1.
Tribeca
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Tribeca /traɪˈbɛkə/, originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Its name is an abbreviation from Triangle Below Canal Street. The triangle, or more accurately, a trapezoid, is bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, the neighborhood is home to the Tribeca Film Festival. The Tribeca name came to be applied to the south of Canal Street. Lispenard Street, east–west as is Canal, is two blocks long and creates the first block south of Canal from West Broadway to Broadway. The Canal–Lispenard block that runs from Church Street to Broadway is wide at Church Street but is narrower at Broadway, thus, it appears somewhat triangular on City maps, unlike a rectangle as most city blocks are depicted. The Lispenard Street residents decided to name their group the Triangle Below Canal Block Association, once the “newspaper of record” began referring to the neighborhood as Tribeca, it stuck. This was related by former resident and councilmember for the area, Kathryn Freed, the area was among the first residential neighborhoods developed in New York beyond the boundaries of the city during colonial times, with residential development beginning in the late 18th century. Several streets in the area are named after Anthony Lispenard Bleecker, Lispenard Street, as well as Bleecker Street in NoHo, are named for similar reasons. By the mid-19th century the area transformed into a center, with large numbers of store. The area was served by the IRT Ninth Avenue Line. However, by the 1960s, Tribecas industrial base had all but vanished, since the 1980s, large scale conversion of the area has transformed Tribeca into an upscale residential area. For 15 years, the annual walking tour through artist studios in Tribeca has allowed people to get a unique glimpse into the lives of Tribecas best creative talent. Tribeca suffered both physically and financially after the September 11,2001 terrorist attacks, but government grants, the Tribeca Film Festival was established to help contribute to the long-term recovery of lower Manhattan after 9/11. The festival also celebrates New York City as a filmmaking center. The mission of the festival is to enable the international film community. Tribeca is a filming location for movies and television shows. By the early 21st century, Tribeca became one of Manhattans most fashionable and desirable neighborhoods, in 2006, Forbes magazine ranked its 10013 zip code as New York Citys most expensive
2.
Chicago
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Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the third-most populous city in the United States. With over 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the state of Illinois, and it is the county seat of Cook County. In 2012, Chicago was listed as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $640 billion according to 2015 estimates, the city has one of the worlds largest and most diversified economies with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. In 2016, Chicago hosted over 54 million domestic and international visitors, landmarks in the city include Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Campus, the Willis Tower, Museum of Science and Industry, and Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicagos culture includes the arts, novels, film, theater, especially improvisational comedy. Chicago also has sports teams in each of the major professional leagues. The city has many nicknames, the best-known being the Windy City, the name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum, from the Miami-Illinois language. The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as Checagou was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir, henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the wild garlic, called chicagoua, grew abundantly in the area. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by a Native American tribe known as the Potawatomi, the first known non-indigenous permanent settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African and French descent and arrived in the 1780s and he is commonly known as the Founder of Chicago. In 1803, the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes had ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, on August 12,1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 4,000 people, on June 15,1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as U. S. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4,1837, as the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicagos first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois, the canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad, manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade listed the first ever standardized exchange traded forward contracts and these issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage
3.
Illinois
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Illinois is a state in the midwestern region of the United States, achieving statehood in 1818. It is the 6th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, the word Illinois comes from a French rendering of a native Algonquin word. For decades, OHare International Airport has been ranked as one of the worlds busiest airports, Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics. With the War of 1812 Illinois growth slowed as both Native Americans and Canadian forces often raided the American Frontier, mineral finds and timber stands also had spurred immigration—by the 1810s, the Eastern U. S. Railroads arose and matured in the 1840s, and soon carried immigrants to new homes in Illinois, as well as being a resource to ship their commodity crops out to markets. Railroads freed most of the land of Illinois and other states from the tyranny of water transport. By 1900, the growth of jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted a new group of immigrants. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars, the Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans in Chicago, who created the citys famous jazz and blues cultures. Three U. S. presidents have been elected while living in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, additionally, Ronald Reagan, whose political career was based in California, was the only U. S. president born and raised in Illinois. Today, Illinois honors Lincoln with its official slogan, Land of Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in the capital of Springfield. Illinois is the spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers name for the Illinois Native Americans. American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant man or men in the Miami-Illinois language and this etymology is not supported by the Illinois language, as the word for man is ireniwa and plural men is ireniwaki. The name Illiniwek has also said to mean tribe of superior men. The name Illinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa he speaks the regular way and this was taken into the Ojibwe language, perhaps in the Ottawa dialect, and modified into ilinwe·. The French borrowed these forms, changing the ending to spell it as -ois. The current spelling form, Illinois, began to appear in the early 1670s, the Illinois name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, was Inoka, of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms. American Indians of successive cultures lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation
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.
No I.D.
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Ernest Dion Wilson, professionally known as No I. D. is an American hip hop and R&B music producer from Chicago, Illinois. Wilson is also a jockey, music arranger and rapper, having released an album in 1997, titled Accept Your Own and Be Yourself. He is perhaps best known for his work with Chicago-based rapper Common. Wilson, who has served as a mentor for several artists. Wilson was once president of Wests GOOD Music record company and although he would resign from that position, in June 2011, Wilson announced he formed the supergroup Cocaine 80s, alongside Common and several other artists. In August 2011, Wilson became the Executive Vice President of A&R for Def Jam Recordings and he subsequently launched his own record label imprint, ARTium Recordings. He is currently the Executive Vice President and Head of Creative at Def Jam Recordings, in 1996, Wilson released an album under the pseudonym No I. D. titled Accept Your Own and Be Yourself. The moniker No I. D. is a half-palindrome of his birth name and he also released a beat tape, titled Invisible Beats. In Wilsons early career he was working as a co-producer for Jermaine Dupri, Wilson also introduced Chicago-based rapper Kanye West to hip hop production, inviting him to his sessions with Common, when West was only beginning. West cites Wilson as his mentor on Last Call, the outro to his acclaimed debut album The College Dropout. West also referenced Wilsons mentorship on songs such as Big Brother, Wilsons second official release was with Dug Infinite, a two-album package titled The Sampler, vol. In 2007, he was the focus of perhaps the most attention of his career for producing two songs from Jay-Zs album American Gangster. At the time he worked with such as Jay-Z, Rhymefest, Plies, Big Sean, Killer Mike, Rick Ross, Drake, and Kanye West, Young Jeezy. Wilson produced D. O. A. the first single for Jay-Zs eleventh studio album The Blueprint 3, as well as the second single Run This Town, which features Kanye West and Rihanna. He once again teamed up with Common for the first time since 1997, after resigning as President of Kanye West GOOD Music record company, in August 2011, it was announced No I. D. was appointed Executive Vice President of A&R for Def Jam Recordings. In addition, Def Jam has signed a joint venture label deal for No I. D. s Artium Recordings. In 2013, Wilson served as the producer of GOOD Music recording artist Big Seans second album Hall of Fame. In an August 2013 interview with Complex, Wilson said he was working on Jhene Aiko
6.
Def Jam Records
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Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused predominantly on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group. In the UK, the takes on the name Def Jam UK and is operated through Virgin EMI, while in Japan. The label distributes various record labels, including Kanye Wests GOOD Music, Ludacris Disturbing Tha Peace, Def Jam was founded by Rick Rubin in his dormitory in Weinstein Hall at New York University and its first release was a single by his punk-rock group Hose. Russell Simmons joined Rubin shortly after they were introduced to other, according to one story. Another cites DJ Jazzy Jay as their connector, Rubin has said he met Simmons on the TV show, Graffiti Rock and recognized him then as the face of hip hop, He was five years older than me, and he was already established in the music business. And I had no experience whatsoever, the first single released with the Def Jam Recordings logo was T La Rock & Jazzy Jays Its Yours. The first releases with Def Jam Recordings catalog numbers were LL Cool Js I Need a Beat, the singles sold well, eventually leading to a distribution deal with CBS Records through Columbia Records the following year. A few years later, Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen started a label called Rush Associated Labels to handle Def Jam. RAL became the home to Nice & Smooth and EPMD after both acts were acquired due to the folding of their former label Sleeping Bag Records, other acts under the RAL umbrella included Redman, Onyx, Flatlinerz, Domino, Warren G and Jayo Felony. As the decade drew to a close, the label signed Public Enemy, Lyor Cohen became president of Def Jam/RAL in 1988, after winning a power struggle with Rubin, who would shortly thereafter leave the company to form Def American Recordings. Rubin would take Slayer with him to Def American in its initial stages, by 1992, despite recent multi-platinum selling releases from Public Enemy, and EPMD, Def Jam ran into severe financial troubles and was faced with folding. However, in 1994, PolyGram purchased Sonys 50% stake in Def Jam Recordings — subsequently bringing the label into its fold, following PolyGrams purchase, Def Jam distributed the Violator Records-signed artist Warren Gs Regulate. G Funk Era album, which went triple platinum and brought much-needed revenue to Def Jam through its distribution deal with Violator, PolyGram acquired an additional 10% in Def Jam Recordings in 1996, further strengthening its ownership of Def Jam. Shortly thereafter, Rush Associated Labels was renamed Def Jam Music Group, the label remained profitable as its veteran star LL Cool J released his successful album Mr. Smith in 1995. The label later signed Foxy Brown, whose debut album Ill Na Na became a seller in 1997. In 1998, PolyGram was purchased by Seagram and merged with the MCA family of labels and it then purchased the remaining interest of Def Jam Recordings from Russell Simmons for a reported $100 million. UMG merged 14+ record labels including, Def Jam, Island Records, despite the formation of IDJMG, the Def Jam, Mercury, and Island labels continued to operate as separate imprints underneath the bigger umbrella. Lyor Cohen was appointed co-president of IDJMG, and Kevin Liles succeeded him as president of Def Jam, Def Soul also issued recordings by Musiq, Montell Jordan, Case,112, Patti LaBelle, and Christina Milian
7.
