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- Updated: 14 Apr 2013
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They say that sometimes
You've got to pick up your arms and fight
For what you believe is right
Some say
That's just not the way
You will only make things worse
So I close my eyes and turn my head away
And I hope it'll be alright
Fall into a restless sleep
While so many innocent die
That's why I sing
Hail to all of us
Hail to all of us down here
Maybe someday soon
When we've thought things over
We'll know what to do
But probably
There's a much bigger chance, you see
That it will all be gone
So I close my eyes and turn my head away
And I just hope it'll be alright
Fall into restless sleep
While so many others die
That's why I sing
New York City, London, Jericho
Jerusalem, Sydney, anywhere you wanna go
And I saw myself standing
before the throne,
and a loud voice cried out
Behold!
Then I saw a fiery steed
clad in battle reignment and he that sat upon him was God's
own warrior come to do
battle with the children of the beast.
Get on your feet, or on
Walls of rain washes out the innocence.
The magnificent flood carves the letters down the flesh.
Hierarchy slips into the felt strings - Alterating it all.
Facing the preys as if they were real threats - Schism.
I'm wandering near the woods at night - only the stars
in the sky are my guidance
A pair of red eyes glow in the bushes - the howling of
a wolf calls me to follow
I follow him through the swamps of the woods until I
enter an open area
There a shadowy figure with a robe and a mace awaits me
and with a low voice yells:
"Welcome to this shrine, dedicated to His glory! He saw
you coming, he was the wolf that led you here, he was
the swamp you walked, he is the owl in the night and
the screams you can hear in the graveyards... He wants
you to join the darkside, to walk in His glorious
roads, to be in his forces not as a slave but a warrior
of his mystical goals and purposes...and to forget your
useless past life."
I accept this offer and drink from the chalice - and
feel great mutations inside
Then a strange light occurs - and a doorway to a great
hall (under the ground) opens!
On the walls of the hall are hanging bodies of shredded
untermensch,
And the Ubermensch barbarian warriors are copulating
the withes possessed
Standing near the grand throne are the priests and
necromancers in trance,
waiting for the master
And when the hour strikes, Satan appears and all salute
Him!
Growls of inhumane hails me and the barbarians,
warriors, and witches welcome to the feast
Stench of dead overwhelms me and the skeletons,
zombies, and ghouls lurk in the surroundings
Breath of bestiality shivers me when the wolves, owls,
and serpents sound their presence
And the necromancers stand proudly next to the sinister
Father, Satan!
After the feasting, Satan levitates into the woods and
the necromancers ride their wolves
The owls fly and the hordes run with the speed of wind
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Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Unlike graupel, which is made of rime, and ice pellets, which are smaller and translucent, hail stones – on Earth – consist mostly of water ice and measure between 5 and 200 millimetres (0.20 and 7.9 in) in diameter.[citation needed] The METAR reporting code for hail 5 mm (0.20 in) or greater is GR, while smaller hailstones and graupel are coded GS. Hail is possible within most thunderstorms as it is produced by cumulonimbi (thunderclouds),[1] and within 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) of the parent storm. Hail formation requires environments of strong, upward motion of air with the parent thunderstorm (similar to tornadoes) and lowered heights of the freezing level. In the mid-latitudes, hail forms near the interiors of continents, while in the tropics, it tends to be confined to high elevations.
There are methods available to detect hail-producing thunderstorms using weather satellites and weather radar imagery. Hail stones generally fall at higher speeds as they grow in size, though complicating factors such as melting, friction with air, wind, and interaction with rain and other hail stones can slow their descent through Earth's atmosphere. Severe weather warnings are issued for hail when the stones reach a damaging size, as it can cause serious damage to human-made structures and, most commonly, farmers' crops.
Contents |
Any thunderstorm which produces hail that reaches the ground is known as a hailstorm.[2] Hail has a diameter of 5 millimetres (0.20 in) or more.[1] Hail stones can grow to 15 centimetres (6 in) and weigh more than 0.5 kilograms (1.1 lb).[3]
Unlike ice pellets, hail stones are layered and can be irregular and clumped together. Hail is composed of transparent ice or alternating layers of transparent and translucent ice at least 1 millimetre (0.039 in) thick, which are deposited upon the hail stone as it cycles through the cloud, suspended aloft by air with strong upward motion until its weight overcomes the updraft and falls to the ground. Although the diameter of hail is varied, in the United States, the average observation of damaging hail is between 2.5 cm (1 in) and golf ball-sized (1.75 in).[4]
Stones larger than 2 cm (0.75 in) are usually considered large enough to cause damage. The Meteorological Service of Canada will issue severe thunderstorm warnings when hail that size or above is expected.[5] The US National Weather Service has a 2.5 cm (1 in) or greater in diameter threshold, effective January 2010, an increase over the previous threshold of ¾-inch hail.[6] Other countries will have different thresholds according local sensitivity to hail; for instance grape growing areas could be adversely impacted by smaller hailstones. Hailstones can be very large or very small, depending on how strong the updraft is: weaker hailstorms produce smaller hailstones than stronger hailstorms (such as supercells).
Hail forms in strong thunderstorm clouds, particularly those with intense updrafts, high liquid water content, great vertical extent, large water droplets, and where a good portion of the cloud layer is below freezing 0 °C (32 °F).[1] These types of strong updrafts can also indicate the presence of a tornado.[7] The growth rate is maximized where air is near a temperature of −13 °C (9 °F).
Like other precipitation in cumulonimbus clouds hail begins as water droplets. As the droplets rise and the temperature goes below freezing, they become supercooled water and will freeze on contact with condensation nuclei. A cross-section through a large hailstone shows an onion-like structure. This means the hailstone is made of thick and translucent layers, alternating with layers that are thin, white and opaque. Former theory suggested that hailstones were subjected to multiple descents and ascents, falling into a zone of humidity and refreezing as they were uplifted. This up and down motion was thought to be responsible for the successive layers of the hailstone. New research (based on theory and field study) has shown this is not necessarily true.
The storm's updraft, with upwardly directed wind speeds as high as 110 miles per hour (180 km/h),[9] blow the forming hailstones up the cloud. As the hailstone ascends it passes into areas of the cloud where the concentration of humidity and supercooled water droplets varies. The hailstone’s growth rate changes depending on the variation in humidity and supercooled water droplets that it encounters. The accretion rate of these water droplets is another factor in the hailstone’s growth. When the hailstone moves into an area with a high concentration of water droplets, it captures the latter and acquires a translucent layer. Should the hailstone move into an area where mostly water vapour is available, it acquires a layer of opaque white ice.[10]
Furthermore, the hailstone’s speed depends on its position in the cloud’s updraft and its mass. This determines the varying thicknesses of the layers of the hailstone. The accretion rate of supercooled water droplets onto the hailstone depends on the relative velocities between these water droplets and the hailstone itself. This means that generally the larger hailstones will form some distance from the stronger updraft where they can pass more time growing.[10] As the hailstone grows it releases latent heat, which keeps its exterior in a liquid phase. Undergoing 'wet growth', the outer layer is sticky, or more adhesive, so a single hailstone may grow by collision with other smaller hailstones, forming a larger entity with an irregular shape.[11]
The hailstone will keep rising in the thunderstorm until its mass can no longer be supported by the updraft. This may take at least 30 minutes based on the force of the updrafts in the hail-producing thunderstorm, whose top is usually greater than 10 km high. It then falls toward the ground while continuing to grow, based on the same processes, until it leaves the cloud. It will later begin to melt as it passes into air above freezing temperature.[12]
Thus, a unique trajectory in the thunderstorm is sufficient to explain the layer-like structure of the hailstone. The only case in which we can discuss multiple trajectories is in a multicellular thunderstorm where the hailstone may be ejected from the top of the "mother" cell and captured in the updraft of a more intense "daughter cell". This however is an exceptional case.[10]
Hail is most common within continental interiors of the mid-latitudes, as hail formation is considerably more likely when the freezing level is below the altitude of 11,000 feet (3,400 m).[13] Movement of dry air into strong thunderstorms over continents can increase the frequency of hail by promoting evaporational cooling which lowers the freezing level of thunderstorm clouds giving hail a larger volume to grow in. Accordingly, hail is actually less common in the tropics despite a much higher frequency of thunderstorms than in the mid-latitudes because the atmosphere over the tropics tends to be warmer over a much greater depth. Hail in the tropics occurs mainly at higher elevations.[14]
Hail growth becomes vanishingly small when air temperatures fall below −30 °C (−22 °F) as supercooled water droplets become rare at these temperatures.[13] Around thunderstorms, hail is most likely within the cloud at elevations above 20,000 feet (6,100 m). Between 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and 20,000 feet (6,100 m), 60 percent of hail is still within the thunderstorm, though 40 percent now lies within the clear air under the anvil. Below 10,000 feet (3,000 m), hail is equally distributed in and around a thunderstorm to a distance of 2 nautical miles (3.7 km).[15]
Hail occurs most frequently within continental interiors at mid-latitudes and is less common in the tropics, despite a much higher frequency of thunderstorms than in the midlatitudes.[16] Hail is also much more common along mountain ranges because mountains force horizontal winds upwards (known as orographic lifting), thereby intensifying the updrafts within thunderstorms and making hail more likely.[17] One of the more common regions for large hail is across mountainous northern India, which reported one of the highest hail-related death tolls on record in 1888.[18] China also experiences significant hailstorms.[19] Central Europe and southern Australia also experience a lot of hailstorms. Popular regions for hailstorms are southern and western Germany, northern and eastern France and southern and eastern Benelux. In south-eastern Europe, Croatia and Serbia experience frequent occurrences of hail.[20]
In North America, hail is most common in the area where Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming meet, known as "Hail Alley."[21] Hail in this region occurs between the months of March and October during the afternoon and evening hours, with the bulk of the occurrences from May through September. Cheyenne, Wyoming is North America's most hail-prone city with an average of nine to ten hailstorms per season.[22]
Weather radar is a very useful tool to detect the presence of hail-producing thunderstorms. However, radar data has to be complemented by a knowledge of current atmospheric conditions which can allow one to determine if the current atmosphere is conducive to hail development.
