Shan may refer to:

People[link]

• The Shan people, Southeast Asian ethnic group inhabiting Myanmar
  • The Shan language
• Dai people, also known as Shan, ethnic group in China
• Shan (surname), or 单 in Chinese, a Chinese surname
• Darren Shan, children's author
• MC Shan, rapper

Places[link]

• Shaanxi, abbreviated as Shan (陕), province of the People's Republic of China
• Shan County, Shandong, county in Shandong, China
• Shan County, Henan, in Sanmenxia, China
• Shantou, or Shan (汕), a city in Guangdong, China
• Shan (剡), river name in Zhejiang Province of PRC
• Shan (鄯), name for a region in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
• Shan (鄯), the name of ancient Western Regions (西域)
• Gora Shan, a mountain in the Caucasus

Other uses[link]

• Shan Foods, a brand of Pakistani cuisine spice mixes
• 山, the Chinese for "mountain"
• Insect from Shaggai, or Shan, a fictional alien race in the writings of Ramsey Campbell

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"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.^[1]

History[link]

The earliest recorded use^{[citation needed]} of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." ^{[2][dubious – discuss]} In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch, and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema, featuring particularly prominently as a recurring motif in the 2003 film School of Rock.^[3][4][5][6]

Use as praise[link]

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."^{[7][dubious – discuss]}

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

See also[link]

• Absentee landlord
• Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
• New World Order (conspiracy theory)
• Ruling class
• The Establishment
• Power elite
• Corrections officer
• YTMND

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). Random House Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Random House.

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

MC Shan (born as Shawn Moltke September 6, 1965) is an American rapper from Queens, NYC. He is perhaps best known for collaborating with Snow in "Informer", an international number one hit single.

Biography[link]

Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects located in Long Island City a section in Queens, New York City, Shan is the cousin of old school hip hop producer Marley Marl. In 1985, Shan started in MCA Records with his first & only major single Feed The World. Despite the success, he was dismissed from MCA because "the rhymes you wrote was wack", according to KRS-One from his song South Bronx. Not long after, Shan moved to Cold Chillin' Records due to his relationship with Marl, and joined Marl's Juice Crew All-Stars. After a few singles were released, MC Shan's debut album Down By Law came out in 1987.

Shan also found himself to be a key player in the noted hip hop rivalry the Bridge Wars between the Juice Crew and Boogie Down Productions. The feud was started when Shan and Marl released a song called "The Bridge" as a B-side to "Beat Biter," itself an answer record directed at L.L. Cool J. KRS-One responded with "South Bronx," and the Juice Crew replied with "Kill That Noise." Slate magazine described it as follows: "In 1986, it was a beef that launched the star of KRS-One, when his withering attacks on MC Shan effectively ended his rival's career."^[1] Boogie Down Productions then released "The Bridge is Over," widely celebrated among hip hop fans as the paramount diss track.^{[citation needed]} Years later, MC Shan remade "The Bridge" into "Da Bridge 2001," and strongly denied the bridge "was over", saying:

The Bridge was never over

We left our mark

The jam is dedicated to you and your boys

I brought my Queensbridge thugs to kill that noise

Shan's second album, Born To Be Wild, followed in 1988 and revealed the b-boy persona of Shan, with production once again by Marley Marl. 1990's Play it Again, Shan displayed a more mature style, but it proved to be his last album. When Cold Chillin's sub label Livin' Large was active, he was listed as one of its artists but never released any material. Despite the fact that he focused more on his production career (like Snow's 12 Inches of Snow, which featured "Informer", on which Shan appeared) he recorded "Da Bridge 2001" for Nas's 2000 compilation called QB's Finest, which also featured Mobb Deep, Cormega, and Nature.

Shan also had a brief stint in film, playing a bit role in Steve Martin's L.A. Story feature film as Rappin' Waiter. He is also the older brother of female rapper and radio personality Princess Ivori. Shan is credited as the guest rapper on the Sum 41 song "Dave's Possessed Hair/It's What We're All About" from the album Half Hour Of Power.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 1987: Down By Law
• 1988: Born to be Wild
• 1990: Play it Again, Shan

Singles[link]

• 1985: Feed The World
• 1986: The Bridge/Beat Biter
• 1986: Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing
• 1987: Left Me Lonely
• 1988: A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste
• 1988: I Pioneered This
• 1989: Juice Crew Law / They Used To Do It In The Park
• 1990: Kill That Noise / I Ran The Game
• 1990: It Don't Mean A Thing
• 1991: Time For Us To Defend Ourselves
• 1991: Ain't It Good To You
• 1993: Hip Hop Roughneck
• 1993: Pee-Nile Reunion / Don't Call It A Comeback
• 1998: The Bridge 2000

References[link]

External list[link]

• MC Shan at Allmusic

Lianne La Havas (born 23 August 1989, London, England) is an English folk and soul singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. On 5 December 2011, the BBC announced that she had been nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll.^[1]

Early life[link]

La Havas was born in London, England to a Greek father and Jamaican mother.^[2] She was raised in Tooting and Streatham, spending the majority of her time with her grandparents, following her parents' separation as a child.^[3] La Havas' cites her parents' diverse musical tastes as having the biggest influence on her music. She began singing at seven.^[4] Her mother played Jill Scott and Mary J. Blige, while her father, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, taught her the basics of guitar and piano. Lianne wrote her first song at the age of 11 but did not learn to play the guitar until she was 18 years old. At 18, Lianne began attending Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls in Croydon, where she studied art and planned to take her A-Levels in art foundation. However, she left college and decided to pursue a career in music full-time.^[3]

Music career[link]

While attending sixth-form in Croydon, a friend of La Havas', (who attended the Brit School) introduced her to other musicians who assisted La Havas in the recording of her first demos.^[3] Through that same friend, La Havas was also introduced to British singer, Paloma Faith; she later sang backing vocals on tour for Faith. La Havas was co-writer and performer in 'The Paris Parade' alongside Christian Pinchbeck (who designed the artwork for Lost & Found) and also is now part of the duo 'Elephant' (Memphis Industries). They had a short career but it began La Havas' career in commercial music.^[5] In 2010, Lianne signed to Warner Bros. Records, spending two years developing her songwriting skills before releasing music publicly.^[6][7]

Her first EP Lost & Found was released on 21 October 2011 on the Labour of Love label^[8] and featured Willy Mason on the opening track, "No Room For Doubt".^[9] That same month, La Havas released a live EP, Live From LA, which was made available for free download on her website.^[10][11] La Havas made her television debut on 21 October 2011, broadcast of BBC Two’s Later… with Jools Holland, a program that also featured Wisconsin folk band Bon Iver.^[12] Following her appearance on Later… with Jools Holland, it was announced on October 25, 2011 that La Havas would be the supporting act for Bon Iver's December 2011 North American tour.^[13] Her official debut single, "Lost & Found" will be released in the UK on April 30, 2012.^[14] Her debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough will be released on July 9, 2012 in the UK on Warner Brothers.^[6]

Discography[link]

Extended Plays[link]

• Lost & Found (2011) Released on Labour of Love.
• Live in L.A. (2011)
• Forget (2011)
• Lost & Found (2012) Includes two new songs. Released on April 30, 2012 by Warner Music UK

Studio Albums[link]

Singles[link]

• "No Room for Doubt" featuring Willy Mason (2011).
• "Forget" (2011)
• "Lost & Found" (Official first single. Released April 30, 2012).

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website