Name	Lil Wayne
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.
Born	September 27, 1982New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Instrument	Vocals, Guitars
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, CEO
Years active	1992–present
Associated acts	Big Tymers, Birdman, Drake, Cash Money Millionaires, Hot Boys, Juelz Santana, Kevin Rudolf, T-Pain, Young Money, Eminem
Label	Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Motown
Url

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 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 which went on to sell over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single "Lollipop" 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 jail 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.

Early life

Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. 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. 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". When he was 12, he played the part of the Tin Man in his middle school drama club's production of The Wiz. At age 13, he accidentally shot himself with a .44 caliber gun, with the bullet missing his heart by two inches.

Music career

1997–99: The Hot Boys

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, 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. Let 'Em Burn, a compilation album of unreleased tracks recorded during 1999 and 2000, came out in 2003, several years after the group disbanded. It reached No. 3 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard 200.

Carter's debut solo album Tha Block Is Hot at age 17 featured significant contributions from the Hot Boys and was certified 2x platinum, climbing to No. 3 on the Billboard album charts. and also became a Top Ten hit. 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. 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.

In 2001, Lil Wayne was shot in the chest in Florida after "some groupies" fired two shots through his tour bus window. He recalled the incident in 2008 interview: 'It [the bullet] 'didn’t go all the way in, ’cause the window slowed it down.' 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.

2004–07: Tha Carter, Tha Carter II and collaborations

In the summer of 2004, Wayne's album Tha Carter was released, marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style and lyrical themes. In addition, the album's cover art featured the debut of Wayne's now-signature dreadlocks. 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. The song Get Something (featuring Mannie Fresh) was supposed to appear on the album but failed to make the cut, however the music video was released.

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. 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.

on July 23, 2007]]

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. and Vibe

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, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for 2008.

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. The New Yorker magazine ranked him "Rapper of the Year", In 2008 he was named "Best Rock Star Alive" by Blender magazine

2008–09: Tha Carter III and We Are Young Money

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, 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.

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. The first single "Lollipop", featuring Static 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 Carter III', "Got Money" featuring T-Pain, peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 100. 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. 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". concert in Vancouver in January 2009.]]

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. 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. 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". 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". He later performed at the homecoming rally at Vanderbilt University and the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards with 12 nominations. He won the "MVP" title at the BET Hip Hop Awards and seven others. 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.

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. Shortly after, Wayne was nominated for eight Grammys – the most for any artist nominated that year. Wayne was then named the first ever MTV Man of the Year at the end of 2008. 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.

DJ Drama stated that there would be a third installation of the Dedication mixtape series with Lil Wayne, who insisted that it will would be a full album under the title. However despite the fact Wayne wanted to release Dedication 3 as an album, it was released as a mixtape on November 14, 2008.

MTV listed Lil Wayne number two on their 2009 list of the Hottest MCs In The Game.

On December 23, 2009, Wayne released a collaboration album with Young Money, with the first single confirmed as "Every Girl". 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.

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.

2008–present: Rebirth, I Am Not a Human Being, and Tha Carter IV

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. 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.

"Prom Queen", the first official single, debuted on January 27, 2009 immediately after a live Internet broadcast on Ustream of his concert in San Diego. "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 with Lil Wayne playing the guitar with the aid of Pro Tools. "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. Following Tha Carter III's achievement of selling over 2 million copies, becoming 2008's best-selling record, Wayne re-signed with Cash Money Records for a multi-album deal. Wayne said Tha Carter IV will be released in 2009 just before the holidays. Birdman had previously stated that Tha Carter IV would be packaged with Rebirth as a double disc album. 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. 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 jail. He recorded his first track since being released from jail 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. The album will be released February 2011. 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. Tha Carter IV is expected for release in Winter 2011.

Future projects

He has announced several possible upcoming projects, including a collaboration album I Can't Feel My Face with rapper Juelz Santana that has been in production for several years. He has discussed a possible R&B; album titled Luv Sawngz, for which he will heavily rely on a vocoder. He has also talked with singer Lloyd about doing a collaboration album in the future. On June 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and T-Pain formed a duo called T-Wayne and planned to release an album. On June 8, 2010, Drake confirmed that he and Wayne are planning to release a joint album in the future. Lil Wayne and Baby will release a second Like Father, Like Son album around Fathers Day 2011. Wayne and Drake will release a collaboration album sometime in the near future.

