1.
Album
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Album, is a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century album sales have mostly focused on compact disc and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used from the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl, an album may be recorded in a recording studio, in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed live, the majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at times while listening to the other parts using headphones. Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of the recording, historically, the term album was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage the word was used for collections of pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, the LP record, or 33 1⁄3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. It was adopted by the industry as a standard format for the album. Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, the term album had been carried forward from the early nineteenth century when it had been used for collections of short pieces of music. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, as part of a trend of shifting sales in the music industry, some commenters have declared that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs, Albums such as Tubular Bells, Amarok, Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield, and Yess Close to the Edge, include fewer than four tracks. There are no rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as albums. These are known as box sets, material is stored on an album in sections termed tracks, normally 11 or 12 tracks. A music track is a song or instrumental recording. The term is associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks. When vinyl records were the medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves
2.
Czarface
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Czarface is an American hip hop supergroup formed in 2013 by underground hip hop duo 7L & Esoteric and Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck. They released their debut studio album, Czarface, February 19,2013. The album was followed by Every Hero Needs a Villain in 2015 and A Fistful of Peril in 2016, Inspectah Deck told Paul Meara of HipHopDX in February 2013, that the album had no goals, but to create something worth listening to. Inspectah Deck had worked with 7L & Esoteric on tour and two tracks, the duos song Speaking Real Words from the 2001 album The Soul Purpose. Esoteric spoke of the origin as fun between friends, which ultimately led to a character that represented all three members. Czarface Every Hero Needs a Villain A Fistful of Peril First Weapon Drawn
3.
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
4.
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
5.
Czarface (album)
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Czarface is the eponymous debut studio album by American hip hop supergroup Czarface. The album was released on February 19,2013, by Brick Records, the album features guest appearances from Roc Marciano, Oh No, Ghostface Killah, Action Bronson, Cappadonna and Vinnie Paz. The albums production comes from 7L, Spada4 and DJ Premier, Czarface was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. Omar Burgess of HipHopDX gave the four out of five stars. It’s obviously not for everyone, yet even when incorporating current critical favorites like Action Bronson and Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire, no compromises are made. Inspectah Deck, 7L & Esoteric use 90s East Coast Hip Hop as a blueprint to innovate, bryan Hahn of The Source gave the album a positive review, saying Czarface doesnt fall short of what it wanted to accomplish-knocking the chumps out the ring. It doesnt pretend to deliver messages for the kids or even tell heart wrenching stories about the hood. Plain and simple, 7L masterminded sinister beats while Esoteric and Inspectah Deck recruited some fellow emcees to show the potential of the art of lyricism can sound like. Gave the album a seven out of ten, saying Minus all of the sound bites. Bogar Alonso of XXL gave the album an XL, saying Mention of the ‘90s, hip-hop’s supposed last golden era, might make some queeze, hip-hop purists have long sucked on the decade like a warm thumb, afraid of the cold, mean world that lay ahead. But CZARFACE, also the name for Deck and co. ’s group, the album’s marquee—with names like Roc Marciano, Action Bronson, and Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire—assures just that. “Cement 3’s, ” “It’s Raw, ” and “Poisonous Thoughts”―listed in the order of appearance of the guests mentioned―come off as love letters rather than industry rub-offs, if the above trio were operating in the late ‘90s, they’d be dropping similar heat. Matthew Fiander of PopMatters gave the album a six out of ten, saying Song to song we see confident production, but while Inspectah Deck may be one of the most effortless emcees in Wu-Tang, he’s not the most narrative. So while the songs here bang in all the ways you want, they catch you off guard. Not that they need to, but that sense of direction, out of the past and toward something new, the album debuted at number 34 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the first week of its release
6.
Single (music)
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In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s
7.
Wu-Tang Clan
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Cappadonna later became an official member of the group. The group was formed in and is associated with the New York City borough of Staten Island, the Wu-Tang Clan has released seven gold and platinum studio albums with worldwide sales of more than 40 million albums, including members solo projects, since 1992. Its debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang, is considered to be one of the greatest albums in hip-hop history and it is said to have been groundbreaking for hip-hop and one of the most important hip-hop albums. In 2008, About. com ranked them the No.1 greatest hip hop group of all time, kris Ex of Rolling Stone called Wu-Tang Clan the best rap group ever. In 2004, NME hailed them as one of the most influential groups of the last ten years, All in Together Now was never signed to a record label. See, me, GZA, and ODB had a crew called FOI, Force of the Imperial Master, nah mean. We made a song, called All in Together Now, which became famous on tapes throughout Brooklyn, Downtown Staten Island, New York, I remember Biz Markie, when he was famous and I wasnt famous, and he was like, Yo. Your song with Ason Unique and The Specialist, so we never got signed as a group back then. We never had a record deal under that title. The Wu-Tang Clan was assembled in the early 1990s with RZA as the de facto leader, Method Man – who met RZA in 1990 after hearing a tape the producer recorded as Prince Rakeem – recalled, I went round his house. We went to the basement and I guess they was showin off cos I was there, thered be RZA and his brother Devon on the decks. RZA was cuttin, Devond go cut off the light, then RZAs go cut on the light, Devond be cutting and they was doing some wild shit, man. And Ol Dirty was there and hed echo every rhyme of RZAs while beatboxing and that was the beginning of Wu-Tang. RZA and Ol Dirty Bastard adopted the name for the group after the film Shaolin, the groups debut album loosely adopted a Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang theme, dividing the album into Shaolin and Wu-Tang sections. This album turned out to be acclaimed, and to date is regarded as one of the greatest hip hop/rap albums of all time. And all these labels still put Razor Sharp Records on the credits Wu Tang was a financial movement, so what do you wanna diversify. RZA was the first to follow up on the success of Enter the Wu-Tang with a project, founding the Gravediggaz with Prince Paul and Frukwan. The Gravediggaz released 6 Feet Deep in August 1994, which one of the best known works to emerge from hip hops small subgenre of horrorcore
8.
