1.
Hamburg
–
Hamburg, officially Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, is the second largest city in Germany and the eighth largest city in the European Union. It is the second smallest German state by area and its population is over 1.7 million people, and the wider Hamburg Metropolitan Region covers more than 5.1 million inhabitants. The city is situated on the river Elbe, the official long name reflects Hamburgs history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League, a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire, a city-state, and one of the 16 states of Germany. Before the 1871 Unification of Germany, it was a sovereign state. Prior to the changes in 1919, the civic republic was ruled by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten. Though repeatedly destroyed by the Great Fire of Hamburg, the floods and military conflicts including WW2 bombing raids, the city managed to recover and emerge wealthier after each catastrophe. On the river Elbe, Hamburg is a port and a global service, media, logistics and industrial hub, with headquarters and facilities of Airbus, Blohm + Voss, Aurubis, Beiersdorf. The radio and television broadcaster NDR, Europes largest printing and publishing firm Gruner + Jahr, Hamburg has been an important financial centre for centuries, and is the seat of Germanys oldest stock exchange and the worlds second oldest bank, Berenberg Bank. The city is a fast expanding tourist destination for domestic and international visitors. It ranked 16th in the world for livability in 2015, the ensemble Speicherstadt and Kontorhausviertel was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2015. Hamburg is a major European science, research and education hub with several universities and institutes and its creative industries and major cultural venues include the renowned Elbphilharmonie and Laeisz concert halls, various art venues, music producers and artists. It is regarded as a haven for artists, gave birth to movements like Hamburger Schule. Hamburg is also known for theatres and a variety of musical shows. St. Paulis Reeperbahn is among the best known European entertainment districts, Hamburg is on the southern point of the Jutland Peninsula, between Continental Europe to the south and Scandinavia to the north, with the North Sea to the west and the Baltic Sea to the north-east. It is on the River Elbe at its confluence with the Alster, the city centre is around the Binnenalster and Außenalster, both formed by damming the River Alster to create lakes. The island of Neuwerk and two neighbouring islands Scharhörn and Nigehörn, in the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park, are also part of Hamburg. The neighbourhoods of Neuenfelde, Cranz, Francop and Finkenwerder are part of the Altes Land region, neugraben-Fischbek has Hamburgs highest elevation, the Hasselbrack at 116.2 metres AMSL. Hamburg has a climate, influenced by its proximity to the coast
Hamburg
–
1st row: View of the
Binnenalster; 2nd row:
Große Freiheit,
Speicherstadt,
River Elbe; 3rd row: Alsterfleet; 4th row:
Port of Hamburg, Dockland office building
Hamburg
–
Hamburg, seen from the
International Space Station
Hamburg
–
Hamburg in 1150
Hamburg
–
Seal of 1241 (Replica)
2.
Virginia Beach, Virginia
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Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 437,994, in 2015, the population was estimated to be 452,745. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city in Virginia, despite being larger, Virginia Beach is generally considered to be a suburb of Norfolk. Located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Beach is a resort city with miles of beaches and hundreds of hotels, motels, and restaurants along its oceanfront. Every year the city hosts the East Coast Surfing Championships as well as the North American Sand Soccer Championship, a beach soccer tournament. Near the point where the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean meet, Cape Henry was the site of the first landing of the English colonists, the city is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having the longest pleasure beach in the world. It is located at the end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The Chesepian were the indigenous people of the area now known as Tidewater in Virginia at the time of European encounter. Little is known about them but archeological evidence suggests they may have related to the Carolina Algonquian. They would have one of the Algonquian languages. These were common among the tribes of the coastal area. The Chesepian occupied an area which is now defined as the independent cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and they named it Cape Henry, after Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King James I of England. They created their first permanent settlement on the side of the James River at Jamestown. Adam Thoroughgood of Kings Lynn, Norfolk, England is one of the earliest Englishmen to settle in this area, at the age of 18, he had contracted as an indentured servant to pay for passage to the Virginia Colony in the hopes of bettering his life. He earned his freedom after several years and became a citizen of the area. In 1629, he was elected to the House of Burgesses for Elizabeth Cittie, in 1634, the Colony was divided into the original eight shires of Virginia, soon renamed as counties. Thoroughgood is credited using the name of his home in England when helping name New Norfolk County in 1637. The following year, New Norfolk County was split into Upper Norfolk County, Thoroughgood resided after 1634 was along the Lynnhaven River, named for his home in England
Virginia Beach, Virginia
–
Clockwise from top left:
Oceanfront beaches; King Neptune statue;
Town Center skyline;
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel;
Cape Henry Lighthouses
Virginia Beach, Virginia
–
A Chesepian home
Virginia Beach, Virginia
–
Cape Henry from the air, facing ESE
Virginia Beach, Virginia
–
Princess Anne County (1691–1963), now extinct, with Virginia Beach from 1895 Virginia map
3.
Hip hop music
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It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements, MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, while often used to refer solely to rapping, hip hop more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. Hip hops early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with the breaks and Jamaican toasting, rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat. The Sugarhill Gangs 1979 song Rappers Delight is widely regarded to be the first hip hop record to gain popularity in the mainstream. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles, prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined within the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began to spread to scenes in dozens of countries. New school hip hop was the wave of hip hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D. M. C. The Golden age hip hop period was a period between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. Notable artists from this era include the Juice Crew, Public Enemy, & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One, EPMD, Slick Rick, Beastie Boys, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that often focuses on the violent lifestyles, in the West Coast hip hop style, G-funk dominated mainstream hip hop for several years during the 1990s. I. G. In the 1990s, hip hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap, at the same time, hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music, examples being Neo soul and nu metal. Hip hop became a pop music genre in the mid-1990s. The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s, with hip hop influences also increasingly finding their way into mainstream pop, the United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk, a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics. Starting in 2005, sales of hip hop music in the United States began to severely wane, during the mid-2000s, alternative hip hop secured a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. Creation of the hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash. However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was known as disco rap. Cowboy later worked the hip hop cadence into a part of his stage performance, the first use of the term in print was in The Village Voice, by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop
Hip hop music
–
1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the Bronx, a venue used by Kool Herc that is often considered the birthplace of hip hop in 1973
Hip hop music
–
DJ Kool Herc, recognized as one of the earliest hip hop artists
Hip hop music
–
Grandmaster Flash
Hip hop music
–
Afrika Bambaataa (left)
4.
Funk
–
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid- 1960s when African American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Like much of African-inspired music, funk typically consists of a groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves. Funk uses the same richly-colored extended chords found in jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths. Other musical groups, including Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament-Funkadelic, soon began to adopt, Funk samples have been used extensively in genres including hip hop, house music, and drum and bass. It is also the influence of go-go, a subgenre associated with funk. The word funk initially referred to a strong odor and it is originally derived from Latin fumigare via Old French fungiere and, in this sense, it was first documented in English in 1620. In 1784 funky meaning musty was first documented, which, in turn, in early jam sessions, musicians would encourage one another to get down by telling one another, Now, put some stank on it. At least as early as 1907, jazz songs carried titles such as Funky, as late as the 1950s and early 1960s, when funk and funky were used increasingly in the context of jazz music, the terms still were considered indelicate and inappropriate for use in polite company. According to one source, New Orleans-born drummer Earl Palmer was the first to use the word funky to explain to other musicians that their music should be made more syncopated, the style later evolved into a rather hard-driving, insistent rhythm, implying a more carnal quality. This early form of the set the pattern for later musicians. The music was identified as slow, sexy, loose, riff-oriented, a great deal of funk is rhythmically based on a two-celled onbeat/offbeat structure, which originated in sub-Saharan African music traditions. New Orleans appropriated the bifurcated structure from the Afro-Cuban mambo and conga in the late 1940s, New Orleans funk, as it was called, gained international acclaim largely because James Browns rhythm section used it to great effect. Funk creates an intense groove by using strong guitar riffs and bass lines, like Motown recordings, funk songs used bass lines as the centerpiece of songs. Slap basss mixture of thumb-slapped low notes and finger popped high notes allowed the bass to have a rhythmic role. In funk bands, guitarists typically play in a style, often using the wah-wah sound effect. Guitarist Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers and Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic were notably influenced by Jimi Hendrixs improvised solos, Eddie Hazel, who worked with George Clinton, is one of the most notable guitar soloists in funk. Ernie Isley was tutored at an age by Jimi Hendrix himself. Jimmy Nolen and Phelps Collins are famous funk rhythm guitarists who both worked with James Brown, on Browns Give It Up or Turnit a Loose, Jimmy Nolens guitar part has a bare bones tonal structure
Funk
–
George Clinton and
Parliament Funkadelic in 2006
Funk
–
Simple kick and snare funk motif. The kick first sounds two onbeats, which are then answered by two offbeats. The snare sounds the backbeat.
