of anti-copyright infringement efforts for the Recording Industry Association of America and this requires the mixtape creator to consider the transitions between songs, the effects caused by juxtaposing a soft song with a loud song, and the overall narrative arc of the entire tape. It also came with an actual CD featuring ten of the songs discussed in the text, many have been so widely distributed that the CDDB has logged and can identify ID3 tags when a disc mix tape is inserted into a PC. In hip hops earliest days, the music existed in live form, so performers music was spread via tapes of parties
3.
Kanye West
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Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer, and entrepreneur. Intent on pursuing a career as a rapper, West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004 to widespread critical and commercial success. He went on to pursue a variety of different styles on subsequent albums Late Registration, Graduation, and 808s & Heartbreak. In 2010, he released his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to rave reviews from critics, West released his abrasive sixth album, Yeezus, to further critical praise in 2013. His seventh album, The Life of Pablo, was released in 2016, Wests outspoken views and life outside of music have received significant mainstream attention. He has been a frequent source of controversy for his conduct at award shows, on social media and he is the founder and head of the creative content company DONDA. His 2014 marriage to television personality Kim Kardashian has also been subject to media coverage. He has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time, three of his albums have been included and ranked on Rolling Stones 2012 update of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. He has also included in a number of Forbes annual lists. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005 and 2015, West was born on June 8,1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents divorced when he was three years old, after the divorce, he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Ray West was later a Christian counselor, and in 2006, opened the Good Water Store and Café in Lexington Park, Maryland with startup capital from his son. West, was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, West was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago. At the age of 10, West moved with his mother to Nanjing, China, according to his mother, West was the only foreigner in his class, but settled in well and quickly picked up the language, although he has since forgotten most of it. When asked about his grades in school, West replied, I got As. West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age and his mother recalled that she first took notice of Wests passion for drawing and music when he was in the third grade. Growing up in Chicago, West became deeply involved in its hip hop scene and he started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists
4.
Hip hop music
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It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements, MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, while often used to refer solely to rapping, hip hop more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. Hip hops early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with the breaks and Jamaican toasting, rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat. The Sugarhill Gangs 1979 song Rappers Delight is widely regarded to be the first hip hop record to gain popularity in the mainstream. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles, prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined within the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began to spread to scenes in dozens of countries. New school hip hop was the wave of hip hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D. M. C. The Golden age hip hop period was a period between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. Notable artists from this era include the Juice Crew, Public Enemy, & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One, EPMD, Slick Rick, Beastie Boys, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that often focuses on the violent lifestyles, in the West Coast hip hop style, G-funk dominated mainstream hip hop for several years during the 1990s. I. G. In the 1990s, hip hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap, at the same time, hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music, examples being Neo soul and nu metal. Hip hop became a pop music genre in the mid-1990s. The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s, with hip hop influences also increasingly finding their way into mainstream pop, the United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk, a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics. Starting in 2005, sales of hip hop music in the United States began to severely wane, during the mid-2000s, alternative hip hop secured a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. Creation of the hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash. However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was known as disco rap. Cowboy later worked the hip hop cadence into a part of his stage performance, the first use of the term in print was in The Village Voice, by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop
5.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
6.
Lupe Fiasco
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Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album and he also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. As an entrepreneur, Fiasco is the executive officer of 1st. Raised in Chicago, Jaco developed an interest in hip hop after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity, after adopting the name Lupe Fiasco and recording songs in his fathers basement, 19-year-old Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak. The group disbanded shortly after its inception, and Fiasco soon met rapper Jay-Z who helped him sign a deal with Atlantic Records. In September 2006, Fiasco released his debut album Lupe Fiascos Food & Liquor on the label and he released his second album, Lupe Fiascos The Cool, in December 2007. The lead single Superstar became his first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, after a two-year delay, Lasers was released in March 2011 to mixed reviews, however, it became his first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. His latest album, Tetsuo & Youth, was released in January 2015, in addition to music, Fiasco has pursued other business ventures, including fashion. He runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly, he has designed sneakers for Reebok and he has been involved with charitable activities, including the Summit on the Summit expedition, and in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Fiasco is also noted for his anti-establishment views, which he has expressed in interviews and his music. Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16,1982 in Chicago, Fiasco is of West African descent, one of nine children of Shirley, a gourmet chef, and Gregory, an engineer. His father, a member of the Black Panther Party, was a prolific African drummer, karate teacher, operating plant engineer, Fiasco was raised Muslim on the West Side of Chicago on Madison Terrace housing project. At the age of three, Fiasco began taking martial arts classes and his parents divorced when he was five, and he went on to live with his mother, but his father still remained an important part of his life. In sixth grade, he went to live with his father full-time in Harvey and his father lived next door to a crack house and taught Fiasco to use guns to defend himself from drug dealers. As a teenager, Fiasco participated in Academic Decathlon competitions and his mother described him by saying, He was a great spirited child. Smart, a bit complex, he kind of was a loner, always had a book bag over his shoulder and some type of a writing tablet. Fiasco initially disliked hip hop music for its use of vulgarity and his struggle to learn to play an instrument led him to create poetry instead, which led to his interest in the lyrical aspects of music. He began rapping his poems in the grade, and upon hearing Nas 1996 album, It Was Written
7.
A-Trak
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Alain Macklovitch, known by his stage name A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, turntablist, record producer, and music label executive. He is the owner of the record label Fools Gold, which was founded in 2007, and is credited for developing the careers of such as Kid Cudi, Danny Brown. A-Traks career has spanned two decades, leading Rolling Stone to name him one of the 50 Most Important People in EDM. A-Trak is also part of the DJ duo Duck Sauce with Armand Van Helden, A-Trak was featured on the covers of Billboard and Complex and recently appeared in campaigns for Adidas, Grey Goose, Converse and Cadillac. A-Trak has also penned a number of articles for the The Huffington Post, after residing in Brooklyn for many years, he now calls Los Angeles home. Macklovitch was born to Jewish parents in Montréal, Quebec, and is of Moroccan and Russian descent and his older brother, David Macklovitch, is one-half of the electro-funk duo Chromeo. A-Trak was the first DJ to win all three major DJ competition titles, as well as being the first DJ to win five World Championships. He won the DMC World DJ Championship in 1997 at the age of 15 and he was an honorary member of the now defunct DJ crew Invisibl Skratch Piklz, and a member of The Allies alongside frequent collaborator DJ Craze. In the late 90s A-Trak developed a system for scratching. He gave a lecture about it at the Skratchcon 2000 conference and he has also appeared on the cover of multiple magazines including Billboard, URB, BPM and Status. A-Trak and his brother Dave ran the record label Audio Research from 1997–2007, after moving to Williamsburg, he founded the label Fools Gold Records with Nick Catchdubs in 2007. A-Trak had been booked to play a show, in 2004 at a record shop in London. Kanye West came to support John Legend who was playing in the same show. A-Trak also recorded scratches on Kanye West’s second and third studio albums Late Registration and Graduation and was an influence on the sound of the latter. Over the years he has endorsed brands including Serato Scratch Live. However, some of his production displays a separation of his electronic and hip hop identities, with such as Piss Test featuring Juicy J. Another hip hop production, Ray Ban Vision, was used in the 2012 movie Project X, in 2009, A-Trak collaborated with Armand Van Helden to form a disco house production duo under the name Duck Sauce. They released the song aNYway in October on Ministry of Sound, Duck Sauce has achieved success worldwide including reaching the top chart position in twelve countries and attaining the #1 spot on the US Dance Billboard charts
8.
