Name	KYLD
City	San Francisco, California
Area	San Francisco Bay Area
Branding	WiLD 94.9
Slogan	"The Bay's Hit Music Station"
Airdate	1966
Frequency	94.9 MHz |
Format	Rhythmic Contemporary
Erp	30,000 watts
Haat	369 meters
Class	B
Facility id	59989
Callsign meaning	YLD = Wild
Former callsigns	KSAN (1966-1997)
Owner	Clear Channel
Sister stations	KIOI, KISQ, KKGN, KKSF, KMEL, KNEW
Webcast	Listen Live!
Website	Official Website

KYLD (94.9 FM, "WiLD 94.9") is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The station airs a Rhythmic Contemporary music format on its analog primary signal.

In January 2006, KYLD added a HD Radio subcarrier, "WiLD en Espanol", which had targeted a Hispanic audience with a commercial-free, jockless Rhythmic Dance format, but in 2007 it was replaced by "FuZiC", which offers a format focusing on future hit music.

History

The 94.9 MHz signed on in the 1940s with the KFSH call letters.

The "original" KSAN

This station was home to legendary freeform rock station KSAN from 1968 until 1980, when they switched to country music. The KSAN call letters eventually went to 107.7 FM in a frequency swap that brought KYLD to 94.9.

KSOL

In the 1970s, an Urban/R&B; station operated on 107.7 and was known as KSOL (K-Soul). Originally broadcast on 1450 AM (now KEST), KSOL moved to the FM position in the early '70s, making it the first Urban contemporary radio station on the FM dial in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sly Stone played a part in influencing the station to the point where it was a successful radio station in the region. While KSOL managed to fend off competition from KBLX unscathed throughout the 1980s, the station's ratings began to decline due to competition from KMEL, then a Top 40 station which was slowly evolving in a rhythmic-turned-mainstream urban direction.

WiLD 107

KYLD originally started their current format at 107.7 licensed to San Mateo, California when owned by United Broadcasting in 1992. The call letters at the time were KSOL. Allen Shaw's Crescent Communications bought KSOL (Wild 107) in December 1993 and changed KSOL's call letters to KYLD the following year. They also purchased 99.1 in San Jose from Viacom, and began simulcasting 107.7's programming in the South Bay, in order to help fill out 107.7 FM's frequency limitations. When changing formats from KSOL to WiLD 107 the station played "Wild Thing" by Tone Loc for 3 days straight. Program Director Rick Thomas and Music Director Michael Martin were the original team that set a plan in motion that was the beginning of the end for the then dominant KMEL. They came with a strategy of playing "old school" and up tempo freestyle/dance songs like those heard on Heritage San Jose radio station HOT 97.7. Of course, KMEL finally settled in on the urban contemporary format at the same time, and that station and KYLD battled with each other throughout the mid-1990s.

Since 1997

In the summer of 1997, KYLD switched frequencies from 107.7 to 94.9 giving it more signal coverage. The station's music mix includes current R&B;/Hip-Hop, Dance, and some mainstream/rhythmic pop product, along with radio personalities and mixers.

In the wake of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, KYLD was sold that year to Chancellor Media. The move eliminated the ongoing competition with now-sister station KMEL; KMEL maintained its audience approach and format, while KYLD shifted to a Pop-heavy Rhythmic direction as the market has no Top 40/Pop station of its own. KZQZ was the last CHR/Top 40 station in The Bay Area, as they dropped the format in 2002 for a classic hits format. Despite their inclusion of Pop product, KYLD still reports to Mediabase and Nielsen BDS as a Rhythmic reporter. The Top 40 void, however, would finally be filled by two new competitors. In September 2006 KYLD got some competition when KFRC changed their oldies format to a Rhythmic format. KFRC changed their call letters to KMVQ in May 2007 and by November 2008 shifted to Top 40/CHR. By September 2009 KNGY joined the fray by dropping its Dance format for Top 40/CHR as well, becoming KREV. The increased competition has not deterred KYLD as they have yet to put a dent in their ratings.

Controversy

In 1993, a story was circulating that President Bill Clinton tied up traffic on an LAX runway for over an hour while getting a haircut on Air Force One. KYLD's morning DJ Mancow Muller staged a parody of the incident on the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge during rush hour. He used vans to block the westbound lanes on the bridge while his then sidekick, Jesus "Chuy" Gomez, got a haircut. As a result of this stunt, Muller was not only fired from the station, but prosecuted and subsequently convicted of a felony by a San Francisco Municipal Court. His sentence included three years probation, a $500 fine and 100 hours of community service. KYLD eventually paid $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a bridge commuter.