Inspectah Deck
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Jason Hunter better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper, producer, and member of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and Czarface. He has acquired critical praise for his lyricism, and for his verses on many of the groups most revered songs. He has grown to become a producer in his own right, taking up tracks for fellow clansmen, Hunter was born July 6,1970 in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in Staten Island. Hunter routinely mentions the Park Hill Projects in Clifton, Staten Island, where he grew up and went to school with the future Method Man, Raekwon, and Ghostface Killah. This is also referenced by Method Man at the end of the track Can it Be All So Simple. R. E. A. M, protect Ya Neck, Wu-Tang Clan Aint Nuthing ta Fuck Wit, and Da Mystery of Chessboxin. In the years following, Hunter would appear on several Wu members solo projects, including Method Mans Tical, Raekwons Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, GZAs Liquid Swords, and Ghostface Killahs Ironman. Wu-Tang affiliate Cilvaringz stated in a 2010 interview Recently Deck pulled out some disks from the flood and they worked again, in September 1999, Uncontrolled Substance was released, and featured more of Decks own production, and appearances from several lesser known affiliates. The album received favorable reviews from music critics, but failed to garner the reception attained by earlier Wu-Tang solo projects. Shortly after this release, Deck returned to the Wu-Tang fold for the group albums The W, in 2003, Inspectah Deck released his second studio album, The Movement, and in 2006, he released The Resident Patient, intended as a precursor to The Movement. In 2007, the rapper reconvened with the Wu-Tang Clan to record the group album 8 Diagrams, in 2008, a mixtape entitled The Resident Patient II was leaked on to the internet, this features some original material, as well as freestyles over other artists songs. Inspectah Deck stated in an interview that The Manifesto was meant to be the originally announced full-length sequel and he had mentioned in an interview with Conspiracy Radio that he will only retire from solo albums if the fans dont show support for The Manifesto and The Rebellion. 1995 Wu-Tang Clan - Tales from the Hood The Soundtrack Let Me at Them 1997 Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Forever Visionz 1998 Inspectah Deck - Wu-Tang Killa Bees and we Get Down 9th Chamber Part II Really Real 2013 Masta Killa - Selling My Soul R U Listening
9.
Method Man
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Clifford Smith, better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan and he is also one half of the hip hop duo Method Man & Redman. He took his name from the 1979 film Method Man. In 1996, he won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for Ill Be There for You/Youre All I Need to Get By, with American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. Method Man has appeared in such as Belly, How High, Garden State, The Wackness, Venom, Red Tails, Keanu. On television, he and frequent collaborator, fellow East Coast rapper Redman and he also had a recurring role as Tug Daniels on HBOs Oz and Calvin Cheese Wagstaff on the HBOs The Wire. In 2016, he had a role in Luke Cage which aired on Netflix. In 2012, The Source placed him on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time. Born on March 2,1971, in Hempstead, Long Island and he has two sisters, Terri and Missy. As Wu-Tang Clan ascended to hip hop stardom, Method Man was always one of the most visible members of the collective. Method Mans solo debut, Tical, was acclaimed and well received, entering the American charts at #4. That album featured the hit single All I Need, later remixed featuring Mary J. Blige, which won a Grammy. During this time Method Man also became friends with fellow New York City-based rapper The Notorious B. I. G. and was the only guest rapper featured on his debut album Ready to Die. He was also featured on Spice 1s album AmeriKKKas Nightmare on the track Hard 2 Kill, in 1995, he was also featured on Got the Flava off Showbiz and A. G. s album Goodfellas. He was also featured on Redmans 1996 album Muddy Waters on the track Do What Ya feel, on June 3,1997, the Wu-Tang Clan released their Grammy-nominated multiplatinum double CD Wu-Tang Forever, the long-awaited follow up to 36 Chambers. The album has sold over 8.3 million copies to date worldwide, the album was certified double platinum. Reviews for the album were mixed and its long runtime and abundance of intermittent comedy skits were widely criticized, producers on this album included True Master, 4th Disciple and the RZA. Method Man was part of the very successful Hard Knock Life Tour with Jay-Z, Redman, Ja Rule, during this tour, Method Man & Redman recorded Blackout
10.
