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.
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
3.
Epic Records
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Epic Records is an American record company owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, Inc. Epic was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 and it later expanded its scope to include a more diverse range of musical genres, including pop, R&B, rock and hip hop. Historically, the label has housed popular acts such as Boston, ABBA, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Dave Clark Five, Gloria Estefan, Pearl Jam, Shakira, Anastacia, and Sly & the Family Stone. Along with Columbia and RCA Records, Epic is one of Sony Music Entertainments three main record labels, L. A. Reid has served as chairman and CEO of Epic since July 2011. Sylvia Rhone was appointed president in March 2014, Epic Records was launched in 1953 by Columbia Records for the purpose of marketing jazz, pop and classical music that did not fit the theme of its more mainstream Columbia Records label. Initial classical music releases were from Philips Records which distributed Columbia product in Europe, pop talent on co-owned Okeh Records were transferred to Epic which made Okeh a rhythm and blues label. Epics bright-yellow, black, and blue became a familiar trademark for many jazz. By 1960, the musical base had been expanded to include all genres. This was done in part to prevent the roster of Columbia Records from being overstuffed with newer artists, subsequently, Epic became better known for its signing of newer, fledgling acts. By the end of the 1960s, Epic earned its first gold records and had evolved into a formidable hit-making force in rock and roll, R&B and country music. Among its many acts, it included Roy Hamilton, Bobby Vinton, The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies, Tammy Wynette, Donovan, The Yardbirds, Lulu, July, Helen Shapiro and Jeff Beck. Also during the 1960s, Epic oversaw the smaller subsidiary CBS labels including Okeh Records, in 1968, Epic recordings began being distributed in the UK by CBS after the distribution deal with EMI expired that year, Epic itself launched in England around 1971. Epic was involved in a trade of artists. Graham Nash was signed to Epic because of his membership in The Hollies, when the newly formed Crosby, Stills & Nash wanted to sign with Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegün worked out a deal with Clive Davis whereby Richie Furays new band Poco would sign with Epic. Also contributing to the success was its distribution of Philadelphia International Records. Sony bought CBS Records in 1987, and the company was renamed Sony Music in 1991. In 2004, Sony merged with another powerhouse music distributor, BMG, bringing labels such as RCA, Arista, Columbia, Epic, Jive, in February 2009, singer and songwriter Amanda Ghost was appointed president of Epic Records. Later in the year, Sony BMG Music merged Epic and Columbias operations, Sony BMGs Legacy Recordings reissues the companys classic and catalog titles
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.
Calvin Harris
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Adam Richard Wiles, known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish record producer, DJ, singer and songwriter. His debut studio album I Created Disco was released in June 2007 and its lead single Im Not Alone became his first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart. Harris rose to prominence with the release of his third studio album 18 Months in October 2012. Topping the UK charts, the album became his first to chart on the US Billboard 200 chart, Harris released his fourth studio album Motion in November 2014. It debuted at two in the UK and at number five in the US, and became Harriss second consecutive number one album on the US Dance/Electronic Albums chart. The albums first three singles Under Control, Summer and Blame all topped the UK chart, Harris has collaborated with numerous other recording artists. His collaboration with Rihanna We Found Love became an international success, Harris later collaborated with Rihanna on the singles Where Have You Been and This Is What You Came For. Harris currently holds the record for the most top 10 songs from one album on the UK Singles Chart with nine top 10 entries. In October 2014, he became the first artist to place three songs simultaneously on the top 10 of Billboards Dance/Electronic Songs chart and he also became the first British solo artist to reach more than one billion streams on Spotify. Harris has received ten Brit Award nominations—three for Best British Male and he received the British Academys Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year in 2013 and at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards was named Top Dance/Electronic Artist. Additionally, Harris topped Forbes list of the worlds highest-paid DJs for three years from 2013 to 2015. One of the most successful musicians in contemporary British popular culture, Harris runs his own record label, Fly Eye Records. Adam Richard Wiles was born on 17 January 1984 in Dumfries and his parents, David Wiles, a biochemist, and Pamela, a homemaker, married in Oxford before moving to the Dumfries suburb of Georgetown. He has a sister, Sophie, and an older brother. He attended Dumfries High School, and after leaving school he stacked shelves in supermarkets and he was first attracted to electronic music in his teens and began recording bedroom demos in 1999. When Harris was 18 he released two songs Da Bongos and Brighter Days, both were released as 12-inch club singles and CD-EPs by the label Prima Facie in early 2002 under the name Stouffer. With these singles to his credit, Harris moved from Scotland to London, Only one of his songs was released during his time in London, Let Me Know with vocalist Ayah Marar on the Unabombers 2004 live-mix CD Electric Soul, Vol.2. With the lack of job opportunities and money, Harris returned home to Dumfries, Harris signed contracts with Three Six Zero Group, EMI and Sony BMG in 2006 after he had been discovered on the social networking website Myspace
6.
Quavo
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Migos is an American hip hop group formed in 2009, from Lawrenceville, Georgia. The group is composed of three rappers, known by their stage names Quavo, Takeoff and Offset, Migos released their commercial debut single Versace, in 2013, taken from their mixtape Y. R. N. They went on to several successful singles, such as Fight Night, Look at My Dab. The group released its debut album Yung Rich Nation, in 2015 and its second album, Culture, was released in January 2017. Migos are managed by Coach K, the manager of prominent Atlanta-based rappers Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy. Migos was formed in 2009, by Quavo, Takeoff and Offset, originally from Lawrenceville, the three members are directly related and were raised together, Quavo is Takeoffs uncle, and Offset is Quavos cousin. The group released their first full-length project, a mixtape titled Juug Season, on August 25,2011 and they followed with the mixtape No Label, on June 1,2012. In 2013, Migos released their breakout single Versace, the single was produced by Zaytoven and peaked at number 99 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Later that year, Canadian rapper Drake brought the more recognition when he remixed the song, adding a verse. On June 13, Migos released their mixtape Y. R. N. which features the lead single Versace, to critical acclaim. Brandon Soderberg of Spin gave it 8 out of 10 stars, commenting that it is a super-cut of Dirty South vibes, on June 15,2013, the group performed at rap radio station Hot 107. 9s Birthday Bash. In October 2013, the group was featured in XXLs section Show & Prove, Y. R. N. was named the 27th best album of 2013 and sixth best hip-hop album of 2013 by SPIN. On February 25,2014, Migos released the sequel to their second mixtape, the tape was downloaded over 100,000 times in the first week of its release and was certified gold on popular mixtape sharing site DatPiff. No Label 2 was met generally positive reviews from music critics. Consequence of Sound described it as the mix of raucous party tunes and triumphant rap anthems for your next BBQ or block party. Commented that it is packed with potential hits, vibe also praised the production on the tape, calling it extensive and impressive. On March 14,2014, it was revealed by Migos mixtape Y. R. N,2, that this project has turned out to be a full-fledged album. The trio are looking to put it up for amount of 20 songs on their effort, in June 2014, it was then revealed, that Migos has signed a deal to 300 Entertainment, which is distributed by Atlantic Records
7.