Television and film career

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. 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. Wayne is set to produce and compose music for the film Hurricane Season. A documentary of Lil Wayne titled The Carter was released at the Sundance Film Festival. Prior to the 2009 Grammy Awards, Wayne was featured in an interview with Katie Couric. He then appeared on an April 24 episode of The View – talking about his GED and addictions. In September 2009, Wayne was profiled in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music and was a presenter of the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.

Personal life

Family

Lil Wayne has four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born when he was 15, 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." His second child, Dwayne III, was then born on October 22, 2008 at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. His third child, Lennox Samuel Ari, was born to actress Lauren London on September 9, 2009. He had his fourth child, Neal, on November 30, 2009 with singer Nivea.

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". He also revealed on The View that he switched to the University of Phoenix and majored in psychology taking online courses. An article in Urb magazine in March 2007 asserted that Wayne had been earning high grades at Houston.

Sports and musical interests

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.

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. Wayne has continued writing for ESPN, notably reporting at the ESPN Super Bowl party.

Lil Wayne made his debut on ESPN's daily sports round table show Around The Horn on February 10, 2009.

Along with Mack Maine, Wayne was in attendance of Game 3 of the opening round NBA playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and the home team New Orleans Hornets on April 25, 2009.

Religion

Lil Wayne is a practicing Christian, who takes time to read the Bible regularly. He then asked the Newark crowd if they also believed, and they responded affirmatively with a roar.

According to his Rikers Island inmate ID and prison records, Wayne is specifically a Roman Catholic.

Philanthropy

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. 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."

Drug use and arrests

Wayne told CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric on her All Access Grammy Special in 2009 that he enjoys smoking marijuana recreationally. He also stated that he is "not addicted" to drinking purple drank (codeine cough syrup) any longer, like some claimed he was. He has been arrested for use or possession of marijuana and other drugs.

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. The incident was later described as a "mix-up" and the fugitive charges were dropped.

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 of marijuana, almost of cocaine, 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. On May 6, 2008, Wayne returned to court in Arizona to plead not guilty to the charges. A bench warrant was issued on March 17, 2010 when Lil Wayne didn't show for a final trial management conference. However, the rapper was already in prison, serving a year-long sentence in Rikers on weapons charges. On June 22, 2010 Wayne plead guilty to the charges. As part of the plea deal he may serve 36 months of probation. On June 30, 2010, he was sentenced to 3 years probation.

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.

New York weapon case

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. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana.

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 jail sentence, but on February 9, 2010, Lil Wayne's attorney announced that the sentencing was delayed until March 2 due to dental surgery, 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.

On March 2, 2010, sentencing was postponed again when the courthouse reported a fire in the basement.

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. He was released on good behavior. However, in May 2010 Wayne was found by Rikers Island correctional staff to be in possession of contraband (an MP3 player, charger, and headphones). However at that time, it was reported by MTV and HipHopDX (and later confirmed) that Lil Wayne was to be released four months early in November.

In April 2010, Lil Wayne's friends created a website called Weezy Thanx You, which publishes letters written by Wayne in prison. 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.

Lawsuits

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.

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.

Public references by Barack Obama

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."

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:}}

Obama also mentioned listening to Lil Wayne on his iPod:

Discography

; Studio albums

1999: Tha Block Is Hot

2000: Lights Out

2002: 500 Degreez

2004: Tha Carter

2005: Tha Carter II

2008: Tha Carter III

2010: Rebirth

2010: I Am Not a Human Being

2011: Tha Carter IV

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

Lil Wayne at MTV

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:21st-century American criminals Category:African-American Catholics Category:African American rappers Category:American dance musicians Category:American shooting survivors Category:Cash Money Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:Rappers from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:University of Houston alumni Category:World Music Awards winners

Name	Young Buck
Background	solo_singer
Born	March 15, 1981 Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, CEO, Actor
Years active	1998–present
Label	Cash Money Records, G-Unit Records, Cashville Records, Real Talk
Associated acts	G-Unit, Outlawz
Url	www.young-buck.com

David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), also known as Young Buck, is an American Southern rapper. Buck is a former member of the New York City-based hip hop group G-Unit.

