1.
Denver, Colorado
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Denver, officially the City and County of Denver, is the capital and most populous municipality of the U. S. state of Colorado. Denver is in the South Platte River Valley on the edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Denver downtown district is immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek with the South Platte River, Denver is nicknamed the Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile above sea level, making it the highest major city in the United States. The 105th meridian west of Greenwich, the reference for the Mountain Time Zone. Denver is ranked as a Beta- world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. With a 2015 estimated population of 682,545, Denver ranks as the 19th-most populous U. S. city, and with a 2. 8% increase in 2015, the city is also the fastest-growing major city in the United States. The 10-county Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 2,814,330 and ranked as the 19th most populous U. S. metropolitan statistical area. The 12-city Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 3,418,876, which ranks as the 16th most populous U. S. metropolitan area. Denver is the most populous city of the 18-county Front Range Urban Corridor, Denver is the most populous city within a 500-mile radius and the second-most populous city in the Mountain West after Phoenix, Arizona. In 2016, Denver was named the best place to live in the USA by U. S. News & World Report and this was the first historical settlement in what was later to become the city of Denver. The site faded quickly, however, and by the summer of 1859 it was abandoned in favor of Auraria, Larimer named the townsite Denver City to curry favor with Kansas Territorial Governor James W. Denver. Larimer hoped the name would help make it the county seat of Arapaho County but, unbeknownst to him. The location was accessible to existing trails and was across the South Platte River from the site of seasonal encampments of the Cheyenne, the site of these first towns is now the site of Confluence Park near downtown Denver. Larimer, along with associates in the St. Charles City Land Company, sold parcels in the town to merchants and miners, Denver City was a frontier town, with an economy based on servicing local miners with gambling, saloons, livestock and goods trading. In the early years, land parcels were often traded for grubstakes or gambled away by miners in Auraria, in May 1859, Denver City residents donated 53 lots to the Leavenworth & Pikes Peak Express in order to secure the regions first overland wagon route. Offering daily service for passengers, mail, freight, and gold, in 1863, Western Union furthered Denvers dominance of the region by choosing the city for its regional terminus. The Colorado Territory was created on February 28,1861, Arapahoe County was formed on November 1,1861, Denver City served as the Arapahoe County Seat from 1861 until consolidation in 1902. In 1867, Denver City became the territorial capital, with its newfound importance, Denver City shortened its name to Denver
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Contemporary R&B
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Contemporary R&B, also known as simply R&B, is a music genre that combines elements of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop and dance. The genre features a record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, an occasional saxophone-laced beat to give a jazz feel. Electronic influences are becoming a trend and the use of hip hop or dance-inspired beats are typical, although the roughness. Contemporary R&B vocalists are often known for their use of melisma, popularized by such as Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Craig David, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston. That same year, Teddy Riley began producing R&B recordings that included hip hop influences and this combination of R&B style and hip hop rhythms was termed new jack swing and was applied to artists such as Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Al B. Guy, Jodeci and Bell Biv DeVoe, the style became less popular by the end of the 1990s, but later experienced a resurgence. In 1990 Mariah Carey released Vision of Love as her debut single and it was immensely popular peaking at number 1 in many worldwide charts including the Billboard Hot 100, and it propelled Mariahs carrier. The song is said to have popularized the use of melisma. During the mid-1990s, Whitney Houstons The Bodyguard, Original Soundtrack Album sold over 40 million copies becoming the best-selling soundtrack of all time. Janet Jacksons self-titled fifth studio album janet. which came after her historic multimillion-dollar contract with Virgin Records, sold over twenty million copies worldwide. Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey recorded several Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hits, including One Sweet Day, Carey also released a remix of her 1995 single Fantasy, with Ol Dirty Bastard as a feature, a collaboration format that was unheard of at this point. Carey, Boyz II Men and TLC released albums in 1994 and 1995—Daydream, II and CrazySexyCool. In the late 1990s, neo soul, which added 1970s soul influences to the hip hop soul blend, arose, led by such as DAngelo, Erykah Badu. Hill and Missy Elliott further blurred the line between R&B and hip hop by recording both styles, beginning in 1995, the Grammy Awards enacted the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, with II by Boyz II Men becoming the first recipient. The award was received by TLC for CrazySexyCool in 1996, Tony Rich for Words in 1997, Erykah Badu for Baduizm in 1998. At the end of 1999, Billboard magazine ranked Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson as the first, simultaneously, in the second half of the 1990s, The Neptunes and Timbaland set influential precedence on contemporary R&B and hip hop music. R&B acts such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Usher, in 2001, Alicia Keys released Fallin as her debut single. It peaking at one on the Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Top 40
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.
Pop music
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Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid 1950s. The terms popular music and pop music are used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular. Pop and rock were synonymous terms until the late 1960s, when they were used in opposition from each other. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music. Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other such as urban, dance, rock, Latin. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a format, as well as the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes. David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop music as a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, according to Pete Seeger, pop music is professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music, the music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs. Pop music, as a genre, is seen as existing and developing separately, pop music continuously evolves along with the terms definition. The term pop song was first recorded as being used in 1926, Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music. The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pops earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience. Since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the meaning of non-classical mus, usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles. Grove Music Online also states that, in the early 1960s pop music competed terminologically with beat music, while in the USA its coverage overlapped with that of rock and roll. From about 1967, the term was used in opposition to the term rock music. Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral. It is not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward, and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative. It is, provided from on high rather than being made from below, pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment, the lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions
6.
Electro house
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Electro house is a form of house music. Electro house is characterized by a prominent bassline and/or kick drum and its origins were influenced by electro, electroclash, electropop, synthpop, and tech house. The term has been used to describe the music of many DJ Mag Top 100 DJs, including Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Hardwell, Skrillex, electro-house is typified by its heavy bass. This is often in the form of buzzing basslines, such as those created with sawtooth waves and it is also often in the form of large bass drum sounds in a four-on-the-floor pattern. The tempo of electro house is usually around 130 beats per minute, electro house sometimes resembles tech house, but it can contain melodic elements and electro-influenced samples and synths. The genre has been described as a genre of house and electro, either in its original form or as fused with electropop and techno in its late-1990s revival. The word electro is now used as an adjective, such as electro-house. Early songs that have been labelled retroactively as electro-house include Dark Invader by Arrivers in 1996, mr. Oizos 1999 hit Flat Beat has also been considered an early example of the genre. Benny Benassi, with his track Satisfaction released in 2002, is seen as the forerunner of electro-house who brought it to the mainstream, by the mid 2000s, electro-house saw an increase in popularity. Since then, electro-house producers such as Feed Me, Knife Party, The M Machine, Porter Robinson, in the early 2010s, a type of electro-house known as big room began to develop, particularly gaining popularity through EDM-oriented events and festivals such as Tomorrowland. Big room now is beginning to subside from the classification of a subgenre of electro house, big room songs resemble Dutch house, often incorporating drops, minimalist percussion, regular beats, sub-bass layered kicks, simple melodies, and synth-driven breakdowns. The layout of a big room track is similar to the layout of a typical electro-house song. Big room is thought of as a subgenre of electro-house, complextro is typified by glitchy, intricate basslines and textures created by sharply cutting between instruments in quick succession. The term, a portmanteau of the complex and electro, was coined by Porter Robinson to describe the sound of the music he was making in 2010. He has cited video game sounds, or chiptunes, as an influence on his style of music along with 1980s analog synth music and it is primarily defined by complex rhythms made from Latin-influenced drum kits, a lower emphasis on basslines, and squeaky, high-pitched lead synths. Influences on the subgenre include Detroit techno, hip hop and other styles of music. It contains influences from Chicago house, Detroit techno, Baltimore club, Kuduro, Pimba, bassline, bouncy techno, dubstep, techstep, hip hop easy listening and world music. Purveyors of the genre include The Bloody Beetroots, AC Slater, Danger, Hervé, Sinden, Jack Beats, the term fidget house was coined by DJs/producers Jesse Rose and Switch, as a joke, which has now gone a little too far
7.
Disc jockey
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A disc jockey is a person who mixes different sources of pre-existing recorded music as it is playing, usually for a live audience in a nightclub or dance club or via broadcasting. DJs typically perform for an audience in a nightclub or dance club or a TV, radio broadcast audience, or in the 2010s. DJs also create mixes, remixes and tracks that are recorded for later sale, in hip hop music, DJs may create beats, using percussion breaks, basslines and other musical content sampled from pre-existing records. In hip hop, rappers and MCs use these beats to rap over, DJs use equipment that can play at least two sources of recorded music simultaneously and mix them together. This allows the DJ to create seamless transitions between recordings and develop unique mixes of songs, DJ equipment, notably the specialized DJ mixer, a small audio mixer with a crossfader and cue functions. The crossfader enables the DJ to blend or transition from one song to another, the cue knobs or switches allow the DJ to preview a source of recorded music in headphones before playing it for the live club or broadcast audience. Previewing the music in headphones helps the DJ pick the track they want to play. DJs may also use a microphone to speak to the audience, effects such as reverb to create sound effects, drum machines. The title DJ is also used by DJs in front of their real names or adopted pseudonyms or stage names as a title to denote their profession. Some DJs focus on creating a mix of songs for the club dancers or radio audience. Other DJs use turntablism techniques such as scratching, in which the DJ or turntablist manipulates the record player turntable to create new sounds. In many types of DJing, including club DJing and radio/TV DJing, there are several types of disc jockey. Radio DJs or radio personalities introduce and play music that is broadcast on AM, FM, club DJs select and play music in bars, nightclubs or discothèques, or at parties, raves, or even in stadiums. Mobile DJs travel with portable sound systems and play recorded music at a variety of events. Some mobile DJs also serve as the master of ceremonies at weddings or other events, directing the attention of attendees, there are also many competitions for DJs that specialize in different turntablism techniques, such as mixing, hip hop music-style scratching or other kinds of techniques. Other types of DJ use musical performance techniques that allow them to be categorized as performing musicians, hip hop DJs and are also often songwriters or music producers who use turntablism and sampling to create backing instrumentals for new tracks. In reggae, the DJ is a vocalist who raps, toasts, chants or chats over pre-recorded rhythm tracks, the individual who helps the DJ by selecting tracks or records to be played is called the selector. Many electronica artists and producers who work as DJs often perform music by combining turntablism with keyboards, digital musical instruments
8.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
9.
Colorado
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Colorado is a state in the United States encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Southwestern United States, Colorado is the 8th most extensive and the 21st most populous of the 50 United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5,540,545 on July 1,2016, the state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish travelers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy silt the river carried from the mountains. The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28,1861, Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it became a state in the same year as the centennial of the United States Declaration of Independence. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers. Denver is the capital and the most populous city of Colorado, residents of the state are properly known as Coloradans, although the term Coloradoan has been used archaically and lives on in the title of Fort Collins newspaper, the Coloradoan. Colorado, Wyoming and Utah are the states which have boundaries defined solely by lines of latitude and longitude. The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet elevation in Lake County is the highest point in Colorado, Colorado is the only U. S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. The point where the Arikaree River flows out of Yuma County, Colorado and this point, which holds the distinction of being the highest low elevation point of any state, is higher than the high elevation points of 18 states and the District of Columbia. A little less than one half of the area of Colorado is flat, East of the Rocky Mountains are the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains, the section of the Great Plains within Nebraska at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 7,500 feet. The Colorado plains were mostly prairies, but they have many patches of forests, buttes. Eastern Colorado is presently covered in farmland and rangeland, along with small farming villages. Precipitation is fair, averaging from 15 to 25 inches annually, corn, wheat, hay, soybeans, and oats are all typical crops, and most of the villages and towns in this region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator. Irrigation water is available from the South Platte, the Arkansas River, and a few other streams, however, heavy use of ground water from wells for irrigation has caused underground water reserves to decline. As well as agriculture, eastern Colorado hosts considerable livestock, such as cattle ranches. Roughly 70% of Colorados population resides along the edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Pueblo, Colorado. This region is protected from prevailing storms that blow in from the Pacific Ocean region by the high Rockies in the middle of Colorado. The Front Range includes Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Loveland, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley and other townships, on the other side of the Rockies, the significant population centers in Western Colorado are the cities of Grand Junction, Durango, and Montrose
10.
