1.
Philadelphia
–
In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
2.
Pennsylvania
–
Pennsylvania /ˌpɛnsᵻlˈveɪnjə/, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, the 5th most populous, and the 9th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The states five most populous cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, the state capital, and its ninth-largest city, is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has 140 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary. The state is one of the 13 original founding states of the United States, it came into being in 1681 as a result of a land grant to William Penn. Part of Pennsylvania, together with the present State of Delaware, had earlier been organized as the Colony of New Sweden and it was the second state to ratify the United States Constitution, on December 12,1787. Independence Hall, where the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were drafted, is located in the states largest city of Philadelphia, during the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, was fought in the south central region of the state. Valley Forge near Philadelphia was General Washingtons headquarters during the winter of 1777–78. Pennsylvania is 170 miles north to south and 283 miles east to west, of a total 46,055 square miles,44,817 square miles are land,490 square miles are inland waters, and 749 square miles are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States, Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Cities include Philadelphia, Reading, Lebanon and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, the northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining communities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston City, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest, the state has 5 regions, namely the Allegheny Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and the Erie Plain. Straddling two major zones, the majority of the state, with the exception of the corner, has a humid continental climate. The largest city, Philadelphia, has characteristics of the humid subtropical climate that covers much of Delaware. Moving toward the interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder, the number of cloudy days increase. Western areas of the state, particularly locations near Lake Erie, can receive over 100 inches of snowfall annually, the state may be subject to severe weather from spring through summer into fall. Tornadoes occur annually in the state, sometimes in large numbers, the Tuscarora Nation took up temporary residence in the central portion of Pennsylvania ca. Both the Dutch and the English claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their lands in America
3.
Hip hop music
–
It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements, MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, while often used to refer solely to rapping, hip hop more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. Hip hops early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with the breaks and Jamaican toasting, rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat. The Sugarhill Gangs 1979 song Rappers Delight is widely regarded to be the first hip hop record to gain popularity in the mainstream. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles, prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined within the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began to spread to scenes in dozens of countries. New school hip hop was the wave of hip hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D. M. C. The Golden age hip hop period was a period between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. Notable artists from this era include the Juice Crew, Public Enemy, & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One, EPMD, Slick Rick, Beastie Boys, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that often focuses on the violent lifestyles, in the West Coast hip hop style, G-funk dominated mainstream hip hop for several years during the 1990s. I. G. In the 1990s, hip hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap, at the same time, hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music, examples being Neo soul and nu metal. Hip hop became a pop music genre in the mid-1990s. The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s, with hip hop influences also increasingly finding their way into mainstream pop, the United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk, a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics. Starting in 2005, sales of hip hop music in the United States began to severely wane, during the mid-2000s, alternative hip hop secured a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. Creation of the hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash. However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was known as disco rap. Cowboy later worked the hip hop cadence into a part of his stage performance, the first use of the term in print was in The Village Voice, by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop
4.
Neo soul
–
Neo soul is a genre of popular music. The term was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music emerged from soul. It has been noted by writers for its traditional R&B influences, conscious-driven lyrics. Neo soul developed during the 1980s and early 1990s, in the United States and United Kingdom and it earned mainstream success during the 1990s, with the commercial and critical breakthroughs of several artists, including DAngelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell. Their music was marketed as an alternative to the producer-driven, digitally approached R&B of the time and its mainstream presence declined during the 2000s, although newer artists emerged through more independent means of marketing their music. According to music journalist Mark Anthony Neal, neo-soul and its various incarnations has helped to redefine the boundaries, the success of DAngelos 1995 debut album Brown Sugar has been regarded by several writers and music critics as inspiration behind the terms origin. In a 2002 interview for Billboard, Massenburg said that genre classifications are often unpopular because they may be suggestive of a short-lived trend. However, although he said neo soul is still essentially soul music, neo-soul artists tried to look both backward and forward, acting in the belief that a continuum might exist. Despite some ambivalence from artists, the term received widespread use by music critics and writers who wrote about artists, African American studies professor Mark Anthony Neal has described neo soul as everything from avant-garde R&B to organic soul. A product of trying to something outside of the norm in R&B. They also infuse jazz, funk, and African musical elements into R&B, noting that most of the genres artists are singer-songwriters, writers have viewed their lyrical content as more conscious-driven and having a broader range than most other R&B artists. AllMusic calls it roughly analogous to contemporary R&B, dimitri Ehrlich of Vibe said that they emphasize a mix of elegant, jazz-tinged R&B and subdued hip hop, with a highly idiosyncratic, deeply personal approach to love and politics. Music writers have noted that neo soul artists are predominantly female, jason Anderson of CBC News called neo soul a sinuous, sly yet unabashedly earnest alternative and kind of haven for listeners turned off by the hedonism of mainstream hip-hop and club jams. Neo soul artists are associated with alternative lifestyles and fashions, including organic food, incense. In a 1998 article on neo soul, Time journalist Christopher John Farley wrote that such as Hill, DAngelo. Neo soul artists during the 1990s were heavily inspired by the sound and mellow instrumentation of Gil Scott-Herons. All About Jazz cited Jackson as one of the architects of the sound. Neo soul originated in the 1980s and early 1990s, with the work of acts such as Prince
5.
Drummer
–
The term percussionist applies to a musician who performs struck musical instruments of numerous diverse shapes, sizes and applications. Most contemporary western ensembles bands for rock, pop, jazz, most drummers of this particular designation work within the context of a larger contingent that may also include, keyboard or guitar, auxiliary percussion and bass. Said ensembles may also include melodic based mallet percussion including, vibraphone, the rhythm section, being the core metronomic foundation with which other melodic instruments, including voices, may present the harmonic/melodic portion of the material. In popular music, the function of the drummer is to keep time or provide a steady tempo. There are many tools that a drummer can use for either timekeeping or soloing and these include cymbals, snare, toms, auxiliary percussion and many others. Also there are single, double, and triple bass pedals for the bass drum, before motorized transport became widespread, drummers played a key role in military conflicts. Military drummers provided drum cadences that set a marching pace. In some armies drums also assisted in combat by keeping cadence for firing and loading drills with muzzle loading guns, military drummers were also employed on the parade field, when troops passed in review, and in various ceremonies including ominous drum rolls accompanying disciplinary punishments. Children also served as drummer boys well into the century, though less commonly than is popularly assumed, due to the nature of the job. In modern times, drummers are not employed in battle, typically buglers and drummers mass under a sergeant-drummer and during marches alternately perform with the regiment or battalion ensembles. Military-based musical percussion traditions were not limited exclusively to the western world, in the Ottoman Empire, the size of a military band reflected the rank of its commander in chief, the largest band was reserved for the Sultan. It included various percussion instruments, often adopted in European military music, the pitched bass drum is still known in some languages as the Turkish Drum. The drumline is a type of marching ensemble descended from drummers, and can be arranged as a performance of a drum. Their uniforms will often have a style and a fancy hat. In recent times, it is common to see drummers in parades wearing costumes with an African, Asian, Latin, Native American, or tribal look. Various indigenous cultures use the drum to create a sense of unity with others especially during recreational events, the drum also helps in prayers and meditations. List of drummers Drum beat Drum machine Drum tracks Pipe band This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
6.
Lead vocalist
–
The lead vocalist, lead vocals or lead singer in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer either leads the ensemble, or sets against the ensemble as the dominant sound. In vocal group performances, notably in soul and gospel music, and early rock and roll, as an example in rock music, Mick Jagger is the lead singer of The Rolling Stones. Similarly in soul music, Smokey Robinson was the singer of The Miracles. The practice of using a lead singer in vocal groups, however, has a longer history, songs of the late nineteenth century frequently used a leading solo voice, followed by a choral response by other singers. From these various points - including Motown - it went on to become a device in much rock. In some bands - most famously, The Beatles - the role of lead singer alternated, while in others - for example, there are as many types and styles of lead singer as there are styles and genres of music. However, the singer of a group or band is usually the main focus of audiences attention. The lead vocalist of a band is called the front man or front woman. Pink Floyd also can be considered a band with two front men, as both the guitarist David Gilmour and the bassist Roger Waters sang and wrote most of the songs. In the beginning of the career, however, Pink Floyds lead singer and guitarist was Syd Barrett. Particularly before the 1970s, many bands were named for the leader or founder, rather than the lead singer, examples include the Dave Clark Five and Harold Melvin. In modern rock music, the singer is often, but not always, also the bands leader. While lead singers or spokespersons for any musical ensembles can be called a front man, since the position commonly has an expanded role from simple lead vocalists, there have been cases in which the front man for a band is someone other than the lead vocalist. In many bands, such as The Who, Fall Out Boy, Led Zeppelin, Living Colour, Queen and Oasis, usually, this is derived from that guitarists specific role as a co-songwriter, co-founder and/or co-vocalist. Also in some cases, there are two frontmen, such as Underoath, with singers Spencer Chamberlain and Aaron Gillespie sharing vocal duties, another example is Blink-182, in which vocal duties are split between bassist Mark Hoppus and guitarist Tom DeLonge. Hoppus usually carries out most media either by himself or together with DeLonge, linkin Park has two vocalists as well, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, both considered as frontmen. Another example is the metal band Metallica, in which James Hetfield
7.
