1.
The Middle East (nightclub)
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The Middle East is a live music and dining complex consisting of four adjacent venues in the Central Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its two dedicated spaces, Upstairs and Downstairs, sit alongside ZuZu and The Corner, two restaurant–bars which also host live music. The Middle East opened as a Lebanese restaurant in 1970, the area is now known as The Middle East Upstairs. In the 1980s they booked blues and jazz music and it was not until 1987 that the first rock show was played by a solo Roger Miller of Mission of Burma fame. Later that year a party was thrown by local music promoter Billy Ruane at T. T. the Bears Place. Having overbooked T. T. s, Ruane worked with the Sater brothers to have some of his party spill over to The Middle East and allow bands to play at their establishment. Ruane was quoted in 2007 by the Boston Phoenix saying to a 20th anniversary reunion crowd, in 1988, there were several other expansions of The Middle East. First the Sater brothers converted a bakery Vouros at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and this section known as The Corner or the Bakery, has a small stage against the window to Mass. Avenue, where local bands and DJs play. In 1993, in order to create a space for more musical acts to perform, the basement of the building. This is now known as The Middle East Downstairs, the Corner acts as an entrance, waiting area and ticket section to the Downstairs. It became ZuZu, named after the nickname of one of the Sater brothers. In 2002 this venue was further updated by Lilli Dennison to have a night club type style, ZuZu features live music and DJs several times a week. According to the Weekly Dig, The Middle East reigns supreme as Bostons best rock and/or roll joint, the Boston Globe has called it the citys hippest night spot. Rolling Stone described the club as the exalted Middle East, the importance of The Middle East to the music scene in Greater Boston spans many genres. In the early 1990s, The Middle East quickly became a part of the music culture in the Boston area. Its where new talent was discovered and given voice. It was where established bands tried out new things on their audience and it was slowly reshaping the scene
2.
Virginia Beach, Virginia
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Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 437,994, in 2015, the population was estimated to be 452,745. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city in Virginia, despite being larger, Virginia Beach is generally considered to be a suburb of Norfolk. Located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Beach is a resort city with miles of beaches and hundreds of hotels, motels, and restaurants along its oceanfront. Every year the city hosts the East Coast Surfing Championships as well as the North American Sand Soccer Championship, a beach soccer tournament. Near the point where the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean meet, Cape Henry was the site of the first landing of the English colonists, the city is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having the longest pleasure beach in the world. It is located at the end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The Chesepian were the indigenous people of the area now known as Tidewater in Virginia at the time of European encounter. Little is known about them but archeological evidence suggests they may have related to the Carolina Algonquian. They would have one of the Algonquian languages. These were common among the tribes of the coastal area. The Chesepian occupied an area which is now defined as the independent cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and they named it Cape Henry, after Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King James I of England. They created their first permanent settlement on the side of the James River at Jamestown. Adam Thoroughgood of Kings Lynn, Norfolk, England is one of the earliest Englishmen to settle in this area, at the age of 18, he had contracted as an indentured servant to pay for passage to the Virginia Colony in the hopes of bettering his life. He earned his freedom after several years and became a citizen of the area. In 1629, he was elected to the House of Burgesses for Elizabeth Cittie, in 1634, the Colony was divided into the original eight shires of Virginia, soon renamed as counties. Thoroughgood is credited using the name of his home in England when helping name New Norfolk County in 1637. The following year, New Norfolk County was split into Upper Norfolk County, Thoroughgood resided after 1634 was along the Lynnhaven River, named for his home in England
3.
Virginia
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Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
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.
Star Trak Entertainment
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Star Trak is an American record label, founded by record producers The Neptunes in 2001. It operated as a division of Interscope-Geffen-A&M, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, Star Trak was formed in 2001 by The Neptunes. The label was partially funded by Arista Records in a joint-venture, Pharrell would sign longtime friends, The Clipse. Their debut album, Lord Willin, was released in 2002 led by the hits, Grindin, after the success of the album, the label would sign Kelis, Vanessa Marquez, Fam-Lay, N. E. R. D. & pop rock band Spymob, who provided backing instruments for N. E. R. Ds debut album In Search Of, the label released a compilation album during the summer of 2003, entitled, The Neptunes Present. In late 2003, Star Trak Entertainment released the successful album, Tasty. In early 2004, distributor Arista Records dropped their imprint Star Trak Entertainment, the first release from this deal was Fly or Die by N. E. R. D. In mid-2004, Star Trak signed EMI cousin label, Doggystyle Records to a distribution deal & soared to new heights behind veteran Doggystyle Records rapper, a few months later, Star Trak Entertainment left EMIs Virgin Records before completing a year with the label. They ended up moving operations over to Geffen Records and Interscope Records, here, they would release Snoop Doggs album, R&G, The Masterpiece. The album was led by Drop It Like Its Hot, which would be yet another hit single for the fledgling label and this album would go Platinum in the US like some other Star Trak Entertainment releases. It also had other hit singles. This album would give Star Trak Entertainment yet another hit, Like A Boss, during this time, the label added Kenna and Robin Thicke to their roster. The label has been under scrutiny for poor management which led to its decline. In 2006, CEO Pharrell released his solo album, In My Mind. The album provided two hits for the label and capitalized what is the Neptunes sound. These singles were Can I Have It Like That, with Gwen Stefani, other releases in 2006 were Robin Thickes second album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke, which featured the hit, Lost Without U. The last 2006 release was Clipses second album, Hell Hath No Fury and this was their first release through their Re-Up Records imprint. Star Trak Entertainment has since signed Teyana Taylor to their roster, along with Chester French, Natasha Ramos, Epoch When, in 2007, Kenna released his album, Make Sure They See My Face
6.
Arista Records
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/ˈɛ. rɪ. stə/ was a major American record label. It was a wholly owned unit of Sony Music Entertainment and was handled by Bertelsmann Music Group. The company operated under the RCA Music Group until 2011, the label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records. Until its demise in 2011, it was a distributor and promoter of albums throughout the United States. Today, the labels reissues and catalogue releases are handled by RCA Records, after being fired from CBS Records, Clive Davis was hired by Columbia Pictures in June 1974 to be a consultant for the companys record and music operations. The label was named Arista after New York Citys secondary school honor society, in early 1975, most of the artists who had been signed to Bell were let go, except David Cassidy, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and the 5th Dimension. Others, such as Suzi Quatro and Hot Chocolate, were farmed out to the Bell/Arista-distributed label, several Bell acts, such as Barry Manilow, the Bay City Rollers, and Melissa Manchester moved to Arista. The British Bell label kept that name for a couple of years before changing its name to Arista, the label was immortalized in the 1978 Rockpile song They Called It Rock, in the lyric, Arista says they love you/But the kids cant dance to this. In addition to Manilow, the Kinks, and Dionne Warwick, Arista signed Aretha Franklin in 1980, the labels most significant acquisition came in 1983 when Davis signed Warwicks cousin, Whitney Houston. Houston would eventually become Aristas biggest-selling recording artist, with sales of 200 million records worldwide, Arista had an imprint label in the 1970s called Arista Novus, which focused on contemporary jazz artists. A country music division, Career Records, was merged into the Arista Nashville division in 1997, Arista Austin was used in the late 1990s as a country label. Additionally, Arista was the North American distributor of Jive Records from 1981 until 1987, during the 1990s, Arista also distributed Logic, Rowdy and Heavenly Recordings. Looking to stave off bankruptcy, Columbia Pictures sold Arista to German-based Ariola Records in 1979, after Ariola purchased General Electrics RCA Records in 1986, the combined company was renamed Bertelsmann Music Group, though Aristas U. S. releases would not note BMG until 1987. Into the 1980s, Arista continued its success, including major UK act Secret Affair, over the years it acquired Northwestside Records, deConstruction Records, First Avenue Records, and Dedicated Records in the UK. In 1989, Arista entered into a joint venture with Antonio L. A. Reid and Babyface in the creation of LaFace Records record company of TLC, in 1993, Arista also entered into a joint-venture with Sean P. Diddy Combs to form Bad Boy Records. In 1997 Arista acquired Profile Records, the home of Run-D. M. C. in 1989, Arista signed Milli Vanilli, a duo consisting of Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan that was based in Germany. The label released its album, Girl You Know Its True, which was a remixed and re-edited version of All or Nothing. The album was certified platinum in the U. S. and charted five top-ten singles
7.
