Everybody deserves a RIAA certification plaque
- Order:
- Duration: 5:03
- Published: 19 Jun 2009
- Uploaded: 30 Jul 2010
- Author: pulldeeznuttz
no one in the music industry should go home empty handed.
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50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and The Massacre (2005). Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified 8 times platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. His album The Massacre has been certified 5 times platinum by the RIAA and has sold 11 million copies worldwide.
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Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "'''America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band'''". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists. The band was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, originally in a band together called the Jam Band, met up with singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano, and formed Aerosmith. In 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, and the band began developing a following in Boston.
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Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958, in Newnan, Georgia) is an American country music singer, known for blending honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 12 studio albums and several compilations, all on the Arista Nashville label. More than 50 of his singles have appeared on ''Billboard's'' list of the "Top 30 Country Songs". Of Jackson's entries, 25 were number-one hits. He is the recipient and nominee of multiple awards. Jackson is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
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Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette (born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards.
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Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began to play classical music on the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.
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Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS (born June 20, 1945) is a Canadian singer. Murray has performed in pop, country and adult contemporary styles. So far, her albums have sold over 54 million copies.
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Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist commonly referred to as The Queen of Soul. Although renowned for her soul recordings, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B; and gospel music. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Franklin No. 1 on its list of The Greatest Singers of All Time.
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Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne (; born 27 September 1984) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, fashion designer, and actress. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent the majority of her youth in the small town, Napanee, Ontario. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain, and by 16, Lavigne had signed a recording contract with Arista, now RCA Records. Record executive Antonio "L.A." Reid offered her a two-album deal worth more than $2 million. When she was 17 years old, Lavigne broke onto the music scene with her debut album, Let Go, released in 2002.
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Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. In 2006 Richardson left the group to pursue other interests leaving the band as a four-piece, but the remaining members did not rule out a possible return of the singer.
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Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand ( ; born Barbara Joan Streisand, April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, director, and songwriter. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, and a Peabody Award.
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Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow (born June 17, 1943) is an American singer–songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana (At the Copa)."
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Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), often known simply as Beyoncé ( ), is an American Pop/R&B; singer, songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B; girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time.
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Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA.
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Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has been a major figure in music for six decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was at first an informal chronicler, and later an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest. A number of his songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" became anthems for the American civil rights and anti-war movements. His early lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social and philosophical, as well as literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed hugely to the then burgeoning counterculture. Initially inspired by the songs of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, and the performance style of Little Richard, Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres, exploring numerous distinct traditions in American song—from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly, to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing.
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Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
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Brad Paisley
Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer-songwriter and country guitarist. His style crosses between traditional country and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references.
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Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album in 1999. During her first decade within the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s.
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Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of Heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.
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Carole King
Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two-dozen hits during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King's album Tapestry topped the U.S. album chart for 15 weeks, in 1971, and remained on the charts for more than six years.
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Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol.
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Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion CC, OQ (; born March 30, 1968) is a Canadian pop singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. Born to a large, impoverished family in Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the anglophone album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.
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Chicago (band)
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Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The band began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Second only to The Beach Boys in terms of singles and albums, Chicago is one of the longest running and most successful U.S. pop/rock and roll groups.
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Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera ( in English; born December 18, 1980) is an American pop singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection" for the film Mulan.
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Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines (born December 31, 1948), known by her stage name, Donna Summer is an American singer who gained prominence and notoriety during the disco era of the seventies with the majority of her early work produced by the team of Giorgio Moroder and Pete Belotte.
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Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. He has worked with his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.
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Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".
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Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only person who has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times; as a solo performer, as well as a member of rock bands the Yardbirds and Cream. Throughout his career, Clapton has been viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time, Clapton was ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #53 on their list of the "Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In 2010, Clapton was ranked #4 on ''Gibson's'' Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.
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Fergie (singer)
Stacy Ann Ferguson (born March 27, 1975), better known by her stage name Fergie, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, fashion designer and actress. She was a member of the children's television series Kids Incorporated, and the girl group Wild Orchid. She is the female vocalist for the hip hop group the The Black Eyed Peas with whom she has attained much charting success worldwide. Her own debut album spawned four Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, three of which went to number one.
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Flo Rida
Tramar Dillard (born on September 17, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (), is an American rapper and singer. Later, he appeared in numerous popular rap mixtapes and studio albums, most notably in We the Best in 2006. Mail on Sunday was Flo Rida's solo debut album; its first single "Low", featuring T-Pain which was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from Mail on Sunday: "Elevator" and "In the Ayer". In 2009, his second album R.O.O.T.S. was released; its most successful single "Right Round" was at the top of the Hot 100 for six weeks.
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Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor.
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Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962), best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon.. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at #2 in the US country album chart while climbing to #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Brooks' integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances has earned him immense popularity. This progressive approach allowed him to dominate the country single and album charts while quickly crossing over into the mainstream pop arena, exposing country music to a larger audience.
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George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (); June 25, 1963) is an English singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! along with his school friend Andrew Ridgeley. His first solo single, "Careless Whisper" was released when he was still in the duo and sold about six million copies worldwide.
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George Strait
George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer,actor and music producer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional country western music. George Strait holds the world record for more #1 hit singles than any other artist in the history of music on any chart or in any genre. As of 2010 he has recorded 57 #1 hit singles.
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Hank Williams, Jr.
Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), better known as Hank Williams, Jr., is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of Southern Rock, blues, and traditional country. He is the son of country music pioneer Hank Williams, and the father of Hank Williams III, Holly Williams, Hilary Williams, Samuel Williams and Katie Williams. Sam is expected to start recording officially in 2010.
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James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Carrboro, North Carolina. He owns a house in the Berkshire County town of Washington, Massachusetts. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
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Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first performed on stage with her family at the age of seven, and started her career as an actress with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976. She went on to appear in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times and Fame.
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Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper and businessman. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America having had a net worth of over $150 million in 2009. He has sold approximately 50 million albums worldwide, while receiving ten Grammy Awards for his musical work, and numerous additional nominations.
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Jewel (singer)
Jewel Kilcher (born May 23, 1974), professionally known simply as Jewel, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet. She has received three Grammy Award nominations and has sold 27 million albums worldwide, and almost twenty million in the United States alone.
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Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix, November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is often considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music by other musicians and commentators in the industry, and one of the most important and influential musicians of his era across a range of genres. After initial success in Europe, he achieved fame in the United States following his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. Later, Hendrix headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.
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Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is a singer, songwriter, author, businessman, and movie producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" (No. 234 on RIAA's list of "Songs of the Century"), and "Come Monday". He has a devoted base of fans known as "Parrotheads".
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John Denver
John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was an American singer-songwriter, actor, activist, and poet. One of the most popular acoustic artists of the 1970s in terms of record sales, Denver recorded and released around 300 songs, about 200 of which he composed. He was named Poet Laureate of Colorado in 1977. Songs such as "Leaving on a Jet Plane", "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Rocky Mountain High", "Sunshine on My Shoulders", "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", "Annie's Song" and "Calypso" attained worldwide popularity.
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John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston before moving to Atlanta, Georgia in 1997, where he refined his skills and gained a following. His first two studio albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things, did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy Award for "Your Body Is a Wonderland".
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John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, (born October 7, 1951) is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds in favor of organic instrumentation. He has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has amassed 22 Top 40 hits in the United States. In addition, he holds the record for the most tracks by a solo artist to hit number-one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, with seven, and has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning one. His latest album, No Better Than This, was released on August 17, 2010 to widespread critical acclaim.
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Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003), born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is primarily remembered as a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll—especially early in his career—as well as blues, folk, and gospel. Late in his career, Cash covered songs by several rock artists, among them the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails and the synthpop band Depeche Mode.
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Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music.
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Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American pop musician and actor. He has won six Grammy Awards as well as two Emmy Awards. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez. Timberlake became famous in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the boy band 'N Sync, whose launch was financed by Lou Pearlman.
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Kanye West
Kanye Omari West (; born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B;, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synth-pop, and classical music.
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Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), better known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Perry was born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents; she grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in church as a child. After earning a GED during her freshman year of high school, she began to pursue a music career. She released a self-titled gospel album in 2001 as Katy Hudson which failed with the closing of its record label that year. She recorded an album with production team The Matrix and completed most of a solo album from 2004–2005, neither of which was released.
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Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson rose to fame after winning the first season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later represent the United States in the World Idol competition in 2003.
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Kenny Chesney
Kenneth Arnold (Kenny) Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 16 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 17 of which climbed to the top of the charts.
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Kenny G
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), better known by his stage name Kenny G, is a Grammy winning American, adult contemporary and smooth jazz saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986. Kenny G is the biggest-selling instrumental musician of the modern era, with global sales totaling more than 75 million albums.
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Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald Rogers, better known as Kenny Rogers (born August 21, 1938) is an American country music singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor and entrepreneur. He has charted more than 120 hit singles across various music genres and topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone.
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Kesha
Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), better known by the mononym Kesha ( , stylized Ke$ha), is an American pop singer, rapper and songwriter. At age eighteen, Kesha was signed to Dr. Luke's record label and publishing company. Although an active musician since 2005, singing background vocals and writing songs for other artists, her breakthrough only came in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida's number one single, "Right Round." Her debut single, "Tik Tok", released in late 2009, reached number one in eleven countries. Her debut album, Animal, was released in January 2010 and debuted at number one in the US. By September, Kesha had sold two million albums worldwide.
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Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter and rapper with five Grammy Award nominations.
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L.L. Cool J
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Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by the stage name Lady Gaga, is an American recording artist. She began performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side in 2003 and enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She soon signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.
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Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare, released in 1999. Also in 1999, Lil Wayne released his Platinum debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in the U.S.
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Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt (b. July 15, 1946) is an American popular music recording artist. Her many vocal styles and performances in a variety of genres have resonated with the general public over the decades. She has earned ten Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden Globe nominations.
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Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie (born June 20, 1949), is an American singer-songwriter and record producer who has sold (solo or as group member) more than 100 million records.
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Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Ludacris has won the Screen Actors Guild, Critic's Choice, MTV, and Grammy Awards during his career.
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Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American R&B; and soul singer-songwriter, and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance with My Father", co-written with Richard Marx.
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Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970) is an American R&B; singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She made her recording debut, in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Mottola, in 1993, a series of hit records established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. In 1998, Carey received the World Music Awards for becoming the "World's Best Selling Recording Artist of the 1990's" as well as the award for "World's Best Selling R&B; Artist."
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MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), best known by his stage names MC Hammer, Hammer and Hammertime, is a rapper, entertainer and dancer most popular during the late 1980s until the mid-1990s. Remembered for a rapid rise to fame before losing the majority of his fortune, he is also known for his hit records, including "U Can't Touch This", flamboyant dance techniques and trademark Hammer pants.
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Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday on September 27, 1947), better known by his stage name Meat Loaf is an American rock musician and actor. He is noted for the Bat Out of Hell album trilogy consisting of Bat Out of Hell, and . Bat Out of Hell has sold more than 43 million copies. After more than 30 years, it still sells an estimated 200,000 copies annually, and stayed on the charts for over nine years.
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Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s, and began his solo career in 1971.
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Monica (entertainer)
Monica Denise Arnold (born October 24, 1980), professionally known as Monica, is an American R&B; recording artist and entertainer. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, Monica began performing as a child, enrolling in several local singing competitions prior to becoming part of Charles Thompson and the Majestics, a traveling gospel choir, by the time she was ten.
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Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is an English pop singer and songwriter.
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Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B; singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, actor, and occasional rapper. Since his debut, Ne-Yo has had five top ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist and two number-one albums on the Billboard 200. Ne-Yo has also amassed a catalog of chart-topping songs that he has written for other artists.
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Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born on January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. As a successful pop music performer, Diamond scored a number of hits worldwide in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. According to David Wild, common themes in Diamond's songs are "a deep sense of isolation and an equal desire for connection. A yearning for home – and at the same time, the allure of greater freedom. The good, the bad and the ugly about a crazy little thing called love."
http://wn.com/Neil_Diamond -
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is considered to be one of the most influential musicians of his generation. Young began performing as a solo artist in Canada in 1960, before moving to California in 1966, where he co-founded the band Buffalo Springfield along with Stephen Stills, and later joined Crosby, Stills & Nash as a fourth member in 1969. He then forged a successful and acclaimed solo career; releasing his first album in 1968; his career has since spanned over 40 years and 33 studio albums, with a continual exploration of musical styles. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website describes Young as "one of rock and roll’s greatest songwriters and performers". He has been inducted into the Hall of Fame twice: first as a solo artist in 1995, and secondly as a member of Buffalo Springfield in 1997.
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Nelly (entertainer)
Nelly Artin Kalfayan (Arabic نيللي آرتين كالفيان ) better known as Nelly (نيللي) (born in Cairo on 3 Jan 1949) is an Egyptian actress, singer, comedienne, dancer, television personality, and all-around entertainer.
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Norah Jones
Geethali Norah Jones Shankar (born March 30, 1979), popularly known by her stage name Norah Jones, is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, and actress.
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Notorious B.I.G
http://wn.com/Notorious_BIG -
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE (born 26 September 1948) is an English-born, Australian-raised singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles (including two platinum) and 14 of her albums (including two platinum and four double platinum) have been certified gold by the RIAA. Her music has been successful in multiple formats including pop, country and adult contemporary. She co-starred with John Travolta in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease which became one of the most successful films and movie soundtracks in Hollywood history.
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Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer-songwriter whose career has spanned over 40 years.
http://wn.com/Ozzy_Osbourne -
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline (September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963), born Virginia Patterson Hensley, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s. Since her death in 1963 at age 30 in a private airplane crash at the height of her career, she has been considered one of the most influential, successful, and acclaimed female vocalists of the 20th century.
http://wn.com/Patsy_Cline -
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles (1960–1970) and Wings (1971–1981), McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music, according to Guinness World Records.
http://wn.com/Paul_McCartney -
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for English progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist.
http://wn.com/Phil_Collins -
Prince (musician)
Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson, June 7, 1958) is a singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He has been known under the unpronounceable symbol , which he used between 1993 and 2000. During that period he was frequently referred to in the media as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince", often abbreviated to "TAFKAP", or simply "The Artist"
http://wn.com/Prince_(musician) -
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), best known by the stage name R. Kelly, is an American R&B; singer, songwriter and record producer. Debuting in 1992 with the group Public Announcement, Kelly went solo in 1993 with the album 12 Play. He is known for a collection of hit singles including "Bump n' Grind", "I Believe I Can Fly", "Gotham City", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm A Flirt", and the hip-hopera "Trapped in the Closet".
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Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955) is an American country music artist. She began her career in the music industry singing with her siblings on local radio shows and rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma City, which caught the attention of country artist Red Steagall. He brought her to Nashville, Tennessee, where she eventually signed a contract with Mercury Records in 1975. She released her first solo album in 1977 and released five additional studio albums under the label until 1983.
http://wn.com/Reba_McEntire -
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988), better known as simply Rihanna ( ), is a Barbadian R&B; recording artist and songwriter. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers. She subsequently signed a contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning for then-label head Jay-Z.
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Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer-songwriter born and raised in London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English lineage.
http://wn.com/Rod_Stewart -
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), currently known by his stage name Diddy, is an American record producer, rapper, actor, and men's fashion designer. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award.
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Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977), known professionally as Shakira (, or ), is a Colombian singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, and philanthropist who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s. Born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira revealed many of her talents in school as a live performer, demonstrating her vocal ability with rock and roll, Latin and Middle Eastern influences with her own original twist on belly dancing. Shakira is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English and Portuguese and is proficient in Italian.
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Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC (; born Eilleen Regina Edwards; August 28, 1965) is a Canadian country pop singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s with her album The Woman In Me (1995), and achieved worldwide success with her 1997 album Come On Over, which became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician, and the best selling country album of all time. The album Come on Over has sold over 39 million copies worldwide. Come on Over is also the 9th bestselling album in the U.S.
http://wn.com/Shania_Twain -
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Judkins (born May 13, 1950), name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris, known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist. Blind from shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown Records' Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.
http://wn.com/Stevie_Wonder -
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm (born September 30, 1985), better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor. He began his career as a rapper in the group Nappy Headz. In 2005, he became a singer and released his debut album Rappa Ternt Sanga. Throughout his career as a singer, T-Pain has extensively used the Auto-Tune pitch correction effect. Since the release of his debut album, T-Pain has produced numerous hits of his own and for other rappers and R&B; singers. In 2008, he won a Grammy with rapper Kanye West for the single "Good Life". In 2010, he won another Grammy with Jamie Foxx for the single "Blame It". T-Pain is also the founder of the record label Nappy Boy Entertainment, established in 2005.
http://wn.com/T-Pain -
T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by his stage name T.I. or T.I.P., is an American recording artist, film & music producer, and occasional actor. He is the founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Grand Hustle Records.
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Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country pop singer-songwriter and actress.
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The Notorious B.I.G.
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..
http://wn.com/The_Notorious_BIG -
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts, leading him to achieve total album sales in excess of 40 million units. He is married to country singer Faith Hill and is the son of former baseball player Tug McGraw. His trademark hit songs include "Indian Outlaw", "Don't Take the Girl", "I Like It, I Love It", "Something Like That", "It's Your Love" (featuring his wife, Faith Hill), and "Live Like You Were Dying".
http://wn.com/Tim_McGraw -
Toby Keith
Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), best known as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin', plus a Greatest Hits package for various divisions of Mercury Records before exiting in 1998. These albums all earned gold or higher certification, and produced several chart singles, including his debut "Should've Been a Cowboy", which topped the country charts and was the most played country song of the 1990s. The song has received 3 million spins since then, according to Broadcast Music Incorporated.
http://wn.com/Toby_Keith -
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty (born October 20, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr. and Muddy Wilbury.
http://wn.com/Tom_Petty -
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Raymond IV (born October 14, 1978; ), who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American recording artist and actor. He rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his sophmore album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit, "Nice and Slow". It also spawned two more successful singles "You Make Me Wanna...", and "My Way". Both reached number-two on the Hot 100. His followup album 8701 (2001) produced the Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". As well "U Don't Have to Call" which reached number-three on the Hot 100. My Way has been certified six-times platinum by the RIAA and 8701 has been certified four-times platinum by the RIAA. Both albums sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
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Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an American R&B;/Pop singer, actress, and former fashion model. A relative of several soul singers, including her mother Cissy Houston, cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and close family friend Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing at her New Jersey church as a member of a junior gospel choir at age eleven. After she began performing alongside her mother at night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. Houston has released studio albums and movie soundtrack albums throughout her career, all of which have had diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold certification.
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Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 30, 1933) is an American country singer-songwriter, author, poet, actor and activist. He reached his greatest fame during the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, and remains iconic, especially in American popular culture.
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Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but currently operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EMI.
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United States
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The United States of America (also referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
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Havoc of mobb deep making a beat
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- Duration: 5:55
- Published: 27 Dec 2009
- Uploaded: 02 May 2011
- Author: lilidol123
Mobb Deep discography From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This is a discography of hip hop duo Mobb Deep. The duo hit a commercial high with their 1999 album Murda Muzik, which sold over a million copies and has been certified platinum. The duo have sold a total of over four and a half million units in the US alone, a great achievement given their harsh brand of hip hop. Contents [hide] * 1 Studio Albums * 2 Compilation Albums * 3 Mixtapes * 4 Bootleg/Unauthorised Albums * 5 Singles * 6 References [edit] Studio Albums * Juvenile Hell o Released: April 13, 1993 o Label: Island o RIAA certification: o US sales: 45000+ o Worldwide sales: o Billboard chart position: - * The Infamous o Released: April 25, 1995 o Label: Loud o RIAA certification: Gold o US sales: 800000+ o Worldwide sales: o Billboard chart position: 15 * Hell on Earth o Released: November 19, 1996 o RIAA certification: Gold o US sales: 700000+ o Worldwide sales: 900000+ o Billboard chart position: 6 * Murda Muzik o Released: August 17, 1999 o RIAA certification: 2xPlatinum[1] o US sales: 2700000+ o Worldwide sales: o Billboard chart position: 3 * Infamy o Released: December 11, 2001 o RIAA certification: Gold o US sales: 800000+ o Worldwide sales: o Billboard chart position: 22 * Amerikaz Nightmare o Released: August 10, 2004 o Label: Jive Records o RIAA certification: Gold o US sales: 550000+ o Worldwide sales: o Billboard chart position: 4 * Blood Money o Released: May 2, 2006 o <b>...</b>
Malone - Weezy - Bun B - Akon ( Certified Remix)
glasses_malone_feat._lil_wayne_bun_b_and_akon-certified_(remix)-cr Dj Bootleg Vol 13.