Percussion instrument
–
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater, struck, scraped or rubbed by hand, or struck against another similar instrument. The percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments, the percussion section of an orchestra most commonly contains instruments such as timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle and tambourine. However, the section can also contain non-percussive instruments, such as whistles and sirens, percussive techniques can also be applied to the human body, as in body percussion. On the other hand, keyboard instruments, such as the celesta, are not normally part of the percussion section, Percussion instruments may play not only rhythm, but also melody and harmony. Percussion is commonly referred to as the backbone or the heartbeat of an ensemble, often working in close collaboration with bass instruments. In jazz and other popular ensembles, the pianist, bassist, drummer. Most classical pieces written for full orchestra since the time of Haydn and Mozart are orchestrated to place emphasis on the strings, woodwinds, however, often at least one pair of timpani is included, though they rarely play continuously. Rather, they serve to provide additional accents when needed, in the 18th and 19th centuries, other percussion instruments have been used, again generally sparingly. The use of percussion instruments became more frequent in the 20th century classical music, in almost every style of music, percussion plays a pivotal role. In classic jazz, one almost immediately thinks of the rhythm of the hi-hats or the ride cymbal when the word swing is spoken. Because of the diversity of instruments, it is not uncommon to find large musical ensembles composed entirely of percussion. Rhythm, melody, and harmony are all represented in these ensembles, music for pitched percussion instruments can be notated on a staff with the same treble and bass clefs used by many non-percussive instruments. Music for percussive instruments without a pitch can be notated with a specialist rhythm or percussion-clef. The word percussion has evolved from Latin terms, percussio, as a noun in contemporary English it is described in Wiktionary as the collision of two bodies to produce a sound. Hornbostel–Sachs has no high-level section for percussion, Most percussion instruments are classified as idiophones and membranophones.1 Concussion idiophones or clappers, played in pairs and beaten against each other, such as zills and clapsticks. 111.2 Percussion idiophones, includes many percussion instruments played with the hand or by a mallet, such as the hang, gongs and the xylophone. 21 Struck drums, includes most types of drum, such as the timpani, snare drum, (Included in most drum sets or 412. Stringed instruments played with such as the hammered dulcimer
8.
Multi-instrumentalist
–
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level. Multi-instrumentalists who play closely related instruments, a known as doubling are common in orchestra, in jazz, in music theatre pit orchestras. Popular music composers and songwriters are often multi-instrumentalists, some musicians unions or associations specify a higher rate of pay for musicians who double on two or more instruments for a performance or recording. The European Piffari, Stadtpfeifer and Waits were multi-instrumentalists, who played trumpet, sackbut, shawm, cornett, recorder, musicians with an education of a Stadtpfeifer were Gottfried Reiche, Johann Joachim Quantz, Johann Christof Pezel and Sigmund Theophil Staden. Also many European church musicians of the 17th and 18th centuries were multi-instrumentalists, georg Philipp Telemann for example played violin, viola da gamba, recorder, flauto traverso, oboe, shawm, sackbut and double bass. Some famous classical composer-performers could play multiple instruments at a level, such as Mozart. Music written for symphony orchestra usually calls for a section featuring a number of musicians who might each play a variety of different instruments during a performance. Orchestras will also often, but not always, call for members of the woodwind section to be multi-instrumentalists. This is sometimes referred to as doubling, typically, for example, one flute player in the orchestra will switch to playing the piccolo or alto flute when called to by the score. Similarly, clarinet players may double on clarinet, oboe players on cor anglais. Trumpet players may switch to piccolo trumpet for certain Baroque literature, organ players are also commonly expected to master the harpsichord as well. Doubling elsewhere in the orchestra is rare, with musical theatre pit orchestras, woodwind players are expected to play a large number of woodwind instruments. Many professional jazz musicians have become multi-instrumentalists, in the swing big band era, woodwind players were expected to be able to play multiple woodwind instruments. Some jazz saxophonists are offered gigs where they are required to play clarinet. So they spend time learning the differences and then continue to develop their ability over the rest of musical careers, dolphy was also frequently recorded on bass clarinet. In the early years of jazz, when the genre was linked to the marching band genre. From the 1950s onwards and particularly since the development of fusion in the late 1960s. Notable examples of bassists who are virtuosi on both instruments include Stanley Clarke and John Patitucci, many jazz instrumentalists whose main instrument is a horn or bass also play jazz piano, because piano is an excellent instrument for composing, arranging, and developing greater harmonic knowledge
9.
Disc jockey
–
A disc jockey is a person who mixes different sources of pre-existing recorded music as it is playing, usually for a live audience in a nightclub or dance club or via broadcasting. DJs typically perform for an audience in a nightclub or dance club or a TV, radio broadcast audience, or in the 2010s. DJs also create mixes, remixes and tracks that are recorded for later sale, in hip hop music, DJs may create beats, using percussion breaks, basslines and other musical content sampled from pre-existing records. In hip hop, rappers and MCs use these beats to rap over, DJs use equipment that can play at least two sources of recorded music simultaneously and mix them together. This allows the DJ to create seamless transitions between recordings and develop unique mixes of songs, DJ equipment, notably the specialized DJ mixer, a small audio mixer with a crossfader and cue functions. The crossfader enables the DJ to blend or transition from one song to another, the cue knobs or switches allow the DJ to preview a source of recorded music in headphones before playing it for the live club or broadcast audience. Previewing the music in headphones helps the DJ pick the track they want to play. DJs may also use a microphone to speak to the audience, effects such as reverb to create sound effects, drum machines. The title DJ is also used by DJs in front of their real names or adopted pseudonyms or stage names as a title to denote their profession. Some DJs focus on creating a mix of songs for the club dancers or radio audience. Other DJs use turntablism techniques such as scratching, in which the DJ or turntablist manipulates the record player turntable to create new sounds. In many types of DJing, including club DJing and radio/TV DJing, there are several types of disc jockey. Radio DJs or radio personalities introduce and play music that is broadcast on AM, FM, club DJs select and play music in bars, nightclubs or discothèques, or at parties, raves, or even in stadiums. Mobile DJs travel with portable sound systems and play recorded music at a variety of events. Some mobile DJs also serve as the master of ceremonies at weddings or other events, directing the attention of attendees, there are also many competitions for DJs that specialize in different turntablism techniques, such as mixing, hip hop music-style scratching or other kinds of techniques. Other types of DJ use musical performance techniques that allow them to be categorized as performing musicians, hip hop DJs and are also often songwriters or music producers who use turntablism and sampling to create backing instrumentals for new tracks. In reggae, the DJ is a vocalist who raps, toasts, chants or chats over pre-recorded rhythm tracks, the individual who helps the DJ by selecting tracks or records to be played is called the selector. Many electronica artists and producers who work as DJs often perform music by combining turntablism with keyboards, digital musical instruments
10.
Music journalism
–
Music journalism is media criticism and reporting about popular music topics, including pop music, rock music, and related styles. Journalists began writing music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on what is now thought of as classical music. An influential English 19th-century music critic, for example, was James William Davison of The Times, the composer Hector Berlioz also wrote reviews and criticisms for the Paris press of the 1830s and 1840s. The 1840s could be considered a point, in that music critics after the 1840s generally were not also practicing musicians. However, counterexamples include Alfred Brendel, Charles Rosen, Paul Hindemith, in the early 1980s, a decline in the quantity of classical criticism began occurring when classical-music criticism visibly started to disappear from the media. Also of concern in classical music journalism was how American reviewers can write about ethnic and folk music from other than their own, such as Indian ragas. The performers be treated as human beings and their music be treated as human activity rather than a mystical or mysterious phenomenon, the review should show an understanding of the musics cultural backgrounds and intentions. A key finding in a 2005 study of journalism in America was that the profile of the average classical music critic is a white, 52-year old male. Demographics indicated that the group was 74% male, 92% white, davis, one of the most respected voices of the craft, said he had been forced out after 26 years. Music writers only started treating pop and rock music seriously in 1964 after the breakthrough of the Beatles, one of the early music magazines in Britain, Melody Maker, complained in 1967 about how newspapers and magazines are continually hammering pop music. Melody Maker magazine advocated the new forms of pop music of the late 1960s, by 1999, the quality press was regularly carrying reviews of popular music gigs and albums, which had a key role in keeping pop in the public eye. As more pop music critics began writing, this had the effect of legitimating pop as an art form, as a result, in the world of pop music criticism, there has tended to be a quick turnover. In the realm of music, as in that of classical music. Frank Zappa declared that, Most rock journalism is people who cant write, interviewing people who cant talk, in the 2000s, online music bloggers began to supplement, and to some degree displace, music journalists in print media. In 2006, Martin Edlund of the New York Sun criticized the trend, arguing that while the Internet has democratized music criticism, slate magazine writer Jody Rosen discussed the 2000s-era trends in pop music criticism in his article The Perils of Poptimism. Rosen noted that much of the debate is centered on a perception that rock critics regard rock as normative … the standard state of popular music … to which everything else is compared. At a 2006 pop critic conference, attendees discussed their guilty pop pleasures, reconsidering musicians and genres which rock critics have dismissed as lightweight. Rosen stated that this new paradigm is called popism — or, more evocatively
11.
