"24's" is the first single off Atlanta-based rapper T.I.'s album Trap Muzik. It was featured on the hit street racing game Need for Speed: Underground. The song peaked at #78 on Billboard Hot 100 in 2003 and became T.I.'s starting point to a successful career.

Video Information[link]

The Video was cut for TV standards. The video took place in Atlanta, at a location which appears to be a parking lot or a condo with a large number of cars with 24-inch rims parked. At the beginning a known comedian Lil Duval is presented in front of a trunk trying to talk to some girls. In another scene, T.I. is shown rapping and driving a Chevy with his friend, who appears to be his deceased friend Philant Johnson, on the passenger side. At the end of the video, Duval and another comedian are shown in front of T.I.'s hotel room which is filled with women, who want to come in. Duval starts singing Jodeci's Forever My Lady, then it shows T.I. getting the crowd hyped up.

Video contains cameo appearances by DJ Toomp, Lil Duval, DJ Drama, The Game & Jazze Pha.

Remix[link]

The official remix was released later in the year and features Big Kuntry King and DJ Paul & Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia. The remix is also known as "Hypnotized 24's".

Censorship[link]

The original uncensored hook goes: "Money, hoes, cars and clothes, that's how all my niggas know / Blowing dro on 24's, that's how all my niggas roll".

The censored hook goes: "Money rolls, cars and clothes, that's how all my partners know / Burning dro on 24's, that's how all my partners roll", and is much slower than the original uncensored version.

Chart positions[link]

References[link]

1. ^ allmusic ((( T.I. > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))

v t e T.I. singles discography Trap Muzik "Be Easy" "24's" "Rubberband Man" "Let's Get Away" Urban Legend "Bring Em Out" "U Don't Know Me" "ASAP" King "What You Know" "Why You Wanna" "Live in the Sky" "Top Back" T.I. vs. T.I.P. "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)" "You Know What It Is" "Hurt" Paper Trail "Whatever You Like" "Swagga Like Us" "Live Your Life" "Dead and Gone" "Remember Me" "Hell of a Life" No Mercy "I'm Back" "Got Your Back" "Get Back Up" "That's All She Wrote" "Poppin Bottles" Trouble Man "Love This Life" "Like That" Promotional singles "Front Back" "No Matter What" "Swing Ya Rag" "What Up, What's Haapnin'" "Yeah Ya Know (Takers)" "We Don't Get Down Like Y'all" "I'm Flexin'" "Here Ye, Hear Ye" Featured singles "Never Scared" "Soldier" "Round Here" "3 Kings" "Touch" "Shoulder Lean" "My Love" "Pac's Life" "I'm a Flirt" "We Takin' Over" "Whatever U Like" "5000 Ones" "For a Minute" "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" "Ain't I" "Just Like Me" "Day Dreaming" "Hello Good Morning" "Winner" "Bet I" "Make Up Bag" "Fancy" "F.A.M.E." "Big Beast" "Murda Bizness" Other songs "Touchdown" "Castle Walls" Book:T.I.

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2010)

Carlos Bernard
Born	Carlos Bernard Papierski (1962-10-12) October 12, 1962 (age 49) Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Sharisse Baker (1999-present) (1 child)
Website
www.carlosbernard.com

Carlos Bernard (born October 12, 1962) is an American actor, best known^[1] for his role as Tony Almeida in 24.

Biography[link]

Bernard received a Master of Fine Arts degree from American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco after attending Illinois State University.

He performed in A.C.T. stage productions:

• Good with William Hurt
• As You Like It
• Hamlet
• The Diary of Anne Frank
• The Cherry Orchard

At the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, he performed in Scenes From an Execution, with Frank Langella.

Bernard has made guest appearances on Walker, Texas Ranger, F/X: The Series, Babylon 5, and Silk Stalkings and appeared as a regular on the daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless. He has appeared in the feature films Alien Raiders,Vegas, City of Dreams, The Killing Jar, and the short film The Colonel's Last Flight.

He is best known for his role as Tony Almeida on 24 which he played from 2001 to 2006, and then reprised again in 2009.

Personal life[link]

Bernard was born Carlos Bernard Papierski in Evanston, Illinois. He is of Polish and Spanish descent. His mother is originally from Madrid. He also speaks fluent Spanish,^[2] Russian, and German.^{[citation needed]} He is the youngest of three brothers. He was raised in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from New Trier High School. He showed signs of interest in acting while in high school. He went to Illinois State University and shortly after received his fine arts degree in San Francisco in the American Conservatory Theatre. Bernard started out on stage but quickly progressed to television.

Bernard married actress Sharisse Baker in 1999. They have one child, daughter Natalie, who was born in August 2003. He is friends with Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub, with whom he starred in 24.

Filmography and television[link]

Bernard is best known for his role in seasons 1 to 7 of the Fox show 24, where he portrayed Tony Almeida, a CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) agent.

References[link]

1. REDIRECT

v t e Days Day 1 Day 2 The Game Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Redemption Day 7 Day 8 Episode list Merchandise Conspiracy The Rookie The Game The Soundtrack Government agents Jack Bauer Kim Bauer Nina Myers Aaron Pierce Tony Almeida George Mason Milo Pressman Ryan Chappelle Michelle Dessler Chase Edmunds Chloe O'Brian Curtis Manning Edgar Stiles Bill Buchanan Morris O'Brian Nadia Yassir Renee Walker Arlo Glass Cole Ortiz Dana Walsh Minor agents Antagonists Victor Drazen Nina Myers Stephen Saunders Habib Marwan Vladimir Bierko Christopher Henderson Charles Logan Graem Bauer Abu Fayed Phillip Bauer Cheng Zhi Jonas Hodges Alan Wilson Ike Dubaku Benjamin Juma Dana Walsh Yuri Suvarov Minor antagonists Presidents David Palmer Jim Prescott John Keeler Charles Logan Hal Gardner Wayne Palmer Noah Daniels Allison Taylor Omar Hassan Government officials Mike Novick James Heller Audrey Raines Karen Hayes Tom Lennox Ethan Kanin Olivia Taylor Minor government characters Supporting characters Teri Bauer Sherry Palmer Kate Warner Martha Logan Minor characters List of 24 characters Other Cast members Critical reaction Media

