- published: 25 Oct 2009
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- author: RKellyVEVO
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Atlanta
Atlanta (
/ətˈlæntə/, stressed /ætˈlæntə/, locally /ætˈlænə/) is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia with a 2010 population of 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest in the U.S. It is a major component of a growing southeastern megalopolis known as the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion. Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County.
Atlanta began as a settlement located at the terminus of a railroad line, and it was incorporated in 1845. Today, the city is a major business city and the primary transportation hub of the Southeastern United States (via highway, railroad, and air), with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being the world's busiest airport since 1998. The World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University rated Atlanta as an "alpha(-) world city." With a gross domestic product of US$270 billion, Atlanta's economy ranks 15th among world cities and sixth in the nation. The city is a center for services, finance, information technology, government, and higher education. Metro Atlanta contains the country's third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, and is the world headquarters of The Coca-Cola Company, Turner Broadcasting, The Home Depot, AT&T Mobility, UPS, and Delta Air Lines. As of 2010, Atlanta is the seventh most visited city in the United States, with over 35 million visitors per year.
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Cape Town
Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad; Xhosa: iKapa) is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The city is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is also Africa's most popular tourist destination.
Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town was originally developed by the Dutch East India Company as a victualling (supply) station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in South Africa.
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Chicago
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.
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Illinois
Illinois (
i/ˌɪlɨˈnɔɪ/ IL-i-NOY) is the 25th most extensive and the 5th most populous of the 50 United States, and is often noted as a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base. Illinois is a major transportation hub. The Port of Chicago connects the state to other global ports from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean; as well as the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois River. For decades, O'Hare International Airport has ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics.
Although the state's largest population centers today are in northern Illinois, originally the state's population grew from south to north, with settlers arriving from Kentucky in the 1810s. In 1818, Illinois achieved statehood. Chicago was founded in the 1830s on the banks of the Chicago River, one of the few natural harbors on southern Lake Michigan. Railroads and John Deere's invention of the self-scouring steel plow turned Illinois' rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmlands, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden. By 1900, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars. The Great Migration established a large community of African Americans in Chicago that created the city's famous jazz and blues cultures.
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Johannesburg
Johannesburg (/dʒoʊˈhænɪsbɜrɡ/; Afrikaans: [joˈhɑnəsbʏrx]) also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or eGoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa. The city is one of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the world, and is also the world's largest city not situated on a river, lake, or coastline. It claims to be the lightning capital of the world, though this title is also claimed by others.
While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities, it is the seat of the Constitutional Court, which has the final word on interpretation of South Africa's new post-Apartheid constitution. The city is the source of a large-scale gold and diamond trade, due to its location on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills. Johannesburg is served by O.R. Tambo International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Africa and a gateway for international air travel to and from the rest of Southern Africa. More recently Lanseria International Airport has started international flights, and is situated conveniently on the opposite side of the metropolis.
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Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), who performed under the mononym Aaliyah ( /ɑːˈliːə/), was an American recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground Records. Hankerson introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with R. Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with Atlantic Records.
Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million; it sold 3.7 million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first major film, Romeo Must Die. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which spawned the single "Try Again". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely on airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in Billboard history to achieve this feat. "Try Again" earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.
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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.
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Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter ((1944-09-12)September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003(2003-07-04)), was an American composer and singer-songwriter.
A two-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring soul, funk, and disco songs such as his two biggest hits, "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" and "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe."
Worldwide, White had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million, according to critics Ed Hogan and Wade Kergan. His influences include southern soul artists like Isaac Hayes, Clarence Carter, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin plus Motown artists The Supremes, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye. Along with Isaac Hayes, White is considered by Allmusic.com as the first singer who played disco music before the actual period of the late 1970s.
Barry White was born Barry Eugene Carter in Galveston, Texas, and grew up in the high-crime areas of South Central Los Angeles. White was the elder of two brothers; his brother Darryl is 13 months younger. He grew up listening to his mother's classical music collection, and first took to the piano emulating what he heard on the records. His introduction to music later led to him playing piano on Jesse Belvin's hit single, "Goodnight My Love."
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Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Humphrey Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner (born January 15, 1965, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American boxer and former Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion. He became the oldest boxer to ever win a world title, when at age 46, he defeated Jean Pascal on May 21, 2011 by a unanimous decision, surpassing the record previously held by George Foreman.
Hopkins is also the former undisputed world middleweight champion, and the first fighter to retain all 4 world titles of each major boxing sanctioning body, plus The Ring belt, in the same fight. Having defended a world middleweight title a record 20 times, he is considered one of the greatest middleweight champions of all time. The Ring ranked him #3 on their list of the "10 best middleweight title holders of the last 50 years."
In addition to being an active boxer, Hopkins is also a minority partner with Golden Boy Promotions.
Born to Bernard Hopkins, Sr. and his wife Sue, Bernard grew up in the Raymond Rosen projects with his family. Hopkins turned to crime early in his life. By the age of thirteen he was mugging people and had been stabbed three times. At seventeen, Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in Graterford Prison for nine felonies. While in prison he witnessed rapes and the murder of another inmate in an argument over a pack of cigarettes, but also discovered his passion for boxing. After serving almost five years, Hopkins was released from prison in 1988. He then decided to use boxing as an escape from his previous life, and converted to Islam. While leaving the prison for the final time, the warden told Hopkins he'd "see [Hopkins] again when you wind up back here," to which Hopkins replied "I ain't ever coming back here."
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Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (née Beyoncé Giselle Knowles; September 4, 1981), known mononymously as Beyoncé ( /biˈjɒnseɪ/ bee-YON-say), is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time.
During the hiatus of Destiny's Child, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003, which spawned two number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100—"Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy"—and became one of the most successful albums of that year, earning her a then record-tying five Grammy Awards. Following the disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2005, Knowles released her second solo album, B'Day, in 2006, which spawned the top 10 singles "Déjà Vu", "Irreplaceable" and "Beautiful Liar". Her third solo album I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008), spawned the hit singles "If I Were a Boy", "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", "Halo" and "Sweet Dreams". The album helped Knowles earn six Grammys in 2010, breaking the record for most Grammy Awards won by a female artist in one night. Knowles' fourth solo album, 4 (2011), became her fourth consecutive number one album on the Billboard 200 as a solo artist. This made her the third artist in history to have her first four studio albums debut atop the chart.
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Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999, which became the best-selling album by a teenage solo artist. During her first decade in the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s, and became the 'best-selling teen aged artist of all time' before she turned 20, garnering her the honorific title of "Princess of Pop".
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Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, CC OQ, (French pronunciation: [selin djɔ̃] (
listen); born March 30, 1968), is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the English-language album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.
Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to CBS Records Canada in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide fame after signing with Epic Records and releasing several English albums along with additional French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music history. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a hiatus from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada.
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Ciara
Ciara Princess Harris (born October 25, 1985), known mononymously as Ciara, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress and fashion model. Born in Austin, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, only to land in Atlanta, Georgia where she met music producer Jazze Pha. With his help, she signed a record deal with LaFace Records.
In 2004, Ciara released her debut studio album Goodies, which debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 and included the hit singles "Goodies", "1, 2 Step" and "Oh". The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and earned her four nominations at the 48th Grammy Awards. She released her second studio album Ciara: The Evolution in 2006, which spawned the hit singles "Get Up", "Promise" and "Like a Boy". The album reached number one in the US and was certified platinum. Her third studio album Fantasy Ride, released in May 2009, was considerably less successful than Ciara's first two albums. However, it produced the worldwide top-ten hit "Love Sex Magic" featuring Justin Timberlake, which earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The following year, Ciara released her fourth studio album Basic Instinct, which was met with low sales and continued a downward trend in her commercial success. In 2011, she signed a new record deal with Epic Records.
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Clive Davis
Clive Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer and music industry executive. He won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. From 1967 to 1973 he was the President of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1975 through 2000 until founding J Records. From 2002 until April 2008, Davis was the Chairman and CEO of the RCA Music Group (which included RCA Records, J Records and Arista Records), Chairman and CEO of J Records, and Chairman and CEO of BMG North America. Currently Davis is the Chief Creative Officer of Sony Music Entertainment. He currently plays a part in the careers of Alicia Keys, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, Carlos Santana, Kelly Clarkson, Harry Connick, Jr., Leona Lewis, Barry Manilow, BC Jean and Seattle De Luca. Davis is credited with bringing Whitney Houston to prominence. Clive Davis is an alumnus of New York University, and the recorded music division of its Tisch School for the Arts is named after him.
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David Ritz
David Ritz (born c. 1942) is an American author, most of whose books are biographies of soul music and R&B legends such as Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and Janet Jackson. On four occasions, his co-authored autobiographies of musicians (for books with Jerry Wexler, The Neville Brothers, B.B. King and Etta James) have been awarded the Ralph J. Gleason Award. He is also a novelist (Blue Notes Under a Green Felt Hat, The Man Who Brought the Dodgers Back to Brooklyn).
Ritz is probably most notable for his work with Marvin Gaye. The two first met in 1978 shortly after the release of Gaye's tormented Here, My Dear album. Ritz had publicly defended Gaye's album as a body of work after a Los Angeles Times critic had panned the album (it wasn't a commercial success either).[citation needed] Ritz also alleged that he co-wrote Gaye's hit Sexual Healing (while the extent of his contributions was debated and the subject of a lawsuit, he was at least acknowledged by Gaye's associates to have thought up the title).
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Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. Her 1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held the record for longest-running number one single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart (14 weeks), a record held for nearly eight years. She has achieved eleven number-one hits on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. She is often cited as Canada's top R&B artist.
Deborah Cox was born in Toronto to parents of Afro-Guyanese descent, grew up in Scarborough, Toronto and attended John XXIII Catholic Elementary School and Earl Haig Secondary School. She began singing for TV commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows with the help of her mother. She performed in nightclubs as a teenager, and began to write music around the same time. Cox entered the music industry in the early 1990s, performing as a backup vocalist for Celine Dion for six months. After receiving many rejection letters from Canadian record labels that claimed their "quota" had been reached, Cox moved to Los Angeles in 1994 with producer and songwriting partner, Lascelles Stephens.
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DJ Drama
Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978) better known as DJ Drama is an American hip hop artist and the official DJ for Grand Hustle/Atlantic recording artist T.I. He is best known for producing mixtapes, including the successful "Gangsta Grillz" series and Dedication 2, which the New York Times called one of the "10 best recordings of 2006".
DJ Drama, Don Cannon, and DJ Sense founded Aphilliates Music Group in 2003. The Aphilliates Music Group inked a label deal with Asylum Records in 2006, signing rapper Willie the Kid. As of January 2011, The Aphilliates now operates as its own entity, due to DJ Drama recently cutting ties with La the Darkman and Embassy Entertainment.
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DJ Skee
Scott Keeney (born November 15, 1983), better known by his stage name DJ Skee, is an American DJ, radio personality, television host, video producer, and entrepreneur operating out of Los Angeles. Skee manages his own new media music, marketing, and production company, Skee.TV. Skee performs worldwide, has headlined tours from Asia through South America, hosts his own radio shows on Los Angeles' KIIS-FM and Sirius XM Satellite Radio (with worldwide syndication), and remixes music from various artists such as Jay-Z. His business portfolio includes a creative marketing and branding company, record label, management company, and production arm.
Skee was born November 15, 1983 in New York City. After moving between Texas and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Skee was raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Skee started creating mixtapes when he was 15 and soon became regionally known. Starting on air at the age of 16 at a local station in Minneapolis, MN, Skee split time as a teen between Minnesota and New York City where he began his work in the music business. After graduating a year early from Central High School (Saint Paul, Minnesota) in 2001, Skee moved to Los Angeles under the guidance of Steve Rifkind to work directly for him at Loud Records and SRC Marketing.
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Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."
His collaborations with Roberta Flack scored high on the charts and won him the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the duet, "Where Is the Love" in 1973.
His body was found outside the luxury hotel Essex House in New York City; his death was ruled a suicide.
Hathaway, the son of Drusella Huntley, was born in Chicago. He lived with his grandmother, Martha Pitts, also known as Martha Crumwell, in the Carr Square housing project, in St Louis. Hathaway began singing in a church choir with his grandmother, a professional gospel singer, at the age of three. He graduated from Vashon High School in 1963. He studied music on a fine arts scholarship at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He also formed a jazz trio to work around the local area with drummer Ric Powell while there, but during 1967 left Howard without a degree, after receiving job offers in the music business.
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Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician.
Box office takes from Murphy's films make him the second-highest grossing actor in the United States. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984 and has worked as a stand-up comedian. He was ranked #10 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.
He has received Golden Globe Award nominations for his performances in 48 Hrs, Beverly Hills Cop series, Trading Places, and The Nutty Professor. In 2007, he won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of soul singer James "Thunder" Early in Dreamgirls.
Eddie Murphy's work as a voice actor includes Thurgood Stubbs in The PJs, Donkey in the Shrek series and the dragon Mushu in Disney's Mulan. In some of his films, he plays multiple roles in addition to his main character, intended as a tribute to one of his idols Peter Sellers, who played multiple roles in Dr. Strangelove and elsewhere. Murphy has played multiple roles in Coming to America, Wes Craven's Vampire In Brooklyn, the Nutty Professor films (where he played the title role in two incarnations, plus his father, brother, mother, and grandmother), Bowfinger, Norbit, and Meet Dave.
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Fally Ipupa
Fally Ipupa is a singer-songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was part of the band of Koffi Olomidé, Quartier Latin International, from 1999 to 2006 before starting a solo career. His first solo album was Droit chemin released in 2006, and his second album Arsenal de Belles Melodies (A2BM) was released in 2009.
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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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Gerald LeVert
Gerald Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an American R&B singer. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B supergroup comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and Levert. His father, Eddie Levert, is the lead singer of the 1970s soul group The O'Jays.
Gerald Levert was born to The O'Jays frontman Eddie Levert and his wife Martha in Canton, Ohio on July 13, 1966. Levert grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and due to his father's career, Levert would travel with the band regularly. While in high school, Levert's inclination towards music became apparent when he formed the R&B trio LeVert, with his younger brother Sean Levert (deceased, March 30, 2008) and friend Marc Gordon in 1984. Four of the group's seven albums went platinum. These include, I Get Hot in 1985, Bloodline in 1986, The Big Throwdown in 1987, and Just Coolin in 1988. Among the group's memorable hits were, "(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind", "Casanova", and "ABC-123" (not to be confused with The Jackson 5 hit with a similar title).
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Hotstylz
Hotstylz is a rap group based out of Chicago, Illinois, USA, and signed to Yung Joc's label Swagg Team Entertainment, distributed by Jive/RCA Records. In late 2007 they released a single called "Lookin Boy", featuring Yung Joc which peaked at #47 in the U.S..
Each member of Hotstylz works as solo artist, but they come together to form the group Hotstylz
The current rappers of the group are Raydio G, Krazee, and Meatball.
In Fall 2011, they released a mixtape entitled "Where Yall Been At". They are planning for a Spring 2012 album release.
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Jaheim
Jaheim Hoagland (born May 26, 1978, New Brunswick, New Jersey) is an American R&B singer and formerly a rapper performing under the mononymous name of Jaheim. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000, and released his debut album Ghetto Love in 2001. His second effort, Still Ghetto, (which contained the hit Put That Woman First, released on November 5, 2002) was released a year later, both achieving platinum success. Jaheim's third album, Ghetto Classics, was released on February 14, 2006, debuting at Number One on the Billboard 200, and selling over 153,000 copies in its first week.
Jaheim has been a resident of Hillsborough Township, New Jersey. He is the grandson of the late 1960s soul singer Hoagy Lands.
He is currently attending St. Johns University, having earlier dropped out of Lock Haven University.
Jaheim grew up in New Brunswick, in the 176 Memorial Parkway Homes public housing project. His father died in 1981, when he was only three years old. His grandfather sang with many top groups, including the Drifters, and their family reunions were big songfests. Singing at family reunions and local talent shows preceded a successful tryout at the Apollo Theater's talent show. He won the contest three times when he was fifteen.
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Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years. The youngest child of the Jackson family, she began her career with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976 and went on to appear in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times and Fame.
After signing a recording contract with A&M in 1982, she came to prominence following the release of her third studio album Control (1986). Her collaborations with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated elements of rhythm and blues, funk, disco, rap, and industrial beats, which led to crossover appeal in popular music. In addition to receiving recognition for the innovation in her records, choreography, music videos, and prominence on radio airplay and MTV, she was acknowledged as a role model for her socially conscious lyrics.
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Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969) is an American actress, businesswoman, dancer and recording artist. Often referred to as J.Lo, she is reportedly the highest earning actress of Latin descent. Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, she enrolled in singing and dancing classes as a child and grew up in a musically influenced household. She started her career as a fly girl on the television comedy program In Living Color and a back-up dancer for Janet Jackson. Lopez gained recognition in the action-thriller Money Train (1995). Her first leading role was in the biographical film Selena (1997), which was her breakthrough role, earning her an ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress and Golden Globe nomination. She earned her second ALMA Award for her performance in Out of Sight (1998), which made her the highest-paid Latin actress. She has since appeared in various films including The Cell (2000), The Wedding Planner (2001), Maid in Manhattan (2002), Shall We Dance? (2004), Monster-in-Law (2005), The Back-up Plan (2010) and What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012).
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Jermain Taylor
Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American professional boxer and former Undisputed Middleweight Champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 25 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy. On July 16, 2005, Taylor defeated Bernard Hopkins to win the Undisputed Middleweight Championship, claiming The Ring Middleweight Championship and all the middleweight titles from the four major boxing organizations.
Taylor, who began boxing at age 13, earned numerous accolades throughout his amateur career, starting with his achievement of the 1996 Under-19 Championship. He went on to win a pair of Police Athletic League (PAL) Championships and National Golden Gloves titles and he finished second and third at the 1997 and 1998 United States Championships, respectively. In 1998, Taylor won a bronze medal at the Goodwill Games. Then, in 2000, he earned a spot on the Olympic Boxing Team, becoming the first boxer from Arkansas ever to compete in the Olympic Games. Competing at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Taylor ended up winning the bronze medal.
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Johnnie Cochran
Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. (October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an American lawyer best known for his leadership role in the defense and criminal acquittal of O. J. Simpson for the murder of his former wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Cochran also represented Sean Combs (during his trial on gun and bribery charges), Michael Jackson, rapper Tupac Shakur, actor Todd Bridges, football player Jim Brown, rapper Snoop Dogg, former heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe,1992 Los Angeles riot beating victim Reginald Oliver Denny, and Geronimo Pratt.
He also represented athlete Marion Jones when she faced charges of doping during her high school track career. Cochran was known for his skill in the courtroom and his prominence as an early advocate for victims of police brutality.
Johnnie L Cochran, Jr. ("L" was his full middle name) was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father, Johnnie Cochran, Sr., was an insurance salesman, and his mother sold Avon products. The family relocated to the West Coast and settled in Los Angeles in 1949. Cochran later graduated first in his class from Los Angeles High School in 1955. He went on to receive his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1959 and his Juris Doctor at Loyola Marymount University School of Law (now Loyola Law School) in 1962. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
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Jordan Katembula
Jordan Katembula is a Zambian musician.
His music career began in a group called New Age. After leaving the group, he released his own debut album, the self titled [JK].
On one track of his follow up album, Helena, he performed a duet with Oliver Mutukudzi, a Zimbabwean musician.
On No Pressure, he once again he collaborated on one song with another musician from South Africa, Hugh Masekela.
In 2010, Katembula released another album, Akapilipili, titled after the single "Akapilipili". It features Salma Doldia, a female Zambian artist. The album was produced by Digital X, a Lusaka based studio. The "Akapilipili" music video received air play on MTVbase and channel O.
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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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Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Perry grew up with gospel music, and during her first year of high school she pursued a music career as Katy Hudson, releasing her first studio album called Katy Hudson which failed to chart. She recorded a solo album later, which was never released. After signing with Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry.
She first gained recognition with the release of her first mainstream album, One of the Boys in 2008, which spawned three Billboard Hot 100 top-ten songs—"I Kissed A Girl", "Hot n Cold" and "Waking Up In Vegas". Perry supported the album with her Hello Katy Tour. In 2010, her third studio album, Teenage Dream (2010), which topped the Billboard 200 chart, and spawned five number one singles—"California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"—Teenage Dream was the only album (after Michael Jackson's Bad)—to do so, and the first female in history to achieve this milestone. She embarked on the California Dreams Tour, which grossed nearly $60 million worldwide. Perry re-released the album under the name of Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection on March 26, 2012, and the re-release has already spawned the number-one single "Part of Me".
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Kelly Price
Kelly Price (born April 3, 1973) is an American R&B and soul singer, formerly on the Def Soul label.
Kelly Cherelle Price was born in Queens, New York. She began singing in church as a toddler. Her first professional engagement was with George Michael at Madison Square Garden in January 1992. As destiny would have it Price was over heard singing by Mariah Carey who after arriving to her own rehearsal late for the Grammys walked into a room where Price was singing in the rehearsal hall while everyone else was on a meal break. Carey subsequently introduced Price to Sony Columbia's then CEO Tommy Mottola. She made a name for herself as a backing and guest vocalist, appearing on a number of hit singles such as Mariah Carey's "Fantasy", The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo Money Mo Problems", and Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel". She has also sung background vocals for Faith Evans, Aretha Franklin, Brian McKnight, SWV and R. Kelly.
Prior to becoming a recording artist Price's career as a writer flourished. She collaborated and performed with and for well-known artists such as Brian McKnight, Faith Evans, The Notorious BIG, Jay-Z, Puff Daddy, Mase, Faith Evans, Mic Geronimo, Da Brat, Jermaine Dupree, SWV, Aretha Franklin, LL Cool J, Wynona Judd, Mariah Carey, Ronald Isley, The Isley Brothers, Angela Winbush, Karen Clark Sheard, Yolanda Adams, Whitney Houston, Dallas Austin, MC Lyte, The Lox, ScarFace, Will Downing, Mary J. Blige, Gerald Levert, JOE, Angelique Kidjo, Coco Lee, KeKe Wyatt, Tamia, R. Kelly and Elton John.
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Keri Hilson
Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, and spent most of her youth working with producer Anthony Dent, as a songwriter and background vocalist for several R&B and hip hop artists. By the age of 14, Hilson had secured a record deal with the girl group D'Signe, who later disbanded. She attended Emory University in Atlanta, while she continued writing songs for artists, including Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige, with the production and songwriting team, The Clutch. In 2006, Hilson signed with American rapper and producer Timbaland's record label, Mosley Music. Her breakthrough came the following year after appearing on Timbaland's single, "The Way I Are", which topped charts around the world.
Hilson's debut studio album, In a Perfect World..., was released in 2009, and debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, eventually being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album spawned the hit singles, "Knock You Down", "Turnin Me On" and "I Like". It also earned Hilson two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Knock You Down". Her second studio album, No Boys Allowed, was released in 2010 and was considerably less successful than its predecessor; however, it included the hit single, "Pretty Girl Rock". Hilson's achievements include a BET Award, MOBO Award, NAACP Image Award and two Soul Train Music Awards. Apart from her work in music, she has pursued a career in acting. Hilson made her acting debut in the romantic comedy film, Think Like a Man, in 2012.
