Background	solo_singer
Name	Curren$y
Birth name	Shan Te-Anthony Franklin
Born	April 4, 1981
Origin	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, Pilot, Modern Day Hippie
Years active	2003–Present
Label	BluRoc, DD172, Def Jam
Associated acts	Soulja Slim, Master P, C-Murder, Fly Society, Mack Maine, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne, The Alchemist

Shante Anthony Franklin, born April 4, 1981, better known by his stage name Curren$y, is an American rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He founded JETS International, a clothing brand and movement he promotes through his music and Twitter. Jets stands for Just Enjoy This Shit. He is an activist in the legalization of marijuana through his use of the substance as well as through his lyrics, coining the movement as the reeferlution, the revolution of reefer and it's positive effects on people, the economy, and the world.

Music career

Early career

C-Murder signed Curren$y to his Tru Records label in 2001. After he was sentenced to jail, Curren$y was signed to Master P's New No Limit Records in 2002 (Master P is C-Murder's brother). In 2004/2005 Curren$y signed with Cash Money Records and Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, where he remained until late 2007. While still at Young Money, Curren$y created Fly Society with skateboarder Terry Kennedy, first as a clothing company, then expanding to release music. He released the song, "Where da Cash At" as the lead single for his Young Money debut, Music to Fly to, in 2006 but due to several push backs and lack of promotion, Curren$y decided to leave the label and venture off to do business on his own. For several months throughout 2008, Curren$y released a series of mixtapes to gain notoriety. His work was impressive enough to land him on the cover of the XXL Magazine Freshmen 10 of 2009. Though he now had the co-sign of one of the top hip-hop magazines, Curren$y was still overlooked by major labels. He appears in the video for DJ Khaled's single, We Takin' Over.

2009: This Ain't No Mixtape and Jet Files

Curren$y signed with Amalgam Digital to release his debut album, This Ain't No Mixtape, in 2009. Curren$y also released his second album, Jet Files, through Amalgam Digital in 2009.

2010: Pilot Talk and Pilot Talk II

Curren$y's third album, Pilot Talk, was released on July 13, 2010. Prior to the album's release, there was news of Pilot Talk being released under a newly relaunched Roc-A-Fella Records. However, Curren$y stated in interviews with both XXL and Complex Magazine that the album would be released under Damon Dash's DD172 record label division, BluRoc Records and distributed through Def Jam Recordings.

Curren$y makes numerous appearances on labelmate Ski Beatz' debut album, 24 Hour Karate School, which was released on September 21, 2010.

Curren$y's fourth album, Pilot Talk II, was released on November 22, 2010 and it featured Fiend and Raekwon, among others.

2011: Muscle Car Chronicles and Pilot Talk III

Curren$y planned on releasing his fifth studio album, Muscle Car Chronicles, on January 11, 2011. A current release date is now unknown. He also plans to release his sixth album, Pilot Talk III in May 2011. Curren$y also confirmed two new mixtapes entitled "Return To The Winner's Circle" and "Covert Coup" which will be produced entirely by Alchemist via his Twitter. On January 1st Curren$y announced, via twitter, his release of his new mixtape Return To The Winner’s Circle, the follow up to the Welcome To The Winner’s Circle mixtape from April of 2008.

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable" !rowspan="2"|Year !rowspan="2"|Title !colspan="3"|Chart positions !rowspan="2"|RIAA certifications |- !width="40"|US !width="40"|US R&B; !width="40"|US Rap |- |rowspan="2"|2010 |Pilot Talk

Released: July 13, 2010

Label: BluRoc, DD172, Def Jam

|align="center"|39 |align="center"|9 |align="center"|6 | * |- |Pilot Talk II

Released: November 22, 2010

Label: BluRoc, DD172, Def Jam

|align="center"|95 |align="center"|15 |align="center"|9 | * |- |rowspan="2"|2011 |Muscle Car Chronicles TBD

Label: BluRoc, DD172, Def Jam

| align="center" rowspan="3" colspan="3"| To be released | |- |Pilot Talk III April 2011

