1.
Ice Cube
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OShea Jackson Sr. known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor and filmmaker. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C. I. A. after leaving N. W. A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music and films such as a role in drama Boyz n the Hood. Additionally, he has served as one of the producers of the Showtime television series Barbershop, both of which are based upon films in which he portrayed the main character. Ice Cube is considered one of the artists in gangsta rap. He was ranked number 8 on MTVs list of the 10 Greatest MCs of All Time, allMusic has called him one of hip-hops best and most controversial artists, as well as one of raps greatest storytellers. In 2012, The Source ranked him number 14 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time, in 2014, About. com ranked him number 11 on their list of the 50 Greatest MCs of All Time. OShea Jackson was born on June 15,1969, in South Central Los Angeles, the son of Doris, a clerk and custodian, and Hosea Jackson, who worked as a groundskeeper at UCLA. He has a brother as well as a half-sister who was killed when Ice Cube was 12. In his early teens, Ice Cube developed an interest in hip hop music, Jackson penned his first rap song in the ninth grade after a friend, whom Jackson names Kiddo, challenged him to write a song during a typewriting class. He claims Kiddo lost the challenge, at the age of 16, Jackson sold his first song to future N. W. A. member Eazy-E. Jackson also attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills and he enrolled at the Phoenix Institute of Technology in the fall of 1987 in Arizona. Being passionate about architecture, he studied architectural drafting and he completed his diploma within one year and returned to Los Angeles to pursue a rap career. Not sure of whether his rap career would work out, he would turn to become a draftsman as a career backup. With friend Sir Jinx, Ice Cube formed the C. I. A. Dre soon entered the recording industry as a member of the World Class Wreckin Cru. Dre saw Cubes potential as a writer and had him assist with writing Wreckin Crus big L. A. hit track, Stereo Crew produced a twelve-inch record, Shes a Skag released on Epic Records in 1986. While Dr. Dre was DJing at L. A. dance club Eve After Dark, Ice Cube would rap over his music, one such example of this was the song My Penis, a parody of Run-DMCs My Adidas. In a 2015 interview, club-owner Alonzo Williams said that he felt that this damaged his reputation. In 1987, Ice Cube released the Dr. Dre produced single My Posse under with his group C. I. A, after the collaboration, Ice Cube showed Eazy-E the lyrics to Boyz-n-the-Hood
2.
West Coast hip hop
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West Coast hip hop is a hip hop music subgenre that encompasses any artists or music that originates in the West Coast region of the United States. The culture is believed to have been a mutual creation which evolved from interaction between people who identified with elements from their respective coasts. A number of laid the foundations for West Coast hip hop, long before the emergence of West Coast rappers such as DJ Flash & The Rappers Rapp Group, Eazy-E, Ice T. According to geniusrap. com, a cataclysmic event helped give rise to it out West, in 1967, Bud Schulberg founded a creative space entitled Watts Writers Workshop, intended to help the people of the Watts neighborhood and provide a place for them to express themselves freely. Out of this background the Watts Prophets formed, its members having moved to the West Coast from southern states such as Texas and Louisiana. The West Coast hip-hop scene started in earnest in 1978 with the founding of Unique Entertainment, a group influenced by Prince, East Coast hip hop, Kraftwerk, Parliament-Funkadelic and others. In 1984, Uncle Jamms Army released their first single, Dial-a-Freak, and in the same year Egyptian Lover released his On the Nile album, which includes the popular 12 single Egypt Egypt. Another early landmark occurred in 1981, when Duffy Hooks launched the first West Coast rap label, Rappers Rapp Records and its first act was the duo of Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp, whose debut single was Gigolo Rapp or Gigolo Groove. Later, in 1983, Captain Rapp would create the classic West Coast song Bad Times, in the mid-1980s, Mixmaster Spade defined an early form of gangsta rap with his Compton Posse. From this group, Spade mentored future rap stars of the West Coast, including Toddy Tee, in the same period, the Compton-based former locking dancer Alonzo Williams formed World Class Wreckin Cru, which included future N. W. A members Dr. Dre and DJ Yella. Williams also founded Kru-Cut Records and established a studio in the back of his nightclub Eves After Dark. During this period, one of the greatest factors in the spread of West Coast hip-hop was the radio station 1580 KDAY, in 1988, N. W. As landmark album Straight Outta Compton was released. As well as establishing a basis for the popularity of gangsta rap, in particular, the controversial Fuck tha Police and the ensuing censorship attracted substantial media coverage and public attention. Following the dissolution of N. W. A. due to in-fighting, the early 1990s was a period in which hip hop went from strength to strength. Tupac Shakurs debut album 2Pacalypse Now was released in 1991, demonstrating an awareness, with attacks on social injustice, poverty. Shakurs music and philosophy was rooted in various philosophies and approaches, including the Black Panther Party, Black nationalism, egalitarianism, and liberty. Also in 1991, Suge Knight founded Death Row Records using money he had extorted from the pop-rapper Vanilla Ice - the West Coast saw the debut of arguably its most influential and popular rapper. Other Death Row releases such as Snoop Doggy Doggs Doggystyle and 2Pacs All Eyez on Me became huge sellers and were critically acclaimed
3.
Gangsta rap
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Gangsta rap or gangster rap is a subgenre of hip hop music with themes and lyrics that generally emphasize the gangsta lifestyle. After the national attention that Ice-T and N. W. A attracted in the late 1980s and early 1990s, gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip hop. Many gangsta rap artists openly boast of their associations with various street gangs as part of their artistic image, with the Bloods. Gangsta rap is closely related to other indigenous gang and crime-oriented forms of music, the subject matter inherent in gangsta rap has caused a great deal of controversy. The White House administrations of both George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton criticized the genre, many gangsta rappers argue that in the world of their genre exists the emotions and perspectives of a people whose suffering is too often overlooked and belittled by society. Gangsta rap, some argue, was an effect of the various wrongdoings perpetrated against African-Americans in underprivileged neighborhoods. The various riots sparked by the Rodney King beating and the acquittal of the officers responsible for the beating sparked anger. Gangsta rap acted as an outlet so such people could express themselves angrily and they often used gangsta rap to tell the stories of their lives, which sometimes included strong violence, hypersexuality, and drug abuse. The 1973 album Hustlers Convention by Lightnin Rod and Jaren Clark featured lyrics that deal with life, including pimping. Many rappers, such as Ice-T and Mac Dre, have credited pimp, rudy Ray Moores stand-up comedy and films based on his Dolemite hustler-pimp alter ego also influenced gangsta rap and are still a popular source for samples. Finally, blaxploitation films of the 1970s, with their depictions of black underworld figures, were a major inspiration as well. Tracy Ice-T Morrow, was born in Newark, New Jersey, as a teenager, he moved to Los Angeles where he rose to prominence in the West Coast hip hop scene. In 1986, Ice-T released 6 in the Mornin, which is regarded as among the first gangsta rap songs. In an interview with PROPS magazine, Ice-T said, Heres the exact order of what really went down. Then the syncopation of that rap was used by me when I made 6 in the Mornin, the vocal delivery was the same. P. S. K. is makin that green. six in the morning, police at my door. When I heard that record I was like Oh @#. *%, and call it a bite or what you will but I dug that record. My record didnt sound like P. S. K, but I liked the way he was flowing with it. P. S. K. was talking about Park Side Killers and that was the only difference, when Schoolly did it, it was. one by one, Im knockin em out
4.