Guru - Certified
Artist: Guru Album: Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul Label: Virgin Records Year: 2000
Usher ft Pharrell "Certified" (official music new song july 2009) + Download
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- Duration: 3:56
- Published: 20 Jul 2009
- Uploaded: 09 May 2011
- Author: Clankanmusictv
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Usher ft Pharrell "Certified" (official music new song july 2009) + Download link tinyurl.com usher pharrell certified official music new song july 2009 download r&b jeremih rihanna be yo
KYLIAN MASH feat AKON & MARADJA - "CLUB CERTIFIED"
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- Duration: 3:11
- Published: 07 Sep 2010
- Uploaded: 11 May 2011
- Author: UniversalMusicFrance
Kylian Mash feat AKON & MARADJA - "CLUB CERTIFIED"
PUK - CERTIFIED FRESH (OFFICIAL VIDEO) *HD*
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:15
- Published: 17 Aug 2010
- Uploaded: 10 May 2011
- Author: QuasonMatthews
Directed By - Quason Matthews twitter.com Co-Directed By - Super Chunkz Follow Quason - twitter.com Follow Paigey - twitter.com Follow Teezy - twitter.com Follow Super Chunkz - twitter.com
Maino- Certified (Ft. Jim Jones)
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- Duration: 4:05
- Published: 08 Nov 2010
- Uploaded: 08 May 2011
- Author: BRProductionsRecord
...And one more Maino track for the day, courtesy of the homie Splash Leave Comments & Rate It Subscribe Me
BEKAY: HOOD CERTIFIED REALITY SHOW
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- Duration: 14:02
- Published: 13 May 2008
- Uploaded: 26 Mar 2011
- Author: HOODCERTIFIEDDVD
Brooklyn, NY Rapper Bekay Hood Certified Reality Show. Executive Produced By Roc Cayard.
Glasses Malone & Akon "Certified" (Official Video)
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- Duration: 3:52
- Published: 26 Feb 2008
- Uploaded: 11 Apr 2011
- Author: lucasfrenay
World Premiere: New video from Glasses Malone's first single "Certified" feat. Akon. Off Glasses Malone's new album "The Beach Cruiser".
Kylian Mash Feat Akon - Club Certified
music: bit.ly Kylian Mash Feat Akon - Club Certified Kylian Mash Feat Akon - Club Certified Kylian Mash Feat Akon - Club Certified
Beyonce vs Janet Jackson Part 1 (Exclusive Certified)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:57
- Published: 25 Jun 2009
- Uploaded: 06 Mar 2011
- Author: firewithfire1000
Music Choice's Billboard DEMMX Award Winning Show Certified. Captured 2.2 Million Viewers from 2006-2007. Hosted by Bre & D.Bail.
Eminem ft Asher Roth Certified Alcoholic Relapse 2 LEAK ! ! 2010
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:23
- Published: 14 Oct 2010
- Uploaded: 07 May 2011
- Author: martin4175
Christian Rapper Releases Song Going @ Jay Z, Beyonce, Rihanna! CERTIFIED SOULJAHS
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:15
- Published: 21 Jan 2010
- Uploaded: 10 May 2011
- Author: dakingposta
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Christian Rapper GOIN IN on ur boi Jay-Z on dat renegade beat...and he GOT SKILLZ!!! He xposes things we shouldve have been able 2 C b4 ne1 said nething...
(Music Video) Hood Certified Remix Ft Bnero, Product, Pretty, Eazy Money, Valed on Eazy TV.
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Off the we Up MixTape Video Directed and Edited by Eazy Jones
Jon Famous ft. Jim Jones - Certified Hustla (New Hot Music 2009)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:12
- Published: 26 Feb 2009
- Uploaded: 06 May 2011
- Author: DigitalDrippedTV
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digitaldripped.com download this song free at digitaldripped.com Jon Famous Jim Jones Certified Hustla
PLIES LIVE in ocala fl@ CERTIFIED SUNDAYS HALLOWEEN NIGHT @OEC IN OCALA FL
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- Duration: 0:28
- Published: 13 Sep 2010
- Uploaded: 13 Mar 2011
- Author: CERTIFIEDPROMO
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CERTIFIED PROMO 352-895-4811 PLIES LETTING FANS KNOW ABOUT HIS SHOW ON HALLOWEEN IN OCALA FLORIDA CALLING OUT HIS GOONS AND GOONETTES FOR MORE INFO CALL CERTIFIED PROMO 352-895-4811
GLADIATOR RIDDIM MEDLEY (GHETTO CERTIFIED) 2009 DANCEHALL NEW TUNES - CJ, RASBEANS & MASHY WORD
Tami Chynn & Tifa - Certified Diva - New Official Video 2010
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- Duration: 3:13
- Published: 19 Aug 2010
- Uploaded: 10 May 2011
- Author: UpriseAfricaTV
- http://wn.com/Tami_Chynn_Tifa__Certified_Diva__New_Official_Video_2010
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Certified Diva Tami Chynn & Tifa - NU Dancehall - Official Video 2010
Beyonce vs Janet Jackson Part 2 (Exclusive Certified)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:56
- Published: 25 Jun 2009
- Uploaded: 09 May 2011
- Author: firewithfire1000
Music Choice's Billboard DEMMX Award Winning Show Certified. Captured 2.2 Million Viewers from 2006-2007. Hosted by Bre & D.Bail.
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony- Certified Thugs
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:41
- Published: 17 Apr 2008
- Uploaded: 22 Apr 2011
- Author: wertytrewqa
Strength&Loyalty cut produced by Jazzy Pha
MC.TV Stater & Stainer - Certified Grinder (Music Video) (HD)
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- Duration: 3:57
- Published: 14 Mar 2011
- Uploaded: 10 May 2011
- Author: TheOfficalMCTV
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Glasses Malone ft. Akon, Bun B, Kam & Lil' Wayne - Certified
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Glasses Malone ft. Akon, Bun B, Kam & Lil' Wayne - Certified
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Norah Jones at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
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- Come Away With Me
- Cracked Rear View
- CrazySexyCool
- Creed (band)
- Dave Matthews Band
- Decca Records
- Def Leppard
- Destiny's Child
The Examiner
Third Day's Revelation Goes Gold Third Day has reached another milestone with the certification of its ninth RIAA Gold project, Revelation, which recently reached sales of more than 500,000 copies. Revelation and Live Revelations: On Stage, Off Stage, Backstage The album released on July 29, 2008,...
Casting Crowns goes platinum again: Casting Crowns scores third RIAA Platinum Album Certification
26 Aug 2010
The Examiner
As reported in Mark Hall at Star Wars Celebration V; Casting Crowns lead singer donates Star Wars items for charity, Casting Crowns’ frontman Mark Hall made the news recently by selling his one-of-a-kind, Star Wars-inspired office collection for charity at the Star Wars V convention. The collection has so far raised $15,000 for the humanitarian...
Beyonce Leads the Field as Artist With the Most RIAA Certifications Over the Past Decade
31 Mar 2010
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The Examiner
FMQB News - 1 hr 2 mins ago The RIAA hands out Gold and Platinum records for August & September. PRINT STORY | EMAIL STORY | COMMENTS FMQB News More news from FMQB News FMQB FYI... Links You Should Know About 1 hr 3 mins ago In Brief - October...
PR Newswire
NEW YORK, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Best of The Johnny Cash TV Show," a 2-DVD set from Columbia/Legacy, has achieved RIAA platinum certification within a few months of its release, a demonstration of the ongoing durability of the man and his music. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060130/LEGACYLOGO ) Featuring 66 definitive performances from the music variety...
Marketwire
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - December 7, 2007) - Fueled By Ramen recording group Paramore has been nominated as "Best New Artist" at the upcoming 50th Annual Grammy Awards, it was announced this week. The news comes just as "RIOT!," the band's acclaimed second album, has received RIAA gold certification for sales exceeding 500,000 units. Released earlier this year, the album...
Marketwire
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - August 30, 2007) - Eleven Seven/Atlantic recording group Buckcherry is marking a major milestone this week as their blockbuster hit, "Crazy B*tch," celebrates a full year in the Nielsen Ringscan Top 30 -- the only track to do so in the chart's history. The ringtone was already a smash in Nielsen Ringscan's first-ever reporting week (ending September...
Marketwire
NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- August 22, 2006 -- "ST. ELSEWHERE," the acclaimed debut album from Downtown/Atlantic recording phenom Gnarls Barkley, has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales exceeding one million units in the U.S. The celebrated...
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22 Oct 2005
Marketwire
NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) "THE PEOPLES CHAMP," the acclaimed new album from SwishaHouse/Asylum recording artist Paul Wall, has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The announcement comes just five weeks after the album made a triumphant debut in the #1 spot on the Billboard 200. This marks the...
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards (see music recording sales certification). Certification is not automatic; for an award to be made, the record label must request certification and pay a fee to have the sales of the recording audited. The audit is conducted against net shipments after returns (most often an artist's royalty statement is used), which includes albums sold directly to retailers and one-stops, direct-to-consumer sales (music clubs and mail order) and other outlets.
500,000 units: Gold album
1,000,000 units: Platinum album
2,000,000 or more units: Multi-Platinum album
10,000,000 units: Diamond album
50,000 units: Album de Oro
100,000 units: Album de Platino
200,000 units: Album Multi-Platino
100,000 units: Album de Oro
200,000 units: Album de Platino
400,000 units: Album Multi-Platino
Gold when it ships 500,000 copies
Platinum when it ships 1,000,000 copies
Multi-platinum when it ships at least 2,000,000 copies
Gold means 500,000 tracks downloaded
Platinum means 1,000,000 tracks downloaded
Multi-platinum means 2,000,000+ tracks downloaded
List of best-selling music artists in the United States
List of best-selling albums in the United States
List of best-selling music artists
List of best-selling albums
List of best-selling singles
List of best-selling albums worldwide
Music recording sales certification
Recording Industry Association of America
RIAA Website
Search RIAA Gold and Platinum Database
Presently, an American RIAA-certified gold record is a single or album that has sold 500,000 units (records, tapes or compact discs). Originally, the requirement for a gold single was one million units sold and a gold album represented $1 million in sales (at wholesale value). In 1975, the additional requirement of 500,000 units sold was added for gold albums. Reflecting growth in record sales, the platinum award was instituted in 1976 for albums selling one million units and singles selling two million units. The multi-platinum award was instituted in 1984, signifying multiple platinum levels of albums and singles. In 1989, the sales thresholds for singles were reduced to 500,000 for gold and 1,000,000 for platinum, reflecting a decrease in sales of singles. In 1992, RIAA began counting each disc in a multi-disc set as one unit toward certification. Because of these changes in criteria, the sales level associated with a particular award depends on when the award was made.
Nielsen SoundScan figures are not used in RIAA certification; the RIAA system predates Nielsen SoundScan and includes sales outlets Nielsen misses. Prior to Nielsen SoundScan, RIAA certification was the only audited and verifiable system for tracking music sales in the U.S.; it is still the only system capable of tracking 100% of sales (albeit as shipments less returns, not actual sales like Nielsen SoundScan). This system has allowed, at times, for record labels to promote an album as gold or platinum simply based on large shipments. For instance, in 1978 the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack shipped platinum but was a sales bust, with two million returns. Similarly, all four solo albums by the members of Kiss simultaneously shipped platinum that same year but did not reach the top 20 of the Billboard 200 album chart. The following year, the RIAA began requiring 120 days from the release date before recordings were eligible for certification, although that requirement has been reduced over the years and currently stands at 30 days. More recently, Sony was roundly criticized in 1995 for hyping Michael Jackson's double album as five times platinum, based on shipments of 2.5 million and using the RIAA's recently adopted practice of counting each disc toward certification, while SoundScan was reporting only 1.3 million copies sold. A similar discrepancy between shipments and sales was reported with The Lion King soundtrack.
List of certifications
Records
Currently, the RIAA certification criteria for albums are:
Multi-disc
Multi-disc albums are counted once for each disc within the album if it is over 100 minutes in length or is from the vinyl era. For example, each copy of OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (running time of 134:56), and Shania Twain's Up! (145:44), both double albums, were counted twice, meaning each album was certified diamond after 5 million copies were shipped. Pink Floyd's The Wall and The Beatles' White Album, both vinyl-era, are counted double even though their running times are under the minimum requirement.
Spanish
The following certifications are given only to recordings of which over 50% of the content is in the Spanish language. Note that the certification levels are for Spanish-language albums released after July 2008.Prior to July 2008, the certifications are:
Singles
It is estimated that there have been about 2,550 combined single certifications.Standard singles are certified:
''Note: The number of sales required to qualify for gold and platinum discs was higher prior to January 1, 1989. The thresholds were 1,000,000 units (gold) and 2,000,000 units (platinum).
Digital
Recently, digital singles have begun to be certified due to the increase of the digital market and decrease of the physical commercial singles market. Although digital downloads have been around since 2003, they weren't considered to be significant until 2005, when they were first counted towards the Hot 100. Because of this, it is important to distinguish between singles that came out before and after the change (as singles after the change sold in higher quantities at a faster rate, while the older singles took longer to reach levels of certification). After the change, the certification standards were brought up to the same standard as retail distribution. Since then, digital distribution has become a prime selling method for singles - overhead can be considerable when distributing a CD with only a few tracks on it, and the roughly $1/track standard for digital distribution, combined with the ease of use in sellers like iTunes, has caused enormous growth.Digital singles are certified:
From 2004 through July 2006, the certification level was 100,000 downloads for Gold and 200,000 for Platinum. When the RIAA changed the certification standards to match retail distribution in August 2006, all platinum and multi-platinum awards for a digital release were withdrawn. Gold certifications, however, were not, meaning a song that was downloaded over 100,000 times and certified so by the RIAA during that time frame, retains its gold status.
Records
Lists from RIAA site showing current status holders of RIAA Certifications:
Artists with the most certifications of Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum albums as of December 2010
Albums that have been certified Gold might receive additional certifications for achieving Platinum and Multi-Platinum levels.{| class="wikitable sortable" !Artist ! # Gold ! # Platinum ! # Multi-Platinum ! Total ! source |- || AC/DC || 20 || 20 || 12 || 52 || |- || Aerosmith || 25 || 18 || 12 || 55 || |- || Lil Wayne || 22 || 17 || 3 || 42 || |- || Mariah Carey || 25 || 12 || 3 || 40 || |- || Madonna || 26 || 6 || 3 || 35 || |- || The Beatles || 24 || 6 || 4 || 34 || |- || Rihanna || 13 || 13 || 7 || 33 || |- || Beyoncé || 17 || 10 || 5 || 32|| |- || Taylor Swift || 16 || 12 || 4 || 32 || |- || Whitney Houston || 19 || 6 || 2 || 27 || |- || Janet Jackson || 21 || 5 || - || 26 || |- || Elton John || 18 || 6 || 1 || 25 || |- || Michael Jackson || 16 || 9 || - || 25 || |- || Kanye West || 13 || 9 || 6 || 25 || |- || The Temptations || 17 || 6 || - || 23 || |- || Chris Brown || 10 || 9 || 2 || 21 || |- || Carrie Underwood || 13 || 5 || 2 || 20 || |- || Black Eyed Peas || 10 || 5 || 5 || 20 || |- || T-Pain || 9 || 8 || 3 || 20 || |- || R. Kelly || 11 || 7 || - || 18 || |- || Usher || 11 || 7 || - || 18 || |- || T.I. || 9 || 5 || 4 || 18 || |- || Boyz II Men || 10 || 7 || - || 17 || |- || Jay-Z || 10 || 4 || 3 || 17 || |- || Justin Timberlake || 9 || 5 || 2 || 16 || |- || Aretha Franklin || 15 || - || - || 15 || |- || Donna Summer || 12 || 3 || - || 15 || |- || Nelly || 12 || 3 || - || 15 || |- || Bee Gees || 11 || 4 || - || 15 || |- || Creedence Clearwater Revival || 10 || 5 || - || 15 || |- || Ludacris || 9 || 5 || 1 || 15 || |- || Linkin Park || 8 || 6 || 1 || 15 || |- || Kenny Chesney || 14 || - || - || 14 || |- || Prince || 12 || 2 || - || 14 || |- || Flo Rida || 7 || 4 || 3 || 14 || |- || Monica || 7 || 6 || 1 || 14 || |- || Katy Perry || 5 || 5 || 4 || 14 || |- || Paul McCartney || 12 || 1 || - || 13 || |- || Olivia Newton-John || 11 || 2 || - || 13 || |- || Brad Paisley || 10 || 3 || - || 13 || |- || Celine Dion || 9 || 4 || - || 13 || |- || TLC || 9 || 4 || - || 13 || |- || Tim McGraw || 8 || 3 || 2 || 13 || |- || Barbra Streisand || 8 || 5 || - || 13 || |- || Alicia Keys || 7 || 4 || 2 || 13 || |- || Diddy || 7 || 4 || 2 || 13 || |- || Fergie || 5 || 5 || 3 || 13 || |- || 50 Cent || 10 || 2 || - || 12 || |- || Notorious B.I.G || 8 || 4 || - || 12|| |- || Shakira || 7 || 4 || 1 || 12 || |- || Lady Gaga || 5 || 5 || 2 || 12 || |- || Christina Aguilera || 9 || 2 || - || 11 || |- || Avril Lavigne || 8 || 2 || 1 || 11 || |- || Kelly Clarkson || 8 || 3 || - || 11 || |- || Sugarland || 8 || 3 || - || 11 || |- || Britney Spears || 7 || 4 || - || 11 || |- || Ne-Yo || 6 || 5 || - || 11 || |- || The Carpenters || 10 || - || - || 10 || |- || L.L. Cool J || 8 || 2 || - || 10 || |- || John Mayer || 8 || 2 || - || 10 || |- || Destiny's Child || 7 || 3 || - || 10 || |- || Bone Thugs-N-Harmony || 6 || 3 || 1 || 10 || |- || Red Hot Chili Peppers || 6 || 3 || 1 || 10 || |- || Rascal Flatts || 6 || 4 || - || 10 || |- || Fall Out Boy || 5 || 4 || 1 || 10 || |- || Natasha Bedingfield || 5 || 3 || 2 || 10 || |- || Ke$ha || 4 || 4 || 2 || 10 || |}
RIAA Diamond certifications as of April 2010
Diamond (10+ million) certified{| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" style="font-size: 0.95em" |- !Year !Artist(s) !Album !Label(s) !Certification |- ||1982 |Michael Jackson |Thriller |Epic |29× platinum |- ||1976 |Eagles |Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) |Asylum |29× platinum |- |1971 |Led Zeppelin |Led Zeppelin IV |Atlantic |23× platinum |- |1979 |Pink Floyd |The Wall |Columbia/Capitol |23× platinum |- |1980 |AC/DC |Back in Black |Atlantic |22× platinum |- |1998 |Garth Brooks |Double Live |Capitol Nashville |21× platinum |- |1985 |Billy Joel |Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II |Columbia |21× platinum |- |1997 |Shania Twain |Come On Over |Mercury Nashville |20× platinum |- |1968 |The Beatles |The Beatles (The White Album) |Apple |19× platinum |- |1977 |Fleetwood Mac |Rumours |Warner Bros. |19× platinum |- |1987 |Guns N' Roses |Appetite for Destruction |Geffen |18× platinum |- |1976 |Boston |Boston |Epic |17× platinum |- |1992 |Whitney Houston |The Bodyguard |Arista |17× platinum |- |1990 |Garth Brooks |No Fences |Capitol Nashville |17× platinum |- |1973 |The Beatles |1967–1970 |Capitol |17× platinum |- |1994 |Hootie and the Blowfish |Cracked Rear View |Atlantic |16× platinum |- |1974 |Elton John |Elton John's Greatest Hits |Polydor |16× platinum |- |1976 |Eagles |Hotel California |Asylum |16× platinum |- |1995 |Alanis Morissette |Jagged Little Pill |Maverick |16× platinum |- |1975 |Led Zeppelin |Physical Graffiti |Swan Song |16× platinum |- |1973 |Pink Floyd |The Dark Side of the Moon |Capitol |15× platinum |- |1988 |Journey |Greatest Hits |Columbia |15× platinum |- |1991 |Metallica |Metallica (The Black Album) |Elektra |15× platinum |- |1977 |Bee Gees | |RSO |15× platinum |- |1999 |Santana |Supernatural |Arista |15× platinum |- |1973 |The Beatles |1962–1966 |Capitol |15× platinum |- |1984 |Bruce Springsteen |Born in the U.S.A. |Columbia |15× platinum |- |1999 |Britney Spears |...Baby One More Time |Jive |14× platinum |- |1997 |Backstreet Boys |Backstreet Boys |Jive |14× platinum |- |1977 |Meat Loaf |Bat Out of Hell |Epic |14× platinum |- |1991 |Garth Brooks |Ropin' the Wind |Capitol Nashville |14× platinum |- |1972 |Simon & Garfunkel |Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits |Columbia |14× platinum |- |1986 |Bruce Springsteen |Live/1975–85 |Columbia |13× platinum |- |1978 |Steve Miller Band |Greatest Hits 1974–78 |Capitol |13× platinum |- |1999 |Backstreet Boys |Millennium |Jive |13× platinum |- |1984 |Prince |Purple Rain |Warner Bros. |13× platinum |- |1991 |Pearl Jam |Ten |Epic |13× platinum |- |1985 |Whitney Houston |Whitney Houston |Arista |13× platinum |- |1992 |Kenny G |Breathless |Arista |12× platinum |- |1994 |Various artists |Forrest Gump |Epic |12× platinum |- |1972 |The Rolling Stones |Hot Rocks 1964–1971 |London |12× platinum |- |1987 |Def Leppard |Hysteria |Mercury Records |12× platinum |- |1994 |Boyz II Men |II |Motown |12× platinum |- |1980 |Kenny Rogers |Greatest Hits |Liberty |12× platinum |- |1969 |Led Zeppelin |Led Zeppelin II |Atlantic |12× platinum |- |1985 |Phil Collins |No Jacket Required |Atlantic |12× platinum |- |1995 |Jewel |Pieces of You |Atlantic |12× platinum |- |1986 |Bon Jovi |Slippery When Wet |Mercury |12× platinum |- |1995 |Shania Twain |The Woman in Me |Mercury Nashville |12× platinum |- |1998 |Dixie Chicks |Wide Open Spaces |Monument |12× platinum |- |1969 |The Beatles |Abbey Road |Apple |12× platinum |- |1996 |Matchbox Twenty |Yourself or Someone Like You |Atlantic |12× platinum |- |2000 |The Beatles |1 |Capitol |11× platinum |- |1994 |TLC |CrazySexyCool |LaFace |11× platinum |- |1980 |Aerosmith |Greatest Hits |Columbia |11× platinum |- |2002 |Shania Twain |Up! |Mercury Nashville |11× platinum |- |1998 |Kid Rock |Devil Without a Cause |Atlantic |11× platinum |- |1987 |Various artists |Dirty Dancing |RCA |11× platinum |- |1982 |Eagles |Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 |Asylum |11× platinum |- |1996 |Celine Dion |Falling Into You |Epic |11× platinum |- |1973 |Led Zeppelin |Houses of the Holy |Atlantic |11× platinum |- |1997 |Various artists | |Epic |11× platinum |- |2003 |Outkast |Speakerboxxx/The Love Below |LaFace/Arista |11× platinum |- |1967 |The Beatles |Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band |Capitol |11× platinum |- |2000 |*NSYNC |No Strings Attached |Jive |11× platinum |- |1976 |James Taylor |Greatest Hits |Warner Bros. |11× platinum |- |1999 |Creed |Human Clay |Wind-up |11× platinum |- |2001 |Destiny's Child |Survivor |Columbia |10× platinum |- |1989 |Garth Brooks |Garth Brooks |Capitol |10× platinum |- |1967 |Patsy Cline |Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits |Decca |10× platinum |- |1993 |Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers |Greatest Hits |MCA |10× platinum |- |2000 |Linkin Park |Hybrid Theory |Warner Bros. |10× platinum |- |1990 |Led Zeppelin |Led Zeppelin (boxed set) |Atlantic Records |10× platinum |- |1984 |Bob Marley & The Wailers |Legend |Island |10× platinum |- |1997 |Celine Dion |Let's Talk About Love |Epic |10× platinum |- |1999 |Dixie Chicks |Fly |Monument |10× platinum |- |1987 |George Michael |Faith |Columbia |10× platinum |- |1983 |ZZ Top |Eliminator |Warner Bros. |10× platinum |- |1994 |Green Day |Dookie |Reprise |10× platinum |- |1995 |Mariah Carey |Daydream |Columbia |10× platinum |- |2004 |Usher |Confessions |Arista |10× platinum |- |2002 |Norah Jones |Come Away With Me |Blue Note |10× platinum |- |1983 |Lionel Richie |Can't Slow Down |Motown |10× platinum |- |1976 |Doobie Brothers |Best of The Doobies |Warner Bros. |10× platinum |- |1984 |Van Halen |1984 (MCMLXXXIV) |Warner Bros. |10× platinum |- |1997 |The Notorious B.I.G. |Life After Death |Bad Boy/Arista |10× platinum |- |1984 |Madonna |Like a Virgin |Sire |10× platinum |- |1993 |Mariah Carey |Music Box |Columbia |10× platinum |- |1995 |No Doubt |Tragic Kingdom |Trauma |10× platinum |- |1977 |Billy Joel |The Stranger |Columbia |10× platinum |- |1992 |Eric Clapton |Unplugged |Reprise |10× platinum |- |1994 |Elton John |The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |Walt Disney |10× platinum |- |1987 |U2 |The Joshua Tree |Island |10× platinum |- |1990 |Madonna |The Immaculate Collection |Sire |10× platinum |- |1994 |Garth Brooks |The Hits |Liberty |10× platinum |- |1985 |The Doors |The Best of The Doors |Elektra |10× platinum |- |1971 |Carole King |Tapestry |Ode |10× platinum |- |1976 |Stevie Wonder |Songs in the Key of Life |Motown |10× platinum |- |1997 |Garth Brooks |Sevens |Capitol Nashville |10× platinum |- |1983 |Def Leppard |Pyromania |Mercury |10× platinum |- |1990 |MC Hammer |Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em |Capitol |10× platinum |- |2000 |Britney Spears |Oops!... I Did It Again |Jive |10× platinum |- |1991 |Nirvana |Nevermind |DGC |10× platinum |- |1998 |*NSYNC |*NSYNC |RCA |10× platinum |- |1978 |Van Halen |Van Halen |Warner Bros. |10× platinum |}
See also
References
External links
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Jim Jones
| Name | Jim Jones |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James W. Jones |
| Birth date | May 13, 1931 |
| Birth place | Crete, Indiana, U.S. |
| Death date | November 18, 1978 |
| Death place | Jonestown, Guyana |
| Occupation | Leader, Peoples Temple |
James Warren "Jim" Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 suicide of more than 900 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.
Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in that state in the 1950s. Jones and the Temple later moved to California, and both gained notoriety with the move of the Temple's headquarters to San Francisco in the mid-1970s.
The greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001, the tragedy at Guyana also ranks among the largest mass murders/mass suicides in history. One of those who died at the nearby airstrip was Leo Ryan, who remains the only Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States. to James Thurman Jones (May 31, 1887 – May 29, 1951), a World War I veteran, and Lynetta Putnam (April 16, 1902 – December 11, 1977). He was of Irish and Welsh descent. Economic difficulties during the Great Depression necessitated that Jones' family move to nearby Lynn, Indiana in 1934. Jim Jones and a childhood friend both claimed that Jones' father was associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
Jones was a voracious reader as a child and studied Joseph Stalin, Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi and Adolf Hitler carefully, noting each of their strengths and weaknesses. He graduated from Richmond High School early and with honors in December 1948.
Jones married nurse Marceline Baldwin in 1949, and moved to Bloomington, Indiana. Jones' sympathetic statements about communism offended Marceline's grandmother.
Building the Temple
Indiana beginnings
In 1951, Jones became a member of the Communist Party USA, and began attending meetings and rallies in Indianapolis. He became flustered with harassment he received during the McCarthy Hearings, He also became frustrated with what he perceived to be ostracism of open communists in the United States, especially during the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.Jones moved away from the American Communist Party and Maoists when ACP members and Mao Zedong became critical of some of the policies of former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
Integrationist
In 1960, Indianapolis Democratic Mayor Charles Boswell appointed Jones director of the Human Rights Commission. Jones ignored Boswell's advice to keep a low profile, finding new outlets for his views on local radio and television programs.During this time, Jones also helped to integrate churches, restaurants, the telephone company, the police department, a theater, an amusement park, and the Methodist Hospital. He also set up stings to catch restaurants refusing to serve African American customers When Jones was accidentally placed in the black ward of a hospital after a collapse in 1961, he refused to be moved and began to make the beds, and empty the bed pans of black patients. Political pressures resulting from Jones' actions caused hospital officials to desegregate the wards. and stated: "Integration is a more personal thing with me now. It's a question of my son's future." Jones had long been critical of the United States' opposition to communist leader Kim Il-Sung's 1950 invasion of South Korea, calling it the "war of liberation" and stating that "the south is a living example of all that socialism in the north has overcome." In 1954, he and his wife also adopted Agnes Jones, who was partly of Native American descent. Suzanne Jones was adopted at the age of six in 1959.
Two years later, in 1961, the Joneses became the first white couple in Indiana to adopt a black child, James Warren Jones, Jr. Marceline was once spat upon while she carried Jim Jr.
On his way to Brazil, Jones made his first trip into Guyana. After arriving in Belo Horizonte, the Joneses rented a modest three bedroom home. Jones studied the local economy and receptiveness of racial minorities to his message, though language remained a barrier. Jones was careful not to portray himself as a communist in a foreign territory, and spoke of an apostolic communal lifestyle rather than of Castro or Marx.
After becoming frustrated with the lack of resources in the locale, in mid-1963, the Joneses moved to Rio de Janeiro. There, they worked with the poor in Rio's slums.
Jones was plagued by guilt for leaving behind the Indiana civil rights struggle and possibly losing what he had struggled to build there.
California Eden
After Jones' return to Indiana from Brazil, in 1965, Jones claimed that the world would be engulfed in a nuclear war on July 15, 1967, that would then create a new socialist Eden on earth, and that the Temple must move to Northern California for safety. Jones often mixed those concepts, such as preaching that "If you're born in capitalist America, racist America, fascist America, then you're born in sin. But if you're born in socialism, you're not born in sin."By the early 1970s, Jones began deriding traditional Christianity as "fly away religion," rejecting the Bible as being white men’s' justification to subordinate women and subjugate people of color and stating that it spoke of a "Sky God" who was no God at all. Jones also began preaching that he was the reincarnation of Jesus of Nazareth, Mahatma Gandhi, Buddha, Vladimir Lenin, and Father Divine. In the documentary Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, former Temple member Hue Fortson, Jr. quoted Jones as saying, "What you need to believe in is what you can see ... If you see me as your friend, I'll be your friend. As you see me as your father, I'll be your father, for those of you that don't have a father ... If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God." Despite the Temple's fear that the IRS was investigating its religious tax exemption, by 1977 Marceline Jones admitted to the New York Times that, as early as age 18 when he watched his then idol Mao Zedong overthrow the Chinese government, Jim Jones realized that the way to achieve social change through Marxism in the United States was to mobilize people through religion. She stated that "Jim used religion to try to get some people out of the opiate of religion," and had slammed the Bible on the table yelling "I've got to destroy this paper idol!"
Unlike most other figures deemed as cult leaders, Jones was able to gain public support and contact with prominent local and national United States politicians. For example, Jones and Moscone met privately with vice presidential candidate Walter Mondale on his campaign plane days before the 1976 election and Mondale publicly praised the Temple. First Lady Rosalynn Carter also personally met with Jones on multiple occasions, corresponded with him about Cuba, and spoke with him at the grand opening of the San Francisco Democratic Party Headquarters where Jones garnered louder applause than Mrs. Carter.
In September 1976, Willie Brown served as master of ceremonies at a large testimonial dinner for Jones attended by Governor Jerry Brown and Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally and other political figures. At that dinner, while introducing Jones, Willie Brown stated "Let me present to you what you should see every day when you look in the mirror in the early morning hours ... Let me present to you a combination of Martin King, Angela Davis, Albert Einstein ... Chairman Mao." Harvey Milk, who spoke at political rallies at the Temple, and wrote to Jones after a visit to the Temple: "Rev Jim, It may take me many a day to come back down from the high that I reach today. I found something dear today. I found a sense of being that makes up for all the hours and energy placed in a fight. I found what you wanted me to find. I shall be back. For I can never leave."
In his San Francisco Temple apartment, Jones regularly hosted San Francisco radical political figures such as Angela Davis for discussions. He spoke with friend and San Francisco Sun-Reporter publisher Dr. Carlton Goodlett about Jones' remorse regarding not being able to travel to socialist countries such as China and the Soviet Union, speculating that he could be Chief Dairyman of the Soviet Union. After his criticisms caused increased tensions with the Nation of Islam, Jones spoke at a huge rally healing the rift between the two groups in the Los Angeles Convention center attended by many of Jones' closest political acquaintances.
While Jones forged media alliances with key columnists and others at the San Francisco Chronicle and other media outlets, the move to San Francisco also brought increasing media scrutiny. After Chronicle reporter Marshall Kilduff encountered resistance to publishing an expose, he brought his story to New West Magazine. In the summer of 1977, Jones and several hundred Temple members moved to the Temple's "Agricultural Project" in Guyana after they learned of the contents of Kilduff's article to be published in which former Temple members claimed they were physically, emotionally, and sexually abused. Jones named the settlement Jonestown after himself.
Jonestown's formation and operation
Jones had first started building Jonestown in 1974 as a means to create both a "socialist paradise" and a "sanctuary" from the media scrutiny which had started in 1972. Regarding the former goal, Jones purported to establish Jonestown as a benevolent model communist community stating, "I believe we’re the purest communists there are." In that regard, like the restrictive emigration policies of the then Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea and other communist republics, Jones did not permit members to leave Jonestown.Religious scholar Mary McCormick Maaga argues that Jones' authority decreased after he moved to the isolated commune, because he was not needed for recruitment and he could not hide his drug addiction from rank and file members. In spite of the allegations prior to Jones' departure to Jonestown, the leader was still respected by some for setting up a racially mixed church which helped the disadvantaged; 68 percent of Jonestown's residents were black.
New children
Jim Jones claimed that he was the biological father of John Victor Stoen, although the birth certificate lists Grace and Timothy Stoen as the parents of the boy. The Temple repeatedly claimed that Jones fathered the child when, in 1971, Temple member Tim Stoen had requested that Jones have sex with Grace Stoen to keep her from defecting. After Grace Stoen later defected in 1976 and began divorce proceedings against Tim Stoen in 1977, in order to avoid potentially giving up the boy in a custody dispute with Grace, Jones ordered Tim to take John to Guyana in February 1977.After purported father Tim Stoen defected from the Temple in June 1977, the Temple kept John Stoen in Jonestown. The custody dispute over John Stoen would become a linchpin of several battles between the Temple and the Concerned Relatives.
Jim Jones also fathered a son, Jim Jon (Kimo), with Carolyn Louise Moore Layton, a Temple member.
Pressure and waning political support
While most of Jones' political allies broke ties after Jones' departure, some did not. As a show of support, Willie Brown spoke out against enemies at a rally at the Peoples Temple, also attended by Harvey Milk and Art Agnos. Most importantly for Jones and the Temple, Moscone's office shortly thereafter issued a press release saying that Jones had broken no laws. In the Fall of 1977, Tim Stoen and other relatives in Jonestown formed a "Concerned Relatives" group. Stoen traveled to Washington D.C. in January 1978 to visit with Congressmen, including Leo Ryan and State Department officials, and wrote a "white paper" to Congress detailing the dispute and pressing for Congressional correspondence. Stoen's efforts aroused the curiosity of Ryan, who wrote a letter on Stoen's behalf to Guyanese Prime Minister Forbes Burnham.Amidst growing pressure in the United States to investigate the Temple, on February 19, 1978, Harvey Milk wrote a letter of support for the Peoples Temple to President Jimmy Carter. Therein, Milk wrote that Jones was known "as a man of the highest character." In June 1978, escaped Temple member Deborah Layton provided the group with a further affidavit detailing alleged crimes by the Peoples Temple and substandard living conditions in Jonestown. Jones told Lane he wanted to "pull an Eldridge Cleaver", referring to a fugitive Black Panther who was able to return to the United States after repairing his reputation. Ryan's delegation included relatives of Temple members, Don Harris, an NBC network news reporter, an NBC cameraman and reporters for various newspapers. The group arrived in Georgetown on November 15. The delegation left hurriedly the afternoon of November 18 after Temple member Don Sly attacked Ryan with a knife. The attack was thwarted, bringing the visit to an abrupt end. At that time, Jones made no attempt to prevent their departure.
Port Kaituma Airstrip shootings
As members of Ryan's delegation boarded two planes at the airstrip, Jones' "Red Brigade" armed guards arrived in a tractor-pulled trailer and began shooting at the delegation. The guards killed Congressman Ryan and four others near a twin engine Otter aircraft. At the same time, one of the supposed defectors, Larry Layton, drew a weapon and began firing on members of the party that had already boarded a small Cessna. An NBC cameraman was able to capture footage of the first few seconds of the shooting at the Otter.
Deaths in Jonestown
Later that same day, 909 inhabitants of Jonestown, 303 of them children, died of apparent cyanide poisoning, mostly in and around a pavilion. This resulted in the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the September 11, 2001 attacks. No video was taken during the mass suicide, though the FBI did recover a 45 minute audio recording of the suicide in progress.On that tape, Jones tells Temple members that the Soviet Union, with whom the Temple had been negotiating a potential exodus for months, would not take them after the Temple had murdered Ryan and four others at a nearby airstrip. Mass suicide had been previously discussed in simulated events called "White Nights" on a regular basis. During at least one such prior White Night, members drank liquid that Jones falsely told them was poison. However, Jones' son Stephan believes his father may have directed someone else to shoot him. An autopsy of Jones' body also showed levels of the barbiturate Pentobarbital which may have been lethal to humans who had not developed physiological tolerance. Jones' drug usage (including LSD and marijuana) was confirmed by his son, Stephan, and Jones' doctor in San Francisco.
Other issues
On December 13, 1973, Jones was arrested and charged with soliciting a man for sex in a movie theater bathroom known for homosexual activity, in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles. The man was an undercover Los Angeles Police Department vice officer. Jones is on record as later telling his followers that he was "the only true heterosexual", but at least one account exists of his sexual abuse of a male member of his congregation in front of the followers, ostensibly to prove the man's own homosexual tendencies. Jones, however, claimed that he detested engaging in homosexual activity and did so only for the male temple adherents' own good, purportedly to connect them symbolically with him (Jones). Jones had borrowed the term "revolutionary suicide" On the final morning of Ryan's visit, Marceline had taken reporters on a tour of Jonestown.Found near Marceline Jones' body was a signed and witnessed will leaving all bank accounts "in my name" to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and writing that Suzanne Jones Cartmell should receive no assets.
Stephan, Jim Jr. and Tim Jones
Stephan, Jim Jr., and Tim Jones did not take part in the mass suicide because they were playing with the Peoples Temple basketball team against the Guyanese national team in Georgetown. At the time of events in Jonestown, Stephan and Tim were both nineteen and Jim Jones Jr. was eighteen. Tim's biological family, the Tuppers, which consisted of his three biological sisters, biological brother, and biological mother, all died at Jonestown. Three days before the tragedy, Stephan Jones refused, over the radio, to comply with an order by his father to return the team to Jonestown for Ryan's visit.During the events at Jonestown, Stephan, Tim, and Jim Jones Jr. drove to the American Embassy in Guyana in an attempt to receive help. The Guyanese soldiers guarding the embassy refused to let them in after hearing about the shootings at the Port Kaituma airstrip. Later, the three returned to the Temple's headquarters in Georgetown to find the bodies of Sharon Amos and her three children. Stephan Jones is now a businessman, and married with three daughters. He appeared in the documentary Jonestown: Paradise Lost which aired on the History Channel and Discovery Channel. He stated he will not watch the documentary and has never grieved for his father. Jim Jones Jr., who lost his wife and unborn child at Jonestown, returned to San Francisco. He remarried and has three sons from this marriage,
Lew, Agnes and Suzanne Jones
Lew and Agnes Jones both died at Jonestown. Agnes Jones was thirty-five years old at the time of her death. Her husband and four children all died at Jonestown. Lew Jones, who was twenty-one years old at the time of his death, died alongside his wife Terry and son Chaeoke. Stephanie Jones had died at age five in a car accident. In a signed note found at the time of her death, Marceline Jones directed that the Jones' funds were to be given to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and specified: "I especially request that none of these are allowed to get into the hands of my adopted daughter, Suzanne Jones Cartmell." Cartmell had two children and died of colon cancer in November 2006.
John Stoen and Kimo
Specific references to Tim Stoen, the father of John Stoen, including the logistics of possibly murdering him, are made on the Temple's final "death tape," as well as a discussion over whether the Temple should include John Stoen among those committing "revolutionary suicide." At Jonestown, John Stoen was found poisoned in Jim Jones' cabin.Both Jim Jon (Kimo) and his mother, Carolyn Layton, died during the events at Jonestown.
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
Category:1931 births Category:1978 deaths Category:American atheists Category:American communists Category:American Disciples of Christ Category:American socialists Category:Anti-racism Category:Bisexual people Category:Butler University alumni Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) clergy Category:American Christians Category:Deaths by firearm in Guyana Category:Faith healers Category:Founders of religions Category:History of Guyana Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:Members of the Communist Party USA Category:People from Randolph County, Indiana Category:People from Richmond, Indiana Category:Peoples Temple Category:Religious people who committed suicide Category:Suicides in Guyana
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Janet Jackson
| Name | Janet Jackson |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Janet Damita Jo Jackson |
| Born | May 16, 1966Gary, Indiana, United States |
| Genre | R&B;, pop, dance |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, actress |
| Instrument | Vocals, keyboards |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Label | A&M;, Virgin, Island |
| Url |
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first performed on stage with her family at the age of seven, and started her career as an actress with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976. She went on to appear in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times and Fame.
