Complex is a young men's style/lifestyle magazine founded by Marc Ecko in 2002. The publication offers mainstream readers insight into the latest trends in niche cultures, such as streetwear, sneaker culture, hip hop, and graphic art. Complex has a circulation of approximately 500,000 and targets men that are college-aged to early 30s in urban/metropolitan areas.^[1]

One of the magazine's unique attributes is that each issue features a different cover on each side (one male, one female), creating two distinct sections. The half of the magazine that follows the male celebrity cover (e.g., Kanye West, Seth Rogen, Pharrell, Kobe Bryant, James Franco) is geared toward lifestyles, the latest films, music, and other forms of media. The half of the magazine that follows the female celebrity cover (e.g., Jessica Alba, M.I.A., Cassie, Rosario Dawson, Olivia Munn, Gwen Stefani, Mila Kunis) is dubbed "The Guide" and offers a Consumer Reports-esque breakdown of the latest consumer items, technology, sneakers, and apparel.

It is known as "The Original Buyer's Guide for Men" because it was the first magazine in the men's market to emulate the shopping guide formula of Lucky and the Japanese magazines on which that magazine was modeled.

Two years after its launch, big publishing houses like Condé Nast attempted similar titles, like Cargo, Sync, and VITALS, all of which folded within two years of launch.

In 2007, the Complex Media Network was launched, bringing several sites around the web under the Complex umbrella.^[2] These include Juxtapoz.com, Nahright.com, NiceKicks.com, Consequence of Sound, and many others. The sites of the Complex Media Network generate upwards of 50 million unique visitors per month.^[2] In 2009, Complex Media spun off from Mark Ecko Enterprises to become an independent company.^[3]

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (February 2012)

External links[link]

Official website

Terrence Thornton (born May 14, 1977)^[1] 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.^[2][3]

Biography[link]

1977-2009: Early life and career beginnings[link]

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.^[4]

[edit] 2010-2011: Solo career, GOOD Music and Fear of God

Following his signing to GOOD Music in September 2010, Thornton was featured on a number of fellow label mates' projects such as Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy appearing on his hit "Runaway" and premiering the song with him at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010. He was also featured on many G.O.O.D. Friday tracks along with appearing on Swizz Beatz's "Bang Bang" for his Monster Mondays series, Lloyd Banks' H.F.M. 2 (Hunger for More 2) and tabi Bonney's Fresh respectively. On the week of December 16, 2010, Thornton signed exclusively with NUE Agency.^[5]

On February 11th, 2011 Funkmaster Flex debuted Thornton's first solo offering on New York City's Hot 97.^[6] The track, titled "My God", was produced by Hit-Boy and was generally well received by the public. Soon after, the song leaked onto the internet but was not officially released through iTunes and Amazon until August 24th, 2011.^[7] On March 21, 2011 Thornton released his first solo project, a mixtape titled Fear of God to critical acclaim. Soon after he began working on his EP Fear of God II: Let Us Pray, which initially included four songs from the mixtape and five original ones. The EP was originally set to released on June 21st, 2011,^[8] it was than pushed back to August 23rd, and for a while September 27th, 2011 was believed to be the date, however on October 6th, 2011 Thornton announced the EP is set to drop November 8th. In addition it was revealed he added four more songs to the EP making it twelve tracks rather than just the nine tracks that were previously announced.^[9] On July 8th, 2011, the first single off Fear of God II: Let Us Pray leaked onto the internet. The song, titled "Trouble on My Mind" features Odd Future frontman, Tyler, The Creator. The second single, "Amen" was released September 13th, 2011. The song, originally meant for Young Jeezy, was produced by Shawty Redd and features verses from Kanye West and Young Jeezy respectively. After the EP's release on November 8th, the project debuted at number sixty-six on the Billboard 200 with 8,900 copies sold in its first week released.^[10][11] It also entered at number ten on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, at number eight on Billboard's Top Rap Albums, and at number twenty-five on its Digital Albums chart. ^[12][13] In 2011 Thornton appeared on the second season of the HBO series How to Make It in America.^[14] He played the role of a henchman for Urban Caribbean League.

