Name	Kelis
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kelis Rogers
Born	August 21, 1979New York, New York
Origin	Indianapolis, Indiana
Genre	R&B;, neo soul, pop, electronic dance, electro, hip hop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1997–present
Label	Virgin (1998–2001) Star Trak/Arista (2003–2005) LaFace/Jive (2006–2008)will.i.am music group (2010–present)
Associated acts	Nas, Pharrell, Pusha T, Chad Hugo, Robyn,
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Kelis Jones (née Rogers; born August 21, 1979 (), is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award winner, Q Award winner, NME Award winner, and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She's most known for hits like "Acapella", "Bossy", "Milkshake", and "Caught Out There". Kelis appeared on Moby's Area One Tour, supported U2 on the European leg of their Elevation Tour and headlined her own All Hearts Tour with Robyn. She's also the former wife of the rapper Nas. Kelis has sold just over 6 million records in album and singles world wide.

Early life

Kelis was born and raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. Her first name is a portmanteau of her father's name, Kenneth, and her mother's name, Eveliss. Kenneth is an African American jazz musician, Pentecostal minister, and was a professor at Wesleyan University. Eveliss is a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer who inspired Kelis to pursue her singing career. She has three sisters, Kelis being the third born of the four girls.

As a child, Kelis sang in church choirs and played violin, piano, and saxophone while attending Manhattan Country School, a private school. Kelis left home at age sixteen, Its lead and most notable single, "Caught out There", peaked at number nine on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and became a minor MTV/BET video hit. The entire album took off in Europe, where all three singles — "Caught out There", "Good Stuff" (featuring Terrar of Clipse), and "Get Along with You" — were sizable hits. Kelis's colorful style in both clothing and hair received considerable attention.

"Caught out There" entered the UK Singles Chart at number four. With its success, it was decided that another single should be released. A second single, "Good Stuff", was a modest hit, securing a number nineteen position on the UK Singles Chart, although the third release, "Get Along with You", only reached number fifty-one in the United Kingdom, despite Kelis promoting the track there. The British Phonographic Industry certified Kaleidoscope gold, selling over 100,000 copies in the UK, where it reached number forty-three on the UK Albums Chart. Furthermore, Kelis won the BRIT Award for International Breakthrough Act in 2001.

In 2002, Kelis recorded her song "So Be It" for the Red Hot Organization's Fela Kuti tribute CD, Red Hot and Riot. The CD was released to four star reviews from Rolling Stone, Vibe, Spin, and Allmusic, and all proceeds were donated to AIDS awareness charities.

Kelis's second album, Wanderland, was released two years later exclusively in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, after its lead single, "Young, Fresh n' New", failed to catch on in the U.S. The video for the song barely registered on American MTV or VH1, but received heavy airplay on MTV2 as well as on Canada's MuchMusic. According to Kelis, then-U.S. record company Virgin did not understand Wanderland. The record executives at Virgin felt the album material did not have strong enough singles. Unlike those of her debut, Wanderland's sales were mediocre, with just 80,000 copies sold worldwide, and the only single released off the album, "Young, Fresh n' New", only managed to reach number thirty-two in the UK. The album was, however, critically acclaimed.

2003–2005: Tasty

Kelis finally found mainstream success in the U.S. in 2003, with her Hot Dance Club Play number-one, Billboard Hot 100 top five single, "Milkshake"; this helped to propel her third album, Tasty, to sell over 400,000 copies in the U.S in only two months. It also earned her a Grammy Award nomination in 2004 for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Although The Neptunes contributed a number of tracks to the album, Kelis began collaborating with other producers, such as Dallas Austin, André 3000, Rockwilder, and Raphael Saadiq, producing an altogether more eclectic, alternative sound. Speaking to Pete Lewis of Blues & Soul she stated: "I felt like I had a lot to prove with this album. People had started messing with me along the lines of 'Is she REALLY any good without The Neptunes?' - which I knew was ridiculous. And so I was like 'I'll take that challenge'." According to Nielsen SoundScan numbers, the album has sold 533,000 copies in the United States and has gained gold status in the U.S., where "Milkshake" also went gold, selling over 500,000 copies.

The single and album immediately found success in Europe. According to the BPI, Tasty went platinum in the United Kingdom, selling over 300,000 copies, and the hit single "Milkshake" went silver, selling over 200,000 units—it was the UK's fourteenth best-selling single in 2004. The album's second single, the Dallas Austin-produced "Trick Me", also proved successful on radio and music video channels in Europe, and went to the top ten in many European countries during mid-2004. However, the song did not garner success in the U.S., It charted at #41 only, but concurrent to the popularity of "Lil Star", it re-entered the albums chart in February 2007. According to the ARIA, Kelis Was Here went gold, selling 35,000 despite the fact the album had a low debut of only ninety-six on the Australian Albums Chart. The popularity of the album's track "I Don't Think So" increased after its use in promotion for the 2008 season of the reality series Big Brother Australia. The song peaked at #27 on the ARIA chart and became a top ten urban hit. During the summer of 2007, Kelis toured in Europe, appearing in numerous festivals among the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

Kelis collaborated with Busta Rhymes and will.i.am on the track "I Love My Bitch", the second single from Rhymes's 2006 seventh studio album, The Big Bang. This was the second time Kelis has teamed up with Rhymes, the first being his 2001 song "What It Is". Kelis is also featured on the soundtrack to the 2005 film Just Like Heaven with a cover version of The Pretenders' 1979 classic "Brass in Pocket", as well as on the soundtrack to the 2006 dance film Step Up with a song called "80's Joint". Ford chose Kelis to help advertise the 2007 Ford Edge, and she recorded a theme song for the commercial, entitled "Push It to the Edge", with help from producer Scott Storch. Kelis was set to be working with Annie Lennox on a duet for the Eurythmics' new album, due to release in late November. Artists such as Pink, Mary J. Blige, and Madonna were also to appear on the album.

In October 2007, Kelis's manager told Entertainment Weekly that the singer was working with Cee-Lo Green on an alternative dance album and would be shopping a pop album produced by songwriter Guy Chambers, who co-wrote hits such as Robbie Williams's "Angels".

After Kelis left the Zomba label, the label released a fourteen-track greatest hits album entitled The Hits (previously due to be titled Good Stuff – The Best of Kelis) in March 2008 in the United Kingdom. The album does not contain any previously unreleased songs, although Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Got Your Money", N.E.R.D's "Truth or Dare", and Richard X's "Finest Dreams" appear on the album, which is unusual for a hits collection album as she was a featured, not headlining artist on these tracks. The Hits includes every charted Kelis single to that date with the exception of "Blindfold Me" (featuring Nas). Kelis never had any intention of releasing The Hits herself.