Priority Records
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Priority Records is an American hip hop record label known for several acts including N. W. A and Paris. The Los Angeles-based company was formed in 1985 by three former K-tel executives, Bryan Turner, Mark Cerami and Steve Drath. Initial funding was provided by R-tek, a company headed by former K-tel board members, Ray and Harold Kives, Priority bought out the R-tek interest in 1987. To support early operations, Priority Records licensed repertoire from others and released compilation albums, Priority Records was able to achieve unrivaled success as an independent label by developing a precedent-setting street-based formula of underground marketing which bypassed mainstream radio. Their unique approach allowed Priority to sell millions of records without entering into the fiercely competitive major label battles over radio airplay, Prioritys strategic marketing team was developed by Vice President Alyssa Pisano, who led Prioritys Marketing and Creative Services Department between 1987 and 1996. In the early 1990s, the label struck up a deal with EMI. EMI bought a 50% stake in Priority in 1996, and the remainder in 1998, despite EMIs full ownership, Priority continued to be independently managed company until 2001, when its operations were merged into EMI’s major US subsidiary, Capitol Records. Priority was absorbed into Capitol Records in 2004 and ceased operations, in 2009, Snoop Dogg was appointed creative chairman of the label, Priority released his tenth studio album, Malice N Wonderland on December 8,2009. Style - I Know How To Play Em, Scarface - Mr. Scarface Is Back Scarface - Mr. U. M. S. - Lyfe N Tyme C-Funk - Three Dimensional Ear Pleasure Cold World Hustlers - Iceland Christopher Cross - Window Curtis Salgado - More Than You Can Chew Don McMinn - Painkiller Blues E. S. G, - Sailin Da South Eazy-E - Eternal E Grip Inc. Doctor - Setripn Bloccstyle Radio Kings - Live At B. B. B, steady Mobbn - Pre-Meditated Drama Stephen Simmonds - Simmonds Alone Tha Truth - Makin Moves. Everyday Tha Truth - Makin Moves,1 Ice Cube - War & Peace Vol. Various Artists - World Wrestling Federation Presents, Aggression Various Artists - Ultimate Bass Challenge Vol.2 Various Artists - J Prince Presents, R. N. D. S
5.
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
6.
War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc)
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War & Peace Volume 2 is the sixth studio album by American rapper Ice Cube, released March 21,2000 on Priority Records. It is the part from the two-album project War & Peace. War & Peace Vol.2 peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and at number 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, the album starts off with Hello which features former N. W. A bandmates Dr. Dre and MC Ren. The club song You Can Do It which then later, re-released in 2004 was a UK #2 for Cube. Even with the success of Ice Cubes film Next Friday, the promotion was poor and other new artists such as Eminem, Xzibit. This was Ice Cubes final album under Priority Records and it took six years for Ice Cube to release his next album, Laugh Now, Cry Later. Dre Waitin Ta Hate Public Enemy No. I. G. Mackin & Driving Pushin Weight by Ice Cube List of number-one R&B albums of 2000 War & Peace Vol.2 at Discogs War & Peace Vol.2 at MusicBrainz War & Peace Vol.2 at Tower Records
7.
Laugh Now, Cry Later
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Laugh Now, Cry Later is the seventh studio album by rapper Ice Cube, released on June 6,2006. It is Ice Cubes first album to be released on his independently owned record label Lench Mob Records and his first studio album in six years since his previous album, after spending the previous six years mainly doing movie projects, it could be considered a comeback album. The album debuted at four on the Billboard 200 selling 144,000 copies in the first week. Unlike Cubes previous album, Laugh Now Cry Later features only a handful of collaborations and these include songs with West Coast rappers Snoop Dogg, and WC, as well as Southern rapper Lil Jon. Laugh Now, Cry Later was preceded by the street single, the first official single was the Scott Storch produced Why We Thugs. The follow-up single, released in late June 2006, is the song Go to Church, featuring Snoop Dogg, the third single released from the album was the promo-only Steal the Show. In the song Growin Up he talks about and honours his deceased friend, never thought Id see Eazy in a casket, thanks for everything, thats on everything. I learnt a lot of game from you, I like your son, in an interview taken during its release, Ice Cube said, I want to make a record that was like a history book. Ice Cube re-released the album on October 31,2006 under the name Laugh Now, Cry Later, the DualDisc contains concert and backstage footage as well as a playable music video for each song. The artwork for this album contains a picture of Ice Cube holding a custom gold Colt Anaconda, a clean version of the album was also made. It replaces most of the profanities by repeating or using a sound effect, released independently on his Lench Mob Records the album has been certified Gold by the RIAA, which is generally unprecedented for an album released on an independent label. Laugh Now, Cry Later has sold 1,000,000 copies worldwide as of 2015, the album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 144,000 copies. In its second week the album ranked on number 7 selling 88,000 copies, in the fourth week it ranked on number 31 selling 28,000 more copies. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA in 2007. I. G. Growin Up - contains a sample of Memory Lane by Minnie Riperton Laugh Now, Cry Later - contains a sample of Master Plan by Alan Tew Stop Snitchin - contains a sample of Gangsta Gangsta by N. W
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.
AllMusic
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AllMusic is an online music guide service website. It was launched in 1991 by All Media Guide which later became All Media Network, AllMusic was launched in 1991 by Michael Erlewine of All Media Guide. The aim was to discographic information on every artist whos made a record since Enrico Caruso gave the industry its first big boost and its first reference book was published the following year. When first released onto the Internet, AMG predated the World Wide Web and was first available as a Gopher site, the AMG consumer web properties AllMusic. com, AllMovie. com and AllGame. com were sold by Rovi in July 2013 to All Media Network, LLC. All Media Network, LLC. was formed by the founders of SideReel. com. The following are contributors to AllMusic, as of this date, All Media Network also produced the AllMusic guide series that includes the AllMusic Guide to Rock, the All Music Guide to Jazz and the All Music Guide to the Blues. Vladimir Bogdanov is the president of the series, in August 2007, PC Magazine included AllMusic in its Top 100 Classic Websites list. All Media Network AllGame AllMovie SideReel All Music Guide to the Blues All Music Guide to Jazz Stephen Thomas Erlewine Official website
10.