Funk
–
James Brown, one of the founding fathers of funk
Funk
–
George Clinton and P-Funk All Stars, Long Beach 2009
5.
Pop music
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Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid 1950s. The terms popular music and pop music are used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular. Pop and rock were synonymous terms until the late 1960s, when they were used in opposition from each other. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music. Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other such as urban, dance, rock, Latin. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a format, as well as the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes. David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop music as a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, according to Pete Seeger, pop music is professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music, the music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs. Pop music, as a genre, is seen as existing and developing separately, pop music continuously evolves along with the terms definition. The term pop song was first recorded as being used in 1926, Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music. The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pops earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience. Since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the meaning of non-classical mus, usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles. Grove Music Online also states that, in the early 1960s pop music competed terminologically with beat music, while in the USA its coverage overlapped with that of rock and roll. From about 1967, the term was used in opposition to the term rock music. Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral. It is not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward, and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative. It is, provided from on high rather than being made from below, pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment, the lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions
Pop music
–
The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that the term "pop" refers to music performed by such artists as
the Rolling Stones (pictured here in a 2006 performance)
Pop music
–
According to several sources,
MTV helped give rise to
pop stars such as
Michael Jackson and
Madonna; and Jackson and Madonna helped make MTV.
Pop music
6.
Star Trak Entertainment
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Star Trak is an American record label, founded by record producers The Neptunes in 2001. It operated as a division of Interscope-Geffen-A&M, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, Star Trak was formed in 2001 by The Neptunes. The label was partially funded by Arista Records in a joint-venture, Pharrell would sign longtime friends, The Clipse. Their debut album, Lord Willin, was released in 2002 led by the hits, Grindin, after the success of the album, the label would sign Kelis, Vanessa Marquez, Fam-Lay, N. E. R. D. & pop rock band Spymob, who provided backing instruments for N. E. R. Ds debut album In Search Of, the label released a compilation album during the summer of 2003, entitled, The Neptunes Present. In late 2003, Star Trak Entertainment released the successful album, Tasty. In early 2004, distributor Arista Records dropped their imprint Star Trak Entertainment, the first release from this deal was Fly or Die by N. E. R. D. In mid-2004, Star Trak signed EMI cousin label, Doggystyle Records to a distribution deal & soared to new heights behind veteran Doggystyle Records rapper, a few months later, Star Trak Entertainment left EMIs Virgin Records before completing a year with the label. They ended up moving operations over to Geffen Records and Interscope Records, here, they would release Snoop Doggs album, R&G, The Masterpiece. The album was led by Drop It Like Its Hot, which would be yet another hit single for the fledgling label and this album would go Platinum in the US like some other Star Trak Entertainment releases. It also had other hit singles. This album would give Star Trak Entertainment yet another hit, Like A Boss, during this time, the label added Kenna and Robin Thicke to their roster. The label has been under scrutiny for poor management which led to its decline. In 2006, CEO Pharrell released his solo album, In My Mind. The album provided two hits for the label and capitalized what is the Neptunes sound. These singles were Can I Have It Like That, with Gwen Stefani, other releases in 2006 were Robin Thickes second album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke, which featured the hit, Lost Without U. The last 2006 release was Clipses second album, Hell Hath No Fury and this was their first release through their Re-Up Records imprint. Star Trak Entertainment has since signed Teyana Taylor to their roster, along with Chester French, Natasha Ramos, Epoch When, in 2007, Kenna released his album, Make Sure They See My Face
Star Trak Entertainment
–
Star Trak Entertainment
7.
Interscope Records
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Interscope Records is an American record company. At the time, it differed from most record companies by giving decision-making authority to its A&R staff and it had its first hit records less than a year after it was founded and achieved profitability in 1993. In 1992, Interscope acquired the rights to market and distribute the hardcore rap label Death Row. Albums by Death Row artists included rappers Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, as a result, Time Warner severed ties with Interscope by selling its 50 percent stake back to Field and Iovine for $115 million in 1995. In 1996, 50% of the label was acquired by the MCA Music Entertainment Group for a reported $200 million, Iovine served as chairman and CEO until May 2014. He was succeeded by John Janick, Interscope is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The labels best-selling artists include U2, Eminem, Lady Gaga, in 1989, Ted Field began to build Interscope Records as a division of his film company, Interscope Communications. To run it, he hired John McClain, who had played a role in Janet Jacksons success at A&M Records, and Tom Whalley. Separately, Iovine, who had produced records by U2, Bruce Springsteen, I thought, Music is going to change, Iovine said in 1997. Young bands arent going to be asking for me, but I love working with the new thing. I always liked the part of the business thats the first time you hear something, Iovine and Field were introduced by Paul McGuinness, then U2s manager. After a series of negotiations led by David Geffen, they came to an agreement, in a 1997 article in Rolling Stone, David Wild wrote, Interscopes start-up coincided with a period of incredible change in the music world. Nirvana had ushered in the alternative revolution, based in Westwood, California, Interscope was run by music men. It was a departure from the industry practices of the 1970s and 1980s. A founding tenet of the label was that artists would have creative control. Interscopes first release was Rico Suave by Ecuadoran rapper Gerardo in December 1990, Primus Interscope debut was released in May, followed by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunchs Music for the People in July. It included the #1 single Good Vibrations, two days after first hearing his demo, Whalley signed Tupac Shakur, and in November 1991, Interscope released 2pacalypse Now, Shakurs studio debut. Interscope began to develop a significant presence in the genre in 1992
Interscope Records
–
Interscope Records
8.
Columbia Records
–
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, Inc. the United States division of Sony Corporation. It was founded in 1887, evolving from an enterprise named the American Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the sound business. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of singers, instrumentalists. It is one of Sony Musics three flagship record labels alongside RCA Records and Epic Records, rather, as above, it was connected to CBS, a broadcasting media company which had purchased the company in 1938, and had been co-founded in 1927 by Columbia Records itself. Though Arista Records was sold to Bertelsmann Music Group, it would become a sister label of Columbia Records through its mutual connection to Sony Music. The Columbia Phonograph Company was founded in 1887 by stenographer, lawyer and New Jersey native Edward Easton and it derived its name from the District of Columbia, where it was headquartered. At first it had a monopoly on sales and service of Edison phonographs and phonograph cylinders in Washington. As was the custom of some of the regional companies, Columbia produced many commercial cylinder recordings of its own. Columbias ties to Edison and the North American Phonograph Company were severed in 1894 with the North American Phonograph Companys breakup, thereafter it sold only records and phonographs of its own manufacture. In 1902, Columbia introduced the XP record, a brown wax record. According to Gracyk, the molded brown waxes may have sold to Sears for distribution. Columbia began selling records and phonographs in addition to the cylinder system in 1901, preceded only by their Toy Graphophone of 1899. For a decade, Columbia competed with both the Edison Phonograph Company cylinders and the Victor Talking Machine Company disc records as one of the top three names in American recorded sound. In order to add prestige to its catalog of artists. The firm also introduced the internal-horn Grafonola to compete with the extremely popular Victrola sold by the rival Victor Talking Machine Company, during this era, Columbia used the famous Magic Notes logo—a pair of sixteenth notes in a circle—both in the United States and overseas. Columbia was split into two companies, one to make records and one to make players, Columbia Phonograph was moved to Connecticut, and Ed Easton went with it. Eventually it was renamed the Dictaphone Corporation, in late 1923, Columbia went into receivership
Columbia Records
–
Original home of Columbia in Washington, D.C., in 1889
Columbia Records
Columbia Records
–
A Columbia type AT cylinder
graphophone, first released in 1898
Columbia Records
–
This article is about the American record label active worldwide except in Japan. For the Columbia label which was a unit of EMI, see
Columbia Graphophone Company. For the Columbia label in Japan, see
Nippon Columbia.