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Keyshia Cole
Keyshia Cole (born October 15, 1981) is an American singer–songwriter and actress. She gained nationwide acclaim when her 2005 debut album, The Way It Is went platinum. Her second album Just Like You went into production shortly after that and was released in September 2007. Her third studio album, A Different Me was released on December 16, 2008 and is certified Gold for selling 900,000+ units in the United States. She also achieved moderate success for her reality/documentary series Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is which aired on BET from 2006-2008 which gave a close look at Cole's career and personal life with her biological mother and sister. In December 2010, she released her fourth studio album, Calling All Hearts.
Keyshia Cole was born on October 15, 1981 in Oakland, California, where she was raised. Cole was born to Francine "Frankie" Lons and Sal, her now deceased father. She was later adopted by family friend Yvonne Cole and raised by Yvonne's husband's family and friends from the age of two. Yvonne learned that Cole could sing when she was five. At a school function, she snuck away from her mother and the next thing she knew, Cole had won a talent show. Along with her brother Sean, Cole was first introduced to the music industry at the age of 12, when she met and recorded with MC Hammer. She later formed a friendship with Tupac Shakur, who promised to help start her singing career before he died unexpectedly. Cole remembers Shakur as "really outspoken and really bright. He was definitely a guy who gave off a superstar vibe." Cole moved to Los Angeles when she was 18 to pursue a music career. During this time, Cole collaborated with artists from her native Bay Area, among them D'Wayne Wiggins of Tony Toni Tone and Messy Marv. In 2002, she was introduced to A&M Records executive Ron Fair, who signed her and began mentoring her after hearing her singing a verse of her hit song "Love".
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Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations. Kid Rock released several studio albums that mostly went unnoticed before his 1998 record Devil Without a Cause, released with Atlantic Records, sold 11 million albums behind the hits, "Bawitdaba", "Cowboy", and "Only God Knows Why". In 2000, he released The History of Rock, a compilation of remixed and remastered versions of songs from previous albums as well as the hit single, "American Bad Ass" and the previously unreleased "Abortion".
Kid Rock released the follow-up in 2001, Cocky. After a slow start, his country-flavored hit "Picture" with Sheryl Crow resurrected the album and it went gold as a single and pushed the album's sales over 5 million. It was followed by 2003's self-titled release, which went platinum in the USA and reached No. 8 on the Billboard charts. In 2006 he released Live Trucker, a greatest hits live album that went mostly unnoticed.
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LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), better known as LL Cool J (an abbreviation for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor from Bay Shore, New York. He is known for romantic ballads such as "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover" as well as pioneering hip-hop such as "I Can't Live Without My Radio", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", and "Mama Said Knock You Out". He has released thirteen studio albums and two greatest hits compilations, including 2008's Exit 13, the last for his record deal with Def Jam Recordings. He has also appeared in numerous films, and currently stars as NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna on the CBS crime drama television series NCIS: Los Angeles.
As he grew older, Smith found a way to escape the effects of his abuse, and his bullying attitude: hip-hop music. He fell in love with it at the age of nine, and by 11 he was writing lyrics and making his own songs with some DJ equipment his grandmother gave him to stop him riding motorcycles or doing karate. Before too long, LL was an established member of the Hip-Hop community in his area. He gained notoriety through his many rap battles against well-established MCs, including the battle against Chicken and Porn that rocketed him to fame.
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Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Ludacris has won a Screen Actors Guild, Critic's Choice, MTV, and three Grammy Awards during his career. Along with fellow Atlantans Big Boi and Andre 3000 of OutKast, Ludacris was one of the first and most influential Dirty South artists to achieve mainstream success.
Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia at age nine, where he began rapping. After a brief stint as a disc jockey, he released his debut album Back for the First Time in 2000, which contained the singles "Southern Hospitality" and "What's Your Fantasy". In 2001, he released Word of Mouf, followed by Chicken-n-Beer in 2003. He took a more serious approach with his next three albums, The Red Light District (2004), Release Therapy (2006), and Theater of the Mind (2008). His latest record, Battle of the Sexes, was released in 2010.
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Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance with My Father", co-written with Richard Marx.
Luther Vandross was born on April 20, 1951 at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, New York City, United States. He was the fourth child and second son to Mary Ida Vandross and Luther Vandross, Sr.
Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City in the NYCHA Alfred E. Smith Houses public housing development, Vandross began playing the piano at the age of three. He grew up in a musical family that moved to the Bronx when he was thirteen. His sister, Patricia, sang with the vocal group The Crests, who had a number two hit in 1958 with "16 Candles", though she left the group before the recording. Vandross's father died of diabetes when Vandross was eight years old. Luther Vandross was in a high school group, Shades of Jade, that once played at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. He was also a member of a theater workshop, "Listen My Brother" who released the singles "Only Love Can Make a Better World" and "Listen My Brother", and appeared on the second and fifth episodes of Sesame Street in November 1969.
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Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and released her self-titled debut studio album, Mariah Carey. The album went multi-platinum and spawned four consecutive number one singles, on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Mottola in 1993, a series of hit records, including Emotions (1991), Music Box (1993) and Merry Christmas (1994), established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. Daydream (1995), made music history when the second single, "One Sweet Day" a duet with Boyz II Men, spent a record sixteen weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100, and remains the longest running number one song in US chart history. During the recording of the album Carey began to deviate from her pop background, and slowly traversed into R&B and Hip-hop. After her separation from Mottola, this musical change was evident with the release of Butterfly (1997).
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Marsha Ambrosius
Marsha Ambrosius or Marsha is an English singer/songwriter. A former member of the English Soul/R&B duo Floetry, she released her first solo album Late Nights & Early Mornings on March 1, 2011.
Original Floetry members Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart met through their love of basketball and formed a friendship. Both Natalie and Marsha attended the Brit School for Performing Arts & Technology where Marsha studied business and finance and Natalie majored in Performing Arts, Media and Art. For college Ambrosius planned to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia but could not due to an injury. Stewart attended Middlesex University in London and later transferred to North London University. During these years, both women continued to keep in touch. Stewart was a founding member of the performance poetry group 3 Plus 1 which was rising to critical acclaim throughout London, Birmingham, and Manchester. After inviting Ambrosius to join her on stage to perform at a spoken word night, where they debuted a piece that they had written together called "Fantasize", combining spoken word and singing, it seemed to make sense to combine the two and Floetry was born.
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Martin Lawrence
Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence (born April 16, 1965) is an actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and stand up comedian. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor, most notably the films Bad Boys, Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House. Lawrence has acted in numerous film roles and starred in his own television series, Martin, which ran from 1992 to 1997.
Lawrence was born in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse in Germany on April 16, 1965, to American parents. He was given his first name after civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and his middle name after US President John F. Kennedy. His father, John Lawrence, served in the US Military. After his parents divorced when he was eight, Lawrence rarely saw his father, who worked as a police officer at the time. His mother, Chlora (née Bailey), began working several jobs to support her family. During his teen years, Lawrence excelled at boxing. He lived in Maryland, and attended Thomas G. Pullen School of Creative and Performing Arts (Landover, Maryland), Fairmont Heights High School (Fairmount Heights, Maryland), Eleanor Roosevelt High School, and also Friendly High School in Fort Washington, Maryland, becoming a Mid-Atlantic Golden Gloves boxing contender.
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Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye (he added the 'e' as a young man), was an acclaimed American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range, who achieved major success in the 1960s and 1970s as an artist for the Motown Records label. He was shot dead by his father on April 1, 1984.
Starting his career as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late 1950s, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960, signing with Motown Records subsidiary, Tamla. He started off as a session drummer, but later ranked as the label's top-selling solo artist during the 1960s. He was crowned "The Prince of Motown" and "The Prince of Soul". because of solo hits such as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)", "Ain't That Peculiar", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," and his duet singles with singers such as Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell.
His work in the early- and mid-1970s included the albums, What's Going On, Let's Get It On, and I Want You, which helped influence the quiet storm, urban adult contemporary, and slow jam genres. After a self-imposed European exile in the early 1980s, Gaye returned on the 1982 Grammy-Award winning hit, "Sexual Healing" and the Midnight Love album before his death.
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Melanie Amaro
Melanie Ann Amaro (born June 26, 1992) is an American-born British Virgin Islands singer who won the first season of The X Factor USA in 2011, securing a $5 million recording contract with Syco Music and Epic Records.
Amaro was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and raised in Tortola, British Virgin Islands since age three. Amaro was sent to the British Virgin Islands to live with her grandmother Catherine, after her parents Hipolito Amaro and Debra Sylvester Amaro felt they did not have the means to provide for her. Amaro would only see her parents during summer vacations and Christmas breaks. She also has two brothers named Mark and Mike, and a younger sister named Maya. Her mother Debra recalls that when her daughter was about six months old, she would get up at around two o'clock in the morning and would start singing in her crib. Furthermore, from an early age, Amaro would sing around her house using a hairbrush as a microphone. Melanie realized she fell in love with singing and acting at around age eleven, and credits her mother for pushing her to follow her singing dreams. Amaro never entered any singing competitions as a child, but performed at weddings, churches, and other events. Melanie graduated from Plantation High School in 2010.
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Michael Eric Dyson
Michael Eric Dyson (born October 23, 1958) is an American academic, author, and radio host. He is a professor of sociology at Georgetown University. Described by Michael A. Fletcher as "a Princeton Ph.D. and a child of the streets who takes pains never to separate the two", Dyson has so far authored and edited 18 books dealing with subjects such as Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Marvin Gaye, Nas’s debut album Illmatic, Bill Cosby, and Hurricane Katrina.
Dyson was born to African-American parents, Everett and Addie Dyson. He attended Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan on academic scholarship but left and completed his education at Northwestern High School. He became an ordained Baptist minister at 19 years of age. Having worked in factories in Detroit to support his family, he entered Knoxville College as a freshman at age 21. Dyson received his Bachelor's from Carson–Newman College (magna cum laude) in 1985, and his Master's and Doctorate in religion, from Princeton University. Dr. Dyson serves on the board of directors of the Common Ground Foundation, a project dedicated to empowering urban youth in the United States. Dr. Dyson and his wife, writer and ordained minister Marcia L. Dyson, are regular guests and speakers at the Aspen Institute Conferences and Ideas Festival. Together, they lecture on many on the nation's college campuses.
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Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.
In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.
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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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Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (born February 6, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)", "Inseparable" and "Our Love". After a period of failing sales and performances due to a heavy drug addiction, Cole reemerged as a pop artist with the 1987 album, Everlasting, and her cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac". In the 1990s, she re-recorded standards by her father, resulting in her biggest success, Unforgettable... with Love, which sold over seven million copies and also won Cole numerous Grammy Awards.
Natalie Cole was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of crooner Nat King Cole and former Duke Ellington Orchestra singer Maria Cole. Raised in the affluent Hancock Park district of Los Angeles; regarding her childhood, Cole has referred to her family as "the black Kennedys" and was exposed to many great singers of jazz, soul, and blues. At the age of six Natalie sang on her father's Christmas album and later began performing at age 11.
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Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, conductor, arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991. He is particularly recognized as the producer of the album Thriller, by pop icon Michael Jackson, which has sold more than 110 million copies worldwide, and as the producer and conductor of the charity song “We Are the World”.
In 1968, Jones and his songwriting partner Bob Russell became the first African Americans to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song "The Eyes of Love" from the Universal Pictures film Banning. That same year, he became the first African American to be nominated twice within the same year when he was nominated for Best Original Score for his work on the music of the 1967 film In Cold Blood. In 1971, Jones would receive the honor of becoming the first African American to be named musical director/conductor of the Academy Awards ceremony. He was the first African American to win the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1995. He is tied with sound designer Willie D. Burton as the most Oscar-nominated African American, each of them having seven nominations. At the 2008 BET Awards, Quincy Jones was presented with the Humanitarian Award. He was played by Larenz Tate in the 2004 biopic about Ray Charles, Ray.
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Raheem DeVaughn
Raheem DeVaughn (born May 5, 1975) is an American singer and songwriter. His debut album, The Love Experience (2005), reached No. 46 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It featured the singles "Guess Who Loves You More" and "You". His second album Love Behind the Melody was released in January 2008. It features the singles "Woman", and "Customer".
DeVaughn was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards for the single "Woman".
DeVaughn was born in Newark, New Jersey on May 5, 1975, the son of jazz cellist Abdul Wadud. He was raised in Maryland (Montgomery and Prince George's counties) by his mother, Imani Smith, a now retired federal worker. He is a cousin of singer Chrisette Michele. His mother states that her son first expressed an affinity towards music in preschool, recalling how whenever the class had musical events, he would conduct them. DeVaughn's love for music solidified during his early teens, when he began to envision his career path. One of his favorite artists was Babyface, and Smith recalls that her son once begged her to visit the Waxie Maxie's record store in the District to buy a promotional picture of the singer. DeVaughn visited his father during the summer, mainly in New Jersey. With his father, DeVaughn attended gigs and experienced his first taste of the life of a working musician.
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Ronald Isley
Ronald Isley ( /ˈaɪzliː/; born May 21, 1941) is an American recording artist, songwriter, record producer, and occasional actor. Isley is better known as the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.
Ronald Isley was born the third of six brothers (O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Rudolph Isley, Ronald, Vernon Isley, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley) to Sallye Bernice (Bell) and O'Kelly Isley, Sr. Ronald, like many of his siblings, began his career in the church. He began singing at the age of three, winning a $25 war bond for singing at a spiritual contest at the Union Baptist Church. By the age of seven, Ronald was singing onstage at venues such as the Regal Theater in Chicago, alongside Dinah Washington and a few other notables.
By his early teens, he was singing regularly with his brothers in church tours. In 1957, sixteen-year-old Ronald and his two elder brothers Kelly, 19 and Rudy, 18, moved to New York, recording doo-wop for local labels before landing a major deal with RCA Records in 1959, where the trio wrote and released their anthemic "Shout." By the summer of 1959, the Isley family had moved from Cincinnati to a home in Englewood, New Jersey.
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Ruben Studdard
Christopher Theodore Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978), best known as Ruben Studdard, is an American R&B, pop, and gospel singer. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of American Idol. He received a Grammy Award nomination in December 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Superstar."
In the years following Idol, Studdard has released four studio albums, including his most recent disc, 2009's Love Is.
In addition to appearing on various television shows he has toured with Robin Givens in the comedy-drama Heaven I Need a Hug and in 2008 accepted the role of Fats Waller in a national tour of Ain't Misbehavin'.
Studdard, who was born in Frankfurt, Germany while his American father was stationed there with the U.S. Army, grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. The youngest son of two teachers, at the age of three he sang for the first time at the Rising Star Baptist Church in his hometown of Birmingham. He continued singing gospel in church, performing solos as a child while his mother sang in the local choir. While at Huffman High School, he played football for which he received a scholarship to Alabama A&M University. While at Alabama A&M he joined the Omicron Delta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the men's music fraternity of America.
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Russell Simmons
Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American business magnate. He and Rick Rubin founded the pioneering hip-hop label Def Jam. He also created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and American Classics.
Russell Simmons is the third richest figure in hip hop, having a net-worth estimate of $340 million as of April 2011.
Simmons was raised in Queens, New York. He is the son of Daniel Simmons, Sr., a public school administrator, and Evelyn Simmons, a New York City park administrator. His older brother is abstract expressionist painter Daniel Simmons, Jr., and his younger brother is Rev. Joseph Simmons ("Run" of Run-DMC).
Def Jam became just one piece in Simmons' corporation, Rush Communications, Inc., which included a management company, a clothing company called Phat Farm, a movie production house, television shows such as Def Comedy Jam, a magazine and an advertising agency. His nephew Jamal "Redrum" Simmons and his group Flatlinerz released the highly controversial album U.S.A. in 1994 on Def Jam but was dropped from the label soon after. Rick Rubin sold his share of the record company for $100 million to Universal Music Group in 1996. Simmons produced Def Poetry, begun as a television series on HBO, which also branched into a Broadway live stage production in 2002. In 2000, he co-founded the Internet start-up 360 Hip Hop which he later sold to BET.
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Sean Combs
Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He was originally known as Puff Daddy and then as P. Diddy (Puff and Puffy have been used as nicknames, but never as recording names). In August 2005, he changed his stage name to simply "Diddy", but continues to use the name P. Diddy in the UK as the result of a lawsuit. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He formed and recorded with the group Diddy – Dirty Money.
Combs was born in Harlem and grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records and then founded Bad Boy Records in 1993. His business interests—under the umbrella of Bad Boy Entertainment Worldwide—include Bad Boy Records, the clothing lines Sean John and "Sean by Sean Combs", a movie production company, and two restaurants. He has taken the roles of recording executive, performer, producer of MTV's Making the Band, writer, arranger, clothing designer, and Broadway actor. In 2011, Forbes estimated his net worth at $500 million, making him the richest figure in hip hop.
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Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. (born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school. Shortly after graduation, he was arrested for cocaine possession and spent six months in Wayside County Jail. His music career began in 1992 after his release when he was discovered by Dr. Dre. He collaborated on several tracks on Dre's solo debut, The Chronic and on the titular theme song to the film Deep Cover.
Snoop's debut album Doggystyle, was released in 1993 under Death Row Records making a debut at No.1 on both the Billboard 200 and R&B charts. Selling almost a million copies in the first week of its release, Doggystyle quickly became certified 4× platinum in 1994 and spawned several hit singles, including "What's My Name" and "Gin & Juice". In 1994, Snoop released a soundtrack on Death Row Records for the short film Murder Was The Case, starring himself. In early 1996, Snoop Dogg was cleared of charges over his bodyguard's 1993 murder of Philip Woldemariam. His second album, late 1996's Tha Doggfather, also debuted at No.1 on both charts with "Snoop's Upside Ya Head" as the lead single. The album sold only half as well, being certified double platinum in 1997.
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Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (born May 13, 1950 as Stevland Hardaway Judkins), known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, a child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century. Blind since shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.
Among Wonder's best known works are singles such as "Superstition", "Sir Duke", "I Wish" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Well known albums also include Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, with Wonder at number five.
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Sunshine Anderson
Sunshine Anderson (born October 8, 1974) is a female American R&B and soul singer and songwriter.
Anderson was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and later moved to Charlotte as a child and became friends with Narisha Foxx. Wallace Sellars, a friend of a producer/Soulife A&R Vice President, Mike City, heard Anderson singing on her way to the cafeteria of North Carolina Central University (where she earned a B.S. in criminal justice) and introduced the two. From there, Anderson was managed by Macy Gray during the recording of her first album.
In June 2001, Anderson released her debut album, Your Woman on Atlantic Records. The album debuted at #8 on Billboard's Hot 200 and #2 on Top R&B charts. The lead single, "Heard It All Before," (released May 21, 2001) peaked at #18 on the Hot 100 and a #3 on the R&B charts. The follow-up single "Lunch or Dinner," peaked at #54 on R&B charts. Her album was certified gold later that year.
In August 2004, Anderson signed to Matthew Knowles' new record label Music World Entertainment. In 2006, her first single for her new label, "Something I Wanna Give You" was released and peaked at #80 on Billboard R&B charts. A video of the song was shot in Los Angeles by director Gil Green.
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Syleena Johnson
Syleena Johnson (née Thompson born September 2, 1976, Harvey, Illinois, United States) is an American Grammy Award nominated R&B and soul singer-songwriter and actress.
Johnson took to music early, growing up not only with a musical father but also listening to influential artists such as Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Tina Turner, The Dells, and Mavis Staples. She would later apply her taste for soul music as a member of her high school gospel choir.
Johnson attended Thornridge High School in Dolton, Illinois. Her music career was inspired by her music teachers, who are still working there as of June 2007.[citation needed]
Johnson's road to music was hardly easy. Her father, Syl, was not encouraging, as his own lackluster success with his craft led him to think little of the music industry. On top of that, Johnson suffered from vocal nodules and had to go through speech therapy. And when Johnson was fifteen, her parents split up. Despite these setbacks, Johnson's relationship with both her parents and her music remained strong: she contributed as a singer and songwriter on her father's 1994 album Back in the Game. After having nodes removed from her vocal cords, she took two years of speech therapy. She has seven years of vocal training.
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Tamia
Tamia Marilyn Hill Washington (born May 9, 1975), and known professionally as Tamia, is a Canadian R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, composer, model, entrepreneur and philanthropist, as well as an occasional actress.
She is best known for her 2001 hit "Stranger In My House" and Fabolous' 2003 song "Into You", sampling her 1998 song "So Into You", and "Me", the 2006 hit from her fourth studio album. Tamia is married to NBA player Grant Hill of the Phoenix Suns. They have two daughters; Myla Grace and Lael Rose.
Born as Tamia Marilyn Washington in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, she grew up in the inner city, not far from the Detroit border, with her mother and three younger brothers Tiras, Tajhee, and Trajan.
Aside from the music she heard and sang at church, Tamia was exposed to diverse music from an early age by her mother, Barbara. Singing was always her passion. As early as age 6, she was onstage singing gospel at the local church and by age 12 had already been involved in several musicals which continued to help her hone her musical skills. Tamia studied piano and voice with renowned Windsor musician, Eugene Davis, who was also instrumental in encouraging her to pursue her vocal passion. It was not long before the gifted young singer began receiving recognition for her talent. Her mother and Godmother decided that the arts program at Walkerville Collegiate Institute in Windsor would best suit Tamia's musical talent. Along with attending highschool at Walkerville, she made several appearances in local theater and choral concerts before winning Canada's prestigious YTV Vocal Achievement Award in 1993 and the Steve Ross Music Scholarship at the American Academy of Achievement's Annual Salute to Excellence in 1994.
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Tavis Smiley
Tavis Smiley (pronounced /ˈtævɨs/; born September 13, 1964) is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles. Smiley became a radio commentator in 1991, and starting in 1996, he hosted the talk show BET Talk (later renamed BET Tonight) on BET. Controversially, after Smiley sold an exclusive interview of Sara Jane Olson to ABC News in 2001, BET declined to renew Smiley's contract that year. Smiley then began hosting The Tavis Smiley Show on NPR from 2002 to 2004 and currently hosts Tavis Smiley on PBS on the weekdays and "The Tavis Smiley Show" from PRI. In 2010 Smiley and Dr. Cornel West have joined forces for their own radio talk show, Smiley & West. They were featured together interviewing musician Bill Withers in the 2009 documentary film Still Bill.
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The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers ( /ˈaɪzliː/ YZ-lee) are an American musical group consisting of brothers Ron and Ernie Isley. The founding members of the band were Ronald Isley, older brothers Rudy and Kelly and younger brother Vernon. Originally formed as a gospel quartet, following the death of brother Vernon, the remaining trio launched a career into doo-wop scoring with their first million-selling hit single, "Shout", in 1959. Follow-up successes came with the 1962 single, "Twist and Shout" and the 1966 Motown single, "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)".
Following the release of their 1969 Grammy Award winning hit, "It's Your Thing" and subsequent other hits on their own label, the family eventually grew to include younger brothers Ernie and Marvin Isley as well as brother-in-law Chris Jasper. From 1973 until 1983, the group would release a successive string of hit albums and singles on the R&B charts, becoming one of the few successful black groups to successfully cross over into the pop charts due to their mixture of soul, funk and rock thanks to the albums, 3 + 3 and The Heat Is On and also helped pioneer the quiet storm format with a string of ballads on their 1970s and 1980s albums.
