name	P. Lion
background	solo_singer
birth name	Pietro Paolo Pelandi
birth date	June 29, 1959
genre	Italo-disco
occupation	Singer, musician, songwriter, producer
years active	1983–present
label	Carrere, Discomagic
notable instruments	}}

P. Lion (Pietro Paolo Pelandi) (born June 29, 1959 in Alzano Lombardo) is an Italian singer and musician who achieved his greatest success in the 1980s.

Biography

He took the name of "P. Lion" because of the three "P"s in his name and because the symbol of his family is a lion ( his father was count of Alzano Lombardo). He started to play the piano and write his own music at a young age. Little is known about his private life, just that he divorced in 1990 after 14 years of marriage. He lives now with his son Edoardo.

Career

Very famous in Italy, he achieved international fame with his two hits "Happy Children" (1983, produced by Davide Zambelli of the band Scotch) and "Dream" (1984). "Dream" was the theme of the French TV and radio chart show ''Top 50'' 1984-93, and "Happy Children" has been remixed to become the new theme of the French Top 50 in France since 2000.

After his first album, P. Lion signed to the Milanese label Discomagic, the biggest dance label in Italy at the time. There, he produced his own singles such as "Believe Me" and "Under The Moon" with Durium. In 1995 he released "A Step In The Right Way", an album with FMA and the publisher Allione. He collaborates as arranger on some productions such as Betty Villani or Tony Sheridan.

He was a complete artist, because he did all of his first album "Springtime":

Music & lyrics of all songs by Paolo Pelandi

Produced by Paolo Pelandi & V. Verdi

Arranged by Paolo Pelandi, D. Zambelli & V. Verdi

Keyboards & lead vocals by Paolo Pelandi

Discography

Albums:

Springtime (Carrère Records, 1984)

A step in the right way (FMA Records, 1995)

Singles:

Happy Children (Carrère Records, 1984)

Dream (Carrère Records, 1984)

Reggae radio (Carrère Records, 1984)

Believe me (Durium, 1985)

Under the moon (Durium, 1986)

You'll never break my heart (Durium, 1987)

Burn In His Hand (P.Lion Production, 1991)

Notes and references

Last.fm section about P. Lion P. Lion's short bio Interview with P.Lion

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:People from Alzano Lombardo Category:Italian singers

es:P. Lion fr:P. Lion it:P. Lion lmo:P.Lion pt:P. Lion ru:Пеланди, Паоло

name	Jacque Fresco
birth date	March 13, 1916
birth place	Brooklyn, New York
residence	Florida
occupation	Futurist, Social Engineer, Structural Engineer, Industrial Designer, Author, Lecturer
nationality	American
known for	The Venus Project, Resource-Based Economy, Sociocyberneering
notable works	''Looking Forward'' (1969), ''The Best That Money Can't Buy'' (2002)
influences	B. F. Skinner, Jacques Loeb, Alfred Korzybski, Buckminster Fuller, Thorstein Veblen, Stuart Chase, Edward Bellamy, H. G. Welles, Howard Scott, Norbert Wiener, Arthur Radebaugh }}

Jacque Fresco (born March 13, 1916), is a self-educated structural designer, philosopher of science, concept artist, educator, and futurist. His interests span a wide range of disciplines including several in philosophy, science, and engineering. Fresco writes and lectures extensively on his view of subjects ranging from the holistic design of sustainable cities, energy efficiency, natural resource management, cybernated technology, advanced automation, and the role of science in society, focusing on the benefits he claims this will bring. With his colleague, Roxanne Meadows, he is the founder and director of an organization known as The Venus Project, located in Venus, Florida.

In contemporary culture he has been popularized by three documentaries, ''Future By Design'', ''Zeitgeist Addendum'', and ''Zeitgeist: Moving Forward'', His Venus Project has been inspirational worldwide, especially to activists.

Early life

Youth

Born on March 13, 1916, Jacque Fresco grew up in the minority neighborhood of Bensonhurst in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Precocious as a child, Fresco's interests did not pertain to the topics presented to him at school. Unwilling, or unable, to conform with the setting of formal education, he sought a self-directed education throughout his later teen years. Fresco spent many days of his youth at the local library. For a short time, Fresco took an interest in attending the Young Communist League wherein he caused commotion. After brief discussion and disagreements with the League president, Fresco was physically removed. Thereafter, Fresco turned his attention to Technocracy. Fresco had long taken an interest in designing flying saucers and tried to interest the aircraft industry at a time when experimental construction was underway. Eventually, Fresco demonstrated such designs in the 1930s. After departing from Douglas due to safety design disagreements, he traveled to Hawaii in late 1939 where he then traveled to the South Sea Islands where he interacted with native islanders. Fresco claims that his visit to these islands effectively helped shape his understanding of cultural relativism and the flexibility of human values in alternate environments. In California, Fresco took various residence in Hermosa Beach and Los Angeles. where he would produce up to forty designs a day. Among Fresco's many designs, a design of a radical variable camber wing attempted to optimize wing thickness for lift and flight. It received a patent and was thereafter given to the Army Air Force. He was eventually discharged.

In the mid-1940s, Fresco began working with Earl Muntz and Michael Shore who employed Fresco to design a new low cost form of modernistic housing. Its design of light weight, high strength, and long lasting materials allowed for reduced production costs and streamlined production which increased its economic viability. The structure was first exhibited in 1947 at Stage 8 of the Warner Brothers Sunset boulevard. It would go on to attract over 20,000 visitors. The proceeds were donated to The Cancer Prevention Society to build part of a new hospital. For the next few years the Trend Home was to undergo mass production and was considered by the U.S. government as a possible solution for soldiers returning from World War II. near Hollywood, where he also lived, lectured, and taught technical design, meanwhile researching and working on inventions as a freelance inventor and scientific consultant. Fresco claims that many of his inventions were patented by his employers. During these years, Fresco had difficulty managing finances and would face auctioneers as they entered his lab to compensate for his lack of payments.

Also during Fresco's years in Los Angeles, he worked as model designer for science-fiction movies Fresco was noted for his high quality models and special effects despite the low budgets of the B-movie productions. His talents were recommended to Roger Corman for the film ''The Beast with a Million Eyes'', but Corman could not accommodate Fresco into the budget (of $23,000). Fresco also worked as technical adviser in the film industry, most notably for the 1956 Oscar nominated documentary ''The Naked Eye''. Eventually, in the mid-1950s, Fresco left California after his lab was commandeered to build the Golden State Freeway.

Midlife

Pursuing his affinity for the tropics, in 1955 Fresco moved to Miami, Florida, where he lived on a boat for a short time. He began practicing private therapy sessions, and at a time when the American Psychological Association was pressuring therapists lacking approved credentials to relinquish their practice, Fresco received criticism for his therapy service. In Miami, Fresco held public lectures throughout the late 1950s and 1960s. On the lecture circuit, Fresco sometimes utilized the title of "Dr." based on a doctorate of philosophy that he obtained from Sierra State University in California. It was not recognized as an accredited university by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. As a result, Fresco's degree came under scrutiny when he was practicing his therapy service. Fresco would eventually hold the doctorates degree only as an honorary title. Eventually, he disregarded the title entirely. Later, he acknowledged his lack of formal credentials as being a detriment in academic circles and has made it difficult for him to gain influence.

