name	Memphis Bleek
background	solo_singer
birth name	Malik Thuston Cox
birth date	June 23, 1978
origin	Marcy Houses, Brooklyn, New York
genre	Hip hop
occupation	RapperActorRecord Producer
years active	1995-present
associated acts	Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Beenie Man, Too $hort | label Get Low Records (1996-Present)Roc-a-Fella Records (1996-2009)Mass Appeal Entertainment (2009-Present) }}

Malik Thuston Cox (born June 23, 1978), better known by his rap persona of Memphis Bleek or "Bleek", is a New York rapper mainly known for his tenure with Roc-a-Fella Records and CEO of his own label Get Low Records. He has released four albums during his career with ''Coming of Age'' and ''The Understanding'' certified and ''M.A.D.E.'' certified gold, and he released ''534'' in 2005. He plans to release ''The Process (Memphis Bleek album)'' in 2011.

Biography

Memphis Bleek was one of the first artists signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, as protege to long time friend, Jay-Z. He appeared on the Jay-Z Albums Reasonable Doubt, Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life, Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, and The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse. Bleeks first official appearance was Coming of Age from Reasonable Doubt. After the huge success of the multi-platinum Hard Knock Life album and exposure of the Roc-A-Fella camp, (a Memphis Bleek track off the aforementioned Jay-Z album, "It's Alright", actually charted on Billboard), the label released Memphis Bleek's debut album, Coming of Age. The album was the weeks Hot Shot Debut on the Billboard 200, peaking at #7 with 118,000 units sold in its first week. MEMPHIS which the rapper explained to pay homage to Pimps; Making Easy Money Pimping Hoes In Style. He has released 3 more albums since his debut, ''The Understanding'' went Gold, ''M.A.D.E.'' went Gold. ''534'' failed to garner any plaques. In between the release of ''The Understanding'' and ''M.A.D.E.'', he took a three year hiatus, in which time he took care of his older brother, who was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. There are three significant notes to take away from the album ''534'', which was named after the building number where Memphis and Jay-Z grew up in the Marcy Projects. First, it was the first release from the "new" Roc-A-Fella Records, referring to Jay-Z becoming President of Def Jam. It was also the first official Def Jam recording by label mate turned international star, Rihanna, on the song "The One". And lastly, this album marks where Jay-Z released his first song since beginning his brief "retirement". The song was called "Dear Summer", in reference to what Jay called the time of the year when he would drop a classic album or single every year for 8 straight years, and how he had to metaphorically leave "her", Summer.

His single chart status has not proved to be as impressive, as much of his following being with Hip-Hop listeners following Jay-Z and the record Label, and not commercial singles success. His highest charting single was "Is That Yo Chick", Featuring Missy Elliott and Jay-Z, which peaked at #7 on the Hot Rap Singles ''Billboard'' Chart, and only one of two songs by the artist to crack the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #68, and the only track to appear on one of his solo albums. The other single being "It's Alright", appearing on the Hard Knock Life album by Jay-Z, peaking at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100. He has had countless collaborations with fellow hip-hop artists such as DMX, Ja Rule, T.I., and Trick Daddy, with many of the features coming with other Roc-A-Fella artists, including Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Cam'ron, Amil, Young Gunz, and of course Jay-Z.

In fall 2005, Memphis Bleek told MTV that he was recording an album called ''The Process'', that he would describe as a make or break album, saying "I want to do an album that's through the roof, I want to do a classic album. I feel that if this album I'm not recording is a classic, I'm not even gonna put it out. I have to do it bigger than anybody has ever done it. I have to make a good record this time, not just talking-junk records." The rapper has worked on the album since 2005 and during that time frame he would release the songs "Hustla", "Get Ya Money Off" and "Let It Off". During this time, he would also leave Roc-A-Fella after Jay-Z told him he could run his own company and had the proper distribution deals to do so. He found a new home in 2009 when he signed to Mass Appeal Entertainment which is where he will release his long anticipated album ''The Process'' in 2010.

In the summer of 2010, he was on stage with Jay-Z, as a background singer, on the Swedish festival Peace&Love.;

Filmography

In 2002, Memphis Bleek made his acting debut in the film ''State Property''. He played the role of Blizz. A year later, he was featured in the film, Paper Soldiers.

Discography

Studio albums

1999: ''Coming of Age''

2000: ''The Understanding''

2003: ''M.A.D.E.''

2005: ''534''

2011: ''The Process''

References

External links

Official MySpace

Category:1978 births Category:African American rappers Category:Def Jam Recordings artists Category:Living people Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Roc-A-Fella Records artists

de:Memphis Bleek es:Memphis Bleek fr:Memphis Bleek ko:멤피스 블릭 he:ממפיס בליק lt:Memphis Bleek pl:Memphis Bleek fi:Memphis Bleek

Name	Memphis
Settlement type	City
Nickname	The River City, The Bluff City, M-Town
Website	www.memphistn.gov
Image flagsize	15px
Image seal	Memphis TE Seal-.svg
Image sealsiza	15px
Map caption	Location in Shelby County and the state of Tennessee
Pushpin map	USA
Pushpin map caption	Location in the United States
Coordinates region	US-TN
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision name1	Tennessee
Subdivision name2	Shelby
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	A C Wharton
Established title	Founded
Established title2	Incorporated
Established date	1819
Established date2	1826
Area magnitude	1 E8
Area total km2	763.4
Area total sq mi	313.8
Area land km2	723.4
Area land sq mi	302.3
Area water km2	40.0
Area water sq mi	15.4
Population as of	2010
Population total	646,889 (20th)
Population metro	1,316,100
Population blank1 title	Demonym
Population blank1	Memphian
Population density sq mi	2140
Timezone	CST
Utc offset	-6
Timezone dst	CDT
Utc offset dst	-5
Elevation m	103
Elevation ft	337
Postal code type	ZIP Codes
Postal code	37501, 37544, 38002, 38016, 38018, 38028, 38088, 38101, 38103–38109, 38111–38120, 38122, 38124–38128, 38130–38139, 38141, 38145, 38147–38148, 38150–38152, 38157, 38159, 38161, 38163, 38166–38168, 38173–38175, 38177, 38181–38182, 38184, 38186–38188, 38190, 38193–38194, 38197
Area code	901
Blank name	FIPS code
Blank info	47-48000
Blank1 name	GNIS feature ID
Blank1 info	1326388

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4^th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers.

Memphis had a population of 646,889 at the 2010 census, making it the biggest city in the state of Tennessee, the third largest in the Southeastern United States, and the 20th largest in the United States. The greater Memphis metropolitan area, including adjacent counties in Mississippi and Arkansas, had a 2010 population of 1,316,100. This makes Memphis the second largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, surpassed only by metropolitan Nashville, which has overtaken Memphis in recent years. Memphis is the youngest of Tennessee's major cities. A resident of Memphis is referred to as a ''Memphian'', and the Memphis region is known, particularly to media outlets, as the "Mid-South".

History

Early history

Because it occupies a substantial bluff rising from the Mississippi River, the site of Memphis is a natural location for settlement. The area was first settled by the Mississippian Culture and then by the Chickasaw Indian tribe. For 10,000 years they occupied the bluffs along the river, building a large mound on the bluff. European exploration came later, beginning in the 16th century with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and French explorers led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.

In 1795 the Spanish governor of Louisiana, Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, acquired land for a fort from the Chickasaw. Fort San Fernando de las Barrancas was built in the summer of 1795 on the fourth Chickasaw Bluff, just south of the Wolf River. It gave Spain control of navigation on the Mississippi River in the region until 1797 when it was abandoned in keeping with Pinckney's Treaty. The fort was dismantled, its lumber and iron shipped away. Its ruins went unnoticed when Memphis was laid out twenty years later.

The land comprising present-day Memphis remained in a largely unorganized territory throughout most of the 18th century. In 1796, the site became the westernmost point of the newly admitted state of Tennessee, located in the Southwest United States.

19th century

Memphis was founded in 1819 by John Overton, James Winchester and Andrew Jackson. The city was named after the ancient capital of Egypt on the Nile River. Memphis developed as a transportation center in the 19th century because of its flood-free location, high above the Mississippi River.

As the cotton economy of the antebellum South depended on the forced labor of large numbers of African-American slaves, Memphis became a major slave market. In 1857, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was completed, the only east-west railroad across the southern states prior to the Civil War.

Tennessee seceded from the Union in June 1861, and Memphis briefly became a Confederate stronghold. Union ironclad gunboats captured the city in the naval Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862, and the city remained under Union control for the duration of the war. Memphis became a Union supply base and continued to prosper throughout the war. Meanwhile, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest harassed Union forces in the area.

In the 1870s, a series of yellow fever epidemics devastated Memphis. The worst outbreak, in 1878, reduced the population by nearly 75% as many people died or fled the city permanently. Property tax revenues collapsed, and the city could not make payments on its municipal debts. As a result, Memphis temporarily lost its city charter and was a taxing district from 1878–1893. The city was rechartered in 1893.

20th century

Memphis grew into the world's largest spot cotton market and the world's largest hardwood lumber market. Into the 1950s, it was the world's largest mule market.

From the 1910s to the 1950s, Memphis was a place of machine politics under the direction of E. H. "Boss" Crump. During the Crump era, Memphis developed an extensive network of parks and public works as part of the national City Beautiful movement. Determined never to suffer plagues again, it rebuilt with meticulous sanitation and drainage. But it did not encourage heavy industry and allowed Mr. Crump's censor to ban movies.

