Name	Mike Shinoda
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Michael Kenji Shinoda
Born	February 11, 1977
Origin	Agoura Hills, California, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, rapping, guitar, keyboard, piano, samples, organ, percussion
Genre	Alternative rock, nu metal, alternative hip hop, rap rock, rap, rap metal
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, lyricist, composer, rapper, vocalist, guitarist, pianist, producer, graphic designer, visual artist
Years active	1996–present
Label	Machine Shop/Warner Bros.
Associated acts	Linkin Park, Fort Minor, Styles of Beyond, Apathy, Cypress Hill, Jay-Z, Lupe Fiasco, Skylar Grey
Website	MikeShinoda.com
Notable instruments	PRS GuitarsIbanez GuitarsGibson GuitarsFender Guitars }}

Michael Kenji "Mike" Shinoda (, born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, record producer, and artist. He is best known as the rapper, principal songwriter, keyboardist, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Linkin Park, along with his co-frontman and lead singer Chester Bennington, and as a solo rapper in his side-project, Fort Minor. He also provides artwork, production, and mixing for both groups.

Life and career

Early life

Shinoda was born and raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Agoura Hills. His father is Japanese American, and his mother is a Russian American. He also has a younger brother, Jason. Shinoda attended Parkman Elementary and Lindero Canyon Middle School.

As per his mother's wishes, Shinoda began his classical piano training with lessons around the age of six, his enthusiasm eventually growing. At the age of thirteen, he expressed the desire to move toward playing jazz, blues, and even hip-hop. During his middle school and high school years, he added the guitar and, eventually, rap-style vocals to his repertoire.

After his teens, Mike Shinoda's rap interests found a source of encouragement in Brad Delson, with whom he started to write and record songs in a makeshift studio set up in his bedroom. Shinoda attended Agoura High School with Linkin Park bandmates Brad Delson and Rob Bourdon as well as with members of the band Hoobastank. By the end of high school, Bourdon had become involved in their musical ventures. The trio formed the band Xero, and began to make a more serious attempt to pursue a career in the music industry.

After high school, Shinoda enrolled in the Art Center College of Design to study graphic design and illustration. It was here that he made the acquaintance of DJ and turntablist Joseph Hahn, who, along with Delson's college-mate Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, was soon added to Xero's line-up. It was also here that he experienced a form of identity crisis. Years later, in an interview he said:

"I think it was probably in college that I realized that there was a difference between Japanese and Japanese-American. That's important to realize. It's not the same thing and then eventually with Linkin Park, I toured in Japan. I've been there now I think four times. I remember the first time I went, how familiar it seemed, just getting out of the plane, it smelled like my aunt's house, in the airport, it smelled like Japan. I don't know if anybody else even noticed it but I walked out of the plane and thought this is definitely familiar to me, didn't even see anything yet. And then going to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, you just recognize things about the way people act, the small things that people do such as how you'll grab a piece of paper. There are things that are more obvious like taking somebody's business card with two hands. You don't do that in the States. When I saw somebody do that I went, "Oh yeah, my uncle always does that," you know. There are little things that culturally come from Japan but they also exist in Japanese American culture and it made me feel like the connection was there and I kind of hadn't realized how much of it was there."

Shinoda managed to graduate from college with a bachelor's degree in illustration a year in advance, securing himself a job as a graphic designer instantly. With his background as a graphic artist, Shinoda has taken it upon himself in designing all of Linkin Park's artwork with Hahn, and has even designed the album cover for Styles of Beyond's debut album, ''2000 Fold''. In later years he would go on to showcase his art skills; he had his debut art showcase (Diamonds Spades Hearts & Clubs) at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles in the time leading up to Linkin Park's album ''Minutes to Midnight''.

Linkin Park

Shinoda's band brought in second vocalist Chester Bennington, replacing Mark Wakefield. From the onset, Shinoda was closely involved in the technical aspects of the band's recordings, and over the subsequent releases that role continued to expand. Shinoda, with guitarist Brad Delson, engineered and produced the band's Hybrid Theory EP, and performed similar roles in the recording of the Hybrid Theory album. Mike executively organized and oversaw the band's remix album Reanimation (2002), contributing his own production remixes that he made in his home studio for "Crawling" and "Pushing Me Away." In his spare time, he produced and performed on a song by The X-Ecutioners entitled "It's Goin' Down."

On the second Linkin Park Warner Bros. studio release ''Meteora'' (2003) Shinoda continued to expand upon his duties as a musician and studio technician/engineer. Additionally, for the backbone of the album artwork, Shinoda collaborated with graffiti artist DELTA, graphic designer Frank Maddocks, and band-mate Joe Hahn.

By the release of the Linkin Park and Jay-Z 'mash-up' album ''Collision Course'' in 2004, Shinoda's involvement in the creation of the albums continued to grow. He produced and mixed the album, which won a Grammy Award for "best rap / song collaboration" in 2006.

The band released their next album, ''Minutes to Midnight'', on May 14, 2007. On this album, Shinoda shared a production credit with producer Rick Rubin, overseeing the musical evolution of the band's sound. This album was also the first time that Shinoda, best known for his rapping, sang a featured vocal. Mike sang in the songs "In Between" and the b-side song, "No Roads Left," as well as rapping and singing in the songs "Bleed It Out" and "Hands Held High." Despite the rarity of Shinoda-fronted singing tracks, music magazine Hit Parader ranked Mike at number 72 of the Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. Mike and Rick Rubin again shared a production credit for Linkin Park's latest album, ''A Thousand Suns'', released on September 14, 2010.

Fort Minor

Shinoda formed a side project named "Fort Minor" between 2003 and 2004 because he could not demonstrate as much of his hip-hop background in Linkin Park. He explained the name of his project in an interview:

The debut album from Fort Minor, titled ''The Rising Tied'', was released on November 13, 2005, and includes guest appearances from Styles of Beyond, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Black Thought of The Roots, John Legend, Holly Brook, Jonah Matranga, Celph Titled, and features Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) as an executive producer.

For the NBA 2006–2007 season, "Remember the Name", the second single from ''The Rising Tied'', became the soundtrack for NBA Overtime on TNT. It was an NBA remix version, and remains the staple song for NBA on TNT to this day. Furthermore the Big East used "Remember the Name" as its theme song for the Big East Basketball Tournament in 2006.

He also scored a Top 10 smash with the surprise hit single "Where'd You Go", which peaked at #4 on Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Shinoda provided several original score selections to the 2005 MTV VMAs. Lil Jon also provided original music, but not on any of the same tracks

Fort Minor won an MTV VMA for "Best Ringtone" in 2006, and was featured in the following films and TV programs (2005–2006 and 2010): Entourage, Boston Legal, Gridiron Gang, Freedom Writers, Friday Night Lights (TV), The Karate Kid, and Numbers.

Shinoda has also continued his Fort Minor musical style in an executive producer role on the upcoming Styles Of Beyond album, "''Reseda Beach''" He is contributing music and vocals to the album, which was slated for release sometime in 2009. However, the album has not been released till date and Styles of Beyond is under hiatus.

Art and painting

Mike was the youngest of his graduating class from Art Center College of Design of Pasadena in 1998, with a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration. He has had a hand in most artistic facets of Linkin Park's imagery, including album artwork, band merchandise, web design, and on-stage production art.

During time off in 2003, he did a collaborative "remix" shoe for DC Shoes, remixing the "Clientele." He reworked the colors and materials for the shoe, and additionally designed all the packaging and print advertisements. The following year, he also designed a customizable Kid Robot "Munny" doll for a charity auction.

In 2004, Shinoda created a series of ten paintings which became the basis of the Fort Minor album ''The Rising Tied.'' That series became the backbone for the packaging of the album, and was featured in Shinoda's first public art show "Diamonds Spades Hearts & Clubs." In addition to the ten Fort Minor pieces, the show also featured thirteen more original works and five collaborative pieces. “Diamonds Spades Hearts & Clubs” opened at Gallery 1988 on Sunday, November 19, 2006.

Additionally in 2004, Shinoda started a college scholarship at Art Center College of Design to benefit future illustration and graphic design students. Named the Michael K. Shinoda Endowed Scholarship, it is awarded based on financial need and merit. The scholarship was awarded for the first time in 2006. The scholarship fund is made possible through the sale of his original artwork on his website, art shows and his DC Shoes projects.

