name	Nicki Minaj
background	solo_singer
birth name	Onika Tanya Maraj
birth date	December 08, 1982
birth place	Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
genre	Hip hop, R&B;, pop, dance-pop
occupation	Rapper, singer-songwriter
years active	2004–present
label	Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, Universal Motown
associated acts	Young Money, Lil Wayne, Drake
website	}}

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj (), is a hip hop and R&B; recording artist who rose to fame after becoming a member of the rapping group Young Money. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, but moved to the Queens borough of New York City as a child and graduated from LaGuardia High School in 2003.

Minaj began her music career in 2007 after she released her first mixtape Playtime Is Over. The mixtape followed by mixtapes, Sucka Free and Beam Me Up Scotty which were released in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Minaj had her first label success after fellow American rapper, Lil Wayne discovered and secured a record deal with her with Young Money Entertainment with distribution from Universal Motown In August 2009.

She released her first debut album, Pink Friday in 2010 which became a commercial success, peaking at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200. and was later certificated platinum Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release. She became the first artist ever to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. Her second single, "Your Love", reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. She also became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List.

Early life

Minaj was born in 1982 in Saint James, (a suburb of Trinidad and Tobago's capital city Port of Spain). Her parents were of mixed Indian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry and she lived in Saint James with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens. According to Minaj, her father drank heavily, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet. She graduated from LaGuardia High School. At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program. She had initially planned to sing at LaGuardia, but lost her voice on the day of the audition.

Music career

2007–09: Career beginnings, mixtapes and Young Money

Nicki Minaj released her first mixtape in 2007 after releasing Playtime Is Over with Dirty Money Records. She later released another mixtape on July 7, 2008, titled Sucka Free, under the label of Be. On April 18, 2009, Minaj released a third mixtape and appeared in XXL magazine. In 2008 she won the Female Artist of the Year award at the Underground Music Awards. Minaj released Beam Me Up Scotty, another mixtape, in April 2009 under the label of Trapaholics Records. Beam Me Up Scotty received positive coverage on both BET and MTV.

After being Minaj signed a succure record deal with Young Money Entertainment, it was confirmed that artist would unite as a rapping group, and Minaj would be present in the group. As part of the group, the rapping group released single "Every Girl", which charted at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single was confirmed to be "BedRock", the song became a commercial success charting at just below the top of the Billboard Hot 100 at number-two; on the song Minaj has a solo rap verse. Third single released from the album, "Roger That" which Minaj also appeared on as a Young Money artist. Despite the song gaining good reviews from critics, the song charted at number fifty-six. Many critics said that Minaj steals the spotlight. The group released the debut album, which featured all the Young Money artists on the front cover, including Minaj. We Are Young Money was released on December 21, 2009 the album charted in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 200, charting at number-nine and later received a Gold Certification by the RIAA.

2010–present: Breakthrough and Pink Friday

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released a 360 deal with the label in which she retains and owns all of her 360 rights – including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing. In an interview with 95.8 Capital FM, Rihanna stated that after the two collaborated on "Raining Men" from her album Loud that the duo would be teaming up together for a possible second collaboration on Minaj's Pink Friday. Hip-hop rap artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album. On August 3, 2010 Minaj revealed on a Ustream.tv channel for her fans that the album's name would be Pink Friday stating, “To carry on a great tradition of Black Friday, we are going to switch it up this year in honor of the Nicki Minaj album and call that day Pink Friday, and call my album Pink Friday,!” A deluxe edition of the album was also released after the standard edition. Nicki Minaj released the artwork for her album cover on Friday, October 15, 2010.

Minaj's debut album, Pink Friday was released on November 19, 2010. A buzz single, "Massive Attack", was released in April. In August, Minaj released "Your Love" as the first official single from her debut album. The single peaked at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, 7 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Rap Songs chart. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List and the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. In October 2010, Minaj became the first artist to have seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously. Minaj released a joint single with The Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am titled, "Check It Out", which is Minaj's most successful single to-date around Europe. "Right thru Me" was released September 24, 2010. Written by Stephen Hacker, Joe Satriani, Andrew Thielk, B.Evans and Minaj herself. The music video was released in late October, which featured Minaj in a boy-and-girl relationship drama. "Moment 4 Life" followed "Right thru Me" and was released as the fourth overall single. The track featured Canadian rapper, Drake, which was released on December 7, 2010, which is proving to be as successful in the Billboard Hot 100, as it is climbing each week and currently at number 22. The single has so far peaked at number 5 on the Hot Rap Songs. Minaj's album gained a Platinum certification in the United States a month after the release. It was hinted by Simon Cowell that Minaj would join the judging panel of the American version of the The X Factor. Starting in June 2011, Minaj will be supporting Pink Friday by serving as an opening act along with Jessie and the Toy Boys and Nervo on Britney Spears' sixth concert tour, the Femme Fatale Tour, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. She also was featured on the official remix of Spears' track "Till The World Ends" along with Spears and singer Kesha, which charted at number 3 in the US in April 2011. "Super Bass" was released from Pink Friday in May 2011, the reception of the single was huge after the single charted within the top 10 in many of countries including; United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and more. The song gained positive reviews from critics with some critics saying; "obvious hit", "memorable hooks", "infectious". Minaj has also been starred in the 3D animated film, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, as a unknown character, despite that her earlier request was rejected (her character was made specially for her).

