| Name | Aesop Rock |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Ian Matthias Bavitz |
| Origin | Northport, New York, United States |
| Born | June 05, 1976 |
| Genre | Rap rockAvant-hopAlternative hip-hopUnderground hip-hop |
| Occupation | Rapper, producer |
| Years active | 1996 – present |
| Instrument | Vocals, MPC, Synthesizer |
| Label | Definitive JuxMush Records |
| Associated acts | The WeathermenBlockheadThe OrphanageEl-PFeltHail Mary MallonTwo of Every Animal |
| Url | Definitive Jux BiographyMush Records Biography900Bats Art Website |
After moving to the Mush label, Aesop released his first major album, Float (2000), with guest appearances from Vast Aire, Slug, and Dose One. Production was split between Blockhead and Aesop himself, with one track by Omega One.
Shortly after releasing Float Aesop Rock signed to Manhattan-based label Definitive Jux (commonly shortened to Def Jux), where he released Labor Days (2001), an album dedicated to the discussion of labor in American society and the concept of "wage slaves". This album was most well known for its single "Daylight." Because of its popularity, Daylight was re-released in 2002 as a 7-track EP, including an "alternative" new version of the song, "Night Light," whose paraphrased lyrics simultaneously refer back to, and stand in stark opposition to, the original's. The song "Labor" (from Labor Days) was featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, giving Aesop Rock more recognition.
Labor Days was followed by Bazooka Tooth in 2003. For the first time, production was mostly handled by Aesop himself, with three tracks from longtime collaborator Blockhead and one from close friend and Definitive Jux label CEO El-P. Guest appearances include Party Fun Action Committee, El-P, and Mr. Lif (all Definitive Jux labelmates) and Camp Lo. With this release Aesop hit a higher level of recognition, releasing "No Jumper Cables" as a single and music video, then another single, "Freeze", shortly after. A remix of "No Jumper Cables" was featured on Tony Hawk's Underground 2, furthering Aesop's recognition.
In February 2005, Aesop Rock released a new EP, Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives. The first pressing of the EP included an 88 page booklet with lyrics from every release from Float until this EP (the lyric booklet is titled The Living Human Curiosity Sideshow); later pressings of the album come without the booklet, but with an additional bonus track, "Facemelter". In addition, a limited number of albums were available direct from Def Jux with Aesop Rock's graffiti tag on them. In response to demands from his fans, Aesop did less production on the EP: three songs are produced by Blockhead, three produced by Aesop, and one by Rob Sonic. During this time he was asked to join the Weathermen to replace Vast Aire.
Aesop Rock was commissioned to create a 45-minute instrumental track for the Nike+iPod running system, entitled All Day. It was released in February 2007. Distributed via the iTunes Music Store and featuring his wife Allyson Baker on guitar and scratches from DJ Big Wiz, Aesop has described the release as "something that evolved enough that the sound was constantly fresh and attractive, as though the runner were moving through a set of differing cities or landscapes."
All Day was followed in August of the same year by Bavitz's fifth full-length album, None Shall Pass (2007). The album also contained original artwork by Jeremy Fish. About Jeremy Fish, Aesop Rock said: "Man that guy is my hero. We have a friend in common who hit me up a while back saying that this guy Jeremy Fish had an opportunity to pitch a cartoon to Disney and wanted me to be involved in the music side. I flipped out cuz I was also a fan of his, and owned some of his work." Aesop Rock also teamed up with Jeremy Fish again in a project called Ghosts of the Barbary Coast. Aesop Rock made a song called Tomorrow Morning, to go along with a slideshow of drawings that Jeremy Fish drew. This was displayed in San Francisco, but was also made available for download online.
In 2009, Aesop Rock produced Felt's third album; . Aesop recently announced via twitter that he is working on his next studio album, due to be released in 2011.
