Name	Dwele
Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Born	February 14, 1978,Detroit, Michigan, United States
Birth name	Andwele Gardner
Alias	Dwele
Genre	Soul, neo soul, contemporary R&B;, jazz
Instruments	Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Trumpet
Occupation	Singer
Years active	2000–present
Label	Virgin Records (2003-2005)E1 Music, formerly Koch Records (2008-present)
Associated acts	Slum Village, Kanye West, Common, J Dilla
Url	dwele.com

Andwele Gardner (born February 14, 1978), better known by his stage name Dwele is a soul singer, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan.

Biography

Gardner was raised on the west side of Detroit in a musical family. He played piano from the age of six, later taking up trumpet, bass and guitar. He cites Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Roy Ayers, Miles Davis, and Freddie Hubbard as favorite artists, and took inspiration from hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, becoming an MC, and working with Slum Village.Slum Village invited Dwele to sing the hook of the song "Tainted" for their album Trinity (Past, Present and Future). It became an instant classic and led to more high profile work with female rapper Bahamadia, the all-star group Lucy Pearl and London's New Sector Movement. A second album, Some Kinda..., followed in 2005. He is coming out with his fourth album titled, W.W.W. (W.ants. W.orld. W.omen) coming out June 29, 2010. Dwele was featured on the first single off of Kanye West's fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The song was entitled "Power" and was leaked on May 28, 2010.

Discography

Albums

{|class="wikitable" ! width="28" rowspan="2"| Year ! width="250" rowspan="2"| Album ! colspan="3"| Chart positions |- ! width="86"| The Billboard 200 ! width="86"| Independent Albums |- | 2003 |"Find a Way" |align="center"| 93 |align="center"| 42 |align="left" rowspan="2"|Subject |- | 2004 |"Hold On" (featuring Eric Roberson) |align="center"| – |align="center"| 53 |- | 2005 | "I Think I Love U" |align="center"| – |align="center"| 53 |align="left" rowspan="2"|Some Kinda... |- | 2006 |"Weekend Love" |align="center"| – |align="center"| 116 |- |align="center" rowspan="2"|2007 |"The People" (with Common) |align="center"| 111 |align="center"| 56 |Finding Forever |- |"Flashing Lights" (with Kanye West) |align="center"| 29 |align="center"| 12 |Graduation |- |align="center" rowspan="2"|2008 |"I'm Cheatin" |align="center"| – |align="center"| 29 |align="left" rowspan="2"|Sketches of a Man |- |"A Few Reasons (Truth Pt.2)" |align="center"| - |align="center"| 75 |- |align="center" rowspan="2"|2010 |"What's Not to Love" |align="center"| – |align="center"| 43 |W.W.W. (W.ants. W.orld. W.omen) |}

Featured On

{|class="wikitable" !Year !Information |- |2002 |Trinity (Past, Present and Future) (Slum Village) |- |2003 |New Awakening (DJ MITSU The Beats) |- |rowspan="3"|2004 |Pure (Boney James) |- |Detroit Deli (Slum Village) |- |The Undeniable (Phat Kat) |- |rowspan="5"|2006 |Shine (Boney James) |- |SOULidified (Hil St. Soul) |- |The Shining (J Dilla) "Dime Piece (Remix)" |- |Dirty District Vol.3 (Brucie B.) |- |Witness My Growth (Elzhi) |- |rowspan="3"|2007 |Desire (Pharoahe Monch album) |- |Nu-Mixx Klazzics Vol. 2 (2Pac) "Straight Through My Rear View" |- | |- |rowspan="3"|2008 |Brooklyn's Don Diva (Foxy Brown) "Never Heard This Before" |- |Of All The Things (Jazzanova album) (Jazzanova) |- |The Dresden Soul Symphony |- |2009 |Death of a Man Rebirth of a King (Pryslezz) |- |2010 |"Power" (with Kanye West) from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy |- |2011 |Man vs. Many (Nefew) |}