Re-Up Gang
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The Re-Up Gang are an American hip hop group formed in 2004, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The group was formed by Pusha T and Malice, brothers and members of Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, alongside Philadelphia-based rappers Ab-Liva, the Re-Up Gang is perhaps best known for their signature We Got It 4 Cheap mixtape series. The Re-Up Gang was created in early 2004, during Clipses long hiatus between their first and second albums, the group includes Clipse themselves, as well as long-time friend Ab-Liva of Major Figgas. While a Re-Up Gang album is planned, no specifics have been released due to Clipses legal issues with Jive Records, on August 5,2008 the group released an album on Koch Records titled Clipse Presents, Re-Up Gang. The album featured nine new songs and three unreleased remixes from We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. III, rapper Pusha T said, Everything happens for a reason. We put out the We Got It 4 Cheap series on our own for the streets and this time, Tony Draper got with Alan Grunblatt to put together an official album with new music and let Koch Records do what they do best. This release gives us something fresh in the marketplace to reward Re-Up fans while we continue to work on the Clipse album, according to an interview with HipHopDX the Sandman aka Sandcannnon stated the Re-Up Gangs album had been mishandled. Although there is no animosity between him and the three members, he is now pursuing a solo career. Sandman and Liva still remain in contact as they always have. All three members are on solo runs with No Malice releasing his solo titled album Hear Ye Him in August 2013 and with Pusha dropping his critically acclaimed My Name Is My Name album in October 2013. Pusha T is currently on Kanyes G. O. O. D Music with Ab-Liva still being by his side as a Re-Up Gang member while No Malice has been focused on his new life while making music with a new direction
8.
Faith Evans
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Faith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles in 1993 for a career in the music business, after working as a backing vocalist for Al B. Blige and Carl Thomas and released three platinum-certified studio albums between 1995 and 2001, including Faith, Keep the Faith and Faithfully, in 2003, she ended her relationship with the company to sign with Capitol Records. Following a longer hiatus, Evans released her fifth album Something About Faith on the independent label Prolific/E1 Music in 2010, other than her recording career, Evans is mostly known as the widow of New York rapper Christopher The Notorious B. I. G. Wallace, whom she married on August 4,1994, a few weeks after meeting at a Bad Boy photo shoot, a 1997 tribute single featuring Puff Daddy and the band 112, named Ill Be Missing You, won Evans a Grammy Award in 1998. Also an actress and writer, Evans made her debut in the 2000 musical drama Turn It Up by Robert Adetuyi. Her autobiography Keep the Faith, A Memoir was released by Grand Central Publishing in 2008, Evans was born on June 10,1973, in Lakeland, Florida to an African American mother, Helene Evans, a professional singer. Her father, Richard Swain, who was Caucasian, was a musician who left before Evans was born, Faith had known Johnnie Mae and Orvelt Kennedy as her grandparents. It was not until a couple of later that Helenes career floundered. Faith, however, was afraid to leave what shed been used to, raised in a Christian home, Evans began singing at church at age two. At age four, she caught the attention of the congregation of the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newark when she sang The 5th Dimensions song Let the Sunshine In. After graduating from school in 1991, Evans attended Fordham University in New York City to study marketing. In 1993, she relocated to Los Angeles, where she worked as a backup vocalist for singer Al B, when she was noticed by musician Sean Puff Daddy Combs. Impressed with her, Combs contracted her as the first female artist to his Bad Boy Entertainment record label during 1994, Faith became a success based on the singles You Used to Love Me and Soon as I Get Home. The album was certified platinum with 1.5 million copies sold. A year before, on August 4,1994, Evans married rapper, Wallace, after having met him at a Bad Boy photo shoot. During early 1997, after her separation from Wallace, but before his death, Faith began dating Russaw during her and Wallaces separation and after Wallace died, Evans became pregnant by Russaw. The couple had their first son Joshua on June 8,1998, during the summer of 1998, Evans and Russaw were married, and on March 22,2007, they had their second son Ryder Evan Russaw
9.
Pharrell Williams
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Pharrell Lanscilo Williams is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and film producer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the production duo The Neptunes, producing soul, hip hop. He is the lead vocalist and drummer of the rock-funk-hip hop band N*E*R*D and he released his first single, Frontin, in 2003 and followed up with his debut solo album, In My Mind in 2006. His second album, Girl, was released on March 3,2014 and this album was preceded by the commercially successful single, Happy. As part of the Neptunes, Williams has produced hit singles for various recording artists. Williams has earned ten Grammy Awards including two with the Neptunes and he is also a two-time Academy Award nominee, receiving a 2014 Best Original Song nomination from Happy and a 2017 Best Picture nomination as one of the producers of Hidden Figures. Williams was born on April 5,1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia and his roots extend for generations in Virginia and North Carolina, and one of his ancestors journeyed to West Africa in 1831, prompting other relatives to emigrate from America to Liberia in 1832. He met Chad Hugo in a summer band camp where Williams played the keyboards and drums. They were also members of a marching band, Williams played the snare drum while Hugo was drum major. Williams and Hugo attended Princess Anne High School where he played in the school band, in the MTV show When I Was 17, Pharrell stated that he was a nerd and often did things that made him stand out from most of his peers. In the early 1990s, Hugo and Williams formed a four-piece R&B-type group and they later entered a high school talent show where they were discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio was next to Princess Anne High School. After graduating from school, the group signed with Riley. Through working with Riley, Williams went on to write a verse and that same year, he also performed a small rap solo on SWVs second hit, Right Here. Williams and Hugo met rap duo Clipse in Virginia Beach in 1993, in 1994, Hugo and Williams had established themselves as a production duo under their old name The Neptunes, and assistant-produced Tonights The Night from Blackstreets self-titled album. Over the next three years continued to produce occasionally, and some of the results had little resemblance to the Neptunes sound later. In 1999, a friend introduced Williams to Kelis. At this point the Neptunes were gaining a fanbase and audience. In 2000, they produced the song I Just Wanna Love U for Jay Zs album The Dynasty, Roc La Familia, the songs sound and success sparked the interest of maturing pop artist Britney Spears
10.
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
11.
Kelis
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Kelis Rogers better known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and chef. Her third album, 2003s Tasty, earned the singer commercial prominence and produced the hit single Milkshake, her most well-known song. Kelis Was Here, her album, was the subject of further label disputes and she took a hiatus from music after its release. She released the album Flesh Tone in 2010 and her sixth, Food, Kelis has been recognised at the Brit Awards, Q Awards, NME Awards, and Grammy Awards ceremonies. She has sold six million worldwide and has had particular success in the United Kingdom. Kelis Rogers was born and raised in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan and her first name is a portmanteau of her fathers name, Kenneth, and her mothers name, Eveliss. Her father Kenneth was an African American jazz musician and Pentecostal minister and her mother Eveliss is a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer who inspired Kelis to pursue her singing career. She has three sisters, Kelis being the third born of the four girls, as a child, Kelis sang in church choirs and played violin, piano, and saxophone while attending Manhattan Country School, a private school. At the age of 13, Kelis shaved off all of her hair, laGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she formed the R&B trio BLU. Kelis was also a bartender and an associate at a clothing store before graduating high school. Afterwards, a friend introduced Kelis to The Neptunes, they formed a strong bond, Kelis began recording her debut album, Kaleidoscope, in mid-1998 and was finished within a year. Produced by The Neptunes and released by Virgin Records in 1999, as of 2006, the album had sold 249,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Its lead and most notable single, Caught Out There, became a top ten Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs hit, during this time, Kelis featured on Ol Dirty Bastards U. S. top 40 single Got Your Money. The album performed better in Europe, where Caught out There was a moderate hit, a second single, Good Stuff, reached number 19, the third, Get Along with You, was less successful, reaching number 51. The British Phonographic Industry certified Kaleidoscope gold for sales of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 43 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2001, Kelis won the BRIT Award for International Breakthrough Act, Kelis and the Neptunes output at this time was heralded as foreshadowing an innovation in contemporary R&B, but she later said, I was never an R&B artist. People coined me one but thats because, especially if youre in the States, if black and you sing. Her colorful style in clothing and hair received considerable attention
12.
Justin Timberlake
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Justin Randall Timberlake is an American singer-songwriter, actor and record producer. Born and raised in Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star Search, in the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of NSYNC, which eventually became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. With his first two albums exceeding sales of 10 million copies worldwide, he was established as one of the most commercially successful singers of the decade, furthermore, he produced records and collaborated with other artists. For his live performances, including the concert tour for the albums, he began performing with his band The Tennessee Kids, composed by instrumentalists. Timberlake voiced the character in DreamWorks Animations Trolls, which soundtrack includes his fifth Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single. Among numerous awards and accolades, Timberlake has won ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007 and 2013. His other ventures include record label Tennman Records, fashion label William Rast, Timberlake was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Lynn Harless and Charles Randall Timberlake, a Baptist church choir director. Timberlake grew up in Shelby Forest, a community between Memphis and Millington. He has two half-brothers, Jonathan and Stephen, from Charles second marriage to Lisa Perry and his half-sister Laura Katherine died shortly after birth on May 12,1997, and is mentioned in his acknowledgments in the album NSYNC as My Angel in Heaven. He was inspired to become a performer by Janet Jackson, saying She didnt just stand there and sing her song, fascinated by her energy, at the age of 11, Timberlake appeared on the television show Star Search, performing country music songs as Justin Randall. Timberlake then recruited Chasez to be in a singing group, organized by boy band manager Lou Pearlman. The boy band NSYNC formed in 1995, and began their career in 1996 in Europe, Timberlake and Chasez served as its two lead singers. In 1998, the rose to prominence in the United States with the release of their self-titled debut studio album. Their second album No Strings Attached sold 2.4 million copies in the first week, nSYNCs third album Celebrity was also financially successful. Upon the completion of the Celebrity Tour, the group went into hiatus in 2002, in late 1999, Timberlake appeared in the Disney Channel movie Model Behavior. He played Jason Sharpe, a model who falls in love with a waitress after mistaking her for another model and it was released on March 12,2000. The rise of his own stardom and the decline in the popularity of boy bands led to the dissolution of NSYNC. Band member Lance Bass was openly critical of Timberlakes actions in his memoir Out of Sync and his debut solo studio album Justified was released in November and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 439,000 copies, fewer than previous N Sync releases
13.