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carlos Bernard

• Carlos Bernard at the Internet Movie Database
• Carlos Bernard at AllRovi
• Carlos Bernard Official Website
• World Poker Tour Profile

Canton Jones, born in Deerfield Beach, Florida,^[1] is an American Christian musician and Christian hip-hop artist.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Canton Jones began singing at the age of 5 in a vocal group founded by his father. By the age of 16, he was writing and producing songs for friends in his hometown.^[2]

He relocated to Atlanta, Georgia where he attended Morehouse College joining the school's renowned Glee Club. The club performed for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Dr. Bobby Jones and Ray Charles, as well as performing at high profile events such as the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games and at the first gospel concert ever held at the US Pentagon.^[3]

Between 1998 and 1999, he joined World Changers Church International, under the pastorship of Creflo & Taffi Dollar and in his own words, grew as a Christian under their stewardship: "My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, took me to World Changers and I started getting the word. I was going to that church for like three years before I really rededicated my life to Christ. I was there from probably like 1998 or 1999 until 2001 before I really started getting on track."^[3]

Musical career[link]

In 2001, Jones launched his own gospel record label, CAJO International.^[3] and independently released his first album, 2002's 20 Years, 3 Months & 12 Days, which chronicled his journey to salvation.

He released his second independent album in 2004: The Password and that same year, collaborated with Lil iROCC Williams on Williams's 2004 debut album, and wrote and performed a song, "You and Me", for the compilation Holy Hip-Hop:Taking the Gospel to the Streets.

At this time he was now a member of the choir of World Changers International Church and a solo performance at the church attracted the attention of the church's youth pastor, who asked Jones to help him in the youth department. Not long after that, he was signed to the church's Arrow Records label, an affiliate of EMI.^[2]

He released his major label debut, Love Jones, in the summer of 2005, which debuted at number 11 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums chart.^[2] The album is named after his daughter, Love, born to him and wife Ramona in 2004.^[4] Following the album's success, Canton toured the US with over 200 appearances that year.

In November 2005, The Password was re-released nationally at the end of 2005 as The Password: Access Granted and earned him two Grammy nominations.^[3] His success in 2005 saw him listed in The Atlanta Business Journal at number 19 in their 40 Under 40 chart of Atlanta's rising stars.^[3]

On 5 April 2008, he released Kingdom Business. In 2009, he released Kingdom Business, Pt. 2, and Kingdom Business, Pt. 3 followed in 2010.

Canton Jones's fifth and most highly anticipated album for him and for CAJO Records, Dominionaire, was released on Febuaury 1st, 2011. Three singles were released prior to the albums release, "In da Club", "Window", and "GOD", only the first two listed were released on iTunes.

Personal life[link]

Canton Jones has a wife named Ramona and they have a daughter, Love Jones and a son, Dominion Jones. He attends World Changers Church International in College Park, Georgia, where he sings as a member of the praise & worship team.

Discography[link]

References[link]

Romani people
Rromane dźene

Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted by the 1971 World Romani Congress
Total population
Uncertain; estimates range from 2 million to more than 12 million[1][2][3] See Romani people by country for the entire list of countries and other estimations. The following list uses official data, unofficial estimations might differ substantially.
Regions with significant populations
United States 1,000,000 (0.32%) .[4] Brazil 800,000 (0.41%) [5] Spain 650,000 (1.62%) [6] Romania 619,007 (3.25%) [7] Turkey 500,000 (0.72%) [8] France 500,000 (0.79%) [9] Bulgaria 370,908 (4.67%) [10] Hungary 205,720 (2.02%) [11] Greece 200,000 (1.82%) [12] Russia 182,766 (0.13%) [13] Italy 130,000 (0.22%) [14] Serbia 108,193 (1.44%) [15] United Kingdom 90,000 (0.15%) [16] Slovakia 189,920 (1.71%) [17] Germany 70,000 (0.09%) [18] Rep. of Macedonia 53,879 (2.85%) [19]
Languages
Romani, languages of native region
Religion
Christianity (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism), Islam, Hinduism[20]
Related ethnic groups
Dom people, Lom people, other Indo-Aryans

The Romani are an ethnic group living mostly in Europe, who trace their origins to the Indian Subcontinent. Romani are widely known in the English-speaking world by the exonym Gypsies (or Gipsies).

They are known collectively in the Romani language as Romane or Rromane (depending on the dialect concerned) and also as Romany, Romanies, Romanis, Roma or Roms.

Romani are widely dispersed, with their largest concentrated populations in Europe, especially the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe and Anatolia, followed by the Kale of Iberia and Southern France.

The Americas are also home to large numbers of Romani. There are an estimated one million Roma in the United States; 800,000 in Brazil, to which Kale were deported by the government of Portugal during the colonial era;^[21] and in more recent migrations, Romani have also moved to other parts of the New World.^[22]

The Romani language is divided into several dialects, which add up to an estimated number of speakers larger than two million.^[23] The total number of Romani people is at least twice as large (several times as large according to high estimates). Many Romani are native speakers of the language current in their country of residence, or of mixed languages combining the two.