Southside (record producer)
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Joshua Howard Luellen, professionally known as Southside, or by his stage name Young Sizzle, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper. Southside gained recognition in the hip hop industry for producing songs for prominent artists across the American hip hop sphere. In 2010, Southside and fellow 1017 label-mate Lex Luger, established their production and songwriting team 808 Mafia. The basis for his name came from the place from where Luellen grew up, Southside. Southside grew up in the Southside region of Atlanta, Georgia, growing up, he was an accomplished baseball player and excelled in numerous baseball positions but eventually gave up the sport after suffering a concussion when he was hit in the head with a ball. He started making beats when he was 14 years old, when he got his first computer with his uncle and it was around his mid teenage years that Southside decided to start take music production as a serious career path. He was later discovered by then unknown rapper Waka Flocka Flame when he was 17 and through Wakas network, Gucci Mane eventually signed him to his label 1017 Brick Squad Records. At Bricksquad Records, Luellen met Lex Luger, who was producer for Waka Flocka. Southside’s first major release was the song Fuck the Club Up, in 2011, Southside co-produced the track Illest Motherfucker Alive, from Kanye West & Jay-Z’s critically acclaimed album Watch the Throne. This helped to boost his career and bring him into the hip hop scene. He has since worked with such as Rick Ross, B. o. B, Wale, Meek Mill, Lil Scrappy. Southside was the producer of Gucci Mane & Waka Flocka’s collaboration album Ferrari Boyz and on Flocka’s sophomore album Triple F Life, Friends. In January 2013, Southside produced Millions - the lead single from Pusha Ts mixtape Wrath of Caine, the music video for the song was released on February 10. The song sparked controversy when producer Rico Beats was asked to modify Southsides instrumental for the version of the song. Southside wasnt notified of the changes, which led to the two producers exchanging threats over Twitter, in Wrath of Caines official track list, Kanye West is credited as co-producer, instead of Rico Beats. Also in 2013, Southside & TM88 produced the song Tapout by Birdman for his album Rich Gang, the song peaked at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and have been certified Gold By The RIAA. Throughout the early 2010s, Southsides productions have featured on numerous mixtapes. Along with 808 Mafia’s TM88, the single “Danny Glover” became a breakout in early 2014 for Gucci Manes protégé Young Thug was produced by Southside, the well received project has seen more than a million combined streams and downloads via the online mixtape site DatPiff
8.
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
9.
Future (rapper)
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Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn, known professionally as Future, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Wilburn first became involved in music as part of the Dungeon Family collective, where he was nicknamed the Future. After amassing a series of mixtapes between 2010 and 2011, Future signed a record label deal with Epic Records and A1 Recordings. He subsequently released his album, Pluto, in April 2012 to positive reviews. Futures second album, Honest, was released in April 2014, between late 2014 and early 2015, he released a trio of mixtapes, Monster, Beast Mode, and 56 Nights. His next releases, DS2, What a Time to Be Alive, EVOL, FUTURE, the latter two made him the first artist to debut to two albums consecutively at the top of that chart. Future has also released several singles certified gold or higher by the RIAA, including Turn On the Lights, Move That Dope, Fuck Up Some Commas, Where Ya At, Jumpman, nayvadius DeMun Wilburn was born on November 20,1983 in Atlanta, Georgia. He began using his name while performing as one of the members of the musical collective The Dungeon Family. His first cousin, record producer and Dungeon Family member Rico Wade, encouraged him to sharpen his writing skills, Future voices his praise of Wades musical influence and instruction, calling him the mastermind behind his sound. He soon came under the wing of Atlantas own Rocko who signed him to his label A-1 Recordings, since then his work ethic has driven him to his success. From 2010 to early 2011, Future released a series of mixtapes including 1000, Dirty Sprite, the latter included the single Tony Montana, in reference to the Scarface film. During that time, Future was also partnering with a fellow rapper Gucci Mane on their collaborative album Free Bricks, and co-wrote YCs single Racks. Future signed a label recording contract with Epic Records fellow American rapper Rockos A1 Recordings, in September 2011, days before the release of his next mixtape. The mixtape was described by XXL magazine as ranging from simple and it would almost feel antiquated if Future werent amassing hits, or if he werent bringing some subtle new dimensions to the micro-genre. Though Future had told MTV that Streetz Calling would be his final mixtape prior to the release of his studio album, another mixtape. In December 2011, Future was featured on the cover of Issue #77 of The FADER, before his album being released in April 2012. Future was selected to the annual XXL Freshmen list in early 2012 and his debut album Pluto, originally planned for January, was eventually released on April 17. It included remixes of Tony Montana featuring Drake and Magic featuring T. I, according to Future, Magic was the first record T. I. jumped on when he came outta jail
10.