T-Pain
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Faheem Rashad Najm, better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer from Tallahassee, Florida. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005, in 2007, T-Pain released his second album Epiphany, which reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. His third album, Thr33 Ringz, was released in 2008, T-Pain has also released a string of hit singles, including Im Sprung, Im n Luv, Buy U a Drank, Bartender, Cant Believe It,5 OClock and more. T-Pain has earned two Grammy Awards, alongside artists Kanye West and Jamie Foxx respectively, T-Pain is the founder of the record label imprint Nappy Boy Entertainment, established in 2005. Najm was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida and his stage name is short for Tallahassee Pain, and was chosen because of the hardships he experienced while living there. Najm was brought up in a Muslim household, but he has expressed his lack of interest in the concept of religion, at age ten, Najm turned his bedroom into a music studio, using a keyboard, a beat machine and a four-track recorder. T-Pain joined the rap group Nappy Headz in 2004 and later recorded Im Fucked Up, recording artist Akon heard the song and immediately signed T-Pain to Konvict Muzik, his label. After being discovered, T-Pain began singing instead of rapping, T-Pain subsequently recorded and released his debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, on December 6,2005. The album reached number thirty-three on the Billboard 200, and has since been certified Gold by the RIAA, for reaching sales of 500,000 units. The album was preceded by the single, Im Sprung. The second single, Im N Luv, featuring Mike Jones, was released in December 2005 and reached five on the Hot 100. The third and final single from the album, Studio Luv, was released in October 2006, in mid-2006, T-Pain began work on his second album, now with the Zomba Label Group as well as Konvict Muzik and Jive Records. The album, titled Epiphany, was released on June 5,2007, the album sold 171,000 records in its first week, reaching number one on the Billboard 200. The record has since sold 819,000 records in the United States, the album was preceded by the lead single Buy U a Drank featuring Yung Joc in February 2007. The single reached number one on both the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming his first single to top charts. The albums second single, Bartender, featuring Akon was released in June 2007 and reached five on the Hot 100. The third and final single from the album, Church, was released in October 2007, while promoting his second album, T-Pain made guest appearances on multiple songs by other artists. T-Pain was featured on Im a Flirt by R. Kelly with T. I
9.
Graduation (album)
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Graduation is the third studio album by American hip hop recording artist and record producer Kanye West. It was released on September 11,2007, by Roc-A-Fella Records, Recording sessions for the album took place during 2005 to 2007 at Chung King Studios, Sony Music Studios in New York City, at Chalice Studios and The Record Plant in Los Angeles. It was primarily produced by West himself, with contributions from DJ Toomp, as well as Mike Dean, Nottz, Brian All Day Miller, Eric Hudson, Warryn Campbell, Gee Roberson, Plain Pat and Jon Brion. It features guest contributions from artists, including Mos Def, Dwele, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, DJ Premier, the albums cover artwork was designed by Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami. Toward this end, West incorporated synthesizer sounds into his production and dabbled with electronic music, lyrically, the album is more introspective in comparison to its predecessors, as West dedicated much of Graduation towards analyzing himself and conveying his ambivalent outlook on his newfound fame. It continues the theme of Wests previous two studio albums, The College Dropout and Late Registration. The album debuted at one on the US Billboard 200. It produced five singles, including the international hits Cant Tell Me Nothing, Stronger, the outcome of the competition marks a turning point in hip-hop culture, when the dominance of gangsta rap in mainstream hip-hop was brought to an end. Graduation received positive reviews from most critics and earned West several accolades, the album has sold 2,700,000 copies in the US and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album demonstrates yet another distinctive progression in Wests musical style, Kanye West was particularly influenced by house music, a subgenre of electronic dance music that first originated in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois in the early 1980s. West has stated growing up, he would listen to hip-hop music at home or in his car. While he rarely listened to house at home, he felt it was an important part of his culture. Along with house music, Graduation contains samples and music elements of euro-disco, hard rock, electronica, lounge, progressive rock, synth-pop, electro, krautrock, dub, reggae, and dancehall. Also, for much of the studio album, Kanye West modified his style of rapping and adopted a dilatory. West altered his vocabulary, he utilized less of the percussive, rhythmic consonants in favor of the more smoother, in addition to U2, West drew inspiration from other arena rock bands such as The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin for the melodies and chord progressions of his songs. He also chose to back on the guest appearances, limiting himself to just one single guest rap verse on the entire studio album. Largely due to all this and the inclusion of the layered electronic synthesizers, but he also acknowledged the fact that the differences did not right away and without a doubt make Graduation a good album. However, he felt it was a representation of the music he was listening to at that time, Kanye West began working on Graduation immediately after releasing his second studio album Late Registration
10.
Chicago Tribune
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The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by tronc, Inc. formerly Tribune Publishing. The Tribune was founded by James Kelly, John E. Wheeler, forrest, publishing its first edition on June 10,1847. The paper saw numerous changes in ownership and editorship over the eight years. Initially, the Tribune was not politically affiliated but tended to either the Whig or Free Soil parties against the Democrats in elections. By late 1853, it was frequently running xenophobic editorials that criticized foreigners, about this time it also became a strong proponent of temperance. Ray became editor-in-chief, Medill became the editor, and Alfred Cowles, Sr. brother of Edwin Cowles. Each purchased one third of the Tribune, under their leadership the Tribune distanced itself from the Know Nothings and became the main Chicago organ of the Republican Party. However, the continued to print anti-Catholic and anti-Irish editorials. Between 1858 and 1860, the paper was known as the Chicago Press & Tribune, on October 25,1860, it became the Chicago Daily Tribune. Before and during the American Civil War, the new editors pushed an abolitionist agenda and strongly supported Abraham Lincoln, the paper remained a force in Republican politics for years afterwards. In 1861, the Tribune published new lyrics for the song John Browns Body by William W. Patton, Medill served as mayor of Chicago for one term after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Under the 20th-century editorship of Colonel Robert R. Joseph McCarthy, when McCormick assumed the position of co-editor in 1910, the Tribune was the third-best-selling paper among Chicagos eight dailies, with a circulation of only 188,000. At the same time, the Tribune competed with the Hearst paper, by 1914, the cousins succeeded in forcing out Managing Editor William Keeley. By 1918, the Examiner was forced to merge with the Chicago Herald, in 1919, Patterson left the Tribune and moved to New York to launch his own newspaper, the New York Daily News. In a renewed war with Hearsts Herald-Examiner, McCormick and Hearst ran rival lotteries in 1922. The Tribune won the battle, adding 250,000 readers to its ranks, also in 1922, the Chicago Tribune hosted an international design competition for its new headquarters, the Tribune Tower. The competition worked brilliantly as a publicity stunt, and more than 260 entries were received, the winner was a neo-Gothic design by New York architects John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood. The newspaper sponsored an attempt at Arctic aviation in 1929
11.