Terminology[link]

Rom, Romani[link]

Romani usage[link]

In the Romani language, rom is a masculine noun, meaning "man, husband", with the plural roma. Romani is the feminine adjective, while romano is the masculine adjective. Some Romanies use Rom or Roma as an ethnic name, while others (such as the Sinti, or the Romanichal) do not use this term as a self-ascription for the entire ethnic group.^[24]

Sometimes, rom and romani are spelled with a double r, i.e., rrom and rromani. In this case rr is used to represent the phoneme /ʀ/ (also written as ř and rh), which in some Romani dialects has remained different from the one written with a single r. The rr spelling is common particularly in Romania, in order to distinguish from the endonym for Romanians (sg. român, pl. români).^[25]

English usage[link]

In the English language (according to the Oxford English Dictionary), Rom is a noun (with the plural Roma or Roms) and an adjective, while Romani (Romany) is also a noun (with the plural Romanies or Romanis) and an adjective. Both Rom and Romani have been in use in English since the 19th century as an alternative for Gypsy. Romani was initially spelled Rommany, then Romany, while today the Romani spelling is the most popular spelling. Occasionally, the double r spelling (e.g., Rroma, Rromani) mentioned above is also encountered in English texts.

Although Roma is used as a designation for the branch of the Romani people with historic concentrations in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, it is increasingly encountered during recent decades^[26][27] as a generic term for the Romani people as a whole.^[28]

Because all Romanies use the word Romani as an adjective, the term began to be used as a noun for the entire ethnic group.^[29]

Today, the term Romani is used by most organizations—including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the US Library of Congress.^[25]

The standard assumption is that the demonyms of the Romani people, Lom and Dom share the same origin.^[30][31]

Gypsy[link]

The English term Gypsy (or Gipsy) originates from the Greek word for "Egyptian", Αιγύπτιοι (Aigyptioi, whence modern Greek γύφτοι gifti), in the belief that the Romanies, or some other Gypsy groups (such as the Balkan Egyptians), originated in Egypt, and in one narrative were exiled as punishment for allegedly harbouring the infant Jesus.^[32] This exonym is sometimes written with capital letter, to show that it designates an ethnic group.^[33] The term 'gypsy' appears when international research programmes, documents and policies on the community are referred to. However, as a term 'gypsy' is considered derogatory by many members of the Roma community because of negative and stereotypical associations with the term.^[34]

As described in Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the medieval French referred to the Romanies as egyptiens. The term has come to bear pejorative connotations. The word Gypsy in English has become so pervasive that many Romani organizations use it in their own organizational names.

In North America, the word gypsy is commonly used as a reference to lifestyle^[35] or fashion, and not to the Romani ethnicity. The Spanish term gitano and the French term gitan may have the same origin as a reference to Egypt.^[36]

Population and subgroups[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011)

For a variety of reasons, many Romanies choose not to register their ethnic identity in official censuses. There are an estimated four million Romani people in Europe (as of 2002),^[37] although some high estimates by Romani organizations give numbers as high as 14 million.^[38] Significant Romani populations are found in the Balkan peninsula, in some Central European states, in Spain, France, Russia and Ukraine. Several more million Romanies may live out of Europe, in particular in the Middle East and in the Americas.

The Romani people recognize divisions among themselves based in part on territorial, cultural and dialectal differences and self-designation. The main branches are:^{[39][40][41][42]}

1. Roma, concentrated in central and eastern Europe and central Italy, emigrated also (mostly from the 19th century onwards) to the rest of Europe, but also on the other continents;
2. Iberian Kale, mostly in Spain (see Romani people in Spain), but also in Portugal (see Romani people in Portugal), Southern France and Latin America;
3. Finnish Kale, in Finland, emigrated also to Sweden;
4. Welsh Kale, in Wales;
5. Romanichal, in the United Kingdom, emigrated also to the United States and Australia;
6. Sinti, in German-speaking areas of Europe and some neighboring countries;
7. Manush, in French-speaking areas of Western Europe;
8. Romanisæl, in Sweden and Norway.

Among Romanies there are further internal differentiations, like Bashaldé; Churari; Luri; Ungaritza; Lovari (Lovara) from Hungary; Machvaya (Machavaya, Machwaya, or Macwaia) from Serbia; Romungro (Modyar or Modgar) from Hungary and neighbouring Carpathian countries; Erlides (also Yerlii or Arli); Xoraxai (Horahane) from Greece/Turkey; Boyash (Lingurari, Ludar, Ludari, Rudari, or Zlătari) from Romanian words for various crafts: Lingurari (spoon makers) Rudari (wood crafters or miners,^[43] i.e. "băieşi" (miners); the semantic overlapping occurring due to the homophony of two different notions: in Serbian, ruda "ore", hence rudar "miner," and ruda "stick, staff, rod, bar, pole" (in Hungarian rúd, and in Romanian rudă, lemma no. 2); Zlătari/Aurari (goldsmiths); Ursari (bear-trainers; in Romanian urs "bear"); Argintari (silversmiths); Florari (florists); Ciurari (sieve makers, hence the Churari above), and Lăutari (musicians).

Some groups which are commonly thought of as Romani, either by surrounding populations or by Romani groups, do not consider themselves to be Romani. This applies to the Balkan Egyptians and the Ashkali.^[44]

Another people who may or may not identify themselves as Roma(ni) are the Quinqui or Quinquins of northern Spain and southern France. The Quinquins are of mysterious origins, although the namesake Mercheros hint of their possible Moorish Spanish ethnoancestral origins, therefore some may contend they are Moors in origin. Much of Spain was under Islamic Rule by the Moors until the Spanish Inquisition eradicated the Moors and Islam in the Iberian peninsula by the late 14th and 15th centuries.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

Origins[link]

Linguistic and genetic evidence indicates the Romanies originated from the Indian subcontinent, emigrating from India towards the northwest no earlier than the 11th century. The Romani are generally believed to have originated in central India, possibly in the modern Indian state of Rajasthan, migrating to the northwest (the Punjab region, Sindh and Baluchistan of modern-day Pakistan and India) around 250 BC. In the centuries spent here, there may have been close interaction with such established groups as the Rajputs and the Jats. Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is believed to have occurred between AD 500 and AD 1000. Contemporary populations sometimes suggested as sharing a close relationship to the Romani are the Dom people of Western Asia and North Africa and the Banjara of India.^[45]

The emigration from India likely took place in the context of the raids by Mahmud of Ghazni^[46] As these soldiers were defeated, they were moved west with their families into the Byzantine Empire. The 11th century terminus post quem is due to the Romani language showing unambiguous features of the Modern Indo-Aryan languages,^[47] precluding an emigration during the Middle Indic period.