Label: BluRoc, DD172, Def Jam

| * |- |}

Independent albums

{|class="wikitable" !rowspan="2"|Year !rowspan="2"|Title !colspan="3"|Chart positions !rowspan="2"|RIAA certifications |- !width="40"|US !width="40"|US R&B; !width="40"|US Rap |- |rowspan="2"|2009 |This Ain't No Mixtape

Released: April 21, 2009

Label: Amalgam Digital

|align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— | * |- |Jet Files

Released: October 6, 2009

Label: Amalgam Digital

|align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— | * |- |}

Mixtapes

2003: "Sports Center Vol. 1"

2004: "Welcome Back, Curren$y"

2006: "G-Series" (with Mack Maine)

2007: "Life At 30,000 Feet"

2008: "Independence Day"

2008: "Higher Than 30,000 Feet"

2008: "Welcome To The Winner's Circle"

2008: "Fear And Loathing In New Orleans"

2008: "Super Tecmo Bowl"

2008: "Fast Times At Ridgemont Fly"

2008: "Fin..."

2009: "How Fly" (with Wiz Khalifa)

2010: "Smokee Robinson"

2011: "Return To The Winner's Circle" 2011: "Covert Coup" (with The Alchemist)

Singles

{|class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2"|Year ! rowspan="2"|Song ! colspan="3"|Chart positions !rowspan="2"|Album |- !width="40"|U.S. !width="40"|U.S. R&B; !width="40"|U.S. Rap |- |align="center" rowspan=1|2006 | "Where da Cash At" (featuring Lil Wayne & Remy Ma) |align="center"|— |align="center"|73 |align="center"|— |rowspan=1|Dedication 2 |- |align="center" rowspan=1|2007 | "My House" (featuring Lil Wayne) |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan=1|non-album single |- |align="center" rowspan=3|2009 | "Elevator Musik" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan=2|This Ain't No Mixtape |- | "16 Switches" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |- | "Living the Life" (featuring Max B & Young Riot) |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan=1|Jet Files |- |align="center" rowspan=3|2010 | "King Kong" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan=2|Pilot Talk |- | "Roasted" (featuring Trademark Da Skydiver & Young Roddy) |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |- | "Michael Knight" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan=1|Pilot Talk II |- |}

References

External links

Official artist page at Def Jam

Curren$y at Twitter

Curren$y at Facebook

Curren$y at MTV

Category:Living people Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American rappers Category:Cash Money Records artists Category:Def Jam Recordings artists Category:Rappers from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:1981 births

Name	Wiz Khalifa
Img alt	Wiz Khalifa holding a microphone
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Cameron Jibril Thomaz
Alias
Born	September 08, 1987Minot, North Dakota, United States
Origin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper
Years active	2005–present
Label	Rostrum, Warner Bros., Atlantic
Associated acts	Curren$y, Snoop Dogg
Url	www.wizkhalifa.com

Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His eurodance-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008. His single "Black and Yellow" has become a big hit in 2010, reaching number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Early life

Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota to a mother and a father serving in the military. Khalifa lived in Germany, England, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School. He includes Camp Lo, The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony among his influences.

Career

Khalifa released his first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania, in 2005. The mixtape led to his first full length album entitled Show and Prove in 2006. Khalifa was declared an "artist to watch" that year in Rolling Stone magazine.

In 2007, Khalifa signed to Warner Bros. Records and released two mixtapes through Rostrum Records: Grow Season, hosted by DJ Green Lantern and released on July 4, 2007, and Prince of the City 2, released on November 20, 2007. His debut Warner Bros. single "Say Yeah" reached number 25 on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 music chart and number 20 on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks. The song samples "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay. Khalifa's vocals from "Say Yeah" appear near the end of Pittsburgh mash up producer Girl Talk's 2008 album, Feed the Animals, over music from Underworld's "Born Slippy", Usher's "Love in This Club", and the Cure's "In Between Days". Khalifa appeared with The Game, David Banner and Play-n-Skillz at U92's Summer Jam at the USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah on August 2, 2008. Khalifa released the mixtapes Star Power in September 2008, and Flight School in April 2009 on Rostrum Records.

