J. Cole
Background information
Birth name	Jermaine Lamar Cole
Born	(1985-01-28) January 28, 1985 (age 27)
Origin	Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres	Alternative Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, singer, producer
Instruments	vocals, sampler, keyboards, violin
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Roc Nation, Columbia, Sony Music Entertainment
Associated acts	Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Omen, Elite, Wale, Melanie Fiona, B.o.B, Drake, Big Sean, Kanye West, Trey Songz, Curren$y
Website	www.jcolemusic.com

Jermaine Lamar Cole (born January 28, 1985), better known by his stage name J. Cole, is an American rapper and record producer. In 2009, he was the first rap artist signed to Jay-Z's label Roc Nation. His long-awaited debut album titled Cole World: The Sideline Story was released on September 27, 2011. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, Top R&B Albums and Top Rap Albums chart, selling more than 217,000 in its first week sales. He received a nomination for Best New Artist at the 54th Grammy Awards

Biography[link]

Early life and career beginnings[link]

Cole was born on January 28, 1985.^[1] Cole's father served in the United States Army.^[2] At the age of 8 months old, he relocated to Fayetteville, North Carolina where he was raised by his mother, aunt and his cousin. Cole attended Terry Sanford High School in Fayetteville and graduated in 2003. He decided that he had a better chance of getting signed in New York City, so he chose to attend St. John's University on an academic scholarship where he majored in communication and minored in business, graduating magna cum laude.^[3][4]

J. Cole started rapping at the age of 13 when his cousin showed him the basics of rhyming and word play. Inspired mostly by rappers Canibus and Tupac Shakur, Cole developed a love for telling stories in his lyrics.^[5] At age 15, J. Cole had notebooks filled with rhymes, but no beats of his own to record them with. His mother bought him an 808 beat machine so he could produce music himself.^{[citation needed]} By the age of 17, he was posting songs on various internet forums under the moniker "Therapist"^[6] J. Cole stood outside of Jay-Z’s place of business for three hours in order to give him beats he sampled by Idris Muhammad, so that his mentor-to-be could use it. However, when Jay-Z came out of his building he shunned the up-and-coming rapper.^[7] Before J. Cole was signed to Roc Nation, he worked as a bill collector. One morning, he turned on his cell phone and noticed that he received a text from an associate asking him to call the associate back. When Cole returned the call, the associate informed Cole that he received a call from Jay-Z’s associates and that he had to meet with them as soon as possible.^[8] Cole has described himself as the "First German rapper" signed to Roc Nation.^[9]

2009-2010: Mixtapes, Tours & Features[link]

He released his second mixtape, The Warm Up, on June 15, 2009 to positive reviews. To celebrate the anniversary of the release of The Warm Up mixtape, J. Cole released a freestyle entitled "The Last Stretch" on June 15, 2010. On June 21 of that year, J. Cole premiered the music video to his first single "Who Dat" on BET's 106 & Park.^[10] In August 2010 J. Cole, was awarded the UMA Male Artist of the Year thanks to his heralded The Warm Up mixtape and a high profile deal with Jay-Z's label Roc Nation at the 2010 Underground Music Awards. In an interview, J. Cole revealed three song names from his upcoming album, including "Wet Dreams", "Won't Be Long", and "Never Told", which was produced by No I.D.^[11] On October 30, 2010, a demo titled "I'm Coming Home" was leaked onto the internet, Cole recorded the song as a reference track for Diddy, which later became "Coming Home" off Last Train to Paris (2010).^[12] On November 12, 2010 J. Cole released his third official mixtape titled Friday Night Lights.^[13] The tape included features from Drake, Wale & Omen with most of the production being handled by Cole himself.