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Toni Braxton
Toni Michelle Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards and has sold over 60 million records worldwide. She has a contralto vocal type.[citation needed]
Braxton topped the Billboard 200 with her 1993 self-titled debut album and continued that streak with her second studio album Secrets, which spawned the number-one hits "You're Makin' Me High" and "Un-Break My Heart". Although she had successful albums and singles, Braxton shortly filed for bankruptcy, but then returned with her chart-topping third album, The Heat. In 2009, she returned to the spotlight with "Yesterday", a #12 R&B hit which serves as the first single off her new album Pulse, released on May 4, 2010, which debuted at #1 on Billboard R&B Album Chart. Braxton was involved in the 7th season of the reality show Dancing with the Stars. Her professional partner was Alec Mazo. She was voted off in week five of the competition. It was announced on October 6, 2010 that Braxton once again had filed for bankruptcy. A reality series entitled Braxton Family Values, starring Toni and her sisters, debuted April 12, 2011 on WE tv. WE tv ordered a 13-episode second season of the show after the third episode of the first season. On September 18, 2011, Braxton was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.
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Trey Songz
Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007. His third album, Ready, was released in 2009 while his fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, was released on September 14, 2010.
Songz was born Tremaine Aldon Neverson on November 28, 1984, in Petersburg, Virginia. Raised as a military brat, Songz did not have aspirations to have a musical career as a child due to his shyness, saying "Singing wasn't a reality for me, until other people started noticing I sounded good." He recognized his vocal abilities at the age of 14. Reluctant to sing, he began performing with encouragement by friends and family in high school. Record producer Troy Taylor discovered Songz during a talent show in 2000, which led him to signing a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 2002. After graduating from high school in 2002, Songz moved to New Jersey to begin recording his debut album, though recording didn't actually begin until 2003.
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Twista
Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1972), better known by his stage name Twista, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He is known for once holding the title of fastest rapper in the world according to Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds. In 1997, after appearing on Do or Die's hit "Po Pimp" Produced by The Legendary Traxster, Twista signed with Big Beat/Atlantic Records and debuted under that label with Adrenaline Rush and formed the group Speedknot Mobstaz in 1998. His 2004 album Kamikaze went to the top on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart after the success of his Billboard Hot 100 single "Slow Jamz."
His second album, titled Resurrection, was set to be released in 1994, but due to problems with record labels and marketing issues involving fellow Chicago rapper Common's album of the same name, the album was only released in the city of Chicago and thus got little national attention.
In 1996 he teamed with Chicago Producer The Legendary Traxster and Cwal's Do or Die on the track "Po Pimp" Produced by The Legendary Traxster, which became a hit single. This led to a Cwal's label deal with Atlantic Records, which released Adrenaline Rush in 1997. Twista had by then dropped the "Tung" from his stage name.Adrenaline Rush became Twista's first charting album, as it peaked at #77 on the Billboard Hot 200. The album also spawned a Billboard Hot 100 hit in "Get It Wet" Produced by The Legendary Traxster, which peaked at #96.
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Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American female artists to follow in her footsteps.
Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
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Wikipedia Persondata
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Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jeanelle Jean (/ˈwaɪklɪf ˈʒɑːn/; Haitian Creole pronunciation: [wajklɛf ʒã]; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian American musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country. He first received fame as a member of the acclaimed New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees.
On August 5, 2010, Jean filed for candidacy in the 2010 Haitian presidential election, although the Electoral Commission subsequently ruled him ineligible to stand as he had not met the requirement to have been resident in Haiti for five years.
Although his birth date was widely given as October 17, 1972, papers filed for his run as a candidate for the presidency of Haiti, disclosed that he was, in fact, born in 1969. Born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, the son of a Nazarene pastor, Wyclef moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, when he was nine before moving again to northern New Jersey. Jean has cited reggae artist Bigga Haitian as one of his early influences, as well as neighborhood heroes MC Tiger Paw Raw and producer Lobster v. Crab. Jean graduated from Vailsburg High School in Newark, briefly attended Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts, and finished one semester at Five Towns College in New York. Jean has been a resident of Saddle River, South Orange, and North Caldwell, New Jersey. In 2009, Jean enrolled in the Berklee College of Music.
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RELEASE
ALBUMS
- Love Is
- Feelin' Single
- Lady Sunday
- When a Man Lies
- Clipped Wings
- Believe That It's So
- Fool for You
- All Rounds on Me
- Believe in Me
- Green Light
- Party Jumpin'
- Share My Love
- Love Letter Prelude
- Love Letter
- Number One Hit
- Not Feelin' the Love
- Lost in Your Love
- Just Can't Get Enough
- Taxi Cab
- Radio Message
- When a Woman Loves
- Love Is (feat. K. Michelle)
- Just Like That
- Music Must Be a Lady
- A Love Letter Christmas
- How Do I Tell Her?
- Heal It (Prelude)
- Sign of a Victory (The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Anthem) (feat. Soweto Spiritual Singers)
- I Believe
- The World's Greatest
- Victory
- Peace
- If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time
- Fireworks
- Spirit
- I'm Your Angel
- Can You Feel It
- I Believe I Can Fly
- Crazy Night (feat. R. City)
- Exit
- Echo
- Bangin' the Headboard
- Go Low
- Whole Lotta Kisses
- Like I Do
- Number One (feat. Keri Hilson)
- I Love the DJ
- Supaman High (feat. OJ da Juiceman)
- Be My #2
- Text Me
- Religious
- Elsewhere
- Pregnant (feat. Tyrese, Robin Thicke & The-Dream)
- The Champ (feat. Swizz Beatz)
- Double Up (feat. Snoop Dogg)
- Tryin' to Get a Number (feat. Nelly)
- Get Dirty (feat. Chamillionaire)
- Leave Your Name
- Freaky in the Club
- The Zoo
- I'm a Flirt (remix)
- Same Girl (feat. Usher)
- Real Talk
- Hook It Up (feat. Huey)
- Rock Star (feat. Ludacris and Kid Rock)
- Best Friend (feat. Keyshia Cole and Polow Da Don)
- Rollin'
- Sweet Tooth
- Havin' a Baby
- Sex Planet
- Rise Up
- I Like Love
- Ringtone
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- R. Kelly & Public Anouncement: Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ) - After the Party's Over/Singin' Mix
- Sex Me, Part II (extended Street version)
- Bump n' Grind (Old School mix)
- Your Body's Callin' (His & Hers extended mix)
- I Can't Sleep Baby (If I) (remix, radio version)
- Down Low (Nobody Has to Know) (feat. Ronald & Ernie Isley - live to Regret It mix) (Blame It on the Mo)
- I Wish (remix) (To the Homies That We Lost)
- Feelin' on Yo Booty (Hypnosis mix)
- I Mean (I Don't Mean It)
- Ignition (remix)
- Step in the Name of Love (remix)
- Slow Wind (remix) (feat. Sean Paul and Akon)
- Burn It Up (remix) (feat. Fat Joe, Wisin and Yandell)
- Feelin' on Yo Booty (feat. Youngbloodz) (dirty South mix)
- Intro / Sex in the Kitchen Remix
- How Many
- Hypnotic (feat. Syleena Johnson & Fabolous)
- So Sexy, Part II (feat. Twista)
- In the Closet, Part 1
- Sex in the Kitchen 'Interlude'
- Sex in the Kitchen Album
- Baby I Love You (feat. Jennifer Lopez)
- Africa
- Sprite
- Pick Up the Phone (feat. Tyrese & Ludacris)
- You Kept My Fire Burning
- You Save Me (live version)
- Laundry (feat. Nivea)
- Front Line
- Step in the Name of Love (live version)
- Playa's Only (feat. The Game)
- Happy Summertime (feat. Snoop Dogg)
- Sex in the Kitchen
- Slow Wind
- Put My T-Shirt On
- Remote Control
- Kickin' It With Your Girlfriend
- Reggae Bump, Bump (feat. Elephant Man)
- Touchin' (feat. Nivea)
- Girls Go Crazy (feat. Birdman)
- Hit It Till the Morning (feat. Twista and Do or Die)
- Sex Weed
- (Sex) Love Is What We Making
- Burn It Up (feat. Wisin & Yandel)
- Trapped in the Closet Chapter 1
- Trapped in the Closet Chapter 2
- Trapped in the Closet Chapter 3
- Trapped in the Closet Chapter 4
- Trapped in the Closet Chapter 5
- Intro the Sermon
- Hump Bounce
- Not Gonna Hold On
- You Remind Me of Something
- Step in My Room
- Baby Baby Baby...
- (You to Be) Be Happy
- Down Low (Noboby Has to Know)
- I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)
- Thank God Its Friday
- Love Is on the Way
- Heaven If You Hear Me
- Religious Love
- Tempo Slow
- As I Look Into My Life
- Trade in My Life
- Thank God It's Friday (The Incognito mix)
- The Return
- Big Chips
- We Got Em Goin' (feat. Memphis Bleek)
- She's Coming Home With Me
- Feelin' You in Stereo
- Stop (feat. Foxy Brown)
- Mo' Money (feat. Twista)
- Pretty Girls
- Break Up (Thats All We Do)
- Don't Let Me Die
- The Return (remix) (feat. Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh)
- Weatherman
- Red Carpet (Pause, Flash)
- Love Signals
- Love Street
- Ladies' Night (Treat Her Like Heaven)
- If
- The Greatest Show on Earth
- It's Your Birthday
- Steppin' Into Heaven
- If I Could Make the World Dance
- Happy People
- Chocolate Factory
- Step in the Name of Love
- Heart of a Woman
- I'll Never Leave
- Been Around the World (feat. Ja Rule)
- You Made Me Love You
- Forever
- Dream Girl
- Ignition
- Ignition (remix)
- Forever More
- You Knock Me Out
- Step in the Name of Love (remix)
- Imagine That
- Showdown (feat. Ronald Isley)
- Snake (feat. Big Tigger)
- Who's That (feat. Fat Joe) (edited)
- Home Alone
- Spendin' Money
- If I'm Wit You
- Half On A Baby
- When A Woman's Fed Up
- Get Up On A Room
- One Man
- We Ride (feat. Cam'Ron, Jay-Z, Noreaga & Vegas Cats)
- The Opera
- The Interview
- Only The Loot Can Make Me Happy
- Don't Put Me Out
- Suicide
- Etcetera
- If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time
- What I Feel / Issues
- I Believe I Can Fly
- The Best of Both Worlds
- Take You Home With Me a.k.a. Body
- Break Up to Make Up
- It Ain't Personal
- The Streets
- Green Light (feat. Beanie Sigel)
- Naked
- Shake Ya Body (feat. Lil' Kim)
- Somebody's Girl
- Get This Money
- Shorty
- Honey
- Pussy (feat. Devin the Dude)
- TP-2
- Strip for You
- R&B; Thug
- The Greatest Sex
- I Don't Mean It
- Just Like That
- Like a Real Freak
- Fiesta
- Don't You Say No
- The Real R. Kelly
- One Me
- I Wish
- A Woman's Threat
- I Decided
- I Mean (I Don't Mean It)
- I Wish Remix (To the Homies That We Lost)
- All I Really Want
- Feelin' on Yo Booty
- The Storm Is Over Now
- Your Body's Callin'
- Bump n' Grind
- Homie Lover Friend
- It Seems Like You're Ready
- Freak Dat Body
- I Like the Crotch on You / Intermission
- Summer Bunnies
- For You
- Back to the Hood of Things
- Sadie
- Sex Me, Parts 1 & 2
- 12 Play
- She's Got That Vibe
- Honey Love
- Your Body's Callin'
- Bump & Grind (Old School remix)
- Summer Bunnies (Summer Bunnies Contest remix)
- You Remind Me of Something
- (You to Be) Be Happy (feat. Notorious B.I.G.)
- Down Low (Nobody Has to Know) (feat. Ronald Isley)
- Down Low (Live to Regret It remix) (Blame It on the Mo)
- I Can't Sleep Baby (If I) (remix)
- Gotham City
- Home Alone (feat. Keith Murray)
- Did You Ever Think (remix) (feat. Nas)
- Half on a Baby
- If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time
- Bad Man
- I Wish
- Feelin on Yo Booty
- So Sexy
- I Love You
- Ignition (remix)
- Bump That
- Snake
- Clubbin Remix Part 2
- Toot Toot Beep Beep
- Gigolo (remix)
- Hotel
- Thoia Thoin
- Fiesta
- Gangsta Girl
- Hell Yea
- Hotel (remix)
- Thoia Thoin (remix)
- Pick Up the Phone
- Gigolo
- Thoia Thoin (Remix 3)
- Utitle (remix)
- Happy People
- Spirit
- All I
- Leap of Faith
- Make Me
- Fly
- World's Greatest
- In the Name of Love
- Love for Me
- Some Things Never Change
- Forever and Ever
- You Bring Me Joy
- Make You My Baby
- Come to Daddy
- You
- More and More
- Smooth Intro
- When a Woman's Fed Up
- Just Like That
- The Storm Is Over
- I Wish
- Your Body's Callin
- Sadie
- Step in My Room
- Gotham City
- For You
- Hump Bounce
- Lovin' You Tonight (feat. Notorious B.I.G.)
- Freak Tonight
- Not Gonna Hold On
- We Ride (feat. Camron & Jay Z)
- Dollar Bill (feat. Foxy Brown)
- Be Happy (feat. Notorious B.I.G.)
- Fiesta
- Hey Love (feat. Mr Lee)
- I'm With You
- Did You Ever Think
- Summer Bunnies
- Thank God It's Friday
- Satisfy You (feat. Puff Daddy)
- Homie Lover Friend
- Only the Loot Can Make Me Happy
- Home Alone (feat. Keith Murray)
- Money Makes the World Go Round
- Spendin Money
- She's Loving Me
- She's Got That Vibe
- Definition of a Hotti
- I Know What You Need
- Keep It Street
- Born Into the 90's
- Slow Dance
- Dedicated
- Honey Love
- Hangin' Out
- Hee Love (Can I Have a Word) (feat. Mr. Lee)
- She's Got That Vibe (Up All Night, No Sleep Till Bedtime mix)
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R. Kelly - Ignition
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:12
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing Ignition. (C) 2003 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_Ignition
Music video by R. Kelly performing Ignition. (C) 2003 Zomba Recording LLC
I Believe I Can Fly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:35
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
[I Believe I Can Fly]
http://wn.com/I_Believe_I_Can_Fly
R. Kelly - The World's Greatest
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:16
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing The World's Greatest. (C) 2001 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_The_World's_Greatest
Music video by R. Kelly performing The World's Greatest. (C) 2001 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 14272516
- author: RKellyVEVO
R. Kelly - If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:24
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time. (C) 1999 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_If_I_Could_Turn_Back_The_Hands_Of_Time
Music video by R. Kelly performing If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time. (C) 1999 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 11117576
- author: RKellyVEVO
R. Kelly - Trapped In The Closet Chapter 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:39
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing Trapped In The Closet Chapter 1. (C) 2005 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_Trapped_In_The_Closet_Chapter_1
Music video by R. Kelly performing Trapped In The Closet Chapter 1. (C) 2005 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 18 Mar 2011
- views: 2786050
- author: RKellyVEVO
R. Kelly - I Wish
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:53
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing I Wish. (C) 2000 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_I_Wish
Music video by R. Kelly performing I Wish. (C) 2000 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 13420881
- author: RKellyVEVO
R. Kelly duet with Usher - Same Girl
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:48
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly duet with Usher performing Same Girl. (C) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_duet_with_Usher_Same_Girl
Music video by R. Kelly duet with Usher performing Same Girl. (C) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 25667197
- author: RKellyVEVO
R. Kelly - Happy People
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:01
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing Happy People. (C) 2004 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_Happy_People
Music video by R. Kelly performing Happy People. (C) 2004 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 4820015
- author: RKellyVEVO
R. Kelly - Bump N' Grind
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:10
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing Bump N' Grind. (C) 1994 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_Bump_N'_Grind
Music video by R. Kelly performing Bump N' Grind. (C) 1994 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 7369636
- author: RKellyVEVO
R Kelly - I Believe I Can Fly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:52
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
R Kelly - I Believe I Can Fly
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_I_Believe_I_Can_Fly
R. Kelly - When A Woman's Fed Up
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:24
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing When A Woman's Fed Up. (C) 1998 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_When_A_Woman's_Fed_Up
Music video by R. Kelly performing When A Woman's Fed Up. (C) 1998 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 6315900
- author: RKellyVEVO
R. Kelly - Your Body's Callin
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:45
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing Your Body's Callin. (C) 1993 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_Your_Body's_Callin
Music video by R. Kelly performing Your Body's Callin. (C) 1993 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 3682962
- author: RKellyVEVO
Cassidy featuring R. Kelly - Hotel ft. R. Kelly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:09
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by Cassidy featuring R. Kelly performing Hotel. (C) 2003 J Records, a unit of BMG
http://wn.com/Cassidy_featuring_R_Kelly_Hotel_ft_R_Kelly
Music video by Cassidy featuring R. Kelly performing Hotel. (C) 2003 J Records, a unit of BMG
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 9462059
- author: CassidyVEVO
R. Kelly featuring Keri Hilson - Number One ft. Keri Hilson
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:09
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly featuring Keri Hilson performing Number One. (C) 2009 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_featuring_Keri_Hilson_Number_One_ft_Keri_Hilson
Music video by R. Kelly featuring Keri Hilson performing Number One. (C) 2009 RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
- published: 14 Nov 2009
- views: 6837821
- author: RKellyTVVEVO
Ja Rule - Wonderful ft. R. Kelly, Ashanti
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:33
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by Ja Rule performing Wonderful. (C) 2004 The Island Def Jam Music Group
http://wn.com/Ja_Rule_Wonderful_ft_R_Kelly,_Ashanti
Music video by Ja Rule performing Wonderful. (C) 2004 The Island Def Jam Music Group
- published: 16 Jun 2009
- views: 10381451
- author: JaRuleVEVO
R. Kelly - Half On A Baby
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:07
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing Half On A Baby. (C) 1998 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_Half_On_A_Baby
Music video by R. Kelly performing Half On A Baby. (C) 1998 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 3332128
- author: RKellyVEVO
Down Low (Nobody Has To Know) (Full Version)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:23
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly;R. Kelly featuring Ronald and Ernie Isley performing Down Low (Nobody Has To Know). (C) 1995 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/Down_Low_Nobody_Has_To_Know_Full_Version
Music video by R. Kelly;R. Kelly featuring Ronald and Ernie Isley performing Down Low (Nobody Has To Know). (C) 1995 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 3507526
- author: RKellyVEVO
R. Kelly - U Saved Me
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:27
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing U Saved Me. (C) 2004 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_U_Saved_Me
Music video by R. Kelly performing U Saved Me. (C) 2004 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 4632303
- author: RKellyVEVO
Sparkle ft. R. Kelly - Be Careful
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:29
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
Sparkle ft. R. Kelly - Be Careful [Official Video] No copyright infringement intended. Promotional use only. Visit our Official Website: www.XclusiveCity.com Like us www.facebook.com Follow us: www.twitter.com
http://wn.com/Sparkle_ft_R_Kelly_Be_Careful
Sparkle ft. R. Kelly - Be Careful [Official Video] No copyright infringement intended. Promotional use only. Visit our Official Website: www.XclusiveCity.com Like us www.facebook.com Follow us: www.twitter.com
- published: 22 Aug 2010
- views: 808611
- author: XclusiveCity
R. Kelly - Feelin' Single
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:00
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing Feelin' Single. (C) 2012 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_Feelin'_Single
Music video by R. Kelly performing Feelin' Single. (C) 2012 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
- published: 16 Jul 2012
- views: 1548263
- author: RKellyVEVO
R. Kelly - Thoia Thoing
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:43
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing Thoia Thoing. (C) 2003 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_Thoia_Thoing
Music video by R. Kelly performing Thoia Thoing. (C) 2003 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 6756865
- author: RKellyVEVO
R. Kelly - Step In The Name Of Love
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:39
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Music video by R. Kelly performing Step In The Name Of Love. (C) 2003 Zomba Recording LLC
http://wn.com/R_Kelly_Step_In_The_Name_Of_Love
Music video by R. Kelly performing Step In The Name Of Love. (C) 2003 Zomba Recording LLC
- published: 25 Oct 2009
- views: 10187156
- author: RKellyVEVO
The Isley Brothers - Contagious feat. R. Kelly
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:48
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
The Best song from the Isley Brothers ever.