Khalifa parted ways with Warner Bros. Records in July 2009 after numerous delays in releasing his planned debut album for the label, First Flight. Khalifa stated to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that, "I learned a lot during my time there and matured as an artist during the process. I'm happy to be moving on with all of my material and having the chance to be in control of my next moves".

in New York City in April 2010.]] Continuing his association with Rostrum Records, Khalifa released the single "Teach U to Fly", and the mixtape How Fly, a collaboration with New Orleans rapper Curren$y, on August 9, 2009. Khalifa introduced a more melodic style on the mixtape, alternating between singing and rapping. He opened for Wu-Tang Clan member U-God at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. Khalifa released the mixtape Burn After Rolling on November 2, 2009, where he raps over familiar beats from other artists, including the songs "If I Were A Boy" and "Diva" by Beyoncé, "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "Luchini AKA This Is It" by Camp Lo, and "Best I Ever Had" by Drake. Khalifa released his second album, Deal or No Deal, on November 24, 2009.

Khalifa performed at Emo's in Austin, Texas in March 2010 as part of the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival. He appeared on the cover of XXL magazine that same month, for the magazine's annual list of Top 10 Freshman, which included Donnis, J. Cole, Pill, Freddie Gibbs, and Fashawn. Wiz Khalifa was named 2010 "Rookie Of The Year" by "The Source", with alongside Rick Ross, "The Man Of The Year". He toured with rapper Yelawolf on a 20-date tour, the Deal Or No Deal Tour. Khalifa released the free mixtape Kush and Orange Juice for download on April 14, 2010. Due to Khalifa's devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush and Orange Juice download” ranked No. 1 on Google’s hot search trends.

Citing music industry insiders, New York magazine wrote that Khalifa signed with Atlantic Records in April 2010, although the rapper didn't confirm it. He stated to AllHipHop in June 2010 that he was working on a new album, but was weighing his options and hadn't yet decided on a label to distribute it. Khalifa confirmed to MTV on July 30 that he was signing an Atlantic Records deal.

in August 2010.]] Khalifa was featured in a remix and video for the 2010 Rick Ross single "Super High", alongside Curren$y. He guested on the mixtape Grey Goose, Head Phones, and Thirsty Women by St. Louis rapper M.C, and was featured on the track "The Breeze (Cool)" on rapper Wale's August 2010 mixtape More About Nothing. Khalifa was named MTV's Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010, winning with nearly 70,000 votes, and beating out finalists Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, Travis Porter, and Diggy Simmons.

Khalifa appeared at the Soundset 2010 festival in May 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside Method Man & Redman, Del the Funky Homosapien and Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, Murs, Cage, and others. He also performed at the 2010 Rock the Bells festival, along with hip hop veterans Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, KRS-One, Jedi Mind Tricks and Slick Rick. Khalifa declined an invitation to tour with rapper Drake and launched his own "Waken Baken" tour, a 50-city national tour with rapper Yelawolf. The tour, scheduled to last from September to November 2010, has, as of October, sold out every venue. On November 2010, during his "Waken Baken" tour at East Carolina University, Wiz Khalifa was arrested for possession and trafficking of marijuana. He was then released the next morning after a $300K bail, and is looking to resume with his tour. Khalifa performed in a cypher during the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards. He recited his verse from the song, "The Check Point", from his mixtape with Curren$y, How Fly. Khalifa released "Black and Yellow", his first single for Rostrum/Atlantic, produced by Stargate, which has received radio airplay. The single reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100; the title of the song refers to the colors of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Khalifa will release his debut album with Atlantic Records in 2011. He appeared with Curren$y on the track "Scaling the Building" on producer Ski Beatz' 2010 album, 24 Hour Karate School. Khalifa's fanbase is known as the Taylor Gang, named after his love of Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes.