From the mid-1950s and throughout the 1960s, Fresco developed what he called "Project Americana." It was a ten year plan for American social change. His vision included a circular city and the application of full cyber-automation of city operations wherein machines direct other machines to operate. Such was Fresco's conception of a "thinking city" in "The Machine-Machine Age." The national plan also included methods for aiding struggling nations by erecting prefabricated factories that produce prefabricated products for building, and a new curriculum for schooling. In 1962, CBS approached Fresco about developing a series on his ideas after appearing on two successive episodes of ''On the Town'' with Fred Fischer.

Fresco spent much of his time in Miami trying to showcase his designs of a circular city and raise funds to get it built. He also designed a three-wheeled car that was to have only 32 moving parts, which he strove to fund as well. Fresco made much of his living working as an industrial designer for various companies such as Alcoa and the Major Realty Corporation and from draftsman inventions through Jacque Fresco Enterprises Inc.

In 1969, with Ken Keyes, a book was written about Fresco's ideas, entitled ''Looking Forward''. The first half of the book was dedicated to detailing some of the causes of many problems in humanity's thinking and behavior, the changes that humanity will have to make as it enters the future, and a description of three components which can be used to best correctly analyze the future: humanity's values, methods of thinking, and tools i.e. technological developments. All three are described as being interdependent much like a set of gears. The second half of the book was dedicated to a speculative look at the future revolving around the experiences of the fictional characters, Scott, and, Hella. It was one of the earliest publications to theorize the possible social implications of a central network knowledge bank (Corcen) used to bring about a "humanized man-machine symbiosis". Fresco and Keyes gave consideration for a wide range of technological and social possibilities resulting from the technologically governed societal design.

Sociocyberneering

Fresco's ideas for Project Americana continued to evolve and became what was known as Sociocyberneering Inc, a non-profit organization founded in 1971 for which Fresco was president. It was a non-political and non-sectarian membership organization having, at its peak, 250 members, many of whom became Fresco's pupils. Fresco frequently hosted educational lectures in Miami Beach and at his home in Coral Gables. His lecture topics pertained to society, social change, science, technology, engineering, architecture, religion, prudence, semantics, anthropology, psychology, systems theory, and education, among other topics. Aside from educating, Fresco worked with members of the organization to produce designs, films, and literature pertaining to the aims and goals of the organization.

The term "sociocyberneering" was defined as "the application of the most sophisticated forms of computer technology in the management of human affairs." The stated goal of Sociocyberneering was to apply "the most sophisticated forms of science and technology toward problem solving ... an approach at the restructuring of society in humanistic terms," and dedicated to finding practical solutions that could be rapidly applied to the many problems that faced society. The primary focus was to "investigate alternative solutions based in conservation of energy, international cooperation in all areas of social endeavor, and the assimilation of a systems approach for the design of cities." There was also heavy emphasis on the prospects of cybernated technology in the societies of human beings, arguing that, "the future of man and his cities does not depend on whether or not this or that design is preferred. It is determined by the forces of social and environmental evolution in which computerized approaches to human and environmental systems will ultimately emerge as the ultimate technique in all areas of the social sequences."

By this time Fresco had designed his circular city to be one mile in diameter with radially connected concentric rings "resembling the spokes of a wheel." Each ring was dedicated to a general function such as agriculture, recreation, housing, among others. At the nucleus center, in the dome, was a supercomputer that was intended to function as the centralized data management system for the automated processes throughout the city.

Throughout the 1970s Fresco worked to expand the organization and elevate its exposure to the general public by lecturing at universities and appearing on radio and television. Fresco became acquainted with Larry King when King's career was emerging out of Miami. King featured Fresco on his television show and radio show several times to discuss, with academics and local callers, the proposals of Sociocyberneering.

At the apex of the organization's membership, they began investing in 40 acres of land in Naples. The organization set out to construct an experimental community in which they would live and expand. They encountered a setback in 1978 when members feared that the Collier County zoning board would complicate implementation. The result was a partial dissolution of Sociocyberneering membership. The investment was abandoned and the land was resold. Fresco sold his home and new land was located in rural Venus. Upon an old tomato patch he established a research center for Sociocyberneering in 1980. With the help of remaining members, Fresco constructed buildings based on the designs of his futuristic renderings. After the move, Sociocyberneering became less popular as many members remained in Miami. Eventually, Sociocyberneering became much less active and through the 1980s Fresco dedicated his time to designing and studying alongside Roxanne Meadows who remained with Fresco as his colleague.

Later life

In 1994, Fresco rebooted Sociocyberneering Inc. under the new title The Venus Project. By this time, Fresco had accumulated a large quantity of designs and models that could represent a general outline of how his vision may look and operate, and were used to gain exposure for the organization through educational films and literature distributed to teachers and universities. Aside from their educational materials, Fresco and Meadows continued to support the project throughout the '90s through freelance structural designing, such as for Pratt and Whitney, industrial engineering, and conventional architectural modeling. In the process, some of Fresco's futuristic designs succeeded in inspiring some development companies. At one point, Fresco claimed that The Venus Project was under consideration for developing plans to build a theme park/experimental city in Turkey. A similar consideration occurred with Dubai. In 2002, Fresco published his main work ''The Best That Money Can't Buy''. In 2006, William Gazecki directed the semi-biographical film about Fresco, "Future by Design" in which Fresco was compared to the Renaissance polymath Leonardo Da Vinci. In 2008, Peter Joseph featured Fresco in the film ''Zeitgeist Addendum'' wherein his vision of the future was presented as a possible solution for the societal and environmental crisis expounded in the film. The reaction that followed was manifested by the development of The Zeitgeist Movement which actively professes Fresco's ideas and considers itself the "activist arm" of The Venus Project.

In 2010, Fresco attempted to trademark the phrase "Resource-Based Economy" in the midst of its popularization to preserve his definition of it. The phrase was reviewed and found to be too generic to qualify. The action to trademark Fresco's specific meaning was therefore blocked. Other small Internet organizations now profess a version of a resource-based economy based on Fresco's original conception.

Throughout 2010, Fresco traveled with Meadows on a world wide tour in response to the growing popularity of The Venus Project. On January 15, 2011, ''Zeitgeist: Moving Forward'' was released in theaters, again featuring Fresco and a more elaborate articulation of his vision as a possible solution for planetary dilemmas. and has initiated the funding of a major motion picture that may be made which will depict The Venus Project future.