http://wn.com/The_Isley_Brothers_Contagious_feat_R_Kelly
photo: AP / Echorouk Elyaoumi
21 Jan 2013
Algerian security forces on Sunday made grisly discoveries of dozens of bodies at a sprawling natural gas facility, a day after a violent showdown put an end to an international hostage crisis. But as Algeria tallied up the losses, a debate was emerging about whether the militant group linked to al-Qaida that seized the plant had been intent on a massacre or whether it had simply been after money ... ....(size: 2.9Kb)
photo: AP / Anis Belghoul
22 Jan 2013
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. When then-Vice President Dick Cheney stated. "If there's a 1% chance that Pakistani scientists are helping al-Qaeda build or develop a nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our response. It's not about our analysis...it's about our response,"(1) it was clearly evident that the "war on terror" had been lost ... And when Zacarias Moussaoui shouted. "America you lost ... 11....(size: 9.1Kb)
photo: US Army / Sgt. 1st Class Abram Pinnington
20 Jan 2013
WASHINGTON -- The war rages about cities with names such as Goa and Timbuktu, in a sparsely populated, mostly flat, dusty and landlocked country in northwest Africa. The combatants include a nomadic Berber people known as Tuareg, the French Foreign Legion and a coalition of al-Qaida affiliates who identify themselves with the Maghreb, the desert region of Northwestern Africa ... Some U.S ... Afghanistan ... J ... "They go to where the fight is ... ....(size: 6.6Kb)
photo: WN / Imran Nissar
20 Jan 2013
The world's 100 richest people earned enough money last year to end world extreme poverty four times over, according to released by international rights group and charity Oxfam. The $240 billion net income of the world's 100 richest billionaires would have ended poverty four times over, according to the London-based group's report released on Saturday ... [...] We're anti-poverty agency ... You don't normally hear us talking about wealth ... ....(size: 18.5Kb)
photo: AP / Burhan Ozbilici
21 Jan 2013
Germany has sent 240 soldiers to southern Turkey as part of a NATO mission using Patriot missiles to deter cross-border airstrikes from war-torn Syria. Units are also being provided by the Netherlands and the US. The main German contingent flew out of Berlin Sunday, headed for Kahramanmaras, 100 kilometers (62 miles) inside Turkey's border with Syria, where two German Patriot units are to be fully operational by early February ... DW.DE ... ....(size: 2.4Kb)
Entertainment Wise
23 Jan 2013
Kelly for advice on his new album, Believe Acoustic, and possibly getting tips on how to woo the ladies ... Kelly being the latest celeb to keep the singer company ... Kelly give Justin Bieber an education on recording steamy love songs? (Instagram/R.Kelly)....(size: 1.3Kb)
Rocky Mount Telegram
23 Jan 2013
Kelly. The Winston-Salem Journal reported () tickets to "An Intimate Birthday Celebration" with Kelly at Ziggy's nightclub sold for $35 to $55. Customers said Kelly went on stage ......(size: 0.9Kb)
Yahoo Daily News
23 Jan 2013
Live! With Kelly and Michael star Kelly Ripa has publicly praised the effectiveness of Botox in treating hyperhidrosis ... Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) January 22, 2013 Kelly Ripa, co-host of Live! With Kelly and Michael, admitted last week in an Elle Magazine interview to using Botox injections in her armpits as a way to control hyperhidrosis ... Kelly Ripa shows no sign of discontinuing her use of Botox to control underarm sweat....(size: 2.5Kb)
BBC News
23 Jan 2013
Richard O'Kelly has left Walsall to join Bristol City as first-team coach. O'Kelly takes up his new rolling contract with immediate effect after the two clubs agreed compensation ... “Richard is an excellent coach whose opinion I respect and has the sort of character that every football club needs” Sean O'Driscoll on Richard O'Kelly....(size: 3.4Kb)
The Examiner
23 Jan 2013
Bill Clinton photobomb of Kelly Clarkson Bill Clinton photobomb of Kelly Clarkson More >You might also like. Bill Clinton photobomb goes viral, Kelly Clarkson pix makes international press ... Bill Clinton photobomb of Kelly Clarkson Credit ... Is Clinton getting bad rap for Kelly Clarkson pic? (Photos)....(size: 4.0Kb)
IMDb
23 Jan 2013
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are living the good life! The couple have put their N.Y.C....(size: 0.6Kb)
Sky Sports
23 Jan 2013
Bristol City have appointed Richard O'Kelly as assistant manager after reaching a compensation deal with Walsall. O'Kelly was working as No 2 to Dean Smith at the Banks's Stadium but will now resume a partnership with City manager Sean O'Driscoll which yielded promotions ......(size: 1.4Kb)
noodls
23 Jan 2013
Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Dr Mike Kelly addressed the United Nations Security Council in New York on Monday, before the 15-member body unanimously endorsed a resolution calling for a "multidimensional approach" to peacekeeping-the first such resolution in more than 10 years ... "Australia welcomes the evolution in the approach to peacekeeping over the past decade," Dr Kelly told the Security Council ... Dr Kelly's Office....(size: 4.0Kb)
Business Wire
23 Jan 2013
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Denise Keane of Altria Group and Stasia Kelly of DLA Piper have been elected to the Board of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) ... Kelly serves as Co-Managing Partner of DLA Piper (Americas), where her responsibilities range from managing the firm’s Corporate Governance practice to its White Collar Crime ......(size: 3.0Kb)
Indian Express
23 Jan 2013
Kelly Osbourne hoola hoops to lose weight quickly and had to resort to the exercise when her dress for the Golden Globes became a little too tight ... "At the Emmys last year I had my first moment when I really felt good......(size: 1.0Kb)
Huffington Post
23 Jan 2013
We’re totally down with Kelly Wearstler’s eccentric interiors, but we’re not sure if we understand her, er, unusual health routine ... “Besides almonds or granola, I don't eat a lot during the day -- juicing is what gives me energy.”. Wearstler doesn’t give herself a cheat day either ... Loading Slideshow ... Contribute to this Story ... ....(size: 4.0Kb)
BMA Management Names Kelly Ziemer Hillan Administrator of Heritage Woods of Freeport Assisted Living
Yahoo Daily News23 Jan 2013
BMA Management, Ltd., has named Kelly Ziemer Hillan Administrator of Heritage Woods of Freeport, an affordable assisted living community under development in Stephenson County, Illinois ... Bradley, Illinois (PRWEB) January 22, 2013 Kelly Ziemer Hillan of Ridott, Illinois, has been named Administrator of Heritage Woods of Freeport, a BMA affordable assisted living community that is being developed in Stephenson County, Illinois ... ....(size: 3.6Kb)
Toronto Sun
23 Jan 2013
New Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly's renowned creativity and boundary-pushing apparently knows no bounds ... "We're all in a society where you want one word to describe everything," said Kelly, whom the Eagles hired last week from the University of Oregon ... shutout-ability," Kelly said ... Asked hypothetically what he wants in an offensive coordinator, Kelly kept rolling, linguistically....(size: 6.7Kb)
| R. Kelly | |
|---|---|
 R. Kelly performs at the Light it Up Tour in 2006. |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert Sylvester Kelly |
| Born | (1967-01-08) January 8, 1967 (age 45) Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | R&B, hip hop, gospel |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, record producer, Musician, Rapper, Actor |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, keyboard, guitar |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Jive, RCA |
| Associated acts | Public Announcement, Ronald Isley, Jay-Z, Fat Joe, Aaliyah, Usher, Snoop Dogg |
| Website | r-kelly.com |
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Often referred to as the King of R&B, Kelly is recognized as one of the most successful R&B artists of all-time. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play. He is known for a collection of major hit singles including "Bump n' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "I Believe I Can Fly", "Gotham City", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt", and the hip-hopera "Trapped in the Closet". In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".
Kelly has written, produced, and remixed songs for many artists including The Winans, The Isley Brothers, Charlie Wilson, Quincy Jones, K-Ci & JoJo, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Hi-Five, Nivea, Ciara, Mary J. Blige, Luther Vandross, Gerald LeVert, Raheem DeVaughn, Ruben Studdard, Jaheim, Kelly Price, Tamia, Maxwell, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Usher, B2K, Twista, Tyrese, Jennifer Lopez, Trey Songz, and others in the U.S. and abroad.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), has recognized R. Kelly as one of the best-selling music artists in the United States with 33.5 million albums sold as well as only the fifth Black artist to crack the top 50 of the same list.[1] In March 2011, R. Kelly was named the most successful R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard.[2][3][4] Kelly has released 10 studio albums, sold 35 million albums in the U.S., 15 million singles, and over 50 million albums worldwide making him the most successful R&B male artist of 1990s.[5][6]
Early life[link]
Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, Kelly was the third of four children.[7] Kelly's single mother, Joan, was a singer and a Baptist. Kelly's father was absent throughout most of Kelly's life.[8] Kelly began singing in church at age eight.[7] In Chicago, Kelly's family lived in the projects at 63rd Street before relocating to a small house at 107th and Parnell Streets. Kelly entered Kenwood Academy in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood in the fall of 1980 where he met his music teacher Lena McLin, who encouraged Kelly to perform the Stevie Wonder classic Ribbon in the Sky in a highschool talent show.[8][9][10]
As a teenager, Kelly began street performing (or busking) under the Chicago 'L' trains before he eventually formed a group with his friend Marc McWilliams. In 1989, Kelly and McWilliams formed the group MGM (Musically Gifted Men). In 1991, Along with Vincent Corey Walker and Shawnth Brooks, Kelly performed on the TV talent show Big Break, hosted by Natalie Cole, and went on to win the $100,000 grand prize.
Recording career[link]
[edit] 1992: Born into the 90's
Credited as R. Kelly and Public Announcement, the debut album Born into the 90's was released in early 1992, during the new jack swing period of the early nineties. The album yielded the R&B hits "She's Got That Vibe", "Honey Love", "Dedicated", and "Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)", all of which were led by Kelly.[11] During late 1992, Kelly and Public Announcement embarked on a tour called "60653", whose title was the zip code of Kelly's neighborhood.[7] This would be the only album co-credited with Public Announcement. Kelly separated from the group in January 1993.[8]
[edit] 1993–94: 12 Play
"I didn't really know if the album would be as successful as it has been, but I hoped that it would. I was really taking a chance with the concept of this album."
Kelly's first solo album, 12 Play, was released on November 9, 1993 and yielded the singer's first number-one hit, "Bump N' Grind", which spent a record-breaking 12 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. Subsequent hit singles: "Your Body's Callin'" (U.S. Hot 100: #13, U.S. R&B: #2) and "Sex Me" (U.S. Hot 100: #20, U.S. R&B: #8). Both singles sold 500,000 copies in the United States and were certified Gold by the RIAA. [11] In 1994, 12 Play was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), eventually going six times platinum.[13]
Following the success of 12 Play, Kelly found himself in huge demand as a writer, producer, and mixer. On June 13, 1994, Kelly's protégé Aaliyah released her debut album titled Age Ain't Nothing But a Number which was entirely written and produced by R. Kelly. The album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and sold over three million copies in the United States. Age Ain't Nothing But a Number spawned two hit singles: "Back & Forth" (U.S. Hot 100: #5, U.S. R&B: #1); blocked Kelly's "Your Body's Callin' from the top spot and "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (U.S. Hot 100: #6, U.S. R&B: #2). Kelly also wrote and produced the female R&B duo Changing Faces first two hit singles, "Stroke You Up" (U.S. Hot 100: #3, U.S. R&B: #2) and "Foolin' Around" (U.S. R&B: #9). During this time, Kelly also became widely known for his remixes. He remixed his own songs, Bump N' Grind, Sex Me and "Homie Lover Friend", a remix featured on the A Low Down Dirty Shame (soundtrack) along with Aaliyah's song, "The Thing I Like" which was written and produced by Kelly, as well. Kelly remixed songs for other artists including Aaliyah, Barry White and Toni Braxton. He produced the popular remix for Janet Jackson's 1994 hit "Any Time, Any Place" and was featured on Jackson's remix album, Janet Remixed.
[edit] 1995–96: R. Kelly
In 1995, Kelly garnered his first-ever Grammy nominations; two nominations for writing, producing and composing Michael Jackson's last number one hit "You Are Not Alone".[14] Kelly's success continued with the release of his second studio album, R. Kelly which was released on November 14, 1995 in the United States (see 1995 in music). Critics praised Kelly for his departure from salacious bedroom songs to embracing vulnerability. New York Time's Stephen Holden described Kelly as "The reigning king of pop-soul sex talks a lot tougher than Barry White, the father of such fluffed-up pillow talk and along with Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway, a major influence on Kelly." [15] In December 1995, Professor Michael Eric Dyson critiqued Kelly's self-titled album for Vibe (magazine). Dyson described Kelly's growth from the 12 Play album: "Kelly reshapes his personal turmoil to artistic benefit" and noted that Kelly is "reborn before our very own ears." [16]
The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming Kelly's first number one album on the chart, and reached number one on the R&B album charts; his second. R. Kelly spawned three platinum hit singles: "You Remind Me of Something" (U.S. Hot 100: #4, U.S. R&B: #1), "I Can't Sleep (Baby If I)" (U.S. Hot 100: #5, U.S. R&B: #1), and "Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)" (U.S. Hot 100: #4, U.S. R&B: #1); a duet with Ronald Isley. Kelly's self-titled album sold four million copies, thus receiving 4× platinum certification from the RIAA.[13] Kelly promoted the album with a 50-city "Down Low Top Secret Tour" with LL Cool J, Xscape, and Solo.[17]
In May 1996, Kelly was featured on the cover of Ebony Man (EM) magazine with the headline proclaiming "R. Kelly The new King of R&B" where he discussed touring, working with Quincy Jones, Toni Braxton, and Janet Jackson ("When I first met them, I could tell they liked my albums. There was always a certain song they named off my album. They said they wanted something like that." Braxton liked "Your Body's Callin'".), as well as his influences Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway ("The way he approached the woman he loved in his songs. He didn't hold back" he says of Hathaway. "He was raw with what he had to say. And Marvin Gaye was the same.") and Michael Jackson's dedication to music ("He's another person that I feel is married to his music. That's why we related so well.")
In 1996, Kelly released one of his most successful singles with "I Believe I Can Fly", an inspirational song originally released on the soundtrack for the film Space Jam. "I Believe I Can Fly" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the UK charts for three weeks and won three Grammy Awards in 1998.[11] Rolling Stone magazine named it as the 406th of its top 500 songs of all time.[18]
[edit] 1997–99: R.
In 1997, Kelly fulfilled a longtime dream of his and signed a contract to play basketball with the Atlantic City Seagulls of the USBL. Kelly wore the number 12 in honor of his album 12 Play.[19] Kelly said "I love basketball enough to not totally let go of my music, but just put it to the side for a minute, and fulfill some dreams of mine that I've had for a long time." Kelly's USBL contract contained a clause that would allow him to fulfill a music obligation when necessary. "If Whitney Houston needs a song written", Gross said, "he would be able to leave the team to do that and come back". "It wasn't a gimmick," said Ken Gross, the Seagulls owner who signed Kelly. "He's a ballplayer. He can play."[20] Kelly is the first music artist to play professional basketball.[21]
In 1998, Kelly released R., his fourth studio album and first double album. The album spans different genres from radio pop (Celine Dion), street rap (Nas and Jay-Z) to Blues ("Suicide"). It was released in the United States on November 17, 1998 (see 1998 in music). Dave Hoekstra of the Los Angeles Times described the album as "easily the most ambitious project of his career."[22] R. is the first album that Kelly allowed other record producers to contribute on his album, as opposed to producing the entire album himself, and his first time collaborating with various artists on his album. The album remains Kelly's biggest selling album to date having sold 8 million copies in the United States and 4 million copies internationally.
R. reached number one on the R&B albums chart, becoming Kelly's third number one album to do so, and entered at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. It spawned Kelly's second number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "I'm Your Angel", a duet with Celine Dion and notable classics such as "When A Woman's Fed Up" (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop: #5) and "If I Could Turn Back The Hands of Time" (Hot 100: #12, UK: #2).[23][24][25] The album also contains Kelly's international hit, "I Believe I Can Fly", which had been released two years prior on the Space Jam soundtrack.
In 1998, Kelly wrote and produced the debut album of his protégé Sparkle, which was released under his Rockland label and distributed through Interscope. In 2000,Sparkle went Gold due to the success of the first single, "Be Careful", a duet featuring R. Kelly.[26] Since the success of Space Jam's "I Believe I Can Fly", Kelly gained notoriety for penning songs to popular soundtracks such as Batman & Robin ("Gotham City") and Life ("Fortunate"). In 1999, Kelly wrote and produced, along with contribution from Wyclef Jean, the majority of the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence film Life. Kelly composed ten songs on the soundtrack, while Jean composed five.
[edit] 2000: TP-2.com
As the year 2000 commenced, Kelly racked up a slew of new awards reflecting his status as an established R&B superstar. In January 2000, Kelly had won Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist at the American Music Awards, and in February, was nominated for several Grammy Awards, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("When A Woman's Fed Up"), Best R&B Album (R.), and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("Satisfy You") with P. Diddy.[27]
On November 7, 2000, Kelly released his fifth studio album TP-2.com, an album harking back to his breakthrough album, 12 Play. Unlike Kelly's previous effort, R., all songs on TP-2.com was written, arranged, and produced entirely by Kelly. Allmusic's Jason Birchmeier rated TP-2.com with 4 stars and described Kelly's style: "Kelly knows how to take proven formulas and funnel them through his own stylistic aesthetic, which usually means slowing down the tempo, laying on lush choruses of strings and background vocals, taming down the lyrics for radio, and catering his pitch primarily to wistful women.[28]
The album was Kelly's second album to peak at #1 on the Billboard 200 and the fourth to top the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.[29] TP-2.com yielded the hits "I Wish (R. Kelly song)" (U.S. Hot 100: #14, U.S. R&B: #1), "Feelin' On Yo Booty" (U.S. R&B: #9), and the remix to "Fiesta (R. Kelly song)" (U.S. Hot 100: #6, U.S. R&B: #1), which featured Jay-Z.[30][31][32]
In 2001, Kelly won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards and Billboard magazine ranked TP-2.com at number 94 on the magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade.[33][34]
[edit] 2001–02: Loveland and Best of Both Worlds
"The World's Greatest", from the Ali soundtrack, was a hit, and Kelly performed at the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.[35]
In 2001, Kelly began discussing the possibility of a joint album with Jay-Z after the positive reception of Jay-Z's "Guilty Until Proven Innocent", which featured Kelly and the remix to "Fiesta (R. Kelly song)" which featured Jay-Z. In December 2001 at the Billboard Music Awards, Kelly confirmed the album's existence and announced the title of the album,Best of Both Worlds. During this time, Kelly began working on the follow-up to his fifth studio album TP-2.com, titled Loveland.
On January 24, 2002, at the press conference announcing the Best of Both Worlds completion, celebrities such as Johnnie Cochran, Russell Simmons, Ronald Isley and Sean Combs lined up to praise the album, with Jay-Z stating that he hoped the collaboration represents "more unity for black people on a whole."[36] Black Electorate described the collaboration as "one of the greatest power moves in Black music history."[37] MTV's Shaheem Reid wrote: "And if Jay and Kelly can put their egos to the side long enough to wrap up and promote their album, then their labels — Def Jam and Jive, respectively — can surely figure out a way to join forces and make cheddar together. As determined by a coin toss, the album will be distributed on Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam in the U.S. and Canada, while Jive will handle distribution internationally."[36]
When the joint album leaked on February 22, 2002 it caused the label, Roc-A-Fella, to push the album's release date up from the initial date, March 26, to March 19.[38][39] Jay-Z expressed his frustration about the album leak to MTV News: "It's the gift and the curse. It's an honor that everybody wants your music fast, but on the other hand, it's another thing when the music gets out before you [want it to]. Because that's your art. You feel attached to it. You feel a certain way and you want people to go out and support it. The time that you take, it's like a piece of your life. You take parts of your life and you put it on these records and then for it to just be traded and moved around [is frustrating].[39]
The release date for Best of Both Worlds was eventually moved back to the initial date March 26. The album sold 285,000 copies in its opening week and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart.[38]
In May 2002, Kelly's initial sixth studio album, Loveland, leaked and was delayed to release in November.[40] Instead Kelly re-recorded the entire album, titled it Chocolate Factory and featured several of the bootlegged tracks on the bonus Loveland disc.
[edit] 2003: Chocolate Factory
In early 2003, Chocolate Factory became a runaway success for Kelly, selling over three million copies due to the success of singles such as "Ignition". "Snake" and "Step in the Name of Love" were also popular singles. "Snake", incidentally, became the basis of the dancehall reggae riddim known as Baghdad. Later that year Kelly followed that success by releasing his first greatest hits collection The R in R&B Collection Volume 1, the album as well as a DVD collection.
[edit] 2004: Happy People/U Saved Me and Unfinished Business
In 2004, Kelly released the ambitious two-disc set Happy People/U Saved Me, with the first disc including feel-good, stepping-inspired tracks, while focusing on gospel and inspirational material on the second disc. That same year, Kelly performed The Star-Spangled Banner during the introduction of the world championship boxing fight between Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor. His performance, which included a line of dancers doing the "stepping" routine and a prerecorded instrumental track set to the sound of "Happy People", was met with a mixed reaction. In October 2004, Kelly reunited with Jay-Z to do a follow-up to their Best of Both Worlds album shortly after announcing a tour to coincide with the project after the duo performed together during Jay-Z's "farewell" concert at Madison Square Garden a year before. The duo's Unfinished Business album was released and peaked at number one on the Billboard chart.
The Unfinished Business tour was plagued by a rivalry between the two stars and Kelly reportedly showing up late or not at all to gigs. The singer, according to Jay-Z, often complained that the touring lights were not directed towards him and often left during the middle of sets. Another night during the concert, Kelly stayed on his tour bus for two hours before finally coming out to perform an uninspired set. Jay-Z eventually removed R. Kelly halfway through the tour, after a member of Jay-Z's entourage attacked R. Kelly with Mace or pepper spray. On April 25, 2006, it was confirmed that Jay-Z's younger cousin, Tyran (Ty-Ty) Smith confessed in a Manhattan Criminal Court to pepper-spraying R. Kelly and four of his bodyguards at Madison Square Garden in October 2004. Smith had been charged with assault, but was allowed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct for four days of community service. After the original incident, Jay-Z made Smith an executive of Def Jam Records.[41] Kelly also launched a $75 million lawsuit against Jay-Z for removing him from the tour, which received a countersuit by Jay-Z which was thrown out by the judge.[42]
[edit] 2007–08: Double Up
On May 29, 2007, R Kelly released his eighth studio album Double Up, which included the hit single "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", featuring T.I. and T-Pain. The original track entitled "I'm a Flirt", also produced and co-written by R. Kelly, appeared as a hidden track on Bow Wow's The Price of Fame (2006). However, Kelly never gave the rights for the song to be released as a formal single, although it was played by many radio stations before the remix version. Kelly's first single from Double Up was "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", Bow Wow was not featured on this version of the song. In Kelly's video for "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", he encourages fans to call a number which flashes up quickly on the screen. Fans who called the number were greeted by a recording of Kelly talking about his upcoming album and playing snippets of new songs in the studio. "I'm a Flirt (Remix)" was successful for Kelly. The song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks. Another hit on the album, "Same Girl", was a collaboration between Kelly and Usher. The single peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100 and peaked at number four on the R&B chart. Other singles such as "Rock Star" featuring Ludacris and Kid Rock, "Sex Planet" and "Freaky in the Club" were R&B charters, although the latter two were not officially released as singles, nor was the title track featuring Snoop Dogg.
Kelly's other single from Double Up titled "Rise Up" was a tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. The song was officially released as a digital download May 15, 2007. Proceeds were donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, a fund that helped family members of the victims of the shootings.[43]
Kelly began his Double Up tour with Ne-Yo, Keyshia Cole and J. Holiday opening for him. After two shows, promoter Leonard Rowe had Ne-Yo removed from the tour because of a contract dispute. However, Ne-Yo alleges that the reason for the dropout was because Ne-Yo believes he received a better response from critics and fans, even though he only performed at two shows. Ne-Yo filed a lawsuit against Rowe Entertainment. It was shown that Kelly was not mentioned in the lawsuit. In December 2007, Kelly was showing up to another preliminary court hearing on his case due to his tour bus being held up in Utah.[44] The judge threatened to revoke Kelly's bond, but the judge eventually decided not to. In 2008, Kelly released a rap track titled "I'm a Beast" in which he coarsely attacked his detractors, though Kelly himself never mentioned by name whom the song was directed to.[45]
In 2008, Billboard reported that Kelly had plans to release his newest album titled 12 Play: Fourth Quarter in the summer of that year but the album was postponed. Billboard also named Kelly among the most successful artists ever for its 50th Anniversary List.[46] In the spring, the first promotional single "Hair Braider", peaked at No. 56 on Billboard's R&B chart. On July 28, the entire album leaked online.[47] The album was then pushed back to be released in the fall. On September 18, Kelly released the video to the second promotional single "Skin". However, the album still has no official release date. Though Kelly has not released an album, he has kept busy in the studio doing featured guest spots on numerous remixes including "Lookin Boy" remix by Hotstylz, Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" remix, a verse for a remix to Kanye West's single "Love Lockdown", Raheem DeVaughn's "Customer" remix, Beyoncé Knowles' "If I Were a Boy" remix, T-Pain's "Chopped 'n' Skrewed" remix, among others. A recent track was leaked on the internet titled "I Believe". Kelly states on his official MySpace page that Obama's election inspired him to write the song, which contains an excerpt from Barack Obama's presidential acceptance speech. This song was available on iTunes as a free download the first week it was released.