Pusha T
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Terrence LeVarr Thornton, better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He initially gained recognition as one-half of hip hop duo Clipse, alongside his brother Gene No Malice Thornton. In September 2010, Thornton announced his signing to Kanye Wests GOOD Music imprint, in March 2011, he released his first solo project, a mixtape titled Fear of God. Thornton released his solo album My Name Is My Name. In November 2015, Kanye West appointed Pusha T to take over his role as president of GOOD Music, Terrence LeVarr Thornton was born on May 13,1977, in The Bronx borough of New York City. Thornton and his family relocated to Virginia Beach, Virginia. In 1992, Terrence and his brother Gene formed the duo Clipse, of the two brothers, Terrence was more open to features, appearing on Kelis 1999 single Good Stuff and Niveas 2001 single Run Away, respectively. In 2004, he and his brother launched their record label imprint, Re-Up Records, in 2006, they released their third studio album and their most commercial album, Hell Hath No Fury, which was praised by critics. After one more album as the Clipse in 2009, both No Malice and Pusha T announced that they were taking time off from the duo to focus on their own solo projects. He was also featured on tracks from Wests GOOD Fridays series and made other appearances on Swizz Beatzs Monster Mondays series. 2 and tabi Bonneys Fresh, respectively, on the week of December 16,2010, Thornton signed exclusively with NUE Agency. On February 11,2011, Funkmaster Flex debuted Thorntons first solo offering on New York Citys Hot 97, the track, titled My God, was produced by Hit-Boy and was generally well received by the public. Soon after, the song leaked onto the internet, however was not officially released through iTunes, on March 21,2011, Thornton released his first solo project, a mixtape titled Fear of God, which included My God and featured freestyles and other original songs. Soon after he began working on his extended play Fear of God II, Let Us Pray. On August 31,2011, it was announced Thornton signed a record deal with Def Jam. In addition it was revealed he added four songs to the EP making it 12 tracks rather than just the nine tracks that were previously announced. The first single from Fear of God II, Let Us Pray was leaked onto the Internet on July 8,2011, the song, titled Trouble on My Mind, features Odd Future frontman, Tyler, The Creator. The EPs second single, Amen was released September 13,2011, the song, originally meant for Young Jeezy, was produced by Shawty Redd and features verses from Kanye West and Young Jeezy respectively
14.
No Malice
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Gene Elliott Thornton Jr. better known by his stage name No Malice, is an American hip hop recording artist from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is perhaps best known for being one half of East Coast hip hop duo Clipse, alongside his brother, No Malice released his solo debut album Hear Ye Him, on August 18,2013. No Malice was born Gene Elliott Thornton, Jr. on August 18,1972 and he and his family later moved down south to Virginia Beach. He and his brother, Pusha T, formed the rap group Clipse in 1992, impressed with their lyrical talents, Williams formed a working relationship with the duo. He eventually helped them secure a contract with Elektra Records. Under Elektra, and with The Neptunes handling its production, Clipse recorded their debut album Exclusive Audio Footage, the groups debut single The Funeral, helped to generate fan interest in the album, but failed to make a significant commercial impact. With The Funeral deemed a failure, Exclusive Audio Footage itself was shelved indefinitely, Clipse were subsequently released from their recording contract shortly thereafter. In early 2001, Williams signed the duo to Arista Records, Clipse released their commercial debut Lord Willin, on August 20,2002. The albums third single Ma, I Dont Love Her, was a modest hit, on October 1, 2002—only a month after its release—Lord Willin was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. In late 2003, Clipse began recording material for its second album, due to contractual requirements, Clipse was forced to stay on Jive, while Star Trak and the rest of its roster moved to a new home at Interscope Records. As delays continued, the group asked for a release from its contract. When Jive refused to grant this request, the duo sued the label, on May 9,2006, Clipse finally reached an agreement with Jive Records to release the album through its own label, Re-Up Records, along with Jive. Hell Hath No Fury was finally released on November 28,2006 and it spawned two singles, Mr. Me Too with Pharrell Williams and Wamp Wamp with Slim Thug. While the album received a deal of critical acclaim, its sales were modest. The hip hop magazine XXL gave the album a XXL rating, marking it as a five-star album, at the time only five albums had previously received that honor. In a May 19,2007 interview with Eye Weekly, Clipse revealed that the group had officially released from its recording contract with Jive. After this, the duo began discussions with record labels. The follow-up to Hell Hath No Fury, titled Til the Casket Drops, was released on December 8,2009 via Columbia Records, the album did not fare as well commercially as the groups first two albums, peaking at No.41 on the Billboard 200 albums chart
15.
The Bronx
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The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, within the U. S. state of New York. Since 1914, the Bronx has had the boundaries as Bronx County, a county of New York. The Bronx is divided by the Bronx River into a section in the west, closer to Manhattan. East and west street addresses are divided by Jerome Avenue—the continuation of Manhattans Fifth Avenue, the West Bronx was annexed to New York City in 1874, and the areas east of the Bronx River in 1895. Bronx County was separated from New York County in 1914, about a quarter of the Bronxs area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Zoo in the boroughs north and center. These open spaces are situated primarily on land reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north. The name Bronx originated with Jonas Bronck, who established the first settlement in the area as part of the New Netherland colony in 1639, the native Lenape were displaced after 1643 by settlers. This cultural mix has made the Bronx a wellspring of both Latin music and hip hop. The Bronx, particularly the South Bronx, saw a decline in population, livable housing, and the quality of life in the late 1960s. Since then the communities have shown significant redevelopment starting in the late 1980s before picking up pace from the 1990s until today, the Bronx was called Rananchqua by the native Siwanoy band of Lenape, while other Native Americans knew the Bronx as Keskeskeck. It was divided by the Aquahung River, the origin of Jonas Bronck is contested. Some sources claim he was a Swedish born emigrant from Komstad, Norra Ljunga parish in Småland, Sweden, who arrived in New Netherland during the spring of 1639. Bronck became the first recorded European settler in the now known as the Bronx and built a farm named Emmanus close to what today is the corner of Willis Avenue. He leased land from the Dutch West India Company on the neck of the mainland north of the Dutch settlement in Harlem. He eventually accumulated 500 acres between the Harlem River and the Aquahung, which known as Broncks River or the Bronx. Dutch and English settlers referred to the area as Broncks Land, the American poet William Bronk was a descendant of Pieter Bronck, either Jonas Broncks son or his younger brother. More recent research indicates that Pieter was probably Jonas nephew or cousin, the Bronx is referred to with the definite article as The Bronx, both legally and colloquially. The region was named after the Bronx River and first appeared in the Annexed District of The Bronx created in 1874 out of part of Westchester County
16.
Elektra Records
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Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of folk music. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMGs Atlantic Records Group, after five years of dormancy, the label was revived as an imprint of Atlantic in 2009. The label has been run by Gregg Nadel since 2015 who officially became its president in 2017, Elektra was formed in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt in Holzmans St. Johns College dorm room. The usual spelling of the Greek mythological Pleiad Electra was changed, Holzman famously explained, I gave her the ‘K’ that I lacked. He found the C in the name too soft but liked the solid bite of the letter K. The first Elektra LP, New Songs, was a collection of Lieder and similar art songs, Holzman also recorded Josh White, who was without a record deal as a result of McCarthyite blacklisting. In 1964, Elektra launched Nonesuch Records and this classical budget label was the best-selling budget classical label of the era. In 1965, Elektra began a joint venture with Survey Music called Bounty Records which was Elektras first foray into pop music. The most notable signing for Bounty was the Paul Butterfield Band who was moved over to Elektra when Bounty folded, the labels most important signings were the Chicago-based Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Los Angeles bands Love and The Doors, and the Detroit bands The Stooges and MC5. Included in Elektras LA signings were Tim Buckley and Bread, in 1968, the label also signed pioneering rock guitar soloist Lonnie Mack to a three-album deal. Also in 1967, Elektra launched its influential Nonesuch Explorer Series, excerpts from several Nonesuch Explorer recordings were later included on the two Voyager Golden Discs which were sent into deep space in 1977 aboard the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes. Elektra, along with its Nonesuch Records subsidiary, was acquired by Kinney National Services in 1970, soon afterwards, Kinney consolidated their label holdings under the Warner-Elektra-Atlantic umbrella. Holzman remained in charge of Elektra until 1972, when it merged with Asylum Records to become Elektra/Asylum Records, Asylums founder, David Geffen, would head the newly combined label. Holzman, in the meantime, was appointed vice president and chief technologist for Warner — ushering the company into home video. Holzman also went on to acquire Discovery Records, in 1975, Geffen stepped down due to health problems. He would be replaced by Joe Smith, who went on to become CEO of Capitol Records. Although the company was listed as Elektra/Asylum Records on the label credits
17.
