Name	Amerie
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Amerie Mi Marie Rogers
Born	January 12, 1981
Birthplace	Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States
Origin	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Genre	R&B;, hip hop, funk, soul, pop
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, actress, model
Years active	2001–present
Label	Columbia, Feeniix Rising Entertainment, Island Def Jam
Url

Amerie Mi Marie Rogers (born January 12, 1981 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts), known professionally as Amerie (also stylized as Ameriie), is a two time Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, producer and actress. She debuted in 2002 with the album All I Have, primarily co-written and produced by Rich Harrison, releasing her debut hit single "Why Don't We Fall In Love" and "Talkin' to Me". In 2005, Amerie released her sophomore effort featuring the hit "1 Thing", the lead single from her second album, Touch, which introduced elements of D.C.'s go-go, and became her biggest hit to date. The last single released from Touch was the self-titled "Touch", which became an international hit in other countries. Her junior effort Because I Love It would become an international only release in 2007. Amerie released her fourth studio album titled In Love & War on November 3, 2009. The singles released were "Why R U", "Heard 'Em All" "Pretty Brown" featuring Trey Songz, and "More than Love" featuring Fabolous. She has sold over 6 million albums worldwide.

Early life

Amerie was born to Korean mother, artist Mi Suk , and African American father, Charles. A few months after she was born, the Rogers family moved to her mother’s native Korea, where Amerie lived for three years. Her father, Charles, was a chief warrant officer, who is now her lawyer. She finally settled in Arlington, VA.

Amerie describes her parents as conservative, protective, traditional Christians. Growing up, she and her sister were forbidden to leave the house or use the phone on school days. Amerie enrolled at Georgetown University to study literature, and was in Navy ROTC: “I was in the Navy ROTC. My dad didn’t force me into it or anything. I joined so I could afford an education.” She quit ROTC after her sophomore year, and graduated with a BA degree in English and Fine Arts minor in design.

Amerie's first language is Korean; however, after the family left Korea, Amerie's mother made a conscious effort to limit the use of Korean with her daughters out of fear that it would impede their development of English proficiency. In an interview with KoreAm Journal, Amerie stated that she is now only "conversational" in the Korean language and speaks it at home with her mother, Angela, and extended Korean family members.

Music career

2002–05: All I Have and Touch

While studying at Georgetown, she befriended a Washington D.C. club promoter who eventually put her in touch with producer Rich Harrison. Rich Harrison--who had just worked on Mary J. Blige's recent albums Mary (album) and No More Drama--began making/developing demos with Amerie. This led to Amerie's first record deal with Rise Entertainment in collaboration with Columbia Records.

In late 2005, Amerie released Touch's second single, "Touch", and was featured alongside Fat Joe on "I Don't Care", the lead single of Ricky Martin's album Life. Though the latter one entered the top twenty in several European countries and Australia, Touch's title track failed to reprise the success of "1 Thing"—it did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 (it peaked at number ninety-five on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart), and reached number nineteen on the UK Singles Chart. "Talkin' About", the third single, was released only for promo.

Amerie's third album, Because I Love It, was her first album not to feature writing and production from her long-time collaborator, friend, and producer Rich Harrison. Other producers—such as Bryan-Michael Cox, The Buchanans, Len Nicholson; were enlisted to work with Amerie. "Take Control", which was co-produced by Mike Caren, Amerie and Nicholson and co-written by Amerie and Cee-Lo Green, was the first single from the album and was released in the U.S. in late 2006. It failed to chart on the Hot 100, reaching the lower half of the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs Chart. Though, the single gave Amerie her second Top 10 hit in the UK.

Because I Love It was released in Europe in May 2007 and was scheduled to be released in the U.S. in 2007 (the release of the album made the Blender magazine list of "25 Reasons to Love '07", ranking nineteenth), but its release date was pushed back numerous times due to the ever changing climate at Sony music with Rick Rubin coming in. Amerie and her management team held Sony from releasing her LP domestically; it is available only as an import and through a limited release of the album in U.S. Wal-Mart stores. Allmusic described the album as "enthuastic", "unwavering", and being able to "lasso each song, whether it requires salt, sugar, heartache, delight, or any combination thereof".