Modern radar scans many angles around the site. Reflectivity values at multiple angles above ground level in a storm are proportional to the precipitation rate at those levels. Summing reflectivities in the Vertically Integrated Liquid or VIL, gives the liquid water content in the cloud. Research shows that hail development in the upper levels of the storm is related to the evolution of VIL. VIL divided by the vertical extent of the storm, called VIL density, has a relationship with hail size, although this varies with atmospheric conditions and therefore is not highly accurate.[23] Traditionally, hail size and probability can be estimated from radar data by computer using algorithms based on this research. Some algorithms include the height of the freezing level to estimate the melting of the hailstone and what would be left on the ground.
Certain patterns of reflectivity are important clues for the meteorologist as well. The three body scatter spike is an example. This is the result of energy from the radar hitting hail and being deflected to the ground, where they deflect back to the hail and then to the radar. The energy took more time to go from the hail to the ground and back, as opposed to the energy that went direct from the hail to the radar, and the echo is further away from the radar than the actual location of the hail on the same radial path, forming a cone of weaker reflectivities.
More recently, the polarization properties of weather radar returns have been analyzed to differentiate between hail and heavy rain.[24][25] The use of differential reflectivity (Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): Z_{dr} ), in combination with horizontal reflectivity (Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): Z_{h} ) has led to a variety of hail classification algorithms.[26] Visible satellite imagery is beginning to be used to detect hail, but false alarm rates remain high using this method.[27]
The size of hail stones is best determined by measuring their diameter with a ruler. In the absence of a ruler, hail stone size is often visually estimated by comparing its size to that of known objects, such as coins.[28] Below is a table of commonly used objects for this purpose.[29] Note that using the objects such as hen's eggs, peas, and marbles for comparing hailstone sizes is often inaccurate, due to their varied dimensions. The UK organisation, TORRO, also scales for both hailstones and hailstorms.[30] When observed at an airport, METAR code is used within a surface weather observation which relates to the size of the hail stone. Within METAR code, GR is used to indicate larger hail, of a diameter of at least 0.25 inches (6.4 mm). GR is derived from the French word grêle. Smaller-sized hail, as well as snow pellets, use the coding of GS, which is short for the French word grésil.[31]
Terminal velocity of hail, or the speed at which hail is falling when it strikes the ground, varies by the diameter of the hail stones. A hail stone of 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in diameter falls at a rate of 9 metres per second (20 mph), while stones the size of 8 centimetres (3.1 in) in diameter fall at a rate of 48 metres per second (110 mph). Hail stone velocity is dependent on the size of the stone, friction with air it is falling through, the motion of wind it is falling through, collisions with raindrops or other hail stones, and melting as the stones fall through a warmer atmosphere.[32]
United States | Canada | |
---|---|---|
Dime | 0.705 inches (17.9 mm)[33] | 18.03 millimetres (0.710 in) |
Cent (or "Penny") | 0.75 inches (19 mm)[34] | 19.05 millimetres (0.750 in) |
Five cents (Nickel) | 0.88 inches (22 mm)[34] | 21.2 millimetres (0.83 in) |
Twenty-five cents (Quarter dollar) | 1.00 inch (25 mm)[34] | 23.88 millimetres (0.940 in) |
Dollar (Loonie) | 1.043 inches (26.5 mm) | 26.5 millimetres (1.04 in) |
50 Cents/Half Dollar | 1.25 inches (32 mm)[34] | 27.13 millimetres (1.068 in) |
Two Dollars (Toonie) | 28 millimetres (1.1 in) |
Object | Diameter |
---|---|
Pea | 0.25 inches (6.4 mm)[34] |
Marble (small) | 0.50 inches (13 mm)[34] |
Mothball | 0.50 inches (13 mm)[34] |
Grape (small) | 0.62 inches (16 mm)[34][not in citation given] |
Olive (large) | 0.75 inches (19 mm)[34][not in citation given] |
Shooter Marble | 0.75 inches (19 mm)[34][not in citation given] |
Walnut/Ping-pong ball | 1.50 inches (38 mm)[34] |
Ping-pong ball | 1.60 inches (41 mm)[34] |
Squash ball | 1.65 inches (42 mm)[34][not in citation given] |
Golf ball | 1.75 inches (44 mm)[34] |
Hen egg | 2.00 inches (51 mm)[34] |
Billiards (Pool) Ball | 2.25 inches (57 mm)[34][not in citation given] |
Orange (Valencia/sweet) | 2.38 inches (60 mm)[34][not in citation given] |
Tennis ball | 2.50 inches (64 mm)[34] |
Baseball | 2.75 inches (70 mm)[34] |
Cricket ball | 2.80 inches (71 mm)[citation needed] |
Teacup | 3.00 inches (76 mm)[34] |
Grapefruit | 4.00 inches (102 mm)[34] |
Softball | 4.50 inches (114 mm)[34] |
Melon (small) | 4.75 inches (121 mm)[34][not in citation given] |
Computer CD | 5.00 inches (127 mm)[citation needed] |
Cantaloupe | 6.50 inches (165 mm)[citation needed] |
45 RPM Phonograph Record | 7.00 inches (178 mm)[citation needed] |
Volleyball | 8.00 inches (203 mm)[34][not in citation given] |
Bowling Ball | 8.25 inches (210 mm)[citation needed] |
Hail can cause serious damage, notably to automobiles, aircraft, skylights, glass-roofed structures, livestock, and most commonly, farmers' crops.[22] Hail damage to roofs often goes unnoticed until further structural damage is seen, such as leaks or cracks. It is hardest to recognize hail damage on shingled roofs and flat roofs, but all roofs have their own hail damage detection problems.[35] Metal roofs are fairly resistant to hail damage, but may accumulate cosmetic damage in the form of dents and damaged coatings.[36]
Hail is one of the most significant thunderstorm hazards to aircraft.[37] When hail stones exceed 0.5 inches (13 mm) in diameter, planes can be seriously damaged within seconds.[38] The hailstones accumulating on the ground can also be hazardous to landing aircraft. Hail is also a common nuisance to drivers of automobiles, severely denting the vehicle and cracking or even shattering windshields and windows. Wheat, corn, soybeans, and tobacco are the most sensitive crops to hail damage.[18] Hail is one of Canada's most expensive hazards.[39] Rarely, massive hailstones have been known to cause concussions or fatal head trauma. Hailstorms have been the cause of costly and deadly events throughout history. One of the earliest recorded incidents occurred around the 9th century in Roopkund, Uttarakhand, India.[40] The largest hailstone in terms of diameter and weight ever recorded in the United States fell on July 23, 2010 in Vivian, South Dakota; it measured 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter and 18.62 inches (47.3 cm) in circumference, weighing in at 1.93 pounds (0.88 kg).[41] This broke the previous record for diameter set by a hailstone 7 inches diameter and 18.75 inches circumference (still the greatest circumference hailstone) which fell in Aurora, Nebraska in the United States on June 22, 2003, as well as the record for weight, set by a hailstone of 1.67 pounds (0.76 kg) that fell in Coffeyville, Kansas in 1970.[41]
Narrow zones where hail accumulates on the ground in association with thunderstorm activity are known as hail streaks or hail swaths,[42] which can be detectable by satellite after the storms pass by.[43] Hailstorms normally last from a few minutes up to 15 minutes in duration.[22] Accumulating hail storms can blanket the ground with over 2 inches (5.1 cm) of hail, cause thousands to lose power, and bring down many trees. Flash flooding and mudslides within areas of steep terrain can be a concern with accumulating hail.[44]
On somewhat rare occasions, a thunderstorm can become stationary or nearly so whilst prolifically producing hail and significant depths of accumulation do occur; this tends to happen in mountainous areas, such as the July 29, 2010 case of[45] a foot of hail accumulation. Depths of up to a metre have been reported.