He is currently working on his solo debut album, yet to be titled, which is being executive produced by Kanye West and includes production from The Neptunes, Bangladesh, Ryan Leslie and Alex da Kid.^[15][16][17] Thornton has stated that after his solo album and the Re-Up Gang mixtape, Long Live the Cane, he and his brother Malice will release another album as the Clipse.^[18][19] On August 31st, 2011 it was announced Thornton signed a solo record deal with Def Jam.^[20] English pop singer Pixie Lott released "What Do You Take Me For?", the second single off her second studio album Young Foolish Happy which featured Pusha T.^[21] The song was a hit single in the U.K., peaking at number ten on the charts.

2012-present: GOOD Music Compilation and Solo Album[link]

On October 19, 2011, Kanye West announced on his Twitter plans for a Spring 2012 GOOD Music album release.^[22] On April 6, 2012, "Mercy", the lead single from the GOOD Music compilation album, Cruel Summer, was released.^[23] The song, produced by newly-signed in-house producer Lifted, features Pusha T along with Kanye West, Big Sean and southern rapper 2 Chainz.^[24] On May 24, Pusha released a diss track, "Exodus 23:1". It is speculated that the track was aimed at Drake, or Young Money in general. Lil Wayne responded with a diss track "Ghoulish", which debuted on Funkmaster Flex's show.

Controversy[link]

Consequence[link]

After releasing "My God", the first offering off his solo mixtape, former GOOD Music label mate Consequence took to Twitter and claimed Pusha T stole his flow and lyrics from a song of his that Pusha T was supposed to appear on titled "The Last Supper".^[25][26] On July 22, 2011 Consequence released a song titled "The Plagurist Society" where he takes shots and questions Pusha T’s coke-dealing raps. Towards the end of the record the Queens native promises to take aim at Kanye West next saying "You're nothing but a body shield, for that coward from the mid-west/ so yes you can bet, that your boss is next". Pusha T responded to the diss when he appeared on Chicago’s 107.5 WGCI’s The Morning Riot and said nobody is looking for Consequence, as for if he will respond on a record he went on to say "At the end of the day I am an artist and this whole rap thing is fun to me, so I can't say you won't hear nothing, but to go back and forth with him, it's not right, I won't get anything out of it."^[27] Later that day, Consequence called in to Chicago’s WGCI’s The Morning Riot in retaliation to the remarks Pusha T made about him. He also premiered a song titled "Everybody Told Me 2 (Straighten It Out)" where he disses West, Pusha T and GOOD Music in general.^[28][29] Since then Pusha T has responded to Consequence on a record. The song was the remix to Ace Hood's "Go 'N' Get It" which also featured Beanie Sigel, Busta Rhymes and Styles P. In the song Pusha raps "Consequence, nigga, talk is cheap You don't want a problem? Off the beef Before I off his ass with his awful teeth". On August 19, Consequence released Movies on Demand 3 and continued to diss his former label and Pusha T on songs such as "Career Killer" and "Mr.RapFix (Hot Water)". On September 15, 2011 Consequence appeared on MTV's Rap Fix and announced his feud with Kanye West and GOOD Music are over.^[30] While out in Chicago in October 2011, Pusha T appeared on WGCI radio for a second time, and confirmed that the "beef" was indeed over, that it had died out and they have moved on.^[31]

Drake & Lil Wayne[link]

Pusha T released a track titled "Exodus 23:1" as part of GOOD Music's GOOD Fridays dissing Drake and Lil' Wayne. Lil' Wayne responded on Twitter and later recorded a diss "Goulish".

Discography[link]

Albums

• TBA (2012)

Extended plays

• Fear of God II: Let Us Pray (2011)

References[link]

Big Sean
Background information
Birth name	Sean Michael Anderson
Born	(1988-03-25) March 25, 1988 (age 24) Santa Monica, California
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, Singer, Songwriter
Years active	2005 – present
Labels	GOOD, Def Jam
Associated acts	Kanye West, Mike Posner, Wiz Khalifa, Currensy, Meek Mill, SayItAintTone uknowbigsean.com

Sean Michael Anderson (born March 25, 1988),^[1] better known by his stage name Big Sean, is an American rapper. Big Sean signed with Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music in 2007, and then in 2008 signed with Def Jam Recordings.