Bavitz was born and raised in Northport, Long Island, New York to his father Paul and mother Jameija. His mother is jewish however Bavitz and his siblings were raised as catholics. Bavitz would convert to agnosticism later on in life. Ian has two brothers: Chris (born 1975) and Graham (born 1977). Bavitz attended Northport High School. He is also a graduate of Boston University, where he studied fine arts and eventually acquired his bachelors in 1998. He married Allyson Baker, guitarist of rock band Parchman Farm in 2005. They now reside in San Francisco, California.
He has tattoos on each forearm. His left arm says the words "Must Not Sleep", and the right says "Must Warn Others," which are quotes inspired by the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Aesop Rock has used these quotes as lyrics in the chorus of his song "Commencement at the Obedience Academy": "Must not sleep; must warn others / Trust blocks creep where the dust storm hovers." He also used them in his song "Antisocial," in the line "Must not sleep; must warn others / I'll tourniquet your turbulence then trample on your stutters."
In August 2001, Bavitz had a nervous breakdown. His song "One of Four" on his Daylight E.P. documents his struggles.
It's also important to note the significance of his name when pondering his lyricism. Aesop is short for the word Aesopian. Aesopian language is defined as "conveying an innocent meaning to an outsider but a hidden meaning to a member of a conspiracy or underground movement."
Questioned about his lyrical style in an interview, Bavitz responded:
It’s probably because it’s not the most accessible music in the world. It may pose a slight challenge to the listener beyond your average pop song. I'm no genius by a long shot, but these songs are not nonsensical, that's pretty preposterous. I'd have to be a genius to pull this many nonsensical records over people's eyes. It's not exactly fast food but when people pretend I'm just spewing non-sequiturs and gibberish I can’t help but think they simply haven’t listened and are regurgitating some rumor they’ve heard about me. Even if it's not laid out in perfect sentences—is any rap?—you’d have to be an idiot to not at least grasp a few things from these songs. Or have had no interest in pulling anything from them in the first place.
Category:1976 births Category:American abstract artists Category:American agnostics Category:American people of Jewish descent Category:Former Roman Catholics Category:American graffiti artists Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American painters Category:Artists from New York Category:Boston University alumni Category:East Coast hip hop musicians Category:Living people Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:People from Suffolk County, New York Category:Rap rock musicians Category:Rappers from Long Island Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Underground artists Category:Underground rappers
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| Name | Tim McGraw |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Samuel Timothy McGraw |
| Born | May 01, 1967 |
| Origin | Delhi, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Instrument | Vocals, guitar, piano |
| Genre | Country |
| Occupation | Musician, actor |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Label | Curb Records |
| Associated acts | Faith HillThe Dancehall DoctorsNellyTaylor SwiftDef LeppardMindy McCready |
| Url |
McGraw had eleven consecutive albums debut at Number One on the Billboard albums charts. Twenty-one singles hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country 100 chart. Three singles became the No. 1 country song of the year ("It's Your Love", "Just To See You Smile", and "Live Like You Were Dying"). He has won 3 Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and 3 People's Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour with Faith Hill is the highest grossing tour in country music history, and one of the top five among all genres of music.
McGraw has ventured into acting, with supporting roles in The Blind Side (with Sandra Bullock), Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, and Four Christmases (with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon), and a lead role in Flicka (2006). He was a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats. Taylor Swift's debut single, "Tim McGraw", refers to him and his song, "Can't Tell Me Nothin.
In honor of his Italian-American heritage, McGraw was honored by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in 2004, receiving the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Music during the Foundation's 29th Anniversary Gala.
, Louisiana, welcome sign notes that McGraw once resided there.]]
Reared by his mother in Start, also in Richland Parish, east of Monroe, McGraw grew up believing his stepfather, Horace Smith, was his birth father. From the time of his mother's marriage until the time he met his biological father, his last name was Smith. At age eleven, McGraw discovered his birth certificate while searching his mother's closet to find pictures for a school project. After his discovery, his mother revealed that his biological father was Tug McGraw, and took Tim to meet him for the first time. and became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. During his college period, he learned to play guitar, and would frequently perform and sing for tips, although he claims that his roommates often hid the guitar because he was so bad.