During the Middle Ages, people in Europe used to ring church bells and fire cannons to try to prevent hail, and the subsequent damage to crops. Updated versions of this approach are available as modern hail cannons. Cloud seeding after World War II was done to eliminate the hail threat,[9] particularly across Russia - where it was claimed a 50 to 80 percent reduction in crop damage from hail storms was achieved by deploying silver iodide in clouds using rockets and artillery shells. Their results have not been able to be verified. Hail suppression programs have been undertaken by 15 countries between 1965 and 2005.[18] To this day, no hail prevention method has been proven to work.[9]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hail |
Look up Hail or hail in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Wikisource has the text of the 1879 American Cyclopædia article Hail. |
|
Trey Songz | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Tremaine Aldon Neverson |
Born | Petersburg, Virginia, United States |
November 28, 1984
Genres | R&B, hip hop |
Occupations | Singer-songwriter, record producer, actor |
Instruments | Vocals, keyboards, sampler |
Years active | 2004–present |
Labels | Atlantic, Songbook |
Associated acts | Drake, Troy Taylor, Twista, Juvenile, Bun B, Rick Ross, Plies |
Website | www.treysongz.com |
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.
Contents |
Songz was born Tremaine Aldon Neverson on November 28, 1984, in Petersburg, Virginia.[1] 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."[2] He recognized his vocal abilities at the age of 14.[2] 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.[2] 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.[1]
While recording his debut album in 2004, Songz released multiple mixtapes under the alias Prince of Virginia.[1] One of the mixtapes featured an "answer track" to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet", entitled "Open the Closet". The song gave Trey some notoriety.[3] His debut album, I Gotta Make It was released on July 26, 2005.[4] It debuted at #20 on the Billboard 200, selling 40,000 copies in its first week of sales.[5] It has sold 300,000 records in the US, but was never certified by the RIAA. Songz's debut single, Gotta Make It, featuring Twista, was released in March 2005 and reached #87 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It garnered success in the R&B/urban community but failed to make a mark in mainstream music. The album's second and final single, Gotta Go, was released in July 2005 and reached #67 on the Hot 100 and #11 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming even more successful than his debut single in the R&B/urban community and in the mainstream community. After promotion for his debut concluded, he was featured on the lead single from Twista's fifth album, The Day After. The single, "Girl Tonite", reached #14 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming a huge hit.
In mid-2006, Songz began work on a follow-up album to his debut with longtime collaborator Troy Taylor and also employed hitmakers Bryan-Michael Cox, Danja, Stargate (production team) and R. Kelly to help create the album. Trey aimed for the album to be more mainstream-oriented than his debut album. His second studio album, Trey Day, was released on October 2, 2007. The album reached #11 on the Billboard 200,[6] selling 73,000 copies in its first week. It has since sold 400,000 records in the US, becoming his second album not to be certified by the RIAA. The album was going to be released on May 8, 2007, but was continually delayed in order for a successful single to precede the album, as the lead single failed to impact charts.
His second album was preceded by the lead single, "Wonder Woman", which was released in February 2007. It reached #54 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but failed to impact the Hot 100. Because of the single's failure, his second album was delayed from May 2007 to October 2007. The album's second single, "Can't Help but Wait", was released in August 2007 and was released to promote his second album and the film Step Up 2 the Streets soundtrack as a single for it. The single reached #14 on the Hot 100, and #2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It became Songz's first Top 20 hit on the Hot 100, and helped to boost his second album's sales. The single was also nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 2008 50th Grammy Awards. The third single from the album, "Last Time", was released in January 2008 and reached #69 on the Hot 100, and #9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The fourth and final single from the album, "Missin' You", was released in May 2008, but failed to chart completely. In mid-2008, Songz was nominated for a BET Award for Best Male R&B Artist but did not win the award.[7]
In late 2008, Trey began work on his third studio album with Bryan-Michael Cox, Sean Garrett, Stargate and Troy Taylor and aimed for the record to be more mature than his first two. Before releasing his third album, Songz released a mixtape titled Anticipation in June 2009 through his blog, which featured songs from his third album.[8] Another mixtape from Trey was released in the summer of 2009, called Genesis. Genesis was a collection of Trey Songz's first recordings when he was fifteen years old and was released to show his fans the dedication that he had to making a record when he was young.[9] Trey released his third studio album, Ready, on August 31, 2009. The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200, selling 131,000 copies in its first week.[10] These are his best first week sales to date and the album was his first to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard 200. The album has since sold over 800,000 records in the US, earning a Gold certification from the RIAA in February 2010, becoming his first album to be certified by the RIAA.
The lead single from the album, "I Need a Girl", was released in April 2009 and reached #5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart and #59 on the Hot 100, becoming an R&B/urban hit but not a mainstream hit. A promotional single, "Successful", featuring rapper Drake, was released in June 2009 and reached #17 on the Hot 100, becoming Songz's third Top 20 hit. The single also served as the second and final single from Drake's EP, So Far Gone. The second official single from his third album, "LOL Smiley Face", featuring Soulja Boy Tell 'Em and Gucci Mane, was released in August 2009 and reached #51 on the Hot 100 and #12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third single from the album, "I Invented Sex", featuring Drake, was released in October 2009 and reached #42 on the Hot 100 but #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming his first single to top that chart. Like the first two singles from the album, it achieved success in the R&B/urban community but only some mainstream success. charted within the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the R&B chart. The fourth single from the album, "Say Aah", featuring rapper Fabolous, was released in January 2010 and reached #9 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single has become Trey's highest charting single on the Hot 100 and one of his most successful singles on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
The fifth and final single from the album, "Neighbors Know My Name", was released in February 2010 and reached #43 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. A sixth single, "Yo Side of the Bed", was going to be released in June 2010, but its release was canceled due to unknown reasons. A music video, featuring singer Keri Hilson, was filmed and released, however. Songz was also the opening act for Jay-Z on his Jay-Z Fall Tour in late 2009. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010, but lost to Beyoncé's I Am... Sasha Fierce. On April 1, 2010, he recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged, which aired on April 26, 2010.[11] A documentary-series about Trey, Trey Songz: My Moment, began in June 2010 to positive reviews and high ratings. The 10-part series will end in August 2010 and follows Trey during his time as opening act on Jay-Z's Jay-Z Fall Tour in late 2009.