References

External links

Dwele on Twitter

http://www.cream.cz/?recenze=dwele-w-ants-w-orld-w-omen-e1-music&preview;=1 Dwele - W.ants W.orld W.omen review at Cream}}

Category:Living people Category:African American singers Category:American male singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American soul singers Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:1978 births Detroit

Name	Kanye West
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kanye Omari West
Born	June 08, 1977Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, sampler, percussion, synthesizer
Occupation	Producer, rapper, musician, singer
Years active	1996–present
Label	GOOD Music, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Associated acts	Go Getters, Child Rebel Soldier, Jay-Z, Common, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Mr Hudson, Pusha T, Big Sean
Url

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.

West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. His five albums have received numerous awards, including a cumulative twelve Grammys, All have been very commercially successful, with 808s & Heartbreak becoming his third consecutive #1 album in the U.S. upon release. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such as John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi. West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his five albums as well as various single covers and music videos. About.com ranked Kanye West #8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's #1 "Hottest MC in the Game." On 17 December 2010, Kanye West was voted as the MTV Man of the Year by MTV.

Early life

Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with his parents. When he was three years old, his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. West's mother, Dr. Donda West, was a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as West's manager. He was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago. When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'".

West attended art classes at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and also enrolled at Chicago State University, but dropped out to focus on his music career.

Music career

Early career (1996–2003)

Kanye West's first career productions came on Chicago rapper Grav's 1996 debut album Down to Earth. West produced eight tracks on the album. While the album didn't attract much attention and would be the only album released by Grav, West would soon be producing for higher profile artists. In 1998-1999 he produced for well known artists such as Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, Goodie Mob, and the group Harlem World.

West got his big break in the year 2000 however when he began to produce for artists on Roc-a-Fella Records. He produced the well received Jay-Z song "This Can't Be Life" off of the album . West would later state that to create the beat for "This Can't Be Life" he sped up the drum beat from Dr. Dre's song "Xxplosive".

After producing for Jay-Z earlier, West’s sound was featured heavily on Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album The Blueprint, released on September 11, 2001. Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost. Multiple record companies felt he was not as marketable as rappers who portray the "street image" prominent in hip hop culture. West's faith is apparent in many of his songs, such as "Jesus Walks", which became a staple at his benefit performances, such as the Live 8 concert. These songs were featured on West's debut album, The College Dropout, which was released on Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004, and went on to receive critical acclaim. The album also defined the style for which West would become known, including wordplay and sampling. During 2003 West also co-produced songs for British singer Javine Hylton, even appearing in the music video to Real Things playing the love interest of Javine.

West was involved in a financial dispute over Royce Da 5'9"'s song "Heartbeat", produced by West and released on Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions. West maintains that Royce never paid for the beat, but recorded to it and released it; hearing him on the beat, the original customers decided not to buy it from West. After the disagreement, West vowed to never work with Royce again. Other Kanye West-produced hit singles during the period The College Dropout was released included "I Changed My Mind" by Keyshia Cole, "Overnight Celebrity" by Twista and "Talk About Our Love" by Brandy. Like its predecessor, the sophomore effort garnered universal acclaim from music critics. Late Registration topped countless critic polls and was revered as the best album of the year by numerous publications, including USA Today, Spin, and Time. Rolling Stone awarded the album the highest position on their end of the year record list and hailed it as a "sweepingly generous, absurdly virtuosic hip-hop classic." The record earned the number one spot on the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll of 2005 for the second consecutive year. Late Registration was also a commercial success, selling over 860,000 copies in its first week alone and topping the Billboard 200. Grossing over 2.3 million units sold in the United States alone by year's end, Late Registration was considered by industry observers as the sole majorly successful album release of the fall of 2005, a season that was plagued by steadily declining CD sales. The sophomore album earned eight Grammy Award nominations including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for the song "Gold Digger". The album is certified triple platinum.

