The Skylark (''Alauda arvensis'') is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range, many birds move to lowlands and the coast in winter. Asian birds appear as vagrants in Alaska; this bird has also been introduced in Hawaii, western North America, eastern Australia and New Zealand.

Description

The Skylark is 16 to 18 centimetres long. It is a bird of open farmland and heath, known throughout its range for the song of the male, which is delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50 to , when the singing bird may appear as just a dot in the sky from the ground. The song generally lasts two to three minutes, but it tends to last longer later in the mating season. The male has broader wings than the female. This adaptation for more efficient hovering flight may have evolved because of female Skylarks' preference for males that sing and hover for longer periods and so demonstrate that they are likely to have good overall fitness.

Like most other larks, the Skylark is a rather dull-looking species on the ground, being mainly brown above and paler below. It has a short blunt crest on the head, which can be raised and lowered. In flight it shows a short tail and short broad wings. The tail and the rear edge of the wings are edged with white, which are visible when the bird is flying away, but not if it is heading towards the observer. The Skylark has sturdy legs and spends much time on the ground foraging for seeds, supplemented with insects in the breeding season.

The Skylark makes a grass nest on the ground, hidden amongst vegetation. It is sometimes found nesting in bracken, using it for cover. Generally the nests are very difficult to find. Three to six eggs are laid in June. A second or third brood may be started later in the year. The eggs are yellow/white with brownish/purple spots mainly at the large end.

Effects of UK agriculture

In the UK, Skylark numbers have declined over the last 30 years, as determined by the Common Bird Census started in the early 1960s by The British Trust for Ornithology. There are now only 10% of the numbers that were present 30 years ago. The RSPB have shown that this massive decline is mainly due to changes in farming practices and only partly due to pesticides. In the past cereals were planted in the spring, grown through the summer and harvested in the early autumn. Cereals are now planted in the autumn, grown through the winter and are harvested in the early summer. The winter grown fields are much too dense in summer for the Skylark to be able to walk and run between the wheat stems to find its food.

English farmers are now encouraged and paid to maintain and create biodiversity for improving the habitat for Skylarks. Natural England's Environmental Stewardship Scheme offers 5 and 10 year grants for various beneficial options. For example there is an option where the farmer can opt to grow a spring cereal instead of a winter one, and leave the stubble untreated with pesticide over the winter. The British Trust for Ornithology likens the stubbles to 'giant bird tables' – providing spilt grain and weed seed to foraging birds.

The RSPB's research, over a six year period, of winter-planted wheat fields has shown that suitable nesting areas for Skylarks can be made by turning the seeding machine off (or lifting the drill) for a 5 to 10 metres stretch as the tractor goes over the ground to briefly stop the seeds being sown. This is repeated in several areas within the same field to make about two skylark plots per hectare. Subsequent spraying and fertilising can be continuous over the entire field. DEFRA suggests that Skylark plots should not be nearer than to the perimeter of the field, should not be near to telegraph poles, and should not be enclosed by trees.

When the crop grows, the Skylark plots (areas without crop seeds) become areas of low vegetation where Skylarks can easily hunt insects, and can build their well camouflaged ground nests. These areas of low vegetation are just right for Skylarks, but the wheat in the rest of the field becomes too closely packed and too tall for the bird to seek food. At the RSPB's research farm in Cambridgeshire Skylark numbers have increased threefold (from 10 pairs to 30 pairs) over six years. Fields where Skylarks were seen the year before (or nearby) would be obvious good sites for Skylark plots. Farmers have reported that skylark plots are easy to make and the RSPB hope that this simple effective technique can be copied nationwide.

In culture

When the word "lark" is used without specification, it usually refers to this species (OED). A collective noun for Skylarks is an "exaltation". Although the OED describes this usage as "fanciful", it traces it back to a quotation from John Lydgate dating from about 1430. The verb "skylark", originally used by sailors, means "play tricks or practical jokes; indulge in horseplay, frolic". The verb and noun "lark", with similar meaning, may be related to "skylark" or to the dialect word "laik" (New Shorter OED).