During the 1960s, the city was at the center of civil rights issues, notably a sanitation workers' strike. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel, the day after giving his prophetic ''I've Been to the Mountaintop'' speech at the Mason Temple.

Memphis is well known for its cultural contributions to the identity of the American South. Many renowned musicians grew up in and around Memphis and moved from the Mississippi Delta. These included such musical greats as Elvis Presley, Three 6 Mafia, Jerry Lee Lewis, Muddy Waters, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Robert Johnson, W. C. Handy, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. Jones, Al Green, and many others.

Geography

Memphis is located in southwestern Tennessee at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 313.8 sq mi (763.4 km²), of which 302.3 square miles (723.4 km²) is land and 15.4 square miles (40.0 km²), or 5.24%, is water.

Cityscape

Downtown Memphis rises from a bluff along the Mississippi River, and the city sprawls outward over southwest Tennessee and into northern Mississippi and eastern Arkansas. Several large parks are scattered through the city, notably Overton Park in Midtown and the 4,500 acre Shelby Farms. The city is a national transportation hub and Mississippi River crossing for Interstate 40, (east-west), Interstate 55 (north-south), barge traffic, Memphis International Airport (Fed Ex's home) and numerous freight railroads that serve the city.

Aquifer

Shelby County is located over four natural aquifers, one of which is recognized as the "Memphis sand aquifer" or simply as the "Memphis aquifer". This artesian water is pure and soft. This particular water source, located some underground, is estimated by Memphis Light, Gas and Water to contain more than 100 trillion gallons (380 km³) of water.

Climate

Memphis has a humid subtropical climate, with four distinct seasons. Winter weather comes from the upper Great Plains or from the Gulf of Mexico, leading to drastic swings in temperature. Summer weather may come from Texas (very hot and dry) or the Gulf (hot and humid). July has an average high and low of and , with high levels of humidity due to moisture encroaching from the Gulf of Mexico. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms are frequent during some summers, but usually brief, lasting no longer than an hour. Early autumn is pleasantly drier and mild, but can be hot until late October. Late autumn is rainy and cooler; precipitation peaks again in November and December. Winters are mild to chilly, with average January high and low temperatures of and . Snow occurs sporadically in winter, with an average yearly snowfall of . Ice storms are a bigger danger, pulling tree limbs down on power lines.

Annual precipitation is high () and is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year, though August through October is much drier, and peaks in March–May and November/December.

Demographics

For historical population data, see: History of Memphis, Tennessee.

According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, the racial composition of Memphis was:

Black or African American: 62.6%

White: 31.7% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 29.5%)

Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 5.0%

Asian: 1.7%

Native American: 0.2%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%

Some other race: 2.7%

Two or more races: 1.2%

As of the census of 2000, there were 650,100 people, 250,721 households, and 158,455 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,327.4 people per sq mi (898.6/km²). There were 271,552 housing units at an average density of 972.2 per sq mi (375.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.41% African American, 34.41% White, 1.46% Asian, 0.19% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.45% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.97% of the population.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,285, and the median income for a family was $37,767. Males had a median income of $31,236 versus $25,183 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,838. About 17.2% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.1% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

The Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the 42nd largest in the United States, has a 2010 population of 1,316,100 and includes the Tennessee counties of Shelby, Tipton, and Fayette, as well as the Mississippi counties of DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, and Tunica, and the Arkansas county of Crittenden.

Religion

Since its founding, Memphis has been home to persons of many different faiths. An 1870 map of Memphis shows religious buildings of the Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational, and other Christian denominations and a Jewish congregation. In 2009, places of worship exist for Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims.

The international headquarters of the Church of God in Christ, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States, is located in Memphis. Named after the denomination's founder, Charles Harrison Mason, Mason Temple is where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech the day before he was killed. The church's Temple of Deliverance is the venue of the National Civil Rights Museum's Freedom Awards.

Bellevue Baptist Church is a Southern Baptist megachurch in Memphis that was founded in 1903. Its current membership is approximately 27,000. For many years, it was led by the now late Adrian Rogers, a three-term president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has two stakes and one temple in Memphis as well as two Family History Centers/Genealogical Libraries.

Other notable and/or large churches in Memphis include Second Presbyterian Church (EPC), Evergreen Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), Colonial Park United Methodist Church, Christ United Methodist Church, Idlewild Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), The Pentecostal Church (UPCI), Calvary Episcopal Church, and Elliston Baptist Church.

Memphis is home to two cathedrals. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis, and St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral is the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee.

Memphis is home to an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Muslims of various cultures and ethnicities.

Memphis is home to Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue that has approximately 7,000 members, making it one of the largest Reform synagogues in the country. Baron Hirsch Synagogue is the largest Orthodox shul in the United States.

Culture

Cultural events

One of the largest celebrations the city has is Memphis in May. The month-long series of events promotes Memphis' heritage and outreach of its people far beyond the city's borders. There are four main events, the Beale Street Music Festival, International Week, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, and the Sunset Symphony. The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is the largest pork barbecue cooking contest in the world.

In April, there is an event in downtown Memphis called Africa in April Cultural Awareness Festival, or simply known as Africa in April. The festival was designed to celebrate the arts, history, culture, and diversity of the African diaspora. Africa in April is a three-day festival with vendor's markets, fashion showcases, blues showcases, and an international diversity parade.

During June, Memphis is home to the Memphis Italian Festival at Marquette Park. For over 20 years, the festival has hosted musical acts, local artisans, and Italian cooking competitions. It also presents chef demonstrations, the Coors Light Competitive Bocce Tournament, the Galtelli Cup Recreational Bocce Tournament, a volleyball tournament, and pizza tossing demonstrations.

Carnival Memphis, formerly known as the Memphis Cotton Carnival, is an annual series of parties and festivities in June that salutes various aspects of Memphis and its industries. An annual King and Queen of Carnival are secretly selected to reign over Carnival activities. The African-American community staged a parallel event known as the Cotton Makers Jubilee from 1935 to 1982, when it merged with Carnival Memphis.

A market and arts festival, the Cooper-Young Festival, is held annually in September in the Cooper-Young district of Midtown Memphis. The event draws artists from all over North America and includes local music, art sales, contests, and displays.

Memphis is also home to several film festivals, the Indie Memphis Film Festival, Outflix, and the Memphis International Film and Music Festival. Indie Memphis Film Festival is in its 14th year and held November 3-6 in 2011. Recognized by MovieMaker Magazine as one of 25 "Coolest Film Festivals" (2009) and one of 25 "Festivals Worth the Entry Fee" (2011), Indie Memphis offers Memphis year-round independent film programming including Global Lens international film series, IM Student Shorts student films, and an outdoor concert film series at the historic Levitt Shell. The Outflix Film Festival, also in its 14th year, takes place September 9-15 in 2011. Outflix features a full week of GLBT interested cinema, including short films, features, and documentaries. The Memphis International Film and Music Festival is held in April and is in its 11th year and takes place at Malco's Ridgeway Four.

Formerly titled the W.C. Handy Awards, the International Blues Awards are presented by the Blues Foundation (headquartered in Memphis) for Blues music achievement, with weeklong competitions and an awards banquet including a night of performance and celebration.

The arts

Memphis is the home of founders and establishers of various American music genres, including blues, gospel, rock n' roll, Buck, crunk, and "sharecropper" country music (in contrast to the "rhinestone" country sound of Nashville). Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave and B.B. King all got their start in Memphis in the 1950s/60s.

Beale Street is a national historical landmark, and showcases the impact Memphis has had on American blues, particularly after World War II as electric guitars took precedence. Sam Phillips' Sun Studio, the most seminal recording studio in American popular music, still stands, and is open for tours. Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison all made their first recordings there and were "discovered" by Phillips. Many great blues artists recorded there prior to that as well. Lastly, Stax Records created a classic 60's soul music, much grittier and horn-based than Motown. Booker T. and the M.G.'s were the label's backing band for most of the classic hits that came out of Stax, by Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and many more. The sound still lives on in the ''Blues Brothers'' movie, in which many of the players themselves starred.

Several notable singers are from the Memphis area, including Ruth Welting and Kallen Esperian. Justin Timberlake also grew up in the Memphis area. The Metropolitan Opera began coming to Memphis in 1906, their first road show, but in the 1990s decided to only visit larger cities.

Well-known writers from Memphis include American Civil War historian Shelby Foote. Novelist John Grisham grew up in nearby DeSoto County, Mississippi, and many of his books are set in Memphis.

Visual art

In addition to the Brooks Museum and Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis plays host to two burgeoning visual art areas, one city-sanctioned, and the other organically formed.

The South Main Arts District is an arts neighborhood in south downtown. Over the past 20 years, the area has morphed from a derelict brothel and juke joint neighborhood to a gentrified, well-lit, nicely paved home of the "Trolley Night" where patrons of the arts stroll down the street witnessing fire spinners, djs playing in front of clubs, specialty shops and galleries.

Another developing arts district in Memphis is Broad Street. Broad Street (really an east-west avenue) is undergoing neighborhood revitalization by the influx of visual artists and taking up residence and studios in the area. An art professor from Rhodes College holds small openings on the first floor of his home for local students and professional artists. Odessa, another art space on Broad Street, hosts student art shows and local electronic music. Other galleries come and go for semiannual artwalks.