On August 22, 2005, the MTV special All Eyes On Kanye West aired, in which West spoke out against homophobia in hip-hop. He claimed that hip-hop has always been about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people." He then reflected on a personal experience. He said that he had a "turning point" when he realized one of his cousins was gay. He said regarding this experience: "This is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays." He drew comparison between African Americans' struggle for civil rights and today's gay rights movement. The following year, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, West further expounded his experiences with and views on the relationship between the black and gay communities.

In September 2005, West announced that he would release his Pastelle Clothing line in spring 2006: "Now that I have a Grammy under my belt and Late Registration is finished, I am ready to launch my clothing line next spring." The current status of this project is unknown. In that year, West produced the hit singles "Go" by Common and "Dreams" by The Game.

Graduation (2007)

.]] In 2007, it was announced that West would be starring in a series directed by Larry Charles. He has been working on the pilot episode for the past two years with Larry Charles and Rick Rubin. He also had this to say on January 14: "I wouldn't do something as cliché as a reality show. At least give me the credit for being more creative than that. It's a situational half-hour comedy. It's fictional, and loosely based on my life. " West also collaborated with Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz to produce the single "I Still Love H.E.R.," a reference to Common's 1994 single "I Used to Love H.E.R.". Further to this, during a radio appearance in early 2007, West, like many of his peers, recorded an impromptu freestyle to the popular song "Throw Some D's." The song that to all other rappers was about automobile rims, was used by West to comically refer to D-cup breasts. Because of the unexpected success of the song, West went on to make a video for the freestyle, in which he is seen playing his 'Old Ass Cousin'.

West was also featured in a new song called "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)". It was believed to be a single for, Graduation, because he is featured on the track, but Nike quickly explained that it was for the Nike Air Force 1's anniversary. It was meant only to be an exclusive track for the company.

On March 25, 2007, he and his father Ray West supported World Water Day by having a "Walk for Water" rally. After a two-year break, West has returned to being a fashion columnist in lifestyle magazine Complex. On July 7, 2007, West performed with The Police and John Mayer at the American leg of Live Earth. West hosted the August 17 edition of British comedy- variety show The Friday Night Project.

In July 2007, West changed the release date of Graduation, his third album, from September 18, 2007, to the same release date as 50 Cent's album Curtis, September 11, 2007. 50 Cent later claimed that if Graduation were to sell more records than Curtis, he would stop releasing solo albums. However, 50 Cent would later dispel his comments. The album has been certified double platinum. Guest appearances included T-Pain, Mos Def, and Lil Wayne.

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On August 26, 2007, West appeared as himself on the HBO television show Entourage which he used as a platform to premier his new single "Good Life" during the end credits. On September 9, 2007, West performed at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, losing in every category he was nominated for; he gave an angry speech immediately afterward. (see "Controversies" section)

Following the MTV stint, West was nominated in eight Grammy Award categories for the 50th annual Grammy Awards. He won four of them, including Best Rap Album for Graduation and Best Rap Solo Performance for "Stronger" from Graduation. During the four-hour televised Grammy Awards ceremony, West also performed two songs: "Stronger" (with Daft Punk) and "Hey Mama" (in honor of his recently deceased mother).

Glow in the Dark Tour, 808s & Heartbreak (2008–09)

in Chicago]]

West kicked off the Glow In The Dark Tour in Seattle at the Key Arena on April 16. The tour was originally scheduled to end in June in Cincinnati but was extended into August. Over the course of the tour West was joined by a varying group of opening acts, including Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., DJ Craze, and Gnarls Barkley. On June 15, West was scheduled to perform a late night set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. His performance started almost two hours late and ran for half of its alloted time, angering many fans in the audience. West later wrote an outraged entry on his blog, blaming the festival organizers as well as Pearl Jam's preceding set, which ran longer than expected.