Relativity Records
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Relativity Records, often self-identified as Relativity, was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distributors in metro New York. Early on, as a label, Relativity released music in a variety of styles, including dance, jazz, punk. As it grew and became associated with Sony Music Entertainment, it more known for its popular metal. Although it was established in 1985, there is evidence that the brand began c.1982 as an in-house IRD label. In the 1980s, Relativity was mostly focused on music, including heavy metal. Releases in this genre were split among Relativity and its sister labels Combat and In-Effect Records, around 1992, the label went under restructuring and did limited partnership deals with two regional independent hip hop record labels, Suave Records and Ruthless Records in 1995. Ed. IRD became Relativity Entertainment Distribution at some point and this company was renamed RED Distribution when acquired by Sony in 2007. List of record labels Bessman, Jim
8.
MCA Records
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MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc. which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group, of which MCA Records was still part. MCAs country division, MCA Nashville, is an active imprint of Universal Music Group Nashville. MCA was forced to exit the talent agency business in order to complete the merger, as American Decca owned Universal Pictures, MCA assumed full ownership of Universal and made it into the top film studio in town, producing hit after hit. In 1966, MCA formed Uni Records and in 1967 purchased Kapp Records which was placed under Uni Records management. In 1937, the owner of Decca, E. R. Lewis, chose to split off the U. K. Decca company from the U. S. company, companies if the emerging hostilities of Nazi Germany should lead to war – correctly foreseeing World War II. Lewis sold the remainder of his U. S. Decca holdings when war did break out, MCAs U. S. -based Decca Records kept the rights to the Decca name in North and South America and parts of Asia including Japan. U. K. Decca owned the rights to the Decca name in the rest of the world, after the war, British Decca formed a new U. S. subsidiary, London Records. During this time U. S. Decca issued records outside North America on the Brunswick, in 1967, Brunswick and Coral were replaced by the MCA label to release U. S. Decca and Kapp label material outside North America. Initial activity as MCA Records was based in London and MCA Records UK was formally launched on February 16,1968. Among the early artists on the MCA label, around 1971, were groups Wishbone Ash, Osibisa, Stackridge and Budgie, early MCA releases were distributed by U. K. Decca but it moved to EMI in 1974. In 1979, distribution moved to CBS, while the last releases in the 1980s were self-distributed, as the U. S. division of MCA Records was not established until 1972, the earliest U. K. MCA Records material was released in the U. S. on either Kapp or Decca, Uni label material was issued on the Uni label worldwide. In 1970, MCA reorganized its Canadian record company Compo Company Ltd. into MCA Records, in April 1970, former Warner Bros. Records president Mike Maitland joined MCA and initially served as Deccas general manager. Maitland was unsuccessful in his attempt to consolidate Warner Bros. Records with co-owned Atlantic Records which led to his departure from Warner, the three labels maintained their identities for a short time but were retired in favor of the MCA label in 1973. Drift Away by Dobie Gray became the final Decca pop label release in the U. S in 1973. Beginning the same year the catalogs of Decca, Uni and Kapp were reissued in the U. S. on the MCA label under the supervision of veteran Decca producer Milt Gabler. The first MCA Records release in the U. S. was former Uni artist Elton Johns Crocodile Rock single in 1972, MCA label used a black with curved rainbow design until the late 1970s. This design was inspired by the U. S. Decca label of the 1960s
9.
Geffen Records
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Geffen Records is an American major record label, owned by Universal Music Group, which operates as one third of the Interscope Geffen A&M Records label. On March 23,2017, Billboard. com announced the label was relaunching with longtime A&R Neil Jacobson as President, Geffen Records was started in 1980 by music industry businessman David Geffen who, in the early 1970s, had founded Asylum Records. Geffen stepped down from Asylum in 1975, when he crossed over to film and was named a vice-president of Warner Bros and he was fired from Warner circa 1978, but remained locked in a 5-year contract, which prevented him from working elsewhere. He returned to work in 1980 and struck a deal with Warner Bros. Records to create Geffen Records, profits were split 50/50 between Geffen and the respective distributors. Geffen Records first artist was disco superstar Donna Summer, whose gold-selling album The Wanderer became the labels first release in 1980, the label followed it up with Double Fantasy by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It was Lennons first new album since 1975, two weeks after it entered the charts, Lennon was murdered in New York City. As the 1980s progressed, Geffen would go on to have success with acts as Kylie Minogue, Enya, Quarterflash, Oxo, Asia, Wang Chung. This prompted Geffen to create a label, DGC Records in 1990. Geffen also distributed the first incarnation of Def American Recordings through Warner Bros. from 1988 to 1990, after a decade of operating through Warner, when its contract with the company expired, the label was sold to MCA Music Entertainment in 1990. The deal ultimately earned David Geffen an estimated US$800 million in stock, following the sale, Geffen Records operated as one of MCAs leading independently managed labels. Geffen Records would distribute releases on the new operations DreamWorks Records subsidiary, Universal Music Group acquired PolyGram in 1999, resulting in a corporate reorganization of labels. Geffen Records, along with A&M Records, was merged into Interscope Records. Although Geffen would continue to exist as a brand, it was downsized to fit into the expansion of Interscope. At the same time, international distribution of Interscope and Geffen releases switched to ex-PolyGram label Polydor Records, meanwhile, DreamWorks Records also folded, with artists such as Nelly Furtado, Lifehouse and Rufus Wainwright being absorbed by Geffen as well. During this time, DGC Records was also folded into Geffen, at the end of 2007, however, Geffen was absorbed further into Interscope, laying off sixty employees. In 2009, it was announced that Geffen Records had signed an agreement with the Holy See to produce an album of Marian songs, jimmy Iovine relaunched the Geffen imprint in 2011, moving its headquarters from California to New York City
10.
GOOD Music
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GOOD Music, Inc. is an American record label founded in 2004, by hip hop artist and record producer Kanye West. The label has housed several successful recording artists throughout the years, such as Big Sean, Pusha T, Common, John Legend, Tyga, Kid Cudi, Desiigner, Teyana Taylor and Mos Def, among others. Their roster of producers include Travis Scott, Southside, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Q-Tip, Jeff Bhasker. The label has released 10 albums certified gold or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America, Kanye West founded GOOD Music in 2004, in conjunction with Sony BMG, shortly after releasing his debut album, The College Dropout. John Legend, Common, and West were the labels inaugural artists, legends Get Lifted was the labels first album release - this received eight nominations and three wins at the 2006 Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Best R&B Album. In October 2006, Legend released his album, Once Again. Commons Be, the second release, was the recipient of four Grammy Award nominations. The label later added GLC, Really Doe, Malik Yusef, Tony Williams, Wests second studio album, Late Registration, included featured guest appearances by every artist signed to GOOD Musics roster at the time of its release in August 2005. In May 2007, Detroit rapper Big Sean signed to the label, in 2008, West signed British singer-songwriter Mr Hudson, after hearing A Tale of Two Cities. He also signed then up-and-coming rapper Kid Cudi, after hearing his work from producer and manager Plain Pat. Kid Cudis debut album, Man on the Moon, The End of Day was released under GOOD Music on September 15,2009, the album earned three Grammy nominations and was certified Gold by the RIAA. A month later Mr Hudsons solo debut, Straight No Chaser, was released, the label held a cypher for the 2010 BET Hip Hop Awards in June, that featured West, Common, Big Sean and new signee Cyhi the Prynce. In late 2010, West released several tracks featuring himself, and others members of the GOOD Music roster, in a free weekly giveaway known as, G. O. O. D. In September 2010, West signed Brooklyn rapper Mos Def to GOOD Music. and shortly afterwards Consequence released a diss track, the following month Pusha T announced his signing. Late in 2010, Kid Cudi released his studio album Man on the Moon II, The Legend of Mr. Rager. In April 2011, West signed American rapper and producer Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, Kanye West also signed producer Hit-Boy, to Very G. O. O. D. In 2011, West signed Nigerian artists Dbanj and Don Jazzy, in June 2011, GOOD Music signed their first distribution agreement, with Def Jam Recordings. Big Seans debut Finally Famous was the first album released by GOOD Music with distribution by Def Jam, in late 2011, plans were announced for a release of a compilation album, later entitled Cruel Summer
11.