[edit] 2009: Untitled
On June 3, 2009, Kelly released his first ever mixtape, The Demo Tape (Gangsta Grillz) presented by DJ Skee and DJ Drama as a way to reintroduce himself to fans.[48]
While at the Velvet Room in Atlanta in February 2009, Kelly announced that he was out there working on the album and that it would be called Untitled.[49] The album was given a September 29, 2009 release date,[50] but was delayed until October 13, 2009. The album release was again delayed and was released under Jive Records on December 1, 2009. It got mixed to positive reviews from critics. The single "Number One", which features Keri Hilson, peaked at #8 on the US R&B Chart.
Kelly performed for the first time in Africa headlining the Arise African Fashion Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa on June 20, 2009.[51] Kelly scheduled to perform in Cape Town before heading to Nigeria as part of the annual ThisDay music and fashion festival in July. Kelly also performed in Kampala, Uganda in January 2010. He also scheduled to perform in London as part of his first international tour in eight years, but he did not make his London concert. "I'm very excited about my first visit to Africa, I've dreamed about this for a long time and it's finally here," Kelly said in a statement. "It will be one of the highlights of not only my career but my life. I can't wait to perform in front of my fans in Africa — who have been some of the best in the world."[52]
In December 2009, Kelly teamed up with biographer David Ritz and Tavis Smiley's SmileyBooks publications to write his memoirs entitled Soulacoaster. SmileyBooks publisher and founder, Tavis Smiley stated that the memoir's main focus won't be on Kelly's trials and tribulations. Smiley was quoted saying "If anyone thinks this bookis going to fixate on [R. Kelly's trials], they are going to be sadly mistaken. It is going to be a holistic look at his life thus far and the life and legacy that he's building." [53]
[edit] 2010: Epic and Love Letter
Kelly performed the inspirational song "Sign of a Victory" at the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on June 11, 2010.[54]
On July 13, 2010, a song called "Tongues" surfaced, reportedly the lead single from Kelly's upcoming album Zodiac. The song is produced by Bangladesh and features Ludacris.[55]
In an interview in the September 2010 issue of XXL magazine, Kelly mentioned that he is currently working on three new albums (Epic, Love Letter, and Zodiac) and detailed that the new material is basically him "remixing himself". [56]
On September 13, 2010, Kelly released one of his three new albums, Epic. A collection of Kelly's most "epic" ballads, including five brand-new inspirational songs; the compilation was only released in Europe. In the September 2010 issue of XXL magazine, Kelly mentioned that the song Sign of Victory gave him the idea to do an international album called Epic.
In November 2010, Kelly collaborated with several African musicians forming a supergroup known as One8. The group features 2Face from Nigeria, Alikiba from Tanzania, Congolese singer Fally Ipupa, 4X4 from Ghana, hip-hop artist Movaizhaleine from Gabon, Zambia's JK, Ugandan hip-hop star Navio and Kenya's Amani, the only female in the group. The first release from the group is "Hands Across the World" written and produced by Kelly.[57][58]
Kelly's latest album Love Letter was released on December 14, 2010 worldwide. The album includes 15 songs, the latter being a bonus track; a cover of Michael Jackson's You Are Not Alone, which was written and produced by Kelly as well. Love Letter has been critically acclaimed by music critics and highly-praised by critics and fans alike. ABC News declared "The genius of R. Kelly has been resurrected and is on full display on Love Letter" [59] The first single "When a Woman Loves" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. ABC News music critic named "When a Woman Loves" the best single of 2010 saying: "An absolutely stunning love song with a pitch-perfect vocal performance that will send chills down your spine — for the right reasons." [60] The next single, "Love Letter" and "A Love Letter Christmas", the Christmas remix to "Love Letter", were released as singles on November 22, 2010. In promotion of the Love Letter album he performed at the 2010 Soul Train Music Awards and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. All songs on the album were written and produced by Kelly.
2011: Throat surgery[link]
On February 12 at the 2011 Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala in Los Angles, Kelly performed a medley of hits including Happy People, When a Woman's Fed Up and Bump N' Grind, which brought Usher, Mary J. Blige and Katy Perry to their feet. [61] Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times wrote "Kelly is a single-bound kind of leaper who dips into everything from soft porn to opera in his music. His supreme chutzpah, a quality he shares with Streisand, allows him to feel secure within pop's traditions while taking them wherever he pleases. He made Davis' musical program, which at times got lost amid the chatter of the A-list crowd, come alive. It was all so simple then: an instant when one of pop's key traditional elements, that determination to wow, took on new dimension in the hands of an expert." [62]
In March 2011, Kelly was named the #1 R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard.[2] In his career Kelly has amassed 35 top 10 hits and 11 #1 hits on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
On July 19, 2011, Kelly was rushed to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago to undergo emergency throat surgery. He cancelled his heavily advertised performance at the Reggae Sumfest in Jamaica that was scheduled the following Friday. In a statement the organizers said, "Kelly's unforeseen and unavoidable health issues will prevent him from making a scheduled appearance on the music festival." Johnny Gourzong, Sumfest Productions executive director, also commented, saying, "We are truly going to miss his presence on the festival." [63] On July 20, 2011, in a press release, representatives for R. Kelly explained that he was rushed to the hospital to drain an abscess on one of his tonsils and "will be laid up for an indefinite amount of time".[64] Shortly after, Kelly tweeted fans "I WILL BE BACK!" he promised and "I'd like to thank everybody for their love, concern and support." [65] On July 21, 2011, Kelly's spokesman, Allan Mayer, reported that Kelly was released from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and is recuperating at home. It was not immediately clear when Kelly might be well enough to resume performing. [66] On July 21, 2011, in a video message to fans, Kelly spoke out for the first time since throat surgery and reassured his fans that he's doing well. He said "Yo what's up, y'all, it's your boy Kellz, fresh out the hospital. Just want to say thanks to my fans for supporting me. I want to say thanks to all the prayer warriors out there for supporting me." [67]
On September 23, 2011, Variety (magazine) confirmed that Kelly has signed on to write original music for the Sparkle soundtrack. [68] On April 25, 2011, Director Salkim Akli was quoted saying, "Hopefully, R. Kelly will come on and do some of the music for the film. His latest music sounds like it came from a time period. Here's a guy who can write about a woman being a jeep to 'I Believe I Can Fly' and he's an artist. Whether you like him or dislike him, I love artists, and I know that he will just go deep into it and come up with something unique." [69]
On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, Kelly (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release his future material on the RCA Records brand.[70][71]
On November 10, 2011, Kelly tweeted to fans "It's been a long time coming but I finally feel a lot better about my throat since the surgery and this is the first song I wrote." [72] followed with "Enjoy!" and a link to a song titled "Shut Up". In the song, Kelly addresses the people who doubted his ability to comeback after the surgery and the rumors that surrounded him while he was in recovery. Reviews for "Shut Up" were generally positive: Spin (magazine) wrote, "Kelly taking aim at the haters who said "he's washed up, he's lost it." He hasn't. Dude's voice is in prime smooth R&B form". [73] Prefix (magazine) writer, Andrew Winistorfer described the song as "vintage Kelly: It's all runs in the verses, falsetto in the middle, and randomly placed vitriol. [74]
On December 21, 2011, Kelly made a live appearance on The X Factor (U.S.) and gave his first performance since undergoing emergency throat surgery in the summer. He sang his classic hit "I Believe I Can Fly" with finalist Melanie Amaro and received positive reviews from critics. Kelly revealed to Rolling Stone that he felt like he was "just starting out" and how the performance was a "wake up call" for him. [75]
Kelly is currently working on his memoir entitled Soulacoaster and it's expected to be released in the Spring of 2012.
[edit] 2012: Write Me Back and Trapped in the Closet Revival
On January 31, 2012, Kelly revealed in a radio interview that he's releasing a follow-up to the Love Letter album titled Write Me Back. The album is a mix of Kelly's previous albums; Love Letter, Happy People and a little bit of TP-2.Com.[76] On February 1, 2012, Kelly released the first single, "Share My Love", off his twelfth studio album, Write Me Back.[77]
On February 18, 2012, R. Kelly performed at Whitney Houston's memorial. Kelly performed the ballad I Look to You, a song he wrote for Whitney that she released on July 23, 2009. The song was included in her seventh and final studio album, also titled I Look to You. After singing the song he said, "We love you Whitney. Rest in Peace." before leaving the stage.[78]
On March 20, 2012, IFC announced a third installment of the Trapped in the Closet will be coming soon. [79]
Personal life[link]
Robert Kelly, the third of four children, grew up in a single parent home. Kelly was reared in the church, where he sang in the choir. [80] His mother, Joanne, died in 1993.
Kelly has three children: Two daughters Joann (born 1998) and Jaya (born 2000), and a son Robert Jr. (born 2002).[81]
In 1996, Kelly married Andrea Kelly, his former backup dancer and children's mother. In January 2009, after 12 years of marriage, the couple divorced.[82]
Legal issues[link]
After a July 1996 brawl at a Lafayette, Louisiana health club involving bodyguard William Robert Savy, Kelly was placed on a year's unsupervised probation starting August 13, 1997. One of the victims, Christopher Mahoney, needed 110 facial stitches.[83]
Kelly was arrested on April 8, 1998 on three misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, including one charge on violating noise ordinance for playing loud music from his car.[84] Prosecutors from the district attorney's office dropped the first two charges on May 7 and the noise charge on July 22 that year.[85][86]
On February 3, 2002, a video showing Kelly engaging in sex with, and urinating on, an allegedly underage woman surfaced. The woman defended R. Kelly, later saying that she consented. The story, which was released by an unknown source, was sent to the Chicago Sun-Times, the newspaper that broke the story. Kelly denied that he was the man in the video.[87] Bootleg copies of that tape became widely available on the black market and over file sharing networks.[88] In June 2002, Kelly was indicted in Chicago on 21 counts of having sex with a minor, which were later reduced to soliciting a minor for child pornography, seven counts of videotaping the acts, and seven counts of producing child pornography.[89] That same month, authorities searched Kelly's house in Davenport, Florida. Officers found an unusual amount of commercially manufactured and distributed adult porn in a room.[90] During the search officers also obtained pictures of an allegedly underage woman on a digital camera – wrapped in a towel in a duffel bag.[91] Kelly was arrested in January 2003 on those charges. In March 2004, these charges were dropped due to a lack of probable cause for the search warrants.[92]
After a number of delays, on October 27, 2006, a Cook County, Illinois court hearing for pre-trial motions set the date of the actual trial to February 7, 2007.[93] On the date of the trial, Kelly's lawyer informed the court that his client was unable to attend because he was "undergoing surgery for a burst appendix". He also announced that Kelly was "in good condition and was expected to be released from the hospital later in the day." Kelly's attorney stated that Kelly (who pleaded not guilty) would be in attendance on the next trial date of February 21, 2007.[94] It had previously been announced by the court that the videotape that allegedly showed Kelly performing sex acts with an underage woman would be publicly shown as evidence in the trial. The trial, however, was delayed due to disputes over when the tape was made and to give medical recuperation time to the sitting judge following a fall resulting in broken bones. Later the case was set for a September 17 date.[95] It took more than six years for the case to go to trial. Jury selection began on May 9, 2008, and the trial officially started on May 20 with opening statements from the prosecution and defense. After two weeks, the prosecution's case wrapped on June 3 while the defense's wrapped six days later, on June 9. After less than a day of deliberations, on June 13, 2008, a Chicago jury found Kelly not guilty of all 14 counts.[96]
Discography[link]
Main articles: R. Kelly discography and R. Kelly production discography
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Filmography[link]
- Trapped in the Closet (1–12) (2005)
- Trapped in the Closet (13–22) (2007)
- Trapped in the Closet (1–22) The Big Package (2007)
- R. Kelly Live the Light It Up Tour (2007)
- Trapped in the Closet (22–54) (TBA)
Official tours[link]
- The 12 Play Very Necessary Tour (w/ Salt-N-Pepa) (1994)
- The Down Low Top Secret Tour (w/ LL Cool J, Xscape, and Solo) (1996)
- The Get Up on a Room Tour (w/ Kelly Price, Nas, Foxy Brown, and Deborah Cox) (1999)
- The TP-2.com Tour (w/ Sunshine Anderson & Syleena Johnson) (2001)
- The Key in the Ignition Tour (w/ Ashanti (entertainer)) (2003)
- The Light It Up Tour (2006)
- The Double Up Tour (w/ J. Holiday & Keyshia Cole) (2007)
- The Ladies Make Some Noise Tour (2009)
- Love Letter Tour (w/ Keyshia Cole & Marsha Ambrosius) (2011)
Awards[link]
- American Music Award
- 1993: Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Honey Love")
- 1995: Favorite Soul/R&B Album (12 Play)
- 1997: Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist
- 2000: Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist
- 2005: Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist
- 2007: Favorite Soul/R&B Album (Double Up)
- BET Awards
- 2003: Best Male R&B Artist
- Billboard Awards
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Artist
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Album (TP2.com)
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks ("Fiesta")
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Artist
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Album Artist
- 2001: Top R&B/Hip Hop Album Artist – Male
- BMI Awards
- 1998: Pop Songwriter of the Year (for "I Believe I Can Fly", "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)", and "I Don't Want To" (recorded by Toni Braxton))
- Grammy Awards
- 1998: Best R&B Song ("I Believe I Can Fly")
- 1998: Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("I Believe I Can Fly")
- 1998: Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media ("I Believe I Can Fly")
- MOBO Awards
- 2001: MOBO Outstanding Achievement
- NAACP Image Awards
- 2001: Outstanding Male Artist
- 2001: Outstanding Music Video ("I Wish")
- Soul Train Awards
- 1999: Best R&B/Soul Album, Male (R.)
- 1999: Sammy Davis Jr. Entertainer of the Year Award
- 2000: Best R&B/Soul or Rap Album (R.)
- 2001: Best R&B/Soul Single, Male ("I Wish")
- 2001: Best R&B/Soul Album, Male (TP2.com)
- 2004: R&B/Soul Album, Male (Chocolate Factory)
- 2004: Quincy Jones Award for Outstanding Career Achievements
- 2006: Stevie Wonder Award for Outstanding Achievements in Song Writing
- Source Hip Hop Awards
- 1999: R&B Artist of the Year
- 2001: R&B Artist of the Year
- Vibe Awards
- 2003: R&B Vanguard Award
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) (March 2012) |
- ^ . http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php?content_selector=top-selling-artists.
- ^ a b Up for Discussion Jump to Forums. "The Juice Presents Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years — The Juice". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/the-juice-presents-top-50-r-b-hip-hop-artists-1004127945.story#/column/the-juice/the-juice-presents-top-50-r-b-hip-hop-artists-1004127945.story. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ Date: 11/18/2010 9:19:22 PM (2010-11-18). "Billboard Names R. Kelly The #1 R&B Artist Of Past 25 Years". Singersroom.com. http://www.singersroom.com/news/6496/Billboard-Names-R-Kelly-The-1-RB-Artist-Of-Past-25-Years. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ Friday, November 19, 2010, 8:04am EDT (2010-11-19). "Music — News — R Kelly named best-selling R&B artist". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a288774/r-kelly-named-best-selling-rb-artist.html. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ "R. Kelly biography". http://www.trace.tv/en/urban/artist/4007_r_kelly. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
- ^ "Top 90's R&B/Hip-Hop Artists". http://books.google.com/books?id=9w0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA66&dq=90%27s+billboard+year+end&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XT8gT4XfMcX02QXb_ZWVDw&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=R.%20Kelly%20top%2090%27s&f=false. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
- ^ a b c "Timeline of R. Kelly's life". Yahoo! Music. Associated Press. 2008-06-13. http://new.music.yahoo.com/r-kelly/news/timeline-of-r-kellys-life--61230034. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
- ^ a b c "R. Kelly timeline: A chronology from birth to trial". Chicago Sun-Times. May 8, 2008. http://jobs.suntimes.com/news/metro/kelly/940633,kellytimeline.stng. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ^ Kelly, R.. eNotes.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-13.
- ^ Hoekstra, Dave (1998-11-29). "The Righteous Brother : R. Kelly's ambitious album of genre- spanning songs finds him updating the spiritually grounded R&B of such greats as Al Green and Donny Hathaway". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/29/entertainment/ca-48624/2.
- ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Huey, Steve (2007). "R. Kelly > Biography". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p45175/biography. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
- ^ Reynolds, J.R. (December 10, 1994). "Career Milestones Keep Coming For Jive's Kelly". Billboard. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZQgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA43&dq=R.+Kelly+12+play+chance&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8IUfT7jnMMXy2QXF4tH8Dg&ved=0CD8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=R.%20Kelly&f=false. Retrieved January 24, 2012.
- ^ a b "RIAA –old & Platinum –. Kelly (album search results)". RIAA. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=R.%20Kelly&format=ALBUM&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=CertificationDate&perPage=50. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
- ^ "R. Kelly: What's next for the Grammy Award-winning Superstar". 1998-6-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=2MMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54&dq=R.+Kelly+1995&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FtkfT6uWJIvFsQLfx_SeDg&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=R.%20Kelly%201995&f=false.
- ^ "Pop Briefs". New York Times (New York). 1995-12-17. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/17/arts/pop-briefs-020826.html?ref=rkelly.
- ^ "R. Kelly (album) Review". Dec. 1995. http://books.google.com/books?id=ySsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA138&dq=R.+Kelly+secular&hl=en&sa=X&ei=i9MfT73JO6eHsAKZwZjADg&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=R.%20Kelly&f=false.
- ^ "MUSIC REVIEW;Invitations to Passion of a Certain Kind". New York Times (New York). 1996-4-13. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/13/arts/music-review-invitations-to-passion-of-a-certain-kind.html?ref=rkelly.
- ^ "I Believe I Can Fly". Rolling Stone. November 4, 2004. Archived from the original on May 7, 2009. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090507133035/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596251/i_believe_i_can_fly.
- ^ "R. Kelly to Play Pro Basketball". E! Online. 1997-04-25. http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b34429_kelly_play_pro_basketball.html. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ "The Righteous Brother : R. Kelly's ambitious album of genre- spanning songs finds him updating the spiritually grounded R&B of such greats as Al Green and Donny Hathaway.". Los Angeles Times (Chicago). 1998-11-29. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/29/entertainment/ca-48624/3.
- ^ "A Shooting Star R. Kelly Lights Up Usbl's Seagulls". Daily News (New York). 1997-05-30. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/1997/05/30/1997-05-30_a_shooting_star__r__kelly_li.html.
- ^ "The Righteous Brother : R. Kelly's ambitious album of genre- spanning songs finds him updating the spiritually grounded R&B of such greats as Al Green and Donny Hathaway.". Los Angeles Times (Chicago). 1998-11-29. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/29/entertainment/ca-48624.
- ^ "I'm Your Angel Chart History". http://rkellynews.blogspot.com/2011/11/im-your-angel-chart-history.html.
- ^ "When A Woman's Fed Up Chart History". http://rkellynews.blogspot.com/2011/11/r-singles-chart-history.html.
- ^ "If I Could Turn Back The Hands of Time Chart History". http://rkellynews.blogspot.com/2011/11/if-i-could-turn-back-hands-of-time-by-r.html.
- ^ "RIAA". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database.
- ^ "TP-2k". http://books.google.com/books?id=exx2IVCnlsQC&pg=PA97&dq=r.+kelly+tp.2&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5kEgT_Juo6raBdbziK4P&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=r.%20kelly%20tp.2&f=false.
- ^ "TP-2.com". http://books.google.com/books?id=o552g5xRRiwC&pg=PA386&dq=r.+kelly+tp.2&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5kEgT_Juo6raBdbziK4P&ved=0CFAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=r.%20kelly%20tp.2&f=false.
- ^ "TP-2.com". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TP-2.com.
- ^ "I Wish (R. Kelly song)". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wish_%28R._Kelly_song%29.
- ^ "Fiesta (R. Kelly song)". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiesta_%28R._Kelly_song%29.
- ^ "Feelin' On Yo Booty Chart History". http://rkellynews.blogspot.com/2011/11/tp-2com-singles-chart-history.html.
- ^ "R. Kelly Awards". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Kelly#Awards.
- ^ "Billboard 200 Albums of 2000s". http://www.billboard.com/#/charts-decade-end/billboard-200-albums?year=2009&begin=81&order=position.
- ^ "R. Kelly Delivers His World Cup Anthem, Blows Minds". http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/05/19/r-kelly-world-cup/.
- ^ a b "Jay-Z, R. Kelly Hype Joint LP With Hash Browns, Johnnie Cochran And A Pimp". http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451930/jayz-r-kelly-hype-joint-lp.jhtml.
- ^ "Hip-Hop Fridays: The "Consciousness" Of Wu-Tang Clan, Suge Knight and Jay-Z Part 2". http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=534.
- ^ a b "Unfinished Business". http://books.google.com/books?id=ojdp8n0arEsC&pg=PA110&dq=r.+kelly+tp.2&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5kEgT_Juo6raBdbziK4P&ved=0CGAQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=r.%20kelly%20tp.2&f=false.
- ^ a b "Jay-Z Shoots New Video, Unsure If Clip With R. Kelly Will Come". http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1452773/jayz-shoots-song-cry.jhtml.
- ^ "R. Kelly Vows To Clamp Down As New Bootleg Hits Streets". http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1454446/new-r-kelly-bootleg-hits-streets.jhtml.
- ^ Harris, Chris (2006-04-25). "Jay-Z Associate Pleads Guilty In R. Kelly Pepper-Spray Case". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1529414/20060425/jay_z.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
- ^ Harris, Chris (2005-11-07). "R. Kelly Sues Jay-Z — Again". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1513117/20051107/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
- ^ Lamb, Bill (2007-05-04). "R. Kelly Records "Rise Up" –n Anthem for Healing in Aftermath of Virginia Tech Shootings". About.com. http://top40.about.com/b/a/209075.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-09.