9.
N.E.R.D
–
N*E*R*D is an American funk rock band. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Records as a duo, after producing songs for several artists throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, the production duo formed the band with Shay Haley as a side project of The Neptunes in 1999. N*E*R*Ds debut album, In Search Of. sold 603,000 copies in the United States and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and it was also awarded the second annual Shortlist Music Prize. The bands second album, Fly or Die, sold 412,000 copies in the United States, in 2005, N*E*R*D ended their contract with Virgin and disbanded. Three years later, the band reunited under Star Trak Entertainment, the bands third album, Seeing Sounds, released in 2008, sold just under 80,000 copies in its first week. The album was followed by Nothing, which was released in 2010, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo met at the age of 12 at a band class in Virginia Beach. They spent their time making beats and performing in groups with fellow childhood friend Timbaland. Williams and Hugo met Shae Haley in high school and began performing together, the trio often met in Hugos garage, where he beatboxed through a speaker system while Haley danced. After watching the duo perform at a school talent show, Teddy Riley. The bands debut album, In Search Of. was released in Europe in September 2001, Williams and Hugo used similar digital production techniques as they did for other artists. However, the band decided that they wanted to sound different from their previous work and this led them to rerecording the album using live instruments with rock band Spymob for a worldwide release in 2002. The album debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number 56 and it failed to replicate the success of The Neptunes previous productions. The album sold 603,000 copies in the United States and was certified Gold by the RIAA, the albums lead single, Lapdance, peaked at number 36 of the Hot Rap Tracks chart and number 85 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The second single, Rock Star, peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, a 6.1 surround mix of this album was released by DTS Entertainment on a DVD-Audio disc in 2005. The original version of the album is a collectors item, the band recorded its second album, Fly or Die, in 2003. They learned to play the live, as Chad Hugo told MTV News on December 9,2003. I just started playing guitar last year so Im learning as we go and we didnt have time to learn certain instruments so we got Spymob to help us out. Fly or Die was released in March 2004, the album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200, selling 119,000 copies in its first week
N.E.R.D
–
Pharrell Williams and Shae Haley from N*E*R*D performing at Pori Jazz 2010
N.E.R.D
–
N.E.R.D performing at a United Kingdom concert in April 2003
N.E.R.D
–
N.E.R.D performing at the
Virgin Festival in
Ontario,
Canada, 2009
10.
Snoop Dogg
–
Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. known professionally as Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper and actor from Long Beach, California. His music career began in 1992 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre of N. W. A and he has since sold over twenty-three million albums in the United States and thirty-five million albums worldwide. Snoops debut album, Doggystyle, was released in 1993 under Death Row Records, Selling almost a million copies in the first week of its release, Doggystyle became certified 4× platinum in 1994 and spawned several hit singles, including Whats My Name. and Gin & Juice. In 1994 Snoop released a soundtrack on Death Row Records for the short film Murder Was The Case and his second album Tha Doggfather, also debuted at number one on both charts with Snoops Upside Ya Head, as the lead single. The album was certified platinum in 1997. After leaving Death Row Records, Snoop signed with No Limit Records, Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told, No Limit Top Dogg, and Tha Last Meal. Snoop then signed with Priority/Capitol/EMI Records in 2002, where he released Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss and he then signed with Geffen Records in 2004 for his next three albums R&G, The Masterpiece, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, and Ego Trippin. Malice n Wonderland, and Doggumentary, were released on Priority, Snoop Dogg has starred in motion pictures and hosted several television shows, including Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, Snoop Doggs Father Hood, and Dogg After Dark. He also coaches a youth league and high school football team. In September 2009, Snoop was hired by EMI as the chairman of a reactivated Priority Records, in 2012, after a trip to Jamaica, Snoop announced a conversion to the Rastafari movement and a new alias, Snoop Lion. Under the new moniker, he released an album, Reincarnated. His fourteenth solo album, Coolaid, was released in July 2016. Snoop Dogg holds the distinction of having seventeen Grammy nominations without a win. Snoop Dogg was born Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. in Long Beach, California and he was named after his stepfather, Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Sr. His father, Vernell Varnado, was a Vietnam veteran, singer, as a boy, his parents nicknamed him Snoopy because of his appearance, but they usually addressed him as Calvin at home. His mother and stepfather divorced in 1975, when he was very young, Broadus began singing and playing piano at the Golgotha Trinity Baptist Church. In sixth grade, he began rapping, as a teenager, Snoop Dogg frequently ran into trouble with the law. He was a member of the Rollin 20 Crips gang in the Eastside of Long Beach, shortly after graduating from high school, he was arrested for possession of cocaine, and for the following three years, was frequently in and out of prison
Snoop Dogg
–
Snoop Dogg performing in
Toronto,
Ontario in August 2012
Snoop Dogg
–
Snoop Dogg performs in Hawaii for U.S. military members in 2005.
Snoop Dogg
–
Snoop Dogg as Snoop Lion, 2013
Snoop Dogg
–
Snoop Dogg at
WrestleMania XXIV at
Orlando 's
Citrus Bowl with
Ashley Massaro and tag team partner
Maria, March 30, 2008
11.
Gwen Stefani
–
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer, songwriter, and fashion designer. During the bands hiatus, Stefani embarked on a pop career in 2004 by releasing her debut studio album Love. Inspired by pop music from the 1980s, the album was met both critical and commercial success. It spawned three successful singles, What You Waiting For. Rich Girl, and Hollaback Girl, the reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 while also becoming the first US download to sell one million copies. In 2006 Stefani released her studio album The Sweet Escape. The album produced two singles, Wind It Up and the albums title track The Sweet Escape. Her third solo album This Is What the Truth Feels Like was released in March 2016, Stefani has won three Grammy Awards. As a solo artist she has received accolades, including an American Music Award, Brit Award, World Music Award. In 2003, she debuted her clothing line L. A. M. B. and expanded her collection with the 2005 Harajuku Lovers line, drawing inspiration from Japanese culture, Stefani performs and makes public appearances with four back-up dancers known as the Harajuku Girls. She was married to British musician Gavin Rossdale from 2002 to 2015, Billboard magazine ranked Stefani the 54th most successful artist and 37th most successful Hot 100 artist of the 2000–09 decade. VH1 ranked her 13th on their 100 Greatest Women in Music list in 2012, including her work with No Doubt, Stefani has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. Stefani was born on October 3,1969, in Fullerton, California and she was named after a stewardess in the 1968 novel Airport, and her middle name, Renée, comes from The Four Tops 1968 cover of The Left Bankes 1966 song Walk Away Renée. Her father, Dennis Stefani, is Italian American and worked as a Yamaha marketing executive and her mother, Patti, worked as an accountant before becoming a housewife. Gwens parents were fans of music and exposed her to music by artists like Bob Dylan. She has two siblings, Jill and Todd, and an older brother named Eric. Eric was the keyboardist for No Doubt before leaving the band to pursue a career in animation on The Simpsons. Her brother Eric introduced Gwen to 2 Tone music by Madness and The Selecter and, in 1986, he invited her to provide vocals for No Doubt, finally, in 1991, the band was signed to Interscope Records
Gwen Stefani
–
Stefani at the
2011 Cannes Film Festival
Gwen Stefani
–
Stefani performing with No Doubt at
Voodoo 2002
Gwen Stefani
–
Stefani performing during the
Harajuku Lovers Tour in 2005
Gwen Stefani
–
Stefani performing during
The Sweet Escape Tour in 2007
12.