Denver
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Denver, officially the City and County of Denver, is the capital and most populous municipality of the U. S. state of Colorado. Denver is in the South Platte River Valley on the edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Denver downtown district is immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek with the South Platte River, Denver is nicknamed the Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile above sea level, making it the highest major city in the United States. The 105th meridian west of Greenwich, the reference for the Mountain Time Zone. Denver is ranked as a Beta- world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. With a 2015 estimated population of 682,545, Denver ranks as the 19th-most populous U. S. city, and with a 2. 8% increase in 2015, the city is also the fastest-growing major city in the United States. The 10-county Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 2,814,330 and ranked as the 19th most populous U. S. metropolitan statistical area. The 12-city Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 3,418,876, which ranks as the 16th most populous U. S. metropolitan area. Denver is the most populous city of the 18-county Front Range Urban Corridor, Denver is the most populous city within a 500-mile radius and the second-most populous city in the Mountain West after Phoenix, Arizona. In 2016, Denver was named the best place to live in the USA by U. S. News & World Report and this was the first historical settlement in what was later to become the city of Denver. The site faded quickly, however, and by the summer of 1859 it was abandoned in favor of Auraria, Larimer named the townsite Denver City to curry favor with Kansas Territorial Governor James W. Denver. Larimer hoped the name would help make it the county seat of Arapaho County but, unbeknownst to him. The location was accessible to existing trails and was across the South Platte River from the site of seasonal encampments of the Cheyenne, the site of these first towns is now the site of Confluence Park near downtown Denver. Larimer, along with associates in the St. Charles City Land Company, sold parcels in the town to merchants and miners, Denver City was a frontier town, with an economy based on servicing local miners with gambling, saloons, livestock and goods trading. In the early years, land parcels were often traded for grubstakes or gambled away by miners in Auraria, in May 1859, Denver City residents donated 53 lots to the Leavenworth & Pikes Peak Express in order to secure the regions first overland wagon route. Offering daily service for passengers, mail, freight, and gold, in 1863, Western Union furthered Denvers dominance of the region by choosing the city for its regional terminus. The Colorado Territory was created on February 28,1861, Arapahoe County was formed on November 1,1861, Denver City served as the Arapahoe County Seat from 1861 until consolidation in 1902. In 1867, Denver City became the territorial capital, with its newfound importance, Denver City shortened its name to Denver
11.
Atlantic Records
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Atlantic Recording Corporation is an American major record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegün and Herb Abramson. In 2004, Atlantic Records and its sister label Elektra Records merged into Atlantic Records Group, craig Kallman is currently the chairman of Atlantic Records. Ahmet Ertegün served as founding chairman until his death on December 14,2006, the brothers had become ardent fans of jazz and rhythm & blues music, amassing a collection of over 15,00078 RPM records. He convinced the family dentist, Dr Vahdi Sabit, to invest $10,000 and recruited Herb Abramson, Abramson had worked as a part-time A&R manager/producer for the jazz label National Records, signing Big Joe Turner and Billy Eckstine. He founded Jubilee Records in 1946, but had no interest in its most successful artists, so, in September 1947, he sold his share in Jubilee to his partner, Jerry Blaine, and invested $2500 in the new Atlantic label. When interviewed in 2009 she attributed her reputation to the companys chronic cash-flow shortage, most of the problems we had with artists were that they wanted advances, and that was very difficult for us. We were undercapitalized for a long time, the labels original office in the Ritz Hotel, Manhattan proved too expensive so they relocated to an $85 per month room in the Hotel Jefferson. In its early years Atlantic focused principally on modern jazz although it released some country and western and spoken word recordings. The union action forced Atlantic to use almost all its capital to cut and stockpile enough recordings to last through the ban, Ertegun and Abramson spent much of the late 1940s and early 1950s scouring nightclubs in search of talent. Ertegun composed many songs under the alias A, in early 1949 a New Orleans distributor phoned Ertegun trying to obtain Stick McGhees Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee, which was unavailable due to the closure of McGhees previous label. Ertegun knew Sticks younger brother Brownie McGhee, with whom Stick happened to be staying, so he contacted the McGhee brothers, Ertegun asked about artists royalties, which he paid, which surprised Columbia executives, who did not, which scuttled the deal. On the recommendation of broadcaster Willis Conover, Ertegun and Abramson went to see Ruth Brown at the Crystal Caverns club in Washington and she was badly injured in a car accident en route to New York but Atlantic supported her for nine months and then signed her. Her first release for the label So Long, cut at her second Atlantic session on May 25,1949 with the Eddie Condon band, was a major hit, reaching #6 on the R&B chart. Brown went on to more than eighty songs for the label, becoming the most prolific. So significant was Browns success to Atlantics fortunes that the label became known colloquially as The House That Ruth Built. The Clovers Dont You Know I Love You became the labels first R&B #1 in September 1951 and she hit #1 again in March–April 1952 with 5-10-15 Hours. After she left the label in 1961 Browns fortunes declined rapidly - within a few years was reduced to working as a cleaner and bus-driver to support her children. Brown eventually received a payment of $20,000 and founded a charity
12.
CROSS GENE
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Cross Gene is a six-member multinational boy group based in South Korea. Signed under Amuse Korea, the group consists of South Korean members Shin, Sangmin, Yongseok and Seyoung, Chinese member Casper and they released their debut mini-album Timeless, Begins in June 7,2012, which peaked at number eight on the Gaon weekly album chart. On May 26,2012, Amuse Korea Entertainment revealed that they would be debuting a multinational group, consisting of South Korean, Japanese and Chinese singers. Among them was Shin Won-ho, an actor who appeared in dramas and advertisements. The entertainment company explained the meaning behind the name, stating that the group would cross the superior genes of each country to create one perfect group. Cross Gene consisted of three South Korean members, two Chinese members and one Japanese member, on June 7, the group held their first showcase at the Ax Korea concert hall. They released their first mini-album Timeless, Begins on June 8, ten days later, a limited edition version of the mini-album was released. Timeless, Begins debuted at nine on the Gaon weekly albums chart. He replaced J. G, who left Cross Gene to start a career as a solo artist, on February 27 the PV to their song Shooting Star, also title track of their Japanese debut single album of the same name, was revealed. The first time the song was performed during promotional event for the drama Big in Japan, the single album was released on March 13. This was followed by the Crazy digital single on the 29th of May, on May 31, Cross Gene held their first Japanese Concert Cross U at Shibuya O-East during which the group spoke about J. G leaving and the change in leadership structure. On August 1, Cross Gene released Dirty Pop digital single followed by the Special Photobook CD With U, the photobook was a limited release that would not be made available outside of concert venues until late 2014. Cross Gene held two more concerts – With U on 22 August at Shibuya Public Hall and a performance on 31 August at Umeda Club Quattro. The Shibuya Public Hall concert would later be released on DVD in the same format as the With U EP. Cross Gene Planet, the official Japanese fansite, was launched on September 2, during the latter part of the year Cross Gene released three more digital singles in Japan, My Love Song in October, and Page of Love and Aurora in November and December 1. During November Cross Gene also started activities in China performing for ATV at the Mr Asia contest and held a fanmeet, on November 28 Cross Gene received a Rookie Award at the 21st Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards. Cross Genes third Japan live performance, Rock U, was held on December 6 at Umeda Club Quattro, at the conclusion of Rock U the group hinted at an upcoming project – Project Z. They also participated in Super Handsome Live 2013 on December 26 and 27 as a supporting act, in early 2014, Cross Gene travelled to LA to film their first starring movie, ZEDD
13.
Flo Rida
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Tramar Lacel Dillard, known professionally as Flo Rida, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Carol City, Florida. His 2008 breakout single Low was number one for 10 weeks in the United States, Flo Ridas debut studio album, 2008s Mail on Sunday, reached number four in the US. The album was succeeded by R. O. O. T. S and his subsequent albums, 2010s Only One Flo and 2012s Wild Ones, also charted on the US Billboard 200 chart. Flo Rida has sold over 80 million digital downloads, making him one of the music artists. His catalog includes the international singles Right Round, Club Cant Handle Me, Good Feeling, Wild Ones, Whistle, I Cry, G. D. F. R. and My House. Flo Rida was born as Tramar Lacel Dillard in Carol City, Florida and his parents raised him and his seven sisters together, some of whom sang in a local gospel group. His brother-in-law was a man for local rap group 2 Live Crew. The GroundHoggz had been a group, with members who lived in the same apartment complex as Flo Rida. They started recording at underground studios in Carver Ranches, the GroundHoggz, in this four-man incarnation, remained together for eight years. Flo Ridas work with 2 Live Crew member Fresh Kid Ice, attracted the attention of DeVante Swing, however, he was rejected by several of the major labels, so he sought many other jobs outside of music. After graduating from school in 1998, he studied international business management at the University of Nevada. He returned to Florida to continue pursuing his career after receiving a phone call from a representative of the independent label Poe Boy Entertainment. Flo Rida signed with Hot Boyz, in 2000 and with Poe Boy, in 2004 and began affiliating himself for Cash Money with other Southern hip hop artists, such as Rick Ross, Trina, T-Pain, and Trick Daddy. A promotional single entitled Birthday, featuring Rick Ross, was his first significant release. He made his debut guest appearance with the song Bitch Im From Dade County on DJ Khaleds album We the Best, which also features Trick Daddy, Trina, Rick Ross, Brisco, C-Ride, Flo Ridas debut album, Mail on Sunday, was released in March 2008. The first single was Low, featuring T-Pain, which was included in the soundtrack to the movie Step Up 2. Low reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Elevator, featuring Timbaland, In the Ayer featuring will. i. am, and Roll featuring Sean Kingston followed, and both charted on the Hot 100 and other charts. In addition to T-Pain, there were featured guests throughout Mail on Sunday
14.