Biography[link]

1988-2006: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Sean Michael Anderson was born in Santa Monica, California, and he moved at two months old to west Detroit (6 Mile and Wyoming) where he was raised by his mother and grandmother.^[2][3] He attended Detroit Waldorf School and graduated from Cass Technical High School with a 3.7 GPA.^[4] Big Sean is often heard saying " west side " in his songs; he is referring to the west side of his hometown Detroit, Michigan. In his later years in high school, Sean gained a valuable relationship with Detroit hip hop station WHTD; he would show his rhyming skills on a weekly basis as part of a rap battle contest held by the station.^[5]

In 2005, Kanye West was doing a radio interview at 102.7 FM. Hearing about this, Sean headed over to the station to meet West and perform some free-style. Initially Kanye was reluctant to hear the emcee, however he gave Sean 16 bars to rap for him, eventually according to Big Sean "As we get to the entrance of the radio station ... we stopped in the middle of the doorway. He starts looking at me and bobbing his head,".^[6] He left a demo-tape as well. Two years later, West finally signed Big Sean to GOOD Music.

2007–2010: Mixtapes and internet following[link]

On September 30, 2007, Big Sean released his first official mixtape Finally Famous: The Mixtape. His hit single, "Get'cha Some", produced by WrighTrax, attained media attention and led to articles in The Source and the Detroit Metro Times. He also recorded a music video for "Get'cha Some", which was directed by Hype Williams. Sean released a second mixtape hosted by Mick Boogie on April 16, 2009, called UKNOWBIGSEAN. It featured the songs "Million Dollars", "Get'cha Some" and "Supa Dupa". This mixtape includes 30 tracks.^[7] Sean released a third mixtape hosted by Don Cannon on August 31, 2010 called Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG. Features include Bun B, Chip tha Ripper, Curren$y, SAYITAINTTONE, Tyga, Drake, Mike Posner, Suai, Chuck Inglish, Asher Roth, Dom Kennedy, Boldy James, and Chiddy Bang. The mixtape includes 20 tracks.^[8]

An unauthorized leak of his collaboration with Drake, called "Made" made its way onto the internet on April 30, 2010. In an interview with TheHipHopUpdate.com on May 1, Big Sean expressed his disappointment over the leak, calling it an unfinished version both musically and verse wise. Big Sean's official Facebook page confirmed that his debut album Finally Famous & Consequence's Cons TV would be released on September 14, 2010. On August 31, Big Sean tweeted that the album was not coming out on that day, but it would be coming out sometime in 2011.^[9]

[edit] 2011–present: Finally Famous and mainstream success

In a recent interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, he discussed the role Kanye West and No I.D. have had in the development of the album's sonic direction as well as the challenges of being inside the studio with West. The album's lead single, My Last, features vocals from Chris Brown and was produced by No I.D.^[10] According to Amazon.com, Big Sean's Finally Famous was delayed by a week, with a tentative release date set for June 28. Additionally, the GOOD Music rapper revealed that the album touts a song featuring Wiz Khalifa and Chiddy Bang, as well as guest appearances from Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell Williams and possibly Nas as well. Big Sean has revealed the cover art for his G.O.O.D. Music debut and explains that the one-week pushback can be blamed on sample and feature clearance issues.^[11] The official tracklist was revealed on June 7.^[12]

Finally Famous, Sean's debut studio album, was released June 28, 2011, and spawned three hit singles; "My Last", "Marvin & Chardonnay" and "Dance (A$$)". The album features guest appearances from Lupe Fiasco, John Legend, , Pharrell, Kanye West, Roscoe Dash, Wiz Khalifa, Chiddy Bang, Rick Ross, Pusha T and includes production from No I.D., The Legendary Traxster, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Xaphoon Jones and The Neptunes.^{[13][14][15][16]}

When the songs, "O.T.T.R." and "Flowers" were leaked in July 2011, speculation began of a new mixtape. Sean confirmed in an interview June 28, 2011 that a collaborative mixtape between him and "two other guys in hip-hop that are just killing it right now" will be released "in a couple of weeks". Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y, are the supposed featured rappers on the mixtape.^[17] According to, Wiz Khalifa, there will be no mixtape. The rapper explains that the songs they created were, "just for fun". Big Sean was arrested on August 4, 2011 for sexual assault at a concert in Lewiston, New York.^[18] On October 26, 2011, Big Sean plead guilty to second degree unlawful imprisonment, and was fined $750.00. The charges of third-degree sexual abuse were dropped. Big Sean's attorney, Scott Leemon, stated that Big Sean "...did not engage in any type of sexual misconduct.” ^[19]