2008 has proved to be a busy year thus far artistically for Mike. On July 11, Shinoda’s second public art show “Glorious Excess (BORN)” premiered at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. The show included nine new pieces, with an exclusive signing on opening night. The show served as part one of the “Glorious Excess” two-part series, with the second installment “Glorious Excess (DIES)” due at JANM at August 22, 2009.

Concerning the inspiration behind the Glorious Excess series, Mike stated that it:

"Got to a point where the pervasiveness of “celebrity news” concerned me. It seemed like it has jumped out of its niche into places where it doesn’t belong. I would be watching the news, and thinking, “of all the things going on in the world right now, why are they covering so-and-so’s breakup?” It didn’t make sense to me. Add to that the fact that I’m supposed to somehow “belong” to that celebrity group—and I really don’t feel like I do in a lot of ways—and you can see how the topic started to become really interesting to me. The Glorious Excess (BORN) show was my way of diving into those topics, trying to find answers. It follows a central “celebrity” character, who is filthy rich, slightly violent, and famous without any particular skill or talent."

Also in 2008, Mike partnered up with DC Shoes again on a second DC Remix Series project. The project would feature a "great juxtaposition of Mike's unique influences: accomplished artist versus recording-breaking musician, American upbringing versus Japanese heritage." The MS/DC limited edition remix has two different versions – Xander and Pride. Roughly 2000 pairs of the limited edition shoes were made available for purchase when the sneaker was released on August 1, 2008.

In an interview with Sneaker Freaker Magazine, Shinoda had this to say about the latest DC Shoe project:

"This remix is a little slimmer than most of DC’s skate shoes; the Xander feels almost like the skate shoes I grew up wearing in the late 80s. But the art brings it up to date—my work is laser-etched into the panels on the side of the shoe, and the sole is a clear gum sole with a koi fish pattern, and four-color artwork beneath. That way, when you’re walking, and your foot lifts up, it’s a little surprise under there. We also took the time to add extra padding and a satin inner lining to make it as comfortable as possible. They come with three pairs of lightly waxed laces instead of two, because I like to flip up the look sometimes. Each pair also comes with a booklet of my art."

Production

Shinoda produced The Rising Tied, the debut album by his side-project Fort Minor. He has also produced tracks for albums by Lupe Fiasco and Styles of Beyond, as well as producing or co-producing all of Linkin Park's non-studio albums, including ''Reanimation'', ''Hybrid Theory EP'', the collaborative EP with Jay-Z, ''Collision Course'', and for the first time producing a studio album in 2007, the group's third studio release ''Minutes to Midnight''. In 2004 Shinoda, with drumming assistance by his Linkin Park band mate Rob Bourdon, remixed "Enjoy the Silence" by Depeche Mode. Shinoda and Bourdon also worked together to create an instrumental piece entitled "Lockjaw" while previewing Digidesign's Pro Tools 8 software. Some other notable production credits include:

Styles of Beyond – "Marco Polo" (from the album ''2000 Fold'')

The X-Ecutioners – "It's Goin' Down" (from the album ''Built from Scratch'')

Depeche Mode – "Enjoy the Silence 04" (remixed and produced)

Lupe Fiasco – "The Instrumental" (from the album ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'')

Styles of Beyond featuring Celph Titled – "You Cannot Fuck With This" (from the ''Razor Tag'' mixtape)

Styles of Beyond – "Hard [MS Remix]" (from the ''Razor Tag'' mixtape)

Styles of Beyond – "Second To None" (from the upcoming album ''Reseda Beach'')

"My December" – Linkin Park

"High Voltage" – Linkin Park

Reanimation – Linkin Park

"What I've Done (Distorted Remix)" – Linkin Park

Scored the 2005 MTV VMAs (contributed all original music)

"''Fort Minor: We Major''" Mixtape – including S.C.O.M., Bloc Party, Dolla, 100 Degrees, Spraypaint & Inkpens (feat. Lupe Fiasco and Ghostface Killah)

Busta Rhymes feat. Linkin Park – "We Made It" (co-produced with Cool & Dre)

"L.O.A.T.R." (M. Shinoda Remix) – Linkin Park

"Lockjaw" – Linkin Park

"Death to Analog" (Mike Shinoda Remix) – Julien-K (from the album ''Death To Digital'')

"New Divide" – Linkin Park

"Gold Guns Girls" (Mike Shinoda remix) – Metric

"Shoot First" – Apathy

"Resurrection" – Lupe Fiasco & Kenna

"Never Let Me Down" – Kenna

"Not Alone" – Linkin Park (From Download to Donate for Haiti, an initiative by Music For Relief)

Cypress Hill – "Carry Me Away" (from the album ''Rise Up'')

"Linkin Park: 8-Bit Rebellion!" – composed 8-bit soundtrack

"Issho Ni" for Download To Donate for Japan, a charity contribution for the 2011 Japan earthquake

Other musical activities

In 2005, Mike hosted the ''Rock Phenomenon'' Mixtape CD with DJ Vlad and Roc Raida. The CD is the first (and to date, only) in DJ Vlad's ''Rock Phenomenon'' series (which itself is a spin-off of Vlad's ''Rap Phenomenon'' Mixtape series), and features a Mash-Up of Linkin Park's ''Papercut'', and David Banner's ''Like a Pimp (Remix)''. The Mixtape was re-released on July 10, 2007, with new artwork.

In October 2008 Mike and Mark Wakefield, former vocalist of Linkin Park back when they were named Xero, recorded and released the song "Barack Your World" under the name White Pegacorn.

For the 2006 Grammy awards, Mike and Brad Delson assembled the mashup track of Numb/Encore and "Yesterday" by The Beatles to be performed live by Jay-Z, Linkin Park and Paul McCartney.

Mike scored the MTV VMAs in 2005. Lil’ Jon also contributed, but they did not collaborate; The tracks were separate. Mike was an honorary parade marshall in Los Angeles Nisei Week, 2005. Mike was awarded the Japanese American National Museum’s Award of Excellence in 2006.

Influences

Shinoda's musical influences and favorites include U2, The Police, Boogie Down Productions, Led Zeppelin, Nine Inch Nails, and Dr. Dre. As a visual artist his influences include Mark Ryden, Corey Sandelius, and Banksy.

Personal life

Mike Shinoda has been married to children's author Anna Hillinger since May 10, 2003. The couple have one child, a son named Otis Akio Shinoda. According to Shinoda, the Fort Minor song "Where'd You Go" was written for Anna.

In 2004 he was featured on an episode of ''Punk'd'' in which a fire hydrant was placed next to his Acura SUV during a pretend fire.

In an interview talking about his song "Kenji" from the ''Rising Tied'' album, he revealed that his father was born during the Second World War. Shinoda is a third generation Japanese American. His father was born in the United States and was interned during World War II. Regarding the “Glue” nickname: someone in the band called Mike “The Glue” saying he was the one that “held everything together.” The other nicknames (Spike Minoda, Cobra Holda) are just funny, nonsensical." In 2009, Mike received an Honorary Doctorate Of Humane Letters (H.D.L) from Art Center College Of Design. "I suppose this could also mean that my name at the top of the page should officially read: Michael Kenji “Mike” Shinoda, H.D.L." EWP honored Mike with a Visionary Award and dinner in 2010.

References

External links

Mike Shinoda's official website

Shinoda's official LPN page from LinkinPark.com

Mike Shinoda is interviewed by SUBvert magazine about his successful career

Category:1977 births Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:American heavy metal singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American keyboardists Category:American male singers Category:American rappers Category:American record producers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American rappers of Asian descent Category:American musicians of European descent Category:American musicians of Japanese descent Category:American people of Japanese descent Category:Linkin Park members Category:Living people Category:Musicians from California Category:Nu metal singers Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area

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name	Lupe Fiasco
background	solo_singer
birth name	Wasalu Muhammad Jaco
birth date	February 16, 1982
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
origin	Chicago, Illinois
religion	Islam
instrument	Vocals, keyboard
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Rapper, producer, songwriter
years active	2006–present
label	Atlantic
associated acts	Child Rebel Soldier, Japanese Cartoon, Matthew Santos, B.o.B, Kanye West, All City Chess Club, Sway DaSafo, Pharrell
website	}}

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor''. He also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. As an entrepreneur, Fiasco is the chief executive officer of 1st and 15th Entertainment.