References

Further reading

Identification

Lidster, James (2007) Identification: Skylark and Woodlark ''Birdwatch''

External links

Oiseaux images

Skylark on BBC website – includes a photograph of a skylark plot

A nature feature "The Lark Ascending" broadcast June 2006 on BBC radio 4 – website includes photograph of a skylark plot

Skylark plots, the skylark, and the RSPB's Volunteer & Farmer Alliance on RSPB website

Skylark ecology on RSPB website

Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta

UKBAP site description

Category:Alauda Category:Birds of Europe Category:Birds of Turkey Category:Birds of the Faroe Islands Category:Introduced birds Category:Birds of Pakistan Category:Birds of Lithuania Category:Introduced birds of Hawaii Category:Animals described in 1758

ba:Һабан турғайы br:Alc'hweder sant Pêr bg:Полска чучулига ca:Alosa vulgar cv:Уй тăри cs:Skřivan polní cy:Ehedydd da:Sanglærke de:Feldlerche et:Põldlõoke es:Alauda arvensis eo:Kampalaŭdo eu:Hegatxabal arrunt fo:Lerkur fr:Alouette des champs fy:Ljurk gd:Uiseag gl:Laverca frr:Fiallaask ko:종다리 hy:Դաշտային արտույտ hr:Poljska ševa it:Alauda arvensis csb:Pólny skòwrónk ku:Çûkê zad lt:Dirvinis vieversys hu:Mezei pacsirta mn:Болжмор my:ဘီလုံးငှက် mrj:Тьыри nl:Veldleeuwerik ja:ヒバリ no:Sanglerke nn:Songlerke pcd:Alhoehète pms:Alauda arvensis pl:Skowronek zwyczajny pt:Laverca ru:Полевой жаворонок sah:Күөрэгэй sk:Škovránok poľný sl:Poljski škrjanec fi:Kiuru sv:Sånglärka tr:Tarla kuşu uk:Жайворонок польовий wa:Aloye bat-smg:Cīrolis zh:云雀

name	Skylar Grey
background	solo_singer
birth name	Holly Brook Hafermann
alias	Holly Brook
birth date	February 23, 1986
origin	Mazomanie, Wisconsin,
instrument	Vocals, piano, guitar
genre	Pop, soul, folk rock, rock, hip hop
occupation	Singer, songwriter, record producer
years active	2004–present
label	KIDinaKORNER, Interscope, Machine Shop
website	}}

Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), better known by her stage name Skylar Grey, is a Grammy-nominated American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Grey was signed to Machine Shop Recordings under the name Holly Brook. She released her debut album as Holly Brook, ''Like Blood Like Honey'', in 2006. She co-wrote the three versions of "Love the Way You Lie" with Alex da Kid, who signed her to his Wonderland Music label. She was featured as a guest vocalist on Fort Minor's "Where'd You Go" and "Be Somebody", Diddy-Dirty Money's "Coming Home", Dr. Dre's "I Need a Doctor" and Lupe Fiasco's "Words I Never Said".

Life and career

2001–2010: Early life and career beginnings

Grey performed professionally as a child in a folk duo with her mother called Generations. Together, (with producer/engineer Randy Green) they independently produced three albums, ''Dream Maker'', ''Lift Me'', and ''Millennial Child/Waiting For You''. Grey started her first band at the age of fifteen after 'sneaking' into bars, working with jazz musicians including Jeff Eckles, Tim Whalen and Leo Sidran in Madison, Wisconsin.

In 2003, Brook moved to Los Angeles and recorded a demo, which led to her being signed by Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson to the band's vanity label, Machine Shop Recordings, at age 18 in the fall of 2004. Her voice is featured on the Fort Minor songs "Where'd You Go" and "Be Somebody". Working with producer Jonathan Ingoldsby, Brook released her debut album, ''Like Blood Like Honey'', on June 6, 2006. She landed opening spots for tours with Jamie Cullum, KD Lang, Daniel Powter, Teddy Geiger and Duncan Sheik.

In 2010, Brook lent both her song "It's Raining Again" and her image to a promotional campaign for Ciao Water. Prior to this, she has appeared on albums by other artists, including Brie Larson's ''Finally Out of P.E.'', and Fort Minor's ''The Rising Tied''. Brook has toured with as part of Duncan Sheik's band, and appears heavily on his 2009 album ''Whisper House''. At the beginning in 2010 she also performed in the theatrical version of "Whisper House," playing one of the two lead ghost vocalists along with David Poe. Also in 2010, she self-released the seven-song ''O’Dark:Thirty EP'', produced by Duncan Sheik and Jon Ingoldsby. In 2009, Brook appeared as a backing vocalist on Eurovision contestant, Yohanna's debut album, ''Butterflies and Elvis''.