- ^ Orzeck, Kurt (2007-12-19). "R. Kelly Arrest Warrant Issued Over Missed Court Date –ews Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1576840/20071219/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2008-03-04). "R. Kelly's New Dis Track: Is He Lashing Out At Jay-Z, Ne-Yo Or Young Jeezy? – News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1582758/20080304/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100 Chart 50th Anniversary". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-artists-80.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ "Entire R Kelly album leaks online | News". Nme.Com. 2008-07-29. http://www.nme.com/news/r-kelly/38519. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-06-02). "R. Kelly Remixes Lil Wayne, The-Dream, Drake For His First Mixtape – News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1613052/20090601/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-02-10). "R. Kelly Reveals New Album Will Be Called Untitled – News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1604777/20090210/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ Singersroom.com. "R Kelly Eying Busy September For 'Untitled' Album ?". Singersroom.com. http://singersroom.com/news/3978/R-Kelly-Eying-Busy-September-For-Untitled-Album-. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ "R. Kelly To Make African Debut – Contactmusic News". Contactmusic.com. http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/r-kelly-to-make-african-debut_1106618. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ "R. Kelly in the Motherland: Singer due in Johannesburg this week for Fashion Awards gig; will kick off international string of concert dates". EURweb.com. 2009-06-15. http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur53958.cfm. Retrieved 2009-08-05. [dead link]
- ^ R. Kelly To Address Controversy In New Book. Yahoo Music
- ^ R. Kelly (2009-09-14). "R. Kelly Kicks Off World Cup In South Africa". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/news/r-kelly-kicks-off-world-cup-in-south-africa-1004097582.story#/news/r-kelly-kicks-off-world-cup-in-south-africa-1004097582.story. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ^ "**NEW MUSIC** R. Kelly — Tongues (feat. Ludacris)". Global Grind. 2010-07-13. http://globalgrind.com/channel/music/content/1686507/new-music-r-kelly-tongues-feat-ludacris/. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
- ^ "R.Kelly On Being Happy With Current State Of R&B: "In Some Ways Yes And In Some Ways No"". http://youheardthatnew. 2012-01-13. http://youheardthatnew.com/2010/08/r-kelly-on-being-happy-with-current-state-of-rb-in-some-ways-yes-and-in-some-ways-no/. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
- ^ "Hands Across The World Video — ONE8 w R. Kelly". Rnbmusicblog.com. 2010-11-19. http://www.rnbmusicblog.com/hands-across-the-world-video-one8-r-kelly/17936/. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ "R. Kelly Backs African Supergroup". Billboard.biz. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i02240e53d2361c7112b6f6d8d0923e65. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ ABC News: R. Kelly Is Classic and Classy on Great CD . R. Kelly News
- ^ When A Woman Loves Chart History. R. Kelly News
- ^ Celebs turn out for Pre-Grammy Gala. USA Today
- ^ Grammy Awards: Barbra Streisand stars at MusiCares concert, R. Kelly stars at Clive Davis' party. Los Angeles Times
- ^ R. Kelly grounded – Artiste's no-show sends Sumfest organisers on global search for replacement. The Gleaner
- ^ [1]. Artist Direct
- ^ R. Kelly's tweets fans. Twitter
- ^ R. Kelly Released From Hospital After Throat Surgery. Billboard
- ^ R. Kelly message to fans. Youtube
- ^ Cee-Lo Green joins 'Sparkle' cast. Variety (magazine)
- ^ R. Kelly Wanted For Sparkle Remake. Blackfilm.com
- ^ Christman, Ed. (2011-08-23) RCA's New Executive Team Named Under CEO Peter Edge Amid Layoffs (Update). Billboard.biz. Retrieved on 2012-04-13.
- ^ Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!. FMQB. Retrieved on 2012-04-13.
- ^ R. Kelly's Twitter. Twitter
- ^ R. Kelly Croons About Tonsil Surgery in New Track. Spin
- ^ R. Kelly: 'Shut Up'(New Track). Prefixmag
- ^ R. Kelly: 'There Is No End' to 'Trapped in the Closet'. Rolling Stone (magazine)
- ^ New R. Kelly interview with JoJo of V101.5 . R. Kelly News
- ^ RCA Records Twitter. Twitter
- ^ Kleinman, Jacob. "Whitney Houston Funeral: R. Kelly Sings Soulful Rendition of ‘I Look To You'". International Business Times. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/300964/20120218/whitney-houston-funeral-death-rkelly-songs-look.htm. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ^ IFC's Blog Post. IFC
- ^ "R. Kelly: What's Next For the Grammy Award-Winning Superstar". Jet Magazine. 1998-06-08. http://books.google.com/books?id=2MMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54&dq=R.+Kelly+south+side+chicago&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B6VXT-Qhg-zZBYTsldsO&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=chicago&f=false. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ "R. Kelly — Biography". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005084/bio. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ . People Magazine. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20251074,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
- ^ "R. Kelly Reaches Settlement In Lawsuit". MTV News. 1997-08-13. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430775/19970813/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- ^ "R. Kelly Busted For Blasting Car Stereo". MTV News. 1998-05-07. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430772/19980507/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- ^ "R. Kelly Gets Mixed Legal News In Court Date". MTV News. 1998-05-07. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430772/19980507/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- ^ "R. Kelly Free To Kick Out The Car Jams". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1430770/19980722/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- ^ Norris, John (May 13, 2002). "R. Kelly: In His Own Words (page 2)". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/bands/r/r_kelly/news_feature_051302/index2.jhtml. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ . SmokingGun. June 6, 2002. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/r-kelly-florida-porn-charges-dropped?page=3. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
- ^ "R. Kelly Arrested On Child Porn Charges Again — News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. 2003-01-22. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1459620/20030122/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (2003-01-22). "R. Kelly Arrested On Child Porn Charges Again — News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1459620/20030122/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ^ "R. Kelly's Florida Child Porn Charges Dropped". MTV. 2004-03-17. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1485804/20040317/kelly_r.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
- ^ "Update: R. Kelly Hearing Postponed". 4Control Media. October 13, 2006. http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/9994. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
- ^ "R. Kelly Misses Court After Surgery". CBS News. Associated Press. 2007-02-08. http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/08/people_hot_water/main2451763.shtml. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
- ^ "R. Kelly to be tried on child pornography charges". CNN. 2007-08-02. http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/02/pornography.rkelly.reut/index.html?eref=rss_topstories. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ "R. Kelly Found Not Guilty!". E! Online. 2008-06-13. http://uk.eonline.com/uberblog/b1956_R__Kelly_Found_Not_Guilty_.html. Retrieved 2009-09.
- ^ "R. Kelly". Rock On The Net. http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-k/rkelly_main.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ MOBO Awards 2001 | Daily Urban Music News. Mobo.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-13.
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: R. Kelly |
- Official website
- R. Kelly on Twitter
- R. Kelly on Myspace
- R. Kelly's channel on YouTube
- R. Kelly on Facebook
- R. Kelly at the Internet Movie Database
|
||||||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kelly, R. |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1967-01-08 |
| Place of birth | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/R._Kelly
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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.
| Keri Hilson | |
|---|---|
 Keri Hilson performing at Supafest in Australia, April 2011 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Keri Lynn Hilson |
| Born | (1982-12-05) December 5, 1982 (age 29) Decatur, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, pop |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Zone 4, Mosley Music, Interscope |
| Associated acts | The Clutch, Polow da Don, Timbaland, Chris Brown, Akon, Kanye West |
| Website | kerihilson.com |
Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She was born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, and spent most of her youth working with producer Anthony Dent, as a songwriter and background vocalist for several R&B and hip hop artists. By the age of 14, Hilson had secured a record deal with the girl group D'Signe, who later disbanded. She attended Emory University in Atlanta, while she continued writing songs for artists, including Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige, with the production and songwriting team, The Clutch. In 2006, Hilson signed with American rapper and producer Timbaland's record label, Mosley Music. Her breakthrough came the following year after appearing on Timbaland's single, "The Way I Are", which topped charts around the world.
Hilson's debut studio album, In a Perfect World..., was released in 2009, and debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, eventually being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album spawned the hit singles, "Knock You Down", "Turnin Me On" and "I Like". It also earned Hilson two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Knock You Down". Her second studio album, No Boys Allowed, was released in 2010 and was considerably less successful than its predecessor; however, it included the hit single, "Pretty Girl Rock". Hilson's achievements include a BET Award, MOBO Award, NAACP Image Award and two Soul Train Music Awards. Apart from her work in music, she has pursued a career in acting. Hilson made her acting debut in the romantic comedy film, Think Like a Man, in 2012.
Contents |
Biography[link]
1982–2007: Early life and career beginnings[link]
Keri Lynn Hilson was born on December 5, 1982 in Decatur, Georgia.[1][2] She was raised in an African-American neighborhood and came from a middle class family.[3] Hilson and her siblings did not attend a school within the neighborhood because her parents cared a lot for their education, stating that "they shipped us off for an hour to get to school every day. It was just that important for us to maintain the life that they had created".[3] From the age of 12, Hilson wanted to pursue a musical career, after watching television talent shows, Star Search and Showtime at the Apollo.[1] Her mother then hired a piano teacher to give her piano lessons; however, Hilson wanted to become a singer and therefore "converted those sessions into vocal lessons, accompanying the teacher on piano".[1] By the age of 14, Hilson had secured a record deal with the girl group D'Signe, who later disbanded.[4][1]
Hilson spent most of her teenage years working with producer Anthony Dent, as a songwriter and background vocalist for the likes of Usher, Ludacris, Kelly Rowland, Ciara and Polow da Don.[1] After graduating from high school, Hilson attended Emory University in Atlanta for three years and studied a course in theater.[3] She continued working as a songwriter and background vocalist during her schooling years.[1] Hilson eventually stopped working with Dent, and began working more with Polow da Don.[1] She also became a member of the songwriting and production team, The Clutch.[1] Together, they wrote Mary J. Blige's "Take Me as I Am" (2006), Omarion's "Ice Box" (2006), Ciara's "Like a Boy" (2006), The Pussycat Dolls' "Wait a Minute" (2007) and Britney Spears' "Gimme More" (2007).[1][4] In 2006, Polow introduced Hilson to American rapper and producer Timbaland, who then signed her to his record label, Mosley Music Group.[1] In November 2006, Hilson was featured on American rapper Lloyd Banks' single, "Help", for his album Rotten Apple (2006).[5]
The following year, Hilson was featured on three singles; in June, on Timbaland's song "The Way I Are", the second single from his album Shock Value (2007); on Rich Boy's "Good Things" with Polow da Don; and thereafter, in December, on Timbaland's song "Scream" with Nicole Scherzinger, the fifth single from Shock Value.[6] Out of the three singles, "The Way I Are" achieved the most success, topping nine charts around the world.[7][8][9][10][11]
[edit] 2008–09: In a Perfect World...
In 2008, Hilson appeared in the music videos for Usher's single, "Love in This Club", and Ne-Yo's single, "Miss Independent".[12][13] Her debut studio album, In a Perfect World..., was released on March 24, 2009.[14] The album contained pop-oriented R&B songs.[15] It was initially planned to be released the previous year; however, the album was delayed several times because Hilson wanted to make sure it came out to her liking, stating "I'm just a perfectionist. I have had many [release dates], but it's all for a good cause. The label wants to make sure the album has its proper release, and I'm thankful for that. Very grateful, even though fans look at it like it's a bad thing."[16] In the US, In a Perfect World... debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart, and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, with first-week sales of 94,000 copies.[17][18] By October 2009, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[19] Its first single, "Energy", released in May 2008, peaked within the top eighty on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.[20] It reached the top fifty in the United Kingdom, and peaked the highest in New Zealand at number seven, and was certified gold in the country.[10][21][22] Hilson also featured on three singles in 2008; in June, on rapper Nas' song "Hero"; in September, on Kardinal Offishall's "Numba 1 (Tide Is High)"; and thereafter, in October, on Chris Brown's song "Superhuman".[23][6][24]
"Return the Favor", featuring Timbaland, served as the second international single from Hilson's In a Perfect World... album, while "Turnin Me On" featuring Lil Wayne, was released as the second US single. The latter achieved commercial success, reaching number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, eventually being certified platinum in the US.[20][19] The next single, "Knock You Down" featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo, achieved more success, reaching number three on the Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, eventually being certified two times platinum.[20][19] The song also reached the top ten in Canada, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.[20][25][21][10] "Make Love", "Slow Dance", and "Change Me" featuring Akon, were released as the album's fourth, fifth and sixth US singles, respectively.
Hilson, along with Gym Class Heroes, Gorilla Zoe and T-Pain, were supporting acts on Lil Wayne's I Am Music Tour in North America.[26] At the 2009 BET Awards, she was nominated in four categories, including Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Artist, as well as Viewer's Choice and Best Collaboration for "Turnin Me On" with Lil Wayne.[27] She eventually won the Best New Artist category.[28] In 2009, Hilson was featured on five singles; "Number One" with R. Kelly, "She Don't Wanna" with Asher Roth, "Everything, Everyday, Everywhere" with Fabolous, "Medicine" with Plies, and on the remix of Sean Paul's song, "Hold My Hand".[29][6] Hilson was nominated for Breakthrough Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist at the 2009 American Music Awards, but lost to Beyoncé Knowles.[30] The re-released edition of In a Perfect World..., in January 2010, included the single "I Like", which reached number one in Germany, Poland and Slovakia, and peaked within the top ten in Austria, Norway and Switzerland.[31][32][33][34] At the 52nd Grammy Awards, Hilson was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Knock You Down" with Kanye West and Ne-Yo.[35]
[edit] 2010–present: No Boys Allowed
During the first half of 2010, Hilson guest featured on rapper Trina's single, "Million Dollar Girl", and on T.I.'s single, "Got Your Back".[6] In April 2010, it was made known that she had replaced Jennifer Hudson as the new face of the cosmetics and personal care products company, Avon.[36] "Breaking Point" was released as the first single from Hilson's second studio album, No Boys Allowed, in September 2010; it only appeared on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart at number 44.[20] On December 2, 2010, Hilson was among one of the many female artists who performed at the VH1 Divas Salute the Troops concert, where she sang "Turnin Me On", "Knock You Down", "Pretty Girl Rock", and a duet with American country music duo, Sugarland, on the Aretha Franklin song, "Think".[37] No Boys Allowed was released on December 21, 2010.[38] Described as a "girl power album", No Boys Allowed was primarily of the R&B and pop genres.[39][40] Despite the album's title, Hilson stated "it's not about excluding men. It's more about women understanding that there comes a time in your life when you want a man. A real man. A grown up. Not a boy. And that's not a bad thing."[41] Speaking of the songs on the album, she explained "I write from a female perspective, but I'm also telling men what women are really thinking and feeling about them".[41] In the US, No Boys Allowed debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, and number seven on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, with first-week sales of 102,000 copies.[42][43] Although it sold 8,000 copies more than her debut album, In a Perfect World..., it failed to match that album's debut chart position of number four.[42] As of February 2011, No Boys Allowed has sold 205,500 copies in the United States.[44]
Hilson achieved success with the album's second single, "Pretty Girl Rock", which reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, eventually being certified platinum.[20][19] The single reached the top twenty in Germany and New Zealand, and top thirty in Austria and Slovakia.[45][21][46][47] "One Night Stand" featuring Chris Brown, and "Lose Control (Let Me Down)" featuring Nelly, were released as the album's third and fourth singles, respectively. In 2011, she was featured on British rapper Chipmunk's single "In the Air", for his album Transition (2011).[48] In April 2011, Hilson, along with many other R&B and hip hop acts, traveled to Australia to be part of its biggest urban music festival, Supafest.[49] At the 2011 BET Awards, Hilson was nominated for Best Female R&B Artist and Video of the Year for "Pretty Girl Rock".[50] In July 2011, she was a supporting act on the second leg of Lil Wayne's I Am Still Music Tour in North America, before embarking on her first headlining European tour in October.[51][52]
2012–present: Acting debut and third studio album[link]
During an interview with 106 & Park on October 25, 2011, Hilson revealed that she has already begun recording her third studio album.[53] She explained, "There's some people in the world that aren't gon' like this album coming from me. As I was experiencing the world, there were things that I was also experiencing on a personal front, and in my music it's coming out. There's a specific few people who ain't gon' like to listen to this album. Very emotional, I'll say that."[53] She further explained in an interview with The Boombox that she's working on a new sound for the album, and described it as a mixture of her first two albums with some surprising elements thrown in.[54] Hilson also said a release date has not been confirmed yet, saying "I just write about my experiences and keep the release dates far, far from me. When I feel that I have [good material] is when I will give it to the label. But I'm not quite there yet. I'm still working."[54] Hilson made her acting debut in the romantic comedy film, Think Like a Man, released on April 20, 2012.[55][56] She will also star alongside Vin Diesel in the sci-fi action film, Riddick (2013), but it is unknown what role Hilson will play.[57]
Artistry[link]
Musical style and influences[link]
Hilson's music is generally R&B and pop. Her debut album, In a Perfect World..., consists of a pop/R&B style, with elements of electro music.[15][58] Many of the album's themes deal with relationships, physical attraction and lovemaking.[59] Hilson said, "lyrically it's a very vulnerable album. You know, I definitely didn't want to paint myself as perfect on this project. Instead, I wanted it to be something that was very relatable, especially to women".[60] Her second album, No Boys Allowed, displays a wide variety of styles, including pop, R&B, hip hop, soul, acoustic, electronic and reggae.[40][61][62][63] Hilson describes the album as "more self assured. It's a lot more aggressive".[64] Kristin Macfarlane of The Daily Post noted that the album is "pure girl power and about being sexually confident, and confident as a woman; not putting up with crap relationships and getting your way".[65] Hilson sings with "smooth vocals".[66] Following the release of her debut album, Sophie Bruce of BBC Music expressed that, "there's no denying Hilson has a great voice, but it lacks the feisty edge of [Nicole] Scherzinger, [Mary J.] Blige or [Beyoncé] Knowles".[67] Mark Nero of About.com commented, "Keri's voice, while strong, isn't particularly distinctive or memorable".[68] Hilson has stated that her musical influences come from her father's side of the family.[60] In addition, she cites Michael Jackson and Lauryn Hill as inspirations.[69][70]
Philanthropy[link]
Besides her career in music, Hilson has also been involved with several charities. In January 2010, she teamed up with Akon on the charity single, "Oh Africa".[71] All proceeds of the single benefited underprivileged African youth.[71] The following month, Hilson joined the extended list of artists during the recording session of the single, "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", to benefit victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[72] On May 25, 2010, she performed at the Virginia Stand Up! A Call to Action benefit concert, organized by Chris Brown to help with continued relief efforts in Haiti.[73] On October 21, 2010, Hilson attended Collins Academy High School in Chicago as part of the Get Schooled National Challenge and Tour, a "program aimed at increasing high school and college graduation rates and promoting the importance of education".[74][75] A year later, she received a Get Schooled Award for her involvement with the program.[76] In 2011, Hilson contributed in the fight against AIDS, by posing in retail-clothing company H&M's celebrity-driven collection for Fashion Against AIDS.[77] 25% of all sales from the collection were donated to the Designers Against Aids charity.[77] Hilson contributed to the It Gets Better Project, a project which aims to prevent suicide among LGBT youth.[78][79]
In June 2011, Hilson became an ambassador for MTV Staying Alive, a foundation which raises awareness and prevention of HIV and AIDS.[80] In September 2011, she lent her support to US First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign, which aims to combat childhood obesity.[81] She made t-shirts for the campaign that read "Pretty Girls Sweat", and exercised with the young women at The Educational Alliance's Sirovich Senior Center in New York on September 24.[81] During Hilson's visit in Africa in November 2011, she stopped by an orphanage to visit her young fans who had lost their families during the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis.[82] She gave each orphan a "care" package, which consisted of bookbags, t-shirts, sunglasses, notebooks and an electric keyboard.[82] In April 2012, Hilson teamed up with DoSomething.org to encourage young people to join in the nationwide Epic Book Drive by bringing books to local people in need.[83] In a press release, she stated: "Joining DoSomething.org's newest effort to provide for people in need with Epic Book Drive was the easiest decision ever!. I truly believe providing access to those who want to learn is the key to bettering lives around the country. And helping kids find healthy outlets, such as books, has always been a passion of mine. So my involvement here is a natural fit."[83]
Discography[link]
Main article: Keri Hilson discography
- In a Perfect World... (2009)
- No Boys Allowed (2010)
Filmography[link]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Think Like a Man | Heather | Supporting role |
| 2013 | Riddick | N/A |
Tours[link]
Headlining
- European Tour (2011)
Supporting
- I Am Music Tour (2009) (with Lil Wayne)
- I Am Still Music Tour (2011) (with Lil Wayne)
Awards and nominations[link]
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "The Way I Are" (Timbaland featuring D.O.E. and Keri Hilson) | MTV Video Music Award for Monster Single of the Year[84] | Nominated |
| 2009 | Herself | American Music Award for Favorite Female R&B/Soul Artist[30] | Nominated |
| American Music Award for Breakthrough Artist[30] | Nominated | ||
| BET Award for Best New Artist[28] | Won | ||
| BET Award for Best Female R&B Artist[27] | Nominated | ||
| "Turnin Me On" (with Lil Wayne) | BET Award for Viewer's Choice[27] | Nominated | |
| BET Award for Best Collaboration[27] | Nominated | ||
| In a Perfect World... | Urban Music Award for Best Album[85] | Nominated | |
| Herself | Urban Music Award for Best Female Act[85] | Nominated | |
| MOBO Award for Best International Act[86] | Nominated | ||
| MOBO Award for Best R&B/Soul Act[86] | Won | ||
| Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist[87] | Won | ||
| "Turnin Me On" (with Lil Wayne) | Soul Train Music Award for Song of the Year[87] | Nominated | |
| "Knock You Down" (with Kanye West and Ne-Yo) | Soul Train Music Award for Best Collaboration[87] | Won | |
| Soul Train Music Award for Record of the Year[87] | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration[35] | Nominated | |
| Herself | Grammy Award for Best New Artist[35] | Nominated | |
| NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist[88] | Won | ||
| "Got Your Back" (T.I. featuring Keri Hilson) | Soul Train Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Song[89] | Nominated | |
| 2011 | "Pretty Girl Rock" | BET Award for Video of the Year[50] | Nominated |
| Herself | BET Award for Best Female R&B Artist[50] | Nominated | |
| Get Schooled Award[76] | Won | ||
| "Pretty Girl Rock" | Soul Train Music Award for Best Dance Performance[90] | Nominated |
References[link]
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- ^ Eskridge, Sonya (2012-03-07). "Daily Buzz 3.7.12". S2S. Archived from the original on 2012-03-11. http://www.webcitation.org/664IctCiI.
- ^ Balls, David (2009-05-06). "Keri Hilson: 'In A Perfect World...'". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi Médias. http://www.digitalspy.com.au/music/albumreviews/a154977/keri-hilson-in-a-perfect-world.html. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
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- ^ Gamboa, Glenn (2010-12-17). "Keri Hilson's 'No Boys Allowed'". Newsday. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. http://www.webcitation.org/669sZK4ih.
- ^ Ratliff, Ben (2010-12-21). "Critics' Choice – New CDs". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/arts/music/21choice.html?_r=2. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline (2011-01-06). "Keri Hilson: No Boys Allowed – review". The Guardian (Guardian News and Media). http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jan/06/keri-hilson-no-boys-allowed-review. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- ^ Patterson, Jason (2011-06-17). "Keri Hilson: The Interview!". MTV UK. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://www.mtv.co.uk/music/urban/2615-keri-hilson-the-interview. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- ^ Macfarlane, Kristin (2011-07-08). "Album Review: Keri Hilson, No Boys Allowed". The Daily Post (APN News & Media). Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. http://www.webcitation.org/669tF49bI.
- ^ "Keri Hilson flaunts her sexy legs in Cote d’Ivoire". Ghanamma. 2011-11-28. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. http://www.webcitation.org/66AwE0HjQ.
- ^ Bruce, Sophie (2009-05-08). "Review of Keri Hilson – In A Perfect World". BBC Music. BBC. Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. http://www.webcitation.org/666491GvA.
- ^ Nero, Mark. "Keri Hilson – In A Perfect World...". About.com. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on 2012-03-12. http://www.webcitation.org/6664EKH2i.