The Venus Project

The Venus Project is an organization depicting, as well as professing, the culmination of Fresco's life work and serves as a foundation that represents his vision of a future without poverty, crime, war, corruption, or waste. It was founded in 1980 and took its name in 1994. It is located in central Florida near west Lake Okeechobee about fifty miles northeast of Fort Myers. On its 21.5-acre lot, there are ten buildings designed by Fresco, which showcase limited versions of Fresco's architectural designs. It is partly a research center for Fresco and Roxanne Meadows, and partly an educational center for supporters of the project. They produce videos and literature depicting and explaining the future vision and the goals to actualize it. Among these goals, the salient are to produce a major motion picture portraying the future world the project promotes; constructing a theme park with the intention of exhibiting technologies and the ideas of the Venus Project; and constructing an experimental city in an attempt to test Fresco's hypotheses. Its ultimate aim is to improve society by moving towards a global, sustainable, technological social design that is termed a "resource-based economy".

Personal life and family

Fresco was born to immigrants from Turkey, Isaac and Lena Fresco. His father was born in 1880 and around 1905 immigrated from Istanbul to New York where he worked as a horticulturalist. He died in 1963. Fresco's mother was born in 1887 in Jerusalem and also migrated to New York around 1904. She died in 1988. Fresco was brother to two siblings, a sister, Freda, and a brother, David. His brother was born in 1909. He was a draftsman, a private during World War II, and became a theater actor and a character actor in Hollywood. he resurrected his career in the 1960s eventually appearing in many films and television shows. He died in 1997.

Fresco had one marriage when he lived in Los Angeles, California and through his first couple years in Miami. He divorced in 1957. His wife, Patricia, gave birth to a son, Richard, in 1953 and a daughter, Bambi, in 1956. Richard was an army private and died in 1976. Bambi died of cancer in 2010.

Vision

Fresco's vision has formed as the culmination of many disciplines and schools of thought. The dominant features of it have been compared to earlier thinkers from as early as the nineteenth century. Titles such as ''The Paradise within the Reach of all Men without Labor by Powers of Nature and Machinery'', ''Emigration to the Tropical World for the Melioration of All Classes of People of All Nations'', and ''The New World or Mechanical System'' were written in the 1800s by John Adolphus Etzler who has been described as an early forerunner to Fresco's vision. Likewise, Ebenezer Howard and his book ''Garden Cities of Tomorrow'', as well as the Garden City Movement during the early 1900s has been described as another predecessor. Fresco's vision removes the mechanics of modern economics and his view toward modern economics has been compared to Thorstein Veblen's concept of "the predatory phase in human development." Other facets of Fresco's vision have been labeled a "tabula rasa approach."

Fresco himself cites several theorists and authors for contributing to his vision, such as Jacques Loeb, who established the ''Mechanistic Conception of Life''; Edward Bellamy, who wrote the extremely influential book, ''Looking Backward''; Thorstein Veblen, who influenced the Technocracy movement and Howard Scott, who popularized it; Alfred Korzybski, who originated General Semantics; H. G. Wells, and many others. Fresco has often been heard stating, "I have been able to achieve what I have achieved because I stood on the shoulders of giants," paraphrasing Einstein, (though the metaphore was first made famous by Isaac Newton, and stated by others before him).

Resource-based economy

Primary in Fresco's vision is the concept of a "resource-based economy." It incorporates sustainable cities and values, along with the goals of energy efficiency, natural resource management, and advanced automation, focusing on the benefits that it might bring to humanity as a whole.

According to Fresco, poverty, crime, corruption and war are the result of scarcity created by the present world's profit-based economic system. He theorizes that the profit motive also stifles the progress of socially beneficial technology, and instead he favors a system that fosters the purpose motive. Fresco claims that the progression of technology, if it were carried on independently of its profitability, would make more resources available to more people by producing an abundance of products and materials. This new-found abundance of resources would, according to Fresco, reduce the human tendency toward individualism, corruption, and greed, and instead rely on people helping each other.

A resource-based economy replaces the need for the current monetary economy, which is "scarcity-oriented" or "scarcity-based". Fresco argues that the world is rich in natural resources and energy and that — with modern technology and judicious efficiency — the needs of the global population can be met with abundance, while at the same time removing the current limitations of what is deemed possible due to notions of economic viability.

Reception

Critics and advocates of Fresco's vision are sharply divided. Throughout his life Fresco has been labeled a "dreamer," an "eccentric," an "utopian," an "idealist," a "crackpot," a "charlatan," etc., halfheartedly by some magazine and newspaper writers among others. Some feel that his vision is impractical, idealistic, and/or borderline science fiction. The books ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' or ''Brave New World'' are sometimes referenced in relation to The Venus Project. These attitudes continue today across some Web sites. Even further, some claims have labeled him a cult leader due to his figurehead status in The Zeitgeist Movement. Others accuse him of affiliations with conspirators of a New World Order. Fresco dismisses these accusations.

His hypothesis of a resource-based economy is sometimes equated with Marxism, socialism, communism or technocracy. Fresco responds to these comparisons by stating, "The aims of The Venus Project have no parallel in history, not with communism, socialism, fascism or any other political ideology. This is true because cybernation is of recent origin. With this system, the system of financial influence and control will no longer exist."

One writer notes, "it's also true that his system of governance, in which authority is given to the expert in each field — in this case, specially programmed computers — is one that many writers, including Nobel-prize-winner Friedrich Hayek, have shown to be disastrous."

Another writer reviewing one of Fresco's films writes,

''the more I listened to Fresco's specifics and fuzzy non-specifics it seemed to me I was encountering a God-like hubris coupled with the standard sci-fi dreamer's naivete vis á vis human nature. But just as I was jotting this last down in my notes, Fresco cautioned viewers — and it gave me the shivers, since he seemed to be responding directly to my written reservations — to remember that human nature is not synonymous with human behavior; the latter can be changed. Although Fresco's futurist scenario is — in my humble opinion — rife with problems, it's not every day that somebody comes along ambitious enough to offer a blueprint for re-designing the world.''

Other criticisms have implied a scientistic approach due to Fresco's heavy emphasis on science alone to overcome humanity's obstacles,

''His vision is eminently practical, and although this constitutes an innovative and welcome element with reference to previous utopian projections, his focus on science alone makes him fail as a generalist – the criticism Fresco himself passed on academics and scientists. Today's pressing problems require a holistic approach – various disciplines, arts science, philosophy working on a "convergence mode", unfortunately Fresco's vision seems to consolidate the long established view that the "two cultures" (Science and Art) are antagonistic.''

Focusing on accusations of utopianism, a writer from the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies remarks, "For most people, the promise of the project sounds like an unattainable utopia, but if you examine it more closely, there are surprisingly many scientifically founded arguments that open up an entire new world of possibilities." Another writer for CIFS points out,

''Perhaps the modern interpretation of the word "utopia" is to blame when the Renaissance man and futurist Jacque Fresco says ... he doesn't want to call his life work, The Venus Project, a utopia. However, this visionary idea of a future society has many characteristics in common with the utopia. ... the word utopia carries a double meaning, since in Greek it can mean both the good place (eutopia) and the nonexisting place (outopia). A good place is precisely what Fresco has devoted his life to describing and fighting for."''