The Black Eyed Peas
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The Black Eyed Peas is an American group, consisting of rappers will. i. am, apl. de. ap, Taboo, and singer Fergie. Originally an alternative hip hop group, they changed their musical sound to pop and dance-pop music. Although the group was founded in Los Angeles in 1995, it was not until the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003 that they achieved record sales. Since that time, the group has sold an estimated 76 million records, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the Black Eyed Peas were the second-best-selling artist/group of all time for downloaded tracks, with over 42 million sales as of the end of 2011. Their first major hit was the 2003 single Where Is the Love, from Elephunk, which topped the charts in 13 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it spent seven weeks at number one and went on to become Britains biggest selling single of 2003. Another European hit single from the album was Shut Up. Their fourth album, Monkey Business, was an even bigger success, certified 4× Platinum in the U. S. and spawning four singles, Dont Phunk with My Heart, Dont Lie, My Humps. I Gotta Feeling became the first single to more than one million downloads in the United Kingdom. The Black Eyed Peas were ranked 12th on Billboards Decade-End Chart Artist of the Decade, at the 52nd Grammy Awards ceremony, held in January 2010, they won three awards out of six nominations. In November 2010, they released the album The Beginning, in February 2011, the group performed at the Super Bowl XLV halftime show. The Black Eyed Peas date back to 1988, when eighth-graders William Adams and Allan Pineda met, the pair signed to Ruthless Records in 1992, catching the attention of Eazy-E manager Jerry Hellers nephew. Along with another friend of theirs, Dante Santiago, they called their trio Atban Klann, will 1X, apl. de. ap, Mookie Mook, DJ Motiv8, and Dante Santiago formed Atban Klann. Their debut album, Grass Roots, was never released due to Ruthless records founder Eazy-Es death, after Eazy-E died in 1995, Atban Klann reformed and changed their name to Black Eyed Pods, and then Black Eyed Peas. Dante Santiago was replaced with Jaime Gomez, and Kim Hill became a background singer. Unlike the gangsta rap sounds of Los Angeles-based hip hop acts at the time, after being signed to Interscope Records and releasing their debut, Behind the Front the group earned critical acclaim. One of the singles from the album was Joints & Jam, singer Sierra Swan joined in 1998, appearing on the 1998 song Fallin Up, before she left in 2000. Their second album, Bridging the Gap, produced the singles Weekends featuring Esthero, Hill left the band while producing the album, but was still featured on the album tracks for Hot and Tell Your Mama Come as well as in the video for Weekends. Their third album Elephunk began development on November 2,2001 and it was the first album to feature the vocals of current member Fergie
15.
T-Pain
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Faheem Rashad Najm, better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer from Tallahassee, Florida. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005, in 2007, T-Pain released his second album Epiphany, which reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. His third album, Thr33 Ringz, was released in 2008, T-Pain has also released a string of hit singles, including Im Sprung, Im n Luv, Buy U a Drank, Bartender, Cant Believe It,5 OClock and more. T-Pain has earned two Grammy Awards, alongside artists Kanye West and Jamie Foxx respectively, T-Pain is the founder of the record label imprint Nappy Boy Entertainment, established in 2005. Najm was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida and his stage name is short for Tallahassee Pain, and was chosen because of the hardships he experienced while living there. Najm was brought up in a Muslim household, but he has expressed his lack of interest in the concept of religion, at age ten, Najm turned his bedroom into a music studio, using a keyboard, a beat machine and a four-track recorder. T-Pain joined the rap group Nappy Headz in 2004 and later recorded Im Fucked Up, recording artist Akon heard the song and immediately signed T-Pain to Konvict Muzik, his label. After being discovered, T-Pain began singing instead of rapping, T-Pain subsequently recorded and released his debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, on December 6,2005. The album reached number thirty-three on the Billboard 200, and has since been certified Gold by the RIAA, for reaching sales of 500,000 units. The album was preceded by the single, Im Sprung. The second single, Im N Luv, featuring Mike Jones, was released in December 2005 and reached five on the Hot 100. The third and final single from the album, Studio Luv, was released in October 2006, in mid-2006, T-Pain began work on his second album, now with the Zomba Label Group as well as Konvict Muzik and Jive Records. The album, titled Epiphany, was released on June 5,2007, the album sold 171,000 records in its first week, reaching number one on the Billboard 200. The record has since sold 819,000 records in the United States, the album was preceded by the lead single Buy U a Drank featuring Yung Joc in February 2007. The single reached number one on both the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming his first single to top charts. The albums second single, Bartender, featuring Akon was released in June 2007 and reached five on the Hot 100. The third and final single from the album, Church, was released in October 2007, while promoting his second album, T-Pain made guest appearances on multiple songs by other artists. T-Pain was featured on Im a Flirt by R. Kelly with T. I
16.
Chris Brown (American entertainer)
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Christopher Maurice Chris Brown is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Born in Tappahannock, Virginia, he was involved in his church choir, having signed with Jive Records in 2004, Brown released his self-titled debut studio album the following year. It peaked at two on the US Billboard 200 and was later certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. With his first single Run It, peaking atop the US Billboard Hot 100, Brown became the first male artist as a lead since Diddy in 1997 to have his debut single top the chart. His second album Exclusive spawned his second Hot 100 number one Kiss Kiss, in addition to With You, the album was also certified double platinum by the RIAA. The songs have peaked at three, number nine and number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 respectively. His third album Graffiti was released later that year, and included the top-twenty single I Can Transform Ya, became his first to top the Billboard 200, it spawned the singles Yeah 3x, Look at Me Now, and Beautiful People. Earned Brown his first Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 54th Grammy Awards and his fifth album Fortune was released in 2012. However, after the release of Exclusive, Browns albums have not been well received commercially or by critics, with the exception of X. Browns seventh studio album Royalty was released on December 18,2015, apart from his work in the music industry, Brown has pursued an acting career. In 2007, he made his feature film debut in Stomp the Yard. Other films Brown has appeared in, include This Christmas, Takers, Think Like a Man, throughout his career, Brown has won several awards, including 14 BET Awards,5 Billboard Music Awards, and 3 Soul Train Music Awards. According to Billboard, Brown has the seventh most Hot 100 entries on the chart with 82 and he has an older sister, Lytrell Bundy, who works in a bank. Music was always present in Browns life beginning in his childhood and he would listen to soul albums that his parents owned, and eventually began to show interest in the hip-hop scene. He is African American, and has said that he has Pamunkey Native American ancestry. Brown taught himself to sing and dance at a young age and he began to perform in his church choir and in several local talent shows. When he mimicked an Usher performance of My Way, his mother recognized his vocal talent, at the same time, Brown was going through personal issues. His parents had divorced, and his mothers boyfriend terrified him by subjecting her to domestic violence, at age 13, Brown was discovered by Hitmission Records, a local production team that visited his fathers gas station while searching for new talent
17.
Travie McCoy
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Travis Lazarus Travie McCoy is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He is the co-founder and lead singer of the rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, McCoy became involved with punk rock scenes as a teenager. He formed the group Gym Class Heroes with childhood friend Matt McGinley, and after several changes, the group was signed to Fueled by Ramen. Gym Class Heroes took a hiatus from music, leaving McCoy to focus on his solo career, McCoy released his debut solo album, Lazarus. The lead single from the album, Billionaire featuring Bruno Mars, peaked at four on the Billboard Hot 100. McCoy is signed to T-Pains label Nappy Boy Entertainment, McCoy was born and raised in Geneva, New York, United States. His father is Haitian and his mother is of Irish ancestry, as a child, McCoy was a wheelchair user for four months after a skateboarding accident, his lack of mobility allowed him to focus on art. When he was 15, McCoy worked in a tattoo parlor as an apprentice, as a teenager, McCoy was a fan of hardcore punk bands such as Snapcase and Earth Crisis, as well as underground rap acts such as Company Flow and the Arsonists. He says of his musical tastes I was never a typical hip-hop kid, I didn’t want to be pigeonholed. McCoy frequently took buses to Manhattan throughout high school to participate in battle raps at the indie rap club Fat Beats. McCoy played the drums in school and created a rap group with his father and his brother called True Life Playas. The tapes exist somewhere but hopefully theyll never be found, in high school, he met future bandmate Matt McGinley in his gym class and the two bonded over a common interest in music, in particular punk rock, indie rock, and hip hop. They decided to start a band and played with other musicians until Gym Class Heroes was formed in 1997, after graduating from Geneva High School, McCoy attended art school at Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute and majored in fine arts and illustration. However, he dropped out at age 20 to focus on his tattoo work, at one time, McCoy was working at a tattoo parlor, teaching art at a Boys & Girls Club in the daytime, and working at a gas station at night. He decided to all three jobs and work on art full-time, opening an art show with his friend. He lived off of the money he made from selling paintings before Gym Class Heroes became successful. Travis made his MTV debut in the summer of 2002, as he appeared on stage at the beach house, McCoy and drummer Matt McGinley became friends at their local high schools gym class in ninth grade in Geneva, New York. They officially came together in 1997, the band formed when bassist Ryan Geise and drummer Matt McGinley were performing at a party in an instrumental band with no vocals
18.
Enrique Iglesias
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Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler, known professionally as Enrique Iglesias, is a Spanish singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. He is widely regarded as the King of Latin Pop, in 2010, he parted with Interscope Records and signed with another Universal Music Group label Republic Records to release bilingual albums. In 2015, Iglesias parted ways with Universal Music Group after a decade and he signed with Sony Music, his upcoming albums will be by Sony Music Latin in Spanish and RCA Records in English. Iglesias has sold over 159 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Spanish artists ever, Iglesias has scored over 150 number-one hits across all of the Billboard charts. He has had five Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, including two number-ones, and holds the record for producing 27 number-one Spanish-language singles on the Billboards Hot Latin Tracks and he also holds the record for most number-one hits and the longest-running number-one hit on that chart. Iglesias also has 14 number-ones on Billboards Dance charts, more than any male artist. Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain, and is the third and youngest child of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and Filipina socialite, isabels aunt is actress Neile Adams, the first wife of American actor Steve McQueen and grandmother of actor Steven R. McQueen. He was raised with two siblings, Chabeli and Julio. His mother is Filipina and his father is Spanish, with family from Galicia and Andalusia and his father is of Jewish ancestry and has also claimed Puerto Rican ancestry on his mothers side. At first, Iglesias and his two siblings stayed with their mother, but in 1986, Iglesias grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga, was kidnapped by the armed Basque terrorist group ETA. For their safety, Enrique and his brother Julio were sent to live with their father in Miami, there, they were brought up mostly by the nanny, Elvira Olivares, to whom he later dedicated his first album. He also lived in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, for one year with his mother, as his fathers career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. He attended the prestigious Gulliver Preparatory School and later went on to business at the University of Miami. Iglesias did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career and he borrowed money from his family nanny and he recorded a demo cassette tape which consisted of a Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his fathers former publicist, Fernán Martínez, the two promoted the songs under the stage name Enrique Martínez with the backstory of being a singer from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed on to Fonovisa Records, after dropping out of college, he traveled to Toronto to record his first album. On 12 July 1995, Iglesias released Enrique Iglesias, a collection of rock ballads, including hits such as Si Tú Te Vas, Experiencia Religiosa. This album Vivir, along with Iglesias next two albums, was released by the Mexican label Fonovisa and his song Por Amarte was included in Televisas telenovela Marisol, but with a twist, instead of Por amarte daría mi vida, the words were Por amarte Marisol, moriría
19.