Biography

Early life

Around the age of twelve, Brown was a singer turned rapper, Brown began rapping because he was inspired by a Miami friend named McClea, Brown was always jealous of McClea's talent and wanted to beat him no matter what he had to give up, at the same time McClea moved to Tallahassee,Fl Brown began recording in a real studio. He was also a member of the Crips. Shortly thereafter, he was given an opportunity to perform to Brian "Baby" Williams, co-founder of Cash Money Records.

After several years on and off of Cash Money Records, Brown and fellow rapper Juvenile decided to leave the label for good in 2000 and went to UTP Records, where he stayed until 2003.

His deal with UTP later led to a meeting with New York rapper 50 Cent who later signed Buck to G-Unit Records, under Interscope Records.

G-Unit

50 Cent gave Young Buck a feature on his commercially successful debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin' on the track "Blood Hound". After this, he appeared on G-Unit's debut album, Beg for Mercy, which certified 2x Platinum. Young Buck then released his debut album, Straight Outta Cashville, in 2004, with its follow-up, Buck the World being released in 2007.

On April 7, 2008 in an interview with Miss Jones on New York's Hot 97, 50 Cent stated that Young Buck was no longer a member of the group G-Unit but was still signed to G-Unit Records.

Solo career

After Young Buck was dismissed from the group, he began to slander the name "G-Unit" in numerous different ways. He released numerous tracks attacking not only the group, but their associates and, more specifically, group leader 50 Cent. 50 Cent and G-Unit also responded with many tracks, including one particular instance in which 50 Cent released a phone call he had recorded with Young Buck, which featured the Tennessee native weeping and apologizing for numerous things. After this happened, Young Buck responded, stating that the call was a fake, that happened one year prior to its release, and claimed that only police record phone calls.

After a lengthy battle between Young Buck and his former G-Unit comrades, the feud seemed to settle down, with Young Buck stating that he owed one more album for G-Unit Records which would be released in 2009, then titled The Rehab. In other interviews, he's stated that he doesn't have a problem with 50 Cent or G-Unit anymore, but is currently doing his "own thing". He also stated that although he's still signed to G-Unit Records, he's trying to get out of the contract, and he's no longer signed to Interscope.

On September 13, 2010 an interview with Shade 45 radio host Angela Yee, 50 Cent stated that Young Buck is still signed to G-unit Records.

Financial problems

Brown filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in August 2010, shortly after an IRS raid on his home. His bankruptcy lawyer later told The City Paper that he was planning to sue Curtis Jackson (50 Cent) and other parties over the record contract dispute.

The IRS made plans to auction off Young Buck's seized property on October 28, 2010, but his legal counsel filed suit to halt the sale, while simultaneously re-filing a revised bankruptcy petition that no longer referenced a $5 million legal claim against 50 Cent and other parties associated with G Unit.

In the lawsuit, viewable at this link, Young Buck said the studio equipment taken in the raid was "directly tied to" his "ability to generate income in order to reorganize the estate." He stated that the seizure of property that belonged to his children had "created great stress in the home" and "within the common law marriage of the debtor plaintiff." He told the court he needed to get back the property belonging to the family "for the debtor's peace of mind to maintain calmness in order to stimulate the creative juices of the Debtor."

Young Buck's attorney was able to convince the court that he would be selling real estate worth $638,500 to begin paying the back taxes due. At a hearing on October 26, 2010, plans for the IRS auction were at least temporarily stopped. Young Buck announced the outcome with a Tweet:

"Sorry PEOPLE. There will be no AUCTION of my STUFF tomorrow!! Lol!! TRY AGAIN."

Cashville Records

In 2006, Young Buck began preparation on creating a record label named "G-Unit South". After Interscope was not to be the distributing label, he could not use the "G-Unit" name, which is when he decided upon using the name "Cashville".

After numerous artists were signed, including Outlawz and C-Bo, a deal was secured with RED Distribution. In 2008, after he was dismissed from the G-Unit group, Young Buck began putting more effort into his label stating that even without a major label deal, he will still be relevant in the music industry. with over 1.1 million sales in the U.S. and 2.3 million Worldwide.

Second album

Young Buck's second album, Buck the World was released worldwide on March 27, 2007.

Buck the World debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart, with sales of 141,083 in the first week.

Third album

The Rehab was released on September 7, 2010. Buck made an exaggerated claim which he said that The Rehab will sell a million copies in his first week to buy himself out of his contract with G-Unit Records.