Songz's fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, was released on September 14, 2010.[12] Trey began work on the album in early 2010 with Sean Garrett, Troy Taylor and Stargate and has stated that the album will be his most personal to date. The album was completed in July 2010. The album's lead single, "Bottoms Up", featuring female rapper Nicki Minaj, was released on July 27, 2010 and has reached number twenty-four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and was shared enough on Facebook to appear as a trending video on ItsTrending. Its video was filmed on July 31, 2010 and is pending release.[13] Trey also filmed the video for the album's second single, "Can't Be Friends", on August 1, 2010.[13] "Can't Be Friends" was released as the album's second single in August 2010.[13] Songz embarked on the Passion, Pain & Pleasure Tour on August 6, 2010 with singer Monica. The tour is his first headlining tour to date and consists of shows in venues that seat 3,000 to 5,000 people. Songz also contributed the song "Already Taken" to the Step Up 3D soundtrack, which was released on July 27, 2010. He filmed a video for the song, which was released in July 2010. The leading lady in the video is former girlfriend and professional dancer Helen Gedlu. Songz appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010.[14] Songz performed at BET Awards 2011 which broadcasted on June 26, 2011.[15]
In July 2011, he was cast in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D as Ryan, the male lead role.[16]
On August 18, 2011, it was announced Songz will be working on his fifth studio titled Chapter 5.[17] In an interview Trey said the album, which will act as the follow-up to Passion, Pain & Pleasure, is said to be nearing completion. He also carried on to say "It’s my sixth year in the game so I’ve been here for a while now. You can expect the best me you’ve ever heard. I don’t have any release dates in mind right now but I’m just making music and enjoying myself in the studio and having fun. When I get to a place where I feel comfortable saying a date or all of that, people will definitely know. I have a few dream collaborations on that album that I want, but they say if you blow out your candle and make a wish you can’t tell people what you ask for or it won’t come true."[18]
On November 28, 2011, on his birthday, Songz released his Inevitable EP to prepare for the release of his album. In February 2012, Songz will embark on his Anticipation 2our to promote his mixtape Anticipation 2 and to raise awareness of his new album.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Queen of Media | DJ I.V. | film |
2009 | Lincoln Heights | Himself | Episode: "Relative Unknown" |
2010 | Preacher's Kid | small role | |
2010 | When I Was 17 | Himself | Interview-like show, about what he did when he was 17 |
2010 | Trey Songz: My Moment | Himself | Interview-Documentary show, following him around on tour with Jay-Z. |
2012 | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D | Ryan | film |
Year | Award | Result |
---|---|---|
2008 | BET Award for Best Male R&B Artist[7] | Nominated |
Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Can't Help but Wait"[19] | Nominated | |
Ozone Award for Best R&B Artist[20] | Nominated | |
2009 | Soul Train Awards for Best Collaboration "Successful" | Nominated |
2010 | Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album for "Ready" | Nominated |
BET Award for Best Male R&B Artist | Won | |
BET Award for Best Collaboration for "Say Ahh" w/ Fabolous | Nominated | |
BET Award for Best Collaboration for "Successful" w/ Drake | Nominated | |
BET Award for Viewer's Choice for "Say Ahh" w/ Fabolous | Nominated | |
2011 | BET Award for Best Male R&B Artist[21] | Nominated |
BET Award for Coca-Cola's Viewer's Choice for "Bottom's Up"[22] | Nominated |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trey Songz |
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Young Jeezy | |
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Young Jeezy in 2006 |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jay Wayne Jenkins |
Also known as | Lil J |
Born | Columbia, South Carolina[1] |
October 12, 1977
Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupations | Rapper, songwriter |
Years active | 2001–present |
Labels | CTE World/Def Jam, Def Jam South |
Associated acts | USDA, Akon |
Website | http://youngjeezy.defjam.com |
Jay Wayne Jenkins (born October 12, 1977),[1] better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America (USDA) and a former member of BMF (Black Mafia Family). He began his career in 2001 under an independent label and joined Boyz 'N Da Hood in 2005, the same year his solo major label debut Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 was released. Its single "Soul Survivor", which featured Akon, became a top-ten hit in the US.
The Inspiration followed in 2006, and The Recession followed in 2008; both albums yielded chart-topping singles. Jeezy has also appeared on numerous other rap and R&B singles such as "Say I" by Christina Milian, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, "Hard" by Rihanna, and "Love in This Club" by Usher, the latter being a number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2008.
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Jay Wayne Jenkins was born in Columbia, South Carolina[1] and relocated to Atlanta, Georgia when he was a toddler.[2][3] Because his parents were separated, custody of him transferred between family members frequently. In an interview with XXL magazine, he described his childhood as "empty". In 1994, he spent nine months in YCA (Youth Challenge Academy), a boot camp in Fort Stewart, Georgia, for narcotics possession.[4]
Jeezy released his first independent album, Thuggin' Under the Influence (T.U.I.), in 2001 under the name Lil J.[5] It featured artists such as Freddy J.,Kinky B, Fidank, and Lil Jon, who also produced some of the tracks. In 2003, Jeezy released (also independently) Come Shop wit Me, a two CD set featuring completely new tracks with some songs from T.U.I. Jeezy signed with Bad Boy Records in 2004 and joined the group Boyz n da Hood, whose self-titled album was released in June 2005 and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 albums charts.
In May 2004, Jazze Pha's manager Henry 'Noonie' Lee showed Young Jeezy's demo to his friend Shakir Stewart, Vice President Artist and Repertoire (VP A&R) at Def Jam.[6] Stewart "fell in love with it [the demo] the first time [he] heard it" and took it to L.A. Reid.[6] Reid recognised the talent and gave Stewart the green light to sign him.[6] As the "hottest thing on the street" at the time, various labels - including Warner and Interscope – were after his signature. However, Jeezy decided he wanted to be in business with Stewart and Reid. As a result, signed with Def Jam Records.[6]
Jeezy's major label debut, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, was released on July 26, 2005. He debuted at #2, selling 172,000 copies in its first week.[7] It spawned several hit singles such as "Soul Survivor" featuring Akon. It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts. "And Then What" featuring Mannie Fresh, which reached #67 on the Hot 100 and #13 on the Hot Rap Tracks. "My Hood", #19 on the Rap chart. In an interview with HitQuarters, A&R Shakir Stewart said that Jeezy had recorded over 60 songs for the album.[6]
Jeezy partially wrote and performed on Gucci Mane's song, "Icy". Supposedly, Jeezy was never paid properly for his services. Those in Gucci Mane's camp have suggested that gang members from the Mechanicsville area attacked Gucci Mane to defend Jeezy's honor.[8] Jeezy put out a track called "Stay Strapped" dissing Gucci Mane to the beat of "T.I.'s" song "A.S.A.P." Jeezy responded to Gucci Mane's, while rapping "even his own momma know, Radric Davis a bitch". In a recent Cutmaster C mixtape, The Hood News Page 3: Jay-Z Boycotts Cristal, Gucci disses Jeezy along with Jay Z in his track, "745". Jeezy addresses Gucci back on the same mixtape. While on the track "Break It Down", featuring Cmillz. On "Streets On Lock", from The Inspiration, Jeezy addressed Gucci Mane again, saying "What type of real nigga name himself after a bag?/Nigga you's a hoe, a Louis Vuitton fag". Towards the end of 2009, DJ Drama brought Young Jeezy to the radio station and called Gucci Mane to settle the beef once and for all. The two stopped feuding but throughout early 2010, the crews of Jeezy & Gucci (CTE & Brick Squad) have been in and out altercations with each other despite the fact Jeezy & Gucci have nothing to do with that. In 2011, Jeezy plans to release a new single featuring DJ Spluge and the rest of the Gangster Brigade.
In interviews and on several records, Jeezy has affirmed his resistance to commercialism in his music.[9] Maintaining his street credibility, according to Jeezy, is of the utmost concern to him as an artist.[4] In 2005, Jeezy was featured in several popular hip hop songs including Gucci Mane's "Icy"[10] and Boyz n da Hood's "Dem Boyz". Due to having a successful solo career, he left the group. From time to time he still keeps in contact with a few of the members, but in early 2010 Jeezy & Jody Breeze (who is still a member of Boyz N Da Hood) began to diss each other which started a new beef between the two.
In 2006, he was featured in Christina Milian's single "Say I". Jeezy's second major label album was The Inspiration, released in 2006. The album's first single "I Luv It" peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Bury Me A G" and "Go Getta" featuring R. Kelly, and "Dreamin’" featuring Keyshia Cole followed.