Travis Scott
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Jacques Webster, Jr. better known by his stage name Travis Scott, is an American hip hop recording artist and record producer from Houston, Texas. In 2012, Scott signed a deal with Epic Records. In November of the year, Scott signed a deal with Very GOOD Beats. In April 2013, it was announced he signed with T. I. s Grand Hustle imprint and he released his first full-length project, a mixtape titled Owl Pharaoh, in May 2013. He then released his second mixtape Days Before Rodeo in August 2014 and his debut album Rodeo, was released on September 4,2015. His sophomore album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, was released on September 2,2016, jacques Webster, Jr. was born on April 30,1992 in Houston, Texas. He grew up in Missouri City, a suburban area bordering southwest Houston. Scott stayed with his grandmother in the hood from ages one to six, but later moved to the suburbs, Scott attended the University of Texas at San Antonio before dropping out to fully pursue his music career. At the age of 16, Scott began his career as a record producer. He subsequently entered his first partnership with his friend, Chris Holloway. In 2008, the duo released their untitled first EP on Myspace, the following year, both Scott and Holloway formed with OG Chess, and formed a group, entitled The Classmates. The Classmates released two projects with Buddy Rich in 2009 and Cruisn USA in 2010, Scott mainly handled production work on both projects. Later in the year, personal conflicts and financial disputes lead to the disbanding of the group, after Scott left college, Scott moved from Houston, Texas to Washington, New York, where Scott began work with friend Mike Waxx, who owned the music website Illroots. Eventually frustrated in New York, Scott moved to Los Angeles, rapper T. I. subsequently listened to one of Scotts produced songs, entitled Lights. While in Los Angeles, T. I. s rep contacted Scott, during the meeting, T. I. freestyled over Animal, one of Scotts instrumental productions. His first project, titled Owl Pharaoh was set to be released as a download for 2012. However, the project was delayed, and was announced to be slated for the 2012 release, Scott released his track, called Blocka La Flame, a remix of fellow GOOD Music signee Pusha Ts single Blocka. The song was produced by Young Chop, with the production by Scott himself
11.
Rick Ross
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William Leonard Roberts II, known professionally by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. In 2009, Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap, Teflon Don, God Forgives, I Dont, Mastermind, Hood Billionaire, Ross was also the first artist signed to Diddys management company Ciroc Entertainment. In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC in the Game, william Leonard Roberts II was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and raised in Carol City, Florida. After graduating from Miami Carol City Senior High School, he attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship, Roberts worked as a correctional officer for 18 months from December 1995, until his resignation in June 1997. In his early years at Suave House Records, Roberts initially made his debut under the pseudonym Teflon Da Don and he made his recording debut on the song Aint Shhh to Discuss on Erick Sermons lone album for DreamWorks, Def Squad Presents Erick Onasis. In the mid-2000s, he changed his name to Rick Ross and he derived his stage name from the former drug kingpin Freeway Rick Ross, to whom he has no connection. After being signed to Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG, he signed a deal with Slip-n-Slide Records. While signed to Slip-n-Slide, Roberts toured with fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-n-Slide albums. His debut album Port of Miami was released in August 2006 and debuted at the top spot on the U. S. Billboard 200 album chart, Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine predicted that it would be the summers biggest rap record. The second single was Push It, which samples Scarface, the song from the gangster film Scarface. The music video for Push It was modeled after the film, during that time, Ross made guest performances on two singles from DJ Khaleds debut Listennn. The Album, Born-N-Raised and Holla at Me, Port of Miami received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America on November 8,2006. In March 2008, his second album Trilla was released and, as its predecessor Port of Miami had, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200. Its lead single Speedin featuring R. Kelly peaked at number 21 on the U. S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, the third single Here I Am featured Nelly and Avery Storm. MTV News ranked Ross on the spot in its 2008 Hottest MCs in the Game list among ten rappers. The fourth single This Is The Life featured Trey Songz and was released in July, I look at all the strategies people use and what made them successful. What made Birdman just as relevant today after selling 50 million records, to see the class of Jay-Z, his accomplishments and see how he sits backs and accurately makes his moves. A track from the album called Valley of Death was what stood out to MTV reporters, in the song, Ross speaks briefly on his controversial stint as a prison guard
12.
Migos
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Migos is an American hip hop group formed in 2009, from Lawrenceville, Georgia. The group is composed of three rappers, known by their stage names Quavo, Takeoff and Offset, Migos released their commercial debut single Versace, in 2013, taken from their mixtape Y. R. N. They went on to several successful singles, such as Fight Night, Look at My Dab. The group released its debut album Yung Rich Nation, in 2015 and its second album, Culture, was released in January 2017. Migos are managed by Coach K, the manager of prominent Atlanta-based rappers Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy. Migos was formed in 2009, by Quavo, Takeoff and Offset, originally from Lawrenceville, the three members are directly related and were raised together, Quavo is Takeoffs uncle, and Offset is Quavos cousin. The group released their first full-length project, a mixtape titled Juug Season, on August 25,2011 and they followed with the mixtape No Label, on June 1,2012. In 2013, Migos released their breakout single Versace, the single was produced by Zaytoven and peaked at number 99 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Later that year, Canadian rapper Drake brought the more recognition when he remixed the song, adding a verse. On June 13, Migos released their mixtape Y. R. N. which features the lead single Versace, to critical acclaim. Brandon Soderberg of Spin gave it 8 out of 10 stars, commenting that it is a super-cut of Dirty South vibes, on June 15,2013, the group performed at rap radio station Hot 107. 9s Birthday Bash. In October 2013, the group was featured in XXLs section Show & Prove, Y. R. N. was named the 27th best album of 2013 and sixth best hip-hop album of 2013 by SPIN. On February 25,2014, Migos released the sequel to their second mixtape, the tape was downloaded over 100,000 times in the first week of its release and was certified gold on popular mixtape sharing site DatPiff. No Label 2 was met generally positive reviews from music critics. Consequence of Sound described it as the mix of raucous party tunes and triumphant rap anthems for your next BBQ or block party. Commented that it is packed with potential hits, vibe also praised the production on the tape, calling it extensive and impressive. On March 14,2014, it was revealed by Migos mixtape Y. R. N,2, that this project has turned out to be a full-fledged album. The trio are looking to put it up for amount of 20 songs on their effort, in June 2014, it was then revealed, that Migos has signed a deal to 300 Entertainment, which is distributed by Atlantic Records
13.