Lupe Fiasco
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Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album and he also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. As an entrepreneur, Fiasco is the executive officer of 1st. Raised in Chicago, Jaco developed an interest in hip hop after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity, after adopting the name Lupe Fiasco and recording songs in his fathers basement, 19-year-old Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak. The group disbanded shortly after its inception, and Fiasco soon met rapper Jay-Z who helped him sign a deal with Atlantic Records. In September 2006, Fiasco released his debut album Lupe Fiascos Food & Liquor on the label and he released his second album, Lupe Fiascos The Cool, in December 2007. The lead single Superstar became his first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, after a two-year delay, Lasers was released in March 2011 to mixed reviews, however, it became his first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. His latest album, Tetsuo & Youth, was released in January 2015, in addition to music, Fiasco has pursued other business ventures, including fashion. He runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly, he has designed sneakers for Reebok and he has been involved with charitable activities, including the Summit on the Summit expedition, and in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Fiasco is also noted for his anti-establishment views, which he has expressed in interviews and his music. Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16,1982 in Chicago, Fiasco is of West African descent, one of nine children of Shirley, a gourmet chef, and Gregory, an engineer. His father, a member of the Black Panther Party, was a prolific African drummer, karate teacher, operating plant engineer, Fiasco was raised Muslim on the West Side of Chicago on Madison Terrace housing project. At the age of three, Fiasco began taking martial arts classes and his parents divorced when he was five, and he went on to live with his mother, but his father still remained an important part of his life. In sixth grade, he went to live with his father full-time in Harvey and his father lived next door to a crack house and taught Fiasco to use guns to defend himself from drug dealers. As a teenager, Fiasco participated in Academic Decathlon competitions and his mother described him by saying, He was a great spirited child. Smart, a bit complex, he kind of was a loner, always had a book bag over his shoulder and some type of a writing tablet. Fiasco initially disliked hip hop music for its use of vulgarity and his struggle to learn to play an instrument led him to create poetry instead, which led to his interest in the lyrical aspects of music. He began rapping his poems in the grade, and upon hearing Nas 1996 album, It Was Written
20.
Sean Kingston
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Kisean Anderson, known professionally as Sean Kingston, is a Jamaican-American singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer whose first album, Sean Kingston, was released in 2007. Kisean Anderson was born on February 3,1990, in Miami, Florida, and moved to Kingston, Jamaica and he attended high school in Ocho Rios. His grandfather was the noted Jamaican reggae producer Lawrence Lindo, who worked under the stage name Jack Ruby, Kingston was discovered on Myspace by Tommy Rotem at Beluga Heights, and signed to the label in a partnership deal with Sony. At Beluga we essentially refine the talent so that its more of a marketable product, in a venture between Epic Records and Koch Records, Kingston recorded and released the single Beautiful Girls in May 2007. The song peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, Beautiful Girls was a success internationally, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, the song spent four weeks at the summit of the UK Singles Chart, in 2007, Kingston was the opening act for Gwen Stefanis The Sweet Escape Tour and for select dates on Beyoncés The Beyoncé Experience Tour. In 2008, he was one of the acts for the Australian leg of Kelly Clarksons My December Tour. Since Sean is a Jamaican singer, he got his name from the capital of Jamaica called Kingston. The album Tomorrow was released on September 22,2009, producers involved in the album included former Fugee Wyclef Jean, RedOne, plus Seans original mentor, J. R. Rotem. Fire Burning, and Face Drop were released as singles, additionally, five promotional digital singles were released leading up to the album. Kingston co-wrote Jason Derulos Whatcha Say and he also found the R&B-reggae singer Iyaz on MySpace and signed him to his record label. He also recorded the track Miss Everything for the UK girl-group Sugababes studio album Sweet 7 which was released March 15,2010, Kingston and DJ Khaled are being featured on Bow Wows new single For My Hood, from the movie, The Lottery Ticket. The album features T-Pain, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Flo Rida, Soulja Boy, Wyclef Jean, Cher Lloyd, Akon and Dr. Dre. The first single from the album is Eenie Meenie featuring Justin Bieber, released on March 23,2010 and this collaboration with the young star has been the source of much disapproval from the rap community. The second single from the album is Letting Go, which features a verse from Nicki Minaj and it was released on iTunes August 3, while the third is Dumb Love and was released on iTunes September 8. Sean Kingstons new song She Moves samples Irena Caras What a Feeling from the film Flashdance and this has not been release as a single. A fourth single Party All Night was released on December 21,2010, Kingston represented the continents of North and South America to sing the Official Theme Song of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, Everyone. However, Kingston was unable to attend the Singapore Youth Olympics 2010 opening ceremony due to passport mix ups, Sean was invited to be featured with Cash Money Records/former So So Def member Bow Wow on his single For My Hood
21.
Toni Braxton
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Toni Michelle Braxton is an American singer–songwriter, pianist, record producer, actress, television personality, and philanthropist. Her self-titled debut studio album was released in 1993 and it sold over 10 million copies worldwide, spawning such hits as Another Sad Love Song and Breathe Again and earning Braxton three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist. Released in 1996, her album, Secrets, continued her acclaim and mega success. Braxton won two Grammy Awards for Secrets, in 2000, her third album, The Heat, was released. It sold over 4 million copies and included the hit single He Wasnt Man Enough and she then released three more studio albums – More Than a Woman, Libra and Pulse, experiencing personal and label conflicts in between these releases. In 2014, Braxton and long-time collaborator Babyface released an album entitled Love, Marriage & Divorce. Throughout her career, Braxton has sold over 67 million records, including 41 million albums and she has won seven Grammy Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, seven American Music Awards and several other awards. Braxton is also an Executive Producer of the show, starring her younger sister. On September 18,2011, Braxton was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, Toni Michelle Braxton was born in Severn, Maryland. Braxtons maternal grandfather was also a pastor, Braxton is the eldest of six siblings. She has a younger brother Michael, Jr. and four younger sisters Traci, Towanda, Trina and they were raised in a strict religious household, and Braxtons first performing experience was singing in her church choir. On her appearance May 24,2014 broadcast of NPRs Wait Wait, dont Tell Me. she stated that she was not singing to herself at the gas station. Pettaway, working as an attendant at the Annapolis service station where she was refueling, recognized her from local performances and introduced himself, though skeptical, Braxton decided to, in her words, take a chance and accepted. Braxton and her four sisters began performing as The Braxtons in the late 1980s and were signed to Arista Records in 1989 and their first single, Good Life, was released in 1990. Though the song was not successful, it attracted the attention of Antonio L. A. Reid and Kenneth Babyface Edmonds. Reid and Babyface recruited her to record a demo of Love Shoulda Brought You Home, Baker, who was pregnant at the time, did not record the song but suggested, that Braxton record it. Her recording was included on the soundtrack along with Give U My Heart. Braxton, meanwhile, was signed to Reid and Edmonds Arista-distributed imprint, LaFace Records, on July 13,1993, LaFace Records released Braxtons self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton
22.
B.o.B
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Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. better known by his stage name B. o. B, is an American hip hop recording artist and record producer from Decatur, Georgia. In 2006, B. o. B was discovered by Brian Richardson, who introduced him to TJ Chapman. After hearing his music, Jonsin signed B. o. B to his Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint, two years later, Jonsin and B. o. B signed a joint venture deal, with Atlantic Records and American rapper T. I. s Grand Hustle Records. B. o. B quickly rose to fame after his debut single Nothin on You. He would later release his third single Airplanes, which topped several major music charts. His fifth single Magic, became his third top 10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, B. o. Bs debut studio album The Adventures of Bobby Ray, which was preceded by two extended plays and several mixtapes, was released in April 2010. The album reached number one on the US Billboard 200 and was eventually certified 2x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2016, B. o. B was named the ninth Hottest MC in the Game of 2010 by MTV, on their annual list. B. o. B released his studio album Strange Clouds. The album spawned six singles, four of which charted well internationally. The albums eponymous single became his fourth top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The singles So Good, Both of Us and Out of My Mind, followed behind, the album itself debuted at number five on the Billboard 200. His third album Underground Luxury, was released in December 2013, in August 2015, B. o. B unexpectedly released a new project Psycadelik Thoughtz, via digital distribution, with little-to-no promotion. In January 2016, B. o. B incited widespread ridicule for claiming that the earth is flat, B. o. B was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He played the trumpet in his band from elementary school through high school. Although his parents wanted him to continue his education, B. o. B decided in sixth grade that he wanted to pursue a music career. His father, a pastor, disapproved of his sons choices, until he realized B. o. B was using music as a form of therapy, B. o. B later reflected on his experience, saying, Theyve always supported me. They got my first keyboard to make beats on and they helped me out getting equipment here and there, but it was kind of hard for them to really understand what I was really trying to accomplish. B. o. B attended Columbia High School in Decatur, Georgia, where he played the trumpet in the school band, until he landed a record deal and decided to drop out of school in the ninth grade
23.
Three 6 Mafia
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Three 6 Mafia, originally known as Triple 6 Mafia, was an American hip hop group originally from Memphis, Tennessee, signed to Sony Music Entertainment under the Columbia Records imprint. The group was formed by DJ Paul, Lord Infamous, during the groups earlier years they were known as Backyard Posse before becoming known as Triple 6 Mafia and often worked with members of the Prophet Posse and the Gimisum Family. Koopsta Knicca joined the group in 1994, Crunchy Black was at first added to the group as a dancer in 1995 and Gangsta Boo became a full member of the group after the release of the debut album Mystic Stylez. The group released their debut album Mystic Stylez in 1995 through Prophet Entertainment and their musical style—which initially featured dark, menacing beats with equally gritty lyrics—has since moved to a less dark style. The group has also had numerous changes, and now performs under the group name of Da Mafia 6ix. The groups worldwide sales stand at 5.5 million. In 2006 the group won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards for their song Its Hard out Here for a Pimp from the movie Hustle & Flow, Three 6 Mafia have been described as horrorcore, crunk and gangsta rap. The group started in 1991 in Memphis with DJ Paul, Juicy J, Lord Infamous, the original name for the dark hip hop group was Backyard Posse. The group formed through the release of numerous EPs from their own company with Nick Scarfo, Prophet Entertainment, which were sold around Memphis. Later DJ Paul and Juicy J formed their own label, Hypnotize Minds Records, during their early career, they also propelled the careers of several other rappers. Eventually added before the release of Mystic Stylez, rappers Koopsta Knicca, Gangsta Boo, many artists over the years ended up leaving the label over money disputes. The group expanded and help start the careers of notable Mafia affiliates, including Project Pat, Frayser Boy, La Chat, Lil Wyte, T-Rock, Gangsta Blac, Kingpin Skinny Pimp, mack, Scan Man, Chrome Korleone, BoogieMane & Al Kapone among others. The production acumen of Juicy and Paul also brought about a number of projects such as Tear da Club Up Thugs, Hypnotize Camp Posse. At this point in the evolution, having signed to a major label, group leaders DJ Paul. They started by releasing solo albums by their label affiliates such as, Three Six Mafia also originally coined the term Crunk as a description of their Southern type sound. In 2006, Three 6 Mafia became the first hip-hop group to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song with Its Hard out Here for a Pimp as one of the songs for Hustle & Flow. They were also the first hip-hop artists to perform at the ceremony. Right before presenter Queen Latifah announced that they had won, she chuckled, thats how you accept an Oscar
24.