Robert Christgau
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Robert Thomas Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed Dean of American Rock Critics. One of the earliest professional rock critics, he spent 37 years as the music critic and senior editor for The Village Voice. He has also covered popular music for Esquire, Creem, Newsday, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, Blender, and MSN Music, and is a visiting arts teacher at New York University. Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, first published in his Consumer Guide columns during his tenure at The Village Voice from 1969 to 2006 and he has written three books based on those columns, along with two collections of essays. He continued writing capsule reviews in MSN Music, Cuepoint, Christgau was born in Greenwich Village and grew up in Queens, the son of a fireman. He has said he became a rock and roll fan when disc jockey Alan Freed moved to the city in 1954. After attending a school in New York City, he left New York for four years to attend Dartmouth College. While at college his musical interests turned to jazz, but he returned to rock after moving back to New York. Christgau has said that Miles Davis 1960 album Sketches of Spain initiated in him one phase of the disillusionment with jazz that resulted in my return to rock and he was deeply influenced by New Journalism writers such as Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe. My ambitions when I went into journalism were always, to an extent, literary, Christgau initially wrote short stories, before giving up fiction in 1964 to become a sportswriter, and later, a police reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger. He became a writer after a story he wrote about the death of a woman in New Jersey was published by New York magazine. He was asked to take over the dormant music column at Esquire, after Esquire discontinued the column, Christgau moved to The Village Voice in 1969, and he also worked as a college professor. In early 1972, he accepted a job as music critic for Newsday. Christgau returned to the Village Voice in 1974 as music editor and he remained there until August 2006, when he was fired shortly after the papers acquisition by New Times Media. Two months later, Christgau became an editor at Rolling Stone. Late in 2007, Christgau was fired by Rolling Stone, although he continued to work for the magazine for three months. Starting with the March 2008 issue, he joined Blender, where he was listed as senior critic for three issues and then contributing editor, Christgau had been a regular contributor to Blender before he joined Rolling Stone. He continued to write for Blender until the magazine ceased publication in March 2009, in 1987, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of Folklore and Popular Culture to study the history of popular music
12.
Rolling Stone
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Rolling Stone is an American biweekly magazine that focuses on popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner, who is still the publisher. It was first known for its coverage and for political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine shifted focus to a readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors. In recent years, it has resumed its traditional mix of content, Rolling Stone magazine was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and Ralph Gleason. To get it off the ground, Wenner borrowed $7,500 from his own family and from the parents of his soon-to-be wife, Jane Schindelheim. The first issue carried a date of November 9,1967. Some authors have attributed the name solely to Dylans hit single, At Gleasons suggestion, Rolling Stone initially identified with and reported the hippie counterculture of the era. In the very first edition, Wenner wrote that Rolling Stone is not just about the music, in the 1970s, Rolling Stone began to make a mark with its political coverage, with the likes of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson writing for the magazines political section. Thompson first published his most famous work Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas within the pages of Rolling Stone, where he remained a contributing editor until his death in 2005. In the 1970s, the magazine also helped launch the careers of prominent authors, including Cameron Crowe, Lester Bangs, Joe Klein, Joe Eszterhas, Patti Smith. It was at point that the magazine ran some of its most famous stories. One interviewer, speaking for a number of his peers, said that he bought his first copy of the magazine upon initial arrival on his college campus. In 1977, the magazine moved its headquarters from San Francisco to New York City, editor Jann Wenner said San Francisco had become a cultural backwater. During the 1980s, the magazine began to shift towards being an entertainment magazine. Music was still a dominant topic, but there was increasing coverage of celebrities in television, films, the magazine also initiated its annual Hot Issue during this time. Rolling Stone was initially known for its coverage and for Thompsons political reporting. In the 1990s, the changed its format to appeal to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors
13.
Stylus Magazine
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Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Additionally, Stylus had daily features like The Singles Jukebox, which looked at pop singles from around the globe, and Soulseeking, while the sites readership numbers never reached the levels of Pitchfork Medias, it did receive many notices in the press for the quality of its writing. In 2006 it was chosen by the Observer Music Monthly as one of the Internets 25 most essential music websites, Stylus closed as a business on 31 October 2007. As of February 2013, the site online, but is not publishing any new content. The Singles Jukebox relaunched with many of the writers as a stand-alone website in March 2009. Stylus Magazine – official site The Singles Jukebox – official site What Was It Anyway – official site The Stylus Decade – official site
14.
URB (magazine)
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URB is a monthly American magazine devoted to electronic music, hip hop and urban lifestyle and culture. Based in Los Angeles, California, the magazine was founded in 1990 by Raymond Roker, publication of the print edition was suspended following the Summer 2009 issue. Plans were announced for the October 2009 launch of issue #159 as a publication, with further issues to follow. Roker cited a significant shift in consumption and media habits worldwide, prior to 2007, one issue a year was devoted to features of The Next 100 up-and-coming musicians. In April 2007, the feature was moved to the magazines website, instead of featuring 100 emerging artists and groups in a single issue of the magazine,20 artists and groups are featured each week on the website, over the course of a year. The artists to be featured are selected by URBs editorial staff and are rated by the sites visitors, URBs online presence, URB. com, was minimal until a redesigned site was launched April 2,2007. The new 2007 version of URB, URB. com also distributes a weekly e-zine to over 150,000 subscribers. The site also publishes a monthly podcast which features artist interviews, URB. com - URB Magazines Official Website URBs daily music and culture blog
15.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
16.
GOOD Music
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GOOD Music, Inc. is an American record label founded in 2004, by hip hop artist and record producer Kanye West. The label has housed several successful recording artists throughout the years, such as Big Sean, Pusha T, Common, John Legend, Tyga, Kid Cudi, Desiigner, Teyana Taylor and Mos Def, among others. Their roster of producers include Travis Scott, Southside, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Q-Tip, Jeff Bhasker. The label has released 10 albums certified gold or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America, Kanye West founded GOOD Music in 2004, in conjunction with Sony BMG, shortly after releasing his debut album, The College Dropout. John Legend, Common, and West were the labels inaugural artists, legends Get Lifted was the labels first album release - this received eight nominations and three wins at the 2006 Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Best R&B Album. In October 2006, Legend released his album, Once Again. Commons Be, the second release, was the recipient of four Grammy Award nominations. The label later added GLC, Really Doe, Malik Yusef, Tony Williams, Wests second studio album, Late Registration, included featured guest appearances by every artist signed to GOOD Musics roster at the time of its release in August 2005. In May 2007, Detroit rapper Big Sean signed to the label, in 2008, West signed British singer-songwriter Mr Hudson, after hearing A Tale of Two Cities. He also signed then up-and-coming rapper Kid Cudi, after hearing his work from producer and manager Plain Pat. Kid Cudis debut album, Man on the Moon, The End of Day was released under GOOD Music on September 15,2009, the album earned three Grammy nominations and was certified Gold by the RIAA. A month later Mr Hudsons solo debut, Straight No Chaser, was released, the label held a cypher for the 2010 BET Hip Hop Awards in June, that featured West, Common, Big Sean and new signee Cyhi the Prynce. In late 2010, West released several tracks featuring himself, and others members of the GOOD Music roster, in a free weekly giveaway known as, G. O. O. D. In September 2010, West signed Brooklyn rapper Mos Def to GOOD Music. and shortly afterwards Consequence released a diss track, the following month Pusha T announced his signing. Late in 2010, Kid Cudi released his studio album Man on the Moon II, The Legend of Mr. Rager. In April 2011, West signed American rapper and producer Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, Kanye West also signed producer Hit-Boy, to Very G. O. O. D. In 2011, West signed Nigerian artists Dbanj and Don Jazzy, in June 2011, GOOD Music signed their first distribution agreement, with Def Jam Recordings. Big Seans debut Finally Famous was the first album released by GOOD Music with distribution by Def Jam, in late 2011, plans were announced for a release of a compilation album, later entitled Cruel Summer
17.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
18.