Outside these two areas, Memphis has non-commercial visual arts organizations and spaces, including local painter Pinkney Herbert's Marshall Arts gallery, on Marshall Ave. near Sun Studios, another arts neighborhood characterized by affordable rent.

Many works of fiction and literature use Memphis as their setting, giving a diverse portrait of the city, its history, and its citizens. These include ''The Reivers'' by William Faulkner (1962), ''September, September'' by Shelby Foote (1977), ''The Old Forest and Other Stories'' by Peter Taylor (1985), the Pulitzer Prize-winning ''A Summons to Memphis'' by Peter Taylor (1986), ''The Firm'' (1991) and ''The Client'' (1994), both by John Grisham, ''Memphis Afternoons: a Memoir'' by James Conaway (1993), "Plague of Dreamers" by Steve Stern (1997) ''Cassina Gambrel Was Missing'' by William Watkins (1999), ''The Guardian'' by Beecher Smith (1999), "We are Billion-Year-Old Carbon" by Corey Mesler (2005), ''The Silence of the Lambs'' by Thomas Harris, and ''The Architect'' by James Williamson (2007).

Cultural references

Memphis is the subject of numerous pop and country songs, including "The Memphis Blues" by W. C. Handy, "Memphis, Tennessee" by Chuck Berry, "Queen of Memphis" by Confederate Railroad, "Memphis Soul Stew" by King Curtis, "Maybe It Was Memphis" by Pam Tillis, "Graceland" by Paul Simon, "Memphis Train" by Rufus Thomas, "All the Way from Memphis" by Mott the Hoople, "Wrong Side of Memphis" by Trisha Yearwood, "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn, "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" by Bob Dylan, "Memphis Skyline" by Rufus Wainwright, and "Sequestered in Memphis" by The Hold Steady.

In addition, Memphis is mentioned in scores of other songs, including "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones, "Life Is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane, "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles, "Cities" by Talking Heads, "Crazed Country Rebel" by Hank Williams III, "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2, "M.E.M.P.H.I.S." by the Disco Biscuits and many others.

Economy

The city's central location has led to much of its business development. Located on the Mississippi River and intersected by five major freight railroads and two Interstate highways, I-40 and I-55, Memphis is ideally located for commerce in the transportation and shipping industry. A third interstate, I-69, is under construction, and a fourth, I-22, has recently been designated from the former High Priority Corridor X. River barges are unloaded onto trucks and trains. The city is home to Memphis International Airport, the world's busiest cargo airport, which serves as the primary hub for FedEx Express shipping and was a secondary hub for Delta Air Lines after it merged with Northwest Airlines in 2008.

Memphis is the home of three Fortune 500 companies: FedEx Corporation, AutoZone Incorporated, and International Paper. In addition, Memphis is home to the pharmaceutical/healthcare firm Schering-Plough Corporation, serving as the company's research and development center. In 2006, a fourth Fortune 500 company, ServiceMaster, announced it was moving its corporate headquarters from Downers Grove, Illinois, to Memphis. In 2007, ServiceMaster became a private company. Other major corporations based in Memphis include Medtronic Sofamor Danek, First Horizon National Corporation, Pinnacle Airlines, Thomas and Betts Corporation, Mueller Industries, Fred's, Verso Paper, Allenberg Cotton Co., Dunavant Enterprises, Accredo Health Group, GE Capital Aviation Services, Baptist Memorial Hospital, Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare, and Baker Donelson, among others. Corporations with major operations based in the Memphis area include Hilton Worldwide, Technicolor Home Entertainment Services, Smith & Nephew, Sharp Manufacturing, Brother International, and Caesars Entertainment Corporation.

The entertainment and film industries have discovered Memphis in recent years. Several major motion pictures have been filmed in Memphis, including ''Making the Grade'' (1984), ''Great Balls of Fire!'' (1988), ''Mystery Train'' (1989), ''The Firm'' (1993), ''Cast Away'' (2000), ''Forty Shades of Blue'' (2005), ''Walk the Line'' (2005), ''Hustle & Flow'' (2006), ''Soul Men'' (2008), and ''The Grace Card'' (2011). ''The Blind Side'' (2009) was set in Memphis but filmed in Atlanta. The 1992 television movie ''Memphis'', starring Memphis native Cybill Shepherd, who also served as executive producer and writer, was also filmed in Memphis. The state of Tennessee has lacked sufficient tax breaks available in other states to compete for many productions that have been interested in filming in Memphis or in the state as a whole. Besides ''The Blind Side'', whose production was lured to Georgia, ''Memphis Beat'', a television series on TNT set in Memphis, has been lured to Louisiana.

Law and government

Memphis is governed by a mayor and thirteen City Council members, six elected at large from throughout the city and seven elected from geographic districts. In 1995, the council adopted a new district plan which changed council positions to all districts. This plan provides for nine districts, seven with one representative each and two districts with three representatives each. The previous mayor of the city of Memphis was W. W. Herenton. He resigned from his office, effective July 30, 2009. After Herenton's resignation, Myron Lowery served as Mayor Pro Tem for less than three months, one of the shortest terms in Memphis history. Former Shelby County mayor A C Wharton is the current mayor.

In recent years, there have been often rancorous discussions of the potential of a consolidation of unincorporated Shelby County and Memphis into a metropolitan government. Consolidation was a referendum item on the 2010 ballot in Memphis and Shelby County, but failed with 85% of the county vote against it.

Crime

Although in 2004 violent crime in Memphis reached a record low for over a decade, that trend subsequently reversed. In 2005, Memphis was ranked the 4th most dangerous city with a population of 500,000 or higher in the U.S. Crime in Memphis increased in 2005, and saw a dramatic rise in the first half of 2006. Nationally, cities follow similar trends, and crime numbers tend to be cyclical. Local experts and criminologists cite gang recruitment as one possible cause of the rise in crime in Memphis and to a reduction of 66% of federal funding to the Memphis Police Department.

In the first half of 2006, robbery of businesses increased 52.5%, robbery of individuals increased 28.5%, and homicide increased 18% over the same period of 2005. The Memphis Police Department has responded with the initiation of Operation Blue C.R.U.S.H. (Crime Reduction Using Statistical History), which targets crime hotspots and repeat offenders. Memphis ended 2005 with 154 murders, and 2006 ended with 160. 2007 saw 164 murders, 2008 had 138, and 2009 had 132. Violent crimes dropped from 12,939 in 2008 to 12,047. Robbery dropped from 4,788 in 2008 to 4,137 in 2009. Aggravated assault dropped 53,870 in 2008 to 47,158 in 2009 (FBI's UCR). In 2006 and 2007, the Memphis metropolitan area ranked second most dangerous in the nation among cities with a population over 500,000. It also ranked as most dangerous in 2002 and second most dangerous in 2001. In 2006, the Memphis metropolitan area ranked number one in violent crimes for major cities around the U.S according to the FBI's annual crime rankings, whereas it had ranked second in 2005.

Recent statistics show a downward trend in crime in Memphis. Between 2006 and 2008, the crime rate fell by 16%, while the first half of 2009 saw a reduction in serious crime of over 10% from the previous year. The Memphis Police Department's use of the FBI National Incident Based Reporting System, which is a more detailed method of reporting crimes than that used in many other major cities, has been cited as a reason for Memphis's frequent appearance on lists of most dangerous U.S. cities.

Education

The city is served by Memphis City Schools, while surrounding suburbs in other areas of Shelby County are served by Shelby County Schools.

The Memphis City School System is home to over 200 elementary, middle, and high schools.

The Memphis area is home to many private, college-prep schools: Briarcrest Christian School (co-ed), Christian Brothers High School (boys), Evangelical Christian School (co-ed), First Assembly Christian School (co-ed), Hutchison School (girls), Lausanne Collegiate School (co-ed), Memphis University School (boys), Saint Benedict at Auburndale (co-ed), St. George's Independent School (co-ed), St. Agnes Academy (girls), Immaculate Conception Cathedral School (girls), and St. Mary's Episcopal School (girls). Also included in this list is Memphis Harding Academy, a co-ed school affiliated with the Churches of Christ.

Colleges and universities located in the city include the University of Memphis (a comprehensive state university), Rhodes College (formerly Southwestern at Memphis), Memphis College of Art, LeMoyne–Owen College, Christian Brothers University, Baptist College of Health Sciences (formerly Baptist Memorial Hospital School of Nursing), Memphis Theological Seminary, Harding School of Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary (satellite campus), William R. Moore College of Technology, Southern College of Optometry, Southwest Tennessee Community College, Tennessee Technology Center at Memphis, and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Graduate Health Sciences and Allied Health Sciences). Memphis also has campuses of several for-profit post-secondary institutions, including Victory University (formerly Crichton College), Concorde Career College, ITT Technical Institute, Remington College, and University of Phoenix.

The University of Tennessee College of Dentistry was founded in 1878, making it the oldest dental college in the South, and the third oldest public college of dentistry in the United States.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

The Interstate Highways, Interstate 40, Interstate 55, and Interstate 240, are the main expressways in the Memphis area. Interstates 40 and 55 cross the Mississippi River at Memphis into the state of Arkansas.

