The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

Barossa Valley, South Australia, an area noted for vineyards

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas of land that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture and there may be less air and water pollution than in an urban area. The degree to which areas of wilderness are included in the term varies; very large wilderness areas are not likely to be described by the term in most contexts.

In most parts of the world rural areas have been declining since the 19th century or earlier, both as a proportion of land area, and in terms of the proportion of the population living in them. Urbanization encroaches on rural land, and the mechanization of agriculture has reduced the number of workers needed to work the land, while alternative employment is typically easier to obtain in cities. In parts of the developed world urban sprawl has greatly reduced the areas that can be called rural, and land use planning measures are used to protect the character of rural areas in various ways.

United States[link]

Aerial photograph of a rural area with mixed land use

Sign in a rural area in Dalarna, Sweden

About 91 percent of the American rural population now earn salaried incomes, often in urban areas. The 10 percent who still produce resources generate 20 percent of the world’s coal, copper, and oil; 10 percent of its wheat, 20 percent of its meat, and 50 percent of its corn. The efficiency of these farms is due in large part to the industrialization of the farming industry, and not single family operations.^[1]

84 percent of the United States' inhabitants live in suburban and urban areas,^[2] but cities occupy only 10 percent of the country. Rural areas occupy the remaining 90 percent.^[1]The U.S. Census Bureau, the USDA's Economic Research Service, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have come together to help define rural areas.;United States Census Bureau:The Census Bureau definitions (new to the 2000 census), which are based on population density, defines rural areas as all territory outside of Census Bureau-defined urbanized areas and urban clusters.:*An urbanized area consists of a central surrounding areas whose population ("urban nucleus") is greater than 50,000. They may or may not contain individual cities with 50,000 or more; rather, they must have a core with a population density generally exceeding 1,000 persons per square mile; and may contain adjoining territory with at least 500 persons per square mile (other towns outside of an urbanized area whose population exceeds 2,500).:*Thus, rural areas comprise open country and settlements with fewer than 2,500 residents; areas designated as rural can have population densities as high as 999 per square mile or as low as 1 person per square mile.^[3];USDA:* The USDA's Office of Rural Development may define rural by various population thresholds. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 6020) defined rural and rural area as any area other than (1) a city or town that has a population of greater than 50,000 inhabitants, and (2) the urbanized areas contiguous and adjacent to such a city or town.:* The rural-urban continuum codes, urban influence codes, and rural county typology codes developed by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) allow researchers to break out the standard metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas into smaller residential groups.^[3]  For example, a metropolitan county is one that contains an urbanized area, or one that has a twenty-five percent commuter rate to an urbanized area regardless of population.;OMB: Under the Core Based Statistical Areas used by the OMB,::* a metropolitan county, or Metropolitan Statistical Area, consists of (1) central counties with one or more urbanized areas (as defined by the Census Bureau) and (2) outlying counties that are economically tied to the core counties as measured by worker commuting data (i.e. if 25% of workers living there commute to the core counties, or if 25% of the employment in the county consists of workers coming from the central counties).::* Non-metro counties are outside the boundaries of metro areas and are further subdivided into Micropolitan Statistical Areas centered on urban clusters of 10,000-50,000 residents, and all remaining non-core counties.^[3][4]

Rural schools[link]

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) revised its definition of rural schools in 2006 after working with the Census Bureau to create a new locale classification system to capitalize on improved geocoding technology and the 2000 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions of metro areas that rely less on population size and county boundaries than proximity of an address to an urbanized area. The new classification system has four major local categories— city, suburban, town, and rural —each of which is subdivided into three subcategories. Cities and suburbs are subdivided into the categories small, midsize, or large; towns and rural areas are subdivided by their proximity to an urbanized area into the categories fringe, distant, or remote. These twelve categories are based on several key concepts that Census uses to define an area's urbanicity: principal city, urbanized area, and urban cluster. Rural areas are designated by census as those areas that do not lie inside an urbanized area or urban cluster. NCES has classified all schools into one of these twelve categories based on schools' actual addresses and their corresponding coordinates of latitude and longitude. Not only does this mean that the location of any school can be identified precisely, but also that distance measures can be used to identify town and rural subtypes.”

Rural health[link]

Rural health definitions can be different for establishing under-served areas or health care accessibility in rural areas of the United States. According to the handbook, Definitions of Rural: A Handbook for Health Policy Makers and Researchers, “Residents of metropolitan counties are generally thought to have easy access to the relatively concentrated health services of the county’s central areas. However, some metropolitan counties are so large that they contain small towns and rural, sparsely populated areas that are isolated from these central clusters and their corresponding health services by physical barriers.” To address this type of rural area, “Harold Goldsmith, Dena Puskin, and Dianne Stiles (1992) described a methodology to identify small towns and rural areas within large metropolitan counties (LMCs) that were isolated from central areas by distance or other physical features.”  This became the Goldsmith Modification definition of rural. “Bhoomeet rural education The Goldsmith Modification has been useful for expanding the eligibility for federal programs that assist rural populations—to include the isolated rural populations of large metropolitan counties.”