2009–present: Flesh Tone

In 2009, Kelis announced that she was finishing her fifth studio album, to be released in 2010 under Interscope Records via the will.i.am Music Group. Kelis worked with various producers and contributors on the album, titled Flesh Tone, including Ammo, Jean Baptiste, Benny Benassi, Burns, Diplo, Boys Noize, Free School, DJ Switch, will.i.am and David Guetta. The album marked Kelis' transition into dance and pop music, away from her previous R&B-based; material. She stated that she wanted the album to include elements of dance, pop, and tribal culture (visible in the promotional imagery accompanying Flesh Tone). Coinciding with her change in musical direction, Kelis appeared on Basement Jaxx's 2009 album Scars on the title track, on Benassi's 2010 single "Spaceship" with Apl.de.ap and Jean Baptiste, and on the Crookers single "No Security" from their debut album ''Tons of Friends.

The first single from Flesh Tone, "Acapella" (produced by David Guetta), debuted in the top five on the UK Singles Chart and reached number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs and the UK Dance Chart. Flesh Tone was released in May 2010 in Europe and Asia, and in July in the U.S. The second single, "4th of July (Fireworks)", was accompanied by a video co-directed by John "Rankin" Waddell, Nicole Ehrlich, and Kelis herself. During mid 2010, Kelis embarked on her first U.S. tour, titled All Hearts with Robyn, amid a selection of club, festival and solo dates. Kelis appears on the Mark Ronson produced track 'The Man Who Stole a Leopard' from the 21 December 2010 release All You Need Is Now from the band Duran Duran.

Other projects

Kelis is writing a cookbook with Robert Teamer and designing her own line of fashion accessories, called Cake. Kelis is in talks to host a Project Runway-esque show for VH1, and is auditioning for various film and TV roles.

Personal life

Kelis married rapper Nas in January 2005. In April 2009 she filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences". She was seven months pregnant at the time. On July 22, 2009, Kelis gave birth to a baby boy named Knight. The birth was announced by Nas via an online video. On July 23, a judge in New York City ordered Nas to pay Kelis $55,000 per month in child and spousal support after Kelis tried to collect $100,000 a month in child support. The couple's divorce was finalized May 21, 2010.

Arrest

In March 2007, Kelis was detained by police in Miami Beach, Florida, and charged with disorderly conduct. The arrest report said the officers were posing as prostitutes along a main avenue in the South Beach nightclub district when Kelis started screaming racial profanities at them. She was sent to Miami-Dade County Jail, and was later released on a $1,500 bond. On September 12, 2008, Kelis was acquitted on charges of resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct stemming back to the 2007 arrest. "I'm thrilled that justice prevailed in the end", Kelis said in a statement. A spokesperson for Kelis further commented that the artist will still be moving forward with a lawsuit against the Miami Beach Police, claiming unlawful arrest and the violation of her civil rights. Kelis was cleared of all charges.

Conflicts with PETA

In the beginning of 2010, Kelis received a letter by animal rights organization PETA, in which she was informed about the cruelty that comes along with the production of fur coats. In her Myspace blog, she mocked PETA and stated that she would go on wearing fur, referencing several fur coats she had made from her pet dogs.

Discography

Kaleidoscope (1999)

Wanderland (2001)

Tasty (2003)

Kelis Was Here (2006)

Flesh Tone (2010)

Awards

|- | style="text-align:center;"| 2001 || Kelis || BRIT Awards, International Female Breakthrough Act || |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2004 || "Milkshake" || MTV Europe Music Awards, Best R&B; || |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2004 || "Milkshake" || Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance || |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2005 || Kelis || BRIT Awards, International Female Solo || |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2007 || Kelis Was Here || Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B; Album || |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2007 || "Bossy" || Urban Music Awards, Best Music Video || |- | style="text-align:center;"| 2007 || Kelis || Urban Music Awards, Best R&B; Act || |-

References

External links

Category:1979 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:American female singers Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:Arista Records artists Category:BRIT Award winners Category:American musicians of Chinese descent Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New York City Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from Manhattan Category:American singers of Puerto Rican descent Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Hispanic and Latino American people

Name	Nas
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones
Alias	Nasty Nas
Born	September 14, 1973Brooklyn, New York, United States
Origin	Queensbridge, Queens, New York
Instrument	sampler, Keyboards
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, actor
Years active	1991–present
Label	Columbia, Def Jam, Ill Will, The Jones Experience
Associated acts	Olu Dara, The Firm, Bravehearts, Kelis, Mobb Deep, Damian Marley, Large Professor, Game, Wu-Tang Clan
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Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (; born September 14, 1973), who performs under the name Nas (), formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, he was born and raised in the Queensbridge housing projects in New York City. His debut album Illmatic, released in 1994 by Columbia Records, was critically acclaimed and would go on to be widely hailed a classic in the genre. Nas was part of hip-hop supergroup The Firm, which released one album.

From 2001 to 2005, Nas was involved in a widely publicized feud with rapper Jay-Z; both rappers verbally attacked each other in their songs. The two formally ended their rivalry through duet performances at concerts sponsored by New York City-area hip-hop radio stations. In 2006, he signed to Def Jam, releasing his albums Hip Hop Is Dead in 2006 and an untitled album in 2008. In 2010 he released a collaboration album with Damian Marley and he plans to release a tenth solo studio album before the summer of 2011.

Early life

Nas was born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. His father, Olu Dara, is a jazz and blues musician from Mississippi. His mother, Fannie Ann Jones, was a Postal Service worker. He has one sibling, a brother named Jabari Fret who assumes the alias Jungle. While his family lived in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Nas would play the trumpet on his home stoop at age four. His family moved to the Queensbridge Houses in the late 1970s. Nas began writing rhymes at the age of nine. His neighbor, Willy "Ill Will" Graham, influenced Nas's interest in hip hop by playing him records.

Career

As a teenager, Nas enlisted his best friend and upstairs neighbor Willy "Ill Will Graham" as his DJ. Nas first went by the nickname Kid Wave before adopting his more commonly known alias of Nasty Nas.

In 1991, Nas performed on Main Source's "Live at the Barbeque". In mid-1992, Nas was approached by MC Serch of 3rd Bass, who became his manager and secured Nas a record deal with Columbia Records the same year. Nas made his solo debut under the name of "Nasty Nas" on the single "Halftime" from Serch's soundtrack for the film Zebrahead. his rhyming skills attracted a significant amount of attention within the hip-hop community.

1994: Illmatic

In 1994, Nas's debut album, Illmatic, was finally released. It was awarded Five Mics from The Source. It also featured production from Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S. and DJ Premier, as well as guest appearances from Nas's friend AZ and his father Olu Dara. The album spawned several singles, including "The World Is Yours", "It Ain't Hard to Tell", and "One Love". Shaheem Reid of MTV News called Illmatic "the first classic LP" of 1994. Nas performed the song "One on One" for the movie Street Fighter. In 1995, Nas did guest performances on the albums Doe or Die by AZ, The Infamous by Mobb Deep, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx by Raekwon and 4,5,6 by Kool G Rap.