In early 2007, it was reported that Korean pop sensation Se7en would collaborate with Amerie on the album. She has stated several times in interviews that she has been very eager to work with Korean pop/R&B; singers, being a fan of K-pop herself. It was later reported that the re-worked version of "Take Control" would be featured on the Asian editions of the album Because I Love It. A limited amount of promotional albums that were released in Japan and Korea in late April include the remix featuring Se7en. There was also talk of Amerie releasing a remix of "Crush" as the album's third single. But an official release never came through.

In late 2007, Amerie accepted an offer to appear in advertisement celebrating the 10th anniversary of the world's second largest cable provider, AXN as they had previously bought the rights to her single Gotta Work for an estimated £800,000 for usage in their ad campaign. She was paid an additional £500,000 for actually appearing in the commercial which was broadcast to just under a billion viewers across Asia (Brunei, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam).

2008–09: In Love & War

In late 2007, Entertainment Weekly reported that Amerie had left her label Columbia Records. In April 2008, Amerie's name was removed from the label's roster. She signed a label/production deal with her imprint Feeniix Rising Entertainment, through the Island Def Jam Music Group. On her Twitter account, Amerie revealed that she has been secretly recording new music and that the album will be in fact a concept album. The album was executively produced by LA Reid, and manager LG Nicholson, and Ameriie herself. The album first debuted at position #46 on the Billboard 200 but is now ontrack to debut at position #7.

The album featured production from The Buchanans, Warryn Campbell, Bryan-Michael Cox, Sean Garrett, Eric Hudson, Jim Jonsin, Jonas Jeberg, Karma, Rico Love, M-Phazes, Teddy Riley, and TrackNova. Rich Harrison did not make any contributions because he has been busy with his new group Richgirl, although Amerie hoped to work with him on her fifth album. Ameriie announced that her first single off the album was "Why R U", produced by Ameriie & The Buchanans. The song appeared online the week of May 4, 2009 and received rave reviews. The dual second singles are "Heard 'Em All"

Amerie landed her first acting role as Mia Thompson in the 2004 Forest Whitaker directed romantic comedy First Daughter alongside Katie Holmes, Michael Keaton, Lela Rochon, and Marc Blucas.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Title !! Role |- |2003 ||The Center ||Hostess (TV series) |- |2004 ||First Daughter ||Mia Thompson |}

Discography

All I Have (2002)

Touch (2005)

Because I Love It (2007)

In Love & War (2009)

Cymatika Vol. 1 (2011)

Awards and nominations

;2003

BET Awards: Best Female R&B; Artist (nominated)

Soul Train Music Awards: Best Female R&B;/Soul Single "Why Don't We Fall in Love" (nominated)

Soul Train Music Awards: "Best R&B;/Soul or Rap New Artist" ("Why Don't We Fall in Love") (winner)

Soul Train Awards: Best Female R&B;/Soul Album, All I Have (nominated)

: Outstanding New Artist (nominated)

;2005

Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: "Entertainer of the Year" (winner)

VIBE Awards: "Club Banger of the Year" ("1 Thing") (winner)

BET Awards: Video of the Year "1 Thing" (nominated)

BET Awards: Best Female R&B; Artist (nominated)

Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: Best R&B;/Soul or Rap Song of the Year "1 Thing" (nominated)

Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: Best R&B;/Soul or Rap Dance Cut "1 Thing" (nominated)

Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: Best R&B;/Soul Single "1 Thing" (nominated)

Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards: Best R&B;/Soul or Rap Music Video "1 Thing" (nominated)

MOBO Awards: Best Song "1 Thing" (nominated)

MTV Video Music Awards: Best Female Video "1 Thing" (nominated)

MTV Video Music Awards: Best Choreography "1 Thing" (nominated)

;2006

ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards: "Top Soundtrack Song of the Year" ("1 Thing") (winner)

Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance "1 Thing" (nominated)

Grammy Awards: Best Contemporary R&B; Album, Touch (nominated)

;2007

MOBO Awards: Best Song ("Take Control") (nominated)

MTV Europe Music Awards: Ultimate Urban Artist (nominated)