Large Professor
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Large Professor, also known as Large Pro and Extra P. is a New York City-based hip hop rapper and record producer. He is also best known as a member of the influential underground hip hop group Main Source. About. com ranked Large Professor #5 on its Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers list, in 1989, he joined the group Main Source, which also included K-Cut and Sir Scratch from Toronto. Main Source recorded one album with Large called Breaking Atoms, which was released in 1991. It included hits such as Just Hangin Out, Looking at the Front Door, in 1992, their success allowed them to record Fakin the Funk, a track on the White Men Cant Jump motion-picture soundtrack. Because of business differences, Large and Main Source quietly parted ways and Large went on to sign with Geffen/MCA Records
11.
The Beatnuts
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The Beatnuts are a New York-based hip hop group and production duo from Queens, New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les, JuJu is Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les is a Colombian American from Jackson Heights. The Beatnuts are the only Latino members of the Native Tongues collective, although only peripheral members, they are routinely acknowledged by Q-Tip. The Beatnuts were originally a trio before Fashion, now known as Al Tariq, V. I. C. was also a member of The Beatnuts production team for a while. JuJu and Psycho Les grew up in different communities in Queens, Psycho Les started producing beats and DJing at age 15 under aliases including DJ Les Jams and DJ Incredible. At a high school in Flushing, Queens, a friend DJ Loco Moe introduced Les to fellow producer JuJu, while crate digging, both Beatnuts ran into hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. Bambaataa introduced them to Native Tongues members including De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, at this time, JuJu and Psycho Les were DJing parties under the alias Beat Kings. The Jungle Brothers claimed that they were not kings, but rather two nuts for their nature and the fact that they were crazy enough to carry hundreds of records to every show they played. They thus changed their name and it stuck, the two Beatnuts members later met up with rapper Kool Fashion. The Beatnuts entered the industry in 1990 producing two tracks for the British alternative hip hop/electronica group Stereo MCs as well as a song for British rapper Monie Love. Over the next two years, they produced songs for rappers including Common, Pete Nice & DJ Richie Rich and Kurious, as of 1992, JuJu had not appeared on a record, but fellow Beatnuts rappers Fashion and Psycho Les appeared on tracks that he produced. In 1993, The Beatnuts produced more songs for the artists they had collaborated with as well as Fat Joe, Suprême NTM. At the same time, The Beatnuts made their name as remix specialists by remixing songs for MC Lyte, Da Lench Mob, Naughty by Nature, Jomanda, the Beatnuts early production work earned them a record deal with Combat Records in 1992. The Beatnuts planned on releasing a mini-LP through that label, after Fashion completed his sentence, The Beatnuts left Combat Records and signed deals with Violator Management and Relativity Records. On April 6,1993, The Beatnuts released their album, Intoxicated Demons, The EP. It featured 11 songs, including the two singles Reign of the Tec and No Equal, the album was characterized by its hedonistic party-style lyrics and sample-heavy jazz beats. It was a success receiving favorable reviews by Allmusic, The Source. Intoxicated Demons was followed in 1994 with the eponymous full-length album The Beatnuts, Street Level followed its preceding EP in style, but slightly surpassed its commercial success by charting on the Billboard 200
12.
GZA
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Gary Grice, better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American rapper and songwriter. A founding member of the hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is known as the spiritual head. He has appeared on his fellow Clan members solo projects, and since the release of his acclaimed solo album Liquid Swords. An analysis of GZAs lyrics found that he has the second largest vocabulary in hip hop music and he teamed up with an education group to promote science education in New York City through hip hop. Gary Grice developed an interest in hip-hop by attending block parties as a child in the early 1970s and he was involved in breakdance, graffiti, and DJing. Early on he developed an interest in writing, studying Mother Goose, in 1974-76 he listened to The Last Poets, however he was attracted by profanity rather than content, and didnt understand the underlying messages until many years later. The Last Poets, as well as songs by The Isley Brothers, the Commodores, later on, he began to listen to hip hop and R&B, for example by Secret Weapon and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He formed a group with his cousins, Robert Diggs and Russell Jones. At the time he didnt like the sound of his voice and he left school in the 10th grade, but nurtured his affection for science as he developed his skills as a lyricist. After some years of this, GZA was signed to Cold Chillin Records as a solo artist under the name The Genius. Albums beat selection is similar to the classic sound of the early 1990s. At the time he worked as a bicycle messenger, in 1992, GZA joined the Wu-Tang Clan, a group of nine, formed by his cousin RZA. GZA had some appearances on the groups debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang, including a solo track. This, combined with appearances on other Clan members albums such as Return to the 36 Chambers, The Dirty Version, according to Method Man, we form like Voltron and GZA happens to be the head. It was released on November 7 by Geffen Records, the albums complex composition included dialogue sampled from kung fu film Shogun Assassin. The album was met with reviews and sold well. It is considered to be one of the best albums from the Wu-Tang camp and it peaked at the #9 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and #2 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. On October 8,2015, the Recording Industry Association of America announced that the album had earned a Platinum certification for having more than 1 million copies
13.