Throw Some D's
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Throw Some Ds is the first single from the self-titled album of rap artist Rich Boy, and his most commercially successful song to date. The single was produced by Butta and Polow da Don, the song contains samples from the 1979 song I Call Your Name by the R&B group Switch. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA, the music video was released in October 2006 and was in heavy rotation on BET and MTV, with a cameo made by Keri Hilson. The song was number 37 on Rolling Stones list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007, the official remix was produced by Lil Jon and it features André3000, Jim Jones, Nelly, Murphy Lee, and The Game. It is the last track of the album, kanye West released a remix of the song, including a separate interlude off his mixtape Cant Tell Me Nothing, The Official Mixtape. A music video was released via Wests website, a rock remix to the original version was produced by Travis Barker. There is also another remix that features Rick Ross, The Game, chicago Rap Artist Jake D. released a remix in 2006 called Throe Sum Cheez which on MTVs Rob & Big was used by Christopher Big Black Boykin in the Mississippi Episode. G-Unit member Lloyd Banks released a song called On My Hip which also uses the beat of Throw Some Ds, papoose released a song called Got My Ratchet Back to the beat of Throw Some Ds. Lil Wayne released a song called Put Some Keys On That off his mixtape Da Drought 3, hell Rell released a song called Throw Some Keys to the beat of Throw Some Ds. OCDJ made a remix of Throw some Ds called Pls Stp Th Hstl - Pt 1 in around or before 2007, soulja Boy Tell Em sampled the vocals from Throw Some Ds in his song Report Card off his debut studio album Souljaboytellem. com. Expensive Taste in collaboration with DJ Skee released a song called Them OGs also known as Them Are Gs On That Bitch to the beat of Throw Some Ds, charles Hamilton released a remix called Throw Some Pink. Sampled on Girl Talks 2008 album, Feed the Animals on the track Shut The Club Down, DJ Whoo Kid and Young Buck released a remix to the beat of Throw Some Ds called Blow Some Weed on the mixtape entitled G-Unit Radio 24, The Clean Up Man. A-Trak included a remix on his Dirty South Dance release, LA beatmaker Samiyam, played an unreleased and unofficial remix at his liveshows. Electronic pop group Teengirl Fantasy sampled vocals from Throw Some Ds in their song Portofino, underground trap music artist VESTIGE remixed Throw Some Ds and released it on SoundCloud. The single charted on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100, the track saw greater success within the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Tracks charts, peaking at number 3 and 2 respectively. Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
19.
Rock music
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It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by blues, rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of genres such as electric blues and folk. Musically, rock has centered on the guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar. Typically, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse-chorus form, like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development of subgenres, including new wave, post-punk. From the 1990s alternative rock began to rock music and break through into the mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop. Similarly, 1970s punk culture spawned the visually distinctive goth and emo subcultures and this trio of instruments has often been complemented by the inclusion of other instruments, particularly keyboards such as the piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers. The basic rock instrumentation was adapted from the blues band instrumentation. A group of musicians performing rock music is termed a rock band or rock group, Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated rhythms in a 4/4 meter, with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four. Melodies are often derived from older musical modes, including the Dorian and Mixolydian, harmonies range from the common triad to parallel fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic progressions. Critics have stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock, because of its complex history and tendency to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that it is impossible to bind rock music to a rigidly delineated musical definition. These themes were inherited from a variety of sources, including the Tin Pan Alley pop tradition, folk music and rhythm, as a result, it has been seen as articulating the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality, according to Simon Frith rock was something more than pop, something more than rock and roll. Rock musicians combined an emphasis on skill and technique with the concept of art as artistic expression, original. The foundations of music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its immediate origins lay in a melding of various musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music, with country. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing rhythm and blues music for a multi-racial audience, debate surrounds which record should be considered the first rock and roll record. Other artists with rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
20.
Vibe (magazine)
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Vibe is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producer Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop artists, actors. The magazines target demographic is young, urban followers of hip hop culture. In 2014, the magazine moved online-only, Quincy Jones launched Vibe in 1993, in partnership with Time Inc. Originally, the publication had been called Volume before co-founding editor, though hip hop mogul Russell Simmons was rumored to be an initial partner, publisher Len Burnett revealed in a March 2007 interview that Simmons clashed with editor-in-chief Jonathan Van Meter. Miller Publishing bought Vibe in 1996, and shortly afterward bought Spin, private equity firm, Wicks Group, bought the magazine in 2006. Jonathan Van Meters successors were Alan Light, Danyel Smith, Emil Wilbikin, Mimi Valdes, and finally Danyel Smith again. On June 30,2009, it was announced that Vibe was shutting its doors and ceasing publication immediately, although according to Essence, after shutting down, private equity investment fund InterMedia Partners bought Vibe magazine. They added Uptown magazine to Vibes parent company, Vibe Holdings, ronald Burkle and Magic Johnson later invested in the company. Vibe Holdings merged with BlackBook Media to form Vibe Media in 2012, on April 25,2013 it was announced that Vibe magazine along with vibe. com and vibevixen. com had been sold to Spin Media for an undisclosed sum. Instead, they cut the frequency to quarterly. In December 2016, Eldridge Industries acquired SpinMedia via the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group for an undisclosed amount, Vibe magazine was known for the creative direction of their covers. R&B singer Mary J. Blige repeatedly made the cover of Vibe, trio TLC were photographed for the cover in firefighters gear, referencing the fact that member Lisa Lopes burned down the house of then-boyfriend and NFL star Andre Rison. The first non-photograph cover of Vibe was an illustration of late singer Aaliyah by well-known artist/illustrator Alvaro, this was Aaliyahs very first appearance on the cover as well. Other famous cover subjects are, Trey Songz, Brandy, Snoop Dogg, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Amerie, Jennifer Lopez, Keyshia Cole, Janet Jackson, Lil Wayne, The Fugees, Eminem, T. I. R. Electro-rapper Kesha made Vibe history when she appeared on the cover in October 2012, the magazine also devoted several pages to photo spreads displaying high-end designer clothing as well as sportswear by urban labels such as Rocawear and Fubu. Vibe made a consistent effort to feature models of all ethnicities in these pages, former editor Emil Wilbikin was frequently credited with styling those pages and keeping fashion in the forefront of the magazines identity during the early 2000s. Many clothing brands created or linked to hip hop celebrities, such as Sean Combs Sean John, Nellys Apple Bottoms, in the September 2003 issue commemorating ten years of publication, the magazine created different covers using black and white portraits of its most popular cover subjects
21.