The Rehab sold 6,400 in its first week.

Controversy

VIBE Awards incident

On November 15, 2004, Jimmy James Johnson approached Dr. Dre at the VIBE Awards and reportedly asked for an autograph before Dr. Dre was about to go on stage. After Dr. Dre declined, Johnson punched him in the back of the head before running towards the nearest exit. A brawl ensued with several uniformed police officers attempting to break up the fight. Chairs were thrown, and it was alleged that Young Buck stabbed Johnson in the chest with a knife. After video evidence was uncovered from the awards ceremony, the Santa Monica Police Department issued an arrest warrant for him. In a preliminary hearing, it was ruled that there was enough evidence to proceed with a jury trial. However, in December 2005, a deal was reportedly struck that would see Young Buck avoid trial.

The Game

After The Game was kicked out of G-Unit for being disloyal, Young Buck as well as new West Coast G-Unit act rapper Spider Loc who had signed to G-Unit Records in September 2004, called him to task for dissing the group and label. The Game then released a track entitled "240 Bars" which insulted both Spider Loc and Young Buck. Young Buck then released a track called "The Real Bitch Boy", which featured Spider Loc and used a beat from The Game's track, "Where I'm from". In the song, Young Buck talks about how he didn't even know The Game when he mentions The Game's name on "Poppin' Them Thangs". Also, Young Buck talks about The Game being a male stripper and also how 50 Cent helped The Game to be successful with his album The Documentary.

The feud has continued to escalate, with there being an exchange of many tracks. In February 2007, The Game and Young Buck got into a non-physical altercation at a club, during the NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. The last time that they were seen together was when The Game was part of G-Unit.

After being dismissed from G-Unit, Young Buck appeared on a remix to The Game's song Game's Pain, as well as appearing in the music video to the song My Life, which featured another former rival, Lil Wayne. A mixtape by The Game and Young Buck was also confirmed, though as of 2009, it has not materialized.

Lil Wayne

Young Buck released a song featuring Tony Yayo called "Off Parole" which insulted Lil Wayne. Young Buck said that Lil Wayne could not be angry, because Young Buck spoke the truth. Young Buck also said "You think you got a problem with Juve and B.G.; you'll have a true problem with me", referring to the Cash Money-Juvenile/B.G feud.

One of the reasons 50 Cent stated he was dismissing Young Buck was what he called "inconsistent behavior" which included appearing on stage with Lil Wayne, then seemingly dissing him on records with G-Unit.

Two days later on the same show, 50 Cent was offered the choice of listening to one of his rivals say something about him in a clip from Rap City. He had the choice of Fat Joe, DJ Khaled, Ja Rule, and The Game, and chose Khaled's clip, in which Khaled said he didn't consider Get Rich or Die Tryin' a classic.

Young Buck later addressed the issue on the mixtape G-Unit Radio Part 25-Sabrina's Baby Boy. He insults DJ Khaled on multiple tracks.

50 Cent

After numerous rumors of a "beef" within G-Unit, 50 Cent officially dismissed Young Buck from the group, in 2008. He later assured that he was still signed with the label.

50 Cent then leaked a taped phone conversation between himself and Young Buck, which showed one of the true reasons for the falling out; 50 Cent was owed money by the Southern rapper. Young Buck later stated the conversation took place over a year before the leak. The two camps have since released a multitude of songs against each other, with the feud settling down by 2009, although on Buck's album The Rehab, he disses 50 on a track titled "Hood Documentary".

Discography

Studio Albums

Straight Outta Cashville (2004)

Buck the World (2007)

The Rehab (2010)

Demo Albums

Born to Be a Thug (2002)

T.I.P. (2005)

Mixtapes

Get Buck (Hosted by DJ Semi & DJ Woogie) (2007)

Back on My Buck Shit (Hosted by DJ Smallz & DJ Scream) (2009)

Back on My Buck Shit Volume 2: Change of Plans (Hosted by Drumma Boy) (2010)

References

External links

Official website

Young Buck interview Hustler Magazine

Category:Cash Money Records artists Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:American shooting survivors Category:Cashville Records artists Category:G-Unit members Category:G-Unit Records artists Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee

Name	Tricky
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws
Alias	Tricky Kid
Born	January 27, 1968
Origin	Knowle West, Bristol, England
Instrument	Vocals, Keyboards, Harmonica
Genre	Trip hop, Alternative
Occupation	producer, mixer, musician
Label	Island Records, Domino Records
Associated acts	The Wild BunchMassive Attack

Tricky (born Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws, 27 January 1968) is an English musician and actor. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound and a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. Culturally, Tricky encourages an intertwining of societies, particularly in his musical fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop culture. His debut album Maxinquaye was nominated for the Mercury Prize and voted Album of the Year by NME Magazine.