Genetic evidence supports the mediaeval migration from India. The Romanies have been described as "a conglomerate of genetically isolated founder populations",^[48] while a number of common Mendelian disorders among Romanies from all over Europe indicates "a common origin and founder effect".^[48][49] A study from 2001 by Gresham et al. suggests "a limited number of related founders, compatible with a small group of migrants splitting from a distinct caste or tribal group".^[50] The same study found that "a single lineage ... found across Romani populations, accounts for almost one-third of Romani males."^[50] A 2004 study by Morar et al. concluded that the Romani population "was founded approximately 32–40 generations ago, with secondary and tertiary founder events occurring approximately 16–25 generations ago".^[51]

Possible connection with the Jat people[link]

While the South Asian origin of the Romani people has been long considered a certitude, the exact South Asian group from whom the Romanies have descended has been a matter of debate. The discovery in 2009 of the "Jat mutation" that causes a type of glaucoma in Romani populations suggests that the Romani people are the descendants of the Jat people found in Northern India and Pakistan.^[52][53] This relation to Jats had earlier been suggested by Michael Jan de Goeje in 1883.^[54] The 2009 glaucoma study however contradicts an earlier study that compared the most common haplotypes found in Romani groups with those found in Jatt Sikhs and Jats from Haryana and found no matches.^[55]

Arrival in Europe[link]

The migration of the Romanies through the Middle East and Northern Africa to Europe

First arrival of the Romanies outside Bern in the 15th century, described by the chronicler as getoufte heiden ("baptized heathens") and drawn with dark skin and wearing Saracen-style clothing and weapons (Spiezer Schilling, p. 749)

In 1322, an Irish Franciscan monk, Symon Semeonis encountered a migrant group, "the descendants of Cain", outside the town of Heraklion (Candia), in Crete. Symon's account is probably the earliest surviving description by a Western chronicler of the Romani people in Europe.

In 1350, Ludolphus of Sudheim mentioned a similar people with a unique language whom he called Mandapolos, a word which some theorize was possibly derived from the Greek word mantes (meaning prophet or fortune teller).^[56]

Around 1360, a fiefdom, called the Feudum Acinganorum was established in Corfu, which mainly used Romani serfs and to which the Romanies on the island were subservient.^[57][58]

By the 14th century, the Romanies had reached the Balkans; by 1424, Germany; and by the 16th century, Scotland and Sweden. Some Romanies migrated from Persia through North Africa, reaching the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century. The two currents met in France.

Romanies began emigrating to North America in colonial times, with small groups recorded in Virginia and French Louisiana. Larger-scale Roma emigration to the United States began in the 1860s, with groups of Romnaichal from Britain. The largest number immigrated in the early 1900s, mainly from the Vlax group of Kalderash. Many Romanies also settled in South America.

When the Romani people arrived in Europe, the initial curiosity of its residents soon changed to hostility against the newcomers. The Romani were enslaved for five centuries in Wallachia and Moldavia, until abolition in 1856.^[59]

Elsewhere in Europe, they were subject to ethnic cleansing, abduction of their children, and forced labor. In England, Romani were sometimes hanged or expelled from small communities; in France, they were branded and their heads were shaved; in Moravia and Bohemia, the women were marked by their ears being severed. As a result, large groups of the Romani moved to the East, toward Poland, which was more tolerant, and Russia, where the Romani were treated more fairly as long as they paid the annual taxes.^[60]

World War II[link]

During World War II, the Nazis and the Ustaša embarked on a systematic genocide of the Romani, a process known in Romani as the Porajmos.^[61] Romanies were marked for extermination and sentenced to forced labor and imprisonment in concentration camps.

They were often killed on sight, especially by the Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units) on the Eastern Front.^{[citation needed]} The total number of victims has been variously estimated at between 220,000 to 1,500,000; even the lowest number would make the Porajmos one of the largest mass murders in history.^{[citation needed]}

Post-1945[link]

An 1852 Wallachian poster advertising an auction of Romani slaves in Bucharest.

In Communist Eastern Europe, Romanies experienced assimilation schemes and restrictions on cultural freedom.^{[citation needed]} The Romani language and Romani music were banned from public performance in Bulgaria.^{[dubious – discuss]} In Czechoslovakia, they were labeled a "socially degraded stratum," and Romani women were sterilized as part of a state policy to reduce their population. This policy was implemented with large financial incentives, threats of denying future welfare payments, with misinformation, or after administering drugs (Silverman 1995; Helsinki Watch 1991).

Sinti and Roma about to be deported from Germany, May 22, 1940.

An official inquiry from the Czech Republic, resulting in a report (December 2005), concluded that the Communist authorities had practiced an assimilation policy towards Romanies, which "included efforts by social services to control the birth rate in the Romani community" and that "the problem of sexual sterilization carried out in the Czech Republic, either with improper motivation or illegally, exists"^[62] with new revealed cases up until 2004, in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.^[63]

Society and traditional culture[link]

A Gipsy Family - Facsimile of a woodcut in the "Cosmographie Universelle" of Munster: in folio, Basle, 1552.

The traditional Romanies place a high value on the extended family. Virginity is essential in unmarried women. Both men and women often marry young; there has been controversy in several countries over the Romani practice of child marriage. Romani law establishes that the man's family must pay a bride price to the bride's parents, but only traditional families still follow this rule.

Once married, the woman joins the husband's family, where her main job is to tend to her husband's and her children's needs, as well as to take care of her in-laws. The power structure in the traditional Romani household has at its top the oldest man or grandfather, and men in general have more authority than women. Women gain respect and authority as they get older. Young wives begin gaining authority once they have children.