Record producer
–
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
12.
Actor
–
An actor is a person who portrays a character in a performance. Simplistically speaking, the person denominated actor or actress is someone beautiful who plays important characters, the actor performs in the flesh in the traditional medium of the theatre, or in modern mediums such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is ὑποκριτής, literally one who answers, the actors interpretation of their role pertains to the role played, whether based on a real person or fictional character. Interpretation occurs even when the actor is playing themselves, as in forms of experimental performance art, or, more commonly, to act, is to create. Formerly, in societies, only men could become actors. When used for the stage, women played the roles of prepubescent boys. The etymology is a derivation from actor with ess added. However, when referring to more than one performer, of both sexes, actor is preferred as a term for male performers. Actor is also used before the name of a performer as a gender-specific term. Within the profession, the re-adoption of the term dates to the 1950–1960s. As Whoopi Goldberg put it in an interview with the paper, Im an actor – I can play anything. The U. K. performers union Equity has no policy on the use of actor or actress, an Equity spokesperson said that the union does not believe that there is a consensus on the matter and stated that the. subject divides the profession. In 2009, the Los Angeles Times stated that Actress remains the term used in major acting awards given to female recipients. However, player remains in use in the theatre, often incorporated into the name of a group or company, such as the American Players. Also, actors in improvisational theatre may be referred to as players, prior to Thespis act, Grecian stories were only expressed in song, dance, and in third person narrative. In honor of Thespis, actors are commonly called Thespians, the exclusively male actors in the theatre of ancient Greece performed in three types of drama, tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play. Western theatre developed and expanded considerably under the Romans, as the Western Roman Empire fell into decay through the 4th and 5th centuries, the seat of Roman power shifted to Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. Records show that mime, pantomime, scenes or recitations from tragedies and comedies, dances, from the 5th century, Western Europe was plunged into a period of general disorder
13.
Def Jam Recordings
–
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused predominantly on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group. In the UK, the takes on the name Def Jam UK and is operated through Virgin EMI, while in Japan. The label distributes various record labels, including Kanye Wests GOOD Music, Ludacris Disturbing Tha Peace, Def Jam was founded by Rick Rubin in his dormitory in Weinstein Hall at New York University and its first release was a single by his punk-rock group Hose. Russell Simmons joined Rubin shortly after they were introduced to other, according to one story. Another cites DJ Jazzy Jay as their connector, Rubin has said he met Simmons on the TV show, Graffiti Rock and recognized him then as the face of hip hop, He was five years older than me, and he was already established in the music business. And I had no experience whatsoever, the first single released with the Def Jam Recordings logo was T La Rock & Jazzy Jays Its Yours. The first releases with Def Jam Recordings catalog numbers were LL Cool Js I Need a Beat, the singles sold well, eventually leading to a distribution deal with CBS Records through Columbia Records the following year. A few years later, Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen started a label called Rush Associated Labels to handle Def Jam. RAL became the home to Nice & Smooth and EPMD after both acts were acquired due to the folding of their former label Sleeping Bag Records, other acts under the RAL umbrella included Redman, Onyx, Flatlinerz, Domino, Warren G and Jayo Felony. As the decade drew to a close, the label signed Public Enemy, Lyor Cohen became president of Def Jam/RAL in 1988, after winning a power struggle with Rubin, who would shortly thereafter leave the company to form Def American Recordings. Rubin would take Slayer with him to Def American in its initial stages, by 1992, despite recent multi-platinum selling releases from Public Enemy, and EPMD, Def Jam ran into severe financial troubles and was faced with folding. However, in 1994, PolyGram purchased Sonys 50% stake in Def Jam Recordings — subsequently bringing the label into its fold, following PolyGrams purchase, Def Jam distributed the Violator Records-signed artist Warren Gs Regulate. G Funk Era album, which went triple platinum and brought much-needed revenue to Def Jam through its distribution deal with Violator, PolyGram acquired an additional 10% in Def Jam Recordings in 1996, further strengthening its ownership of Def Jam. Shortly thereafter, Rush Associated Labels was renamed Def Jam Music Group, the label remained profitable as its veteran star LL Cool J released his successful album Mr. Smith in 1995. The label later signed Foxy Brown, whose debut album Ill Na Na became a seller in 1997. In 1998, PolyGram was purchased by Seagram and merged with the MCA family of labels and it then purchased the remaining interest of Def Jam Recordings from Russell Simmons for a reported $100 million. UMG merged 14+ record labels including, Def Jam, Island Records, despite the formation of IDJMG, the Def Jam, Mercury, and Island labels continued to operate as separate imprints underneath the bigger umbrella. Lyor Cohen was appointed co-president of IDJMG, and Kevin Liles succeeded him as president of Def Jam, Def Soul also issued recordings by Musiq, Montell Jordan, Case,112, Patti LaBelle, and Christina Milian
14.
The Roots
–
The Roots is an American hip hop group, formed in 1987 by Tariq Black Thought Trotter and Ahmir Questlove Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots are known for a jazzy and eclectic approach to hip-hop featuring live musical instruments, Leonard Hub Hubbard, and Josh Abrams were added to the band. The Roots served as the band on NBCs Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014. The Roots work has consistently met with critical acclaim. About. com ranked the band #7 on its list of the 25 Best Hip-Hop Groups of All-Time, the Roots originated in Philadelphia with Ahmir Questlove Thompson and Tariq Black Thought Trotter while they were both attending the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. They would busk out on the corners with Questlove playing bucket drums. In 1992, they dropped the Square because a local group had claim to the name. Organix was the bands first album, released and sold independently in 1993 and it drew offers from music labels, and the band signed with DGC/Geffen. The Roots first album for DGC, Do You Want More. was released in 1994 and it was a moderate hit among alternative music fans, boosted by the groups appearance at Lollapalooza. The band performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival that year, touring guests, beatboxer Rahzel and producer Scott Storch, joined The Roots. What They Do was also the groups first single to hit the Top 40 of Billboards charts, while continuing on the path of live instrumentation, the albums sound was somewhat darker. The group released Things Fall Apart in 1999 and this was their breakthrough album, peaking at No.4 on the Billboard 200 charts and earning a gold record, signifying U. S. sales of at least 500,000 units. The album was certified platinum in April,2013. Mos Def contributed to the track entitled Double Trouble, the track Act Two features African-Belgian band Zap Mama and Common. The track You Got Me, a duet with R&B singer Erykah Badu and Eve and Jill Scott intended by Black Thought for the unconscious population, peaked at No.39 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. At the 42nd Grammy Awards You Got Me won the award for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group, steve Huey of the website allmusic. com perceived a strong affinity for the neo-soul movement in the album. First-time cameos on Things Fall Apart for Philadelphia natives Beanie Sigel, after this album, Dice Raw left the collective to record his solo debut album Reclaiming the Dead. In the summer, the performed at the Woodstock 99 concert in New York state
15.
Soulquarians
–
The Soulquarians were a neo soul and alternative hip hop-informed musical collective. The collective, formed during the late 1990s, continued into the early 2000s, prior to its formation, members Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and Q-Tip were members of the Native Tongues Posse. In an interview for Spin magazine, Common discussed the production of those albums, the name of the collective is derived from an astrology sign. The founding members of the collective — Questlove from The Roots, DAngelo, James Poyser, many of these artists have performed on one anothers records, creating a community of likeminded musicians forging a style that doesnt have a name yet. Organic soul, natural R&B, boho-rap--its music that owes a debt to the sounds of Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix. Being a collective, the Soulquarians included a rotating list of members, including Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Bilal, in a 2003 interview, Questlove unequivocally stated that there were no plans for a Soulquarians album release for the foreseeable future. This was interpreted as a silent breakup of the outfit, however, according to an interview with Common, the collective continued to exist
16.