Discography

;Studio albums

Show and Prove (2006)

Deal or No Deal (2009)

TBA (2011)

References

External links

Wiz Khalifa at MTV

Category:1987 births Category:Military brats Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American rappers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:People from Minot, North Dakota Category:Rappers from Pennsylvania Category:Warner Bros. Records artists

Name	Nardwuar The Human Serviette
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Ruskin
Born	July 05, 1968
Origin	Vancouver, BC, Canada
Instrument	Keyboards
Genre	Garage Punk
Occupation	Media personality
Years active	1986-
Label	Nardwuar RecordsAlternative Tentacles
Associated acts	The EvaporatorsThee Goblins
Url	http://www.nardwuar.com}}

Nardwuar the Human Serviette (born John Ruskin, July 5, 1968) is a Canadian celebrity interviewer and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is the lead singer and keyboardist for The Evaporators and plays in Thee Goblins.

He legally changed his name in 1986, and argues that "no one refers to Iggy Pop as 'James Osterberg'". When asked to explain his name, Nardwuar once quipped "Nardwuar equals dumb silly name, like Sting; Human means human, as in Human Fly; and Serviette is something you can't get in the U.S. because down there they're called napkins."

In 2005, he contributed to the UNICEF benefit song, "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" He has an honours bachelor's degree in history from the University of British Columbia and wrote his honours thesis on the Kennedy assassination. In July 1999, Nardwuar suffered a cerebral hemorrhage (aborting his planned ambush interview of Courtney Love), but recovered after surgery.

Nardwuar has an exhaustive knowledge of the Pacific Northwest garage rock scene.

Radio

Nardwuar got his start in media at the University of British Columbia radio station CITR 101.9 FM in Vancouver. His show has been running every Friday afternoon (3:30-5:00 p.m. Pacific) since October 1987. The program features a mix of eclectic music, along with interviews and commentary.

He also sometimes appears as a guest host and interviewer on CBC Radio 3.

Nardwuar started his own weekly program on freeform radio station WFMU in 2009.

Interviews

Nardwuar's interviews are frequently shown on MuchMusic's Going Coastal, or printed in Chart. Although Nardwuar's favourite targets are music artists, he has stated that he will interview any celebrity.

His interview style can be quite grating and confusing to those who have had no prior experience with him. A typical interview will begin with "Who are you?", followed by "From?" if the subject doesn't volunteer his or her affiliations. The interview will always end with "Keep on rockin' in the free world", and the "doot doota loot doo..." of "Shave and a Haircut", to which the interviewee must respond with the final "doot doo!" before Nardwuar will let them go. A somewhat common reply has been "Fuck you!". Other notable replies have been "Help Me" (Tom Morello), "You're nuts" (Glenn Danzig), "Ka-Boom" (Jello Biafra), "Mmm-hmm" (Jack White), "Massive Death" (King Coffey of the Butthole Surfers), "Um bye" (Faris Badwan of The Horrors), and "Bang-Bang" (Ice-T).

Due to his upfront and esoteric style, he has been attacked verbally, physically threatened, and intimidated by people such as Sebastian Bach of Skid Row (who stole Nardwuar's tuque); the band Quiet Riot (who chased Nardwuar and crew down the street); and Dave Rowntree of Blur. Alice Cooper, Travis Barker, Harlan Ellison, Beck and others have hung up on him or been verbally combative in interviews. Chris Fehn of Slipknot refused to talk during an interview and left midway through.

Nardwuar's unorthodox approach often ends up in bizarre scenarios. Snoop Dogg has repeatedly stolen various items from Nardwuar, including a Redd Foxx doll and Richard Pryor and Blowfly records, although Snoop claims to be 'taking' the objects in question rather than stealing them. Some of his subjects recognize Nardwuar's eccentric style and successfully manage to reverse the scenario on him, especially Iggy Pop, David Cross and "Weird Al" Yankovic. Some misinterpret his hijinks as intentionally disrespectful, particularly Henry Rollins and pornographer Al Goldstein.

More often the experience confuses the celebrities. Members of GWAR tried not to laugh while in character. Jello Biafra was impressed with his guerrilla interview style, but became noticeably angered in a 2000 interview when Nardwuar began to cajole Biafra about Biafra's lawsuit against former Dead Kennedys band mates. Others who have appreciated Nardwuar's interview include Nirvana, Kelly Rowland, Marilyn Manson, Michael Moore, Franz Ferdinand, Ron Jeremy, The Mars Volta, N.E.R.D., NOFX, Josh Homme, Drake, Skinhead Rob and Rhys Webb of The Horrors who described the interview style as "an ever winding ball of string".