Chance the Rapper
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In 2013, he began to gain recognition following the release of his second mixtape, Acid Rap. Apart from his career, he is also a member of the Chicago collective Save Money. They released the widely lauded album Surf in May 2015, in May 2016, Bennett released his third mixtape Coloring Book to further critical acclaim. It earned him three Grammy awards, including for Best Rap Album, Coloring Book was the first streaming-only album to ever receive and win a Grammy nomination. Chance the Rapper grew up in the neighborhood of West Chatham on Chicagos South Side. His younger brother, Taylor Bennett, is also a Chicago rapper and his father, Ken Williams-Bennett, was an aide to former Chicago mayor Harold Washington and worked for then-Senator Barack Obama. Williams-Bennett, who is now a deputy chief of staff to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, in his freshman year at Jones College Prep High School, Chance formed the hip-hop duo Instrumentality with a friend. Many of Chances earliest performances took place at the YOUmedia Lyricist Loft at Harold Washington Library in Chicago, at Jones College Prep High School, some of his teachers ridiculed his aspirations to become a musician. Following a 10-day suspension in early 2011 during his year for possessing marijuana on campus, Bennett recorded his first full-length project. In December 2011, he released a song titled Windows, in February 2012, Bennett was highlighted as one of Complex magazines 10 New Chicago Rappers to Watch Out For. Bennett says he spent about eight months recording, writing and making connections off of the hunger to put out something, Bennett released the mixtape on April 3,2012 and it has since been downloaded over 300,000 times via Datpiff. The mixtape was well received locally and helped Bennett make connections with such as Chuck Inglish, Kenny Jame$. The mixtape grabbed the attention of Forbes magazine, which featured it in the publications Cheap Tunes column, in July 2012, Bennett appeared on American rapper Childish Gambinos sixth mixtape, Royalty, on the track, called They Dont Like Me. Gambino asked Bennett to join on his first concert tour of North America as his opening act, on April 30,2013, Chance released his second mixtape, Acid Rap, on DatPiff. Since the release of his mixtape, the record has been downloaded one million times. Chance enlisted the guest vocalists from Twista, Vic Mensa, Saba, BJ the Chicago Kid, Action Bronson, Childish Gambino, Acid Rap was strongly praised by music critics and fans alike. At Metacritic, the received an average score of 86, based on 21 critics. It was also nominated for Best Mixtape at the 2013s BET Hip Hop Awards, on May 6,2013, after being featured as the hidden track on Acid Rap, which is a song, titled Paranoia
14.
Nicki Minaj
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Onika Tanya Maraj, known professionally as Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-born American rapper, singer, songwriter and model. Born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and raised in South Jamaica, Queens, New York and she has been signed to Young Money Entertainment since 2009. In 2010, Minaj became the first female solo artist to have seven singles simultaneously charting on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100. Her third studio album, The Pinkprint, was preceded by its single, Anaconda. Minaj made her debut in the 2012 animated film Ice Age, Continental Drift, followed by supporting roles in The Other Woman and Barbershop. In 2013, she was a judge on the season of American Idol. Minaj was the first female artist included on MTVs Annual Hottest MC List, in 2016, Minaj was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. Her rapping is distinctive for its fast flow and the use of alter egos and accents, early in her career, Minaj was known for her colorful costumes and wigs. According to Billboard, Minaj has the most Hot 100 entries for a female artist in the charts history and she has further endorsed Adidas, MAC Cosmetics and Pepsi. She has sold 20 million singles as a lead artist, and 60 million singles as a featured artist worldwide, Onika Tanya Maraj was born on December 8,1982, in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago. Her father, Robert Maraj, a executive and part-time gospel singer, is of Indo-Trinidadian and Afro-Trinidadian descent. Her mother, Carol Maraj, also a singer, is of Afro-Trinidadian ancestry. Carol worked in payroll and accounting departments during Minajs youth, Minajs father was addicted to alcohol and other drugs, and had a violent temper, burning down their house in December 1987. As a small child, Minaj and a sibling lived with her grandmother in Saint James and her mother, who had moved to The Bronx, New York to attend Monroe College, brought the family to Queens, New York, when Minaj was 5. By then the family had a house on West 147th Street, Minaj recalled, I don’t think I had a lot of discipline in my household. My mom motivated me, but it wasn’t a strict household, I kind of wanted a strict household. Minaj successfully auditioned for admission to LaGuardia High School in Manhattan, after graduation, Minaj wanted to become an actress, and she was cast in the Off-Broadway play In Case You Forget in 2001. At the age of 19, as she struggled with her career, she worked as a waitress at Red Lobster in the Bronx
15.
Alicia Keys
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Alicia Augello Cook, known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, pianist and actress. Keys released her album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia. Keys debut album, Songs in A Minor was released in 2001, producing her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single Fallin, the album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002. Her sophomore album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003, spawning successful singles You Dont Know My Name, If I Aint Got You and Diary, the duet song My Boo with Usher scored her a second number-one single in 2004. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005, later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, becoming the first woman to have an MTV Unplugged album debut at number one. As I Am was released in 2007, producing the Hot 100 number-one single No One, selling 5 million copies worldwide, the Element of Freedom was released in 2009, becoming her first chart-topping album in the UK, and selling 4 million copies worldwide. Keys additionally collaborated with Jay Z on Empire State of Mind as her fourth number-one single, Girl on Fire was released in 2012 as her fifth Billboard 200 topping album, spawning the successful title track. Her second live album, VH1 Storytellers was released in 2013, Here was released in 2016, becoming her seventh R&B/Hip-Hop chart topping album. Keys made her first television appearance on The Cosby Show in 1985 as a four year old child and she made her film debut in Smokin Aces and later in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Keys then had a NAACP Image Award nominated appearance in The Secret Life of Bees in 2008, Keys also made an appearance on season 2 of Empire in 2015. She is currently a coach on The Voice as of 2016, Keys has won numerous awards such as 15 Grammy Awards and 17 NAACP Image Awards. She has sold over 35 million albums and 30 million singles worldwide, considered a pop icon, Billboard magazine named her the top R&B artist of the 2000s decade and placed her number 10 on their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years. Time named her in their 100 list of most influential people in 2005, Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25,1981, in the Hells Kitchen area of Manhattan, New York City. She is the child of Teresa, a paralegal and part-time actress, and Craig Cook. Keys father is African American and her mother is of Italian, Scottish, Keys has expressed that she was comfortable with her multiracial heritage because she felt she was able to relate to different cultures. Her parents separated when she was two and she was raised by her mother during her formative years in Hells Kitchen. Keys has 2 younger half brothers, Clay Cook and Cole Cook, in 1985, Keys made an appearance on The Cosby Show at the age of four, where she and a group of girls played the parts of Rudy Huxtables sleepover guests in the episode Slumber Party. Throughout her childhood, Keys was sent to music and dance classes by her mother and she graduated in four years as valedictorian at the age of 16
16.