;2011 TBA

References

External links

Amerie at Official Website

Ameriie at Twitter

Amerie at Island Def Jam Music Group

Category:1981 births Category:African American actors Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:African American female singers Category:American dancers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:Columbia Records artists Category:English-language singers Category:Georgetown University alumni Category:American people of Korean descent Category:Actors from Massachusetts Category:Musicians from Massachusetts Category:Military brats Category:People from Washington, D.C. Category:People from Worcester County, Massachusetts Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Alaska Category:Musicians from Texas

Name	Willy Denzey
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	William Thongrasamy
Born	August 19, 1982
Origin	Melun, France
Genre	Hip-hop, R&B;
Occupation	Singer
Years active	2002-present
Url	www.willydenzey.com/

William Thongrasamy, known under the pseudonym Willy Denzey (born 19 August 1982 in Melun, France) is a R&B; et soul French-born singer with Laotian origins.

Biography

He spent his childhood in Le Mée-sur-Seine. At 15, he formed with his friends a band named Prodyge. In June 2000, he participated in the broadcast Graines de star and reached the final. A producer noticed him and proposed to him to release a disc. In 2001, Denzey participated in the Francofolies of La Rochelle, then in 2002 released his first single, "Que te dire".

Denzey released in May 2003 a second single, "Le mur du son", which earned a gold disc in France for over 300 000 copies sold. In November 2003, he released his first album, # 1, in which many artists participated, including The Weasel, Diam's, Kader Riwan. His single "L'Orphelin" also become a top ten hit in France.

In September 2004, Denzey released a new album entitled Act II, composed of hip-hop and R&B; songs and romantic ballads, including a collaboration with Lil Wayne. Then he released in January 2005 the song "Et si tu n'existais pas", a cover of Joe Dassin. Thereafter, Denzey toured throughout France.

He also performed the song "Double Mise (Bet on it)", used in the movie High School Musical 2, produced and broadcast by Disney Channel.

However, after the failure of his last single, "Mon Royaume", which did not appear on the chart, his third album, originally scheduled to be released in 2006, was cancelled.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Official site

Category:1982 births Category:People from Seine-et-Marne Category:French hip hop musicians Category:French male singers Category:French-language singers Category:Living people Category:2000s singers

Name	Fabolous
Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John David Jackson
Alias
Born	November 18, 1977Brooklyn, New York, United States
Instrument	vocals
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, songwriter
Years active	1993–present
Label	Desert Storm, Def Jam
Associated acts	Ne-Yo, Young Jeezy, Red Cafe, Nate Dogg

John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American recording artist. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut album Ghetto Fabolous. The album reached number-three on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over 1.05 million copies by 2003. His followup album, Street Dreams (2003), produced the Billboard Hot 100 number-four hits "Can't Let You Go", featuring Lil' Mo & Mike Shorey, and "Into You", featuring Tamia.

In 2004, Fabolous released the album Real Talk, which peaked at number-six on the Billboard 200 with 179,000 copies sold in one week and contained the charting singles "Breathe" and "Baby". Following a three year hiatus since Real Talk, the artist released his fourth studio album, From Nothin' to Somethin' (2007), which debuted at number-two on the Billboard 200 and number-one on the Billboard Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums and sold 159,000 copies in its first week. The album spawned the singles "Diamonds", "Return of the Hustle", "Make Me Better", featuring Ne-Yo, and Baby Don't Go, which featured Jermaine Dupri and T-Pain.

Fabolous' success continued with his 2009 album, Loso's Way, which debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200, selling over 99,000 copies in its first week, and became the artist's first album to top the chart. Loso's Way produced the singles "My Time", "Everything, Everyday, Everywhere", "Throw It in the Bag", and "Money Goes, Honey Stay (When the Money Goes Remix)". He later released an extended play entitled , which contains the single "You Be Killin' Em".

To date, Fabolous has released five albums, which have collectively sold over three million copies in the United States. In September 2009, the rapper was ranked number eight on MTV's Hottest MC in the Game list.

Early life and career beginnings

Fabolous was born John David Jackson on November 18, 1977, of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. While in high school in twelfth grade, Fabolous began to pursue a rap career. He was featured on several DJ Clue mixtapes and mixtapes with Roc-A-Fella artists. This earned Fabolous and Desert Storm a distribution deal with Elektra Records. The album's first single, "Can't Deny It", was produced by Rick Rock and features a chorus by Nate Dogg interpolating Tupac Shakur's song "Ambitionz Az a Ridah". It charted on the Billboard Hot 100, along with two of the subsequent singles. The other charting singles were "Young'n (Holla Back)", which is produced by The Neptunes and "Trade It All", which features vocals from Jagged Edge and is produced by DJ Clue and Duro.