He also portrayed himself in the hip-hop fighting themed game Def Jam: Icon. In 2007, Jeezy released Cold Summer, an album by rap group USDA which consists of Jeezy, Blood Raw, Slick Pulla, 2Eleven and Boo Rossini.[citation needed]
Jeezy presented a week-long toy drive and charity event series with his CTE family with the first annual Toyz n da Hood toy drive. The series presented 1,000 toys for 1,000 kids at various locations in Macon and Atlanta, which began on December 17, 2007, with the CTE Christmas Kickoff from 10 pm to 5 am at Club Miami. The toy giveaway took place in the Unionville neighborhood of Macon and at the Old Fourth Ward Community in Atlanta.[11]
His third album, The Recession, was released in 2008. "Put On" featuring Kanye West was the lead single, which also led to a Grammy Nomination for Best Rap performance by a duo, but it came short. Put On was followed by "Vacation", "Crazy World", "My President" with Nas, and "Who Dat" to complete the Recession's singles. Jeezy appeared on the R&B singles "Love in This Club" by Usher and "I'm So Paid" by Akon (also with Lil Wayne). "Love in This Club" peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later, he performed on Ciara's single "Never Ever", from her album Fantasy Ride.[12]
In the summer of 2008, Jeezy was at the center of a controversy over his choice for president. While he had previously endorsed Barack Obama, he spoke about meeting and supporting John McCain during an interview with Vibe magazine. The statement caused a stir, and Jeezy quickly clarified his choice, via a viral video. In the four-minute explanation, Jeezy made it clear, Obama was his main choice. "I represent the Democratic party. ... I've never been nor do I ever plan to be a John McCain supporter", the rapper said. "I support Barack Obama."[13] Jeezy and Jay-Z performed in a concert to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 18, 2009.[14] On The O'Reilly Factor, commentator Bill O'Reilly criticized their performance as a "rant that offended people",[15] but Jeezy responded: "I got white friends. It's nothing like that. I'm a taxpayer, I got a right to voice my opinion at any point in time. I don't think he really understands my struggle."[16]
Jeezy is working on Thug Motivation 103, his latest LP, as of November 2009.[17] In March 2010, it was reported that Young Jeezy dropped "Young" from his stage name.[18] Later, Young Jeezy denied the name change and claimed it was just a rumor:[19] however, on the cover for his single "Lose My Mind", his name is printed as "Jeezy". On May 17, 2011, Jeezy released the first single for Thug Motivation 103, "Ballin", which features Lil Wayne.
On March 4, 2010 Jeezy released the track "Illin", featuring the group Clipse; specifically Pusha T. On the track Pusha T raps, "No amount of record sales could derail this ...Stuffing dead prezzies in the wall like that Yale bitch..." The line was controversial and many felt the line was in bad taste and demeaned Yale student Annie Le, who was murdered in 2009, by making light of a crime that had grabbed a lot of media attention due to its extremely upsetting and tragic nature.[20] On July 22, 2011, Young Jeezy released the second single off TM103, "Shake Life". On July 26, 2011, Young Jeezy announced a September 20, 2011 release date for TM103.[21] However the album was pushed back yet again, this time to December 20, 2011.[22] On September 29, 2011, Young Jeezy released the third single off TM103, named "F.A.M.E. (Fake Ass Mothafu*kas Envy)",[23] featuring T.I. This is the first official song T.I. was featured on since his latest stint in prison.
He is a personal friend of fellow Atlanta rapper Yung Joc.[24] After Hurricane Katrina, Jeezy opened his house to the victims in an effort to help them have a place to stay. In October 2005, the mother of his 9 year old son used this as the basis to petition for child support. Early in the year, she had claimed that she had little income, no assets and did not even have a house.[25]
On March 11, 2005, Jeezy was arrested after an alleged shooting involving some of his friends in Miami Beach, Florida.[26] He was charged with two counts of carrying a concealed firearm without a permit; however, prosecutors dropped his charges two months later over lack of evidence.[27] In the early hours of September 29, 2007, Jeezy destroyed his Lamborghini when it was hit by a taxi crossing Peachtree Street, outside of Justin's, Sean Combs’s restaurant in Atlanta. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported his claim that this gave him "a new appreciation for life".[28] In Atlanta on June 18, 2008, police arrested him for DUI.[29]
Lil Wayne | |
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Lil Wayne in 2006 |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. |
Born | September 27, 1982 |
Origin | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupations | Rapper, songwriter |
Years active | 1992–present |
Labels | Cash Money, Young Money,Universal Republic |
Associated acts | Birdman, Drake, Cash Money Millionaires, Hot Boys, Young Money, The B.G.'z, Nicki Minaj, Juelz Santana[1] |
Website | lilwayne-online.com |
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Young Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare, released in 1999. Also in 1999, Lil Wayne released his Platinum debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in the U.S.
Although his next two albums Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002) were not as successful (only reaching Gold status), Lil Wayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with Tha Carter, which included the single "Go D.J." Wayne also appeared on the Destiny's Child top ten single "Soldier" that year. In 2005, the sequel to Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, was released. In 2006 and 2007, Lil Wayne released several mixtapes and appeared on several popular rap and R&B singles. His most successful album, Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single "Lollipop" featuring Static Major. It also includes the singles "A Milli" and "Got Money" featuring T-Pain and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.
Lil Wayne released his debut rock album, Rebirth, in 2010 to primarily negative reception from critics. The album eventually went gold. In March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8-month prison sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007. While in prison he released another album entitled I Am Not a Human Being in September 2010, featuring Young Money artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil Twist. His ninth studio album and first since being released from prison, Tha Carter IV, was released on August 29, 2011.[2] The album includes the songs "6 Foot 7 Foot" featuring Cory Gunz, "How to Love" and "She Will" featuring Drake. It sold 964,000 copies in the U.S. its first week out.
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Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.[3] Carter was born when his mother, a chef, was 19 years old. His parents were divorced when he was 2, and his father permanently abandoned the family. Carter enrolled in the gifted program of Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club of Eleanor McMain Secondary School.[4]
He wrote his first rap song at age eight.[5] In the summer of 1991, he met Bryan Williams, rapper and owner of Cash Money Records. Carter recorded freestyle raps on Williams's answering machine, leading him to mentor the young Carter and include him in Cash Money-distributed songs. He also recorded his first ever collaboration album True Story with rapper B.G.. At the time, Carter was 11, and B.G. was 14, and was billed as "The B.G.'z".[6] When he was 12, he played the part of the Tin Man in his middle school drama club's production of The Wiz.[7] At age 13, he accidentally shot himself with a 9 mm handgun, and off-duty police officer Robert Hoobler drove him to the hospital.[8] At McMain Magnet School, Carter was an honor student, but he dropped out at the age of 14 to focus on a musical career.[9]
In 1997, Carter joined the Hot Boys along with rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. At age 15, Carter was the youngest member at that time. Hot Boys' debut album Get It How U Live! was released the same year, followed in 1999 by the group's major-label debut Guerrilla Warfare,[3] which reached No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 5 on the Billboard 200.[10] During their career, the Hot Boys had two charting singles, "We on Fire" from Get It How U Live! and "I Need a Hot Girl" from Guerrilla Warfare.[11] Carter was also featured on Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.[12] Let 'Em Burn, a compilation album of unreleased tracks recorded during 1999 and 2000, came out in 2003, several years after the group disbanded.[13] It reached No. 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard 200.[10]
Carter's debut solo album Tha Block Is Hot at age 17 featured significant contributions from the Hot Boys and was certified platinum, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard album charts.[3] The album earned him a 1999 Source magazine award nomination for "Best New Artist",[14] and also became a Top Ten hit.[3] The lead single was "Tha Block Is Hot". After the release of Tha Block is Hot, Carter was featured on the single, "Bling Bling", with B.G., Juvenile, and Big Tymers. His verse was featured on the radio edition, and on the album version, only his hook was featured on the single.
His 2000 follow-up album Lights Out failed to attain the level of success achieved by his debut[3] but was certified gold by RIAA.[15] Critics pointed to the lack of coherent narratives in his verses as evidence that he had yet to mature to the level of his fellow Hot Boys.[16] The lead single was "Get Off The Corner" which was noticed for an improvement in lyrical content and style, it also received a music video. The second single which received less attention was "Shine" featuring The Hot Boys. Near the release of Lights Out, Lil Wayne was featured on the single, "1# Stunna" with Big Tymers and Juvenile, which rose to 24th place on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.