Jay-Z
–
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
Jay-Z
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Jay Z at the Shawn Carter Foundation Carnival, 2011
Jay-Z
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Jay Z (top) with a friend (bottom) in
Trenton, New Jersey, circa 1988
Jay-Z
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Jay Z in 2003
Jay-Z
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Jay Z at a concert in 2006.
13.
Daft Punk
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Daft Punk are a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. The duo were managed from 1996 to 2008 by Pedro Winter, the duo released their debut studio album Homework through Virgin Records in 1997 to highly positive reviews. The duos next album Discovery was even more successful, driven by the release of the hit singles One More Time, Digital Love, in March 2005, the duo released their third album Human After All to mixed reviews. However, the singles Robot Rock and Technologic achieved considerable success in the United Kingdom, Daft Punk toured throughout 2006 and 2007 and released the live album Alive 2007, which won a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. The duo later composed the score for the Disney film Tron, Legacy in 2010, in January 2013, Daft Punk left Virgin for Columbia Records, and released their next album Random Access Memories in 2013 to worldwide critical acclaim. The albums lead single Get Lucky became a success, peaking on top 10 charts in 32 countries. Random Access Memories won five Grammy Awards in 2014, including Album of the Year, Daft Punk later gained their first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song Starboy, a collaboration with The Weeknd. Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo met in 1987 while attending the Lycée Carnot, the two became good friends and later recorded demo tracks with others from the school. This eventually led to the formation of the group called Darlin with Laurent Brancowitz in 1992. Bangalter and de Homem-Christo played bass and guitar, respectively, while Brancowitz performed on drums, the trio had branded themselves after The Beach Boys song of the same name, which they covered along with an original composition. Stereolab released both tracks on a multi-artist Duophonic Records EP and invited the band to open for stage shows in the United Kingdom, Bangalter felt that The rock n roll thing we did was pretty average, I think. It was so brief, maybe six months, four songs, a negative review in Melody Maker by Dave Jennings subsequently dubbed the music a daft punky thrash. Instead of dismissing the review, they found it amusing, as de Homem-Christo stated, We struggled so long to find Darlin, and this happened so quickly. Darlin soon disbanded, leaving Brancowitz to pursue other efforts with Phoenix, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo formed Daft Punk and experimented with drum machines and synthesisers. In September 1993, Daft Punk attended a rave at EuroDisney, the demo tape given to Macmillan at the rave formed the basis for Daft Punks debut single, The New Wave, a limited release in 1994. The single also contained the final mix of The New Wave called Alive, Daft Punk returned to the studio in May 1995 to record Da Funk. It became the duos first commercially successful single the same year, after the success of Da Funk, Daft Punk looked to find a manager. The duo eventually settled on Pedro Winter, who promoted them
Daft Punk
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Daft Punk at the premiere of
Tron: Legacy in 2010. From left:
Thomas Bangalter,
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Daft Punk
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Muzik magazine cover feature in February 1997
Daft Punk
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Daft Punk performing in
Berkeley, California on 27 July 2007
Daft Punk
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Daft Punk in
DJ Hero
14.
Pusha T
–
Terrence LeVarr Thornton, better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He initially gained recognition as one-half of hip hop duo Clipse, alongside his brother Gene No Malice Thornton. In September 2010, Thornton announced his signing to Kanye Wests GOOD Music imprint, in March 2011, he released his first solo project, a mixtape titled Fear of God. Thornton released his solo album My Name Is My Name. In November 2015, Kanye West appointed Pusha T to take over his role as president of GOOD Music, Terrence LeVarr Thornton was born on May 13,1977, in The Bronx borough of New York City. Thornton and his family relocated to Virginia Beach, Virginia. In 1992, Terrence and his brother Gene formed the duo Clipse, of the two brothers, Terrence was more open to features, appearing on Kelis 1999 single Good Stuff and Niveas 2001 single Run Away, respectively. In 2004, he and his brother launched their record label imprint, Re-Up Records, in 2006, they released their third studio album and their most commercial album, Hell Hath No Fury, which was praised by critics. After one more album as the Clipse in 2009, both No Malice and Pusha T announced that they were taking time off from the duo to focus on their own solo projects. He was also featured on tracks from Wests GOOD Fridays series and made other appearances on Swizz Beatzs Monster Mondays series. 2 and tabi Bonneys Fresh, respectively, on the week of December 16,2010, Thornton signed exclusively with NUE Agency. On February 11,2011, Funkmaster Flex debuted Thorntons first solo offering on New York Citys Hot 97, the track, titled My God, was produced by Hit-Boy and was generally well received by the public. Soon after, the song leaked onto the internet, however was not officially released through iTunes, on March 21,2011, Thornton released his first solo project, a mixtape titled Fear of God, which included My God and featured freestyles and other original songs. Soon after he began working on his extended play Fear of God II, Let Us Pray. On August 31,2011, it was announced Thornton signed a record deal with Def Jam. In addition it was revealed he added four songs to the EP making it 12 tracks rather than just the nine tracks that were previously announced. The first single from Fear of God II, Let Us Pray was leaked onto the Internet on July 8,2011, the song, titled Trouble on My Mind, features Odd Future frontman, Tyler, The Creator. The EPs second single, Amen was released September 13,2011, the song, originally meant for Young Jeezy, was produced by Shawty Redd and features verses from Kanye West and Young Jeezy respectively
Pusha T
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Pusha T
Pusha T
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Pusha T performing in 2007.
Pusha T
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Pusha T performing "
Runaway " with West at
Lollapalooza Chile in
Santiago, 2011.
15.
Kelis
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Kelis Rogers better known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer, songwriter and chef. Her third album, 2003s Tasty, earned the singer commercial prominence and produced the hit single Milkshake, her most well-known song. Kelis Was Here, her album, was the subject of further label disputes and she took a hiatus from music after its release. She released the album Flesh Tone in 2010 and her sixth, Food, Kelis has been recognised at the Brit Awards, Q Awards, NME Awards, and Grammy Awards ceremonies. She has sold six million worldwide and has had particular success in the United Kingdom. Kelis Rogers was born and raised in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan and her first name is a portmanteau of her fathers name, Kenneth, and her mothers name, Eveliss. Her father Kenneth was an African American jazz musician and Pentecostal minister and her mother Eveliss is a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer who inspired Kelis to pursue her singing career. She has three sisters, Kelis being the third born of the four girls, as a child, Kelis sang in church choirs and played violin, piano, and saxophone while attending Manhattan Country School, a private school. At the age of 13, Kelis shaved off all of her hair, laGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she formed the R&B trio BLU. Kelis was also a bartender and an associate at a clothing store before graduating high school. Afterwards, a friend introduced Kelis to The Neptunes, they formed a strong bond, Kelis began recording her debut album, Kaleidoscope, in mid-1998 and was finished within a year. Produced by The Neptunes and released by Virgin Records in 1999, as of 2006, the album had sold 249,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Its lead and most notable single, Caught Out There, became a top ten Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs hit, during this time, Kelis featured on Ol Dirty Bastards U. S. top 40 single Got Your Money. The album performed better in Europe, where Caught out There was a moderate hit, a second single, Good Stuff, reached number 19, the third, Get Along with You, was less successful, reaching number 51. The British Phonographic Industry certified Kaleidoscope gold for sales of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 43 on the UK Albums Chart. In 2001, Kelis won the BRIT Award for International Breakthrough Act, Kelis and the Neptunes output at this time was heralded as foreshadowing an innovation in contemporary R&B, but she later said, I was never an R&B artist. People coined me one but thats because, especially if youre in the States, if black and you sing. Her colorful style in clothing and hair received considerable attention
Kelis
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Kelis performing in 2011
Kelis
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Kelis on stage in 2011
16.