Musical style and image

Image

In an interview with Vibe Minaj discussed her sexual image stating, "[w]hen I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing." In an interview with Interview, Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, "I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.” Minaj has a tattoo of the traditional Chinese characters "" (shangdi yu ni chang zai) on her left arm, meaning, "God is always with you."

Alter egos

While growing up, Minaj's home life was often chaotic, with her parents constantly fighting. As a means of escape, she would create characters and live her life through them. In an interview with New York she stated, "To get away from all their fighting, I would imagine being a new person. 'Cookie' was my first identity – that stayed with me for a while. I went on to 'Harajuku Barbie,' then 'Nicki Minaj.' Fantasy was my reality."

For her debut album, Minaj created another alter-ego named "Roman Zolanski". She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Minaj rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin sister". She claims that she was born inside her, out of rage, and becomes her when she is angry. She has also said 'She is a demon inside her'. Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from Pink Friday, Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos. Roman also has a "mother" called "Martha Zolanski", who also appeared on the song Roman's Revenge, with a British accent. Martha appears in the video for "Moment 4 Life" where she appears to be Minaj's magical Godmother. In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Minaj rapping. Minaj stated that on her debut album, fans will get to "meet" Nicki, Roman and Onika.

On November 18, 2010 Minaj assumed a different alter-ego named "Nicki Teresa". Wearing a colorful scarf around her head, she went around as the "healer to her fans" as she visited them at The Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse studios in New York City. Minaj made an appearance on Lopez Tonight on December 6, 2010 and presented a different alter-ego for the Spanish-inspired occasion, named "Rosa" (pronounced Rrrrrosa).

Influences

Minaj has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott. She was also inspired by Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Jones and Cyndi Lauper.

Personal life

While some songs and interviews have implied that Minaj is bisexual, she has said that she does not date nor have sex with women, but added in an interview with Out magazine, "I don’t date men either." In an interview with Vibe she commented, "I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined." She reiterated her dislike of being labeled in an interview with Out, saying: "The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it."

During an interview in the May 2010 issue of Details, Minaj was asked if she felt hip-hop was becoming more gay-friendly. She responded, "I think the world is getting more gay-friendly, so hip-hop is too. But it's harder to imagine an openly gay male rapper being embraced, people view gay men as having no street credibility. But I think we'll see one in my lifetime."

In July 2011, Minaj's cousin, Nicholas, was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, New York. Minaj tweeted that she was devastated.

Discography

Pink Friday (2010)

Awards and nominations

|- | style="text-align:center;"|2008 |rowspan="3"|Nicki Minaj |Underground Music Awards | |- | rowspan="13" style="text-align:center;"|2010 |BET Awards Best Female Hip-Hop Artist | |- |BET Awards Best New Artist | |- |rowspan="2"|Young Money |BET Awards Best Group | |- |BET Awards Best New Artist | |- |"BedRock" (Young Money feat. Lloyd) |BET Awards Viewer's Choice | |- |Nicki Minaj |Teen Choice Awards Choice Breakout Artist – Female | |- |"Massive Attack" |MTV Video Music Awards | |- |rowspan="6"|Nicki Minaj |BET Hip Hop Awards People's Champ | |- |BET Hip Hop Awards Rookie of the Year | |- |BET Hip Hop Awards Made You Look | |- |BET Hip Hop Awards Hustler of the Year | |- |BET Hip Hop Awards Lyricist of the Year | |- |MOBO Awards Best International Act | |- | rowspan="14" style="text-align:center;"|2011 |"My Chick Bad" (Ludacris featuring Nicki Minaj) |Grammy Awards 2011 Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group | |- |Nicki Minaj |NAACP Image Awards Outstanding New Artist | |- |"2012 (It Ain't the End)" (Jay Sean featuring Nicki Minaj)|| UK Asian Music Awards Best Video || |- |rowspan="3"|Nicki Minaj |NARM Breakthrough Artist of the Year | |- |Billboard Music Award for Top New Artist | |- |Billboard Music Award for Top Rap Artist | |- |Pink Friday |Billboard Music Award for Top Rap Album | |- |"Bottoms Up" (Trey Songz featuring Nicki Minaj) |Billboard Music Award for Top R&B; Song | |- |Nicki Minaj |BET Awards Best Female Hip Hop Artist | |- |"Super Bass" |Teen Choice Awards for Best Summer Song | |- |Nicki Minaj |Teen Choice Awards for Best R&B;/Hip-Hop Artist | |- |"Moment 4 Life" (Nicki Minaj featuring Drake) |MTV Video Music Awards for Best Collaboration | |- |rowspan="2"|"Super Bass" |MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video | |- |MTV Video Music Awards for Best Rap Video |