Steve Huey of Allmusic described the lyrics in Illmatic as "highly literate" and "his raps superbly fluid regardless of the size of his vocabulary". Lyrically, Nas is perceived as "able to evoke the bleak reality of ghetto life without losing hope or forgetting the good times". Huey describes the Illmatic track "One Love" as "a detailed report to a close friend in prison about how allegiances within their group have shifted". Reviewing Nas's second album It Was Written, Leo Stanley of allmusic believed the rhymes to be not as complex as those in Illmatic but still "not only flow, but manage to tell coherent stories as well". About.com ranked Illmatic as the greatest hip hop album of all time, and Prefix magazine praised it as "the best hip-hop record ever made".

1996–1998: It Was Written and The Firm

Columbia Records began to press Nas to work towards more commercial topics, such as that of The Notorious B.I.G., who had become successful by releasing street singles that still retained pop-friendly appeal. Nas traded manager MC Serch for Steve Stoute, and began preparation for his second LP, It Was Written, consciously working towards a crossover-oriented sound. It Was Written, chiefly produced by Tone and Poke of Trackmasters, was released during the summer of 1996. Two singles, "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" (featuring Lauryn Hill of The Fugees) and "Street Dreams", including a remix with R. Kelly were instant hits. These songs were promoted by big-budget music videos directed by Hype Williams, making Nas a common name among mainstream hip-hop. It Was Written featured the debut of The Firm, a super group consisting of Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, and Cormega. The album also expanded on Nas's Escobar persona, who lived more of a Scarface/Casino-esque lifestyle. On the other hand, Illmatic, which, while having numerous references to Scarface protagonist Tony Montana, was more about his life as a teenager in the projects.

Signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment label, The Firm began working on their debut album. Halfway through the production of the album, Cormega was fired from the group by Steve Stoute, who had unsuccessfully attempted to force Cormega to sign a deal with his management company. In addition to the firing of Cormega, Alex Trojano was featured as a start up producer in The Firm. Cormega subsequently became one of Nas's most vocal opponents and released a number of underground hip hop singles "" Nas, Stoute, and Nature, who replaced Cormega as the fourth member of The Firm. Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album was finally released in 1997 to mixed reviews. The album failed to live up to its expected sales, despite being certified platinum, and the members of the group disbanded to go their separate ways.

During this period, Nas was one of five rappers (the others being B-Real, Dr. Dre, KRS-One and RBX) in the hip hop super-group Group Therapy, who appeared on the song "East Coast/West Coast Killas" from Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath. In 1998, Nas co-wrote and starred in Hype Williams' 1998 feature film Belly. Much of the LP was leaked into MP3 format onto the Internet and Nas and Stoute quickly recorded enough substitute material to constitute a single-disc release.

The second single for I Am... was "Hate Me Now", featuring Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, which was used as an example by Nas's critics of him moving towards commercial themes. The video featured Nas and Combs being crucified in a manner similar to Jesus; after the video was completed, Combs requested his crucifixion scene be edited out of the video. However, the unedited copy of the "Hate Me Now" video made its way to MTV. Within minutes of the broadcast, Combs and his bodyguards allegedly made their way into Steve Stoute's office and assaulted him, at one point apparently hitting Stoute over the head with a champagne bottle. Stoute pressed charges, but he and Combs settled out-of-court that June.

In 2000, QB's Finest was released on Nas's Ill Will Records.

2001: Stillmatic, feud with Jay-Z

After trading subliminal criticisms on various songs, freestyles and mixtape appearances, the highly publicized feud rivalry between Nas and Jay-Z became widely known to the public in 2001. Nas responded with "Ether", in which he compared Jay-Z to such characters as J.J. Evans from the sitcom Good Times and cigarette company mascot Joe Camel. The song was included on Nas's fifth studio album, Stillmatic, released in December 2001. Stillmatic debuted at number five on the Billboard album charts and featured the singles "Got Ur Self A..." and "One Mic".

In response to "Ether", Jay-Z released the song "Supa Ugly", which Hot 97 radio host Angie Martinez premiered on December 11, 2001. New York City hip-hop radio station Hot 97 issued a poll asking listeners which rapper made the better diss song; Nas won with 52% while Jay-Z got 48% of the votes.

By October 2005, the two rappers had eventually ended their feud without violence or animosity. During Jay-Z's I Declare War — Power House concert, Jay-Z announced to the crowd, "It's bigger than 'I Declare War'. Let's go, Esco!" Nas then joined Jay-Z onstage, and the two then performed "Dead Presidents" together, which Jay-Z had sampled from Nas's song "The World Is Yours". The two also collaborated on a song called, "Black Republican" which can be found on Nas's album, Hip Hop Is Dead. They then collaborated again on a song called, "Success" from Jay-Z's album American Gangster.

2002–2005: God's Son and Street's Disciple

In December 2002, Nas released the God's Son album including its lead single, "Made You Look" which utilized a pitched down sample of the Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache". The album peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums charts despite widespread internet bootlegging. Time Magazine named his album best hip-hop album of the year. Vibe gave it four stars and The Source gave it four mics. The second single, "I Can", which reworked elements from Beethoven's "Für Elise", became Nas's biggest hit to date during the spring and summer of 2003, garnering substantial radio airplay on urban, rhythmic, and top 40 radio stations, as well as on the MTV and VH1 music video networks. God's Son also includes several songs dedicated to memory of Nas's mother, who died of cancer in 2002, including "Dance". In 2003, Nas was featured on the Korn song "Play Me", from Korn's Take a Look in the Mirror LP. Also in 2003, a live performance in New York City, featuring Ludacris, Jadakiss, and Darryl McDaniels (of Run-D.M.C. fame), was released on DVD as Made You Look: God's Son Live.

After Nas released God's Son in 2002, he began helping The Bravehearts, made up of his younger brother Jungle and friend Wiz (Wizard), put together their debut album, Bravehearted. The album features guest appearances from Nas, Nashawn (Millennium Thug), Lil Jon, and Mya.

Nas released his seventh studio album, the critically acclaimed double-disc Street's Disciple, on November 30, 2004. The album's first singles were "Thief's Theme" and "Bridging the Gap", which features his father Olu Dara on vocals. The album also includes "These Are Our Heroes", which accuses prominent sports stars and actors such as Kobe Bryant and O. J. Simpson of not setting good examples for the children who look up to them and neglecting their heritage and background. The videos for "Bridging the Gap" and "Just A Moment" received moderate airplay on MTV and BET. Although the album went platinum, its commercial profile was relatively low compared to the rapper's previous releases. (shortened to Hip Hop Is Dead), though the UK release features a bonus track at the end called "The N." The album featured production from will.i.am, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Scott Storch, and NBA All Star Chris Webber, as well as longtime Nas collaborators L.E.S. and Salaam Remi and newcomer Wyldfyer. A street single named "Where Y'all At" was released in June 2006. It was produced by Salaam Remi, and contained a sample from Nas "Made You Look", but it did not make the final cut for Hip Hop Is Dead.