T.I.
–
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. better known by his stage names T. I. and Tip, is an American hip hop recording artist and actor from Atlanta, Georgia. He signed his first major-label record deal in 1999, with Arista Records subsidiary, in 2001, T. I. formed the Southern hip hop group Pimp Squad Click, alongside his longtime friends and fellow Atlanta-based rappers. Upon being released from Arista, T. I. signed to Atlantic Records and subsequently became the executive officer of his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records. T. I. is also perhaps best known as one of the artists who popularized the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane. T. I. has released nine albums, with seven of them reaching the top five of the US Billboard 200 chart. Throughout his career, T. I. has also released several successful singles, including Bring Em Out, Whatever You Like, Live Your Life, Dead and Gone, Ball. He began to gain recognition in 2003, following his first high-profile feature, on fellow Atlanta-based rapper Bone Crushers hit single. He earned more prominence with the release of Trap Muzik, which includes the Top 40 hits, Rubber Band Man, the next year, T. I. appeared on Destinys Childs international hit, Soldier, alongside Lil Wayne. His subsequent albums, King and T. I. vs. T. I. P. generated high record sales and were supported by singles, such as What You Know and Big Shit Poppin. In 2013, T. I. was featured on Robin Thickes hit single Blurred Lines, alongside Pharrell Williams, in November 2013, T. I. announced that he had signed with Columbia Records, after his 10-year contract with Atlantic came to an end. He released his Columbia Records debut, Paperwork, in October 2014, in February 2016, T. I. announced he signed a distribution deal with Roc Nation, to release his tenth album. T. I. has won three Grammy Awards, namely Best Rap Solo Performance, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. T. I. has served two terms in county jail, twice for probation violations and a federal prison bid for a U. S. federal weapons charge, while serving 11 months in prison, he released his seventh studio album, No Mercy. T. I. has also had an acting career, starring in the films ATL, Takers, Get Hard, Identity Thief. He is also an author, having written two novels Power & Beauty and Trouble & Triumph, both of which were released to moderate success. T. I. has also starred in the American reality television series T. I. s Road to Redemption, in 2009, Billboard ranked him as the 27th Artist of the 2000s decade. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. was born on September 25,1980, in Atlanta, Georgia and he was raised by his grandparents in Atlantas Center Hill neighborhood just off Bankhead Highway. His father resided in New York City, and he would go there to visit
T.I.
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T.I. performing in September 2012.
T.I.
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Mug shot of T.I..
T.I.
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T.I. at the
Summer Jam concert in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania on July 23, 2006.
T.I.
–
T.I. in 2009.
17.
Justin Timberlake
–
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American singer-songwriter, actor and record producer. Born and raised in Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star Search, in the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of NSYNC, which eventually became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. With his first two albums exceeding sales of 10 million copies worldwide, he was established as one of the most commercially successful singers of the decade, furthermore, he produced records and collaborated with other artists. For his live performances, including the concert tour for the albums, he began performing with his band The Tennessee Kids, composed by instrumentalists. Timberlake voiced the character in DreamWorks Animations Trolls, which soundtrack includes his fifth Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single. Among numerous awards and accolades, Timberlake has won ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007 and 2013. His other ventures include record label Tennman Records, fashion label William Rast, Timberlake was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Lynn Harless and Charles Randall Timberlake, a Baptist church choir director. Timberlake grew up in Shelby Forest, a community between Memphis and Millington. He has two half-brothers, Jonathan and Stephen, from Charles second marriage to Lisa Perry and his half-sister Laura Katherine died shortly after birth on May 12,1997, and is mentioned in his acknowledgments in the album NSYNC as My Angel in Heaven. He was inspired to become a performer by Janet Jackson, saying She didnt just stand there and sing her song, fascinated by her energy, at the age of 11, Timberlake appeared on the television show Star Search, performing country music songs as Justin Randall. Timberlake then recruited Chasez to be in a singing group, organized by boy band manager Lou Pearlman. The boy band NSYNC formed in 1995, and began their career in 1996 in Europe, Timberlake and Chasez served as its two lead singers. In 1998, the rose to prominence in the United States with the release of their self-titled debut studio album. Their second album No Strings Attached sold 2.4 million copies in the first week, nSYNCs third album Celebrity was also financially successful. Upon the completion of the Celebrity Tour, the group went into hiatus in 2002, in late 1999, Timberlake appeared in the Disney Channel movie Model Behavior. He played Jason Sharpe, a model who falls in love with a waitress after mistaking her for another model and it was released on March 12,2000. The rise of his own stardom and the decline in the popularity of boy bands led to the dissolution of NSYNC. Band member Lance Bass was openly critical of Timberlakes actions in his memoir Out of Sync and his debut solo studio album Justified was released in November and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 439,000 copies, fewer than previous N Sync releases
Justin Timberlake
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Timberlake at the
Cannes Film Festival, May 2013
Justin Timberlake
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Timberlake in London on his
Justified World Tour, December 2003
Justin Timberlake
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Timberlake performing at a concert in
St. Paul, Minnesota in January 2007 during the
FutureSex/LoveShow
Justin Timberlake
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Timberlake (left) with
Andrew Garfield (right) at an event for
The Social Network in Madrid, October 2010
18.
Usher (singer)
–
Usher Raymond IV is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Born in Dallas, Texas but raised and lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee until moving to Atlanta, at the age of 12, his mother put him in local singing competitions, before catching the attention of a music A&R from LaFace Records. In 1994 he released his debut album, Usher. 8701 produced the number-one singles U Remind Me and U Got It Bad and it sold 8 million copies worldwide and won his first two Grammy Awards as Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2002 and 2003. Confessions established him as one of the musical artists of the 2000s decade. Bolstered by its four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number one singles, Burn, Confessions Part II, and My Boo, it has been certified Diamond by the RIAA. Here I Stand and Raymond v. Raymond, debuted atop of the Billboard 200, the EP, Versus, also produced the Hot 100 top-five single DJ Got Us Fallin in Love. Looking 4 Myself, also debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, Raymond v. Raymond and Looking 4 Myself received Grammy Awards for R&B singles There Goes My Baby and Climax. Hard II Love peaked at five of the Billboard 200 albums chart. Usher has sold 23.8 million albums and 38.2 million digital songs in the United States, to date, his worldwide sales stand at 43 million albums and 75 million records overall, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Usher has won awards and accolades including 18 Billboard Music Awards and 8 Grammy Awards. Billboard also placed him at number 6 on their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years, Usher has attained 9 US Hot 100 number-one singles. Considered an icon and sex symbol, he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, in 2008, he started his own record label Raymond-Braun Media Group, a joint venture with talent manager Scooter Braun that includes Canadian singer Justin Bieber. Usher was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Jonetta Patton, from Tennessee, Usher spent the majority of his young life in Chattanooga, his father left the family when Usher was a year old. Usher grew up with his mother, then-stepfather, and half-brother, while in Atlanta, Usher attended North Springs High School. At age 10, Usher joined an R&B local quintet called the NuBeginnings, Usher recorded 10 songs with the group in 1991, and the ensuing album, Nubeginning Featuring Usher Raymond IV, was only made available regionally and by mail order. However, Patton took him out because, according to her, the album was re-released nationally in April 2002 by Hip-O Records. At age 13, Usher would meet A. J, alexander at local talent show in Atlanta
Usher (singer)
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Usher during the Division 1 launch party, 2010
Usher (singer)
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Usher arriving in
Miami, Florida, to attend the 2004
MTV Video Music Awards
Usher (singer)
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Usher performing with
Stevie Wonder and
Shakira at the
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
Usher (singer)
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Usher performing in 2010
19.