The nearly-completed Interstate 22 connects Memphis with Birmingham, Alabama, via northern Mississippi (including Tupelo) and northwestern Alabama. This expressway follows the same route as U.S. Route 78. Other important federal highways though Memphis include the east-west U.S. Route 70, U.S. Route 64, and U.S. Route 72; and the north-south U.S. Route 51 and U.S. Route 61, which is the historic highway north to Chicago via Cairo, Illinois.

The future Interstate 69 from northeast to southwest will pass through Memphis when it is completed, linking Brownsville, Texas to the already-existing portion that runs from Indianapolis, Indiana to Port Huron, Michigan. Segments of this highway are complete in DeSoto County, just south of Memphis. The segment of the I-69 Corridor running through the Memphis area is scheduled for completion in 2012.

Railroads

A large volume of railroad freight moves through Memphis, because of its two heavy-duty Mississippi River railroad crossings, which carry several major east-west railroad freight lines, and also because of the major north-south railroad lines through Memphis which connect with such major cities as Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louisville, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, Mobile, and Birmingham.

By the early 20th century, Memphis had two major passenger railroad stations. After passenger railroad service declined heavily through the middle of the 20th century, the Memphis Union Station was demolished in 1969. The Memphis Central Station was eventually renovated, and it still serves the city.

The only inter-city passenger railroad service to Memphis for many decades has been the daily ''City of New Orleans'' train, operated by Amtrak, which has one train northbound and one train southbound each day between Chicago and New Orleans.

Airports

Memphis International Airport is the global "SuperHub" of FedEx Express, the world's largest airline in terms of freight tons flown, and has the largest cargo operations by volume of any airport worldwide.

Memphis International is also a secondary hub of Delta Air Lines and was used by almost 10 million passengers in 2009. Delta operates around 220 daily flights from the airport, including a nonstop transatlantic flight to Amsterdam. Other airlines providing passenger service are Air Canada Jazz, AirTran, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, SeaPort Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways.

There are also several general aviation airports in the Memphis Metropolitan Area, including the Millington Regional Jetport, located at the former Naval Air Station in Millington, Tennessee.

River port

Memphis has the second-busiest cargo port on the Mississippi River, which is also the fourth-busiest inland port in the United States. The International Port of Memphis covers both the Tennessee and Arkansas sides of the Mississippi River from river mile 725 (km 1167) to mile 740 (km 1191). A focal point of the river port is the industrial park on President's Island, just south of Downtown Memphis.

Bridges

Four railroad and highway bridges cross the Mississippi River at Memphis. In order of their opening years, these are the Frisco Bridge (1892, single-track rail), the Harahan Bridge (1916, a road-rail bridge until 1949, currently carries double-track rail), the Memphis-Arkansas Memorial Bridge (Highway, 1949; later incorporated into Interstate 55), and the Hernando de Soto Bridge (Interstate 40, 1973).

Utilities

Memphis's primary utility provider is the Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division (MLGW). This is the largest three-service municipal utility in the United States, providing electricity, natural gas, and pure water service to all residents of Shelby County. Prior to that, Memphis was served by two primary electric companies, which were merged into the Memphis Power Company. The City of Memphis bought the private company in 1939 to form MLGW, which was an early customer of electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

MLGW still buys most of its power from TVA, and the company pumps its own fresh water from the Memphis Aquifer, using more than 180 water wells.

Health care

The Memphis and Shelby County region supports numerous hospitals, including the Methodist and Baptist Memorial health systems, two of the largest private hospitals in the country.

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, the largest healthcare provider in the Mid-South, operates seven hospitals and several rural clinics. ''Modern Healthcare'' magazine ranked Methodist Healthcare in the top 100 integrated healthcare networks in the United States. Methodist Healthcare operates, among others, the Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, which offers primary level 1 pediatric trauma care, as well as a nationally recognized pediatric brain tumor program.

Baptist Memorial Healthcare operates fifteen hospitals (three in Memphis), including Baptist Memorial Hospital. According to Health Care Market Guide's annual studies, Mid-Southerners have named Baptist Memorial their "preferred hospital choice for quality".

The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases, resides in Memphis. The institution was conceived and built by the late entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962 as a tribute to St. Jude Thaddeus, patron saint of impossible, hopeless, and difficult causes.

Memphis is also home to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, which is locally referred to as "The Med". In recent years, the hospital has experienced severe funding difficulties that nearly led to a reduction or elimination of emergency room services. In July 2010, The Med received approximately $40.6 million in federal and local funding to keep the Elvis Presley Trauma Center operational.

Memphis is home to Delta Medical Center of Memphis, which is the only employee-owned medical facility in North America.

Tourism and recreation

Museums and art collections

Many museums of interest are located in Memphis.

National Civil Rights Museum The National Civil Rights Museum is located in the former Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. It includes a historical overview of the American civil rights movement.

Brooks Museum of Art The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, founded in 1916, is the oldest and largest fine art museum in the state of Tennessee. The Brooks' permanent collection includes works from the Italian Renaissance and Baroque eras to British, French Impressionists, and 20th-century artists.

Children's Museum of Memphis The Children's Museum of Memphis exhibits interactive and educational activities for children to take part in, including a skyscraper maze, an airplane cockpit (donated by FedEx), a fire engine, an art studio, grocery store, and, most recently, a mechanic's garage sponsored by AutoZone, Inc.

Graceland Graceland, the former home of music legend Elvis Presley, is one of the most visited houses in the United States (second only to the White House), attracting over 600,000 domestic and international visitors a year. Featured at Graceland are two of Presley's private airplanes, his extensive automobile and motorcycle collection and other Elvis memorabilia. On November 7, 1991, Graceland was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Pink Palace The Pink Palace Museum serves as the Mid-South's major science and historical museum, and features exhibits ranging from archeology to chemistry. It includes the third largest planetarium in the United States and an IMAX theater. One exhibit features a replica of the original Piggly Wiggly store, the first self-service grocery store, commemorating the invention of the supermarket by Memphian Clarence Saunders in 1916.

Memphis Walk of Fame The Memphis Walk of Fame is a public exhibit located in the Beale Street historic district, which is modeled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but is designated exclusively for Memphis musicians, singers, writers, and composers. Honorees include W. C. Handy, B.B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, and Alberta Hunter, among others.

Mud Island River Park Mud Island River Park and Mississippi River Museum is located on Mud Island in downtown Memphis. The park is noted for its River Walk, a 2112:1 scale working model showing of the Lower Mississippi River, from Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. in the model equal of the Mississippi River. The Walk stretches roughly , allowing visitors to walk in the water and see models of cities and bridges along the way.

Victorian Village Victorian Village is a historic district of Memphis featuring a series of fine Victorian-era mansions, some of which are open to the public as museums.

Cotton Museum The Cotton Museum is a museum that opened in March 2006 on the old trading floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange at 65 Union Avenue in downtown Memphis.

Stax Museum The Stax Museum is a museum located at 926 McLemore Avenue, the former location of Stax Records. The original building, a converted movie theatre where artists such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Sam & Dave and many others recorded throughout the 60's and 70's, was torn down, but the original front was reconstructed on the original property. It is operated by Soulsville USA, which also operates the adjacent Stax Music Academy. The original Satellite Record Shop was also reconstructed beside it. It is the only museum in the United States to be devoted entirely to soul music.

Chucalissa Indian Village Chucalissa Indian Village is a Walls Phase mound and plaza complex that was occupied, abandoned and reoccupied several times throughout its history, spanning from 1000 to 1550 CE. Civilian Conservation Corps workers discovered Native American artifacts on the site in 1938 and archaeological excavations of this Mississippian mound complex were initiated. The facility has been operated by the University of Memphis since 1962. In 1973 Chucalissa Indian Village was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Later, in 1994, it was declared a National Historic Landmark. It is the site of the Southeast Indian Heritage Festival held annually in October.

Parks

Major Memphis parks include W.C. Handy Park, Tom Lee Park, Audubon Park, Overton Park including the Old Forest Arboretum, the Lichterman Nature Center (a nature learning center), and the Memphis Botanic Garden.

Shelby Farms park, located at the eastern edge of the city, is one of the largest urban parks in the United States.

Cemeteries

The Memphis National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in north Memphis.

Historic Elmwood Cemetery is one of the oldest rural garden cemeteries in the South, and contains the Carlisle S. Page Arboretum. Memorial Park Cemetery is noted for its sculptures by Mexican artist Dionicio Rodriguez.

Elvis Presley was originally buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, the resting place of his backing band's bassist, Bill Black, but after an attempted grave robbing, his body was moved to the grounds of Graceland.

Other points of interest

Beale Street Blues fans can visit Beale Street, which used to be the center of the Black community, where a young B.B. King used to play his guitar. He occasionally appears there at the club bearing his name, which he partially owns. Street performers play live music, and bars and clubs feature live entertainment until dawn.

Memphis Zoo The Memphis Zoo, which is located in midtown Memphis, features many exhibits of mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians from all over the world. The zoo's giant panda exhibit is one of only five in North America. The Memphis Zoo is one of few that have successfully resulted in live births of rhinoceros in captivity.

Peabody Hotel The Peabody Hotel is well-known for the "Peabody Ducks" that live on the hotel rooftop, making the journey to the hotel lobby in a daily "March of Ducks" ritual.