On September 7, West debuted a new song "Love Lockdown" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. "Love Lockdown" features no rapping and only singing using an auto-tune device. This song appears on West's fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak. The new album was expected to be released on December 16, but West announced on his blog on September 24, 2008, that he had finished the album and would be releasing it sometime in November, earlier than previously scheduled. In early October, West made a surprise appearance at a T.I. concert in Los Angeles, where he stated that 808s & Heartbreak was scheduled to be released on November 25, though it was actually released on the 24th, and that the second single is "Heartless". The album was another number one album for West, even though the first week numbers fell well short of Graduation with 450,145 sold.

Along with Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Leona Lewis, and others, West performed at the American Music Awards ceremony on November 23. That same night he won two AMA awards, including Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album for Graduation and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist. West performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August 2008, along with Wyclef Jean and N.E.R.D. in support of Barack Obama. On January 20, 2009, Kanye West performed at the Youth Inaugural Ball hosted by MTV for Obama's inauguration.

On February 17, 2009, West was named one of Top 10 Most Stylish Men in America by GQ. The next day, February 18, 2009, West won International Male Solo Artist at The Brit Awards 2009. West was not in attendance but accepted his award with a video speech, saying "Barack is the 'Best Interracial Male' but I'm proud to be the Best International Male in the world.

In April 2009, Kanye West recorded a song called "Hurricane" with 30 Seconds to Mars to appear on their album This Is War, but was not released due to legal issues with both record companies. The song was eventually released on the deluxe version of This Is War, titled "Hurricane 2.0".

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne (2010–present)

In May 2010, West made an animated television guest appearance on Fox's animated television series The Cleveland Show (a spin-off of Family Guy) as the voice behind "Kenny West", a rival of Cleveland Brown's son. In his first episode he performed in a rap battle with Cleveland's son. The producers stated working with West was a very good experience and a reason they chose him was because they knew he was a fan of Family Guy. Kenny West re-appeared in the season 2 premiere of The Cleveland Show.

West spent the first half of 2010 in Honolulu, Hawaii, working on his new album with the working title "Good Ass Job", later named My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, released on November 22, 2010. West has cited Maya Angelou, Gil Scott-Heron and Nina Simone as his musical inspirations for this album. Outside production is said to come from RZA, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, and DJ Premier. West also had Justin Vernon flown into his studio on Oahu after seemingly expressing interest in sampling one of Bon Iver's songs; Vernon proceeded to feature on a number of new tracks, including "Lost In The World," which features Vernon's vocal line from Woods.

On May 28, the Dwele-assisted first single from the album, entitled "Power", leaked to the Internet. On June 30, the track was officially released via iTunes. The upcoming music video was quoted as being "apocalyptic, in a very personal way" by the director Marco Brambilla.

On September 12, 2010, West performed a new song, "Runaway" featuring Pusha T, at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Shortly after the performance, Kanye revealed he was working on a 35 minute short film based around the song. The movie is said to be influenced by film noir and concerns a fallen phoenix whom Kanye falls in love with. The short film debuted consecutively on VH1, MTV, and BET on October 23, 2010.

Watch The Throne, an upcoming collaborative studio album by West and Jay-Z, is scheduled to be released by Def Jam Recordings in 2011. It has been under production since August 2010 as part of West's GOOD Friday initiative of releasing new songs every Friday between August 20 and Christmas 2010. West said through a recent interview with MTV that the album is "going to be very dark and sexy, like couture hip hop. He appeared at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, performing the track "Lost in the World" from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. On January 6, 2011, Kanye announced via Twitter that the first official single from Watch the Throne would be a song called "H.A.M" produced by Lex Luger. The song was released on January 11, 2011.

Personal life

Relationships

Kanye West and designer Alexis Phifer ended their 18-month engagement in 2008. The couple had been dating on and off since 2002, with West eventually proposing in August 2006. According to a friend, the couple's relationship had been straining, significantly influenced by the sheer amount of time and attention West was dedicating to his current concert tour. "It's always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends," Phifer told People.