In response to association with utopianism, Fresco has stated, "We do not believe in the erroneous notion of a utopian society. There is no such thing. Societies are always in a state of transition. We propose an alternative direction, which addresses the causes of many of our problems. There are no final frontiers for human and technological achievement." One writer suggests instead that "The Venus project is no static utopia, rather a dynamic one: it requires an incremental process driven by an ever-changing extropic ideal."

Art historian Hans-Ulrich Obrist notes, "Fresco's future may, of course, seem outmoded and his writings have been subject to critique for their fascistic undertones of order and similitude, but his contributions are etched in the popular psyche and his eco-friendly concepts continue to influence our present generation of progressive architects, city planners and designers."

When asked by a reporter why he has such difficulty actualizing his many ideas, Fresco responded, "Because I can't get to anybody. I have no credentials." Nevertheless, positive attitudes toward Fresco regard him as "a genius, a prophet, and a visionary." General praise appears among futurists, especially the World Future Society who have considered him a visionary engineer in review of his work in the ''Futurist'', commenting, "Whether the future Fresco envisions is probable or even possible is open to debate, but he succeeds in conveying the power of thinking of the future on a grander scale than we're used to." Fresco's work has been compared to the work of Paolo Soleri and especially Buckminster Fuller for all attempting to actualize their vision against great odds, as well as Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and Da Vinci for sharing affluence in prolific innovation. The elaborate scope of Fresco's designs intrigued Forest Ackerman and Arthur C. Clarke who, late in his life, briefly tried to help Fresco get exposure for The Venus Project. Synergetics theorist Norman Arthur Coulter appreciated Fresco's vision for his attempt to accomplish it "not for profit, but to meet the needs of human beings." Author, Harold Cober, comments, "Once you've seen the man's ideas and buildings, you can't let go of it." Bruce Eisner mentions that the Venus Project shares similar aims as his Island Sanctuary Project. Commenting on what he sees as Fresco's inspirational and charismatic teaching methods, physicist, Paul G. Hewitt, cites Fresco as being one of the three major sources of inspiration, turning him away from work as a sign painter and toward a career in science.

Psychologist and scientist, Jack Catran, notes,

''Contemplate the staggering realistic views of the future published by Jacque Fresco ... There are many futurists, "geniuses", and self-styled seers in our midst who, upon careful examination, turn out to be disappointingly commercial and exploitive. Most extrapolations into the future are made from fixed and narrow points of view. We are all products of today's mediocrity-breeding culture, but if anyone can be called a genius in our money system society, Jacque Fresco should be singled out as the broadest, most aware, individual of our time.''

At Drexel University, sociologist and futurist, Arthur B. Shostak, often incorporated Fresco's ideas into his writing and teaching, stating,

''His contribution to futuristics is singular, as few, if any around the globe, dare the sweep, the depth, and the drama of his vision. When he writes or speaks, futurists grow quiet, pensive, and finally, appreciative — as his work is sound in its call for a thorough examination of the assumptions under which we labor. While little of his vision may materialize in the lifetime of us all, our grandchildren may yet salute much of what Jacque first helped them set in motion.''

In 2008 the Raelian Movement gave Fresco their Honorary Guide award for dedicating "his life to the betterment of humanity as a whole." In 2010, it was announced that Fresco has been selected to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Exemplar-Zero Initiative in the summer of 2011.

Works

Books

Articles

''Modern Food Production''

''Designing the Future: A Cybernetic City For the Next Century'' in ''The Futurist''. Vol. 28, No. 3. pp. 29–33. (May/June 1994).

''The Future and Beyond'' The Venus Project, Inc. (2000)

with Meadows, Roxanne. ''Beyond Utopia'' in ''Utopian Thinking in Sociology: Creating the Good Society.'' pp. 86–92 edited by Arthur B. Shostak. American Sociological Association. (2001). OCLC 49561995.

with Meadows, Roxanne. ''The Future by Design: Beyond Money and Politics'' in ''Viable Utopian Ideas: Shaping a Better World.'' pp. 197–205 edited by Arthur B. Shostak. London/Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. (2003). ISBN 0765611058. OCLC 473852611.

with Meadows, Roxanne. ''Reinventing Iraq'' in ''In the Shadow of War.'' pp. 147–154 edited by Arthur B. Shostak. Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House. (2004). ISBN 9781438124681. OCLC 646806392.

Films

''The Venus Project: The Redesign of a Culture'' (1994)

''Welcome to the Future'' (1998)

''Cities in the Sea'' (2002)

''Self-erecting Structures'' (2002)

''Designing the Future'' (2006)

References

Durrani, Noni. (2007). ''The Future: Jacque Fresco On The Future'', ''Forbes''

Gia Films. (2010). ''Frequency of Genius'', Gia Film Productions

Gazecki, William. (2006) ''Future By Design'', Docflix

Hoving, K. (2002). ''Engineering the Impossible'', Discovery Channel

Joseph, Peter. (2008). ''Zeitgeist Addendum'', Gentle Machine Productions

Joseph, Peter. (2011). ''Zeitgeist: Moving Forward'', Gentle Machine Productions

Maja Borg, M. (2011). ''Future For Sale'', Sonja Henrici, SDI Productions Ltd.

Wachtmeister, J. (2007). ''Great Expectations: A Journey through the History of Visionary Architecture'', Solaris Filmproduktion

External links

www.thevenusproject.com — The Venus Project

www.youtube.com/user/thevenusprojectmedia — The Venus Project YouTube channel

Category:1916 births Category:American social sciences writers Category:Futurologists Category:Living people Category:People from Florida Category:Critics of work and the work ethic

cs:Jacques Fresco da:Jacque Fresco de:Jacque Fresco et:Jacque Fresco es:Jacque Fresco eo:Jacque Fresco fr:Jacque Fresco it:Jacque Fresco he:ז'ק פרסקו hu:Jacque Fresco nl:Jacque Fresco pl:Jacque Fresco pt:Jacque Fresco ru:Фреско, Жак fi:Jacque Fresco tr:Jacque Fresco uk:Жак Фреско

name	Lykke Li
background	solo_singer
birth name	Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson
birth date	March 18, 1986
birth place	Ystad, Skåne, Sweden
genre	Indie pop, indie rock, electronic, dream pop, Wonky pop
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	2007–present
label	LL, Atlantic
website	}}

Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), better known by her stage name Lykke Li (), is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos. Her debut album, ''Youth Novels'', was released in 2008.

Early life

Zachrisson was born in Ystad, Skåne; her mother is a photographer, and her father is a musician. The family moved to Stockholm when Zachrisson was a toddler and when she was six moved to a mountaintop in Portugal where they lived for five years. The family also spent time in Lisbon and Morocco, and winters in Nepal and India. She moved to the neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn in New York for three months when she was 19. She returned when she was 21 to record her album.

Music career

Li had some success with the EP "Little Bit" in 2007. Stereogum named her an artist to watch in October 2007 and described her music as a mix of soul, electro and "powdered-sugar pop".