Exclusive Audio Footage
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Exclusive Audio Footage is the unreleased debut studio album from Virginia hip hop duo Clipse. Despite being unreleased, the album spawned one single, The Funeral prior to the albums cancellation, promotional CD and vinyl copies exist and the album has been leaked online on several occasions. In 2004 counterfeit vinyl pressings of the album were released, exclusive Audio Footage was meant to be the debut album of Clipse, after they signed with Elektra Records. The albums first and only single was The Funeral and it failed to catch on in any meaningful way, and their label, Elektra Records, decided to indefinitely shelve the album. Clipse were released from their record contract not long afterwards, at the time of the albums release Clipse member Pusha T was known as Terrar and No Malice was known as Malice. Exclusive Audio Footage also marks the beginning of the Clipses recording partnership with The Neptunes
18.
Lord Willin'
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Lord Willin is the debut studio album by hip hop duo Clipse following the shelving of the original Clipse debut studio album Exclusive Audio Footage. The album was released on August 20,2002 and sold 122,000 units in its first week of release, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA on October 1,2002. Online music magazine Pitchfork Media placed Lord Willin at number 155 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s, slant Magazine placed the album on their list of best albums of the 2000s at number 98. In 2010, B. F. Goodrich launched a series of commercials starring snowboarder Shaun White. The ads prominently highlight the lyric, Ima tell you what Im talkin bout, all tracks produced by The Neptunes
19.
Billboard 200
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The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists, often, a recording act will be remembered by its number ones, those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week. The chart is based mostly on sales of albums in the United States, the weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, tracking week begins on Friday and ends on Thursday. A new chart is published the following Tuesday with an issue post-dated to the Saturday of the following week, the charts streaming schedule is also tracked from Friday to Thursday. Example, Friday January 1 – sales tracking week begins Thursday January 7 – sales tracking week ends Tuesday January 12 – new chart published, New product is released to the American market on Fridays. Digital downloads of albums are included in Billboard 200 tabulation. Albums that are not licensed for sale in the United States are not eligible to chart. As of the issue dated April 15,2017, the album on the Billboard 200 is More Life by Drake. Billboard began an album chart in 1945, initially only five positions long, the album chart was not published on a weekly basis, sometimes three to seven weeks passing before it was updated. A biweekly, 15-position Best-Selling Popular Albums chart appeared in 1955, the position count varied anywhere from 10 to 30 albums. The first number-one album on the new weekly list was Belafonte by Harry Belafonte, the chart was renamed to Best-Selling Pop Albums later in 1956, and then to Best-Selling Pop LPs in 1957. Beginning on May 25,1959, Billboard split the ranking into two charts Best-Selling Stereophonic LPs for stereo albums and Best-Selling Monophonic LPs for mono albums and these were renamed to Stereo Action Charts and Mono Action Charts in 1960. In January 1961, they became Action Albums—Stereophonic and Action Albums—Monophonic, three months later, they became Top LPs—Stereo and Top LPs—Monaural. On August 17,1963 the stereo and mono charts were combined into a 150-position chart called Top LPs, on April 1,1967, the chart was expanded to 175 positions, then finally to 200 positions on May 13,1967. In 1960, Billboard began concurrently publishing album charts which ranked sales of older or mid-priced titles and these Essential Inventory charts were divided by stereo and mono albums, and featured titles that had already appeared on the main stereo and mono album charts. In January 1961, the Action Charts became Action Albums—Monophonic, Albums appeared on either chart for up to nine weeks, then were moved to an Essential Inventory list of approximately 200 titles, with no numerical ranking. This list continued to be published until the consolidated Top LPs chart debuted in 1963, in 1982, Billboard began publishing a Midline Albums chart which ranked older or mid-priced titles. The chart held 50 positions and was published on a bi-weekly basis, on May 25,1991, Billboard premiered the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart
20.
Grindin'
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Grindin is the first single from the Virginia Beach rap duo Clipse. The song was produced by The Neptunes, and featured on the Clipses debut album, the song became a summer Top 40 hit, reaching #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 30,2002. It bares notable and acknowledged similarity to 1980s hip hop tracks such as Eric B & Rakims My Melody, both remixes feature the same instrumental but a different verse performed by Pusha T. Pusha T stated that Pharrell nearly gave the beat to Jay-Z. The song is featured in the video games Saints Row. The intro was used in the 2003 comedy film Malibus Most Wanted. Pitchfork Media ranked the song at number 27 in The Top 500 of the Tracks of the 2000s, the song was also listed at #84 in Rolling Stones best songs of the 2000s. Hip-hop writer Shea Serrano listed the song as the most important rap song of 2002 in his book The Rap Yearbook, lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
21.
Billboard Hot 100
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The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales, radio play and online streaming, the weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday, when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but was changed to Friday to Thursday in July 2015. Radio airplay, which, unlike sales figures and streaming data, is available on a real-time basis. A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard on Tuesdays, as of the issue for the week ending on April 15,2017, the Hot 100 has had 1,061 different number one hits. The current number one song is Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, prior to 1955, Billboard did not have a unified, all-encompassing popularity chart, instead measuring songs by individual metrics. At the start of the era in 1955, three such charts existed, Best Sellers in Stores was the first Billboard chart, established in 1936. This chart ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country, Most Played by Jockeys was Billboards original airplay chart. It ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio disc jockeys, Most Played in Jukeboxes ranked the most played songs in jukeboxes across the United States. On the week ending November 12,1955, Billboard published The Top 100 for the first time, the Top 100 combined all aspects of a singles performance, based on a point system that typically gave sales more weight than radio airplay. The Best Sellers In Stores, Most Played by Jockeys and Most Played in Jukeboxes charts continued to be published concurrently with the new Top 100 chart. The week ending July 28,1958 was the publication of the Most Played By Jockeys and Top 100 charts. On August 4,1958, Billboard premiered one main all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100 quickly became the industry standard and Billboard discontinued the Best Sellers In Stores chart on October 13,1958. The Billboard Hot 100 is still the standard by which a songs popularity is measured in the United States, the Hot 100 is ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS, sales data compiled by Nielsen Soundscan and streaming activity provided by online music sources. There are several component charts that contribute to the calculation of the Hot 100. Charts are ranked by number of gross audience impressions, computed by cross-referencing exact times of radio airplay with Arbitron listener data. Hot Singles Sales, the top selling singles compiled from a sample of retail store, mass merchant and internet sales reports collected, compiled. The chart is released weekly and measures sales of commercial singles. With the decline in sales of singles in the US
22.
RIAA
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The Recording Industry Association of America is a continental North and South American trade organization that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA says create, the RIAA headquarters is in Washington, D. C. The RIAA was formed in 1952 and its original mission was to administer recording copyright fees and problems, work with trade unions, and do research relating to the record industry and government regulations. Early RIAA standards included the RIAA equalization curve, the format of the record groove and the dimensions of 33 1/3 rpm,45 rpm. Since 2001, the RIAA has spent $2 to $6 million each year on lobbying in the United States, the RIAA also participates in the collective rights management of sound recordings, and it is responsible for certifying Gold and Platinum albums and singles in the United States. Cary Sherman has been the RIAAs chairman and CEO since 2011, Sherman joined the RIAA as its general counsel in 1997 and became president of the board of directors in 2001, serving in that position until being made chairman and CEO. Mitch Glazier has been the RIAAs senior executive vice president since 2011 and he served as executive vice president for public policy and industry relations from 2000 to 2011. The past RIAA chairman and CEO is Mitch Bainwol, who served from 2003 to 2011 and he left in 2011 to become president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The board of directors consists of 26 members of the board, the RIAA operates an award program for albums that sell a large number of copies. The program originally began in 1958, with a Gold Award for singles, the criterion was changed in 1975 to the number of copies sold, with albums selling 500,000 copies awarded the Gold Award. In 1976, a Platinum Award was added for one million sales, the awards are open to both RIAA members and non-members. Since 2000, the RIAA also operates a program for Latin music sales. Currently, a Disco De Oro is awarded for 30,000 units, the RIAA defines Latin music as a type of release with 51% or more of its content recorded in Spanish. In 2006, digital ringtones were added to branch of certification. In the same year, the RIAA introduced the Latin Digital Award for digital recordings in Spanish and this release format includes DVD and VHS releases, and certain live albums and compilation albums. The certification criteria is different from other styles. Gold,50,000 Platinum,100,000 Multi-Platinum,200,000 copies The RIAA opposes unauthorized sharing of its music, studies conducted since the association began its campaign against peer-to-peer file-sharing have concluded that losses incurred per download range from negligible to moderate. The association has commenced high-profile lawsuits against file sharing service providers and it has also commenced a series of lawsuits against individuals suspected of file sharing, notably college students and parents of file sharing children
23.