His mother, Betty, returned to Jacksonville, Florida in 1987, and Tim followed. He attended Florida Community College at Jacksonville for one term, and occasionally sat in with local bands.
The second single from the album, "Don't Take the Girl", became McGraw's first No. 1 country hit, and "helped cement his image as a ruggedly good-looking guy with a sensitive side".
The album debuted at No. 2 on the country albums charts, with the single "Real Good Man" reaching No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. "She's My Kind of Rain" reached No. 2 in 2003, and "Red Ragtop" reached the top 5. The album also featured a cover version of Elton John's early 1970s classic "Tiny Dancer", as well as appearances by Kim Carnes on "Comfort Me" (a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks) and Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles on "Illegal".
In late 2004, his unlikely duet with hip-hop artist Nelly on "Over and Over", a soft ballad of lost love, became a crossover hit, spending 10 weeks atop the Top 40 chart. "Over and Over" brought McGraw a success he had never previously experienced on contemporary hit radio or rap radio, and brought both artists success neither had previously experienced in the hot adult contemporary market. The song also spent a week at the top of the UK single charts, and was McGraw's first visit to the UK hit countdown.
Throughout the 2005 NFL season, McGraw sang an alternate version of "I Like It, I Love It" every week during the season. The alternate lyrics, which changed each week, would make reference to plays during Sunday's games, and the song would be played alongside video highlights during halftime on Monday Night Football. Later in the year, McGraw became a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats when majority owner Bud Adams (owner of the NFL's Tennessee Titans) was awarded the expansion franchise.
Tim, along with Kenny Chesney, contributed to a version of Tracy Lawrence's song "Find Out Who Your Friends Are", which can be found on Lawrence's album For the Love. Although the official single version features only Lawrence's vocals, many stations have opted to play the version with McGraw and Chesney instead.
McGraw released his eleventh album, Let It Go, on March 27, 2007. The album's debut single, "Last Dollar (Fly Away)", reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, marking Tim's first No. 1 single since "Back When" in late 2004. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album chart, marking his fourth No. 1 top 200 album and ninth No. 1 country album. His daughters can be heard singing the chorus during the last few seconds of the song on the video.
During the Academy of Country Music awards show on May 21, 2007, McGraw performed a song titled "If You're Reading This", which he co-wrote with The Warren Brothers. Several radio stations began to play the live recording of the song; as a result, it entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 35.
McGraw also produced the debut album of country music duo Halfway to Hazard. The duo's first single, "Daisy", peaked at No. 39 on the country charts in the summer of 2007.
In the summer of 2007, McGraw and Hill toured together once again in the Soul2Soul 2007 tour.
In the January 18, 2008 edition of the USA Today newspaper, McGraw was stated to be featured on the Def Leppard album Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, having also co-written the first single, "Nine Lives", with Def Leppard band members Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, and Rick Savage. The unusual pairing goes back to 2006 when McGraw joined Def Leppard onstage for the song "Pour Some Sugar On Me", and then collaborated on the song "Nine Lives" afterward. The album was released on April 25, 2008.
In May 2008, he hit the road with the Live Your Voice tour. The mainly-outdoor arena concert tour was his first solo outing in nearly three years. Also in May 2008, he debuted a new song off of his follow-up to Let It Go at the Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, California.
In July 2008, Tim McGraw's sixth single, and the title track of his album, "Let It Go", was released to country radio. Following that, a seventh single, "Nothin' to Die For", entered the Country charts at No. 57 in late December. Tim McGraw released his third greatest-hits package, Greatest Hits 3 on October 7, 2008. The album features 12 tracks. Tim was set to debut a new song on the 2009 ACM Awards, but then cancelled his performance; he was replaced by Blake Shelton, who sang "She Wouldn't Be Gone".
On November 10, 2010, Tim McGraw presented at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards.