J Dilla
–
Yancey died in 2006 of the blood disease thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. James Yancey was the eldest of four including a sister, Martha. The family lived at a house near McDougall and Nevada. He developed a vast musical knowledge from his parents—his mother is an opera singer. According to his mother, he could match pitch perfect harmony by two-months old, to the amazement of musician friends and he began collecting vinyl at the age of two and would be allowed to spin records in the park, an activity he enjoyed tremendously as a child. Along with a range of musical genres, Yancey developed a passion for hip hop music. After transferring from Davis Aerospace Technical High School to Detroit Pershing High School, he met classmates T3 and Baatin, the three formed a rap group called Slum Village. He also took up beatmaking using a tape deck as the center of his studio. During these teenage years he stayed in the basement alone with his collection of records. He later told Pete Rock when they met years later that I was trying to be you, in 1992, he met experienced Detroit musician Amp Fiddler, who was impressed by what Jay Dee was able to accomplish with such limited tools. Amp Fiddler let Jay Dee use his MPC, which he learned quickly. In 1995, Jay Dee and MC Phat Kat formed 1st Down and that same year he recorded Yester Years EP with 5 Elementz. In the year 1996, he formed the group Slum Village along with T3 and Baatin, and recorded the debut, Fan-Tas-Tic in his home studio. Upon its release in 1997, the quickly became popular with fans of Detroit hip hop, as well as gaining the attention of Q-Tip. However, J Dilla felt uncomfortable with the comparison and often voiced it in several interviews and it was kinda fucked up because people automatically put us in that category. That was actually a category that we didn’t actually wanna be in, I thought the music came off like that, but we didn’t realize that shit then. I mean, you listen to the lyrics of the shit. Niggas was talking about getting head from bitches and it was like a nigga from Native Tongues never woulda said that shit
17.
Erykah Badu
–
Erica Erykah Abi Wright, better known as Erykah Badu, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, activist, and actress. Badus career began after opening a show for DAngelo in 1994 in her hometown, record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and her first album, Baduizm, was released on February 11,1997. It spawned three singles, On & On, Next Lifetime and Otherside of the Game, the album was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Badus first live album, Live, was released on November 18,1997 and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA, Badus second studio album, Mamas Gun, was released on October 31,2000. It spawned three singles, Bag Lady, which became her first top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #6, Didnt Cha Know. the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Badus third album, Worldwide Underground, was released on September 16,2003 and it generated three singles, Love of My Life, Danger and Back in the Day with Love becoming her second song to reach the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #9. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA, Badus fourth album, New Amerykah Part One, was released on February 26,2008. It spawned two singles, Honey and Soldier, New Amerykah Part Two was released in 2010 and fared well both critically and commercially. It contained the lead single Window Seat, which led to controversy. Influenced by R&B, 1970s soul, and 1980s hip hop and her work has often been compared to jazz great Billie Holiday. Early in her career, Badu was recognizable for her eccentric style and she was a core member of the Soulquarians. As an actress, she has played a range of supporting roles in movies including Blues Brothers 2000, The Cider House Rules. She also speaks at length in the documentaries Before the Music Dies, Erykah Badu was born Erica Abi Wright in Dallas, Texas on February 26,1971. Her mother raised her, her brother Eevin, and her sister Nayrok alone after their father, to provide for her family, the childrens paternal grandmother often helped to look after them while Badus mother, Kolleen Maria Wright, worked as an actress in theatrical productions. Influenced by her mother, Badu had her first taste of business at the age of four. By the age of 14, Badu was free-styling for a radio station alongside such talent as Roy Hargrove. In her youth, she had decided to change the spelling of her first name from Erica to Erykah, the term kah signifies the inner self. She adopted the surname Badu because it is her favorite jazz scat sound, also, among the Akan people in Ghana, it is the term for the 10th-born child
18.
The Philadelphia Experiment (album)
–
This page is about the musical group and album, see Philadelphia Experiment for the conspiracy theory. The Philadelphia Experiment is the self-titled album resulting from a project including Uri Caine, Ahmir Questlove Thompson. Guest musicians include Pat Martino, Jon Swana and Larry Gold, though all from Philadelphia, each musician brings their unique musical background. Caine is a pianist equally comfortable in jazz, classical and the avant-garde, Thompson is a hip-hop drummer, the result is described by critics as an insanely funky album. Mister Magic is followed by a track, where Christian McBride plays a cover of Just the Two of Us by Grover Washington, Jr. with bass tracks only. The Harlem Experiment featured Carlos Alomar, Steve Bernstein, Don Byron, Eddie Martinez, bassist Ruben Rodriguez, miles Hit - Rob Yancey Broad and Cecil B
19.
D'Angelo
–
Michael Eugene Archer, better known by his stage name DAngelo, is an American, Grammy Award winning R&B and Neo soul singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. After briefly being a member of a group called I. D. U. His first major success came in 1994 as the co-writer and co-producer of U Will Know and his debut solo album, Brown Sugar, released in July 1995, received rave reviews and sold over two million copies. Along with artists like Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Maxwell, following this DAngelo went on a hiatus before releasing Voodoo in January 2000, which debuted at number one. Its lead single Untitled, was a smash on the R&B charts and won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal, likewise, following the release of Untitled, DAngelo became more uncomfortable with his growing status as a sex symbol. This was followed by personal struggles including alcoholism, and a fourteen-year musical hiatus. DAngelo was born Michael Eugene Archer, in Richmond, Virginia on February 11,1974 and he was raised in an entirely Pentecostal family. Archers musical talents were discovered early on. At 3, he was spotted by his 10-year-old brother Luther, DAngelo signed a publishing deal with EMI Music in 1991 after catching the attention of record executives through a demo tape, which was originally by the group. After an impressive audition for EMI execs, a three-hour impromptu piano recital, a&R-man Gary Harris was primarily responsible for his signing, while manager Kedar Massenburg helped negotiate the contract as well. Massenburg became DAngelos manager after hearing of him through the buzz on the streets and he had previously managed hip hop group Stetsasonic and formed the artist management-firm Kedar Entertainment in 1991, which he diversified into production, music publishing and publicity. In 1994, his first significant success came in the form of the hit single U Will Know, DAngelo composed the music for U Will Know, while his brother, Luther Archer, wrote the lyrics. Originally featured on the soundtrack to the film Jasons Lyric, the peaked at number 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. The music video for U Will Know featured DAngelo as the choir director. That same year, he wrote and produced the song Overjoyed for the Boys Choir of Harlem, the success of U Will Know helped build the buzz surrounding DAngelo, which was followed by a number of highly promoted showcases, and added to the buzz among music industry insiders. Brown Sugar was released in June 1995, although sales were sluggish at first, the album was eventually a hit. The album debuted at six on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart in the week of July 22,1995. It ultimately peaked at four in the week of February 24,1996
20.
John Mayer
–
John Clayton Mayer is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and raised in nearby Fairfield and he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but disenrolled and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with Clay Cook. Together, they formed a short-lived two-man band called Lo-Fi Masters, after their split, Mayer continued to play local clubs—refining his skills and gaining a following. After his appearance at the 2001 South by Southwest Festival, he was signed to Aware Records, and then Columbia Records and his following two full-length albums—Room for Squares and Heavier Things —did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the single Your Body Is a Wonderland, though Mayer started his career mainly performing acoustic rock, he began moving towards the blues genre that had originally influenced him as a musician. By 2005, he was collaborating with artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton, forming the John Mayer Trio, he released a live album in 2005 called Try. and his third studio album Continuum in 2006. Both albums received critical acclaim, and Continuum earned Mayer a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. He also won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for Waiting on the World to Change and that album was followed by Battle Studies in 2009, a return to pop, with a number-one grossing tour. However, the discovery of a granuloma on his vocal cords delayed the release of the album until May 2012, even so, the album enjoyed a generally favorable reception, though was less commercially successful than his previous work. After extensive treatments for his vocal problems—and a two-year hiatus—Mayer began performing as a singer again in January 2013, the album is named for where he lives in Montana and features country music influences. By 2014, he had sold a total of over 20 million albums worldwide, after developing an interest in the Grateful Dead and connecting with Bob Weir, Mayer formed Dead & Company with three former Grateful Dead musicians. After two well-received tours in the fall of 2015 and summer of 2016, the band has committed to another tour for the summer of 2017. Mayers secondary career pursuits extend to television hosting, comedy, and writing and he supports various causes and has performed at charity benefits. He is an aficionado, and has been on the jury at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. His latest song is Love on the Weekend, John Clayton Mayer was born on October 16,1977 in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Richard and Margaret Mayer. He grew up in nearby Fairfield, the middle child between older brother Carl and younger brother Ben and his father is Jewish, and Mayer has said that he relates to Judaism. As a middle school student, Mayer became close friends with tennis star James Blake
21.