Chad Hugo
–
Charles Edward Chad Hugo is an American multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is best known as one half of the production and writing duo The Neptunes. He is a saxophonist, pianist and guitarist, along with his production partner Pharrell Williams, he has produced numerous number-one hit tracks. Hugo was born in the South Hampton Roads city of Portsmouth and he grew up in Virginia Beach, his father is a retired Navy officer while his mother was a laboratory technician. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo met in school in band class. Hugo signed a music publishing deal with BMG Music Publishing. In August 2002, The Neptunes were named Producers of the Year at both The Source Awards and the Billboard Music Awards, clones was then released, debuting at number one in August 2003. Hugo has been described by The Source Magazine as the Mr Spock to Williams Captain Kirk, however, he does say Williams usually provides the beat and most of the melodies to the Neptunes productions, whereas his role lies more in as a one man band and sequencer. Despite this he states that their roles are flexible and do interchange, Hugo also did the majority of the production on Make Sure They See My Face, Kennas second album, and Kennas 2011 EP Land 2 Air Chronicles I - Chaos & The Darkness. In 2011, Hugo created a DJ team called Missile Command, the duo signed a deal with Fools Gold Records to release their music. They have released two mixtapes, 2011s Foolcast #22, and 2013s Why Fight the Space Age, Hugo also created an alternative band with Paul Banks called No Planes In Space. Hugo and Kenna also collaborated on Kennas new EP Land 2 Air Chronicles II, Imitation Is Suicide, Hugo and Malaysian artist Yuna also collaborated on her 2013 album, Nocturnal, for the song Someone Who Can. Under his moniker Neo-Thrift-Musica, Hugo produced Rituals for the Norfolk, Hugo also released remixes for Graph Gonzales Heartbreaker, St. Vincents Digital Witness and Little Dragons ″Killing Me. Hugos DJ group MSSLCMNMD also released remixes for such as Graph Gonzales, Sam Smith, Denetia and Sene, Fleetwood Mac. MSSLCMNMD also produced Graph Gonzales first single ″Heartbreaker″, more recently for 2015, Hugo reunited with his N. E. R. D. Bandmates to contribute three songs to The SpongeBob Movie 2, Sponge Out Of Water OST, while working with Iamsu. The Neptunes discography Chad Hugo on Twitter
Chad Hugo
–
Chad Hugo performing with
N.E.R.D. at The Warfield in San Francisco in July 2009
20.
Soul music
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Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It combines elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues, Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States, where record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music, catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves, are an important feature of soul music. Other characteristics are a call and response between the lead vocalist and the chorus and a tense vocal sound. The style also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls and auxiliary sounds, Soul music reflected the African-American identity and it stressed the importance of an African-American culture. The new-found African-American consciousness led to new styles of music, which boasted pride in being black, Soul music dominated the U. S. R&B chart in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the U. S. By 1968, the music genre had begun to splinter. Some soul artists developed funk music, while other singers and groups developed slicker, more sophisticated, by the early 1970s, soul music had been influenced by psychedelic rock and other genres, leading to psychedelic soul. The United States saw the development of neo soul around 1994, there are also several other subgenres and offshoots of soul music. The term soul had been used among African-American musicians to emphasize the feeling of being an African-American in the United States, according to another source, Soul music was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the 60s. The phrase soul music itself, referring to music with secular lyrics, is first attested in 1961. The term soul in African-American parlance has connotations of African-American pride, gospel groups in the 1940s and 1950s occasionally used the term as part of their name. The jazz style that derived from gospel came to be called soul jazz, important innovators whose recordings in the 1950s contributed to the emergence of soul music included Clyde McPhatter, Hank Ballard, and Etta James. Ray Charles is often cited as popularizing the genre with his string of hits starting with 1954s I Got a Woman. Singer Bobby Womack said, Ray was the genius and he turned the world onto soul music. Charles was open in acknowledging the influence of Pilgrim Travelers vocalist Jesse Whitaker on his singing style, little Richard and James Brown were equally influential. Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson are also acknowledged as soul forefathers. Cooke became popular as the singer of gospel group The Soul Stirrers
Soul music
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James Brown
Soul music
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Al Green, influential soul performer
Soul music
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Levi Stubbs singing lead with the Four Tops in 1966
Soul music
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Isaac Hayes performing in 1973
21.
Shay Haley
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Sheldon Haley, better known as Shae, Shay or Shade, is an American musician. He is a member of the rock band, N*E*R*D, who often contributes backup vocals, while Pharrell Williams carries lead duties. His role in the band is often questioned, but in a recent interview, Pharrell also stated that Shae keeps everyone grounded and together. Haley appears to keep away from the spotlight, compared to his mates, Williams, and, to a lesser extent, Hugo. In November 2010 he married Jackie Garcia, the girlfriend of slain NFL Safety Sean Taylor and niece of actor Andy Garcia
Shay Haley
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Shae performing with N.E.R.D in Pori Jazz 2010.
22.
In My Mind (Pharrell album)
–
In My Mind is the solo debut studio album by American recording artist and record producer Pharrell Williams. It was released on July 25,2006 and it debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 and sold 142,000 copies in its first week. It was also certified Silver in the United Kingdom for sales of over 60,000 copies, in June 2003, after having produced and featured on several songs by other artists, Williams released his debut single Frontin, featuring Jay Z. Despite insisting that the single was a one-off, and that he was purely a producer and not an artist in his own right, originally the album had been slated for release on November 15,2005, but the date was delayed at Williams request. In an interview on the delay, he stated that he felt the album needed more work, nearly six months later, it was finally released. The album received mixed reviews from critics. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone called it still only so-so, offering a series of modestly tuneful, entertainment Weekly said the album seems divided against itself, rest assured that all of the songs have something in common, theyre not remotely catchy. For AllMusic, Andy Kellman wrote that its not like any part of it is flat-out poor and he cited Raspy Shit and Number One as highlights and quipped, keepin it playa like he says, for exactly what thats worth. The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the Grammy Awards of 2007, the album debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 and sold 142,000 copies in its first week, outsold by LeToyas self-titled debut album and the compilation album Now 22. Most recently, a video for That Girl was released and has been receiving airplay on VH1. The second week, it fell to #9 with 51,000 copies sold, on this album, Pharrell makes his solo production debut without his partner Chad Hugo. The album has sold 2,889,025 copies worldwide, all songs written and produced by Pharrell Williams, songs with co-writers are noted. Not on the album, Big White Spaceship is actually an early project with Timbaland & Magoo called Surrounded by Idiots. Pharrell recalls in an interview, In seventh grade I met Chad, thats twenty years ago by now. Like I said earlier, we started producing beats together, but then again, I also played with this famous group which consisted of Timbaland, Magoo, myself and some other guy. Chad wasnt a part of the group, so I was in The Neptunes, a few tracks produced by the group float around on the Internet, this being the most distributed. Recorded a remix to song, removing vocals from Timbaland & Magoo. The song Skateboard P Presents, Show You How to Hustle is featured in the game Need for Speed, other songs presumed to be B-sides or possibly just unreleased Pharrell compositions include Creamsickle and I Need Love
In My Mind (Pharrell album)
–
In My Mind
23.
