Common

Friday, 30 November 2012

Common feat. Lauryn Hill - Retrospect for Life

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Chicago, Illinois
Chicago (ⁱ/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County.
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008^[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, ranking just behind Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.

wn.com/Chicago,_Illinois
Colorado
Colorado (ⁱ/kɒləˈrædoʊ/ or /kɒləˈrɒdoʊ/) is the US state that encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Southwestern United States, and the Mountain States. Colorado is the 8th most extensive and the 22nd most populous of the 50 United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5,116,796 on July 1, 2011, an increase of +1.74% since the 2010 United States Census.
The state was named for the Colorado River, which early Spanish explorers named the Río Colorado for the red colored (Spanish: colorado) silt the river carried from the mountains. On August 1, 1876, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado as the 38th state. Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State" because it was admitted to the Union in 1876, the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence.

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Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( /ˈkoʊpənheɪɡən/ or /ˈkoʊpənhɑːɡən/; Danish: København pronounced [kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn] ( listen), Latin: Hafnia) is the capital of Denmark and its most populous city, with an urban population of 1,213,822 (as of 1 January 2012 (2012 -01-01)^[update]) and a metropolitan population of 1,935,746 (as of 1 April 2012 (2012 -04-01)^[update]). With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region. Within this region, Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö are growing into a combined metropolitan area. Copenhagen is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager.
First documented in the 11th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the beginning of the 15th century. During the 17th century, under the reign of Christian IV, it became a significant regional centre.
Copenhagen is a major regional centre of culture, business, media, and science, as indicated by several international surveys and rankings (see International rankings below). Life science, information technology and shipping are important sectors, and research & development plays a major role in the city's economy. Its strategic location and excellent infrastructure, with the largest airport in Scandinavia,Kastrup, located 14 minutes by train from the city centre, have made it a regional hub and a popular location for regional headquarters and conventions.

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Denver
Denver ( /ˈdɛnvər/) (Arapaho: Niinéniiniicíihéhe' ) is the largest city and the capital of the U.S. state of Colorado. As Denver County, it is the second most populous county in Colorado after El Paso County, which surpassed Denver County as of the 2010 Census. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Denver downtown district is located immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek with the South Platte River, approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Denver is nicknamed the Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile (1.6 km) or 5,280 feet (1,609.344 m) above sea level, which is defined by the elevation of the spot of a benchmark on the steps of the State Capital building. The elevation of the entire city ranges from 5,130 to 5,680 feet. The 105th meridian west of Greenwich passes through Union Station and is the temporal reference for the Mountain Time Zone.

wn.com/Denver
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a governmental agency belonging to the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency (counterintelligence). Also, it is the government agency responsible for investigating crimes on Indian Reservations in the United States under the Major Crimes Act. The branch has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime.
The agency was established in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation (BOI). Its name was changed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1935.
The agency headquarters is the J. Edgar Hoover Building, located in Washington, D.C.. The agency has fifty-six field offices located in major cities throughout the United States, and more than 400 resident agencies in lesser cities and areas across the nation. More than 50 international offices called "legal attachés" exist in U.S. embassies and consulates general worldwide.

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South Side (Chicago)
The South Side is a major part of the City of Chicago, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Much of it has evolved from the city's incorporation of independent townships, such as Hyde Park Township which voted along with several other townships to be annexed in the June 29, 1889 elections. Regions of the city, referred to as sides, are divided by the Chicago River and its branches.
The South Side of Chicago was originally defined as all of the city south of the main branch of the Chicago River, but it now excludes the Loop. The South Side has a varied ethnic composition, and it has great disparity in income and other demographic measures. The South Side covers 60% of the city's land area, with a higher ratio of single-family homes and larger sections zoned for industry than the rest of the city.
Although it has endured a reputation as being poor or crime-infested, the reality is more varied. The South Side ranges from affluent to working class to impoverished. Neighborhoods such as Armour Square, Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, and Pullman tend to be composed of more blue collar residents, while Hyde Park, the Jackson Park Highlands District, Kenwood, and Beverly tend to have middle, upper-middle class, and affluent residents.

wn.com/South_Side_(Chicago)
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education (law, medicine, podiatric medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, architecture) and prepares the largest body of professional practitioners in Pennsylvania, offering over 300 academic degree programs at seven campuses and sites in Pennsylvania and its international campuses in Rome, Tokyo, Singapore and London. It is the 26th largest university in the United States with more than 37,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.
Temple is one of Pennsylvania's state-related universities, meaning that it receives state funds but is independently operated. It shares this status with the Pennsylvania State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Lincoln University.
Temple University has over 300 degree programs from 17 schools and colleges and 4 professional schools. The university is known for its programs in areas such as business, communications, education, art, music, science, and the health professions. Temple is ranked 132nd amongst national universities and 66th amongst public institutions in the US according to U.S. News & World Report's 2011 rankings, placing it 3rd in Pennsylvania for public universities. Temple is also regarded as one of the "Best Northeastern Colleges" and having the 35th best entrepreneurial undergraduate program in the nation according to Princeton Review. The Princeton Review and Forbes also named Temple one of the most connected campuses in the United States in their 2006 survey.

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Tribeca
Tribeca (sometimes stylized as TriBeCa, pronounced /tɹaɪbɛkə/) is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street": the triangle is properly bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street. The neighborhood is home to the Tribeca Film Festival.
The Tribeca name came to be applied to the area south of Canal Street, between Broadway and West Street, extending south to Chambers Street. The area was among the first residential neighborhoods developed in New York beyond the boundaries of the city during colonial times, with residential development beginning in the late 18th century. By the mid-19th century the area transformed into a commercial center, with large numbers of store and loft buildings constructed along Broadway in the 1850s and 1860s.
Development in the area was spurred by the extension of the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, which opened for service in 1918, and the accompanying extension of Seventh Avenue and the widening of Varick Street during subway construction in 1914. That resulted in better access to the area both for vehicles and for travelers using public transportation. The area was also served by the IRT Ninth Avenue Line, an elevated train line on Greenwich Street demolished in 1940.

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White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical style. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades that were meant to conceal stables and storage.
In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed house in October 1817. Construction continued with the addition of the South Portico in 1824 and the North in 1829. Because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office which was eventually moved as the section was expanded. The third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as a reception area for social events; Jefferson's colonnades connected the new wings. East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space. By 1948, the house's load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the interior rooms were completely dismantled and a new internal load-bearing steel frame constructed inside the walls. Once this work was completed, the interior rooms were rebuilt.

wn.com/White_House

?uestlove
Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born on January 20, 1971) known professionally as ?uestlove or Questlove (also known as BROther ?uestion, Questo, Brother Question or Qlove), is an American drummer, DJ, music journalist and record producer. He is best known as the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought) for the Grammy Award-winning band The Roots, which is now the in-house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
He has produced for artists such as Common, D'Angelo, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Bilal, Jay-Z, Nikka Costa and more recently, Al Green, Amy Winehouse and John Legend. He is a member of the production teams the Soulquarians, The Randy Watson Experience, and The Grand Wizzards.
Thompson was born in Philadelphia on January 20, 1971. His father was Lee Andrews of Lee Andrews & the Hearts, one of the great 50s doo-wop groups.^{[citation needed]} His parents did not want to leave him with babysitters, so they took him on tour with them. He grew up in backstages of doo-wop shows. By the age of seven, Thompson began drumming on stage at shows, and by 13, had become a musical director.

wn.com/?uestlove
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of MC/producer Q-Tip, MC Phife Dawg aka Phife Diggy (Malik Taylor), and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 1991. Along with De La Soul, the group was a central part of the Native Tongues Posse, and enjoyed the most commercial success out of all the groups to emerge from that collective. Their innovative fusing of hip hop and jazz has had a lasting impact on hip hop music, helping to expand the art of hip hop production. Many of their songs, such as "Bonita Applebum", "Can I Kick It?", "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo", "Scenario", "Check the Rhime", "Jazz (We've Got)", "Award Tour" and "Electric Relaxation" are regarded as classics by the hip hop community.
They released five albums between 1990 and 1998. The first three LPs were highly acclaimed, but the group disbanded in 1998. In 2006, the group reunited and toured the U.S., and planned to release an album after some works in the studio. The group is regarded as iconic pioneers of alternative hip hop music, having helped to pave the way for innovative hip hop artists. John Bush of Allmusic called them "the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s," while the editors of About.com ranked them #4 on their list of the "25 Best Rap Groups of All Time." In 2005, A Tribe Called Quest received a Special Achievement Award at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta. In 2007, the group was formally honored at the 4th VH1 Hip Hop Honors.

wn.com/A_Tribe_Called_Quest
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa (born April 19, 1957) is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal Hip Hop Culture as well as the Father of The Electro Funk Sound. Through his co-opting of the street gang the Black Spades into the music and culture-oriented Universal Zulu Nation, he is responsible for spreading hip hop culture throughout the world. On September 27, 2007, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Afrika Bambaataa grew up in The Bronx River Projects, with an activist mother and uncle. As a child, he was exposed to the black liberation movement, and witnessed debates between his mother and uncle regarding the conflicting ideologies in the movement. He was exposed to his mother's extensive and eclectic record collection. Gangs in the area became the law in the absence of law, clearing their turf of drug dealers, assisting with community health programs and both fighting and partying to keep members and turf. Bambaataa was a founding member of The Bronx River Projects-area street gang The Savage Seven. Due to the explosive growth of the gang, it later became known as the Black Spades, and Bambaataa quickly rose to the position of warlord. As warlord, it was his job to build ranks and expand the turf of the Black Spades. Bambaataa was not afraid to cross turfs to forge relationships with other gang members, and with other gangs. As a result, the Spades became the biggest gang in the city in terms of both membership and turf.

wn.com/Afrika_Bambaataa
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), better known as simply Akon, is a Senegalese American R&B and hip hop recording artist, songwriter, record producer and businessman. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first single from his debut album Trouble.
He has since founded two successful record labels, Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. His second album, "Konvicted" received three nominations for the Grammy Awards in two categories, Best Contemporary R&B Album for "Konvicted" album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Smack That" and "I Wanna Love You". He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts 'twice'.
Akon often sings hooks for other artists and is currently credited with over 300 guest appearances and more than 35 Billboard Hot 100 songs. He has worked with numerous performers such as Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Eminem, Whitney Houston, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and many more artists. He has had five Grammy Awards nominations and has produced many hits for artists such as Lady Gaga, Colby O'Donis, Kardinal Offishall and Leona Lewis. Lady Gaga and T-Pain are two artists who were given their chance at fame by Akon.

wn.com/Akon
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Keys was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.
Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.

wn.com/Alicia_Keys
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie ( /dʒoʊˈliː/ joh-LEE, born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress and director. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie promotes humanitarian causes, and is noted for her work with refugees as a Special Envoy and former Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She has been cited as the world's "most beautiful" woman, a title for which she has received substantial media attention.
Jolie made her screen debut as a child alongside her father Jon Voight in Lookin' to Get Out (1982), but her film career began in earnest a decade later with the low-budget production Cyborg 2 (1993). Her first leading role in a major film was in the cyber-thriller Hackers (1995). She starred in the critically acclaimed biographical television films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Girl, Interrupted (1999).

wn.com/Angelina_Jolie
Assata Shakur
Assata Olugbala Shakur (born July 16, 1947 as JoAnne Deborah Byron, married name Chesimard) is an African-American activist and escaped convict who was a member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA). Between 1971 and 1973, Shakur was accused of several crimes and made the subject of a multi-state manhunt.
In May 1973 Shakur was involved in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike, during which New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster and BLA member Zayd Malik Shakur were killed and Shakur and Trooper James Harper were wounded. Between 1973 and 1977, Shakur was indicted in relation to six other alleged criminal incidents—charged with murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, bank robbery, and kidnapping—resulting in three acquittals and three dismissals. In 1977, she was convicted of the first-degree murder of Foerster and of seven other felonies related to the shootout.
Shakur was then incarcerated in several prisons, where her treatment drew criticism from some human rights groups. She escaped from prison in 1979 and has been living in Cuba in political asylum since 1984. Since May 2, 2005, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has classified her as a "domestic terrorist" and offered a $1 million reward for assistance in her capture. Attempts to extradite her have resulted in letters to the Pope and a Congressional resolution. Shakur is the step-aunt of the deceased hip hop icon Tupac Shakur, the stepson of her brother Mutulu Shakur. Her life has been portrayed in literature, film and song.

wn.com/Assata_Shakur
Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II (ⁱ/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. In January 2005, Obama was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in the state of Illinois. He would hold this office until November 2008, when he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He served three terms representing the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.
Following an unsuccessful bid against the Democratic incumbent for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran for the United States Senate in 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Illinois Democratic primary for the Senate election and his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in Illinois in November 2004. His presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain, and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In April 2011, he announced that he would be running for re-election in 2012.

wn.com/Barack_Obama
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968) better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MCs in Hip Hop. Regarding the name Big Daddy Kane, he said: "The Big Daddy part and the Kane part came from two different things. The Kane part came from my fascination with the martial arts flicks when I was young. The Big Daddy came from something that happened on a ski trip one time involving a young lady."
In 1984, Kane became friends with Biz Markie, and he would co-write some of Biz's best-known lyrics. Both eventually became important members of the Queens-based Juice Crew, a collective headed by renowned producer Marley Marl. Kane signed with Marl's Cold Chillin' Records label in 1987 and debuted the following year with the 12" single "Raw," an underground hit. Kane is known for his ability to syncopate over faster hip hop beats, and despite his asthmatic condition he is acknowledged as one of the pioneering masters of fast-rap. His sense of style is renowned and set a number of late-1980s and early-1990s hip hop trends (high-top fades, velour suits, and four-finger rings). The backronym "King Asiatic Nobody's Equal" is often applied to his moniker.

wn.com/Big_Daddy_Kane
Bilal (musician)
Bilal Sayeed Oliver (born August 23, 1979), better known by his stage name Bilal, is an American jazz/alternative hip hop singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is currently an independent artist residing in New York City.
From his wide vocal range, to his genre-bending albums, to his phenomenal live performances, Bilal is a total-package artist who has been well received, both nationally and internationally. He also has an extensive list of collaborations, which includes Common, Erykah Badu, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Guru, J Dilla, and many more.
Bilal was born Bilal Sayeed Oliver in northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a religiously mixed household, his mother being a devout Christian and his father, a Muslim. He regularly attended church with his mother in a small church that consisted of mostly family members. It was there that Bilal grew an interest in music and singing. His interest in jazz music was fostered by his father, who took him to the city’s clubs. Singing eventually became more than an interest. After attending high school at the Philadelphia High School for Creative Performing Arts, Bilal moved to New York City and studied at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. He studied jazz, and his love for music caused him to use a voice as an instrument.