West was also in a high profile on/off relationship with Amber Rose from 2008 until the summer of 2010.

Mother's death

On November 10, 2007, West's mother, Donda West, died of complications from cosmetic surgery involving abdominoplasty and breast augmentation. TMZ reported that Beverly Hills physician Andre Aboolian had advised Donda West not to have surgery because of a health condition that placed her at risk for a heart attack. He had previously been under scrutiny by the medical board. Adams appeared on Larry King Live on November 20, 2007 but left before speaking. Two days later, he appeared again, with his attorney, stating he was there to "defend himself." He said that the recently released autopsy results "spoke for themselves". The final coroner's report January 10, 2008 concluded that Donda West died of "coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors due to or as a consequence of liposuction and mammoplasty."

The funeral and burial for Donda West was held in Oklahoma City on November 20, 2007. West held his first concert following the funeral at The O2 in London on November 22. He dedicated a performance of "Hey Mama", as well as a cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", to his mother, and did so on all other dates of his Glow in the Dark tour.

At a December 2008 press conference in New Zealand, West spoke about his mother's death for the first time. "It was like losing an arm and a leg and trying to walk through that," he told reporters.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger passed the "Donda West Law," a legislation which makes it mandatory for patients to provide medical clearance for elective cosmetic surgery.

Musical style and influences

(left)]] At the start of his career, Kanye West's production style often used pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. His first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was "This Can't Be Life", a track from Jay-Z’s . West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his drums on "This Can't Be Life". and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites, "Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time... We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that." RZA himself has spoken quite positively of the comparisons, stating in an interview for Rolling Stone, "All good. I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings... For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: 'Wu-Tang is forever.' Kanye is going to inspire people to be like him."

While his use of sampling has lessened over time, West's production continues to feature distinctive and intricate string arrangements. This characteristic arose from him listening to the English trip hop group Portishead, whose 1998 live album Roseland NYC Live, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra inspired him to incorporate string sections into his hip hop production. Though he was unable to afford live instruments beyond violin riffs provided by Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari around the time of his debut album, its subsequent commercial success allowed him to hire his very own eleven-piece string orchestra. For a time, West stood as the sole current pop star to tour with a string section. Both a fan and supporter of indie culture, West uses his official website to promote obscure indie rock bands, posting up music videos and mp3s on a daily basis. This musical affinity is mutual, as West has collaborated with indie artists such as Santigold, Peter Bjorn and John and Lykke Li while his songs have gone on to be covered countless times by myriad rock bands.

Other ventures

Business ventures

In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first was set to open in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, although the process is being finalized. His company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago. Additionally, West planned to launch his fashion career, and applied for internships with major European fashion houses. He is due to release his own clothing line called Past Tell in 2009. He also collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, Air Yeezys.

On January 22, 2009, during Paris Fashion Week, West introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton. The line was released in summer 2009.

Philanthropy

West started the "Kanye West Foundation" in Chicago in 2003. On August 24, 2007, West hosted the inaugural benefit concert to launch the foundation's partnership with Strong American Schools. It is focused on helping Latino and African American children stay in school and to get a proper education through grade school, high school, and college. The foundation also helps children to stay in high school by finding a path through music. West has contributed over $500,000 to his foundation. The foundation has also been called the "Donda West Foundation".

Kanye West has appeared and participated in many fundraisers, benefit concerts, and has done community work for Hurricane Katrina relief, the Kanye West Foundation, the Millions More Movement, 100 Black Men of America, a Live Earth concert benefit, World Water Day rally and march, Nike runs, and a MTV special helping young Iraq War veterans who struggle through debt and PTSD a second chance after returning home.