Lil Wayne's third album 500 Degreez, released in 2002, followed the format of his previous two, with significant contributions from the Hot Boys and Mannie Fresh. While certified Gold like its predecessor,[15] it too failed to match the success of his debut.[3] The title was a reference to the recently estranged Hot Boys member Juvenile's recording, 400 Degreez.[17] The lead single was "Way Of Life" which like the album failed to match the success of his previous singles. After the release of 500 Degreez, he was featured in the single "Neva Get Enuf" by 3LW.[18]
In the summer of 2004, Wayne's album Tha Carter was released, marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style and lyrical themes.[19] In addition, the album's cover art featured the debut of Wayne's now-signature dreadlocks.[3] Tha Carter gained Wayne significant recognition, selling 878,000 copies in the United States, while the single "Go DJ" became a Top 5 Hit on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart.[20] After the release of Tha Carter, Lil Wayne was featured in Destiny's Child's single "Soldier" with T.I., which peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S. R&B Charts.[21]
Tha Carter II, the follow-up to the original Tha Carter album, was released in December 2005, this time without production by longtime Cash Money Records producer Mannie Fresh, who had since left the label. Tha Carter II sold more than 238,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and went on to sell 2,000,000 copies world wide. The lead single, "Fireman," became a hit in the US, peaking at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other singles included "Grown Man", "Hustler Muzik", and "Shooter" (featuring R&B singer Robin Thicke). Lil Wayne also appeared on a remix of Bobby Valentino's "Tell Me", which rose to No. 13 on the U.S. R&B Charts. In 2005, Lil Wayne was named president of Cash Money, and in the same year he founded Young Money Entertainment as an imprint of Cash Money.[22] However, as of late 2007, Lil Wayne reported that he has stepped down from the management of both labels and has handed management of Young Money over to Cortez Bryant.[23]
In 2006, Lil Wayne collaborated with rapper Birdman for the album Like Father, Like Son, whose first single "Stuntin' Like My Daddy", reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Instead of a follow-up solo album, Lil Wayne reached his audience through a plethora of mixtapes and guest appearances on a variety of pop and hip-hop singles.[3] Of his many mixtapes, Dedication 2 and Da Drought 3 received the most media exposure and critical review. Dedication 2, released in 2006, paired Lil Wayne with DJ Drama and contained the acclaimed socially conscious track "Georgia Bush," in which Lil Wayne critiqued former US president George W. Bush's response to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans. Da Drought 3 was released the following year and was available for free legal download. It contained Lil Wayne rapping over a variety of beats from recent hits by other musicians. Numerous of features in prominent hip-hop magazines such as XXL[24] and Vibe[9] covered the mixtape. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine considered the mixtapes Da Drought 3 and The Drought Is Over 2 "among the best albums of 2007."[4]
Despite no album release for two years, Lil Wayne appeared in numerous singles as a featured performer, including "Gimme That" by Chris Brown, "Make It Rain" by Fat Joe, "You" by Lloyd, and "We Takin' Over" by DJ Khaled (also featuring Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, and Birdman), "Duffle Bag Boy" by Playaz Circle, "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" by Wyclef Jean (also featuring Akon), and the remix to "I'm So Hood" by DJ Khaled (also featuring T-Pain, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Fat Joe, Birdman, and Rick Ross). All these singles charted within the top 20 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Rap Tracks, and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. On Birdman's 2007 album 5 * Stunna, Lil Wayne appeared on the singles "100 Million" and "I Run This" among several other tracks. Wayne also appeared on tracks from albums Getback by Little Brother, American Gangster by Jay-Z, and Graduation by Kanye West and Insomniac by Enrique Iglesias. "Make it Rain", a Scott Storch production that peaked at number 13 on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Rap Tracks chart,[25] was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for 2008.[26]
Vibe magazine ranked a list of 77 of Lil Wayne's songs from 2007 and ranked his verse in DJ Khaled's "We Takin Over" as his best of 2007, with "Dough Is What I Got" (a freestyle over the beat of Jay-Z's "Show Me What You Got") from Da Drought 3 the second song.[9] At the end of 2007, an MTV poll selected Lil Wayne as "Hottest MC in the Game",[27] The New Yorker magazine ranked him "Rapper of the Year",[6] and GQ magazine named him "Workaholic of the Year".[28] In 2008 he was named "Best MC" by Rolling Stone.[4] Another article, built around Lil Wayne's 2007 mixtape work, cites his creative practice as an example of post performance creative practice.[29]
Initially planned to be released in 2007, Tha Carter III's largest delay came after the majority of the tracks were leaked and distributed on mixtapes, such as "The Drought Is Over Pt. 2" and "The Drought Is Over Pt. 4". Lil Wayne initially decided to use the leaked tracks, plus four new tracks, to make a separate album, titled The Leak. The Leak was to be released December 18, 2007, with the actual album being delayed until March 18, 2008,[30] The release of The Leak in this format never came to fruition, but an official EP titled The Leak and containing five tracks was released digitally on December 25, 2007.[31] Tha Carter III was released on June 10, 2008, selling more than a million copies in its first week of release, the first to do so since 50 Cent's The Massacre in 2005.[32] The first single "Lollipop", featuring Static Major became the rapper's most commercially successful song at that point, topping the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first Top 10 single for Lil Wayne as a solo artist, as well as his first No. 1 on the chart. His third single from Tha Carter III, "Got Money" featuring T-Pain, peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 100. Tha Carter III also won four Grammy Awards, including best rap album and best rap song, which he won for "Lollipop".[33] Along with his album singles, Lil Wayne appeared on R&B singles "Girls Around the World" by Lloyd, "Love In This Club, Part II" by Usher, "Official Girl" by Cassie, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, "Turnin' Me On" by Keri Hilson, and "Can't Believe It" by T-Pain; rap singles "My Life" by The Game, "Shawty Say" by David Banner, "Swagga Like Us" by T.I., "Cutty Buddy" by Mike Jones, All My Life (In the Ghetto) by Jay Rock and the remix to "Certified" by Glasses Malone; and pop single "Let It Rock" by new Cash Money artist Kevin Rudolf. On July 14, 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America certified Tha Carter III two times platinum.[34] In an October 2008 interview with MTV News, Lil Wayne announced plans to re-release this album with all new tracks, including a duet with Ludacris and remixes of "A Milli".[35]
The lineup for New Orleans' 2008 Voodoo Experience concert, held in October, featured Lil Wayne. Jonathan Cohen of Billboard magazine reported that the event would mark his biggest hometown headlining set of his career.[36] Lil Wayne stated that he would reunite with Hot Boys alongside Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. They plan to release an album after B.G.'s solo album Too Hood to Be Hollywood was completed.[37] Wayne also performed as the 2008 Virgin Mobile Music Fest with Kanye West, performing the remix of "Lollipop" with West and also lip-syncing to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You".[38] Lil Wayne also performed at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards with Kid Rock ("All Summer Long"), Leona Lewis ("DontGetIt (Misunderstood)") and T-Pain ("Got Money"). On the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, he performed "Lollipop" and "Got Money".[39] He later performed at the homecoming rally at Vanderbilt University[40] and the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards with 12 nominations.[41] He won the "MVP" title at the BET Hip Hop Awards and seven others.[42] It was revealed that M.I.A. dropped out of performing on the tour due to her pregnancy, however Jay-Z is expected to perform with Wayne on the song "Mr. Carter" at select shows.[43] On November 11, 2008, Wayne became the first hip-hop act to ever perform at the Country Music Association Awards. He played alongside Kid Rock for the song, "All Summer Long", in which Wayne did not rap but instead inaudibly strummed guitar strings alongside the guitarist in Kid Rock's band.[44] Shortly after, Wayne was nominated for eight Grammys – the most for any artist nominated that year.[45] Wayne was then named the first ever MTV Man of the Year at the end of 2008.[46] He won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for "A Milli", Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his appearance in T.I.'s single "Swagga Like Us", and Best Rap Song for "Lollipop". Tha Carter III won the award for Best Rap Album.[33] MTV News listed Lil Wayne number two on their 2009 list of the Hottest MCs In The Game.[47]