The title record and first single was produced by will.i.am, and contains the same melodic sample ("In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida") as Nas's 2004 single "Thief's Theme". The album debuted on Def Jam and Nas new imprint at that label, The Jones Experience, at number one on the Billboard 200 charts, selling 355,000 copies—Nas's third number one album, along with It Was Written and I Am.... A music video for "Can't Forget About You" premiered on February 5, 2007, the song featuring Chrisette Michele and sampling Nat King Cole's song "Unforgettable". Another video, Hustlers, featuring The Game, would follow. Also, Nas has stated in an interview with MTV that a video for "Black Republican" featuring Jay-Z is also underway. A reality series on MTV entitled Me and Mrs. Jones will feature the lives of Nas and Kelis, with Vibe magazine has reported that the show will premiere in 2008.

The title of the album generated controversy, as many fans and artists (particularly those of Southern origin) began to debate over the actual state of rap music's vitality. With this album, Nas became an unofficial leader of the "Hip Hop Is Dead" movement. Ghostface Killah, on his album Fishscale seemed to agree with Nas and cited Southern crunk and snap music as the primary reasons for why hip-hop was "dead". Many Southern acts, such as rappers Big Boi from Outkast, Lil Boosie, T.I., Young Jeezy, Dem Franchize Boyz, and D4L took offense to the title, taking it to be directed at their region in particular. However, southern rapper André 3000 from Outkast said in a interview that hip-hop is "dying". After the controversy died down, some of the mentioned rappers would go on and collaborate with Nas on several songs, such as T.I. on Dr. Dre's "Topless" and, more notably, Young Jeezy on his song "My President" off his 2008 album The Recession.

Nas worked on a song called "Shine On 'Em" for the film Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou, which opened in US theaters on December 8, 2006. His song "Thief's Theme" was featured in one of the scenes in the Academy Award-winning movie The Departed directed by Martin Scorsese.

2007: Bill O'Reilly/Virginia Tech controversy and Greatest Hits

Nas performed at a free concert for the Virginia Tech student body and faculty on September 6, 2007, following the school shooting there. Nas was joined by John Mayer, Alan Jackson, Phil Vassar, and Dave Matthews Band. When announced that Nas was to perform, Bill O'Reilly and Fox News Channel denounced the concert and called for the removal of the rapper citing "violent" lyrics on songs including "Shoot 'Em Up", "Got Urself A Gun", and "Made You Look". During his Talking Points Memo segment for August 15, 2007, an argument erupted in which O'Reilly claimed that it was not only Nas's lyrical content that made him inappropriate for the event, citing the gun conviction on Nas's criminal record. In the midst of his debate with author Bakari Kitwana (The Hip Hop Generation), who defended Nas, claiming that Fox News had "cherry picked" select fragments of the songs to make their case, O'Reilly shouted, "Even in his personal life, man, he's got a conviction for weapons, all right? He's got a weapons conviction, sir! On his sheet! This is a school that had a mass murderer with a shotgun gunning down people—this guy has got a conviction for weapons, and you say he's appropriate? Come on!" O'Reilly repeated the claim another five times before cutting the segment short.

On September 6, 2007, during his set at "A Concert for Virginia Tech," Nas twice referred to Bill O'Reilly as "a chump," prompting loud cheers by members of the crowd. About two weeks later, Nas was interviewed by Shaheem Reid of MTV News, where he criticized O'Reilly, calling him uncivilized and willing to go to extremes for publicity.

Responding to O'Reilly, Nas, in an interview with MTV News, said:

He repeated this stance again in July 2008, when a dispute between Nas and O'Reilly led to Nas taking a petition to Fox News, and appearing on both Fox News, and The Colbert Report. Also in 2008, Nas challenged Bill O'Reilly to a public debate, to which O'Reilly did not accept.

Nas's former label, Columbia Records, released his Greatest Hits album in November. This compilation features 14 songs: 12 from his seven first studio LPs under the label and two newly recorded songs. One of the new tracks, "Less Than an Hour", features Cee-Lo of Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley. The track is a new take on the theme of the hugely successful Rush Hour film trilogy starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, and appears on the Rush Hour 3 soundtrack as well. The other new track, "Surviving the Times", contains auto-biographical lyrics about Nas's career and features production by Chris Webber.

2008: Untitled album

On October 12, 2007, Nas announced that his new album would be called Nigger. Both left wing commentators, such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and the news station Fox News were outraged; Jackson called on entertainers to stop using the epithet after comedian Michael Richards used it onstage in late 2006. Controversy escalated as the album's impending release date drew nearer, going as far as to spark rumors that Def Jam was planning to drop Nas unless he changed the title. Additionally, Fort Greene, Brooklyn assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries requested New York's Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to withdraw $84 million from the state pension fund that has been invested into Universal and its parent company, Vivendi, if the album's title was not changed. On the opposite side of the spectrum, many of the most famous names in the entertainment industry expressed a sense of trust in Nas for using the racial epithet as the title of his full-length EP. In an interview with Angie Martinez, a host on New York's Hot 97, Nas stated that the issue had been raised as high up as the United States Congress.

Nas's management worried that the album would not be sold by chain stores such as Wal-Mart, thus limiting its distribution. On May 19, 2008, Nas decided to forgo an album title. He went on to say in a statement:

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"Hero", the lead single from the album, was released on June 6, 2008, featuring R&B; singer Keri Hilson and produced by Polow da Don. In the US, "Hero" reached number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 87 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and it peaked at number 39 on the Hot Canadian Digital Singles chart. It was also sampled for a Hustler production erotic video Barely Legal 96 Released on July 15, 2008, Untitled is Nas's second album with Def Jam, in conjunction with his own imprint, The Jones Experience. It features production from Polow da Don, stic.man of Dead Prez, Sons of Light - Dustin Moore & J. Myers, Mark Ronson, Cool and Dre, DJ Green Lantern, Salaam Remi, DJ Toomp and more. Guest appearances include The Game, Chris Brown, Keri Hilson, The Last Poets, and Busta Rhymes.

On July 2, 2008, Fila announced that Nas had signed a shoe deal, his second to date. Nas will promote the sneakers in magazines and wear them at concerts. Fila also plans on having Nas release a second sneaker with 1980s-oriented style during the 2008 holiday season.

Responding to Jesse Jackson's remarks and use of the word "nigger" on July 6, 2008 regarding President Barack Obama, Nas, in an interview with MTV News, said:

In an interview with MTV News in July 2008, Nas speculated that he might release two albums—one produced by DJ Premier and another by Dr. Dre—simultaneously the same day. Nas will also be featured Dr. Dre's long awaited upcoming album Detox.