Pitchfork (website)
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Pitchfork is an American online magazine launched in 1995 by Ryan Schreiber, based in Chicago, Illinois and owned by Condé Nast. The site generally concentrates on new music, but Pitchfork journalists have also reviewed reissues, in late 1995, Ryan Schreiber, a recent high school graduate, created the magazine in Minneapolis. Influenced by local fanzines and KUOM, Schreiber, who had no writing experience. At first being Turntable, the site was updated monthly with interviews and reviews, in May 1996, the site began publishing daily and was renamed Pitchfork, alluding to Tony Montanas tattoo in Scarface. In early 1999, Schreiber relocated Pitchfork to Chicago, Illinois, by then, the site had expanded to four full-length album reviews daily, as well as sporadic interviews, features, and columns. It had also begun garnering a following for its coverage of underground music and its writing style. In October, the added a daily music news section. Pitchfork has launched a variety of subsidiary websites, Pitchfork. tv, a website displaying videos related to many independent music acts, launched in April 2008. It features bands that are found on Pitchfork. In July 2010, Pitchfork announced Altered Zones, a blog devoted to underground. On 21 May 2011, Pitchfork announced a partnership with Kill Screen, Altered Zones was closed on November 30. On December 26,2012, Pitchfork launched Nothing Major, a website that covered visual arts such as fine art, Nothing Major closed in October 2013. On October 13,2015, Condé Nast announced that it had acquired Pitchfork, following the sale, Schreiber remained as editor-in-chief. On March 13,2016, Pitchfork was redesigned, some publications have cited Pitchfork in having played a part in breaking artists such as Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Interpol, The Go. Conversely, Pitchfork has also seen as being a negative influence on some indie artists. A dismissive 0.0 review of former Dismemberment Plan frontman Travis Morrisons Travistan album led to a sales drop. On the other hand, an endorsement from Pitchfork – which dispenses its approval one-tenth of a point at a time, up to a maximum of 10 points – is very valuable, indeed. Examples of Pitchforks impact include, Arcade Fire is among the bands most commonly cited to have benefited from a Pitchfork review
11.
Robert Christgau
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Robert Thomas Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed Dean of American Rock Critics. One of the earliest professional rock critics, he spent 37 years as the music critic and senior editor for The Village Voice. He has also covered popular music for Esquire, Creem, Newsday, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, Blender, and MSN Music, and is a visiting arts teacher at New York University. Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, first published in his Consumer Guide columns during his tenure at The Village Voice from 1969 to 2006 and he has written three books based on those columns, along with two collections of essays. He continued writing capsule reviews in MSN Music, Cuepoint, Christgau was born in Greenwich Village and grew up in Queens, the son of a fireman. He has said he became a rock and roll fan when disc jockey Alan Freed moved to the city in 1954. After attending a school in New York City, he left New York for four years to attend Dartmouth College. While at college his musical interests turned to jazz, but he returned to rock after moving back to New York. Christgau has said that Miles Davis 1960 album Sketches of Spain initiated in him one phase of the disillusionment with jazz that resulted in my return to rock and he was deeply influenced by New Journalism writers such as Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe. My ambitions when I went into journalism were always, to an extent, literary, Christgau initially wrote short stories, before giving up fiction in 1964 to become a sportswriter, and later, a police reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger. He became a writer after a story he wrote about the death of a woman in New Jersey was published by New York magazine. He was asked to take over the dormant music column at Esquire, after Esquire discontinued the column, Christgau moved to The Village Voice in 1969, and he also worked as a college professor. In early 1972, he accepted a job as music critic for Newsday. Christgau returned to the Village Voice in 1974 as music editor and he remained there until August 2006, when he was fired shortly after the papers acquisition by New Times Media. Two months later, Christgau became an editor at Rolling Stone. Late in 2007, Christgau was fired by Rolling Stone, although he continued to work for the magazine for three months. Starting with the March 2008 issue, he joined Blender, where he was listed as senior critic for three issues and then contributing editor, Christgau had been a regular contributor to Blender before he joined Rolling Stone. He continued to write for Blender until the magazine ceased publication in March 2009, in 1987, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of Folklore and Popular Culture to study the history of popular music
12.
Billboard 200
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The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists, often, a recording act will be remembered by its number ones, those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week. The chart is based mostly on sales of albums in the United States, the weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, tracking week begins on Friday and ends on Thursday. A new chart is published the following Tuesday with an issue post-dated to the Saturday of the following week, the charts streaming schedule is also tracked from Friday to Thursday. Example, Friday January 1 – sales tracking week begins Thursday January 7 – sales tracking week ends Tuesday January 12 – new chart published, New product is released to the American market on Fridays. Digital downloads of albums are included in Billboard 200 tabulation. Albums that are not licensed for sale in the United States are not eligible to chart. As of the issue dated April 15,2017, the album on the Billboard 200 is More Life by Drake. Billboard began an album chart in 1945, initially only five positions long, the album chart was not published on a weekly basis, sometimes three to seven weeks passing before it was updated. A biweekly, 15-position Best-Selling Popular Albums chart appeared in 1955, the position count varied anywhere from 10 to 30 albums. The first number-one album on the new weekly list was Belafonte by Harry Belafonte, the chart was renamed to Best-Selling Pop Albums later in 1956, and then to Best-Selling Pop LPs in 1957. Beginning on May 25,1959, Billboard split the ranking into two charts Best-Selling Stereophonic LPs for stereo albums and Best-Selling Monophonic LPs for mono albums and these were renamed to Stereo Action Charts and Mono Action Charts in 1960. In January 1961, they became Action Albums—Stereophonic and Action Albums—Monophonic, three months later, they became Top LPs—Stereo and Top LPs—Monaural. On August 17,1963 the stereo and mono charts were combined into a 150-position chart called Top LPs, on April 1,1967, the chart was expanded to 175 positions, then finally to 200 positions on May 13,1967. In 1960, Billboard began concurrently publishing album charts which ranked sales of older or mid-priced titles and these Essential Inventory charts were divided by stereo and mono albums, and featured titles that had already appeared on the main stereo and mono album charts. In January 1961, the Action Charts became Action Albums—Monophonic, Albums appeared on either chart for up to nine weeks, then were moved to an Essential Inventory list of approximately 200 titles, with no numerical ranking. This list continued to be published until the consolidated Top LPs chart debuted in 1963, in 1982, Billboard began publishing a Midline Albums chart which ranked older or mid-priced titles. The chart held 50 positions and was published on a bi-weekly basis, on May 25,1991, Billboard premiered the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart
13.
Pushin' Weight
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Pushin Weight is a single by Ice Cube from his album War & Peace Vol.1. A music video was released and directed by Gregory Dark, pushin Weight charted at top of the Hot Rap Singles charting, twelve at Hot R&B Singles and twenty-six at Billboard. Pushin Weight was certified Gold by the RIAA, music video at MTV. com Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
14.
Check Yo Self
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Check Yo Self is the second hit single from Ice Cubes third solo album The Predator. It was released in July 1993 and features New York City rappers Das EFX and it topped both the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap charts while also reaching number 20 on the Hot 100 chart. The song retains two main versions, the original and a remix which utilizes the same beat as Grandmaster Flashs The Message, the original mix includes a sample from the intro of The Beastie Boys track The New Style, which uses the phrase check it throughout the chorus. The song is featured on Ice Cubes Bootlegs & B-Sides album and was released on his Greatest Hits album. A new recording, based on the version of the song, featuring Chuck D was featured in the 2010 film Due Date. In January 2010, Snoop Dogg released a version of the song. Guitarist Wayne Krantz included a version of the song on his 2012 album Howie 61. The music video for Check Yo Self uses the remix version, similar to the video for his previous single It Was A Good Day, most of the scenes follow and illustrate respective lyrics of the song. The video continues where It Was A Good Day left off, with Ice Cubes home being surrounded and invaded by the LAPD before he is handcuffed and taken under arrest, Ice Cube is then brought to L. A. County jail where he spends the majority of the video experiencing the conflict described in the lyrics, Cube also references his role in Boyz n the Hood Oh boy, I make dough, but dont call me Doughboy, this aint no fucking motion picture. After six months pass Ice Cube is able to win over the female guard watching him who helps him out by dressing him up in a uniform. The two make their way outside to a cruiser and drive off into the night. Dre featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dat Nigga Daz, Nate Dogg and Warren G R&B number-one hits of 1993 Check Yo Self music video at MTV. com Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
15.