Sun Studio Sun Studio is available for tour, which is where Elvis Presley first recorded "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin". Other famous musicians who got their start at Sun include Johnny Cash, Rufus Thomas, Charlie Rich, Howlin' Wolf, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. It now contains a museum as well as the still-functioning and operating studio.

The Orpheum Theatre The Orpheum Theatre was built in 1928 upon the former property of the Grand Opera House, which was burnt to the ground in 1923 during a strip tease performance by Blossom Seeley. After vaudeville's popularity waned, the building was purchased by the Malco theater chain in 1940 and presented first-run movies until Malco sold the building in 1976. The Orpheum is now managed by the Memphis Development Foundation and presents 10 to 12 Broadway shows each year. The theatre is also home to two of Memphis' local arts groups, Ballet Memphis and Opera Memphis.

The New Daisy Theater The New Daisy Theater is an all-ages concert venue located on Beale Street. After 11 PM, only those at least 18 years of age are allowed on Beale—unless they are going to (or from) a destination point like the New Daisy. The New Daisy routinely presents some of the biggest acts to come to the Mid South. Possibly the most popular venue in Memphis, past acts have included Ani DiFranco, AFI, Cannibal Corpse, GWAR, Insane Clown Posse, Keller Williams, Lamb of God, and Led Zeppelin, among many others. The venue also, on occasion, hosts the Gorilla Production Battle of the Bands as well as Mixed Martial Arts fights.

Mud Island Amphitheater Located on Front Avenue, the Mud Island Amphitheater is a concert venue with an approximate capacity of 5,000 viewers. As one of the two major concert venues in Memphis, past acts have included the likes of R.E.M., Phish, 311, The Black Crowes, Fall Out Boy, Journey, New Kids on the Block, O.A.R., Pat Benatar, Smashing Pumpkins, Steely Dan, and Willie Nelson.

The Pyramid The Pyramid Arena is a former athletic and music venue. It is one of the first sights seen when entering the city from West Memphis via the Memphis-Arkansas Memorial Bridge. The facility was built in 1991 and was originally owned and operated jointly by the city of Memphis and Shelby County. Its unique structure plays on the city's namesake in Egypt, known for its ancient pyramids. At , it is the sixth-largest pyramid in the world behind the Great Pyramid of Giza (456 ft), Khafre's Pyramid (448 ft), the Luxor Hotel (348 ft), the Red Pyramid (341 ft) and the Bent Pyramid (332 ft). As a music venue, it was the largest in Memphis, presenting such acts as R.E.M., Phish, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Doobie Brothers, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band is reputed to be the last concert ever held in The Pyramid.

It has been host to the University of Memphis NCAA basketball team, the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team, the Great Midwest Conference basketball tournament, the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament, the Conference USA basketball tournaments, and the 2003 Conference USA women's basketball tournament. It has also hosted first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament and a pay-per-view event by the WWF. The Pyramid was the venue of the boxing match between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in 2002.

In 2008, the City of Memphis began leasing The Pyramid to Bass Pro Shops; the facility is to become Bass Pro's largest superstore in the country with a projected grand opening in November 2011.

Other Other Memphis attractions include the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, the FedExForum, and Mississippi riverboat day cruises.

Sports

The University of Memphis college basketball team, the Memphis Tigers, has a strong following in the city due to its recent competitive success. The Tigers finished 2nd to the Kansas Jayhawks in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. However, in 2009, an NCAA investigation revealed that Derrick Rose's SAT scores had been invalidated, making him retroactively ineligible to play for Memphis. As a result, the NCAA vacated Memphis' entire 2007-08 season, including the tournament appearance, and forced the University to repay all tournament revenues. Head Coach John Calipari, having already left Memphis to coach for the University of Kentucky, was not reprimanded by the NCAA. The current coach of the Memphis Tigers is Josh Pastner, who coached the Tigers to an NCAA appearance in the 2010-2011 season.

The Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association is the only club from one of the "big four" major sports leagues in the city; however, the minor leagues are well represented. The Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League is a Class AAA baseball farm team for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mississippi RiverKings, formerly the Memphis RiverKings, is a professional hockey team of the Central Hockey League "Class AA" which plays its home games in DeSoto County.

Memphis is home to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, the site of University of Memphis football, the Liberty Bowl and the Southern Heritage Classic. The annual St. Jude Classic, a regular part of the PGA Tour, is also held in the city. Each February the city hosts the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup, which are men's ATP World Tour 500 series and WTA events, respectively.

Memphis has a significant history in pro wrestling. Jerry "The King" Lawler is the sport's greatest name to come out of the city. Sputnik Monroe, a wrestler of the 1950s, like Lawler, promoted racial integration in the city. Ric Flair also noted Memphis as his birthplace.

Memphis has been represented by several now-defunct professional sports franchises, including the Memphis Pharaohs of Arena Football, the Memphis Maniax of the XFL, the Memphis Xplorers of the AF2, the Memphis Showboats of the USFL, the Memphis Southmen of the WFL, the Memphis Houn'Dawgs of the ABA, the Memphis Sounds of the original ABA in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the Memphis Mad Dogs of the CFL.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the former WFL franchise Memphis Southmen / Memphis Grizzlies sued the NFL in an attempt to be accepted as an expansion franchise. In 1993, the Memphis Hound Dogs was a proposed NFL expansion that was passed over in favor of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers. Memphis also served as the temporary home of the former Tennessee Oilers while the city of Nashville worked out stadium issues.

See also

1865 Memphis earthquake

List of mayors of Memphis, Tennessee

List of neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee

List of people from Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis Mafia

References

Further reading

Dowdy, G. Wayne. ''Crusades for Freedom: Memphis and the Political Transformation of the American South'' (University Press of Mississippi; 2010); 176 pages. Examines the political rise of two minorities, African-Americans and Republicans, after the demise of the machine politics of the Shelby County Democratic Party and the political boss Ed Crump.

Rushing, Wanda. ''Memphis and the Paradox of Place: Globalization in the American South''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009, on economic development

Rushing, Wanda. "Memphis: Cotton Fields, Cargo Planes, & Biotechnology" ''Southern Spaces'' (2009) online

External links

City of Memphis official website

Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau

Memphis Chamber of Commerce

Memphis History

Memphis Daily Newspaper - The Commercial Appeal

Memphis, Back in the Day - slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Bird's eye view of the city of Memphis, Tennessee 1870. (Library of Congress)

Perspective map of the city of Memphis, Tenn. 1887. (Library of Congress)

Category:Cities in Tennessee Category:County seats in Tennessee Category:Memphis metropolitan area Category:Planned cities in the United States Category:Populated places established in 1819 Category:Tennessee populated places on the Mississippi River Category:Populated places in Tennessee with African American majority populations Category:United States places with Orthodox Jewish communities

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name	Trick Daddy
background	solo_singer
birth name	Maurice Young
born	September 27, 1973
origin	Miami, Florida, United States
genre	Hip Hop, Southern Rap, Crunk
occupation	Rapper, Producer, Songwriter, Actor
years active	1994–present
label	Slip-n-Slide Records, Warlock Records, Trick Daddy Music Group
associated acts	Gorilla Tek, Scarface, Luther Campbell, Ying Yang Twins, Bigg D, Diplo, DJ Khaled, Brisco, Young Buck
website	www.trickdaddy.com }}

Maurice Young (born September 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is a certified platinum American rapper and producer from Miami, Florida.

Music career

Young appeared on the track "Scarred" by former 2 Live Crew member, Luther "Luke" Campbell, Produced by Darren "Dj Spin" Rudnick, from Luke's 1996 album ''Uncle Luke''. The song became a hit and immediately caught the attention of fans and record producers alike. Ted Lucas, a former concert promoter and then-CEO of Slip-n-Slide Records, signed the rapper to the newly formed record label. Slip-n-Slide released Trick Daddy Dollars's debut album ''Based on a True Story'' in 1997; the album was popular in the Miami area.

In 1998, when his next album ''www.thug.com'' came out, Young removed "Dollars" from his stage name. Club-oriented track "Nann Nigga", featuring Trina, became a national hit, peaking at the third spot of the ''Billboard'' Hot Rap Singles chart. Atlantic Records signed Trick Daddy to the label in 2000 and released ''Book of Thugs: Chapter AK Verse 47'' that year. "Shut Up", which Jason Birchmeier of allmusic considered "a rowdy club hit similar to 'Nann Nigga'", followed "Nann" as the next single; featured guests on "Shut Up" were Deuce Poppito, Trina, and Co.

''Thugs Are Us'', released in 2001, featured the hit single "I'm a Thug", which reached #17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His fifth album ''Thug Holiday'' boasted "In da Wind", which Birchmeier believed was Trick Daddy's most creative single. In 2004, ''Thug Matrimony: Married To The Streets'' was released, with hit single "Let's Go", produced by Lil Jon, featuring Twista, and sampling the guitar riffs from the Ozzy Osbourne hit "Crazy Train". That year, Trick Daddy guest-performed on the Ying Yang Twins' "What's Happnin!", which reached #30 on the Hot 100, #7 on the Rhythmic Top 40, and #9 on the Hot Rap Singles. "Let's Go" peaked on #7 on the Hot 100, #4 on the Rhythmic Top 40, and #4 on Hot Rap Tracks. ''Back By Thug Demand'' followed in 2006, with singles "Bet That" and "Tuck Ya Ice" charting at the bottom of the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.