2011–present: ''Invinsible''

Brook later changed her name to Skylar Grey. She explained that “it represents the unknowns in life. People seem to be afraid of the unknowns, but I’m the complete opposite. I dive into the unknown because I feel like that’s where all your possibilities come from.”

She was still living in Oregon and had no recognition as Skylar Grey. Grey went to New York to meet her publicist and was introduced to Alex da Kid, who played Grey the song "Airplanes" by B.O.B and Hayley Williams which he produced. Grey liked what she heard and sent Alex da Kid the songs "Love The Way You Lie" Parts I, II and III.

Producer Alex da Kid signed her to a production deal on his KIDinaKORNER imprint. She helped write sections of all three versions of "Love the Way You Lie" by rapper Eminem and Rihanna as well as performing the demo for the song. Grey earned a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year for her writing contributions to "Love the Way You Lie". She also co-wrote Diddy-Dirty Money's "Coming Home", along with "Castle Walls" by T.I. and Christina Aguilera. On March 10, 2011, Diddy-Dirty Money performed the single "Coming Home" with Grey and two female background vocalists Dawn Richard and Kalenna Harper, live on ''American Idol''.

She is also a featured guest on "I Need a Doctor". Grey is also featured on Lupe Fiasco's third studio album ''Lasers'', on the second single, "Words I Never Said" and was also featured in the live performance of the song, with Lupe, on ''The Colbert Report'' on May 9, 2011. Grey made her live performance debut under her new alias during the 53rd Grammy Awards, performing "I Need a Doctor" alongside Eminem and Dr. Dre. She is currently working on her solo studio album ''Invinsible'' with Alex Da Kid. She has signed to Interscope Records through Da Kid's KIDinaKORNER, and her first promotional buzz single "Dance Without You" was released on June 6, 2011, with the official music video being released on July 5. The first official single "Invisible" was released to radio on June 16. On July 9, 2011, Grey performed live at the World Peace Event in Washington, DC, appearing along with the 14th Dalai Lama. On the 6th of August, she peformed at the 20th Lollaplooza festival as both a solo artist and with Eminem during the song "I Need A Doctor". The next day, while passing by the area where YouTube sensation Karmin was recording their cover of "I Need A Doctor," Skylar joined the duo for an impromptu performance.

Influences

Grey has listed Marilyn Manson, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Sarah McLachlan and Death Cab for Cutie as her influences.

Discography

''Like Blood Like Honey'' (2006)

''Invinsible'' (2011)

References

External links

Category:1986 births Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American female singers Category:American pop pianists Category:American female guitarists Category:Living people Category:People from Dane County, Wisconsin Category:Songwriters from Wisconsin

ar:سكايلر غري da:Skylar Grey de:Skylar Grey fr:Skylar Grey it:Skylar Grey he:סקיילר גריי nl:Skylar Grey no:Holly Brook pl:Skylar Grey pt:Skylar Grey ru:Скайлар Грей zh-yue:Holly Brook

name	Lupe Fiasco
background	solo_singer
birth name	Wasalu Muhammad Jaco
birth date	February 16, 1982
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
origin	Chicago, Illinois
religion	Islam
instrument	Vocals, keyboard
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Rapper, producer, songwriter
years active	2006–present
label	Atlantic
associated acts	Child Rebel Soldier, Japanese Cartoon, Matthew Santos, B.o.B, Kanye West, All City Chess Club, Sway DaSafo, Pharrell
website	}}

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor''. He also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. As an entrepreneur, Fiasco is the chief executive officer of 1st and 15th Entertainment.

Raised in Chicago, Fiasco developed an interest in hip hop after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity. After adopting the name Lupe Fiasco and recording songs in his father's basement, 19-year-old Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak. The group disbanded shortly after its inception, and Fiasco soon met rapper Jay-Z who helped him sign a record deal with Atlantic Records. In 2006, Fiasco released his debut album ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' on the label, which received three Grammy nominations. He released his second album, ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', in December 2007. The lead single "Superstar" peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He released ''Lasers'' on March 8, 2011 after a two-year delay. The album's lead single "The Show Goes On" peaked at number 9 on the chart, thus becoming his most successful single since "Superstar".