The World Famous Tony Williams
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Antony Williams, better known by his stage name The World Famous Tony Williams or simply Tony Williams, is an American R&B and soul recording artist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A singer, songwriter and record producer, Williams is perhaps best known for his vocals on his first cousin Kanye Wests debut album, Tony Williams grew up an only child in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Both his mother and father had musical backgrounds, and Williams was given his first instrument and he grew up singing in youth choirs at church and played in the marching band through his tenth grade year of high school. Williams’ name appears on Kanye West’s albums as Tony “Penafire” Williams which is the pseudonym he uses when crediting himself as a writer. He was a co-writer of two songs on The College Dropout, the Grammy Award winning 2004 album, following which Williams was invited to write for all of West’s subsequent albums. On the 2005 MTV documentary, Composing History The Making of Late Registration, he was featured producing vocals for Brandy on the song Bring Me Down, which he co-wrote. During that documentary, West described Williams as being “a great writer with a cutting edge voice. ”Tony Williams first became noticed as a singer when he debuted on Kanye West’s Grammy winning album The College Dropout, singing a version of the gospel hymn Ill Fly Away. On that same album Tony wrote the hook for the song, Roses and this album not only promoted Tony Williams name, but for the first time fans were able to match his voice and name with a face. He was featured on the song and the video for Drive Slow, later, he was seen singing with Kanye when West was featured on the MTV television series, Life and Rhymes of Kanye West. By the time Kanye went on the Touch the Sky Tour, Williams was known as the singer that always accompanied West. His voice is recognized on some popular Hip Hop songs, having performed with, for example, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Nas, Game, and Rick Ross. In March 2010, Williams released his first mainstream project in the form of a mixtape, The World Famous Tony Williams and this project was a collection of original music, covers, and remixes, including the Dreaming of your love remix with the French rapper Matt Moerdock. In October,2010, Williams released his first single Everything About You from his studio album, King or the Fool. This legitimized him as a featured artist, Williams has had songs played on Brazilian airwaves, where he sang some of the vocals in Portuguese, and some musical chart success in France. Williams now resides in Fort Worth, Texas, official website Tony Williams at AllMusic Tony Williams discography, forum, and marketplace at Discogs Tony Williams discography at MusicBrainz
22.
Stronger (Kanye West song)
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Stronger is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the second single from his third studio album, Graduation. The production was handled by West, with an extended outro co-produced with Mike Dean, the composition is electronic in nature, employing synthesizers as its prominent instrument. For the track, West utilizes a vocal sample of Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by French house duo Daft Punk. West also describes Stronger as an emancipation, using the track to vent his frustration over mistakes he made in the past year, the songs production process was arduous, with West and his team mixing the track reportedly over 75 times, including after its release as a single. West felt Stronger paled in comparison to the original. The singles music video was directed by Hype Williams, features sci-fi imagery based on the 1988 anime film Akira, Kanye Wests use of shutter shades in the music video became a signature of his in the late 2000s. Released as a single on July 31,2007, Stronger would top the Billboard Hot 100 several weeks later and it was a top ten single in ten countries, topping the charts in four of them, including the United Kingdom. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards, Stronger has since been certified 7× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Prior to release, a portion of Stronger was first released in May 2007 on Wests Cant Tell Me Nothing mixtape, on June 27,2007, Stronger was put onto the BBC Radio 1 Up-Front playlist and was later upgraded to the A-List a month prior to its release. The singles front cover art was released on Wests website on June 28,2007 and it was designed by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, whom Kanye West collaborated with to produce the artwork for Graduation. Stronger musically derives from a sample of Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by French house duo Daft Punk. The use of the sample was requested through Pedro Winter. The sample was approved by the duo, who enjoyed the track. West later met Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo at Lollapalooza, the recording sessions for Stronger was a turning point in the production process for Wests third studio album Graduation, whereas prior West had been aimlessly making songs. The sci-fi imagery of the video inspired West to take his music in a more futuristic direction, on July 3,2007, Kanye West told Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 that although he believes Stronger is a great song, it does not compare to the sampled original. Daft Punk went on to say that they were delighted with how Wests single turned out to be. The two had first heard the new song on Power 106 while on a San Francisco flight, as Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of the duo stated, Our song had a good sound, but when put Kanyes record on, the sound was really fat. De Homem-Christo also clarified, Its not a collaboration in the studio, Stronger was recorded in three different recording studios worldwide, including Ape Sounds in Tokyo, Sony Music Studios in New York City, and The Record Plant in Los Angeles
23.
Xcel Energy
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It consists of four operating subsidiaries, Northern States Power-Minnesota, Northern States Power-Wisconsin, Public Service Company of Colorado, and Southwestern Public Service Co. Ben Fowke is the Chairman, CEO, and President, Xcel Energy was built on three companies, Minneapolis-based Northern States Power Company, Denver-based Public Service Company of Colorado, and Amarillo-based Southwestern Public Service. The financial strain of creating this new enterprise soon overwhelmed him and he sold the franchise to W. H. Gillenwater and he later sold the company to an investment firm in Cleveland, Ohio, which already owned the Roswell Gas Co. Northern States Power Companys timeline begins with the organization of the Washington County Light & Power Co. in 1909, while the bulk of NSPs territory grew across central and southern Minnesota, it acquired territory in North Dakota and extended southwest into South Dakota. NSPs system also extended east into Wisconsin, but because of utility ownership laws in that state, Public Service Company of Colorado was formed in 1923 to provide an electric generating station for the Denver area. By 1924, it had acquired most of the companies in northern. Originally a subsidiary of Cities Service Company, it became an independent autonomous operation in November 1943, by this time, it served 80 percent of Colorado’s gas and electricity needs. As demand for energy continued to grow, so did PSCo, eventually, the company merged with SPS to form New Century Energies in 1995. After the failed Primergy merger, NSP merged with New Century Energies to form Xcel Energy, in 2005, Xcel sold Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power to Black Hills Corporation. Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power had been a subsidiary of PSCo since the 1920s, the Cabin Creek Fire occurred on October 2,2007 at Xcel Energy’s Hydropower Generation plant in Georgetown, Colorado. On June 1,2011, Federal prosecutors opened their charges that Xcel Energy was criminally liable for the deaths of the five RPI workers, on June 28, the jury found Xcel Energy not guilty. On December 19,2011, RPI Coating pleaded guilty to workplace safety violations, the company took responsibility for the deaths of five workers and the injuries to three. Xcel Energy currently has 13 coal plants with a capacity of 7,697 MW, seven of those plants are operated in Colorado. Xcel Energy owns and operates three wind farms, in October 2011, Xcel Energy set a world record for electricity from wind power. Xcel Energy generates over 500 megawatts of power from 27 plants in Wisconsin, Minnesota. This accounts for four percent of their electricity generation. They also purchase large amounts of hydro-generated electricity from Manitoba Hydro, biomass electricity comes from organic fuel sources. Xcel Energy has contracts for about 110 megawatts of electricity from biomass generators, two in northern Minnesota are fueled by forest harvest residue, such as treetops and limbs
24.