Warner Bros. Records
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Warner Bros. Records was established on March 19,1958, as the recorded-music division of the American film studio Warner Bros. For most of its existence it was one of a group of labels owned and operated by larger parent corporations. The sequence of companies that controlled Warner Bros. and its allied labels evolved through a series of corporate mergers. Over this period, Warner Bros. Records grew from a minor player in the music industry to become one of the top recording labels in the world. In 2003, these assets were divested by their then owner Time Warner. This independent company traded as the Warner Music Group before being bought by Access Industries in 2011, WMG is the smallest of the three major international music conglomerates and the worlds last publicly traded major music company. Cameron Strang serves as CEO of the company, artists currently signed to Warner Bros. At the end of the silent movie period, Warner Bros, pictures decided to expand into publishing and recording so that it could access low-cost music content for its films. This new group controlled valuable copyrights on standards by George and Ira Gershwin and Jerome Kern, the label signed rising radio and recording stars Bing Crosby, Mills Brothers, and Boswell Sisters. In December 1931, Warner Bros. offloaded Brunswick to the American Record Corporation for a fraction of its former value, in a lease arrangement which did not include Brunswicks pressing plants. Warner Bros. sold Brunswick a second time, this time along with the old Brunswick pressing plants Warner owned, to Decca Records in exchange for a financial interest in Decca. The studio stayed out of the business for more than 25 years. Warner Bros. reëntered the record business in 1958 with the establishment of its own recording division, by this time, the established Hollywood studios were reeling from multiple challenges to their former dominance - the most notable being the introduction of television in the late 1940s. Legal changes also had a impact on their business—lawsuits brought by major stars had effectively overthrown the old studio contract system by the late 1940s. Pictures sold off much of its library in 1948 and, beginning in 1949. Semenenko in particular had a professional interest in the entertainment business. With the record business booming - sales had topped US$500 million by 1958 - Semnenko argued that it was foolish for Warner Bros, another impetus for the labels creation was the brief music career of Warner Bros. actor Tab Hunter. In 1958, the studio signed Hunter as its first artist to its newly formed record division, to establish the label, the company hired former Columbia Records president James B
12.
Soulquarians
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The Soulquarians were a neo soul and alternative hip hop-informed musical collective. The collective, formed during the late 1990s, continued into the early 2000s, prior to its formation, members Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and Q-Tip were members of the Native Tongues Posse. In an interview for Spin magazine, Common discussed the production of those albums, the name of the collective is derived from an astrology sign. The founding members of the collective — Questlove from The Roots, DAngelo, James Poyser, many of these artists have performed on one anothers records, creating a community of likeminded musicians forging a style that doesnt have a name yet. Organic soul, natural R&B, boho-rap--its music that owes a debt to the sounds of Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix. Being a collective, the Soulquarians included a rotating list of members, including Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Bilal, in a 2003 interview, Questlove unequivocally stated that there were no plans for a Soulquarians album release for the foreseeable future. This was interpreted as a silent breakup of the outfit, however, according to an interview with Common, the collective continued to exist
13.
Erykah Badu
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Erica Erykah Abi Wright, better known as Erykah Badu, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, activist, and actress. Badus career began after opening a show for DAngelo in 1994 in her hometown, record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and her first album, Baduizm, was released on February 11,1997. It spawned three singles, On & On, Next Lifetime and Otherside of the Game, the album was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Badus first live album, Live, was released on November 18,1997 and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA, Badus second studio album, Mamas Gun, was released on October 31,2000. It spawned three singles, Bag Lady, which became her first top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #6, Didnt Cha Know. the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Badus third album, Worldwide Underground, was released on September 16,2003 and it generated three singles, Love of My Life, Danger and Back in the Day with Love becoming her second song to reach the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #9. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA, Badus fourth album, New Amerykah Part One, was released on February 26,2008. It spawned two singles, Honey and Soldier, New Amerykah Part Two was released in 2010 and fared well both critically and commercially. It contained the lead single Window Seat, which led to controversy. Influenced by R&B, 1970s soul, and 1980s hip hop and her work has often been compared to jazz great Billie Holiday. Early in her career, Badu was recognizable for her eccentric style and she was a core member of the Soulquarians. As an actress, she has played a range of supporting roles in movies including Blues Brothers 2000, The Cider House Rules. She also speaks at length in the documentaries Before the Music Dies, Erykah Badu was born Erica Abi Wright in Dallas, Texas on February 26,1971. Her mother raised her, her brother Eevin, and her sister Nayrok alone after their father, to provide for her family, the childrens paternal grandmother often helped to look after them while Badus mother, Kolleen Maria Wright, worked as an actress in theatrical productions. Influenced by her mother, Badu had her first taste of business at the age of four. By the age of 14, Badu was free-styling for a radio station alongside such talent as Roy Hargrove. In her youth, she had decided to change the spelling of her first name from Erica to Erykah, the term kah signifies the inner self. She adopted the surname Badu because it is her favorite jazz scat sound, also, among the Akan people in Ghana, it is the term for the 10th-born child
14.
J Dilla
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Yancey died in 2006 of the blood disease thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. James Yancey was the eldest of four including a sister, Martha. The family lived at a house near McDougall and Nevada. He developed a vast musical knowledge from his parents—his mother is an opera singer. According to his mother, he could match pitch perfect harmony by two-months old, to the amazement of musician friends and he began collecting vinyl at the age of two and would be allowed to spin records in the park, an activity he enjoyed tremendously as a child. Along with a range of musical genres, Yancey developed a passion for hip hop music. After transferring from Davis Aerospace Technical High School to Detroit Pershing High School, he met classmates T3 and Baatin, the three formed a rap group called Slum Village. He also took up beatmaking using a tape deck as the center of his studio. During these teenage years he stayed in the basement alone with his collection of records. He later told Pete Rock when they met years later that I was trying to be you, in 1992, he met experienced Detroit musician Amp Fiddler, who was impressed by what Jay Dee was able to accomplish with such limited tools. Amp Fiddler let Jay Dee use his MPC, which he learned quickly. In 1995, Jay Dee and MC Phat Kat formed 1st Down and that same year he recorded Yester Years EP with 5 Elementz. In the year 1996, he formed the group Slum Village along with T3 and Baatin, and recorded the debut, Fan-Tas-Tic in his home studio. Upon its release in 1997, the quickly became popular with fans of Detroit hip hop, as well as gaining the attention of Q-Tip. However, J Dilla felt uncomfortable with the comparison and often voiced it in several interviews and it was kinda fucked up because people automatically put us in that category. That was actually a category that we didn’t actually wanna be in, I thought the music came off like that, but we didn’t realize that shit then. I mean, you listen to the lyrics of the shit. Niggas was talking about getting head from bitches and it was like a nigga from Native Tongues never woulda said that shit
15.
Mos Def
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Yasiin Bey, best known by his stage name Mos Def, is an American hip hop recording artist, actor and activist from Brooklyn, New York City, New York. He subsequently formed the duo Black Star, alongside fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli and he was featured on the roster of Rawkus Records and in 1999 released his solo debut, Black on Both Sides. His debut was followed by The New Danger, True Magic, the editors at About. com listed him as the 14th greatest emcee of all time on their 50 greatest MCs of our time list. Prior to his career in music, Mos Def first entered public life as a actor, having played roles in television movies, sitcoms. He is also known as the host of Def Poetry Jam, Mos Def has been vocal on several social and political causes, including police brutality, the idea of American exceptionalism, and the state of African Americans. Dante Terrell Smith Bey was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the eldest of 12 children and step-children, he was raised by his mother in Brooklyn, while his father lived in New Jersey. At 19, he took his shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith and he is close friends with fellow Muslim rappers Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Kamaal Ibn John Fareed of the rap group A Tribe Called Quest. Mos Def attended middle school at Philippa Schuyler Middle School 383 in Bushwick, after returning from filming You Take the Kids in Los Angeles, and getting into a relationship with an older girl, Mos Def dropped out of high school during sophomore year. In a particularly traumatic childhood experience, Mos Def witnessed his then five year old younger brother Ilias Bey get hit by a car, Bey, who later adopted the alias DCQ, was described by Smith as my first partner in Hip Hop. Mos Def began his rap career in 1994, forming the rap group UTD along with younger brother DCQ. In 2004, they released the album Manifest Destiny, their first, the album features a compilation of previously unreleased and re-released tracks recorded during the original UTD run. In 1996, Mos Def emerged as a solo artist and worked with De La Soul and Da Bush Babees, before he released his own first single, Mos Def signed with Rawkus Records and formed the rap group Black Star with Talib Kweli. The duo released an album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star, mostly produced by Hi-Tek, the album featured the singles Respiration and Definition, which both reached in the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Mos Def released his debut album Black on Both Sides in October 1999. The single Ms. Fat Booty charted, while the album reached #25 on the Billboard 200, around this time he also contributed to the Scritti Politti album Anomie & Bonhomie. In January 2002 Rawkus Records was taken over by Geffen Records and it included contributions by Shuggie Otis and Bernie Worrell, Doug Wimbish, and Will Calhoun as the Black Jack Johnson Band. The album reached #5 on the Billboard 200, making it the most successful for the artist to date, the single Sex, Love & Money charted, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. Mos Defs final solo album for Geffen Records, titled True Magic, was released in 2006, the song Crime & Medicine is a remake of GZAs 1995 single Liquid Swords
16.