Girl (Pharrell Williams album)
–
Girl is the second studio album by American singer and record producer Pharrell Williams. The album was released on March 3,2014, through Williams label i Am Other, Girl was Williams first studio album since his 2006 debut, In My Mind. It contains appearances by Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Daft Punk, JoJo, Girl received generally positive reviews from critics. It peaked at one in 12 countries worldwide, also peaking in the top 10 of the charts of 17 other countries. The album has sold 591,000 copies in the United States as of February 2015, follow-up singles Marilyn Monroe, Come Get It Bae and Gust of Wind have achieved moderate success. At the 57th Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Album of the Year, Happy also won Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Music Video. Williams provided vocals for French electronic duo Daft Punks 2013 album Random Access Memories, after returning from the Paris recording sessions, he attended a meeting with record label managers, who said that the results were spectacular and that Get Lucky would be Daft Punks next single. They also made Williams an offer to record his own album, on December 17,2013, it was announced that Williams had signed to Columbia Records and would release his second studio album in 2014. On February 18,2014, Williams unveiled a trailer for the album, the work was described as a feminist almost-concept album in early reviews. Because society is a little unbalanced and he added that he wished to honor the female figures in his life by making the record. The opening track on the album, Marilyn Monroe, begins with an orchestral string introduction, the songs production is characterized by Williams distinctive bass line. The albums first single, Happy, is a neo soul, Come Get It Bae, which features uncredited guest vocals from Miley Cyrus, is a funk song with playful beat. Lyrically, the song is based around sex and the metaphor You want to ride my motorcycle, serving as a double entendre for sex. Happy was released as the single from the album on November 21,2013. On November 24, Williams released the first 24-hour music video for Happy, guest appearances included Magic Johnson, Steve Carell, Jimmy Kimmel, Jamie Foxx, Odd Future, Miranda Cosgrove, Janelle Monáe and many others. The song has been successful, peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, topping charts in 19 other countries. It received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 86th Academy Awards, in an interview with New York radio station Power 105.1, Williams revealed that the albums second single would be Marilyn Monroe. On March 10,2014, the single was added to the playlist of British urban contemporary radio station BBC Radio 1Xtra, Come Get It Bae serves as the third single release from Girl and the second in the United States
Girl (Pharrell Williams album)
–
G I R L
24.
Happy (Pharrell Williams song)
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Happy is a song written, produced, and performed by American singer and record producer Pharrell Williams, from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack album. It also served as the single from Williams second studio album. It was first released on November 21,2013, alongside a music video. The song was reissued on December 16,2013, by Back Lot Music under exclusive license to Columbia Records, Happy is a midtempo soul and neo soul song on which Williamss falsetto voice has been compared to Curtis Mayfield by critics. The song has been successful, peaking at No.1 in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand. It was the song of 2014 in the United States with 6.45 million copies sold for the year. It reached No.1 in the UK on a three separate occasions and became the most downloaded song of all time in the UK in September 2014. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a live rendition of the song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. The music video for Happy was nominated for Best Male Video and Video of the Year at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards and it also won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards The song was Billboards number-one single for 2014. Happy was the most successful song of 2014, with 13.9 million units worldwide, Williams provided vocals for French duo Daft Punks 2013 album Random Access Memories, on the songs Lose Yourself to Dance and Get Lucky. After returning from the sessions in Paris, he attended a meeting with record label managers who said that the results were spectacular. They also made Williams an offer to record his own album, to which he agreed quickly, on December 17,2013, it was announced that Williams had signed to Columbia Records and would release his second studio album in 2014. In a December 2013 press release, Rob Stringer, Chairman of Columbia Records, said When we excitedly partnered with Pharrell in January of this year, we felt it was his time again. Since then, Blurred Lines and Get Lucky have defined pop music in 2013, Happy was written and produced by Williams, with backing vocals by Rhea Dummett, Trevon Henderson, Ashley L. Lee, Shamika Hightower, Jasmine Murray and Terrence Rolle. The track was edited and arranged by Andrew Coleman and Mike Larson. The song was mixed by Leslie Brathwaite at Music Box Studios in Atlanta. Happy plays for 3 minutes and 53 seconds in common time, the song is in the key of F major and it features a blue note. Williams sings the upper notes in falsetto, his vocal range spans from F4 to C6 and his singing on the track has been compared to that of Curtis Mayfield
Happy (Pharrell Williams song)
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"Happy"
Happy (Pharrell Williams song)
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Despicable Me 2 cover
25.
Billionaire Boys Club (clothing retailer)
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Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream is an American and Japanese clothing retailer featuring two lines of clothing established by Pharrell Williams and Nigo, founder of clothing label BAPE. The lines consist of T-shirts, polos, sweatshirts, knits, denim, suits and shirts, outerwear in leather, down, cotton, the items are produced in very limited quantities and are usually sold for high prices. In 2005, Pharrell Williams, one half of The Neptunes partnered with Japans fashion icon Nigo, the two collaborated to create and launch two new premium streetwear brands, Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream. The brand suffered many setbacks after its conception due to disputes between Williams and Reebok. Reebok was originally set to release the line alongside the Ice Cream sneaker line. Although the sneakers made it, the line was postponed. It was at the end of 2005 when the brand was finally launched as a partner company to A Bathing Ape. In August 2011 news surfaced that rapper JAY Z, a frequent collaborator of Pharrell and known to wear BBC himself, later it was revealed that the rapper, through a joint-venture with Iconix, had invested in the brand. The following year BBC did record high $25 million to $30 million in volume, Billionaire Boys Club originally was exclusively manufactured in Brooklyn, however in recent seasons the clothing has been made in Canada, Mexico, Korea, and Turkey. BBC has launched a brand called Billionaire Girls Club or BGC, Pharrell and Nigo did a special tribute to Tokyo, with a Tokyo capsule line. The letters BBC were replaced by TYO and a special astronaut image, Billionaire Boys Club has US flagship store in SoHo, New York City, a European flagship store in Soho, London and a store in Tokyo, Japan. Several stores that retail Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream clothing exist across North America, the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as Asia, Billionaire Boys Club/Ice Cream Nigoldeneye/A Bathing Ape and Billionaire Boys Club on Nigos BAPE TV show Nigoldeneye
Billionaire Boys Club (clothing retailer)
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Billionaire Boys Club
26.
Grammy Award
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A Grammy Award, or Grammy, is an honor awarded by The Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English-language music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of awards that have a more popular interest. It shares recognition of the industry as that of the other performance awards such as the Emmy Awards, the Tony Awards. The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4,1959, to honor, following the 2011 ceremony, The Academy overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. The 59th Grammy Awards, honoring the best achievements from October 2015 to September 2016, was held on February 12,2017, the Grammys had their origin in the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the 1950s. The music executives decided to rectify this by creating a given by their industry similar to the Oscars. This was the beginning of the National Academy of Recording Arts, after it was decided to create such an award, there was still a question of what to call it, one working title was the Eddie, to honor the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Edison. They finally settled on using the name of the invention of Emile Berliner, the gramophone, for the awards, the number of awards given grew and fluctuated over the years with categories added and removed, at one time reaching over 100. The second Grammy Awards, also held in 1959, was the first ceremony to be televised, the gold-plated trophies, each depicting a gilded gramophone, are made and assembled by hand by Billings Artworks in Ridgway, Colorado. In 1990 the original Grammy design was revamped, changing the traditional soft lead for a stronger alloy less prone to damage, Billings developed a zinc alloy named grammium, which is trademarked. The trophies with the name engraved on them are not available until after the award announcements. By February 2009,7,578 Grammy trophies had been awarded, the General Field are four awards which are not restricted by genre. Album of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a full album if other than the performer. Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a single song if other than the performer. Song of the Year is awarded to the writer/composer of a single song, Best New Artist is awarded to a promising breakthrough performer who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording that establishes the public identity of that artist. The only two artists to win all four of these awards are Christopher Cross, who won all four in 1980, and Adele, who won the Best New Artist award in 2009 and the other three in 2012 and 2017. Other awards are given for performance and production in specific genres, as well as for other such as artwork. Special awards are given for longer-lasting contributions to the music industry, the many other Grammy trophies are presented in a pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony earlier in the afternoon before the Grammy Awards telecast
Grammy Award
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Grammy Awards
Grammy Award
27.