Raised in Chicago, Fiasco developed an interest in hip hop after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity. After adopting the name Lupe Fiasco and recording songs in his father's basement, 19-year-old Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak. The group disbanded shortly after its inception, and Fiasco soon met rapper Jay-Z who helped him sign a record deal with Atlantic Records. In 2006, Fiasco released his debut album ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' on the label, which received three Grammy nominations. He released his second album, ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', in December 2007. The lead single "Superstar" peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He released ''Lasers'' on March 8, 2011 after a two-year delay. The album's lead single "The Show Goes On" peaked at number 9 on the chart, thus becoming his most successful single since "Superstar".

In addition to music, Fiasco has pursued other business ventures, including fashion. He runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly; he has designed sneakers for Reebok. He has been involved with charitable activities, including the Summit on the Summit expedition, and in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Fiasco is also noted for his anti-establishment views, which he has expressed in both interviews and his music.

Life and career

1982–98: Early life

Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois. Born of West African descent, he was one of nine children of Shirley, a gourmet chef, and Gregory, an engineer. His father, a member of the Black Panther Party, was a prolific African drummer, karate teacher, operating plant engineer, and owner of karate schools and army surplus stores. Fiasco was raised Muslim on the West Side of Chicago on Madison Terrace housing project. At the age of three, Fiasco began taking martial arts classes. His parents divorced when he was five, and he went on to live with his mother, but his father still remained an important part of his life. He described his father's influence over the family by saying, "After school, my father would come and get us and take us out into the world—one day, we're listening to N.W.A, the next day we're listening to Ravi Shankar, the next day, he's teaching us how to shoot an AK-47, the next day, we're at karate class, the next day, we're in Chinatown...". His father lived next door to a crack house and taught Fiasco to use guns to defend himself from drug dealers. Despite his unstable upbringing, Fiasco states that he was well-educated as a child, asserting that his parents exposed him to a diverse array of subjects and that reading was highly encouraged in his household. As a teenager, Fiasco participated in Academic Decathlon competitions. His mother described him by saying, "He was a great spirited child. Smart, a bit complex; he kind of was a loner; he didn't hang with a lot of people...He always had the glasses. Always had a book bag over his shoulder and some type of a writing tablet." Fiasco initially disliked hip hop music for its use of vulgarity, and preferred to listen to jazz; he idolized clarinet player Benny Goodman. His struggle to learn to play an instrument led him to create poetry instead, which led to his interest in the lyrical aspects of music.

He began rapping his poems in the eighth grade, and upon hearing Nas' 1996 album, ''It Was Written'', began to pursue hip hop. While attending Thornton Township High School, Fiasco met gang member Bishop G. The two became friends due to their shared interest in music. Fiasco's father allowed the him and Bishop to make mixtapes in his basement, and the two gained notoriety at the school for their music. However, they were kicked off stage during their first performance because their eclectic musical style was not embraced by the hip hop community. Early in his career, he went by stage names Little Lu and Lu tha Underdog. Growing up, Fiasco was given the nickname "Lu", the last part of his first name, by his mother. "Lupe" is an extension of this nickname, which he borrowed from a friend from high school. "Fiasco" is a reference to The Firm song "Firm Fiasco"; the rapper "liked the way it looked on paper." He also said of his name, "You know how rappers always have names like MC Terrorist—like they're 'terrorizing' other rappers? I knew fiasco meant a great disaster or something like that, but I didn't realize that the person named Fiasco would be the disaster, and that you should be calling other MCs fiascos—not yourself...it kind of humbled me in a sense. It taught me like, 'Yo, stop rushing, or you're going to have some fiascos.'"

After turning away from gangsta rap, he developed a greater appreciation of the lyricism of Jay-Z and Nas. His mother also gave him a record of the influential group The Watts Prophets, one of the first bands to use spoken words with music. Although he was without a group for the first time, Fiasco continued to record music. One of these first self-recorded tracks was "Could Have Been", which described the career options he could have pursued had he not begun rapping. He viewed the song as a turning point in his career that marked a drastic change in the subject matter of his music.

He remixed another one of West's songs, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", and renamed it as "Conflict Diamonds". With this remix, Fiasco wished to raise awareness of the conflict diamond business. This caught West's attention, and he asked Fiasco to perform on his song "Touch the Sky" off his album ''Late Registration''. The song, which sampled Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up", became a hit in the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number forty-two. After this success his first single "Kick, Push" was released earlier than expected. The song was a love story about two people sharing a passion for skateboarding, a topic generally not discussed in hip hop. Fiasco explained, "[Skateboarding culture is] just as deep as hip-hop. I'm not the greatest skateboarder, but I'm a damn good rapper, so I made a damn good skateboarding song." The single, and its accompanying music video, helped Fiasco get attention in the hip-hop community and was later nominated for two 2007 Grammy Awards. During this time, he had guest appearances on singles on Tha' Rayne's "Kiss Me" and "Didn't You Know" and also K Foxx's 2004 "This Life".

2006–08: ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' and ''The Cool''

Jay-Z assisted him in the production of what would become his debut album ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor''. The title of the album is a reference to 'Food and Liquor' stores common in Chicago. He explains, "The store is where everything is at...Food to me represents growth and progression. You eat food and you get strength. You need it to live. Liquor is not a necessity; it is a want. It destroys you. It breaks you down. I can see why it's prohibited in Islam...I've always felt like liquor represents the bad, the food represents the good, and everyone is made up of a little of both." ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' was officially released on September 19, 2006. The album featured production from Jay-Z, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda, The Neptunes, Prolyfic, among others. The record spawned the singles "Kick, Push," "I Gotcha" and "Daydreamin'" featuring Jill Scott. The critically lauded album was later nominated for three Grammy Awards including Best Rap Album. Fiasco won "Best Urban/Alternative Performance" for "Daydreamin'". In the same year, he was voted by ''GQ'' magazine as the "Breakout Man of the Year."

In 2007, Fiasco announced his second album, ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', a concept album that expands on the story of the track of the same name on his first album. While recording this album, Fiasco's father died of type II diabetes and his business partner, Charles "Chilly" Patton, was convicted of attempting to supply heroin to a drug ring and was eventually sentenced to 44 years in a correctional facility. These events greatly affected Fiasco and the subsequent themes discussed on the record. The disc was released in December 2007 in United States while the first single and video from the album, "Superstar" featuring Matthew Santos was released the first week of November 2007. ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', a concept album that expanded upon recurring themes in ''Food & Liquor'', is about "a hustler who dies and comes back to life, only to get robbed by two little kids with the same gun that killed him." For the record, Fiasco decided not to work with well-known producers as he considered it to be "too expensive", noting the commercial failure of his Pharrell collaboration, "I Gotcha".

''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'' was very well received by critics and was referred to as "one of the year’s best hip-hop albums" by ''The New York Times''. "Superstar", a semi-autobiographical account of his rise to fame, was released as the first single from the album, and peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Baseball's Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Gerald Laird and Ryan Braun have used "Superstar" as their at-bat song. The album's second single (released in the UK in April 2008) was "Paris, Tokyo" – a song based around Fiasco's experiences of touring the world between his first and second albums. CRS initially released one single, entitled "US Placers" and featuring a Thom Yorke sample. In an interview with ''The Village Voice'', Fiasco revealed that he was writing a novel about a window washer, aptly titled ''Reflections of a Window Washer''. In 2008, Fiasco and his band 1500 or Nothin joined Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour which also featured Rihanna and N.E.R.D. The tour stopped in several cities, including his hometown of Chicago. In 2008, MTV named Fiasco the 7th Hottest MC in the Game and announced that he was remixing ''The Cool'' with French electro house act Justice.