Nardwuar does extensive research on the interviewee to confuse, scare or impress them; often bringing up minutia about band members' pasts that they have a hard time recalling, until he coaches them along. Frequently, he will also attempt to make connections, no matter how obscure, between the person or subject at question and Canada. A tribute to his research skills, while interviewing Josh Homme, he produced a grade school class photo of Homme mid-interview, who remained blasé yet clearly impressed. During an interview with Pharrell Williams from N.E.R.D., Nardwuar pulled out a vinyl 1992 record featuring the very first recorded track by Pharrell, causing him to pause and state "This is one of the most impresssive interviews I've ever experienced in my life. Seriously."

Political interviews

Nardwuar has also been known to be a "guerrilla journalist," often sneaking in to press conferences under the guise of a more normal reporter, to confront political leaders or other non-musical celebrities with surreal questions. He has asked Mikhail Gorbachev which world leader had the biggest pants, and Crispin Glover whether he sleeps in a coffin full of tar.

In November 1997, he cut off all his hair and was able to sneak into an APEC conference to ask Jean Chrétien if he supported the pepper spraying of protesters outside. Chrétien responded with a line that has become well known in Canada: "For me, pepper, I put it on my plate."

In June 2004, Nardwuar convinced an amused Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada, to play a quick game of the Hasbro game "Hip Flip" while he was on the campaign trail. After Martin won the election, Nardwuar commented on the great predictive power of the "Hip Flip," because neither of the other two other candidates had performed the act. On a campaign trip to Vancouver in December 2005, Nardwuar concluded an interview with New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton - who, in their first encounter, had taken the instructions to the game and said he would practice for their next encounter - with a successful, coordinated, swinging of their hips. Current Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is the only major candidate from the 2004 election who has never performed a successful "Hip Flip" with Nardwuar.

See also

The Evaporators

References

External links

Nardwuar.com

Nardwuar's user page on Youtube.com

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:People from Vancouver Category:Musicians from Vancouver Category:Canadian rock singers Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian rock keyboardists Category:Canadian radio personalities Category:MuchMusic personalities Category:University of British Columbia alumni

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

1999: Tha Block Is Hot

2000: Lights Out

2002: 500 Degreez

2004: Tha Carter

2005: Tha Carter II

2008: Tha Carter III

2010: Rebirth

2010: I Am Not a Human Being

2011: Tha Carter IV

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

Lil Wayne at MTV

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:21st-century American criminals Category:African-American Catholics Category:African American rappers Category:American dance musicians Category:American shooting survivors Category:Cash Money Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:Rappers from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:University of Houston alumni Category:World Music Awards winners

Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was a political and urban activist whom founded the Afro-American Association and co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.

Early life

Newton was born in Monroe, Louisiana, the youngest of seven children to Armelia Johnson and Walter Newton, a sharecropper and Baptist lay preacher. His parents named him after former Governor of Louisiana Huey Long.

In 1945, the family settled in Oakland, California. The Newton family was destitute, and often relocated throughout the San Francisco Bay Area throughout Newton's childhood. Despite this, he contended that his family was close-knit and that he never went without food and shelter as a child. Growing up in Oakland, Newton claimed that "[he] was made to feel ashamed of being black."

As a teenager, he was arrested several times for minor offenses, and by age 14, had been arrested for gun possession and vandalism. Newton supported himself in college by burglarizing homes in the Oakland and Berkeley Hills areas, and committing other petty crimes. Newton once claimed he studied law to become a better criminal.

Founding of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense

As a student at Merritt College in Oakland, Newton became involved in politics in the Bay Area. He joined the Afro-American Association, became a prominent member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Beta Tau chapter, and played a role in getting the first African-American history course adopted as part of the college's curriculum. He read the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Frantz Fanon, Malcolm X, Mao Zedong, and Che Guevara. It was during his time at Merritt College that Newton and Bobby Seale organized the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in October 1966. Based on a coin toss, Seale became Chairman and Newton became Minister of Defense.