Early life

Tricky was born in Knowle West, Bristol, England. His father left the family before he was born and his mother, Maxine Quaye, committed suicide when he was only four. He named his solo album after her - Maxinquaye - and once said that though he hardly knew her, he feels like she's speaking through him with his words.

He spent his youth in the care of his grandmother, who often let him watch old horror movies instead of going to school. At 15 he began to write lyrics ("I like to rock, I like to dance, I like pretty girls taking down their pants" MixMag 1996). At 17, he spent some time in prison because he bought forged £50 notes from a friend, who later informed the police. In an interview, Tricky said: "Prison was really good. I'm never going back" (NME 1995).

Early career

Eventually he met DJ Milo and hung out with a sound system called The Wild Bunch, which by 1987 evolved into Massive Attack. He received the nickname 'Tricky Kid' and at 18 he became a member of the Fresh 4, a rap group built from The Wild Bunch. He also rapped on Massive Attack's acclaimed debut album Blue Lines (1991).

In 1991, before the release of Massive Attack's album Blue Lines, he met Martina Topley-Bird. Some time later she came to his house, and mentioned to Tricky and Mark Stewart that she could sing. Martina was only fifteen years old, but her 'honey-coated vox' impressed them and they recorded a song called "Aftermath" (though The Face '95 mentions that the first song they recorded together was called "Shoebox"). Tricky showed "Aftermath" to Massive Attack, but they were not interested. So in 1993 he decided to press a few hundred vinyl copies of the song. He cut it directly off of the tape, so that the song is basically "just bassline and hiss". (NME 1994). Finally, a white label got him a contract with Island Records and he started to record his first solo album.

Breakthrough

Tricky left Massive Attack to release his debut album, Maxinquaye. The album was a massive success and Tricky was catapulted to international fame, something he was notably uncomfortable with. This was because the impact of his album truly set the stage for trip-hop within the United Kingdom. Tricky was able to do so much with his music by incorporating different musical genres in his sound, but ultimately making sure he made the overall product his own. In fact, the Maxinquaye album review by the Rolling Stone magazine read, "Tricky devoured everything from American hip-hop and soul to reggae and the more melancholic strains of 80s British rock." It is important to note that Tricky paid tribute to early hip-hop artists whose music was, and still is, influential in the hip-hop scene. He also incorporated commercial pop music into his music, and by combining early hip-hop and pop samples in his music, he found a way to appeal to both audiences, which rarely happens. As Hesmondhalgh and Melville wrote, "Tricky showed his debt to hip-hop aesthetics by reconstructualizing samples and slices of both the most respected black music (Public Enemy) and the tackiest pop (quoting David Cassidy’s “How Can I Be Sure?”)." Mixing all of these elements, Tricky created "a mercurial style of dance music that immediately finds it own fast feet." that had previously inspired Tricky when he forged his style.

In 2001 Tricky appeared on the Thirteen Ghosts soundtrack with the song "Excess" which (briefly) features Alanis Morissette during two of the choruses. In 2002 that song also appeared on the Queen of the Damned soundtrack.

Idiosyncrasies and media controversies

By the time Pre-Millennium Tension was released, Tricky was increasingly irritated with the press, particularly articles written in The Face magazine. The Face had been an early champion of Maxinquaye, but saw Tricky as more a duo than a solo project. The Face published an article claiming that vocalist Martina Topley-Bird had to single-handedly bring up the child that Tricky had fathered.

He has also been concerned with racial stereotyping of the media. In the documentary Naked & Famous he explained how photographers want him to frown angrily in photos, because that is how black artists are marketed. He points to a recent cover of The Big Issue, where he has a more ambiguous, confused look on his face, as being more how he feels. In the song "Tricky Kid" from Pre-Millennium Tension, he wrote "As long as you're humble/Let you be the king of jungle." (This lyric is a reference to Goldie and their spat over Björk.)