Talib Kweli
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Talib Kweli Greene is an American hip hop recording artist, entrepreneur, and social activist. He is the son of professional educators, in 2011, Kweli founded Javotti Media, which is self-defined as a platform for independent thinkers and doers. Kweli earned recognition early on through his work with fellow Brooklyn artist, Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, Kwelis career continued with solo success including collaborations with famed producers Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pharrell Williams. Kweli is known to artists on the rise, such as J. Cole, Jay Electronica, Kendrick Lamar. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Kweli grew up in a household in Park Slope and his mother, Brenda Greene, is an English professor at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York and his father an administrator at Adelphi University. His younger brother, Jamal Greene, is a professor of Constitutional Law at Columbia Law School, a graduate of Yale Law School, and former clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. As a youth, he was drawn to Afrocentric rappers, such as De La Soul, Kweli was a student at Cheshire Academy, a boarding school in Connecticut. He was previously a student at Brooklyn Technical High School before being academically dismissed and he later studied experimental theater at New York University. Kweli made his debut in 1996, with featured five appearances on Doom. In Cincinnati, Kweli also met DJ Hi-Tek and the two collaborated on a few well received underground recordings as Reflection Eternal, including Fortified Live, shortly afterwards, upon returning to New York, he reconnected with Mos Def and formed Black Star. Kweli brought along Hi-Tek to produce their album, 1998s Mos Def. The album, released amidst a late 90s renaissance of conscious, Afrocentric hip hop, was hailed by critics. Kweli and Hi-Tek continued their Reflection Eternal partnership on the 2000 album Train of Thought, which was met with critical acclaim. The album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios, Hip Hop for Respect was organized by Mos Def and Kweli to speak out against police brutality, specifically, the case of Amadou Diallo. The project released one EP for Rawkus Entertainment, on February 4,1999, Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by four police officers while reaching into his pocket for his wallet. The project aimed to assemble 41 emcees to represent the 41 shots fired, producers included DJ Khalil Mr. Khaliyl, Organized Noize, and 88-Keys. In 2001, Kweli and Mos Def, contributed to the Red Hot + Indigo compilation album created by the Red Hot Organization, the compilation was a tribute to Duke Ellington, that raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. Black Star collaborated with fellow artists John Patton and Ron Carter to record Money Jungle, in 2002, Kweli contributed to the critically acclaimed Red Hot + Riot, a compilation CD created by the Red Hot Organization in tribute to the music and work of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti
17.
Fort Minor
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Fort Minor is a hip hop-based side project of Mike Shinoda, who is better known as the vocalist, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and producer of the American rock band Linkin Park. Shinodas debut solo album as Fort Minor, The Rising Tied, was released on November 22,2005, the albums fourth single, Whered You Go, propelled Fort Minor to stardom, reaching No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Fort Minor is a project of Mike Shinoda. Shinoda uses the name Fort Minor for his collaborations with Ryan Patrick Maginn and Takbir Bashir, Shinoda began recording songs for this side project following the release of Collision Course in November 2004. Fort Minor, We Major was a mixtape by Shinoda and DJ Green Lantern to promote his upcoming studio album, the Rising Tied, the debut album of Fort Minor, was released in November 2005. Robert Hales directed its first video Petrified, which was released the previous month, jay-Z, who had previously collaborated with Linkin Park on the 2004 album Collision Course, was the executive producer for The Rising Tied. Shinoda told Corey Moss of MTV News that he imposed on himself a requirement to all the instruments and write all the lyrics to the album except for the strings, percussion. Whered You Go, its single, peaked at No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while second single, Remember the Name. Another track, Kenji describes the experiences of a Japanese-American family during the Japanese American internment of World War II, Whered You Go was awarded Ringtone of the Year at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. In mid August 2006 Fort Minor performed at the Summer Sonic 2006 alongside Linkin Park, the third track on the album, Right Now, is featured in the trailer of The Family That Preys by Tyler Perry. It even appeared in one scene of The Smurfs 2, in November 2006, Fort Minor released a video for Whered You Go. Shinoda has stated he felt the video was a nice wrap-up for Fort Minor, also in November, Shinoda stated that Fort Minor was currently on hiatus, because of his dedication to Linkin Park. In 2006, Skylar Grey released a version of Whered You Go to radio stations. Mike does not appear on this version, in the Billboard One-hit Wonders of the 2000s, Fort Minor were listed at No. 19, due to the success of Whered You Go, in an LPU Chat in early 2012, Mike Shinoda said there is a possibility for a new Fort Minor album after Linkin Parks sixth studio album, which was planned for release in 2014. In October 2013, on the Nick Catchdubs remix of Linkin Parks Skin to Bone, Ryu from Styles of Beyond stated that Fort Minors mission isnt over, on June 21,2015, Shinoda released a new, non-album single titled Welcome. Fort Minor also appeared as the musical guest on the TBS late-night talk show Conan on Monday and these tracks are sometimes referred to as the Fort Minor Militia EP
18.
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
19.
John Legend
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John Roger Stephens, known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He has won ten Grammy Awards, one Golden Globe Award, in 2007, Legend received the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Prior to the release of Legends debut album, his career gained momentum through a series of collaborations with already established artists. At various points in his career, Legend has sung in Magnetic Mans Getting Nowhere, Kanye Wests All of the Lights, on Slum Villages Selfish, Legend played piano on Lauryn Hills Everything Is Everything. For his solo work, he earned a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single with All of Me in 2013 and he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2015 for writing the song Glory from the film Selma. Legend was born on December 28,1978, in Springfield and he is one of four children of Phyllis Elaine, a seamstress, and Ronald Lamar Stephens, a factory worker and former National Guardsman. Throughout his childhood, Legend was homeschooled on and off by his mother, at the age of four, he performed with his church choir. He began playing the piano at age seven, at the age of twelve, Legend attended North High School, from which he graduated salutatorian of his class four years later. According to Legend, he was offered admission to Harvard University and scholarships to Georgetown University and he attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied English with an emphasis on African-American literature. While in college, Legend served as president and musical director of a co-ed jazz and his lead vocals on the groups recording of Joan Osbornes One of Us received critical acclaim landing the song on the track list of the 1998 Best of Collegiate a Cappella compilation CD. Legend was also a member of the senior societies Sphinx Senior Society. While in college, Legend was introduced to Lauryn Hill by a friend, Hill hired him to play piano on Everything Is Everything, a song from her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. During this period, he began to hold a number of shows around Philadelphia, eventually expanding his audience base to New York, Boston, Atlanta and he graduated college in 1999, and thereafter began producing, writing, and recording his own music. He released two albums independently, his self-titled demo and Live at Jimmys Uptown, which he sold at his shows, after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Legend began working as a management consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. He subsequently began working on his demo and began sending his work to record labels. In 2001, Devo Springsteen introduced Legend to then up-and-coming hip-hop artist Kanye West and this was after his rebranding, as the artist known as, Dorrough. After signing to Wests label, he chose his name from an idea that was given to him by poet J. Ivy. J. Ivy stated, I heard your music and it reminds me of that music from the old school and you sound like one of the legends
20.
Karriem Riggins
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Karriem Riggins is an American jazz drummer, hip hop producer, DJ, and sometimes rapper. He is a member of the Ray Brown Trio and Mulgrew Miller trio. Riggins was born in Detroit, Michigan and his father, Emmanuel Riggins, is also a musician, and Karriem would often play drums with him as a child. Riggins began producing hip hop in middle school and continued high school. He studied music at Southfield High School as well, and joined Betty Carters band Jazz Ahead soon after, when he was 19, Riggins moved to New York City, and joined the Ray Brown Trio in 1998. Riggins has also recorded and performed with Paul McCartney, Donald Byrd, Hank Jones, Milt Jackson, Oscar Peterson, Cedar Walton, Roy Hargrove, Esperanza Spalding and Bobby Hutcherson. Away from jazz, Riggins has done work for hip hop artists including Slum Village, Erykah Badu, Common, J Dilla, The Roots, Kanye West, Talib Kweli, Phat Kat, Consequence. The first half Alone of his album on Stones Throw Alone Together was released digitally. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California
21.
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
22.