Following ''Back By Thug Demand'', Trick Daddy appeared on several singles by DJ Khaled: "Born-N-Raised" in 2006 from ''Listennn... the Album'' in 2006, "I'm So Hood" from ''We the Best'', and "Out Here Grindin'" from ''We Global'' in 2008, all among numerous other rappers. "Born-N-Raised" peaked at #83 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles, and "I'm So Hood" peaked at #19 on the Hot 100 and #5 on the Hot Rap Tracks. He appeared on Pitbull's 2007 album ''The Boatlift''. Trick Daddy left Slip-n-Slide in 2008 and released his 8th studio album ''Finally Famous: Born a Thug Die a Thug'' on September 25, 2009, under his own Dunk Ryder Records. In late 2010 Trick Daddy formed a new label Trick Daddy Music Group, bringing his fellow Dunk Ryder artists with him, Bad Guy, Fully, Dutch Dirty, and Chocolate City. Trick Daddy is currently working on a new album to be released in 2011 under his new label.

Film career

In 2009 Trick Daddy appeared in the film ''Just Another Day'' playing Roman, a shifty and unpredictable drug dealer. The film is about the intersecting lives of an aspiring rapper and an old successful rapper over the course of one day.

Personal life

Trick Daddy announced that he has lupus, which has affected his skin, and that he has stopped taking medication to combat the disease. The rapper's rationale for refusing treatment was that "Because for every medicine they gave me I had to take a test or another medicine every thirty days or so to make sure that medicine wasn’t causing side effects dealing with kidney or liver failure…I just said all together I ain’t taking no medicine."

Discography

1997: ''Based on a True Story''

1998: ''www.thug.com''

2000: ''Book of Thugs: Chapter AK Verse 47''

2001: ''Thugs Are Us''

2002: ''Thug Holiday''

2004: ''Thug Matrimony: Married to the Streets''

2006: ''Back by Thug Demand''

2009: ''Finally Famous: Born a Thug, Still a Thug''

TBA: ''www.thug.com2''

See also

List of Miami rappers

References

External links

Official website

Trick Daddy at Atlantic Records

Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:People with lupus

de:Trick Daddy es:Trick Daddy fr:Trick Daddy it:Trick Daddy he:טריק דאדי pl:Trick Daddy fi:Trick Daddy sv:Trick Daddy

name	Ja Rule
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Jeffery Atkins
birth date	February 29, 1976Queens, New York, U.S.
other name	Loki, Ruleyork
medium	Film, television
nationality	American
spouse	Iesha Atkins (1994–present; 3 children)
notable work	Pain Is Love
genre	Hip hop, east coast hip hop
occupation	Rapper, Actor, Songwriter
years active	1993–present
label	Def Jam, The Inc., Mpire Music Group, Fontana Distribution
Associated acts	Ashanti, Bobby Brown, DMX, Irv Gotti, Fat Joe, Memphis Bleek
website	}}

Jeffrey Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer, and actor from Queens, New York City.

Born in Hollis, Queens, he began his career in the group Cash Money Click and debuted in 1999 with ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its single "Holla Holla". From 2000 to 2004, Ja Rule had several hits that made the top 20 of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, including "Between Me and You" with Christina Milian, "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" with Jennifer Lopez, "Always on Time" with Ashanti, "Mesmerize" also with Ashanti, and "Wonderful" with R. Kelly and Ashanti. During the 2000s, Ja Rule was signed to The Inc. Records, which was formerly known as Murder Inc. and was led by Irv Gotti.Ja rule has sold over 30 million records worldwide and was the fastest selling rapper in 2001. He is also known for some well-publicized feuds with other rappers (in-particular 50 Cent and Eminem)

Early life

Atkins was born in the Queens borough of New York City. He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness by his mother, health care worker Debra Atkins, and grandparents. At the age of five his sister died from breathing complications, leaving him as an only child. He attended Public School 134 in Hollis, a school he has described as having a predominantly black student body. He has said got into many fights at the school because of his small size, so his mother transferred him to Middle School 172 in Glen Oaks, which he has described as a "white school".

Music career

Atkins began his rap career in 1994 with his classic hip hop group Cash Money Click. told Curtis Waller of MTV News that his stage name "Ja Rule" came from a friend who addressed him by that name; other friends called him "Ja". In 1995, he made his first appearance on Mic Geronimo's "Time to Build" which featured Jay-Z and DMX, who were also in their early stages of their careers. In 1998, he was a featured guest on Jay-Z's hit single "Can I Get A..." along with Amil.

''Venni Vetti Vecci'' (1999)

His debut album ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' was released in 1999. Singles included "Holla Holla" and "It's Murda" with Jay-Z and DMX. "Holla Holla" reached #35 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and #2 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' was certified platinum by the RIAA on July 12, 1999.

''Rule 3:36'' (2000)

Ja Rule returned in 2000 with his new single "Between Me and You", which featured Christina Milian. "Between Me and You" reached #11 on the Hot 100, and "Put It On Me" reached #8 on the Hot 100. Ja's second album, ''Rule 3:36'', was released on October 10, 2000. ''Rule 3:36'' debuted at #1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and was certified triple platinum.

''Pain Is Love'' (2001)

During the late summer of 2001, Ja Rule released his third studio album, ''Pain Is Love''. "Living It Up", featuring Case, reached #11 on the Hot 100, and "Always on Time", which featured Ashanti, reached #1 on the Hot 100. Like its predecessor, ''Pain Is Love'' topped the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified triple platinum. By 2007, 3.6 million copies of ''Pain Is Love'' had been sold. Ja Rule could also be heard on Artists against AIDS Worldwide's single "What's Going On."

''The Last Temptation'' (2002)

''The Last Temptation'', Ja Rule's fourth album, was released on November 19, 2002. It featured the two Billboard Top 10 singles "Thug Lovin'" (#8) and "Mesmerize" (#2), another duet with Ashanti. ''The Last Temptation'' debuted at #4 on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''The Last Temptation'' was certified platinum in December 2002.

''Blood in My Eye'' (2003)

''Blood in My Eye'' although intended to be a mixtape, was his fifth album and the last released under the "Murder Inc." label, which renamed itself "The Inc." several days after the album release. It spawned the one and only hit "Clap Back" which reached #5 on the Top 100 and won him the Source Awards'"Fat Tape" song of the year. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard 100 and #1 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart selling 139,000 copies in its first week of release. It has since sold over 468,000 copies in the U.S. In October 2003, Ja Rule met with Minister Louis Farrakhan, who wanted to intervene and prevent escalating violence in the feud between Ja Rule and 50 Cent.

''R.U.L.E.'' (2004)

Ja Rule's sixth studio album ''R.U.L.E.'' was released in November 2004 debuting at number 7 selling 166,000 copies in its first week of release. Its lead single was "Wonderful" featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti which peaked on the Billboard Top 100 Singles at #5. The single was followed by the street anthem New York featuring Fat Joe and Jadakiss which charted at #27. The third single was the love song "Caught Up" featuring Lloyd and Ashanti which charted at #15. The track "The Manual" was also a single in the UK where it peaked at #9. The RIAA certified ''R.U.L.E.'' Gold on January 14, 2005, and by October 2007, the album had sold 658,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Hiatus, departure from Def Jam (2005–2009)

On December 6, 2005, The Inc. released ''Exodus'', a greatest hits album whose only new tracks were the song "Me" and intro and outro tracks. ''Exodus'' was the last album on Ja Rule's contract with The Inc. After the release of this compilation, Ja Rule took a hiatus from recording music.

In 2005, The Inc. Records came under investigation because of drug trades by Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, who was associated with Irv Gotti. This led to Def Jam Recordings refusing to renew The Inc.'s contract. From 2005 to 2006, Gotti searched for other labels until finally reaching a deal with Universal Records (ironically part of the same company as Def Jam).

In 2009, Ja Rule recorded a new song with Brazilian singer Wanessa, "Fly", sung entirely in English despite the singer's nationality. The song also received a version named "Meu Momento", also featuring Ja Rule, in which Wanessa sings in Portuguese. "Fly" was released as a single in Brazil in April. The song was ranked number #1 on Crowley/Brazil, and it was nominated in the "Hit do Ano" ("Hit Song of the Year") category at the 2009 MTV Video Music Brasil awards show, where Ja Rule and Wanessa performed together for the first time.

Ja Rule also ended his long running feud with his former Def Jam labelmate DMX at VH1's 2009 Hip Hop Honors in September. Ja Rule announced that he was no longer signed to The Inc. Records, the label he has been with since its beginnings in 1997.

''Pain Is Love 2'' (2011-Present)

In February 2011, It was announced that Ja Rule is working on another album called ''Pain Is Love 2'', naming it after the original 2001 triple platinum album (''Pain Is Love''). It will feature production from the producers on the original ''Pain Is Love'' album in order to "recreate magic". He had planned on releasing it June 7, although later decided to delay the release date in order to allow more time to perfect the "level and quality of the records" and to avoid "doing an injustice to his fans." ''Pain Is Love 2'' was slated for an October 11, 2011 release date but had been pushed back yet again, this time to February 28, 2012. To make up for the delay Ja Rule released a new track called "Falling to Pieces" which was produced by 7 Aurelius. The song samples The Script's "Breakeven". On October 2, 2011, another track off the EP was released called "Spun a Web" which was also produced 7 Aurelius and samples Coldplay's "Trouble". The following day a teaser music video premiered on YouTube and the official music video was released on October 11.