The Black Panther Party was an African-American left-wing organization working for the right of self-defense for African-Americans in the United States. The Party achieved national and international impact and renown through their deep involvement in the Black Power movement and in politics of the 1960s and 1970s, as the intense anti-racism of the time is today considered one of the most significant social, political and cultural currents in United States history. The group's "provocative rhetoric, militant posture, and cultural and political flourishes permanently altered the contours of American Identity."

Accusation of murder

Newton was accused of murdering Oakland Police Department officer John Frey. Frey had stopped Newton before dawn on October 28, 1967, and attempted to disarm and discourage the Panther patrols. After fellow officer Herbert Heanes arrived for backup, shots were fired, and all three were wounded. Heanes testified that the shooting began after Newton was under arrest, and one witness testified that Newton shot Frey with Frey's own gun as they wrestled. No gun on Frey or Newton was found. Frey was shot four times and died within the hour, while Heanes was left in a serious condition with three bullet wounds. With a bullet wound to the abdomen, Newton staggered into the Kaiser Hospital in Oakland. He was admitted, however was alarmed to find himself handcuffed to his bed. Newton also recalls in his book, The Huey P. Newton Reader, vague images of being operated on in the hospital while police were interrogating him.

Charged with murdering Frey, Newton was convicted in September 1968 of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 2–15 years in prison. In May 1970, the California Appellate Court reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial. After two subsequent mistrials, the California Supreme Court dropped the case. Newton lived in exile in Cuba from 1974 to 1977, along with many other African American activists and other Panthers who were seeking political asylum.

In January 1977, Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones visited Newton in Havana. After Jones fled to Jonestown, Guyana, Newton spoke to Temple members in Jonestown via telephone patch supporting Jones during one of the Temple's earliest "White Nights." Newton's cousin, Stanley Clayton, was one of the few residents of Jonestown to escape the 1978 tragedy, during which more than 900 Temple members were ordered by Jones to commit suicide. Later, Newton's widow, Frederika Newton, would discuss her husband's often-ignored academic leanings on C-SPAN's "American Perspectives" program on February 18, 2006, mentioning that Newton earned a Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz in 1980. His doctoral dissertation was entitled "War Against the Panthers: A Study of Repression in America."

Death

On August 22, 1989, Newton was fatally shot on the 1400 block of 9th street in West Oakland by a 24-year-old Black Guerilla Family member, Tyrone Robinson. Robinson was convicted of the murder in August 1991 and sentenced to 32 years for the crime. Official accounts claimed Robinson was a known drug dealer in Oakland.

In popular culture

There are many references to Huey Newton in popular music, including in the songs "Changes" by Tupac Shakur, "Welcome To The Terrordome" by Public Enemy, "Queens Get The Money" by Nas, "Sunny Kim" by Andre Nickatina, "Just A Celebrity" by The Jacka, "Same Thing" by Flobots, "Dreams" by The Game, "You Can't Murder Me" by Papoose, "Police State" by Dead Prez, "Propaganda" by Dead Prez "We Want Freedom" by Dead Prez, "Malcolm, Garvey, Huey" by Dead Prez, "SLR" by Lupe Fiasco, "Bill Gates Freestyle" by Fabolous feat. Paul Cain, "Huey Newton" by Wiz Khalifa & Currensy and "My Favorite Mutiny" by The Coup. In the comic strip and cartoon show The Boondocks, the main character Huey Freeman, a ten year-old African-American revolutionary, is named after Newton; another reference comes when Freeman starts an independent newspaper, dubbing it the Free Huey World Report. In 1996, A Huey P. Newton Story was performed on stage by veteran actor Roger Guenveur Smith. The one-man play later was made into an award-winning 2001 film directed by Spike Lee.

Bibliography

Brown, Elaine. A Taste of Power. (Anchor Books: 1993) ISBN 0-385-47107-6.