Controversies

Media

West has had several controversies throughout his career. On September 2, 2005, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief on NBC, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, West was a featured speaker. When West was presenting alongside actor Mike Myers, he deviated from the prepared script. Myers spoke next and continued to read the script. Once it was West's turn to speak again, he said "George Bush doesn't care about black people." At this point, telethon producer Rick Kaplan cut off the microphone and then cut away to Chris Tucker, who was unaware of the cut for a few seconds. Still, West's comment reached much of the United States. Bush stated in an interview that the comment was "one of the most disgusting moments” of his presidency.

In January 2006, West again sparked controversy when he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in the image of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.

Award shows

Later in 2006, West had his first of a number of incidents involving music award events. After the 2006 Grammy nominations were released, West said he would "really have a problem" if he did not win the Album of the Year, saying, "I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt — you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. I don't want to hear all of that politically correct stuff." On November 2, 2006, when his "Touch the Sky" failed to win Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and argued that he should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane. He later spoofed the incident in the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. On September 9, 2007, West suggested that his race had to do with his being overlooked for opening the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right." West was performing at the event; that night, he lost all 5 awards that he was nominated for, including Best Male Artist and Video of the Year. After the show, he was visibly upset that he had lost at the VMAs two years in a row, stating that he would not come back to MTV ever again. He also appeared on several radio stations saying that when he made the song "Stronger" that it was his dream to open the VMAs with it. He has also stated that Spears hasn't had a hit in a long period of time and that MTV exploited her for ratings.

On September 13, 2009, during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me", West went on stage and grabbed the microphone to proclaim that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time". He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions. When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech. and by President Barack Obama, who called West a "jackass" in an off the record comment. In addition, West's VMA disruption sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes with blogs, forums and "tweets" with the "Let you finish" photo-jokes. He posted two apologies for the outburst on his personal blog; one on the night of the incident and the other the same day he appeared on The Jay Leno Show, on September 14, 2009, where he apologized again. After Swift appeared on The View two days after the outburst, partly to discuss the matter, West called her to apologize personally. Swift said she accepted his apology. In September 2010, West wrote a series of apologetic tweets addressed to Swift including "Beyonce didn't need that. MTV didn't need that and Taylor and her family friends and fans definitely didn't want or need that" and concluding with "I'm sorry Taylor." West also revealed he had written a song for Swift and if she didn't accept the song, he would perform it himself.

Legal issues

In December 2006, Robert "Evel" Knievel sued West for trademark infringement in West's video for "Touch the Sky." Knievel took issue with a "sexually-charged video" in which West takes on the persona of "Evel Kanyevel" and attempts flying a rocket over a canyon. The suit filed in federal court claims infringement on his trademarked name and likeness. Knievel also claims the "vulgar and offensive" images depicted in the video damage his reputation. The suit seeks damages and to stop distribution of the video. West's attorneys argued that the music video amounted to satire and therefore was covered under the First Amendment. Just days before his death in November 2007, Knievel amicably settled the suit after being paid a visit from West, saying, "I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman."

On September 11, 2008, West and his road manager/bodyguard Don Crowley were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport and booked on charges of felony vandalism after an altercation with the paparazzi in which West and Crowley broke the photographers' cameras. West was later released from the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division station in Culver City on $20,000 bail bond. On September 26, 2008 the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said it would not file felony counts against West over the incident. Instead the case file was forwarded to the city attorney's office, which charged West with one count of misdemeanor vandalism, one count of grand theft and one count of battery and his manager with three counts of each on March 18, 2009. West's and Crowley's arraignment was delayed from an original date of April 14, 2009. West was arrested again on November 14, 2008 at a hotel near Gateshead after another scuffle involving a photographer outside a nightclub in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He was later released "with no further action", according to a police spokesperson.