References

External links

Category:Nicki Minaj Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:African American female singers Category:African American rappers Category:American musicians of Indian descent Category:American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Category:Female rappers Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Category:People from Queens Category:People from Port of Spain Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Singers from New York City Category:Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States Category:Trinidad and Tobago musicians Category:Universal Records artists

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name	Sean Garrett
Also known as	The Penn
background	non_performing_personnel
birth name	Garrett Hamler
born	March 30, 1979Atlanta, Georgia, United States
origin	Atlanta, Georgia
instrument	Vocals, keyboards
genre	Hip hop, Contemporary R&B;
Associated acts	J. Cole, Beyoncé, Swizz Beatz, Raven-Symoné, Polow Da Don, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Mario, Britney Spears Janet Jackson, Jesse McCartney, Mary J. Blige
occupation	Musician, record producer, rapper, singer
years active	2003–present
label	Columbia, Bet I Penned It
website	SeanGarrettMusic.com/ }}

Garrett Hamler, (born March 30, 1979, Atlanta, Georgia) better known by his stage name Sean Garrett is an American singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He has produced fifteen number one singles in only seven years of producing music. That number puts him in fifth place on the Billboard list of producers with the most number one hits. Garrett is the only producer to achieve this measure of success in under a decade, and is also the only active hip hop producer that is mentioned on the Billboard list of producers with the most number one hits.

Early life

Born in south side Atlanta, he moved with his family to Europe when he was four. His father was in the U.S. military and they never stayed long in one place. He transferred between army bases across Germany and England. He performed in talent shows that led to a recording contract with Ariola or BMG when he was 17 ("Sean Garrett - Bio, CDs and Vinyl at Discogs”). A few years later when he returned to the U.S. and began writing and recording songs. Garrett insisted he was an artist, not a songwriter but went back to school, graduated from college with an A.A. degree in business from the University of Maryland’s program in Germany. He then took a job as a mortgage broker in South Carolina.

Career

Garrett is responsible for a series of chart-topping compositions, most notably Usher's "Yeah!", Jesse McCartney's hit "How Do You Sleep?," which become a chart topper and one of the biggest 2009 songs, as It went on to become the 86th biggest song in the U.S. for 2009.

Ciara's breakout track "Goodies", Teairra Mari's debut single "Make Her Feel Good", Mario's single "Break Up", Nicki Minaj's first single "Massive Attack" and Britney Spears' "Toy Soldier" are written by Sean Garrett. He is in a production duo with Swizz Beatz, and together they produced several Beyoncé Knowles singles: "Ring the Alarm", "Get Me Bodied", "Upgrade U", "Check on It", "Diva" and "Video Phone". He also writes often over productions by Polow da Don. Garrett is currently working on a new album by Whitney Houston and Jesse McCartney . Garrett is also working on a single with upcoming artist Charice.

Garrett also embarked on a career as a performer,. His debut album, Turbo 919, was released June 24, 2008 on his Bet I Penned It Music imprint, through Interscope Records. (Garrett's catch-phrase, which is featured in multiple songs he has produced, is "Smash on the radio, bet I penned it".)

Ludacris appeared on Garrett's debut single, "Grippin'". In return, Garrett was featured on Ludacris's "What Them Girls Like", alongside Chris Brown. He also wrote and produced a song called "I Did It for Love" for Korean pop star BoA for her first eponymous English album. Garrett is featured and appears in the music video. In March 2010, Garrett released the first single off of his mixtape The Inkwell (mixtape), "Get It All", which features Nicki Minaj. The lead single for Garrett's 2011 album previously titled Courtesy Of, was released February 4, 2011, featuring J. Cole entitled "Feel Love". In a early April 2011 interview Garrett announced his second single and why he changed the album title saying, "We’re changing the title of it because the dynamics of the album is coming along in a different way. It’s definitely bigger than Courtesy Of. It’s definitely coming late summer. I’m excited about it. My next single is fitna be a problem in the club and it’s a brand new record featuring Rick Ross. It’ll be a movie." The single featuring Rick Ross entitled "In da Box" was released on April 27.

Discography

;Studio albums

2008: Turbo 919

2011: TBA

;Official mixtapes 2010: The Inkwell

Awards/nominations

Soul Train Awards

2009, Best Collaboration "Break Up" (nominated)

References

External links

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:American record producers Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)

de:Sean Garrett es:Sean Garrett fr:Sean Garrett it:Sean Garrett pt:Sean Garrett ru:Гарретт, Шон fi:Sean Garrett sv:Sean Garrett

name	David Guetta
landscape	yes
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
born	November 07, 1967Paris, France
genre	House, electro house, hip house
occupation	DJ, record producer, songwriter
years active	1984-present
label	EMI Music France/Virgin, Positiva, Astralwerks
website	}}

David Guetta (, born Pierre David Guetta on 7 November 1967) is a French house music producer and DJ. Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster (2004) and Pop Life (2007). His 2009 album One Love included the hit singles "When Love Takes Over" (featuring Kelly Rowland), "Gettin' Over You" (featuring Chris Willis, Fergie & LMFAO) and "Sexy Bitch" (featuring Akon), the last becoming a top five hit in the US and all three reaching #1 in the UK, as well as another internationally known single called "Memories" featuring Kid Cudi which became a top five hit in many countries.