Cole appeared on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint 3 (2009), on the track "A Star Is Born."^[14] He is featured on both Wale's debut album, Attention Deficit (2009) and mixtape Back to the Feature (2009) respectively. In January 2010, Cole, along with label mate Jay Electronica and Mos Def appeared on Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek's single, "Just Begun" for the follow-up of Reflection Eternal's album Train of Thought (2000), titled Revolutions Per Minute (2010).^[15] Cole has also appeared on B.o.B's mixtape May 25th (2010) on the song "Gladiators.^[16] On March 31, he performed a new song titled "Who Dat", which was once the first single off of his debut album. He later released the song on April 30, 2010.^[17] Cole was also featured on Young Chris' song "Still the Hottest" as well as Miguel's debut single "All I Want Is You."^[18] Additionally, Cole was featured on titled "We On", a song that failed to make final tracklist for DJ Khaled's Victory LP.^[19] In early 2010, Cole was chosen as one of Beyond Race Magazine's "50 Great Breakthrough Artists," he ranked 49, resulting in the cover story of the publication's #11 issue, as well as a Q&A for the magazine's site.^[20] He was also featured in XXL magazine 2010 version of Top Ten Freshmen. J. Cole began a college tour from March 19, 2007 to April 30, 2010 concluding in New Brunswick, NJ at Rutgers University's annual Rutgersfest. The tour also featured a stop at Syracuse University for a show with fellow rapper, Wiz Khalifa.^[21] Cole served as a supporting act for Drake, on the Light Dreams and Nightmares UK Tour, January 5–21, 2011.

[edit] 2011–present: Cole World: The Sideline Story

On May 22, 2011, J. Cole released a song entitled "Return of Simba,^[22]" the third in the "Simba series" following "Simba" and "Grown Simba." Cole purposely avoided releasing his debut album’s title for fear of inconsistency. He only announced that Jay-Z will be featured on his debut album.^[8] Cole released his follow-up single to "Who Dat", "Work Out" on June 15, 2011, in honor of the second anniversary of his highly acclaimed mixtape The Warm Up.^[23] The song, produced by Cole himself, samples "The New Workout Plan" by Kanye West and interpolates "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul.^[24][25] On July 31, J. Cole took to Twitter and his website to announce Any Given Sunday. Reminiscent of Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Fridays, a weekly free music giveaway. J. Cole wrote "Every Sunday til the album drops I’ll be back with something. Maybe just 1 song, maybe a video, depending on how I’m feeling." For the 3rd installment of his Sunday series, "Any Given Sunday", J. Cole hopped on Ustream to update fans about the album and play some tracks that didn't make the cut. On August 22 Cole released his debut album's cover art, designed by Alex Haldi for Bestest Asbestos, whom J. Cole recorded a song for titled "Killers", for Haldi's mixtape The Glorification of Gangster.^[26] For the fourth installment, on August 29, he released his debut album's track list, once again through twitter.^[27] On August 15 a music video was released for the album's first single "Work Out" on YouTube, Vevo and 106 & Park. On August 30, after an unfinished version had leaked, "Can't Get Enough" featuring R&B singer Trey Songz was released as the album's lead single. While in Barbados for his last performance as the official opening act for Rihanna's Loud Tour, Cole shot the music video for his debut album's second single, "Can't Get Enough", with Songz and Rihanna, who provided a cameo while in her home town.^[28] The video, directed by Clifton Bell, was released on September 14, 2011. In addition early on September 25, two days before his album's release, Cole released a music video for the iTunes bonus track "Daddy's Little Girl".

On October 24, it was announced by J. Cole that his sophomore album will be released in June 2012. He had mentioned that the album will consist of songs that never made the track list for his debut album.^[29] On November 6, 7 and 8, Cole was the support act for Tinie Tempah, during his concert at the Liverpool Echo Arena; Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales; LG Arena, Birmingham, England; SECC Arena, Glasgow, Scotland; and MEN Arena, Manchester, England. After the release of Cole's first album, he immediately went on a national tour across the U.S., in which he was the headliner for the first time. He has opened for labelmates, Rihanna and Jay-Z. Less than three months after his debut Cole World: The Sideline Story hit stores, J. Cole has received gold certification for sales of more than 500,000 units of the LP. J. Cole was recently nominated for Best New Artist at the 2012 Grammys but lost to Bon Iver. J. Cole played for the Eastern Team in the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Game.On February 24, 2012 J. Cole reached two million followers on twitter, he celebrated by releasing the song "Grew up Fast."[2] On March 1, 2012, J. Cole returned to his home town, Fayetteville North Carolina. To celebrate his return he released the song "Visionz of Home" and launched an event titled "Dreamville weekend" to inspire the youth of his hometown to achieve great things.^[30]

J. Cole performed for the first time in Africa during the Big Brother Africa 7 opening ceremony on 6 May 2012, alongside Camp Mulla, P-Square, Naeto C, Flavour, Davido and Aemo E'Face.^[31][32]

On May 14th, J.Cole announced that he is working on a collaborative album with Kendrick Lamar, saying in an interview with Bootleg Kev that "I just started working with Kendrick the other day. We got it in, finally, again. We got maybe four or five [songs] together."