Romani social behavior is strictly regulated by Hindu purity laws ("marime" or "marhime"), still respected by most Roma (and by most older generations of Sinti). This regulation affects many aspects of life, and is applied to actions, people and things: parts of the human body are considered impure: the genital organs (because they produce emissions), as well as the rest of the lower body. Clothes for the lower body, as well as the clothes of menstruating women, are washed separately. Items used for eating are also washed in a different place. Childbirth is considered impure, and must occur outside the dwelling place. The mother is considered impure for forty days after giving birth.

Death is considered impure, and affects the whole family of the dead, who remain impure for a period of time. In contrast to the practice of cremating the dead, Romani dead must be buried.^[64] Cremation and burial are both known from the time of the Rigveda, and both are widely practiced in Hinduism today (although the tendency for higher caste groups is to burn, while lower caste groups in South India tend to bury their dead).^[65] Some animals are also considered impure, for instance cats because they lick themselves.^[66]

Belonging and exclusion[link]

Romanipen (also romanypen, romanipe, romanype, romanimos, romaimos, romaniya) is a complicated term of Romani philosophy that means totality of the Romani spirit, Romani culture, Romani Law, being a Romani, a set of Romani strains.

An ethnic Romani is considered to be a Gadjo (non-Romani) in the Romani society if he has no Romanipen. Sometimes a non-Romani may be considered to be a Romani if he has Romanipen, (usually that is an adopted child). As a concept, Romanipen has been the subject of interest to numerous academic observers. It has been hypothesized that it owes more to a framework of culture rather than simply an adherence to historically received rules.^[67]

Religion[link]

Muslim Romanies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (around 1900)

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Migrant Romani populations have adopted the dominant religion of their country of residence, while often preserving aspects of older belief systems and forms of worship. Most Eastern European Romanies are Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, or Muslim.

Those in Western Europe and the United States are mostly Roman Catholic or Protestant (particularly in southern Spain many are Pentecostal). In Turkey, Egypt, and the Balkans, the Romanies are split into Christian and Muslim populations. Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla and Saint Sarah are the Patron saints of the Romani people in Roman Catholicism.

Music[link]

Young Hungarian Romani performing a traditional dance

Romani music plays an important role in Central and Eastern European countries such as Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Hungary, Slovenia and Romania, and the style and performance practices of Romani musicians have influenced European classical composers such as Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms. The lăutari who perform at traditional Romanian weddings are virtually all Romani.

Probably the most internationally prominent contemporary performers in the lăutari tradition are Taraful Haiducilor. Bulgaria's popular "wedding music", too, is almost exclusively performed by Romani musicians such as Ivo Papasov, a virtuoso clarinetist closely associated with this genre and Bulgarian pop-folk singer Azis.

Many famous classical musicians, such as the Hungarian pianist Georges Cziffra, are Romani, as are many prominent performers of manele. Zdob şi Zdub, one of the most prominent rock bands in Moldova, although not Romanies themselves, draw heavily on Romani music, as do Spitalul de Urgenţă in Romania, Shantel in Germany, Goran Bregović in Serbia, Darko Rundek in Croatia, Beirut and Gogol Bordello in the United States.

Another tradition of Romani music is the genre of the Romani brass band, with such notable practitioners as Boban Marković of Serbia, and the brass lăutari groups Fanfare Ciocărlia and Fanfare din Cozmesti of Romania.

The distinctive sound of Romani music has also strongly influenced bolero, jazz, and flamenco (especially cante jondo) in Europe. European-style gypsy jazz ("jazz Manouche" or "Sinti jazz") is still widely practiced among the original creators (the Romanie People); one who acknowledged this artistic debt was guitarist Django Reinhardt. Contemporary artists in this tradition known internationally include Stochelo Rosenberg, Biréli Lagrène, Jimmy Rosenberg, and Tchavolo Schmitt.

The Romanies of Turkey have achieved musical acclaim from national and local audiences. Local performers usually perform for special holidays. Their music is usually performed on instruments such as the darbuka and gırnata. A number of nationwide best seller performers are said to be of Romani origin.^{[citation needed]}

Contemporary art and culture[link]

Language[link]

Most Romanies speak one of several dialects of Romani,^{[68][not in citation given]} an Indo-Aryan language. They also will often speak the languages of the countries they live in. Typically, they also incorporate loanwords and calques into Romani from the languages of those countries, especially words for terms that the Romani language does not have. Most of the Ciganos of Portugal, the Gitanos of Spain, the Romanichal of the UK, and Scandinavian Travellers have lost their knowledge of pure Romani, and respectively speak the mixed languages Caló,^[69] Angloromany, and Scandoromani.

There are independent groups currently working toward standardizing the language, including groups in Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, the USA, and Sweden. Romani is not currently spoken in India.^{[citation needed]}

Persecutions[link]

Historical persecution[link]

One of the most enduring persecutions against the Romani people was the enslaving of the Romanies. In the Byzantine Empire, they were slaves of the state and it seems the situation was the same in Bulgaria and Serbia until their social organization was destroyed by the Ottoman conquest. Slavery existed on the territory of present-day Romania from before the founding of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 13th–14th century, until it was abolished in stages during the 1840s and 1850s.^[70] Legislation decreed that all the Romanies living in these states, as well as any others who would immigrate there, were slaves.^[71] Most of the slaves were of Roma (Gypsy) ethnicity.