After Muller's departure, KYLD replaced his program with yet another successful—and yet later, another controversial—morning show, The Dog House, hosted by JV (Jeff Vandergrift) and Elvis (Dan Lay). Their program became the #1 rated morning show in the Bay Area receiving higher ratings than Howard Stern. Despite their success in the ratings, they would find themselves in trouble with station management over a series of stunts that would get them in hot water with the local authorities. One stunt in particular had members of the show dressed up as escaped inmates (and law enforcement officials to fine them for the prank and endangering the public) and causing a walkout at a San Jose High School. But the last straw for The Dog House came on April 21, 2005, when station management fired the show after they made offensive comments toward two female members of the San Francisco Renegades Drum and Bugle Corps. The band's members, Lisa Johnson and Robin Kinoshita, were at the station to promote an annual fundraiser when J.V.and Elvis allegedly made lewd remarks towards them.. JV have since returned to KYLD as their morning host.

On August 6, 2008, KYLD PD Jazzy Jim Archer and evening host Joe Breezy were fired over an April Fool's Day 2008 prank, in which the station promised to give away a pair of breasts from "Dr. Sanders." Unfortunately, it was a promo to give away chicken breasts from Kentucky Fried Chicken. The winner was not impressed and filed a complaint against the station. Joe Breezy is now at KDND/Sacramento, California and also voicetracks a airshift for KMVQ.

KYLD-HD

KYLD-HD, AKA "FuZic", is a HD2 subcarrier of KYLD. The station began broadcasting as "WiLD en Espanol" on January 19, 2006, offering a commercial-free, jockless Rhythmic/Dance Top 40 format targeting a bilingual Hispanic audience. In early 2007 it was replaced by a new format, the brainchild of Program Director "Jazzy Jim", which focuses on future hit music, thus the name "FuZiC". It's a unique blend of Unsigned Artists and Independent Label releases alongside "Album Cuts" from Established Superstar Artists and "Foundation Songs" (tracks that gave much inspiration to today's music). FUZIC is also the only Bay Area HD-2 Channel to have "Jocks" and "Mix-Shows". In 2007 they were nominated for Top HD-2 Channel in the U.S.

Current On-Air Talent

6-10a

JV

Christie

Rico

10a-3p

Dreena Gonzales

3-7p

Chino

7p-12a

Nessa

Weekends/Fill-in

Eric "The Funky 1"

References

External links

KYLD (WiLD 94.9) official website

FuZiC (Listen Live)

Jive 95 - A tribute to the original KSAN

Official Wild 949 MySpace

KYLD Website in 1997

Category:Clear Channel radio stations YLD Category:Rhythmic Contemporary Radio Stations in the United States Category:Radio stations established in 1966

Name	New Boyz
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Hesperia, California, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	2008 – present
Label	Shotty, Asylum, Warner Bros.
Url	www.thenewboyz.com
Current members	Legacy Ben J}}

New Boyz is a jerkin crew and hip-hop/rap duo made up of rappers Earl "Ben J" Benjamin and Dominic "Legacy" Thomas from Hesperia, California. They debuted in summer 2009 with their viral hit, "You're a Jerk", taken from their debut studio album Skinny Jeanz and a Mic, released in September 2009. The song peaked in the top thirty of the Billboard Hot 100, and it was the first song to bring the jerkin' style to the national forefront. A second single, "Tie Me Down" featuring Ray J, was also successful and peaked in the top thirty.

Biography

Formation

Benjamin and Thomas met as freshmen at Hesperia High School. The two were originally rivals, but became friends over a common interest in music. Thomas began rapping at the age of eight after watching a music video by Bow Wow, but Benjamin did not have plans to pursue a musical career, instead, he intended to play football at San Diego State University. However, Benjamin decided to focus more on music after he discovered that Thomas was achieving success in rapping. With their October birthdays only a day apart, they pooled their gift money to buy recording equipment. Thomas then taught himself how to make beats for the group's songs with a computer program called Fruity Loops, saying "I had to teach myself. We didn’t want to pay for beats." After Thomas transferred to a new school, they decided to form a group. With Benjamin being "Ben J" and Thomas being "Legacy", they began performing together as the Swagger Boyz on July 4, 2008 "Tie Me Down", featuring Ray J, was the second single from the New Boyz' debut album; that song contained Auto-Tune. "Tie Me Down" peaked at #22 on the Hot 100 and #5 on the Hot Rap Tracks. In July 2010, New Boyz collaborated with Virgin Islands singer Iyaz on the song "Break My Bank", which peaked at number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100.