Das EFX
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Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Dray and Skoob and they named themselves DAS standing for Dray and Skoob and EFX meaning effects. Their style combined nonsensical lines with a flow and numerous pop culture references. Skoob hails from Brooklyn, New York City while Dray hails from Teaneck, New Jersey, Das EFX caught the attention of EPMD at a local talent show where, despite losing the competition, they did well enough to convince EPMD to sign them to a recording contract. The duo gained critical and commercial fame with the release of their debut album Dead Serious. Dead Serious went platinum and its single, They Want EFX, reached the top ten on the U. S. Billboard R&B chart. Follow-up singles Mic Checka and Straight Out the Sewer did not chart on the Hot 100, the duo also made a guest appearance on Ice Cubes smash hit single Check Yo Self. The song reached #20 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Rap Tracks chart, the track peaked at #36 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1993 and sold over one million copies in the U. S. As their career progressed, Das EFXs once-distinctive and unique lyrical delivery was imitated by other artists. Around the time of their third album Hold It Down, Das EFX found themselves caught in the middle of EPMDs ugly breakup, they ended up siding with PMD, it led to a three-year absence from recording. They returned in 1998 with the album Generation EFX and followed up in 2003 with the album How We Do, after a hiatus, the group went on an international tour with DJ Rondevu in 2006. In 2007, the duo appeared on the remix of Nas Where are They Now and they toured again in 2010, and are working on a new album. Das EFX continues to record and perform today to a smaller yet devoted cult following. The 1996 BLACKstreet song No Diggity, with diggity meaning doubt and this also became a popular catchphrase at the time. Jay-Zs early style is described by Vibe as a distinctly Das EFX-type and their refrain of Chiggedy-check yo self before you wriggedy-wreck yo self from their feature on Ice Cubes hit single Check Yo Self became a catchphrase in 1993. The song appeared in the videogame Grand Theft Auto, San Andreas, in an episode of Beverly Hills,90210, David Silver can be seen reciting the lyrics to They Want EFX. Comedian Dave Chappelle has made references to DAS EFXs unique style. In one sketch, a teenage Chappelle tells his girlfriend I riggity-realize that I liggity-love you, in another, Chappelle as President Bush announced that a country named Riggity-Row will join the Coalition of the willing
16.
Grandmaster Flash
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Joseph Saddler, better known as Grandmaster Flash, is a Bajan-American hip hop recording artist and DJ. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, becoming the first hip hop act to be honored. Joseph Saddlers family migrated to the United States from Barbados, in the Caribbean and he attended Samuel Gompers High School, a public vocational school, where he learned how to repair electronic equipment. Saddlers parents played an important role in his interest in music and his parents came from Barbados and his father was a big fan of Caribbean and black American records. As a child, Saddler was fascinated by his fathers record collection, in an interview, he reflected, My father was a very heavy record collector. He still thinks that he has the stronger collection, I used to open his closets and just watch all the records he had. I used to get into trouble for touching his records, but Id go right back, Saddlers early interest in DJing came from this fascination with his fathers record collection as well as his mothers desire for him to educate himself in electronics. After high school, he involved in the earliest New York DJ scene. He is also a nephew to the late Sandy Saddler, a featherweight boxing champion. Grandmaster Flash carefully studied the styles and techniques of earlier DJs, particularly Pete Jones, Kool Herc, as a teenager, he began experimenting with DJ gear in his bedroom, eventually developing and mastering three innovations that are still considered standard DJing techniques today. Backspin technique, Early New York party DJs came to understand that short drum breaks were popular with party audiences. When the break finished on one turntable, he used his mixer to switch quickly to the other turntable, using the backspin technique, the same short phrase of music could be looped indefinitely. Punch phrasing, This technique involved isolating very short segments of music, typically horn hits, scratching, along with punch phrasing, exhibited a unique performative aspect of party DJing, instead of passively spinning records, he manipulated them to create new music. Scratching, more known among radio broadcasters as back-cueing, was devised in the late 1940s as a way to find the very beginning of the audio in the modulated groove of a vinyl record. Grandmaster Flash played parties and collaborated with such as Kurtis Blow. In the mid 1970s, he formed his own group, the original lineup consisted of Cowboy, Melle Mel and Kid Creole, and the ensemble went by the name Grandmaster Flash & the 3 MCs. Cowboy created the hip hop. He created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U. S. Army, Cowboy later worked the hip hop cadence into a part of his stage performance
17.
Ready to Die
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Ready to Die is the debut studio album by American rapper The Notorious B. I. G. It was released on September 13,1994, by Bad Boy Records, the labels first release, the album features production by Bad Boy founder Sean Puffy Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chucky Thompson, DJ Premier and Lord Finesse, among others. Recording for the album took place during 1993 to 1994 at The Hit Factory, the partly autobiographical album tells the story of B. I. G. s experiences as a young criminal. Ready to Die is his studio album released during his lifetime, as he was murdered just days prior to the release of his second album. Ready to Die was released to acclaim and became a commercial success. In 1995, after the release, the became a certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It was significant for revitalizing the East Coast hip hop scene, the albums second single, Big Poppa, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards. Ready to Die has been regarded by music critics as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. The album was recorded in New York City in two stages between 1993 and 1994, in 1994, Biggie was only 21 going on 22-years old, when he recorded the album. In 1993, Biggie was signed to the Uptown Records label by A&R Sean Puffy Combs, Biggie started recording his debut album in New York, after making numerous guest appearances among his label-mates singles during the previous year. The first tracks recorded include the albums darker, less radio-friendly content, in these sessions, XXL magazine describe an inexperienced, higher-pitched Biggie sounding hungry and paranoid. When executive producer Sean Puffy Combs was fired from Uptown, Biggies career hung in limbo, in this stage, the more commercial-sounding tracks of the album were recorded, including the albums singles. Between the two stages, XXL writes that Biggie moved from writing his lyrics in notebooks to freestyling them from memory. The album was released with a cover depicting an infant resembling the artist, though sporting an afro and it has been listed as among the best album covers in hip hop. The jury awarded $4.2 million in punitive and direct damages to the two plaintiffs, and federal judge Todd Campbell enacted an immediate ban on the album. All versions of the album released since the lawsuit are without the disputed samples, although a fair use issue, Combs and Bad Boy never raised the legal concept of the fair use doctrine in their defense. The estate countersued in turn, claiming the sample as used was short, adapted, and supplemented, and thus subject to fair use, the production on the album was mainly handled by Easy Mo Bee and The Hitmen. Cheo H. Coker of Rolling Stone depicted the beats as heavy bottomed and slick, but B. I. G. s rhymes are the showstoppers
18.
The Notorious B.I.G.