In September 2011, Big Sean confirmed in an interview with the Daily Tribune that he'll be working on his sophomore album during the I Am Finally Famous Tour and plans to release the album by Summer 2012.^[20] On October 19, 2011, Kanye West announced on his Twitter plans for a Spring 2012 GOOD Music album release.^[21] On April 6, 2012, "Mercy", the lead single from the GOOD Music compilation album, Cruel Summer, was released.^[22] The song, produced by newly-signed in-house producer Lifted, features Big Sean along with Kanye West, Pusha T and southern rapper 2 Chainz.^[23]

Style and clothing[link]

In late October 2008, Big Sean was featured in The Source and headlined the "Style" section of the magazine.^[24] In the article Sean talks about his own personal style and states that his favorite clothing brands are 10 Deep, Billionaire Boys Club, and Bape. Big Sean also posed in the Winter 2008 Billionaire Boys Club lookbook.^[25] Big Sean is also a consistent representative of Ti$A^[26] clothing and hats, along with Chris Brown and Tyga. Ti$A is a vintage company run by fellow G.O.O.D Music recording artist Taz Arnold. Big Sean is also a follower of the Rosewood clothing style.^[27]

Discography[link]

David John "Dave" Franco^[1] (born June 12, 1985) is an American television, film and voice actor who played Cole Aaronson on season nine of Scrubs.^[2] He also recently co-starred in the film 21 Jump Street, playing the role of Eric Molson. Franco is the brother of actor James Franco.

Personal life[link]

Franco was born in Palo Alto, California, the son of Betsy (née Verne), a poet, author and editor, and Doug Franco (1948-2011),^[3][4] who met as students at Stanford University.^[5] His maternal grandmother, Mitzi Levine Verne, runs the Verne Art Gallery, a prominent art gallery in Cleveland.^[6] Franco's father is of Portuguese and Swedish descent^[7] and Franco's mother is Jewish, a descendant of immigrants from Russia.^[8] Dave grew up in California with his two brothers, Tom Franco and Hollywood actor James Franco.^[9]

MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named him one of the Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011.^[10]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dave Franco at the Internet Movie Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2009)

DJ Jazzy Jeff
Background information
Birth name	Jeffrey Allen Townes
Born	(1965-01-22) January 22, 1965 (age 47)
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Hip hop, R&B
Occupations	Record producer, DJ
Years active	1985–Present
Associated acts	DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Website	www.djjazzyjeff.com

Jeffrey Allen Townes^[1] (born January 22, 1965, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania),^[2] also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply Jazz, is an American hip hop, R&B record producer, turntablist and actor. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. DJ Jazzy Jeff attended John Bartram High School in Philadelphia, where he is enshrined in the school's "Wall of Fame."^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Once he grew up, he developed a reputation and a following as a school and block party DJ. Jazzy Jeff was the feature of the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. He also won the world DJ championship in the 1986 New Music Seminar DJ Battle.

Acting[link]

When Smith branched out into television with the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Jazzy Jeff played a recurring character named Jazz, Smith's best friend on the show. In the early season the two characters always greeted each other with their signature handshake (swinging mid-five, point-back/snap with both characters saying "Pssh!"). His trademarks included being physically ejected from the house by Uncle Phil (James Avery).

Music[link]

As a duo, they had several gold and platinum-selling albums and singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, earning them the first rap Grammy Award ever presented in 1989 for Parents Just Don't Understand. One of the first records Jazzy Jeff ever appeared on was with The Korner Boyz (Street Artz Records) "Bust The Move and The Soga of Roxanne) Which featured legendary Philly Rapper / MC Parry P and Grand Tone. The Instrumental was called "Jazzy Jeff Scratch" (1985)

After DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince broke up, Townes went on to become a prominent R&B, soul, and neo soul record producer, establishing the A Touch of Jazz production company in his native Philadelphia. Among the artists that Jazzy Jeff has helped develop are Jill Scott and Musiq. Even though he separated from Will Smith as a music partner, they are still friends,^{[citation needed]} and still occasionally work together. Some songs by Smith were produced by Townes (including "Here He Comes"), and he has performed on some songs by Smith such as "So Fresh" and "Potnas." In addition, he appeared in several of Smith's music videos such as "Will2K" and "Freakin' It". On some occasions, he made an appearances with Smith at live concerts, producing DJ scratches.