New Boyz plans to release its upcoming album, Too Cool to Care, in December 2010. On the album, the duo plans to focus less on the "jerkin'" aspect of the music, instead emphasizing more diverse influences. Legacy stated that on the previous album, listeners "were more focused on these dudes wearing skinny jeans, 'they are making jerk stuff,' so that's why we made sure on this second album, we let it be known that we can go in." The group plans to experiment with other genres besides hip-hop, including rock.

Discography

Studio albums

Featured singles

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official site

New Boyz channel at Youtube

Category:Asylum Records artists Category:Musical duos Category:Musical groups established in 2008 Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles, California Category:West Coast hip hop groups

Name	Paul Wall
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Paul Michael Slayton
Born	March 11, 1981
Origin	Houston, Texas, United States
Genre	Hip hop, Southern hip hop, Rap rock
Occupation	Rapper, DJ, promoter, jeweller
Years active	1998–present
Label	Swishahouse/Asylum
Associated acts	Michael "5000" Watts, Expensive Taste, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Trae, Bun B, Z-RO
Url	paulwallbaby.com, grillsbypaulwall.com

Paul Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rap artist. He is currently affiliated with Swishahouse Records, having released several albums under the label as well as collaborating with other rappers signed to the label. He was formerly musical partners with rapper Chamillionaire releasing several collaborative albums including the independently released Get Ya Mind Correct. In 2005, he was signed to Atlantic Records and became successful with his major-label debut The Peoples Champ. Get Money, Stay True followed in 2007.

Musical career

Wall attended Jersey Village High School and studied mass communications at the University of Houston for three years. After proposing to do promotions for Michael "5000" Watts' company, Swishahouse, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall came to Watts' studio, KBXX. Paul & Chamillionaire convinced Watts to let them rap on his radio show and put the verses on one of his mixtapes. That mixtape was titled Choppin Em Up Part 2, which was released in mid 1999. The freestyle became so popular in the streets that Chamillionaire and Paul Wall became regular staples on Houston's mixtape circuit, appeared on several of Watts' mixtapes and became permanent members of Swishahouse.

After fellow member Slim Thug left the label, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall followed suit and the two started their own group known as The Color Changin' Click (named after Chamillion's Chameleon persona). Each successive mixtape released by The Color Changin' Click led to more business opportunities; the most notable of which was a contract to do a full album for Paid in Full Records. A one album contract was then negotiated between the Color Changin' Click and Paid in Full's label head, DJ Madd Hatta from 97.9 The Box, and the CCC's first album, Get Ya Mind Correct, would go on to sell over 200,000 copies. Wall's first music exposure came as a street team member on the Northwest side of Houston, promoting southern labels like Def Jam Records, Cash Money and No Limit Records. He is also an accomplished and proficient mixtape and party DJ, known for producing mixtapes in the now well-known screwed & chopped style, which was invented by the late DJ Screw.

Paul Wall and Chamillionaire were originally affiliated with Swishahouse Records, but left for Paid in Full Records a short time later. After several mixtape and independent releases including. Get Ya Mind Correct, the two parted ways, citing creative differences. Chamillionaire continued to release independent records, while Paul Wall returned to the Swishahouse fold. This move allowed him to appear on Mike Jones' first commercially distributed single, "Still Tippin'", from his first major label album Who Is Mike Jones?. The single is originally on Swishahouse's The Day Hell Broke Loose Part 2 aka Major Without A Major Deal, released in 2003, the album went on to sell over 500,000 copies two months after being released.

In 2005, Paul Wall released his first album, The People's Champ, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The first single "Sittin' Sidewayz" featuring Big Pokey. The second single, "They Don't Know", featured Bun B of UGK, and the video version also featured Mike Jones. The third single is "Girl", receiving radio airplay and peaking at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2007, Paul Wall released his second album Get Money, Stay True, which debuted in the #1 spot on the Billboard Chart Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums. Paul Wall released the singles "Break 'Em Off" featuring Lil Keke and "I'm Throwed" featuring and produced by Jermaine Dupri.

In 2007, Paul Wall appeared alongside other celebrities and regular people in the music video for Rockstar by Nickelback. He also appears on Bermuda-based reggae artist Collie Buddz self-titled debut album.

Paul Wall is currently a member of the rap group Expensive Taste, with his good friends Travis Barker and Skinhead Rob (Transplants). The trio also collectively owns a clothing line.

In the spring of 2008, Paul Wall joined Strange Music recording artist Tech N9ne on a nationwide tour, which also featured Brooklyn rapper ILL BiLL.