Nelly Furtado
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Nelly Kim Furtado ComIH is a Portuguese-Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado first gained fame with her debut album Whoa, Nelly, a critical and commercial success that spawned two top 10 singles, Im Like a Bird and Turn Off the Light. The first single won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, in 2003 she released her second album Folklore and was preceded by the lead single Powerless. Furtados third album Loose became her best selling album with 12 million copies sold worldwide, the album spawned four successful number one singles, Promiscuous, Maneater, Say It Right and All Good Things. She released her first Spanish language album Mi Plan in 2009 which won her a Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album, in 2012 Furtado released her fifth album The Spirit Indestructible. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide, making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. Furtado has a star on Canadas Walk of Fame and was awarded Commander of the Order of Prince Henry on February 28,2014 in Toronto by Aníbal Cavaco Silva, Furtado was born on December 2,1978, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her Portuguese parents, António José Furtado and Maria Manuela Furtado, were both from São Miguel Island in the Azores and had immigrated to Canada in the late 1960s, Nelly was named after Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim. Her siblings are Michael Anthony and Lisa Anne, at age four, she began performing and singing in Portuguese. Furtados first public performance was when she sang a duet with her mother at a church on Portugal Day and she began playing musical instruments at the age of nine, learning the trombone, ukulele and – in later years – the guitar and keyboards. At the age of 12, she began writing songs, and as a teenager and she has stated that coming from a working-class background has shaped her identity in a positive way. During a visit with her sister Lisa Anne in Toronto, the summer after grade eleven, Furtado met Tallis Newkirk and she contributed vocals to their 1996 album, Join the Ranks, on the track Waitin 4 The Streets. After graduating from Mount Douglas Secondary School in 1996, she moved to Toronto to reside with her sister Lisa Anne, the following year, she formed Nelstar, a trip hop duo with Newkirk. Ultimately, Furtado felt the style of the duo was too segregated. She left the group and planned to back home. In 1997, she performed at the Honey Jam talent show and her performance attracted the attention of The Philosopher Kings singer Gerald Eaton, who then approached her to write with him. He and fellow Kings member Brian West helped Furtado produce a demo and she left Toronto, but returned again to record more material with Eaton and West. Furtados first single, Partys Just Begun, was released that year on the Brokedown Palace, Furtado continued the collaboration with Eaton and West, who co-produced her debut album, Whoa, Nelly. which was released in October 2000
25.
Pitbull (rapper)
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Armando Christian Pérez, known by the stage name Pitbull or Mr. Worldwide, is an American rapper. His first recorded performance was on a solo track from Lil Jons 2002 album Kings of Crunk. In 2004, Pitbull released his debut album M. I. A. M. I and it included production producers Lil Jon and Jim Jonsin. Pitbull later released his second album El Mariel, in 2006 and his third, The Boatlift and his fourth album, Rebelution, included the hit single I Know You Want Me, which peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. Pitbulls 2011 album Planet Pit, featured the single Give Me Everything and his 2013 track Timber from his Meltdown EP topped the charts in twenty nations, including the US and UK. He performed the song We Are One along with Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte, Armando Christian Perez was born on January 15,1981 to Cuban expatriates in Miami, Florida. When he was 3, he could recite the works of Cubas national hero and poet, José Martí, growing up, he was influenced by the Miami bass genre of pop music and has cited Celia Cruz and Willy Chirino as sources of inspiration for his music. Pérezs parents separated when he was young, and he was raised by his mother, he spent time with a foster family in Roswell. He attended South Miami Senior High School before graduating from Miami Coral Park High School and he said he chose his stage name of Pitbull because the dogs bite to lock. The dog is too stupid to lose, and theyre outlawed in Dade County. Theyre basically everything that I am, after meeting Lil Jon in Miami, Pitbull was featured on Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz album Kings of Crunk in 2002. Pitbulls song Oye was featured on the soundtrack to the film 2 Fast 2 Furious the following year, in addition, Pitbull released several mixtapes, composed of freestyles and remixes of popular rap music. Campbell featured Pitbull in his single, Lollipop, together they focused on creating a more radio-friendly sound. Fernandez later told HitQuarters, At that time his music had a lot of verses and took a time to get into the hook. Fernandez introduced Pitbull to Lil Jon, hoping to secure the rapper a small guest intro spot on Lil Jons upcoming album Kings of Crunk. According to Fernandez, Jon took a liking to Pérez and offered him a track k on the album and this track helped raise the young rappers profile. In 2004, Pitbull released his debut album M. I. A. M. I, with the lead single being Culo produced by Lil Jon and the Diaz Brothers. It peaked at No.32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, other singles included Dammit Man, Back Up, Toma, and Thats Nasty
26.
Justin Bieber
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Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After a talent manager discovered him through his YouTube videos covering songs in 2008 and signed to RBMG, Bieber released his debut EP, My World and it was certified Platinum in the U. S. He became the first artist to have seven songs from a record chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Bieber released his first full-length studio album, My World 2.0 and it debuted at or near number one in several countries, was certified triple Platinum in the U. S. and contained his single Baby. He released his studio album, Under the Mistletoe, in November 2011. Bieber released his studio album, Believe, in 2012. His fourth studio album Purpose was released in November 2015, spawning three number one singles, What Do You Mean and his U. S. album and singles sales total 44.7 million. He has sold an estimated 100 million records, making him one of the world’s best-selling music artists, Bieber has won numerous awards, including the American Music Award for Artist of the Year in 2010 and 2012. In his career, he has won one Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for the song Where Are Ü Now at the 2016 ceremony. He has been listed four times by Forbes magazine among the top ten most powerful celebrities in the world in 2011,2012, Bieber also became the first artist to surpass 10 billion total video views on Vevo. Bieber was born on March 1,1994, in London, Ontario, at St Josephs Hospital and he is the only child of Jeremy Jack Bieber and Patricia Pattie Mallette. Pattie raised her son with the help of her mother, Diane and his mother is of French-Canadian descent, his paternal great-grandfather was of German ancestry, and his other roots are English, Scottish and Irish. He has also claimed that he has some undetermined Aboriginal Canadian ancestry, through Jeremy, Bieber has two younger half-siblings, Jazmyn and Jaxon. Pattie worked a series of low-paying office jobs, raising Bieber as a mother in low-income housing. Bieber has maintained contact with his father, Bieber attended a French-language immersion elementary school in Stratford, the Jeanne Sauvé Catholic School. Growing up, he learned to play the piano, drums, guitar and he graduated from high school in Stratford, Ontario, the St. Michael Catholic Secondary School in 2012 with a 4.0 GPA. In early 2007, aged 12, Bieber sang Ne-Yos So Sick for a singing competition in Stratford and was placed second. Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family and she continued to upload videos of Bieber singing covers of various R&B songs, and Biebers popularity on the site grew
27.
Jason Derulo
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Jason Joel Desrouleaux, known professionally as Jason Derulo, is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Since the start of his recording career in 2009, Derulo has sold over 30 million singles and has achieved eleven Platinum singles, including Wiggle, Talk Dirty, In My Head. After Beluga Heights became part of the Warner Music Group, Derulo released his debut single Whatcha Say in May 2009 and it sold over five million digital downloads, gaining an RIAA certification of triple Platinum, and reaching number 1 in the U. S. and New Zealand. Derulo released his single, In My Head, in December 2009. His debut album, Jason Derulo, was released on March 2,2010 and he released his second studio album, Future History, on September 16,2011, the album was preceded by the release of the UK number-one single Dont Wanna Go Home. Derulos third international album, Tattoos, was released on September 24,2013, in 2015, Derulo released his single Want to Want Me and announced his fourth studio album, Everything Is 4, which was released on June 2,2015. Derulo was born in Miramar, Florida, the son of Haitian parents and he started singing at a young age. He attended performing arts schools in Florida and made early attempts at music composition. His writing skills began attracting attention when he was a teenager and he also wrote Bossy for Birdman, a New Orleans-based rapper, and made a guest appearance on the song, highlighting his ability as a vocalist. Derulo has been writing songs for artists including Diddy, Danity Kane, Donnie Klang, Sean Kingston, Cassie, Derulo was discovered by music producer J. R. Rotem, who signed him to his record label Beluga Heights Records and Warner Bros. On August 4,2009, Jason released his debut single and it was produced by J. R. Rotem with additional production by Fuego. The track heavily samples the Imogen Heap song Hide and Seek, in late August 2009, the song debuted at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number 1 in November 2009. It was Derulos first and only one hit. The singles music video was released in September 2009, after the single became successful and he released the second single from his album, In My Head, on December 8,2009. It debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100, Derulos debut album, Jason Derulo, stylised with an umlaut as Jason Derülo, was released on March 2,2010. Jason Derulo first charted within the top ten of the UK and he spent six weeks promoting the album in his appearances as one of the opening acts for Lady Gagas 2009–2010 The Monster Ball Tour. The third single of the album is Ridin Solo, which was released worldwide on April 26,2010, by July, the single had reached number nine in the Billboard Hot 100. Derulo has also featured in a song by new artist Will Roush called Turn it Up
28.
Hayley Williams
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Hayley Nichole Williams is an American singer and songwriter. She serves as the lead vocalist, occasional keyboardist and primary songwriter of the rock band Paramore, Hayley Williams was born to Joey and Cristi Williams, in Meridian, Mississippi. She has two half sisters. As a result of her parents divorcing in 2002, Williams moved to Franklin and she met former band members Josh and Zac Farro in her new school. While still at school she tried out for a funk cover band, The Factory. Williams was discovered in 2003 by managers Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams, at the time she was writing pop songs with songwriters in Nashville. Williams was introduced to Atlantic Records A&R Tom Storms through Richard Williams attorneys Jim Zumwalt and Kent Marcus, and then signed to the label by Jason Flom. The labels original plan for their new artist was to make her a pop artist but Williams objected to this, saying that she wanted to be part of a band. Atlantic decided to go along with her wishes, and she then formed Paramore with Josh Farro, Zac Farro and they instead released their music through a cooler niche label, Fueled by Ramen. The bands debut album, All We Know Is Falling, was released in 2005 when Hayley was only 16 years old, Paramore has since released three more studio albums, Riot. Brand New Eyes, and the self-titled Paramore, in June 2009, the band welcomed Taylor York as an official member, although he had already been playing as a touring member with the band since 2007. In December 2010, two of the members of Paramore left the band. The news was posted by Williams on Paramores web site, with Josh later posting a blog post confirming their departure. In 2007, she and the rest of Paramore made an appearance in the video for Kiss Me by New Found Glory. She also appears as a character in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour after completing Misery Business in the vocalist campaign. Williams wrote and recorded the song Teenagers, which was featured in the soundtrack for the feature film Jennifers Body, after the release of Teenagers, Williams stated that she had no plans to establish herself as a solo artist. In 2010, she appeared on the tracks Airplanes and Airplanes, Part II from alternative rapper B. o. Bs debut album, B. o. B Presents, The Adventures of Bobby Ray. When it was released as a single, Airplanes peaked within the top ten in nineteen countries, including the one position in the United Kingdom
29.