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
25.
The Game (Common song)
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The Game is the first single from rapper Commons 2007 album Finding Forever. It was released to iTunes as a download on May 22,2007. It is produced by Kanye West, who samples Tezeta by Ethiopian jazz musician Seyfu Yohannes for the tracks beat and it utilizes O. C. s Half Good, Half Sinner to construct one of his signature choruses, which is scratched by DJ Premier. With its hard hitting drums, the beat is considered to be a throwback to 90s boom bap hip hop. A black-and-white music video was shot for The Game and it features Common freestyle rapping in front of a mirror and rapping normally in a murky tunnel. The video appeared at number 86 on BETs Notarized, Top 100 Videos of 2007 countdown
26.
Stay Up! (Viagra)
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Stay Up. is the first single released from producer-rapper 88-Keys debut album The Death of Adam and features the albums co-executive producer Kanye West. The song samples All Night Loving by British R&B three-piece band Imagination, the single was released digitally on August 25,2008. A snippet of the track was first previewed on Kanye Wests 2007 Cant Tell Me Nothing mixtape, the music video premiered across multiple MTV channels all day on Monday, March 16,2009. Shot in High Definition on the streets of Los Angeles, the video features 88-Keys and Kanye West dressed in full prosthetic makeup made to appear in their late sixties, out on a night on the town. Utilizing the talents of makeup artist Tony Gardner of Alterian Effects the video creates an intimate, according to director Jason Goldwatch, Stay Up. on Myspace imeem Music
27.
Talib Kweli
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Talib Kweli Greene is an American hip hop recording artist, entrepreneur, and social activist. He is the son of professional educators, in 2011, Kweli founded Javotti Media, which is self-defined as a platform for independent thinkers and doers. Kweli earned recognition early on through his work with fellow Brooklyn artist, Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, Kwelis career continued with solo success including collaborations with famed producers Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pharrell Williams. Kweli is known to artists on the rise, such as J. Cole, Jay Electronica, Kendrick Lamar. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Kweli grew up in a household in Park Slope and his mother, Brenda Greene, is an English professor at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York and his father an administrator at Adelphi University. His younger brother, Jamal Greene, is a professor of Constitutional Law at Columbia Law School, a graduate of Yale Law School, and former clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. As a youth, he was drawn to Afrocentric rappers, such as De La Soul, Kweli was a student at Cheshire Academy, a boarding school in Connecticut. He was previously a student at Brooklyn Technical High School before being academically dismissed and he later studied experimental theater at New York University. Kweli made his debut in 1996, with featured five appearances on Doom. In Cincinnati, Kweli also met DJ Hi-Tek and the two collaborated on a few well received underground recordings as Reflection Eternal, including Fortified Live, shortly afterwards, upon returning to New York, he reconnected with Mos Def and formed Black Star. Kweli brought along Hi-Tek to produce their album, 1998s Mos Def. The album, released amidst a late 90s renaissance of conscious, Afrocentric hip hop, was hailed by critics. Kweli and Hi-Tek continued their Reflection Eternal partnership on the 2000 album Train of Thought, which was met with critical acclaim. The album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios, Hip Hop for Respect was organized by Mos Def and Kweli to speak out against police brutality, specifically, the case of Amadou Diallo. The project released one EP for Rawkus Entertainment, on February 4,1999, Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by four police officers while reaching into his pocket for his wallet. The project aimed to assemble 41 emcees to represent the 41 shots fired, producers included DJ Khalil Mr. Khaliyl, Organized Noize, and 88-Keys. In 2001, Kweli and Mos Def, contributed to the Red Hot + Indigo compilation album created by the Red Hot Organization, the compilation was a tribute to Duke Ellington, that raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. Black Star collaborated with fellow artists John Patton and Ron Carter to record Money Jungle, in 2002, Kweli contributed to the critically acclaimed Red Hot + Riot, a compilation CD created by the Red Hot Organization in tribute to the music and work of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti
28.
Fonzworth Bentley
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Derek Watkins, better known as Fonzworth Bentley or Farnsworth Bentley, is a musician and author. He is perhaps best known for being Sean Combs former personal valet and assistant, as first seen in Making the Band 2 and he was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He first appeared rapping on Da Bands 2002 album Too Hot for TV, in the track Cheers to Me, in 2003, Bentley was featured on the Good Day, Good Sir skit on OutKasts Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. In 2004, he had a role in the video of Kanye Wests The New Workout Plan. His debut album, C. O. L. O. U. R. S. was released via iTunes on April 26,2011 and he was also featured, playing the violin in the Yes We Can music video in support of Barack Obamas 2008 presidential campaign. Bentley was a producer for Borrow My Crew in 2005, in which he allowed one boy, Cory Cole. Since 2008, he has been hosting the MTV series From Gs to Gents, in 2007, Bentley authored an etiquette book, Advance Your Swagger, How to Use Manners, Confidence and Style to Get Ahead. In May 2009, Bentley hosted one of the parties following the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington. In 2007, Bentley contributed to KnowHow2GO, recently, Bentley sang as a member of the chorus for We Are The World, a remake of the original for Haiti, in February 2010. From Gs to Gents Top Ten Gentlemens Club Confessions of a Celebrity Assistant VH1 Fashion Rocks All Shades of Fine,25 Hottest Women of the Past 25 Years P
29.
Pimp C
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Chad Lamont Butler, better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American hip hop recording artist and producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as a member of the Underground Kingz. Butler formed the rap group Underground Kingz with best friend Bernard Bun B Freeman in 1987 in Port Arthur, in 1991, Jive Records signed UGK and released Too Hard to Swallow, followed by the critically acclaimed Super Tight. UGKs fourth album, Dirty Money, was distributed in 2001, due to Butlers incarceration in 2002, UGK would not release another studio album until 2007s Underground Kingz, which included the hit International Players Anthem, featuring Outkast. In January 2002, Pimp C was sentenced to eight years in prison for violating his probation by ignoring his sentence to community service stemming from an aggravated assault charge. His arrest was protested by the hip hop community, who along with Bun B. While Pimp C was in prison, Rap-A-Lot Records released The Sweet James Jones Stories in 2005, Pimp C spent the later portion of his sentence at the Terrell Unit in Brazoria County, Texas and was transferred to the Huntsville Unit a week prior to his release. On December 30,2005, Pimp C was released from prison, on July 11,2006, Pimp C released his debut solo album, Pimpalation. Pimp C was found dead in a hotel in West Hollywood, California and his death was attributed in part to promethazine/codeine effects in conjunction with preexisting sleep apnea. Promethazine and codeine are active ingredients in a drug called syrup or purple drank that Pimp C, like many other Southern rappers. The funeral was held at the Bob Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur, Port Arthur Mayor Deloris Prince, Pimp Cs mother Weslyn Monroe, and Bun B were among the speakers at the service. Attendees included many luminaries of the Houston rap scene, Slim Thug, Chamillionaire, Mike Jones, Willie D, Lil Flip. Bun B released the final UGK album, UGK4 Life, UGK4 Life had been recorded, for the most part, in the time frame between their previous album and the passing of Pimp C. Outkast paid tribute to Pimp C during their Outkast #Atlast homecoming tour in Atlanta, playing Intl Players Anthem onstage with Bun B and that same year, Bun B dedicated a tribute show at the A3C Festival in Atlanta, GA to preclude Pimp Cs posthumous album. The late up and coming rapper Doe B released a remix of UGKs song Murder entitled Homicide, official website Pimp C at the Internet Movie Database
30.