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009-06-26). "Mariah Carey, Juelz Santana, More Remember Michael Jackson". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1614765/mariah-carey-more-remember-michael-jackson.jhtml. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- ^ "Keri Hilson Meets Her Idol Lauryn Hill". Rap-Up. Devin Lazerine. 2011-01-05. http://www.rap-up.com/2011/01/05/keri-hilson-meets-her-idol-lauryn-hill/. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- ^ a b "Video: Akon f/ Keri Hilson – 'Oh Africa'". Rap-Up. Devin Lazerine. 2010-01-31. http://www.rap-up.com/2010/01/31/video-akon-f-keri-hilson-oh-africa/. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (2010-02-02). "'We Are The World – 25 For Haiti' Artists Include Kanye West, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1631021/we-world-25-haiti-artists-include-kanye-west-miley-cyrus-justin-bieber.jhtml. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ^ Rodriguez, Jayson (2010-05-16). "Chris Brown Plays To Packed House At Virginia Benefit Concert". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1639310/chris-brown-plays-packed-house-at-virginia-benefit-concert.jhtml. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ^ "Keri Hilson and Big Boi 'Get Schooled'". Rap-Up. Devin Lazerine. 2010-10-22. http://www.rap-up.com/2010/10/22/keri-hilson-and-big-boi-get-schooled/. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
- ^ Ziegbe, Mawuse (2010-10-22). "Keri Hilson, Big Boi Explain Value of Education". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650676/keri-hilson-big-boi-explain-value-education.jhtml. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
- ^ a b Regis, Sian-Pierre (2011-10-26). "Sweet Tweet: Keri Hilson Talks Education, Passion and Success". MTV. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://act.mtv.com/posts/sweet-tweet-keri-hilson-talks-education-passion-and-success/. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
- ^ a b "Keri Hilson, Akon Fight Against AIDS in H&M Campaign". Rap-Up. Devin Lazerine. 2011-04-05. http://www.rap-up.com/2011/04/05/keri-hilson-akon-fight-against-aids-in-hm-campaign/. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ^ "It Gets Better – Keri Hilson". Itgetsbetter.org. http://www.itgetsbetter.org/video/entry/3152/. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ Anderson, Kyle (2011-06-21). "Rise Against premiere video for 'Make It Stop (September's Children)' as part of It Gets Better Project". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. http://music-mix.ew.com/2011/06/21/rise-against-make-it-stop-video-it-gets-better/. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ "MTV Staying Alive Foundation: About > Ambassadors". MTV Staying Alive. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://foundation.staying-alive.org/en/about/celebrity_involvement. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
- ^ a b "Keri Hilson Gets Physical for Let's Move! Campaign". Rap-Up. Devin Lazerine. 2011-09-25. http://www.rap-up.com/2011/09/25/keri-hilson-gets-physical-for-lets-move-campaign/. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
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- ^ a b "Keri Hilson Shares Love for Reading in Epic Book Drive PSA". Rap-Up. Devin Lazerine. 2012-04-13. http://www.rap-up.com/2012/04/13/keri-hilson-shares-love-for-reading-in-epic-book-drive-psa/. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
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External links[link]
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Book: Keri Hilson |
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Media related to Keri Hilson at Wikimedia Commons
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| Persondata | |
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| Name | Hilson, Keri |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1982-12-05 |
| Place of birth | Decatur, Georgia |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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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.
| Ja Rule | |
|---|---|
 Ja Rule with Jaid Barrymore in February 2005 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jeffery Atkins |
| Born | (1976-02-29) February 29, 1976 (age 36) Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Origin | Jamaica, Queens, New York, USA |
| Genres | Hip hop, east coast hip hop, R&B |
| Occupations | Rapper, Actor, Songwriter |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Def Jam, The Inc., Mpire Music Group, Fontana Distribution |
| Associated acts | Irv Gotti, Ashanti, Jay-Z, DMX, Fat Joe, Mpire Music Group, Vita, Lloyd, Hussein Fatal, Caddillac Tah, Mary J Blige, Charli Baltimore, Black Child, Memphis Bleek, Jadakiss, R. Kelly, 7 Aurelius |
| Website | ruleyork.com |
Jeffrey Atkins (born February 29, 1976),[1] better known by his stage name Ja Rule or Mockaveli, is an American rapper, singer, and actor from Queens, New York City.
Born in Hollis, Queens, he began his career in the group Cash Money Click and debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single "Holla Holla". From 2000 to 2004, Ja Rule had several hits that made the top 20 of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, including "Between Me and You" with Christina Milian, "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" with Jennifer Lopez, "Always on Time" with Ashanti, "Mesmerize" also with Ashanti, and "Wonderful" with R. Kelly and Ashanti. During the 2000s, Ja Rule was signed to The Inc. Records, which was formerly known as Murder Inc. and was led by Irv Gotti. Ja Rule has sold over 30 million records worldwide and was the fastest selling rapper in 2001[citation needed]. He is also known for some well-publicized feuds with other rappers (in-particular 50 Cent and Eminem).
Contents
|
Early life[link]
Atkins was born in the Queens borough of New York City.[1] He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness by his mother, health care worker Debra Atkins,[2] and grandparents. At the age of five his sister died from breathing complications, leaving him as an only child. He attended Public School 134 in Hollis, a school he has described as having a predominantly black student body. He has said got into many fights at the school because of his small size, so his mother transferred him to Middle School 172 in Glen Oaks, which he has described as a "white school".[3]
Music career[link]
Atkins began his rap career in 1994 with his classic hip hop group Cash Money Click. told Curtis Waller of MTV News that his stage name "Ja Rule" came from a friend who addressed him by that name; other friends called him "Ja".[4] In 1995, he made his first appearance on Mic Geronimo's "Time to Build" which featured Jay-Z and DMX, who were also in their early stages of their careers. In 1998, he was a featured guest on Jay-Z's hit single "Can I Get A..." along with Amil which Ja Rule wrote the hook, and was going to be a Ja Rule solo song, until Jay heard the track.
[edit] Venni Vetti Vecci (1999)
His debut album Venni Vetti Vecci was released in 1999. Singles included "Holla Holla", "It's Murda" with Jay-Z & DMX, and "Daddy's Little Baby" with Ronald Isley. "Holla Holla" reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #2 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.[5] Venni Vetti Vecci was certified platinum by the RIAA on July 12, 1999.[6]
[edit] Rule 3:36 (2000)
Ja Rule returned in 2000 with his new single "Between Me and You", which featured Christina Milian. "Between Me and You" reached #11 on the Hot 100, and "Put It On Me" reached #8 on the Hot 100.[5] Ja's second album, Rule 3:36, was released on October 10, 2000. Rule 3:36 debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified triple platinum.[6]
[edit] Pain Is Love (2001)
During the late summer of 2001, Ja Rule released his third studio album, Pain Is Love. "Living It Up", featuring Case, reached #11 on the Hot 100, and "Always on Time", which featured Ashanti, reached #1 on the Hot 100.[5] Like its predecessor, Pain Is Love topped the Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum.[6] By 2007, 3.6 million copies of Pain Is Love had been sold.[7] Ja Rule could also be heard on Artists against AIDS Worldwide's single "What's Going On."
[edit] The Last Temptation (2002)
The Last Temptation, Ja Rule's fourth album, was released on November 19, 2002. It featured the two Billboard Top 10 singles "Thug Lovin'" (#8) and "Mesmerize" (#2), another duet with Ashanti.[5] The Last Temptation debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200.[8] The Last Temptation was certified platinum in December 2002.[6]
[edit] Blood in My Eye (2003)
Blood in My Eye although intended to be a mixtape, was his fifth album and the last released under the "Murder Inc." label, which renamed itself "The Inc." several days after the album release. It spawned the one and only hit "Clap Back" which reached #5 on the Top 100 and won him the Source Awards'"Fat Tape" song of the year. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard 100 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart selling 139,000 copies in its first week of release. It has since sold over 468,000 copies in the U.S.[8] In October 2003, Ja Rule met with Minister Louis Farrakhan, who wanted to intervene and prevent escalating violence in the feud between Ja Rule and 50 Cent.[9]
[edit] R.U.L.E. (2004)
Ja Rule's sixth studio album R.U.L.E. was released in November 2004 debuting at number 7 selling 166,000 copies in its first week of release. Its lead single was "Wonderful" featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti which peaked on the Billboard Top 100 Singles at #5. The single was followed by the street anthem "New York" featuring Fat Joe and Jadakiss which charted at #27. The third single was the love song "Caught Up" featuring Lloyd and Ashanti which charted at #15. The track "The Manual" was also a single in the UK where it peaked at #9. The RIAA certified R.U.L.E. Gold on January 14, 2005,[6] and by October 2007, the album had sold 658,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[7]
Hiatus, departure from Def Jam and leaving The Inc. Records (2005–2009)[link]
On December 6, 2005, The Inc. released Exodus, a greatest hits album whose only new tracks were the song "Me" and intro and outro tracks. Exodus was the last album on Ja Rule's contract with The Inc. After the release of this compilation, Ja Rule took a hiatus from recording music.[1]
In 2005, The Inc. Records came under investigation because of drug trades by Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, who was associated with Irv Gotti.[10] This led to Def Jam Recordings refusing to renew The Inc.'s contract. From 2005 to 2006, Gotti searched for other labels until finally reaching a deal with Universal Records (ironically part of the same company as Def Jam).
In 2009, Ja Rule recorded a new song with Brazilian singer Wanessa, "Fly", sung entirely in English despite the singer's nationality. The song also received a version named "Meu Momento", also featuring Ja Rule, in which Wanessa sings in Portuguese.[11] "Fly" was released as a single in Brazil in April. The song was ranked number #1 on Crowley/Brazil,[12] and it was nominated in the "Hit do Ano" ("Hit Song of the Year") category at the 2009 MTV Video Music Brasil awards show, where Ja Rule and Wanessa performed together for the first time.[13]
Ja Rule also ended his long running feud with his former Def Jam labelmate DMX at VH1's 2009 Hip Hop Honors in September.[14] Ja Rule announced that he was no longer signed to The Inc. Records, the label he has been with since its beginnings in 1997.[15]
[edit] The Mirror and Mpire Music Group (2009)
After leaving The Inc. Records in 2009 Ja Rule set up Mpire Music Group and recruited new artists while still maintaining friendship with Irv Gotti. The Mirror was to be Ja Rule's seventh album and set for a 2007 release date, however, due to poor reception to singles partly believed to be due to his beef with 50 Cent it was pushed back. Eventually tracks from the album leaked online leading Ja Rule to re-record the album only afterwards deciding to release it as a free download in 2009.
[edit] Pain Is Love 2, Prison and Renaissance Project (2012-Present)
In February 2011, It was announced that Ja Rule is working on another album called Pain Is Love 2, naming it after the original 2001 triple platinum album (Pain Is Love). It will feature production from the producers on the original Pain Is Love album in order to "recreate magic". He had planned on releasing it June 7, although later decided to delay the release date in order to allow more time to perfect the "level and quality of the records" and to avoid "doing an injustice to his fans."[16][17][18]
Pain Is Love 2 was slated for an October 11, 2011 release date but had been pushed back yet again, this time to February 28, 2012.[19] To make up for the delay Ja Rule released a new track called "Falling to Pieces" which was produced by 7 Aurelius. The song samples The Script's "Breakeven".[20][21] On October 2, 2011, another track released called "Spun a Web" which was also produced 7 Aurelius and samples Coldplay's "Trouble". The following day a teaser music video premiered on YouTube and the official music video was released on October 11.[22] Pain Is Love 2 was finally released on February 28, 2012, while Ja Rule was serving a two-year sentence in jail for gun possession. Renaissance Project is the upcoming eighth studio album by Rule. Recording sessions for the album took place primarily at Mpire Studios in NYC Studio during 2008 to 2011. Production was handled by Rule and several others, including Benzino, 7 Aurelius and Buck 3000. Most of the tracks that were meant for the Renaissance were transferred over to Pain Is Love 2. Rule is set to be released from prison in December 2012, he is then set to go out on his tour, "40 days, 40 nights tour
Acting career[link]
During his break from rapping, Ja Rule had an appearance as a street racer in The Fast and the Furious. In 2004, he appeared in several movies including Back in The Day with Ving Rhames and Pam Grier and Half Past Dead as Steven Seagal's co-star. He also starred in the movie The Cookout with Queen Latifah.
- See Filmography
Personal life[link]
Family[link]
In April 2001, Ja Rule married Aisha Murray on a C.[23][24][25][26]
Legal issues[link]
In 2003, he allegedly punched a man in Toronto, who later sued Ja Rule. The issue was settled out of court.[27]
In 2004, police investigated whether a feud involving The Inc. led to fatal shooting outside a nightclub party hosted by Ja Rule and Leon Richardson where they thought he shot Proof of D12.[28][29]
On July 1, 2004, Ja Rule was arrested with Don Rhys for driving with a suspended license and possessing marijuana.[30]
In July 2007, Ja Rule was arrested for gun and drug possession charges along with Lil Wayne, and Don Rhys who served eight months in prison during 2010 for attempted possession of a weapon stemming from the arrest.[31][32][33] New York Supreme Court judge Richard Carruthers rejected Ja Rule's argument that the gun was illegally obtained evidence.[34][35] On December 13, 2010, Ja Rule received a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to attempted possession of a weapon after the aforementioned 2007 concert. On March 8, 2011 Ja Rule's surrender date for his two year prison sentence was set for June 8.[36] His publicist said that Ja Rule will turn himself in to authorities. He will go to Rikers Island first, then be sent to a state facility in Upstate New York.[37]
In July 2011, Ja Rule received an additional 28-month prison sentence for tax evasion, failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million in earnings between 2004–2006.[38]
Feuds[link]
50 Cent/G-Unit Records[link]
Before signing with Interscope Records, 50 Cent engaged in a well-publicized feud with Ja Rule and his label Murder Inc. Records. 50 Cent claimed that the feud began in 1999 after Ja Rule spotted him with a man who robbed him of his jewelry.[citation needed] However, Ja Rule claimed the conflict stemmed from a video shoot in Queens because 50 Cent did not like Ja Rule "getting so much love" from the neighborhood.[39] A confrontation occurred in a New York studio where rapper Black Child, a Murder Inc. artist, stabbed 50 Cent, which resulted in him having three stitches. .[3]
In his book, 50 Cent details how Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff tried to resolve the conflict between him and Ja Rule. Allegedly, McGriff asked 50 Cent to leave them alone because of the money involved. 50 Cent insinuated the conflict had something to do with the shooting where he was ambushed and shot.
Since then, Black Child publicly insulted 50 Cent twice in, "There's a Snitch in the Club", and "You the Wanksta". In both songs, Black Child details violent actions directed toward 50 Cent[3] The exchange of insult tracks released from both parties culminated in Ja Rule releasing Blood in My Eye, which was an album that returned additional insults to 50 Cent. Ja Rule eventually tried to squash the feud with 50 Cent by using minister Louis Farrakhan in a televised interview. However, the attempt at peace lost credibility as the interview was scheduled a day before Blood in My Eye was released. As a result, most fans, along with 50 Cent, dismissed the interview as a blatant publicity stunt. Because of the ongoing feud between the two, 50 Cent's labelmates Eminem, Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, D12, DMX, and Busta Rhymes also became involved and released tracks which insulted Ja Rule.[3]
Ja Rule later released R.U.L.E. with the successful single, "New York", featuring Jadakiss and Fat Joe in which Ja Rule took subliminal shots at 50 Cent. This single prompted 50 Cent to enter a feud with the two featured artists (see article on "Piggy Bank" for details).
Although it seemed that the feud was over, Ja Rule returned with a track entitled "21 Gunz".[40] In response, Lloyd Banks and 50 Cent released the track "Return of Ja Fool" on Lloyd Banks' mixtape Mo Money in the Bank Pt. 4, Gang Green Season Starts Now.[40] 50 Cent claimed in 2010 that Ja Rule's beef with him and Shady/Aftermath has ruined Ja's career saying "We just ripped the nigga apart and he hasn't & can't come back from it".
In an interview with MTV He stated that his new album, The Mirror, will not be continuing any past feuds that he has engaged in. He said:
There was a lot of things I wanted to say, and I didn't want there to be any bitter records on the album. Because I'm not bitter about anything that happened [in the past few years].[41]
Eminem[link]
The conflict started after 50 Cent signed to Shady Records and Aftermath. Ja Rule stated that he had a problem with Eminem and Dr. Dre for signing someone he disliked.[42] On November 19, Ja Rule and Irv Gotti were special guests on Star and Bucwild's morning show on Hot 97 NYC. Irv Gotti had some legal documents stating the order of protection 50 has on him.[43]
Ja Rule threatened that, if 50 Cent released any songs with defamatory or insulting lyrics directed at him, he would take legal action towards both of them.[42][43] However, Dr. Dre was the one who produced 50 Cent's track "Back Down" in 2003 from the album Get Rich Or Die Tryin', which made derogatory comments toward Murder Inc., and Ja Rule's immediate family members. "[44][dead link]
Busta Rhymes joined the conflict when he was featured on the track "Hail Mary 2003", with Eminem and 50 Cent. The song, a remake of Tupac Shakur's song "Hail Mary", was done partially as a response to Ja Rule's remake of another Tupac song, "Pain" (retitled "So Much Pain"). The rappers felt that Rule could never amount to Tupac, and so made the track, mocking him for trying to "imitate" the deceased rap icon. Eminem prevented Ja Rule from appearing on any of the "new" Tupac songs he produced, including those on Loyal to the Game.[43]
The conflict escalated when Ja Rule released, "Loose Change" (actually released before "Hail Mary"), in which he insulted 50 Cent, called Eminem by the name "Feminem", falsely announced Dr. Dre as "bisexual", and claimed that Suge Knight knew of Dre "bringing transvestites home".[44] The song also includes lyrics that insulted Eminem's mother, Debbie, his then ex-wife, Kim, and even referenced his then 8-year-old daughter, Hailie. "[42]
These lyrics offended Eminem deeply, causing him to immediately get his rap group D12 involved, as well as the major part of his label, including Obie Trice, his close friend.[44] Eminem then made the track "Bully", and together, he and Trice responded with a song titled "Doe Rae Me" (aka "Hailie's Revenge"). Eminem also made a reference to Ja Rule's insult toward Hailie in "Like Toy Soldiers", by saying:
"I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em, if some shit ever does pop off, I'm supposed to be beside 'em. That Ja shit I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it. There's a certain line you just don't cross and he crossed it. I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it."
Since then the feud has cooled down.[42]
DMX[link]
Ja Rule started off as friends with DMX, as well as Jay-Z. DMX, Jay-Z and Ja Rule were part of a group at the time named Murder Inc. (The name was later used by Ja's producer Irv Gotti for his record label.) They recorded songs under the name together. DMX and Jay-Z also guest starred on Ja Rule's first album on the track "It's Murda". He released a track on Cradle 2 The Grave Soundtrack called Go to Sleep with Eminem, Obie Trice were they all took shoots at Ja Rule. Eventually Ja Rule's feuds with Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, and Eminem went away.
The two rappers waged a war of words for years after DMX accused Ja Rule of copying his hardcore style on records.[45] DMX admitted that he initially wanted to end with his rap rival when he was released from jail in 2005 before making peace: "Gotti came to me in jail and said I want to make peace with you and him", said DMX, "I was like, 'Alright Gotti, let's do it. But I need five minutes in a room with your man. I got to put my hands on him.'"[45]
DMX and Ja Rule finally ended their feud at VH1's 2009 Hip Hop Honors.[46]
Discography[link]
Main article: Ja Rule discography
- Studio albums
- 1999: Venni Vetti Vecci
- 2000: Rule 3:36
- 2001: Pain Is Love
- 2002: The Last Temptation
- 2003: Blood in My Eye
- 2004: R.U.L.E.
- 2012: Pain Is Love 2[47]
- 2012: Renaissance Project[47]
- Other albums
- 2005: Exodus
- 2008: The Mirror
- 2012: Icon
Awards and nominations[link]
| Year | Award/Nomination |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Source Hip-Hop Music Award Won for Single of the Year – "Put It on Me" |
| MTV Video Music Awards nomination for Best Rap Video – "Put It on Me" | |
| 2002 | MTV Video Music Awards Won for Best Hip-Hop Video – "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" |
| MTV Video Music Awards nominated for Best Hip-Hop Video – "Always on Time" | |
| American Music Award nominated for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist | |
| Grammy Awards nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group – "Put It on Me" | |
| Grammy Awards nominated for Best Rap Album – Pain Is Love | |
| Grammy Awards nominated for Best Rap/Song Collaboration – "Livin' It Up" | |
| World Music Awards Won for World's Best-Selling Rap Artist | |
| BET Awards Won for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist Artist | |
| GQ Men of the Year Award Won for Musician of the Year | |
| Teen Choice Awards Won for Male Artist of the Year | |
| NAACP Image Awards Won for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Artist | |
| Soul Train Music Award nomination for Best Rap/Soul or Rap Album of the Year – Pain Is Love | |
| 2003 | Source Award Won for R&B/Rap Collboration of the Year – "Thug Lovin'" |
| American Music Award nomination for Favorite Hip-Hop/R&B Male Artist | |
| Grammy Awards nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration – "Always on Time" | |
| 2004 | Source Award Won for Phat Tape Song of the Year – "Clap Back" |
| 2009 | MTV Video Music Brasil nomination for Hit do Ano (Song of the Year) – "Fly" |
Filmography[link]
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film/Television | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Turn it up | David 'Gage' Williams | Alongside Jason Statham & Pras |
| 2001 | The Fast and the Furious | Edwin | Ja Rules plays a supporting role of a street racer. |
| 2002 | Half Past Dead | Nicolas 'Nick' Frazier | Though a sequel was launched; Ja Rule did not star in it |
| 2003 | Crime Partners | Hitman | |
| 2003 | Pauly Shore Is Dead | Himself | |
| 2003 | Scary Movie 3 | Agent Thompson | Minor role |
| 2004 | The Cookout | Bling Bling/Percival Assmackey | |
| 2004 | Shall We Dance | Hip Hop bar performer | |
| 2005 | Back in the Day | Reggie | Alongside Ving Rhames |
| 2005 | Assault on Precinct 13 | Smiley | Supporting role |
| 2006 | South Beach | Donnie Fox | T.V. Series "The S.B."(episode 7) |
| 2006 | Furnace | Terrence Dufresne | |
| 2008 | Ja Rule:2005 | Himself | A concert from his 2005 European tour, plus bonus tracks and interviews. |
| 2009 | Just Another Day | Himself | |
| 2009 | Don't Fade Away | Foster | |
| 2009 | Kiss and Tail: The Hollywood Jumpoff | Himself [48] | |
| 2010 | Wrong Side of Town | Razor | Alongside wrestlers; Batista & Rob Van Dam |
| 2011 | I'm in Love with a Church Girl | Miles Montego | His real son plays the younger version of himself, Miles. |
| 2012 | The Cookout 2 | Bling Bling | Sequel to The Cookout |
| 2013 | Goat | Willie Davis | Post-production |
References[link]
- ^ a b c Birchmeier, Jason (2007). "AllMusic Biography". allmusic. http://allmusic.com/artist/ja-rule-p366173/biography. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ Hughes, Zondra (2002-04). Ja Rule: rap star rules hearts & charts – Jeffrey Atkins. p. 140. http://books.google.com/?id=o9kDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#PPA140,M1
- ^ a b c d Farrakhan, Louis. "Ja Rule on 50 Cent, God and Hip-Hop". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/bands/j/ja_rule/news_feature_031103/index2.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-12-01. "The first school I went to was all-black, PS 134. I used to fight every day, and got my ass kicked everytime, so my mom figured I should be bused out — you know the busing thing in Boston? So they bused me on out to a white school, MS 172, where it was a little bit better. I didn't have any black friends there, but I learned how to deal with that situation and get along."