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Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names The Notorious B. I. G. Biggie, or Biggie Smalls, was an American rapper and he is consistently ranked as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time. Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, the following year, Wallace led his childhood friends to chart success through his protégé group, Junior M. A. F. I. A. While recording his album, Wallace was heavily involved in the growing East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud. On March 9,1997, Wallace was killed by an assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Wallace was noted for his loose, easy flow, dark semi-autobiographical lyrics, two more albums have been released since his death. He has certified sales of 17 million units in the United States and his father left the family when Wallace was two years old, and his mother worked two jobs while raising him. Wallace grew up in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn on 226 St. James Place near the border of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, at Queen of All Saints Middle School, Wallace excelled in class, winning several awards as an English student. He was nicknamed Big because of his size by age 10. He said he started dealing drugs when he was around the age of 12 and his mother, often away at work, did not know of her sons drug dealing until Wallace was an adult. According to his mother, Wallace was still a good student, at age seventeen, Wallace dropped out of school and became further involved in crime. In 1989, he was arrested on charges in Brooklyn. In 1990, he was arrested on a violation of his probation, a year later, Wallace was arrested in North Carolina for dealing crack cocaine. He spent nine months in jail before making bail, Wallace began rapping when he was a teenager. He entertained people on the streets and performed with groups the Old Gold Brothers. The tape was made with no serious intent of getting a recording deal. However, it was promoted by New York-based DJ Mister Cee, who had worked with Big Daddy Kane. In March 1992, Wallace was featured in The Sources Unsigned Hype column, dedicated to aspiring rappers, the demo tape was heard by Uptown Records A&R and record producer Sean Combs, who arranged for a meeting with Wallace
19.
We Be Clubbin'
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We Be Clubbin is the first single from Ice Cubes soundtrack, The Players Club. The single was minor success, only making it to #32 on the Rhythmic Top 40 single chart, at the end of the song, Ice Cube shouts out his homeboys, homegirls and the club workers. He then shouts out cities to show him love in the club, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, St. Louis, Miami, New York City, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Denver, Washington, D. C. Atlanta, Memphis, Dallas and New Orleans, in 1998, a remix titled We Be Ballin was produced, featuring Shaquille ONeal and Michael Jackson. This remix was to be released on an NBA compilation album scheduled for the end of 1997 and was going to be featured in commercials for NBAs I Love This Game campaign. Michael Jackson was brought on this project by Shaquille ONeal who had previously guest-starred on the track 2 Bad on Jacksons album HIStory, Past, Present and Future, the entire project was finally shelved due to the player-initiated strike against the league that year. Unlike We Be Clubbin, the song features no vulgar language, Master Mix -4,46 Master Mix -5,08 Street Mix -5,12 Work In Progress -5,28
20.
Zapp (band)
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Zapp is an American funk band that emerged from Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1977. The group received attention in the early 1980s for implementing heavy use of the talk-box, Zapp released its eponymous debut album in 1980, having a sound reminiscent of P-Funk as a result of Clintons and Collins input on the production. Zapp achieved most of its recognition from the single More Bounce to the Ounce from the same album. The following year in 1981, Clinton stopped working with the band over a dispute regarding Roger Troutmans solo debut. Zapp continued to several more albums thereafter, releasing Zapp II in 1982. The albums musical style veered away from their first release, despite this, the album sold well. Zapp disbanded in 1999 after both Roger and Larry Troutman were killed in a murder-suicide, that was carried out by Larry. Roger was shot several times before dying in hospital during surgery, Larrys body was found close-by in his vehicle with a single gunshot wound to the head. Zapp reformed briefly in 2003 with the brothers of the Troutman family to produce the album Zapp VI. Their own label allowed Troutman and the band to give a wider and more high-profile release of their own music. In the late 1970s Roger Troutman continued to record with his brothers, losing the name Roger & The Human Body, the group searching for recognition, began playing at various small venues locally around Ohio. The Troutman family had long standing friendships with Ohio natives Phelps Catfish Collins and William Earl Bootsy Collins, Roger Troutman subsequently wrote and recorded the demo for More Bounce to the Ounce in 1978. George Clinton, the leader of Funkadelic liked the recording and encouraged Troutman to present the demo to Warner Bros, the albums sound, which is highly influenced by Parliament-Funkadelic, contrasts largely with Zapps later releases. More Bounce to the Ounce reached number two on the Billboard Hot R&B tracks for two weeks during the autumn of 1980, by November 18,1980, Zapp had been certified gold by the RIAA. After the 1980 release of Zapps debut album, tensions rose between Roger Troutman and George Clinton, Troutmans solo album The Many Facets of Roger was primarily funded by Clinton, through CBS, and was slated to be released on his own Uncle Jam Records label. By the early 1980s, Clinton and his projects were a midst financial troubles due to his poor management skills. Troutman, seeing the disarray that was surrounding Clinton at the time, in Clintons biography George Clinton, For the Record, Troutman was quoted commenting on the situation with a blasé attitude. Heck gee-willickers, Warner Bros. offered me mo money, in response, Clinton remarked, CBS paid for it, I paid for it
21.
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
22.
Westside Connection
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Westside Connection was an American West Coast hip hop and gangsta rap supergroup formed by Ice Cube, WC and Mack 10. The groups debut album, Bow Down, reached the number 2 position on the Billboard 200 in 1996, Westside Connection began performing together in 1994, appearing on Mack 10s self-titled debut album, Mack 10, on the song Westside Slaughterhouse. A few months later, the group joined forces, this time appearing on WCs album, Curb Servin. It was around this time the group work on their debut album, Bow Down. Individually, Ice Cube, WC and Mack 10 continued working on projects in between group albums. Together, as Westside Connection, they produced several songs released on soundtracks and compilations including Bangin, Let It Reign. On December 9,2003 the group released their second album Terrorist Threats, hallmarked by the lead single Gangsta Nation produced by Fredwreck, in 2005, Mack 10 left the group due to a conflict with Ice Cube and the group subsequently disbanded. However, Ice Cube and WC continued to collaborate, having appeared on each others respective albums
23.
Hello (Ice Cube song)
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Hello is the first single from Ice Cubes sixth studio album War & Peace Vol.2. The song is an N. W. A reunion with his former groupmates Dr. Dre, the lyrics to the chorus are, I started this gangsta shit. And this the muthafuckin thanks I get and these lines were adapted from Dr. Dres song The Watcher, from the album 2001. The song can be found as a track, along with Chin Check, on the N. W. A Greatest Hits album. It also mentions the rapper Eazy-E and the company that he used. The music video has similar scenes to the N. W. As music video of Alwayz into Somethin, lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
24.