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011)

Mixtapes

• The Come Up (2007)
• The Warm Up (2009)
• Friday Night Lights (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official blog
• J. Cole on Twitter
• J. Cole on Facebook
• J. Cole on Myspace
• J. Cole on MTV.com

Trey Songz
Background information
Birth name	Tremaine Aldon Neverson
Born	(1984-11-28) November 28, 1984 (age 27) Petersburg, Virginia, United States
Genres	R&B, hip hop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, actor
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, sampler
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Atlantic, Songbook
Associated acts	Drake, Troy Taylor, Twista, Juvenile, Bun B, Rick Ross, Plies
Website	www.treysongz.com

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

Life and career[link]

1984–2004: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Songz was born Tremaine Aldon Neverson on November 28, 1984, in Petersburg, Virginia.^[1] Raised as a military brat, Songz did not have aspirations to have a musical career as a child due to his shyness, saying "Singing wasn't a reality for me, until other people started noticing I sounded good."^[2] He recognized his vocal abilities at the age of 14.^[2] Reluctant to sing, he began performing with encouragement by friends and family in high school. Record producer Troy Taylor discovered Songz during a talent show in 2000, which led him to signing a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 2002.^[2] After graduating from high school in 2002, Songz moved to New Jersey to begin recording his debut album, though recording didn't actually begin until 2003.^[1]

[edit] 2004–2008I Gotta Make It and Trey Day

While recording his debut album in 2004, Songz released multiple mixtapes under the alias Prince of Virginia.^[1] One of the mixtapes featured an "answer track" to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet", entitled "Open the Closet". The song gave Trey some notoriety.^[3] His debut album, I Gotta Make It was released on July 26, 2005.^[4] It debuted at #20 on the Billboard 200, selling 40,000 copies in its first week of sales.^[5] It has sold 300,000 records in the US, but was never certified by the RIAA. Songz's debut single, Gotta Make It, featuring Twista, was released in March 2005 and reached #87 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It garnered success in the R&B/urban community but failed to make a mark in mainstream music. The album's second and final single, Gotta Go, was released in July 2005 and reached #67 on the Hot 100 and #11 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming even more successful than his debut single in the R&B/urban community and in the mainstream community. After promotion for his debut concluded, he was featured on the lead single from Twista's fifth album, The Day After. The single, "Girl Tonite", reached #14 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming a huge hit.

Trey Songz performing in 2007.

In mid-2006, Songz began work on a follow-up album to his debut with longtime collaborator Troy Taylor and also employed hitmakers Bryan-Michael Cox, Danja, Stargate (production team) and R. Kelly to help create the album. Trey aimed for the album to be more mainstream-oriented than his debut album. His second studio album, Trey Day, was released on October 2, 2007. The album reached #11 on the Billboard 200,^[6] selling 73,000 copies in its first week. It has since sold 400,000 records in the US, becoming his second album not to be certified by the RIAA. The album was going to be released on May 8, 2007, but was continually delayed in order for a successful single to precede the album, as the lead single failed to impact charts.

His second album was preceded by the lead single, "Wonder Woman", which was released in February 2007. It reached #54 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but failed to impact the Hot 100. Because of the single's failure, his second album was delayed from May 2007 to October 2007. The album's second single, "Can't Help but Wait", was released in August 2007 and was released to promote his second album and the film Step Up 2 the Streets soundtrack as a single for it. The single reached #14 on the Hot 100, and #2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It became Songz's first Top 20 hit on the Hot 100, and helped to boost his second album's sales. The single was also nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 2008 50th Grammy Awards. The third single from the album, "Last Time", was released in January 2008 and reached #69 on the Hot 100, and #9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The fourth and final single from the album, "Missin' You", was released in May 2008, but failed to chart completely. In mid-2008, Songz was nominated for a BET Award for Best Male R&B Artist but did not win the award.^[7]