MF Doom
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Daniel Dumile is an English hip hop recording artist and record producer. Best known for his super villain stage persona and unique lyrics, Dumile has taken on several names in his career, most notably as MF Doom. He has appeared in several projects such as Madvillain, Danger Doom, Doomstarks, JJ Doom. Dumile was born in 1974, in London, England, the son of a Trinidadian mother and his family moved to Long Island, New York when he was a teenager, although Dumile remains a British citizen and has never gained American citizenship. As Zev Love X he formed the group KMD in 1988 with his younger brother DJ Subroc, when Rodan left the group, Zev found another MC, Onyx the Birthstone Kid, to replace Rodan. A&R rep Dante Ross learned of KMD through the hip hop group 3rd Bass, in 1993, just before the release of the second KMD album, Black Bastards, Subroc was struck by a car and killed while attempting to cross the Nassau Expressway. The group was dropped from Elektra Records that same week. Before the release, the album was shelved due to its cover art. After the death of his brother, Dumile retreated from the hip hop scene from 1994 to 1997, living damn near homeless, walking the streets of Manhattan, in the late 1990s, he left New York City and settled in Atlanta. According to interviews with Dumile, he was recovering from his wounds. Black Bastards had become bootlegged at the time, leading to Dooms rise in the hip hop scene. In 1997, Dumile began freestyling incognito at open-mic events at the Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan, Villains according to a relatively obscure interview published in 1998 by hip-hop music culture magazine Ego Trip. The mask is based on a prop mask obtained from the film Gladiator and he wore this mask while performing and isnt photographed without it, except for very short glimpses in videos such as Viktor Vaughns Mr. Clean. and in earlier photos with KMD. Dumile released three singles on Bobbito Garcías Fondle Em Records, Dead Bent, and Greenbacks, and The M. I. C, in 1999 Fondle Em released MF Dooms first full-length LP, Operation, Doomsday, which included these singles and their b-sides, and additional tracks. Dumile had used the spelling variant M. F, Doom for the singles releases, but thereafter changed this to MF Doom. Among the collaborators on these tracks were fellow members of the Monsta Island Czars collective, Dumile went by the alias King Geedorah, a three-headed golden dragon space monster, modeled after King Ghidorah, the Toho movie monster who was a three-headed dragon that often battled Godzilla. Some of his appearances on the LP are as, and are credited to, Dumile would revisit this character later under various name-spellings. In 2001, he working with Prince Paul, co-producing MC Paul Barmans Paullelujah
14.
R.A. the Rugged Man
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Thorburn, better known by his stage name R. A. the Rugged Man, is an American rapper. He began his career at age 12, building a reputation locally for his lyrical skills. After a nine-label bidding war for his services, R. A. signed to major label Jive Records at age 18, eventually R. A. and the label parted ways. His first album, Night of the Bloody Apes, was never released. Since then, he has worked with the likes of Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, Kool G Rap, and Notorious B. I. G, as well as producers Erick Sermon, Trackmasters, DJ Quik, The Alchemist, J-Zone, and Ayatollah. He was featured on all three of Rawkus’s Soundbombing albums, as well as the platinum-selling WWF Aggression album, after a brief stint on Capitol Records, R. A. signed with independent label Nature Sounds and released his official debut, Die, Rugged Man, Die. In 2013, R. A. released his second album, the album was released on April 30,2013 by Nature Sounds. In addition to his hip hop career, Thorburn has been active as boxing commentator and he has contributed to Vibe, King, Complex, Rides, XXL, The Source, The Ring, among others. He wrote and produced the cult film Bad Biology, and also hosts the web series Film School on MTVs Film. com, in 1992, Thorburn signed with Jive Records, then in the mid-1990s signed with Priority Records/EMI. His contract was absorbed by Capitol Records but he began recording independently in the early 2000s. He has worked with MCs such as The Notorious B. I. G and he was featured on all three of Rawkus’s Soundbombing albums, as well as the platinum-selling WWF Aggression album, performing the theme song for Chris Jericho. In Ego Trip Vol.1, Issue 3, the Notorious B. I. G. was quoted as saying, I thought I was the illest, in 2004 he released his first album Die, Rugged Man, Die on the Brooklyn-based label Nature Sounds. Rolling Stone Magazine recently compared Thorburns rap flow to that of a blue-eyed Biggie Smalls, when reviewing his song On the Block, Vibe Magazine said, I love this song. A horror film fan, Thorburn has written three screenplays with cult film director Frank Henenlotter and is writer-producer of the Henenlotter film, Bad Biology. The film has a score by Josh Glazer with additional production by Prince Paul. Thorburn is working on his debut, a film based on his family, God Take. Thorburns second studio album Legends Never Die was released on April 30,2013, guest appearances include Brother Ali, Masta Ace, Tech N9ne, Talib Kweli, Hopsin, Eamon and Krizz Kaliko. His first single of the album was The Peoples Champ, the second single was Learn Truth Feat
15.