In addition to music, Fiasco has pursued other business ventures, including fashion. He runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly; he has designed sneakers for Reebok. He has been involved with charitable activities, including the Summit on the Summit expedition, and in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Fiasco is also noted for his anti-establishment views, which he has expressed in both interviews and his music.

Life and career

1982–98: Early life

Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois. Born of West African descent, he was one of nine children of Shirley, a gourmet chef, and Gregory, an engineer. His father, a member of the Black Panther Party, was a prolific African drummer, karate teacher, operating plant engineer, and owner of karate schools and army surplus stores. Fiasco was raised Muslim on the West Side of Chicago on Madison Terrace housing project. At the age of three, Fiasco began taking martial arts classes. His parents divorced when he was five, and he went on to live with his mother, but his father still remained an important part of his life. He described his father's influence over the family by saying, "After school, my father would come and get us and take us out into the world—one day, we're listening to N.W.A, the next day we're listening to Ravi Shankar, the next day, he's teaching us how to shoot an AK-47, the next day, we're at karate class, the next day, we're in Chinatown...". His father lived next door to a crack house and taught Fiasco to use guns to defend himself from drug dealers. Despite his unstable upbringing, Fiasco states that he was well-educated as a child, asserting that his parents exposed him to a diverse array of subjects and that reading was highly encouraged in his household. As a teenager, Fiasco participated in Academic Decathlon competitions. His mother described him by saying, "He was a great spirited child. Smart, a bit complex; he kind of was a loner; he didn't hang with a lot of people...He always had the glasses. Always had a book bag over his shoulder and some type of a writing tablet." Fiasco initially disliked hip hop music for its use of vulgarity, and preferred to listen to jazz; he idolized clarinet player Benny Goodman. His struggle to learn to play an instrument led him to create poetry instead, which led to his interest in the lyrical aspects of music.

He began rapping his poems in the eighth grade, and upon hearing Nas' 1996 album, ''It Was Written'', began to pursue hip hop. While attending Thornton Township High School, Fiasco met gang member Bishop G. The two became friends due to their shared interest in music. Fiasco's father allowed the him and Bishop to make mixtapes in his basement, and the two gained notoriety at the school for their music. However, they were kicked off stage during their first performance because their eclectic musical style was not embraced by the hip hop community. Early in his career, he went by stage names Little Lu and Lu tha Underdog. Growing up, Fiasco was given the nickname "Lu", the last part of his first name, by his mother. "Lupe" is an extension of this nickname, which he borrowed from a friend from high school. "Fiasco" is a reference to The Firm song "Firm Fiasco"; the rapper "liked the way it looked on paper." He also said of his name, "You know how rappers always have names like MC Terrorist—like they're 'terrorizing' other rappers? I knew fiasco meant a great disaster or something like that, but I didn't realize that the person named Fiasco would be the disaster, and that you should be calling other MCs fiascos—not yourself...it kind of humbled me in a sense. It taught me like, 'Yo, stop rushing, or you're going to have some fiascos.'"

After turning away from gangsta rap, he developed a greater appreciation of the lyricism of Jay-Z and Nas. His mother also gave him a record of the influential group The Watts Prophets, one of the first bands to use spoken words with music. Although he was without a group for the first time, Fiasco continued to record music. One of these first self-recorded tracks was "Could Have Been", which described the career options he could have pursued had he not begun rapping. He viewed the song as a turning point in his career that marked a drastic change in the subject matter of his music.

He remixed another one of West's songs, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", and renamed it as "Conflict Diamonds". With this remix, Fiasco wished to raise awareness of the conflict diamond business. This caught West's attention, and he asked Fiasco to perform on his song "Touch the Sky" off his album ''Late Registration''. The song, which sampled Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up", became a hit in the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number forty-two. After this success his first single "Kick, Push" was released earlier than expected. The song was a love story about two people sharing a passion for skateboarding, a topic generally not discussed in hip hop. Fiasco explained, "[Skateboarding culture is] just as deep as hip-hop. I'm not the greatest skateboarder, but I'm a damn good rapper, so I made a damn good skateboarding song." The single, and its accompanying music video, helped Fiasco get attention in the hip-hop community and was later nominated for two 2007 Grammy Awards. During this time, he had guest appearances on singles on Tha' Rayne's "Kiss Me" and "Didn't You Know" and also K Foxx's 2004 "This Life".