wn.com/Bilal_(musician)
Biz Markie
Marcel Theo Hall (born April 8, 1964,Harlem, New York) better known by his stage name, Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, comedian, singer, reality television personality, and commercial spokesperson. He is best known for his single "Just a Friend", an American Top 10 hit in 1989. In 2008, "Just a Friend" made #100 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest hip hop songs of all time.
Markie has been called "the Clown Prince of Hip Hop."
Biz Markie's career began on Long Island, New York in the early 1980s, where he established his reputation for beat-boxing and rapping. MC Shan and Roxanne Shante were part of Marley Marl's Cold Chillin' Records, and Biz beatboxed on Shante's underground hit "Def Fresh Crew" (1986). This lent credibility to his recording career and put Cold Chillin' on the map. In the same year, Biz Markie's debut single, "Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz", was released on Prism Records. He released his debut album, Goin' Off, which attracted a fair amount of attention, largely due to the lead single, "Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz". The album also featured the underground hit singles "Nobody Beats The Biz", "The Vapors" and "Pickin' Boogers".

wn.com/Biz_Markie
Black Thought
Tariq Trotter (born on October 3, 1971), better known as Black Thought, is an American hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots, as well as an occasional actor. Black Thought, who co-founded The Roots with drummer ?uestlove (Ahmir Thompson), is widely lauded for his live performance skills and his complex and politically aware lyrical content.
Black Thought was born Tariq Trotter and attended the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts and Millersville University. In 1987, Trotter became friends with drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and formed a drummer/MC duo performing on the streets of Philadelphia and at talent shows. Trotter would subsequently spend some time as one of two MCs in the group The Square Roots: the other one was Malik B., who Tariq met in college. In high-school, Black Thought converted to the Islamic sect of The Nation of Gods and Earths.
The Square Roots renamed themselves the Roots and released its debut album Organix in 1993, to prepare for a concert in Germany. The Roots signed to DGC and followed up with Do You Want More?!!!??! in 1995. Recorded without any sampling, the album was more popular among alternative music fans than those of hip hop. Around the release of the album, the Roots performed at the Lollapalooza alternative music festival and Montreux Jazz Festival. Illadelph Halflife, the band's 1996 album, became its first album to chart within the top 40 spots on the Billboard 200 because of the successful single "What They Do".Things Fall Apart followed in 1999, the year the band played at the Woodstock 99 concert.

wn.com/Black_Thought
Chantay Savage
Chantay Savage is an R&B/dance singer who found substantial success in the 1990s with "I Will Survive", in which she reworked the Gloria Gaynor disco anthem. In total her singles have spent 452 weeks on various Billboard singles charts, and her albums have spent a total of 81 weeks on various Billboard charts.
Before Savage signed a recording contract, she parlayed success into gigs as a session musician, singer, and songwriter with artists such as CeCe Peniston and Tanya Blount, she co-wrote Peniston's number one Dance single "We Got a Love Thang". In 1993 she released her first single "If You Believe" from her debut album Here We Go..., her follow-up "Betcha'll Never Find" became a top twenty dance and R&B hit on the Billboard chart. She also released the singles "Don't Let It Go to Your Head" and "Give It to Ya".
In 1995 she teamed up with Aaliyah, En Vogue, BlackGirl, Mary J. Blige, Vanessa Williams, SWV, and others for the single "Freedom" from the movie Panther.
Savage took two years off before she returned in 1996 with "I Will Survive" from her second album I Will Survive (Doin' It My Way). The lead single became a moderate smash in the U.S., where it reached #5 on Billboard's R&B chart, and number 12 in the UK Singles Chart. The single was also certified gold by the RIAA for US single sales of over 500,000 units. In 1997 she, along with Deborah Cox, Heavy D, and Brownstone performed Janet Jackson's #1 single "That's the Way Love Goes" at the Soul Train Music Awards tribute to the popular icon. In 1998 Savage scored another minor hit with "Reminding Me (Of Sef)", performed by Common. It was a top 10 hit on Billboard's Hot Rap chart.

wn.com/Chantay_Savage
Common (entertainer)
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (previously Common Sense), is an American hip-hop artist and actor.
Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. His first major-label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received widespread critical acclaim and tremendous commercial success His first Grammy award was in 2003 for Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" with Erykah Badu. Its popularity was matched by May 2005's Be, which was nominated in the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), from his July 2007 album Finding Forever. His best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released on November 27, 2007.
Common has also initiated a burgeoning acting career, starring significant roles in such films as Smokin' Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation, Date Night, Just Wright, Happy Feet Two, and New Year's Eve. He also narrated the award-winning documentary Bouncing Cats, about one man's efforts to improve the lives of children in Uganda through hip-hop/b-boy culture. Common currently appears in Hell on Wheels, a dramatic television series on AMC that debuted in November 2011.

wn.com/Common_(entertainer)
Cyhi the Prynce
Cydel Young (born September 15, 1984), better known by his stage name CyHi the Prynce (sometimes stylized as CyHi Da Prynce), is an American hip hop recording artist from Stone Mountain, Georgia. He is signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik label, also Bu Thiam's BuVision label, Kanye West's GOOD Music label and Def Jam Recordings. Cyhi has made appearances on Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and has released five mixtapes, with the latest being Jack of All Trades.
Growing up, Cydel played various sports including football, basketball, and track and field, in addition to singing in school choirs and participating in school plays and dances. He was raised Baptist by strict parents, who didn't allow him to listen to rap music until he was 12 years of age. However, Young cites his parents' methods as a foundation upon which he could build himself in character.
Cyhi first gained major buzz in 2010 when he received a co-sign from Kanye West. He reports that the singer Beyonce, a friend of West and the wife of his mentor, Jay-Z, convinced Kanye to sign him to the rapper/producer's GOOD Music label. This culminated in Cydel's inclusion on the popular single to Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, "So Appalled" as well as several tracks from West's GOOD Fridays series.

wn.com/Cyhi_the_Prynce
D'banj
Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo (popularly known as D'banj, born June 9, 1980), is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and harmonica player. He has won several music awards including the awards for Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007,Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009. and BET Awards of 2011 for Best International Act; Africa. He adopted the stage name D'banj, a combination of his first name Dapo and his surname Oyebanjo.. D'banj is currently best known internationally for his 2012 summer hit Oliver Twist, an uptempo dance fusion of Afro-Beats, R&B and electronic dance music that topped the African charts 2011 and was a top 10 hit in the UK singles chart in 2012 reaching #2 on the UK R&B chart.
D'banj was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria to a military officer who commanded an artillery regiment and a church dignitary mother who hailed from Shagamu in Ogun State. Due to his father's profession he moved several times within Nigeria and later moved to England. D'banj was expected to follow his father's military career and was enrolled to the Nigerian Military School at age eleven. However, D'banj resisted the system and disenrolled from the school after three years. While at the Military school he was a member of the elite drum corp of the Nigerian Army. From the Nigerian Military School he proceeded to another military owned institution Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ibara, Abeokuta where he completed his secondary school education.

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Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr. Philip Chandler for six years. He has received much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Melvin B. Tolson, Frank Lucas and Herman Boone.
Washington has received two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe awards, and a Tony Award. He is notable for winning the Best Supporting Actor for Glory in 1989; and the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2001 for his role in the film Training Day.
Denzel Washington was born in Mount Vernon, near New York City, New York on December 28, 1954. His mother, Lennis "Lynne", was a beauty parlor-owner and operator born in Georgia and partly raised in Harlem. His father, Reverend Denzel Hayes Washington, Sr., a native of Buckingham County, Virginia, served as an ordained Pentecostal minister, and also worked for the Water Department and a local department store, S. Klein.

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Derrick Hodge
Derrick Hodge (Born July 5, 1979 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American bassist, composer, and music producer. He is also the founder of Son of Knowledge Music and Son of Knowledge Entertainment.
Derrick Hodge began studying electric guitar at the age of 7, inspired by the playing of West Philadelphia’s Beulah Baptist Church choir’s bassist, Joel Ruffiin. A year later, Hodge switched to electric bass guitar and began playing in the elementary school concert band and orchestra. In junior high, he was introduced to the upright contrabass. At the time, there were no bass instructors so Hodge learned the instrument by using his electric bass technique and by watching the first and second violins sitting across from him. And for jazz band, he just played the upright bass as if it were an electric bass, disallowing the lack of instructional resources to be his hindrance. He considers himself a product of a hotbed of talent from the greater Philadelphia region which had a thriving gospel, jazz, classical, R&B and emerging hip hop scene. He also credits mentors such as James Poyser, Jethaniel Nixon, and others throughout his teenage years.

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DJ Premier
Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), better known by his stage name DJ Premier (also known as Preem, Premo, or Primo for short), is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru. Born in Houston and raised in Prairie View, Texas, he has lived in Brooklyn, New York, for much of his professional career. Rolling Stone identified Premier as arguably Hip-Hop's greatest producer of all time.
The Source named DJ Premier one of the five greatest producers in hip-hop history, while the editors of About.com ranked him #1 on their Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers list. He also made the "Finals" in the search for The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All Time by Vibe. He attended Prairie View A&M University.
Premier is known for producing all of Gang Starr's songs as well as many of the Gang Starr Foundation's songs. His work also includes production for heavyweight rappers such as (alphabetic order) Apathy, Big L, Bun B, Canibus, D.I.T.C., Fat Joe, Game, Jay-Z, Kanye West, KRS-One, Lord Finesse, M.O.P., Mos Def, Nas, Rakim, Royce Da 5'9", The LOX, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, rock band Limp Bizkit, Big L, Big Daddy Kane, Ill Bill, Joell Ortiz, and pop/R&B singer Christina Aguilera, among many others.

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Djelimady Tounkara
Djelimady Tounkara is a Malian musician and one of the foremost guitarists in Africa.
Born in the culturally rich town of Kita, west of the Malian capital, Bamako, Djelimady grew up surrounded with traditional music played by members of his family, griots, musicians and historians by birth. Djelimady played djembe drum and ngoni, a banjo-like lute, as a boy. When he moved to Mali's capital, Bamako, during the 1960s, he had actually planned to work as a tailor. But music proved a stronger calling. He started playing guitar in a large, government-sponsored neighborhood band, Orchestre Misira. Voted the best guitarist in the band, Djelimady was selected to join the Orchestre National as rhythm guitarist, a great honor for the young player.
All his adult life, Djelimady has worked to transform his ancestral traditions into dance pop. But at the same time, he has continued to work in more traditional contexts, backing the great griot singers of Mali on records, in concerts and at the day-long wedding and baptism celebrations that are the modern griot's life blood. In recent years, Djelimady has performed in an acoustic trio called Bajourou, accompanied by another masterful griot guitarist, Bouba Sacko, and by singer Lafia Diabate, a veteran of the Rail Band.

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Doc Brown (rapper)
Doc Brown (real name Ben Bailey Smith) is a British former rapper, currently a comedian, actor, screenwriter and voiceover artist.

Ben Bailey Smith was born in London to a Jamaican mother, Yvonne Bailey, and a British father, Harvey Smith. His mother had grown up in Jamaica and emigrated to Britain in 1969. Their marriage was his father's second. His parents divorced when he was a child. Smith is the younger brother of novelist and essayist Zadie Smith.
Smith began his career in 2000 as a battle rapper, competing in live events such as the now defunct Mudlumz, an infamously tough gig based at the Dingwalls nightclub in Camden Lock where amongst others he battled and lost to fellow UK rapper Sway. Smith became a recurring battle champion at the fledgling competition "Jump Off" in 2003, when the now international event was housed underneath Yo! Sushi on Poland Street in London's Soho, moving to the Swiss Centre in Leicester Square (Now the M&M museum). The following year Smith's growing reputation as a personality of the underground scene made him the host of a monthly event at his friend's record shop Deal Real on Great Marlborough Court off Carnaby Street in the West End of London.

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Dwele
Andwele Gardner (born February 14, 1978), better known by his stage name Dwele is a soul singer, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan.
Gardner was raised on the west side of Detroit in a musical family. He played piano from the age of six, later taking up trumpet, bass and guitar. He was deeply affected by the fatal shooting of his father outside his home when he was age ten, later stating "I learned to put my emotions into music; it was my therapy." He cites Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Roy Ayers, Miles Davis, and Freddie Hubbard as favorite artists, and took inspiration from hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, becoming an MC, and working with Slum Village. Gardner recorded a demo in his bedroom, called, The Rize, and sold it out of the trunk of his car. He had about 100 copies, which sold out within a week. He caught the ears of local heroes Slum Village and more specifically their world-renowned producer J Dilla.Slum Village invited Dwele to sing the hook of the song "Tainted" for their album Trinity (Past, Present and Future). It became an instant classic and led to more high profile work with female rapper Bahamadia, the all-star group Lucy Pearl and London's New Sector Movement. Dwele signed to Virgin Records in 2003, who released his debut album, Subject, which mixed neo soul and hip hop. In a 2005 review in The Independent, his style was summed up: "Dwele's rooted in vintage soul but isn't stuck in the past, overly reverential or an exercise in pastiche - there's a major hip-hop edge which betrays his original incarnation as a rapper." A second album, Some Kinda..., followed in 2005. He then later signed with RT Music Group and KOCH records in March, 2008 He released his fourth album titled, W.ants W.orld W.omen on June 29, 2010. Dwele was featured on the first single off of Kanye West's fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The song was entitled "Power" and was leaked on May 28, 2010.

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Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem (often stylized as EMINƎM) and by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group, D12, to mainstream recognition. As well as being a member of D12, Eminem is also one half of the hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil, with Royce da 5'9". Eminem is one of the best-selling artists in the world and is the best selling artist of the 2000s. He has been listed and ranked as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines including the Rolling Stone magazine which has ranked him 82nd on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The same magazine has declared him The King of Hip Hop. Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has achieved ten number-one albums on the Billboard 200. He has sold more than 42 million tracks and 41 million albums in the United States, and nearly 90 million albums worldwide.
Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album, The Slim Shady LP. That first album, The Marshall Mathers LP and his third major album, The Eminem Show, all won Grammy Awards, making Eminem the first artist to win Best Rap Album for three consecutive LPs. The Marshall Mathers LP is also considered one of Eminem's best and most successful albums. Eminem then went on hiatus after touring in 2005. He released his first album since 2004's Encore, titled Relapse, on May 15, 2009. In 2010, Eminem released his seventh studio album Recovery, which was an international success. Recovery was also named the best selling album worldwide of 2010 joining The Eminem Show, which was the best seller of 2002. Eminem won Grammy Awards for both Relapse and Recovery, giving him a total of 13 Grammys in his career. Eminem has named Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane, Newcleus, the Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, AZ, Nas, and Ice-T amongst others as his influences.