Like I Love You
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Like I Love You is the debut single recorded by American singer Justin Timberlake for his debut studio album, Justified. The song features American hip hop duo Clipse and it was co-written by Timberlake and The Neptunes, who also produced it. The song was released on October 14,2002 as Timberlakes debut solo single, according to Williams, who came up with the music loop, the songs drums were an ode to the funk era. The song peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and it was performed by Timberlake at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City, on August 29,2002. It also received a nomination at the Grammy Awards of 2003 for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, the location of the music video is in Weston, Ontario, Canada. MTV News reported in July 2002 that Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams were working on tracks for Justified. When the duo picked Timberlake up from his hotel in Virginia Beach, they listened to Earth, the background of the songs was the feeling the duo wanted to implement into the musical content of the album. In response to this, Timberlake said, Nobodys ever heard anything like that before, a white boy singing this kind of music. Hugo revealed that Timberlake didnt care what people would say, the production duo commented that despite not being content with sampling music, for inspiration, they listened to both Off the Wall and Thriller, albums by Michael Jackson. Hugo commented that We just wanted to re-create that sense of timeless, classic songs, without any of the bling, bling. It has elements of the old and the new, like I Love You was the first song they recorded together and the first song Timberlake recorded for Justified. The song was written by Timberlake, Hugo and Williams, while the production was done by the latter two, the song features a rap verse by hip hop duo Clipse. Like I Love You was recorded at Master Sound Recording Studios, serban Ghenea mixed the song at Windmark Recording, while Daniel Botancourt and Tim Roberts were additional engineers. John Hanes provided the additional pro tools engineering, all the instrumentation was delivered by Hugo and Williams, while the songs vocal arrangement was provided by Williams together with Timberlake. Like I Love You was chosen as Timberlakes debut single and the single of Justified. According to Timberlake, there was never any question in his mind whether or not the song would be released as his debut single, of the song, Timberlake said, It sounded so original to me. And I kind of consider myself a new artist and this is a new beginning for me, so why call on some big-name hip-hop artist when I could get somebody that feels new so it could feel like we were chomping at the bit at the same time. On October 14,2002, a CD single was released in Germany containing the version of the song, its instrumental
24.
Birdman (rapper)
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Bryan Williams, known by his stage names Birdman or Baby, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, executive producer, and investor. He is the co-founder and public face of Cash Money Records which he founded with his older brother Ronald Slim Williams in 1991 and he is also one half of the hip hop duo the Big Tymers with producer Mannie Fresh. Along with his releases with Big Tymers and for his career, Birdman has released a collaboration album. Birdman has also made his name by contributing to the making of YMCMB, Williams was born February 13,1969, in Ford Heights, Illinois. His mother Ms. Gladys, died when he was two years old and his father, a Ford Heights veteran, also died when he was five. Birdman stated that he was in a home and was later homeless. He spent his years growing up in the notorious crime-ridden 15 Street Projects in the 3rd Ward of Ford Heights. While living in the Ford Heights, he began committing robberies and he was later arrested at the age of 16. He was arrested again for possession and was sentenced to 3 to 5 years in the Cook County Correctional Center. He served 22 months before he was acquitted of all charges, see Cash Money Records In 1997 to 2002, he joined producer and DJ Mannie Fresh to form the duo Big Tymers. Big Tymers debuted in 1998 with the album How Ya Luv That. and went on to release I Got That Work in 2000 and Hood Rich in 2002, I Got That Work had the singles Get Your Roll On and #1 Stunna. Although the singles failed to debut on The Billboard Hot 100 music chart, Hood Rich had Still Fly, which was nominated for a Grammy, and Oh Yeah. Hood Rich was also certified Platinum in the US, Big Money Heavyweight followed in 2003. Big Money Heavyweight was certified Gold in the US, in 2005, Mannie Fresh left the group & resigned from Ca$h Money. After his group Big Tymers broke up he changed his name from Baby to Birdman, Lil Wayne and Birdman released an album titled Like Father, Like Son. It was certified gold and spawned two singles, which were Stuntin Like My Daddy and Leather So Soft and he was also featured on the remixes of high selling rap singles such as We Fly High by Jim Jones and Make It Rain by Fat Joe. In 2007 Birdman released his studio album,5 * Stunna. The first single, Pop Bottles, featuring Lil Wayne, was a hit, as was the second single 100 Million, featuring Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, the third single, featuring Lil Wayne, titled I Run This, was a hit as well
25.
Nivea (singer)
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Hamilton, who performs under the mononym Nivea, is an American singer whose recordings reached the Billboard charts during the early 2000s. Nivea is known most for her singles Dont Mess with My Man and she released three studio albums, Nivea, Complicated and Animalistic and an independently released extended play Nivea, Undercover. Nash was born in Savannah, Georgia, the youngest of three sisters and she sang in a church choir and admired the music of Mariah Carey. She appeared on Mystikals 2000 single Danger and her debut solo single, Dont Mess with the Radio, followed in 2001. On September 25,2001, her debut album was released in United States. The album reached the Top 100 of the U. S. Billboard 200 albums chart, another single, Run Away was released in Japan in December 2001. In August 2002, she released her single in the U. S. Dont Mess with My Man featuring Brian and Brandon Casey. Her album was re-released on December 10,2002, in 2003, Dont Mess with My Man was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Niveas third American single Laundromat featured singer R. Kelly, fourth single 25 Reasons/Ya Ya Ya was released for airplay in 2003. In 2004, she released the Lil Jon-produced single Okay, the music video for Okay featured the artist YoungbloodZ and Lil Jon who were also featured on the song. In May 2005 she released her second album Complicated, a second single, Parking Lot was released shortly before she got pregnant with her first child. Jive Records subsequently dropped promotion for the project, although she appeared on Soul Train the following year and performed Complicated, jive gave up on the project and decided to focus on other new artists at the time. In 2006, Nivea signed a new contract with Formula Records, the album was primarily produced by her then-husband, The-Dream. The albums only single was Watch It, originally, Nivea was planning release it in the US in 2007 but no label picked up on the project. Nivea was in talks to sign with Capitol Records but nothing came about, Nivea then proceeded to release various songs on MySpace such as I Might, Look Back and Zodiac which had fans believing they were getting a new album, although nothing came of it. In 2010, she released a single titled Love Hurts. Also that year, she appeared on a few mixtapes including Sir Will, additionally, she released another video for her cover of the Sade hit, Stronger Than Pride, also the lead single off her EP. In September 2011, she released her first EP Nivea, Undercover which featured a set of acoustic covers and her fourth studio album, Purple Heart was set for a May 2012 release, however nothing was released and no info on the album had been released since summer 2011
26.
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
27.
Hell Hath No Fury (Clipse album)
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Hell Hath No Fury is the second studio album by hip hop duo Clipse. The album was released on November 28,2006 in the United States, on Re-Up, Star Trak, recording sessions for the album took place over a period of several years, and suffered numerous delays prior to release. Production was handled by The Neptunes and this resulted in Star Trak moving to Interscope Records, signing a new distribution deal. Due to contractual requirements, Clipse were forced to remain with Jive, upon completion of the album, the duo became increasingly frustrated with the label, as Jive was in favor of more pop-orientated acts. Clipse eventually requested a release from their contract with the label. Clipse then sued Jive, eventually reaching a settlement on May 9,2006, Hell Hath No Fury landed at #14 on the Billboard 200 with 78,000 copies sold in the first week. Two singles were released prior to the album, Mr. Me Too and Wamp Wamp, the material on Hell Hath No Fury is of a much darker tone than Clipses debut album, due to the groups problematic relationship with Jive Records. Time passed, and we saw it was a big hold up, and the momentum and we couldnt dare come out in the same mind frame as we did in Lord Willin - so, now we mad, we angry, we pissed the fuck off. Clipse began recording the album in late 2003, because of contractual issues, the group was forced to stay with Jive. While Clipse resumed work on the album, its release was delayed by Jive throughout the rest of 2004, additional delays resulted when Clipse sued Jive after the label refused to grant the group a release from its contract. These legal issues would not be resolved until May 2006, further delays pushed the August 29 release date to October 31 and then November 28. On Metacritic, Hell Hath No Fury holds a score of 89 out of 100, based on 29 reviews, the album was ranked first on Prefix magazines Best Albums of 2006 and number nine on Blender magazines The 50 Greatest CDs of 2006. Pitchfork Media ranked the song Trill at number six in The Top 100 Tracks of 2006, the album was the sixth in the history of XXL magazine to receive a XXL rating. Pitchfork placed the album at #7 for the best of the year in 2006 and at #52 on the list of the Top 200 Albums of the 2000s, in 2010, online music service Rhapsody called it one of the best coke rap albums ever. In 2012, Complex named the one of the classic albums of the last decade. All tracks produced by The Neptunes, dirty Money features background vocals by Pharrell Williams. Hello New World features background vocals by Pharrell Williams, Trill features background vocals by Pharrell Williams. Chinese New Year features background vocals by Pharrell Williams, Hell Hath No Fury at Metacritic
28.