Li's debut album, ''Youth Novels'', was released on LL Recordings in the Nordic region on 30 January 2008 and received a wider European release in June 2008. The album was produced by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John and Lasse Mårtén and was reportedly inspired by a previous relationship of three years. It was released in the United States on 19 August 2008. The album was released in the UK and Ireland in June 2008, promoted by a performances of "Little Bit" on ''Later... with Jools Holland'' on 25 May 2008. Her second album ''Wounded Rhymes'' was released in 2011.

She appeared on Swedish musician Kleerup's self titled album, contributing vocals to the track "Until We Bleed". She also worked with Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp on their 2009 album ''Junior'', contributing vocals to "Miss It So Much" and "Were You Ever Wanted".

Li appeared on ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' on 18 February 2009. She covered "Knocked Up", originally recorded by Kings of Leon who had approached Li to cover a song of her choice, and "Gifted" in which she performs with Kanye West. Going further mainstream, Li performed at the 2009 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 19 April, as well as the 2009 Lollapalooza festival on 8 August as part of the promotional tour for ''Youth Novels''.

A remixed version of her song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was featured in the 2009 horror film ''Sorority Row''.

The song "Possibility" was written for the 2009 film ''The Twilight Saga: New Moon''. Li had been asked to write a song to the film soundtrack but she was reluctant to commit to the project. It was after she had seen an early screening of the film that she decided she wanted to contribute to the soundtrack. The soundtrack was released on 16 October 2009.

In September 2010, she was announced as the official face of the Levi's Curve ID Collection, alongside Pixie Geldof and Miss Nine.

Her song "Until We Bleed", which she sang with singer Kleerup, was featured on an episode of UK TV series ''Misfits''. On 13 December 2010, RCRD LBL premiered a Beck remix of "Get Some". A part of the song "I Follow Rivers" was covered by Tina Cohen-Chang (played by Jenna Ushkowitz) on the ''Glee'' episode "A Night of Neglect". The episode aired on Fox in the United States on April 19, 2011.

On 30 April 2011, she performed on ''Later... with Jools Holland'' in the UK, playing "Get Some", "Sadness Is a Blessing" and "I Follow Rivers".

Li played at the 2011 Latitude Festival, held between 14 and 18 July 2011 at Henham Park in Suffolk, England.

On Thursday, August 4th 2011, she appeared with her band on US late night talk show "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"

Discography

;Albums

''Youth Novels'' (2008)

''Wounded Rhymes'' (2011)

;Singles

"I'm Good, I'm Gone" (2007)

"Little Bit" (2007)

"Breaking It Up" (2008)

"Tonight" (2009)

"Get Some" (2010)

"I Follow Rivers" (2011)

"Sadness Is a Blessing" (2011)

"Rich Kids Blues" (2011)

;B-sides

"I Don't Mind (Jump on It)" included on the Swedish and UK two-track single of "I'm Good, I'm Gone"

"After Laughter" split single with El Perro del Mar for Record Store Day 18 April 2009

"Until We Bleed" – Kleerup featuring Lykke Li included on the Swedish two-track single of "Tonight"

"Paris Blue" included on the "Get Some" single

;Guest appearances

"Until We Bleed" – Kleerup featuring Lykke Li (''Kleerup'', 2008)

"Gifted" – N.A.S.A. featuring Kanye West, Santogold and Lykke Li (''The Spirit of Apollo'', 2009)

"Little Bit" – Drake and Lykke Li (''So Far Gone'', 2009)

"Miss It So Much" – Röyksopp featuring Lykke Li (''Junior'', 2009)

"Were You Ever Wanted" – Röyksopp featuring Lykke Li (''Junior'', 2009) [Japanese bonus track]

"Knocked Up" (Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Remix) – Kings of Leon ("Use Somebody", 2008)

"Starchasers" (as a sample of "Little Bit") – Charles Hamilton (''It's Charles Hamilton'', 2008)

"Leaving You Behind" – Amanda Blank featuring Lykke Li (''I Love You'', 2009)

;Covers

"After Laughter Comes Tears" – originally recorded by Wendy Rene

"Can I Kick It?" – originally recorded by A Tribe Called Quest (regular live cover/performed with Q-Tip at MTVu Awards)

"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" – originally recorded by Vampire Weekend (regular live cover)

"Hustlin'" – originally recorded by Rick Ross

"Knocked Up" – originally recorded by and featuring Kings of Leon

"A Milli" – originally recorded by Lil Wayne

"Velvet" – originally recorded by The Big Pink

"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" – originally recorded by The Shirelles

;Music videos

Year	Song	Director(s)
	"Breaking It Up"	Sarah Chatfield
"Little Bit"
"I'm Good, I'm Gone"
	"Possibility"	Marcus Palmqvist and Frode Fjerdingstad
"Get Some"	Johan Söderberg
	"I Follow Rivers"
"Sadness Is a Blessing"

Awards and nominations

|- |rowspan="2"| 2009 ||rowspan="2"|Lykke Li || 2009 Meteor Music Award for Best International Female || |- | Studio8's Female Voice of February 2009 ||

Remixes

Her song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was remixed by Fred Falke and featured in Hed Kandi's Lounge 2009 "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was also covered by British group Friendly Fires in 2009. Her song "Little Bit" was remixed by Drake, as well as a bootleg remix by AutoErotique. Her song "Little Bit" was sampled and remixed by Charles Hamilton. Her song "Love until We Bleed" was remixed by QuESt. Her song "Dance, Dance, Dance" was remixed by Buraka Som Sistema. Her song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was also remixed by 3OH!3 as a collaboration.

References

External links

Lykke Li on RCRD LBL

Category:1986 births Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:English-language singers Category:Indie pop musicians Category:Living people Category:People from Ystad Municipality Category:Swedish electronic musicians Category:Swedish female singers Category:Swedish pop singers Category:Swedish singer-songwriters

ca:Lykke Li cy:Lykke Li da:Lykke Li de:Lykke Li es:Lykke Li fr:Lykke Li it:Lykke Li he:ליקה לי lt:Lykke Li nl:Lykke Li no:Lykke Li pl:Lykke Li pt:Lykke Li ro:Lykke Li ru:Люкке Ли fi:Lykke Li sv:Lykke Li

Name	Yundi Li
Birth date	October 07, 1982
Birth place	Chongqing, Sichuan, China
Occupation	Classical pianist
Signature	YunDiLi.png
Parents	Li ChuanZhang Xiaolu
Awards	International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition2000 1st in place2000 The Fryderyk Chopin Society and Warsaw City Council ex aequo prize for the best performance of a polonaise }}

Li Yundi () (born October 7, 1982) is a Chinese classical pianist. He is also popularly known as Yundi and formerly Yundi Li. Born in Chongqing, Li is most well known for being the youngest pianist to win the International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition, in 2000, at the age of 18. He currently resides in Hong Kong.