Eminem
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Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Eminem is the best-selling artist of the 2000s in the United States, throughout his career, he has had 10 number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Globally, he has more than 172 million albums, thus being one of the worlds best-selling artists. Rolling Stone ranked him 83rd on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and they were followed by Encore in 2004, another critical and commercial success. Eminem went on hiatus after touring in 2005, releasing Relapse in 2009, both won Grammy Awards and Recovery was the best-selling album of 2010 worldwide, the second time he had the international best-selling album of the year. Eminems eighth album, 2013s The Marshall Mathers LP2, won two Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album, it expanded his record for the most wins in that category and his Grammy total to 15. In addition to his career, Eminem is an original member of the Midwest hip hop groups Soul Intent. He is also known for his collaborations with fellow Detroit-based rapper Royce da 59, Eminem has developed other ventures, including Shady Records, with manager Paul Rosenberg, which helped launch the careers of artists such as 50 Cent. Eminem has also established his own channel, Shade 45, on Sirius XM Radio. In November 2002, he starred in the hip hop film 8 Mile, Eminem has made cameo appearances in the films The Wash, Funny People, The Interview and the television series Entourage. Eminem was born on October 17,1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri, Debbie was 14 when she met 18-year-old Bruce, at age 17, she nearly died during her 73-hour labor. Eminems parents were in a band called Daddy Warbucks, playing in Ramada Inns along the Dakotas–Montana border before their separation, Bruce left the family, moving to California and having two other children, Michael and Sarah. Debbie had son Nathan Nate Kane Samara on February 3,1986, during his childhood, Eminem and Debbie shuttled between Michigan and Missouri, rarely staying in one house for more than a year or two and living primarily with family members. In Missouri, they lived in places, including St. Joseph, Savannah. As a teenager Eminem wrote letters to his father, according to Debbie, friends and family remember Eminem as a happy child, but a bit of a loner who was often bullied. One bully, DeAngelo Bailey, severely injured Eminems head, Debbie filed a lawsuit against the school in 1982, Eminem spent much of his youth in a working-class, primarily black, Detroit neighborhood. He and Debbie were one of three white households on their block, and Eminem was beaten by black youths several times, as a child he was interested in storytelling, aspiring to be a comic-book artist before discovering hip hop. Eminem heard his first rap song on the Breakin soundtrack, a gift from Debbies half-brother Ronnie Polkinghorn, when Polkinghorn committed suicide in 1991, Eminem stopped speaking for days and did not attend his funeral
30.
Cody Simpson
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Cody Robert Simpson is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician, dancer and actor from Gold Coast, Queensland, who was previously signed to US record label Atlantic Records. He owns a record label called Coast House Records, Simpson was born on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, to Brad and Angie Simpson. He has two siblings, Tom and Alli. Simpson has won two medals at the Queensland Swimming Championships. Simpson trained at the Miami Swimming Club under coach Ken Nixon, Simpsons mother Angie worked as a volunteer at the club. He was subsequently discovered on YouTube by Shawn Campbell, Simpsons rise to recognition was featured on The 7.30 Report in December 2009. He released his single, iYiYi, on 15 May 2010. The music video for Simpsons second single, Summertime, was released on 20 September 2010, Simpson relocated to Los Angeles in June 2010 with his family to record his songs with Atlantic Records Shawn Campbell. That same month, Simpson appeared on Sunrise, on 22 June 2010, it was announced that Simpson would participate in the Camplified 2010 Tour, along with other artists, touring across the United States. The tour began on 5 July 2010 and ended on 14 August 2010, other tours that year included a middle school tour that took place from October–November 2010 and covered 9 U. S states. An EP,4 U was released on 21 December 2010, the EP included five tracks in total, four of them being previously unreleased. Simpson recorded a remake of the song I Want Candy by The Strangeloves as the theme song for the Easter-themed live-action/CGI-animated film Hop. In May 2011, Simpson was egged during a performance at Westfield Miranda in Sydney. He then started the Waiting 4U tour with American singer Greyson Chance on April 9 in Ivins, the tour ended on May 18,2011, in Portland, Oregon. Coast to Coast was released on 20 September 2011 by Alantic Records and it reached number 12 on Billboard 200 selling 24,000 copies. On 23 April 2011, Simpson released the single On My Mind on 23 May 2011, on 5 August 2011, he performed on The Today Show. On 6 August 2011 Simpson started his Coast to Coast Mall Tour in Lake Grove and he played nine dates around the United States and finished it in Orange, California on 18 September 2011. On 22 September, it was announced that Cody Simpson hired Justin Biebers manager, Scooter Braun as his manager, in December 2011, The Wish Factory released a Cody Simpson doll in two formats
31.
Wiz Khalifa
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Cameron Jibril Thomaz, better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, songwriter, and actor. He released his album, Show and Prove, in 2006. His Eurodance-influenced single, Say Yeah, received radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40. Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released his album, Deal or No Deal. He released the mixtape Kush and Orange Juice as a download in April 2010. He is also known for his debut single for Atlantic, Black and Yellow. His debut album for the label, Rolling Papers, was released on March 29,2011 and he followed that album with O. N. I. F. C. On December 4,2012, which was backed by the singles Work Hard, Play Hard, Wiz released his fourth album Blacc Hollywood on August 18,2014, backed by the lead single We Dem Boyz. In March 2015, he released See You Again for the soundtrack of the film Furious 7, Khalifa was born Cameron Jibril Thomaz on September 8,1987 in Minot, North Dakota, to parents serving in the military. His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old and he is a military brat with his parents military service caused him to move regularly. Khalifa lived in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School and his stage name is derived from Khalifa, an Arabic word meaning successor, and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was a young boy. He got a tattoo of his name on his 17th birthday. He cites Jimi Hendrix, Camp Lo, The Notorious B. I. G. Rostrum Records president Benjy Grinberg first heard about Wiz Khalifa in 2004 when the rappers contribution to a mixtape of various new Pittsburgh artists attracted his interest. Khalifa signed to the label shortly after and began a period of artist development. Khalifa released his first mixtape, Prince of the City, Welcome to Pistolvania, the mixtape paved the way for his first full-length album entitled Show and Prove in 2006. Khalifa was declared an artist to watch that year in Rolling Stone magazine and his debut Warner Bros. single Say Yeah reached number 25 on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 music chart and number 20 on Billboards Hot Rap Tracks. The song samples Better Off Alone by Alice Deejay, Khalifa appeared with The Game, David Banner and Play-n-Skillz at U92s Summer Jam at the USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah on August 2,2008. Khalifa released the mixtapes Star Power in September 2008, and Flight School in April 2009 on Rostrum Records, Khalifa parted ways with Warner Bros. Records in July 2009 after numerous delays in releasing his planned debut album for the label, First Flight
32.
Thr33 Ringz
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Three Ringz is the third studio album by American hip hop recording artist and producer T-Pain. It was released on November 11,2008, by his label Nappy Boy Entertainment and it was supported by three singles, Cant Believe It featuring Lil Wayne, Chopped n Skrewed featuring Ludacris, and Freeze featuring Chris Brown. The album debuted at four on the Billboard 200. The album received mixed to favorable reviews from music critics, the album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards, but lost to Beyoncés I Am. The albums lead single, called Cant Believe It was released on July 29,2008, the track features a guest appearance from American hip hop recording artist Lil Wayne. With the production provided by T-Pain, the song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. The albums second single, called Chopped n Skrewed was released on September 23,2008, the song features a guest appearance from American rapper Ludacris, with the production, which once again was provided by T-Pain. The song has reached at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The albums third and final single, Freeze was released on October 10,2008, the song features a guest appearance from American recording artist Chris Brown, with the production provided by T-Pain. The song peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100, in late 2007, T-Pain released the first promotional single Silver & Gold. However, it was cut from the final album track-listing, T-Pain released Ringleader Man as the albums promotional single. Three Ringz received positive reviews, however, many critics questioned T-Pains continued usage of Auto-Tune. It’s just a pity that this album is drenched in what already sounded like last year’s sound a couple years ago. Three Ringz debuted at four on the Billboard 200, selling 167,700 copies in the first week. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, notes Change features uncredited vocals by Mary J. Blige. T-Pains official Myspace Billboard. com news feature on Thr33 Ringz
33.
Plies (rapper)
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Algernod Lanier Washington, better known by his stage name Plies, is an American hip hop recording artist. He is the founder of Big Gates Records, born in Fort Myers, Florida, Washington was a wide receiver on the football team of Miami University in Ohio in 1996 and 1997 before he became a rapper. After dropping out of college, he founded Big Gates with his stepbrother, signed to Slip-n-Slide Records, from 2007 to 2008 he released three albums. Plies debuted in 2007 with The Real Testament with successful singles Shawty, Plies also released two albums in 2008, Definition of Real and Da REAList, and later released Goon Affiliated in 2010. Plies was born Algernod Lanier Washington in Fort Myers, Florida, while at Fort Myers Senior High School, he played receiver and defensive back in its football team, was crowned Homecoming King, and was named the Best Dressed student of his class. He attended Miami University and under the name Nod Washington was wide receiver on its team from 1995 to 1997, then transferred to the University of Central Florida. As a freshman in 1995, Washington had nine receptions for 69 yards, in 1996, his sophomore year, Washington had 25 receptions for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns. The next season, Washington had five receptions for 43 yards, in the late 1990s, Plies and his stepbrother Ronnell Lawrence Lavatte, also known as Big Gates, established an independent record label, Big Gates Records. Although Plies initially refused to rap, after a demonstration for one of his artists, Big Gates and Plies promoted the single and traveled many times to Miami, which eventually led to a deal for Plies on Slip-n-Slide Records. Pliess girlfriend Brandy Lacole Lyons gave birth to a son, Nijier Lanier Washington, at the University Community Hospital in Tampa, after signing to Slip-n-Slide in 2004, Plies released several mixtapes. The Real Testament was released in August 2007 and his debut single Shawty featuring T-Pain topped the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart and peaked at number nine on the Hot 100. Hypnotized, the single, featured Akon, and peaked at number three on the Rap chart and 14 on the Hot 100. The third single was I Am the Club, Definition of Real, his second album, was released in June 2008,10 months after releasing his first album. The lead single was Bust It Baby Pt.2 featuring Ne-Yo, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling over 214,000 copies its first week. The next single was Please Excuse My Hands, featuring Jamie Foxx, RIAA certified Gold Bust It Baby on September 17 and Definition of Real October 14. In the same year Plies released his album, Da REAList, in December 2008. The first official single off this album is Put It on Ya, the album debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 with 114,000 copies sold in its first week. The second single is Want It, Need It, featuring Ashanti and he did a guest performance on Ludacriss single Nasty Girl from Ludacriss album Theater of the Mind
34.
Definition of Real
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Definition of Real is the second studio album by rapper Plies. It was released on June 10,2008, guest appearances include Ne-Yo, J. Holiday, Keyshia Cole, Trey Songz, Jamie Foxx and The-Dream. The album garnered mixed reviews from critics who questioned Plies lyricism, definition of Real debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned two singles, Bust It Baby Pt.2 and Please Excuse My Hands. Definition of Real received mixed reviews from critics who questioned Plies abilities as a capable rapper. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics. In MSN Music, Robert Christgau panned the albums overly violent and it was released on the same day as Lil Waynes album Tha Carter III. It was the second best-selling hip hop album at the time in 2008 until it was beat by first week sales of The Games album LAX, Young Jeezys album The Recession and Lil Waynes Tha Carter III. It was the fifth fast-selling hip hop album of 2008, until T. I. s sixth studio album Paper Trail became the second in 2008, putting the album the sixth fastest selling hip hop album of 2008. In celebration of the album he renamed the date Goon 10th, instead of June 10 As of October 2008 and it has become the rappers second album to go gold and is his most successful sales of album to date. The first single is Bust It Baby featuring Ne-Yo and it is currently his biggest hit single to date, peaking at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single is Please Excuse My Hands featuring Jamie Foxx, there is also a music video for the song Who Hotter Than Me, released June 10,2008
35.