Lil Wayne
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Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American hip hop recording artist and author from New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1991, at the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, in 1996, Lil Wayne joined the southern hip hop group Hot Boys, with his Cash Money label-mates Juvenile, Young Turk and Lil Doogie. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live. that same year, Most of the groups success came with their platinum-selling album Guerrilla Warfare and the 1999 single Bling Bling. Along with being the flagship artist of Cash Money Records, Lil Wayne is also the Chief Executive Officer of his own imprint, Young Money Entertainment. Lil Waynes solo debut album Tha Block Is Hot, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and his subsequent albums, Lights Out and 500 Degreez, went on to be certified gold. Wayne reached higher popularity with his fourth album Tha Carter, which was led by the single Go D. J. and his appearance on Destinys Childs Top 10 single Soldier, that same year. The album was followed by Tha Carter II, as well as several mixtapes, Wayne gained more prominence with his sixth album Tha Carter III, which became his most successful album to date, with first-week sales of over one million copies in the United States. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and includes the hit singles Lollipop, A Milli, following the success of Tha Carter III, Wayne decided to record a rock-esque album titled Rebirth. The album, released in 2010, was certified gold by the RIAA, in March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8-month jail sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007. Waynes eighth album I Am Not a Human Being, was released during his incarceration and his 2011 album and first following his release, Tha Carter IV, sold 964,000 copies in its first week of availability in the United States. It includes the singles 6 Foot 7 Foot, How to Love, on September 27,2012, Lil Wayne passed Elvis Presley as the male with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 109 songs. The record has since passed by other artists. Lil Waynes thirteenth studio album, Tha Carter V has been delayed multiple times and has no scheduled release date, Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born on September 27,1982, and grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. His mother, a cook, gave birth to him when she was 19 years old and his parents divorced when he was 2, and his father permanently abandoned the family. Although Wayne and Birdman have a relationship and Birdman calls Carter his son, Waynes biological father. Lil Wayne has also spoken about his stepfather, Rabbit. Carter has a dedicated to Rabbit, who was murdered before Carter became a star. Carter enrolled in the program of Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club of Eleanor McMain Secondary School
31.
Pro Nails
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Pro Nails is the second single by American hip hop artist Kid Sister from her debut album Ultraviolet. The song is known for its remix, which features a verse by Kanye West. The single was released in 2007 and reissued in 2008. Originally a solo track, Kanye West added a guest verse to the song for his 2007 Cant Tell Me Nothing mixtape, West discovered the song through A-Trak, who had begun dating Kid Sister. Pro Nails was initially released on both 12 vinyl and via the iTunes Store on October 17,2007, the single featured both the original and remix edits of Pro Nails as well as a B-side entitled Switch Board, produced by Gant-Man. All of Kid Sisters releases were removed from iTunes when she signed a new record deal with Downtown Records in February 2008. In April 2008, a single was released and the song was readded to iTunes as the Super High Shine EP. The single was released in the United Kingdom on July 14,2008, the Kanye remix was also featured on Fabric Live 38. The song samples Project Pats Good Googly Moogly, the music video, directed by Ruben Fleischer, uses the remix version and features Kanye West as well as a cameo by A-Trak. Following the theme of the song, a majority of the takes place within a nail salon. Near the end, the scene relocates to an alley and the transitions to the b-side Switchboard. The video was filmed in October 2007, and premiered on mtvU on December 3, Kid Sister on Myspace Pro Nails on YouTube Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
32.
Jay-Z
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Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and investor. He is one of the musicians of all time, having sold more than 100 million records. MTV ranked him the Greatest MC of all time in 2006, Rolling Stone ranked three of his albums—Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album —among the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2014, Forbes estimated his net worth at nearly $520 million, Jay Z co-owns the New York 40/40 Club sports bar, and is the co-creator of the clothing line Rocawear. He is the president of Def Jam Recordings, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records. He also founded the sports agency Roc Nation Sports and is a certified NBA, as an artist, he holds the record for most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200 with 13. He has also had four number ones on the Billboard Hot 100, in 2009, he was ranked the tenth-most successful artist of the 2000s by Billboard as well as the fifth top solo male artist and fourth top rapper behind Eminem, Nelly, and 50 Cent. He was also ranked the 88th-greatest artist of all time by Rolling Stone, Jay Z married Singer-Songwriter Beyoncé in 2008. Shawn Carter was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Marcy Houses and he and his three siblings were raised by their mother, Gloria Carter after their father, Adness Reeves abandoned the family. Reeves would later meet and reconcile with Jay Z before dying from liver failure in 2003, Jay Z claims in his lyrics that in 1982, at the age of 12, he shot his older brother in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry. Along with future rapper AZ, Carter attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn until it was closed down, according to his interviews and lyrics, during this period he sold crack cocaine and was shot at three times. According to his mother, Carter used to wake up his siblings at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table and she bought him a boom box for his birthday, sparking his interest in music. He began freestyling and writing lyrics, known as Jazzy around the neighborhood, Carter later adopted the showbiz/stage name Jay-Z in homage to his mentor Jaz-O. He would drop the hyphen in 2013, Jay Z can be briefly heard on several of Jaz-Os early recordings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including The Originators and Hawaiian Sophie. Jay Z became embroiled in several battles with rapper LL Cool J in the early 1990s and he first became known to a wide audience on the posse cut Show and Prove on the 1994 Big Daddy Kane album Daddys Home. When I would leave the stage to go change outfits, I would bring out Jay Z and Positive K and let them freestyle until I came back to the stage. The young Jay Z appeared on a song by Big L, Da Graveyard, and on Mic Geronimos Time to Build. His first official rap single was called In My Lifetime, for which he released a music video, an unreleased music video was also produced for the B-side I Cant Get with That
33.
The People (Common song)
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The People is a song by American rapper Common, released as the second single of his seventh studio album Finding Forever. It made its first appearance on Kanye Wests Cant Tell Me Nothing mixtape, the song features production by West and contains background vocals provided by soul singer Dwele. The original version of the song had Common singing the hook by himself and it contains samples of We Almost Lost Detroit by Gil Scott-Heron as well as vocal samples of Long Red by Mountain. This action was part of Wests intention to pay tribute to J Dilla through the production style expressed within the album, though it performed moderately on the charts, The People became one of the most critically acclaimed songs of the year. The song was listed at number twenty-nine on Rolling Stones the 100 Best Songs of 2007 and it also received a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards. The music video for The People was directed by NEON and filmed in Brooklyn, NY with footage from Chicago, the video premiered on June 22 on Y. Music and features stills of Common rapping in the middle of a field on the outskirts of the city, information taken from Finding Forever liner notes
34.