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Fat Joe
Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad.
Fat Joe's first album was Represent, released in 1993, followed by Jealous One's Envy in 1995. From 1998 to 2006, he was signed to Atlantic Records, releasing four albums under the label, Don Cartagena in 1998, Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) in 2001, Loyalty in 2002, and All or Nothing in 2005. Around the release of All or Nothing, Fat Joe became involved in a highly publicized feud with another New York City-based rapper 50 Cent, who attacked Fat Joe in his song "Piggy Bank". His most popular song in which he performed was his Remy Ma duet "Lean Back" with Terror Squad. The song was a number-one hit in the summer of 2004.
Starting in 2006, when his album Me, Myself, & I was released, Fat Joe was signed to Imperial Records, which distributes through Terror Squad Entertainment. His follow up album wasThe Elephant in the Room, which was released in 2008; Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2), the sequel to Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.), was released in October 2009. His tenth album The Darkside Vol. 1 was released on July 27, 2010.

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Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 — 2 August 1997), or simply Fela ([feˈlæ]), was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.
Fela was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria into a middle-class family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement and his father, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a Protestant minister and school principal, was the first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers. His brothers, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, both medical doctors, are well known in Nigeria. Fela was a first cousin to the Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, the first African to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.
Fela was sent to London in 1958 to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. While there, he formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a fusion of jazz and highlife. In 1960, Fela married his first wife, Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, with whom he would have three children (Femi, Yeni, and Sola). In 1963, Fela moved back to Nigeria, re-formed Koola Lobitos and trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. He played for some time with Victor Olaiya and his All Stars.

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GLC (rapper)
GLC the ism is an American rapper from Chicago.
The ism found poetry and hip-hop at an early age and used both to cope with the passing of his parents. “As long as you’re talking about the negativity, you’re only attracting more negativity into your life. Stay positive. I was dead broke. I was living in my sister’s basement. All I had was a VS-880 (8-track recorder) but I did 2-3 songs a day.” Growing up, Harris was a member of the Chicago street gang called Gangster Disciples.
At the beginning of his rap career, Harris adopted the name G.L.C., or 'Gangsta Legendary Crisis'. In 2004 he signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label, and was featured "Spaceship" from West's album The College Dropout, and "Drive Slow" on Late Registration. He was one-third of the Chicago rap group The Go Getters with Kanye West and label-mate Really Doe. The group released one album together called World Record Holders.
G.L.C.'s debut album, Love, Life, and Loyalty, was released on October 12, 2010.
GLC has appeared in the 2008 football game Blitz: The League II as "Franchise", the player you control in the campaign mode.

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Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE (born 11 June 1959), known as Hugh Laurie (/ˈhjuː ˈlɒri/), is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director. He first became known as one half of the Fry and Laurie double act, along with his friend and comedy partner Stephen Fry, whom he joined in the cast of Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster from 1987 to 1999.
From 2004 to 2012, he played Dr Gregory House, the protagonist of House, for which he received two Golden Globe awards, two Screen Actors Guild awards, and six Emmy nominations. As of August 2010, Laurie is the highest paid actor in a drama series on US television. He has been listed in the 2011 Guinness Book of World Records as the highest paid actor ever in a TV Drama—earning US$ 700,000 per episode in House—and for being the most watched leading man on television.
Laurie was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. The youngest of four children, Laurie has an older brother named Charles and two older sisters named Susan and Janet. He had a somewhat strained relationship with his mother, Patricia (née Laidlaw). His father, Ran Laurie, was a medical doctor who also won an Olympic gold medal in the coxless pairs (rowing) at the 1948 London Games.

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J Dilla
James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla, J Mukandila and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan. According to his obituary at NPR.org, he "was one of the music industry's most influential hip-hop artists, working for big-name acts like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes and Common."
Renowned producer Pete Rock placed J Dilla on his list of the top five producers of all time, while the editors of About.com ranked him #15 on their list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers. Andy Kellman of Allmusic stated that—by 2004, after being active for well over a decade as a producer—J Dilla had accomplished enough to be considered "an all-time great." J Dilla made the "Elite 8" in the search for The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All Time by Vibe. Also, The Source placed him on its list of the 20 greatest producers in the magazine's twenty-year history.
Yancey's career began slowly. He has now become highly regarded, most notably for the production of critically acclaimed albums by Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Common, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde, and Erykah Badu. He was a member of Slum Village and produced their acclaimed debut album Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1) and their follow-up Fantastic, Vol. 2.

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James Poyser
James Poyser (born January 31,) in Sheffield, England is a multi-Grammy winning songwriter, musician and multi-platinum producer.
Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists including Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Lauryn Hill, Common, Anthony Hamilton, D'Angelo, The Roots, and Keyshia Cole.
During his career, Poyser has toured, and played live with such distinctive artists as Jay-Z, The Roots, Erykah Badu, and Aretha Franklin. An active session musician, he has contributed to the works of Adele, Norah Jones, Eric Clapton, Joss Stone, Ziggy Marley, Macy Gray and Femi Kuti.
Poyser received a Grammy for Best R&B Song in 2003 for co-writing Erykah Badu and Common's hit "Love Of My Life." James was also the executive producer on Badu's highly celebrated albums, Mama's Gun and Worldwide Underground.
A longtime collaborator and member of The Roots, James has joined them on stage, performing live as the houseband for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

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James Yancey
James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla, J Mukandila and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan. According to his obituary at NPR.org, he "was one of the music industry's most influential hip-hop artists, working for big-name acts like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes and Common."
Renowned producer Pete Rock placed J Dilla on his list of the top five producers of all time, while the editors of About.com ranked him #15 on their list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers. Andy Kellman of Allmusic stated that—by 2004, after being active for well over a decade as a producer—J Dilla had accomplished enough to be considered "an all-time great." J Dilla made the "Elite 8" in the search for The Greatest Hip-Hop Producer of All Time by Vibe. Also, The Source placed him on its list of the 20 greatest producers in the magazine's twenty-year history.
Yancey's career began slowly. He has now become highly regarded, most notably for the production of critically acclaimed albums by Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Common, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde, and Erykah Badu. He was a member of Slum Village and produced their acclaimed debut album Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1) and their follow-up Fantastic, Vol. 2.

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Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won a Golden Globe Award and three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor.
Piven was born in Manhattan, New York, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. He was raised in a Jewish household. He graduated from Evanston Township High School,^{[dead link]} and attended Harand Theater Camp in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, as a teenager. He played the part of "Bernardo" in West Side Story there. In Illinois, he trained at Piven Theatre Workshop, founded by his parents, Byrne Piven and Joyce Piven, both of whom were actors and drama teachers. He also attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. He spent a semester at the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Connecticut. He has appeared in a number of films with John Cusack, who is also from Evanston and is a fellow alumnus of the Piven Theatre Workshop (as are Cusack's sisters Joan and Ann). Piven and Cusack once shared an apartment and have been friends since high school.

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Jill Scott
Dependency or dependent may refer to:
without one, in the case of independent forms
Among monastic orders, the term denotes the relation of a monastic community with a newer community which it has established elsewhere. The relationship can be that of an abbey with a priory composed of the monks who originated from the first house. In that situation, the abbot remains the ultimate authority for the affairs of the dependent priory, which is considered an extension of the founding house. This relationship will end at such time as the daughter community might become fully autonomous and an abbey in its own right.
Smaller monasteries of nuns within a monastic congregation can make a bond with a monastery of monks within the same division of the Order, whereby the two are affiliated, and the monks guarantee pastoral care of the nuns. In this sense, the women's house is considered a dependency on that of the men.

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John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He has won nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career gained momentum through a series of successful collaborations with multiple established artists. Stephens added his voice to those of other artists, assisting in them reaching chart-topper hits. He lent his voice to Kanye West's All of the Lights, on Slum Village's "Selfish" and Dilated Peoples' "This Way". Other artists included Jay-Z's "Encore", and he sang backing vocals on Alicia Keys' 2003 song "You Don't Know My Name" and Fort Minor's "High Road." Stephens played piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything."
Stephens was born on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio. He is the son of Phyllis, a seamstress, and John Mills, a factory worker and former National Guardsman. Throughout his childhood, Stephens was homeschooled on and off by his mother. At the age of four, he began playing the piano and at the age of seven, he performed with his church choir. When he was ten, his parents divorced, causing his mother to suffer a breakdown. At the age of 12, Stephens attended North High School, from which he graduated four years later. He graduated salutatorian.

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Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian. He is widely known as host of The Daily Show, a satirical news program that airs on Comedy Central.
Stewart started as a stand-up comedian, but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central. He went on to host his own show on MTV, called The Jon Stewart Show, and then hosted another show on MTV called You Wrote It, You Watch It. He has also had several film roles as an actor. Stewart became the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central in early 1999. He is also a writer and co-executive-producer of the show. After Stewart joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, resulting in his sixteen Emmy Awards.
Stewart has gained acclaim as an acerbic, satirical critic of personality-driven media shows, in particular those of the US media networks such as CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. Critics say Stewart benefits from a double standard: he critiques other news shows from the safe, removed position of his "fake news" desk. Stewart agrees, saying that neither his show nor his channel purports to be anything other than satire and comedy. In spite of its self-professed entertainment mandate, The Daily Show has been nominated for news and journalism awards. Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards. He is the co-author of America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, which was one of the best-selling books in the U.S. in 2004 and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race released in 2010.

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Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics.
First appearing in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February/March 1960), the Justice League originally appeared with the line-up of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. The team roster has been rotated throughout the years with characters such as Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Black Canary, the Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Zatanna, other Green Lanterns, and dozens of others. The team received its own comic book title in October 1960, when the first issue was published, and would continue to #261 in April 1987, which was the final issue. Throughout the years, various incarnations or subsections of the team have operated as Justice League America, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League Task Force, Justice League Elite, and Extreme Justice.

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Kanye West
Kanye Omari West ( /ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977) is an American musician, film director and fashion designer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, and classical music.
West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. West released a collaborative album, Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in 2011, which is the duo's first collaborative album. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. As of 2012, West has won a total of eighteen Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time. All albums have been very commercially successful, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy becoming his fourth consecutive No. 1 album in the U.S. upon release. West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with "Gold Digger" selling 3,086,000, "Stronger" selling 4,402,000, "Heartless" selling 3,742,000, "E.T." selling over 4,000,000 and "Love Lockdown" selling over 3,000,000 placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade. He has sold over 30 million digital songs in the United States making him one of the best-selling digital artists of all-time.

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Karriem Riggins
Karriem Riggins (born August 25, 1975) is a jazz drummer, hip hop producer, dj, and sometime rapper. He is a former member of the Ray Brown Trio and Mulgrew Miller trio and currently appears in the Diana Krall quartet.
Riggins was born in Detroit, Michigan. His father, Emmanuel Riggins, is also a musician, and Karriem would often play drums with him as a child. Riggins began producing hip hop in middle school and continued through high school. He studied music at Southfield High School as well, and joined Betty Carter's band Jazz Ahead soon after, at 17. When he was 19 (in 1994), Riggins moved to New York City, and joined the Ray Brown Trio in 1998. Riggins has also recorded and performed with Donald Byrd, Hank Jones, Mulgrew Miller, Milt Jackson, Oscar Peterson, Cedar Walton, Roy Hargrove, and Bobby Hutcherson.
Away from jazz, Riggins has done production work for hip hop artists including Slum Village, Erykah Badu, Common, J Dilla, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Phat Kat, Consequence, and Dwele. He has collaborated with the hip hop multi-instrumentalist Madlib, performing on his 2007 album Yesterdays Universe and in collaborations entitled Supreme Team and The Jahari Massamba Unit. and also produced a portion of the soundtrack for the 2007 film Smokin' Aces.

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Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves ( /keɪˈɑːnuː/ kay-AH-noo; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian film actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his role in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure as well as Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix. He has worked under major directors, such as Stephen Frears (in the 1988 period drama Dangerous Liaisons); Gus Van Sant (in the 1991 independent film My Own Private Idaho); and Bernardo Bertolucci (in the 1993 film Little Buddha). Referring to his 1991 film releases, The New York Times’ critic, Janet Maslin, praised Reeves’ versatility, saying that he “displays considerable discipline and range. He moves easily between the buttoned-down demeanor that suits a police procedural story and the loose-jointed manner of his comic roles.” A repeated theme in roles he has portrayed is that of saving the world, including the characters of Ted Logan, Buddha, Neo, Johnny Mnemonic, John Constantine and Klaatu.
In addition to his film roles, Reeves has also performed in theatre. His performance in the title role in a Manitoba Theatre Centre production of Hamlet was praised by Roger Lewis, the Sunday Times, who declared Reeves " … one of the top three Hamlets I have seen, for a simple reason: he is Hamlet."^{[citation needed]} On January 31, 2005, Reeves received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Kid Cudi

Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), better known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( /ˈkɪd ˈkʌdi/ KID KUD-ee), sometimes stylized KiD CuDi, is an American alternative hip hop recording artist, singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor. He first gained major attention after the release of his debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi. In 2009, his single "Day 'n' Nite" reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. "Day 'n' Nite" was included on Cudi's debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day, which was later certified Gold. In 2010 he released his second studio album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, preceded by the release of two singles "Erase Me" and "Mr. Rager". In October 2010, Cudi announced that he would be forming a rock band with Dot da Genius called 'Wizard', later renamed WZRD. Their self-titled debut album was released on February 28, 2012. Kid Cudi has sold over 4.6 million digital singles and has worked with Kanye West, Common, David Guetta and other artists signed to the GOOD Music label.

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Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper (born 2 May 1985), better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist, actress and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative. Allen abandoned school and concentrated on improving her performing and compositional skills. Afterwards, she created several demo songs and, near the end of 2005, she created a profile on MySpace where she made some of her recordings public.
A contract was signed with the label Regal Recordings, as the views on MySpace rose to tens of thousands. In 2006, she began to work on completing what would be her first studio album and its first mainstream single "Smile" reached the top position on the UK Singles Chart in July 2006. Her debut record, Alright, Still, was well received on the international market, selling over 2.6 million copies and brought Allen a nomination at the Grammy Awards, BRIT Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. She then began hosting her own talk-show, Lily Allen and Friends, on BBC Three.