At age sixteen in 1982, she signed a recording contract with A&M; and released her self-titled debut. She faced criticism for her limited vocal range, and for being yet another member of the Jackson family to become a recording artist. Beginning with her third studio album Control (1986), she began a long-term collaboration with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Her music with Jam and Lewis incorporated elements of rhythm and blues, disco, funk, rock and rap with sample loop, triplet swing and industrial beats, which led to crossover appeal in popular music. In addition to receiving recognition for the innovation in her albums, choreography, music videos, and prominence on MTV, Jackson was acknowledged as a role model for her socially conscious lyrics.
In 1991, she signed the first of two record-breaking, multi-million dollar contracts with Virgin Records, establishing her as one of the highest paid artists in the industry. Her debut album under the Virgin label, Janet (1993), saw Jackson develop a public image as a sex symbol as she began to explore sexuality in her work. That same year, she appeared in her first starring film role in Poetic Justice. By the end of the 1990s, she was named the second most successful recording artist of the decade. All for You (2001), became her fifth consecutive studio album to hit number one on the Billboard 200 album charts. In 2007, she changed labels, signing with Island Records and released her tenth studio album Discipline the following year. Why Did I Get Married (2007) marked a concentrated effort for her to return to acting, followed by its sequel and For Colored Girls in 2010.
Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, Jackson is ranked as one of the best-selling artists in the history of contemporary music. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) lists her as the eleventh best-selling female artist in the United States, with 26 million certified albums. She has amassed an extensive catalog of hits, with singles such as "Nasty", "Rhythm Nation", "That's the Way Love Goes", "Together Again" and "All for You" among her most iconic. In 2008, Billboard released its list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, ranking her at number seven. In 2010, the magazine announced the "Top 50 R&B; / Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years", ranking her at number five. Her longevity, records and achievements reflect her influence in shaping and redefining the scope of popular music. She has been cited as an inspiration among numerous performers.
Life and career
1966–82: Childhood and television work
Janet Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, the youngest of ten children, to Katherine Esther (née Scruse) and Joseph Walter Jackson. The Jacksons were lower-middle class and devout Jehovah's Witnesses; Jackson stated that although she was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, she eventually stopped practicing organized religion and views her relationship with God as "one-on-one". By the time Jackson was a toddler, her older brothers—Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael—were performing music at nightclubs and theaters as The Jackson 5. In March 1969, the group signed a record deal with Motown, and by the end of the year they had recorded the first of four consecutive number one singles. The Jackson 5's success allowed the family to move to the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1971, where they settled in a gated mansion called Hayvenhurst.
1982–85: Early recordings
Although Jackson was initially apprehensive about starting a music career, she agreed to participate in recording sessions with her family. The first of these, a duet with her brother Randy titled "Love Song for Kids", took place in 1978. When she was sixteen, her father arranged a contract for her with A&M; Records.Jackson's second album, Dream Street, was released two years later. Her father recruited her brothers to help produce the album: Marlon co-wrote two of the album's tracks, while Tito, Jackie and Michael provided background vocals. In late 1984, Jackson eloped with childhood friend and fellow R&B; singer James DeBarge. They divorced shortly afterwards, and the marriage was annulled in mid-1985. In 1985 Jackson joined her sister, La Toya, as a chorist under La Toya's number "Baby Sister" at the Yamaha Music Festival where they ended up with a silver medallion and an "Outstanding Song Award".
1986–88: Control
Following the release of Dream Street, Jackson decided to separate her business affairs from her family. She later commented, "I just wanted to get out of the house, get out from under my father, which was one of the most difficult things that I had to do, telling him that I didn't want to work with him again." Jackson recalled that during the recording of the album, she was threatened by a group of men outside of her hotel in Minneapolis. She stated that "[t]he danger hit home when a couple of guys started stalking me on the street ... Instead of running to Jimmy or Terry for protection, I took a stand. I backed them down. That's how songs like 'Nasty' and 'What Have You Done for Me Lately' were born, out of a sense of self-defense." Jam commented, "[w]e wanted to do an album that would be in every black home in America ... we were going for the black album of all time." Los Angeles Times critic Connie Johnson wrote: "Though still a teen-ager, this singer's stance is remarkably nervy and mature. She has a snotty sort of assurance that permeates several cuts, plus the musical muscle to back it up." The Newsweek review of Control noted that the album was "an alternative to the sentimental balladry and opulent arrangements of Patti LaBelle and Whitney Houston." Rob Hoerburger of Rolling Stone asserted, "Control is a better album than Diana Ross has made in five years and puts Janet in a position similar to the young Donna Summer's—unwilling to accept novelty status and taking her own steps to rise above it." Five of the album's singles—"What Have You Done for Me Lately", "Nasty", "When I Think of You", "Control", and "Let's Wait Awhile"—peaked within the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. "When I Think of You" became Jackson's first single to peak at number one. "The Pleasure Principle" became a top 20 hit, peaking at number fourteen. It won four American Music Awards, from twelve nominations—a record that has yet to be broken—and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1987 Grammy Awards. Musicologist Richard J. Ripani Ph.D., author of The New Blue Music: Changes in Rhythm & Blues, 1950–1999 (2006), observed that the album was one of the first successful records to influence the rise of new jack swing by creating a fusion of R&B;, rap, funk, disco and synthesized percussion. The success of Control, according to Ripani, bridged the gap between R&B; and rap music. She stated, "I'm not naive—I know an album or a song can't change the world. I just want my music and my dance to catch the audience's attention, and to hold it long enough for them to listen to the lyrics and what we're saying." Producer Jimmy Jam told The Boston Globe, "We would always have a TV turned on, usually to CNN ... And I think the social slant of songs like Rhythm Nation, State of the World and The Knowledge came from that." Rolling Stone magazine's Vince Aletti observed Jackson shifted from "personal freedom to more universal concerns—injustice, illiteracy, crime, drugs—without missing a beat."
Peaking at number one on the Billboard 200, the album was later certified six times platinum and eventually sold over fourteen million copies worldwide. The corresponding music video for "Rhythm Nation" won the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video. Billboard named Rhythm Nation 1814 the number-one selling album of the year in 1990, winning multiple music awards. The Rhythm Nation World Tour, Jackson's first world tour in support of a studio album, became the most successful debut tour by any recording artist. As Jackson began her tour, she was acknowledged for the cultural impact of her music. Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote "the 23-year-old has been making smash hit records for four years, becoming a fixture on MTV and a major role model to teenage girls across the country", and William Allen, then-executive vice president of the United Negro College Fund, told the Los Angeles Times, "Jackson is a role model for all young people to emulate and the message she has gotten to the young people of this country through the lyrics of 'Rhythm Nation 1814' is having positive effects." She established the "Rhythm Nation Scholarship" as a joint venture with the United Negro College Fund, as well as donating funds from her concert tour to other educational programs, raising over $1/2 million dollars to fund educational projects. Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge (2000) documented that Jackson's success during this time period placed her on par with several other recording artists, including her older brother Michael Jackson, Madonna and Tina Turner.
With the release of Rhythm Nation 1814, Jackson fulfilled her contract with A&M; Records. In 1991, after being approached personally by Virgin Records owner Richard Branson, she signed a highly publicized multi-million dollar contract with the label. The contract value was estimated between $32–50 million, and she became the highest paid female recording artist in contemporary music. That same year, she secretly entered into her second marriage with long-term friend—dancer, songwriter and director René Elizondo, Jr.
1993–96: Janet, Poetic Justice and Design of a Decade 1986/1996
cupping her breasts.]] In August 1992, after completing work on Poetic Justice, Jackson set out to plan on recording her first album for Virgin Records. Recording sessions for the album began in September 1992, commencing in the first quarter of 1993. In May 1993, Jackson's fifth studio album Janet, was released and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Billboard magazine's Larry Flick noted she "also broadens her musical scope on 'janet.' by layering deep house, swing jazz, hip hop, rock, and Caribbean elements on top of a radio-minded jack/funk foundation." Rolling Stone wrote: "As princess of America's black royal family, everything Janet Jackson does is important. Whether proclaiming herself in charge of her life, as she did on Control (1986), or commander in chief of a rhythm army dancing to fight society's problems (Rhythm Nation 1814, from 1989), she's influential. And when she announces her sexual maturity, as she does on her new album, Janet., it's a cultural moment." The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) commented that the album's number one hit single "That's the Way Love Goes"—winner of the 1994 Grammy Award for Best R&B; Song—and the top 10 singles "If", "Because of Love", "You Want This", and "Any Time, Any Place", all contained "grown-up desires". Janet was certified six times platinum by the RIAA, with worldwide sales exceeding twenty million copies.In July 1993, Jackson made her film debut in Poetic Justice. Rolling Stone described her performance as "a beguiling film debut" despite her inexperience, while The Washington Post considered her "believably eccentric". Several reviews were also negative, as Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly noted she "isn't an inept actress, yet there are no more edges to her personality than there are to her plastic Kewpie-doll visage." Jackson's ballad "Again" was featured in the film, and she received her first Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song. In September 1993, Jackson appeared topless on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine with the hands of her then-husband René Elizondo, Jr. covering her breasts. The photograph is the original full-length version of the cropped image used on the cover of the Janet album, shot by Patrick Demarchelier. Sonia Murray of The Vancouver Sun later reported, "Jackson, 27, remains clearly established as both role model and sex symbol; the Rolling Stone photo of Jackson ... became one of the most recognizable, and most lampooned, magazine covers of the year." David Ritz likened her transformation to Marvin Gaye, stating "[j]ust as Gaye moved from What's Going On to Let's Get It On, from the austere to the ecstatic, Janet, every bit as serious-minded as Marvin, moved from Rhythm Nation to janet., her statement of sexual liberation." Her second world tour—the Janet World Tour—garnered critical acclaim as Michael Snyder of the San Francisco Chronicle described Jackson's stage performance as erasing the line between "stadium-size pop music concerts and full-scale theatrical extravaganzas."
During this time period, Jackson's brother Michael was immersed in a child sex abuse scandal, of which he denied any wrongdoing. She gave moral support to her brother, and denied allegations made by her sister La Toya Jackson in her book (1991) that their parents had abused her and her siblings as children. In addition, she criticized her brother Jermaine for attacking Michael in his 1991 single "Word to the Badd". The song debuted at number five on the Hot 100 singles chart, becoming the first song ever to debut in the top 5. "Scream" is featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the "Most Expensive Music Video Ever Made" at a cost of $7 million, which was filmed in May 1995. Jackson and her brother won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video for "Scream". Design of a Decade 1986/1996 was certified two times platinum by the RIAA and sold over four million copies worldwide. Jackson's influence in popular music continued to garner recognition, as Steve Morse of The Boston Globe remarked: "If you're talking about the female power elite in pop, you can't get much higher than Janet Jackson, Bonnie Raitt, Madonna and Yoko Ono. Their collective influence ... is beyond measure. And who could dispute that Janet Jackson now has more credibility than brother Michael?" In January 1996, Jackson renewed her contract with Virgin Records for a reported $80 million dollars. The contract established her as the then-highest paid recording artist in contemporary music, surpassing the recording industry's then-unparalleled $60 million dollar contracts earned by her brother, Michael Jackson, and Madonna.
1997–99: The Velvet Rope
During the two year period prior to the release of her sixth studio album, The Velvet Rope, Jackson reportedly suffered from depression and anxiety. Larry Flick of Billboard called The Velvet Rope "[t]he best American album of the year and the most empowering of her last five." Released in October 1997, The Velvet Rope debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The single sampled the Joni Mitchell song "Big Yellow Taxi", and featured a cameo appearance by rapper Q-Tip. "Got 'til It's Gone" won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. The single spent a record 46 weeks on the Hot 100, as well as spending 19 weeks on the UK singles chart. Rolling Stone regarded "Free Xone" as the album's "best song", describing it as an "anti-homophobia track [which] shifts moods and tempos on a dime, segueing from a Prince-like jam to a masterful sample from Archie Bell and the Drells' 'Tighten Up'." The Velvet Rope was honored by the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum, and received the award for Outstanding Music Album at the 9th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.In 1998, Jackson began The Velvet Rope World Tour, an international trek that included Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand and Australia. Robert Hilburn of The Los Angeles Times reported, "[t]here is so much of the ambition and glamour of a Broadway musical in Janet Jackson's new Velvet Rope tour that it's only fitting that the concert program credits her as the show's 'creator and director'." Her HBO special, The Velvet Rope: Live in Madison Square Garden, was watched by more than fifteen million viewers. The two hour concert beat the ratings of all four major networks in homes that were subscribed to HBO. The HBO concert special was awarded four Emmy nominations including one win. Jackson donated a portion of her concert ticket sales to America's Promise, a non-profit organization designed by Colin Powell to assist disenfranchised youth.
The following month, Jackson separated from Elizondo Jr. As her world tour came to a close in 1999, Jackson lent guest vocals to a number of songs by other artists, including Shaggy's "Luv Me, Luv Me", for the soundtrack to How Stella Got Her Groove Back, "God's Stepchild" from the Down on the Delta soundtrack, "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" with BLACKstreet, and "What's It Gonna Be?!" with Busta Rhymes. She also performed a duet with Elton John for the song "I Know the Truth". At the 1999 World Music Awards, Jackson received the Legend Award alongside Cher for "lifelong contribution to the music industry and outstanding contribution to the pop industry." As 1999 ended, Billboard magazine ranked Jackson as the second most successful artist of the decade, behind Mariah Carey.
2000–03: Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and All for You
In July 2000, Jackson appeared in her second film, , as Professor Denise Gaines, opposite Eddie Murphy. The film became her second to open at number one at the box office, grossing an estimated $42.7 million dollars in its opening weekend. Her contribution to the film's soundtrack, "Doesn't Really Matter", became her ninth number one Billboard Hot 100 single. In the same year, Jackson's husband filed for divorce. Jeff Gordinier of Entertainment Weekly reported that for eight of the thirteen years she and Elizondo had known one another, "[they] were married—a fact they managed to hide not only from the international press but from Jackson's own father." Elizondo filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against her, estimated between $10–25 million; they did not reach a settlement until 2003.Jackson was awarded a top honor from the American Music Awards—the Award of Merit—in March 2001 for "her finely crafted, critically acclaimed and socially conscious, multi-platinum albums." She became the inaugural honoree of the "mtvICON" award, "an annual recognition of artists who have made significant contributions to music, music video and pop culture while tremendously impacting the MTV generation." Jackson's seventh album, All for You, was released in April 2001, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic stated "[Jackson's] created a record that's luxurious and sensual, spreading leisurely over its 70 minutes, luring you in even when you know better", and Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented, "[a]s other rhythm and blues strips down to match the angularity of hip-hop, Ms. Jackson luxuriates in textures as dizzying as a new infatuation."
The album's title-track, "All for You", debuted on the Hot 100 at number fourteen, the highest debut ever for a single that was not commercially available. Teri VanHorn of MTV dubbed Jackson "Queen of Radio" as the single made radio airplay history, "[being] added to every pop, rhythmic and urban radio station that reports to the national trade magazine Radio & Records" in its first week. It received the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. All for You was certified double platinum by the RIAA and sold more than nine million copies worldwide.
in July 2001.]] Jackson's All for You Tour began in July, 2001. Los Angeles Times' pop music critic Robert Hilburn gave a negative review of the concert tour, comparing it unfavorably to Madonna's Drowned World Tour and Britney Spears' Dream Within a Dream Tour. Hilburn remarked: "At 35, Jackson is only eight years younger than Madonna, but her presentation feels more akin to Britney Spears'. Madonna knows how to dig beneath the surface; Jackson lives on it." Hilburns' review sparked backlash from those who felt Jackson gave the superior performance. David Massey commented that "Janet outdid the Material Girl by a mile ... And the gall to bring Britney Spears' name into the picture by saying Janet's show is like Britney's? Hello, it's the other way around!" Similarly, Rudy Scalese complimented Jackson's performance, stating: "Janet Jackson hasn't skipped a beat. She is still the Queen of Pop."
In 2002, Jackson collaborated with reggae singer Beenie Man on the song "Feel It Boy". She later admitted regret over the collaboration after discovering Beenie Man's music often contained homophobic lyrics, and soon issued an apology to her gay fans in an article published in The Voice. Jackson also began her relationship with record producer Jermaine Dupri that same year.
2004–05: Super Bowl XXXVIII and Damita Jo
For the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in February 2004, Jackson performed a medley of her singles "All for You" and "Rhythm Nation"; she then performed alongside Justin Timberlake. As Timberlake sang the lyric "gonna have you naked by the end of this song" from his single "Rock Your Body", he tore open her top, exposing her right breast. After the performance, Jackson apologized, calling it an accident, and said that Timberlake was supposed to pull away the bustier and leave the red-lace bra intact. She further commented, "I am really sorry if I offended anyone. That was truly not my intention ... MTV, CBS, the NFL had no knowledge of this whatsoever, and unfortunately, the whole thing went wrong in the end." Timberlake also issued an apology, calling the accident a "wardrobe malfunction". Jackson was later listed in the 2007 edition of Guinness World Records as "Most Searched in Internet History" and the "Most Searched for News Item". CBS, the NFL, and MTV (CBS's sister network, which produced the halftime show), denied any knowledge of, and all responsibility for, the incident. Still, the Federal Communications Commission continued an investigation, ultimately losing its appeal for a $550,000 fine against CBS.
As a result of the incident, CBS would only allow Jackson and Timberlake to appear during the 46th Grammy Awards ceremony if they each made a public apology to the network, without attributing the incident to a "wardrobe malfunction". Timberlake issued an apology, but Jackson refused. Jermaine Dupri resigned from his position on the Grammy Awards committee as a result. The controversy halted plans for Jackson to star in a made-for-TV biopic on the life on singer Lena Horne for ABC-TV. Though Horne was reportedly displeased by the Super Bowl incident and insisted that ABC pull Jackson from the project, according to Jackson's representatives, she withdrew from the project willingly.
In March 2004, Jackson's eighth studio album, Damita Jo (Jackson's middle name), was released debuting at number two on the Billboard 200. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine referred to the album as "the aural equivalent of hardcore pornography—it leaves nothing to the imagination and it's endlessly repetitive." Alternatively, a review by Ann Powers of Blender magazine asserted: "Artfully structured, unapologetically explicit, Damita Jo is erotica at its friendliest and most well-balanced. This hour-plus of Tantric flow even erases the memory of Jackson’s clunky Super Bowl breast-baring." By the end of the month it was certified platinum by the RIAA, and eventually sold over three million albums worldwide. Although the album debuted at number two, its four singles all failed to become top 40 hits. Keith Caulfield of Billboard commented, "[f]or a singles artist like Jackson, who has racked up 27 top 10 Hot 100 singles in her career, including 10 No. 1s, this could probably be considered a disappointment."
Jackson appeared as a host of Saturday Night Live on April 10, 2004 and also appeared as a guest star on the television sitcom Will & Grace portraying herself. In November 2004, Jackson was honored as an African-American role model by 100 Black Men of America, Inc., who presented her with the "organization's Artistic Achievement Award saluting 'a career that has gone from success to greater success'." Though the New York Amsterdam News reported "[t]here were a number of attendees who expressed dismay over presenting an award to the 38-year-old performer" because of the Super Bowl incident, the organization's President Paul Williams responded, "[a]n individual's worth can't be judged by a single moment in that person's life." In June 2005, she was honored with a Humanitarian Award by the Human Rights Campaign and AIDS Project Los Angeles, in recognition of her work and involvement in raising money for AIDS charities.
2006–07: 20 Y.O. and Why Did I Get Married?
]] To promote her ninth studio album, 20 Y.O., Jackson appeared on the cover of Us Weekly in June 2006, which became one of the magazine's best-selling issues. Virgin Records released 20 Y.O. in September 2006, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. Rolling Stone magazine's Evan Serpick remarked "[t]he title of Janet Jackson's latest album refers to the two decades since she released her breakthrough, Control, with hits like 'Nasty' and 'What Have You Done for Me Lately.' If we were her, we wouldn't make the comparison." However, Glenn Gamboa of Newsday gave the album a positive rating, stating that "[o]n '20 Y.O.' she skips all that drama of breaking free and asserting herself. She also keeps most of the tie-me-up, tie-me-down sexual raunch of her recent albums in the closet. This album is all about dancing and returning to her R&B; roots."The album's lead single "Call on Me", a duet with rapper Nelly, peaked at number twenty-five on the Hot 100. Billboard magazine reported the release of 20 Y.O. satisfied Jackson's contract with Virgin Records; Jermaine Dupri, who co-produced 20 Y.O., left his position as head of urban music at Virgin following the "disappointing performance" of Jackson's album.
In January 2007, Jackson was ranked the seventh richest woman in the entertainment business by Forbes magazine, having amassed a fortune of over $150 million. Later that year, she starred opposite Tyler Perry as a psychotherapist named Patrica in the feature film Why Did I Get Married?. It became her third consecutive film to open at number one at the box office, grossing $21.4 million in its first week. Variety magazine's Ronnie Scheib described Jackson's performance as charming, yet bland, while Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe commented that Jackson portrayed her character with "soft authority". In February 2008, Jackson won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her role.