2006–08: ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' and ''The Cool''

Jay-Z assisted him in the production of what would become his debut album ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor''. The title of the album is a reference to 'Food and Liquor' stores common in Chicago. He explains, "The store is where everything is at...Food to me represents growth and progression. You eat food and you get strength. You need it to live. Liquor is not a necessity; it is a want. It destroys you. It breaks you down. I can see why it's prohibited in Islam...I've always felt like liquor represents the bad, the food represents the good, and everyone is made up of a little of both." ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' was officially released on September 19, 2006. The album featured production from Jay-Z, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda, The Neptunes, Prolyfic, among others. The record spawned the singles "Kick, Push," "I Gotcha" and "Daydreamin'" featuring Jill Scott. The critically lauded album was later nominated for three Grammy Awards including Best Rap Album. Fiasco won "Best Urban/Alternative Performance" for "Daydreamin'". In the same year, he was voted by ''GQ'' magazine as the "Breakout Man of the Year."

In 2007, Fiasco announced his second album, ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', a concept album that expands on the story of the track of the same name on his first album. While recording this album, Fiasco's father died of type II diabetes and his business partner, Charles "Chilly" Patton, was convicted of attempting to supply heroin to a drug ring and was eventually sentenced to 44 years in a correctional facility. These events greatly affected Fiasco and the subsequent themes discussed on the record. The disc was released in December 2007 in United States while the first single and video from the album, "Superstar" featuring Matthew Santos was released the first week of November 2007. ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', a concept album that expanded upon recurring themes in ''Food & Liquor'', is about "a hustler who dies and comes back to life, only to get robbed by two little kids with the same gun that killed him." For the record, Fiasco decided not to work with well-known producers as he considered it to be "too expensive", noting the commercial failure of his Pharrell collaboration, "I Gotcha".

''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'' was very well received by critics and was referred to as "one of the year’s best hip-hop albums" by ''The New York Times''. "Superstar", a semi-autobiographical account of his rise to fame, was released as the first single from the album, and peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Baseball's Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Gerald Laird and Ryan Braun have used "Superstar" as their at-bat song. The album's second single (released in the UK in April 2008) was "Paris, Tokyo" – a song based around Fiasco's experiences of touring the world between his first and second albums. CRS initially released one single, entitled "US Placers" and featuring a Thom Yorke sample. In an interview with ''The Village Voice'', Fiasco revealed that he was writing a novel about a window washer, aptly titled ''Reflections of a Window Washer''. In 2008, Fiasco and his band 1500 or Nothin joined Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour which also featured Rihanna and N.E.R.D. The tour stopped in several cities, including his hometown of Chicago. In 2008, MTV named Fiasco the 7th Hottest MC in the Game and announced that he was remixing ''The Cool'' with French electro house act Justice.

2009–present: ''Lasers and Food & Liquor 2''

At a performance in New Zealand in February 2010, Fiasco performed new material from the then-titled ''We Are Lasers'' for the first time. He claimed that the album was complete and waiting for a release date from his label, Atlantic Records. However, Atlantic feared that the record lacked commercial singles, and presented Fiasco with songs the label wanted him to record. Fiasco declined, as he was told he would not have any ownership of the songs. He explained, "I don't think the label cares about an album...People just want their number-one record." For six months, the cause of the album's delay remained unclear to the public. In response, Fiasco's fans created an online petition demanding that Atlantic Records release ''Lasers''. The petition garnered considerable attention on hip hop blog sites as well as over 16,000 signatures. Fiasco stated that the petition "brought [him] to tears", and in response to the petition, Fiasco released a song titled "B.M.F-Building Minds Faster" to thank his fans.