Discography

; Studio albums

The College Dropout (2004)

Late Registration (2005)

Graduation (2007)

808s & Heartbreak (2008)

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

; Live albums

''Late Orchestration (2006)

(2010)

; Collaboration albums Watch The Throne (2011) (with Jay-Z)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Kanye West at Beatbuggy

Category:1977 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:African American rappers Category:African American singers Category:American bloggers Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American music video directors Category:American pop musicians Category:American record producers Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Chicago State University alumni Category:Electro-hop musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop musicians Category:Hip hop singers Category:Living people Category:Mercury Records artists Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Rappers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Roc-A-Fella Records artists Category:World Music Awards winners

Name	Joy Denalane
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Joy Maureen Denalane
Born	June 11, 1973Berlin, Germany
Genre	Soul, R&B;, jazz, folk
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1999–present
Label	Four Music, Nesola
Url	www.joydenalane.com

Joy Maureen Denalane (born 11 June 1973), known as Joy Denalane, is a German singer-songwriter, known for her mixture of soul, R&B;, and African folk music with lyrics in German and English.

Biography

Early life

Denalane was the third child and oldest daughter born to both a German mother and a South African father in Schöneberg, Berlin. A little later on the family moved to Kreuzberg where Denalane spent her childhood with her five siblings.

At the age of sixteen Denalane left home and started focusing on music with first stage performances and the joining of the reggae and soul bands Culture Roots and Family Affair. At nineteen she was signed to a major pop label but she and her management could not agree on what her music and image should be like and Denalane soon asked for a release. Afterwards she moved to Stuttgart where she met DJ Thomilla and Tiefschwarz (two already well-known producers active in the Kolchose) with whom Denalane co-wrote and produced the club hit "Music".

She married singer and producer Max Herre with whom she has two sons named Isaiah (born 2001) and Jamil (born 2003). They separated in October 2007.

Music career

Debut and Mamani (2002)

Around the same time Denalane came in first contact with hip hop group Freundeskreis, who searched for a female counterpart to lead singer Max Herre's voice on their track "Mit Dir" then. However, the duet was released as a single in July 1999 and made the top ten in Germany, the top thirty in Austria, and the top fifteen in Switzerland—pushed by the fact Denalane and Herre had become a couple simultaneously.

Afterwards Denalane joined the FK Allstars, which also consisted of Afrob, Gentleman, Sekou, and Brooke Russell, among others, and went on tour with them for more than two years. Later on she signed a contract with Four Music (founded by Die Fantastischen Vier) and began working on her debut album Mamani, which was released in June 2002 and debuted at number eight on the German Albums Chart. Inspired by African roots, the album was primarily produced by husband Max Herre. In total Mamani spawned six singles, including the lead single "Sag's Mir", the socially critical track "Im Ghetto von Soweto" (featuring South African flugelhorn legend Hugh Masekela), and "Kinderlied", a song dedicated to her oldest son Isaiah.

In 2003 Denalane went on a solo tour and finished collaborations with Youssou N'Dour, ASD, and Till Brönner. She also performed in New York City and Philadelphia for the first time and eventually received a Comet for Best Hip-Hop/R&B; National and three ECHO nominations, including Best Female Artist. Soon after she released a live edition of Mamani on CD and DVD, which was recorded during a special performance at Berlin's Tränenpalast and involved a set of previously unreleased remakes. In summer 2005 Denalane contributed vocals to the German version of Common's 2005 single "Go!".sada

Born & Raised (2006)

In April 2006 Denalane and husband Herre founded their own label, Nesola Records. Simultaneously Denalane prepared the release of her second album, Born & Raised, her first record in English. Pre-programmed in Germany, the album was entirely recorded in Philadelphia and features appearances by American rappers Lupe Fiasco, Raekwon, and Governor. While its lead single "Let Go" reached a moderately successful number forty on the German Singles Chart, the critically-acclaimed Born & Raised (released on 11 August 2006) debuted at number two (behind Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics) on the national albums chart, making it Denalane's highest chart entry to date. Further singles from the album, "Heaven or Hell" and "Sometimes Love", failed to chart within the top one hundred. In spring 2007 Denalane released the single "Change" (featuring Lupe Fiasco) in the United Kingdom, but it failed to chart.