2009–present: ''Lasers and Food & Liquor 2''

At a performance in New Zealand in February 2010, Fiasco performed new material from the then-titled ''We Are Lasers'' for the first time. He claimed that the album was complete and waiting for a release date from his label, Atlantic Records. However, Atlantic feared that the record lacked commercial singles, and presented Fiasco with songs the label wanted him to record. Fiasco declined, as he was told he would not have any ownership of the songs. He explained, "I don't think the label cares about an album...People just want their number-one record." For six months, the cause of the album's delay remained unclear to the public. In response, Fiasco's fans created an online petition demanding that Atlantic Records release ''Lasers''. The petition garnered considerable attention on hip hop blog sites as well as over 16,000 signatures. Fiasco stated that the petition "brought [him] to tears", and in response to the petition, Fiasco released a song titled "B.M.F-Building Minds Faster" to thank his fans.

While waiting for ''Lasers'' to be released, Fiasco completed another album, titled ''Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album''. He is unsure if the ''Food and Liquor II'' will ever be released, though he released the song "Go To Sleep" from the record "out of desperation" to put out new music. He also pursued numerous side projects in the midst of the delay. In April 2010, Fiasco formed the hip hop collective All City Chess Club along with Pharrell, Asher Roth, B.o.B., The Cool Kids, Charles Hamilton, Blu, Diggy Simmons, Wale, J. Cole, & Dosage. The group has so far made one song, a remix of Fiasco's "I'm Beamin". Additionally, On July 16, 2010, Fiasco released his rock side-project Japanese Cartoon's debut EP ''In The Jaws Of The Lords Of Death''. Japanese Cartoon was influenced by a variety of musical genres, with Fiasco saying, "I’ve always been a fan of all music...Hip hop is just something I actually know how to do but I always had aspirations to participate in other forms of music. Once I got to create some hip hop, it was like, 'Okay, what am I going to do now?' So my artistic side was like, 'Yo, let's do some rock music.'"

More than two and a half years after the album's completion, ''Lasers'' was released March 8, 2011. The first single off of the record was "The Show Goes On", which samples "Float On" by Modest Mouse. "The Show Goes On" debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. The lead single peaked at number 9 since then. The producers involved on the album include Alex Da Kidd, King David "The Future" and Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, while featured artists include Skylar Grey, Trey Songz, and John Legend. Despite the album's commercial success, ''Lasers'' received mixed reviews from most music critics. Writing for Allmusic, editor Andy Kellman gave the record three out of five stars and criticized its "lumbering, overwrought choruses", writing that "If there is one MC whose rhymes should not be dulled for the sake of chasing pop trends, it’s Lupe Fiasco". ''Lasers'', however, was nominated Best Rap Album, with "The Show Goes On" nominated for Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song at the 54th Grammy Awards. Lupe Fiasco later involved himself at the Occupy Wall Street movement where he donated tents and released a poem in support of the protesters. He also released his "Friend of the People" mixtape on Thanksgiving Day. Fiasco has since announced the completion of his ''Food & Liquor 2'' album, as well as work being put intoa joint album with fellow Child Rebel Soldier & All City Chess Club member Pharrell.

Lyrical style

Fiasco, along with rappers Common, Rhymefest, and Talib Kweli, has been credited as a pioneer of the conscious hip hop movement, which focuses on social issues. Subjects touched upon on ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' include absent parents, terrorism, Islam and religion, war, and prostitution. Fiasco attributes his interest in social issues to his highly cultured upbringing, as he describes his mother as "very intellectual" and his father as a "Renaissance man". He rejects the misogyny common in hip hop, which he discusses in the song "Hurt Me Soul". Despite this, Fiasco is strongly opposed to censorship in music: "If we're going to [censor things] that are offensive, then we are going to have to blind and deafen everyone. Come on, man. Let's focus on education and literacy and poverty."

Fiasco employs various lyrical techniques in his songwriting. The rapper views hip-hop as a medium conducive to storytelling, a primary element of his lyrics due to his background in theater. He wrote plays as a child, which had a strong effect on his songwriting approaches. Fiasco utilizes both metaphors and literal statements in his work, which he describes as "getting from point A to point B in as few words as possible". His use of metaphors is exemplified by the song "Gotta Eat" from ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', which is told from the perspective of a cheeseburger and addresses the poor nutrition in black communities in the United States.

Philanthropy and business ventures

In 2001, Fiasco co-founded 1st & 15th Entertainment with Charles "Chilly" Patton. 1st & 15th is a vanity record label under Atlantic named after the traditional twice-monthly paycheck dates. Fiasco and singer Matthew Santos were two of the most recognizable signed artists. In November 2009, Fiasco announced he would discontinue the 1st & 15th label: "It was just such a 'this isn't right for you right now. This isn't gonna work for you right now. You need to be focused on you. Do you really want that, do you really have the capacity to do it?'"

In 2005, he founded Righteous Kung-Fu, a company that designs fashions, sneakers, toys, video games, comic books, and graphics for album covers and skateboard decks. Fiasco also runs a fashion line out of Righteous Kung-Fu called Trilly & Truly. He has sponsored a skateboard team and has endorsements from DGK Skateboards. In January 2006, Fiasco signed with major footwear and apparel corporation Reebok, becoming part of the "O.G" marketing campaign where rap artists such as Lil Wayne and Mike Jones designed their own personal colorway of the Reebok "O.G" model.

In 2009, Fiasco performed in ''The People Speak'', a documentary feature film that employs musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's ''A People's History of the United States''. On January 7, 2010, Fiasco joined musician Kenna, actress Jessica Biel, and other celebrities and activists for an expedition to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro called Summit on the Summit to raise awareness of the billions of people worldwide who lack access to sanitary drinking water. On January 20, 2010, Fiasco released a track called "Resurrection" with Kenna in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The song, part of a compilation released through the charity Music for Relief, aimed to encourage donations for immediate relief and long-term recovery following the disaster.

Political views

Fiasco is noted for his anti-establishment views. In an interview with Stephen Colbert on the satirical news show ''The Colbert Report'', Fiasco stated his credo on political philosophy: "You should criticize power even if you agree with it." In another interview in June 2011 on the CBS program ''What's Trending'', Fiasco discussed the political content of his music, stating, "My fight against terrorism, to me, the biggest terrorist is Obama and the United States of America. I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism. You know, the root cause of terrorism is the stuff the U.S. government allows to happen. The foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists." He additionally criticized Obama for his stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite his strong political opinions, Fiasco does not vote in U.S. elections nor does he involve himself in U.S. politics as he believes they are "meaningless."

Discography

''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' (2006)

''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'' (2007)

''Lasers'' (2011)

''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album'' (2012)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Lupe Fiasco

References

Bibliography

''Biography Today - Lupe Fiasco'' (2009). Omnigraphics. Detroit, Michigan. ISBN-978-0-7808-1052-5.

External links

Category:Living people Category:Midwest hip hop musicians Category:1982 births Category:African-American businesspeople Category:African American Muslims Category:African American rappers Category:American hip hop record producers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Rappers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Hip hop activists

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name	Cypress Hill
background	group_or_band
alias	DVX (Devasting Vocal Excellence)
origin	South Gate, California, United States
genre	Hip hop, rap rock, nu metal
years active	1988–present
label	Ruffhouse, Columbia, Sony Music Entertainment, Priority, EMI Records
associated acts	Soul Assassins, Rage Against the Machine, The Beastie Boys, D12, OutKast, Everlast, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Slash, House of Pain, Funkdoobiest, Richie Londres, Xzibit, Young De, Apathy, Adil Omar, Travis Barker, The Transplants, Psycho Realm, La Coka Nostra
website	CypressHill.com
current members	B-Real DJ Muggs Sen Dog Eric Bobo
past members	Mellow Man Ace }}

Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Cuban-American/Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide. It is one of the most well-known groups in West Coast rap and was critically acclaimed for their first two groundbreaking albums.

History

Formation (1988)

Senen Reyes (also known as Sen Dog) and Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (also known as Mellow Man Ace) are brothers who initially lived in Cypress Park, California. In 1971, their family had immigrated to the United States, settling in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock. In 1988, the two brothers teamed up with Lawrence Muggerud (also known as DJ Muggs) and Louis Freese (also known as B-Real) to form a hip-hop group named DVX (Devasting Vocal Excellence). The band soon lost Mellow Man Ace to a solo career, and changed their name to Cypress Hill, after a street in North East Los Angeles.