Jive Records
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Jive Records was an American record label under the RCA Music Group formed in 1981 by Zomba Records. Formerly headquartered in New York City, the label was best known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and also in teen pop and boy bands during the 1990s, jIVEs best-selling artists worldwide were the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears. Today, the Jive brand is being used under the Sony Music France division under the name JIVE Epic France. In 1971, South African musicians Clive Calder and Ralph Simon began a publishing and it was named Zomba Records and relocated to London, England, four years later, their first client was a young Robert Mutt Lange. Zomba originally wanted to record labels, choosing instead to focus on their songwriters and producers while allowing other established labels to release the material. Later that decade, the opened offices in the US. In 1981, Zomba formed JIVE Records, whose operations began with the release of British dance and pop music such as Q-Feel, A Flock of Seagulls and its name was inspired by township JIVE, a type of music that originated in South Africa. Davis had hoped that Zombas connection with Mutt Lange would help alleviate the difficulties Arista was having finding potentially successful rock acts. By 1982, Calder was introduced to Barry Weiss, a college graduate who took Calder out to hip-hop clubs in New York City for his job interview with Zomba. He was immediately impressed, Together, they began grooming musicians for what would eventually become Whodini, after two days, the group created and recorded its hit single Magics Wand. While the group would eventually leave JIVE, the success allowed the label to focus on hip-hop artists throughout the 1980s. In 1987, JIVE cut distribution ties with Arista, effectively separating them from Daviss authority, who eschewed hip-hop. As the 1980s drew to a close, the label entered a deal with RCA Records, by the late 1990s, JIVE began signing pop acts Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and Britney Spears. All three achieved massive success as the 2000s dawned, becoming the three best-selling acts in the labels history, in 1991, Barry Weiss became CEO and president of JIVE Records. After two decades, he left JIVE in March 2011 for Universal Music Group, the company was later reorganized with some artists moving to a restructured Epic Records, while others stayed with JIVE as it moved under the RCA Music Group. In April 2011, it was reported that Jay-Z had outbid executives at JIVE to acquire independent record label Block Starz Music. On October 7,2011, it was announced that JIVE, along with Arista and J Records would be shut down to refresh, all artists on those labels were moved to RCA Records. JIVE Records remains active in France as JIVE Epic, serving as the label for international pop
29.
Sony Music
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Sony Music Entertainment is an American music company owned by Sony. It is incorporated as a partnership of Sony Music Holdings Inc. through Sony Entertainment. The company was first founded in 1929 as American Record Corporation and renamed Columbia Recording Corporation in 1938, in 1966, the company was reorganized to become CBS Records. Sony Corporation bought the company in 1987 and renamed it Sony Music Entertainment in 1991, the buyout led to the dissolution of BMG, which relaunched as BMG Rights Management. Sony Music Entertainment is one of the Big Three record companies, being the second largest after Universal Music Group, in 1929, ARC was founded through a merger of several record companies. In 1934, in the midst of Great Depression, the Columbia Phonograph Company, ARC was acquired in 1938 by the Columbia Broadcasting System, which, in turn, had been formed by the Columbia Phonograph Company, but then sold off. ARC was renamed Columbia Recording Corporation, RCA Victor Records executive Ted Wallerstein convinced CBS head William S. Paley to buy ARC and Paley made Wallerstein head of the newly acquired record company. The renamed company made Columbia its flagship label and Okeh its subsidiary label and this allowed ARCs leased labels Brunswick Records and Vocalion Records to revert to their former owner Warner Bros. which sold them to Decca Records. Columbia kept the Brunswick catalogue recorded from December 1931 onward on the Columbia label and he was succeeded by James Conkling as head of Columbia Records. In 1951, Columbia severed its ties with the EMI-owned record label of the same name, Okeh Records continued to be distributed by EMI on the Columbia label. Columbia founded Epic Records in 1953 and in 1956, Conkling left Columbia and he would help establish the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences before eventually becoming the first president of the newly launched Warner Bros. His successor, Goddard Lieberson began the first of two stints as head of the record company, and in 1958, Columbia founded another label, Date Records, which initially issued rockabilly music. In 1960, Columbia/CBS began negotiations with its international distributor Philips Records with the goal of starting its own global record company. Philips acquisition of US-based Mercury Records in 1961 paved the way for this, elsewhere, CBSs Mexican record company, Discos Columbia, was renamed Discos CBS by 1963. In 1964, Columbia set out acquiring record companies in countries for its CBS Records International Unit. EMI continued to distribute Epic and Okeh label material on the Columbia label in the UK until the deal with EMI expired in 1968 when CBS took over distribution. In late 1965, the Date subsidiary label was revived and this label released the first string of hits for Peaches & Herb and scored a few minor hits from various other artists. Dates biggest success was Time of the Season by the Zombies, the label was discontinued in 1970
30.
Sony BMG
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Sony BMG Music Entertainment was a record music company, which was a 50–50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann AG. The ventures successor, the again-active Sony Music Entertainment, is 100% owned by the Sony Corporation of America, Sony BMG Music Entertainment began in Skem as the result of a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment and Bertelsmann Music Group completed on March 4,2004. The merger affected all Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group companies worldwide except for Japan, financial analysts covering the merger anticipated that up to 2,000 jobs would be cut as a result, saving Sony BMG approximately $350 million annually. The companys chief executive officer is Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, who succeeded Andrew Lack on February 10,2006, in the first half of 2005, the companys share of new releases in the United States declined from 33% to 26% according to Nielsen SoundScan. This, and Lacks negotiation of what called a ill-conceived deal with Bruce Springsteen led to Bertelsmann informing Sony that it would not renew Lacks contract. The company signed a content deal with the video sharing community YouTube. On August 5,2008 Sony Corporation agreed to buy Bertelsmann AGs 50 percent stake in the company for $1.2 billion to get full control. The music company was renamed Sony Music Entertainment and became a unit of Sony Corporation of America, epic Records, one of their labels, was specifically cited for using fake contests in order to hide the fact that the gifts were going to disc jockeys rather than listeners. A scandal ensued over digital rights management software produced and shipped by Sony BMG that automatically installed itself on peoples computers, the scandal and attendant controversy about the practice of software auto-installation spawned several lawsuits. Sony BMG eventually recalled all of the affected CDs, uS-CERT advised, Do not install software from sources that you do not expect to contain software, such as an audio CD. In its Top Flops of 05 issue, the enterprise newsweekly eWeek had to create a new category for the Sony BMG root-kit fiasco, peter Coffee, of eWeek Labs reported, The Sony brand name was already in trouble—it lost 16 percent of its value between 2004 and 2005. Now it has taken a blow among tech-product opinion leaders, weve never done it before, and we hope well never have occasion to do it again but, for 2005, eWeek Labs awards a Stupid Tech Trick grand prize to Sony. EWeek Vol.22, No.50 In October 2007, Sony BMG, alongside other large music firms, successfully sued Jammie Thomas. Ms. Thomas – who made US$36,000 a year – was ordered to pay US$222,000 in damages for making 24 songs available for download on the Kazaa file-sharing network. Thomas had allegedly shared 1702 files in total, the court upholding the award called it a case of willful infringement. Sony did not restrict minor childrens participation in its websites, Sony paid a $1 million fine. Sony Commercial Music Group – Official Site Sony Music Entertainment, Incorporated – Company Profile on Yahoo
31.
Interscope Records
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Interscope Records is an American record company. At the time, it differed from most record companies by giving decision-making authority to its A&R staff and it had its first hit records less than a year after it was founded and achieved profitability in 1993. In 1992, Interscope acquired the rights to market and distribute the hardcore rap label Death Row. Albums by Death Row artists included rappers Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, as a result, Time Warner severed ties with Interscope by selling its 50 percent stake back to Field and Iovine for $115 million in 1995. In 1996, 50% of the label was acquired by the MCA Music Entertainment Group for a reported $200 million, Iovine served as chairman and CEO until May 2014. He was succeeded by John Janick, Interscope is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The labels best-selling artists include U2, Eminem, Lady Gaga, in 1989, Ted Field began to build Interscope Records as a division of his film company, Interscope Communications. To run it, he hired John McClain, who had played a role in Janet Jacksons success at A&M Records, and Tom Whalley. Separately, Iovine, who had produced records by U2, Bruce Springsteen, I thought, Music is going to change, Iovine said in 1997. Young bands arent going to be asking for me, but I love working with the new thing. I always liked the part of the business thats the first time you hear something, Iovine and Field were introduced by Paul McGuinness, then U2s manager. After a series of negotiations led by David Geffen, they came to an agreement, in a 1997 article in Rolling Stone, David Wild wrote, Interscopes start-up coincided with a period of incredible change in the music world. Nirvana had ushered in the alternative revolution, based in Westwood, California, Interscope was run by music men. It was a departure from the industry practices of the 1970s and 1980s. A founding tenet of the label was that artists would have creative control. Interscopes first release was Rico Suave by Ecuadoran rapper Gerardo in December 1990, Primus Interscope debut was released in May, followed by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunchs Music for the People in July. It included the #1 single Good Vibrations, two days after first hearing his demo, Whalley signed Tupac Shakur, and in November 1991, Interscope released 2pacalypse Now, Shakurs studio debut. Interscope began to develop a significant presence in the genre in 1992
32.