Christian McBride
–
Christian Lee McBride is an American jazz bassist. He is considered a virtuoso, and is one of the most recorded musicians of his generation and he is also a five-time Grammy award winner. McBride was born to Renee McBride in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and his father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBrides early mentors. After starting on bass guitar, McBride switched to double bass, McBride was heralded as a teen prodigy, having joined saxophonist Bobby Watsons group at the age of 17. From 17 to 22, McBride played in the bands of musicians such as Watson, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson, Milt Jackson. Johnson and Hank Jones as well as his peers such as Roy Hargrove, Benny Green, in 1996, jazz bassist Ray Brown formed a group called SuperBass built around McBride and fellow Brown protégé John Clayton. The group released two CDs, SuperBass, Live at Scullers and SuperBass 2, Live at the Blue Note, McBride was a member of Joshua Redmans Quartet in the 1990s with pianist Brad Mehldau and drummer Brian Blade. In 1995 McBride began leading his own groups after his debut CD Gettin To It was released, saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianists Charles Craig and Joey Calderazzo, and drummers Carl Allen and Greg Hutchinson are among the musicians who played in McBrides early groups. As writer Alan Leeds stated in 2003, it was one of the most intoxicating, the band released two CDs – Vertical Vision and their Live at Tonic three-CD set was released in 2006. In 1996, McBride contributed to the AIDS benefit album Offbeat, McBride primarily plays double bass, but is equally adept on the electric bass. He played bass for the collaborative project The Philadelphia Experiment, which included keyboardist Uri Caine, other projects have included tours and recordings with the Pat Metheny Trio, the Bruce Hornsby Trio, and Queen Latifah. Like Paul Chambers, McBride can solo by playing his bass arco style, in 2006, McBride was named to the position of Creative Chair for Jazz with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, taking over from Dianne Reeves. He was initially signed to a contract that was subsequently renewed for an additional two years. He was eventually succeeded by Herbie Hancock in 2010, McBride performed with Sonny Rollins and Roy Haynes at Carnegie Hall on September 18,2007, in commemoration of Rollins 50th anniversary of his first performance there. McBride was also tapped by CBS to be a producer for the tribute to Rollins on the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors broadcast, in 2008, McBride joined John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett and Vinnie Colaiuta in a jazz fusion supergroup called the Five Peace Band. They released a CD in February 2009 and completed their tour in May of that year, as Brian Blade took over for Vinnie Colaiuta as drummer in Asia. In March 2016, McBride was named director of the Newport Jazz Festival, succeeding the festivals founder and artistic director. Christian is married to singer and educator Melissa Walker
22.
Black Thought
–
Tariq Luqmaan Trotter, better known as Black Thought, is an American artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots, as well as an occasional actor. Black Thought was born Tariq Luqmaan Trotter, to Thomas and Cassandra Trotter, Trotter attended the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts and Millersville University studying Journalism. In 1987, Trotter became friends with drummer Ahmir Questlove Thompson and formed a duo performing on the streets of Philadelphia. Trotter would subsequently spend some time as one of two MCs in the group The Square Roots, the one was Malik B. whom Tariq met in college. In high-school, Black Thought converted to the sect of The Nation of Gods. With the help of genetic testing, Black Thought learned that he was descended from the Mende people of Sierra Leone. The Square Roots renamed themselves the Roots and released their debut album Organix in 1993, the Roots signed to DGC and followed up with Do You Want More. Recorded without any sampling, the album was popular among alternative music fans than those of hip hop. Around the release of the album, The Roots performed at the Lollapalooza alternative music festival, illadelph Halflife, the bands 1996 album, became its first album to chart within the top 40 spots on the Billboard 200 because of the successful single What They Do. Things Fall Apart followed in 1999, the year the band played at the Woodstock 99 concert, in 2000, The Roots won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for You Got Me, with guest performances by Erykah Badu and Eve. The Roots album Things Fall Apart was nominated for the Best Rap Album award, for Jay-Zs acoustic concert for the television program MTV Unplugged, The Roots provided instrumentals. Most of the songs from the project appeared on The Roots Phrenology album, in 2006, he began working on a collaborative project with producer Danger Mouse, titled Dangerous Thoughts. As of December 2011, the album had not been released, in a June 2008 interview with Brian Kayser of the website HipHopGame, Black Thought spoke of another solo project that was scheduled for release on the Razor and Tie music corporation. He stated that there would be the possibility of Questlove working on production, as of September 2014, neither Black Thought nor the solo album are listed on the Razor & Tie website. In February 2011, Black Thought, along with 10. Deep, truck North and P. O. R. N. —released the mixtape The Prestige. Together with U. K. artist Lotek, Black Thought appeared on the song Living in Bunkers, by Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods, also in March 2012, Black Thought performed with Nneka and Clef nite at BET106 and Park. They performed the song God Knows Why, from the formers album Soul Is Heavy, in early 2013, Black Thought confirmed his continuing work, with Jim James and Tunde Adebimpe, on a solo album entitled Talented Mr. Trotter. At this time, he work on a memoir with journalist and music critic Jeff Chang
23.
Grammy Award
–
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
24.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
–
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on February 17,2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and it is the seventh incarnation of NBCs long-running Tonight Show franchise, with Fallon serving as the sixth host. The show also stars sidekick and announcer Steve Higgins and house band The Roots, the Tonight Show is produced by Katie Hockmeyer and executive-produced by Lorne Michaels. The show records from Studio 6B in Rockefeller Center, New York City, the program airs weeknights at 11,34 p. m. ET/AT. The show opens with Fallons topical monologue, then transitions into comedic sketches/games, concluding with a guest interview, the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon has attracted high ratings since its 2014 premiere, consistently beating competition. In addition, many moments from the series have originated viral videos, the show has been nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Awards, winning two. On August 13,2015, NBC announced that Fallon signed a contract to remain as host until at least 2021, the Tonight Show premiered on NBC in 1954 as Tonight, hosted by Steve Allen. Jack Paar hosted the show from 1957 to 1962, but the shows longest-running and most famous host was Johnny Carson, who hosted the show for three decades. Following Carsons 1992 retirement, vast quantities of brainpower, money, NBC chose interim guest host Jay Leno, who took over the show that year. A pair of conflicts ensued over Lenos 22-year tenure, both revolving around hosts of Late Night, a directly following Tonight since its premiere in 1982. OBriens Tonight also suffered falling ratings, OBrien too left the network the following year, and Leno was reinstated as host. Jimmy Fallon, a former cast member on Saturday Night Live, was appointed the third host of Late Night by executive producer Lorne Michaels in 2009, Fallon incorporated the Internet much more than other talk shows. Coincidentally, it was during the Tonight Show debacle that Fallons show found its footing, the show, according to Fallons former SNL castmate Tina Fey, established itself as an uncommonly warm, welcoming show. In our heads, weve been doing The Tonight Show Were just on at a later hour, Fallon grew up with no designs on the Tonight job, most likely because he was just 17 years old when Carson retired. Discussions for Fallon to take over The Tonight Show began in early 2013, many industry observers noted that the change appeared to come as a result of another late-night competitor, Jimmy Kimmel of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Fallon had reportedly impressed top executives at Comcast, and his succession was expected throughout the company. The transition reportedly lacked the tension of previous Tonight transitions, on April 3,2013, NBC announced that Leno would retire in 2014, with Fallon taking over The Tonight Show beginning on February 24,2014. At Lenos suggestion, the date was moved forward from the end of his contract in September 2014, the date was later moved up a week to February 17, midway through the Olympics
25.
Hamilton (musical)
–
Hamilton, An American Musical is a sung-through musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The show, inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow, the musical made its Off-Broadway debut at The Public Theater in February 2015, where its engagement was sold out. The show transferred to Broadway in August 2015 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, on Broadway, it received enthusiastic critical reception and unprecedented advance box office sales. The prior off-Broadway production of Hamilton won the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical as well as seven other Drama Desk Awards out of 14 total nominated categories, the Chicago production of Hamilton opened at the PrivateBank Theatre in September 2016. The first U. S. national tour of the show began performances in March 2017, a production of Hamilton will open in the West End in November 2017 at the Victoria Palace Theatre. A second U. S. tour is set to begin performances in early 2018. Upon Mirandas discovery he began a project entitled The Hamilton Mixtape, on May 12,2009, Miranda was invited to perform music from In the Heights at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music and the Spoken Word. Instead, he performed the first song from The Hamilton Mixtape and he spent a year after that working on My Shot, another early number from the show. Miranda performed in a production of the show, then titled The Hamilton Mixtape. The workshop production was directed by Thomas Kail and musically directed by Alex Lacamoire, the workshop consisted of the entirety of the first act of the show and three songs from the second act. The workshop was accompanied by Lacamoire on the piano, of the original workshop cast, only three principal cast members played in the Off-Broadway production, Miranda, Daveed Diggs, and Christopher Jackson. Most of the original Off-Broadway cast moved to Broadway, except Brian dArcy James, the musical begins with the company summarizing Alexander Hamiltons early life as an orphan in the Caribbean. Hamilton was born out of wedlock in the West Indies—his father abandoned him at an early age, by nineteen, Hamilton has made his way to the American colonies, a dedicated supporter of American independence. In the summer of 1776 in New York City, Hamilton seeks out Aaron Burr, Burr advises the overenthusiastic Hamilton to talk less, smile more. Hamilton is unable to understand why Burr would rather exercise caution than fight for his beliefs, Hamilton bonds with three fellow revolutionaries, abolitionist John Laurens, the flamboyant Frenchman Marquis de Lafayette, and the tailors apprentice Hercules Mulligan. Hamilton dazzles them with his skills and they dream of laying down their lives for their cause. Meanwhile, the wealthy Schuyler sisters—Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy—wander the streets of New York, samuel Seabury, a vocal Loyalist, preaches against the American Revolution, and Hamilton refutes and ridicules his statements. A message arrives from King George III, reminding the colonists that he is able, the revolution is underway, and Hamilton, Burr, and their friends join the Continental Army
26.