Early works and mainstream success (1989–1995)

After recording a demo in 1989, Cypress Hill signed a record deal with the major label, Columbia Records. Their self-titled first album was released in August 1991. The lead single was the double A-side "The Phuncky Feel One"/"How I Could Just Kill a Man" which received heavy airplay on urban and college radio. The other two singles released from the album were "Hand on the Pump" and "Latin Lingo", the latter of which combined English and Spanish lyrics. The success of these singles led to the album selling two million copies in the US alone. The group made their first appearance at Lollapalooza on the side stage in 1992.

''Black Sunday'', the group's second album, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 1993, recording the highest Soundscan for a rap group up until that time. Also, with their debut still in the charts, they became the first rap group to have 2 albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 at the same time. With "Insane in the Brain" becoming a crossover hit, the album went triple platinum in the U.S. and sold about 3.25 million copies.

Cypress Hill was banned from ''Saturday Night Live'' after Muggs smoked a joint on-air and the group trashed their instruments while playing their second single "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That". The band headlined the Soul Assassins tour with House of Pain and Funkdoobiest as support, then performed on a college tour with Rage Against the Machine and Seven Year Bitch. In 1993, Cypress Hill also had two tracks on the ''Judgment Night'' soundtrack, teaming up with Pearl Jam on the track "Real Thing" and Sonic Youth on "I Love You Mary Jane".

The group later played at Woodstock 94, introducing new member Eric Bobo, son of Willie Bobo and formerly a percussionist with the Beastie Boys. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine named the group as the best rap group in their music awards voted by critics and readers. Cypress Hill played at Lollapalooza for two successive years, topping the bill in 1995. They also appeared on the "Homerpalooza" episode of ''The Simpsons''. Prior to Bobo joining the crew, Panchito "Ponch" Gomez sat in as a percussionist when not acting.

Their third album ''III: Temples of Boom'' was released in 1995, selling 1.5 million copies and reaching number 3 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the hit single "Throw Your Set in the Air". Cypress Hill also contributed a track "I Wanna Get High" to the High Times sponsored ''Hempilation'' album to support NORML.

Continued career (1996–2002)

Sen Dog took a break from the band to form a Los Angeles based rap rock band SX-10. Meanwhile in 1996, Cypress Hill appeared on the first 'Smokin' Grooves' tour, featuring Ziggy Marley, The Fugees, Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest. The band also released a nine track EP ''Unreleased and Revamped'' with rare mixes. In 1997, band members focused on their solo careers. Muggs released ''Soul Assassins: Chapter 1'' featuring contributions from Dr. Dre, KRS-One, Wyclef Jean and Mobb Deep. B-Real appeared with Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J and Method Man on "Hit Em High" from the multi-platinum ''Space Jam Soundtrack''. He also appeared with RBX, Nas and KRS-One on "East Coast Killer, West Coast Killer" off Dr. Dre's ''Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath'' album, and contributed to an album entitled ''The Psycho Realm'' with the band of the same name. Though the focus that year was not on group efforts, the band played Smokin' Grooves with George Clinton and Erykah Badu.

Cypress Hill released ''IV'' in 1998 which went gold in the U.S., on the backs of hit singles "Tequila Sunrise" and "Dr. Greenthumb." Sen Dog also released the ''Get Wood'' sampler as part of SX-10 on the label Flip. In 1999, Cypress Hill helped with the PC crime video game ''Kingpin: Life of Crime''. Three of their songs from the 1998 ''IV'' album were in the game ( "16 Men Till There's No Men Left", "Checkmate" and "Lightning Strikes"). B-Real also did some of the voices of the people in the game. Also in 1999, the band released a greatest-hits album in Spanish, ''Los grandes éxitos en español''. In 2000, Cypress Hill then fused genres with their fifth album, ''Skull & Bones'', which was a two-disc album. The first disc, "Skull" was composed of rap tracks while "Bones" explored further the group's forays into rock. The album reached the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 and number 3 in Canada. The first single was "Rock Superstar" for rock radio and "Rap Superstar" for urban radio. Following the release of the album, Cypress Hill (along with MxPx) landed a slot opening for The Offspring on the ''Conspiracy of One'' tour. The band also released ''Live at the Fillmore'', a concert disc recorded at the Fillmore (in San Francisco) in 2000. Cypress Hill continued their experimentation with rock on the ''Stoned Raiders'' album in 2001. However, its sales were a disappointment, as the disc did not even reach the top 50 of the U.S. album charts. In 2001, the group appeared in the film ''How High''.

''Till Death Do Us Part'' (2003–2007)

Cypress Hill recorded "Just Another Victim" for WWE as a theme song for Tazz. At the time, WWE was using original music for almost all of the wrestlers, so this was an unusual step for the company to take, but it remains one of the more memorable songs to emerge from the wrestling organization. The band released ''Till Death Do Us Part'' on March 23, 2004. The album saw the band experiment with reggae especially on the lead single "What's Your Number". The track features Tim Armstrong of Rancid on guitar and backup vocals. It is based on the classic song "The Guns of Brixton" on The Clash's ''London Calling'' and has proven to be a success on the modern rock charts. However, the album represented a further departure from the signature sound of their first four albums. The album also features appearances by Damian Marley, son of Bob Marley, Prodigy of Mobb Deep and producers the Alchemist and Fredwreck.

In 2004, the song ''How I Could Just Kill A Man'' was included in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas created by Rockstar Games, playing on West Coast hip hop radio station Radio Los Santos. In December 2005 a best of compilation album titled Greatest Hits From the Bong was released including 9 hits from previous albums and 2 new tracks. The group's next album was tentatively scheduled for an early 2007 release. In the summer of 2006, B-Real appeared on Snoop Dogg's single "Vato", which was produced by Pharrell Williams.

In 2007 Cypress Hill toured with their full line up as a part of the Rock the Bells tour, held by Guerilla Union, and headlined with Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and a reunited Rage Against the Machine. Other acts included Immortal Technique, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, The Roots, EPMD, Pharoahe Monch, Jedi Mind Tricks, Erykah Badu, MF Doom, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, The Coup, Blue Print, Lucky I Am, Living Legends, Felt, Cage, Mr. Lif, Grouch & Eligh, Slightly Stoopid, and Hangar 18.

Departure from Sony and ''Rise Up'' (2008–present)

On July 25, 2008, Cypress Hill performed at a benefit concert at the House of Blues Chicago, where a majority of the proceeds went to the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness.

In August 2009, a new song by Cypress Hill, titled "Get 'Em Up", was made available on iTunes. The song is featured on the Madden NFL 2010 video game.

In November 2009, a new version of Guns N' Roses classic "Paradise City" performed by Cypress Hill, Slash and Fergie was made available as a bonus track to Slash's single "Sahara" off Slash's solo album ''Slash''.

Cypress Hill's eighth studio album, ''Rise Up'', features contributions from Everlast, Tom Morello, Daron Malakian, Pitbull, Marc Anthony and Mike Shinoda. The album was released on Priority Records/EMI Entertainment, as the group was signed to the label by new Creative Chairman Snoop Dogg on January 15, 2010. The album was finally released on April 20, 2010. The album's introduction single, "It Ain't Nothin'" was released as a free download from the group's official website. The song "Rise Up" was featured at WWE's pay-per-view, Elimination Chamber, as the official theme song for that event, and was released as the third single for the album, with "Armada Latina" being fourth. The song also appeared in the trailer of the movie ''The Green Hornet''.

Cypress Hill commenced its Rise Up tour in Philadelphia on April 10, 2010. Julio G had replaced DJ Muggs for the tour. Muggs had been absent due to working on several other projects, including separate albums with B-Real and Sen Dog. The group was supposed to stop in Tucson, Arizona but canceled the show in protest of the recent immigration legislation. At the Rock en Seine festival in Paris on August 27, 2010 they said in an interview that they would wait and see what happens with the legislation before going back there. Cypress Hill performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in late August 2010, on the 28th at Leeds and the 29th at Reading.