Metacritic
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Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of media products, music albums, games, movies, TV shows, DVDs, and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged, Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts. The site provides an excerpt from each review and hyperlinks to its source, a color of Green, Yellow or Red summarizes the critics recommendations and therefore the general appeal of the product to reviewers and, to a lesser extent, the public. It is regarded as the game industrys foremost review aggregator. Metacritics scoring converts each review into a percentage, either mathematically from the mark given, before being averaged, the scores are weighted according to the critics fame, stature, and volume of reviews. Metacritic was launched in July 1999 by Marc Doyle, his sister Julie Doyle Roberts, rotten Tomatoes was already compiling movie reviews, but Doyle, Roberts, and Dietz saw an opportunity to cover a broader range of media. They sold Metacritic to CNET in 2005, CNET and Metacritic are now owned by the CBS Corporation. Nick Wingfield of The Wall Street Journal wrote in September 2004, Mr. Doyle,36, is now a product manager at CNET. Speaking of video games, Doyle said, A site like ours helps people cut through. unobjective promotional language and he added that the review process was not taken as seriously when unconnected magazines and websites provided reviews in isolation. In August 2010, the appearance was revamped, reaction from users was overwhelmingly negative. Certain publications are given more significance because of their stature, games Editor Marc Doyle was interviewed by Keith Stuart of The Guardian to get a look behind the metascoring process. Stuart wrote, the phenomenon, namely Metacritic and GameRankings, have become an enormously important element of online games journalism over the past few years. The ranging of metascores is, Metacritic is regarded as the foremost online review site for the video game industry. Nick Wingfield of The Wall Street Journal has written that Metacritic influence the sales of games and he explains its influence as coming from the higher cost of buying video games than music or movie tickets. Many executives say that low scores can hurt the sales potential. He claimed that a number of businesses and financial analysts use Metacritic as an early indicator of a games potential sales and, by extension. In 2004, Jason Hall of Warner Bros. began including quality metrics in contracts with partners licensing its movies for games, if a product does not at least achieve a specific score, some deals require the publisher to pay higher royalties. In 2008, Microsoft began using Metacritic averages to de-list underperforming Xbox Live Arcade games and these are the top 10 individual games with the highest scores on the site as of 2 April 2017
16.
The Boston Globe
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The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1872 by Charles H. Taylor, it was held until 1973. The company was acquired in 1993 by The New York Times Company, in 2011, a BostonGlobe. com subscription site was launched. In 2013, the newspaper and websites were purchased by John W. Henry, the Boston Globe has been awarded 26 Pulitzer Prizes since 1966, and its chief print rival is the Boston Herald. The Boston Globe was founded in 1872 by six Boston businessmen, including Charles H. Taylor and Eben Jordan, the first issue was published on March 4,1872, and cost four cents. Originally a morning daily, it began a Sunday edition in 1877, in 1878, The Boston Globe started an afternoon edition called The Boston Evening Globe, which ceased publication in 1979. By the 1890s, The Boston Globe had become a stronghold, in 1964, Tom Winship succeeded his father, Larry Winship, as editor. The younger Winship transformed The Globe from a local paper into a regional paper of national distinction. He served as editor until 1984, during which time the paper won a dozen Pulitzer Prizes, the Boston Globe was a private company until 1973 when it went public under the name Affiliated Publications. It continued to be managed by the descendants of Charles H. Taylor, in 1993, The New York Times Company purchased Affiliated Publications for US$1.1 billion, making The Boston Globe a wholly owned subsidiary of The New York Times parent. The Jordan and Taylor families received substantial New York Times Company stock, Boston. com, the online edition of The Boston Globe, was launched on the World Wide Web in 1995. Consistently ranked among the top ten websites in America, it has won numerous national awards. Under the helm of editor Martin Baron and then Brian McGrory, the Boston Globe is credited with allowing Peter Gammons to start his Notes section on baseball, which has become a mainstay in all major newspapers nationwide. In 2004, Gammons was selected as the 56th recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA, and was honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 31,2005. In 2007, Charlie Savage, whose reports on President Bushs use of signing statements made national news, the Boston Globe has consistently been ranked in the forefront of American journalism. The Boston Globe hosts 28 blogs covering a variety of topics including Boston sports, local politics, on April 2,2009, The New York Times Company threatened to close the paper if its unions did not agree to $20,000,000 of cost savings. Some of the cost savings include reducing union employees pay by 5%, ending pension contributions, the Boston Globe eliminated the equivalent of fifty full-time jobs, among buy-outs and layoffs, it swept out most of the part-time employees in the editorial sections. The papers other three major unions had agreed to concessions on May 3,2009, after The New York Times Company threatened to give the government 60-days notice that it intended to close the paper
17.