In 2004, McGraw played a sheriff in Rick Schroder's independent release Black Cloud. Later in the same year, McGraw received critical acclaim as the overbearing father of a running back in the major studio Texas high school football drama Friday Night Lights. The Dallas Observer said the role was "played with unexpected ferocity by country singer Tim McGraw". The movie went on to gross over $60 million dollars worldwide at the box office, and sold millions in the DVD market. Most recently, it was named one of the Top 50 High School Movies of All Time (No. 37) by Entertainment Weekly.
McGraw's first lead role was in the 2006 film Flicka, which was released in theatres October 20, 2006. In the remake of the classic book "My Friend Flicka", McGraw played the father, Rob, costarring with Alison Lohman and Maria Bello. The family-friendly movie debuted in the top 10 list and has grossed over $25 million at the box office. McGraw again achieved critical acclaim for his acting.
Shortly before Flicka opened, McGraw received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. near stars in the sidewalk honoring Julie Andrews, William Shatner, and the late Greta Garbo. One of his Flicka co-stars, Alison Lohman, attended the ceremony that included comments from Billy Bob Thornton, McGraw's co-star in the film Friday Night Lights.
In addition to acting in Flicka, McGraw served as executive producer of the soundtrack album, which was released by his record label, StyleSonic Records, in association with Curb Records and Fox 2000 films. It featured the closing credit song "My Little Girl", one of the first two songs that McGraw recorded that he also co-wrote (the other being "I've Got Friends That Do", both of which were included on Greatest Hits Vol. 2). The song was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics for "Best Song" in a film, and the movie was nominated in the category "Best Family Film (Live Action)". The movie proved to be another huge success in the DVD market, and has sold over a million copies, debuting at No. 3 on the DVD sales chart.
From 1996 to 1999, McGraw hosted an annual New Year's Eve concert in Nashville with special guests including Jeff Foxworthy, the Dixie Chicks, and Martina McBride. The 1997 show raised over $100,000 for the Country Music Foundation Hall of Fame and Museum. Beginning in 1999, McGraw would pick select cities on each tour, and the night before he was scheduled to perform, would choose a local club and host a quickly-organized show. This tour-within-a-tour became known as "The Bread and Water Tour", and all proceeds from the show would go to a charity from that community. Later in the year, the couple established the Neighbor's Keeper Foundation, which provides funding for community charities to assist with basic humanitarian services, in the event of a natural disaster, or for desperate personal circumstances.
McGraw is also a member of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet, to which various celebrities donate their time, skills, and fame, to help the Red Cross highlight important initiatives and response efforts.
McGraw has helped out with charity events held by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre. The has featured McGraw (and at other times Faith Hill) performing concerts during dinners and auctions that benefit children with disabilities in Wisconsin and Mississippi. One instance is recorded on Favre's official website.
On July 12, 2007, it was made public that McGraw and his wife Faith Hill, while in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a performance, donated $5000 to Kailey Kozminski, 3-year-old daughter of Officer Robert Kozminski, a Grand Rapids police officer who was killed on July 8, 2007 while responding to a domestic disturbance.
In June 2010, Tim McGraw, along with his wife Faith Hill organized Nashville Rising, a benefit concert aimed to raise $2 million for The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in response to the flood in early May that killed 22 people and caused $2 billion in damage.
Category:1967 births Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:American people of Scotch-Irish descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Curb Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:American film actors Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:People from Richland Parish, Louisiana Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee Category:University of Louisiana at Monroe alumni Category:Arena Football League executives Category:Musicians from Louisiana Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:Actors from Tennessee
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She was the only child of Marietta Peabody Tree, a socialite and Democratic political activist, and Ronald Tree, a bisexual journalist, investor and MP. Tree is a great-granddaughter of American retailer Marshall Field and of American educator Rev. Endicott Peabody.
Tree's family objected to her career as a model, and when she was first photographed at the age of 13 by Diane Arbus, her father vowed he would sue if the pictures were published.