While waiting for ''Lasers'' to be released, Fiasco completed another album, titled ''Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album''. He is unsure if the ''Food and Liquor II'' will ever be released, though he released the song "Go To Sleep" from the record "out of desperation" to put out new music. He also pursued numerous side projects in the midst of the delay. In April 2010, Fiasco formed the hip hop collective All City Chess Club along with Pharrell, Asher Roth, B.o.B., The Cool Kids, Charles Hamilton, Blu, Diggy Simmons, Wale, J. Cole, & Dosage. The group has so far made one song, a remix of Fiasco's "I'm Beamin". Additionally, On July 16, 2010, Fiasco released his rock side-project Japanese Cartoon's debut EP ''In The Jaws Of The Lords Of Death''. Japanese Cartoon was influenced by a variety of musical genres, with Fiasco saying, "I’ve always been a fan of all music...Hip hop is just something I actually know how to do but I always had aspirations to participate in other forms of music. Once I got to create some hip hop, it was like, 'Okay, what am I going to do now?' So my artistic side was like, 'Yo, let's do some rock music.'"

More than two and a half years after the album's completion, ''Lasers'' was released March 8, 2011. The first single off of the record was "The Show Goes On", which samples "Float On" by Modest Mouse. "The Show Goes On" debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. The lead single peaked at number 9 since then. The producers involved on the album include Alex Da Kidd, King David "The Future" and Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, while featured artists include Skylar Grey, Trey Songz, and John Legend. Despite the album's commercial success, ''Lasers'' received mixed reviews from most music critics. Writing for Allmusic, editor Andy Kellman gave the record three out of five stars and criticized its "lumbering, overwrought choruses", writing that "If there is one MC whose rhymes should not be dulled for the sake of chasing pop trends, it’s Lupe Fiasco". ''Lasers'', however, was nominated Best Rap Album, with "The Show Goes On" nominated for Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song at the 54th Grammy Awards. Lupe Fiasco later involved himself at the Occupy Wall Street movement where he donated tents and released a poem in support of the protesters. He also released his "Friend of the People" mixtape on Thanksgiving Day. Fiasco has since announced the completion of his ''Food & Liquor 2'' album, as well as work being put intoa joint album with fellow Child Rebel Soldier & All City Chess Club member Pharrell.

Lyrical style

Fiasco, along with rappers Common, Rhymefest, and Talib Kweli, has been credited as a pioneer of the conscious hip hop movement, which focuses on social issues. Subjects touched upon on ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' include absent parents, terrorism, Islam and religion, war, and prostitution. Fiasco attributes his interest in social issues to his highly cultured upbringing, as he describes his mother as "very intellectual" and his father as a "Renaissance man". He rejects the misogyny common in hip hop, which he discusses in the song "Hurt Me Soul". Despite this, Fiasco is strongly opposed to censorship in music: "If we're going to [censor things] that are offensive, then we are going to have to blind and deafen everyone. Come on, man. Let's focus on education and literacy and poverty."

Fiasco employs various lyrical techniques in his songwriting. The rapper views hip-hop as a medium conducive to storytelling, a primary element of his lyrics due to his background in theater. He wrote plays as a child, which had a strong effect on his songwriting approaches. Fiasco utilizes both metaphors and literal statements in his work, which he describes as "getting from point A to point B in as few words as possible". His use of metaphors is exemplified by the song "Gotta Eat" from ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', which is told from the perspective of a cheeseburger and addresses the poor nutrition in black communities in the United States.

Philanthropy and business ventures

In 2001, Fiasco co-founded 1st & 15th Entertainment with Charles "Chilly" Patton. 1st & 15th is a vanity record label under Atlantic named after the traditional twice-monthly paycheck dates. Fiasco and singer Matthew Santos were two of the most recognizable signed artists. In November 2009, Fiasco announced he would discontinue the 1st & 15th label: "It was just such a 'this isn't right for you right now. This isn't gonna work for you right now. You need to be focused on you. Do you really want that, do you really have the capacity to do it?'"

In 2005, he founded Righteous Kung-Fu, a company that designs fashions, sneakers, toys, video games, comic books, and graphics for album covers and skateboard decks. Fiasco also runs a fashion line out of Righteous Kung-Fu called Trilly & Truly. He has sponsored a skateboard team and has endorsements from DGK Skateboards. In January 2006, Fiasco signed with major footwear and apparel corporation Reebok, becoming part of the "O.G" marketing campaign where rap artists such as Lil Wayne and Mike Jones designed their own personal colorway of the Reebok "O.G" model.