Kid Cudi
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Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, better known by his stage name Kid Cudi, is an American recording artist and actor from Cleveland, Ohio. Cudi first gained major recognition following the release of his first official full-length project, the mixtape caught the attention of American rapper-producer Kanye West, who subsequently signed Cudi to his GOOD Music label imprint in late 2008. Cudi has since gone on to launch his own record label imprints, initially a rapper, Cudi has since added singer, songwriter, record producer, guitarist, music video director and film composer to his repertoire. As of 2017, Cudi has released six albums as a solo artist. In 2008, his debut single Day n Nite, led him to prominence, Cudis debut album Man on the Moon, The End of Day was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2010, he released Man on the Moon II, The Legend of Mr. Rager, later in 2010, Cudi formed a rock band, now known as WZRD, with his long-time collaborator Dot da Genius, releasing one eponymous debut album, in early 2012. The album debuted at one on the Top Rock Albums chart. In April 2013, Cudi released Indicud, which became his highest-charting album on multiple charts, in February 2014, Cudi unexpectedly released his fourth album, Satellite Flight, The Journey to Mother Moon, exclusively to digital retailers with no promotion. With his originality and creativity, as well as the emotion he conveys in his music, Cudi has amassed a large following among high school students, college students. In 2010, Cudi ventured into acting when he began starring in the HBO series How to Make It in America, Cudi has since appeared in several feature films, including Goodbye World, Need for Speed and Entourage. In addition, he has made appearances on shows such as One Tree Hill, The Cleveland Show. In 2015, he was the bandleader on the IFC series, Kid Cudi was born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi on January 30,1984, in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in Shaker Heights and Solon. He is the youngest of four children, with two brothers, Domingo and Dean, and a sister, Maisha and his mother, Elsie Harriet, is a middle-school choir teacher at Roxboro Middle School in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. His father, Lindberg Styles Mescudi, was a painter, substitute teacher. His father was of African-American and Mexican-American descent, while his mother is African-American, when he was eleven years old, Cudis father died of cancer, his passing had a significant effect on Cudis personality and subsequently his music. Cudi attended Shaker Heights High School for two years before transferring to Solon High School and he was expelled from the school for threatening to punch his principal and would later earn his GED. Cudi studied film at the University of Toledo, dropping out after a year and his subsequent plan to join the U. S. Navy didnt pan out because of his juvenile police record. Cudi first began rapping towards the end of his school career, inspired by alternative hip hop groups such as The Pharcyde
23.
Will.i.am
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William Adams, known professionally as will. i. am, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, actor, musician, DJ, record producer and philanthropist. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas. Will. i. am has released four solo albums. The first, Lost Change, was released on October 2,2001 through Atlantic Records and is an original album, the second solo album, Must B21, was released on September 23,2003. The track Go. was regularly used as the theme for the NBA Live 2005, the third album, Songs About Girls, was released on September 25,2007. He released his studio album, #willpower, in 2013. Will. i. am is also a music producer, in collaborations and with the Black Eyed Peas, he has a total of 34 top-40 entries on the UK Singles Chart since 1998, and has sold 9.4 million singles in the UK. William James Adams Jr. Adams has never met his father and he was raised by his mother, Debra, who encouraged him to be unique and to avoid conforming to the tendencies of the other youth in his neighborhood on the east side of Los Angeles. To encourage his career, she sent him to public schools in affluent West Los Angeles. While attending John Marshall High School, he became best friends with Allan Pineda, while still in high school, Adams and Pineda performed in East L. A. clubs and were soon joined by three other entertainers to form the socially conscious rap group, Atban Klann. Atban Klann caught the eye of Compton rapper Eazy-E and was signed to his label, Adams used to attend raves while in high school. He later said his history with rave culture is why he chose a more electro sound for The Black Eyed Peas albums The E. N. D. and The Beginning. Despite the use of electro and house elements, will. i. am prefers to separate the underground from pop. In an article with Los Angeles Times, he mentions that secrecy over the whereabouts of raves is what made raving special, and different from the mainstream. Will. i. ams music career began in the summer of 1988 and they began performing together around Los Angeles and were soon discovered by rapper/entrepreneur Eazy-E, who signed them to his label Ruthless Records in 1992. At the time, Will was known as Will 1X, the Atban Klanns first ever official track, Merry Muthafuckin Xmas, was included on Eazy-Es EP5150, Home 4 tha Sick. After this, the began recording an album, Grass Roots, with the help of producers Mookie Mook and DJ Motiv8, however. After Eazys tragic death, Atban Klann changed their name to the Black Eyed Pods, and Will replaced Dante with Jaime Gomez, better known under his stage name of Taboo
24.
Can I Borrow a Dollar?
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Is the 1992 debut album by Chicago rapper Common, released in the United States on October 6,1992. The album was produced by No I. D and Twilite Tone. It contains guest vocals from Immenslope, Miss Jones and Commons then-girlfriend Rayshel, entertainment Weeklys Neil Drumming described it as a clever but little-noticed first album. In 1991, a feature was written about Common in the Unsigned Hype section of The Source, relativity Records soon signed Common, and prepared to release three singles for his debut album. The first and best-charting single was 1992s Take It EZ and it reached #5 on the Hot Rap Singles chart while his next two singles, Breaker 1/9 and Soul by the Pound, reached #10 and #7 respectively. All of these combined to give Common a strong underground reputation prior to the albums release. Shows Commons early style of rapping, namely a sing-songy and inflection-heavy vocal delivery, as well as packed with word play. The albums production, utilizing samples, keyboards, and drum breaks prominently, tends to be minimalistic, jazzy, the Source called the production top notch. Although receiving a lukewarm reception, Stanton Swihart of Allmusic considers it to have put Chicago hip hop on the map, all tracks produced by Immeslope & Twilite Tone, except track 4 produced by The Beatnuts
25.
Like Water for Chocolate (album)
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Like Water for Chocolate is the fourth studio album by American hip hop rapper Common, released March 28,2000 on MCA Records. It was a critical and commercial breakthrough for Common, receiving universal acclaim from major magazine publications. The album was certified Gold on August 11,2000 by the Recording Industry Association of America, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the album has sold 748,000 copies by March 2005. The video for The Light was frequently shown on MTV, adding to Commons exposure and this group of musicians would also be featured on Commons next album, Electric Circus. The albums cover photo,1956 Alabama by Gordon Parks, is a photo of a black woman in Alabama, dressed for church. Following 1997s One Day Itll All Make Sense, Common moved to New York City where he began collaborating with the Soulquarians at Electric Lady Studios and it was there that Ahmir Thompson who oversaw the albums production, introduced Common to DAngelo. Thompson had been doing a deal of producing there with several members of the Soulquarians. Questlove on Chicken Grease, By mid 99 the Soulquarians were in full swing and it was so good that D pulled me to the side and said I aint no indian giver. But I aint lettin Com walk off with this song and he called me 3 times that morning begging to ask Com for that track. Com agreed, and we named it Chicken Grease after a phrase that Prince uses when he wants his guitarist to play a 9th minor chord while playing 16th notes. The title Like Water for Chocolate comes from the 1989 Laura Esquivel novel Like Water for Chocolate, the phrase Like water for chocolate is of Spanish origin. In many Latin American countries, hot chocolate is made with water rather than milk, the phrase refers to someone who has reached their boiling point, like water ready to be used to make chocolate. In the movie the character was a really good cook. She would always be cooking for people, whenever she would cook, she would really put a lot of emotion into it. So when people would eat her cooking, they were able to feel the emotions she felt while cooking it. So this is the same thing, I put all my heart, my mind and my rawness into these tracks. So I hope that people can feel that when they listen to the album, another popular interpretation of the album title ties in the phrase with the image on the cover of the album. Like Water for Chocolate is notable for its afrocentric themes and it borrows from the Afrobeat genre on the track Time Travelin, the Tony Allen-sampling Heat and the Slum Village-assisted Nag Champa
26.
Grammy Award
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A Grammy Award, or Grammy, is an honor awarded by The Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English-language music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of awards that have a more popular interest. It shares recognition of the industry as that of the other performance awards such as the Emmy Awards, the Tony Awards. The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4,1959, to honor, following the 2011 ceremony, The Academy overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. The 59th Grammy Awards, honoring the best achievements from October 2015 to September 2016, was held on February 12,2017, the Grammys had their origin in the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the 1950s. The music executives decided to rectify this by creating a given by their industry similar to the Oscars. This was the beginning of the National Academy of Recording Arts, after it was decided to create such an award, there was still a question of what to call it, one working title was the Eddie, to honor the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Edison. They finally settled on using the name of the invention of Emile Berliner, the gramophone, for the awards, the number of awards given grew and fluctuated over the years with categories added and removed, at one time reaching over 100. The second Grammy Awards, also held in 1959, was the first ceremony to be televised, the gold-plated trophies, each depicting a gilded gramophone, are made and assembled by hand by Billings Artworks in Ridgway, Colorado. In 1990 the original Grammy design was revamped, changing the traditional soft lead for a stronger alloy less prone to damage, Billings developed a zinc alloy named grammium, which is trademarked. The trophies with the name engraved on them are not available until after the award announcements. By February 2009,7,578 Grammy trophies had been awarded, the General Field are four awards which are not restricted by genre. Album of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a full album if other than the performer. Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a single song if other than the performer. Song of the Year is awarded to the writer/composer of a single song, Best New Artist is awarded to a promising breakthrough performer who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording that establishes the public identity of that artist. The only two artists to win all four of these awards are Christopher Cross, who won all four in 1980, and Adele, who won the Best New Artist award in 2009 and the other three in 2012 and 2017. Other awards are given for performance and production in specific genres, as well as for other such as artwork. Special awards are given for longer-lasting contributions to the music industry, the many other Grammy trophies are presented in a pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony earlier in the afternoon before the Grammy Awards telecast
27.
Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)
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Love of My Life is the title of a 2002 single by singer Erykah Badu and rapper Common. It spent four weeks at one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The song also won a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best Solo R&B/Soul Single and it additionally won a Grammy for best R&B song in 2003. The song was featured in the 2002 film Brown Sugar and is found on the films soundtrack. The song, film, Commons song I Used to Love H. E. R. and The Roots song Act Too all share a common theme, in 2003, the official remix entitled, Love of My Life Worldwide appeared on Erykah Badus album, Worldwide Underground. Funk You Up. is another version of the song, with Badu rapping different lyrics, the remix contained rap vocals from Badu, Queen Latifah, Bahamadia and Angie Stone. This remix sampled Funk You Up by the rap group The Sequence which Angie Stone was a member of, Love of My Life Love of My Life Love of My Life Love of My Life
28.
Be (Common album)
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Be is the sixth studio album by American rapper Common. It was released on May 24,2005, by GOOD Music, the album was primarily produced by hip hop recording artist Kanye West. The album debuted at two on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 185,000 copies in the United States. It is Commons second album to sell over 500,000 copies, be was also a critical success, receiving acclaim and accolades from several critics and music publications. The album received a perfect XXL rating from hip hop publication XXL, be was touted as Commons comeback album after the commercially disastrous Electric Circus. His previous album lacked promotion following MCA Recordss absorption under Geffen and his new alliance with Kanye West helped to spark public interest in the project, as the album was produced by West and released by his own label GOOD Music. I met Kanye in 96… he said and he was still in high school. He used to come around No I. D. s house, the thing I noticed about Kanye was that he could really rap. He had some kind of hunger that I hadnt really seen before, hes todays Marvin Gaye of rap, West enthused on a DVD accompanying a deluxe edition of Be. If you in a situation where you can buy groceries. The results show that Common was clearly aware, and perhaps agreeing, in comparison to that album, Be is lean, immediate, and commanding, yet also restrained in its musical ambitions. Many believe it to be his safest album, although Brooklyn native rapper Israel The ILLa Real has stated that Be has influenced him in making his first album I Fell In Love With H. E. R. Of the reaction to the album, the said, I dont think Electric Circus was as focused. Though Id done some progressive hip-hop, people know me as the b-boy, when I showed them something different, a different style of b-boy, there were like, Hold up. You can be Afrocentric, but whats this rock shit that youre doing, many of the beats created by West, and which Common rejected for the project, later appeared on Wests studio album Late Registration. In an interview with AllHipHop, Common denied that the title stood for Before Erykah. They took my song to a higher level, and thats what hip-hop was about to me. It would take you to the next place and it was fresh as people say -- something new
29.
Grammy Award for Best Rap Album
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In 1995, the Academy announced the addition of the award category Best Rap Album. The first award was presented to the group Naughty by Nature at the 38th Grammy Awards the following year, according to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award is presented for albums containing at least 51% playing time of tracks with newly recorded rapped performances. Award recipients often include the producers, engineers, and/or mixers associated with the work in addition to the recording artists. As of 2015, Eminem holds the record for the most wins in this category, lauryn Hill is currently the only female artist to win in this category, when she won in 1997 with the Fugees. Kanye West was presented the four times, and the duo known as Outkast received the award twice. Jay-Z holds the record for the most nominations, with nine, canadian artist Drake became the first non-American winner in this category when he won in 2013. The Roots have received the most nominations without a win, with five, ^ Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year. Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance Grammy Award for Best Rap Song Hip hop music Official site of the Grammy Awards
30.
48th Annual Grammy Awards
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The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8,2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Irish rock band U2 were the recipients with five awards including Album of the Year. Mariah Carey, John Legend, and Kanye West were each nominated for eight awards, green Day were amongst the big winners, winning the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. U2 was the top winner, with five awards. Their win for Album of the Year was their win for that particular award. They previously won it back in 1988 for The Joshua Tree and they are the only rock act to have more than one Album of the Year win. Top nominees included Mariah Carey, John Legend and Kanye West with eight each, Kelly Clarkson won two awards, becoming the first American Idol to win a Grammy. No. -Jo-El Sonnier Best Contemporary Folk Album Fair & Square-John Prine Chávez Ravine-Ry Cooder The Outsider-Rodney Crowell Why Should the Fire Die. Brightside - The Killers This Love - Maroon 5 More Than Love - Los Lonely Boys My Doorbell - The White Stripes Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals Feel Good Inc. Number One Spot-Ludacris Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Dont Phunk With My Heart - The Black Eyed Peas The Corner-Common & The Last Poets Encore-Eminem, L. U2s win for Album of the Year was their second win for that respective award. They previously won it back at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards in 1988 for The Joshua Tree and they are the only rock act to have more than one Album of the Year win. Sly Stone made his first public Appearance since 1987 wearing a Cockatoo-Style mohawk While presenting Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Alicia Keys & Stevie Wonder led a sing-along of Higher Ground, slipknots win for Before I Forget was their first Grammy Award win. Steven Tyler & Joe Perry are from Aerosmith, in the Midnight Hour is originally sung by Wilson Pickett. A Song for You is originally performed by Andy Williams from his 1971 album Youve Got a Friend, the song was written by Leon Russell. Neil Portnow made an appearance 48th Annual Grammy Awards Winners List
31.
Finding Forever
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Finding Forever is the seventh studio album by Common, released on July 31,2007 on GOOD Music and Geffen Records. Like Commons previous album, Be, Finding Forever is primarily produced by Kanye West, the album debuted at the number one on the Billboard 200, selling 155,000 units in the first week, becoming Commons first chart-topper. Selling over 500,000 units in the US, it has been certified Gold, Finding Forever was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, losing to Kanye Wests Graduation at the 50th Grammy Awards. Common explains that Finding Forever really means to find a place in music where you can exist forever, Music can be forever if you make it from the heart, if you make it from the soul and it’s good. And I look at music like Bob Marleys or Marvin Gayes or Stevie Wonders or A Tribe Called Quests, thats forever music, and I’m continuing on the quest to make forever music. And its also saying, I been doing this for a period of time, so Im trying to find the place where I can keep existing in the game. Common began working on the album in early 2006, recording it throughout the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, most of the album was recorded while he was filming his roles in American Gangster and Smokin Aces. Common explained that if you working on a movie or something, less weight on writing the songs. At a certain point, as an artist, you go through things like, Man, I didnt feel like that this time, like I got to make this better than Be. I wanted to make a better album, Kanye West described the recording sessions as a real easy environment. Common said that on some tracks, Kanye tried to chop the samples in a way to Dilla as a way of honoring him. It has also said that Kanye West attempted to bring back a really soulful feel to the album. Its gonna be like College Dropout and Be and Illmatic all fusioned together, sometimes you forget to just rap, Common explained when going back over a few of his past missteps. Ive been doing albums so long, so I look for new challenges, I spit so much on the first albums – and not to say I was the ultimate spitter, but I did it so much that I was looking for new things to do as a writer. I think thats where that stems from, me not really going hard on the rhymes, cause I wanted to take on new subject matters and different things so I could grow and keep it interesting for me. But then you do get to the essence of what you are here for and it does come out Common and Kanye West debuted Southside Super Bowl on VH1s Super Bowl Pre Bash. The track is remade for Finding Forever under the alias Southside, released on May 22,2007, The People featuring a chorus by Dwele is the first single on Finding Forever, and produced by Kanye West. On the track, Common name-checks J Dillla and DJ Premier, rapping and he added that The People is really a declaration of who I am right now
32.
Glory (Common and John Legend song)
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Glory is a song performed by American rapper Common and American singer John Legend. It was written by John Legend, Common, and Rhymefest, the song was released on December 11,2014 by Columbia Records as the theme song from the 2014 film Selma, which portrays the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. Common also co-starred as Civil Rights Movement leader James Bevel in Selma, commercially, the song peaked at number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A music video for the song was directed by Paramount Pictures and was released on January 12,2015, the music video was directed by Paramount Pictures. It was put on Commons official Vevo account on January 12,2015, the video stars Legend and Common. The video, which includes footage from the film, begins with Legend playing the piano and then singing, Glory was performed by Legend and Common on the American morning television show Good Morning America on January 5,2015. On February 8,2015, the duo performed the song as culmination to the 57th Annual Grammy Awards ceremonies held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Legend and Common performed Glory during the 87th Academy Awards show on February 22,2015 using a stage-setting of Selmas Edmund Pettus Bridge, the song won the Oscar for Best Original Song. In October 2015, Common surprised a student choir in Compton, the promotion was run by Omaze, a private internet company that raises funds for charity through online auctions and merchandise sales. Glory officially debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 92 and it became Commons fourth charted song on that chart of his own and has since peaked at number 49. Digital download Glory –4,32 Music video on YouTube 2015 Academy Awards performance on YouTube Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
33.