2003: Street Dreams

Fabolous released his second album Street Dreams on March 4, 2003. Powered by a Just Blaze beat and guest vocals from Lil' Mo and Mike Shorey, "Can't Let You Go" reached number one on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Into You" with Ashanti / Tamia also reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Also released on Street Dreams was the lead single club banger "This Is My Party" and "Trade It All Pt. 2" which featured Jagged Edge as it did on the Ghetto Fabolous version, as well as Diddy.

Exactly seven months later, on November 4, 2003, Fabolous dropped his official mixtape, . It was an official release by his record label, Elektra. The album featured remixes and tracks not originally slated on Street Dreams. This album was also an outlet for his three man crew, known as the Triangle Offense, consisting of himself, Paul Cain, and Joe Budden. The album actually features a remix to song Fire, which was originally on Joe Budden's self-titled debut album.

2004–06: Real Talk

Fabolous' third album Real Talk was released on November 5, 2004. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 with 179,000 copies and had two charting singles, the lowest in his career. The two charting singles are his street anthem "Breathe" and "Baby," which features Mike Shorey, and shows his more sensitive side that he has shown on many songs in the past. His second single was not promoted until weeks after the album's release. "Tit 4 Tat" was his third single. Pharrell of The Neptunes produced it and did the hook. Fab feels that the single didn't hit it as big as it should have due to poor advertising. Making the music video for his fourth single, "Do the Damn Thing" cost Jackson $30,000. The song featured Young Jeezy, who became known to the public through the video. The same year, Fabolous was nominated for a Grammy Award for his collaboration on the "Dip It Low" remix by Christina Milian. In early 2006, Fabolous moved to Def Jam and left Atlantic Records who received Musiq in return. The album was certified Gold in July 2007. It is his first album on Def Jam Recordings.

The first single and video, "Diamonds", features Young Jeezy who also appeared on the Real Talk track "Do the Damn Thing". Lil Wayne and Remy Ma are featured on the remix. His second single was "Return of the Hustle" which featured Swizz Beatz, also came out before the album release, to some acclaim, but little airplay. His third single though, "Make Me Better," which features fellow Def Jam artist Ne-Yo, and is produced by Timbaland, was his biggest hit to date, spending 14 weeks at number one on the Hot Rap Track Billboard Chart. The fourth single was "Baby Don't Go." Jermaine Dupri produced it and T-Pain sings the hook. However, in music video version of the song, Jermaine Dupri sings the hook. This song also found success, reaching number four on the Hot Rap Track Chart.

2009: Loso's Way

Fabolous released his fifth studio album, Loso's Way, in July 2009. The album is based on the 1993 film Carlito's Way, similar to Jay-Z's American Gangster. The first official single is "Throw It in the Bag", featuring The-Dream, and is produced by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. The second single is "My Time", featuring Jeremih, and is produced by The Runners and Kevin "KC" Cossom. The third single is "Everything, Everyday, Everywhere", featuring Keri Hilson, and is produced by Ryan Leslie. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 99,000 copies in its first week. It became Fabolous' first album to top the chart. In its second week of sales, the album dropped 8 spots from #1 to #9, selling 37,000 copies. A deluxe album was released on the same day as the standard release. The edition features a bonus DVD, ("Loso's Way" the movie). The movie features Fabolous (and three other of his friends). Fabolous is leaving a restaurent when he is shot. His three friends quickly rush Fabolous to the hospital, but are stopped by the police after running a red light. Fellow rapper Styles P has a role in the movie. DJ Clue, DJ Khaled, Jadakiss, Swizz Beatz, DJ Envy, and Ryan Leslie make cameo appearances. The movie "Loso's Way" runs for 33:03 minutes. In order to view "Loso's Way", the deluxe album "Loso's Way" must be purchased. In September 2009, Fabolous was ranked number eight on MTV's Hottest MC in the Game list. Fabolous will release his sixth album, Loso's Way 2: Rise to Power, in March 2011.