In the 2008 presidential campaign, Paul Wall spoke out in favor of candidate Barack Obama. He was quoted in The Source magazine as saying "Barack seems to come off as a true leader for everyone, whereas most people campaigning, including Hillary Clinton, seem to be just politicians. Barack seems to be genuine and sincere about his beliefs. He is selfless, while they are selfish. I'm gonna 'Barack the vote' this year and I've never voted before."

Paul Wall appears as fictional rapper Grillionaire in the movie I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, released on September 25, 2009. He, along with screenwriters Nils Parker and Tucker Max, co-wrote tracks for the movie.

In 2010, Paul Wall featured on the 'Przyjazn, Duma, Godnosc' (eng. 'Friendship, Pride and Dignity') album by a highly rated Polish rap artist Kaczor.

Personal life

Paul Wall married girlfriend Crystal in 2005. Their son William Patrick Slayton was born April 18, 2006.

During a concert in San Antonio Paul Wall hit a fan with a microphone. The fan was sticking his middle finger at Paul Wall. Paul Wall apologized to not only the victim but to all his San Antonio fans.

In 2010, Paul Wall went on an extreme diet and had gastric sleeve surgery, resulting in a 100 lbs weight loss.

Discography

2004: The Chick Magnet

2005: The Peoples Champ

2007: Get Money, Stay True

2009: Fast Life

2010: Heart of a Champion

2011: Politics As Usual (January 25)

Awards and nominations

Acting career

During his break from rapping, Paul Wall had an appearance in Furnace with Ja Rule. He appeared in the 2009 movie I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell along with Jesse Bradford and Matt Czuchry. He is currently working on the movie Xtinction.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" |- !Year !Title !Role |- ||2006 |Furnace |Joey Robbins |- ||2009 |I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell |Grillionaire |- |2010 |Xtinction |Froggy |}

References

External links

Paul Wall Official Website

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:American rappers of European descent Category:Asylum Records artists Category:Jersey Village High School alumni Category:Rappers from Houston, Texas Category:University of Houston alumni

Name	The Notorious B.I.G.
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Christopher George Latore Wallace
Alias	Biggie Smalls, Biggie, Big, Big Poppa, B.I.G., Frank White
Born	May 21, 1972New York City, New York, United States
Died	March 09, 1997Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Rapper, songwriter
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	1992–1997
Label	Bad Boy
Associated acts	Lil' Kim, Sean Combs, Junior M.A.F.I.A., Total, 112, The Commission, Method Man, Jay-Z,
Url

Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997) was an American rapper. He was popularly known as Biggie Smalls (after a character in the 1975 film Let's Do It Again), Big Poppa, Frank White (after the main character of the 1990 film King of New York), and by his primary stage name The Notorious B.I.G..

Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. When Wallace released his debut album Ready to Die in 1994, he became a central figure in the East Coast hip-hop scene and increased New York's visibility at a time when West Coast artists were more common in the mainstream. Wallace was noted for his "loose, easy flow", He has certified sales of 17 million units in the United States.

Early life

Born in St. Mary's Hospital, despite later claiming to be raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Wallace grew up in neighboring Clinton Hill. Wallace was the only child of Voletta Wallace, a Jamaican preschool teacher, and George Latore, a welder and small-time Jamaican politician. At the age of 12, he began selling drugs. His mother, often away at work, did not know that her son was selling drugs until Wallace was an adult.

At his request, Wallace transferred out of the private Roman Catholic Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School to attend the state-funded George Westinghouse Information Technology High School. Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes were also students at that school. According to his mother, Wallace was still a good student, but developed a "smart-ass" attitude at the new school. At seventeen, Wallace dropped out of high school and became further involved in crime. In 1989, he was arrested on weapons charges in Brooklyn and sentenced to five years' probation. In 1990, he was arrested on a violation of his probation. The tape was reportedly made with no serious intent of getting a recording deal, but was promoted by New York-based DJ Mister Cee, who had previously worked with Big Daddy Kane, and was heard by the editor of The Source.

In March 1992, Wallace featured in The Source's Unsigned Hype column, dedicated to aspiring rappers, and was invited to produce a recording with other unsigned artists in a move that was reportedly uncommon at the time. The demo tape was heard by Uptown Records A&R; and record producer, Sean Combs, who arranged for a meeting with Wallace. He was signed to Uptown immediately and made an appearance on label mates, Heavy D & the Boyz' "A Buncha Niggas" (from the album Blue Funk). Soon after signing his recording contract, Combs was fired from Uptown and started a new label. Wallace followed and in mid-1992, signed to Combs' new imprint label, Bad Boy Records. On August 8, 1993, Wallace's long-term girlfriend gave birth to his first child, T'yanna. Wallace continued selling drugs after the birth to support his daughter financially. Once Combs discovered this, he was made to quit. "Real Love" peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was followed by a remix of Blige's "What's the 411". He continued this success, to a lesser extent, on remixes with Neneh Cherry ("Buddy X") and reggae artist Super Cat ("Dolly My Baby", also featuring Combs) in 1993. In April 1993, his solo track, "Party and Bullshit", appeared on the Who's the Man? soundtrack. Four days later, Wallace had his first pop chart success as a solo artist with double A-side, "Juicy/Unbelievable", which reached #27 as the lead single to his debut album.