Dr. Dre
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Andre Romelle Young, better known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, Dre was previously the co-owner of, and an artist on, Death Row Records. He has produced albums for and overseen the careers of many rappers, including 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Xzibit, Knoc-turnal,50 Cent, The Game and Kendrick Lamar. He is credited as a key figure in the popularization of West Coast G-funk, in 1996, he left Death Row Records to establish his own label, Aftermath Entertainment. He produced an album titled Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath in 1996. During the 2000s, he focused on production for other artists, Dr. Dre signed Eminem in 1998 and 50 Cent in 2002 to his record label respectively, while contributing production on their albums. He has won six Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Dr. Dre has also had acting roles in movies such as Set It Off, The Wash and Training Day. Rolling Stone ranked Dre at 56 on their list of 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time, Young was born in Compton, California, the first child of Theodore and Verna Young. His middle name, Romelle, is derived from his fathers amateur R&B singing group and his parents married in 1964, separated in 1968, and divorced in 1972. His mother later remarried and had three children, sons Jerome and Tyree and daughter Shameka, in 1976, Young began attending Vanguard Junior High School in Compton, but due to gang violence, he transferred to the safer suburban Roosevelt Junior High School. Young is the cousin of producer Sir Jinx and he attended Centennial High School in Compton during his freshman year in 1979, but transferred to Fremont High School in South Central Los Angeles due to poor grades. Young attempted to enroll in a program at Northrop Aviation Company. Thereafter, he focused on his life and entertainment for the remainder of his high school years. Young fathered a son with Cassandra Joy Greene named Curtis, Curtis was brought up by his mother and first met his father 20 years later, when Curtis became rapper Hood Surgeon. Inspired by the Grandmaster Flash song The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel, he attended a club called Eve After Dark to watch many DJs. He subsequently became a DJ in the club, initially under the name Dr. J, based on the nickname of Julius Erving, at the club, he met aspiring rapper Antoine Carraby, later to become member DJ Yella of N. W. A. Soon afterwards he adopted the moniker Dr. Dre, a mix of previous alias Dr. J and his first name, Eve After Dark had a back room with a small four-track studio. In this studio, Dre and Yella recorded several demos, in their first recording session, they recorded a song entitled Surgery, with the lyrics calling Dr. Dre to surgery serving as the chorus to the song
25.
You Can Do It
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You Can Do It is a single by American rapper Ice Cube. It was released from the Next Friday soundtrack, the song features Ice Cubes Westside Connection bandmate Mack 10, as well as female rapper Ms. Toi. You Can Do It later appeared on Cubes sixth studio album, War & Peace Vol.2 as well as on his Greatest Hits and it would also appear on the double platinum Save the Last Dance. The song became Ice Cubes sixth and final top 40 hit in the US, peaking at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, in December 2004, the single was re-released in the UK and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. It has sold 165,000 copies in the UK as of 2015, top 40 Charts You Can Do It Vote Page Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics |
26.
Planet Rock: The Album
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Planet Rock, The Album is an old school hip hop album by Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, released in 1986 as a collection of previous singles. The song Planet Rock was one of the earliest hits of the hip hop music genre, the singles liner notes include members of Kraftwerk with the songwriting credits. In creating the track, portions of Kraftwerks Numbers and Trans-Europe Express were interpolated, along portions of songs by Captain Sky. The song Planet Rock was ranked by Rolling Stone magazine at #240 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, slant Magazine listed the album at #84 on its list of Best Albums of the 1980s. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Renegades of Funk, the track, was covered by Rage Against the Machine on its Renegades album. Arthur Baker - Producer, Mixing Keith LeBlanc - Producer Herb Powers Jr. C
27.
Afrika Bambaataa
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Afrika Bambaataa is an American disc jockey from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of hip hop culture. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the originators of breakbeat DJing and is known as The Godfather and Amen Ra of Hip Hop Kulture. Through his co-opting of the gang the Black Spades into the music and culture-oriented Universal Zulu Nation. He was born to Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants, Bambaataa grew up in The Bronx River Projects, with an activist mother, as a child, he was exposed to the black liberation movement, and witnessed debates between his mother and uncle regarding the conflicting ideologies in the movement. He was exposed to his mothers extensive and eclectic record collection, gangs in the area became the law, clearing their turf of drug dealers, assisting with community health programs and both fighting and partying to keep members and turf. Bambaataa was a member of the Black Spades and he quickly rose to the position of warlord of one of the divisions. As warlord, it was his job to build ranks and expand the turf of the young Spades and he was not afraid to cross turfs to forge relationships with other gang members, and with other gangs. As a result, the Spades became the biggest gang in the city in terms of membership and turf. After Bambaataa won an essay contest that earned him a trip to Africa and he had seen the movie Zulu and was impressed with the solidarity exhibited by the Zulu in that film. During his trip to Africa, the communities he visited inspired him to one in his own neighborhood. He changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim, adopting the name of the Zulu chief Bhambatha and he told people that his name was Zulu for affectionate leader. Bambaataa formed The Bronx River Organization as an alternative to the Black Spades, inspired by DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Dee, Bambaataa began hosting hip-hop parties beginning in 1976. He vowed to use hip-hop to draw angry kids out of gangs, Cowboy of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, is credited with naming hip-hop, the term became a common phrase used by MCs as part of a scat-inspired style of rhyming. In 1982, Bambaataa and his followers, a group of dancers, artists and he saw that the hip hop tours would be the key to help expand hip hop and his Universal Zulu Nation. In addition it would promote the values of hip hop that he believed are based on peace, unity, love. He brought peace to the gangs, many artists and gang members say that hip hop saved a lot of lives and his influence inspired many overseas artists like the French rapper MC Solaar. He was a popular DJ in The South Bronx rap scene and became not only as Afrika Bambaataa
28.
You Know How We Do It
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You Know How We Do It is the second single from Ice Cubes fourth studio album Lethal Injection. It was released as a 12 single on February 2,1994, a G-funk hit which has the same kind of mood and feeling from The Predator, it samples The Show Is Over by Evelyn Champagne King and uses an interpretation of Funky Worm by The Ohio Players. Eventually Mariah Carey sampled You Know How We Do It in her song Irresistible from her 2002 album Charmbracelet, at the time of the albums release, sales were poor, in part by Dr. Dre and other Death Row artists dominating the radio stations. Although Lethal Injection received poor reviews by critics, this single stoodout from the rest of the album and was considered a West Coast classic and it was later featured on the Ice Cubes Greatest Hits album. The music video directed by Marcus Raboy was filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada and featured Ice Cube driving in a convertible Jaguar XJS, the single was 100 sales away in the UK from getting into the top 40. In the U. S. sales the song peaked at #30 and you Know How We Do It You Know How We Do It 2 n The morning 2 n The Morning Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
29.
Evelyn "Champagne" King
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Evelyn Champagne King is an American singer. She is best known for her hit disco single Shame, which was released in 1978 during the height of discos popularity, King had other hits from the early through the mid–1980s including, Im in Love and Love Come Down. Evelyn King was born in The Bronx, New York, and her uncle Avon Long had played the part of Sportin Life in the first Broadway revival of Porgy and Bess and worked with Lena Horne at the Cotton Club. Her father sang back-up for groups at Harlems Apollo Theater and her mother managed a group called Quality Red. She was discovered as a woman while working with her mother at Philadelphia International Records as an office cleaner. Life overheard her singing in a washroom and began coaching her and she was eventually signed to a production deal with Lifes Galaxy Productions and a recording contract with RCA Records. King released her album, Smooth Talk, in 1977. It included the song Shame, which is her top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #9. The record was certified gold. Another single from album, I Dont Know If Its Right, peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 R&B. In 1981, the single Im in Love was released from the album, it reached #1 on the R&B singles chart and dance chart in August of that year. In 1982, King released the album, Get Loose and it yielded a top twenty pop and #1 R&B hit with the single, Love Come Down. The song also peaked at #1 on the chart and reached the UK Singles Chart top ten. The follow-up, Betcha She Dont Love You, peaked at #2 on the R&B chart, from the mid- to late-1980s, King would continue to chart on the R&B chart, placing eight singles in the R&B top twenty, with three making it to the top ten. On September 20,2004, Kings Shame became one of the first records to be inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New Yorks Spirit club. On August 14,2007, King released her first studio album in 12 years and it featured the single The Dance, which peaked at #12 on the Hot Dance Club Play Chart. In 2011, King also collaborated with house producer Miguel Migs, on the track Everybody. The single for Everybody was released on July 19,2011
30.