On December 23, 2009, Wayne released a collaboration album with Young Money, with the first single confirmed as "Every Girl".[48] The second single is "BedRock", featuring Lloyd. The third single is "Roger That". On May 24, 2010, the album was certified gold by the RIAA with over 500,000 copies sold.[49] Wayne is featured on the song, "Revolver", with Madonna for her 2009 greatest hits album, Celebration. He was also featured on a Weezer song, "Can't Stop Partying", on their 2009 album, Raditude.[50] In late 2008, Wayne stated that he would re-release The Carter III with leftover tracks and call it Rebirth, several months later, however, he announced Rebirth would instead release as his debut rock album, maintaining its title as Rebirth.[51] To support the release of Rebirth and a collaboration album with Young Money Entertainment, Wayne headlined the 'Young Money Presents: America's Most Wanted Music Festival'... a United States and Canada–only concert tour which started on July 29, 2009. The Rebirth album was originally scheduled for a April 7, 2009 release, however after numerous delays, the album was released on February 2, 2010. For the anticipation of Rebirth, Wayne was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone.[52] "Prom Queen", the first official single, debuted on January 27, 2009 immediately after a live Internet broadcast on Ustream[53] of his concert in San Diego.[54] "Prom Queen" peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. On December 3, 2009, Lil Wayne's second single from the album, "On Fire", was released on iTunes. "On Fire" was produced by Cool & Dre.[55] "On Fire" peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. "Drop the World", which features Eminem, is the third single from the album.[55]
Lil Wayne was thought to be releasing an EP entitled I Am Not a Human Being, but it was confirmed that would be a full length LP. The album was released on September 27, 2010 which was his birthday. The album has sold over 953,000 copies in the U.S.[56] and has spawned a successful single in "Right Above It" which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In an interview on MTV's Mixtape Monday, Wayne asserted the possibility of the album Tha Carter IV.[57] Following Tha Carter III's achievement of selling over 3 million copies, becoming 2008's best-selling record, Wayne re-signed with Cash Money Records for a multi-album deal.[58] Wayne said Tha Carter IV will be released in 2009 just before the holidays.[59] Birdman had previously stated that Tha Carter IV would be packaged with Rebirth as a double disc album.[60] However, Wayne denied this idea saying that "Tha Carter IV deserves Tha Carter IV". He went on to say that We Are Young Money may be packaged with Rebirth.[61][62] However, it was later confirmed that Rebirth and We Are Young Money will be released separately and that Tha Carter IV will be released during 2011. He started from scratch on Tha Carter IV since getting released from prison.[63] He recorded his first track since being released from prison and it was described as being "a 2010 version of A Milli on steroids." The album is set to feature multiple guests, including Tech N9ne.[64] The first single "6 Foot 7 Foot" featuring Cory Gunz was released on December 15, 2010. It was available for digital download on iTunes December 16, 2010. The song is produced by Bangladesh, who also produced Lil Wayne's single "A Milli" in 2008.[65] On March 8, 2011, Lil Wayne released another song called "We Back Soon." The song is produced by StreetRunner; It is more relaxed than "6 Foot 7 Foot" is, but will not be a track on Tha Carter IV.[66] He also released a second single to Tha Carter IV called "John" on March 24, 2011, which features Rick Ross and is produced by Polow Da Don.[67] On April 20, 2011, the official cover of Tha Carter IV was released. Tha Carter IV was scheduled to be released on May 16, 2011,[68] but Mack Maine had confirmed that the forthcoming ninth studio album will be released in June 21, 2011 instead of May 16, 2011, because they need more time to make the album perfect and they'll have a "monster" single coming soon that will possibly be titled "Blows My Brains" or "She's Always In My Head".[citation needed] On May 26, the 3rd single, "How to Love" was released. Tha Carter IV was eventually pushed back to August 29, 2011. A song called "Dear Anne (Stan Part 2)" was released in June, when the snippet was released back in April. Lil Wayne said the song was throw away track for Tha Carter III. He said it was originally suppose to be on Tha Carter IV when it leaked, but decided not to put it one there. He said he's not a fan of the song since it was so old. Lil Wayne said that he that liked the beat, but not the lyrics, and was thinking about redoing "Dear Anne."
For preparation for Tha Carter IV, Lil Wayne released a mixtape titled, Sorry 4 the Wait. He named the mixtape so as an apology to his fans for the delay of the album. It consists of 13 with all the beats on the mixtape coming from other artists song, like his "No Ceilings" mixtape.
In July 2011, Lil Wayne confirmed in an interview with MTV that Tha Carter IV is finished.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 964,000 copies sold in its first week, making it Lil Wayne's third chart topping album of his career. On January 8, 2012, According to Nielsen SoundScan was elected the seventh artist (second male artist) all-time best-selling tracks digital with 36,788,000 million to the end of 2011.[69]
Lil Wayne has announced several possible upcoming projects, including a collaboration album entitled I Can't Feel My Face with rapper Juelz Santana that has been in production for several years. And also working on Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' album Still Cool in late 2011.[70][71] He has discussed a possible R&B album titled Luv Sawngz, for which he will heavily rely on a vocoder.[72] He has also talked with singer Lloyd about doing a collaboration album in the future.[73] On June 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and T-Pain formed a duo called T-Wayne[74] and planned to release an album.[75] According to an interview with Drake in the December 2011 issue of XXL, plans for an upcoming album with Lil Wayne have been scrapped for the time being because of the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaboration Watch the Throne.[76] Lil Wayne and Baby will release a second Like Father, Like Son.[77][78] It was announced by Mack Maine that Lil Wayne and Juelz Santana have gone back to working on their collaboration album I Can't Feel My Face which had been delayed for a few years due to "label politics".[79]
In October 2011 it was reported that Lil Wayne is working on sequels to I Am Not a Human Being and Rebirth.[80] A couple months later, Birdman announced that I Am Not A Human Being 2 will be released before the summer of 2012 and that him and Lil Wayne have finished recording Like Father, Like Son 2.[81]
On March 29, 2011, in an interview with Hot 97's Angie Martinez, Lil Wayne announced that he would retire at age 35; saying "I have four kids," and that "I would feel selfish still going to the studio when it's such a vital point in their lives."[82]
Lil Wayne was a guest debater going up against Skip Bayless on the "1st & 10" segment on the January 6, 2009 edition of ESPN First Take.[83] On February 10, 2009 he also appeared on ESPN's Around the Horn and beat out veterans Woody Paige, Jay Mariotti and fellow New Orleanian Michael Smith to win that show's episode.[84] Prior to the 2009 Grammy Awards, Wayne was featured in an interview with Katie Couric.[85] On February 7, 2009, he presented the Top Ten List on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman.[86] He then appeared on the April 24, 2009 episode of The View, talking about his GED and addictions.[87] In September 2009, Wayne was profiled in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music[88] and was a presenter of the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.[89]
In film, Wayne produced and composed music for and starred in the direct-to-video film Hurricane Season. A documentary of Lil Wayne titled The Carter was released at the Sundance Film Festival.[90]
Lil Wayne has four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born when he was 15,[5] to his high school sweetheart Antonia "Toya" Carter (née Johnson). Wayne and Johnson married on Valentine's Day of 2004 and divorced in 2006.[91] Internet rumours started circulating in August 2008 that Wayne's daughter had died in a car crash, which however he quickly cleared up as false saying "Please allow me to dispel any rumors or speculations and report that my daughter is alive, healthy and surrounded by family who care and love her dearly. The rumors are completely false and unfounded; neither Reginae nor any other member of my family has been involved in any car accident."[92] His second child, Dwayne III, was then born on October 22, 2008 at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati.[93] His third child, Cameron Carter, was born to actress Lauren London on September 9, 2009.[94] He had his fourth child, Neal, on November 30, 2009 with singer Nivea.[95]
In a CBS interview with Katie Couric, Wayne described why he goes by the name of "Wayne" instead of his given name, Dwayne. Carter explained, "I dropped the D because I'm a junior and my father is living and he's not in my life and he's never been in my life. So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne". Couric asked Wayne if his father knew of this and Wayne replied with a smile, "He knows now".[85]
After earning his GED, Wayne enrolled at the University of Houston in January 2005. He dropped out in the same year due to his conflicting schedule.[96] He also revealed on The View that he switched to the University of Phoenix and majored in psychology taking online courses.[87] An article in Urb magazine in March 2007 asserted that Wayne had been earning high grades at Houston.[97]
In an interview with Blender magazine, Lil Wayne revealed one of his favorite bands from childhood to be rock group Nirvana, and cites them as a major influence in his music.[98]
On September 24, 2008, Lil Wayne published his first blog for ESPN in their issue, ESPN The Magazine. Wayne revealed he was a fan of tennis, the Green Bay Packers, the Boston Bruins, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Red Sox. To commemorate the Packers' making it to Super Bowl XLV, he spoofed Wiz Khalifa's hit song "Black and Yellow" (which were the colors of the Packers' opponents, the Pittsburgh Steelers) in a song titled "Green and Yellow".[99] Wayne has continued writing for ESPN, notably reporting at the ESPN Super Bowl party.[100]