Please Excuse My Hands
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Please Excuse My Hands is the second single from Pliess second album, Definition of Real. It features Jamie Foxx and The-Dream and it received positive reviews from music critics. The video was released on July 23,2008 and it premiered as the New Joint of the Day on BETs 106 & Park. The video can now be seen on MySpace and YouTube, the video is about a man expressing how when he is alone with his lover, his hands have a mind of their own, and he does not intend disrespect to her. Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
36.
R.O.O.T.S.
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R. O. O. T. S. is the second studio album by American rapper Flo Rida. It was released on March 31,2009, in an interview with Billboard Magazine, Flo Rida stated the inspiration for the album comes from his success and knowing that it wasn’t an overnight thing. It also takes inspiration to turn an album, so I had to really get everything together. Flo Rida has also stated that the cover was done this way because he admittedly has an addiction to being shirtless and he wanted to show his body. Right Round was released as the lead single, and became Flo Ridas second number-one hit. Released on January 25,2009, the song debuted at number 58 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on February 18,2009. The song sold a record breaking 636,000 digital copies in its first week, though uncredited the song with singer Kesha as a guest vocalist. The song jumped to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it ended up staying at number 1 for six consecutive weeks. Shone was released digitally as the second single on February 24,2009. Sugar was released as the third single on March 17,2009. The song features R&B singer Wynter Gordon as a guest vocalist, jump is the albums fourth single and was released on July 27,2009 in the United Kingdom, and July 28,2009 worldwide. The song features Canadian singer Nelly Furtado as a guest vocal, as of August 13,2009 it has peaked at number 54 in the United States, number 27 in Canada, number 21 in the United Kingdom and number 18 in Australia. Be on You was released as the fifth single on October 6,2009. The song features American singer Ne-Yo as a guest vocalist, when the album was released the single debuted at number 90 in the United States. The song has received airplay since the release, and has since peaked at number 19 in the United States. Available featuring fellow singer Akon, was released as the sixth single in the United Kingdom on November 23,2009. Initial critical response to R. O. O. T. S. was generally positive, at Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 62, indicating generally favorable reviews. The album was nominated for best rap album at the 52nd Grammy Awards, debuted at number 8 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 55,000 copies in its first week
37.
Right Round
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Right Round is a song performed by American singer/rapper Flo Rida. It was released as the single from his second studio album. The song features guest vocals from American singer Kesha and it was released to radio on 27 January 2009 and was digitally released on 10 February by Poe Boy Entertainment and Atlantic Records. The song heavily samples the chorus of the 1984 Dead or Alive song You Spin Me Round in its hook, according to one of the songs writers, the chorus refers to oral sex. Kesha contributed guest vocals to the song, but was uncredited in the United States, the singles accompanying music video was directed by Malcolm Jones and nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. The song has been used in movies, such as The Hangover, The Ugly Truth. In the movie Pitch Perfect, the song is performed by the a group the Treblemakers. This song is the track on the UK compilation Now 72. The song is one of the singles in the digital era, with over 12 million certified downloads, making it, Flo Ridas best selling single. The track was produced by Dr. Luke and Kool Kojak, at the end of 2008, Luke was working on a track with Flo Rida called Right Round and the two decided they needed a female hook. Luke pulled Kesha into the studio to record the vocals, Flo Rida explained that he listened to You Spin Me Round and similar records growing up as a result of the varying music genres his seven sisters listened to. Ultimately, his A&R Aaron Bay-Schuck came up with the idea to sample You Spin Me Round in a song, co-A&R Mike Caren then brought the sample to the attention of Flo Rida. As R. O. O. T. S. was Flo Ridas second studio album, he wanted to show listeners musical growth by broaden my horizons, after Luke produced the sample, the song was recorded. In the same night the song was written Aaron Bay-Schuck, Bruno Mars and Philip Lawrance decided to go to the studio and it was recorded primarily at Conway Studios in Hollywood, California, with additional recording at Atlantic Studios, also located in Hollywood. This is the first of three collaborations between Flo Rida and Dr. Luke, the songs Who Dat Girl and Good Feeling would follow. Also, with the use of the DJ Frank E shuffle beat in the songs production, the two would later actually meet together and collaborate on the songs Me & U, Turn Around, and more famously, Whistle. The song is swaggering and bass-heavy, according to Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly, the lyrics discuss being in a strip club with friends and tossing money at a woman performing a striptease. Additionally, the chorus line You spin my head right round, right round / When you go down, Bruno Mars, co-writer of the song confirmed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the songs chorus was referring to oral sex
38.
Celebration (Madonna album)
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Celebration is the third greatest hits album by American singer and songwriter Madonna, and the final release under her contract with Warner Bros. Records, her company since 1982. The release follows her two previous greatest hits albums, The Immaculate Collection and GHV2, the compilation was released in many different formats including a one-disc edition and a deluxe double disc. A compilation DVD, entitled Celebration, The Video Collection, was released to accompany the audio versions, a fourth song, Broken, was recorded for the album but not used, eventually it was released in 2012 as a limited edition promotional vinyl single for fanclub members. Celebration was appreciated by critics, who noted the vastness of Madonnas back-catalogue. The album debuted at the top of the charts in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Madonna became tied with Elvis Presley as the solo artist with the most number-one albums in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it debuted at seven in the Billboard 200, in other nations, it also debuted within the top ten. The title track was released as the first single of the album and it became Madonnas 40th number-one song on Billboards Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Revolver was released as the single from the album in some territories. On March 18,2009, Madonnas publicist Liz Rosenberg announced the plans for the release of a greatest hits package by September and she also added that Madonna had plans to go to the studio and record new material for the album. The next day, Madonnas manager, Guy Oseary, asked fans on his Twitter for input regarding the track listing of the greatest hits album. It was later confirmed that she wrote three new tracks for the album, with Paul Oakenfold being confirmed as producer for two of the new songs, attitude magazine reported in an interview with Oakenfold that the tracks he produced with Madonna are called Broken and Celebrate. He stated that the new music is lyrically classic Madonna with a modern sound. Her official website confirmed the presence of the track Revolver, featuring rapper Lil Wayne. With The Times, Madonna shared her thoughts on the release, and all of those other things that people remember, the imagistic things, are secondary, or certainly not as important. But I think I’ve become pretty good at sussing out when peoples opinions of my work are coming from what they think of me personally and you just have to do your thing and then let it go out into the world. The rest, youre not in control, on July 22,2009, Warner Bros. Records officially announced the release date as September 28,2009 and confirmed the name of the album as Celebration through Madonnas official website. The compilation was available in a case of two, as well as a single CD, the songs on the album were re-mastered and chosen by Madonna and her fans, while covering the whole expanse of her career
39.
Revolver (song)
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Revolver is a song by American recording artist Madonna from her third greatest hits compilation, Celebration. It was released on December 14,2009 by Warner Bros. Records and marked her final release with the label. The song features American rapper Lil Wayne and was written by Madonna, Carlos Battey, Steven Battey, Dwayne Carter, Justin Franks and it was produced by Madonna and DJ Frank E. The single release included remixes by David Guetta and Afrojack, which won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording and this version also appears on the deluxe version of Guettas album One More Love. The single also included mixes by Paul van Dyk, Tracy Young and included remixes of Celebration by Akon, the original album version does not appear on any formats of the release and some versions are credited as Madonna vs. David Guetta. An electropop song, Revolver features Madonna singing the whole song, the lyrics talk about juxtaposing love with weaponry. Contemporary critics gave a review of the song. Some praised the chorus line My love’s a revolver while others felt that it was underwhelming, the song was performed on The MDNA Tour in 2012, where Madonna wielded a Kalashnikov rifle onstage. The use of weapons in front of the audience generated controversy after the 2012 Aurora shooting, on March 2009, Madonnas representative Liz Rosenberg confirmed that Madonna was planning to release a greatest hits album by fall 2009. She also added that Madonna had plans to go to the studio, the next day, Madonnas manager, Guy Oseary, asked fans on his Twitter for input regarding the track listing of the greatest hits album. It was later confirmed that she wrote three new tracks for the album, with Paul Oakenfold being confirmed as producer for two of the new songs, Warner Bros. Records reported the title of the greatest hits to be Celebration through Madonnas official website. They also reported that the song on the collection was to be Revolver. It was present alongside the title track, before the album was released on September 29,2009, the original version of Revolver was released on the internet, the track had previously appeared in May as a demo recording. In December 2009, NME confirmed Revolver as the single from Celebration. Revolver was written by Madonna, Carlos Battey, Steven Battey, Lil Wayne, Justin Franks and Brandon Kitchen, after Madonna arrived, they recorded her vocals and the song was finished the next day. Reminiscing about the session, he said, I will never forget the feeling of leaving that session after vocal producing Madonna, Ive taken that mentality into every other session Ive been in, and its helped me make the session and song more of a success. Unfortunately, the mix sounded like crap and the song flopped, the audio mixing was done by Demacio Castellon while the Pro Tools editing was arranged by Ron Taylor from Warner Bros. The chorus of the song has Madonna singing the line My loves a revolver, my sex is a killer, Wayne has a verse towards the end of the song, and sings the lines with reference to ammunitions, and Auto-Tune is used in his vocals
40.
Chamillionaire
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Hakeem Seriki, better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American musician, rapper, entrepreneur, and investor from Houston, Texas. He is the CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment, Chamillionaire was also the founder and an original member of the Color Changin Click until the group split in 2005. He began his career independently with local releases in 2002, including collaboration album Get Ya Mind Correct with fellow Houston rapper and he signed to Universal Records in 2005 and released The Sound of Revenge under Universal. It included hit singles Turn It Up featuring Lil Flip and the number-one, Ultimate Victory followed in 2007, which was notable for not containing any profanity. Chamillionaire is also known for his most anticipated Mixtape Messiah series, in early 2011, he left Universal Records, which led to his would-be third album, Venom, going unreleased. Chamillionaire released his first independent extended play Ammunition in March 2012 and was noted as his first major release since he left the label, another EP, Elevate, was released on February 17,2013. He said it is going to be one of several to be released before his studio album. He is working on his studio album, Poison. Chamillionaire joined Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Upfront Ventures in early 2015, Watts, who himself was convinced to rap on the record, enjoyed the freestyle so much that he put the verses on one of his mixtapes. Soon, Seriki and Paul Wall became regular staples on Houstons mixtape circuit, appeared on several of Wattss mixtapes, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall soon started their own group, The Color Changin Click. In 2002, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall collaborated for the album Get Ya Mind Correct, the Source magazine nominated the album for independent album of the year in 2002. Chamillionaire and the Color Changin Click, dubbed Houstons answer to 50 Cent and his G-Unit posse, Chamillionaires first major solo release The Sound of Revenge was released through Chamillitary Entertainment and Universal Records on November 22,2005. The album debuted and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States and its video also was named Best Rap Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. In 2007, he won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for Ridin and he was at that time signed with Michael 5000 Watts Swishahouse label. Comedic performer Weird Al Yankovic made a parody of the song entitled White & Nerdy, the third single from the album was Grown and Sexy. Additionally, the bonus track Grind Time was featured in the video game NBA Live 06, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA, and a chopped and screwed version, screwed by OG Ron C, was released in February 2006. Guest appearances for the album included Lil Flip, Natalie, Krayzie Bone, Bun B, Lil Wayne, Pastor Troy, Killer Mike, Scarface, singer Billy Cook, and his brother Rasaq. Chamillionaire won the Best New Artist award for the 2006 BET Awards The second installment to the Mixtape Messiah series, Mixtape Messiah 2, was released January 5,2006
41.