Childhood

His father, Li Chuan, and his mother, Zhang Xiaolu, both worked for the Sichuan Chongqing Steel and Iron Company. Although coming from a family of non-musicians, Li took to music early. When he was three years old, his parents bought him an accordion after he was so entranced by an accordion player in a shopping mall that he refused to leave. He mastered the instrument by the age of four, studying with Tan Jianmin, a music professor in China. Only one year later, he won the top prize at the Chongqing Children's Accordion Competition. Li began studying piano at the age of seven years. Two years later, his teacher introduced him to Dan Zhaoyi, one of China's most renowned piano teachers, with whom he would study for nine years. Li's ambition was to become a professional pianist. In 1994, he entered the Shenzhen Arts School, Shenzhen, China.

Awards

Li has received top awards at various competitions. He won the Children's Piano Competition in Beijing in 1994. In 1995, he was awarded first place at the Stravinsky International Youth Competition. In 1998, he won the 1998 Missouri Southern International Piano Competition (Junior Division). The next year, he took Third Prize at the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition of Utrecht, as well as being a major winner in the China International Piano Competition. He also won first place at the Gina Bachauer Young Artists International Piano Competition.

In October 2000, at the urging of the Chinese Culture Ministry, Li participated in the 14th International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. He was the first participant to be awarded First Prize in 15 years. At 18 years of age, he was the youngest winner — and the first Chinese — in the competition's history. Li was given the "Polonaise award" by the Chopin Society for his performance at the competition.

Soon after, Li sought out pianist Arie Vardi as an instructor, and therefore left his parents' home to live and study at a music school in Hannover, Germany ("Hochschule für Musik und Theater").

Performing and recording career

Li's debut in the United States took place in June 2003 at Carnegie Hall, as part of Steinway and Sons' 150^th Anniversary Gala. His United States concerto debut took place the next month, when he performed Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1. He was also honoured at a special reception at the home of the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, where he performed for various officials of the US State Department.

Li's second recording of Liszt for Deutsche Grammophon, for whom he exclusively recorded until November 2008, was released in August 2003 and was named "Best CD of the Year" by ''The New York Times''. His third recording, comprising Chopin's four Scherzi and three Impromptus, was released in late 2004. He has also given a recital in the renowned Musikverein in Vienna, performing works by Mozart, Scarlatti, Schumann, and Liszt.

Li obtained Hong Kong residentship in November 2006 under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the first batch of people to do so under the scheme.

Li is the subject of a 2008 feature-length documentary, ''The Young Romantic: Yundi Li'', directed by Barbara Willis Sweete.

In January 2010, Li signed an exclusive recording contract with EMI Classics with plans to record the complete works for solo piano by Frédéric Chopin.

Li performed a solo recital at the Royal Festival Hall in London on the 16th March 2010. He played a repertoire of Chopin pieces to a sold-out crowd.

Recordings

Chopin

Complete Nocturnes (EMI Classics)

Chopin Recital

Piano Sonata in B minor No. 3 op. 58

Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante op. 22

Études op. 10 Nos. 2 + 5 op. 25 No. 11 »Winter Wind«

Nocturnes op. 9 Nos. 1 + 2 op. 15 No. 2

Impromptu op. 66

CD |D|D|D| 4714792

Franz Liszt

Piano Sonata in B minor

La Campanella

Widmung after Schumann: Liebeslied

Liebestraum No. 3

Tarantella from Venezia e Napoli

Rigoletto-Paraphrase

CD |D|D|D| 471 585-2 SACD |D|D|D| 474 2972 Awards: Echo Award 2003

Chopin: Scherzo & Impromptus

4 Scherzi:

No. 1 op. 20 · No. 2 op. 31

No. 3 op. 39 · No. 4 op. 54

3 Impromptus

No. 1 op. 29 · No. 2 op. 36

No. 3 op. 51

SACD |D|D|D| 474 8782 CD |D|D|D| 474 5162

Vienna Recital

Liszt: Rhapsodie espagnole

Mozart: Piano Sonata KV 330

D. Scarlatti: Sonatas K. 380 + K. 13

Schumann: Carnaval op. 9

CD |D|D|D| 477 557-1 |G|H|

Chopin & Liszt Piano Concerto No.1

Liszt: Concerto for piano no.1 in E-Flat,S.124

Chopin: Concerto for piano no.1 in E-minor,op.11

CD |D|D|D| 00289 477 6402 |G|H|

Prokofiev/Ravel: Piano Concertos

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor

Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major

CD |D|D|D| 477 659-3 |G|H|

Yundi - The Young Romantic

Frédéric Chopin: Scherzo in B minor, op.20 Scherzo in B flat minor, op.31 Scherzo in C sharp minor, op.39 Scherzo in E major, op.54; Franz Liszt: Grandes Études de Paganini: La Campanella

Bonus: Yundi Li plays at La Roque d’Anthéron

DVD 3079058 EuroArts/Ideale Audience

References

External links

Li Yundi at Deutsche Grammophon

Li plays Chopin Scherzo No. 1 Op. 30

Biography of Li Yundi (written by Richard Dyer, Globe Newspaper Company, 4/10/2004)

'The young romantic: A portrait of Yundi Li'

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Chinese classical pianists Category:Chopin Competition winners Category:People with acquired residency of Hong Kong Category:People from Chongqing

de:Yundi Li es:Li Yundi fr:Yundi Li ko:윤디 리 id:Li Yundi it:Yundi Li nl:Yundi Li ja:ユンディ・リ pl:Li Yundi zh-yue:李雲迪 zh:李云迪

name	Kanye West
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kanye Omari West
birth date	June 08, 1977
birth place	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
genre	Hip hop
instrument	Vocals, keyboards, sampler, percussion, synthesizer
occupation	Producer, rapper, musician, singer
years active	1996–present
label	GOOD Music, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
associated acts	Go Getters, Child Rebel Soldier, Jay-Z, The Throne, Common, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Jeff Bhasker, Pusha T, Mos Def, Mr Hudson, Talib Kweli, Big Sean, A-Trak, Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, RZA
website	}}

Kanye Omari West (; born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album ''The Blueprint'', as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B;, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synth-pop, and classical music.

West released his debut album ''The College Dropout'' in 2004, his second album ''Late Registration'' in 2005, his third album ''Graduation'' in 2007, his fourth album ''808s & Heartbreak'' in 2008, and his fifth album ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' in 2010. West released a collaborative album, ''Watch the Throne'', with Jay-Z on August 8, 2011, which is the duo's first collaborative album. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. As of 2011, West has won a total of fourteen Grammy Awards. All albums have been very commercially successful, with ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' becoming his fourth consecutive No.1 album in the U.S. upon release. West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with "Gold Digger" selling 3,086,000, "Stronger" selling 4,402,000, "Heartless" selling 3,742,000, "E.T." selling over 4,000,000 and "Love Lockdown" selling over 3,000,000 placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade. He has sold over 25 million digital songs in the United States placing him second for solo male artists on the list and sixth overall for best selling digital artists.