[edit] 2009–2011: Ready and Passion, Pain & Pleasure

In late 2008, Trey began work on his third studio album with Bryan-Michael Cox, Sean Garrett, Stargate and Troy Taylor and aimed for the record to be more mature than his first two. Before releasing his third album, Songz released a mixtape titled Anticipation in June 2009 through his blog, which featured songs from his third album.^[8] Another mixtape from Trey was released in the summer of 2009, called Genesis. Genesis was a collection of Trey Songz's first recordings when he was fifteen years old and was released to show his fans the dedication that he had to making a record when he was young.^[9] Trey released his third studio album, Ready, on August 31, 2009. The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200, selling 131,000 copies in its first week.^[10] These are his best first week sales to date and the album was his first to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The album has since sold over 800,000 records in the US, earning a Gold certification from the RIAA in February 2010, becoming his first album to be certified by the RIAA.

Trey Songz performing at Summer Jam on June 5, 2010.

The lead single from the album, "I Need a Girl", was released in April 2009 and reached #5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart and #59 on the Hot 100, becoming an R&B/urban hit but not a mainstream hit. A promotional single, "Successful", featuring rapper Drake, was released in June 2009 and reached #17 on the Hot 100, becoming Songz's third Top 20 hit. The single also served as the second and final single from Drake's EP, So Far Gone. The second official single from his third album, "LOL Smiley Face", featuring Soulja Boy Tell 'Em and Gucci Mane, was released in August 2009 and reached #51 on the Hot 100 and #12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third single from the album, "I Invented Sex", featuring Drake, was released in October 2009 and reached #42 on the Hot 100 but #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming his first single to top that chart. Like the first two singles from the album, it achieved success in the R&B/urban community but only some mainstream success. charted within the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the R&B chart. The fourth single from the album, "Say Aah", featuring rapper Fabolous, was released in January 2010 and reached #9 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single has become Trey's highest charting single on the Hot 100 and one of his most successful singles on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The fifth and final single from the album, "Neighbors Know My Name", was released in February 2010 and reached #43 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. A sixth single, "Yo Side of the Bed", was going to be released in June 2010, but its release was canceled due to unknown reasons. A music video, featuring singer Keri Hilson, was filmed and released, however. Songz was also the opening act for Jay-Z on his Jay-Z Fall Tour in late 2009. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010, but lost to Beyoncé's I Am... Sasha Fierce. On April 1, 2010, he recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged, which aired on April 26, 2010.^[11] A documentary-series about Trey, Trey Songz: My Moment, began in June 2010 to positive reviews and high ratings. The 10-part series will end in August 2010 and follows Trey during his time as opening act on Jay-Z's Jay-Z Fall Tour in late 2009.

Songz's fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, was released on September 14, 2010.^[12] Trey began work on the album in early 2010 with Sean Garrett, Troy Taylor and Stargate and has stated that the album will be his most personal to date. The album was completed in July 2010. The album's lead single, "Bottoms Up", featuring female rapper Nicki Minaj, was released on July 27, 2010 and has reached number twenty-four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and was shared enough on Facebook to appear as a trending video on ItsTrending. Its video was filmed on July 31, 2010 and is pending release.^[13] Trey also filmed the video for the album's second single, "Can't Be Friends", on August 1, 2010.^[13] "Can't Be Friends" was released as the album's second single in August 2010.^[13] Songz embarked on the Passion, Pain & Pleasure Tour on August 6, 2010 with singer Monica. The tour is his first headlining tour to date and consists of shows in venues that seat 3,000 to 5,000 people. Songz also contributed the song "Already Taken" to the Step Up 3D soundtrack, which was released on July 27, 2010. He filmed a video for the song, which was released in July 2010. The leading lady in the video is former girlfriend and professional dancer Helen Gedlu. Songz appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010.^[14] Songz performed at BET Awards 2011 which broadcasted on June 26, 2011.^[15]

In July 2011, he was cast in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D as Ryan, the male lead role.^[16]