Lil Wayne made his debut on ESPN's daily sports round table show Around The Horn on February 10, 2009.[101]
At E3 2011, Lil Wayne, along with Young Money member Drake, appeared on the trailer of FIFA 12.[citation needed]
Lil Wayne is a Christian and reads the Bible regularly.[102][103] While playing in Newark Symphony Hall, Lil Wayne professed his belief "in God and His son, Jesus."[102] During his 2011 tour in Australia with Eminem, before beginning his bracket he proclaimed his belief in God.[104]
On February 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and Cortez Bryant revisited their alma mater McMain Secondary School to get students to design an invitation to the gala introducing Lil Wayne's nonprofit One Family Foundation.[105] The website Change.org states: "The mission of One Family Foundation, Inc. is to empower urban youth by engaging them in opportunities to cultivate their talents and skills, educating them to become productive and economically self-sufficient, and motivating them to dream beyond their circumstances."[106]
Lil Wayne has been referenced in public speeches by President Barack Obama on at least two occasions, in mixed contexts. Speaking to a largely African-American audience during a general election campaign town hall speech in Georgia, then-U.S. Senator Obama exhorted children to stay in school and achieve their dreams through education and perseverance instead of hoping for shortcuts to fame and riches, stating: "You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school."[107]
After assuming the Presidency, Obama later echoed this theme of personal and familial responsibility and the difficulty of achieving Lil Wayne's lyrical skills or success—during an address to a meeting commemorating the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, telling the audience:
They might think they've got a pretty jump shot or a pretty good flow, but our kids can’t all aspire to be LeBron or Lil Wayne. I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers. I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be President of the United States of America.[108]
Obama has also noted that the music on his iPod includes Lil Wayne:
On July 22, 2007, Lil Wayne was arrested in New York City following a performance at the Beacon Theatre; the New York City Police Department discovered Lil Wayne and another man smoking marijuana near a tour bus. After taking Lil Wayne into custody, police discovered a .40 caliber pistol on his person. The gun, which was registered to his manager, was in a bag located near the rapper.[110] He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana.[111][112] On October 22, 2009, Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He was due for sentencing in February 2010 and was expected to receive a one-year county jail sentence,[113] but on February 9, 2010, Lil Wayne's attorney announced that the sentencing was delayed until March 2 due to dental surgery,[114] which was performed on February 16. The surgery included eight root canals, the replacement of several tooth implants, as well as the addition of a few new implants and work on his remaining original teeth.[115] On March 2, 2010, sentencing was postponed again when the courthouse reported a fire in the basement.[116] On March 8, 2010, Lil Wayne was sentenced to a year in prison, which he served in Rikers Island. His lawyer said the rapper expected to be held in protective custody, separated from other prisoners.[117] In May 2010 Wayne was found by Rikers Island correctional staff to be in possession of contraband (an MP3 player, charger, and headphones).[118] In April 2010, Lil Wayne's friends created a website called Weezy Thanx You, which publishes letters written by Wayne in prison.[103][119] In the first letter, titled "Gone 'til November", the rapper described his daily routine, saying he works out a lot, and reads the Bible every day.[103] Wayne was released from Rikers Island prison facility on November 4, 2010 after serving eight months of his year-long sentence.[120]
Following a performance at Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho, Lil Wayne was arrested October 5, 2007 on felony fugitive charges after Georgia authorities accused the rapper of possessing a controlled substance.[121] The incident was later described as a "mix-up" and the fugitive charges were dropped.[122]
On January 23, 2008, Lil Wayne was arrested alongside two others. His tour bus was stopped by Border Patrol agents near Yuma, Arizona. A K-9 Unit recovered 105 grams (3.7 oz) of marijuana, almost 29 grams (1.0 oz) of cocaine, 41 grams (1.4 oz) of MDMA, and $22,000 in cash. Lil Wayne was charged with four felonies: possession of narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving weapons and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was granted permission to travel outside of the state and remain out of custody on the $10,185 bond he posted.[123] On May 6, 2008, Wayne returned to court in Arizona to plead not guilty to the charges.[124] A bench warrant was issued on March 17, 2010 when Lil Wayne did not show for a final trial management conference.[125][126] However, the rapper was already in prison, serving a year-long sentence in Rikers on weapons charges. On June 22, 2010 Wayne pleaded guilty to the charges. As part of the plea deal he may serve 36 months of probation.[127] On June 30, 2010, he was sentenced to 3 years probation.[128]
On December 18, 2009, Wayne and 11 others were detained at the Falfurrias, Texas border patrol checkpoint after an unknown amount of marijuana was found on two of his tour buses.[129]
On July 24, 2008, Abkco Music Inc filed a lawsuit against Lil Wayne for copyright infringement and unfair competition, specifically referring to Tha Carter III's track "Playing with Fire".[130] In the lawsuit, Abkco claims that the song was obviously derived from The Rolling Stones' "Play with Fire", to which Abkco owns the rights.[130][131] Subsequently, "Playing with Fire" was removed from the tracklist of Tha Carter III on all online music stores and replaced with the David Banner produced track, "Pussy Monster".[132][133][134]
In February 2009, production company RMF Productions filed a $1.3 million lawsuit against Wayne, following a $100,000 advance payment for three shows, all of which were cancelled by the artist.[135]
On October 2009, Lil Wayne, Birdman, Cash Money Records, and various music distribution outlets were sued for copyright infringement by Thomas Marasciullo, who claims his voice was used without permission. The rappers asked him to record some "Italian-styled spoken word recordings" in 2006. The lyrics were allegedly used on "Respect" and other tracks from the rappers' collaboration album Like Father, Like Son and Birdman's 5 * Stunna.[136]
In March 2011, producer Deezle (Darius Harrison) sued Wayne and his parent labels Cash Money Records over unpaid royalties from Tha Carter III.[137]
In May 2011, producer Bangladesh also filed a lawsuit against Weezy & Co. over unpaid royalties as well.[138]
In early June 2011, another producer named David Kirkwood filed a lawsuit against Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records on claims that the labels have failed to pay him over $1.5 million in royalties and production services for his work on the album, also including his songwriting on "Love Me or Hate Me", a bonus song featured only on the deluxe edition of the album.[139]
Also in June 2011, Dallas producers Play-N-Skillz filed a lawsuit against him claiming Wayne owes them at least $1 million in unpaid royalties for "Got Money" from his album Tha Carter III. The single has sold over 2 million copies since being released.[140]
In July 2011, Done Deal Enterprises, a production company based in Georgia, filed suit against Wayne, Universal Music Group, Cash Money Records and Young Money Entertainment, claiming copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges Wayne stole the song "BedRock", featured on the compilation album We Are Young Money, and seeks damages of $15 million.[141]
After hearing word that Lil Wayne had written a diss song for him after 50 Cent made some unkind remarks, 50 lashed out at Wayne first on August 17, 2007 with the song "Part Time Lover".[142] Wayne never really responded to the song, although a 50 Cent diss track called "Louisianimal" did leak much later on November 17, 2008.[143] 50 responded to Lil Wayne in January 2009 in a song entitled "Play This On The Radio".[144] As of August 14, 2009, the controversy between 50 Cent and Lil Wayne seems to have ended after 50 Cent appeared and performed at Lil Wayne's America's Most Wanted Musical Festival stop in Anaheim, California.[145]
In early 2011, when Jay-Z & Kanye West's single "H•A•M" was released, Jay-Z took shots at Lil Wayne's mentor Birdman, saying "Really, you got Baby money" and "[you] ain't got my lady's money!".[146] On August 24, 2011, a song called "It's Good" by Lil Wayne (featuring Drake and Jadakiss) was leaked online and included Lil Wayne responding "Talkin’ ‘bout baby money? I gotcha baby money. Kidnap your bitch, get that, How much you love your lady? money".[147][148] Rapper Jadakiss later absolved himself of involvement in any brewing beef on his official Twitter feed.[149][150]
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
2000 | Baller Blockin'' | Iceberg Shorty | Main Role |
2007 | Who's Your Caddy? | Himself | Small Role |
2009 | The Carter | Himself | Documentary DVD, Main Role |
2010 | Hurricane Season | Lamont Johnson | Small Role |
Television | |||
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
2007 | Access Granted | Himself | |
The Boondocks | |||
2009 | Nike Zoom VI LeBron James "Chalk" | Himself | Minor appearance |
Gatorade | Himself | Narrator | |
1st and 10 | |||
Around the Horn | |||
Behind The Music | Himself | ||
All Access With Katie Couric | Himself | ||
The Mo'Nique Show | Himself | ||
2010 | Freaknik: The Musical | Trap Jesus | |
2010 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Performed alongside Eminem a medley of songs including "No Love" |
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