Now 2008 In 2008 Joy Denalane worked with Tweet, Dwele and Bilal on the project The Dresden Soul Symphony in Dresden, Germany. They performed classic soul cuts like "Let's stay together", "Natural woman", "Its a man´s man´s man's world", "Ain´t nothing like a real thing" etc. with the MDR Symphony Orchestra. An album The Dresden Soul Symphony and DVD were later released on October 24, 2008.

Discography

Albums

2002: Mamani

2004: Mamani Live

2006: Born & Raised

External links

Official website Joy Denalane on the Four Music website

Category:1973 births Category:English-language singers Category:German female singers Category:German singer-songwriters Category:German soul singers Category:German-language singers Category:German people of South African descent Category:Living people Category:People from Berlin Category:Rhythm and blues singer-songwriters

Name	Bahamadia
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Antonia Reed
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre	Hip hop, Alternative hip hop, Jazz Rap
Years active	1994–present
Label	Chrysalis/EMI RecordsGood Vibe RecordingsE1 MusicE1 Entertainment
Associated acts	The Roots, Gang Starr, Gang Starr Foundation, Planet Asia, Talib Kweli

Bahamadia (Antonia Reed) is a Philadelphia-born hip hop artist born in 1970, and a DJ who later became an MC. As a member of Gang Starr Foundation, she released her critically-acclaimed debut album entitled Kollage in 1996. The album featured production by Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr. Kollage was followed in 2001 by BB Queen, an EP release.

Bahamadia is a respected lyricist in hip hop and is known for her silky, subdued monotone delivery. She has expressed a positive attitude toward globalism as an emerging trend in hip hop. For example, in a 2003 collaboration with little-known group the Sisters of the Underground on a track entitled "Global", she performs lyrics in the chorus which acknowledge Japan, Canada, Sweden, Norway, and Thailand, among other countries, for fostering vibrant hip hop communities, and Japan in particular for the dedication of her Japanese fans. She has recorded a number of bootlegs exclusively released in Japan.

Her reputation in North America has been enhanced by a number of highly regarded guest appearances on tracks by artists including Talib Kweli, The Roots, Jedi Mind Tricks and Planet Asia, and through her association with the Philadelphia hip hop collective Army of the Pharaohs.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Guest appearances

1995: Respect The Architect Guru's

1996: Au Natural (from Sweetback's self-titled album)

1996: Push Up Ya Lighter (from The Roots' album Illadelph Halflife)

1996: Au Natural (from Sweetback's album Sweetback)

1997: Say Word (from the Boogiemonsters album God Sound)

1998: Happy (from Towa Tei's album Sound Museum)

1998: Five Perfect Exertions (From Army of the Pharaohs's EP "The Five Perfect Exertions EP")

1999: Chaos with Talib Kweli (from Rawkus Records's album Soundbombing II)

1999: When I Shine (from English group Herbaliser's album Very Mercenary)

1999: Exertions(Remix) (from Jedi Mind Tricks album Violent By Design)

1999: Plead the Fifth (from Concise Kilgore album Plead the Fifth)

2000: Good Girl Down (from Morcheeba's album Fragments of Freedom)

2001: Expo Expo (from the Japanese group M-Flo's album Expo Expo)

2001: Too Much Weight (from Princess Superstar's album Princess Superstar Is)

2003: Love of My Life Worldwide (from Erykah Badu's album Worldwide Underground)

2004: Ancestry in Progress, "Yelling Away" and "Show Me The Way" with Zap Mama

2007: Still Here (from Japanese dj DJ Deckstream's album Deckstream Soundtracks)

2009: Breathe (from Mr. Lif's album I Heard It Today)

2009: Do What I Believe (from Statik Selektah's The Pre-Game EP)

References

External links

Bahamadia Official MySpace Page

Category:American DJs Category:African American rappers Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Female rappers Category:Rappers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Good Vibe Recordings artists Category:Chrysalis Records artists