2008–09: Discipline, death of Michael Jackson and Number Ones
In July 2007, Jackson changed labels and signed a record contract with Island Records. Her tenth studio album, Discipline, was released in February 2008, debuting on the Billboard 200 at number one. Andy Kellman of Allmusic expressed: "Janet probably won't hit that late-'80s peak again, but that is no excuse to write her off." Her single, "Feedback", peaked at number nineteen on the Hot 100. That same month, she and her record label parted ways through mutual agreement. Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins, who produced the album expressed, "I felt like it wasn't pushed correctly ... She just didn't get her just-do as an artist of that magnitude." In the fourteen months she was associated with Island, her record had sold 449,000 copies and did not receive RIAA certification. Billboard reported that because of Jackson's dissatisfaction with her album's promotion, "the label agreed to dissolve their relationship with the artist at her request."In June 2009, Jackson's brother Michael died at age 50. At the 2009 BET Awards, she spoke publicly for the first time concerning his death, stating "I'd just like to say, to you, Michael is an icon, to us, Michael is family. And he will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much." In an exclusive interview with Harper's Bazaar, she revealed she had first learned of her brother's death while filming on location in Atlanta for Why Did I Get Married Too?. Amidst the public and private mourning with her family, she focused on work to deal with the grief, avoiding any news coverage of her sibling's death; she stated "[i]t's still important to face reality, and not that I'm running, but sometimes you just need to get away for a second." During this time, she also ended her seven year relationship with Jermaine Dupri. MTV General Manager Stephen Friedman stated: "We felt there was no one better than Janet to anchor it and send a really powerful message." She worked with several world renowned choreographers, with her personal creative director, Gil Duldulao, coordinating the performance.
Her single, "Make Me", was released following the VMA performance initially as an audio stream on her official web site, and was later made available for digital download. Soon after its release, the single became Jackson's 19th number one Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Later that month, Jackson chaired the inaugural benefit of amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, held in Milan in conjunction with fashion week. CEO Kevin Robert Frost commented, "[w]e are profoundly grateful to Janet Jackson for joining amfAR as a chair of its first event in Milan ... She brings incomparable grace and a history of dedication to the fight against AIDS." One of the signature pieces sold for the auction was a pair of crystal-studded boots her brother Michael had intended to wear for the This Is It concert tour, which sold for $14,650. The event raised a total of $1.1 million for the nonprofit organization. She stated, "I'd just like to thank everyone here in the global fashion community who've done so much to help amfAR and to support HIV/AIDS research." Her second greatest hits compilation, Number Ones—titled The Best outside of the United States—was released in November, 2009 as a joint venture between Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) and EMI Music. It debuted at number twenty-two on the Billboard 200, selling 37,000 copies in its first week of release.
She performed as the opening act for the 37th annual American Music Awards and as one of the performing acts of the Capital FM December 2009 Jingle Bell Ball at the London O2 arena.
2010–present: Why Did I Get Married Too?, For Colored Girls, True You and 2011 Tour
In April, 2010, Jackson reprised her role in Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? sequel, Why Did I Get Married Too? The film earned $30.1 million at the box office its opening weekend, debuting at number two. Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe expressed the overall experience of the film to be "120 minutes of emotional Stairmaster" and added that "watching a hysterical—and hysterically coiffed—Janet Jackson redecorate a house with a golf club burns 500 calories. Mike Hale of The New York Times referred to her performance as "invigorating and oddly funny" while Jackie K. Cooper of The Huffington Post comments "[s]he is very impressive at times and less so at others. She does show a willingness to be seen at her most disheveled." Her performance earned a nomination for the 2011 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture. She recorded the lead single for the film's soundtrack entitled, "Nothing", which was released prior to the film's debut. In May 2010, she appeared on the season finale of American Idol, where she performed "Again", "Nothing", and "Nasty".Jackson headlined the 2010 Essence Music Festival alongside Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige. According to the Associated Press, "Janet Jackson enthralled the Essence Music Festival audience Friday, kept them on their feet for more than two hours and reminded fans why seeing her in concert was worth waiting two years." In July 2010, Jackson became a spokeswoman for fur label American Legend Cooperative's Blackglama "What Becomes a Legend Most" campaign, previously endorsed by celebrities such as Lena Horne, Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall and Diana Ross. According to the company's press release, she was selected as the campaign's latest "Legend" because she "is an icon in the world of music and entertainment, a true legend. She represents everything that this storied campaign embodies. Janet is to entertainment what Blackglama is to luxury." In August, 2010, UMe reissued her Number Ones as part of the debut of the Icon series of "[compilation] albums featuring the greatest hits, signature tunes and fan favorites of the most popular artists in music history."
In November, 2010, she starred as Joanna in the drama For Colored Girls, Tyler Perry's film adaptation of Ntozake Shange's play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1975). Christopher John Farley of The Wall Street Journal complimented her performance, stating that "[she] recites verses written by Ntozake Shange, the author of the play that inspired the film ... But instead of offering up a mannered coffeehouse reading of the lines, Jackson makes the words sound like ordinary—though very eloquent—speech." Matt Zoller Seitz of Salon.com said she "outdoes herself here—especially in the scene where she confronts her husband over his secret life ... It's not just Jackson's short haircut and traumatized eyes that might remind viewers of Jane Wyman or Joan Crawford; Perry gets at the mix of masculine hyper-competitiveness and feminine vulnerability that has always defined Jackson, and links it to the wily, lonely coldness often captured in Wyman and Crawford performances, a directorial gambit of tremendous perceptiveness." Manohla Dargis of The New York Times commented: "Ms. Jackson is, to put it gently, an actress of limited expression. But her quiet presence has force, partly because of her eerie resemblance to her brother Michael, though also because her character’s brittle hauteur, self-involved privilege and artificiality has—like the martyrs in ermine played by the likes of Lana Turner—its own weird truth." A number of critics have compared her portrayal of Jo to Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. Her performance earned her nominations for the 2011 Black Reel Awards in the categories for and .
On November 18, in an exclusive interview with AOL Music's '"The Boombox", Jackson announced plans to go on her "largest ever world tour" in 2011, supporting her second greatest hits collection, Number Ones. The tour, entitled , will hold concerts in 35 global cities.
Musical style and performance
Jackson has a mezzo-soprano 3 octave vocal range. Many critics have observed she has never been considered a strong vocalist, noting her voice is often enveloped by the production of her music. David Ritz of Rolling Stone magazine commented, "[h]er wispy voice was a pale echo of Michael's, but on Janet's albums—and in her videos and live performances, which revealed a crisp, athletic dance technique not unlike her brother's—singing wasn't the point", commenting that importance was instead placed on "[h]er slamming beats, infectious hooks, and impeccable production values." Classical composer Louis Andriessen has also praised Jackson for her "rubato, sense of rhythm, sensitivity, and the childlike quality of her strangely erotic voice." Ritz compared Jackson's musical style to that of Marvin Gaye, stating, "[l]ike Marvin, autobiography seemed the sole source of her music. Her art, also like Marvin's, floated over a reservoir of secret pain." Sal Cinquemani wrote that in addition to defining Top 40 radio, she "gave Prince's Minneapolis sound a distinctly feminine—and, with songs like 'What Have You Done for Me Lately?,' 'Nasty,' 'Control,' and 'Let's Wait Awhile,' a distinctly feminist—spin."Jackson has credited her older brothers Michael and Jermaine as her primary musical influences. She describes actress/singer Lena Horne as a profound inspiration, not only in her own career, but for black entertainers across multiple generations. Upon Horne's death in 2010, she stated "[Horne] brought much joy into everyone's lives—even the younger generations, younger than myself. She was such a great talent. She opened up such doors for artists like myself." She considers herself "a very big Joni Mitchell fan", explaining: "As a kid I was drawn to Joni Mitchell records ... Along with Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, Joni's songs spoke to me in an intimate, personal way." She has also expressed reverence for Tina Turner, stating: "Tina has become a heroic figure for many people, especially women, because of her tremendous strength. Personally, Tina doesn't seem to have a beginning or an end in my life. I felt her music was always there, and I feel like it always will be." She has also named other socially conscious acts, such as Tracy Chapman and U2 as sources of inspiration.
Jackson's music has encompassed a broad range of genres, including R&B;, soul, disco, hip hop, rap, pop, rock, and dance music. Qadree EI-Amin, Jackson's former personal manager, commented, "[s]he's bigger than Barbra Streisand because Streisand can't appeal to the street crowd, as Janet does. But Streisand's rich, elite crowd loves Janet Jackson." Richard Rischar in "A Vision of Love: An Etiquette of Vocal Ornamentation in African-American Popular Ballads of the Early 1990s" notes that "[t]he black pop ballad of the mid-1980s had been dominated by the vocal and production style that was smooth and polished, led by singers Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, and James Ingram." She continued her musical development by blending contemporary urban sound with hip hop in the 1990s. This included a softer representation of R&B;, articulated by lush soulful ballads and up-tempo dance beats. Her material from the 2000s has been viewed less favorably, as Sal Cinquemani comments that "[e]xcept for maybe R.E.M., no other former superstar act has been as prolific with such diminishing commercial and creative returns." Much of her success has been attributed to "a series of powerful, metallic grooves; her chirpy, multi-tracked vocals; and a lyrical philosophy built on pride and self-knowledge." David Ritz stated: "The mystery is the low flame that burns around the perimeters of Janet Jackson's soul. The flame feeds off the most highly combustible elements: survival and ambition, caution and creativity, supreme confidence and dark fear." Gillian G. Gaar, author of She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll (2002), described Control as "an autobiographical tale about her life with her parents, her first marriage, and breaking free."
On Janet, Jackson began to deal primarily with sexual themes. In You've Come A Long Way, Baby: Women, Politics, and Popular Culture (1996), Lilly J. Goren observed that "Jackson's evolution from politically aware musician to sexy diva marked the direction that society and the music industry were encouraging the dance-rock divas to pursue." Jackson explained the recurring themes on her later albums by saying, "I love love and I love sex." She stated during promotion for Janet, "I love feeling deeply sexual—and don't mind letting the world know. For me, sex has become a celebration, a joyful part of the creative process." Stephen Thomas Erlewine comments "[w]hile sex indisputably fuels much great pop music, it isn't an inherently fascinating topic for pop music—as with anything, it all depends on the artist. Throughout her career, Jackson has worked with numerous professional choreographers such as Paula Abdul, Michael Kidd, and Tina Landon. Landon also took part in the choreography for Michael and Janet Jackson's 1995 music video Scream. Janine Coveney of Billboard observed that "Jackson's musical declaration of independence [Control] launched a string of hits, an indelible production sound, and an enduring image cemented by groundbreaking video choreography and imagery that pop vocalists still emulate."
Multiculturalism has been a cornerstone of the imagery represented in Jackson's music videos. The militant iconography of her 1989 video for "Rhythm Nation" signifies a need for both racial and gender equality as she and her dancers perform in identical uniforms while Jackson herself "is performing asexually and almost anonymously in front of, but as one of the members of the group." In the 1990s, her videos such as 1993's "If"—which "[exudes a] 'Last Emperor' lust and mystery"—and 1995's "Runaway" drew cultural influences from the orient. Others, such as 1997's "Got 'til It's Gone" and "Together Again" explore African roots and the serengeti. Jackson's music videos have also found report within the gay community, as the dramatic imagery in "Rhythm Nation" led to reenactments of the video in gay clubs and her 1990 video for "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" is said to explore the aesthetic of the male body from both the heterosexual female and gay male perspective.
Chris Willman of Los Angeles Times stated the "enthralling" choreography of Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour "represents the pinnacle of what can be done in the popping 'n' locking style—a rapid-fire mixture of rigidly jerky and gracefully fluid movements." The Independent writer Nicholas Barber commented in his review for The Velvet Rope Tour that "Janet's concerts are the pop equivalent of a summer blockbuster movie, with all the explosions, special effects, ersatz sentimentality, gratuitous cleavage and emphasis on spectacle over coherence that the term implies." When Los Angeles Times reporter Robert Hilburn asked Jackson "[d]o you understand it when people talk about [The Velvet Rope Tour] in terms of Broadway?", she responded, "I'm crazy about Broadway ... That's what I grew up on." Richard Harrington of The Washington Post observed, "[s]ince the advent of MTV and the proliferation of dance-oriented singers like Milli Vanilli, Madonna, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, George Michael, MC Hammer, Michael Jackson and the New Kids on the Block, audience expectations have been drastically redefined" noting that few entertainers are capable of recreating the spectacle of elaborately choreographed music videos while delivering studio precision vocals. Michael MacCambridge of the Austin American-Statesman, who reviewed Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour, described lip-syncing as a "moot point", stating, "Jackson was frequently singing along with her own pre-recorded vocals, to achieve a sound closer to radio versions of singles." MacCambridge also observed "[i]t seemed unlikely that anyone—even a prized member of the First Family of Soul Music—could dance like she did for 90 minutes and still provide the sort of powerful vocals that the '90s super concerts are expected to achieve." Janet Jackson has strived to distance her professional career from that of her older brother Michael and the rest of the Jackson family. Phillip McCarthy of The Sydney Morning Herald noted that throughout her recording career, one of her common conditions for interviewers has been that there would be no mention of Michael. Joshua Klein wrote, "[f]or the first half of her recording career, Janet Jackson sounded like an artist with something to prove. Emerging in 1982 just as big brother Michael was casting his longest shadow, Jackson filled her albums not so much with songs as with declarations, from 'The Pleasure Principle' to the radical-sounding 'Rhythm Nation' to the telling statement of purpose, 'Control'." By forging her own unique identity through her artistry and her business ventures, she has been esteemed as the "Queen of Pop". Klein argued that "stardom was not too hard to predict, but few could have foreseen that Janet—Miss Jackson, if you're nasty—would one day replace Michael as true heir to the Jackson family legacy." In Right to Rock: The Black Rock Coalition and the Cultural Politics of Race (2004), author Maureen Mahon states: "In the 1980s, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Prince were among the African American artists who crossed over ... When black artists cross over into pop success they cease to be black in the industry sense of the word. They get promoted from racialized black music to universal pop music in an economically driven process of racial transcendence." Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge (2000) documented that Jackson, along with other prominent African-American women, had achieved financial breakthroughs in mainstream popular music, receiving "superstar status" in the process. Her business savvy has been compared to that of Madonna, gaining a level of autonomy which enables "creative latitude and access to financial resources and mass-market distribution."
Musicologist Richard J. Ripani identified Jackson as a leader in the development of contemporary R&B;, as her 1986 album Control and its successor Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 created a unique blend of genre and sound effects, that ushered in the use of rap vocals into mainstream R&B.; Jim Cullen observed in Popular Culture in American History (2001) that although it was Michael Jackson's Thriller that originally synchronized music video with album sales, Janet Jackson was also among the first generation of artists that saw the visualization of their music elevate them to the status of a pop culture icon. In March 2008, Business Wire reported "Janet Jackson is one of the top ten selling artists in the history of contemporary music; ranked by Billboard magazine as the ninth most successful act in rock and roll history, and the second most successful female artist in pop music history." She is the only female artist in the history of the Hot 100 to have 18 consecutive top ten hit singles, from "Miss You Much" (1989) to "I Get Lonely" (1998). The magazine ranked her at number seven on their Hot 100 50th Anniversary "Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists", making her the third most successful female artist in the history of the chart, following Madonna and Mariah Carey. In November 2010, Billboard released its "Top 50 R&B; / Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years" list and ranked her at number five. She ranks as the top artist on the chart with 15 number ones in the past twenty-five years, garnering 27 top ten hits between 1985 and 2001, and 33 consecutive top 40 hits from 1985 through 2004 Similarly, Virgin Records executive Lee Trink expressed: "Janet is an icon and historic figure in our culture. She's one of those gifted artists that people look up to, that people emulate, that people want to believe in ... there's not that many superstars that stand the test of time." Pop music critic Gene Stout commented she "has so broadly influenced a younger generation of performers, from Jennifer Lopez ... to Britney Spears, who has copied so many of Jackson's dance moves."
Toni Braxton stated that she was inspired by Janet Jackson "because when she released her Control album, she made it easy for P.K.'s [Preachers' kids] who were supposed to be sweet and docile to get comfortable with feeling sexy." Aaliyah commented, "I admire her a great deal. She's a total performer ... I'd love to do a duet with Janet Jackson." Jennifer Lopez lauded Jackson's videography, stating her music videos "had such an impact on me as a fan but also as an artist." Britney Spears commented: "I've always been majorly inspired by Janet in everything she does." Christina Aguilera recalled: "I remember watching MTV as a little girl. To me, Janet had it all; amazing videos, hot songs and the sexiest voice." Cassie has referred to herself as a "die-hard Janet Jackson fan" and elaborated, "I'd love to emulate Janet's career—totally ... She's incredible, from her moves to her voice." The Chicago Tribune remarked, "Cassie isn't the first artist to be measured against Janet Jackson, and odds are she won't be the last." Beyoncé Knowles expressed: "I love Janet Jackson! ... I have nothing but positive things to say about her." Kelly Rowland named her the biggest inspiration of her career because "she works extremely hard." Rihanna has commented that "[s]he was one of the first female pop icons that I could relate to ... She was so vibrant, she had so much energy. She still has power. I’ve seen her on stage, and she can stand there for 20 minutes and have the whole arena scream at her. You have to love Janet." Japanese singer Crystal Kay commented: "I've always listened to American music and the artists I admire most are American, like Janet Jackson." Other artists who have drawn comparison to Jackson include Brandy, Tatyana Ali, Namie Amuro, and Keri Hilson. Joan Morgan of Essence magazine remarked: "Jackson's Control, Rhythm Nation 1814 and janet. established the singer-dancer imprimatur standard in pop culture we now take for granted. So when you're thinking of asking Miss Jackson, 'What have you done for me lately?' remember that Britney, Ciara and Beyoncé live in the house that Janet built."
Discography
Other works
;Television;Film
See also
Footnotes
References
Further reading
External links
Category:Living people Category:1966 births Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:A&M; Records artists Category:Actors from California Category:Actors from Indiana Category:African American female singers Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:African American television actors Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American film actors Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American female singers Category:American mezzo-sopranos Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul singers Category:American television actors Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Female rock singers Category:Former Jehovah's Witnesses Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jackson musical family Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Musicians from California Category:Musicians from Indiana Category:People from Gary, Indiana Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Universal Music Group artists
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Glasses Malone
| Name | Glasses Malone |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Charles Penniman |
| Alias | G Malone |
| Born | October 15, 1979 (age 31) |
| Origin | Watts, California |
| Genre | West Coast Hip Hop |
| Occupation | Rapper |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Label | Blu Division, Hoo-Bangin', Cash Money, Universal Motown, The Black Wall Street Records |
| Associated acts | Mack 10, Birdman,Lil Wayne, Jay Rock, Red Cafe, The Cataracs |
| Url | www.glassesmalone.com |
Early life
Glasses Malone grew up in the Watts and Compton neighborhoods of Los Angeles County. His mother passed serving a 20 year sentence in prison for selling narcotics, and Malone was himself a former gang member and hustler. turning down offers from many labels like Def Jam Records,Malone's first album, Beach Cruiser, was originally scheduled to come out on February 20, 2007. However, due to a change in record labels, Malone signed a new deal with Cash Money Records and Hoo-Bangin' Records and his album release scheduled tentatively for April 2008. Two singles from the album debuted in 2008: "Certified" featuring Akon and "Haterz" featuring Birdman and Lil Wayne. His album has now been pushed back to summer 2011 and there is now a new single, "Sun Come Up" featuring T-Pain, Rick Ross, and Birdman, as well as two new mixtapes before the album drops according to Dubcnn.
In late 2009, Malone accompanied Tech N9ne and hip-hop supergroup Slaughterhouse on the K.O.D Tour.
He appeared on Big B new album Good Times & Bad Advice in a song titled "Live Your Life" http://www.myspace.com/hooliganbigb
He is currently touring with The King Tech N9ne, and E-40.He has also made a deal with The Black Wall Street Records ceo Jayceon "Game" Taylor to resign to the label after the release of Beach Cruiser.
Filmography
;The Division Glasses Malone is producing and starring in his own film titled "The Division". The film was written by Malcolm Mays and is set to be directed by Max Albert in January 2011, according to The Boombox.