United Kingdom[link]

In Britain, "rural" is defined^[5] by the government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), using population data from the latest census, such as the United Kingdom Census 2001. These definitions have various grades, but the upper point is any local government area with less than 26% of its population living in a market town ("market town" being defined as any settlement which has permission to hold a street market). The British countryside, especially in the south of England, is perceived as under threat, and a number of measures including green belts are used to protect it.

Rural health[link]

An NHS patient is defined as rural if they live more than 5 km (3.1 mi) from either a doctor or a dispensing chemist. This is important for defining whether the patient is expected to collect their own medicines. While doctors' surgeries in towns will not have a dispensing chemist, instead expecting patients to use a high-street chemist to purchase their prescription medicines, in rural village surgeries, an NHS dispensary will be built into the same building.

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

1. Definitions of Rural: A Handbook for Health Policy Makers and Researchers.PDF (6.12 MiB) Thomas C. Ricketts, Karen D. Johnson-Webb, Patricia Taylor. Chapel Hill: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina, 1998. 13 p.

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (June 2010)

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Country life

Look up rural or countryside in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• e-Agriculture promoting rural development
• Census 2000 Urban and Rural Classification
• Center for Rural Affairs
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Measuring Rurality
• Navigating Resources for Rural Schools
• North West Rural Affairs Forum (England)
• Rural America
• Rural Information Center
• Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletin
• Canadian Rural Partnership

Lil Jon
Аt Halo 3 Exclusive Preview in Atlanta, September 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Jonathan Smith
Born	(1971-01-27) January 27, 1971 (age 41)[1] Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, crunk
Occupations	Rapper, songwriter, DJ, producer, Actor,
Instruments	Keyboard, synthesizer, drum machine, sampler
Years active	1995–present
Labels	BME Universal Republic TVT Little Jonathan Inc.
Associated acts	Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz, Ying Yang Twins, Pitbull, The Mr. Move, Too Short, 8Ball & MJG, E-40, Oobie, Yelawolf, LMFAO
Notable instruments
Roland TR-808, OpenLabs NeKo, Clavia Nord Lead

Jonathan Smith (born January 27, 1971),^[1][2][3] better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and international DJ who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004. He then went solo and released a new album in 2010 called Crunk Rock.

Early life[link]

Lil' Jon was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Frederick Douglass High School.^[4]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

After working as a DJ for Atlanta night clubs, he started working for So So Def Recordings between 1993 and 2000.^[5] The group signed to the Atlanta-based Mirror Image Records and were distributed by Ichiban Records. In 1997, Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz debuted with Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album. It included singles "Who U Wit?" and "Shawty Freak a Lil' Sumthin'", the latter of which came out in 1998. Both singles charted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at No. 70 and No. 62 respectively.^[6] In 2000 Jon took part in starting up his own label BME Recordings and signed a distribution agreement with Norcross, Georgia based Southern Music Distribution. There he released his break through album titled We Still Crunk. Among the tracks on that project was the hit single "I Like Dem Girlz", which reached No. 55 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.

After hearing feedback that Lil' Jon was "the new guy" from street team people in the markets where he was attracting his biggest audiences – namely Atlanta, St. Louis, Memphis and Dallas – A&R at TVT, Bryan Leach, went to one of his Atlanta shows and was blown away by the immense energy of the experience.^[7] Leach told HitQuarters: "It was like early Beastie Boys, when they had the energy of a rock group but they were rapping, and ... that energy is what crunk music is all about."^[7] Lil' Jon & The East Side Boyz signed to TVT Records in 2001 and debuted there with Put Yo Hood Up, which combined previously released tracks with new ones. The group's first nationally played single was "Bia' Bia'", which featured rappers Ludacris, Too Short, Big Kapp, and Chyna Whyte.^[1] "Bia' Bia'" peaked at No. 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 47 on the Billboard R&B chart.^[6]

In 2002, the group released Kings of Crunk. "I Don't Give A..." was its first single; it featured Mystikal and Krayzie Bone and peaked at No. 50 on the R&B chart.^[6] The group's next single, a collaboration with fellow Atlanta hip hop group Ying Yang Twins titled "Get Low", became popular in nightclubs nationwide and reached the top ten of the Hot 100.Crunk Juice followed in 2004, led by "What U Gon' Do" featuring Lil' Scrappy. "What U Gon' Do" peaked at No. 22 on the Hot 100, No. 13 on the R&B chart, and No. 5 on the rap chart; its follow-up, "Lovers & Friends" featuring Usher and Ludacris, peaked at No. 3 (Hot 100), No. 2 (R&B), and No. 1 (rap).^[6]