Cecil Beaton also photographed Tree's elfin face, one that made "The Tree" a match for "The Twig" in the 1960s. By the time Diana Vreeland sent her to Richard Avedon, she was seventeen and her father had relented. David Bailey described Penelope as 'an Egyptian Jimminy Cricket". In 1967, she moved into Bailey's flat in London's Primose Hill neighbourhood. It became a hang-out for spaced-out hippies during the "Swinging Sixties" who, Bailey recalled, would be "smoking joints I had paid for and calling me a capitalist pig!" In another famous quote, John Lennon, asked to encapsulate Tree in three words, called her, "Hot, Hot, Hot, Smart, Smart, Smart!" She has been extensively compared to The Beatles for inspiring the swinging 60's movement and for galvanizing a generation of young American females. Scars from late-onset acne ended her career in the early 1970s: "I went from being sought-after to being shunned because nobody could bear to talk about the way I looked."
In 1974, Bailey and Tree split up and she moved to Sydney, Australia. She appeared in the British comedy film The Rutles in 1978. She is the half-sister of US author Frances FitzGerald and a niece of former Massachusetts governor Endicott Peabody.
She has been married once, to the South African rock musician Ricky Fataar (who was a member of The Flames, The Rutles, and the Beach Boys). She has two children, Paloma Tree Fataar (a graduate of Bard College and a student of Tibetan Buddhism and music), and Michael McFarlane, by her relationship with Australian psychoanalyst Stuart McFarlane.
She currently works for Lotus Outreach, a charity which works in Cambodia in partnership with local grassroots women's organisations to give girls from the very poorest families the wherewithal to go to school.
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Alicia Keys |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Alicia Augello Cook |
| Alias | Lellow |
| Born | January 25, 1981 |
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Instrument | Vocals, piano, keyboards, cello, synthesizer, vocoder, guitar, bass guitar |
| Genre | R&B;, soul, pop |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, record producer, actress, music video director, author, poet |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Label | Columbia, Arista, J |
| Url |
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began to play classical music on the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.
Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B; artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.
Keys made guest appearances on several television series in the following years, beginning with Charmed. She made her film debut in Smokin' Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. She released her fourth album, The Element of Freedom, in December 2009, which became Keys' first chart-topping album in the United Kingdom. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Billboard magazine named her the top R&B; artist of the 2000–2009 decade, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time. In 2010, VH1 included Keys on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
In 1994 Keys met long-term manager Jeff Robinson after she enrolled in his brother's after-school program. The following year Robinson introduced Keys to her future A&R; at Arista Records, Peter Edge, who later described his first impressions to HitQuarters: "I had never met a young R&B; artist with that level of musicianship. So many people were just singing on top of loops and tracks, but she had the ability, not only to be part of hip-hop, but also to go way beyond that." Edge helped Robinson create a showcase for Keys and also got involved in developing her demo material. He was keen to sign Keys himself but was unable to do so at that time due to being on the verge of leaving his present record company. Keys signed to Columbia Records soon after.
Songs in A Minor led Keys to win five awards at the 2002 Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance, and Best R&B; Song for "Fallin'", Best New Artist, and Best R&B; Album; "Fallin'" was also nominated for Record of the Year. Keys became the second female solo artist to win five Grammy Awards in a single night, following Lauryn Hill at the 41st Grammy Awards. That same year, she collaborated with Christina Aguilera for the latter's upcoming album Stripped on a song entitled "Impossible", which Keys wrote, co-produced, and provided with background vocals. During the early 2000s, Keys also made small cameos in television series Charmed and American Dreams. It sold 4.4 million copies in the United States and was certified four times Platinum by the RIAA. It sold eight million copies worldwide, becoming the sixth biggest-selling album by a female artist and the second biggest-selling album by a female R&B; artist. The singles "You Don't Know My Name" and "If I Ain't Got You" both reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the third single, "Diary", entered the top ten. The fourth single, "Karma", was less successful on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 20. "If I Ain't Got You" became the first single by a female artist to remain on the Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart for over a year.