- ^ Waller, Curtis (2001-02-17). "Ja Rule: Rules of the Game". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/bands/archive/j/jarule01/index2.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
- ^ a b c d "Ja Rule: Billboard Singles". allmusic. http://allmusic.com/artist/ja-rule-p366173/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Gold & Platinum: Ja Rule". RIAA. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=ja%20rule&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2010&sort=CertificationDate&perPage=50. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ a b Mitchell, Gail (October 7, 2007). "Rapper Ja Rule releasing first album in 3 years". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0720752020071007. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ^ a b "Ja Rule – Charts & Awards (Billboard Albums)". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p366173. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
- ^ "Farrakhan warns hip-hop artists: Clap-back will only lead to coffins". The Final Call. 2003-11-04. http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_1091.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-150.
- ^ Rashbaum, Matthew; Sweeney (2005-12-03). "Hip-Hop Producers Get Acquittal, Then Hugs, From Jurors". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/03/nyregion/03gotti.html?_r=1&sq=&pagewanted=all.
- ^ "Wanessa Camargo faz dueto com o rapper Ja Rule". Virgula. http://virgula.uol.com.br/ver/noticia/musica/2009/04/02/120620-wanessa-camargo-faz-dueto-com-o-rapper-ja-rule. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ^ "Sucesso de Wanessa Camargo chega no topo das paradas". MSN Entretenimento. http://entretenimento.br.msn.com/famosidades/noticias-artigo.aspx?cp-documentid=20437239. Retrieved 2009-07-05. [dead link]
- ^ "Wanessa Camargo e Ja Rule tocarão no VMB". Rolling Stone Brasil. http://www.rollingstone.com.br/secoes/novas/noticias/6133/. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- ^ http://www.sohh.com/2009/09/ja_rule_declares_dmx_rap.html DMX Officially Ends Feud With Ja Rule
- ^ Tardio, Andres (2009-08-06). "Ja Rule Says No '09 Album, Talks Film". http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.9590/title.exclusive-ja-rule-speaks-on-upcoming-projects. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ Ja Rule Working On ‘Pain Is Love Pt. 2′ « GetWrite Mixtapes And R.E.A.L. Music LLC. Official Blog Site. Getwritegossip.com (2011-02-08). Retrieved on 2011-04-25.
- ^ Ja Rule working on "Pain is Love 2". Hip Hop Vibe(2011-02-09). Retrieved on 2011-04-25.
- ^ Ja Rule Delays "Pain Is Love 2"
- ^ "Pil 2: Ja Rule: Music". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Pil-2-Ja-Rule/dp/B006EMSNN4/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326381032&sr=1-2. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- ^ September 23, 2011 (2011-09-23). "Ja Rule - "Falling 2 Pieces" | New Music". SoulCulture. http://www.soulculture.co.uk/blogs/music-blog/newmusic/ja-rule-falling-2-pieces-new-music/. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- ^ » by September 23, 2011, 14:24pm (2011-09-23). "Ja Rule Releases "Falling To Pieces" [Audio". Hip-Hop Wired. http://hiphopwired.com/2011/09/23/ja-rule-releases-falling-to-pieces-audio/. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Hughes, Zondra (2002-04). Ja Rule: rap star rules hearts & charts – Jeffrey Atkins. p. 142. http://books.google.com/books?id=o9kDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#PPA142,M1
- ^ Borow, Zev. "33 Things You Should Know About Ja Rule". Blender. August 2002. http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=361. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
- ^ Hughes, Zondra (2002-04). Ja Rule: rap star rules hearts & charts – Jeffrey Atkins. p. 142. http://books.google.com/books?id=o9kDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#PPA142,M1
- ^ "Life with Rapper Ja Rule, Wife, and Kids". BlackCelebrityKids. 2009-02-04. http://www.blackcelebkids.com/2009/02/04/life-with-rapper-ja-rulewife-and-kids/. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ "Ja Rule apologizes for punching the man". USA Today. 2005-03-07. http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-03-07-ja-rule-apology_x.htm?POE=LIFISVA. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ "Police probing nightclub shooting". USA Today. 2004-12-29. http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-12-29-nightclub-shooting_x.htm?POE=LIFISVA. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ Weiss, Murray (2005-07-18). "Ja Rule Target of Shooting Investigation". New York Post. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,162810,00.html. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ Tavernise, Sabrina (2004-07-02). "Rapper and Tap Dancer Arrested". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/02/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-york-manhattan-rapper-and-tap-dancer-arrested.html. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ Shepherd, Julianne (July 23, 2007). "Lil Wayne, Ja Rule Arrested After NY Performance". Vibe. Archived from the original on April 15, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080415212128/http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2007/07/wayne_ja_rule_arrested/.
- ^ Brunswick, Deborah (July 23, 2007). "2 hip-hop stars arrested in New York after concert". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/23/rappers.arrested/index.html. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
- ^ Grace, Melissa (December 13, 2010). "Rapper Ja Rule gets two year jail sentence after pleading guilty to weapon possession". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/12/13/2010-12-13_rapper_ja_rule_gets_twoyear_jail_sentence_after_pleading_guilty_to_attempted_wea.html. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ^ "Judge: Gun Stays as Evidence in Ja Rule's NYC Case". ABCNews.com. Associated Press. January 20, 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9615288. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
- ^ Grace, Melissa (January 20, 2010). "Judge tosses rapper Ja Rule's 'weed' plea in gun case". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/01/20/2010-01-20_judge_tosses_rapper_ja_rules_weed_plea_in_gun_case.html. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
- ^ "Ja Rule to go to prison in June in NYC gun case." MSNBC. March 9, 2011. Retrieved on June 8, 2011.
- ^ CNN Wire Staff. "Rapper Ja Rule to turn himself in for prison sentence Wednesday." CNN. June 8, 2011. Retrieved on June 8, 2011.
- ^ Theo Bark (19 July 2011). "Ja Rule Receives Additional Jail Time for Tax Evasion". http://www.theboombox.com/. http://www.theboombox.com/2011/07/19/ja-rule-receives-28-month-sentence-for-tax-evasion/. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
- ^ MTV News (3 November 2003). "Ja Rule on 50 Cent, God and Hip-Hop". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/bands/j/ja_rule/news_feature_031103/index.jhtml. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
- ^ a b Illseed (April 2006). "Hip-Hop Rumors: Kay Slay Doll, Ja Rule, Happy 1,000Th To Illseed!". Allhiphop. Archived from the original on 2006-05-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20060504185544/http://www.allhiphop.com/rumors/?ID=1002. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
- ^ Rodriguez, Jayson (12 July 2007). "Ja Rule Leaves Bitterness — and 50 Cent Beef — Behind on New Album". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1564678/20070712/ja_rule.jhtml. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
- ^ a b c d "Ja Rule - Eminem's Enemies". Eminemlab.com. http://www.eminemlab.com/eminemenemies/jarule.html. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- ^ a b c "Eminem's Enemies, Rivals and Beefs: Ja Rule". EminemLab.com. http://www.eminemlab.com/eminemenemies/jarule.html. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ a b c [2][dead link]
- ^ a b "DMX ENDS FEUD WITH JA RULE". http://news.superiorpics.com/2006/09/28/DMX_ENDS_FEUD_WITH_JA_RULE.html.
- ^ "Daily News - : DMX Officially Ends Feud With Ja Rule". Allhiphop.com. http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2009/09/24/21952137.aspx. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
- ^ a b Kuperstein, Slava. (2011-03-19) DX News Bits: Lil Wayne Signs Porcelain Black, Ja Rule Plans 2 Albums In 1 Day, Rev. Run Signs Watch Deal | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales. HipHop DX. Retrieved on 2011-04-25.
- ^ Kiss and Tail: The Hollywood Jumpoff (Video 2009), IMDB.com
External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ja Rule |
- Official website
- The Inc. artist website (archived)
- Ja Rule on Myspace
- Ja Rule at MTV
- Ja Rule at the Internet Movie Database
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ja Rule |
| Alternative names | rule, jamal |
| Short description | rapper, actor |
| Date of birth | February 29, 1976 |
| Place of birth | New York City, New York, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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| The Isley Brothers | |
|---|---|
| The Isley Brothers on the Clay Cole Show in 1962 The Isley Brothers on the Clay Cole Show in 1962 |
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley AKA "Mr. Biggs"; The Isleys |
| Origin | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, doo-wop, soul, rock and roll, funk, funk rock, rock, disco, quiet storm, smooth soul |
| Years active | 1954–present |
| Labels | Tamla (Motown), T-Neck, Warner Bros., Def Soul |
| Members | |
| Ronald Isley Ernie Isley |
|
| Past members | |
| O'Kelly Isley, Jr. Rudolph Isley Vernon Isley Marvin Isley Chris Jasper |
|
The Isley Brothers ( /ˈaɪzliː/ YZ-lee) are an American musical group consisting of brothers Ron and Ernie Isley. The founding members of the band were Ronald Isley, older brothers Rudy and Kelly and younger brother Vernon. Originally formed as a gospel quartet, following the death of brother Vernon, the remaining trio launched a career into doo-wop scoring with their first million-selling hit single, "Shout", in 1959. Follow-up successes came with the 1962 single, "Twist and Shout" and the 1966 Motown single, "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)".
Following the release of their 1969 Grammy Award winning hit, "It's Your Thing" and subsequent other hits on their own label, the family eventually grew to include younger brothers Ernie and Marvin Isley as well as brother-in-law Chris Jasper. From 1973 until 1983, the group would release a successive string of hit albums and singles on the R&B charts, becoming one of the few successful black groups to successfully cross over into the pop charts due to their mixture of soul, funk and rock thanks to the albums, 3 + 3 and The Heat Is On and also helped pioneer the quiet storm format with a string of ballads on their 1970s and 1980s albums.
Since then, the group has gone through different lineup changes becoming one of the few acts to have successfully charted a single or an album in five decades. The group has been awarded with accolades including inductions to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as well as the R&B Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.
Contents |
History[link]
Initial career and success[link]
The origins of the Isley Brothers were in the Lincoln Heights section of Cincinnati, Ohio. The original quartet version of the brothers was inspired by their father O'Kelly Isley, Sr., a singer in a local gospel group, who had envisioned his sons being "the next Mills Brothers" having his four eldest sons, Kelly, Rudy, Ronnie and Vernon, sing together in church at early ages. The quartet formed in 1954 and began touring the gospel night circuit with their parents as their background musicians. Their gospel career halted after Vernon Isley was struck and killed by a passing motorist while riding his bicycle. Vernon's death briefly broke up the group as the brothers struggled to deal with Vernon's death. Eventually, their parents advised them to regroup the following year.
After a couple years singing gospel music, the brothers decided to switch genres. Their parents agreed with their decision helping to send them off to New York in 1956 where they begin scouting for record deals, finally signing with the Teenage record label where they recorded their first single, "Angels Cried". The record was released and eventually flopped as did a follow-up, "The Cow Jumped Over the Moon". In 1958, they released the ballad, "Don't Be Jealous", on a different label, however that record also bombed. By the summer of 1959, the Isley family had moved from Cincinnati to a home in Englewood, New Jersey.[1]
The group supported themselves by opening for bigger R&B acts on a variety of package concert gigs. One night, while opening up for Jackie Wilson, they did a spontaneous cover of Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops", which caught the eye of a scout for RCA, who immediately told staff of the brothers. RCA later signed the Isleys and recorded several singles. Their second single, which was one of the first the brothers penned together spontaneously, was a gospel blues number they titled simply "Shout". The record became their first to chart, reaching #47 on Billboard's Hot 100. While other singles - including another group-penned number, "Respectable" - failed to chart, the brothers began making an investment on "Shout", which would be covered by numerous rock and R&B acts and would later be included in commercials and as a theme song and marketing hook for the Buffalo Bills.
The brothers left RCA in 1962 and signed with the Scepter subsidiary Wand. In hopes to branch out and sing ballads, the group had decided on cutting the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song, "Make It Easy on Yourself", until being told that someone else had released it as a single. Wand advised them to record a dance song called "Twist & Shout", partially due to producer Bert Berns showing Phil Spector a lesson on how to produce properly since Spector's production of the Top Notes' original version had flopped.[2][3] The Isleys' version became a hit, reaching #17 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B chart, later inspiring a hit cover by The Beatles. After the Beatles' version became a hit in the UK in 1963, the brothers' original charted in 1964 peaking at #42 prompting the brothers to promote the single there. Despite the promise of the Kelly-led "Nobody but Me", the record failed to chart and the brothers soon switched labels again, signing with United Artists in early 1964, where they recorded an early version of "That Lady", titled "Who's That Lady". They would also record the song "Love Is a Wonderful Thing", a song that would later become part of a court case involving the Isleys and Michael Bolton.
Later in 1964, frustrated by the record business, the brothers created their own label, T-Neck Records, where they began recording their own singles with their band, which would later include then-unknown guitarist Jimi Hendrix. With Hendrix, the brothers cut the songs, "Testify" and "Move Over and Let Me Dance". While "Testify" made something of a local buzz, due to T-Neck being a vanity label, they weren't able to send it to record labels. However, "Move Over" and "Wild as a Tiger" did get the attention of Atlantic Records, who signed the act briefly in 1965, by which Hendrix had already left to perform for Little Richard. Their Atlantic Records singles bombed and the brothers halted any more releases from T-Neck after getting an offer from Motown Records CEO Berry Gordy to sign with Motown. Sent to the label's Tamla division, the brothers recorded the Holland-Dozier-Holland composition, "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)". The record became a hit reaching as high as #11 on the Hot 100 and #6 R&B. It also found success overseas peaking at #3 in the UK. Though they had more chart action with Motown than with previous labels, the group struggled with follow-ups and when their contract was up in 1968, the brothers opted not to renew it.
Commercial breakthrough and success[link]
Following the end of their Motown tenure, the Isley Brothers revived their T-Neck label and began recording and producing their own compositions, something Motown had told them to avoid, due to the label's policy on artists producing their own material. After Buddah Records president Neil Bogart agreed to distribute their T-Neck singles, the Isleys released the hit record, "It's Your Thing" in early 1969. The song became a breakthrough hit for them as it reached #2 on the Hot 100 and became their first to peak at #1 on the R&B charts, later selling over a million copies and winning them their first and only Grammy Award.
Bolstered by their success, the group immediately followed up with several similar-sounding singles including the top 40 single, "I Turned You On". Other songs such as "Keep On Doin'", "Get Into Somethin'", "Freedom" and "Black Berries" started a round of R&B charted hits. In 1971, the group experimented with interpreting rock songs such as "Love the One You're With" and "Spill the Wine", which resulted in chart success, with "Love the One You're With" becoming a top 20 hit. In 1972, with the inclusion of younger brothers Ernie and Marvin and brother-in-law Chris Jasper added to the group, the band recorded Brother, Brother, Brother, which spawned three hit singles including "Lay-Away", "Pop That Thang" and "Work to Do". Due to this success and their first album to blur the sounds of soul music and rock music as well as the burgeoning funk genre, this led to the group becoming a sextet.
After their Buddah contract expired, Epic Records agreed to distribute their next recordings. Inspired by the group's new lineup, the band issued the aptly-titled, 3 + 3 album in 1973. The album boasted the rock hit, "That Lady", which was itself a remake of the brothers' 1960s single albeit with different lyrics provided by Ernie Isley. The record peaked at #6 pop. Their cover of Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze" later became a top ten hit on the UK charts. Due to this, the album became a million-seller and was the brothers' first album to go platinum as did its 1974 follow-up, Live It Up, which included the hits "Midnight Sky", the Todd Rundgren cover of "Hello It's Me" and the title track. The brothers released their landmark 1975 album, The Heat Is On, which became their first to hit #1 on the Billboard 200 and later would sell more than two million copies in the US alone spawning the hits "Fight the Power" and "For the Love of You". 1976's Harvest for the World would go platinum as well as the following year's Go For Your Guns and 1978's Showdown.
By the release of the 1979 double album, Winner Takes All, however, the brothers started to reach a peak of its success. Though Winner Takes All went gold and later spawned the number-one hit "I Wanna Be With You" as well as the top 20 UK hit, "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)", the brothers would struggle to make platinum on their next four releases. It wouldn't be until 1983 that the band returned to its former success with the release of the album, Between the Sheets, which would become the final album to include Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper. With IRS problems mounting against the original three founding members for failure to pay back taxes, they advised the younger Isley brothers and Jasper to leave the band. The younger group members later formed the modestly successful Isley-Jasper-Isley band before breaking apart just three years later.
Later career[link]
After their distribution deal with Epic Records ended in 1984, the remaining Isleys signed with Warner Bros.. Before the contract could be completed, the group agreed with the IRS to sell their stock in T-Neck Records, folding the label in 1985. Afterwards, the brothers recorded Masterpiece, releasing the R&B charted singles "May I" and "Colder Are My Nights". This turned out to be the final album to feature Kelly Isley, as he would die of a heart attack while battling cancer in March of 1986.
Reeling from the loss, Ron and Rudy Isley started to record their next album with the members of the popular duo, Rene & Angela, producing. However, before sessions began, Rene Moore and Angela Winbush had a row and split up. Winbush then decided to produce the Isleys' next album on her own. The result was 1987's Smooth Sailin', which revised the brothers' career on the R&B charts with the title track reaching #3. The group was working on the follow-up to that album when Rudy told Ron of his plans to follow a career in ministry. As a result, the Spend the Night album was promoted by Ron Isley on his own following its release in 1989 and the group's moniker changed to "The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley".
The group would be in hiatus as Ron Isley focused on solo work, later having a top ten hit with Rod Stewart on his cover of the Isleys' Motown hit, "This Old Heart of Mine". Ron also collaborated often with Angela Winbush serving as executive producer of her next album, The Real Thing, which featured a duet with Winbush on a song titled "Lay Your Troubles Down", which was released as a single in 1990. In 1991, younger brothers Ernie and Marvin, having split from Isley-Jasper-Isley, reunited with Ron. Back to a trio, the group recorded the album, Tracks of Life, which was released in 1992. Around the time of its release, the surviving members of the group and Kelly Isley posthumously were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Little Richard. After the release of a live album in 1993, the Isleys left Warner Bros. in 1996 and signed with Island Records where they recorded their first million-selling album in thirteen years with Mission to Please. The success of the record was sparked from Ron Isley being featured on the R. Kelly hit "Down Low" and Isley's music video character, "Mr. Frank Biggs", or "Mr. Biggs" for short. In 1997, Marvin Isley contracted diabetes and was later told by doctors to stop performing, bringing the group back to a duo.
In 2001, Ron and Ernie released the album, Eternal on DreamWorks Records, which became one of their biggest-selling releases in years, selling over two million copies and peaking at #3 on the Billboard 200, sparked by the top 20 hit, "Contagious". Two years after that, the band scored their second #1 pop album with the R. Kelly-helmed Body Kiss, which later went gold and was also released on the revived T-Neck label. Leaving DreamWorks for Island Def Jam's Def Soul Classics imprint, the brothers released the 2006 album, Baby Makin' Music, which peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 and included the R&B hit, "Just Came Here to Chill", following that up with their first Christmas album, I'll Be Home for Christmas, in 2007. The group has more or since been in recording hiatus following Ron Isley's conviction of tax evasion charges. After serving his sentence, Ron released his first solo album, Mr. I. On June 6, 2010, Marvin Isley died of complications from diabetes at the Seasons Hospice within the Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. In 2011, Ron and Ernie reunited to revamp the Isley Brothers as a performing unit, which they've remained.
Discography[link]
Main article: The Isley Brothers discography
Top 40 singles[link]
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | US R&B | ||
| 1962 | "Twist and Shout" | 17 | 42 | 2 |
| 1966 | "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" | 12 | 3 | 6 |
| 1968 | "Behind a Painted Smile" | — | 5 | — |
| 1969 | "It's Your Thing" | 2 | 30 | 1 |
| 1969 | "I Turned You On" | 23 | — | 6 |
| 1969 | "Put Yourself In My Place" | — | 13 | — |
| 1970 | "Love the One You're With" | 18 | — | 3 |
| 1970 | "Pop That Thang" | 24 | — | 3 |
| 1972 | "That Lady (Part 1)" | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| 1972 | "Summer Breeze" | 60 | 16 | 10 |
| 1975 | "Fight the Power (Part 1)" | 4 | — | 1 |
| 1975 | "For the Love of You" | 22 | — | 10 |
| 1976 | "Harvest for the World" | 63 | 10 | 9 |
| 1977 | "The Pride (Part 1)" | 63 | — | 1 |
| 1977 | "Livin' in the Life" | 40 | — | 1 |
| 1978 | "Take Me to the Next Phase (Part 1)" | — | 50 | 1 |
| 1979 | "I Wanna Be with You (Part 1)" | — | — | 1 |
| 1979 | "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)" | 90 | 14 | 27 |
| 1980 | "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love) (Parts 1 & 2)" | 39 | — | 1 |
| 1983 | "Between the Sheets" | 101 | 52 | 3 |
| 1996 | "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" (R. Kelly featuring The Isley Brothers) | 4 | 23 | 1 |
| 2001 | "Contagious" | 19 | — | 3 |
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | ||||
Top 20 albums[link]
- 1969: It's Our Thing (US R&B #2)
- 1972: Brother, Brother, Brother (US R&B #5)
- 1973: 3 + 3 (US #8; US R&B #2)
- 1974: Live It Up (US #14; US R&B #1)
- 1975: The Heat Is On (US #1; US R&B #1)
- 1976: Harvest for the World (US #9; US R&B #1)
- 1977: Go for Your Guns (US #6; US R&B #1)
- 1978: Showdown (US #4; US R&B #1)
- 1979: Winner Takes All (US R&B #3)
- 1980: Go All the Way (US #8; US R&B #1)
- 1980: Grand Slam (US R&B #3)
- 1981: Inside You (US R&B #8)
- 1982: The Real Deal (US R&B #9)
- 1983: Between the Sheets (US R&B #1)
- 1987: Smooth Sailin' (US R&B #5)
- 1989: Spend the Night (US R&B #4)
- 1996: Mission to Please (US R&B #2)
- 2001: Eternal (US #3; US R&B #1)
- 2003: Body Kiss (US #1; US R&B #1)
- 2006: Baby Makin' Music (US #5; US R&B #1)
References[link]
- ^ Wilner, Paul. "Isley Brothers: A Family Affair", The New York Times, March 13, 1977. Accessed September 18, 2011. "WHEN Sallye Isley moved her brood of children from Cincinnati to Englewood in the summer of 1959, she was participating in a show-business phenomenon.... While their older brothers toured America, the younger Isley boys enrolled successively in Englewood Junior High and Dwight Morrow High School.... Right now, the brothers reside near enough to each other to keep in close touch. Ronald lives in Teaneck, Kelly Jr. in Alpine, Rudolph in Haworth and Ernie in Englewood."
- ^ David Edwards and Mike Callahan, The Atlantic Records Story, (Feb. 1990)
- ^ Bert Berns official website - Biography
External links[link]
- The Isley Brothers - Official Website
- The Isley Brothers's channel on YouTube / VEVO
- The Isley Brothers at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- The Isley Brothers at the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
- The Isley Brothers discography at Discogs
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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.