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Lonnie Lynn
Lonnie Lynn, nicknamed "Pops" (born May 24, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois), is a retired American basketball player.
At 6'7" and 215 lb, he was a forward and played basketball at DuSable High School on Chicago's south side before moving on to Wilberforce University and Upper Iowa University.
Lynn was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in the 12th round of the 1966 NBA Draft and later played one season for the Pittsburgh Pipers of the American Basketball Association in 1969–70, averaging 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Once known to Chicagoans for his play at DuSable High School, Lonnie Lynn has gathered a following in the rap world. Father of hip hop artist Common, Lynn performed on several of his son's albums.
On record, Lynn shares opinions, experiences and wisdom to a younger hip hop audience in spoken word poetry format. Many of these appearances, in particular "Pops Rap" on Resurrection, feature Lynn discussing the hippie ideals that have found their way into hip hop culture. In an article for National Public Radio, journalist Robert Siegel wrote of Lonnie "Pops" Lynn:

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Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. (born Louis Eugene Wolcott; May 11, 1933, and formerly known as Louis X) is the leader of the syncretic and mainly African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam (NOI). He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of the Nation of Islam. After Warith Deen Muhammad disbanded the NOI and started the orthodox Islamic group American Society of Muslims, Farrakhan started rebuilding the NOI. In 1981 he revived the name Nation of Islam for his organization, previously known as Final Call, regaining many of the Nation of Islam's National properties including the NOI National Headquarters Mosque Maryam, reopening over 130 NOI mosques in America and the world. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Farrakhan as an antisemite.
Farrakhan is a black religious and social leader and a critic of the United States government on many issues. Farrakhan has been both praised and widely criticized for his often controversial political views and outspoken rhetorical style. In October 1995, he organized and led the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., calling on black men to renew their commitments to their families and communities. Due to health issues, in 2007, Farrakhan reduced his responsibilities with the NOI.

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Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige ( /ˈblaɪʒ/; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and occasional rapper and actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B.
Blige started her musical career in 1992, releasing her debut album, What's the 411? on MCA Records and Uptown. With her tenth album, My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (2011), she had ten consecutive albums debut in the top 10 on the Billboard 200. Blige's work has defined the course of R&B/Hip-Hop music. My Life, in particular, is considered among the greatest albums ever recorded according to Rolling Stone (279/500),Time, and Vibe. For her part in combining hip hop and soul in the early 1990s and its subsequent commercial success, Blige received the World Music Awards "Legends Award". In 2007 the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers awarded her its "Voice of Music" Award. ASCAP official Jeanie Weems stated that "[Blige's] music has been the voice of inspiration to women worldwide in both struggle and triumph." That same year, Time included her in its "Time 100" list, a collection of the year's 100 most influential individuals around the world. In a documentary by BET television, Mary J. Blige said that when she hears music, she sees colors. In other words she has Synesthesia.

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Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. As the wife of a Senator, and later the First Lady, she has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition and healthy eating.

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Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby. He has also won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Freeman has appeared in many other box office hits, including Unforgiven, Glory, Seven, Deep Impact, The Sum of All Fears, Bruce Almighty, Batman Begins, March of the Penguins, The Bucket List, Wanted, The Dark Knight, and RED.
Morgan Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Mayme Edna (née Revere), a teacher, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, a barber who died April 27, 1961, from cirrhosis. He has three older siblings. Freeman was sent as an infant to his paternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi. His family moved frequently during his childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi; Gary, Indiana; and finally Chicago, Illinois. Freeman made his acting debut at age 9, playing the lead role in a school play. He then attended Broad Street High School, later named Threadgill Elementary School, in Mississippi. At age 12, he won a statewide drama competition, and while still at Broad Street High School, he performed in a radio show based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1955, he graduated from Broad Street, but turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, opting instead to work as a mechanic in the United States Air Force.

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Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith (born December 11, 1973) is an American actor and MC, known by the stage names Mos Def ( /ˌmoʊsˈdɛf/) and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which released the album Black Star in 1998. He was a major force in late 1990s underground hip hop while with Rawkus Records. As a solo artist he has released the albums Black on Both Sides in 1999, The New Danger in 2004, True Magic in 2006, and The Ecstatic in 2009.
Although he was initially recognized for his musical output, since the early 2000s, Mos Def's screen work has established him as one of only a handful of rappers who has garnered critical acclaim for his acting work. He is well known for his portrayal of Brother Sam in the American drama series Dexter. Mos Def has also been active in several social and political causes.
He was born Dante Terrell Smith in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Sheron Smith and Abdul Rahman. He was raised by his mother in Brooklyn; his father lived in New Jersey. While his father was initially a member of the Nation of Islam and later an active member in the community of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, who merged into mainstream Islam from the Nation, Mos Def was not exposed to Islam until the age of 13. At 19, he took his shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith. He is friends with Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.

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Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook on April 24, 1954) is an American convict, serving a life sentence for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. He was sentenced to death at his first trial in July 1982, and his case became an international cause célèbre. Before his arrest, he was an activist and radio journalist who became President of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. He was a member of the Black Panther Party until October 1970.
Supporters and opponents disagreed on the appropriateness of the death penalty, his guilt, and whether he received a fair trial. He was described as "perhaps the world's best known death-row inmate". During his imprisonment he has published several books and other commentaries, notably Live from Death Row (1995).
In 2008, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the murder conviction but ordered a new capital sentencing hearing because the jury was improperly instructed. Subsequently, the United States Supreme Court also allowed his conviction to stand but ordered the appeals court to reconsider its decision as to the sentence. In 2011, the Third Circuit again affirmed the conviction as well as its decision to vacate the death sentence, and the District Attorney of Philadelphia announced that prosecutors would no longer seek the death penalty. He was removed from death row in January 2012.

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Nas
Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones ( /nɑːˈsɪər/; born September 14, 1973), better known by his stage name Nas ( /ˈnɑːz/), is an American rapper and actor. He is also the son of jazz musician Olu Dara. Nas has released eight consecutive platinum and multi-platinum albums since 1994, four of which topped the Billboard charts upon release and has sold over thirteen-million records in the United States alone. Nas was also part of the hip hop supergroup The Firm, which released one album under Dr. Dre's record label Aftermath. Aside from rapping, Nas is also an occasional actor and has appeared in feature films such as Hype Williams' directorial debut Belly, Ticker and In Too Deep and the television show Hawaii Five-0.
His rise to fame began in 1991 with his feature on hip hop group Main Source's debut album on the track "Live at the Barbeque". In the years that followed, Nas garnered attention from music industry A & R's and record labels with more impressive features and a solo single "Halftime". His debut album Illmatic, released in 1994 by Columbia Records, received universal acclaim from both critics and the hip hop community and would go on to be widely hailed as a musical landmark and a classic in the genre and is consistently ranked as one of the greatest LP's of all time. His follow up album It Was Written debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Charts, stayed on top for four consecutive weeks and went platinum twice in only two months, propelling Nas to worldwide notoriety.

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No I.D.
No I.D., officially known as Immenslope and also known as Ernest Wilson (born Dion Wilson in Chicago, Illinois), is a hip hop and R&B record producer, also the vice-president of Def Jam Recordings, best known for his early work with Chicago rapper Common and is known as "The Godfather of Chicago hip hop".. The nickname No I.D. is his birth name, Dion, in reverse.
As a co-producer (and sometimes ghost producer) for Jermaine Dupri, "Heat" by Twista & Co-Produced with The Legendary Traxster "I Do It" by Big Sean, No I.D. has worked on hit singles such as "My Boo" by Usher and Alicia Keys, "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow featuring Omarion, and "Smile" by G-Unit, "Retrospect for Life" by Common feat. Lauryn Hill, as well as the hip hop staple "I Used to Love H.E.R." and "Resurrection" which garnered Common his early fame. No I.D. also introduced Kanye West to hip hop production, inviting him to his sessions with Common when West was only beginning. He also introduced Kanye to a long time friend named Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua, who was A&R for Roc-a-fella Records who eventually signed West to his imprint Hip Hop Since 1978 which launched West's career as an artist. Kanye cites No I.D. as his mentor in "Last Call," "Big Brother" and "Made in America."

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Persia White
Persia White is an American actress and musician. White is known for playing free-spirited professional student Lynn Searcy on the long-running sitcom Girlfriends. She is also a member of the industrial rock band XEO3 and a solo singer, releasing her debut album Mecca in 2009.
White was born in Miami, Florida, U.S. and raised in Nassau, Bahamas, and Miami. At the age of three, she earned a scholarship to the Nassau Civic Ballet Company. At age eight, she joined the Miami Coconut Grove Children's Theater. As a teen, White studied dance, acting, singing, and painting.
She has appeared in various independent films, including Red Letters (opposite Peter Coyote) and the cult horror Blood Dolls. She starred in the made-for-TV movies Operation Sandman (opposite Ron Perlman), and Suddenly, opposite Kirstie Alley. Her television work includes guest starring roles on Angel, NYPD Blue, The Steve Harvey Show, Brooklyn South, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as a series regular role on Breaker High with co-star Ryan Gosling. In 2008, White appeared in The Fall of Night, as the character Dawn. She can also be seen in Chrisette Michele's video, "Be OK".

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Pete Rock
Peter Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth. After the duo went their separate ways, Rock continued with a solo career that has garnered him worldwide respect, though little in the way of mainstream success. Along with groups such as Stetsasonic, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots and Gang Starr, Rock played a major role in the merging of elements from jazz into hip hop music (also known as jazz rap). He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongside DJ Premier, the RZA, and J Dilla as one of the mainstays of 1990s East Coast hip hop production. Pete Rock is also the older brother and younger cousin, respectively, of rappers Grap Luva and the late Heavy D.
Pete Rock was born in The Bronx, New York, the sixth of seven children of Jamaican immigrant parents. His family moved to Mount Vernon, New York when he was seven years old. During high school, he met his future recording partner CL Smooth. According to Rock, his father was also a part-time DJ who had an impressive record collection. Rock would often accompany his father to a cricket club called Wembley in The Bronx and watch as he spun records for the guests. His first job was as a paperboy, in his neighborhood.

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Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams (born April 5, 1973), commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music. He is also the lead vocalist and drummer of hip-hop band N.E.R.D, which he formed with Hugo and childhood friend Shay Haley. He released his first single "Frontin'" in 2003 and followed up with his first album In My Mind in 2006.
As part of The Neptunes, Williams has produced numerous hit singles for various musicians. The two have earned three Grammy Awards amongst ten nominations. He is also the co-founder of the clothing brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Clothing. He is a member of the supergroup V.A. Playaz with Fam-Lay, Clipse, Skillz, Missy Elliott, and Timbaland & Magoo.
Pharrell Williams was born on April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the eldest of three sons of Carolyn, a teacher, and Pharaoh Williams, a handyman. He met Chad Hugo in a seventh-grade summer band camp where Williams played the keyboards and drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They were also both members of a marching band; Williams played the snare drum while Chad was student conductor. With Hugo, Williams attended Princess Anne High School where they played in the school band; there he got the name Skateboard P.

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Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh bass guitarist who gained fame playing primarily rock and roll, blues rock, and rhythm and blues music, although he has been lauded for his ability to play most genres of popular music, including jazz, neo soul, and funk. His career has spanned several ensembles, including the John Mayer Trio and The RH Factor, a band mixing elements of soul, jazz and R&B, which he formed with jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove. He was also Pete Townshend's and Roger Daltrey's first choice to fill the position left by John Entwistle as the bassist for The Who. Adding to an eclectic grasp and melodic approach on his instrument, he has become one of the most sought-after session players on the bass and has played on a large number of recordings by some of the world's most successful entertainers, in part, by mastering a variety of techniques on both his late 1970s fretless Music Man StingRay bass guitar and, later in his career, adding fretted Fender Precision and Jaguar basses. His playing has earned him custom instruments bearing his name.

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Prince (musician)
Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson; June 7, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of the instruments on his recordings. In addition, Prince has been a "talent promoter" for the careers of Sheila E., Carmen Electra, The Time and Vanity 6, and his songs have been recorded by these artists and others (including Chaka Khan, The Bangles, Sinéad O'Connor, and even Kim Basinger). He also has several hundred unreleased songs in his "vault".
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prince developed an interest in music at an early age, writing his first song at age seven. After recording songs with his cousin's band 94 East, seventeen-year-old Prince recorded several unsuccessful demo tapes before releasing his debut album, For You, in 1978. His 1979 album, Prince, went platinum due to the success of the singles "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover". His next three records, Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982) continued his success, showcasing Prince's trademark of prominently sexual lyrics and incorporation of elements of funk, dance and rock music. In 1984, he began referring to his backup band as The Revolution and released the album Purple Rain, which served as the soundtrack to his film debut of the same name.

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Pusha T
Terrence Thornton (born May 14, 1977) better known by his stage name Pusha T is an American recording artist, occasional actor and one half of the critically acclaimed hip hop duo Clipse. Along with No Malice, his brother and fellow member of Clipse, he released the album Hell Hath No Fury, which was praised by critics, many of whom consider it to be a cornerstone in Hip-Hop and one of the best rap albums ever made. He is also the co-founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Re-Up Records along with his aforementioned brother. In September 2010 he announced his signing to Kanye West's GOOD Music label and on March 21, 2011, released his first solo project, a mixtape titled Fear of God.
Pusha T was born Terrence Thornton on May 13, 1977, in The Bronx borough of New York City. Thornton and his family soon relocated to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he and his brother, Gene 'No Malice' Thornton, grew up. In 1992 Terrence and his brother Gene formed the duo now internationally known as Clipse. With help from Pharell Williams the group eventually signed to Elektra Records in 1997 and released Exclusive Audio Footage, their only album under that label. Of the two brothers, Terrence was more open to features, appearing on Kelis' 1999 single "Good Stuff" and Nivea's 2001 single "Run Away (I Wanna Be with U)", respectively. In 2004, he and his brother launched their record label, Re-Up Records and formed hip hop group Re-Up Gang along with rappers Ab-Liva and Sandman. After four albums as the Clipse, under various record labels both Malice and Pusha T announced that they were taking time off from the duo to focus on their own respective solo projects.