Selma (film)
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Selma is a 2014 British-American historical drama film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb. It is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by James Bevel, Hosea Williams, Martin Luther King, Jr. the film stars actors David Oyelowo as King, Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson, Tim Roth as George Wallace, Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King, the film got a re-release on March 20,2015 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the historical march. Selma had four Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director and Best Actor and it was also nominated for Best Picture and won Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards. In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference accepts his Nobel Peace Prize, four black girls walking down stairs in the Birmingham, Alabama 16th Street Baptist Church are killed by a bomb set by the Ku Klux Klan. Annie Lee Cooper attempts to register to vote in Selma, Alabama but is prevented by the white registrar. King meets with Lyndon B. Johnson and asks for federal legislation to allow citizens to register to vote unencumbered. King travels to Selma with Ralph Abernathy, Andrew Young, James Orange, James Bevel greets them, and other SCLC activists appear. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover tells Johnson that King is a problem, Coretta Scott King has concerns about her husbands upcoming work in Selma. King calls singer Mahalia Jackson to inspire him with a song, King, other SCLC leaders, and black Selma residents march to the registration office to register. After a confrontation in front of the courthouse, a match occurs as the police go into the crowd. Cooper fights back, knocking Sheriff Jim Clark to the ground, leading to the arrest of Cooper, King, Alabama Governor George Wallace speaks out against the movement. Coretta meets with Malcolm X, who says he will drive whites to ally with King by advocating an extreme position. Wallace and Al Lingo decide to use force at a night march in Marion, Alabama. A group of protesters runs into a restaurant to hide, but troopers rush in, beat, King and Bevel meet with Cager Lee, Jacksons grandfather, at the morgue. King speaks to ask people to continue to fight for their rights, King receives harassing phone calls with a recording of sexual activity implied to be him and another woman leading to an argument with Coretta. King is criticized by members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, as the Selma to Montgomery march is about to begin, King talks to Young about canceling it, but Young convinces King to persevere. The marchers, including John Lewis of SNCC, Hosea Williams of SCLC, the troopers order the marchers to turn back, and when they hold their ground the troopers attack with clubs, horses, tear gas, and other weapons
34.
James Bevel
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James Luther Bevel was a minister and leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. He suggested that SCLC call for and join a March on Washington in 1963, Bevel later strategized the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, which contributed to Congressional passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He initiated and directed some of the 1961 and 1962 voting rights movement in Mississippi, in 1967, Bevel was chair of the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. He initiated the 1967 March on the United Nations as part of the anti-war movement and his last major action was as co-initiator of the 1995 Day of Atonement/Million Man March in Washington, DC. In 2005 Bevel was accused of incest by one of his daughters and he was tried in April 2008. Maintaining his innocence, Bevel was convicted of unlawful fornication, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, after serving seven months he was freed awaiting an appeal, he died of pancreatic cancer in December 2008. He was buried in Eutaw, Alabama, Bevel was born in 1936 in Itta Bena, Mississippi, the son of Illie and Dennis Bevel. He was one of seventeen children and he grew up in rural LeFlore County of the Mississippi Delta and in Cleveland. He worked on a plantation for a time as a youth. He was educated at segregated local schools in Mississippi and in Cleveland, after high school he served in the U. S. Navy for a time and seemed headed for a career as a singer. Called in a different direction, he attended the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1957 to 1961 and he also joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. While at seminary, he reread Leo Tolstoys The Kingdom of God is Within You, Bevel also attended workshops at the Highlander Folk School taught by its founder, Myles Horton, who emphasized grassroots organizing. After the success of this action, and with the aid of SCLCs Ella Baker, activist students from Nashville, working on SNCCs commitment to desegregate theaters, Bevel successfully directed the 1961 Nashville Open Theater Movement. At the time the Open Theater Movement had success in Nashville, after buses and riders were severely attacked, including a firebombing of a bus and beatings with police complicity in Birmingham, Alabama, CORE suspended the rides. Diane Nash, the Nashville Student Movements chairman, urged the group to continue the Freedom Rides, Bevel selected the student teams for the buses. He and the others were arrested after they arrived in Jackson, Mississippi, eventually the Freedom Riders reached their goal of New Orleans, Louisiana, generating nationwide coverage of the violence to maintain Jim Crow and white supremacy in the South. While in the Jackson jail, Bevel and Bernard Lafayette initiated the Mississippi Voting Rights Movement and they, Nash, and others stayed in Mississippi to work on grassroots organizing. Activists encountered severe violence at that time and retreated to regroup, later efforts in Mississippi developed as Freedom Summer in 1964, when extensive voter education and registration efforts took place
35.
Smokin' Aces
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Smokin Aces is a 2007 American crime film, written and directed by Joe Carnahan. It stars Jeremy Piven as a Las Vegas magician turned mafia informant, the film is set in Lake Tahoe and was mainly filmed at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, called the Nomad Casino. Las Vegas magician and wannabe gangster, Buddy Aces Israel is hiding out in a Lake Tahoe hotel penthouse with his entourage and his agent, Morris Mecklen, discusses a potential immunity deal with FBI Deputy Director Stanley Locke. Locke dispatches Messner and Carruthers to take Israel into custody when the deal is struck, meanwhile, a team of bail bondsmen, Jack Dupree and his partners, Pistol Pete Deeks and Hollis Elmore have been hired by the firm that posted Israels bail to bring him into custody. The bondsmen are attacked by the Tremors, and only Elmore escapes alive, Messner is dispatched to the murder scene while Carruthers proceeds to Israel. At the same time, each of the assassins gain access to the hotel in their own various ways, Carruthers encounters Acosta, disguised as a security officer, in an elevator at the hotel. Carruthers senses something is wrong and both are wounded in a gunfight. Meanwhile, Soot gains access to the penthouse by posing as one of Israels henchmen, Georgia finds Carruthers and Acosta in the elevator, but assumes Acosta is Soot. In Los Angeles, Locke abruptly withdraws from the deal with Israel and orders that Messner, the Tremor brothers reach the penthouse floor, where they engage in a shootout with the security team and Ivy, who manages to kill Jeeves and Lester. Israel, learning of the FBIs new position, attempts suicide, Messner arrives at the hotel and sets up a position around Georgias elevator. Sharice provides cover from another hotel with a. 50-caliber, M82 sniper rifle, Acosta, still alive, shoots Georgia, but is shot by Carruthers. Sharice, thinking Georgia is dead, refuses to escape and keeps shooting at the FBI team, Georgia escapes to the penthouse, where she stops Darwin Tremor before he can kill Ivy. Tremor escapes, and Messner, distraught over the death of Carruthers, stops Ivy and Georgia on the stairwell, Sharice, after seeing the pair alive and free through her rifle scope, is gunned down by the FBI. Locke and a team of FBI agents descend on the penthouse and take Israel to the hospital, Acosta, carted away on a gurney, is also shown to be alive. Darwin Tremor tries to escape, but is gunned down by Hollis Elmore, Messner arrives at the hospital and learns the truth about the days events from Locke. It transpires that the mysterious Swede is a prominent heart surgeon, Sparazza is further revealed to be Freeman Heller, an FBI agent who went undercover and was thought to have been killed by the mob. The FBI had attempted to kill Heller, after they thought his assignment had blurred the lines between being a mobster or an FBI agent, but Heller survived and ended up taking on the role as Sparazza full time. The mobster has agreed to expose the mobs operations in exchange for Israels heart as he is Sparazzas love child and, thus, the most compatible donor
36.