Guetta has sold over three million albums and 15 million singles worldwide. He is currently one of the most sought-after music producers.

Biography

1984–2000: Early life and career

At age 17, Guetta began DJing at the Broad Club in Paris. He first played popular songs, and he discovered house music when he heard a Farley master Funk track on French radio in 1987. The next year, he began hosting his own club nights. In 1990, he released "Nation Rap", a hip-hop collaboration with French rapper Sidney Duteil.

In the mid 1990's Guetta played in clubs including Le Centrale, the Rex, Le Boy, and Folies Pigalle. Released in 1994 Guetta's second single, a collaboration with American house vocalist Robert Owens titled "Up & Away", was a minor club hit. In 1994, David Guetta became the manager of Le Palace nightclub and he continued to organise parties there and in other clubs, such as the "Scream" parties in Les Bains Douches.

2001–2006: Just a Little More Love and Guetta Blaster

In 2001, David Guetta along with Joachim Garraud founded Gum Productions, and in the same year Guetta's first hit single, "Just a Little More Love", featuring American singer Chris Willis was released. Willis was vacationing in France when he met Guetta. Guetta's debut album Just a Little More Love was released in 2002 on Virgin Records and sold over 300,000 copies. The follow-up singles, ("Love Don't Let Me Go", "People Come People Go" and "Give Me Something"), were released in 2002. Guetta released a compilation, Fuck Me I'm Famous, in 2003, named after his party in Ibiza. It included "Just for One Day (Heroes)", a remix of David Bowie's song "Heroes". Later in his career, Guetta continued recording compilations under that title.

Guetta's second album, Guetta Blaster, was released in 2004. It were released four singles: "Money" and "Stay" featuring Chris Willis and "The World Is Mine" and "In Love With Myself" featuring JD Davis. In 2006 "Love Don't Let Me Go" was released as a mash-up with the Tocadisco remix of "Walking Away" by The Egg. The mash-up single charted higher than the original release of the song.

2007–2008: Pop Life

In 2007, Guetta's third album Pop Life was released. The album was successful in the UK and Ireland as well as in mainland Europe. According to EMI in 2010, the album has sold a total of 530,000 copies worldwide. The lead single "Love Is Gone" reached Number 1 on the American Dance Chart and charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

He played in many countries around the world to promote the album. He played in Mauritius in January 2008, accompanied by French rapper JoeyStarr. In the same year, he and his wife Cathy also planned a new event which took place in the Stade de France on 5 July 2008. The event was called "UNIGHTED", he performed with Tiësto, Carl Cox, Joachim Garraud and Martin Solveig in front of a crowd of 40,000.

In 2009, he was placed third in the "Top 100 DJs" poll by DJ Magazine, and was elected "Best House DJ" by DJ Awards in 2008. Since April 2009, Guetta had his own radio show on the internet radio station RauteMusik on Saturday evening. The show was afterwards moved into Radio 538, being aired every Friday evening after Tiësto's Club Life. Its name is DJ Mix. Guetta performs a one-hour set of house music, presenting mainly new talents inside.

2009–2010: One Love and international breakthrough

David Guetta's fourth studio album, One Love, was released in August 2009. Its first single "When Love Takes Over", which featured Kelly Rowland, peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart and topped many other countries worldwide. His second single from the album, "Sexy Bitch" featuring Akon, became his second #1 in the UK. "One Love" featuring Estelle, "Memories" featuring Kid Cudi and "Gettin' Over" featuring Chris Willis, Fergie and LMFAO followed. As of May 2011 the album had sold three million copies worldwide. Guetta's fourth studio album One Love was nominated as "Best Electronic/Dance Album" at the 52nd Grammy Awards. His song "When Love Takes Over" featuring American R&B; singer Kelly Rowland received two nominations; Best Dance Recording and Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, and won the latter. After conflicts over whether or not an album re-issue should go ahead, One More Love was released on 29 November 2010. First single, titled "Who's That Chick?" featuring Rihanna was released a few weeks prior.

On 16 June 2009, The Black Eyed Peas released the David Guetta-produced "I Gotta Feeling" as their second single from their fifth studio album, The E.N.D.. It became a worldwide hit topping the charts in seventeen countries. It became the most downloaded song of all-time in the United States with almost 7.5 million downloads and in the United Kingdom selling more than 1 million copies. He was nominated twice for his work with The Black Eyed Peas at the 52nd Grammy Awards; in the category Record of the Year for "I Gotta Feeling" and Album of the Year for their album The E.N.D.. In 2010, David Guetta co-wrote and produced Kelly Rowland's "Commander" from her third album Here I Am. It peaked at number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart in the United States, and reached top ten positions in Belgium and the United Kingdom. Guetta has also co-produced "Forever and a Day", which was Kelly's next UK single from that album. Guetta also produced the singles "Acapella" and "Scream" for American singer-songwriter Kelis's fifth studio album, Flesh Tone, released on 14 May 2010. "Acapella" was released as the lead single on 23 February 2010 and topped the dance charts in the United Kingdom and United States. On 28 June 2010 American rapper Flo Rida released the single "Club Can't Handle Me" featuring David Guetta. The song is included on the soundtrack album to the American 3D dance film Step Up 3D.