Throughout his work, Tricky blurs the normally clear sexual definitions found within hip hop. Despite the heavy influence he drew from American hip hop in his debut album, Maxinquaye, he fights against typical sexual representations by, for example, dressing as a woman on the side sleeve of his album cover. Within many of his tracks he blends elements of varying types of music, and use his lyrics to create a much more ambiguous and blurry reality of sexuality.

Side projects and film career

Tricky has guest starred on a number of albums, including a notable appearance on Live's fifth studio album, V. This appearance came as Tricky and Live's lead singer Ed Kowalczyk had developed a close friendship, with Kowalczyk contributing vocals to 'Evolution Revolution Love', a track on Tricky's album Blowback.

Tricky has also acted in various films. He appeared in a significant supporting role in the 1997 Luc Besson film The Fifth Element, playing the right-hand man "Right Arm" to evil businessman Mr. Zorg. He reportedly put off actor Gary Oldman (who played Zorg) because, while he had his back to the camera, he was eating a Twix bar, to Oldman's anger ("He's facking eatin' a Twix!"). "But Gary Oldman took me in, used to make me cups of tea and shit like that. He's got a real deep soul. Y'know, he permitted me to hang out with him and he's up there." He also appears briefly in both the 1997 John Woo directed Face/Off (his single "Christiansands" is also played during his brief cameo) as well as the 2004 Olivier Assayas film Clean, playing himself, and had a large role in the music video for "Parabol/Parabola" by Tool.

In 2001 Tricky appeared in online advertising for the webisodal show We Deliver, about a marijuana delivery service in New York. Though he did not actually appear in any episodes, in the advertising it appears as if he is a customer of the service.

Recent work

Tricky's website last reports him busy at work with the musical acts signed to his Brown Punk record label. Several new solo works have been featured in television programs such as , The L Word and Girlfriends, and he contributed "Au Revoir Emmanuelle" to a compilation entitled Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited.

Tricky's 2008 studio album, Knowle West Boy, was released in the UK and Ireland in July 2008 and September 2008 in the U.S. The first single was Council Estate. In an interview with The Skinny in July 2008, Tricky suggested that the album's release was delayed by Bernard Butler who allegedly demanded a co-producer credit on the album after contributing to recording sessions that were ultimately discarded by Tricky. In 2009 a make-over of the album by dance music producers South Rakkas Crew has been released, simply titled as Tricky Meets South Rakkas Crew.

On 8 December 2009, Tricky's 1995 debut album Maxinquaye was reissued with a bonus 13-track CD featuring B-sides, out-takes and 7 previously unreleased mixes including 3 new mixes of Overcome, Hell Is Round The Corner, and Black Steel.

On 10 December 2009, Daddy G. revealed that he met Tricky in Paris and asked him to work on a future Massive Attack project. Tricky agreed.

During an interview on 1 July 2010, Tricky stated that his new album titled Mixed Race was scheduled for release on 27 September 2010. The first single was available on 23 August. The album has guests including Franky Riley, Terry Lynn, Bobby Gillespie, Hamadouche, Blackman, and Tricky's youngest brother Marlon Thaws.

Recent times

On December 13, 2010 Tricky's tour bus was caught in a blizzard near Sarnia, Ontario, Canada (near the U.S./Canadian border). The band was scheduled to play Tuesday night in Minneapolis, but had to cancel because they didn't make it out on time. A local farmer, John Prins, came to their rescue. The farmer reported that, "They were sitting in their tour bus for 30, 35 hours, without any food", and said that, "They said they were surviving on Jack Daniels."

Discography

Studio albums

Maxinquaye (1995) #3 UK

Nearly God (1996) #10 UK

Pre-Millennium Tension (1996) #30 UK, #140 US

Angels with Dirty Faces (1998) #23 UK, #84 US

Juxtapose (1999) (with DJ Muggs and Dame Grease) #22 UK, #182 US

Blowback (2001) #34 UK, #138 US

Vulnerable (2003) #88 UK

Knowle West Boy (2008) #63 UK, #147 US

Mixed Race (2010)

Compilation albums and others

(1996)

Product of the Environment (1999)

(2000)

Queen of the Damned (soundtrack) (2002)

A Ruff Guide (2002)

Back to Mine (2003)