Style

Rapping

One of the band's most striking aspects is B-Real's exaggeratedly high-pitched nasal vocals. In the book ''Check the Technique'' B-Real describes his nasal style, saying his rapping voice is "high and annoying... the nasal style I have was just something that I developed... my more natural style wasn't so pleasing to [DJ Muggs and Sen Dog's] ears" and talking about the nasal style in the book ''How to Rap'', B-Real says, "you want to stand out from the others and just be distinct... when you got something that can separate you from everybody else, you gotta use it to your advantage." Sen Dog's voice is deeper, more violent and often shouted alongside the rapping; his vocals are often emphasized by adding an additional background/choir voice to say them. Sen Dog's style is in contrast to B-Real's, who says, "[Sen's] voice is so strong", and "it all blends together" when they are both on the same track.

Both B-Real and Sen Dog started writing lyrics in both Spanish and English and B-Real was inspired to start writing raps from watching Sen Dog and Mellow Man Ace writing their lyrics, and originally B-Real was going to just be the writer for the group rather than a rapper. Their lyrics are noted for bringing a "cartoonish" approach to violence by Peter Shapiro and Allmusic.

Production

The sound and groove of their music, produced by Muggs, is notable for its spooky sounds and stoned aesthetic; with its bass-heavy rhythms and odd sample loops ("Insane in the Brain" is notable for having a pitched-altered horse neigh looped in its chorus), it carries a psychedelic value, which lessened in the later albums.

The band is also known for involving rock instruments. In their songs – this has caused the band to sometimes be classified as a rap rock group. The double album ''Skull & Bones'' consists of a pure rap album ("Skull") and an entire CD of rap/rock songs ("Bones"). Also in ''IV'', there is "Lightning Strikes" which doesn't truly use electric guitars, but a synthesized version of it. In the live album ''Live at The Fillmore'' some of the old classics are played in a rock/metal version, with Sen Dog's band SX-10 and Eric Bobo playing the rock instrument.

The band's music is constantly subject to change: while the first album and ''Black Sunday'' follow a more minimalistic and funky sound, ''III (Temples of Boom)'' has a very dark, spooky atmosphere and heavy beats, sometimes approaching hardcore rap. ''IV'' introduced more diverse sounds on the beats while maintaining the hardcore edge. The first albums are mostly influenced by psychedelic music, but the band eventually got closer to modern rap as it is today while still experimenting with rock from time to time, like on "Skull and Bones" and "Stoned Raiders".

The band involves horns in their songs, and often have guitar and horns together in the instrumentals. "What's Your Number?", "Trouble", "Tequila Sunrise", and "(Rock) Superstar" have become some of the band's most popular songs featuring these elements.

Side and solo projects

Eric Bobo is part of the group Sol Invicto with producer Richie Londres and Stephen Carpenter of the Deftones. Eric Bobo is also a main member of Cultura Londres Proyecto which is a Spanish Hip Hop group from London, England. In 2008, he released his first solo album "Meeting Of The Minds" on Nacional Records. In 2011, he joined up with Chilean DJ Latin Bitman to form the group Ritmo Machine & in November 2011 they released the album "Welcome To The Ritmo Machine" on Nacional Records with special guests Sick Jacken (Psycho Realm), Ana Tijoux, Sen-Dog, Mix Master Mike (Beastie Boys), P-Nut (311), Pato Machete & Chali 2na (Jurassic 5).

2009 saw the releases of both B-Real and Sen Dog's solo efforts Smoke N Mirrors and Diary of a Mad Dog. B-Real is also part of a super-group called Serial Killaz with both Xzibit and his protege Young De. B-Real started his own production company called Audio Hustlaz, with which he has worked and featured on tracks with Kurupt, Young De, Xzibit, Adil Omar, Snoop Dogg, Bitza and others, and has also done guest appearances for La Coka Nostra, Ill Bill, Prozak, Akrobatik, The Outlawz, Nipsey Hussle and Apathy.

Other notable side projects include B-Real's rap metal group Kush with members from Deftones and Fear Factory who are as yet to release any official material.

Sen Dog has released one album with his rap metal group SX-10.

Muggs has released collaborative albums with Sick Jacken, GZA, Planet Asia, Ill Bill and others.

Discography

''Cypress Hill'' (1991)

''Black Sunday'' (1993)

''Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom'' (1995)

''Unreleased and Revamped'' (1996)

''Cypress Hill IV'' (1998)

''Skull & Bones'' (2000)

''Stoned Raiders'' (2001)

''Till Death Do Us Part'' (2004)

''Rise Up'' (2010)

Awards and Nominations

Grammy Awards

!Year	!Nominated work	!Award	!Result
align=center	"Insane in the Brain"	Best Rap Performance by a Group or Duo
align=center	"I Ain't Goin' Out Like That"	Best Rap Performance by a Group or Duo
align=center	"Throw Your Set in the Air"	Best Rap Performance by a Group or Duo

MTV Video Music Awards Awards

!Year	!Nominated work	!Award	!Result
align=center	"Insane in the Brain"	Best Rap Video

Band Members

;Current Members

B-Real – lead rapping (since 1988)

DJ Muggs – turntables, production (since 1988)

Eric Bobo – drums, percussion (since 1993)

Sen Dog – rapping (since 1988)

;Former Members

Mellow Man Ace - rapping (only 1988)

References

External links

Official Website

Cypress Hill interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' April 2010

Cypress Hill interview, August 2010, Radio France Internationale

Cypress Hill on Velvet Hammer Site

Cypress Hill at Legacy Recordings (Sony Music)

Eric Bobo video interview

Category:Cannabis music Category:Priority Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Rap rock groups Category:West Coast hip hop groups Category:American hip hop groups Category:Hispanic and Latino American rappers Category:People from South Gate, California Category:Musical groups from California Category:Musical groups established in 1986 Category:West Coast hip hop musicians Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California

als:Cypress Hill bg:Сайпръс Хил cs:Cypress Hill da:Cypress Hill de:Cypress Hill es:Cypress Hill fa:سایپرس هیل fr:Cypress Hill fy:Cypress Hill ko:사이프레스 힐 hr:Cypress Hill it:Cypress Hill he:סייפרס היל ka:საიპრეს ჰილი hu:Cypress Hill mk:Cypress Hill nl:Cypress Hill ja:サイプレス・ヒル no:Cypress Hill pl:Cypress Hill pt:Cypress Hill ru:Cypress Hill sk:Cypress Hill sr:Sajpres hil fi:Cypress Hill sv:Cypress Hill tr:Cypress Hill uk:Cypress Hill

name	Chester Bennington
birth name	Chester Charles Bennington
birth date	March 20, 1976
origin	Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
instrument	Vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums
genre	Alternative rock, nu metal, alternative metal, alternative hip hop, hard rock, rap rock, rap metal, electronic rock, post-grunge
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, actor
years active	1993–present
label	Warner Bros.
website	www.cbennington.com
associated acts	Linkin Park, Dead by Sunrise, Grey Daze
background	solo_singer }}

Chester Charles Bennington (born March 20, 1976) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He is best known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Linkin Park.

Bennington became known as a vocalist with Linkin Park's debut album, ''Hybrid Theory'', in 2000, which was a massive commercial success. The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005, making it the best-selling debut album of the decade. Linkin Park's following studio albums, ''Meteora'', ''Minutes to Midnight'', and ''A Thousand Suns'', released in , 2003, 2007, and 2010 respectively, continued the band's success. Bennington formed his own band, Dead by Sunrise as a side-project in 2005. The band's debut album, ''Out of Ashes'' was released on October 13, 2009. In 2007, Bennington was placed at #46 on'' Hit Parader''s list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists".

Early life

Bennington was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He attended Greenway High school. He took interest in music at a young age, citing Depeche Mode and Stone Temple Pilots as early inspirations. Bennington's parents separated in the late 1980s. He later struggled with cocaine and methamphetamine addictions. Bennington eventually overcame his drug addiction, and would go on to denounce drug use in future interviews. He worked at a Burger King restaurant before starting his career as a professional musician.