Discography
;Studio albums
Singles
{| class=wikitable !align=center rowspan=2|Year !align=center rowspan=2|Title !align=center colspan=2|Chart positions !align=center rowspan=2|Album |- !width=30|U.S. R&B; !width=30|U.S. Rap |- |2007 |"Certified" (featuring Akon) |85 |24 |rowspan="4"|Beach Cruiser |- |2008 |"Haterz" (featuring Birdman & Lil Wayne) |— |— |- |2009 |"Sun Come Up" (featuring Birdman, Rick Ross & T-Pain) |94 |— |- |2010 |"I Get Doe" (featuring The Cataracs) |— |— |- |}
Mixtapes/Street Albums
{| class="wikitable" !align="left"|Album information |- |align="left"|The Crack Mixtape
Notes and references
External links
Category:Cash Money Records artists Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:American drug traffickers Category:People from Compton, California Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:1979 births
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Tami Chynn
| Name | Tami Chynn |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Tammar Anika Chin |
| Alias | Tami Chynn |
| Born | June 14, 1984 |
| Origin | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Instruments | Singing |
| Genre | Reggae fusion, Dancehall, Pop, R&B;, Reggae |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Song Writer, Dancer |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Label | Universal/SRC/Konvict Muzik |
| Url | TamiChynn.com |
Early years
Tami Chynn (born 14 June 1984) was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Her father, Richard Chin, is of Chinese descent with Cherokee ancestry and her mother, Christine Chin is Afro-Jamaican and British. Her parents were in a band called The Carnations and her younger sister, Tessanne Chin, is also a reggae fusion singer and former member of the group 'Mile High'.Tami grew up in the parish of St. Andrew and attended St. Peter and Paul Preparatory School. She later attended Campion College in St. Andrew, Jamaica. In 1998, at age 14, she moved to Leamington Spa, UK where she spent three years studying the performing arts and in 2001, at age 17, moved back to Jamaica where she worked on her music career and recorded her first single "Rock U".
Tami Chynn married fellow reggae/dancehall artist Wayne Marshall in 2009.
Music career
2005-2007: Beginnings and Out of Many... One
Before pursuing music, she toured with fellow caniamaJ artist Shaggy as a backup dancer on his Caught Red Handed Tour. In early 2005 she travelled to Los Angeles, California, USA to perform for Universal Motown Records and in May she was signed to the major label,at age 24, for a four album deal. Before releasing her debut album in the US she appeared in recordings with international Reggae stars: Beenie Man, Lady Saw and Sean Paul on his album The Trinity for the track "All on Me".In March 2006 she was nominated for Best New Entertainer Award at the International Reggae and World Music Awards but lost the award to reggae artist Matisyahu. Leading up to the release of her debut album Out of Many...One she toured clubs around the US for promotion. but wasn't a mainstream success. During that summer she released her first album Out of Many...One which also failed to chart in the US but managed to peak at #41 on the Japanese Oricon charts. In 2007 her song "Over and Over" appeared on the compilations Biggest One Drop Anthems 2007 (released October 8, 2007 on the Greensleeves label) and Strictly The Best Vol. 38 (released November 20, 2007 through VP Records)
2008: New record label and Prima Donna
In 2008 Tami received notice by artist Akon who signed her up to his label Konvict Muzik and began production of her sophomore album Prima Donna. Recording of the album began in January in Akon's Atlanta studios with Akon and RedOne executive producing the album. The lead single for the album, "Frozen" (featuring Akon), was released in August, 2008. In March she toured the UK and made an appearance on the BBC Radio show 1Xtra Live, on March 22, 2008 with Akon and performed Frozen.In September 2008, she starred in a Pepsi commercial alongside Verne Troyer, T-Pain and Shaggy and made a cover of Kung Fu Fighting for the commercial which is based on Kung Fu. During October, 2008 she opened for New Kids on the Block on their New Kids on the Block Tour alongside Lady GaGa, Natasha Bedingfield and Colby O'Donis. She also appeared in the video "I'm So Paid" by Akon. After cutting ties with Universal, Prima Donna remains unreleased; however, Tami Chynn has stated she is currently at work on a third album that is to become a sophomore release.
Discography
Studio Albums
References
External links
Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:People from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Dancehall musicians Category:Jamaican female singers Category:Jamaican people of British descent Category:Jamaican reggae singers Category:Jamaican people of Chinese descent Category:Reggae fusion artists
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Lil Wayne
| Name | Lil Wayne |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. |
| Born | September 27, 1982New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Instrument | Vocals, Guitars |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Occupation | Rapper, CEO |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Associated acts | Big Tymers, Birdman, Drake, Cash Money Millionaires, Hot Boys, Juelz Santana, Kevin Rudolf, T-Pain, Young Money, Eminem |
| Label | Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Motown |
| Url |
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare, released in 1999. Also in 1999, Lil Wayne released his Platinum debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in the U.S.
Although his next two albums Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002) were not as successful (only reaching Gold status), Lil Wayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with Tha Carter, which included the single "Go D.J." Wayne also appeared on the Destiny's Child top ten single "Soldier" that year. In 2005, the sequel to Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, was released. In 2006 and 2007, Lil Wayne released several mixtapes and appeared on several popular rap and R&B; singles.
His most successful album, Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 which went on to sell over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single "Lollipop" and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. Lil Wayne released his debut rock album, Rebirth, in 2010 to primarily negative reception from critics. The album eventually went gold. In March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8 month prison sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007. While in jail he released another album entitled I Am Not a Human Being in September 2010, featuring Young Money artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil Twist.
Early life
Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. Carter was born when his mother, a chef, was 19 years old. His parents were divorced when he was 2, and his father permanently abandoned the family. Carter enrolled in the gifted program of Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club of Eleanor McMain Secondary School. In the summer of 1991, he met Bryan Williams, rapper and owner of Cash Money Records. Carter recorded freestyle raps on Williams's answering machine, leading him to mentor the young Carter and include him in Cash Money-distributed songs. He also recorded his first ever collaboration album True Story with rapper B.G.. At the time, Carter was 11, and B.G. was 14, and was billed as "The B.G.'z". When he was 12, he played the part of the Tin Man in his middle school drama club's production of The Wiz. At age 13, he accidentally shot himself with a .44 caliber gun, with the bullet missing his heart by two inches.
Music career
1997–99: The Hot Boys
In 1997, Carter joined the Hot Boys along with rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. At age 15, Carter was the youngest member at that time. Hot Boys' debut album Get It How U Live! was released the same year, followed in 1999 by the group's major-label debut Guerrilla Warfare, Carter was also featured on Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. Let 'Em Burn, a compilation album of unreleased tracks recorded during 1999 and 2000, came out in 2003, several years after the group disbanded. It reached No. 3 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard 200.Carter's debut solo album Tha Block Is Hot at age 17 featured significant contributions from the Hot Boys and was certified 2x platinum, climbing to No. 3 on the Billboard album charts. and also became a Top Ten hit. Critics pointed to the lack of coherent narratives in his verses as evidence that he had yet to mature to the level of his fellow Hot Boys. The lead single was "Get Off The Corner" which was noticed for an improvement in lyrical content and style, it also received a music video. The second single which received less attention was "Shine" featuring The Hot Boys. Near the release of Lights Out, Lil Wayne was featured on the single, "1# Stunna" with Big Tymers and Juvenile, which rose to 24th place on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.
In 2001, Lil Wayne was shot in the chest in Florida after "some groupies" fired two shots through his tour bus window. He recalled the incident in 2008 interview: 'It [the bullet] 'didn’t go all the way in, ’cause the window slowed it down.' The lead single was "Way Of Life" which like the album failed to match the success of his previous singles. After the release of 500 Degreez, he was featured in the single "Neva Get Enuf" by 3LW.
2004–07: Tha Carter, Tha Carter II and collaborations
In the summer of 2004, Wayne's album Tha Carter was released, marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style and lyrical themes. In addition, the album's cover art featured the debut of Wayne's now-signature dreadlocks. After the release of Tha Carter, Lil Wayne was featured in Destiny's Child's single "Soldier" with T.I., which peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S. R&B; Charts. The song Get Something (featuring Mannie Fresh) was supposed to appear on the album but failed to make the cut, however the music video was released.Tha Carter II, the follow-up to the original Tha Carter album, was released in December 2005, this time without production by longtime Cash Money Records producer Mannie Fresh, who had since left the label. Tha Carter II sold more than 238,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and went on to sell 2,000,000 copies world wide. The lead single, "Fireman," became a hit in the US, peaking at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other singles included "Grown Man", "Hustler Muzik", and "Shooter" (featuring R&B; singer Robin Thicke). Lil Wayne also appeared on a remix of Bobby Valentino's "Tell Me", which rose to No. 13 on the U.S. R&B; Charts.
In 2005, Lil Wayne was named president of Cash Money, and in the same year he founded Young Money Entertainment as an imprint of Cash Money. However, as of late 2007, Lil Wayne reported that he has stepped down from the management of both labels and has handed management of Young Money over to Cortez Bryant.
on July 23, 2007]]
In 2006, Lil Wayne collaborated with rapper Birdman for the album Like Father, Like Son, whose first single "Stuntin' Like My Daddy", reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. Instead of a follow-up solo album, Lil Wayne reached his audience through a plethora of mixtapes and guest appearances on a variety of pop and hip-hop singles. and Vibe
Despite no album release for two years, Lil Wayne appeared in numerous singles as a featured performer, including "Gimme That" by Chris Brown, "Make It Rain" by Fat Joe, "You" by Lloyd, and "We Takin' Over" by DJ Khaled (also featuring Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, and Birdman), "Duffle Bag Boy" by Playaz Circle, "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" by Wyclef Jean (also featuring Akon), and the remix to "I'm So Hood" by DJ Khaled (also featuring T-Pain, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Fat Joe, Birdman, and Rick Ross). All these singles charted within the top 20 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Rap Tracks, and Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs charts. On Birdman's 2007 album 5 * Stunna, Lil Wayne appeared on the singles "100 Million" and "I Run This" among several other tracks. Wayne also appeared on tracks from albums Getback by Little Brother, American Gangster by Jay-Z, and Graduation by Kanye West and Insomniac by Enrique Iglesias. "Make it Rain", a Scott Storch production that peaked at number 13 on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Rap Tracks chart, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for 2008.
Vibe magazine ranked a list of 77 of Lil Wayne's songs from 2007 and ranked his verse in DJ Khaled's "We Takin Over" as his best of 2007, with "Dough Is What I Got" (a freestyle over the beat of Jay-Z's "Show Me What You Got") from Da Drought 3 the second song. The New Yorker magazine ranked him "Rapper of the Year", In 2008 he was named "Best Rock Star Alive" by Blender magazine
2008–09: Tha Carter III and We Are Young Money
Initially planned to be released in 2007, Tha Carter III's largest delay came after the majority of the tracks were leaked and distributed on mixtapes, such as "The Drought Is Over Pt. 2" and "The Drought Is Over Pt. 4". Lil Wayne initially decided to use the leaked tracks, plus four new tracks, to make a separate album, titled The Leak. The Leak was to be released December 18, 2007, with the actual album being delayed until March 18, 2008, The release of The Leak in this format never came to fruition, but an official EP titled The Leak and containing five tracks was released digitally on December 25, 2007.Tha Carter III was released on June 10, 2008, selling more than a million copies in its first week of release, the first to do so since 50 Cent's The Massacre in 2005. The first single "Lollipop", featuring Static became the rapper's most commercially successful song at that point, topping the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first Top 10 single for Lil Wayne as a solo artist, as well as his first No. 1 on the chart. His third single from Carter III', "Got Money" featuring T-Pain, peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 100. Along with his album singles, Lil Wayne appeared on R&B; singles "Girls Around the World" by Lloyd, "Love In This Club, Part II" by Usher, "Official Girl" by Cassie, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, "Turnin' Me On" by Keri Hilson, and "Can't Believe It" by T-Pain; rap singles "My Life" by The Game, "Shawty Say" by David Banner, "Swagga Like Us" by T.I., "Cutty Buddy" by Mike Jones, All My Life (In the Ghetto) by Jay Rock and the remix to "Certified" by Glasses Malone; and pop single "Let It Rock" by new Cash Money artist Kevin Rudolf. On July 14, 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America certified Tha Carter III two times platinum. In an October 2008 interview with MTV News, Lil Wayne announced plans to re-release this album with all new tracks, including a duet with Ludacris and remixes of "A Milli". concert in Vancouver in January 2009.]]
The lineup for New Orleans' 2008 Voodoo Experience concert, held in October, featured Lil Wayne. Jonathan Cohen of Billboard magazine reported that the event would mark his biggest hometown headlining set of his career. Lil Wayne stated that he would reunite with Hot Boys alongside Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. They plan to release an album after B.G.'s solo album Too Hood to Be Hollywood was completed. Wayne also performed as the 2008 Virgin Mobile Music Fest with Kanye West, performing the remix of "Lollipop" with West and also lip-syncing to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You". Lil Wayne also performed at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards with Kid Rock ("All Summer Long"), Leona Lewis ("DontGetIt (Misunderstood)") and T-Pain ("Got Money"). On the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, he performed "Lollipop" and "Got Money". He later performed at the homecoming rally at Vanderbilt University and the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards with 12 nominations. He won the "MVP" title at the BET Hip Hop Awards and seven others. It was revealed that M.I.A. dropped out of performing on the tour due to her pregnancy, however Jay-Z is expected to perform with Wayne on the song "Mr. Carter" at select shows.
On November 11, 2008, Wayne became the first hip-hop act to ever perform at the Country Music Association Awards. He played alongside Kid Rock for the song, "All Summer Long", in which Wayne did not rap but instead inaudibly strummed guitar strings alongside the guitarist in Kid Rock's band. Shortly after, Wayne was nominated for eight Grammys – the most for any artist nominated that year. Wayne was then named the first ever MTV Man of the Year at the end of 2008. He won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for "A Milli", Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his appearance in T.I.'s single "Swagga Like Us", and Best Rap Song for "Lollipop". Tha Carter III won the award for Best Rap Album.
DJ Drama stated that there would be a third installation of the Dedication mixtape series with Lil Wayne, who insisted that it will would be a full album under the title. However despite the fact Wayne wanted to release Dedication 3 as an album, it was released as a mixtape on November 14, 2008.
MTV listed Lil Wayne number two on their 2009 list of the Hottest MCs In The Game.
On December 23, 2009, Wayne released a collaboration album with Young Money, with the first single confirmed as "Every Girl". The second single is "BedRock", featuring Lloyd. The third single is "Roger That". On May 24, 2010, the album was certified gold by the RIAA with over 500,000 copies sold.
Wayne is featured on the song, "Revolver", with Madonna for her 2009 greatest hits album, Celebration. He was also featured on a Weezer song, "Can't Stop Partying", on their 2009 album, Raditude.
2008–present: Rebirth, I Am Not a Human Being, and Tha Carter IV
In late 2008, Wayne stated that he would re-release The Carter III with leftover tracks and call it Rebirth, several months later, however, he announced Rebirth would instead release as his debut rock album, maintaining its title as Rebirth. To support the release of Rebirth and a collaboration album with Young Money Entertainment, Wayne headlined the 'Young Money Presents: America's Most Wanted Music Festival'... a United States and Canada–only concert tour which started on July 29, 2009. The Rebirth album was originally scheduled for a April 7, 2009 release, however after numerous delays, the album was released on February 2, 2010. For the anticipation of Rebirth, Wayne was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone."Prom Queen", the first official single, debuted on January 27, 2009 immediately after a live Internet broadcast on Ustream of his concert in San Diego. "Prom Queen" peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. On December 3, 2009, Lil Wayne's second single from the album, "On Fire", was released on iTunes. "On Fire" was produced by Cool & Dre with Lil Wayne playing the guitar with the aid of Pro Tools. "On Fire" peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. "Drop the World", which features Eminem, is the third single from the album. Following Tha Carter III's achievement of selling over 2 million copies, becoming 2008's best-selling record, Wayne re-signed with Cash Money Records for a multi-album deal. Wayne said Tha Carter IV will be released in 2009 just before the holidays. Birdman had previously stated that Tha Carter IV would be packaged with Rebirth as a double disc album. However, Wayne denied this idea saying that "Tha Carter IV deserves Tha Carter IV". He went on to say that We Are Young Money may be packaged with Rebirth. However, it was later confirmed that Rebirth and We Are Young Money will be released separately and that Tha Carter IV will be released during 2011. He started from scratch on Tha Carter IV since getting released from jail. He recorded his first track since being released from jail and it was described as being "a 2010 version of A Milli'' on steroids." The album is set to feature multiple guests, including Tech N9ne. The album will be released February 2011. The first single "6 Foot 7 Foot" featuring Cory Gunz was released on December 15, 2010. It was available for digital download on iTunes December 16, 2010. The song is produced by Bangladesh, who also produced Lil Wayne's single A Milli in 2008. Tha Carter IV is expected for release in Winter 2011.
Future projects
He has announced several possible upcoming projects, including a collaboration album I Can't Feel My Face with rapper Juelz Santana that has been in production for several years. He has discussed a possible R&B; album titled Luv Sawngz, for which he will heavily rely on a vocoder. He has also talked with singer Lloyd about doing a collaboration album in the future. On June 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and T-Pain formed a duo called T-Wayne and planned to release an album. On June 8, 2010, Drake confirmed that he and Wayne are planning to release a joint album in the future. Lil Wayne and Baby will release a second Like Father, Like Son album around Fathers Day 2011. Wayne and Drake will release a collaboration album sometime in the near future.
Television and film career
Lil Wayne was a guest debater going up against Skip Bayless on the "1st & 10" segment on the January 6, 2009 edition of ESPN First Take. On February 10, 2009 he also appeared on ESPN's Around the Horn and beat out veterans Woody Paige, Jay Mariotti and fellow New Orleanian Michael Smith to win that show's episode. Wayne is set to produce and compose music for the film Hurricane Season. A documentary of Lil Wayne titled The Carter was released at the Sundance Film Festival. Prior to the 2009 Grammy Awards, Wayne was featured in an interview with Katie Couric. He then appeared on an April 24 episode of The View – talking about his GED and addictions. In September 2009, Wayne was profiled in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music and was a presenter of the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.
Personal life
Family
Lil Wayne has four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born when he was 15, Internet rumours started circulating in August 2008 that Wayne's daughter had died in a car crash, which however he quickly cleared up as false saying "Please allow me to dispel any rumors or speculations and report that my daughter is alive, healthy and surrounded by family who care and love her dearly. The rumors are completely false and unfounded; neither Reginae nor any other member of my family has been involved in any car accident." His second child, Dwayne III, was then born on October 22, 2008 at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. His third child, Lennox Samuel Ari, was born to actress Lauren London on September 9, 2009. He had his fourth child, Neal, on November 30, 2009 with singer Nivea.In a CBS interview with Katie Couric, Wayne described why he goes by the name of "Wayne" instead of his given name, Dwayne. Carter explained, "I dropped the D because I'm a junior and my father is living and he's not in my life and he's never been in my life. So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne". Couric asked Wayne if his father knew of this and Wayne replied with a smile, "He knows now". He also revealed on The View that he switched to the University of Phoenix and majored in psychology taking online courses. An article in Urb magazine in March 2007 asserted that Wayne had been earning high grades at Houston.
Sports and musical interests
In an interview with Blender magazine, Lil Wayne revealed one of his favorite bands from childhood to be rock group Nirvana, and cites them as a major influence in his music.On September 24, 2008, Lil Wayne published his first blog for ESPN in their issue, ESPN The Magazine. Wayne revealed he was a fan of tennis, the Green Bay Packers, the Boston Bruins, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Red Sox. Wayne has continued writing for ESPN, notably reporting at the ESPN Super Bowl party.
Lil Wayne made his debut on ESPN's daily sports round table show Around The Horn on February 10, 2009.
Along with Mack Maine, Wayne was in attendance of Game 3 of the opening round NBA playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and the home team New Orleans Hornets on April 25, 2009.
Religion
Lil Wayne is a practicing Christian, who takes time to read the Bible regularly. He then asked the Newark crowd if they also believed, and they responded affirmatively with a roar.According to his Rikers Island inmate ID and prison records, Wayne is specifically a Roman Catholic.
Philanthropy
On February 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and Cortez Bryant revisited their alma mater McMain Secondary School to get students to design an invitation to the gala introducing Lil Wayne's nonprofit One Family Foundation. The website Change.org states: "The mission of One Family Foundation, Inc. is to empower urban youth by engaging them in opportunities to cultivate their talents and skills, educating them to become productive and economically self-sufficient, and motivating them to dream beyond their circumstances."
Drug use and arrests
Wayne told CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric on her All Access Grammy Special in 2009 that he enjoys smoking marijuana recreationally. He also stated that he is "not addicted" to drinking purple drank (codeine cough syrup) any longer, like some claimed he was. He has been arrested for use or possession of marijuana and other drugs.Following a performance at Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho, Lil Wayne was arrested October 5, 2007 on felony fugitive charges after Georgia authorities accused the rapper of possessing a controlled substance. The incident was later described as a "mix-up" and the fugitive charges were dropped.
On January 23, 2008, Lil Wayne was arrested alongside two others. His tour bus was stopped by Border Patrol agents near Yuma, Arizona. A K-9 Unit recovered of marijuana, almost of cocaine, of MDMA, and $22,000 in cash. Lil Wayne was charged with four felonies: possession of narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving weapons and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was granted permission to travel outside of the state and remain out of custody on the $10,185 bond he posted. On May 6, 2008, Wayne returned to court in Arizona to plead not guilty to the charges. A bench warrant was issued on March 17, 2010 when Lil Wayne didn't show for a final trial management conference. However, the rapper was already in prison, serving a year-long sentence in Rikers on weapons charges. On June 22, 2010 Wayne plead guilty to the charges. As part of the plea deal he may serve 36 months of probation. On June 30, 2010, he was sentenced to 3 years probation.
On December 18, 2009, Wayne and 11 others were detained at the Falfurrias, Texas border patrol checkpoint after an unknown amount of marijuana was found on two of his tour buses.