Ready to Die was released on September 13, 1994, and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 chart, eventually being certified four times Platinum. The album, released at a time when West Coast hip hop was prominent in the U.S. charts, according to Rolling Stone, "almost single-handedly... shifted the focus back to East Coast rap". In addition to "Juicy", the record produced two hit singles; the Platinum-selling "Big Poppa", which reached #1 on the U.S. rap chart, and "One More Chance" featuring Faith Evans, a loosely related remix of an album track and its best selling single.

Junior M.A.F.I.A. and coastal feud

. Photograph is taken from the documentary film Biggie & Tupac, directed by Nick Broomfield]] In August 1995, Wallace's protegé group, Junior M.A.F.I.A. ("Junior Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes"), released their debut album Conspiracy. The group consisting of his friends from childhood and included rappers such as Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease, who went on to have solo careers. The record went Gold and its singles, "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money" both featuring Wallace, went Gold and Platinum. Wallace continued to work with R&B; artists, collaborating with Bad Boy groups 112 (on "Only You") and Total (on "Can't You See"), with both reaching the top 20 of the Hot 100. By the end of the year, Wallace was the top-selling male solo artist and rapper on the U.S. pop and R&B; charts. At the Billboard Awards, he was Rap Artist of the Year.

Arrests, Shakur's death and second child

Wallace began recording his second record album in September 1995. The album, recorded in New York, Trinidad and Los Angeles, was interrupted during its 18 months of creation by injury, legal wranglings and the highly publicized hip hop dispute in which he was involved. During this time he also worked with pop singer Michael Jackson for the album.

On March 23, 1996, Wallace was arrested outside a Manhattan nightclub for chasing and threatening to kill two autograph seekers, smashing the windows of their taxicab and then pulling one of the fans out and punching them.

Shakur was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 7, 1996. He would die six days later of complications from the gunshot wounds. Rumors of Wallace's involvement with Shakur's murder were reported almost immediately, and later in a two-part article by investigative reporter Chuck Philips in the Los Angeles Times in September 2002. Wallace denied the allegation claiming he was in a New York recording studio at the time. The Times later determined the article written by Philips "relied heavily on information that The Times no longer believes to be credible", including false FBI reports, and the paper published a retraction. Following his death, an anti-violence hip hop summit was held. He faced criminal assault charges for the incident which remain unresolved, but all robbery charges were dropped.

March 1997 shooting and death

Wallace traveled to California in February 1997 to promote his upcoming album and record a music video for its lead single, "Hypnotize". On March 5, 1997 he gave a radio interview with The Dog House on KYLD in San Francisco, California. In the interview he stated that he had hired security since he feared for his safety; this was because he was a celebrity figure in general, not because he was a rapper. Life After Death was scheduled for release on March 25, 1997. On January 8, 1997, Biggie Smalls and Sean "Puffy" Combs made a video "What's Beef" which was directed by Dave Meyers. On March 8, 1997, he presented an award to Toni Braxton at the 11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles and was booed by some of the audience. Wallace traveled in the front passenger seat alongside his associates, Damion "D-Roc" Butler, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease and driver, Gregory "G-Money" Young. Combs traveled in the other vehicle with three bodyguards. The two trucks were trailed by a Chevrolet Blazer carrying Bad Boy's director of security.

An article published in Rolling Stone by Sullivan in December 2005 accused the LAPD of not fully investigating links with Death Row Records based on evidence from Poole. Sullivan claimed that Sean Combs "failed to fully cooperate with the investigation" and according to Poole, encouraged Bad Boy staff to do the same.

In late 2010, the case was "reinvigorated" as a result of new information that is being investigated by a task force composed of the LAPD, the L.A. County District Attorney, and the FBI.

Lawsuits

In March 2005, the relatives of Wallace filed a wrongful death claim against the LAPD based on the evidence championed by Russell Poole. They claimed the LAPD had sufficient evidence to arrest the assailant, but failed to use it. David Mack and Amir Muhammad (a.k.a. Harry Billups) were originally named as defendants in the civil suit, but were dropped shortly before the trial began after the LAPD and FBI dismissed them as suspects. An attempt to expand the wrongful death lawsuit to include new claims failed in August 2006.