Acting career

During his break from rapping, Ja Rule had an appearance as a street racer in ''The Fast and the Furious''. In 2004 He appeared in several movies including ''Back in The Day'' with Ving Rhames and Pam Grier and ''Half Past Dead'' as Steven Segal's co-star. He also starred in the movie ''The Cookout'' with Queen Latifah.

Personal life

Family

In April 2001, Ja Rule married Aisha Atkins whom he met in junior high school. They have a daughter, Brittney, and two sons, Jeffrey, Jr. and Jordan.

Legal issues

In 2003, he allegedly punched a man in Toronto, who later sued Ja Rule. The issue was settled out of court.

In 2004, police investigated whether a feud involving The Inc. led to fatal shooting outside a nightclub party hosted by Ja Rule and Leon Richardson where they thought he shot Proof of D12.

On July 1, 2004, Ja Rule was arrested with Don Rhys for driving with a suspended license and possessing marijuana.

In July 2007, Ja Rule was arrested for gun and drug possession charges along with Lil Wayne, and Don Rhys who served eight months in prison during 2010 for attempted possession of a weapon stemming from the arrest. New York Supreme Court judge Richard Carruthers rejected Ja Rule's argument that the gun was illegally obtained evidence. On December 13, 2010, Ja Rule received a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to attempted possession of a weapon after the aforementioned 2007 concert. On March 8, 2011 Ja Rule's surrender date for his two year prison sentence was set for June 8. His publicist said that Ja Rule will turn himself into authorities. He will go to Rikers Island first, then be sent to a state facility in Upstate New York.

In July 2011, Ja Rule received an additional 28-month prison sentence for tax evasion, failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million in earnings between 2004–2006.

Feuds

50 Cent/G-Unit Records

Before signing with Interscope Records, 50 Cent engaged in a well-publicized feud with Ja Rule and his label Murder Inc. Records. 50 Cent claimed that the feud began in 1999 after Ja Rule spotted him with a man who robbed him of his jewelry. However, Ja Rule claimed the conflict stemmed from a video shoot in Queens because 50 Cent did not like Ja Rule "getting so much love" from the neighborhood. A confrontation occurred in a New York studio where rapper Black Child, a Murder Inc. artist, stabbed 50 Cent, which resulted in him having three stitches. .

In his book, 50 Cent details how Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff tried to resolve the conflict between him and Ja Rule. Allegedly, McGriff asked 50 Cent to leave them alone because of the money involved. 50 Cent insinuated the conflict had something to do with the shooting where he was ambushed and shot.

Since then, Black Child publicly insulted 50 Cent twice in, "There's a Snitch in the Club", and "You the Wanksta". In both songs, Black Child details violent actions directed toward 50 Cent The exchange of insult tracks released from both parties culminated in Ja Rule releasing ''Blood in My Eye'', which was an album that returned additional insults to 50 Cent. Ja Rule eventually tried to squash the feud with 50 Cent by using minister Louis Farrakhan in a televised interview. However, the attempt at peace lost credibility as the interview was scheduled a day before ''Blood in My Eye'' was released. As a result, most fans, along with 50 Cent, dismissed the interview as a blatant publicity stunt. Because of the ongoing feud between the two, 50 Cent's labelmates Eminem, Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, D12, DMX, and Busta Rhymes have also become involved and have also released tracks which insult Ja Rule.

Ja Rule later released ''R.U.L.E.'' with the successful single, "New York", featuring Jadakiss and Fat Joe in which Ja Rule took subliminal shots at 50 Cent. This single prompted 50 Cent to enter a feud with the two featured artists (see article on "Piggy Bank" for details).

Although it seemed that the feud was over, Ja Rule returned with a track entitled "21 Gunz". In response, Lloyd Banks and 50 Cent released the track "Return of Ja Fool" on Lloyd Banks' mixtape ''Mo Money in the Bank Pt. 4, Gang Green Season Starts Now''.

In an interview with MTV, Ja Rule acknowledged his defeat against 50 Cent and stated that his new album, ''The Mirror'', will not be continuing any past feuds that he has engaged in. He said: }}

Eminem

The conflict started after 50 Cent signed to Shady Records and Aftermath. Ja Rule stated that he had a problem with Eminem and Dr. Dre for signing someone he disliked. On November 19, Ja Rule and Irv Gotti were special guests on Star and Bucwild's morning show on Hot 97 NYC. Irv Gotti had some legal documents stating the order of protection 50 has on him.

Ja Rule threatened that, if 50 Cent released any songs with defamatory or insulting lyrics directed at him, he would take legal action towards both of them. However, Dr. Dre was the one who produced 50 Cent's track "Back Down" in 2003 from the album ''Get Rich Or Die Tryin''', which made derogatory comments toward Murder Inc., and Ja Rule's immediate family members. "

Busta Rhymes joined the conflict when he was featured on the track "Hail Mary 2003", with Eminem and 50 Cent. The song, a remake of Tupac Shakur's song "Hail Mary", was done partially as a response to Ja Rule's remake of another Tupac song, "Pain" (retitled "So Much Pain"). The rappers felt that Rule could never amount to Tupac, and so made the track, mocking him for trying to "imitate" the deceased rap icon. Eminem prevented Ja Rule from appearing on any of the "new" Tupac songs he produced, including those on ''Loyal to the Game''.

The conflict escalated when Ja Rule released, "Loose Change" (actually released before "Hail Mary"), in which he insulted 50 Cent, called Eminem by the name "Feminem", falsely announced Dr. Dre as "bisexual", and claimed that Suge Knight knew of Dre "bringing transvestites home". The song also includes lyrics that insulted Eminem's mother, Debbie, his then ex-wife, Kim, and even referenced his then 8-year-old daughter, Hailie. "

These lyrics offended Eminem deeply, causing him to immediately get his rap group D12 involved, as well as the major part of his label, including Obie Trice, his close friend. Eminem then made the track Bully, and together, he and Trice responded with a song titled "Doe Rae Me" (aka "Hailie's Revenge"). Eminem also made a reference to Ja Rule's insult toward Hailie in "Like Toy Soldiers", by saying:

"I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em, if some shit ever does pop off, I'm supposed to be beside 'em. That Ja shit I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it. There's a certain line you just don't cross and he crossed it. I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it."

Since then the feud has cooled down.

DMX

Ja Rule started off as friends with DMX, as well as Jay-Z. DMX, Jay-Z and Ja Rule were part of a group at the time named Murder Inc. (The name was later used by Ja's producer Irv Gotti for his record label.) They recorded songs under the name together. DMX and Jay-Z also guest starred on Ja Rule's first album on the track "It's Murda". Eventually Ja Rule's feuds with Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, and Eminem went away.

The two rappers waged a war of words for years after DMX accused Ja Rule of copying his hardcore style on records. DMX admitted that he initially wanted to end with his rap rival when he was released from jail in 2005 before making peace: "Gotti came to me in jail and said I want to make peace with you and him", said DMX, "I was like, 'Alright Gotti, let's do it. But I need five minutes in a room with your man. I got to put my hands on him.'"

DMX and Ja Rule finally ended their feud at VH1's 2009 Hip Hop Honors.

Discography

;Studio albums

''Venni Vetti Vecci'' (1999)

''Rule 3:36'' (2000)

''Pain Is Love'' (2001)

''The Last Temptation'' (2002)

''Blood in My Eye'' (2003)

''R.U.L.E.'' (2004)

''Pain Is Love 2'' (2012) ''Renaissance Project'' (2012) ;Other albums

''Exodus'' (2005)

''The Mirror'' (2008)

Awards and nominations

Year !! Award/Nomination
rowspan="2"	2001	Source Hip-Hop Music Award Won for Single of the Year – "Put It on Me"
MTV Video Music Awards nomination for Best Rap Video – "Put It on Me"
	Won for Best Hip-Hop Video – "I'm Real/I'm Real (Murder Remix)>I'm Real (Murder Remix)"
MTV Video Music Awards nominated for Best Hip-Hop Video – "Always on Time"
American Music Award nominated for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist
Grammy Awards nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group – "Put It on Me"
Grammy Awards nominated for Best Rap Album – ''Pain Is Love''
Grammy Awards nominated for Best Rap/Song Collaboration – "Livin' It Up"
World Music Awards Won for World's Best-Selling Rap Artist
BET Awards Won for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist Artist
GQ Men of the Year Award Won for Musician of the Year
Teen Choice Awards Won for Male Artist of the Year
NAACP Image Awards Won for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Artist
Soul Train Music Award nomination for Best Rap/Soul or Rap Album of the Year – ''Pain Is Love''
	Source Award Won for R&B;/Rap Collboration of the Year – "Thug Lovin'"
American Music Award nomination for Favorite Hip-Hop/R&B; Male Artist
Grammy Awards nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration – "Always on Time"
2004	Source Award Won for Phat Tape Song of the Year – "Clap Back"
2009	MTV Video Music Brasil nomination for Hit do Ano (Song of the Year) – "Fly (Wanessa Camargo song)>Fly"