Jay-Z
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Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and investor. He is one of the musicians of all time, having sold more than 100 million records. MTV ranked him the Greatest MC of all time in 2006, Rolling Stone ranked three of his albums—Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album —among the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2014, Forbes estimated his net worth at nearly $520 million, Jay Z co-owns the New York 40/40 Club sports bar, and is the co-creator of the clothing line Rocawear. He is the president of Def Jam Recordings, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records. He also founded the sports agency Roc Nation Sports and is a certified NBA, as an artist, he holds the record for most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200 with 13. He has also had four number ones on the Billboard Hot 100, in 2009, he was ranked the tenth-most successful artist of the 2000s by Billboard as well as the fifth top solo male artist and fourth top rapper behind Eminem, Nelly, and 50 Cent. He was also ranked the 88th-greatest artist of all time by Rolling Stone, Jay Z married Singer-Songwriter Beyoncé in 2008. Shawn Carter was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Marcy Houses and he and his three siblings were raised by their mother, Gloria Carter after their father, Adness Reeves abandoned the family. Reeves would later meet and reconcile with Jay Z before dying from liver failure in 2003, Jay Z claims in his lyrics that in 1982, at the age of 12, he shot his older brother in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry. Along with future rapper AZ, Carter attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn until it was closed down, according to his interviews and lyrics, during this period he sold crack cocaine and was shot at three times. According to his mother, Carter used to wake up his siblings at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table and she bought him a boom box for his birthday, sparking his interest in music. He began freestyling and writing lyrics, known as Jazzy around the neighborhood, Carter later adopted the showbiz/stage name Jay-Z in homage to his mentor Jaz-O. He would drop the hyphen in 2013, Jay Z can be briefly heard on several of Jaz-Os early recordings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including The Originators and Hawaiian Sophie. Jay Z became embroiled in several battles with rapper LL Cool J in the early 1990s and he first became known to a wide audience on the posse cut Show and Prove on the 1994 Big Daddy Kane album Daddys Home. When I would leave the stage to go change outfits, I would bring out Jay Z and Positive K and let them freestyle until I came back to the stage. The young Jay Z appeared on a song by Big L, Da Graveyard, and on Mic Geronimos Time to Build. His first official rap single was called In My Lifetime, for which he released a music video, an unreleased music video was also produced for the B-side I Cant Get with That
17.
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 most successful single at the time, 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 to commercial success 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
18.
Lil Wayne
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Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American hip hop recording artist and author from New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1991, at the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, in 1996, Lil Wayne joined the southern hip hop group Hot Boys, with his Cash Money label-mates Juvenile, Young Turk and Lil Doogie. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live. that same year, Most of the groups success came with their platinum-selling album Guerrilla Warfare and the 1999 single Bling Bling. Along with being the flagship artist of Cash Money Records, Lil Wayne is also the Chief Executive Officer of his own imprint, Young Money Entertainment. Lil Waynes solo debut album Tha Block Is Hot, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and his subsequent albums, Lights Out and 500 Degreez, went on to be certified gold. Wayne reached higher popularity with his fourth album Tha Carter, which was led by the single Go D. J. and his appearance on Destinys Childs Top 10 single Soldier, that same year. The album was followed by Tha Carter II, as well as several mixtapes, Wayne gained more prominence with his sixth album Tha Carter III, which became his most successful album to date, with first-week sales of over one million copies in the United States. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and includes the hit singles Lollipop, A Milli, following the success of Tha Carter III, Wayne decided to record a rock-esque album titled Rebirth. The album, released in 2010, was certified gold by the RIAA, in March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8-month jail sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007. Waynes eighth album I Am Not a Human Being, was released during his incarceration and his 2011 album and first following his release, Tha Carter IV, sold 964,000 copies in its first week of availability in the United States. It includes the singles 6 Foot 7 Foot, How to Love, on September 27,2012, Lil Wayne passed Elvis Presley as the male with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 109 songs. The record has since passed by other artists. Lil Waynes thirteenth studio album, Tha Carter V has been delayed multiple times and has no scheduled release date, Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born on September 27,1982, and grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. His mother, a cook, gave birth to him when she was 19 years old and his parents divorced when he was 2, and his father permanently abandoned the family. Although Wayne and Birdman have a relationship and Birdman calls Carter his son, Waynes biological father. Lil Wayne has also spoken about his stepfather, Rabbit. Carter has a dedicated to Rabbit, who was murdered before Carter became a star. Carter enrolled in the program of Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club of Eleanor McMain Secondary School
19.