Street Kings
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Street Kings is a 2008 American crime thriller film directed by David Ayer, and starring Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Common and The Game. It was released in theaters on April 11,2008, the initial screenplay drafts were written by James Ellroy in the late 1990s under the title The Night Watchman. Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned LAPD Vice detective working for a known as Vice Special. Working undercover, he meets with Korean gangsters in a parking lot, after a vicious beatdown, the Koreans then proceed to steal his car but this was however planned and he has the cops locate the vehicle via GPS. Believing that Washington was snitching on him, Ludlow follows him to a store to beat him up. However, Washington is executed in the store in an apparent gangland hit albeit with heavy fire by two gangbangers under the pretense of a robbery. The DNA of two known as Fremont and Coates is found at the scene, as well as a large amount of cash in Washingtons possession. Ludlow teams up with Detective Paul Disco Diskant, who has assigned to the case to join him in his personal investigation. The condition of the bodies makes it apparent that they were killed well before Washingtons murder, Ludlow manages to kill both men and escapes back to his girlfriends house, where a news report reveals the killers were undercover LASD deputies. The two cops take Ludlow out to the house where the two bodies were found earlier for execution, however, Ludlow manages to kill both of them. He then heads to Washingtons house to care of their supervisor, Sergeant Mike Clady, who was about to kill Washingtons widow. Ludlow eventually learns that he has been a pawn in a plan masterminded by Captain Wander, with so many people in Wanders pocket, he has been able to quickly move up the departments ranks as well as conceal his units corruption. He then tries to convince Ludlow that he is his friend and best officer before trying to bribe him with an amount of stolen money. Angry with all that he has been privy to and how it has come about, Ludlow shoots. As he leaves, Biggs tells Ludlow that the department does need him, in 2005, it was announced that Oliver Stone was in talks to direct the film. Training Day screenwriter David Ayer took over the project, on February 5,2008, it was announced that Fox Searchlight Pictures changed the films title from The Night Watchman to Street Kings. Street Kings received mixed reviews from critics, on Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 36% rating, based on 151 reviews, with an average rating of 5. 1/10. The sites consensus reads, Street Kings contains formulaic violence but no shred of intelligence, on Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews
37.
American Gangster (film)
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American Gangster is a 2007 American biographical crime film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by Steven Zaillian. The film stars Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington in their first lead acting roles together since 1995s Virtuosity, the film also co-stars Ted Levine, John Ortiz, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Norman Reedus, Ruby Dee, Lymari Nadal and Cuba Gooding Jr. Development for the film began in 2000, when Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment purchased the rights to a New York magazine story about the rise. Two years later, screenwriter Steven Zaillian introduced a 170-page scriptment to Scott, original production plans were to commence in Toronto for budget purposes, however, production eventually relocated permanently to New York City. Because of the rising budget Universal canceled production in 2004. After negotiations with Terry George, it was revived with Scott at the helm in March 2005. Principal photography commenced over a period of five months from July to December 2006, filming took place throughout New York City, American Gangster premiered in New York on October 20,2007, and was released in the United States and Canada on November 2. The film was received by most film critics, and grossed over US$266.5 million worldwide. In 1968, Frank Lucas is the man of Harlem gangster Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson. When Johnson dies of an attack, Lucas takes control of the Harlem crime scene. After handing in almost $1 million that he found in a mobsters car, after his exiled and addicted partner overdoses on a potent brand of heroin called Blue Magic, Captain Lou Toback puts Roberts in charge of a task force that targets local suppliers. Lucas buys Blue Magic directly from producers in Thailand and smuggles it into the U. S. through returning Vietnam War servicemen and his low overhead allows him to eventually wholesale Blue Magic to most the dealers in the New York area. With this monopoly, Lucas expands his control to nightclubs, casinos and he buys a mansion for his mother and recruits his five brothers, including Huey and Turner, as lieutenants to spread his empire. During his rise to becoming Harlems crime boss, Lucas falls in love with Eva, as Lucas business prospers, he makes a point of operating quietly and dressing with a modest conservatism both as a sign of strength and to avoid attracting police attention. Also, he stays away from the drugs to avoid making decisions under the influence. Lucas must also compete with local crime figure Nicky Barnes, a young gun trying to take over Harlem who has been diluting Lucas Blue Magic, after the Fall of Saigon cuts off Lucas supply, he is forced to rely on the other crime rings. Roberts detectives witness Frank Lucas cousin and driver shoot a woman, the gathered information allows Roberts and his task force to identify and search one of the last planes carrying Lucas stock, discovering Blue Magic in the coffins of dead returning servicemen. With this evidence they obtain a warrant to follow the drugs into Newarks projects, in the ensuing shootout, Steve Lucas, Frank Lucas young nephew who gave up a promising career for the New York Yankees to join Lucas crime family, is killed
38.
Wanted (2008 film)
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Wanted is a 2008 American-German action thriller film loosely based on the comic book miniseries of the same name by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. The film, written by Chris Morgan, Michael Brandt, and Derek Haas and directed by Timur Bekmambetov stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Production began in April 2007, with filming in the Czech Republic, Budapest, and the storys main setting, Chicago. Wanted was released in June 2008 to both critical and commercial success, with box office earnings of $341 million worldwide and reviews praising the fast pacing, a sequel was planned the same year as the films release, but ultimately stalled in the development phase. One night at the pharmacy, Wesley is told by a woman named Fox that his murdered father was an assassin, and the killer. Cross and Fox engage in a shoot-out with hi-tech guns, Wesley panics and runs into the parking lot followed by Cross who steals a truck and attempts to run Wesley down. Fox flips Wesley into her car and then executes a spectacular escape. Wesley awakens in a mysterious factory surrounded by Fox and other fellow assassins, the groups leader, Sloan, forces Wesley at gunpoint to shoot the wings off of several flies buzzing around a trash can, which he does, much to Wesleys shock. He reveals that Wesleys father, as well as Cross, were members of the Fraternity, Sloan wants to teach him to become an assassin so that he may help them kill Cross. Wesley awakens the morning in his apartment, quickly stashing the gun Sloan gave him in his toilet. He then discovers that his bank account now contains several million dollars, filled with new confidence, Wesley snaps in a public outburst against his boss before picking up his keyboard and hitting Barry in the face with it as he leaves. Fox arrives while Wesley is outside looking at newspaper headlines that he is wanted by police over the previous nights shooting, Wesley begins training as an assassin under Foxs tutelage, studying under different specialized assassins. Frustrated by his lack of progress and the brutality of the training, Wesley insists to Sloan he is ready, Fox, overhearing Wesley complaining, beats him until he admits he does not know who he is. Sloan tells Wesley about his father, and how he was betrayed by Cross, reinvigorated with new purpose, Wesley begins to take his training to heart and starts to excel. Sloan then shows him the Loom of Fate, which gives the names of targets through errors in the fabric. Those whom the Loom identifies will apparently create evil and chaos in the future, after his first assassination, Wesley tells Fox that he is questioning whether the Fraternity is right. Fox tells him about how her father was burned alive by a killer who had been targeted by the Loom weeks beforehand. After several missions, Wesley returns to his old apartment to retrieve his fathers gun and he soon has a shootout with Cross, wherein Wesley accidentally kills the Exterminator, a Fraternity member he had befriended. Cross shoots Wesley in the shoulder, Sloan grants Wesleys wish to avenge his father and sends him after Cross—but then secretly gives Fox a mission to kill Wesley, saying that his name had come up in the Loom, as well
39.
Terminator Salvation
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Terminator Salvation is a 2009 American post-apocalyptic science fiction war film directed by McG and starring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. It is the installment of the Terminator franchise. It focuses on the war between Skynets machine network and humanity, the remnants of the military have organized as the Resistance. Bale portrays John Connor, Resistance fighter and central character to the franchise, Terminator Salvation also featured Anton Yelchin as a young Kyle Reese, a character first introduced in The Terminator, and the film depicts the origin of the T-800 Terminator. Terminator Salvation was released on May 21,2009 in the United States and Canada, followed by early June releases in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Warner Bros. handled the North American release while Columbia Pictures handled the international release. The film grossed over $371 million worldwide and met mixed reviews. A reboot of the franchise occurred with the release of Terminator Genisys in 2015. In 2003, Dr. Serena Kogan of Cyberdyne Systems convinces death row inmate Marcus Wright to sign over his body for medical research following his execution. In 2018, John Connor leads an attack on a Skynet base, where he discovers human prisoners and schematics for a new type of Terminator, incorporating living tissue, Connor survives a violent assault on the base, which is later destroyed in a nuclear explosion. Following Connors departure, Wright emerges from the wreckage and begins walking towards Los Angeles. Connor returns to the Resistance headquarters located aboard a nuclear submarine, the Resistance has discovered a hidden signal containing a code protocol which they believe can initiate a permanent shutdown of Skynets machines. Working on this intelligence, the militia plan to launch an offensive against the Skynet base in San Francisco. Connor learns he is second on this list, following Kyle Reese, the Resistance leaders are unaware of Reeses importance, but Connor knows Reese will eventually travel back in time and become his father. Arriving at the ruins of Los Angeles, Wright encounters Reese, Reese and Star are subsequently abducted and taken prisoner by Skynet. Later, two Resistance A-10 airplanes are shot down trying to intercept a machine transport. Wright locates downed pilot Blair Williams, as they make their way to Connors base, attempting to save his life, the Resistance fighters discover that Wright is indeed a cyborg, with a mechanical endoskeleton and a partially artificial cerebral cortex. Although Wright believes himself to be human, Connor thinks that Wright has been sent to execute him, Connor pleads with General Ashdown to delay the offensive so he can formulate a plan to extract the human captives, but Ashdown refuses and relieves Connor of his command. However, the Resistance disobey Ashdowns orders and instead, await Connors signal, Wright enters the base, interfaces with the computer, and disables perimeter defenses so that Connor can infiltrate the cellblock and release human prisoners