Singles and EPs

Collaborating artists

Damon Albarn of Blur

Ambersunshower

Björk

Pete Briquette

Yoko Ono

Bernard Butler

Rob Cavallo

Neneh Cherry

Cath Coffey

Greg Cohen

Lisa Coleman

Elvis Costello

DMX

Carmen Ejogo

Flo

Nelly Furtado

Garbage

Alison Goldfrapp

Gravediggaz

Terry Hall

PJ Harvey

Chesney Hawkes

Scott Ian

Inner Circle

Afrika Islam

Grace Jones

Josh Klinghoffer

Ed Kowalczyk of Live

Cyndi Lauper

Live

Mad Dog

Massive Attack

Pete Doherty

Wendy Melvoin

Alanis Morissette

Mos Def

Alison Moyet

DJ Muggs

Paul Oakenfold

Tim Pierce

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Marc Ribot

Mark Saunders

Jane Scarpantoni

Émilie Simon

Sub Sub

Sunshine

Terranova

Mark Thwaite

Tool

Martina Topley-Bird

Keisha White

Zeb

UB40

Bobby Gillespie

References

http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/tricky-shepherds-bush-empire-26022009-1653.aspx

External links

Review of 'C'Mon Baby' by Tricky Meets South Rakkas Crew on the Daily Music Guide

Tricky at Brown Punk

Tricky at Hollywood Records

Tricky at Music Map

Very detailed Biography

Promotional site for "Knowle West Boy" album

Audio Samples at Last.fm

Tricky live in Chile

Tricky Facebook Fan Group

Category:Electronica musicians Category:English film actors Category:English rappers Category:English television actors Category:Trip hop musicians Category:Living people Category:Music from Bristol, England Category:People from Bristol Category:1968 births Category:Black British musicians Category:Black British actors

Name	Sir Paul McCartney
Birth name	James Paul McCartney
Background	solo_singer
Img alt	A man in his early sixties, wearing a white shirt and black suspenders during a concert, playing a bass guitar.
Birth name	James Paul McCartney
Born	June 18, 1942Liverpool, England, UK
Instrument	Vocals, bass, guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, ukulele, mandolin
Genre	Rock, psychedelic rock, experimental rock, rock and roll, pop, hard rock, classical music
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, artist, composer, activist, record producer, film producer, businessman
Years active	1957–present
Label	Hear Music, Apple, Parlophone, Capitol, Columbia, Concord Music Group, EMI, One Little Indian, Vee-Jay
Associated acts	The Beatles, The Fireman, The Quarrymen, Wings, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine
Url
Notable instruments	Höfner 500/1Rickenbacker 4001SGibson Les PaulEpiphone TexanEpiphone CasinoFender EsquireFender Jazz BassYamaha BB1200 BassWal 5-String BassMartin D-28

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles (1960–1970) and Wings (1971–1981), McCartney is the most commercially successful songwriter in the history of popular music, according to Guinness World Records.

McCartney gained worldwide fame as a member of The Beatles, alongside John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. McCartney and Lennon formed one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships and wrote some of the most popular songs in the history of rock music. After leaving The Beatles, McCartney launched a successful solo career and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda Eastman, and singer-songwriter Denny Laine. McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100 million singles in the UK.

BBC News Online readers named McCartney the "greatest composer of the millennium", and BBC News cites his Beatles song "Yesterday" as the most covered song in the history of recorded music—by over 2,200 artists—and since its 1965 release, has been played more than 7,000,000 times on American television and radio according to the BBC. Based on the 93 weeks his compositions have spent at the top spot of the UK chart, and 24 number one singles to his credit, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in UK singles chart history. As a performer or songwriter, McCartney was responsible for 32 number one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and has sold 15.5 million RIAA certified albums in the US alone.

McCartney has composed film scores, classical and electronic music, released a large catalogue of songs as a solo artist, and has taken part in projects to help international charities. He is an advocate for animal rights, for vegetarianism, and for music education; he is active in campaigns against landmines, seal hunting, and Third World debt. He is a keen football fan, supporting both Everton and Liverpool football clubs. His company MPL Communications owns the copyrights to more than 3,000 songs, including all of the songs written by Buddy Holly, along with the publishing rights to such musicals as Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, and Grease. McCartney is one of the UK's wealthiest people, with an estimated fortune of £475 million in 2010.