West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such as John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi. West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his five albums as well as various single covers and music videos. About.com ranked Kanye West No.8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's No.1 "Hottest MC in the Game." On December 17, 2010, Kanye West was voted as the MTV Man of the Year by MTV. Billboard ranked Kanye West No. 3 on their list of Top 10 Producers of the decade. West has also been included in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as being listed in a number of ''Forbes''' annual lists.

Early life

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

West attended art classes at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and also enrolled at Chicago State University, but dropped out to focus on his music career. While attending school, West produced for local artists. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B; artists, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, John Legend among others. He also "ghost-produced" for his mentor Deric Angelettie, according to his song "Last Call" and the credits of Nas' "Poppa Was a Playa".

Music career

1996–2003: Career beginnings

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

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

After producing for Jay-Z earlier, West’s sound was featured heavily on Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album ''The Blueprint,'' released September 11, 2001. His work was featured on the lead single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" and a diss track against Nas and Mobb Deep named "Takeover"; West has worked with Mobb Deep and Nas since the track's release.

After meeting great commercial success and critical acclaim for his productions on ''The Blueprint'', West became a sought after producer in the hip-hop industry, even before he became known as a rapper and solo artist. In the years 2002–2003 he would produce for artists such as Nas, Scarface, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, T.I., Ludacris, DMX, and Monica. He also continued producing for Roc-a-Fella Records artists and contribued four tracks to Jay-Z's follow up album to ''The Blueprint'', ''The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse''.

After great successes as a producer, West now looked to pursue a career as a rapper and solo artist, but struggled to get a record deal. Chris Anokute, then A&R; at Def Jam, said that when West regularly dropped by the office to pick up his producer checks he would play demos of solo material to Anokute in his cubicle and bemoan the fact that no one was taking him seriously as a rapper. Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost. Multiple record companies felt he was not as marketable as rappers who portray the "street image" prominent in hip hop culture. Beginning his career as a rapper, Kanye West recorded the third verse on the song "The Bounce" off of Jay-Z's ''The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse'', an album he produced for, from the same label he was signed to as a rapper.

2004–05: ''The College Dropout'' and ''Late Registration''

On October 23, 2002, West was involved in a near fatal car crash while driving home from the recording studio. The crash provided inspiration for West's first single, "Through the Wire". West's faith is apparent in many of his songs, such as "Jesus Walks", which became a staple at his benefit performances, such as the Live 8 concert. These songs were featured on West's debut album, ''The College Dropout'', which was released on Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004, and went on to receive critical acclaim. The album also defined the style for which West would become known, including wordplay and sampling. The album was eventually certified triple platinum. Guest appearances included Jay-Z, Ludacris, GLC, Consequence, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Common, and Syleena Johnson. The album also featured the singles, "All Falls Down" and "The New Workout Plan", as well as Twista's number one single, "Slow Jamz". During 2003 West also co-produced songs for British singer Javine Hylton, even appearing in the music video to Real Things playing the love interest of Javine.

West was involved in a financial dispute over Royce Da 5'9"'s song "Heartbeat", produced by West and released on ''Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions''. West maintains that Royce never paid for the beat, but recorded to it and released it; hearing him on the beat, the original customers decided not to buy it from West. After the disagreement, West vowed to never work with Royce again. Other Kanye West-produced hit singles during the period ''The College Dropout'' was released included "I Changed My Mind" by Keyshia Cole, "Overnight Celebrity" by Twista and "Talk About Our Love" by Brandy.

Taking a more eclectic route, West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion to construct his second album, ''Late Registration'', which was released on August 30, 2005. Like its predecessor, the sophomore effort garnered universal acclaim from music critics. ''Late Registration'' topped countless critic polls and was revered as the best album of the year by numerous publications, including ''USA Today'', ''Spin'', and ''Time''. ''Rolling Stone'' awarded the album the highest position on their end of the year record list and hailed it as a "sweepingly generous, absurdly virtuosic hip-hop classic." The record earned the number one spot on the ''Village Voice'''s Pazz & Jop critics' poll of 2005 for the second consecutive year. ''Late Registration'' was also a commercial success, selling over 860,000 copies in its first week alone and topping the ''Billboard 200''. Grossing over 2.3 million units sold in the United States alone by year's end, ''Late Registration'' was considered by industry observers as the sole majorly successful album release of the fall of 2005, a season that was plagued by steadily declining CD sales. The second album earned eight Grammy Award nominations including ''Album of the Year'' and ''Record of the Year'' for the song "Gold Digger". The album is certified triple platinum.

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

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

2007–09: ''Graduation'' and ''808s & Heartbreak''

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

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

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

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

}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010–present: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' and ''Watch the Throne''

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

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

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

On September 12, 2010, West performed a new song, "Runaway" featuring Pusha T, at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Shortly after the performance, Kanye revealed he was working on a 35 minute short film based around the song. The movie is said to be influenced by film noir and concerns a fallen phoenix whom Kanye falls in love with. On October 15, 2010, Kanye West was ranked 3rd in BET's "Top Ten Rappers of the 21st Century" list.

''Watch the Throne'', a collaborative studio album by West and Jay-Z, was released by Def Jam Recordings on August 8, 2011. It has been under production since August 2010 as part of West's GOOD Friday initiative of releasing new songs every Friday between August 20 and Christmas 2010. West said through a recent interview with MTV that the album is "going to be very dark and sexy, like couture hip hop." He appeared at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, performing the track "Lost in the World" from ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''. On January 6, 2011, Kanye announced via Twitter that the first official single from ''Watch the Throne'' would be a song called "H•A•M" produced by Lex Luger. The song was released on January 11, 2011. On January 23, 2011, Kanye revealed via his Twitter account that he will be releasing a new album in summer 2011. On April 17, 2011, West closed the Coachella Festival with a headlining set that received glowing praise from fans and critics alike. On July 13, the official tracklisting for ''Watch The Throne'' was revealed. On July 20, a track titled "Otis" from the album was released in the iTunes Store. It samples "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding.

On October 19, 2011, West announced on his Twitter plans for a Spring 2012 GOOD Music album release.

Other ventures

Business ventures

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

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

On October 01, 2011, Kanye West premiered his women's fashion label, DW Kanye West at Paris Fashion Week. He received support from DSquared2 duo Dean and Dan Caten, Olivier Theyskens, Jeremy Scott, Azzedine Alaïa, and the Olsen twins, who were also in attendance during his show. His debut fashion show received mixed-to-negative reviews, ranging from reserved observations by Style.com to excoriating commentary by The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, Elleuk.com, The Daily Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar and many others.

Philanthropy

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

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

Musical style and influences

At the start of his career, Kanye West's production style often used pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. His first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was "This Can't Be Life", a track from Jay-Z’s ''The Dynasty: Roc La Familia''. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his drums on "This Can't Be Life".