The exact origins of slavery in the Danubian Principalities are not known. There is some debate over whether the Romani people came to Wallachia and Moldavia as free men or as slaves. Historian Nicolae Iorga associated the Roma people's arrival with the 1241 Mongol invasion of Europe and considered their slavery as a vestige of that era, the Romanians taking the Roma from the Mongols as slaves and preserving their status. Other historians consider that they were enslaved while captured during the battles with the Tatars. The practice of enslaving prisoners may also have been taken from the Mongols.^[70] While it is possible that some Romani people were slaves or auxiliary troops of the Mongols or Tatars, the bulk of them came from south of the Danube at the end of the 14th century, some time after the foundation of Wallachia. By then, the institution of slavery was already established in Moldavia and possibly in both principalities, but the arrival of the Roma made slavery a widespread practice. The Tatar slaves, smaller in numbers, were eventually merged into the Roma population.^[72]

The arrival of some branches of the Romani people in Western Europe in the 15th century was precipitated by the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. Although the Romanies themselves were refugees from the conflicts in southeastern Europe, they were mistaken by the local population in the West, because of their foreign appearance, as part of the Ottoman invasion (the German Reichstags at Landau and Freiburg in 1496-1498 declared the Romanies as spies of the Turks). In Western Europe, this resulted in a violent history of persecution and attempts of ethnic cleansing until the modern era. As time passed, other accusations were added against local Romanies (accusations specific to this area, against non-assimilated minorities), like that of bringing the plague, usually sharing their burden together with the local Jews.^[73]

One example of official persecution of the Romani is exemplified by The Great Roundup of Spanish Romanies (Gitanos) in 1749. The Spanish monarchy ordered a nationwide raid that led to separation of families and placement of all able-bodied men into forced labor camps.

Later in the 19th century, Romani immigration was forbidden on a racial basis in areas outside Europe, mostly in the English speaking world (in 1885 the United States outlawed the entry of the Roma) and also in some South American countries (in 1880 Argentina adopted a similar policy).^[73]

Holocaust[link]

Romani arrivals at the Belzec death camp await instructions.

The persecution of the Romanies reached a peak during World War II in the Porajmos, the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis during the Holocaust. In 1935, the Nuremberg laws stripped the Romani people living in Nazi Germany of their citizenship, after which they were subjected to violence, imprisonment in concentration camps and later genocide in extermination camps. The policy was extended in areas occupied by the Nazis during the war, and it was also applied by their allies, notably the Independent State of Croatia, Romania and Hungary.

Because no accurate pre-war census figures exist for the Romanis, it is impossible to accurately assess the actual number of victims. Ian Hancock, director of the Program of Romani Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, proposes a figure of up to a million and a half, while an estimate of between 220,000 and 500,000 was made by Sybil Milton, formerly senior historian of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.^[74] In Central Europe, the extermination in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was so thorough that the Bohemian Romani language became extinct.^{[citation needed]}

Forced assimilation[link]

In the Habsburg Monarchy under Maria Theresa (1740–1780), a series of decrees tried to force the Romanies to permanently settle, removed rights to horse and wagon ownership (1754), renamed them as "New Citizens" and forced Romani boys into military service if they had no trade (1761), forced them to register with the local authorities (1767), and prohibited marriage between Romanies (1773). Her successor Josef II prohibited the wearing of traditional Romani clothing and the use of the Romani language, punishable by flogging.^[75]

In Spain, attempts to assimilate the Gitanos were under way as early as 1619, when Gitanos were forcibly settled, the use of the Romani language was prohibited, Gitano men and women were sent to separate workhouses and their children sent to orphanages. Similar prohibitions took place in 1783 under King Charles III, who prohibited the nomadic lifestyle, the use of the Calo language, Romani clothing, their trade in horses and other itinerant trades. The use of the word gitano was also forbidden to further assimilation. Ultimately these measures failed, as the rest of the population rejected the integration of the Gitanos.^[75][76]

Other examples of forced assimilation include Norway, where a law was passed in 1896 permitting the state to remove children from their parents and place them in state institutions.^[77] This resulted in some 1,500 Romani children being taken from their parents in the 20th century.^[78]

Contemporary issues[link]

Amnesty International reports continued instances of Antizigan discrimination during the 20th Century, particularly in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania, Serbia^[79] Slovakia,^[80] Hungary,^[81] Slovenia,^[82] and Kosovo.^[83]

Czechoslovakia carried out a policy of sterilization of Romani women, starting in 1973.^[84] The dissidents of the Charter 77 denounced it in 1977-78 as a "genocide", but the practice continued through the Velvet Revolution of 1989.^[85] A 2005 report by the Czech government's independent ombudsman, Otakar Motejl, identified dozens of cases of coercive sterilization between 1979 and 2001, and called for criminal investigations and possible prosecution against several health care workers and administrators.^[86]

In 2008, following the brutal murder of a woman in Rome at the hands of a young man from a local Romani encampment,^[87] the Italian government declared that Italy's Romani population represented a national security risk and that swift action was required to address the emergenza nomadi (nomad emergency).^[88] Specifically, officials in the Italian government accused the Romanies of being responsible for rising crime rates in urban areas. One police raid in 2007 freed many of the children belonging to a Romani gang who used to steal by day, and who were locked in a shed by night by members of the gang.^[89]

The 2008 deaths of Cristina and Violetta Djeordsevic, two Roma children who drowned while Italian beach-goers remained unperturbed, brought international attention to the relationship between Italians and the Roma people. Reviewing the state of play in 2012, one Belgian magazine observed:

On International Roma Day, which falls on 8 April, the significant proportion of Europe's 12 million Roma who live in deplorable conditions will not have much to celebrate. And poverty is not the only worry for the community. Ethnic tensions are on the rise. In 2008, Roma camps came under attack in Italy, intimidation by racist parliamentarians is the norm in Hungary, and in September of last year thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets to chant such slogans as "Turn the gypsies into soap". Speaking in 1993, Vaclav Havel prophetically remarked that "the treatment of the Roma is a litmus test for democracy": and democracy has been found wanting. The consequences of the transition to capitalism have been disastrous for the Roma. Under communism they had jobs, free housing and schooling. Now many are unemployed, many are losing their homes and racism is increasingly rewarded with impunity.^[90]