[edit] 2011–present: Inevitable and Chapter 5

On August 18, 2011, it was announced Songz will be working on his fifth studio titled Chapter 5.^[17] In an interview Trey said the album, which will act as the follow-up to Passion, Pain & Pleasure, is said to be nearing completion. He also carried on to say "It’s my sixth year in the game so I’ve been here for a while now. You can expect the best me you’ve ever heard. I don’t have any release dates in mind right now but I’m just making music and enjoying myself in the studio and having fun. When I get to a place where I feel comfortable saying a date or all of that, people will definitely know. I have a few dream collaborations on that album that I want, but they say if you blow out your candle and make a wish you can’t tell people what you ask for or it won’t come true."^[18]

On November 28, 2011, on his birthday, Songz released his Inevitable EP to prepare for the release of his album. In February 2012, Songz will embark on his Anticipation 2our to promote his mixtape Anticipation 2 and to raise awareness of his new album.

Discography[link]

• I Gotta Make It (2005)
• Trey Day (2007)
• Ready (2009)
• Passion, Pain & Pleasure (2010)
• Chapter V (2012)

Tours[link]

• Passion, Pain & Pleasure Tour (headliner) (2010)
• OMG Tour (opening for Usher) (2010)
• Anticipation 2our (headliner) (2012)

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trey Songz

• Official website
• Trey Songz at the Internet Movie Database

Brandon Green, better known by his stage name Bei Maejor (pronounced Bee Major), is a Grammy nominated American recording artist, songwriter and record producer, signed to Jive/RCA Records.

Life and career[link]

Maejor has produced and written for many artists including; Trey Songz, Tinie Tempah, Ciara, Sean Kingston, Cody Simpson, Lloyd, Kid Ink, Chrisette Michelle, Keri Hilson, Drake, T-Pain, Bow Wow, New Boyz, LeToya Luckett, Ne-Yo, Wiz Khalifa, Bun B, Monica, Ginuwine, Plies, Soulja Boy, Rock City and Travis Porter and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea's debut single "Murda Bizness" featuring T.I..

He has produced soundtracks for Bratz: The Movie in 2007 and The Princess and the Frog in 2009, and the television series Jersey Shore (TV series) in 2011. He received his first Gold Plaque for production on Bun B's Trill in 2005 while still in college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He was nominated for a Grammy for his work on Trey Songz' album in 2010 and Monica's album in 2011.

He graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2008. After graduation he moved to Atlanta and joined the Compound Entertainment team working with Ne-Yo. Maejor was signed by Jive Records in January 2010 as a recording artist. Maejor released his first mixtape titled Upside Down on August 4, 2010, which featured Keri Hilson, Trey Songz, Drake and T-Pain. He produced and is featured on the official remix for Ciara's "Ride" with André 3000 and Ludacris. He was also featured on Plies' "She Got It Made". Maejor's debut single is titled "Trouble", which features rapper J. Cole and was released August 12, 2011.^[2] Maejor released his fourth mixtape, maejorMaejor on September 12, 2011. A collection of 20 tracks including a piano remix of Frank Ocean’s "Swim Good" and a remix of Foster the People’s "Pumped Up Kicks" dedicated to the "Little Haters.”^[3]

Maejor was named one of Rap-Up's 10 artists to watch in 2012.^[4]

Creative Works[link]

Singles[link]

Movie Credits[link]

Think Like a Man (2012)

• "Need a Reason"^[6] Also featured as a singer.

The Princess and the Frog (2009)

• "Never Knew I Needed"^[7]

Bratz: The Movie (2007)

• "It's My Party"^[8]

TV Credits[link]

Jersey Shore (2011)

• "The Tequila Song" aired in the season finale on March 24, 2011. Written and sung by Janine the Machine.

Producer Credits[link]

Songwriting Credits[link]

Mixtapes[link]

• ǝpısdn uʍop (Presented by Clinton Sparks & Monsters Ink) (2010)
• ǝpısdn uʍop 2 (Presented by Clinton Sparks, DJ ill Will & DJ Rockstar) (2010)
• Throwback (2011)
• maejorMaejor(Presented by DJ ill Will & DJ Rockstar) (2011)
• Upscale (March 2012)

Featured Singing Artist on[link]