Foner, Philip S. (editor) The Black Panthers Speak - The Manifesto of the Party: The First Complete Documentary Record of the Panther's Program (Dial, 1970)

"People of the state of California, plaintiff & respondent, vs. Huey P. Newton, defendant and appellant: Appellant's opening brief" (ERIC reports)

Hilliard, David and Keith and Kent Zimmerman. Huey: Spirit of the Panther (Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006)

Jeffries, Judson L. Huey P. Newton, The Radical Theorist (University of Mississippi Press, 2002)

Pearson, Hugh. Shadow of the Panther: Huey P. Newton and the Price of Black |Power in America (Addison Wesley, 1994)

Seale, Bobby. Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton (Random House, 1970)

Obituary in The New York Times by Dennis Hevesi, (August 23, 1989). "Huey Newton Symbolized the Rising Black Anger of a Generation"

Books, articles, and oral histories by or with Huey P. Newton

Huey Newton Speaks oral history by Huey P. Newton (Paredon Records, 1970)

Huey!: Listen Whitey! protest songs/spoken word by Huey P. Newton; produced by American Documentary Films; released by Folkways Records (1972)

To Die for the People: The Writings of Huey P. Newton Toni Morrison (Editor) (Random House, 1972)

Revolutionary Suicide with J. Herman Blake (Random House, 1973; republished in 1995 with introduction by Blake)

Insights and Poems by Huey P. Newton, Ericka Huggins 1975)

War Against the Panthers: A Study of Repression in America by Huey P. Newton (Harlem River Press, 1996: the published version of Newton's PhD thesis)

The Huey P. Newton Reader David Hilliard and Donald Weise (Editors) (Seven Stories Press, 2002)

Essays from the Minister of Defense by Huey P Newton

The Genius of Huey P. Newton by Huey P. Newton

The original vision of the Black Panther Party by Huey P Newton

Huey Newton talks to the movement about the Black Panther Party, cultural nationalism, SNCC, liberals and white revolutionaries by Huey P Newton

Huey Spirit of the Panther by David Hillard with Keith and Kent Zimmerman (Thunder's Mouth Press)

To Die for the People by Huey Newton (City Lights Publishers, 2009)

See also

Black Panther Party

Bobby Seale

Cointelpro

George Jackson

Soledad Brothers

Angela Davis

Elaine Brown

Political prisoner

New Left

White Panther Party

References

External links

Video interview on African American History Channel

Online audiorecordings and video of Huey Newton via UC Berkeley Black Panther site

1968 interview with Newton

Newton Discography on Folkways

A Huey P. Newton Story, Official Film Site

A Huey P. Newton Story, directed by Spike Lee, as shown on PBS

Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation

Black Panther Tours

Huey P. Newton's doctoral dissertation

The Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements: Speech given by Huey Newton

Newton's 2009 publication from City Lights, To Die for the People

Category:1942 births Category:1989 deaths Category:1989 murders in the United States Category:People from Monroe, Louisiana Category:African Americans' rights activists Category:American agnostics Category:American murder victims Category:American revolutionaries Category:Anti-fascists Category:Black Panther Party members Category:American communists Category:American socialists Category:American sociologists Category:COINTELPRO targets Category:People murdered in California Category:Deaths by firearm in California Category:Murdered African-American people Category:American philosophers Category:African American philosophers Category:20th-century African-American activists Category:Maoist theorists

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

Asher Paul Roth (born August 11, 1985) is an American rapper. He was signed to a joint venture between Scooter Braun's Schoolboy Music and Steve Rifkind’s SRC Records. His first professional release was on June 13, 2008, when the DJ Drama and Don Cannon-helmed The GreenHouse Effect Mixtape was released for free via Roth’s Web site. Roth was featured on the cover of XXL magazine’s annual Top 10 Freshmen: Hip-Hop’s Class ’09 issue. Roth's debut album, Asleep in the Bread Aisle, was released on April 20, 2009.

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

Asleep in the Bread Aisle (2009)

The Spaghetti Tree (To be released - 2011)

Mixtapes

The GreenHouse Effect (2008)

Seared Foie Gras with Quince and Cranberry (2010)

EPs

Just Listen (2005)

The Rawth EP (With Nottz) (2010)

Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

*Best New Artist ("I Love College") [Nominated]

*Best Hip Hop Video ("I Love College") [Nominated]

References

External links

Official Web Site

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