On July 16, 2008, Nas performed "Hero" with Keri Hilson on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The following week, on July 23, he appeared on The Colbert Report to discuss his opinion of Bill O'Reilly and the Fox News Channel. Nas accused the latter of bias against the African-American community and re-challenged O'Reilly to a debate. During the appearance Nas sat on boxes of more than 625,000 signatures gathered by online advocacy organization Color of Change in support of a petition accusing Fox of race-baiting and fear-mongering. At the end of the show Nas performed the song "Sly Fox" off his new album, to affirm his criticism of Fox News. On August 28, 2008, Nas performed "Sly Fox" on Late Show with David Letterman. On August 4, 2008 Nas performed "Hero" on The Wendy Williams Show. Nas is currently touring in "Rock The Bells." Nas was also awarded 'Emcee of the Year' in the HipHopDX 2008 Awards for his latest solo effort, the quality of his appearances on other albums and was described as having "become an artist who thrives off of reinvention and going against the system." On March 4, 2009 the second annual Smirnoff Signature Mix Series released Nas "If I Ruled the World 09" (feat.) Marsha Ambrosius and Produced by the Sons of Light - Dustin Moore & J. Myers.

2009-2010: Distant Relatives with Damian Marley

At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Nas confirmed that he was collaborating on an album with reggae musician Damian Marley which is expected to be released in Fall 2009, with a special edition expected to be available exclusively through Best Buy or Target. Nas said of the collaboration in an interview "I was a big fan of his father and of course all the children, all the offspring, and Damian, I kind of looked at Damian as a rap guy. His stuff is not really singing, or if he does, it comes off more hard, like on some street shit. I always liked how reggae and hip-hop have always been intertwined and always kind of pushed each other, I always liked the connection. I'd worked with people before from the reggae world but when I worked with Damian, the whole workout was perfect". A portion of the profit is planned to go towards building a school in Africa. He went on to say that it was "too early to tell the title or anything like that". The Los Angeles Times reported that the album would be titled Distant Relatives. Nas also revealed that he will begin working on his tenth studio album following the release of Distant Relatives. During Fall 2009 Nas used his live band Mulatto with music director Dustin Moore for concerts in Europe and Australia.

2010-2011: The Lost Tapes Pt. 2 and tenth studio album

On September 15, 2010 Nas announced on his Twitter "It's coming... LOST TAPES VOLUME TWO!!!". Speaking about his upcoming tenth studio album, Nas called the album a "magic moment" in his rap career while mentioning that Swizz Beatz, DJ Premier, The Alchemist, Dr. Dre, Kanye West and RZA are possible producers on the LP. "A Milli" producer Bangladesh revealed that he produced some tracks for the album.

Musical style

Nas has been praised for his ability to create a "devastating match between lyrics and production" by journalist Peter Shapiro, as well as creating a "potent evocation of life on the street", and being compared to Rakim for his lyrical technique. However, Shapiro also notes that Nas has "regressed" ever since his debut album Illmatic. Kool Moe Dee notes that Nas has an "off-beat conversational flow" in his book There's a God on the Mic - he says: "before Nas, every MC focused on rhyming with a cadence that ultimately put the words that rhymed on beat with the snare drum. Nas created a style of rapping that was more conversational than ever before".

O.C. of D.I.T.C. comments in the book How to Rap: “Nas did the song backwards [‘Rewind’]... that was a brilliant idea”. Also in How to Rap, 2Mex of The Visionaries describes Nas’s flow as “effervescent”, Rah Digga says Nas’s lyrics have “intricacy”, Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde explains that Nas doesn’t always have to make words rhyme as he is “charismatic”, and Nas is also described as having a “densely packed” flow, with compound rhymes that “run over from one beat into the next or even into another bar”.

In 2006, Nas was ranked fifth on MTV's "10 Greatest MCs of All Time" list. Nas also briefly dated Mary J. Blige. On April 30, 2009, a spokesperson confirmed that Kelis filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Kelis gave birth to his first son on July 21, 2009, although the event was soured by a disagreement which ended in Nas announcing the birth of his son, Knight, at a gig in Queens, NY, against Kelis' wishes. The birth was announced by Nas via an online video. On July 23, a judge in New York City ordered Nas to pay Kelis $55,000 per month in child and spousal support after Kelis tried to collect $100,000 a month in child support. The couple's divorce was finalized May 21, 2010.

Nas is a spokesperson and mentor for P'Tones Records a non-profit after school music program that's mission is "to create constructive opportunities for urban youth through no-cost music programs" Nas is also an adherent to the Nation of Gods and Earths, otherwise called five percenters.

Discography

; Studio albums

Illmatic (1994)

It Was Written (1996)

I Am... (1999)

Nastradamus (1999)

Stillmatic (2001)

God's Son (2002)

Street's Disciple (2004)

Hip Hop Is Dead (2006)

Untitled (2008)

; Collaboration albums

The Firm: The Album (with The Firm) (1997)

QB's Finest (with Various Artists) (2000)

Distant Relatives (with Damian Marley) (2010)

; Compilation albums

(2002)

The Lost Tapes (2002)

Greatest Hits (2007)

The Lost Tapes: Vol. 2 (2011)

Filmography

Awards/Nominations

Grammy Awards

* 2010, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "Too Many Rappers" Nominated

* 2009, Best Rap Solo Performance: "N*gger" Nominated

* 2009, Best Rap Album: (Nas) Nominated

* 2008, Best Rap Album: (Hip-Hop Is Dead) Nominated

* 2008, Best Rap Performance by a duo or Group: "Best Than I Ever Been" Nominated

* 2003, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "The Essence" Nominated

* 2003, Best Short-Form Music Video: "One Mic" Nominated

* 2000, Best Rap Album: (I Am) Nominated

* 1997, Best Rap Solo Performance: "If I Ruled the World" Nominated

MTV Video Music Awards

* 2005, Best Hip-Hop Video: "Bridging the Gap" Nominated

* 2003, Best Rap Video: "I Can" Nominated

* 2003, Best Rap Video: "Thug Mansion" Nominated

* 2002, Video of the Year: "One Mic" Nominated

* 2002, Best Rap Video: "One Mic" Nominated

* 1999, Best Rap Video: "Hate Me Now" Nominated

References

Further reading

External links

Official site at Def Jam

Nas at MTV

Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American film actors Category:African American rappers Category:American dance musicians Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Def Jam Recordings artists Category:Hip hop activists Category:Ill Will Records artists Category:Members of the Nation of Gods and Earths Category:People from Queens Category:Rappers from New York City

Name	Enrique Iglesias
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler
Born	May 08, 1975Madrid, Spain
Origin	Miami, Florida, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar
Genre	Latin pop, R&B;, dance-pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, model, actor
Years active	1995–present
Label	Fonovisa, Interscope, Universal Music Latino, Universal Republic
Url

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (born May 8, 1975), better known as Enrique Iglesias, is a Spanish pop music singer-songwriter.