Tisch School of the Arts
–
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts is a center of study in the performing and media arts. Founded on August 17,1965, Tisch is a ground for artists, scholars of the arts, filmmakers. The school merges the technical training of a school with the academic resources of a major research university to immerse students in their intended artistic disciplines. It is located at 721 Broadway in Manhattan, New York City, NYU has the most alumni working at Broadway theatre. Tisch School of the Arts was founded in order to provide training in theatre and film. The school created additional departments such as dance, theatre design, in recognition of the generosity of the Tisch family, the school was renamed Tisch School of the Arts. Tisch also offers a selection of classes to NYU students not enrolled in any of its programs through the Open Arts curriculum, the Graduate Acting Program offers a three-year MFA that equips acting students with the skills of a working career in theatre and/or film. The Department of the Dance offers training on the graduate and undergraduate level to students preparing for careers as dancers or choreographers, while taking full advantage of the liberal arts resources of the New York University and the cultural resources of the New York City. The Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program is an MFA program specially designed for the major collaborators in the creation of new theater and opera, composers, lyricists. NYU Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Acting Program has gained a reputation for its selectivity. Zelda Fichandler became chair of the program in 1984 and stepped down in 2008, in May 2008, Mark Wing-Davey became chair. Graduate Acting alumni have gone on to achieve many acting accolades, faison Edi Gathegi Jordan Gelber,2000 Enver Gjokaj Matthew Gray Gubler Logan Marshall Green Christopher Guest,1971 Danai Gurira Michael C. Many of the faculty have their own independent of the dance department. The program strives to prepare students for the life of a dancer, preparing them by treating their third year students as a company. Students graduate in three years, hence the schedule which is accelerated in order for dancers to graduate earlier than their peers in other college dance programs. Because of brevity of the program, students attend a six-week summer course following their first. During these summer intensives, six different companies come in a week each and teach students their style of movement and this is an excellent way for students to be introduced to companies and have the chance to get noticed and get to know the different companies in an intimate setting. This is unique to the Tisch Dance Program, and is conducive to introducing dancers into the world of auditions
27.
New York University
–
New York University is a private nonprofit research university based in New York City. Founded in 1831, NYU is considered one of the worlds most influential research universities, University rankings compiled by Times Higher Education, U. S. News & World Report, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities all rank NYU amongst the top 32 universities in the world. NYU is a part of the creativity, energy and vibrancy that is Manhattan, located with its core in Greenwich Village. Among its faculty and alumni are 37 Nobel Laureates, over 30 Pulitzer Prize winners, over 30 Academy Award winners, alumni include heads of state, royalty, eminent mathematicians, inventors, media figures, Olympic medalists, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and astronauts. NYU alumni are among the wealthiest in the world, according to The Princeton Review, NYU is consistently considered by students and parents as a Top Dream College. Albert Gallatin, Secretary of Treasury under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, declared his intention to establish in this immense, a system of rational and practical education fitting and graciously opened to all. A three-day-long literary and scientific convention held in City Hall in 1830 and these New Yorkers believed the city needed a university designed for young men who would be admitted based upon merit rather than birthright or social class. On April 18,1831, an institution was established, with the support of a group of prominent New York City residents from the merchants, bankers. Albert Gallatin was elected as the institutions first president, the university has been popularly known as New York University since its inception and was officially renamed New York University in 1896. In 1832, NYU held its first classes in rented rooms of four-story Clinton Hall, in 1835, the School of Law, NYUs first professional school, was established. American Chemical Society was founded in 1876 at NYU and it became one of the nations largest universities, with an enrollment of 9,300 in 1917. NYU had its Washington Square campus since its founding, the university purchased a campus at University Heights in the Bronx because of overcrowding on the old campus. NYU also had a desire to follow New York Citys development further uptown, NYUs move to the Bronx occurred in 1894, spearheaded by the efforts of Chancellor Henry Mitchell MacCracken. The University Heights campus was far more spacious than its predecessor was, as a result, most of the universitys operations along with the undergraduate College of Arts and Science and School of Engineering were housed there. NYUs administrative operations were moved to the new campus, but the schools of the university remained at Washington Square. In 1914, Washington Square College was founded as the undergraduate college of NYU. In 1935, NYU opened the Nassau College-Hofstra Memorial of New York University at Hempstead and this extension would later become a fully independent Hofstra University. In 1950, NYU was elected to the Association of American Universities, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, financial crisis gripped the New York City government and the troubles spread to the citys institutions, including NYU
28.
Elvis Costello
–
Declan Patrick MacManus, better known by his stage name Elvis Costello, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. His critically acclaimed album, My Aim Is True, was released in 1977. Shortly after recording it, he formed the Attractions as his backing band and his second album, This Years Model, was released in 1978, and was ranked number 11 by Rolling Stone on its list of the best albums from 1967–1987. His third album, Armed Forces, was released in 1979 and his first three albums all appeared on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Costello and the Attractions toured and recorded together for the part of a decade. Much of Costellos work since has been as a solo artist, steeped in wordplay, the vocabulary of Costellos lyrics is broad. His music has drawn on many genres, one critic described him as a pop encyclopaedia. He has won awards in his career, including a Grammy Award. In 2003, Costello and the Attractions were inducted into the Rock, in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Costello number 80 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Costello has co-written several original songs for motion pictures, including God Give Me Strength from Grace of My Heart, for the latter, Costello was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Costello was born in 25 August 1954 at St Marys Hospital, London, the son of Lilian Alda and Ross MacManus, Costello lived in Twickenham, attending Archbishop Myers R. C. School, which is now St Marks Catholic Secondary School, in neighbouring Hounslow, with a musically inclined father, Costellos first broadcast recording was with his father in a television commercial for R. Whites Lemonade. His father wrote and sang the song, Costello provided backing vocals, the advertisement won a silver award at the 1974 International Advertising Festival. Costello moved with his Liverpool-born mother to Birkenhead, Cheshire, in 1971, there, he formed his first band, a folk duo called Rusty, with Allan Mayes. After completing secondary school at St. Francis Xaviers College he moved back to London where he formed a band called Flip City. They were active from 1974 through to early 1976, around this time, Costello adopted the stage name D. P. His father had performed under the name Day Costello, and Elvis has said in interviews that he took this name as a tribute to his father and he worked for a short period as a computer operator at the Midland Bank computer centre in Bootle. He continued to write songs and began looking for a recording contract
29.
Common (rapper)
–
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. better known by his stage name Common, is an American rapper, actor, film producer and poet from Chicago, Illinois. Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar, and maintained a significant underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. Commons first major-label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received critical acclaim. His first Grammy Award was in 2003, winning Best R&B Song for Love of My Life and its popularity was matched by May 2005s Be, which was nominated for Best Rap Album, at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for Southside and his best-of album, Thisisme Then, The Best of Common, was released on November 27,2007. He also narrated the award-winning documentary Bouncing Cats, about one mans efforts to improve the lives of children in Uganda through hip-hop/b-boy culture and he starred as Elam Ferguson on the AMC western television series Hell on Wheels. Common was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois and he was raised in the Calumet Heights neighborhood. He is the son of educator Dr. Mahalia Ann Hines and they divorced when he was six years old, resulting in his fathers moving to Denver, Colorado. This left Common to be raised by his mother, but his father remained active in his life, while a student at Luther High School South in Chicago, Lynn with his friends, record producer and Corey Crawley formed C. D. R. A rap trio that opened for acts that included N. W. A, Common attended Florida A&M University for two years under a scholarship and majored in business administration. After being featured in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source magazine, Lynn debuted in 1992 with the single Take It EZ, with the 1994 release of Resurrection, Common achieved a much larger degree of critical acclaim, which extended beyond Chicago natives. The album sold well and received a strong positive reaction among alternative. Resurrection was Commons last album produced almost entirely by his production partner. In 1996, Common appeared on the Red Hot Organizations compilation CD, America Is Dying Slowly, alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, the CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as a masterpiece by The Source magazine. He would later contribute to the Red Hot Organizations Fela Kuti tribute album. He collaborated with Djelimady Tounkara on a remake of Kutis track, Years of Tears, the song I Used to Love H. E. R. from Resurrection ignited a feud with West Coast rap group Westside Connection. The lyrics of the song criticized the hip hop music was taking and was interpreted by some as directing blame towards the popularity of West Coast Gangsta rap. Westside Connection first responded with the 1995 song Westside Slaughterhouse, with the lyrics Used to love H. E. R, Westside Connection recorded tracks venting their issues with rival East Coast rappers
30.