Academy Award
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The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit, which has become commonly known by its nickname Oscar. The awards, first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are overseen by AMPAS, the awards ceremony was first broadcast on radio in 1930 and televised for the first time in 1953. It is now live in more than 200 countries and can be streamed live online. The Academy Awards ceremony is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony and its equivalents – the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music and recording – are modeled after the Academy Awards. The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2016, were held on February 26,2017, at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, the ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and was broadcast on ABC. A total of 3,048 Oscars have been awarded from the inception of the award through the 88th, the first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16,1929, at a private dinner function at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post-awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel, the cost of guest tickets for that nights ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other participants in the industry of the time. The ceremony ran for 15 minutes, winners were announced to media three months earlier, however, that was changed for the second ceremony in 1930. Since then, for the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11,00 pm on the night of the awards. The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in The Last Command and he had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give him the prize earlier, this made him the first Academy Award winner in history. With the fourth ceremony, however, the system changed, for the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. At the 29th ceremony, held on March 27,1957, until then, foreign-language films had been honored with the Special Achievement Award. The 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, since 1973, all Academy Awards ceremonies always end with the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Academy also awards Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, see also § Awards of Merit categories The best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette. The five spokes represent the branches of the Academy, Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers. The model for the statuette is said to be Mexican actor Emilio El Indio Fernández, sculptor George Stanley sculpted Cedric Gibbons design. The statuettes presented at the ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze
Academy Award
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Academy Awards
Academy Award
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31st Academy Awards Presentations,
Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, 1959
Academy Award
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81st Academy Awards Presentations,
Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, 2009
Academy Award
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Pantages Theatre, 2008
28.
Despicable Me 2
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Despicable Me 2 is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated comedy film and the sequel to the 2010 animated film Despicable Me. Produced by Illumination Entertainment for Universal Pictures, and animated by Illumination Mac Guff, the film is directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Elsie Fisher, and Dana Gaier reprise their roles as Gru, Dr. Nefario, Margo, Agnes, and Edith respectively. Kristen Wiig, who played Miss Hattie in the first film, voices agent Lucy Wilde, while Ken Jeong, New cast members include Benjamin Bratt as Eduardo El Macho Pérez and Steve Coogan as Silas Ramsbottom, head of the fictional Anti-Villain League. The film premiered on June 5,2013 in Australia, and was released in the United States on July 3,2013. Grossing over $970 million worldwide against its budget of $76 million, the became the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2013. It is also the most profitable film in the 101-year history of Universal Studios, a prequel/spin-off film, Minions, focusing on the little yellow henchmen before they met Gru, was released on July 10,2015. A third film, Despicable Me 3, is scheduled for release on June 30,2017, a mysterious vehicle using a huge magnet steals a highly potent mutagen known as PX-41 from a secret laboratory in the Arctic Circle. Dr. Nefario, Grus friend and assistant, misses being evil, Gru reluctantly agrees to investigate the theft, and is partnered with undercover AVL agent Lucy Wilde. The pair begin their search in the Paradise Shopping Mall, disguised as bakery employees, Gru and Lucy break into Eduardos restaurant at night, but find no proof. Meanwhile, Agnes, confiding in her dream to one day have a mother, believes that Gru will fall in love with Lucy, although holding Eduardo as his chief suspect, Gru agrees to pursue others, including wig merchant Floyd Eagle-san. After witnessing Eduardos two-timing son, Antonio, woo Margo and invite everyone to his Cinco de Mayo party and he is then set up on a dinner date with a vacuous woman named Shannon. The date goes horribly, and Shannon is about to humiliate Gru after she spots his wig, until Lucy, visiting the restaurant herself, saves Gru and renders Shannon unconscious with a tranquilizer gun. While they take Shannon home, Gru and Lucy spend personal time together, the next day, the AVL arrest Eagle-san after finding an almost-empty jar of the mutagen in his shop, and the investigation is closed by Ramsbottom. Lucy is reassigned to Australia, but gives Gru her lipstick Taser as a gift before leaving, a heartbroken Gru, having lacked the courage to ask Lucy out on a date, instead takes his girls to the Cinco de Mayo party. While there, he follows Eduardo and discovers a secret musical steps-activated elevator, Gru discovers that Macho and his partner, Nefario, have been abducting Grus Minions and using the stolen PX-41 serum to mutate them into violet, savage and hairy Evil Minions. Macho plans to launch full of the mutated Minions into major cities in order to achieve world domination. He gives Gru the chance to team up with him, on her flight, Lucy, realizing that she has also fallen in love with Gru, jumps out of the plane and hang glides down to the party
Despicable Me 2
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Theatrical release poster
Despicable Me 2
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Miranda Cosgrove and Steve Carell at the Australian premiere of Despicable Me 2
Despicable Me 2
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Directors
Pierre Coffin and
Chris Renaud at the film's screening at the 2013
Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Despicable Me 2
29.
North Carolina
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North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U. S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties, the most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second largest banking center in the United States after New York City. The state has a range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet at Mount Mitchell. The climate of the plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a highland climate. North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, the United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region. So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the most famous of these is the Queen Annes Revenge, which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the states most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population. It consists of rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. The Piedmont ranges from about 300 feet in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet in the west, the western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina has 17 major river basins, the five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins,11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the states border – the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar-Pamlico basin. Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, the climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, the coastal plain averages around 1 inch of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all. North Carolina experiences severe weather in summer and winter, with summer bringing threat of hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rain
North Carolina
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North Carolina topographic map
North Carolina
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Flag
North Carolina
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The
Blue Ridge Mountains as seen from the
Blue Ridge Parkway.
North Carolina
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Deer in the
Eno River as it flows through the Piedmont region of North Carolina
30.
West Africa
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West Africa, also called Western Africa and the West of Africa, is the westernmost subregion of Africa. Early human settlers from northern Holocene societies arrived in West Africa around 12,000 B. C, sedentary farming began in, or around the fifth millennium B. C, as well as the domestication of cattle. By 1500 B. C, ironworking technology allowed an expansion of productivity. Northern tribes developed walled settlements and non-walled settlements that numbered at 400, in the forest region, Iron Age cultures began to flourish, and an inter-region trade began to appear. The desertification of the Sahara and the change of the coast cause trade with upper Mediterranean peoples to be seen. Local leather, cloth, and gold also contributed to the abundance of prosperity for many of the following empires. Also, based on the archaeology of city of Kumbi Saleh in modern-day Mauritania, three great kingdoms were identified in Bilad al-Sudan by the ninth century. They included Ghana, Gao and Kanem, the Sosso Empire sought to fill the void, but was defeated by the Mandinka forces of Sundiata Keita, founder of the new Mali Empire. In the 15th century, the Songhai would form a new dominant state based on Gao, in the Songhai Empire, under the leadership of Sonni Ali, further east, Oyo arose as the dominant Yoruba state and the Aro Confederacy as a dominant Igbo state in modern-day Nigeria. The Kingdom of Nri was a West African medieval state in the present-day southeastern Nigeria, the Kingdom of Nri was unusual in the history of world government in that its leader exercised no military power over his subjects. The kingdom existed as a sphere of religious and political influence over a third of Igboland, the Eze Nri managed trade and diplomacy on behalf of the Nri people, and possessed divine authority in religious matters. The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire of what is today Western, established in the 15th century, the Oyo Empire grew to become one of the largest West African states. It rose through the organizational skills of the Yoruba, wealth gained from trade. The Benin Empire was an empire located in what is now southern Nigeria. Its capital was Edo, now known as Benin City, Edo and it should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey. The Benin Empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the hinterland of West Africa. Olfert Dapper, a Dutch writer, describing Benin in his book Description of Africa and its craft was the most adored and treasured bronze casting in the history of Africa. It was annexed by the British Empire in 1897 during the invasion, in the early 19th century, a series of Fulani reformist jihads swept across Western Africa
West Africa
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Mansa Musa depicted holding a
gold nugget from a 1395 map of
Africa and
Europe
West Africa
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West Africa (
UN subregion)
West Africa
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West Africa circa 1839
West Africa
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Satellite imagery from
outer space of West Africa