Iglesias started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa. This helped turn him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America and in the Hispanic or Latino market in the United States, and the biggest seller of Spanish language albums for a number of years. Before the turn of the millennium, he made a crossover into the mainstream English language market, signing a unique multi-album deal with Universal Music Group for an unprecedented US$48,000,000, with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums. In 2010, he parted with Interscope and signed with another Universal Music Group label, Universal Republic.

Iglesias has had four Billboard Hot 100 top five singles including two #1s, and holds the record for producing 21 number 1 Spanish-language singles on the Billboards Hot Latin Tracks. Up until the release of his latest album, Euphoria, in 2010, he had sold over 55 million albums in both English and Spanish.

Early life

Iglesias was born in Madrid, Spain, the third and final child of singer Julio Iglesias and socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler. His mother is a Spanish-Filipino and his father is of Galician Spanish and Jewish ancestry. His parents divorced in 1978, and the following year Julio moved to Miami, Florida, in the U.S. to continue with his musical career.

In 1985, Enrique Iglesias' grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga was kidnapped by the terrorist group ETA. For their safety, Enrique and his brother Julio Iglesias Jr. were sent to live with their father in Miami. He also lived in Belgrade, Serbia, for one year with his mother, who worked as a journalist. As his father's career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. He attended Gulliver Preparatory School and went on to study business at the University of Miami.

Iglesias did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. He borrowed money from his family nanny and he recorded a demo cassette tape which consisted of a Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his father's former publicist, Fernan Martinez, the two promoted the songs under the stage name 'Enrique Martinez' with the backstory of being an unknown singer from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed by a record label called Fonovisa. After dropping out of college, he went to Toronto to record his first album.

Music career

1995–98: Enrique Iglesias and Vivir

On July 12, 1995, Iglesias released his first album titled Enrique Iglesias, a collection of light rock ballads, including such mega-hits as "Si Tú Te Vas", "Experiencia Religiosa", and others. The record sold half a million copies in its first week, a rare accomplishment then for an album recorded in a language other than English.

His song " Por Amarte" was included in Televisa's telenovela Marisol, but with a twist: instead of Por amarte daría mi vida (To love you, I'd give my life), the words were Por amarte Marisol, moriría (To love you, Marisol, I'd die). The CD also yielded Italian and Portuguese editions of the album, with most of the songs translated into those languages.

Five singles released from this album, such as "Por Amarte", "No Llores Por Mí", and "Trapecista" topped the Latin charts. The album went on to win Iglesias a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance.

In 1997, Iglesias' star continued to rise with the release of Vivir (To Live), which put him up with other English language music superstars in sales for that year. The album also included a cover version of the Yazoo song "Only You", translated into Spanish as "Solo en Tí".

Insisting on stadiums, that summer, Enrique, backed by sidemen for Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, played to sold-out audiences in sixteen countries. Beginning the tour in Odessa, Texas the tour went on to three consecutive nights in Mexico's Plaza de Toros, two consecutive nights at Monterrey's Auditorio Coca Cola and two at the Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina to over 130,000 people as well as 19 arenas in the U.S.

Three singles released from Vivir ("Enamorado Por Primera Vez", "Sólo en Ti" and "Miente") topped the Latin singles chart as well as those in several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his father and Luis Miguel, Iglesias was nominated for an American Music Award in the first-ever awarded category of Favorite Latin Artist. It was said beforehand that the elder Iglesias would walk out if he did not win the award. Iglesias lost out to his father, but did perform the song "Lluvia Cae" at the event.

in 1999, his Cosas del Amor tour was sponsored by McDonald's.]]

1998–1999: Cosas del Amor

In 1998, Iglesias released his third album, Cosas del Amor (Things of Love). Taking a more mature musical direction, the album, aided by the popular singles "Esperanza" and "Nunca Te Olvidaré", both of which topped the Latin singles chart, helped cement his status in the Latin music scene.

Iglesias did a short tour of smaller venues to accompany the release of the album, with one show being televised from Acapulco, Mexico. This was followed by a larger world tour of over eighty shows in even bigger venues. The Cosas del Amor Tour was the first ever concert tour sponsored by McDonald's.

He won an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Latin Artist against Ricky Martin and Los Tigres del Norte. The song "Nunca te Olvidaré" was also used as the theme music for a Spanish soap opera of the same name and he sang the song himself on the last episode of the series.

1999–2002: Enrique and Escape

By 1999, Iglesias had begun a successful crossover career into the English language music market. Thanks to other successful crossover acts, most notably that of Ricky Martin and Selena, Latino artists and music had a great surge in popularity in mainstream music. Iglesias' contribution to the soundtrack of Will Smith's movie Wild Wild West, "Bailamos" became a number one hit in the US.

After the success of "Bailamos", several mainstream record labels were eager to sign Enrique. Signing a multi-album deal after weeks of negotiations with Interscope, Iglesias recorded and released his first full CD in English, Enrique. The pop album, with some Latin influences, took two months to complete and contained a duet with Whitney Houston called "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" and a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song "Sad Eyes". The album's third single, "Be With You", became his second number one.

The final single from the album was the song "You're My #1", re-recorded and released in selected territories as a duet with local acts – Alsou in Russia, Sandy & Junior in Brazil and Valen Hsu in Asia.

Iglesias followed up in 2001 with the album Escape. Where most of the Latin crossover acts of the previous year experienced some difficulty matching the record sales of their first English language albums, Iglesias actually went on to sell even more. The album's first single, "Hero", became a number one hit in the United Kingdom, and in many other countries. The entire album was co-written by Iglesias.

Escape is his biggest commercial success to date. The singles "Escape" and "Don't Turn Off The Lights" became radio staples, fairing well and placing highly or topping various charts both in North America and elsewhere. A second edition of the album was released internationally and contained a new version of one of Enrique's favorite tracks, "Maybe", as well as a duet with Lionel Richie called "To Love a Woman".

Iglesias capitalized on the album's success with his "One-Night Stand World Tour" consisting of 50 sold-out shows in 16 countries. Including Radio City Music Hall and three consecutive nights in London's Royal Albert Hall, the tour ended with a big show at Stadium National Lia Manoliu in Bucharest, Romania. The concert launched MTV Romania, with the video for "Love to See You Cry" being the first to be shown on the channel.

The second leg of the tour, "Don't Turn Off The Lights", was completed in the summer of 2002, with two sold-out nights in Madison Square Garden and another two in Mexico's National Auditorium. The tour finished with a single show in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

2002–03: Quizás

In 2002, Iglesias chose to release a fourth Spanish-language album titled Quizás (Perhaps). A more polished musical production than his previous Spanish albums and containing more introspective songs, the album's title track is a song about the strained relationship Iglesias has with his famous father.