Isaac Hayes
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Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. was an American singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and producer. Hayes was also a 2002 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The song Soul Man, written by Hayes and Porter and first performed by Sam & Dave, has recognized as one of the most influential songs of the past 50 years by the Grammy Hall of Fame. It was also honored by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, by Rolling Stone magazine, during the late 1960s, Hayes also began a career as a recording artist. He had several successful albums such as Hot Buttered Soul. In addition to his work in music, he worked as a composer of musical scores for motion pictures. He was well known for his score for the film Shaft. For the Theme from Shaft, he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1972 and he became the third African-American, after Sidney Poitier and Hattie McDaniel, to win an Academy Award in any competitive field covered by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He also won two Grammy Awards for that same year, later, he was given his third Grammy for his music album Black Moses. In recognition of his work there Hayes was crowned honorary king of the Ada. He acted in motion pictures and television, such as in the movies Truck Turner and Im Gonna Git You Sucka and he voiced the character Chef from the animated Comedy Central series South Park from its debut in 1997 until 2005. On August 5,2003, Hayes was honored as a BMI Icon at the 2003 BMI Urban Awards for his influence on generations of music makers. Throughout his songwriting career, Hayes received five BMI R&B Awards, as of 2008, his songs generated more than 12 million performances. Isaac Hayes, Jr. was born in Covington, Tennessee and he was the second child of Eula and Isaac Hayes, Sr. After his mother died young and his father abandoned his family, Isaac, Jr. was raised by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Wade. The child of a family, he grew up working on farms in Shelby County, Tennessee. At age five Hayes began singing at his church, he taught himself to play the piano, the Hammond organ, the flute. Hayes dropped out of school, but his former teachers at Manassas High School in Memphis encouraged him to complete his diploma
31.
Billie Jean
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Billie Jean is a song by American singer Michael Jackson. It is the single from the singers sixth solo album. It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson, There are contradictory claims on the meaning of the songs lyrics. One suggests that they are derived from an experience, in which a female fan claimed that Jackson had fathered one of her twins. However, Michael Jackson stated that Billie Jean was based on groupies he had encountered, the song was mixed 91 times by audio engineer Bruce Swedien before it was finalized, though he reportedly went with the second mix as the final product. The song became a success, it was one of the singles of 1983 and is one of the best-selling singles worldwide. The song topped both the US and UK charts simultaneously, in other countries, it topped the charts of Switzerland and reached the top ten in Austria, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. Billie Jean was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1989, Rolling Stone magazine placed the song in the 58th spot on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song was promoted with a film that broke down MTVs racial barrier as the first video by a black artist to be aired in heavy rotation. Also, Jacksons Emmy-nominated performance on Motown 25, Yesterday, Today, Forever, in which Jackson premiered his moonwalk and it was additionally promoted through Jacksons Pepsi commercials. Covered by modern artists, Billie Jean sealed Jacksons status as a pop icon. In YouTube, the song has garnered more than 284 million views, Jackson stated several times that Billie Jean was based on the groupies he and his brothers encountered while part of The Jackson 5. Billie Jean is kind of anonymous and it represents a lot of girls. They used to call them groupies in the 60s, There were a lot of Billie Jeans out there. Every girl claimed that their son was related to one of my brothers, the reason for this was due to the fame of the Jackson 5, and wanting to have their money in order to have a way of living. Jacksons biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli promoted the theory that Billie Jean was derived from a life experience the singer faced in 1981. The Magic & The Madness documents how a woman wrote Jackson a letter. Jackson, who regularly received letters of this kind, had never met the woman in question, the woman, however, continued to send Jackson more letters, which stated that she loved him and wanted to be with him
32.
Michael Jackson
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Michael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, actor, and philanthropist. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music, dance, the eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. He began his career in 1971. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music, the popularity of these videos helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Jacksons 1987 album Bad spawned the U. S and he continued to innovate with videos such as Black or White and Scream throughout the 1990s, and forged a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and his distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous artists of various music genres. Thriller is the album of all time, with estimated sales of 65 million copies worldwide. Jacksons other albums, including Off the Wall, Bad, Dangerous and he is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. Jackson won hundreds of awards, making him the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music. He became the first artist in history to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when Love Never Felt So Good reached number nine on May 21,2014. Jackson traveled the world attending events honoring his humanitarianism, and, in 2000, aspects of Jacksons personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of sexual abuse, but the civil case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of child sexual abuse allegations. While preparing for his concert series, This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25,2009. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician, Jacksons death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and a live broadcast of his public memorial service was viewed around the world. Forbes ranks Jackson as the dead celebrity with earnings of $825 million in 2016. Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958 and his mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovahs Witness. She played clarinet and piano and once aspired to be a country-and-western performer, michaels father, Joseph Walter Joe Jackson, a former boxer, was a steelworker at U. S. Steel
33.
Kool & the Gang
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Kool & the Gang is an American funk and rhythm and blues band that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1964, thirteen-year-old Robert Bell, his brother Ronald, and five friends in Jersey City, New Jersey. They changed their name to Kool & the Flames in 1967, the band consisted of Robert Kool Bell, Ronald Bell, Robert Mickens, Dennis Thomas, Ricky West, George Brown, and Charles Smith. The Bell brothers father Bobby and uncle Tommy were boxers and they moved to New York to train and lived in the same apartment building as Thelonious Monk, who became Roberts godfather when he was born. Miles Davis would drop by because he wanted to be a boxer and they played occasionally with McCoy Tyner, Pharoah Sanders, and Leon Thomas. The bands debut album, Kool and the Gang, produced three hit singles on the pop and R&B charts of Billboard magazine. Wild and Peaceful gave the three more hits, Funky Stuff in the Top 40 pop chart and Jungle Boogie and Hollywood Swinging in the Top 10. The latter two songs sold over one million copies and were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, the band remained productive, with albums coming out in 1974 and 1975. In 1979, James J. T. Taylor joined as lead singer, Kool and the Gang starting working with Brazilian fusion musician Eumir Deodato as producer, and they moved away from funk and closer to rhythm & blues and pop music. The songs Ladies Night and Too Hot were hits and the album was certified platinum by the RIAA. Even more successful was the album Celebration, also produced by Deodato, also certified platinum, giving Kool and the Gang its first number one hit, more international hits followed in the early 1980s, including Big Fun, Get Down on It, and Joanna. The album Emergency yielded four Top 20 pop hits, including Fresh and Cherish, in 1988, Taylor left the group to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by three vocalists, Skip Martin, Odeen Mays, and Gary Brown and he returned for State of Affairs. Rick West, the original keyboardist, who left in 1976 to form his own band. Guitarist Charles Smith died after an illness in 2006 and was replaced by the Bells youngest brother, Amir Bayyan. Original trumpet player Robert Spike Mickens, who retired in 1986 due to health, died at the age of 59 on November 2,2010, at a nursing home in Far Rockaway. Kool and the Gang added Larry Gittens in 1975 from the Stylistics, Jungle Boogie was featured on the soundtracks for the movies Pulp Fiction and Undercover Brother. Summer Madness was in the movie Rocky, Hollywood Swinging was featured in the movie Roll Bounce
34.