2 Chainz
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Tauheed Epps, known professionally as 2 Chainz, is a Grammy award-winning American rapper from College Park, Georgia. He initially gained recognition for being one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, alongside his friend and fellow rapper. They are perhaps best known for being signed to fellow Georgia-based rapper Ludacris Disturbing tha Peace label, in February 2012, Epps signed a solo record deal with Def Jam Records, an imprint of Universal Music Group. The following August, he released his studio album Based on a T. R. U. II, Me Time was released on September 11,2013 and it was supported by the singles Feds Watching and Used 2. 2 Chainz was born Tauheed Epps in College Park, Georgia and he attended North Clayton High School, where he played basketball and graduated second in his class. While in high school, he dealt marijuana and was arrested for cocaine possession when he was 15 years old. He later attended Alabama State University on a scholarship, and played on its team for the 1996–97 season. Theres a lot of stuff on there, to the point that every time I try to fix one thing, something else comes out. In fact, he attended Alabama State for his freshman year only, I got into some trouble, went somewhere else, and came back. But I graduated, and that’s that, Epps formed the hip hop duo Playaz Circle in College Park, Georgia in 1997, with his high school friend Earl Conyers, while Epps adopted Tity Boi as his moniker. After taking interest in Playaz Circle, Ludacris began to record songs with the group. Ludacris soon became one of the rappers in the Southern United States. After hearing of their situation, Ludacris requested of Epps that the duo join his newly formed record label Disturbing Tha Peace, Epps agreed to sign, although Conyers did not officially join the label until his mother regained her health, a year after the initial signing. Their debut album Supply & Demand, was released on October 30,2007, the lead single and their debut single, Duffle Bag Boy, became an urban hit single. The song features Lil Wayne, and was performed by the duo at the BET Hip Hop Awards, the duo released their second studio album Flight 360, The Takeoff, on September 29,2009. In January 2010, Playaz Circle filmed a video for their single Big Dawg featuring Lil Wayne. Shortly afterwards, Epps left Disturbing tha Peace, a move he claimed was taken in order to advance his career, although Ludacris was initially reluctant to allow Epps to leave the label, he eventually accepted the decision
20.
Drake (musician)
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Aubrey Drake Graham is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Drake initially gained recognition as an actor on the teen television series Degrassi. Intent on pursuing a career as a rapper, he departed the series in 2007 following the release of his debut mixtape and he released two further independent projects, Comeback Season and So Far Gone, before signing to Lil Waynes Young Money Entertainment in June 2009. Drake released his studio album Thank Me Later in 2010. They were followed by two mixtapes, with the trap-influenced If Youre Reading This Its Too Late, and a collaboration with Future for What a Time to Be Alive, in 2015. The former was certified platinum in the U. S. Drake released his fourth album, Views, in 2016. The dancehall-influenced Views sat atop the Billboard 200 for ten nonconsecutive weeks and its single One Dance topped the chart in several countries, including the U. S. the UK and Canada, where it became his first number-one single as the lead artist. This saw Drake leading the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 simultaneously for eight weeks and it achieved quadruple platinum status in the U. S. and earned over 1 million album-equivalent units in the first week of its release. The single Hotline Bling secured him his second and third Grammy win, for Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song, Drake released the critically acclaimed multi-genre More Life in 2017. More Life, described by Drake as a playlist, was his seventh number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Drake owns several Billboard chart records and he has the most charted songs among solo artists in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, the most simultaneously charted Hot 100 songs in a single week and the most Hot 100 debuts in a week. Drake also has the most number one singles on the Hot Rap Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, alongside his Grammy Award wins, Drake has won three Juno Awards and six BET Awards. Drake has developed other ventures, including his OVO Sound record label with longtime collaborator Noah 40 Shebib, Drake acts as a producer, producing under the pseudonym of Champagne Papi. Using the OVO moniker, Drake has his own clothing line and he is also currently acting as the global ambassador for NBA franchise, the Toronto Raptors. Aubrey Drake Graham was born on October 24,1986, in Toronto and his father, Dennis Graham, is an African American and a practicing Catholic from Memphis, Tennessee, and worked as a drummer, performing alongside country musician Jerry Lee Lewis. Bass guitarist Larry Graham and the late songwriter Teenie Hodges are his paternal uncles, Drakes mother, Sandi Graham, is a white Jewish Canadian who worked as an English teacher and florist. Drake attended a Jewish day school, and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony, Drakes parents divorced when he was five years old. After the divorce, he and his mother remained in Toronto, as a child, he witnessed his fathers arrest while visiting him in Memphis
21.
Rihanna
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Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, she first entered the industry by recording demo tapes under the direction of record producer Evan Rogers in 2003. She ultimately signed a contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning for its then-president. She assumed creative control for her studio album Good Girl Gone Bad. Its successful lead single Umbrella became a breakthrough in her career. After releasing four consecutive platinum albums, including the Grammy Award winner Unapologetic. Her eighth studio album Anti and its lead single Work reached number-one on the Billboard 200, with sales exceeding 230 million records worldwide, Rihanna is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Widely recognized for reinventing her style, she received the Fashion Icon lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2014. Forbes ranked Rihanna the fourth most powerful celebrity of 2012, and was named one of Times 100 Most Influential People in the World later that year, Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born on February 20,1988, in Saint Michael, Barbados. Her mother, Monica, is an accountant of African American background. Rihanna has two brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty, and two half-sisters and a half-brother from her fathers side, each born to different mothers from his previous relationships. She grew up in a bungalow in Bridgetown and sold clothes with her father in a stall on the street. Rihannas childhood was affected by her fathers addiction to crack cocaine. As a child, she went through a lot of CT scans for the excruciating headaches she suffered, even thought it was a tumor, by the time she was fourteen, Rihanna’s parents had divorced and her health began to improve. Rihanna grew up listening to music and began singing at around the age of seven. She attended Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School and Combermere High School, Rihanna was an army cadet in a sub-military programme, the singer-songwriter Shontelle was her drill sergeant. Although she initially wanted to graduate high school, she chose to pursue a musical career instead. In 2003, Rihanna formed a trio with two of her classmates
22.