On January 19, 2007, Tyruss Himes (better known as Big Syke), a friend of Shakur who was implicated in the murder by television channel KTTV and XXL magazine in 2005, had a defamation lawsuit regarding the accusations thrown out of court.

On April 16, 2007, relatives of Wallace filed a second wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles. The suit also named two LAPD officers in the center of the investigation into the Rampart scandal, Rafael Perez and Nino Durden. According to the claim, Perez, an alleged affiliate of Death Row Records, admitted to LAPD officials that he and Mack (who was not named in the lawsuit) "conspired to murder, and participated in the murder of Christopher Wallace". The Wallace family said the LAPD "consciously concealed Rafael Perez's involvement in the murder of ... Wallace". A U.S. district judge dismissed the lawsuit on December 19, 2007. Los Angeles Judge Florence-Marie Cooper reinstated the lawsuit on May 9, 2008. With the agreement of both sides, the lawsuit was dismissed April 5, 2010 without prejudice to refiling.

Posthumous career

Fifteen days after his death, Wallace's double-disc second album was released as planned with the shortened title of Life After Death and hit #1 on the Billboard 200 charts, after making a premature appearance at #176 due to street-date violations. The record album featured a much wider range of guests and producers than its predecessor. It gained strong reviews and in 2000 was certified Diamond, the highest RIAA certification awarded to a solo hip hop album.

Its lead single, "Hypnotize", was the last music video recording in which Wallace would participate. His biggest chart success was with its follow-up "Mo Money Mo Problems", featuring Sean Combs (under the rap alias "Puff Daddy") and Mase. Both singles reached #1 in the Hot 100, making Wallace the first artist to achieve this feat posthumously.

In mid-1997, Combs released his debut album, No Way Out, which featured Wallace on five songs, notably on the third single "Victory". The most prominent single from the record album was "I'll Be Missing You", featuring Combs, Faith Evans and 112, which was dedicated to Wallace's memory. At the 1998 Grammy Awards, Life After Death and its first two singles received nominations in the rap category. The album award was won by Combs' No Way Out and "I'll Be Missing You" won the award in the category of "Mo Money Mo Problems".

Wallace had founded a hip hop supergroup called The Commission, which consisted of Jay-Z, Lil' Cease, Combs, Charli Baltimore and himself. The Commission was mentioned by Wallace in the lyrics of "What's Beef" on Life After Death and "Victory" from No Way Out but never completed an album. A song on Duets: The Final Chapter titled "Whatchu Want (The Commission)" featuring Jay-Z was based on the group.

In December 1999, Bad Boy released Born Again. The record consisted of previously unreleased material mixed with guest appearances including many artists Wallace had never collaborated with in his lifetime. It gained some positive reviews but received criticism for its unlikely pairings; The Source describing it as "compiling some of the most awkward collaborations of his career". Nevertheless, the album sold 3 million copies. Over the course of time, Wallace's vocals would appear on hit songs such as "Foolish" by Ashanti and "Realest Niggas" in 2002, and the song "Runnin' (Dying to Live)" with Shakur the following year. He also appeared on Michael Jackson's 2001 album, Invincible. In 2005, continued the pattern started on Born Again and was criticized for the lack of significant vocals by Wallace on some of its songs. Its lead single "Nasty Girl" became Wallace's first UK #1 single. Combs and Voletta Wallace have stated the album will be the last release primarily featuring new material.

Legacy

Wallace is celebrated as one of the greatest rap artists and is described by Allmusic as "the savior of East Coast hip-hop". In 2003, when XXL magazine asked several hip hop artists to list their five favorite MCs, Wallace's name appeared on more rappers' lists than anyone else. In 2006, he was ranked at #3 in MTV's The Greatest MC's of All Time. In September 2005, VH1 had its second annual "Hip Hop Honors", with a tribute to Wallace headlining the show.

Wallace had begun to promote a clothing line called Brooklyn Mint, which was to produce plus-sized clothing but fell dormant after he died. In 2004, his managers, Mark Pitts and Wayne Barrow, launched the clothing line, with help from Jay-Z, selling T-shirts with images of Wallace on them. A portion of the proceeds go to the Christopher Wallace Foundation and to Jay-Z's Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. In 2005, Voletta Wallace hired branding and licensing agency Wicked Cow Entertainment to guide the Estate's licensing efforts. Wallace-branded products on the market include action figures, blankets, and cell phone content.

The Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation holds an annual black-tie dinner ("B.I.G. Night Out") to raise funds for children's school equipment and supplies and to honor the memory of the late rapper. For this particular event, because it is a children's schools' charity, "B.I.G." is also said to stand for "Books Instead of Guns".

Style

Wallace mostly rapped on his songs in a deep tone described by Rolling Stone as a "thick, jaunty grumble", which went deeper on Life After Death. Before starting a verse, Wallace sometimes used onomatopoeic vocables to "warm up" (for example "uhhh" at the beginning of "Hypnotize" and "Big Poppa" and "whaat" after certain rhymes in songs such as "My Downfall").

Lateef of Latyrx notes that Wallace had, “intense and complex flows”, Fredro Starr of Onyx says, “Biggie was a master of the flow”, and Bishop Lamont states that Wallace mastered “all the hemispheres of the music”. “Notorious B.I.G. also often used the single-line rhyme scheme to add variety and interest to his flow”. Wallace was known to compose lyrics in his head, rather than write them down on paper, in a similar way to Jay-Z.

Wallace would occasionally vary from his usual style. On "Playa Hater" from his second album, he sang in a slow-falsetto. On his collaboration with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, "Notorious Thugs", he modified his style to match the rapid rhyme flow of the group.

Themes and lyrical content

Wallace's lyrical topics and themes included mafioso tales ("Niggas Bleed"), his drug dealing past ("10 Crack Commandments"), materialistic bragging ("Hypnotize"), as well as humor ("Just Playing (Dreams)"), and romance ("Me & My Bitch"). and “[make] you feel his struggle”. According to Touré of the New York Times in 1994, Wallace's lyrics "[mixed] autobiographical details about crime and violence with emotional honesty".

Ready to Die is described by Rolling Stone as a contrast of "bleak" street visions and being "full of high-spirited fun, bringing the pleasure principle back to hip-hop". Allmusic write of "a sense of doom" in some of his songs and the NY Times note some being "laced with paranoia"; The final song on the album, "Suicidal Thoughts", featured Wallace contemplating suicide and concluded with him committing the act.

On Life After Death, Wallace's lyrics went "deeper".

Allmusic wrote that the success of Ready to Die is "mostly due to Wallace's skill as a storyteller"; On Life After Death Wallace notably demonstrated this skill on "I Got a Story to Tell" telling a story as a rap for the first half of the song and then as a story "for his boys" in conversation form. On January 16, 2009, the movie's debut at the Grand 18 theater in Greensboro, North Carolina was postponed after a man was shot in the parking lot before the show. Ultimately, the film grossed over $43,000,000 worldwide.

In early October 2007, open casting calls for the role of Wallace began. Actors, rappers and unknowns all tried out. Beanie Sigel auditioned for the role, but was not picked. Sean Kingston claimed that he would play the role of Wallace, but producers denied he would be in the film. Eventually it was announced that rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard was cast as Wallace while Wallace's son, Chris Jr. ("CJ"), was cast to play Wallace as a child. Other cast members include Angela Bassett as Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, Antonique Smith as Faith Evans, Naturi Naughton formerly of 3LW as Lil' Kim, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur. Bad Boy released a soundtrack album to the film on January 13, 2009; the album contains hit singles of B.I.G. such as "Hypnotize", "Juicy", and "Warning" as well as rarities.

Discography

Studio albums

1994: Ready to Die

1997: Life After Death

Posthumous albums

1999: Born Again

2005:

Collaboration albums

1995: Conspiracy (with Junior M.A.F.I.A.)

Compilation albums

2007: Greatest Hits

2009: Notorious: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Awards and nominations

Name	The Notorious B.I.G.
Awards	4
Nominations	11
Billboardw	2
Billboardn	2
Grammyn	4
Mtvvideow	1
Mtvvideon	2
Soulw	1
Souln	3

Wallace received two nominations from the Billboard Music Awards in 1995, including Rap Artist of the Year and Rap Single of the Year. The song "Mo Money Mo Problems" received several nominations in 1998, including Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammy Awards; Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards; and Best R&B;/Soul Album and Best R&B;/Soul or Rap Music Video at the Soul Train Music Awards. Overall, Wallace has received four awards from eleven nominations; one award and six nominations were received posthumously.