It Was a Good Day
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It Was a Good Day is a song by American gangsta rapper Ice Cube. It was released in February 1993 as the single from his third solo album. The song peaked at seven on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was ranked as the 81st-greatest rap song of all time by About. com, in 2008, it was ranked number 28 on VH1s 100 greatest songs of hip hop. Ice Cube commented on the concept behind the song stating, The inspiration was my life at the time, I was at the top of the rap game. It was the summer of ’92 and I was in a hotel room, I had all the money I had dreamed of. I was in a frame of mind. And I remember thinking, ‘Okay, there’s been the riots, the song has been re-released multiple times, including on Ice Cubes Greatest Hits album. A remixed version, sampling Lets Do It Again by The Staple Singers, appeared on his Bootlegs & B-Sides as well as The N. W. A Legacy, Vol.1, 1988–1998. The song tell the story of how Ice Cube has a day in South Central Los Angeles. Throughout the song he enjoys playing basketball, having sex, smoking marijuana, getting drunk, MTV Raps and later win at craps and bones, eating fast food at 2 AM, and cruising the streets of South Central undisturbed, free from having to use AK. He even sees the lights on the Goodyear blimp, which Ice Cube says reads Ice Cubes a Pimp, the song samples multiple songs, including the Isley Brothers Footsteps in the Dark and Come on Sexy Mama by The Moments. The song received very positive reviews from critics. Blender magazine writer, Michael Odel, stated it contained a chilled-out, allMusics Jason Birchmeier noted that even though it was The Predators most laid-back moment, emits a quiet sense of violent anxiety. And went on to say Its a truly beautiful moment, a highlight for sure. Entertainment Weekly mentioned that he rapped over a partly melancholy, partly swaggering beat glories in good luck, vibe magazine described DJ Poohs beat as a smoothed-out production. It reached number 77 on VH1s 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s and it was included in About. coms Top 100 Rap Songs, at number 81. In 2008, it was ranked number 8 on VH1s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop, the song appears in the video game Grand Theft Auto, San Andreas on the fictional radio station Radio Los Santos
35.
The Isley Brothers
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The Isley Brothers are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, originally a vocal trio consisting of brothers OKelly Isley, Jr. Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley. The group has cited as having enjoyed one of the longest, most influential. Alongside a fourth brother, Vernon, the group performed gospel music until Vernons death a few years after its formation, initially a modest charted single, the song eventually sold over a million copies. Influenced by gospel and doo-wop music, the group experimenting with different musical styles incorporating elements of rock. The inclusion of younger brothers Ernie Isley and Marvin Isley, for the next full decade, they recorded top-selling albums including The Heat Is On and Between the Sheets. The six-member lineup of the band splintered in 1983, with Ernie, Marvin, eldest member OKelly died in 1986 and Rudolph and Ronald released a pair of albums as a duo before Rudolph retired for life in the Christian ministry in 1989. Ronald re-formed the group two years later in 1991 with Ernie and Marvin, five later in 1996, Marvin Isley left the group due to complications of diabetes. The remaining duo of Ronald and Ernie accomplished mainstream success with the albums Eternal and Body Kiss, with the former album spawning the top twenty hit, as of 2016, the Isley Brothers continue to perform under the lineup of Ronald and Ernie. The Isley Brothers have had four Top 10 singles on the United States Billboard chart, sixteen of their albums charted in the Top 40. Thirteen of those albums have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the RIAA. The brothers have been honored by several institutions including being inducted to the Rock. Five years later, they were inducted to Hollywoods Rockwalk and in 2003, were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The Isley Brothers originally came from Cincinnati, Ohio, and were raised at the citys Lincoln Heights suburb, patterning themselves after groups such as Billy Ward and his Dominoes and the Dixie Hummingbirds, the brothers began performing together in 1954. Eventually they landed a spot on Ted Macks Amateur Hour where they won the competition, with Vernon on lead vocals, the quartet soon began touring all over the eastern US regions performing in a variety of churches. When Vernon was thirteen, he was killed after a car struck him as he was riding his bike in his neighborhood, eventually convinced to regroup, the brothers decided to record popular music and left Cincinnati for New York in 1957 with their parents blessings. With Ronnie assuming the lead position in the group, the group got into contact with Richard Barrett. The songs were only regional hits, however, by 1959, the group landed a recording deal with RCA Records. The original version of the peaked at 47 on the Billboard Hot 100
36.
Parliament (band)
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Parliament is a funk band most prominent during the 1970s. Both Parliament and its sister act, Funkadelic, are led by George Clinton, Parliament was originally The Parliaments, a doo-wop vocal group based at a Plainfield, New Jersey barbershop. The group was formed in the late 1950s and included George Clinton, Ray Davis, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, Clinton was the group leader and manager. The group finally had a hit single in 1967 with Testify on Revilot Records, with Funkadelic as a recording and touring entity in its own right, in 1970 Clinton relaunched the singing group, now known as Parliament, at first featuring the same ten members. Clinton was now the leader of two different acts, Parliament and Funkadelic, which featured the members but were marketed as creating two different types of funk. The Parliament album entitled Osmium was released on Invictus Records in 1970, Osmium featured a mostly psychedelic soul sound that was more similar to the Funkadelic albums of the period than to the later Parliament albums. The song The Breakdown was released separately as a single, due to continuing contractual problems and the fact that Funkadelic releases were more successful at the time, Clinton abandoned the name Parliament until 1974. Dozens of singers and musicians would contribute to future Parliament-Funkadelic releases, Clinton relaunched Parliament in 1974 and signed the act to Casablanca Records. By this point, Parliament and Funkadelic were touring as an entity known as Parliament-Funkadelic or simply P-Funk. The album Up for the Down Stroke was released in 1974, both performed strongly on the Billboard R&B charts and were moderately successful on the Pop charts. Parliament began its period of greatest mainstream success with the concept album Mothership Connection, Parliament scored the #1 R&B singles Flash Light in 1977 and Aqua Boogie in 1978. The rapidly expanding ensemble of musicians and singers in the Parliament-Funkadelic enterprise, as well as Clintons problematic management practices, other important group members like singer/guitarist Glenn Goins and drummer Jerome Brailey left Parliament-Funkadelic in 1978 after disputes over Clintons management. Two further Parliament albums, Gloryhallastoopid and Trombipulation were less successful than the albums from the groups prime 1975-1978 period, however, many of the musicians in later versions of the two groups remained employed by Clinton. Clinton continued to release new albums regularly, sometimes under his own name, the P-Funk All-Stars continued to record and tour into the 1990s and 2000s, and regularly perform classic Parliament songs. Liner notes to Music For Your Mother by Rob Bowman,1992, Parliament discography, forum, and marketplace at Discogs
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