Solo career and production[link]

In addition to leading Lil' Jon & The East Side Boyz, Lil' Jon has also produced many hit urban singles. From 2003 to 2005, while still with The East Side Boyz, Lil' Jon produced hits like "Salt Shaker" by Ying Yang Twins, "Yeah!" by Usher, "Freek-a-Leek" by Petey Pablo, "Shorty Wanna Ride" by Young Buck, "Shake That Monkey" by Too Short, "Let's Go" by Trick Daddy, and "Girlfight" by Brooke Valentine.^[1] Lil' Jon entered the San Francisco Bay Area hyphy music scene in 2006 with his collaborations with Bay Area rapper E-40: Lil' Jon produced E-40's single "Tell Me When To Go" and had E-40 and Atlanta rapper Sean P on his own "Snap Yo Fingers".^[8] In 2006, Lil' Jon severed his negotiation with record label TVT. He vowed never to record for TVT Records again, alleging that TVT owner Steve Gottlieb was shortchanging him.^{[dead link][9]} He also began recording a rock music album, Crunk Rock; in May 2006 he began recording in Las Vegas, Nevada because rock band The Killers was recording its upcoming album Sam's Town there and the East Side Boyz signed a new deal with Rick Robinson aka Double R CEO and Founder of IMG Recordings, which the album got pushed back to 2013.^[10]

MTV News reported in March 2008 that Crunk Rock was taking more time to complete than Lil' Jon already planned.^[11] As part of TVT Records' 2008 bankruptcy auction, Lil' Jon withdrew his multi-million dollar objection to the TVT sale proceedings and agreed to TVT’s transfer of his artist agreement to The Orchard. In return, The Orchard released Lil' Jon from all future obligations and returned the rights to the master recordings of Crunk Rock. Crunk Rock was finally released on June 8, 2010 and it features artists such as LMFAO, Soulja Boy, Ying Yang Twins, Waka Flocka Flame, R.Kelly, and many more.^[12] In March 2011, Lil Jon took part in the fourth season of The Celebrity Apprentice on NBC and was eliminated in the Final Four.^[13] In July 2011, in a recent interview has said that he is working on a new studio album called "Party Animal" and has released a song with LMFAO called "Drink".

Musical style and influences[link]

Jason Birchmeier of all music has described Lil' Jon's production as "bass-heavy" and his album Put Yo Hood Up as having "a long and varied list of guest rappers to accompany the beats". With the guest performers featured on that album much more than the East Side Boyz, Birchmeier remarked: "The end result is an album that resembles a street-level mixtape rather than a traditional artist-oriented album".^[14] He was specifically influenced by 2 Live Crew, 8Ball & MJG, OutKast, Geto Boys, UGK, Dr. Dre, and Sir Mix-A-Lot. Alex Henderson, also of allmusic, contrasted Lil' Jon's style of "rowdy, in-your-face, profanity-filled party music" with other Southern rappers', those who "have a gansta/thug life agenda" and those who convey "serious sociopolitical messages".^[15] Lil' Jon has also found influence in rock music, having worked with Rick Rubin and Korn.^[16] This influence embodies itself in his aggressive delivery and 'yelling' style of rap. He was seen on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time program wearing a Bad Brains t-shirt and also used to listen to Lynyrd Skynyrd growing up in the South in the 70s. For Trick Daddy's "Let's Go", Lil' Jon sampled the bass line from Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train".^[10]

Personal life[link]

In 2004, Lil Jon was married in Puerto Rico.^[17] He also has a son named Slade Smith (born in 1998).

Discography[link]

Solo

• Crunk Rock (2010)
• Party Animal (TBA)

With the East Side Boyz

• Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album (1997)
• We Still Crunk!! (2000)
• Put Yo Hood Up (2001)
• Kings of Crunk (2002)
• Crunk Juice (2004)

Video games[link]

• Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
• 25 To Life (cameo appearance)
• Def Jam: Icon
• Need for Speed: Underground "Get Low (song)" song is featured in this game
• Def Jam: Icon "Get Low (song)" song in this Game

Filmography[link]

• 2004: Soul Plane
• 2005: Boss'n Up
• 2005: Hip-Hop Honeys: Las Vegas
• 2006: Date Movie
• 2006: Scary Movie 4
• 2007: Class of 3000
• 2008: Smoke and Mirrors
• 2009: Pimp My Ride International
• 2010: Freaknik: The Musical (voice only)
• 2011: The Celebrity Apprentice 4

Television Shows[link]

Chappelle's Show (2004)
Wild 'n Out (2006)

See also[link]

• List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lil Jon

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Lil Jon

• Official website
• Lil Jon at MTV
• Lil Jon at the Internet Movie Database