The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the highest placement of a Spanish language album on the chart at the time. Quizás sold a million copies in a week, making it the fastest-selling album in Spanish in 5 years. The three singles released from the album all ended up topping the Latin chart, giving Iglesias a total of 16 number ones on the chart. He currently holds the record for the most number one singles on Billboard's Latin Chart. His last single from the album, "Para Que la Vida", reached a million spins on U.S. radio, the only Spanish language song to do so.

The video to the song "Quizás" was the first Spanish language music video to be added to the selection on MTV's popular show Total Request Live. Iglesias performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, becoming the first to sing a Spanish song on the show, and opening doors for other artists such as Ricky Martin, Juanes and Jorge Drexler to perform their Spanish material. Iglesias included songs from Quizás in his "Don't Turn Off the Lights Tour", and the album went on to win a Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.

2003–06: 7

In 2003, Iglesias released his seventh album, which he called 7, the second to be co-written by Iglesias. Among its more 1980s-inspired material, it features the song "Roamer", which he wrote with his friend and longtime guitarist, Tony Bruno. The CD also contained the song "Be Yourself", a song about independence (the chorus talks about how Iglesias' own parents didn't believe he'd ever succeed in his singing career). The first single was the song "Addicted", and was followed closely by a remix of the song "Not in Love", featuring Kelis.

With this album, Iglesias went on his biggest world tour to date. The highly publicised tour started with twelve shows in the United States ending with Iglesias playing at Houston Rodeo and continued on to several countries, most of which he'd never previously visited playing to sold-out arenas and stadiums in Australia, India, Egypt and Singapore before ending his tour in South Africa.

2007–09: Insomniac and Greatest Hits

on August 29, 2007.]] Iglesias released his new album Insomniac on June 12, 2007. The album was so named due to it being recorded mainly at night. The album contained a more contemporary pop style than that of previous albums. The album's highlights include "Push", with rapper Lil' Wayne, as well as "Ring My Bells", and a cover of Ringside's "Tired of Being Sorry".

The first single Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song) was released on April 10, 2007. It was the Iglesias's highest charting song on the Hot 100 since "Escape" it was also a it throughout Europe peaking in the top 10 in many countries and the Spanish version entitled "Dímelo" was #1 on Hot Latin Tracks from 12 weeks becoming his second best performing song on that chart.

Iglesias followed up with the ballad "Somebody's Me", which was released as a single in the American continent. The song was played extensively on AC radio and peaked high on Billboard's Hot AC, where the Spanish version also performed well. In Europe, the second single was "Tired of Being Sorry", which performed well in many countries; he recorded a version of the song with French singer Nâdiya which was #1 in France for one week.

On July 4, Enrique Iglesias became the first Western artist to play a concert in Syria in three decades when he performed for a sold-out crowd of 10,000 in the capital city of Damascus and in the same week performed on Live Earth.

The Insomniac World Tour was launched at the Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa, the same venue he ended his last world Tour and took him to sold out arenas throughout Europe. It was his first arena tour of the UK with him playing venues such as Manchester's MEN Arena and Wembley Arena. The tour ended with Iglesias performing at newly opened L.A. Live. A second leg of the tour has taken him throughout Latin America from Mexico to Argentina.

A solo version of "Push" was added to the soundtrack of the movie Step Up 2 the Streets. The song was regarded as the third single from the album. A music video was shot which features the film's lead actors. Despite never being officially added to radio the song has charted in several countries and is one of his most highly rated songs amongst fans.

Enrique's song "Can You Hear Me" has been chosen as the official song of the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament. He performed the song live at the June 29, 2008 final in Vienna, Austria. The song featured on a re-issue of the Insomniac album being released in certain countries.

Enrique released a Spanish Greatest Hits album on 25 March 2008 which included his seventeen #1 songs on Hot Latin Tracks chart, plus two new songs. The first single was the song "Dónde Están Corazón", which is written by Argentine star Coti and became Iglesias's 18th #1 single on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Latin Album Charts and #18 on Billboards top 200 Album chart. It was Enrique's second Spanish Album to debut in the top 20 Billboards Top 200 Albums (Quizás debuted at 12 in 2002). The album has been recently certified double platinum in the U.S.and in some Latin American countries.

The album's second single Lloro Por Ti had an official remix featuring Wisin y Yandel which also reached #1. Iglesias did a tour of the US. Beginning in Laredo, Texas and ending at the Izod Center in New Jersey he was accompanied though most of the tour with Bachata band Aventura who also performed "Lloro Por Ti" with him at the Premios Juventud.

Iglesias was a surprise performer at the Lo Nuestro Awards, opening the show with a medley of "Dónde Están Corazón" and "Dimelo". He also performed at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, where he received a special award.

After the success of his Spanish Greatest Hits compilation, Iglesias released a compilation of his English language hits on November 11. The album includes "Can You Hear Me" as well two new songs. The first single is entitled "Away" ft Sean Garrett and was followed by "Takin' Back My Love" ft Ciara.

The compilation includes English hit songs such as "Bailamos", "Hero", "Be With You", "Not In Love" and "Escape" which have topped the various Billboard Charts (two of which on Hot 100) as well as songs such as Rhythm Divine, Tired Of Being Sorry and Do You Know (The ping pong song) which have also topped charts in Europe.

After the successful collaboration with Nadiya Iglesias has recorded a second duet with her called "Miss You" which featured on a delux edition of the album.

The album debuted at #3 on The Official Uk Album Chart and sold over 80,000 copies in its first 2 weeks alone.

Enrique was the winner for two World Music Awards in the categories of "World's Best Selling Latin Performer" and "World's Best Selling Spanish Artist", in the ceremony held in Monaco on November 9, 2008.

2010–present: Euphoria

On July 5, 2010, Iglesias released his ninth studio album, Euphoria, his first work to be released under his new label, Universal Republic. The album is Iglesias's first bilingual album with seven original English songs and six original Spanish songs.

Iglesias worked with three producers whom he has worked with before; RedOne, Mark Taylor and Carlos Paucer. The album features collaborations with Akon, Usher, Nicole Scherzinger, Pitbull, Juan Luis Guerra and his third duet with Wisin y Yandel. In a joint venture with Universal Latino Iglesias will release different singles in both languages simultaneously to different formats.

The first English single from the album, "I Like It", which features Cuban rapper Pitbull, was released on May 3, 2010 in the U.S. and became a success, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. After weeks on the chart, it reached to #1 on the Billboard Hot/Dance Club Play, making it Enrique's 7th number one song on that chart and also making it the male singer with most number-ones tying with Prince & Michael Jackson.

"Cuando Me Enamoro" was released as the lead Spanish single from the album. The song debuted at number 8 and number 25 on U.S Latin Pop Songs and U.S. Hot Latin Songs, respectively. The song became his 25th top 10 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Songs & after 4 weeks of its release date it became his 21st No.1 song on this chart.

Another English single from the album "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)" broke into the top 10 on the Billboard charts becoming no 6. on January 7, 2011.