Keys won Best R&B; Video for "If I Ain't Got You" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards; she performed the song and "Higher Ground" with Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder. Later that year, Keys released her novel Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics, a collection of unreleased poems from her journals and lyrics. The title derived from one of her poems, "Love and Chains" from the line: "I don't mind drinking my tears for water." She said the title is the foundation of her writing because "everything I have ever written has stemmed from my tears of joy, of pain, of sorrow, of depression, even of question". The book sold over US$500,000 and Keys made The New York Times bestseller list in 2005. The following year, she won a second consecutive award for Best R&B; Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for the video "Karma". Keys performed "If I Ain't Got You" and then joined Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones in a rendition of "Georgia on My Mind", the Hoagy Carmichael song made famous by Ray Charles in 1960 at the 2005 Grammy Awards. That evening, she won four Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance for "If I Ain't Got You", Best R&B; Song for "You Don't Know My Name", Best R&B; Album for The Diary of Alicia Keys, and Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for "My Boo" with Usher.
Keys performed and taped her installment of the MTV Unplugged series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. During this session, Keys added new arrangements to her original songs and performed a few choice covers. The session was released on CD and DVD in October 2005. Simply titled Unplugged, the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with 196,000 units sold in its first week of release. The album sold one million copies in the United States, where it was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and two million copies worldwide. The debut of Keys' Unplugged was the highest for an MTV Unplugged album since Nirvana's 1994 MTV Unplugged in New York and the first Unplugged by a female artist to debut at number one. It remained at number one on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B; Airplay for 11 weeks.
Keys opened a recording studio in Long Island, New York, called The Oven Studios, which she co-owns with her production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers. The studio was designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk of WSDG, designer of Jimi Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios. Keys and Brothers are the co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team who assisted Keys in creating her albums as well as create music for other artists.
Keys made her film debut in early 2007 in the crime film Smokin' Aces, co-starring as an assassin named Georgia Sykes opposite Ben Affleck and Andy García. Keys received much praise from her co-stars in the film; Reynolds said that Keys was "so natural" and that she would "blow everybody away". In the same year, Keys earned further praise for her second film, The Nanny Diaries, based on the 2002 novel of the same name, where she co-starred alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. She also guest starred as herself in the "One Man Is an Island" episode of the drama series Cane.
Keys released her third studio album, As I Am, in November 2007; it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week. It gained Keys her largest first week sales of her career and became her fourth consecutive number one album, tying her with Britney Spears for the most consecutive number-one debuts on the Billboard 200 by a female artist. The week became the second largest sales week of 2007 and the largest sales week for a female solo artist since singer Norah Jones' album Feels like Home in 2004. The album has sold nearly four million copies in the United States and has been certified three times Platinum by the RIAA. It has sold nearly six million copies worldwide. Keys received five nominations for As I Am at the 2008 American Music Award and ultimately won two. The album's lead single, "No One", peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming Keys' third and fifth number-one single on each chart, respectively. The album's second single, "Like You'll Never See Me Again", was released in late 2007 and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs. The album's third single, "Teenage Love Affair", peaked at number three on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
in Tokyo, Japan]]
"No One" earned Keys the awards for Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance and Best R&B; Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Keys opened the ceremony singing Frank Sinatra's 1950s song "Learnin' the Blues" as a "duet" with archival footage of Sinatra in video and "No One" with John Mayer later in the show. Keys also won Best Female R&B; Artist during the show. She starred in "Fresh Takes", a commercial micro-series created by Dove Go Fresh, which premiered during The Hills on MTV from March to April 2008. The premiere celebrated the launch of new Dove Go Fresh. She also signed a deal as spokesperson with Glacéau's VitaminWater to endorse the product, and was in an American Express commercial for the "Are you a Cardmember?" campaign. Keys, along with The White Stripes' guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, recorded the theme song to Quantum of Solace, the first duet in Bond soundtrack history. In 2008, Keys was ranked in at number 80 the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists. She also starred in The Secret Life of Bees, a film adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed 2003 bestseller novel of the same name alongside Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah, released in October 2008 via Fox Searchlight. Her role earned her a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards. She also received three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance for "Superwoman".