Exclaim!
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Exclaim. is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists. Content is based on the print publication, publishes 11 issues per year. Exclaim. began as a discussion among campus and community radio programmers at Ryersons CKLN-FM in 1991 and it was started by Ian Danzig, together with other programmers and Toronto musicians. The goal of the publication was to support great Canadian music that was otherwise going unheralded, the group worked through 1991 to produce their first issue in April 1992, with monthly issues being produced since. Ian Danzig has been the publisher of the magazine since its start, similarly to an alternative weekly newspaper, the magazine is distributed as a free publication at campus and community radio stations, bars, record stores, libraries, and coffee shops. The magazines website features reviews, interviews and profiles not found in the print publication and it includes a news page that is updated with the latest in music and music-related culture. The site reaches 211,000 unique users every month, TV, which includes weekly instalments of video interviews with musicians, as well as a section titled Click Hear where readers are guided to the latest music released on the Internet. As well as music, exclaim. ca reviews films, DVDs, music DVDs, concerts, exclaim. ca is also increasing its coverage of film festivals, such as the Toronto International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. The magazine also covers smaller Toronto festivals such as the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival, the magazines website also has contests where readers can enter for a chance to win various music-related prizes. These artists are featured on the cover of Exclaims monthly issue, x3 artists of the month have included Knaan, Malajube, Thunderheist, Japandroids, Apostle of Hustle, You Say Party. We Say Die. and The Rural Alberta Advantage
18.
HipHopDX
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HipHopDX is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The websites current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the editor-in-chief is Trent Clark, HipHopDX is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. HipHopDX was nominated for Best Hip Hop Online Site at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, on September 3,2013, The Source named HipHopDX, number three on their 2013 Digital Power 30 list, which ranks websites that are the most popular in the hip hop industry
19.
Music criticism
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In this sense, it is a branch of musical aesthetics. The musicologist Winton Dean has suggested that music is probably the most difficult of the arts to criticize, like dramatic art, music is recreated at every performance, and criticism may therefore be directed both at the text and the performance. The absence of a clearly evolved or consensual musical aesthetics has also tended to make music criticism a highly subjective issue, there is no counter-check outside the critics own personality. Critical references to music can be found in literature, including, for example, in Platos Laws. According to Richard Taruskin, the concert life of late 18th-century London meant that the role. In France in the 1750s, the Querelle des Bouffons generated essays from Jean-Jacques Rousseau and others, the English composer Charles Avison published the first work on musical criticism in the English language - an Essay on Musical Expression published in 1752. In it, Avison claims that since the time of Palestrina and Raphael, typically until the late eighteenth century music criticism centred on vocal rather than instrumental music - vocal music. Was the apex of aesthetic hierarchy, one knew what music was expressing. The last years of the century reflected both a change of patronage of music from the aristocracy to the rising middle-classes and the rise of Romanticism in the arts. At the same time the proportion of new music to music in concert programming began to decline. This was particularly the case in respect of the rise of Beethovens reputation in his last year and this gave rise both to writings on the value of the canon and also to writings by composers and their supporters defending newer music. M. Schlesinger and edited by A. B, marx, and the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik founded in 1834 in Leipzig by Robert Schumann and Friedrich Wieck, and later edited by Franz Brendel. In 1835 James William Davison began his career as a music critic. Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media Category, Music critics Avison, bujic, Bojan Criticism of Music in The Oxford Companion to Music, Oxford Music Online, accessed 1 January 2013. Hoffmann as a Writer on Music, in Hoffmann, 1-22, jewry in Music, Entry to the Profession from the Enlightenment to Richard Wagner. FromMendelssohnto Wagner, Memoirs of J. W. Davison, Criticism, in New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol. London, Macmillan ISBN 0-333-23111-2 Hoffmann, E. T. A. ed. David Charlton. E, ISBN0521235200 Taruskin, Richard. Music in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Oxford, Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0-19-538482-6 Weber, from Miscellany to Homogeneity in Concert Programming, in Poetics 29, 127-34
20.