West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style, and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites, "Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time... We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that." RZA himself has spoken quite positively of the comparisons, stating in an interview for ''Rolling Stone'', "All good. I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings... For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: 'Wu-Tang is forever.' Kanye is going to inspire people to be like him." After hearing his work on ''The Blueprint'', RZA claimed that a torch-passing had occurred between him and West, saying, "The shoes gotta be filled. If you ain't gonna do it, somebody else is gonna do it. That's how I feel about rap today."

While his use of sampling has lessened over time, West's production continues to feature distinctive and intricate string arrangements. This characteristic arose from him listening to the English trip hop group Portishead, whose 1998 live album ''Roseland NYC Live'', with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra inspired him to incorporate string sections into his hip hop production. Though he was unable to afford live instruments beyond violin riffs provided by Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari around the time of his debut album, its subsequent commercial success allowed him to hire his very own eleven-piece string orchestra. For a time, West stood as the sole current pop star to tour with a string section.

West has stated on several occasions that outside of work, he favors listening to rock music over hip-hop. He cites Franz Ferdinand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Killers as some of his favorite musical groups. Additionally, on ''Graduation'', West drew inspiration from arena rock bands such as U2, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin for melody and chord progression. Both a fan and supporter of indie culture, West uses his official website to promote obscure indie rock bands, posting up music videos and mp3s on a daily basis. This musical affinity is mutual, as West has collaborated with indie artists such as Santigold, Peter Bjorn and John and Lykke Li while his songs have gone on to be covered countless times by myriad rock bands.

Personal life

Relationships

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

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

Mother's death

On November 10, 2007, West's mother, Donda West, died of complications from cosmetic surgery involving abdominoplasty and breast augmentation. TMZ reported that Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Andre Aboolian refused to do the surgery because Donda West had a health condition that placed her at risk for a heart attack. Aboolian referred her to an internist to investigate her cardiac issue. Donda never met with the doctor recommended by Aboolian and had the procedures performed by a third doctor, Jan Adams. She was 58 years old (1949–2007).

Adams sent condolences to Donda West's family but declined to publicly discuss the procedure because of confidentiality. He had previously been under scrutiny by the medical board. Adams appeared on ''Larry King Live'' on November 20, 2007 but left before speaking. Two days later, he appeared again, with his attorney, stating he was there to "defend himself." He said that the recently released autopsy results "spoke for themselves". The final coroner's report January 10, 2008 concluded that Donda West died of "coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors due to or as a consequence of liposuction and mammoplasty."

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

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

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

Legal issues

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

On September 11, 2008, West and his road manager/bodyguard Don "Don C." Crowley were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport and booked on charges of felony vandalism after an altercation with the paparazzi in which West and Crowley broke the photographers' cameras. West was later released from the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division station in Culver City on $20,000 bail bond. On September 26, 2008 the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said it would not file felony counts against West over the incident. Instead the case file was forwarded to the city attorney's office, which charged West with one count of misdemeanor vandalism, one count of grand theft and one count of battery and his manager with three counts of each on March 18, 2009. West's and Crowley's arraignment was delayed from an original date of April 14, 2009.

West was arrested again on November 14, 2008 at the Hilton hotel near Gateshead after another scuffle involving a photographer outside the famous Tup Tup Palace nightclub in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He was later released "with no further action", according to a police spokesperson.

Controversies

General media

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

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

In November, 2010, Kanye West, in a taped interview with Matt Lauer for the Today Show, West expressed regret for his criticism of Bush. "I would tell George Bush in my moment of frustration, I didn't have the grounds to call him a racist," he told Lauer. "I believe that in a situation of high emotion like that we as human beings don't always choose the right words." The following day, Bush reacted to the apology in a live interview with Lauer saying he appreciated the rapper's remorse. "I'm not a hater," Bush said. "I don't hate Kanye West. I was talking about an environment in which people were willing to say things that hurt. Nobody wants to be called a racist if in your heart you believe in equality of races."

Reactions were mixed, but some felt that West had no need to apologize. "It was not the particulars of your words that mattered, it was the essence of a feeling of the insensitivity towards our communities that many of us have felt for far too long," noted Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons. Dr. Boyce Watkins said that West was, "now part of the establishment, where waffling on your principles is fully expected. Bush deserved no apology, for you don’t apologize to a criminal after repudiating him for an egregious crime. " Bush himself was acceptive towards the apology, saying, "I appreciate that. It wasn't just Kanye West who was talking like that during Katrina, I cited him as an example, I cited others as an example as well. You know, I appreciate that."

Award shows

In 2004, West had his first of a number of incidents involving music award events. At the American Music Awards of 2004, West stormed out of the auditorium after losing Best New Artist to country singer Gretchen Wilson. He later commented, "I felt like I was definitely robbed [...] I was the best new artist this year." After the 2006 Grammy nominations were released, West said he would "really have a problem" if he did not win the Album of the Year, saying, "I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt – you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. I don't want to hear all of that politically correct stuff." On November 2, 2006, when his "Touch the Sky" failed to win Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and argued that he should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane. He later spoofed the incident in the season premiere of ''Saturday Night Live''.

On September 9, 2007, West suggested that his race had to do with his being overlooked for opening the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right." West was performing at the event; that night, he lost all 5 awards that he was nominated for, including Best Male Artist and Video of the Year. After the show, he was visibly upset that he had lost at the VMAs two years in a row, stating that he would not come back to MTV ever again. He also appeared on several radio stations saying that when he made the song "Stronger" that it was his dream to open the VMAs with it. He has also stated that Spears has not had a hit in a long period of time and that MTV exploited her for ratings.

On September 13, 2009, during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me", West went on stage and grabbed the microphone to proclaim that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time". He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions. When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech. West was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and by President Barack Obama, who called West a "jackass" in an off-the-record comment. In addition, West's VMA disruption sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes with blogs, forums and "tweets" with the "Let you finish" photo-jokes. Subsequently, West posted two apologies for the outburst on his personal blog; one on the night of the incident and the other the same day he appeared on ''The Jay Leno Show'', on September 14, 2009, where he apologized again. After Swift appeared on ''The View'' two days after the outburst, partly to discuss the matter, West called her to apologize personally. Swift said she accepted his apology. In September 2010, West wrote a series of apologetic tweets addressed to Swift including "Beyonce didn't need that. MTV didn't need that and Taylor and her family friends and fans definitely didn't want or need that" and concluding with "I'm sorry Taylor." West also revealed he had written a song for Swift and if she did not accept the song, he would perform it himself. However, on November 8, 2010, in an interview with a Minnesota radio station, West seemed to recant a bit of his past apologies by attempting to describe the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless" and downgrade the perception of disrespect it created.

Discography

Solo Albums

''The College Dropout'' (2004)

''Late Registration'' (2005)

''Graduation'' (2007)

''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008)

''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010)

Collaborations

''Watch the Throne'' (2011) – with Jay-Z

''G.O.O.D. Music'' (2012) – with GOOD Music artists

Filmography

''We Were Once a Fairytale'' (2009)

''Runaway'' (2010)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Kanye West at Beatbuggy

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

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