New York weapon case
On July 22, 2007, Lil Wayne was arrested in New York City following a performance at the Beacon Theatre; the New York City Police Department discovered Lil Wayne and another man smoking marijuana near a tour bus. After taking Lil Wayne into custody, police discovered a .40 caliber pistol on his person. The gun, which was registered to his manager, was in a bag located near the rapper. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana.On October 22, 2009, Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He was due for sentencing in February 2010 and was expected to receive a one-year jail sentence, but on February 9, 2010, Lil Wayne's attorney announced that the sentencing was delayed until March 2 due to dental surgery, which was performed on February 16. The surgery included eight root canals, the replacement of several tooth implants, as well as the addition of a few new implants and work on his remaining original teeth.
On March 2, 2010, sentencing was postponed again when the courthouse reported a fire in the basement.
On March 8, 2010, Lil Wayne was sentenced to a year in prison, which he served in Rikers Island. His lawyer said the rapper expected to be held in protective custody, separated from other prisoners. He was released on good behavior. However, in May 2010 Wayne was found by Rikers Island correctional staff to be in possession of contraband (an MP3 player, charger, and headphones). However at that time, it was reported by MTV and HipHopDX (and later confirmed) that Lil Wayne was to be released four months early in November.
In April 2010, Lil Wayne's friends created a website called Weezy Thanx You, which publishes letters written by Wayne in prison. In the first letter, titled "Gone 'til November", the rapper described his daily routine, saying he works out a lot, and reads the Bible every day.
Lawsuits
In February 2009, production company RMF Productions filed a $1.3 million lawsuit against Wayne, following a $100,000 advance payment for three shows, all of which were cancelled by the artist.On October 2009, Lil Wayne, Birdman, Cash Money Records and various music distribution outlets were sued for copyright infringement by Thomas Marasciullo, who claims his voice was used without permission. The rappers asked him to record some "Italian-styled spoken word recordings" in 2006. The lyrics were allegedly used on "Respect" and other tracks from the rappers' collaboration album Like Father, Like Son and Birdman's 5 * Stunna.
Public references by Barack Obama
Lil Wayne has been referenced in public speeches by President Barack Obama on at least two occasions, in mixed contexts. Speaking to a largely African-American audience during a general election campaign town hall speech in Georgia, then-U.S. Senator Obama exhorted children to stay in school and achieve their dreams through education and perseverance instead of hoping for shortcuts to fame and riches, stating: "You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school."After assuming the Presidency, Obama later echoed this theme of personal and familial responsibility—and the difficulty of achieving Lil Wayne's lyrical skills or success—during an address to a meeting commemorating the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, telling the audience:}}
Obama also mentioned listening to Lil Wayne on his iPod:
Discography
; Studio albums
Filmography
Awards
References
External links
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Eminem
| Name | Eminem|Img |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Marshall Bruce Mathers III |
| Born | October 17, 1972 Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S. |
| Origin | Warren, Michigan, U.S. |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Occupation | Rapper, record producer, actor, songwriter |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Label | Mashin' Duck, Web, Interscope, Aftermath, Shady |
| Associated acts | Dr. Dre, D12, Royce da 5'9", 50 Cent, Obie Trice, Lil Wayne |
| Url |
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The following album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest-selling solo album in United States history. It brought Eminem increased popularity, including his own record label, Shady Records, and brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition.
The Marshall Mathers LP and his third album, The Eminem Show, also won Grammy Awards, making Eminem the first artist to win Best Rap Album for three consecutive LPs. He then won the award again in 2010 for his album Relapse, giving him a total of 11 Grammys in his career. In 2003, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Lose Yourself" from the film, 8 Mile, in which he also played the lead. "Lose Yourself" would go on to become the longest running No. 1 hip hop single. Eminem then went on hiatus after touring in 2005. He released his first album since 2004's Encore, titled Relapse, on May 15, 2009. Eminem is the best-selling artist of the decade on the US Nielsen SoundScan, and has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide to date, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In 2010, Eminem released his seventh studio album Recovery. It became Eminem's sixth consecutive number-one album in the US and achieved international commercial success, charting at number one in several other countries. It stayed at number-one on the US Billboard 200 chart for five consecutive weeks and a total of seven weeks. Recovery was also reported by Billboard to be the best-selling album of 2010, making Eminem the first artist in Nielsen SoundScan history to have two year-end best-selling albums.
Eminem was ranked 79th on the VH1 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time. He was also ranked 82nd on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also named the Best Rapper Alive by Vibe magazine in 2008. Including his work with D12, Eminem has achieved nine No. 1 albums on the Billboard Top 200, 7 solo (6 studio albums, 1 compilation) and 2 with D12. Eminem has had 13 number one singles worldwide. In December 2009, Eminem was named the Artist of the Decade by Billboard magazine. His albums The Eminem Show, The Marshall Mathers LP, and Encore (in order) ranked as the 3rd, 7th, best-selling albums of the 2000–2009 decade by Billboard magazine. Also according to Billboard, Eminem has two of his albums among the top five highest selling albums of the 2000s. In the UK, Eminem has sold over 12.5 million records. Eminem has also sold more than 33 million track downloads and 39.6 million albums in the United States alone. In 2010, MTV ranked Eminem as the 7th biggest icon in pop music history. During 2010, Eminem's music generated 94 million streams, more than any other music artist. English, German, Swiss, Polish, and possibly Luxembourgian ancestry. His father abandoned the family when he was 18 months old, and he was raised solely by his mother in poverty. By the age of 12, Mathers and his mother had moved between various cities and towns in Missouri (including Saint Joseph, Savannah, and Kansas City) before they settled in Warren, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.
After procuring a copy of the Beastie Boys album Licensed to Ill as a teenager, Mathers became interested in hip hop, performing amateur raps at age 14 under the pseudonym "M&M;" and joining the group called "Bassmint Productions" and released their first EP, Steppin' Onto The Scene. They later changed their name to "Soul Intent" and around 1995 they released their first single called "Fuckin' Backstabber" under the record label Mashin' Duck Records. Despite a well-documented struggle succeeding in a predominantly African-American industry, he gained the approval of underground hip hop audiences. After repeating the ninth grade twice due to truancy and near-failing grades,
Musical career
1992–1998: Early career and Infinite
Mathers was initially signed to FBT Productions in 1992, run by brothers Jeff and Mark Bass. Mathers also held a minimum-wage job of cooking and dishwashing at the restaurant Gilbert's Lodge at St. Clair Shores for some time. In 1996, his debut album Infinite, which was recorded at the Bassmint, a recording studio owned by the Bass Brothers, was released under their independent label Web Entertainment. Eminem recalled, "Obviously, I was young and influenced by other artists, and I got a lot of feedback saying that I sounded like Nas and AZ. 'Infinite' was me trying to figure out how I wanted my rap style to be, how I wanted to sound on the mic and present myself. It was a growing stage. I felt like 'Infinite' was like a demo that just got pressed up." Subjects covered in Infinite included his struggles with raising his newborn daughter Hailie Jade Scott while on limited funds and his strong desire to get rich. Early in his career, Eminem collaborated with fellow Detroit MC Royce da 5'9" under the stage name Bad Meets Evil. After the release of Infinite, Eminem's personal struggles and abuse of drugs and alcohol culminated in an unsuccessful suicide attempt.
Jimmy Iovine, CEO of Interscope Records, requested a demo tape of Eminem's after Eminem placed second at the 1997 Rap Olympics. Eminem had also won Wake Up Show's Freestyle Performer Of The Year award helping him acquire a record deal. Iovine played the tape for record producer Dr. Dre, founder of Aftermath Entertainment. The two began recording tracks for Eminem's upcoming major-label debut The Slim Shady LP, and Eminem made a guest performance on the album Devil Without a Cause by Kid Rock.
1997–1999: The Slim Shady LP
According to Billboard Magazine, at this point in his life Eminem had "realized his musical ambitions were the only way to escape his unhappy life". After being signed to Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records in 1998, Eminem released his first major studio album, The Slim Shady LP, heavily based on the production by Dr. Dre, one year later in 1999. Billboard praised the album as "light years ahead of the material he had been writing beforehand". It went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999, going triple platinum by the end of the year. With the album's popularity came controversy surrounding many of the album's lyrics. In "'97 Bonnie and Clyde", he describes a trip with his infant daughter, disposing of his wife's body. Another song, "Guilty Conscience", ends with his encouraging a man to murder his wife and her lover. "Guilty Conscience" marked the beginning of the friendship and musical bond that Dr. Dre and Eminem would share. The two label-mates would later collaborate on a line of hit songs, including "Forgot About Dre" and "What's the Difference" from Dr. Dre's album 2001, "Bitch Please II" from The Marshall Mathers LP, "Say What You Say" from The Eminem Show, "Encore/Curtains Down" from Encore and "Old Time's Sake" and "Crack a Bottle" from Relapse. Dr. Dre would go on to make at least one guest appearance on all of Eminem's studio albums under the label Aftermath. The album has now been certified 4 times platinum by the RIAA.
2000–2001: The Marshall Mathers LP
The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000. It went on to sell 1.76 million copies in its first week, breaking the records set by Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle as the fastest-selling hip hop album and Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time as the fastest-selling solo album in United States history. The first single released from the album, "The Real Slim Shady", was a success and created some controversy by insulting celebrities and making dubious claims about them; he states, among other things, that Christina Aguilera performed oral sex on Fred Durst and Carson Daly. In his second single, "The Way I Am", he reveals to his fans the pressures from his record company to top "My Name Is" and sell more records. Although Eminem had parodied shock rocker Marilyn Manson in the video "My Name Is", the artists are reportedly on good terms. They performed a remix of the song "The Way I Am" together in concert. In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank You"), Eminem attempts to deal with his new-found fame, taking on the persona of a deranged fan who kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend, mirroring "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" on The Slim Shady LP. In the music video of "Stan", Eminem was shown writing with his left hand, ending the fan debate over his dominant hand. Q magazine named "Stan" the third-greatest rap song of all time, and the song came tenth in a similar survey conducted by Top40-Charts.com. The song has since become highly acclaimed and was ranked 290th in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. In July 2000, Eminem became the first white person to be featured on the cover of The Source magazine. the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), an organization that perceived Eminem's lyrics to be homophobic, condemned the openly gay John's decision to perform with Eminem. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "It was the hug heard 'round the world. Eminem, under fire for homophobic lyrics, shared the stage with a gay icon for a performance of "Stan" that would have been memorable in any context." On February 21, the day of the ceremony, GLAAD held a protest outside the Staples Center, the venue where the Grammy ceremony was held. Music tours that he participated in for 2001 included the Up In Smoke Tour with rappers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Ice Cube and Family Values Tour with the band Limp Bizkit.
2002–2003: The Eminem Show
Eminem's third major album, The Eminem Show, was released in summer 2002 and proved to be another hit for the rapper reaching number one on the charts and selling well over 1 million copies in its first week of release. However, L. Brent Bozell III, who previously criticized The Marshall Mathers LP for perceived misogynistic lyrics in the album, noted The Eminem Show for its extensive use of obscene language, giving Eminem the nickname "Eminef" for the of motherfucker, an obscenity prevalent in the album. The Eminem Show was the best-selling album of 2002.
2004–2005: Encore
The Media Research Center claims that on December 8, 2003, the United States Secret Service admitted it was "looking into" allegations that Eminem had threatened the President of the United States. The lyrics in question: "Fuck money/I don't rap for dead presidents/I'd rather see the president dead/It's never been said, but I set precedents ..." The song in question, "We As Americans", wound up on a bonus CD accompanying the album.In 2004, Eminem released his fourth major album, Encore. The album was another chart-topper, as it was driven by the single "Just Lose It", notable for being disrespectful towards Michael Jackson. On October 12, 2004, a week after the release of "Just Lose It", Eminem's first single off Encore, Michael Jackson called into the Los Angeles-based Steve Harvey radio show to report his displeasure with the video, which parodies Jackson's child molestation trial, plastic surgery, and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984. The lyrics to "Just Lose It" refer to Jackson's legal troubles, however he does state in his song "... and that's not a stab at Michael/That's just a metaphor/I'm just psycho...." Many of Jackson's supporters and friends spoke out about the video, including Stevie Wonder, who called the video "kicking a man while he's down" and "bullshit", and Steve Harvey, who declared, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back."
Regarding Jackson's protest, "Weird Al" Yankovic, who parodied the Eminem song "Lose Yourself" on a track titled "Couch Potato" on his 2003 album Poodle Hat, told the Chicago Sun-Times, "Last year, Eminem forced me to halt production on the video for my "Lose Yourself" parody because he somehow thought that it would be harmful to his image or career. So the irony of this situation with Michael is not lost on me." Black Entertainment Television was the first channel to stop airing the video. MTV, however, announced it would continue airing the video. The Source, through its CEO Raymond "Benzino" Scott, wanted not only the video to be pulled, but the song off the album, and a public apology to Jackson from Eminem. In 2007 Jackson and Sony bought Famous Music LLC from Viacom. This deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem, Shakira and Beck, among others.
Despite the comedic theme of the lead single, Encore had its fair share of serious subject matter, including the anti-war track "Mosh". On October 25, 2004, a week before the 2004 US Presidential election, Eminem released the video for "Mosh" on the Internet. The song featured a very strong anti-Bush message, with lyrics such as "fuck Bush" and "this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president". The video features Eminem gathering up an army of people, including rapper Lloyd Banks, presented as victims of the Bush administration and leading them to the White House. However, once the army breaks in, it is revealed that they are there to simply register to vote, and the video ends with the words "VOTE Tuesday November 2" on the screen. After Bush was re-elected, the video's ending was changed to Eminem and the protesters invading while Bush was giving a speech.
2005–2008: Musical hiatus
In 2005, some industry insiders speculated that Eminem was considering ending his rapping career after six years and several multi-platinum albums. Speculation began in early 2005 about a double-disc album to be released late that year, rumored to be titled The Funeral. The album later manifested itself as a greatest hits album under the name in December. In July 2005, the Detroit Free Press broke news of a potential final bow for Eminem as a solo performer, quoting members of his inside circle who said that he will begin to fully embrace the role of producer and label executive. On the same day of the release of the compilation album, Eminem denied that he was retiring on Detroit-based WKQI's "Mojo in the Morning" radio show, but implied that he would at least be taking a break as an artist, saying "I'm at a point in my life right now where I feel like I don't know where my career is going ... This is the reason that we called it 'Curtain Call', because this could be the final thing. We don't know." He released The Re-Up with the members of his record label, Shady Records. It was released in 2006.In 2005, Eminem was a subject of Bernard Goldberg's book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America; he ranked No. 58. Goldberg cited a 2001 column by Bob Herbert of The New York Times claiming, "In Eminem's world, all women are whores and he is eager to rape and murder them." Goldberg cited Eminem's song "No One's Iller" from The Slim Shady EP as an example of misogyny in his music. In summer 2005, Eminem embarked on his first US concert run in three years, the Anger Management 3 Tour, featuring 50 Cent, G-Unit, Lil' Jon, D12, Obie Trice, The Alchemist, and others. In August 2005, Eminem canceled the European leg of the tour and subsequently announced that he had entered drug rehabilitation for treatment for a "dependency on sleep medication".
Curtain Call: The Hits was released on December 6, 2005, under Aftermath Entertainment. In its first week it sold nearly 441,000 copies in the US and was Eminem's fourth straight No. 1 album on the Billboard Hot 200. The album has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA.
2008–2009: Relapse and Relapse: Refill
In September 2007, Eminem called into New York radio station Hot 97 during an interview with 50 Cent and said he was "in limbo" and "debating" about when and if he would release another album. He said, "I'm always working – I'm always in the studio. It feels good right now, the energy of the label. For a while, I didn't want to go back to the studio ... I went through some personal things. I'm coming out of those personal things [and] it feels good."
Eminem made an appearance on his Sirius channel Shade 45 in September 2008 in which he said, "Right now I'm kinda just concentrating on my own stuff, for right now and just banging out tracks and producing a lot of stuff. You know, the more I keep producing the better it seems like I get 'cause I just start knowing stuff." It was around this time that Interscope finally confirmed the existence of a new Eminem album, with Spring 2009 later being stated as the period span in which the album is due. In December 2008, he gave more details on the album, which he recently reported was being titled Relapse. He said, "Me and Dre are back in the lab like the old days, man. Dre will end up producing the majority of the tracks on 'Relapse'. We are up to our old mischievous ways ... let's just leave it at that."
On March 5, 2009, Eminem reported in a press release that he would be releasing two new albums that year. Relapse, the first album, was released on May 19, while "We Made You", the first official single and its music video, were released on April 7. While Relapse didn't manage to sell as well as Eminem's previous efforts, it was still a commercial success that received some critical acclaim, while also re-establishing his presence in the hip hop world. Relapse was named one of the top albums of 2009. Relapse has sold more than five million copies worldwide. During the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Sacha Baron Cohen descended upon the audience wearing an angel's costume and landed on top of Eminem with his buttocks facing towards Eminem's face, resulting in Eminem storming out of the awards ceremony in disgust. Three days later, Eminem stated it was a staged act that they had planned together. On October 30, Eminem performed at the Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans as a headliner in his first full performance in 2009. The performance included several songs from Relapse, as well as many of Eminem's older hits and an appearance by D12. On November 19, Eminem announced on his website that Relapse: Refill would be released on December 21. The album was a re-release of the Relapse album with seven bonus tracks, including "Forever" and "Taking My Ball". In a statement he described the forthcoming CD:
2010–present: Recovery
On April 13, 2010, Eminem tweeted, "There is no Relapse 2", to his followers. When he tweeted this, people started to believe that he was not releasing an album at all, but it simply meant that the album title would be changed to Recovery. He confirmed this by tweeting, "RECOVERY", with a link to his website. Eminem said, "I had originally planned for Relapse 2 to come out last year. But as I kept recording and working with new producers, the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title." His seventh studio album, Recovery, was released on June 21. In the US, Recovery sold 741,000 in its first week to land atop the Billboard 200. The first single, "Not Afraid", was released on April 29, and debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, followed by a second single, "Love the Way You Lie," which debuted at number 2 and then rose. Despite some criticism towards its consistency, Recovery received positive reviews from most music critics. , the album had sold three million copies in the US.
Eminem appeared at the 2010 BET Awards, performing "Airplanes Part II" with B.o.B and "Not Afraid". He also performed at the Activison E3 concert. In June 2010, Eminem and Jay-Z announced they would perform together in a pair of concerts in Detroit and New York. The event was dubbed The Home & Home Tour. The first two concerts rapidly sold out, prompting the scheduling of an additional show at each venue. BET also named Eminem the #1 rapper of the 21st century.
Eminem opened the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010, by performing "Not Afraid" and "Love the Way You Lie", with Rihanna performing the chorus. Due to the success of Recovery and the Home & Home Tour, he was named the 2010 Hottest MC in the Game by MTV and "Emcee of the Year" by Hip-Hop news website HipHopDX.
Eminem and Rihanna collaborated once again to make "Love the Way You Lie, Part II", the sequel to their hit single "Love the Way You Lie". Rihanna is the lead singer, as opposed to Eminem being the main singer in the original "Love the Way You Lie". The song is said to be from the female perspective. Nicki Minaj has said that she has collaborated with rapper Eminem on a song titled "Roman's Revenge" that is expected to appear on her Pink Friday album. The song references Minaj's alter-ego Roman Zolanski and will feature Eminem's alter-ego Slim Shady.
Eminem is featured on the track "That's All She Wrote" on T.I.'s album No Mercy. A new track leaked titled "I Need a Doctor" that features Dr. Dre with production by Alex da Kid. It is rumored to be either on Detox or a new upcoming Eminem release. A track titled "Echo" also leaked featuring Royce Da 5'9 possibly indicating a "Bad Meets Evil" sequel.
In December, 2010, in Billboard's "The Top 25 Music Moments of 2010", The "Great Eminem Recovery" was named the number one music moment of 2010.
Other ventures
Shady Records and D12
As Eminem succeeded in multi-platinum record sales, Interscope granted him his own record label. He and his manager Paul Rosenberg created Shady Records in late 1999. He followed this by signing his own Detroit collective D12 and rapper Obie Trice to the label. In 2002, Eminem signed 50 Cent through a joint venture between Shady and Dr. Dre's Aftermath label. In 2003, Eminem and Dr. Dre signed Atlanta rapper Stat Quo to the Shady/Aftermath roster. DJ Green Lantern, the former DJ for Eminem, was signed to Shady Records until a dispute related to the 50 Cent and Jadakiss feud forced him to depart from the label; he is no longer associated with Eminem. The Alchemist is now officially Eminem's tour DJ. In 2005, Eminem signed another Atlanta rapper, Bobby Creekwater, to his label along with West Coast rapper Cashis.On December 5, 2006, Shady Records released compilation album, . It started out as a mixtape but Eminem found that the material was better than expected and released it as a full album. It was meant to help launch the new artists under the roster, like Stat Quo, Cashis and Bobby Creekwater. Around the time of recording Infinite, Eminem and rappers Proof and Kon Artis gathered the group of rappers now collectively in the group D12, short for "Detroit Twelve" or "Dirty Dozen", performing in the manner of the multi-man group Wu-Tang Clan. In 2001, Eminem brought his rap group, D12, to the popular music scene, and the group's debut album Devil's Night came out that year. The first single released off of the album was "Shit on You", followed by "Purple Pills", an ode to recreational drug use. For radio and television, the censored version "Pills" was heavily rewritten to remove many of the song's references to drugs and sex and was renamed "Purple Hills". While that single was a hit, the album's second single, "Fight Music", was not as successful.