2011–present: Nothing But the Beat

Guetta's fifth studio album, Nothing But the Beat will be released on August 30, 2011. It will be released as a double-disc album; one disc being electronic and the other being vocal. The French DJ was inspired by rock bands such as Kings of Leon and Coldplay to add rock influences to his dance productions. "Where Them Girls At" featuring Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida, the first single off the album, was released worldwide on 2 May 2011. "Little Bad Girl", featuring Ludacris and Taio Cruz, was released as the second single on 28 June 2011.. Guetta later released "Titanium" featuring Sia. Soon after that, he released "Night Of Your Life" featuring Jennifer Hudson.

Personal life

His father was a restaurateur of Moroccan Jewish descent. He is married to Cathy Guetta and has two children, Tim Elvis Eric (born 2004) and Angie (born 2007).

Discography

Just a Little More Love (2002)

Guetta Blaster (2004)

Pop Life (2007)

One Love (2009)

Nothing but the Beat (2011)

Awards and nominations

{| class=wikitable |- !Year !Award !Category !Nominated work !Result |- ||2006 |rowspan="3"|DJ Awards |Best House DJ | | |- |rowspan="4"|2007 |Best International DJ | | |- |Best Ibiza Night | | |- |World Music Awards |World's Best Selling DJ | | |- |TMF Awards |Best Dance Act | | |- |rowspan="2"|2008 |DJ Awards |Best House DJ | | |- |MTV Europe Music Awards |Best French Act | | |- |rowspan="2"|2009 |DJ Awards |Best House DJ | | |- |DJ Magazine |Top 100 DJs | |Third Place |- |rowspan="9"|2010 |rowspan="4"|Grammy Awards |Record of the Year |"I Gotta Feeling"(with The Black Eyed Peas) | |- |Best Dance Recording |rowspan="2"|"When Love Takes Over"(with Kelly Rowland) | |- |Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical | |- |Best Electronic/Dance Album |One Love | |- |rowspan="3"|World Music Awards |Best DJ | | |- |Best Producer | | |- |Best Selling French artist | | |- ||NRJ Music Awards | International Album of the Year |One Love | |- |DJ Magazine |Top 100 DJs | |Second Place |- ||2011 ||Grammy Awards |Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical |"|"Revolver"(with Madonna) | |}

References

External links

David Guetta official store

David Guetta information at Ultra Records

Review of 'Memories' on the Daily Music Guide

|title=David Guetta biography|publisher=Allmusic|author=David Jeffries|accessdate=2008-09-22}}

David Guetta in PACHA NEWS

David Guetta at Billboard.com

Review of 'Gettin Over you' on the Daily Music Guide

Category:1967 births Category:Astralwerks artists Category:Club DJs Category:Living people Category:French people of Moroccan descent Category:French dance musicians Category:French DJs Category:Musicians from Paris Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Grammy Award winners

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Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Tramar Dillard
Born	September 17, 1979 Carol City, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Rapper, Songwriter, Actor
Genre	Southern hip hop, Pop rap, R&B;, Dance
Years active	2006–present
Label	Atlantic, Poe Boy
Associated acts	Brisco, Timbaland, David Guetta, Ke$ha, T-Pain, Akon
Website	}}

Tramar Dillard (born September 17, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida ("flow rider"), is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from Mail on Sunday: "Elevator" and "In the Ayer". In 2009, his second album R.O.O.T.S. was released; its most successful single "Right Round" was at the top of the Hot 100 for six weeks. Since then, he has released his third studio album titled Only One Flo (Part 1), which will see a sequel titled Only One Rida (Part 2).

Early life

Tramar Dillard was born in the 187th Street projects of Carol City, Florida. His single mother raised him and his seven sisters, some of whom sang in a local gospel group. Dillard's brother-in-law was a hypeman for local rap group 2 Live Crew, and, while in Ninth Grade, Dillard formed his own amateur group with some friends called the Groundhoggz. His work with 2 Live Crew member Fresh Kid Ice attracted attention of DeVante Swing, a member of the band Jodeci. However, he was rejected by several of the major labels, so he sought many other jobs outside of music. After graduating from high school in 1998, he studied international business management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for two years and attended Barry University for two months. He returned to Florida to continue pursuing his music career after receiving a phone call from a representative of the independent label Poe Boy Entertainment. Dillard signed with Poe Boy in 2006, and as Flo Rida he began affiliating with other artists, such as Rick Ross, Trina, T-Pain, and Trick Daddy. A promotional street single entitled "Birthday", featuring Rick Ross, was his first significant release. He made his debut guest appearance with the song "Bitch I'm from Dade County" on DJ Khaled's album We the Best, which featured Trick Daddy, Trina, Rick Ross, Brisco, C-Ride, and Dre.