Venom (Chamillionaire album)
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Hakeem Seriki, better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American musician, rapper, entrepreneur, and investor from Houston, Texas. He is the CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment, Chamillionaire was also the founder and an original member of the Color Changin Click until the group split in 2005. He began his career independently with local releases in 2002, including collaboration album Get Ya Mind Correct with fellow Houston rapper and he signed to Universal Records in 2005 and released The Sound of Revenge under Universal. It included hit singles Turn It Up featuring Lil Flip and the number-one, Ultimate Victory followed in 2007, which was notable for not containing any profanity. Chamillionaire is also known for his most anticipated Mixtape Messiah series, in early 2011, he left Universal Records, which led to his would-be third album, Venom, going unreleased. Chamillionaire released his first independent extended play Ammunition in March 2012 and was noted as his first major release since he left the label, another EP, Elevate, was released on February 17,2013. He said it is going to be one of several to be released before his studio album. He is working on his studio album, Poison. Chamillionaire joined Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Upfront Ventures in early 2015, Watts, who himself was convinced to rap on the record, enjoyed the freestyle so much that he put the verses on one of his mixtapes. Soon, Seriki and Paul Wall became regular staples on Houstons mixtape circuit, appeared on several of Wattss mixtapes, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall soon started their own group, The Color Changin Click. In 2002, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall collaborated for the album Get Ya Mind Correct, the Source magazine nominated the album for independent album of the year in 2002. Chamillionaire and the Color Changin Click, dubbed Houstons answer to 50 Cent and his G-Unit posse, Chamillionaires first major solo release The Sound of Revenge was released through Chamillitary Entertainment and Universal Records on November 22,2005. The album debuted and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States and its video also was named Best Rap Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. In 2007, he won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for Ridin and he was at that time signed with Michael 5000 Watts Swishahouse label. Comedic performer Weird Al Yankovic made a parody of the song entitled White & Nerdy, the third single from the album was Grown and Sexy. Additionally, the bonus track Grind Time was featured in the video game NBA Live 06, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA, and a chopped and screwed version, screwed by OG Ron C, was released in February 2006. Guest appearances for the album included Lil Flip, Natalie, Krayzie Bone, Bun B, Lil Wayne, Pastor Troy, Killer Mike, Scarface, singer Billy Cook, and his brother Rasaq. Chamillionaire won the Best New Artist award for the 2006 BET Awards The second installment to the Mixtape Messiah series, Mixtape Messiah 2, was released January 5,2006
42.
Good Morning (Chamillionaire song)
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Good Morning is the first official single from Chamillionaires cancelled studio album, Venom. It was produced by DJ Frank E and was released digitally on October 13,2009, the single debuted and peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and a video for the single was released on November 10,2009. The instrumentals for Good Morning contains samples from the song Free Fallin by Tom Petty, fellow Houston rapper Pimp C also sampled Free Fallin on his post-incarceration album Pimpalation. Digital Single Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
43.
Pulse (Toni Braxton album)
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Pulse is the seventh studio album by American singer and songwriter Toni Braxton. It was released on May 4,2010, by Atlantic Records and this is her first album in five years and serves as her debut for the Atlantic label, after signing a new record deal. Pulse features up-tempo songs and R&B ballads with production varying from smooth to dance-based styles, the album debuted at number 9 on the US Billboard 200, selling 54,000 copies in its first week. The album became Braxtons fifth US top-ten album, while it was produced by three singles, that achieved chart success. Upon its release, Pulse received positive reviews from most music critics, as of February 26,2014, Pulse has sold 156,000 copies in the United States. Toni Braxton is not only one of the greatest voices of all time, R&B songwriter and singer Ne-Yo also worked on songs for the album. Speaking of the thinking behind titling the album Pulse, Braxton explained to UK R&B writer Pete Lewis – Deputy Editor of Blues & Soul – in May 2010, I went into cardic rehab, and there was this older lady there. She was like What are you doing here so young and it must have been your heart. This is my fourth heart-attack and youre so young, you cant be AFRAID, then she told me how shed just got back from holiday with her 40-year-old boyfriend. And because Id lost hope – the doctors had told me Id never be able to record again – her conversation was like that heartbeat, that pulse that gave me back the love of life. In an interview with Digital Spy, Braxton explained that she have been recorded around 30 songs and would like to collaborate with artists, such as Alicia Keys. Braxton also explained the delay of the album, The album was supposed to come out in February and we decided to go back to the studio, record four or five more songs and then pick. Now we send everything via Federal Express – nothings going through the internet –, the song Woman is a cover version of the original song by Delta Goodrem from her 2007 album Delta. For the collaborations which none of them made the album pressings. It also features the high publicised Caught featuring Academy Award winning actress MoNique, the collaboration with R&B singer Robin Thicke called Dont Leave would have featured on Braxtons vocals with Thicke providing production. Whilst the high-profile collaboration with fellow R&B singer Usher also failed to materialize, amongst reports that Braxton was working with Rodney Darkchild Jerkins, a song tipped to be produced by Darkchild called Get Loose was also omitted from the album. Additionally reggae singer Sean Paul recorded some vocals for a remix of Lookin At Me, the album were scheduled to be released in 2009, but it was then being pushed back to February 2,2010, before ultimately being released May 4,2010, by Atlantic Records. Braxton told Rap-Up, that the album had been pushed back, because all 7 of those ten songs were leaked
44.
Yesterday (Toni Braxton song)
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Yesterday is a song by American R&B singer–songwriter Toni Braxton. The track is the single from her album, Pulse. Trey Songz appears on the American version released to radio, Troy Taylor Radio Edit, outside North America, the original version of the song was released, which features only Braxtons vocals. The song was a success on Billboards Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 50 on the Official UK Singles top 100 Chart, the song was released on Braxtons official website on September 29,2009, after four years in hiatus. It is Braxtons first single released under Atlantic Records, in the United Kingdom, the song was supposed to be released on February 22,2010, but ultimately the single release date was moved to May 3,2010. Yesterday is Braxtons first single release in the UK since Hit the Freeway in 2003, as Libra was only available on import, a Spanish version of the track, titled Ayer, was recorded with Alexander Acha but remains unreleased to this day. The song received positive reviews music critics. In fact, when she growls those last three words, its almost like she never went away, andy Kellman from Allmusic said, Yesterday is a bitter breakup ballad in which the teeth-clenched I don’t love ya/Don’t need ya/Can’t stand ya no more sounds very real. Mikael Wood from Los Angeles Times said, Opener Yesterday cribs its twinkly emo-soul texture from Beyoncés Broken-Hearted Girl, there are two versions of the music video for Yesterday, one for the original solo version and one for the remix featuring Trey Songz. Filming the video for the single started on October 8,2009 in Los Angeles with director Bille Woodruff, photos from the video were revealed on her official website on October 28 and show Braxton playing a piano, and Songz playing her boyfriend. The video premiered on The Wendy Williams Show on November 20,2009, the video features singer Brooke Hogan as well as basketball players Shannon Brown and Ron Artest from the Los Angeles Lakers. The video tells the story about a woman who discovers that her boyfriend is cheating on her with another woman, Braxtons promotion of the track commenced at the Soul Train Music Awards of 2009, along with Songz. Braxton also promoted the single in the UK with performances on GMTV on 11 May 2010, Loose Women, Yesterday debuted at number 96 on the U. S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In the UK, Yesterday became Braxtons first hit single since the release of Hit the Freeway, peaking at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart, lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
45.
Mail on Sunday (album)
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Mail on Sunday is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist Flo Rida, and was released on March 18,2008 under Atlantic, and Poe Boy Entertainment. It spawned three singles, the first, Low was number-one on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks, the second, and third singles, Elevator, and In the Ayer, were successful as well, being top twenty hits. T-Pain, who laced the first single, is one of the many featured guests throughout the album. Timbaland, who produced the second single Elevator, is featured on the track. Rick Ross, and Trey Songz made appearances as well, the third single is In the Ayer featuring will. i. am. The fourth single was scheduled to be Money Right featuring Brisco, and Rick Ross and his second collaboration with T-Pain, I Bet, as well as his collaboration with Trina, named Bout It, both didnt make the final track list, but were recorded. As for production, J. R. Rotem, DJ Montay, Mail on Sunday garnered mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics. Hes a little bit Twista, a little bit Trick Daddy, none of those things are negative, but the fact he cant distinguish himself from any of them isnt a positive. Id like to see Flo Rida convince me why hes special with his next album - until then hes just another MC with a well produced album who came out of a cookie cutter hitmaking mold, Billboard writer Jeff Vrabel said that, Flo Ridas flow is an engaging/ringy-dingy/he-sounds-like-Nelly thing. But his hooks can be rock-solid and his interest in gleaming synthesizerism helps set him off from the legions of rappers clawing over each other to break out of the South, robert Christgau graded the album as a dud, indicating a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought. Rolling Stones Christian Hoard found the album trying hard to replicate the success of Low but found the tracks to be generic pop rap, Mail on Sunday debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 86,000 copies in its first week. As of May,2009, the album has sold 390,000 copies in the US and it has been certified silver for sales in the UK.2008 in hip hop “Act Like You Know…” - Review of Flo Ridas Mail on Sunday
46.
Tomorrow (Sean Kingston album)
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Tomorrow is the second studio album by reggae singer Sean Kingston. The album was released on September 7,2009, currently, two singles have been released from the album. Despite Fire Burning being a summer hit in 2009, the album only peaked at #37 on the U. S. Billboard 200 albums chart with only 13,000 copies sold in the first week of release. It dropped out of the top 40 the next week, falling 40 spots to #87, tomorrows sound is significantly different from the sound of Kingstons debut album. In this new LP, he explores sounds of 1990s eurodance and electropop, using instruments like Roland 808 drum machine, Auto-Tune and synthesizers while adding his signature reggae and pop music. Tomorrow also melds together genres of rock and soft rock. Influences of nu-disco, Euro disco and electropop show on Fire Burning, Face Drop, the song War was originally supposed to feature rap artist Lil Wayne, but he was taken out of the song on the final version. Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone said For the most part--despite Auto-Tuned slow songs--Kingstons mix of young-adult desire, simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly felt that Although hes got plenty of hooks, personality is in much shorter supply. While some of his reviews are positive, others feel his album lacks novelty, jason Richards of Now Magazine said that although he is a good singer-songwriter, his album lacks novelty and feels irritating. Bill Lamb of About. com, Its abundantly clear on Tomorrow that Sean Kingston plans to stick around for awhile, at least half of the songs here could be pop hit singles and fit easily into contemporary pop radio playlists. Sean Kingston may want to consider stripping his sound down a bit more, Sean Kingston has successfully delivered the goods he has to offer a second time around. Fire Burning was the first official single from the album, released on April 24,2009 and it peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the most successful single from the album. Face Drop was the official single from the album. It was released to radio stations on August 18,2009, lyrically, Face Drop is plea to not judge by appearance. It peaked at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100, which was of moderate success compared to Kingstons previous hits, iTunes released promotional singles from the album as part of Countdown to Tomorrow. All singles received the same animated artwork, each with a different color background and my Girlfriend was the first promo single and was released digitally on July 28,2009. Wrap U Around Me was the promo single and was released digitally on August 4,2009. Tomorrow was the promo single and was released digitally on August 11,2009