Billboard (magazine)
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Billboard is an American entertainment media brand owned by the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, a division of Eldridge Industries. It publishes pieces involving news, video, opinion, reviews, events and it is also known for its music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, tracking the most popular singles and albums in different genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows, Billboard was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegens interest in 1900 for $500, in the 1900s, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows. It also created a service for travelling entertainers. Billboard began focusing more on the industry as the jukebox, phonograph. Many topics it covered were spun-off into different magazines, including Amusement Business in 1961 to cover outdoor entertainment so that it could focus on music. After Donaldson died in 1925, Billboard was passed down to his children and Hennegans children, until it was sold to investors in 1985. The first issue of Billboard was published in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 1,1894 by William Donaldson, initially, it covered the advertising and bill posting industry and was called Billboard Advertising. At the time, billboards, posters and paper advertisements placed in public spaces were the means of advertising. Donaldson handled editorial and advertising, while Hennegan, who owned Hennegan Printing Co. managed magazine production, the first issues were just eight pages long. The paper had columns like The Bill Room Gossip and The Indefatigable, a department for agricultural fairs was established in 1896. The title was changed to The Billboard in 1897, after a brief departure over editorial differences, Donaldson purchased Hennegans interest in the business in 1900 for $500, to save it from bankruptcy. That May, Donaldson changed it from a monthly to a paper with a greater emphasis on breaking news. He improved editorial quality and opened new offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, London and he also re-focused the magazine on outdoor entertainment like fairs, carnivals, circuses, vaudeville and burlesque shows. A section devoted to circuses was introduced in 1900, followed by more prominent coverage of events in 1901. Billboard also covered topics including regulation, a lack of professionalism, economics and it had a stage gossip column covering the private lives of entertainers, a tent show section covering traveling shows and a sub-section called Freaks to order. According to The Seattle Times, Donaldson also published articles attacking censorship, praising productions exhibiting good taste
21.
Uncontrolled Substance
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Uncontrolled Substance is the solo debut album by rapper, and Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck. The album was released on October 5,1999 under Loud Records, originally slated for release in 1995, the record was indefinitely postponed after a flood destroyed over 100 beats in RZAs basement, including his original productions for the album. Eventually released four years later, Uncontrolled Substance received mostly positive reviews, the album features Wu-Tang mainstays U-God and Masta Killa, and appearances from lesser-known affiliates Street Life, Killa Sin, and LA the Darkman. A music video was made for the songs Word on the Street directed by Gregory Dark & Show N Prove directed by Joseph Kahn, the albums liner notes state that it is dedicated to Inspectah Decks late father, Frank Hunter. Sample credits Intro contains a sample of Clan In Da Front by Wu-Tang Clan, forget Me Not contains a sample of Last Night Changed It All by Esther Williams. Word on the Street contains a sample of What Would I Do by Ernie Hines, elevation contains a sample of Terris Tune by David Axelrod and Lost Ones by Lauryn Hill. Lovin You contains a sample of Finish Me Off by Soul Children, trouble Man contains a sample of Give Me Your Love by Curtis Mayfield, Joy by Isaac Hayes, Long Red by Mountain and Paradise by Sade. Friction contains a sample of One Way Street by Ann Peebles, hyperdermix contains a sample of Wisdom Body by Raekwon. Show N Prove contains a sample of Tune Up by The Dramatics, the Cause contains a sample of Smiling Faces Sometimes by The Undisputed Truth
22.
The Movement (Inspectah Deck album)
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The Movement is the second solo studio album by Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck. The album was released on June 10,2003, by Koch Records, a departure from Uncontrolled Substances darker, soul-inspired sound, The Movement is more upbeat and expressive. According to Inspectah Deck, Uncontrolled Substance was just me as an ill lyricist wanting to put an album out, I just wanted to be heard. The Movement is like is me behind the scenes, behind everything, all the credits got Inspectah Deck on it this time. I was able to put my soul into it
23.
Manifesto (Inspectah Deck album)
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Manifesto is the third studio album by American rapper, and Wu-Tang Clan member Inspectah Deck. The album was released on March 23,2010, by Urban Icons Records, the album features guest appearances from Raekwon, Cappadonna, Cormega, Kurupt, Planet Asia, Termanology, Carlton Fisk, Billy Danze and Fes Taylor. Initially, the album was slated to be titled Resident Patient II, however, a mixtape entitled Resident Patient II leaked in 2008 that was not the actual product. Deck eventually changed the name of the project and is planning to release his final album under the name The Rebellion. Manifesto is composed of songs cut from Resident Patient II
24.