Personal life

In January and March 2003, Fabolous was arrested for possessing an unlicensed gun in his car. His bodyguard later showed proof of ownership for the gun. Fabolous put his career on hiatus for much of 2005 and 2006.

NYPD linked Fabolous to a crew of robbers who targeted champion boxer Zab Judah twice. According to police reports, the Street Fam Crew is made up of 20 members, all former drug dealers from Fabolous's Brooklyn neighborhood. In 2006, three men tried to rob Judah as he stood next to his yellow Lamborghini on West 27th Street at 10th Avenue in New York City. The three men rolled up in a minivan at about 5 AM, and hopped out. One pulled a black handgun on Judah and told him to put his jewelry on the hood of his car. Judah ran instead. The muggers followed in their van, but crashed into a tree a block away. All three scattered, but one was captured by a Homeland Security agent on his way to work, and another was grabbed by a nearby cab driver. "A bunch of idiots that didn't have no control over what they were doing; they messed with the wrong guy," said Judah. Fabolous came forward to deny reports that he was involved.

On the evening of November 22, 2007, a childhood friend—Shamel McKinney—was stabbed to death inside of a New York nightclub. Police say that McKinney may have been stabbed after trying to steal jewelry off the neck of another clubgoer, Anthony Taylor (who has since the incident been arrested and has to face second-degree murder charges). The rapper further explained that despite reports, McKinney was not part of a robbery crew connected to the rapper. Fabolous stated, "On Thanksgiving, I think I came out of the house one time – to go get eggnog. And there wasn't any eggnog at Club Duvet."

On February 24, 2009 Arkansas police seized 500 pounds (226 kg) of marijuana from Fabolous' tour bus as it returned from the NBA All-Star Game. Fabolous was not on board the bus at the time and has not yet been charged in connection with the incident.

In an interview with XXL, Fabolous revealed that he has been in a long-term relationship that began in 2005.

Clothing line

Fabolous stated in 2005 that he wanted to release his own clothing line in the coming years. Without publicizing detail, he went into a search for designers and manufacturers for his line to accomplish the task. After finding qualified staffing, Fabolous announced the name for his line is Rich Yung Society Clothing, hich has clothes in selected stores worldwide and are currently working on relaunching their website richyungsociety.com

Discography

Ghetto Fabolous (2001)

Street Dreams (2003)

Real Talk (2004)

From Nothin' to Somethin' (2007)

Loso's Way (2009)

(2011)

Awards and nominations

American Music Awards

*2007, Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Male Artist [Nominated]

ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Music Awards

*2008, Top Rap Song, "Make Me Better" [Won]

BET Awards

*2010, Best Male Hip Hop Artist [Nominated]

*2010, Best Collaboration, "Say Aah" with Trey Songz [Nominated]

*2010, Best Viewer's Choice, "Say Aah" with Trey Songz [Nominated]

BET Hip Hop Awards

*2009, Viewer's Choice, "Throw It in the Bag" with The-Dream [Won]

*2007, Best Hip Hop Collabo, "Make Me Better" with Ne-Yo [Nominated]

Grammy Awards

*2010, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or a Group, "Money Goes, Honey Stays" with Jay-Z [Nominated]

*2005, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, "Dip It Low" with Christina Milian [Nominated]

The Source Awards

*2003, Best Rap/R&B; Collabo, "Can't Let You Go" with Lil Mo and Mike Shorey [Nominated]

*2003, Trendsetter of the Year [Nominated]

Teen Choice Awards

*2007, Best Choice: Rap Artist [Nominated]

*2003, Choice Rap Track, "Can't Let You Go" with Lil Mo and Mike Shorey [Nominated]

*2003, Choice R&B;/Hip Hop Track, "4Ever" with Lil Mo [Nominated]

References

External links

Official Def Jam Site

Rich Yung Society Clothing site

Fabolous Clothing Line

Fan Community Site

Category:1977 births Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American rappers Category:African American songwriters Category:American people of Dominican Republic descent Category:Hispanic and Latino American people Category:Hispanic and Latino American rappers Category:Def Jam Recordings artists Category:Living people Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Songwriters from New York Category:American shooting survivors Category:People from Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Category:Desert Storm Records artists