• 2012 – "Need a Reason" by Kelly Rowland, movie Think Like a Man
• 2012 - "Magazine Cover" by Jae Millz
• 2011 – "So Addicted" by Tinie Tempah, album Disc-Overy
• 2011 - "Start Me Up" by New Boyz, album Too Cool to Care
• 2011 - "Center of the Stage" by T-Pain featuring R. Kelly
• 2011 - "Radio" by Hot Chelle Rae, album Whatever
• 2011 - "They Call Me" by Bei Maejor featuring Mike Posner
• 2011 - "I Wish" by Nelly
• 2011 - "Birthday Girl" by Travis Porter
• 2010 – "She Got It Made" by Plies
• 2010 – "Great Expectations" by Diggy Simmons
• 2010 – "Ride Remix" by Ciara featuring Bei Maejor, André 3000

Music Video Credits[link]

• 2012 - "Mesmerized"
• 2012 - "The Truth"
• 2011 - "Trouble (feat. J.Cole)"
• 2011 - "Still Ballin"
• 2011 - "Hit Me Up Angel"
• 2011 - "Sing A lil Song"
• 2011 - "The lala Song"
• 2011 - "Upside Down (feat. Jack Johnson)"
• 2011 - "Abduction"
• 2011 - "Upside Down (Bonus Track)"
• 2011 - "Impressed"
• 2011 - "Racks (Piano Remix)"
• 2011 - "I'm On One (Piano Remix)"
• 2011 - "Bout That Life"
• 2011 - "It's On U"
• 2011 - "Swim Well"
• 2010 - "She Was (A Broken Love Story)"
• 2010 - "July"
• 2010 - "Lemme Get That Freestyle"
• 2010 - "Facelifts & Waterfalls"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Bei Maejor on Myspace
• Bei Maejor on Twitter
• "Beat Maejor" – The Michigan Daily
• "A Maejor Star is Born" – The Michigan Daily

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth^[1] (born June 17, 1987), simply known as Kendrick Lamar, is an American rapper and songwriter from Compton, California currently signed to Top Dawg, Aftermath and Interscope. He first gained major attention after the release of his 2010 mixtape Overly Dedicated. In 2011, his album Section.80, released exclusively through iTunes, instantly ranked as one of the top digital hip hop releases of the year.^[2] Lamar has amassed a large internet following, is a member of hip hop collective Black Hippy, along with Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, and has worked with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Wiz Khalifa, Game, Drake, Busta Rhymes and Tech N9ne among other popular artists.^[3]

Biography[link]

1987-2009: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Kendrick Lamar was born in Compton, California, a community southeast of Los Angeles city limits, to parents from Chicago, Illinois.^[4] At the age of eight, in 1995, Lamar witnessed his idols, Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre film the music video for their hit single "California Love," a very significant moment in Lamar's life.^[5] In 2003 at the young age of sixteen, Lamar released his first mixtape, Youngest Head Nigga In Charge under the name K. Dot.^[6] The mixtape was able to garner enough attention for Lamar to get a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based independent record label.^[6] He then released a twenty-six track mixtape two years later titled Training Day.^[7] More recognition came Lamar's way after a video of a Charles Hamilton show surfaced, where Hamilton goes in the crowd and battles rappers at attendance. Lamar didn't hesitate and began rapping a verse over Milkbone's "Keep It Real", that would later appear on a track titled "West Coast Wu-Tang".^[5] In 2008 Lamar made a cameo appearance on Jay Rock's "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" music video. After receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, he released his third mixtape in 2009 titled C4, heavily themed around Tha Carter III LP.^[8] Soon after, he decided to drop his stage name K. Dot and go by his real name. This resulted in him releasing a self-titled EP; the Kendrick Lamar EP in late 2009.^[9]

[edit] 2010–2011: Overly Dedicated and Section.80

Kendrick performing at a concert in Toronto, Canada

In 2010 he toured with Tech N9ne and Jay Rock on The Independent Grind tour.^[6] On September 23, 2010 he released O(verly) D(edicated) a highly acclaimed mixtape that included a song titled "Ignorance is Bliss" in which he glorifies gangsta rap and street crime but ends each verse with "ignorance is bliss" giving the message "we know not what we do".^[10][11] It was that song specifically that made hip hop producer Dr. Dre want to work with Lamar.^[12] This led to him working with Dre and Snoop Dogg on Dre's Detox album and him considering signing to Aftermath Entertainment.^[6][13] In January 2011 Lamar said his debut album was 90% finished.^[6]