Before joining Linkin Park, Bennington was a vocalist in Grey Daze, a grunge band from Phoenix, Arizona. He left Grey Daze in 1998, but struggled to find another band to sing in. After nearly quitting his musical career altogether, Jeff Blue, the vice president of A&R; at Zomba Music in Los Angeles, offered Bennington an audition with the future members of Linkin Park. Bennington quit his day job, and took his family to California, where he had a successful audition with Linkin Park, who were then called "Xero". Bennington and Mike Shinoda, the band’s other vocalist, made significant progress together, but failed to find a record deal. After facing numerous rejections, Jeff Blue, now a vice president of A&R; at Warner Bros., intervened again to help the band sign with Warner Bros. Records.

Linkin Park

On October 24, 2000 Linkin Park released their debut album through Warner Bros. Records. Bennington and Shinoda wrote the lyrics to ''Hybrid Theory'' based on some early material. Shinoda characterized the lyrics as interpretations of universal feelings, emotions, and experiences, and as “everyday emotions you talk about and think about.” Bennington later described the songwriting experience to ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in early 2002:

''Hybrid Theory'' was released in the United States on October 24, 2000 following the debut of "One Step Closer" on the radio. It entered the U.S. Billboard 200 charts at #16 in late 2000, and was certified gold by the RIAA five weeks after its release. In 2001, ''Hybrid Theory'' sold 4.8 million copies in the United States, making it the best-selling album of the year, and it was estimated that the album continued selling 100,000 copies per week in early 2002. Throughout the following years, the album continued to sell at a fast pace and was certified diamond by the RIAA in 2005 for selling 10 million copies in the U.S. It has sold 24 million copies worldwide as of 2009, including over 10 million in the U.S. which makes it the band's best-selling album and the best-selling debut album of the 21st century.

The follow-up to ''Hybrid Theory'' would ultimately become ''Meteora''. The band began to work on new material amidst their saturated schedule, spending a sliver of their free time in their tour bus' studio. The band officially announced the production of a new studio album in December 2002, revealing their new work was inspired by the rocky region of Meteora in Greece, where numerous monasteries have been built on top of the rocks. ''Meteora'' featured a mixture of the band's previous nu metal and rapcore styles with newer innovative effects, including the induction of a shakuhachi (a Japanese flute made of bamboo) and other instruments. Linkin Park's second album debuted on March 25, 2003 and instantly earned worldwide recognition, going to #1 in the US and UK, and #2 in Australia.

Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material. To produce the album, the band chose Rick Rubin. Despite initially stating the record would debut sometime in 2006, it was delayed until 2007. The band had recorded thirty to fifty songs in August 2006, when Shinoda stated the album was halfway completed. Bennington later added that the new album would stray away from their previous nu metal sound. Warner Bros. Records officially announced that the band’s third studio album, entitled ''Minutes to Midnight'', would be released on May 15, 2007 in the United States. After spending fourteen months working on the album, the band opted to further refine their album by removing five of the original seventeen tracks. The album’s title, a reference to the Doomsday Clock, foreshadowed the band's new lyrical themes. ''Minutes to Midnight'' sold over 600,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the most successful debut week albums in recent years. The album also took the top spot on the Billboard Charts. Linkin Park's newest album, ''A Thousand Suns'', was also co-produced with Rick Rubin and was released on September 14, 2010, with its first single, "The Catalyst", a success. In June Chester Bennington was at the LPU summit in Hamburg in which he did a cover of Adele's version of Rolling in the Deep with Mike Shinoda playing the piano.

Personal life

Chester Bennington has two children from a previous relationship with Elka Brand; Jamie and Isaiah. Bennington married his first wife, Samantha Marie Olit, on October 31, 1996. They have one child together, Draven Sebastian Bennington, who was born on April 19, 2002. Bennington’s relationship with his first wife declined during his early years with Linkin Park, and they divorced in 2005. After divorcing his first wife, Bennington married Talinda Ann Bentley, a former Playboy model, with whom he has had a child, Tyler Lee Bennington. The wedding ceremony was custom designed and performed by Mary Jean Valente of "A Ceremony of the Heart". Bennington and his family live in a house in Gilbert, Arizona when he is not on tour.

Chester and Talinda were harassed by a cyberstalker, Devon Townsend, for almost a year. Townsend was found guilty of tampering with the couple's email, as well as sending threatening messages, and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Bennington is a tattoo enthusiast. Bennington has done work and promotions with Club Tattoo, a recognized tattoo parlor in Tempe, Arizona.

In a June 2011 interview with ''Kerrang!'' magazine, Bennington has stated that he believes in God and prays frequently.

Health

Despite having success in the early 2000s, Bennington has had medical issues outside of the limelight. He suffered a severe bite from a recluse spider while touring with the OzzFest in 2001. Bennington was plagued with poor health during the making of ''Meteora'', and struggled to attend some of the album’s recording sessions. He fell ill during the summer of 2003, and eventually underwent surgery. Bennington sustained a wrist injury in October 2007 while attempting to jump off a platform during a show in Melbourne, Australia at the Rod Laver Arena. Despite the injury, he continued to perform the entire show with a broken wrist, before heading to the emergency room. Soon after breaking his wrist he hit himself in the face with a tennis racket. He received 5 stitches. Bennington also injured his back once, while performing a live show.

Recently, in 2011, Bennington fell ill again, and Linkin Park were forced to cancel three shows and reschedule two from the ''A Thousand Suns World Tour''.

Bands

Grey Daze – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1993–1998)

Linkin Park – lead vocals, percussion (1998–present)

Dead by Sunrise – lead vocals, guitar, keyboard (2005–present)

Julien-K – production (2003–present)

Solo work

Bennington joined Z-Trip in 2005 for the single "Walking Dead", released on Z-Trip's major label album ''Shifting Gears''. "Walking Dead" was a Top Ten Single in the US. Bennington also made a surprise appearance during Z-Trip's performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2005.

Bennington teamed up with original Orgy guitarists Ryan Shuck and Amir Derakh, who perform together as Julien-K, for a solo project. Chester's band is called Dead By Sunrise, formerly known as Snow White Tan. Dead By Sunrise has since released their debut album Out of Ashes on October 13, 2009. Chester also worked on Julien-Ks debut album 'Death To Analog' and is credited as the executive Producer. In 2009, Ryan Shuck said:

"Both bands are the same. The one where Chester sings and writes is Dead By Sunrise, but when I sing, and Amir and I are the primary writers, it becomes Julien-K and it's more electro and much darker... Julien-K and Dead by Sunrise are basically a creative collective, we're sort of a Warhol-style factory in that sense... Dead by Sunrise is Chester's Julien-K if that makes any sense"

Featured vocals

Album contributions

Chester Bennington Handsome Boy Modeling School feat. Chester Bennington & Mike Shinoda DJ Z-TripYoung Buck feat. Chester Bennington Carlos Santana feat. Chester Bennington Korn feat. Chester Bennington

Year !! Artist !! Song !! Release
2001	Stone Temple Pilots feat. Chester Bennington	"Wonderful"
rowspan="3"	2002	|	"System"	Queen of the Damned (soundtrack)>Queen of the Damned'' soundtrack
Cyclefly feat. Chester Bennington
DJ Lethal feat. Chester Bennington	"State of the Art"
2004	|	"Rock 'N' Roll (Could Never Hip-Hop Like This) Part 2"	''White People''
rowspan="2"	2005	Z-Trip feat. Chester Bennington ||	Walking Dead (song)>Walking Dead"	Shifting Gears (DJ Z-Trip album)>Shifting Gears''
Mötley Crüe feat. Chester Bennington	Home Sweet Home (Mötley Crüe song)>Home Sweet Home" (remake)
2007	|	"Slow Ya Roll"	''Buck the World''
2010	|	"Riders on the Storm" (The Doors cover)	''Guitar Heaven: Santana Performs the Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time''
TBA	|	"Head Like a Hole" (Nine Inch Nails cover)	''Korn Kovers''

Music producer

Chester Bennington executive produced the E.P for Los Angeles, Tripduster band Hellflower, which is fronted by his long time friend and Director of Activities (D.O.A), Church.

Film and television

Bennington also made a cameo in the 2006 film ''Crank'' as a customer in a pharmacy. He later appeared as a horse-track spectator in the film's 2009 sequel, ''Crank: High Voltage''. Bennington also had a role as the ill-fated Skinhead, Evan, in the 2010 film ''Saw 3D''.