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Q-Tip (rapper)
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed (born Jonathan Davis on April 10, 1970), better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American entertainer from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest. John Bush of Allmusic called him "the best rapper/producer in hip-hop history," while editors of About.com placed him on their list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers, as well as placing him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007), making him the only rapper/producer on the list.
Born Jonathan Davis on April 10, 1970 in Harlem, he converted to Islam in the mid-1990s, and changed his name to Kamaal Ibn John Fareed. He moved to St. Albans, Queens as a child. As referenced in the song "Check the Rhime", he mostly resided at Linden Boulevard. His father was from Montserrat, a British territory in the eastern Caribbean. His mother is an African-American from Alabama. His sister, Gwen, is eight years older than he is. He attended Murry Bergtraum High School in Manhattan, New York. According to Fareed, he was given his stage name by Afrika Baby Bam of Jungle Brothers, which he used as a replacement for his prior name, MC Love Child. He has also said that the Q in Q-Tip stands for Queens and he is often referred to as Tip, which later caused problems when a Southern rapper, now known as T.I., signed to Arista Records and attempted to use the stage name Tip, which was later shortened to T.I. to avoid confusion with his then-labelmate Q-Tip. Throughout his career, he also called himself "The Abstract". He said that one of the main people in his life that inspired him was his childhood friend, Mohammed Sead.

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Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination.
Latifah was born, and primarily raised, in East Orange, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Rita (née Bray), a teacher at Irvington High School (her daughter's alma mater), and Lancelot Owens, Sr., a police officer, her parents divorced when Latifah was ten. Latifah was raised in the Baptist church and attended Catholic school in Newark, New Jersey. Her stage name, Latifah (لطيفة laţīfa), meaning "delicate" and "very kind" in Arabic, she found in an Islamic book of names when she was eight. Always a tall girl, the 5'10" Latifah was a power forward on her high school basketball team. She performed the number "Home" from the musical The Wiz in a high school play. She is of African American and Native American ancestry.

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Questlove
Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born on January 20, 1971) known professionally as ?uestlove or Questlove (also known as BROther ?uestion, Questo, Brother Question or Qlove), is an American drummer, DJ, music journalist and record producer. He is best known as the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought) for the Grammy Award-winning band The Roots, which is now the in-house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
He has produced for artists such as Common, D'Angelo, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Bilal, Jay-Z, Nikka Costa and more recently, Al Green, Amy Winehouse and John Legend. He is a member of the production teams the Soulquarians, The Randy Watson Experience, and The Grand Wizzards.
Thompson was born in Philadelphia on January 20, 1971. His father was Lee Andrews of Lee Andrews & the Hearts, one of the great 50s doo-wop groups.^{[citation needed]} His parents did not want to leave him with babysitters, so they took him on tour with them. He grew up in backstages of doo-wop shows. By the age of seven, Thompson began drumming on stage at shows, and by 13, had become a musical director.

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Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is a New Zealand born Australian actor, film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, an Empire Award for Best Actor and a London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and ten further nominations for Best Actor. Crowe appeared as the tobacco firm whistle blower Jeffrey Wigand in the 1999 film The Insider, for which he received five awards as Best Actor and seven nominations in the same category. In 2001, Crowe's portrayal of mathematician and Nobel Prize winner John F. Nash in the biopic A Beautiful Mind brought him numerous awards, including an BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor category Motion Picture Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.

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Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian film and television actor. Reynolds is known for playing the role of Michael Bergen on ABC's sitcom Two Guys and a Girl (1998–2001), Wade Wilson / Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Hal Jordan / Green Lantern in Green Lantern. He has also appeared in films such as National Lampoon's Van Wilder, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe, The Proposal, The Change-Up, and Safe House.
Reynolds was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. His father, Jim, is a food wholesaler, and his mother, Tammy, is a retail salesperson. He is of Irish ancestry and was raised as a Roman Catholic. The youngest of four brothers, he graduated from Kitsilano Secondary School in Vancouver in 1994. He later attended Kwantlen Polytechnic University, also in Vancouver, until dropping out.
Reynolds' career began in 1990 when he starred as "Billy" in the Canadian-produced teen soap Hillside, distributed in the United States by Nickelodeon as Fifteen. As an adult, Reynolds starred in the National Lampoon movie Van Wilder and the American television series Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place, playing medical student Michael "Berg" Bergen. In 1993-94 he had a recurring role in The Odyssey as Macro. He also cameoed in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle as a nurse, appeared in The In-Laws with Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks, as well as the Canadian production Foolproof.

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Saul Williams
Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American poet, writer, actor and musician known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop and for his leading role in the 1998 independent film Slam.
The youngest of three children, Williams was born in Newburgh, New York. He attended Newburgh Free Academy for high school, where he would write his song "Black Stacey." After graduating from Morehouse College with a B.A. in acting and philosophy, Williams moved to New York City to earn an MFA in Acting from New York University's prestigious Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts. There he found himself at the center of the New York cafe poetry scene.
Williams and artist Marcia Jones began their relationship in 1995 as collaborative artists on the Brooklyn performance art and spoken word circuit. Their daughter, Saturn, was born in 1996. His collection of poems S/HE is a series of reflections on the demise of the relationship. Marcia Jones, a visual artist and art professor, created the cover artwork for The Seventh Octave, images throughout S/HE in response to Williams, and set-designed his 2001 album Amethyst Rock Star. Saturn has recently been performing with her father on his 2008 concert tour.

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Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell ( /kəˈrɛl/; born August 16, 1962) is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office. He has also starred in lead roles in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, Evan Almighty, Dan in Real Life, Get Smart, Date Night, Dinner for Schmucks, and Crazy, Stupid, Love.; and voiced characters in the animated films Over the Hedge, Horton Hears a Who!, and Despicable Me. Carell was nominated as "America's funniest man" in Life magazine, and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series for playing the lead role of Michael Scott for The Office in 2006.
Carell, the youngest of four brothers, was born at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts, and was raised in nearby Acton by his parents, Harriet T. (née Koch), a psychiatric nurse, and Edwin A. Carell, an electrical engineer. His maternal uncle, Stanley Koch, worked with Allen B. DuMont to create cathode ray tubes. Carell's paternal grandfather was Italian; his father was born with the surname "Caroselli", later shortening it to "Carell". Carell was raised Roman Catholic, and was educated at The Fenn School and Middlesex School. Carell also played ice hockey as a teenager for his high school.^{[citation needed]} He played the fife, performing with other members of his family, and later joined a reenacting group portraying the 10th (North Lincoln) Regiment of Foot. Carell attributed his interest in history to this, in which he earned his degree from Denison University in Granville, Ohio in 1984. While at Denison, Carell was a member of Burpee's Seedy Theatrical Company, a student-run improvisational comedy troupe.

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T.I.
Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by his stage name T.I., is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Grand Hustle Records.
T.I. has released seven studio albums (I'm Serious, Trap Muzik, Urban Legend, King, T.I. vs. T.I.P., Paper Trail, and No Mercy) with the most recent five being highly successful on the commercial market. He has released such successful singles as "Bring Em Out", "What You Know", "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)", "Swagga Like Us" (featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne), "Whatever You Like", "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna), "Dead and Gone" (featuring Justin Timberlake), "Got Your Back" (featuring Keri Hilson) and "That's All She Wrote" (featuring Eminem). He has served two stints in county jail, twice for probation violations and a federal prison bid for a U.S. federal weapons charge. While serving 11 months in prison he released his seventh studio album, No Mercy. T.I. has also had successful acting career, starring in the films Takers and ATL.

wn.com/T.I.
Teyana Taylor
Teyana Taylor (born December 10, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer, and actress. Her debut single "Google Me" was released in 2008, peaking at No. 90 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. She is of African American and Afro-Trinidadian descent.
Teyana was born and raised in Harlem, New York City. At age 4, she picked up a microphone in front of a crowd for the first time, and realized she wanted to become a singer/entertainer. Teyana was enrolled in many different talent competitions, including the Apollo Theater National All-Stars talent search. Taylor had strong influences from Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Lauryn Hill.
Taylor appeared on MTV's My Super Sweet 16 in 2007. Before it aired, she signed to Star Trak/Interscope Records. "Google Me" was the first single from her debut album, From a Planet Called Harlem. The track peaked at number 90 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. She was a member of a band called U.G.L.Y. along with band mates Mijo, Braxton and Ethan. A snippet of U.G.L.Y.'s single "Wasted" was released early 2010. No further releases from the band have since been mentioned.

wn.com/Teyana_Taylor
The Game (rapper)
Jayceon Terrell Taylor (born November 29, 1979), known by his stage name Game, formerly The Game, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, record producer and actor. He rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album The Documentary. The Recording Industry Association of America certified the album two times platinum in March 2005 and it has sold over five million copies worldwide. Born in Los Angeles, California, Game was discovered by Dr. Dre, who signed him to his Aftermath Entertainment label in 2003. Game was originally placed into G-Unit by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. In early 2005, Game entered a feud with G-Unit. Due to his disputes with rapper 50 Cent, Game left Aftermath Entertainment and signed with Geffen Records.
His debut was followed by another successful album, Doctor's Advocate in 2006. His next album LAX was released in 2008. With his fourth studio album The R.E.D. Album, Game made a return to Interscope Records. In 2006, he made his film debut in Waist Deep. Pitchfork Media placed the The Documentary at number 35 on their list of Top 50 Albums of 2005. Game was nominated with a total of two nominations, including Grammy Award for Best Rap Song and Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for the smash single "Hate It or Love It". The New York Times named Doctor's Advocate best hip-hop album of 2006.

wn.com/The_Game_(rapper)
The RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA ( /ˈrɪzə/; born July 5, 1969), is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost all of Wu-Tang Clan's albums as well as many Wu-Tang solo and affiliate projects. He is widely considered one of the most influential and landmark hip-hop producers of all time. He subsequently gained attention for his work scoring and then later acting in films. His revolutionary techniques of sampling, speeding up tracks to fit the beat laced, and his cinematic skits sprinkled throughout albums have greatly inspired other producers in the industry. He produced for a slew of Wu Tang solo albums as well as group albums that dominated not only commercially, but also thematically and artistically. His production from the mid 90's to the late 90's brought about one of the greatest 'bouts' or 'runs' of inspiration the industry has seen, creating various classics.

wn.com/The_RZA
The Ummah
The Ummah was a music production collective, composed of members Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest, and the late Jay Dee (now known as J Dilla) of the Detroit-based group Slum Village. Occasional members included Raphael Saadiq, and D'Angelo. In addition to producing nearly the entirety of A Tribe Called Quest's fourth and fifth album, the Ummah provided backing tracks for a notable array of hip hop and contemporary R&B artists, including Busta Rhymes, Whitney Houston, Keith Murray, the Brand New Heavies, Janet Jackson, and Jon B. The group was so named because two of its members (Tip and Ali) are devout Muslims. The word "ummah" is Arabic for "community", "nation", or "brotherhood".
The collective took shape around 1995, when veteran keyboardist Amp Fiddler introduced Jay Dee (who at the time was shopping for a deal for his group) to Q-Tip. Tip was impressed enough by Jay Dee's soulful productions to invite him as an addition to Tribe's music-production team, which until then consisted of Tip and Ali Shaheed.

wn.com/The_Ummah
Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey ( /ˈfeɪ/; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live (SNL), the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls (2004) and Baby Mama (2008).
Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the Chicago-based improvisational comedy group The Second City. She then joined SNL as a writer, later becoming head writer and a performer, known for her position as co-anchor in the Weekend Update segment. In 2004 she adapted the screenplay Mean Girls in which she also co-starred. After leaving SNL in 2006, she created the television series 30 Rock, a situation comedy loosely based on her experiences at SNL. In the series, Fey portrays the head writer of a fictional sketch comedy series. In 2008, she starred in the comedy film Baby Mama, alongside former SNL co-star Amy Poehler. Fey next appeared in the 2010 comedy films Date Night and Megamind.
She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, four Writers Guild of America Awards and has been nominated for a Grammy Award for her autobiographical book Bossypants, which topped the The New York Times Best Seller list for five weeks. She was singled out as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008 by the Associated Press, which gave her its AP Entertainer of the Year award for her satirical portrayal of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a guest appearance on SNL. In 2010, Fey was the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the youngest-ever winner of the award.

wn.com/Tina_Fey
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac, Pac, and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million records worldwide as of 2010, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time. The themes of most of Tupac's songs are the violence and hardship in inner cities, racism, social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur began his career as a roadie, backup dancer, and MC for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.
Both of his parents and several other family members were members of the Black Panthers, and Tupac made reference to the organization in the song "Changes". Shakur was involved in a West-coast East-coast rivalry after a major feud with East-coast rappers, producers and record-label members of staff.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he died six days later.

wn.com/Tupac_Shakur
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan /ˈwuːtæŋ/ is an American rap group from Staten Island, New York that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi-member of the group. They were formed in (and are associated with) the New York City borough of Staten Island (U-God, Method Man, RZA, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon) (referred to by members as "Shaolin"), though some of their members are from Brooklyn (Ol Dirty Bastard, GZA and Masta Killa) and one is from The Bronx (Inspectah Deck).
They have introduced and launched the careers of affiliated artists and groups, often collectively known as the Wu-Tang Killa Bees, and in 2008, About.com ranked them the No. 1 greatest hip hop group of all time, and stated "No weapon in hip-hop history can rival the chaotic cohesion of the Wu-Tang Clan. The Clan had so many characters, each with his own eccentricities. They were fearless in their approach. There's a good reason no group has been able to successfully recreate their sound. The crew spawned countless loosely associated acts. Their classic albums spawned classic albums." Kris Ex of Rolling Stone called Wu-Tang Clan "the best rap group ever." In 2004, NME hailed them as one of the most influential groups of the last ten years.

wn.com/Wu-Tang_Clan
Yungun
Yungun (a.k.a. Essa) is a UK hip-hop artist. He released his debut album The Essance on Janomi Records in 2004. He was born in North London where he currently works and resides.
He was educated at Eton College.
He began his musical career as a host and MC on pirate radio station Parlay in Harrow during the mid-1990s. There he formed the group Dupa Styles with fellow MCs M.E. Moon and Devise.
In 1998 Yungun made contact with Harry Love who began to play the role of Dupa Styles's DJ and Producer. Whilst still recording with the group, Yungun began a solo career, appearing on projects by LG & Lopez (City Breaks), Evil Ed (The Art of Celebration) Doc Brown (Out There) and Tommy Evans (Four Horsemen, Silent Mobius).
Yungun has worked with many different UK artists including Jehst and Lewis Parker.
Yungun tours both nationally and internationally,^{[citation needed]} and regularly receives airplay from such DJs as Radio One's Steve Lamacq,Zane Lowe,Gilles Peterson Bethan and Huw,Vic Galloway and has performed a live studio set on Ras Kwame's show. Aside from this, Yungun has also presented a feature length show for Radio 1xtra as well as being interviewed and featured on shows from presenters such as DJ Blakey,DJ Semtex,Rodney P and Skitz,DJ Kayper,Benji B and Bobby Friction. He has also been interviewed by Craig Charles on BBC 6 Music, and is regularly played on the station's 6mix show, as well as by numerous other Radio 6 DJs such as Tom Robinson,Phill Jupitus,Chris Hawkins Gary Burton,Liz Kershaw and Andrew Collins, and has had live concerts broadcast on GCap Media's XFM Station.