Sizzla
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Sizzla Kalonji, or simply Sizzla is a reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is noted for his number of releases. As of 2014 he has released over 70 solo albums, Sizzla was born in Kingston, Jamaica, to devout Rastafari movement parents. Like them Sizzla subscribes to the Bobo Ashanti branch of the Rastafari movement and he was raised in August Town, Kingston, Jamaica where he studied mechanical engineering at Dunoon High School. Kalonji witnessed an explosion, and with the music came the lifestyle, drugs, guns. Formally adopting the Rastafari faith, with its advocacy of repatriation to Africa and its use of cannabis, Sizzla began to develop his own style whilst serving his musical apprenticeship with the Caveman Hi-Fi sound system. Extensive touring with roots and culture artist Luciano followed, earning Sizzla notability. 1995 marked an important turning point for Sizzla when he began working with Fattis and this union led to a run of successful singles and the release of Sizzlas debut album, Burning Up. The two allied again a year later with the follow-up, Praise Ye Jah, Praise Ye Jah was quickly trumped by his release of the Dixon-produced Black Woman & Child that same year. The title track was a hit and became something of a cultural reggae anthem. Sizzla scored several hits during 1997, including Like Mountain, Babylon Cowboy, Kings of the Earth. This hot streak kicked off an enormously productive recording binge that lasted over the several years. Along with universal praise came Sizzlas first nomination for Best International Reggae Artist of the Year at the 1998 MOBO Awards, Sizzla has since released several dozen albums, including 1998s Kalonji and Royal Son of Ethiopia from 1999. 1999 also saw him receive his second MOBO nomination, Sizzla remains a constant presence in the reggae charts worldwide. Currently, Sizzla has 21 albums that have made it onto the Billboards Top Reggae Albums music chart, Sizzla Kalonji has released over 45 solo albums and over fifteen combination albums, crossing different genres of Reggae. He has started his own company, Kalonji Records, which in a joint venture with Damon Dash Music Group and Koch Records, released the album, The Overstanding. This was his album released through Kalonji Records, as well as Black History. In 2007 Sizzla, along with artists, he was accused of signing the Reggae Compassionate Act
23.
Mavado (singer)
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David Constantine Brooks, better known by his stage name Mavado, is a Jamaican deejay, singer and songwriter, signed to We the Best Music Group and Cash Money Records. David Constantine Brooks was raised in Kingston, Jamaicas Cassava Piece community and his grandmother gave him his first musical experience at a young age, bringing him to church to sing. He cites the music of Bounty Killer as an early influence and he decided to name himself Mavado after the Swiss watch company Movado, with his manager altering the spelling. His debut single, Real McKoy on the Anger Management riddim in 2004 and he further established himself with the follow-up record Weh Dem a Do, on the Red Bull & Guinness riddim, that had the distinction of hitting Billboard. After a string of hits in 2005 and 2006, Mavado released the album Gangsta for Life, Weh Dem A Do and Dying, two singles from the album, were featured heavily on R&B/hip-hop radio in the US and around the world. That same year brought Mavado off-stage controversy, as he was detained by Jamaican police. While in police custody, the claims he was thrown through a glass window. Police claimed Mavado escaped from custody, even though they let him out of the police station. He was later arrested and charged with shooting with intent and illegal possession of firearm in relation to an event occurring 27 July 2007 and he was later freed of all charges. In March 2008, Mavado was featured performing a rendition of his song Real McKoy for Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer #4 Everyones a Rat, Real McKoy, along with Last Night, were also featured in the game on the radio station Massive B Radio. Mavado was also featured on the G-Unit track Let It Go along with Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks for the album, T. O. S and he was the only non G-Unit feature on the album. In 2008 Mavado was given the prestigious UK MOBO Award for Best Reggae Act, Mavado formed his own label, Mansion Records, in 2011, which debuted with the single Delilah that was given mainstream US radio rotation. Along with Bounty Killer, he has cited 2Pac as a childhood idol, in 2011, Mavado recorded with U. K. grime artist Chipmunk on the track Every Gyal. On 1 September 2011, Mavado appeared on the Angie Martinez show on New Yorks Hot 97 radio station to announce that he had signed a deal with DJ Khaleds record label We the Best Music Group. Mavado released three singles Emergency featuring Ace Hood, Soulja girl and Survivor featuring Akon on We the Best Music Group. In May 2012 he was convicted of assault occasioning bodily harm and malicious destruction of property after a driving incident. An appeal against the sentence was unsuccessful, the album is nominated for the 2017 Grammy Awards on the best rap album category. Mavado married his current wife Monique McKenzie in a wedding in 2012 in USA
24.
Nas
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Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones, better known by his stage name Nas /ˈnɑːz/, is an American rapper, record producer, actor and entrepreneur. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas has released eight consecutive platinum and multi-platinum albums and has sold over 25 million records worldwide. He is also an entrepreneur through his own label, he serves as associate publisher of Mass Appeal magazine and is the owner of a Fila sneaker store. He is currently signed to Mass Appeal Records and his musical career began in 1991 as featured artist on Main Sources Live at the Barbeque. His debut album Illmatic received universal acclaim from critics and the hip hop community and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. Nas follow-up It Was Written debuted at one on the Billboard 200, stayed on top for four consecutive weeks. From 2001 to 2005, Nas was involved in a publicized feud with rapper Jay Z. Nas signed to Def Jam in 2006. In 2010, he released Distant Relatives, an album with reggae artist Damian Marley. His eleventh studio album, Life Is Good was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, Nas is often named as one of the greatest hip hop artists. MTV ranked him at number 5 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time, in 2012, The Source ranked him number two on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time. In 2013, Nas was ranked fourth on MTVs Hottest MCs in the Game list. About. com ranked him first on their list of the 50 Greatest MCs of All Time in 2014, nasir bin Olu Dara Jones was born September 14,1973, in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Olu Dara, is a jazz and blues musician and his mother, Fannie Ann Jones, was a Postal Service worker from North Carolina. He has one sibling, a brother named Jabari Fret who is best known as Jungle and his father took his name Olu Dara from the Yoruba people. His African DNA indicates he has roots in countries with high Yoruba populations Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana – as well as Mali, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo, and Senegal. His matrilineal DNA haplogroup is of African origin, found among the Yoruba and he also found that his Y-DNA traces directly back to Scandinavia, through which he is a descendant of the Vikings. As a young child, Nas and his family relocated to the Queensbridge Houses in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens and his neighbor, Willy Ill Will Graham, influenced Nass interest in hip hop by playing him records. His parents divorced in 1985, and he dropped out of school after the eighth grade and he educated himself about African culture through the Five Percent Nation and the Nuwaubian Nation
25.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