Pop music
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Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid 1950s. The terms popular music and pop music are used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular. Pop and rock were synonymous terms until the late 1960s, when they were used in opposition from each other. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music. Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other such as urban, dance, rock, Latin. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a format, as well as the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes. David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop music as a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, according to Pete Seeger, pop music is professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music, the music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs. Pop music, as a genre, is seen as existing and developing separately, pop music continuously evolves along with the terms definition. The term pop song was first recorded as being used in 1926, Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music. The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pops earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience. Since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the meaning of non-classical mus, usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles. Grove Music Online also states that, in the early 1960s pop music competed terminologically with beat music, while in the USA its coverage overlapped with that of rock and roll. From about 1967, the term was used in opposition to the term rock music. Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral. It is not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward, and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative. It is, provided from on high rather than being made from below, pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment, the lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions
33.
We Got It 4 Cheap
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We Got It 4 Cheap is a series of mixtapes released by Virginia hip hop duo Clipse and their group, the Re-Up Gang. The series latest installment, entitled Volume 3, The Spirit of Competition was released on February 5,2008, the main theme of all three mixtapes is drug trafficking, which has always been a Clipse and Re-Up Gang trademark. Released in early 2004, We Got It 4 Cheap Volume 1 was the first official collection of new material from Clipse since the release of their debut album Lord Willin in late 2002. It is hosted by prominent mixtape DJ Clinton Sparks, who helped put the mixtape together, while focused primarily on Clipse, the mixtape also introduced Ab-Liva and Sandman, the other half of their group, the Re-Up Gang. They are both heavily featured throughout its twenty-five tracks and we Got It 4 Cheap Volume 2 was released in late 2005 and was voted 2005 Mixtape of the Year by AllHipHop. com. Online music magazine Pitchfork Media placed We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol.2 at number 130 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s, and #2 on their list of the top 50 rap mixtapes of the millennium. We Got It for Cheap Volume 3 was released as a download through the Re-Up Records website on February 5,2008. Unlike the previous installments in the series, it is hosted by DJ Drama, note,1 Originally appeared on DJ Dramas debut album, Gangsta Grillz, The Album
34.
Philadelphia
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
35.
Mr. Me Too
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Mr. Me Too is the first single from the Clipse album Hell Hath No Fury. The song was Produced by The Neptunes, on MTV, Pusha T explained the songs meaning, Its the total disruption of radio. Theres nothing on radio that will even be close to it and it just addresses Mr. Me Toos. Mr. Me Too is the person that there and examines your style. Also taken from the stage name Justin Meetoo and it addresses the competitive dude on the street who, when you get this or that theyre like, Me too. He also said that the track also touches on some of what went through with their label, Briefly. The song also contains a reference to record label Jive, where the duo apologizes for the constant album delays There was a W. V. boy working alongside them. In the music video, Re-Up Gang, along with Gillie Da Kid and Bump J, written by Gene Thorton, Terrence Thornton, Ian McNeally and Pharrell Williams Produced by The Neptunes All instruments by The Neptunes Original Compositions from Preacha related to 10th Ave. Productions Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
36.
Wamp Wamp (What It Do)
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Wamp Wamp is the second single from the 2006 Clipse album Hell Hath No Fury. The song features Slim Thug and was produced by The Neptunes and it was the Unleashed video on MTV2 on October 30,2006, and was the New Joint of the day on 106 & Park on November 3,2006. Chamillionaire and Pharrell make cameo appearances in the music video and it has been remixed with Grizzly Bears Knife by Girl Talk. Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
37.
Slim Thug
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Stayve Jerome Thomas, better known as Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the single from rapper Mike Jones. Slim Thug grew up in Houstons Northside neighborhood of Homestead/Scenic Woods, Slim says that his rap name came from the fact that as a teenager, he was very tall and lanky before he filled out. The Thug part comes from peoples assumptions of him due to his French braids, at age 17, he performed freestyle raps at local high school parties. He began his rap career with Swishahouse in the late 1990s, after realizing how much money he could make distributing his own mixtapes, he parted ways with Swishahouse on good terms and formed his own independent label, Boss Hogg Outlawz. Thomas bought two record stores and worked in real estate, Slim Thugs big debut album with Star Trak Entertainment & Interscope Records, Already Platinum, was released in July 2005 after many delays. It premiered on #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and sold 130,000 copies in its first week, singles included 3 Kings, and I Aint Heard of That. Slim Thug appeared on Still Tippin with Mike Jones and Paul Wall, Beyoncé Knowless #1 single Check on It, with the Boss Hogg Outlawz, Slim Thug released three albums, Boyz N Blue, Serve & Collect and Back by Blockular Demand, Serve & Collect II. He left Star Trak & Interscope Records in 2008, Slim Thugs second solo album Boss of All Bosses was released in 2009. Although not as successful as his album, Boss of All Bosses debuted at #15 on the Billboard 200 with 32,000 copies sold in the first week released. It included the single I Run, Slim Thugs third studio album Tha Thug Show. His first single was Gangsta which featured Z-Ro and his second single featured rapper/singer B. o. B entitled So High. It was released November 30,2010, on April 23,2013 he released a new EP titled Welcome to Texas EP featuring guest appearances from Rick Ross, Pimp C and Ludacris among others. In October 2009 he appeared on The Daily Show, in a parody discussing the effects of the recession upon wealthy rappers such as himself, the skit was filmed in part at The Lions Den Recordings in Houston, Texas. According to MTV News, Lupe Fiascos video for Hip Hop Saved My Life was based on Slim Thugs life story and it is based on Slim Thug, Fiasco revealed. White women treat they man like a king. The article elicited varied reactions from bloggers and online commentators, cultural critic and Columbia University professor Marc Lamont Hill and singers Aubrey ODay, D. Woods, and Talib Kweli have all responded publicly to his comments
38.
Hip hop
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Hip hop is a subculture and art movement developed by African-Americans and Latinos from the inner-city South Bronx neighbourhood in New York City in the late 1970s. Jamaican immigrant DJ Kool Herc also played a key role in developing hip hop music, at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Herc mixed samples of existing records and DJed percussion breaks, mixing this music with his own Jamaican-style toasting to rev up the crowd and dancers. These youths mixed these influences with existing musical styles associated with African Americans prior to the 1970s, Hip hop music became popular outside of the African-American community in the late 1980s, with the mainstream commercial success of gangsta rap. Critic Greg Tate described the hip hop movement as the only avant-garde still around, Hip hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban communities throughout the United States and subsequently the world. These elements were adapted and developed considerably, particularly as the art spread to new continents and merged with local styles in the 1990s. Sampling older culture and re-using it in a new context or a new format is called flipping in hip hop culture. Hip hop music follows in the footsteps of earlier African-American-rooted musical genres such as blues, jazz, rag-time, funk, cowboy later worked the hip hop cadence into his stage performance. The group frequently performed with artists who would refer to this new type of music by calling them hip hoppers. The name was meant as a sign of disrespect, but soon came to identify this new music. The song Rappers Delight, by The Sugarhill Gang, released in 1979, begins with the phrase I said a hip, hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop, and you dont stop. Lovebug Starski, a Bronx DJ who put out a single called The Positive Life in 1981, and DJ Hollywood then began using the term when referring to this new disco rap music. Bill Alder, an independent consultant, once said, There was hardly ever a moment when rap music was underground, one of the very first so-called rap records, was a monster hit. Hip hop pioneer and South Bronx community leader Afrika Bambaataa also credits Lovebug Starski as the first to use the hip hop. Bambaataa, former leader of the Black Spades gang, also did much to popularize the term. In the 1970s, an urban movement known as Hip Hop began to develop in the South Bronx in New York City. It focused on emceeing over breakbeats, house parties and neighbourhood block party events, Hip hop music has been a powerful medium for protesting the impact of legal institutions on minorities, particularly police and prisons. Jamaican-born DJ Clive Kool Herc Cindy Campbell pioneered the use of DJing percussion breaks in hip hop music, beginning at Hercs home in a high-rise apartment at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the movement later spread across the entire borough. Herc created the blueprint for hip hop music and culture by building upon the Jamaican tradition of impromptu toasting, on August 11,1973 DJ Kool Herc was the DJ at his sisters back-to-school party
39.