In 2009, Fiasco performed in ''The People Speak'', a documentary feature film that employs musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's ''A People's History of the United States''. On January 7, 2010, Fiasco joined musician Kenna, actress Jessica Biel, and other celebrities and activists for an expedition to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro called Summit on the Summit to raise awareness of the billions of people worldwide who lack access to sanitary drinking water. On January 20, 2010, Fiasco released a track called "Resurrection" with Kenna in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The song, part of a compilation released through the charity Music for Relief, aimed to encourage donations for immediate relief and long-term recovery following the disaster.

Political views

Fiasco is noted for his anti-establishment views. In an interview with Stephen Colbert on the satirical news show ''The Colbert Report'', Fiasco stated his credo on political philosophy: "You should criticize power even if you agree with it." In another interview in June 2011 on the CBS program ''What's Trending'', Fiasco discussed the political content of his music, stating, "My fight against terrorism, to me, the biggest terrorist is Obama and the United States of America. I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism. You know, the root cause of terrorism is the stuff the U.S. government allows to happen. The foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists." He additionally criticized Obama for his stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite his strong political opinions, Fiasco does not vote in U.S. elections nor does he involve himself in U.S. politics as he believes they are "meaningless."

Discography

''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' (2006)

''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'' (2007)

''Lasers'' (2011)

''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album'' (2012)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Lupe Fiasco

References

Bibliography

''Biography Today - Lupe Fiasco'' (2009). Omnigraphics. Detroit, Michigan. ISBN-978-0-7808-1052-5.

External links

Category:Living people Category:Midwest hip hop musicians Category:1982 births Category:African-American businesspeople Category:African American Muslims Category:African American rappers Category:American hip hop record producers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Rappers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Hip hop activists

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color	#000033
fontcolor	#CC9933
name	Skylar Diggins
college	Notre Dame
sport	Basketball
position	Guard
jersey	4
class	Sophomore
career start	2009
height ft	5 | height_in 9
nationality	American
birth date	August 02, 1990
birth place	South Bend, IN
high school	Washington HS, South Bend, Indiana
awards	McDonald's All-American (2009) 2009 Indiana Miss Basketball awardGatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year (2009)
championship list	}}

Skylar Diggins (born August 2, 1990 in South Bend, Indiana) is currently a women's basketball player for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. She was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school. As a freshman, Diggins became the fourth Indiana native to join the Irish roster in 2009-10, along with fellow South Bend-area guard (and co-captain) Melissa Lechlitner, Indianapolis guard Ashley Barlow (and co-captain) and Valparaiso forward Becca Bruszewski. In addition, she was one of three Miss Basketball honorees on the '09-10 Notre Dame roster, along with Lindsay Schrader (Illinois 2005) and Kellie Watson (Michigan 2008).

Diggins rose to national prominence in her sophomore year, finishing the regular season first on the team in assists per game (4.8 average), while placing second in scoring (14.4) and third in steals (1.9). Since the season began, she has scored in double figures 30 times, including eight 20-point outings, and has notched at least five assists in 21 games.

Diggins continued her stellar play in the NCAA tournament, leading the Irish to the second championship game appearance in school history, ten years after Notre Dame captured the national title in 2001. However, the Fighting Irish lost to the Texas A&M; Aggies in the final game of the 2011 women's basketball tournament, by a score of 76-70. In the losing effort, Diggins finished with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals. She made 8 of 9 free-throws in the game, including two with 40.7 seconds remaining. But the sophomore struggled from beyond the arc, sinking only 1 of 5 three-point attempts. Diggins also committed 6 turnovers, the last one ending Notre Dame's chances for good as the game clock wound down. As the Associated Press reported, "Diggins, fighting back tears, said the Irish couldn't handle A&M;'s pressure. 'We turned it over too much. I don't know if it was nerves or what,' she said. 'We just didn't handle the pressure.'"

In the semifinal game, the Notre Dame point guard led her team to victory over heavily-favored UConn (the number-one team in the country) with 28 points (her highest single-game total on the season), 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Diggins also made all six of her free-throw attempts in the familiar confines of Conseco Fieldhouse, where she had previously led her high school team to three straight championships. Notre Dame was victorious in its third Final Four appearance ever, defeating the two-time defending champion Huskies by a score of 72-63.