Filmography

+ List of film and television credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2000		David "Gage" Williams
2000		Himself
2001	''Crime Partners''	Hitman
2001		Edwin
2002	''Half Past Dead''	Nicolas 'Nick' Frazier
2003	''Scary Movie 3''	Agent Thompson
2003	''Pauly Shore Is Dead''	Himself
2004	''The Cookout''	Bling Bling
2004		Hip Hop Bar Performer
2005		Reggie Cooper
2005		Smiley
2006		Terrence Dufresne
2009	"Just Another Day	himself
2009	''Don't Fade Away''	Foster
2009	''Kiss and Tail: The Hollywood Jumpoff''	himself
2010	''Wrong Side of Town''	Razor
2011	''I'm in Love with a Church Girl''	Miles Montego	His real son plays the younger version of himself, Miles.
2012	''The Cookout 2''	Bling Bling	Sequel to The Cookout
2013	''Goat''	Willie

References

External links

The Inc. artist website (archived)

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:African American actors Category:African American rappers Category:American film actors Category:Def Jam Recordings artists Category:People from Queens Category:Rappers from New York City Category:The Inc. Records artists Category:TVT Records artists Category:Prisoners and detainees of New York Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:People convicted of fraud

ar:جا رول cs:Ja Rule da:Ja Rule de:Ja Rule es:Ja Rule fr:Ja Rule fy:Ja Rule ko:자 룰 hr:Ja Rule id:Ja Rule it:Ja Rule he:ג'ה רול lv:Ja Rule nl:Ja Rule ja:ジャ・ルール no:Ja Rule pl:Ja Rule pt:Ja Rule ro:Ja Rule ru:Аткинс, Джеффри simple:Ja Rule fi:Ja Rule sv:Ja Rule th:จา รูล tr:Ja Rule

Name	Beanie Sigel
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Dwight Grant
Alias
Born	March 06, 1974
Origin	South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	1994–present
Associated acts	Scarface, Freeway, Raekwon, Young Gunz, The Roots, State Property, The Lox, 50 Cent, G-Unit
Label	Roc-A-Fella Records (1998–2009)G-Unit Records(2009–2010,2011–present)G-Unit Philly(2011–present) }}

Dwight Grant (born on March 6, 1974), also known as Beanie Sigel, is a American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,most recently he was in talks with 50 Cent to sign with G-Unit Records and is a former member/artist of Dame Dash Music Group and Roc-A-Fella Records where he had formed a close association with rappers Jay-Z, Freeway and other former and current artists on the Roc-A-Fella roster. His stage name comes from a street in South Philadelphia, the rapper's former stomping grounds where he worked alongside Senior Durham in the projects. He has sold more than two million albums worldwide. He decided to end his career in middle 2010 when he made his last song, "I Go Off" with 50 Cent who had signed Grant to his G-Unit Records label in 2009, in early 2011 Grant appeared in Travis Barker album Give the Drummer Some, saying that it was the end of his career. In May 31, 2011 Grant apologized to his former boss Jay-Z. But in an interview with DJ Green Lantern, he said that he had never "apologized" to Jay-Z, and that he was still making music.

Music career

''State Property'' (2002-2003)

In 2002, Sigel and much of the Roc roster starred in a Dame Dash-produced movie entitled ''State Property''. Its release coincided with the creation and promotion of State Property, a group of artists signed to Roc-A-Fella that hailed from Philadelphia and organized by Sigel and Freeway. Its members included Peedi Crakk, the Young Gunz Chris,Neef, Oschino and Omilio Sparks. Their first collaboration was for the movie's soundtrack, an eponymous release that featured the original "Roc the Mic" by Sigel and Freeway. They followed up with 2003's ''The Chain Gang Vol. 2'', featuring the single "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" by the Young Gunz; the record was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group.

The B. Coming (2005)

In 2005 Sigel finished his 3rd album, ''The B. Coming'', and shot multiple videos, directed by Joe Briscella, before he had to start he got arrested. During this time, Jay-Z ascended to the Presidency of Def Jam Records, causing former business partners Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke to split off and form the Dame Dash Music Group. Sigel's ''B. Coming'' was released on DDMG and Def Jam rather than Roc-A-Fella, but contained production from a slew of Roc/Jay-Z-affiliated producers including Chad West, The Neptunes, Just Blaze, Boola and Buckwild. Artists from both sides of the split were present on the record, from State Property members to Cam'ron and Jay-Z; the record spawned Sigel a hit with "Feel it in the Air," sold 131,000 copies in its first week.

Advertising his friendship with the incarcerated Beanie, Dash publicly claimed the artist was leaving the roster with him; during the sentence, State Property was thrown into turmoil, eventually choosing to remain at Roc-A-Fella—apparently against Sigel's wishes. Upon his release, Beanie called the loyalty of his group into question and stated that he was signing with Dame and Biggs courtesy of a stronger casual relationship with the pair than with Jay-Z:

Soon after, he clarified his comments, saying he simply didn't want to be involved in the conflict and electing to re-open talks with Roc-A-Fella instead of moving to DDMG.

The Solution (2006-2007)

In 2006 Sigel resigned with Roc-A-Fella Records & started to recording for his fourth studio album ''The Solution''. On October 29, 2007 Sigel released the first single off ''The Solution'' entitled "All The Above" which featured R. Kelly it debuted on the U.S. R&B; charts at #83. On May 22, 2007 Sigel released ''The Solution'' it debuted on the Billboard charts at #37.

The Classic (2009-Present)

In 2009 after finally getting out of his contracts with Roc-A-Fella & Def Jam. Beanie Sigel released his first Independent album ''The Broad Street Bully''. In 2010 Sigel announced he was working on his fifth studio album entitled ''The Closure'' which was to be released from Universal Republic and G-Unit Records. But on May 31, 2011 Sigel cancelled the album & retired from the music industry. But just after two weeks he later returned and started working on the album again. He then also renamed the album as ''The Classic''.In 2011 Sigel signed with 50 Cent's subsidary label G-Unit Philly and renewed his contract with G-Unit Records from 2009. On July 13, 2011 Sigel released his first single from the album entitled "B-Boy Stance".

Other ventures

Acting career

Beanie Sigel first appeared in the documentary "Backstage" but his first main role was in the hood movie ''State Property'' which spawned a sequel "State Property 2". Sigel released a DVD shortly after his third solo release "The B. Coming" entitled "The B. Coming of Beanie Sigel"in the year of 2005. Sigel also auditioned for the lead role of the 2009 film "Notorious"

Beanie Sigel also appeared in the 2011 film ''Rhyme and Punishment'' a documentary about Hip-Hop artist who have served time in county jail or state/federal prison. The film features an interview with Beanie Sigel where he discusses his conviction and life in prison.

Controversy

Jadakiss

The new millennium also saw various Roc artists, including Sigel, engage in a conflict with artists from ''Ruff Ryders''. Beanie was a forerunner of the beef, publicly decrying Jadakiss, the rest of the L.O.X. and DMX. While Sigel and Jadakiss both denied any violent intent, they continued to send shots back and forth until Beanie put out a freestyle over Jada's hit "Put Ya Hands Up".

Personal life

Religion

Beanie Sigel practices the Islamic faith along with Freeway.

Friendship with Scarface

Conversely, Sigel cultivated a friendship with southern rapper Scarface. Having first appeared together on "This Can't Be Life" with Jay-Z from ''Dynasty'', the two would go on to collaborate on Sigel's first two records, Scarface's ''The Fix'', and later on Sigel's 2007 album ''The Solution.''

Legal issues

In 2004, Sigel was found guilty of federal weapons charges and sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison. In 2010, Sigel was charged with three counts of failing to file income tax returns between 2003-2005 on earnings of over $9.2 million.

Discography

;Studio albums

2000: ''The Truth''

2001: ''The Reason''

2005: ''The B. Coming''

2007: ''The Solution''

TBA: ''The Classic''

;Independent albums

2009: ''The Broad Street Bully''

;Collaboration albums

2002: ''State Property OST'' (with State Property)

2003: ''The Chain Gang Vol. 2'' (with State Property)

2010: ''The Roc Boys'' (with Freeway)

Fimography

;Films 2000 ''Brown Sugar (2002 film) ''Death of a Dynasty'' ''Fade to Black (2004 film) ''State Property 2'' ''Beef IV'' ''Rhyme and Punishment''

Year
	|	Backstage (2000 film)>Backstage''	As himself	Cameo/Documentary
rowspan="3">2002	Brown Sugar'' ||	As himself	Cameo
''State Property (film)	State Property''	Beans
''Paper Soldiers''	Stu
	2003	|	Charles "Sandman" Patterson	Support Role
	2004	Fade to Black'' ||	As himself	Cameo/Documentary
	2005	|	Beans	Main Role
	2007	|	As himself	Cameo/Documentary
	2011	|	As himself	Cameo/Documentary

References

External links

Beanie Sigel page at Roc-A-Fella Records

Official The Playpen Myspace

Official Beanie Sigel Myspace

MTV News

Category:African American musicians Category:Culture of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:American rappers Category:African American rappers Category:Living people Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:1974 births Category:American shooting survivors Category:State Property members Category:Def Jam Recordings artists Category:Rappers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:American Sunni Muslims Category:African American Muslims Category:American prisoners and detainees

de:Beanie Sigel es:Beanie Sigel fr:Beanie Sigel ko:비니 시겔 no:Beanie Sigel pl:Beanie Sigel pt:Beanie Sigel fi:Beanie Sigel tr:Beanie Sigel uk:Beanie Sigel