After their debut, D12 took a three-year break from the studio, later regrouping to release their second album, D12 World, in 2004, which featured the popular hit single release "My Band". D12 member Bizarre said that Eminem is not featured on his new album Blue Cheese & Coney Island because "he's busy doing his thing".
Acting career
Although he had a brief cameo in the 2001 film, The Wash, Eminem made his official Hollywood acting debut with the semi-autobiographical 8 Mile, released in November 2002. He has said the movie is not an account of his life, but a representation of growing up in Detroit. He recorded several new songs for the soundtrack, including "Lose Yourself", which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2003. However, the song was not performed at the ceremony, due to Eminem's absence at the ceremony. His collaborator, Luis Resto, who co-wrote the song, accepted the award.Eminem has participated in various voice acting roles. Some of these include the video game , where he voices an aging corrupt police officer who speaks in Ebonics and guest spots on the Comedy Central television show Crank Yankers, and a web cartoon called The Slim Shady Show, which has since been pulled off-line and is instead sold on DVD. He will be involved in either the soundtrack or scoring. He was also in the running for the part of David Rice in 2008's film Jumper after Tom Sturridge was dropped just two weeks before filming. Concerns over not having a more prominent actor prompted the director, Doug Liman, to consider other actors for the role. He eventually selected Hayden Christensen over Eminem. He also had a cameo appearance in the 2009 movie Funny People, in which he is involved in an argument with Ray Romano.
It was reported on November 8, 2009, that Eminem will star in the upcoming 3D horror anthology, Shady Talez, directed by John Davis. A four-issue comic book series based on the film is also expected to be published sometime in 2010.
Eminem appeared alongside Christina Aguilera on the Entourage Season 7 finale titled 'Lose Yourself' as himself. In December 2010, Deadline Hollywood announced that Eminem will star in the upcoming boxing drama, Southpaw, to be written by Kurt Sutter. Will be released on April 4, 2012. In January 2011, a report surfaced that Eminem will star in the upcoming thriller, Random Acts of Violence.
Memoir
On October 21, 2008, Eminem released a tell-all autobiography entitled The Way I Am, which details his struggles with poverty, drugs, fame, heartbreak and depression, along with stories about his rise to fame and commentary on past controversies. This book also contains some of the original lyric sheets from songs such as "Stan" and "The Real Slim Shady."
Artistry
Influences and rapping technique
Eminem has named several MCs who influenced his rapping style – these include Esham, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane, In the same book, Eminem is praised for various aspects of his rapping technique by numerous other MCs – these techniques include: his varied and humorous subject matter, connecting with his audience, carrying a concept over a series of albums, complex rhyme schemes, his ability to bend words so that they rhyme, his use of multisyllabic rhymes, complex rhythms, clear enunciation, use of melody, and syncopation. He is also known to write the majority of his lyrics down on paper, as documented in his book The Way I Am, as well as taking a few days or a week to craft lyrics, being a “workaholic”, and “stacking” vocals.
Featurings and productions
Although he typically collaborates with various rappers under Aftermath Entertainment and Shady Records, such as Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, D12, and Obie Trice, Eminem has collaborated with many other artists, including Redman, Kid Rock, DMX, Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Method Man, Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Sticky Fingaz, T.I. and others. Eminem rapped a verse in a live performance of Busta Rhymes' "Touch It" remix at the 2006 BET Music Awards on June 27, 2006. Eminem was featured on Akon's single "Smack That" which appeared on Akon's album Konvicted. He was featured on Lil Wayne's hit song Drop the World.
Eminem is also an active rap producer. Besides being the executive producer of D12's first two albums, Devil's Night and D12 World, he has executive produced Obie Trice's Cheers and Second Round's on Me as well as 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. In addition, Eminem has produced and appeared on several songs by other famous rappers, such as Jadakiss' "Welcome To D-Block", Jay-Z's "Renagade" and "Moment of Clarity" Lloyd Banks' "On Fire", "Warrior Part 2", and "Hands Up", Tony Yayo's "Drama Setter", Trick Trick's "Welcome 2 Detroit", and Xzibit's "My Name" and "Don't Approach Me". Most of The Eminem Show was produced by Eminem himself, with co-production from longtime collaborator Jeff Bass. He split the production with Dr. Dre on Encore. In 2004, Eminem was the Executive Producer of 2Pac's posthumous album Loyal to the Game with 2Pac's mother Afeni Shakur. He produced the UK No. 1 single "Ghetto Gospel" which featured Elton John. He has produced "The Cross" off Nas's album God's Son. On August 15, 2006, Obie Trice released Second Round's on Me. Eminem produced 8 tracks on the album. He was featured in the song "There They Go". Eminem produced some tracks on the new Trick Trick album, The Villain. He is also featured in "Who Want It".
With regard to the productions on his own records, Eminem is seen as having an unusual style in that rather than write to beats he typically starts with an idea of how he wants his song to be structured based on the lyrics and then creates music according to that. A notable exception to this was the song "Stan", which came from an idea and scratch track produced by Mark the 45 King. The couple first divorced in 2001 but remarried in January 2006. Their second divorce was finalized in December of the same year, with the couple agreeing to share custody of their daughter, Hailie Jade Mathers (born December 25, 1995). Hailie Mathers has often been referenced or featured on various Eminem songs, such as "'97 Bonnie & Clyde", "Hailie's Song", "My Dad's Gone Crazy", "Like Toy Soldiers", "Mockingbird", "Forgot About Dre", "Cleanin' Out My Closet", "When I'm Gone", "Deja Vu", "Beautiful", "Sing For The Moment", "Airplanes Part II", and "Going Through Changes". In early 2010, Eminem responded publicly to tabloid reports of his pending reunion with Kim with a firm denial.
Eminem adopted two other daughters: Alaina "Lainey" Mathers, the child of Kimberley Scott's sister,
Mathers was arrested on June 3, 2000 during an altercation at a car audio store in Royal Oak, Michigan, with Douglas Dail, where he pulled out an unloaded gun and kept it pointed at the ground. The following day, in Warren, Michigan, he allegedly saw his then wife, Kim, kiss bouncer John Guerrera in the parking lot of the Hot Rock Café, and he assaulted him.
In the summer of 2001, Mathers was sentenced to probation on weapons charges that stemmed from an argument with an employee of Psychopathic Records, giving him a fine around $2,000 as well as several hours of community service.
In 2007, his music publishing company, Eight Mile Style LLC, together with Martin Affiliated LLC, filed suit against Apple, Inc and Aftermath Entertainment claiming Aftermath did not have the appropriate authority to negotiate a deal with Apple for digital downloads of 93 Eminem songs on Apple's iTunes service. The case against Apple was settled shortly after trial began in late September 2009.
Drug issues
Eminem has spoken openly about his addiction to prescription drugs, including Vicodin, Ambien, Valium and Methadone. His group-mate Proof from D12 stated that Mathers "sobered up" in 2002 from drug and alcohol dependence. However, he did turn to zolpidem (Ambien) sleeping pills for relief from sleeping troubles. This caused Mathers to cancel the European leg of the Anger Management Tour in August 2005 and eventually go into rehab for treatment for a "dependency on sleep medication". In a 2009 interview with British talk-show host Jonathan Ross, Mathers admitted that at the height of his addiction, he considered suicide, saying that, "I just wasn't taking care of myself, at times I wanted to just give it up." He also confirmed that he is now sober, commenting that, "[R]ap was my drug ... Then I had to resort to other things to make me feel that. Now rap's getting me high again." She says that they hung out but nothing sexual or intimate occurred. Eminem has referenced her on many songs that include "Superman", "Jimmy Crack Corn", "Bagpipes From Baghdad", and "The Warning". While "Superman" was released in 2003, Carey released a song entitled "Clown" on her Charmbracelet album, released around the same time, which makes similar references in line with her 2009 hit "Obsessed".Eminem's "Bagpipes From Baghdad" from his album Relapse may be his most well known reference to Carey due to the controversy it caused. The song disparages Carey and husband Nick Cannon's relationship. Cannon responded to Eminem by saying his career is based on "racist bigotry", and that he would get revenge on Eminem, joking that he may return to rapping. Eminem later stated that the couple misinterpreted the track and it was wishing the two the best.
In 2009, Carey released "Obsessed" in which she sings about an obsessed man who claims to be having a relationship with her. Cannon claimed that the song was not an insult directed at Eminem. However, Eminem responded in late July 2009 by releasing a track titled "The Warning". It contained samples of voice mail recordings which Eminem claimed were left by Mariah Carey when the two were together. Eminem also hinted that he had other evidence of their relationship in his possession. A little over a year later in September 2010 Nick Cannon responded with the song "I'm a Slick Rick" which in Slick Rick's flow he takes shots at Eminem.
Discography
Number-one singles
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Eminem has eleven Grammy Awards. He has been praised for having "verbal energy", high quality of lyricism and has been ranked at number nine on MTV's list of The Greatest MCs of All Time, In 2003 he was listed as number thirteen on MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music and number 82 on Rolling Stone's "The Immortals". In 2008, the readers of Vibe Magazine voted him "The Best Rapper Alive". He was also named "Best Rapper Ever" taking down all opponents very easily in a poll which was conducted by music fans on the Vibe website.Ironically, "The Real Slim Shady", one of the songs from his second Grammy-winning album, The Marshall Mathers LP, slammed the Grammy Awards in its second verse, and stated the opinion that negative feelings about his material would keep him from ever winning one.
Business ventures
See also
References
Literature
External links
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Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:Actors from Michigan Category:Actors who attempted suicide Category:Aftermath Entertainment artists Category:American film actors Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American male singers Category:American musicians of English descent Category:American musicians of German descent Category:American musicians of Scottish descent Category:American people of Swiss descent Category:American rappers of European descent Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:Horrorcore artists Category:People from St. Joseph, Missouri Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Rappers from Detroit, Michigan Category:Shady Records artists Category:World Music Awards winners
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Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
| Name | Bone Thugs-n-Harmony |
|---|---|
| Background | group_or_band |
| Alias | B.O.N.E. Enterprise |
| Origin | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genre | Midwest hip hop, gangsta rap, melodic hip hop, hip hop soul |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Label | Ruthless, BTNH Worldwide,Full Surface, Geffen |
| Associated acts | Eazy-E, Bone Brothers, Mo Thugs Family, II Tru, Twista, Poetic Hustla'z, DJ U-Neek, 2Pac, Biggie |
| Current members | Krayzie BoneLayzie BoneWish BoneFlesh-n-BoneBizzy Bone |
| Url | www.bonethugsnharmony.com |
In 1995, the group released its second album, E. 1999 Eternal, which included hits "1st of tha Month" and "Tha Crossroads." A tribute to the recently deceased Eazy-E, "Tha Crossroads," won a Grammy award in 1997. The Art of War, the group's third album, was also released in 1997.
Bone Thugs released two more albums that did not generate as much hype: BTNHResurrection (2000) and Thug World Order (2002). The group went on hiatus and returned in 2007 with Strength & Loyalty, this time released by Swizz Beatz's label Full Surface Records. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony officially returned with their new album , released in 2010 by their own record label, BTNH Worldwide, with distribution by Warner Bros.
Early years
Formed in 1991, the group consisted of only four members: Krayzie Bone, Layzie Bone, Bizzy Bone and Wish Bone, and the group was originally called B.O.N.E Enterprise. Their first album, Faces of Death, was recorded in 1993. With new member and Layzie's brother, Flesh-n-Bone who was a member of the Crips, added the same year, the group renamed itself Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. In November 1993, the group auditioned backstage for rapper Eazy-E, who was performing in Cleveland with his father. After a second audition, Eazy-E signed the group to his label Ruthless Records.
Ruthless Records
Creepin on ah Come Up
Released in June 1994, the EP Creepin on ah Come Up, was Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's debut with Ruthless. Peaking at #12 on the Billboard 200 album chart and #2 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart, it included the hit singles "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" and "Foe tha Love of $", the second of which featured a verse by Eazy-E. "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #2 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart, and "Foe tha Love of $" peaked at #41 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Rap Tracks.
E. 1999 Eternal
In 1995, the group's second album E. 1999 Eternal was released. It included the singles "1st of tha Month", which peaked at #14 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Hot Rap Tracks, and "Tha Crossroads", which reached #1 on the Hot 100 and Hot Rap Tracks charts. The album name originated from Eazy-E's album, Eternal E, naming it after Eazy-E's album was just another way of showing respect and tribute to the rapper that helped make them big. In the same year, Flesh-n-Bone would become the first member of the group to release a debut album entitled T.H.U.G.S.
The Art of War
In 1997, the group released the double-disc set The Art of War. The single "Look into My Eyes" appeared on the soundtrack of the film Batman & Robin. It peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. Pleading guilty, Flesh-n-Bone was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Bizzy Bone abstained from promoting BTNHResurrection because he felt that Ruthless Records owed him money. He dropped a million-dollar lawsuit he filed against Sony Music and Loud Records in exchange for a termination of his Sony contract. Three members of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony released solo albums in 2001: Bizzy Bone with The Gift, Layzie Bone with Thug by Nature, and Krayzie Bone with Thug on da Line.
Thug World Order
In 2002, the group released Thug World Order. The album debuted at #12 on the Billboard 200,
After Ruthless
Thug Stories
Thug Stories, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's sixth album, was recorded on Koch Records and released on September 19, 2006. It marked the first time Bone Thugs-n-Harmony recorded as a trio. Thug Stories sold 38,000 in its first week and peaked at #25 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Independent Album Chart.
Strength & Loyalty
Originally to be called The Bone Thugs Story, Strength & Loyalty was released on May 8, 2007. Being their first major album after an absence of nearly five years, the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on iTunes and the Billboard Urban Music charts. The album contains guest appearances by Mariah Carey, The Game, will.i.am, Akon, Twista, Bow Wow, Yolanda Adams, and Felecia.Producers on the album included Swizz Beatz, Akon, Pretty Boy & Bradd Young, DJ Toomp, Jermaine Dupri, will.i.am, and others. The executive producer of the album was Swizz Beatz. The first single was "I Tried", which was their first top 10 hit in 10 years, having peaked at number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The second single was "Lil Love", which failed to reach the success of their first single. The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA.
T.H.U.G.S.
T.H.U.G.S. is an album featuring previously unreleased, largely remixed Bone Thugs-n-Harmony songs that didn't make the final cut of BTNHResurrection and Thug World Order albums. It was released on November 13, 2007 by their former record label, Ruthless Records. The sole single off the album was "Young Thugs", which was accompanied by a newly-filmed music video featuring Krayzie, Layzie, Bizzy and Wish.
I Tried (The Bone Thugs Movie)
Bone has also released a movie titled I Tried(directed by Rich Newey), which was originally named "What If..." The topic of the movie is how different the lives of Krayzie, Layzie and Wish would have been if they had never met Eazy-E. The movie was released in stores on September 25 of 2007. It has since become a platinum selling DVD.
Reunion
In November 2007, Layzie Bone confirmed that he had completed the Bone Brothers III album with Bizzy Bone, spurring speculation of a full Bone reunion. In a video interview, Krayzie Bone stated that they all wanted to reunite but that record label issues may prevent an official reunion. Bizzy Bone had attended a Bone Thugs performance during the time and he and the three then-standing members had a "good conversation".After nearly a decade of incarceration, Flesh-n-Bone was released from prison on July 13, 2008. In an interview, Bizzy confirmed his return to the group, after them all getting together by the time of Flesh's release.
Uni5: The World's Enemy
video. A third single, "Meet Me in the Sky", was released on March 22. Uni-5: The World's Enemy was released on May 4, 2010.
E.1999 Eternal Tour and New Record Deal
In the fall of 2010, the group went on their E.1999 Eternal Tour, a 36-city tour performing songs from their 1995 album E 1999 Eternal with a live band (without Bizzy). Bone will spend the rest of 2010 recording a new CD for a soon-to-be-disclosed new label deal, writing a book, and developing a film project based on their unique story.
Style and technique
Bone's style and technique can be described as melodic, rapid-fire and aggressive. Their flow is often interwoven at a high-speed, melodic pace or slow, harmonic pace. They also tend to ride the beat that they're rapping over. Sometimes there are very few choruses separating their verses from one another. In the beginning, circa Faces of Death, Bone used a pseudo-Jamaican patois delivery with their trademark style, though they rarely do this now. Bone's subject matter has both spiritual and occult undertones (e.g., "Hell Sent", "Intro", "Mr. Ouija", "Mr. Ouija 2" and "Da Introduction"). At first, their subject matter was almost always exclusively about violence and smoking marijuana. Today, however, their subject matter includes other topics such as urban socio-political issues, their old friend and mentor Eazy-E and religion. Besides minor changes to subject matter and sound, their lyrical style, elocution, and overall methodology remain intact.
Discography
Awards
References
14. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5NFX1CG6z4 (Studio Session of Bizzy Bone unreleased album with Papillon Bandana Destination Ailleurs with Layzie Bone on this project) 15. http://www.amazon.com/Destination-ailleurs-Explicit/dp/B003V9AOHG/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&qid;=1294076131&sr;=8-29
External links
Category:Musical groups from Cleveland, Ohio Category:American hip hop groups Category:Hip hop singers Category:Culture of Cleveland, Ohio Category:Musical groups from Ohio Category:Grammy Award winners Category:E1 Music artists Category:1990s music groups Category:Ruthless Records artists Category:Interscope Records artists Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Asher Roth
| Name | Asher Roth |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Asher Paul Roth |
| Born | August 11, 1985 |
| Origin | Morrisville, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Rapper |
| Years active | 2008—Present |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Associated acts | Kid Cudi, B.o.B, Chester French, Nottz |
| Label | Schoolboy/SRC/Universal Records |
| Url |
Early life
Asher Roth was born and raised in Morrisville, a small town about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. His mother, Elizabeth (née McConnell), is a yoga instructor, and his father, David Roth, is the executive director of a design firm. He attended Pennsbury High School. Growing up, Roth was exposed to little hip-hop in his family, with his parents preferring "The Temptations, Earth, Wind & Fire ... Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits."Upon graduation, Roth entered West Chester University and became an Elementary Education major, while continuing to record verses over other peoples’ beats. During sophomore year, Roth posted some of his verses on his MySpace page and sent a Friend Request to Scooter Braun, an Atlanta-based promoter and former VP of Marketing for Jermaine Dupri's So So Def. One week after speaking to Braun, Roth flew down to Atlanta and was immediately signed by Braun, who subsequently became his manager. Roth would eventually sign a joint venture between Braun's Schoolboy Music and Steve Rifkind, chairman of SRC/Universal Records. On June 13, 2008, Roth put out his first professional release, the Don Cannon and DJ Drama-helmed The Greenhouse Effect mixtape, via the Internet. This resulted in Roth being the second white rapper to be featured on Drama and Cannon’s influential Gangsta Grillz series.
Asleep in the Bread Aisle
Sometime in mid 2008, Roth announced he would be making a full studio album and it would be released sometime in early 2009. He started recording in late 2008, and continued into 2009. The first single released was titled, "I Love College", which received many hits across North America. His second single was titled, "Lark on my Go-Kart". After the 2 singles were released, Roth's studio album, Asleep in the Bread Aisle, was released on April 20, 2009. He supported his album with a nationwide tour with B.o.B. and Kid Cudi. Asher also joined Blink-182 in the second half of their reunion tour in the fall of 2009.
The Spaghetti Tree
After finishing touring in 2009 and a second mixtape, Seared Foie Gras with Quince and Cranberry, work has begun on Asher's second studio album. From his friend Boyder's YouTube page, he has been seen working with producers Pharrell and Nottz. The album release is expected sometime in 2011. Asher promoted G.R.I.N.D. (Get Ready it's a New Day), the first single off of his new album, The Spaghetti Tree by traveling to different radio stations around the country. Asher Roth revealed four tracks on his upcoming album in a XXL article. One features Game, one is produced by Swizz Beatz and another is titled "Run it Back".Roth's lyrics characteristically center on what have been called "middle-class minutiae, some also consider them to be a joke." Roth's song "I Love College" is about partying with alcohol and marijuana, but includes fatuous lyrics such as "I can get pizza a dollar a slice" that have been identified as "far from threatening". As he gained prominence being a white performer in a predominantly black musical genre, Roth has earned many comparisons to Eminem, so much so that he devoted a track on his album to the famed rapper, entitled "As I Em."
Discography
Studio albums
Mixtapes
EPs
Awards
References
External links
Category:People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Category:Rappers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Universal Records artists Category:West Chester University of Pennsylvania alumni Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