This came after beating the University of Tennessee (fourth-ranked team in the country) in the regional final by a score of 73-59. Diggins scored a then-season-high 24 points in the game, and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2011 NCAA Dayton Regional. What's more, with her performance against the Lady Vols, Diggins went over the 1,000-point mark for her career, becoming just the second Notre Dame women’s basketball player to reach that milestone before the end of her sophomore season. She has also showed her prowess as a floor-leader throughout the tournament, even dishing out a career-high 12 assists (most by a Notre Dame player in more than 11 years) in the Irish's 78-53 Sweet 16 victory over Oklahoma. By beating Tennessee and UConn, Diggins and The Lady Irish became the first team to ever beat both teams in the same tournament.

For her excellence on the court, Diggins has been selected by the Associated Press as a 2011 Third Team All-American, and she has also been honored as one of ten members of the 2011 State Farm Coaches All-America Team. She joined Baylor's Brittney Griner as one of only two sophomores honored, and was just the third Irish women's basketball player to earn the award, joining Ruth Riley (2001) and Jacqueline Batteast (2005).

Diggins was chosen as one of four finalists for the 2011 Nancy Lieberman Award, given to the nation's top point guard. During the 2011 season, she was also selected as one of twenty midseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award, and was among thirty midseason candidates for the James A. Naismith Trophy. Connecticut's Maya Moore won both of these awards. In addition, Diggins was one of twenty-five players selected for the State Farm Wade Trophy's preseason "watch list". The Wade Trophy was also awarded to Moore.

USA Basketball

Diggins was a member of the USA Women's Under-18 National Team, starting all five games at the 2008 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was part of the United States team that went undefeated and won the gold medal. Statistically, she averaged 10.8 points on 50-percent shooting from the field, 3.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2 steals in 23.2 minutes per game. In the tournament, she ranked among the top 10 in the entire tournament in scoring (10th), field goal percentage (7th), assists (2nd), steals (8th), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd).

July 29, 2009: Notre Dame incoming freshman guard and United States co-captain Skylar Diggins (South Bend, Ind./Washington) scored 11 points, including three three-pointers in a 42-second span early in the first quarter, as the USA trounced Japan, 109-68, on Wednesday in its final Group F second-round contest at the FIBA U19 World Championships inside the Bangkok Thai-Japan Youth Center in Bangkok, Thailand.

High school

In the March 30, 2009, issue of Sports Illustrated, she was part of its Faces in the Crowd segment.

She was a four-year starter at Washington High School, where the Panthers had a combined record of 102-7. In her senior year, she led the Washington High School Panthers to a 26-1 record and a runner-up finish in the Class 4A state tournament, where they fell to the nation's number-one-ranked team, Ben Davis of Indianapolis, 71-69. She averaged a state-best 29 points per game, along with 6.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 5.4 steals and 2.2 blocked shots. She was a two-time Gatorade Indiana Girls Basketball Player of the Year. In four consecutive years, Diggins led the Panthers to state championship games, including Washington's title-winning season of 2007. A McDonald's All-American Game selection, she finished her career with 2,790 points, the third-highest girls' scoring total in Indiana history for an average of 25.9 points per game.

Skylar Diggins chose Notre Dame over Stanford

Diggins was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2009 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored 24 points.

Awards and honors

2011 Associated Press All-American (third team)

2009 consensus Naismith Prep Player of the Year, earning top honors from Gatorade, Atlanta Tipoff Club (Naismith Trophy), ESPN Hoopgurlz and MaxPreps

Three-time high school All-American by Parade magazine (first team 2008 and 2009; third team 2007)

Three-time high school All-American by EA Sports (first team 2008 and 2009; second team 2007)

USA Today All-USA Team (first team 2009; third team 2008)

USA Today All-Underclass Team (2006)

Two-time Gatorade Indiana Player of the Year (2008 and 2009)

Two-time MaxPreps Indiana Player of the Year/first-team All-American (2008 and 2009)

2009 Indiana Miss Basketball

2009 South Bend Tribune Girls' Athlete of the Year (covers all female high school athletes in all sports throughout newspaper's coverage area)

References

Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Basketball players from Indiana Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball Category:1990 births Category:Gatorade National Basketball Player of the Year Category:Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Category:People from South Bend, Indiana Category:Living people