Jill Scott
–
Jill Scott is an American singer-songwriter, model, poet and actress. Her 2000 debut, Who Is Jill Scott, Words and Sounds Vol.1, went platinum, and the follow-ups Beautifully Human, Words and Sounds Vol.2 and The Real Thing, Words and Sounds Vol.3 both achieved gold status. She made her debut in the films Hounddog and Tyler Perrys Why Did I Get Married. After a four-year hiatus from music, Scott released her album, The Light of the Sun. In 2014, she starred in the film Get On Up as the wife of James Brown. She also appeared as the role in the BBC/HBO series The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency. In 2015, she released her album, Woman. Scott was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and she grew up an only child in a North Philadelphia neighborhood, raised by her mother, Joyce Scott, and her grandmother. She indicated in an interview with Jet Magazine that she had a childhood and was. Scott was raised as a Jehovahs Witness and attended the Philadelphia High School for Girls, after graduating from high school, Scott attended Temple University while simultaneously working two jobs. She studied secondary education for three years and, at one time, planned to become a high school English teacher, however, after serving as a teachers aide, Scott became disillusioned with a teaching career, and she dropped out of college. Prior to breaking through the industry, Scott worked at a variety of jobs, including a number of retail positions and stints at a construction site. Scott began her career as a spoken word artist, appearing at live poetry readings to perform her work. She was eventually discovered by Amir Questlove Thompson of the Roots, Questlove invited her to join the band in the studio. The collaboration resulted in a credit for Scott on the song. Subsequently, Scott collaborated with Eric Benet, Will Smith, and Common, Scott was the first artist signed to Steve McKeevers Hidden Beach Recordings label. Her debut album, Who Is Jill Scott, Words and Sounds Vol.1 was released in 2000. She experienced some notice and chart success with the single A Long Walk, Scott lost that award, but won a 2005 Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative R&B Performance for Cross My Mind
31.
Bilal (American singer)
–
Bilal Sayeed Oliver, better known mononymously as Bilal, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is currently an independent artist residing in New York City, Bilal is noted for his wide vocal range, his work across multiple genres, and his live performances. Bilal was born as Bilal Sayeed Oliver in Germantown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and he grew up in a religiously mixed household, his mother being a devout Christian and his father, a Muslim. He regularly attended church with his mother in a church that consisted of mostly family members. It was where Bilal grew an interest in music and singing, Bilal attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Attended and Graduated from the High School for Creative And Performing Arts in 1998, Bilal began to familiarize himself with the music scene in New York City, meeting big talents such as Common, The Roots, and Erykah Badu. Eventually, he was discovered by Aaron Comess from the Spin Doctors during a jam session. It was with him that Bilal recorded his demo that landed him a deal with Interscope. In 2001, he released his debut album 1st Born Second, the album peaked at number 31 on the U. S. Billboard 200 chart, and it has sold 319,000 copies. 1st Born Second received universal acclaim from critics, and holds a score of 82 out of 100 at Metacritic. The soulful feel of the album caused Bilal to be labeled as neo-soul, Bilal stresses that this term does not fit, and throughout his career, his expansion in music and pushing of boundaries proved his point. These plans proved to be changeable and the result, Love for Sale, was an album that appeared to be built around Bilals own musicianship. Bilal switched it up on Love For Sale, which includes live instrumentation, however, his anticipation was shot down after receiving disapproval from Interscope. Unwilling to start from scratch, Bilal continued to push his LP, however, near the albums completion, the album was leaked in its entirety on the Internet. Interscope shelved the album indefinitely, hinting that it saw commercial potential in it. After nine years without a properly released album, Bilal made a comeback on 14 September 2010 with Airtights Revenge, Bilal describes the album as a retrospective album, an album that explores his experiences and things that hes learned since his last release. An experimental album, Airtights Revenge blends jazz, hip-hop, electronic, rock, soul, in 2012, Bilal revealed plans for a new album under a new label, eOne Music. During several interviews, Bilal described the new project as a lot warmer, the new album, titled A Love Surreal, has a more acoustic sound, as Bilal worked very closely with his entire band
32.
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
33.
Al Green
–
Inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, Green was referred to on the museums site as being one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music. He has also referred to as The Last of the Great Soul Singers. Green was included in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, Al Green was born Albert Leornes Greene on April 13,1946, in Forrest City, Arkansas. The sixth of ten born to Cora Lee and Robert G. Greene, Jr. a sharecropper. The Greene family relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the late 1950s, Al was kicked out of the family home while in his teens, after his religiously devout father caught him listening to Jackie Wilson. I also listened to Mahalia Jackson, all the great gospel singers, but the most important music to me was those hip-shakin’ boys, Wilson Pickett and Elvis Presley. Whatever he got, I went out and bought, in high school, Al formed a vocal group called Al Greene & the Creations. Two of the members, Curtis Rodgers and Palmer James. In 1968, having changed their name to Al Greene & the Soul Mates, they recorded the song Back Up Train, the song was a hit on the R&B charts. However, the groups subsequent follow-ups failed to chart, as did their debut album, while performing with the Soul Mates, Green came into contact with Memphis record producer Willie Mitchell, who hired him in 1969 to be a vocalist for a Texas show with Mitchells band. Following the performance, Mitchell asked Green to sign with his Hi Records label, having noted that Green had been trying to sing like Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett and James Brown, Mitchell became his vocal mentor, coaching him into finding his own voice. Before releasing his first album with Hi, Green removed the final e from his name, subsequently, he released Green Is Blues, which was a moderate success. His follow-up album, Al Green Gets Next to You, featured the hit R&B cover of the Temptations I Cant Get Next to You, Greens next album, Lets Stay Together, solidified his place in soul music. The title track was his biggest hit to date, reaching number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts, the album became his first to be certified gold. His follow-up, Im Still in Love with You went platinum with the help of the singles Look What You Done for Me and the title track, both of which went to the top ten on the Hot 100. His next album, Call Me, released in 1973, produced three top ten singles, You Ought to Be with Me, Call Me and Here I Am. Greens album Livin for You, released at the end of 1973, was his last album to be certified gold, Green continued to record successful R&B hits in the next several years including Livin for You, Lets Get Married, Sha-La-La, L-O-V-E and Full of Fire. His last Hi Records album, Truth n Time, was released in 1978, two years later, he left Hi for Myrrh Records and recorded only gospel music for the next decade and a half
34.
Amy Winehouse
–
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of genres, including soul, rhythm and blues. Winehouses debut album, Frank, was a success in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. She also won the 2007 Brit Award for Best British Female Artist, having nominated for Best British Album. Winehouse died of poisoning on 23 July 2011, aged 27. Her album Back to Black posthumously became, for a time, Amy Winehouse was born in Chase Farm Hospital in north London, to Jewish parents. Her father, Mitchell Mitch Winehouse, was a window panel installer then a driver, her mother, Janis Winehouse. Winehouses ancestors were Russian and Polish Jewish immigrants to London, Amy had an older brother, Alex, and the family lived in Londons Southgate area, where she attended Osidge Primary School. Many of Winehouses maternal uncles were professional jazz musicians, Amys paternal grandmother, Cynthia, was a singer and dated the English jazz saxophonist Ronnie Scott. She and Amys parents influenced Amys interest in jazz and her father Mitch often sang Frank Sinatra songs to her, and whenever she got chastised at school she would sing Fly Me to the Moon before going up to the headmistress to be told off. Winehouses parents separated when she was nine, and she lived with her mother and stayed with her father and his girlfriend in Hatfield Heath, Essex on weekends. In 1992 her grandmother Cynthia suggested she attend the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, Winehouse was allegedly expelled at 14 for not applying herself and also for piercing her nose. Sylvia Young has denied this—She changed schools at 15—Ive heard it said she was expelled, id never have expelled Amy—as has Mitch Winehouse. After toying around with her brother Alexs guitar, Winehouse bought her own when she was 14 and began writing music a year later. Soon after, she working for a living, including, at one time, as an entertainment journalist for the World Entertainment News Network. Amys best friend, soul singer Tyler James, sent her demo tape to an A&R person, Winehouse signed to Simon Fullers 19 Management in 2002 and was paid £250 a week against future earnings. While being developed by the management company, she was kept as an industry secret although she was a regular jazz standards singer at the Cobden Club. When he asked who the singer was, the manager told him he was not allowed to say, having decided that he wanted to sign her, it took several months of asking around for Beese to eventually discover who the singer was
35.