Billboard Music Awards

The Billboard Music Awards is sponsored by Billboard magazine and held annually in December.

|- |rowspan="2"| 1995 || The Notorious B.I.G. || Rap Artist of the Year || |- | "One More Chance" || Rap Single of the Year ||

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States.

|- | || "Big Poppa" || Best Rap Solo Performance || |- |rowspan="3"| || "Hypnotize" || Best Rap Solo Performance || |- | "Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) || Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group || |- | Life After Death || Best Rap Album ||

MTV Video Music Awards

The MTV Video Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1984 by MTV.

|- | || "Hypnotize" || Best Rap Video || |- | || "Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) || Best Rap Video ||

Soul Train Music Awards

The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual awards show that honors black musicians and entertainers.

|- |rowspan="3"| 1998 || Life After Death || Best R&B;/Soul Album, Male || |- |rowspan="2"| "Mo Money Mo Problems" (with Mase and Puff Daddy) || Best R&B;/Soul Album || |- | Best R&B;/Soul or Rap Music Video ||

The Source Awards

The Source Awards were awarded by hip hop magazine The Source.

|- |rowspan="4"| 1995 || The Notorious B.I.G. || New Artist of the Year, Solo || |- | Ready to Die || Album of the Year || |- | The Notorious B.I.G. || Lyricist of the Year || |- | The Notorious B.I.G. || Live Performer of the Year ||

References

Further reading

External links

Official website by Atlantic Records

Brooklyn's Finest - A non-profit forum community dedicated to The Notorious B.I.G.

NotoriousOnline.org – Non-profit website for The Notorious B.I.G.

Biggie Smalls Freestyle film clip from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 1989

Category:1972 births Category:1997 deaths Category:1990s rappers Category:American drug traffickers Category:American murder victims Category:American rappers of Jamaican descent Big Category:Bad Boy Records artists Category:Deaths by firearm in California Category:Murdered rappers Category:People from Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Category:People murdered in California Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Unsolved murders in the United States

Name	Anjelah Johnson
Birthname	Anjelah Nicole Johnson
Birth date	May 14, 1982
Birth place	San Jose, California, United States
Occupation	Actress, comedian, cheerleader
Website	http://www.anjelahnicolejohnson.com
Years active	2006–present

Anjelah Nicole Johnson (born May 14, 1982) is an American actress, comedian, & former NFL cheerleader. Johnson is most notable for her membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv during its 13th Season. Her characters include a rude fast food employee named Bon Qui Qui and a Vietnamese nail salon employee.

Early years

Johnson was born and raised in San Jose, California in a devout Christian family. She is of Mexican-American and Native American descent. After three years of college Johnson moved to Los Angeles to pursue an entertainment career. She subsequently became a cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders. As a member of the Oakland Raiderettes she was named Rookie of the year and performed in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Career

MADtv

Johnson joined the cast of MADtv in 2007, as a featured performer, for the thirteenth season. She made her debut on the show in November 2007, going on to portray Bon Qui Qui, a fast food employee who treats customers rudely. The clip made its way to YouTube where it gained a cult-like following, reaching more than 30 million views. She also reprised her bit about Tammy the nail salon lady, made popular in her stand-up prior to joining the show. In 2008, Johnson was nominated for an ALMA award for Outstanding Female Performance in a Comedy Television Series for her work on MADtv.

Current projects

Aside from her stand-up appearances, Johnson appeared in in 2009 and Our Family Wedding in 2010. In 2009 Johnson appeared in her own Comedy Central special, "Anjelah Johnson: That's How We Do It" which has been produced into DVD.

Filmography

Movie appearances

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" | Year || Title || Role || Box Office Performance || Director || Other notes |- | 2007 || The Box || Dianne || || A.J. Kparr || |- | 2009 || || Julie || $442,859,798 || Betty Thomas || |- | 2010 || Our Family Wedding || Isabel || $16,938,562 || Rick Famuyiwa || |- |}

Television appearances

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" | Year || Title || Role ||Total Episodes || Other notes |- | 2006 || Love, Inc. || Female Client|| 1 || |- | 2007 || On the Up || Herself || || Host of show |- | 2007 - 2008|| MADtv || Various Characters || 4 || Sketch Comedy |- | 2008 || Untitled Dave Caplan Pilot || Maria || || |- | 2008 || The Movie Preview Awards || Herself || || |- | 2009 || Ugly Betty || Wendy || ||BLOB Interviewer/Bettyhead |- | 2009 || Comedy Central || Herself|| ||Anjelah Johnson: That's how we do it |- | 2010 || Lopez Tonight || Comedian|| ||Herself| |}

Awards and nominations

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" | Year || Association ||Award Category || Result |- | 2002 || Oakland Raiderettes || Rookie of the year || Won |- | 2008 || ALMA Award || Outstanding Female Performance || Nominated |- |}

References

External links

Official website

Anjelah Johnson at IMDb

Category:1982 births Category:American Christians Category:American cheerleaders Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American impressionists (entertainers) Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:National Football League cheerleaders Category:Women comedians