Forced repatriation[link]

In the summer of 2010 French authorities demolished at least 51 illegal Roma camps and began the process of repatriating their residents to their countries of origin.^[91] This followed tensions between the French state and Roma communities, which had been heightened after French police opened fire and killed a traveller who drove through a police checkpoint, hitting an officer, and attempted to hit two more officers at another checkpoint. In retaliation a group of Roma, armed with hatchets and iron bars, attacked the police station of Saint-Aignan, toppled traffic lights and road signs and burned three cars.^[92][93] The French government has been accused of perpetrating these actions to pursue its political agenda.^[94] EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding stated that the European Commission should take legal action against France over the issue, calling the deportations "a disgrace". Purportedly, a leaked file dated 5 August, sent from the Interior Ministry to regional police chiefs included the instruction: "Three hundred camps or illegal settlements must be cleared within three months, Roma camps are a priority,"^[95]

Fictional representations[link]

Vincent van Gogh: The Caravans - Gypsy Camp near Arles (1888, Oil on canvas)

Many fictional depictions of Romani people in literature and art present romanticized narratives of their supposed mystical powers of fortune telling or their supposed irascible or passionate temper paired with an indomitable love of freedom and a habit of criminality. Particularly notable are classics like the story Carmen by Prosper Mérimée and the opera based on it by Georges Bizet, Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Miguel de Cervantes' La Gitanilla.

The Romani were also heavily romanticized in the Soviet Union, a classic example being the 1975 Tabor ukhodit v Nebo. A more realistic depiction of contemporary Romani in the Balkans, featuring Romani lay actors speaking in their native dialects, although still playing with established clichés of a Romani penchant for both magic and crime, was presented by Emir Kusturica in his Time of the Gypsies (1988) and Black Cat, White Cat (1998).

In contemporary literature[link]

The Romani ethnicity is often used for characters in contemporary fantasy literature. In such literature, the Romani are often portrayed as possessing archaic occult knowledge passed down through the ages. This frequent use of the ethnicity has given rise to 'gypsy archetypes' in popular contemporary literature.^{[citation needed]} A UK example is the Freya Trilogy by Elizabeth Arnold.

See also[link]

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

(An extensive historical bibliography, "Gypsies in France, 1566 - 2011", is available at [3].)

• Viorel Achim (2004). "The Roma in Romanian History." Budapest: Central European University Press. ISBN 963-9241-84-9.
• Auzias, Claire. Les funambules de l'histoire. Baye: Éditions la Digitale, 2002.
• De Soto, Hermine. Roma and Egyptians in Albania: From Social Exclusion to Social Inclusion. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank Publications, 2005.
• Fonseca, Isabel. Bury me standing: the Gypsies and their journey. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1995.
• Fraser, Angus The Gypsies : Blackwell Publishers, Oxford UK, 1992 ISBN 0-631-15967-3.
• Genner, Michael. Spartakus, 2 vols. Munich: Trikont, 1979-80.
• "Germany Reaches Deal to Deport Thousands of Gypsies to Romania," Migration World Magazine, Nov-December 1992.
• Gray, RD; Atkinson, QD (2003). "Language-tree divergence times support the Anatolian theory of Indo-European origin." Nature.
• Gresham, D; et al. (2001). "Origins and divergence of the Roma (Gypsies)." American Journal of Human Genetics. 69(6), 1314-1331. [4]
• Hackl, Erich. (1991). Farewell Sidonia, New York: Fromm International Pub. ISBN 0-88064-124-X. (Translated from the German, Abschied von Sidonie 1989)
• Helsinki Watch. Struggling for Ethnic Identity: Czechoslovakia's Endangered Gypsies. New York, 1991.
• Leland, Charles G. The English Gipsies and Their Language. London: Trübner & Co., 1873.
• Lemon, Alaina (2000). Between Two Fires: Gypsy Performance and Romani Memory from Pushkin to Post-Socialism. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-2456-3
• Luba Kalaydjieva; et al. (2001). "Patterns of inter- and intra-group genetic diversity in the Vlax Roma as revealed by Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA lineages." European Journal of Human Genetics. 9, 97-104. [5]
• Marushiakova, Elena; Popov, Vesselin. (2001) "Gypsies in the Ottoman Empire." Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press.
• Matras, Yaron (2002). Romani: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-512-02330-0.
• McDowell, Bart (1970). "Gypsies, Wanderers of the World". National Geographic Society. ISBN 0-87044-088-8.
• "Gypsies, The World's Outsiders." National Geographic, April 2001, 72-101.
• Ringold, Dena. Roma & the Transition in Central & Eastern Europe: Trends & Challenges. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank, 2000. pp. 3, 5, & 7.
• Roberts, Samuel. The Gypsies: Their Origin, Continuance, and Destination. London: Longman, 4th edition, 1842.
• Silverman, Carol. "Persecution and Politicization: Roma (Gypsies) of Eastern Europe." Cultural Survival Quarterly, Summer 1995.
• Simson, Walter. History of the Gipsies. London: S. Low, 1865.
• Tebbutt, Susan (Ed., 1998) Sinti and Roma in German-speaking Society and Literature. Oxford: Berghahn.
• Turner, Ralph L. (1926) The Position of Romani in Indo-Aryan. In: Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society 3rd Ser. 5/4, pp. 145–188.
• Danish Broadcasting Corporation A page in Danish about Romani treatment in Denmark

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roma people

• European Parliament resolution on the situation of the Roma in the European Union - April 28, 2005
• Final report on the human rights situation of the Roma, Sinti and travellers in Europe by the European Commissioner for Human Rights (Council of Europe) - February 15, 2006
• Shot in remote areas of the Thar desert in Northwest India, "Jaisalmer Ayo: Gateway of the Gypsies" captures the lives of vanishing nomadic communities who are believed to share common ancestors with the Roma people - released 2004