wn.com/Yungun

Common - The People

published: 23 Nov 2009

author: CommonVEVO

Common - The Light

"The Light" is the Grammy-nominated second single off Common's 2000 album Like Water for C...

published: 20 Apr 2009

author: BVMUndergroundHipHop

Common - Sweet ( Official Video )

published: 15 Nov 2011

author: thinkcommon

Common - Come Close ft. Mary J. Blige

published: 06 Oct 2009

author: CommonVEVO

Common - I Want You

published: 23 Nov 2009

author: CommonVEVO

Common - GO!

published: 24 Dec 2009

author: CommonVEVO

Common - I Used To Love HER

I used to love her too......

published: 11 Oct 2007

author: johnniejade

Common - Blue Sky (Official Video)

published: 27 Oct 2011

author: thinkcommon

Common - Be

Common - Be...

published: 24 Jul 2007

author: tiemodb

Common - Resurrection

Classic video from '95...

published: 09 Feb 2006

author: Nunmuch

Common - Celebrate (Official Video)

published: 19 Dec 2011

author: thinkcommon

Common feat. Lauryn Hill - Retrospect for Life

Music Video...

published: 01 Jun 2007

author: 1Str8Mizz

Common - The Corner ft. The Last Poets

published: 08 Oct 2009

author: CommonVEVO

Common - Blue Sky (Official Video 2011) HD

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com www.facebook.com www.facebook.com Twitter: www.twitter.com Comm...

published: 29 Oct 2011

author: MaddafuckaJones

KONY 2012

To see real time reports on LRA activity in the D.R.Congo, Central African Republic and So...

published: 20 Feb 2012

author: INVISIBLE CHILDREN

HDR Video Demonstration Using Two Canon 5D mark II's

Our HDR rig used to film this is now for sale, to raise money for the next generation! Con...

published: 09 Sep 2010

author: Soviet Montage

CASSINI MISSION

This is the perfect opportunity for a Carl Sagan quote: "Somewhere, something incredible ...

published: 30 May 2011

author: Chris Abbas

One year in 40 seconds

Images from the same spot through one year. Audio captured at the same place. All details ...

published: 26 Dec 2008

author: Eirik Solheim

Billy Joel - The Entertainer Live 1977

Live version, excellent quality. Listen for the different lyrics....

published: 02 Jul 2008

author: DundeeBhoy2007

The Entertainer (Scott Joplin) Live Recording By David Hrovat

Recorded live at the MCL, Nole Ryan Auditorium on Sunday September 21, 2008. Event: Anglo ...

published: 22 Sep 2008

author: ragtimest

Billy Joel "The Entertainer"

Billy Joel Live"In Concert" at Tokyo Dome,Nov.2006...

published: 17 Jan 2009

author: jetvane55

Chet Atkins "The Entertainer" live version from France

Chet pickin' Scott Joplin's The Entertainer, live in France! Enjoy!...

published: 04 Jul 2008

author: daffydoug

KT Tunstall - The Entertainer (Live on KCRW)

KT Tunstall performs "The Entertainer", from her latest album "Tiger Suit", live on KCRW's...

published: 10 Nov 2010

author: StepOutAgain

PSY 강남스타일 ENTERTAINER LIVE GANGNAM STYLE @HOUSE OF BLUES HOLLYWOOD 10-20-12

PSY 강남스타일 LIVE @ HOUSE OF BLUES IN WEST HOLLYWOOD 10-20-12 if you like my PSY VIDEOS PLEAS...

published: 22 Oct 2012

author: Crickettaka

The Entertainer - Scott Joplin

Dieser Clip stammt aus dem Album: "Jonas Kaufmann - Ein Klavierabend" - ein Livemitschnitt...

published: 16 Apr 2009

author: KaufmannSimon

PSY - ENTERTAINER (연예인) @ Seoul Plaza Live Concert

PSY's Seoul Plaza Live Concert on October 4, 2012 2012년 10월 4일, 싸이의 서울시청 서울광장 콘서트 6TH STUD...

published: 15 Oct 2012

author: officialpsy

Songwriters Circle Live - David Gray KT Tunstall Ray LaMontagne (The Entertainer) Part8

Songwriters Circle Live - David Gray KT Tunstall Ray LaMontagne The (Entertainer) Part8...

published: 02 Nov 2010

author: LiveSessions

Kings of Convenience Live - Erlend the big entertainer

Kings of Convenience Live "I'd rather dance with you" Erlend dances(!), enthuses the crowd...

published: 01 Jan 2008

author: Schneepart

JuiceBox - The sexiest Stud entertainer performs LIVE at CLUB BIG YO's Halloween Edition

The latest from JuiceBox and I get Freaked up by her !! LADIES YOU MUST WATCH! RATE AND VO...

published: 03 Nov 2010

author: mercades442003

Chance The Rapper - Yolo

CHANCE THE RAPPER LIVE IN CHICAGO BLACKFRIDAY bitly.com/QMok58 Chance The Rapper - Yolo Pr...

published: 16 Nov 2012

author: ChanceThaRapper

Soundgarden - Black Rain (Live)

2010, HDTV Video supplied by: vk.com...

published: 18 Oct 2011

author: ChrisCornellClub

Scott Joplin | "The Entertainer" | Jazz/Blues

Pianist Martin Spitznagel has some fun with Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" live in conce...

published: 27 Jan 2010

author: Martin Spitznagel

KONY 2012

To see real time reports on LRA activity in the D.R.Congo, Central African Republic and So...

published: 20 Feb 2012

author: INVISIBLE CHILDREN

HDR Video Demonstration Using Two Canon 5D mark II's

Our HDR rig used to film this is now for sale, to raise money for the next generation! Con...

published: 09 Sep 2010

author: Soviet Montage

CASSINI MISSION

This is the perfect opportunity for a Carl Sagan quote: "Somewhere, something incredible ...

published: 30 May 2011

author: Chris Abbas

One year in 40 seconds

Images from the same spot through one year. Audio captured at the same place. All details ...

published: 26 Dec 2008

author: Eirik Solheim

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photo: UN / Eric Kanalstein

File - In Herat, Afghanistan, women line up to collect bags of split chick pea, wheat, and cooking oil being distributed by the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

Fate of women still tied to arranged marriages in post-Taliban Afghanistan

The Independent

29 Nov 2012

Just before she leapt from her roof into the streets of Kabul, Farima thought of the wedding that would never happen and the man she would never marry. Her fiance would be pleased to see her die, she later recalled thinking. It would offer relief to them both. Farima, 17, had resisted her engagement to Zabiullah since it was ordained by her grandfather when she was 9 ... He ran outside. His daughter's torso was contorted ... Her skin was pallid....(size: 12.8Kb)

photo: AP / Sepahnews

This photo released on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, claims to show US RQ-170 Sentinel drone which Tehran says its forces downed earlier this week, as an unidentified colonel, right, talks to the chief of the aerospace division of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, in an undisclosed location, Iran

American Drones Ignite New Arms Race From Gaza To Iran To China

Huffington Post

27 Nov 2012

WASHINGTON -- The drone wars are here. While President Obama ponders new legal and moral guidelines to govern America's growing use of armed robot aircraft, the world outside the White House is engaged in a revolutionary frenzy of building, arming and flying killer drones ... More than 50 countries operate surveillance drones and, increasingly, are fitting them with weapons. The U.S ... spy drone was shot down last December ... On Oct ... 988 miles ... ....(size: 8.4Kb)

photo: UN / Jan Golinski

UN: methane released from melting ice could push climate past tipping point

The Guardian

27 Nov 2012

Doha conference is warned that climate models do not yet take account of methane in thawing permafrost. Frozen ground in Siberia. Permafrost covers nearly a quarter of the northern hemisphere. Photograph. Francis Latreille/Corbis. The United Nations sounded a stark warning on the threat to the climate from methane in the thawing permafrost as governments met for the second day of climate change negotiations in Doha, Qatar ... ....(size: 5.3Kb)

photo: UN

Assembly Grants Palestine Non-member Observer State Status The General Assembly adopted a resolution granting to Palestine the status of non-member observer State in the United Nations. The vote was 138 for, 9 against, with 41 abstentions.

UN votes to upgrade Palestinians' status

Newsday

30 Nov 2012

UNITED NATIONS -- The UN voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians and an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States. The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the UN was approved in the 193-member world body by a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions ... The Palestinians still face enormous limitations ... U.S ... 0. Click to rate ... St ... ....(size: 9.3Kb)

photo: US NARA

Dr. Martin Luther King giving his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington in Washington, D.C., on 28 August 1963.

The Other 'Black' Friday

WorldNews.com

30 Nov 2012

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. Staring at the quote on the small granite monument which read. "They said to one another, behold here comes the dreamer...Let us slay him...And we shall see what will become of his dreams," I tried to understand that fateful moment when a shot shattered heaven and earth ... Martin Luther King, Jr. Straining my ears, I tried to hear Rev. Abernathy cry out, "Oh my God, Martin's been shot!" ... Dr....(size: 6.5Kb)

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Caribou Habitat Protection Plans Scaled Back By Federal Government

Huffington Post

30 Nov 2012

<strong>Scientific Name.</strong> <em>Poecilotheria metallica</em> <strong>Common Name ... <strong>Scientific Name.</strong> <em>Abies beshanzuensis</em> <strong>Common Name ... <strong>Scientific Name.</strong> <em>Actinote zikani </em> <strong>Common Name ... <strong>Scientific Name.</strong> Aphanius transgrediens <strong>Common Name....(size: 25.2Kb)

Cantronic Systems Inc. Announces Proposed Going Private Transaction

Stockhouse

30 Nov 2012

Under the Proposal, the going-private transaction (the "Transaction") will be accomplished through the consolidation of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares (the "Common Shares") on the basis of one new common share ("New Common Share") for every 1,600,000 Common Shares now issued and outstanding (the "Consolidation")....(size: 4.6Kb)

University temporarily closes dining commons serving south campus (University of Chicago)

noodls

30 Nov 2012

The University of Chicago on Thursday temporarily closed the dining commons serving the south part of campus, to ensure a comprehensive response to findings of a city inspection ... Cathey Dining Commons are advised to take advantage of the Bartlett or Pierce Dining Commons for the duration of the closure, which is expected to last at least through Monday ... The University closed the Cathey Dining Commons on Thursday, Nov....(size: 2.7Kb)

Track My Progress Assessment to Help Improve Common Core Teaching and Learning

Yahoo Daily News

30 Nov 2012

The testing program, which will offer Common Core assessments four times a year, is positioned to help elementary students and teachers navigate the transition to Common Core ... schools are in the midst of implementing the new Common Core State Standards ... Schools are looking for insight into student performance on Common Core Standards in preparing for the new assessments that will be taken online by many students....(size: 2.6Kb)

TELUS updates investors

Canada Newswire

30 Nov 2012

30, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS announced today it has observed a material reduction in the non-Canadian ownership of its common shares to approximately 15 per cent as of November 16, 2012 ... Accordingly, all requests by non-Canadians for a reservation to purchase common shares are being considered and approved, if they do not risk causing TELUS to exceed the foreign ownership threshold....(size: 6.5Kb)

TELUS updates investors (TELUS Corporation)

noodls

30 Nov 2012

- TELUS announced today it has observed a material reduction in the non-Canadian ownership of its common shares to approximately 15 per cent as of November 16, 2012 ... Accordingly, all requests by non-Canadians for a reservation to purchase common shares are being considered and approved, if they do not risk causing TELUS to exceed the foreign ownership threshold....(size: 7.7Kb)

Penguin-like bird hanging out at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove

MSNBC

30 Nov 2012

It's actually a common murre. Common murres live beyond the Monterey Bay out on the open ocean. They are not commonly seen because they rarely come to shore, and only show up on land if they are breeding or injured ... and asked their wildlife rescuers to check on the common murre at Lovers Point and make sure it was OK ......(size: 1.8Kb)

Groundstar Announces Prospectus Offering of Units and Flow-Through Units

Stockhouse

30 Nov 2012

Each Unit shall consist of one common share ("Common Shares") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Flow-Through Unit shall consist of one flow-through common share and one-half of one common share purchase Warrant. Each whole Warrant shall be exercisable into one additional common share of the Company for 18 months following the Closing Date at an exercise price of $0.30 per common share....(size: 6.0Kb)

Nexstar Broadcasting (NXST) Prices Offering at $9.25 Per Share

StreetInsider

30 Nov 2012

NXST) announced the pricing of the previously announced sale by selling stockholders, funds affiliated with ABRY Partners, LLC, of 8.0 million shares of the Company’s Class A common stock at $9.25 per share ... 1.2 million shares of Class A common stock on the same terms and conditions....(size: 1.6Kb)

EU challenges require fundamental solutions with fiscal, energy unity

Japan Times

30 Nov 2012

On the other hand, the EU budget to finance the union's key common needs is dysfunctional today as much of it remains controlled by national and sectoral interests ... "A true banking union must involve three elements — a common supervision, resolution authority and a common fiscal backstop," Wolff said ... The banking union plan currently on the table is just about common supervision and is "therefore yet incomplete," Wolff said....(size: 13.8Kb)

Cameron opposes legislation to regulate newspapers

Irish Times

30 Nov 2012

British prime minister David Cameron, who yesterday opposed the passing of legislation to support a new independent press regulator, could face Labour and the Liberal Democrats uniting against him in a House of Commons vote in January. Mr Cameron last night met Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband in a bid to reach common ground....(size: 3.0Kb)

David Cameron prepares to defy Commons

The Independent

30 Nov 2012

David Cameron will defy the House of Commons if, as expected, it votes in favour of the new law to underpin independent regulation of the press recommended by Lord Justice Leveson ... Labour will force a Commons vote on the Leveson Report by the end of January ... for a Commons defeat ... Admitting his Commons statement was “unusual,” Mr Clegg told MPs....(size: 4.5Kb)

Franklin County: Bender to end term early on Common Pleas bench

The Columbus Dispatch

30 Nov 2012

Bender, a Franklin County Common Pleas judge for the past decade, will retire from the bench on Dec ... “I’ve spent the past year telling people that I would be a good Common Pleas judge.”. Hoover, a partner in the law firm of Kohrman Jackson & Krantz, ran for the seat vacated by the retirement of Common Pleas Judge John P....(size: 5.4Kb)

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Common
At a signing for his book, One Day It'll All Make Sense
Background information
Birth name	Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr.
Also known as	Common Sense
Born	(1972-03-13) March 13, 1972 (age 40)
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, actor, author, poet
Years active	1991–present
Labels	GOOD Music, Warner Bros., Think Common
Associated acts	Kanye West, Soulquarians, Erykah Badu, GOOD Music, J Dilla, Prince, John Legend, Bilal, The Roots, Jill Scott, Pharrell, Mos Def, will.i.am, Alicia Keys, Kid Cudi, Mary J. Blige, Nas
Website	thinkcommon.com

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (previously Common Sense), is an American hip-hop artist and actor.

Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians.^[1] His first major-label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received widespread critical acclaim and tremendous commercial success^[2] His first Grammy award was in 2003 for Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" with Erykah Badu.^[3] Its popularity was matched by May 2005's Be, which was nominated in the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), from his July 2007 album Finding Forever. His best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released on November 27, 2007.

Common has also initiated a burgeoning acting career, starring significant roles in such films as Smokin' Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation, Date Night, Just Wright, Happy Feet Two, and New Year's Eve. He also narrated the award-winning documentary Bouncing Cats, about one man's efforts to improve the lives of children in Uganda through hip-hop/b-boy culture.^[4] Common currently appears in Hell on Wheels, a dramatic television series on AMC that debuted in November 2011.

Early life [link]

Common was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., on Chicago's South Side on March 13, 1972.^[5]^[6]^[7] He is the son of educator Dr. Mahalia Ann Hines and former ABA basketball player turned youth counselor Lonnie Lynn. They divorced when he was six years old, resulting in his father's moving to Denver, Colorado. This left Common to be raised by his mother, but his father remained active in his life and even landed Lonnie Jr. a job with the Chicago Bulls during his teens. While a student at Luther High School South in Chicago, Lynn formed C.D.R., a rap trio that opened for acts that included N.W.A. and Big Daddy Kane.^[8]

Common attended Florida A&M University for two years under a scholarship and majored in business administration.^[9] After being featured in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source magazine, Lynn debuted in 1992 with the single "Take It EZ", followed by the album Can I Borrow a Dollar?, under stage name Common Sense.^[10]

Music career [link]

With the 1994 release of Resurrection, Common achieved a much larger degree of critical acclaim, which extended beyond Chicago natives. The album sold relatively well and received a strong positive reaction among alternative and underground hip hop fans at the time. Resurrection was Common's last album produced almost entirely by his long-time production partner, No I.D., who was also the then-mentor of a young Kanye West.

In 1996, Common appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Biz Markie, Wu-Tang Clan, and Fat Joe, among many other prominent hip hop artists. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African American men, was heralded as "a masterpiece" by The Source magazine. He would later also contribute to the Red Hot Organization's Fela Kuti tribute album, Red Hot and Riot in 2002. He collaborated with Djelimady Tounkara on a remake of Kuti's track, "Years of Tears and Sorrow".

with Mos Def 1999

Feud with Westside Connection [link]

The song "I Used to Love H.E.R." from Resurrection ignited a feud with West Coast rap group Westside Connection. The lyrics of the song criticized the path hip hop music was taking and was interpreted by some as directing blame towards the popularity of West Coast Gangsta rap. Westside Connection first responded with the 1995 song "Westside Slaughterhouse," with the lyrics "Used to love H.E.R. mad cause I fucked her". Westside Connection recorded tracks venting their issues with rival East Coast rappers (see East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry). "Westside Slaughterhouse" also mentioned Common by name, prompting the rapper to respond with the scathing Pete Rock-produced attack song "The Bitch in Yoo". Common and Westside Connection continued to insult each other back and forth before finally meeting with Louis Farrakhan and setting aside their dispute. Following the popularity of Resurrection, Common Sense was sued by an Orange County-based reggae band with the same name, and was forced to shorten his moniker to simply Common.^[10]

[edit] One Day It'll All Make Sense

Initially scheduled for an October 1996 release, Common finally released his third album, One Day It'll All Make Sense, in September 1997. The album took a total of two years to complete and included collaborations with artists such as Lauryn Hill, De La Soul, Q-Tip, Canibus, Black Thought, Chantay Savage, and Questlove – a future fellow member of the Soulquarians outfit. The album, which made a point of eschewing any gangsterism (in response to questions about his musical integrity), was critically acclaimed and led to a major label contract with MCA Records. In addition to releasing One Day, Common's first child, daughter Omoye Assata Lynn, was born shortly after the release of the album.

As documented by hip hop journalist Raquel Cepeda, in the liner notes for the album, this event had a profound spiritual and mental effect on Common and enabled him to grow musically while becoming more responsible as an artist. She writes:

Rashid found out that he was going to become a daddy in about 8 months. Stunned and confused, Rashid had life altering decisions to make with his girlfriend, Kim Jones. The situation led to the composition of his favourite cut on One Day... that offers a male slant on abortion. "Retrospect for Life", produced by James Poyser and No I.D. featuring Lauryn Hill (who was due on the same day as Rashid's girlfriend), is the song that is the driving force behind the project. Rashid listens to "Retrospect for Life" today at the mastering session geeked, as if it were for the first time. He tells me as we listen to L-Boogie wail the chorus, "when I listen to the song now, I think about how precious her (Omoye's) life is".

Common addresses family ethics several times on One Day..., and the album sleeve is decorated with old family photos, illustrating the rapper's childhood, as well a quote from 1 Corinthians 13:11, which summarizes the path to manhood:

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

Soulquarians era [link]

Following One Day..., Common signed a major label record deal with MCA Records and relocated from Chicago to New York City in 1999. He began recording almost exclusively with a loose collective of musicians and artists (dubbed the "Soulquarians" by central figure Questlove) throughout 1999, and made a few sporadic guest appearances on The Roots' Things Fall Apart, and the Rawkus Records compilation, Soundbombing 2.

In 2000, his fourth album, Like Water for Chocolate, was released to mass critical acclaim. Executive produced by Questlove and featuring significant contributions by J Dilla, (who helmed many tracks except – "Cold Blooded", "Geto Heaven Part II", "A Song For Assata", "Pop's Rap Part 3...All My Children" & the DJ Premier-produced track "The 6th Sense"), Like Water for Chocolate transpired to be a considerable commercial breakthrough for Common, earning the rapper his first gold record, and greatly expanding his fanbase among critics and listeners alike.

With both artists hailing from the Great Lakes region of the United States (Chicago and Detroit, prospectively), Common and J Dilla established their chemistry early on. Both became members of the Soulquarians collective, and collaborated on numerous projects together, even placing one song, "Thelonius", on both the Slum Village album Fantastic, Vol. 2, and Common's Like Water for Chocolate. As Dilla's health began to decline from the effects of Lupus Nephritis, he relocated to Los Angeles, and asked Common to make the move with him as a roommate (Dilla would later lose his battle with the rare disease).^[11]

This album saw Common exploring themes (musically and lyrically), which were uncommon for a Hip hop record, as he does on the song "Time Travelin' (A Tribute To Fela)"; a homage to Nigerian music legend, and political activist Fela Kuti. The most popular single from the album "The Light" was nominated for a Grammy Award.

GOOD Music era [link]

	"Go!" excerpt noicon From the album Be
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

In early 2004, Common made an appearance on fellow Chicagoan Kanye West's multi-platinum debut album, The College Dropout (on the song "Get Em High"), and announced his signing to West's then-newfound label GOOD Music. West had been a longtime fan of Common and the two even participated in a friendly on-air MC battle, where West took jabs at his lyrical idol for "going soft" and wearing crochet pants (as he does for his appearance in the video for the Mary J. Blige song "Dance for Me"). The pair worked together on Common's next album, Be, almost entirely produced by Kanye West, with some help from Common's longtime collaborator the late James Yancey (J Dilla) – also a favorite of West. The album was released in May 2005, and performed very well, boosted by Kanye's involvement and the singles "The Corner", and "Go". Be earned Common the second gold record of his career, with sales topping out at around 800,000 copies. The Source magazine gave it a near perfect 4.5 mic rating, XXL magazine gave it their highest rating of "XXL", and AllHipHop gave the album 4 stars. The album was also nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2006.

Following the release of Be in 2005, several mixed-race artists from the UK hip-hop scene took exception to Common's comments about interracial relationships on the song "Real People." Yungun, Doc Brown and Rising Son recorded a track over an instrumental version of "The Corner" named "Dear Common (The Corner Dub)." Common states that he has heard of the track but never actually taken the time to listen to it, and has not retaliated in song.^[12]

2007 - present [link]

Performing at Store Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2007.

Common's seventh LP titled Finding Forever was released on July 31, 2007. For this album, he continued his work with Kanye West, as well as other producers such as will.i.am, Devo Springsteen, Derrick Hodge, and Karriem Riggins, as well as the only J Dilla-produced track, "So Far To Go". The album features guest spots from artists such as Dwele, Bilal, D'Angelo, and UK pop starlet Lily Allen. The first single from the album was "The People" b/w "The Game". West has already predicted that Finding Forever will win the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.^[13] On July 31, 2007, Common performed a free concert in Santa Monica, California on the 3rd Street Promenade to promote the release of Finding Forever. Common explained to the audience that the title "Finding Forever" represented his quest to find an eternal place in hip-hop and also his wishes to be an artist for the rest of his life. The album debuted at #1 on the national Billboard 200 charts.

In an August 2007 interview with XXL, rapper Q-Tip of the group A Tribe Called Quest stated that he and Common were forming a group called The Standard. While the two were meant to hit the studio to record a Q-Tip-produced album, possibly with contributions from Kanye West, Common put out Universal Mind Control instead and has already planned a next album, The Dreamer, The Believer, for late 2011.^[14]

Common at 2009 Obama Home States Inaugural Ball on January 20, 2009

Common was instrumental in bridging the trans-Atlantic gap by signing UK's Mr Wong and J2K to Kanye West's Getting Out Our Dreams recording outfit. Common met the pair during his tour in the UK earlier on in the year. It is speculated that the deal is not only to bring the UK and US hip hop genres together but that to rival Syco Music's cross-Atlantic success with Leona Lewis. He also has a deal with Zune mp3 players. In 2008 Common made an estimated 12 million dollars, making him equal in earnings to Eminem and Akon, tied for the 13th highest grossing Hip-Hop artist.^{[citation needed]}

The eighth album from Chicago hip-hop artist Common was originally scheduled to be released on June 24, 2008 under the name Invincible Summer, but he announced at a Temple University concert that he would change it to Universal Mind Control.^[15] The release date was pushed back to September 30, 2008 due to Common filming Wanted. The release date was set for November 11, 2008, but again it was pushed back to December 9, 2008.

The album's first single, titled "Universal Mind Control", was officially released on July 1, 2008 via the US iTunes Store as part of the Announcement EP (sold as "Universal Mind Control-EP" in the UK). The song features Pharrell, who also produced the track. The Announcement EP included an additional track track titled "Announcement" featuring its producer, Pharrell. The video for "Universal Mind Control" was filmed in September by director Hype Williams.

Producer No I.D. has stated that he and Kanye West will be producing Common's next album The Dreamer The Believer, due sometime in 2011.^[16] In July 2011, it was announced that No I.D. will be the album's sole producer.^[17] Common made an appearance on The Jonas Brothers' most recent album, Lines, Vines and Trying Times as a guest rapper for the group's new song, "Don't Charge Me for the Crime."^[18]

On July 6, 2011, Common released his first single, titled "Ghetto Dreams", from his next album. A second single,"Blue Sky", was released on October 4, 2011. On December 20th, 2011, Common released his ninth solo album titled The Dreamer, The Believer.

Other work [link]

Acting [link]

In 2003, Common appeared on the American UPN sitcom Girlfriends. In the episode "Take This Poem and Call Me In The Morning", he appeared as Omar, a slam poet who competes with fellow poet Sivad (played by Saul Williams) for the affection of Lynn Searcy (played by Persia White). He also had a cameo appearance on an episode of UPN's One on One, where he played a drama class instructor named Darius. He also made an appearance on the ABC show "Scrubs". In 2007, Common appeared with Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, and Alicia Keys in the crime film Smokin' Aces. He made his big screen debut as villainous Mob enforcer Sir Ivy. He appeared alongside Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, The RZA and T.I. in the 2007 crime thriller American Gangster. On January 20, 2007, one week before the opening of Smokin Aces, he appeared in a Saturday Night Live sketch as himself. The show's host was Piven, his Aces co-star.

In 2007 Common played the role of Smokin' Aces co-star Alicia Keys's boyfriend in the music video "Like You'll Never See Me Again".

In 2008, he starred in the film adaptation of the comic book Wanted alongside Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. Common also appeared in the movie Street Kings alongside Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie, The Game, and Forest Whitaker. Common also starred in the 2010 movie Just Wright as a basketball player that falls in love with his trainer Queen Latifah.^[19] He also appeared in the 2009 film Terminator Salvation as John Connor's lieutenant Barnes.^[20] He starred as a corrupt cop in the 2010 comedy Date Night with Steve Carell and Tina Fey. His most recent role is in AMC's 2011 "Hell on Wheels" as Elam Ferguson, a recently freed slave trying to find his place in the world.^[21]

Modeling and clothing [link]

In 2006, Common was a model for photos of The Gap's fall season collection, appearing on posters in stores. Later that year, he performed in The Gap's "Holiday In Your Hood" themed Peace Love Gap. In February 2007, Common signed a deal with New Era to promote their new line of Layers fitted caps. Common also stars in a television commercial for the 2008 Lincoln Navigator. He appears in NBA 2K8 in NBA Blacktop mode. In the fall of 2008, Common appeared in an ad for Microsoft's Zune, comparing his new song, "Universal Mind Control", to,"Planet Rock", a song from hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. As well as that he featured in the Diesel campaign for a new fragrance called "Only The Brave". His song "Be (intro)" is featured in a commercial for BlackBerry as of January 2011.

In December 2008, Common launched a new clothing line in partnership with Microsoft titled "Softwear", based on 1980s computing.

Writing [link]

White House controversy [link]

Common was invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to appear at a poetry reading on May 11, 2011 at the White House.^[22] This caused furor with the New Jersey State Police and their union,^[23] who disagreed with his lyrical content. The president of the New Jersey State Troopers Fraternal Association voiced concern to the White House. They cite the song "A Song For Assata" about a member of the Black Liberation Army and step-aunt of deceased rapper Tupac Shakur named Assata Shakur, previously known as Joanne Chesimard,^[24] who was convicted in 1977 of the first degree murder of New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster.