In early 2011 Lamar was featured on XXL Magazine's 2011 Freshman cover along with CyHi the Prynce, Meek Mill, Mac Miller, Yelawolf, Lil B, Big K.R.I.T. and Diggy Simmons among others.^[14] On July 2, 2011, Lamar released his third solo project Section.80 to critical acclaim. It features guest appearances from GLC, Colin Munroe, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and includes production from longtime collaborator Sounwave, Wyldfyer, Terrace Martin, J. Cole and more. On the topic of whether Section.80 would be an album or a mixtape Lamar said "I treat every project like it’s an album anyway. It’s not gonna be nothing leftover. I never do nothing like that. These are my leftover songs y’all can have ‘em, nah. I’m gonna put my best out. My best effort. I’m tryna look for an album in 2012". The first single for Section.80 was the J. Cole produced track "HiiiPower", of which the concept was to further explain the HiiiPower movement. Section.80 went on to sell over 10,000 copies in its first week^[15] without any television or radio coverage and received many very positive reviews. In the second half of 2011, Lamar appeared on Game's The R.E.D. Album, Tech N9ne's All 6's and 7's, 9th Wonder's The Wonder Years and Drake's Take Care.

In August 2011, while onstage with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Game, at the West Los Angeles concert, the three of them crowned him the "New King of the West Coast"^[16]

[edit] 2012–present: Good Kid in a Mad City

On February 15, 2012, a song titled "Cartoons & Cereal" featuring Gunplay of Triple C's was leaked.^[17] Lamar revealed later that the track was for his upcoming album and he was planning to shoot a video for it.^[18]

In March 2012, MTV announced that Top Dawg Entertainment, the independent record label Lamar is signed to, have closed a joint venture deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment, marking the end of his career as an independent artist. Under the new deal, Kendrick Lamar’s projects, including his upcoming debut studio album Good Kid in a Mad City will be jointly released via Top Dawg, Aftermath and Interscope, while releases from the rest of Black Hippy will be distributed via Top Dawg and Interscope.^[19]

Lamar premiered "The Recipe", his debut single and the lead single from Good Kid in a Mad City, at Power 106 on April 2, 2012. The track was released for digital download the following day. The song was produced by Scoop DeVille and features Dr. Dre.^{[citation needed]}

It was announced on May 14, 2012, that Lamar is working on a collaborative album with J. Cole. In an interview with Bootleg Kev, Cole stated that "I just started working with Kendrick the other day. We got it in, finally, again. We got maybe four or five [songs] together."

Personal life[link]

In high school, Centennial in Compton, Lamar was a good student.^[4] Lamar said that he has seen relatives who have died in his dreams for years. Tupac Shakur is also his favorite rapper, and influences not only his music, but his day-to-day lifestyle as well. In terms of subject matter, Kendrick Lamar has often been compared to Tupac Shakur. ^[6][20][21] He revealed that his favorite and most influential rappers are Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Jay-Z and his label-mate Eminem.

Discography[link]

• Section.80 (2011)
• Good Kid in a Mad City (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kendrick Lamar on Twitter
• kedricklamar.com Official Site

Mark Morrison (born 3 May 1972) is an English R&B singer. The first black male solo artist to reach number-one in the 1990s, his single, "Return of the Mack", became a number-one or Top 10 hit in several European countries in 1996. The song peaked at number 2 in the United States the following year.

Early life[link]

Born in Hanover, West Germany, to Barbadian parents, he lived in Leicester, England and attended Rushey Mead School, before moving to Miami, Florida. At age 19, he moved back to England.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Mark Morrison's first official recording was the 1993 vinyl release, Where Is Our Love, pressed on his own private Joe'Mel label.

Main career[link]

In mid-1995, Morrison released his debut single, Crazy, which became a Top 20 hit in the UK. The follow-up single, Let's Get Down, also entered the Top 40. They were followed in the spring of 1996 by Return of the Mack which became a smash international hit spending two weeks at #1 on the UK charts. Morrison became the first black male solo artist to reach #1 in the 1990s.