Music career

Mail on Sunday (2007–08)

Flo Rida's first single was "Low", featuring T-Pain. It was his first official single from his debut album Mail On Sunday and the soundtrack to the movie Step Up 2: The Streets. "Low" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Elevator", featuring Timbaland, "In the Ayer" featuring will.i.am, and "Roll" featuring Sean Kingston followed and all charted on the Hot 100 and other charts.

After the success of Mail on Sunday, Flo Rida made guest performances on other R&B;, rap, and pop singles, including "Move Shake Drop" by DJ Laz, "We Break the Dawn" by Michelle Williams, the remix of "4 Minutes" by Madonna, "Running Back" by Australian R&B; singer Jessica Mauboy, "Feel It" by DJ Felli Fel, and the remix of "Speedin'" by Rick Ross. During the summer of 2008, he did live performances on the Fox dance competition program So You Think You Can Dance in the US and 2008 MuchMusic Video Awards in Canada. He appeared on the albums We Global by DJ Khaled, Gutta by Ace Hood, and The Fame by Lady Gaga, among others.

R.O.O.T.S. (2009)

According to Billboard magazine, Flo Rida began recording his sophomore nine months after Mail On Sunday. The album is titled R.O.O.T.S. and was released on March 31, 2009. The first single "Right Round" featured Ke$ha and was released for airplay in January 2009. "Right Round" jumped from number 58 to the top spot in one week in late February. The song broke a record for the most digital one week sales in the U.S., with 636,000, beating the previous record he had set himself with "Low". "Right Round" sampled "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", a 1985 hit by Dead or Alive. The second official single was "Sugar", which featured R&B; singer Wynter Gordon. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other singles were "Jump" featuring Nelly Furtado, which reached #54 on the Hot 100 and was the promotional single for the animated film G-Force, and "Be On You" featuring Ne-Yo, which reached #19 on the Hot 100. In addition to singles from his own album, Flo Rida made guest performances on "Feel It" by DJ Felli Fel, "Starstruck" by Lady Gaga, and "Feel It" by Three 6 Mafia. "Bad Boys", the first single by winner of British reality show The X Factor Alexandra Burke that featured Flo Rida, debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart in October.

Only One Flo (Part 1) (2010)

Flo Rida's third album Only One Flo (Part 1) was released on November 24, 2010. In March 2010, Flo Rida announced on Twitter that the album would be titled The Only One. Billboard reported that The Only One was to be a double album. "Club Can't Handle Me", produced by David Guetta, was the first official single and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Flo Rida also made guest appearances on "iYiYi", a song by Australian teen singer Cody Simpson, and on the song "Out My Video" by Bulgarian singer LiLana. Flo Rida collaborated with UK girl group The Saturdays, recording a new version of the girl's single, "Higher".

In December 2010, the Associated Press reported that Flo Rida had created his own label, International Music Group, inspired by Nicki Minaj's signing with Lil Wayne's. He has signed an 18 year-old rapper, Brianna and Git Fresh to International. Currently Flo Rida teamed up with Malaysian singer, Mizz Nina in Take Over. They shoot Take Over in Miami, Florida.

Only One Rida (Part 2) (2011)

On August 29th, 2011 Flo Rida released his new single off the album Only One Rida (Part 2), called Good Feeling, which is now out now on the US iTunes store. The Album is due out later in 2011. A track called Hangover is rumored to be the second Track, Taio Cruz is featured on it. Inna, Starboy Nathan will be featured on the record, too.

Legal issues

On June 9, 2011, Flo Rida was arrested in Miami Beach, Florida for DUI and driving with a suspended license. Flo Rida was released from jail after he posted $2,000 bail and obtained a signed court order allowing him to travel to Asia for a series of previously scheduled concerts in Bangkok over the weekend.

Discography

Mail on Sunday (2008)

R.O.O.T.S. (2009)

Only One Flo (Part 1) (2010)

Only One Rida (Part 2) (2011)

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Type	! Award	! Result
		Breakthrough Performer
Favourite Male Hip-Hop Artist
	Best New Artist
Rookie of the Year
	Breathrough Artist
	Choice Breakout Artist
Choice Rap Artist
APRA Awards
MOBO Awards
MTV Video Music Awards	Best Hip-Hop Video ("Right Round" with Kesha)
NT Indigenous Music Awards
People's Choice Awards
Teen Choice Awards	Best Hip-Hop Rap Track ("Right Round" with Kesha)
	APRA Awards
Grammy Awards	Best Rap Album (R.O.O.T.S.)
People's Choice Awards	Hip-Hop Artist of the Year

See also

List of Miami rappers

References

External links

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:American dance musicians Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Barry University alumni Category:Electro-hop musicians Category:Hip hop singers Category:Rappers from Miami, Florida Category:University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni

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Name	Trey Songz
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Tremaine Aldon Neverson
Alias
Born	November 28, 1984Petersburg, Virginia, United States
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, sampler
Genre	R&B;, Hip-hop
Occupation	Singer–songwriter, record producer, actor
Years active	2004–present
Label	Atlantic, Songbook
Associated acts	Drake, Troy Taylor, Twista, Juvenile, Bun B, Rick Ross, Plies
Website	www.treysongz.com }}

Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007. His third album, Ready, was released in 2009 while his fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, was released on September 14, 2010.