He, along with DJ Cash Money, is credited with making the transform scratch famous.^{[citation needed]}

On July 2, 2005, DJ Jazzy Jeff performed with Smith at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia. Moreover, Smith acknowledges him in his music such as "Comin' To The Stage" from the album Lost & Found and "Potnas" in his album Willennium.

His 2007 release The Return of the Magnificent featured numerous collaborations with old school and new school artists including CL Smooth, Big Daddy Kane, Pos from De La Soul, Method Man, Peedi Peedi (a remake of Brand New Funk), Rhymefest, and Raheem DeVaughn.

In 2007, he appeared with Rhymefest in a video DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Fest directed by Konee Rok, in which he makes music in his home recording studio with Rhymefest.

In 2008, he performed with Smith at the premier of the latter's 2008 film Hancock.

In 2009, he made a mixtape titled He's the King...I'm the DJ in honor of the late entertainer Michael Jackson.

He was featured in the video game, DJ Hero, as a playable character. He also has some original mixes in the game.

He is currently making a mixtape with young rapper Mac Miller and is hosting it, titled "92 Til Infinity".

Discography[link]

Solo work as DJ Jazzy Jeff[link]

• Unreleased album from Sony Records (1998)
• One cut in Battle of DJs
• The Magnificent (2002)
• Soulheaven Presents Jazzy Jeff in the House (2004)
• The Soul Mixtape Groovin' Records USA (2005)
• Hip-Hop Forever II Rapster Records (2004)
• Hip-Hop Forever III BBE Records (2006)
• The Return of The Magnificent EP (2007)
• The Return of the Magnificent (2007) #55 US (Gold)
• The Return of Hip Hop EP (2007)

As DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince[link]

• Rock the House (1986) #83 US (Gold); #97 UK
• He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (1988) #4 US (3x Platinum); #68 UK
• And in This Corner… (1989) #39 US (Gold)
• Homebase (1991) #12 US (Platinum); #69 UK
• Code Red (1993) #64 US (Gold); #50 UK
• Greatest Hits (1998) #144 US, #20 UK
• Before The Willennium (1999)
• The Very Best of D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (2006)^[1]

Miscellaneous[link]

• 1991 - Deep, Deep, Trouble with Bart Simpson; and the remixes from The Simpsons Sing the Blues
• 1997 - Jazzy Jeff's Theme; from the album Nuyorican Soul
• 1998 - "When To Stand Up" featuring Eminem
• 1998 - I Don't Know by Slum Village (scratches); from the album Fantastic, Vol. 2
• 1999 - The Next Movement by The Roots (scratches); from the album Things Fall Apart
• 2004 - Mirrorball (DJ Jazzy Jeff Full Sole Remix) by Everything But The Girl; from Adapt or Die: 10 Years of Remixes
• 2005 - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (DJ Jazzy Jeff & Pete Kuzma Solefull Mix) by the Temptations; from Motown Remixed.
• 2005 - Lost & Found by Will Smith; produced intro song Here He Comes and several DJ scratches on several tracks
• 2005 - Watch Me by Little Brother (scratches); from the album The Minstrel Show
• 2006 - Feel It (Jazzy Jeff Soulful Remix) by the Black Eyed Peas; from Renegotiations: The Remixes
• 2006 - Night in Tunisia (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix) by Duke Jordan
• 2007 - NY Weather Report by Talib Kweli (scratches); from the album Eardrum
• 2007-Made a cameo appearance in Jill Scott's music video "A Long Walk"
• 2008 - Get Busy by The Roots (scratches); from the album Rising Down
• 2008 - Bring It Back by Rhymefest (producer); from the album El Che
• 2009 - Prince in Training by MaC Renegade Hosted by DJ Jazzy Jeff
• 2009 - Stay This Way (Jazzy Jeff Remix) by Peter Bjorn and John featuring Big Pooh, Chaundon, and Phil Nash from the mixtape Re-Living Thing with Mick Boogie