Non-governmental organisations

• European Roma Rights Centre - European Romani NGO
• Roma Rights Network - Romani INGO

Museums and libraries

• Museum of Romani Culture in Brno, Czech Republic (in Czech)[6]
• Specialized Library with Archive "Studii Romani" in Sofia, Bulgaria (Bulgarian, English)
• Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma in Heidelberg, Germany (German, English)
• Ethnographic Museum in Tarnów, Poland. Click "ROMA (CYGANIE)" on the menu at left. (Polish, English, Romani)
• Who we Were, Who we Are: Kosovo Roma Oral History Collection. The most comprehensive collection of information on Kosovo's Roma in existence. (English)

v t e Romani diaspora Romani people by country · List of Romani settlements Cultural groups Roma (Boyash · Kalderash · Lovari · Machvaya · Polska Roma · Bergitka Roma · Ruska Roma · Servitko Roma · Ursari · Muslim Roma) · Ashkali · Cascarots · Erromintxela Iberian Kale (Gitanos and Ciganos) · Finnish Kale · Welsh Kale · Romanichal · Sinti · Manouche · Scandinavian Travellers (Tavinger, Romanisæl) · Kawliya Sometimes considered Romani: Dom · Bosha/Lom · Lori · Lyuli · Garachi By location Central and Eastern Europe: Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Greece · Cyprus · Hungary · Kosovo · Macedonia · Romania · Russia · Serbia · Slovakia · Ukraine Western and Northern Europe: Finland · France · Portugal · Spain · Ireland · UK Caucasus: Armenia · Azerbaijan · Middle East: Syria · Turkey Americas: Black Dutch

Bun B
Performing live in August 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Bernard Freeman
Born	(1973-03-19) March 19, 1973 (age 39)
Origin	Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Hip Hop, Southern Rap, Trill
Occupations	Rapper, Songwriter, Producer, CEO
Years active	1987–Present
Labels	Rap-a-Lot
Associated acts	UGK, Slim Thug, Outkast, Scarface, Sean Kingston, Z-Ro, Beyoncé Knowles, Trey Songz, Kirko Bangz, Chamillionaire, Juvenile, Rick Ross, Drake, Usher, Wu-Tang Clan, T.I., Lil Wayne

Bernard Freeman (born March 19, 1973^[1][2]) better known by his stage name Bun B, is an American rapper and was one half of the southern hip hop duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz). He is also a guest lecturer at Rice University located in Houston, Texas.^[3] He recently released his third official solo album Trill OG on August 3, 2010, which received a 5 Mic "Classic" rating in The Source Magazine - the first album in over five years to receive the honor.^[4] Bun B is married with two stepchildren.^[5]

Music career[link]

UGK[link]

In the late 1980s, Pimp C started the rap duo UGK. They then got signed to Jive Records where they released their major label debut album, Too Hard to Swallow, and their sophomore album, Super Tight.... Their third album, Ridin' Dirty reached the R&B Charts in 1996 peaking at number 2 and the Billboard 200 chart peaking at number 15. After releasing their fourth studio album, Dirty Money, Pimp C got sentenced to jail.^[6]

[edit] Trill and beginning of solo career

When Bun B's UGK partner, the late Chad "Pimp C" Butler entered a jail sentence on an aggravated gun assault charge in 2002, Bun B made guest appearances on numerous albums by other rappers and released a 2005 mixtape titled Legends.^[6] Singles featuring a Bun B guest appearance included "They Don't Know" by Paul Wall, "Gimme That" by Webbie and "I'm A G" by Yung Joc. Bun B also appeared in a documentary titled Screwed In Houston produced by VBS/Vice Magazine that details the history of the Houston rap scene.

In October 2005, Bun B's debut solo album Trill was released.^[7] Singles included "Draped Up",^[7] "Git It", and "Get Throwed".^[8] The album peaked at the sixth spot on the American Billboard 200 chart and number one on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart.^[9]

[edit] II Trill

After Pimp C died in 2007, Bun B returned to a solo career. In 2008, he released his second album, II Trill^[6] The first single was "That's Gangsta" featuring Jamaican American artist Sean Kingston. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, selling 98,000 copies.^[10] Other singles were "Damn I'm Cold" featuring Lil Wayne and "You're Everything" featuring Rick Ross, David Banner, DJ Corbett and 8Ball & MJG, the latter of which was dedicated to the late Pimp C.

[edit] Trill OG

Bun B's third album is Trill OG. In an interview with MTV Live, Bun B stated that 2Pac is set to feature on the album, claiming "It's a brand new verse."^[11] The album was released under Universal Music Group^[12] on August 3, 2010.^[13]

4th studio album[link]

On October 28 2011, a song titled "The Life" and produced by 14KT was leaked.

On March 3 2012, Bun B leaked a song featuring Royce Da 5'9 and Redman titled "Stop Playin'" after he reached 400,000 followers on Twitter. He has not announced the song's appearance on his upcoming album ^[14]

Other Ventures[link]

Acting[link]

Bun B recently acted in the Straight-to-DVD movie "Ghetto Stories: The Movie". It is unknown at this time though if he is still pursuing an acting career.

Teaching[link]

At the start of the Spring 2011 semester, Bun B joined the faculty of Rice University as a Distinguished Lecturer. He taught a course in the School of the Humanities on Hip-Hop and Religion.^[15]

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

Bun B is married to Angela Walls with two children.^[5] One of his sons is American rapper Young B, who is currently a member of the rap group Youngest N Charge. Youngest N Charge is currently Bun B's opening act.^[16]

Discography[link]

• 2005: Trill
• 2008: II Trill
• 2010: Trill OG
• 2012: Trill 4 Life

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

• Ghetto Stories (2010)

References[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bun B

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bun B

• Bun B on Myspace
• Bun B at the Internet Movie Database
• Rap-A-Lot Records
• Discography at discogs.com
• Bun B RBMA lecture