Life and career

1984–2004: Early life

Songz was born Tremaine Aldon Neverson on November 28, 1984, in Petersburg, Virginia. Raised as a military brat, Songz did not have aspirations to have a musical career as a child due to his shyness, saying "Singing wasn't a reality for me, until other people started noticing I sounded good." He recognized his vocal abilities at the age of 14 in 1998. Reluctant to sing, he began performing with encouragement by friends and family in high school. Record producer Troy Taylor discovered Songz during a talent show in 2000, which led him to signing a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 2002. After graduating from high school in 2002, Songz moved to New Jersey to begin recording his debut album, though recording didn't actually begin until 2003.

2004–2006: I Gotta Make It

While recording his debut album in 2004, Songz released multiple mixtapes under the alias Prince of Virginia. One of the mixtapes featured an "answer track" to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet", entitled "Open the Closet". The song gave Trey some notoriety. His debut album, I Gotta Make It was released on July 26, 2005. It debuted at #20 on the Billboard 200, selling 40,000 copies in its first week of sales. It has sold 300,000 records in the US, but was never certified by the RIAA. Songz's debut single, Gotta Make It, featuring Twista, was released in March 2005 and reached #87 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #21 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs. It garnered success in the R&B;/urban community but failed to make a mark in mainstream music. The album's second and final single, Gotta Go, was released in July 2005 and reached #67 on the Hot 100 and #11 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming even more successful than his debut single in the R&B;/urban community and in the mainstream community. After promotion for his debut concluded, he was featured on the lead single from Twista's fifth album, The Day After. The single, "Girl Tonite", reached #14 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming a huge hit.

2007–2008: Trey Day

In mid-2006, Songz began work on a follow-up album to his debut with longtime collaborator Troy Taylor and also employed hitmakers Bryan-Michael Cox, Danja, Stargate (production team) and R. Kelly to help create the album. Trey aimed for the album to be more mainstream-oriented than his debut album. His second studio album, Trey Day, was released on October 2, 2007. The album reached #11 on the Billboard 200, selling 73,000 copies in its first week. It has since sold 400,000 records in the US, becoming his second album not to be certified by the RIAA. The album was going to be released on May 8, 2007, but was continually delayed in order for a successful single to precede the album, as the lead single failed to impact charts. His second album was preceded by the lead single, "Wonder Woman", which was released in February 2007. It reached #54 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but failed to impact the Hot 100. Because of the single's failure, his second album was delayed from May 2007 to October 2007. The album's second single, "Can't Help but Wait", was released in August 2007 and was released to promote his second album and the film Step Up 2 the Streets soundtrack as a single for it. The single reached #14 on the Hot 100, and #2 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It became Songz's first Top 20 hit on the Hot 100, and helped to boost his second album's sales. The single was also nominated for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance at the 2008 50th Grammy Awards. The third single from the album, "Last Time", was released in January 2008 and reached #69 on the Hot 100, and #9 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The fourth and final single from the album, "Missin' You", was released in May 2008, but failed to chart completely. In mid-2008, Songz was nominated for a BET Award for Best Male R&B; Artist but didn't win the award.