Common and his mother, Dr. Mahalia Ann Hines, at a September 13, 2011 signing for his memoir at the Barnes & Noble in Tribeca, Manhattan.

At another poetry reading, Common said, “flyers say ‘free Mumia’ on my freezer,” a reference to Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was controversially convicted of killing Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. Common stated, "The one thing that shouldn't be questioned is my support for the police officers and troops that protect us every day".

Jay Carney, the White House Secretary, spoke for President Obama on the matter by saying the president does not support, but actually opposes, some of the kind of words and lyrics that have been written by Common and others.^[25] Even though the president does not support the lyrics in question, he believed that some reports were distorting what Mr. Lynn stands for more broadly. Common gave a single line response to the entire controversy: "I guess Sarah Palin and Fox News doesn't like me."^[25]

Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's The Daily Show questioned Fox News' coverage of the controversy, saying that they "took the time to ignore Common's entire body of work, save for one poem he wrote in 2007 that they appear to misunderstand." Stewart also pointed out that in 2002, George W. Bush honored Johnny Cash, whose songs contain violent lyrics. Stewart further pointed out that Fox News itself offered positive coverage of Common's career in 2010, and that Sean Hannity, who criticized Common's White House invitation, is a friend of musician Ted Nugent, who in clips played on The Daily Show, used violent rhetoric in comments he made about President Obama and Hillary Clinton.^[26] Common later discussed the matter with Stewart during a September 14, 2011 appearance on the program.^[27]

2011 book [link]

In September 2011, Common published his memoir, One Day It'll All Make Sense, through Atria Books. As the book details how his close relationship with his mother influenced his life, it is partially narrated by her.^[28]

Activism [link]

Common used to be vegan, but is now a pescetarian.^[29] In addition, he is a supporter of animal rights and PETA. He appeared in a print advertisement for PETA titled "Think Before You Eat".^[30]

Common is also part of the "Knowing Is Beautiful" movement, which supports HIV/AIDS awareness.^[30] He is featured in the video for "Yes We Can", a song in support of the candidacy of Barack Obama, which made its debut on the internet on February 2, 2008. Common has pledged to stop using anti-gay lyrics in his music.^[31]^[32]

Common is the founder of the Common Ground Foundation,^[33] a non-profit that seeks to empower underprivileged youth to be strong citizens and citizens of the world. The foundation includes programs dedicated to leadership development & empowerment, educational development, creative expression, as well as a book club.

Personal [link]

Common has had romantic relationships with Erykah Badu, Taraji P. Henson and Serena Williams, but currently maintains that he is single. ^[34]

Discography [link]

Main articles: Common discography and List of Common songs

Year	Album	Label
1992	Can I Borrow a Dollar?	Relativity Records
1994	Resurrection
1997	One Day It'll All Make Sense
2000	Like Water for Chocolate	MCA Records Universal Records
2002	Electric Circus	MCA Records Universal Records
2005	Be	GOOD Geffen Imani Entertainment
2007	Finding Forever
2008	Universal Mind Control
2011	The Dreamer/The Believer	Think Common Warner Bros.

Collaborations

Year	Album	Label
2012	Nas.Com (with Nas)^[35]	Def Jam
2012	Cruel Summer (with GOOD Music)	GOOD Music

Filmography [link]

Year	Film	Role
2002	Brown Sugar	Himself
2006	Dave Chapelle's Block Party	Himself
2007	Smokin' Aces	Sir Ivy
2007	American Gangster	Turner Lucas
2008	Street Kings	Coates
2008	Wanted	The Gunsmith
2009	Terminator Salvation	Barnes
2010	Date Night	Detective Collins
	Just Wright	Scott McKnight
	Bouncing Cats	Himself/Narrator
2011	Happy Feet Two	Seymour
	Hell on Wheels	Elam Ferguson
	New Year's Eve	Nurse Aimee's Husband; Cameo
2012	The Odd Life of Timothy Green
2012	L.U.V.	Uncle Vincent

Awards and nominations [link]

Awards	Year	Type	Song or album	Notes
BET Awards	2003	Video of the Year	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"	Won
		Viewer's Choice	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"	Won
		Best Collaboration	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"	Nominated
	2006	Best Male Hip-Hop Artist		Nominated
BET Hip Hop Awards	2006	Element Award – Lyricist of the Year		Won
	2006	Hip-Hop Video of the Year	"Testify"	Nominated
	2007	Lyricist of the Year		Won
		CD of the Year	Finding Forever	Won
		Best Hip Hop Video	"The People"	Nominated
		Best Live Performance		Nominated
		MVP Of The Year		Nominated
Black Reel Awards	2003	Best Film Song	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"	Won
Grammy Awards	2001	Best Rap Solo Performance	"The Light"	Nominated
	2003	Best Song Written for a Motion Picture/Television Movie	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"	Nominated
		Best R&B Song	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"	Won
		Best Urban/Alternative Performance	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"	Nominated
	2006	Best Rap/Sung Collaboration	"They Say"	Nominated
		Best Rap Album	Be	Nominated
		Best Rap Solo Performance	Testify	Nominated
		Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group	"The Corner"	Nominated
	2008	Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group	"Southside"	Won
		Best Rap Album	Finding Forever	Nominated
		Best Rap Solo Performance	"The People"	Nominated
Image Awards	2006	Outstanding Duo or Group	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"	Nominated
		Outstanding Song	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"	Nominated
		Outstanding Music Video	"Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"	Nominated
		Outstanding Music Video	"Testify"	Nominated
		Outstanding Male Artist	n/a	Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards	2001	Best Hip-Hop Video	"Geto Heaven Remix T.S.O.I. (The Sound of Illadelph)"	Nominated
	2003	MTV2 Award	"Come Close"	Nominated
	2005	Best Hip-Hop Video	"Go"	Nominated
	2006	Best Hip-Hop Video	"Testify"	Nominated
Soul Train Awards	2006	Best R&B/Soul Single by a Duo or Group	"Supastar"	Nominated
Soul Train Awards	2006	Best Music Video	"Testify"	Nominated
Vibe Awards	2005	Reelest Video	"The Corner"	Nominated

References [link]

^ "Video: Common Speaks on Soulquarians, No I.D. & Kanye + BTS Pics of "Blue Sky" Video". okayplayer. October 11, 2011. http://www.okayplayer.com/news/video-common-speaks-on-soulquarians-no-i-d-kanye-bts-pics-of-blue-sky-video.html. Retrieved Oct. 12, 2011.
^ "Like Water for Chocolate Review". allmusic. March 28, 2000. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r470449.
^ "UMPG writers and artists receive best R&B Song of the Year Category at Grammy Awards". Universal Music Publishing Group.
^ "Bouncing Cats Synopsisl". http://www.bouncingcats.com/synopsis/.
^ Zegel, Maureen (March 27, 2012). "Rapper Common to bring his message to UMSL". UMSL Daily.
^ Williams, Thomas Chatterton (May 11, 2011). "By inviting Common to the White House, Barack and Michelle Obama miss a golden opportunity". Daily News.
^ "Common to throw White Sox 1st pitch". ABC 7 Chicago. April 13, 2012.
^ "AskMen.com's Men of the Week: Entertainment – Common". http://www.askmen.com/men/entertainment_200/219c_common.html. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
^ Yarborough, Marti (2005-06-27). "Hip-hop star Common talks about: new hit CD 'Be' being labeled a 'conscious rapper' his breakup with singer Erykah Badu who attracts him now". Jet. FindArticles.com. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_26_107/ai_n27857531/. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
^ ^a ^b Huey, Steve (2007-07-31). "Common > Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p276488. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
^ "J Dilla’s turn in spotlight comes after his death". MSNBC. August 31, 2006. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14587861/.
^ "Common Gets Thugged Out, Ghost Writing For Diddy Too". Sohh.com. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
^ Reid, Shaheem (2006-04-19). "Kanye Says He Won't Do 'Fast-Food' Music — 'M:i:III' Track Took 50 Hours". MTV News. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
^ "Hip-Hop On A Higher Level | » Q-Tip and Common Form New Group, The Standard". XXLmag.com. http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=13364. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ "Common Previews 'Invincible' New Album , 29 April 2k8". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003796775. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ "No I.D. & Kanye To Helm Next Common Album". Nah Right. 2008-10-09. http://nahright.com/news/2008/10/09/no-id-kanye-to-helm-next-common-album/. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
^ Horowitz, Steven J. (2011-07-05). "No I.D. To Produce The Entirety Of Common's "The Dreamer, The Believer" | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.15831/title.no-id-to-produce-the-entirety-of-commons-the-dreamer-the-believer. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
^ "Common on Jonas Brothers New Album". IdioMag. http://www.idiomag.com/peek/83623/common#/83623/1/. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
^ "Four Justice League of America Casting Confirmations Arrive Early". Firstshowing.net. 2007-11-17. http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/11/17/four-justice-league-of-america-casting-confirmations-arrive-early. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ "Common to appear in new 'Terminator' film | News". Nme.Com. 2008-05-07. http://nme.com/news/nme/36455. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ "Common Q&A". amctv.com. 2011-11-06. http://blogs.amctv.com/hell-on-wheels/2011/11/common-interview.php. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
^ Neil Munro. "‘Burn a Bush’? Michelle Obama invites rapper Common to a poetry reading". The Daily Caller. http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/09/burn-a-bush-michelle-obama-invites-rapper-common-to-a-poetry-reading/. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ "Common Controversy Comes to White House Poetry Night; Cops, Conservatives Cry Foul at Some of His Past Work (UPDATED) - Political Punch". ABC News. 1973-05-02. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/common-controversy-comes-to-white-house-poetry-night-cops-conservatives-cry-foul-at-some-of-his-past-work.html. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
^ "Wanted b the FBI: JOANNE DEBORAH CHESIMARD". FBI. accessed September 19, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Dirner, Cullen. "White House Condemns Some of Common’s Lyrics but Praises his Larger Body of Work". ABC News. May 11, 2011
^ Weprin, Alex. "Common Controversy? ‘The Daily Show’ Takes Down Fox News Reports on Rapper Visit to White House". TV Newser. May 12, 2011
^ "Common". The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. September 14, 2011. Comedy Central.
^ One Day It'll All Make Sense. Amazon.com. accessed September 11, 2011. On October 18, 2011, Common made a visit to Eastern Michigan University, along with speaking, he freestyled and engaged in a book signing for One Day It'll All Make Sense. It was epic.
^ "Rapper Common Has Common Ground With Vegetarians". Vegetarianstar.com. February 3, 2009. http://vegetarianstar.com/2009/02/03/rapper-common-has-common-ground-with-vegetarians/. Retrieved Mar 8, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Common charity biography". Look to the Stars. no date. http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/1464-common. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
^ "Common Pledges No More Anti-Gay Lyrics". NewNowNext.com. Sept 6th, 2007. http://www.newnownext.com/2007/09/06/common-pledges-no-more-anti-gay-lyrics/. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
^ ContactMusic.com. 09/05/2007 10:28:16 PM. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
^ "Mission Statement". Common Ground Foundation. no date. http://www.commongroundfoundation.org/newaboutus2.html. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
^ Gomez, Luis (9/26/2011). "Interview: Common wishes timing of White House controversy could've been better". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/celebrity/aboutlastnight/chi-rapper-common-book-chicago-20110923,0,1327335.story. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
^ Com Sense says his album with Nasir Jones will happen and explains its origins Retrieved on 10 October 2011

External links [link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Common (entertainer)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Common

v t e Common

Studio albums	Can I Borrow a Dollar? Resurrection One Day It'll All Make Sense Like Water for Chocolate Electric Circus Be Finding Forever Universal Mind Control The Dreamer/The Believer

Compilation albums	Thisisme Then: The Best of Common Go! Common Classics

Singles	"Take It EZ" "Breaker 1/9" "Soul by the Pound" "I Used to Love H.E.R." "Resurrection" "The Bitch in Yoo" "Retrospect for Life" "Reminding Me (Of Sef)" "All Night Long" "One-Nine-Nine-Nine" "Car Horn" "Hurricane" "The 6th Sense" "The Light" "Geto Heaven Remix T.S.O.I. (The Sound of Illadelph)" "While I'm Dancin'" "Come Close" "Panthers" "The Food" "The Corner" "Go!" "Testify" "Faithful" "A Dream" "The People" "The Game" "Drivin' Me Wild" "I Want You" "Universal Mind Control" "Announcement" "Ghetto Dreams"

Featured singles	"Confusion" "Respiration" "Jam" "Hurricane" "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" "Where I'm Going" "Wouldn't You Like to Ride" "SupaStar" "Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now" "Make Her Say" "Favorite Song"

Films	Brown Sugar Dave Chappelle's Block Party Smokin' Aces American Gangster Street Kings Wanted Terminator Salvation Justice League of America Happy Feet Two The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Related articles	Discography Songs J Dilla Soulquarians

v t e Soulquarians

?uestlove Bilal Common D'Angelo Erykah Badu J Dilla James Poyser Mos Def Pino Palladino Q-Tip Talib Kweli

Albums	Things Fall Apart (1999) Voodoo (2000) Like Water for Chocolate (2000) Mama's Gun (2000) 1st Born Second (2001) Phrenology (2002) Electric Circus (2002)

See also	Native Tongues Posse The Philadelphia Experiment The Ummah

v t e GOOD Music

Founder	Kanye West

Current artists	John Legend Big Sean Kid Cudi Mr Hudson Cyhi the Prynce Mos Def Pusha T D'banj Q-Tip Teyana Taylor

Former artists	GLC Really Doe Sa-Ra Tony Williams Consequence Common

Releases	Cruel Summer

Singles	"Mercy" "Cold"

Related articles	GOOD Fridays Cruel Summer (film)

Persondata
Name	Lynn, Lonnie Rashid, Jr.
Alternative names	Common, Common Sense
Short description	African-American rapper from Chicago, Illinois
Date of birth	March 13, 1972
Place of birth	Chicago, Illinois
Date of death
Place of death

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_(entertainer)

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

Common Filmography

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Contents

Early life [link]

Music career [link]

Feud with Westside Connection [link]

[edit] One Day It'll All Make Sense

Soulquarians era [link]

GOOD Music era [link]

2007 - present [link]

Other work [link]

Acting [link]

Modeling and clothing [link]

Writing [link]

White House controversy [link]

2011 book [link]

Activism [link]

Personal [link]

Discography [link]

Filmography [link]

Awards and nominations [link]

References [link]

External links [link]

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