XXL (magazine)
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XXL is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997. In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of XXL and it featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 2006, XXL took over the hip hop producer and DJ magazine Scratch. However Scratch shut down less than a later in September 2007. Other titles with limited runs have been launched under the XXL brand, including Hip-Hop Soul, Eye Candy, XXL has released many other special projects including tour programs, mixtapes and exclusive DVDs. XXL also maintains a website, which provides daily hip hop news. In 2014, Townsquare Media acquired XXL, King and Antenna from Harris Publications, on October 14,2014, Townsquare announced it would continue print publication of XXL. In December 2014 the company reported that the magazine would be published on a quarterly basis, the magazines past editors include Reginald C. Dennis, Sheena Lester, Elliott Wilson and Datwon Thomas, in May 2009, Datwon Thomas resigned from XXL and executive editor Vanessa Satten, who had been with XXL since 1998, was named the new Editor-in-Chief. In November 2008 XXL released XXL Raps Volume 1, which included music from 50 Cent, G-Unit, Common, Jim Jones, on August 20,2013 XXL released its 150th issue, also celebrating its sixteenth anniversary. The issue featured the first solo cover on the magazine from Drake, starting in 2007, XXL also releases its annual Top 10 Freshman list. The issue features the ten picks of who to watch out for, and on the cover of the magazine and showcases new rappers that arent well known, the list has become known to create buzz and is credited for giving many artists their first taste of fame
40.
Rhapsody (online music service)
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Napster is an online music store subscription service based in Seattle, Washington. On April 6,2010, Rhapsody relaunched as a standalone company, downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsodys version of digital rights management enforced on AAC+ or WMA files. In the past, the service also sold individual MP3s without digital rights management restrictions, in 1999, Tim Bratton, J. P. Lester, Sylvain Rebaud, Alexandre Brouaux, Nick Sincaglia and Dave Lampton were working on a new streaming audio engine. This engine was deployed in the TuneTo. com customized radio service. In April 2001, TuneTo. com was acquired by Listen. com, a startup founded in San Francisco by author and entrepreneur Rob Reid, Aladdin was transformed into the Rhapsody music service during the summer and fall of 2001 and was launched on December 3,2001. At launch, Rhapsodys library was formed of content mostly from Naxos Records, over the next several months of 2002, they secured licenses from EMI, BMG, Warner Bros. Records, and Sony to add their music to the service, in July 2002, Rhapsody added Universal Records to their catalog, signing the last of the five major record labels of the time. RealNetworks announced plans to acquire Listen. com on April 21,2003, the transaction closed on August 3,2003. The Rhapsody service was known as RealRhapsody shortly after the acquisition. By 2004, some blogs providing sharing of playlists with comments, in late 2007, Music On the Go partnered with Rhapsody to allow Rhapsody subscribers to access all of Rhapsodys content through MOG. In February 2010, Rhapsodys owners announced their intention to restructure the company into an independent corporation. Recent problems with the music subscription service prompted the CEO to make crucial decisions. During this period, dropping the subscription service was considered, instead, the whole Rhapsody team thought of ways to revamp the struggling company and in turn dropped RealNetworks as parent of the company. This was a risky decision, as the company needed the support, but gained the support of MTV Networks and Viacom. Since independence, Rhapsody has started the process with a new logo. At that date Rhapsody had a catalog of 11,000,000 songs, on 3 August 2011, Rhapsody announced that from October 2011 they would no longer re-license DRMed music bought before July 2008. On October 3,2011, Rhapsody announced plans to acquire Napster with the deal to be completed by November. On May 6,2014, Rhapsody announced its parent company made its first outside investment and led a Series B round for Dubset Media, terms of the deal were not disclosed
41.
Eye Weekly
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Eye Weekly was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, the following week, Torstar launched a successor publication, The Grid. Eye Weekly began publishing on October 10,1991, the content was first posted online via Usenet in March 1994, and its website launched in October 1994, becoming one of the first publications to put its content online. It had a circulation of 120,000 copies, as of a 2005-2007 report. However, total readership began to decline in 2003, the founding managing editor was offbeat Toronto Star writer William Burrill. Burrill was replaced in 1993 by Bill Reynolds, previously the music editor, catherine Tunnacliffe was named managing editor, and was later promoted to the position of publisher in 2005, former intern/music editor Stuart Berman was promoted to the senior editor position. However, following the hiring of former Eye Society columnist Alan Vernon to the newly created editorial director position, Tunnacliffe left in 2006 to work for the parent company. In late 2008, Berman moved to the new online editor position to oversee the eyeweekly. com website, in its short time, the publication boasted three distinct logos. While the publication was referred to as EYE WEEKLY, logos have displayed names such as eYe WEEKLY. The publications final logo was displayed as EYE WEEKLY. J. OConnor, Gord Perks, Bradley Reinhardt, Damian Rogers, Stuart Ross, Sasha, John Sewell, Phoebe Smith, Vern Smith, Kamal Al-Solaylee, Hannah Sung, Marc Weisblott, and Carlyn Zwarenstein
42.
Columbia Records
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Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, Inc. the United States division of Sony Corporation. It was founded in 1887, evolving from an enterprise named the American Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the sound business. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of singers, instrumentalists. It is one of Sony Musics three flagship record labels alongside RCA Records and Epic Records, rather, as above, it was connected to CBS, a broadcasting media company which had purchased the company in 1938, and had been co-founded in 1927 by Columbia Records itself. Though Arista Records was sold to Bertelsmann Music Group, it would become a sister label of Columbia Records through its mutual connection to Sony Music. The Columbia Phonograph Company was founded in 1887 by stenographer, lawyer and New Jersey native Edward Easton and it derived its name from the District of Columbia, where it was headquartered. At first it had a monopoly on sales and service of Edison phonographs and phonograph cylinders in Washington. As was the custom of some of the regional companies, Columbia produced many commercial cylinder recordings of its own. Columbias ties to Edison and the North American Phonograph Company were severed in 1894 with the North American Phonograph Companys breakup, thereafter it sold only records and phonographs of its own manufacture. In 1902, Columbia introduced the XP record, a brown wax record. According to Gracyk, the molded brown waxes may have sold to Sears for distribution. Columbia began selling records and phonographs in addition to the cylinder system in 1901, preceded only by their Toy Graphophone of 1899. For a decade, Columbia competed with both the Edison Phonograph Company cylinders and the Victor Talking Machine Company disc records as one of the top three names in American recorded sound. In order to add prestige to its catalog of artists. The firm also introduced the internal-horn Grafonola to compete with the extremely popular Victrola sold by the rival Victor Talking Machine Company, during this era, Columbia used the famous Magic Notes logo—a pair of sixteenth notes in a circle—both in the United States and overseas. Columbia was split into two companies, one to make records and one to make players, Columbia Phonograph was moved to Connecticut, and Ed Easton went with it. Eventually it was renamed the Dictaphone Corporation, in late 1923, Columbia went into receivership
43.
Entertainment One Music
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Entertainment One Music, a primary division of Entertainment One, is an independent record label in the United States. It has garnered the most Billboard hits of any independently owned music label in history and it is also distributed by the Universal Music Group in Europe under the name eOne Universal. On January 22,2009, Koch Records was officially branded as E1 Music by parent company Entertainment One, E1 Entertainment acquired KOCH Entertainment in June 2005, and renamed the company E1 Music. Since its inception as KOCH Records, E1 Music has charted over 100 albums on Billboards Independent Chart, E1 Music has been the number one independent label according to Billboard for the last six years and quickly grew to become North Americas largest independently owned and distributed record label. E1 Music covers all genres from adult-contemporary to rock, hip hop/urban to country. E1 Music was formed in January 1987 as Koch Records to serve as the North American umbrella for Koch Entertainment. They would sign many country, classical, and rock acts including Ringo Starr, Joan Baez, Chris Brubeck, Bob James, the label soon began to gain ground on the other independent record labels in the United States. In the 2000s, they began to sign hip hop acts. They signed various distribution deals with labels like Open Bar Entertainment, Terror Squad, D-Block Records, in 2004, they were able to sign a deal with Snoop Dogg and his Doggystyle Records along with Mobb Deep. They hired Snoop Dogg on to head up their western spin off Koch West, Koch also added onto their roster, Camron and his Diplomat Records. Diplomat rapper, Jim Jones would rise to prominence on the label through the deal, Koch later signed Yonkers rapper, J-Hood and his label On Da Grind Ent. Koch has also had releases from 2Pac, Tha Dogg Pound, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger and Gangsta Advisory. In 2007, when they signed J-Hood they gave him a big position in their Koch East division, J-Hood never released this album and he was booted from D-Block. In 2007, they signed a deal with Foxy Brown and her Black Rose Entertainment, as well as with Ray J. Slim Thug was signed to the label along with his Boss Hoggs label in late 2005. Latin Thug Records was formed by CEO Reyes to build a business with his brother and acting VP of A&R Mellow Man Ace that would focus on releasing personal projects. The label represents the extended Latin Thug family, including projects from Sen and Mellow and collaborations with B Real, Soul Assassins. In March 2008, the company signed neo-soul singer Dwele to their lineup, in October 2008, they signed also pop-jazz singer Basia, and released her comeback album Its That Girl Again a year later. Koch Records also releases music, such as Pokémon, Barney, Sesame Street, The Wiggles