Chester Bennington is working with his long time friend and director of activities, Church, on developing an upcoming television show, ''Mayor of the World'', with executive producers Trip Taylor.

Filmography

+ Film
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes	Source
2006		Pharmacy Stoner
2009	''Crank: High Voltage''	Hollywood Park Guy
2010	''Saw 3D''	Evan

References

External links

Linkin Park website

Category:1976 births Category:American film actors Category:American rock singers Category:American male singers Category:American musicians Category:American heavy metal singers Category:Musicians from Arizona Category:Dead by Sunrise Category:Julien-K Category:Linkin Park members Category:Living people Category:Nu metal singers Category:English-language singers Category:People from Phoenix, Arizona Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers

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Name	Chino Moreno
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Camillo Wong Moreno
Born	June 20, 1973Sacramento, California, US
Genre	Alternative metal, dream pop, experimental rock, nu metal, shoegaze, trip hop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
Years active	1988–present
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Label	Warner Bros., Maverick, Reprise
Associated acts	Deftones, Team Sleep, Crosses, Far, Soulfly, Will Haven
Website	}}

Chino Moreno (born Camillo Wong Moreno; June 20, 1973) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead singer and contributing guitarist of Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project bands Team Sleep and Crosses.

Moreno is well known for his distinctive screams, as well as his soothing tenor voice while singing melodically. In 2007, he was placed at number 51 in ''Hit Parader'''s "Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time".

Biography

Early life

Moreno was born in Sacramento, California to a Mexican father and a Spanish/Chinese mother; the latter being the origin of his Spanish nickname ''Chino'', which means "Chinese" in Spanish. He was the third of five children. He attended McClatchy High School, where he met Abe Cunningham and Stephen Carpenter, with whom he founded Deftones in 1988. Before becoming a professional musician, Moreno had a day job at Tower Records' shipping department.

Musical career

In relation to his often ambiguous yet image-heavy poetic lyrics, Moreno quotes: "[Sometimes] my lyrics don't deal with specific topics. I write down on paper the feelings of the moment, it's not easy to explain the contents of the lyrics or give a logical sense to the words. What I write is also a reaction to the music we make, so the Deftones' sound is not pop, it doesn't communicate happy feelings. Paradoxically my favorite songs of the album talk about love, in a clearly different view." Despite this, Chino has been known to write songs about social issues such as racism, prostitution, urban violence, and drugs. However, even these songs can be rather vague and cryptic. During the making of Deftones' ''White Pony'', Moreno began work on a side project, Team Sleep. Moreno's influences include such bands as The Cure, Bad Brains, The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Duran Duran, The Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode, Helmet, Jawbox, Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Hum, Kool Keith, Tool, Jane's Addiction and Weezer, and claims that Deftones' 2006 album, ''Saturday Night Wrist'', is more of a compromise between all of the members' influences, ranging from their brutal and brooding heavy signature seen on ''Adrenaline'' and ''Around the Fur'' to the more experimental sound heard on ''White Pony'' and ''Deftones''. Chino recently worked with post-hardcore band Norma Jean, on their album ''The Anti Mother''. Moreno has also worked with the band Dance Gavin Dance in the song titled "Caviar". In 2009, Moreno recorded a song with 30 Seconds to Mars to appear on their album ''This Is War'', but was not finished. On May 2, 2010, he performed "The Kill" with 30 Seconds to Mars. He was also featured on Whitechapel's 2010 album, ''A New Era of Corruption''.

From ''White Pony'' onwards, Moreno has been credited as contributing guitar in addition to vocals.

In March 2011, he stated to be working on a new side project known as Crosses, featuring Far guitarist Shaun Lopez and Giant Drag frontwoman Annie Hardy. Moreno described the project as "minimal and soothing, and it's sort of like the stuff I like listening to when I'm not screaming my head off." Their debut self-titled EP was released on August 2, 2011.

Vocal damage

In 2001 Moreno developed a throat injury due to heavy screaming and was forced to miss at least four shows. He suffered inflammation on his right vocal cord and partial paralysis of the left vocal cord. During the rest of their supporting tour, Chi Cheng took over vocal duties that required screaming while Chino sang the softer melodies of the lyrics, despite recommendations by doctors to hold off from singing to allow time for recovery as well as rumors that the band would be cancelling the remaining stretch of the tour with Godsmack and Puddle of Mudd.

Equipment

Guitars

Gibson 1961 SG

Fender Mustang

Fender Jaguar

ESP Viper 301

Epiphone G-400

Amplifiers & Cabinets

Orange Music Electronic Company KT88 180watt Amplifier

Orange Music Electronic Company 4x12 Cabinets

Marshall 1960B 4x12 Cabinet

ISP Technologies Vector SL 600 watt 15" Guitar Subwoofer cabinets

Effects

Boss CE5 Chorus

Boss DD6 Delay

Range of other Boss effect pedals.

Microphones

Shure BETA 58a Microphone for live performances since 2011

Shure SM58 till 2011

Collaborations

"Wicked" - Ice Cube cover from ''Life Is Peachy'' by Korn (1996)

"Savory" - Jawbox cover from ''Soon'' by Far (1997)

"Will To Die" - from ''In This Defiance'' by Strife (1997)

"First Commandment" - from ''Soulfly'' by Soulfly (1998)

"Bender" - from ''Home'' by Sevendust, credited as "Pony One" (1999)

"(Rock) Superstar" - from ''Skull and Bones'' by Cypress Hill (2000)

"Danger Girl" - from ''Tried + True'' by Tinfed (2000)

"Pain" - from ''Primitive'' by Soulfly (2000)

"Things!" - from ''Hesher'' by Hesher (2001)

"Ashamed" - ''Never a Dull Moment'' by Tommy Lee (2002)

"Feed the World (Do They Know It's Christmas)" feat. Far - Band Aid cover from ''A Santa Cause: It's a Punk Rock Christmas'' by various artists (2003)

"The Hours" - from ''White People'' by Handsome Boy Modeling School (2004)

"Red Sky" - Thrice (appeared during the band's live set at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas in 2005

"Paralytic" and "Crashing Down" - from ''Vices'' by Dead Poetic (2006)

"Zombie Eaters" - Faith No More cover from ''The Undercover Sessions'' by Ill Niño (2006)

"Rock for Light" - from ''Family Compilation Vol. 3'' by Bad Brains (2006)

"A Day In The Life Of A Poolshark (remix)" - from ''A Day In The Life Of A Poolshark'' by Idiot Pilot (2006)

"Fistful of Nothing" - from ''Runs Astray'' by Atomic Six (2007)

"Vengeance is Mine" - from ''Droid'' by Droid (2007)

"Wall" - from ''HAKAI'' by Wagdug Futuristic Unity (2008)

"Caviar" - from ''Dance Gavin Dance'' by Dance Gavin Dance (2008)

"Surrender Your Sons..." - from ''The Anti Mother'' by Norma Jean (2008)

"Reprogrammed To Hate" - from ''A New Era of Corruption'' by Whitechapel (2010)

"Only One" - from ''A Public Disservice Announcement'' by Methods of Mayhem (2010)

"If I Could" - from ''All 6's And 7's'' by Tech N9ne (2011)

Moreno also featured in the low-budget video for the song "Carpe Diem" by fellow Sacramento hardcore act Will Haven. In 2007, he produced their album ''The Hierophant.''

Discography

With Deftones

''Adrenaline'' (1995, Maverick/Warner Bros.)

''Around the Fur'' (1997, Maverick/Warner Bros.)

''White Pony'' (2000, Maverick)

''Deftones'' (2003, Maverick)

''Saturday Night Wrist'' (2006, Maverick)

''Diamond Eyes'' (2010, Warner Bros./Reprise)

''Eros'' (currently unreleased)

With Team Sleep

''Team Sleep'' (2005, Maverick)

With Crosses

''Crosses'' (2011, self-published)

References

External links

Category:1973 births Category:American heavy metal singers Category:American rock singers Category:Nu metal singers Category:American male singers Category:Songwriters from California Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American musicians of Mexican descent Category:American musicians of Chinese descent Category:American people of Spanish descent Category:Living people Category:People from Sacramento, California Category:Deftones members Category:Chicano rock musicians

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