His debut album, also titled Return of the Mack, followed and became a multi-platinum success. It reached number four in the UK chart, and sold 3 million albums worldwide. It spun off several more hit singles over the next year. Crazy (Remix), Trippin', Horny, and Moan & Groan would all reach the UK Top 10 making him the first artist in British pop history to have five Top 10 hits from a debut album.

Although his career was going well, Morrison was constantly in trouble with the law. In 1997, he was imprisoned the same year he received four Brit Awards nominations, Mercury Prize nomination, an MTV Europe Music Awards nomination, and five Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO) nominations as the single Return of the Mack began to climb its way to #2 on the American Billboard charts receiving platinum status en-route. It stayed on the Billboard charts for an incredible 25 weeks.

He also performed at the 1997 Brit Awards. The performance at the Brit's influenced WEA and Morrison to release Only God Can Judge Me, a 9-track EP which contained live performances, interviews, prayers, and three full-length songs including Who's The Mack! which reached #13 in the UK.

Legal issues[link]

Morrison has faced various criminal charges during his career including a 1997 conviction for attempting to bring a firearm aboard an airliner for which he served three months just as his hit song, Return of the Mack, began rising up the US Billboard charts.^[1][2] In 1998, he failed to appear in court on charges of possessing an offensive weapon, choosing to instead fly to the West Indies island of Barbados. He was arrested and remanded into custody upon his return to the United Kingdom.^[3][4] He was later cleared of the offensive weapon charge.^[5]

He was convicted of affray for his part in a brawl resulting in one fatality and sentenced to community service.^[2] Morrison later was incarcerated in Wormwood Scrubs for a year for paying a lookalike to perform his court-appointed community service in his stead, while Morrison himself went on tour.^[2][6] While in prison, Morrison reportedly converted to Islam and attempted to change his name to Abdul Rahman.^[7] Also in 1998, Morrison was banned from driving for six months and fined £1,380 after twice being caught driving without a licence.^[8]

In 2002, Morrison was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and car theft.^[9] He was released on bail but a policemen was later arrested on suspicion of taking a bribe from Morrison in return for his release.^[9] Morrison failed to appear in court to face the charges and a warrant was issued for his arrest.^[9]

In 2004, he was arrested and spent a night in custody after a fracas started when his medallion went missing.^[10]

In 2009, Morrison was arrested for an assault in London.^[11]

Return to music[link]

Morrison appeared on the 1999 Brit Awards where he presented an award, introduced Whitney Houston and announced his return to music. In September 1999, a single titled Best Friend featuring Connor Reeves & Gabrielle became Morrison's ninth Top 40 hit single, reaching #23 on the UK Singles Chart.^[12] The following year, it was announced by Billboard that Morrison had signed a five-year worldwide deal with Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight, making him the first, and only British artist to be signed with Death Row Records.^[13]

He later signed to soccer player Kevin Campbell's 2 Wikid label in 2003. His only release for the label, a single entitled Just a Man/Backstabbers, was a minor UK hit, reaching #48 in the UK Singles Chart in August 2004.^[14]

In May 2006, Morrison released the limited edition CD/DVD album entitled Innocent Man in the United Kingdom on his private label, Mack Life Records/Mona Records. The title track, Innocent Man, featuring DMX was released in March 2006. It was well received and reached #46 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2007, he was featured on hip-hop artist Cassidy's single titled Innocent (Misunderstood) from the B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story album. The track sampled Morrison's vocals from the song, Innocent Man, and charted on Billboard's Bubbling Under Singles chart.

In 2008, Morrison announced the release of a 'best of' compilation, King of British R&B: The Best Of.. Mark Morrison, although it remains unreleased.^[15]

In 2010, he announced the planned release of a new album entitled I Am What I Am which has a tentative release date of 2012. Plans for a world-wide tour to accompany the new release was also announced.

In 2012, Mark Morrison appeared as a guest feature on the Houston rapper Trae Tha Truth's "I'm On 2.0" which features notable rappers Big Krit, Jadakiss, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, B.O.B, Tyga, Gudda Gudda and Bun B.

Discography[link]

• Return of the Mack (1996)
• Innocent Man (2006)
• I Am What I Am (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mark Morrison Official website
• Macklife Records Official website
• Mark Morrison's channel on YouTube
• Mark Morrison on Myspace