In an interview with Blender magazine, Keys allegedly said "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other, 'gangsta rap' didn't exist" and went on to say that it was created by "the government". The magazine also claimed she said that Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were "essentially assassinated, their beefs stoked by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing". Later that year, Keys was criticized by anti-smoking campaigners after billboard posters for her forthcoming concerts in Indonesia featured a logo for the A Mild cigarette brand sponsored by tobacco firm Philip Morris. She apologized after discovering that the concert was sponsored by the firm and asked for "corrective actions". In response, the company withdrew its sponsorship.
Keys collaborated with record producer Swizz Beatz to write and produce "Million Dollar Bill" for Whitney Houston's seventh studio album, I Look to You. Keys had approached Clive Davis for permission to submit a song for the album. Keys also collaborated with recording artist Jay-Z on the song "Empire State of Mind" from his 2009 album, The Blueprint 3. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and became her fourth number-one single on that chart. Swizz Beatz announced in May 2009, that he and Keys have been romantically involved. The Boston Globe reported "Swizz and his estranged wife, Mashonda, are currently embroiled in a bitter divorce. He has always denied reports Alicia was to blame for the breakdown of his marriage".
The following month, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Keys with the Golden Note Award, an award given to artists "who have achieved extraordinary career milestones". She collaborated with Spanish recording artist Alejandro Sanz for "Looking for Paradise", which topped the Hot Latin Songs chart. Keys released her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom, in December 2009. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 417,000 copies in its first week. As part of the promotional drive for the album, she performed at the Cayman Island Jazz Festival on December 5, the final night of the three day festival which will be broadcast on Black Entertainment Television (BET). The album's lead single, "Doesn't Mean Anything", has peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, The Element of Freedom became Keys' first album to top the UK Albums Chart.
In May 2010, a representative for Keys and Swizz Beatz confirmed that they were engaged and expecting a child together. During the time of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the couple took part of a union and had the unborn child blessed in a Zulu ceremony, which took place in the Illovo suburb of South Africa. Keys and Swizz Beatz held a wedding celebration on the French island of Corsica on July 31, 2010. Keys gave birth to a son, Egypt Daoud Dean, on October 14, 2010 in New York City.
Keys has a vocal range of a contralto, which spans three octaves. Often referred to as the "Princess of Soul", others feel that her voice is "emotionally manufactured" at times and that she pushes her voice out of its natural range. Hunkin characterized Keys' opening performance as a "headbanging, hip-gyrating performance" and her energy as "high-octane energy most bands save for their closing finale". At the end of her two-hour performance, fans "screamed, stomped and begged for a second encore". Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and is listed on the Recording Industry Association of America's best-selling artists in the United States, with 15 million certified albums. She has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has established herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.
Keys has also donated to Frum tha Ground Up, a non-profit organization that aids children and teenagers with scholarships. She performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the worldwide Live 8 concerts to raise awareness of the poverty in Africa and to pressure the G8 leaders to take action. In 2005, Keys performed on and , two benefit programs that raised money for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. In July 2007, Keys and Keith Urban performed The Rolling Stones' 1969 song "Gimme Shelter" at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the American leg of the Live Earth concerts.
Keys performed Donny Hathaway's 1973 song "Someday We'll All Be Free" at the televised benefit concert following the September 11 attacks. She participated in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert which took place at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, 2007, along with other various artists. She recorded a theme song for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. She joined Joss Stone and Jay-Z on the effort, which served as a theme song for Obama's campaign. For her work, Keys was honored at the 2009 BET Awards with the Humanitarian Award. Keys performed the song "Prelude to a Kiss", retitled "Send Me an Angel", from her 2007 album As I Am for the "" telethon in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Category:1981 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Actors from New York City Category:African American female singers Category:African American singer-songwriters
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Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Category:Rhythm and blues pianists Category:Singers from New York City Category:World Music Awards winners
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