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Jimmy Kimmel Live. is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26,2003, Jimmy Kimmel Live. is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios. Contrary to its name, Jimmy Kimmel Live, does not air live, instead, it is shot 4 p. m. Pacific Time on the day of broadcast. Until 2009, new episodes aired five nights a week, from 2009 to 2012, starting with the January 2013 move, the Friday episode had been retitled Jimmy Kimmel Live. This Week, which showed highlights from the week of shows. However, the show has reverted to airing a rebroadcast of a recent episode on Fridays. On April 14,2009 after the March sweeps break, the show began broadcasting in 720p high definition. The show began on January 26,2003, replacing Politically Incorrect, ABC had originally intended to give Jon Stewart his own late-night program following Nightline, but Kimmel was chosen instead. Jimmy Kimmel Live. is ABCs first attempt at a traditional late-night talk show since its attempt to revive The Dick Cavett Show in the 1980s, while Cavett was the longest-lasting and best remembered of these attempts, none seriously threatened the domination of the Tonight Show. As a result, in 2012, Nightline switched places on ABCs schedule with Jimmy Kimmel Live, despite its name, the show has not actually aired live since 2004, when censors were unable to properly bleep censor a barrage of swearing from actor Thomas Jane. The shows house band is Cleto and the Cletones, led by saxophonist Cleto Escobedo III, like other talk shows with live bands, Cleto and the Cletones play the shows opening and closing themes and play into and out of commercial breaks. The shows opening theme was written by Les Pierce, Jonathan Kimmel and Cleto Escobedo III, the show originally had guest co-hosts each week who would sit at the desk with Kimmel and participate in skits and questioning each nights guests. The show also featured guest announcers, until comedian Andy Milonakis took over as the announcer from late 2003 to 2004. He would also appear in comedy bits for the show, then in 2004, Mighty Mighty Bosstones singer Dicky Barrett took over as the shows announcer when the Bosstones went on hiatus. The band has become active again, and performed live on the show in 2009. Francis Uncle Frank Potenza, Kimmels real-life uncle, served as a security guard for the show and he was a New York City police officer and a personal security guard for Frank Sinatra. Potenza did not appear regularly from December 2009 through March 2010, however, he later returned as a semi-regular. Potenza died on August 23,2011, at the age of 77, Guillermo Rodriguez is the parking lot security guard for the show, and frequently serves as a celebrity gossip correspondent in a segment called Guillermos Hollywood Round-Up
26.
Miami
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Miami is a seaport city at the southeastern corner of the U. S. state of Florida and its Atlantic coast. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, Miamis metro area is the eighth-most populous, Miami is a major center, and a leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. In 2012, Miami was classified as an Alpha−World City in the World Cities Study Groups inventory, in 2010, Miami ranked seventh in the United States in terms of finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion, education, and other sectors. It ranked 33rd among global cities, in 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Miami Americas Cleanest City, for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets, and citywide recycling programs. According to a 2009 UBS study of 73 world cities, Miami was ranked as the richest city in the United States, Miami is nicknamed the Capital of Latin America and is the largest city with a Cuban-American plurality. Miami has the third tallest skyline in the U. S. with over 300 high-rises, Downtown Miami is home to the largest concentration of international banks in the United States, and many large national and international companies. The Civic Center is a center for hospitals, research institutes, medical centers. For more than two decades, the Port of Miami, known as the Cruise Capital of the World, has been the number one cruise port in the world. It accommodates some of the worlds largest cruise ships and operations, Metropolitan Miami is the major tourism hub in the American South, number two in the U. S. after New York City and number 13 in the world, including the popular destination of Miami Beach. The Miami area was inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous Native American tribes, the Tequestas occupied the area for a thousand years before encountering Europeans. An Indian village of hundreds of people dating to 500–600 B. C. was located at the mouth of the Miami River, in 1566 the explorer, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, claimed it for Spain. A Spanish mission was constructed one year later in 1567, Spain and Great Britain successively controlled Florida, and Spain ceded it to the United States in 1821. In 1836, the US built Fort Dallas as part of its development of the Florida Territory and attempt to suppress, the Miami area subsequently became a site of fighting during the Second Seminole War. Miami is noted as the major city in the United States conceived by a woman, Julia Tuttle, a local citrus grower. The Miami area was known as Biscayne Bay Country in the early years of its growth. In the late 19th century, reports described the area as a promising wilderness, the area was also characterized as one of the finest building sites in Florida. The Great Freeze of 1894–95 hastened Miamis growth, as the crops of the Miami area were the ones in Florida that survived. Julia Tuttle subsequently convinced Henry Flagler, a tycoon, to expand his Florida East Coast Railway to the region
27.
Billboard Hot 100
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The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales, radio play and online streaming, the weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday, when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but was changed to Friday to Thursday in July 2015. Radio airplay, which, unlike sales figures and streaming data, is available on a real-time basis. A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard on Tuesdays, as of the issue for the week ending on April 15,2017, the Hot 100 has had 1,061 different number one hits. The current number one song is Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, prior to 1955, Billboard did not have a unified, all-encompassing popularity chart, instead measuring songs by individual metrics. At the start of the era in 1955, three such charts existed, Best Sellers in Stores was the first Billboard chart, established in 1936. This chart ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country, Most Played by Jockeys was Billboards original airplay chart. It ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio disc jockeys, Most Played in Jukeboxes ranked the most played songs in jukeboxes across the United States. On the week ending November 12,1955, Billboard published The Top 100 for the first time, the Top 100 combined all aspects of a singles performance, based on a point system that typically gave sales more weight than radio airplay. The Best Sellers In Stores, Most Played by Jockeys and Most Played in Jukeboxes charts continued to be published concurrently with the new Top 100 chart. The week ending July 28,1958 was the publication of the Most Played By Jockeys and Top 100 charts. On August 4,1958, Billboard premiered one main all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100 quickly became the industry standard and Billboard discontinued the Best Sellers In Stores chart on October 13,1958. The Billboard Hot 100 is still the standard by which a songs popularity is measured in the United States, the Hot 100 is ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS, sales data compiled by Nielsen Soundscan and streaming activity provided by online music sources. There are several component charts that contribute to the calculation of the Hot 100. Charts are ranked by number of gross audience impressions, computed by cross-referencing exact times of radio airplay with Arbitron listener data. Hot Singles Sales, the top selling singles compiled from a sample of retail store, mass merchant and internet sales reports collected, compiled. The chart is released weekly and measures sales of commercial singles. With the decline in sales of singles in the US