John Legend
–
John Roger Stephens, known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He has won ten Grammy Awards, one Golden Globe Award, in 2007, Legend received the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Prior to the release of Legends debut album, his career gained momentum through a series of collaborations with already established artists. At various points in his career, Legend has sung in Magnetic Mans Getting Nowhere, Kanye Wests All of the Lights, on Slum Villages Selfish, Legend played piano on Lauryn Hills Everything Is Everything. For his solo work, he earned a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single with All of Me in 2013 and he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2015 for writing the song Glory from the film Selma. Legend was born on December 28,1978, in Springfield and he is one of four children of Phyllis Elaine, a seamstress, and Ronald Lamar Stephens, a factory worker and former National Guardsman. Throughout his childhood, Legend was homeschooled on and off by his mother, at the age of four, he performed with his church choir. He began playing the piano at age seven, at the age of twelve, Legend attended North High School, from which he graduated salutatorian of his class four years later. According to Legend, he was offered admission to Harvard University and scholarships to Georgetown University and he attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied English with an emphasis on African-American literature. While in college, Legend served as president and musical director of a co-ed jazz and his lead vocals on the groups recording of Joan Osbornes One of Us received critical acclaim landing the song on the track list of the 1998 Best of Collegiate a Cappella compilation CD. Legend was also a member of the senior societies Sphinx Senior Society. While in college, Legend was introduced to Lauryn Hill by a friend, Hill hired him to play piano on Everything Is Everything, a song from her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. During this period, he began to hold a number of shows around Philadelphia, eventually expanding his audience base to New York, Boston, Atlanta and he graduated college in 1999, and thereafter began producing, writing, and recording his own music. He released two albums independently, his self-titled demo and Live at Jimmys Uptown, which he sold at his shows, after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Legend began working as a management consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. He subsequently began working on his demo and began sending his work to record labels. In 2001, Devo Springsteen introduced Legend to then up-and-coming hip-hop artist Kanye West and this was after his rebranding, as the artist known as, Dorrough. After signing to Wests label, he chose his name from an idea that was given to him by poet J. Ivy. J. Ivy stated, I heard your music and it reminds me of that music from the old school and you sound like one of the legends
36.
9th Wonder
–
Patrick Denard Douthit, better known as 9th Wonder, is a hip hop record producer, record executive, DJ, lecturer, and rapper from Midway, North Carolina, U. S. As of 2010, 9th Wonder raps under the name of 9thmatic, 9th Wonder has a smooth and soulful production style that relies on samples from artists such as Al Green and Curtis Mayfield. 9th Wonders first significant career breakthrough came in 2003 when, as an up-and-coming producer, released through internet outlets, the album garnered significant attention and acclaim. The producer has said that he was not thinking in terms of using it to generate a buzz or promote his skills at that point, the album has since been credited as starting the now regular trend for unofficial home-made remixes of whole albums. 9th Wonder began his career as the producer for the group Little Brother. As part of Little Brother he gained recognition and critical acclaim for his production on their debut 2003 release, Jay-Zs studio engineer Young Guru was impressed with his work, and contacted 9th Wonder, which led to 9th Wonder producing Threat for Jay-Zs 2003 The Black Album. On the album, 9th Wonder produced the tracks Girl and Is She the Reason, 9th Wonder left Little Brother in 2007. On October 29,2007, 9th Wonder made a public appearance on BETs Rap City. Madlib, Jean Grae and Erykah Badu appeared as well, in 2010, he appeared on BETs 106 & Park countdown with David Banner. 9th Wonder, E. Jones, and rapper J. Cole served as the producers of the soundtrack to the EA Sports video game NBA Elite 11. 9th Wonder and J. Cole also appear as characters in NBA Jam with a team name of Cole & Wonder. 9th Wonder debuted his rapping alter-ego 9thmatic in late 2009, 9thmatic appeared on songs with Khrysis and Sean Boog, Big Remo, Murs and Thee Tom Hardy. 9th Wonder worked with Mississippi rapper David Banner on an album entitled Death of a Pop Star which was released on December 21,2010. After forming Jamla Records in 2010, he went on produce for Jill Scott, Dilated Peoples, Big Boi of Outkast. In January 2009, 9th Wonder announced plans to start two independent record labels, Jamla and The Academy, under his imprint Its A Wonderful World Music Group. Jamla originally consisted of Skyzoo, GQ, Rapsody, Tyler Woods and Big Remo, while The Academy consisted of Thee Tom Hardy, Actual Proof, TP, the Academy artists were later folded into the Jamla label. Halo and Heather Victoria were announced as the newest members of IWWMG in October 2010, Jamla Records now consists of artists GQ, Rapsody, Actual Proof, TP, Halo, & Heather Victoria. In July 2010, 9th Wonder officially debuted his team for IWWMG
37.
Goldsboro, North Carolina
–
Goldsboro is a city in Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 36,437 at the 2010 Census and it is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The nearby town of Waynesboro was founded in 1787 and Goldsboro was incorporated in 1847 and it is the county seat of Wayne County. Goldsboro is best known as home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, as of the 2000 census, there were 39,043 people,14,630 households, and 19,465 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,574.9 inhabitants per square mile, there were 19,372 housing units at an average density of 660.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 52. 24% African American,43. 04% White,0. 43% Native American,1. 44% Asian,0. 08% Pacific Islander,1. 14% from other races, and 1. 64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2. 69% of the population,30. 5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11. 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the family size was 3.00. The median income for a household in the city was $29,456, males had a median income of $26,223 versus $21,850 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,614, about 15. 4% of families and 19. 2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26. 7% of those under age 18 and 17. 5% of those age 65 or over. Around 1787, when Wayne County was formed, a town named Waynesborough grew around the countys courthouse, in 1787, William Whitfield III and his son were appointed Directors and Trustees for designing and building the town. Located on the east bank of the Neuse River, the became the county seat. Population growth in Waynesborough continued through the 1830s, however, this changed once the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad was completed in the early 1840s. By then, a hotel had been built at the intersection of the railroad and New Bern Road, later this was shortened simply to Goldsborough. In 1847, the town was incorporated and became the new Wayne County seat following a vote of the citizens of Wayne County, local legend has it the Goldsborough supporters put moonshine in the towns well to encourage people to vote for Goldsborough. In the following decades, Goldsboroughs growth continued in part by new connections to Charlotte. By 1861, the population was estimated to be 1,500. It was the center of a rural area that started with yeoman farmers
38.
Great Migration (African American)
–
The Great Migration was the movement of 5 million African-Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West that occurred between 1915 and 1960. Until 1910, more than 90 percent of the African-American population lived in the American South, in 1900, only one-fifth of African-Americans living in the South were living in urban areas. By 1970, more than 80 percent of African-Americans lived in cities, in sheer numbers it outranks the migration of any other ethnic group—Italians or Irish or Jews or Poles—to. For blacks, the migration meant leaving what had always been their economic and social base in America, some historians differentiate between a first Great Migration, which saw about 1. Since 1965, a migration has gathered strength. Dubbed the New Great Migration, it has seen many African-Americans move to the South, as early as 1975 to 1980, seven southern states were net African-American migration gainers. African-American populations have continued to drop much of the Northeast, especially the state of New York and northern New Jersey. James Gregory calculates decade-by-decade migration volumes in his book, The Southern Diaspora, Black migration picked up from the start of the new century, with 204,000 leaving in the first decade. The pace accelerated with the outbreak of World War I and continued through the 1920s, by 1930, there were 1.3 million former southerners living in other regions. The Great Depression wiped out job opportunities in the industrial belt, especially for African Americans. A second and larger Great Migration began around 1940 as defense industries geared up for World War II. 1.4 million black southerners moved north or west in the 1940s, followed by 1.1 million in the 1950s, by the late 1970s, as deindustrialization and the Rust Belt crisis took hold, the Great Migration came to an end. African-Americans moved from the 14 states of the South, especially Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, based on the total populations in each of the four states, only Georgia showed a net decrease in its African American population in 1950 compared to 1920. Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi showed net increases in their African American populations in 1950 compared to 1920, big cities were the principal destinations of southerners throughout the two phases of the Great Migration. In the first phase, eight major cities attracted two-thirds of the migrants, New York and Chicago, followed in order by Philadelphia, St. Louis, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis. The Second great black migration increased the populations of cities while adding others as destinations. Cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Phoenix, Seattle, there were clear migratory patterns that linked particular states and cities in the South to corresponding destinations in the North. Almost half of those who migrated from Mississippi during the first Great Migration, for example, ended up in Chicago, for the most part, these patterns were related to geography, with the closest cities attracting the most migrants