Big Sean
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Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Sean signed with Kanye Wests GOOD Music in 2007, Def Jam Recordings in 2008, after releasing a number of mixtapes, Sean released his debut studio album, Finally Famous, in 2011. He released his studio album, Hall of Fame, on August 27,2013. Seans third studio album Dark Sky Paradise was released in 2015, Sean Michael Leonard Anderson was born on March 25,1988 in Santa Monica, California to Myra and James Anderson. When he was 3 months old, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he was raised by his mother, a school teacher and he attended the Detroit Waldorf School and graduated from Cass Technical High School with a 3.7 GPA. Big Sean is often heard saying west side in his songs, he is referring to the west side of his hometown Detroit, in 2005, Kanye West was doing a radio interview at 102.7 FM. Hearing about this, Sean headed over to the station to meet West, initially West was reluctant to hear him, however he gave Sean 16 bars to rap for him. According to Big Sean, West enjoyed his freestyle, As we get to the entrance of the radio station and we stopped in the middle of the doorway. He starts looking at me and bobbing his head, after the freestyle, Sean left West his demo tape. Two years later, West signed Big Sean to GOOD Music, on September 30,2007, Big Sean released his first official mixtape Finally Famous, The Mixtape. His hit single, Getcha Some, produced by WrighTrax, attained media attention and led to articles in The Source and he also recorded a music video for Getcha Some, which was directed by Hype Williams. Sean released a mixtape hosted by Mick Boogie on April 16,2009. It featured the songs Million Dollars, Getcha Some and Supa Dupa, an unauthorized leak of his collaboration with Drake, called Made made its way onto the internet on April 30,2010. In an interview with TheHipHopUpdate. com on May 1, Big Sean expressed his disappointment over the leak, Big Seans official Facebook page confirmed that his debut album Finally Famous & Consequences Cons TV would be released on September 14,2010. On August 31, Big Sean tweeted that the album was not coming out on that day, the albums lead single, My Last, features vocals from Chris Brown and was produced by No I. D. According to Amazon. com, Big Seans Finally Famous was delayed by a week, Big Sean has revealed the cover art for his G. O. O. D. Music debut and explained that the one-week pushback was to be blamed on sample, the official track list was revealed on June 7. Finally Famous, Seans debut studio album, was released June 28,2011, and spawned three hit singles, My Last, Marvin & Chardonnay and Dance
35.
Consequence (rapper)
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Dexter Raymond Mills, Jr. better known by his stage name Consequence, is an American hip hop recording artist from Queens, New York City, New York. Consequence debuted in 1996, appearing several times on A Tribe Called Quests fourth album Beats, Rhymes, in March 2007, he released his debut album Dont Quit Your Day Job. under Columbia Records and Kanye Wests GOOD Music. Consequence left GOOD Music in 2011, on bad terms, after being signed with the label since 2005 and he and West later reconciled, despite Consequence speaking ill of West. Consequence subsequently launched his own label, Band Camp Records. On July 22,2011 Consequence released a song titled The Plagurist Society where he takes shots, Pusha T responded to the diss when he appeared on Chicago’s 107. Later that day, Consequence called in to Chicago’s WGCI’s The Morning Riot in retaliation to the remarks Pusha T made about him and he also premiered a song titled Everybody Told Me 2 where he disses West, Pusha T and GOOD Music in general. Since then Pusha T has responded to Consequence on a record, the song was the remix to Ace Hoods Go N Get It which also featured Beanie Sigel, Busta Rhymes and Styles P. In the song Pusha raps Consequence, nigga, talk is cheap You dont want a problem, off the beef Before I off his ass with his awful teeth. On August 19, Consequence released Movies on Demand 3 and continued to diss his former label and Pusha T on songs such as Career Killer, on September 15,2011 Consequence appeared on MTVs Rap Fix and announced his feud with Kanye West and GOOD Music was over. While out in Chicago in October 2011, Pusha T appeared on WGCI radio for a time, and confirmed that the beef was indeed over. On March 13,2013 Consequence assaulted fellow rapper and reality TV show actor Joe Budden during their Love & Hip Hop TV show reunion. Consequence reportedly assaulted Budden by sneaking behind him and hitting him from behind, Budden immediately spoke on Angie Martinez radio show about the incident and stated he would retaliate to the incident. After the reunion ended, Budden reportedly assaulted Consequence in retaliation outside of the venue, the event was captured on cell phone footage. Fridays 2010 Beyoncé – Party on 42011 Son of Light – Love & Hate 2012 A Tribe Called Quest – Whateva Will Be, Mobius, Black Spasmodic, thank You 4 Your Service 2016
36.
Because of You (Ne-Yo song)
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Because of You is a 2007 song by singer and songwriter Ne-Yo. It is the first single from his album of the same name. The single started radio play the week of March 27,2007, five other versions of the song have surfaced, one with an extended ending, one featuring rapper AC, S-One, Michael Jackson as well as Joe Budden, a second one features Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The official remix, however, features Kanye West, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 84 in March, it reached the top ten in May when it climbed from number 39 to number 5 in one week. The song has become his second-most successful song in the U. S. after his 2006 number-one hit So Sick, by May the single had reached a peak at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, behind only Maroon 5s Makes Me Wonder. It also peaked at number 4 in the UK, becoming Ne-Yos only lead single to date to not reach the top spot, the beat used is somehow unique in the R&B style. The main melodic instruments include muted harpsichord and guitar, whilst the groove uses a bass/clap beat combined together, the groove is heavily influenced by the disco style guitar with delay. The bass/clap beat, mixed with harpsichord, gave listeners an impression of the song being a remix. This type of beat would later appear in Ne-Yos 2008 hit Closer, the song was featured in the 2007 film Are We Done Yet. It also appears in Grand Theft Auto IVs fictional Soul/R&B radio station The Vibe 98.8, the song was performed during the second intermission of the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta. Ne-Yo was joined on the ice rink of Philips Arena by the Halftime Live marching band, Ne-Yo has stated that the song is a continuation from the 2006 single Sexy Love. The songs music video, directed by Melina Matsoukas and Costume Designed by June Ambrose premiered on Access Granted on March 14,2007, a small clip of the video has also been shown on TRL. The video has garnered over 80 million views on YouTube, Ne-Yo throughout the video echoes dance moves popularized by Michael Jackson. The first scene features Ne-Yo turning up to a club with his girlfriend, at the club, as she invites him to dance, a girl brushes past him and is shown to express a seductive look. He decides to follow her into the bathroom, and there the two share a passionate kiss, the scene ends with her leaving as he rinses his face with water in regret. In the next scene, Ne-Yo is shown in the bedroom with his girlfriend, as she falls asleep, he receives a call from the girl he met at the club, asking him to join her as a clip of her diving in a steamy pool is shown. He leaves with shoes but no socks on, intending on slipping his feet into the pool, after he arrives, she displays seductive moves in the pool as he takes photos of her. The two are shown sharing a kiss after he lifts her out of the pool
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