Army of the Pharaohs
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Army of the Pharaohs is an American underground hip hop collective originating from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed by Jedi Mind Tricks MC Vinnie Paz in 1998. The group has links to other underground groups such as OuterSpace, Snowgoons, La Coka Nostra, Demigodz. It has changed several times since its formation, Paz formed the outfit in the late 1990s with the original roster of Bahamadia, Chief Kamachi, Virtuoso, 7L & Esoteric, plus Jedi Mind Tricks other member Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind. The group first released the Five Perfect Exertions and War Ensemble 12 on Pazs short-lived Recordings in 1998, Babygrande issued their Tear It Down 12 and first album, The Torture Papers, in 2006. The 2007 follow-up album, Ritual of Battle, saw Jus Allah and JMT protégés Doap Nixon, the Unholy Terror was released on March 30,2010. This album marked the return of Apathy and the addition of two new AOTP members, Block McCloud Journalist, two songs, Godzilla and Contra Mantra, were released before the album. This album also marked the departure of Chief Kamachi who left the group because of business issues and an apparent feud with Vinnie Paz & Apathy. In early 2011, Vinnie Paz announced on his Facebook page that In Death Reborn is due to be released in 2012, however the date was pushed back, early in 2012, Houston underground MC Zilla and Connecticuts Blacastan were added to the group. Both artists have made names for themselves with their features and album releases in 2012, in Death Reborn was eventually released on April 22,2014. Their fifth studio album, Heavy Lies the Crown was released on October 21,2014, the original incarnation of the group included five MCs, Vinnie Paz, Chief Kamachi, Esoteric, Virtuoso and Bahamadia, along with Jedi Mind Tricks producer. The group released their debut EP/single The Five Perfect Exertions b/w War Ensemble in 1998, the Army Of The Pharaohs project was put on the back-burner while JMTs career took off. In 2003, AOTP released their compilation album Rare Shit, Collabos. It contained various tracks from members of the group, the group did not return until 2005, without Virtuoso and Bahamadia. The group was now composed of Paz, Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, OuterSpace, Apathy, Celph Titled, Reef The Lost Cauze, Des Devious, King Syze, after years of anticipation, the group recorded its first album, The Torture Papers. It was released in March 2006 on Babygrande Records, the album was produced by AOTP affiliates such as DC the MIDI Alien, Undefined, Beyonder, Loptimist, and German producer Shuko. The album includes the singles Tear It Down and Battle Cry, the latter was a posse cut with nine of the groups then ten members. The album entered the top 50 on Billboards Top Independent Album chart, an unofficial continuation of The Torture Papers soon began circulating around the Internet called The Bonus Papers. Army of the Pharaohs released another mixtape in 2007 titled After Torture Theres Pain, as the name suggests, it was released as an addition to their debut album, The Torture Papers
25.
Ritual of Battle
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Ritual of Battle is the second studio album by underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. Although he was featured on the groups debut album The Torture Papers. While still a member of the group, he explains on a MySpace blog that he was recording with Styles of Beyond in Los Angeles during the Armys album recording sessions, the rapper recorded for one song, titled A. O. T. P. Produced by Snowgoons, but it was not included on the album and this song was included on the Apathy compilation Hells Lost & Found, Its The Bootleg, Muthafu@kas. The albums first single is Bloody Tears, featuring Planetary, Doap Nixon, Demoz and Vinnie Paz, swords Drawn Suspiria by Goblin from the album Suspiria Beneath the Planet of the Apes sample. Time To Rock Rhyme Tyme by Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo from the album Rated XXX As The Rhyme Goes On by Eric B
26.
The Unholy Terror
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The Unholy Terror is the third studio album by underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. The album was released on March 30,2010, the album debuted in the Billboard 200 at number 179 selling 3,200 units in its first week of release. The album welcomes two new members, Block McCloud and Journalist, babyGrande Records announces official release date on YouTube
27.
In Death Reborn
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In Death Reborn is the fourth studio album by underground hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs. The album was released on April 22,2014, via Vinnie Pazs independent record label. It is the first of the two albums Army of the Pharaohs said they would be releasing in 2014, Heavy Lies the Crown being released on 21 October. The only member that didnt make an appearance on the album was Jus Allah who is affiliated with Jedi Mind Tricks. It was later confirmed that Jus Allah had left the group as well as leaving Jedi Mind Tricks, in promotion for In Death Reborn, Vinnie Paz released The Flawless Victory mixtape on March 2,2014. Reef the Lost Cauze released an album titled Fast Way alongside producer Emyd on March 9,2014. King Syze released his studio album one month before the album release on March 25 titled Union Terminology. Apathy pushed back the date of Connecticut Casual from April to June in favour of In Death Reborn. A week before the release of In Death Reborn, Zilla announced he was working on his studio album titled Martyr Musick set to be released sometime June 2014. The group released their album of the year Heavy Lies the Crown on 21 October 2014. Six months after In Death Reborn, the album peaked 63 on the US Billboard 200 and also topping the UK R&B albums at 33 and US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums at 16. Upon Release, In Death Reborn was met with average to positive reviews. Online Rap album reviewer, RapReviews gave the album a score of 5. 5/10, HipHopDX gave the album a fairly positive score of 3. 5/5. Gave the album a positive review of 7/10. Vinnie Paz announced in early 2011 on his Facebook page that In Death Reborn is due to be released in 2012, however the date was pushed back, early in 2012, Houston underground MC Zilla and Connecticuts Blacastan were added to the group. Both artists have made names for themselves with their features and album releases in 2012, on Facebook, rumours circulated that Reef the Lost Cauze would not appear on the album. However, on 27 Nov 2013 he tweeted how its bullshit, in April 2013, the official Facebook page of Army of the Pharaohs posted New album is not finished. Dont know when it will be finished, will let you know when theres a release date
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