2009–2010: Ready

In late 2008, Trey began work on his third studio album with Bryan-Michael Cox, Sean Garrett, Stargate and Troy Taylor and aimed for the record to be more mature than his first two. Before releasing his third album, Songz released a mixtape titled Anticipation in June 2009 through his blog, which featured songs from his third album. Another mixtape from Trey was released in the summer of 2009, called Genesis. Genesis was a collection of Trey Songz's first recordings when he was fifteen years old and was released to show his fans the dedication that he had to making a record when he was young. Trey released his third studio album, Ready, on August 31, 2009. The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200, selling 131,000 copies in its first week. These are his best first week sales to date and the album was his first to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The album has since sold over 800,000 records in the US, earning a Gold certification from the RIAA in February 2010, becoming his first album to be certified by the RIAA. The lead single from the album, "I Need a Girl", was released in April 2009 and reached #5 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop songs chart and #59 on the Hot 100, becoming an R&B;/urban hit but not a mainstream hit. A promotional single, "Successful", featuring rapper Drake, was released in June 2009 and reached #17 on the Hot 100, becoming Songz's third Top 20 hit. The single also served as the second and final single from Drake's EP, So Far Gone. The second official single from his third album, "LOL Smiley Face", featuring Soulja Boy Tell 'Em and Gucci Mane, was released in August 2009 and reached #51 on the Hot 100 and #12 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third single from the album, "I Invented Sex", featuring Drake, was released in October 2009 and reached #42 on the Hot 100 but #1 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming his first single to top that chart. Like the first two singles from the album, it achieved success in the R&B;/urban community but only some mainstream success. charted within the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the R&B; chart. The fourth single from the album, "Say Aah", featuring rapper Fabolous, was released in January 2010 and reached #9 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single has become Trey's highest charting single on the Hot 100 and one of his most successful singles on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The fifth and final single from the album, "Neighbors Know My Name", was released in February 2010 and reached #43 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart. A sixth single, "Yo Side of the Bed", was going to be released in June 2010, but its release was canceled due to unknown reasons. A music video, featuring singer Keri Hilson, was filmed and released, however. Songz was also the opening act for Jay-Z on his Jay-Z Fall Tour in late 2009. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B; Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010, but lost to Beyoncé's I Am... Sasha Fierce. On April 1, 2010, he recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged, which aired on April 26, 2010. A documentary-series about Trey, Trey Songz: My Moment, began in June 2010 to positive reviews and high ratings. The 10-part series will end in August 2010 and follows Trey during his time as opening act on Jay-Z's Jay-Z Fall Tour in late 2009.

2010–2011: Passion, Pain & Pleasure

Songz's fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, was released on September 14, 2010. Trey began work on the album in early 2010 with Sean Garrett, Troy Taylor and Stargate and has stated that the album will be his most personal to date. The album was completed in July 2010. The album's lead single, "Bottoms Up", featuring female rapper Nicki Minaj, was released on July 27, 2010 and has reached number twenty-four on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and was shared enough on Facebook to appear as a trending video on ItsTrending. Its video was filmed on July 31, 2010 and is pending release. Trey also filmed the video for the album's second single, "Can't Be Friends", on August 1, 2010. "Can't Be Friends" was released as the album's second single in August 2010. Songz embarked on the Passion, Pain & Pleasure Tour on August 6, 2010 with singer Monica. The tour is his first headlining tour to date and consists of shows in venues that seat 3,000 to 5,000 people. Songz also contributed the song "Already Taken" to the Step Up 3D soundtrack, which was released on July 27, 2010. He filmed a video for the song, which was released in July 2010. The leading lady in the video is former girlfriend and professional dancer Helen Gedlu. Songz appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010. Songz performed at BET Awards 2011 which broadcasted on June 26, 2011.

In July 2011, he was cast in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D as Ryan, the male lead role.

2011-Present: Chapter 5

On August 18th, 2011, It was announced Songz will be working on his fifth studio titled Chapter 5. In a interview Trey said The album, which will act as the follow-up to ‘Passion, Pain, & Pleasure’, is said to be nearing completion. He also carried on to say "It’s my sixth year in the game so I’ve been here for a while now. You can expect the best me you’ve ever heard. I don’t have any release dates in mind right now but I’m just making music and enjoying myself in the studio and having fun. When I get to a place where I feel comfortable saying a date or all of that, people will definitely know. I have a few dream collaborations on that album that I want, but they say if you blow out your candle and make a wish you can’t tell people what you ask for or it won’t come true."

Discography

I Gotta Make It (2005)

Trey Day (2007)

Ready (2009)

Passion, Pain & Pleasure (2010)

Chapter 5 (TBA)

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" !style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Year !style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Title !style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Role !style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Notes |- |2008 |Queen of Media |DJ I.V. |film |- |2009 |Lincoln Heights |Himself |Episode: "Relative Unknown" |- |2010 |Preacher's Kid (film) |small role |- |2010 |When I Was 17 |Himself |Interview-like show, about what he did when he was 17 |- |2010 |Trey Songz: My Moment |Himself |Interview-Documentary show, following him around on tour with Jay-Z. |}

Awards and nominations

{|class="wikitable" !Year !Award !Result |- |rowspan="3"|2008 |BET Award for Best Male R&B; Artist | |- |Grammy Award for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance for "Can't Help but Wait" | |- |Ozone Award for Best R&B; Artist | |- |rowspan="1"|2009 |Soul Train Awards for Best Collaboration "Successful" | |- |rowspan="5"|2010 |Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B; Album for "Ready" | |- |BET Award for Best Male R&B; Artist | |- |BET Award for Best Collaboration for "Say Ahh" w/ Fabolous | |- |BET Award for Best Collaboration for "Successful" w/ Drake | |- |BET Award for Viewer's Choice for "Say Ahh" w/ Fabolous | |- |rowspan="2"|2011 |BET Award for Best Male R&B; Artist | |- |BET Award for Coca-Cola's Viewer's Choice for "Bottom's Up" | |}

References

External links

Official website

Category:1984 births Category:African American actors Category:African American musicians Category:African American singers Category:American actors Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American tenors Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Living people Category:Military brats Category:People from Petersburg, Virginia Category:Musicians from Virginia

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