Songwriting, producing, and acting

Iglesias has collaborated with songwriter Guy Chambers to write "Un Nuovo Giorno", the lead single from Andrea Bocelli's first pop album. The song was later translated into English as "First Day of My Life" and recorded by Spice Girl Melanie C. The song has since gone to become a huge hit throughout Europe, and peaked in the number one spot in numerous countries. Iglesias also wrote the single "The Way" for American Idol runner up Clay Aiken. Four songs co-written by Iglesias appear on the UK band The Hollies' current album. Many times Iglesias has said that should he ever retire, he wants to write and produce songs for other artists. In 2010 Idol Allstars 2010 (Swedish Idol Series) released a song "All I Need Is You" co-written by Iglesias with Andreas Carlsson, Kalle Engström and Kristian Lundin. It went straight to I-Tunes #1.

In 2000, Iglesias co-produced an off Broadway musical called Four Guys Named Jose and Una Mujer Named Maria. In the musical, four Americans of Latin heritage possess a common interest in music and meet and decide to put on a show. The show contained many references and allusions to many classic and contemporary Latin and pop songs by the likes of Carmen Miranda, Selena, Richie Valens, Santana, Ricky Martin and Iglesias himself.

Iglesias also developed an interest in acting, starring alongside Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp in the Robert Rodriguez film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, in which he played the foul-mouthed gun-wielding Lorenzo. In 2007, he had guest starred in the TV comedy Two and a Half Men as a carpenter/handyman. He says that he would act again if given small roles that he could fit in between his musical commitments.

He also guest starred as Gael, an Argentinean guitar playing/surfer/massage therapist love interest on the CBS hit TV show How I Met Your Mother.

Iglesias also played the part of an evil Roman emperor in an ambitious TV commercial for Pepsi, which sponsored his last world tour. He starred alongside Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Pink, who turn the tables on him in the commercial. He's also starred in commercials for Doritos and for Viceroy watches.

Personal life

Iglesias started dating tennis star Anna Kournikova in late 2001 (she appeared in his video, "Escape"), and rumors that the couple had secretly married circulated in 2003 and again in 2005. Kournikova herself has consistently refused to directly confirm or deny the status of her personal relationships. But in May 2007, Iglesias was (mistakenly, as he would clarify later) quoted in the New York Sun that he had no intention of marrying Kournikova and settling down because they had split up. The singer would later deny these rumors of "divorce" or simply separation. In June 2008, Iglesias told the Daily Star that he had married Kournikova the previous year and that they are currently separated. Enrique has stated in interviews after that it was simply a joke, and they are still very much together. In an interview with Graham Norton in 2010, Kournikova confirmed that she and Iglesias have been together for over eight years but have no plans to marry in the near future.

Discography

Spanish Studio albums

Enrique Iglesias (1995)

Vivir (1997)

Cosas del Amor (1998)

Quizás (2002)

English studio albums

Enrique (1999)

Escape (2001)

7 (2003)

Insomniac (2007)

Bilingual studio albums

Euphoria (2010)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Enrique Iglesias

Julio Iglesias

References

External links

Enrique Iglesias Official website

Interscope Records Official Site

Enrique Iglesias on YouTube

Enrique Iglesias profile at NNDB

Category:1975 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:English-language singers Category:Expatriates in Serbia Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People of Jewish descent Category:People from Madrid Category:People from Miami, Florida Category:Spanish people of Filipino descent Category:Spanish male singers Category:Spanish-language singers Category:Spanish expatriates Category:Spanish immigrants to the United States Category:University of Miami alumni Category:Enrique Iglesias

Name	Benny Benassi
Landscape	yes
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Marco Benassi
Alias	Benny B., Benny Bee
Born	July 13, 1967
Origin	Milan, Italy
Genre	House, electro house, techno
Occupation	DJ, producer, remixer
Years active	Late 1980s – present
Label	Energy Prod. - D:Vision Airplay Records Ministry of SoundUltra Records
Associated acts	Benassi Bros., Bat67, The Biz, FB, KMC, M&M;, Two Men
Url	Official website

Benny Benassi (born Marco Benassi; July 13, 1967 On October 28, 2009, DJ Magazine announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, with Ultra Records artist Benny Benassi placed #26, 13 spots higher than the previous year.

Biography

A native of Reggio Emilia, DJ/producer Benassi started DJing alongside cousin Alle Benassi in the late 1980s in their hometown, before moving to Larry Pignagnoli's Off Limits production studio in the mid 1990s, creating music for various acts, including Whigfield, J.K. and Ally & Jo. Benassi first hit the dance floor with his own projects in 2001 with the single "I Feel So Fine", released under the name KMC with vocals by Dhany, the track first stormed the charts in Benassi's native Italy, and soon became a number one hit in the UK club charts.

In 2010 Benassi released "Electro Sixteen" a video for Benny Benassi vs. "Iggy Pop", “Electro Sixteen,” out now on Ultra Records, an experimental music video featuring more than 15,000 photographs from his DJ set at New York’s Electric Zoo Festival, the video was premiered on YouTube.com.

He will release a studio album SPACESHIP, due out later in 2010 on Ultra Records. The first single will be Spaceship and features "Kelis", "apl.de.ap" and Jean-Baptiste. A music video has already been shot. On May 24, "Spaceship" was selected as the Song of the Day on About.com, with the site calling Benassi's production "tight and melodic, and Kelis turns in a fantastic performance. The single was released via digital download on 21st August, and charted at #18 on the UK Dance singles chart on 28th August. "

Discography

Studio albums

Hypnotica (2003) as Benny Benassi Presents the Biz

Pumphonia (2004) as Benassi Bros.

…Phobia (2005) as Benassi Bros.

Rock 'n' Rave (2008) as Benny Benassi

Spaceship (2010) as Benny Benassi

Awards and nominations

2008 - Benny Benassi won the Best Remixed Recording at the 50th Grammy Awards for his remix of Public Enemy's Bring the Noise.

2006 - Benny Benassi "Hit my Heart" opened The 2006 Victoria Secret Fashion Show

2004 - three nominations at Dancestar, Miami and won the best video award

2004 - DjMag favourite DJ Poll Top 100: Benny is number 18, the highest new entry

2004 - European Border Breakers Award for Hypnotica, the Italian album that sold most in Europe outside Italy

2003 - number one in the Top 100 dance tracks on the Ministry of Sound Internet radio

2003 - DJ MAG tune of the year in UK

2003 - Revelation of the year – Italian Dance Music Awards

2003 - Dance revelation of the year – Danish Music Award

2003 - Nominated for international revelation of the year – NRJ Awards, France

References

External links

Artist Site at Ultra Records

Category:Electronic music radio shows Category:Italian electronic musicians Category:Remixers Category:Club DJs Category:People from Milan Category:Grammy Award winners Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Italian house musicians Category:Italian DJs Category:Ultra Records artists