Childhood

McCartney was born in Walton Hospital in Liverpool, England, where his mother, Mary (born Mohan), had worked as a nurse in the maternity ward. He has one brother, Michael, born 7 January 1944. McCartney was baptised Roman Catholic but was raised non-denominationally: his mother was Roman Catholic and his father James, or "Jim" McCartney, was a Protestant turned agnostic.

In 1947, he began attending Stockton Wood Road Primary School. He then attended the Joseph Williams Junior School and passed the 11-plus exam in 1953 with three others out of the 90 examinees, thus gaining admission to the Liverpool Institute. In 1954, while taking the bus from his home in the suburb of Speke to the Institute, he met George Harrison, who lived nearby. Passing the exam meant that McCartney and Harrison could go to a Grammar school rather than a secondary modern school, which the majority of pupils attended until they were eligible to work, but as Grammar school pupils, they had to find new friends.

now attracts large numbers of tourists.|alt=Exterior of a two-story brick building, with a hedge in front of it. Six windows are visible, three on each level, as are two doorways on the lower level.]] In 1955, the McCartney family moved to 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton. Mary McCartney rode a bicycle to houses where she was needed as a midwife, and an early McCartney memory is of her leaving when it was snowing heavily. On 31 October 1956, Mary McCartney, a heavy smoker, died of an embolism after a mastectomy operation to stop the spread of her breast cancer. The early loss of his mother later connected McCartney with John Lennon, whose mother Julia died after being struck by a car when Lennon was 17.

McCartney's father was a trumpet player and pianist who had led Jim Mac's Jazz Band in the 1920s and encouraged his two sons to be musical. Jim had an upright piano in the front room that he had bought from Brian Epstein's store. McCartney's grandfather, Joe McCartney, played an E-flat tuba. Jim McCartney used to point out the different instruments in songs on the radio, and often took McCartney to local brass band concerts. McCartney's father gave him a nickel-plated trumpet, but when skiffle music became popular, McCartney swapped the trumpet for a £15 Framus Zenith (model 17) acoustic guitar. As he was left-handed, McCartney found right-handed guitars difficult to play, but when he saw a poster advertising a Slim Whitman concert, he realised that Whitman played left-handed with his guitar strung the opposite way to a right-handed player. McCartney wrote his first song ("I Lost My Little Girl") on the Zenith, and also played his father's Framus Spanish guitar when writing early songs with Lennon. He later learned to play the piano and wrote his second song, "When I'm Sixty-Four". On his father's advice, he took music lessons, but since he preferred to learn 'by ear' he never paid much attention to them.

McCartney was heavily influenced by American Rhythm and Blues music. He has stated that Little Richard was his idol when he was in school and that the first song he ever sang in public was "Long Tall Sally", at a Butlins holiday camp talent competition.

Musical career

1957–1960

At the age of 15, McCartney met John Lennon and The Quarrymen at the St. Peter's Church Hall fête in Woolton on 6 July 1957. He formed a close working relationship with Lennon and they collaborated writing many songs. Harrison joined the group in early 1958 as lead guitarist, followed in early 1960 by Lennon's art school friend, Stuart Sutcliffe on bass. By May 1960, they had tried several new names, including "Johnny and the Moondogs" and "The Silver Beetles", playing a tour of Scotland under that name with Johnny Gentle. They finally changed the name of the group to "The Beatles" in mid-August 1960 and recruited Pete Best at short-notice to become their drummer for an imminent engagement in Hamburg.

1960–1970: The Beatles

and John Lennon]] From May 1960, The Beatles were booked by Allan Williams, to perform at a club in Hamburg. For the next two years, The Beatles remained in Hamburg for much of the time, performing as a resident group in a number of Hamburg clubs. During their two-year Hamburg residency they returned to Liverpool from time to time, performing at the Cavern club. Prior to the end of the residency, Sutcliffe left the band, so McCartney, reluctantly, became The Beatles' bass player. The Beatles recorded their first published musical material in Hamburg, performing as the backing group for Tony Sheridan on the single "My Bonnie". This recording later brought the Beatles to the attention of a key figure in their subsequent development and commercial success, Brian Epstein, who became their next manager. Epstein eventually negotiated a record contract for the group with Parlophone in May 1962. After replacing Best with Ringo Starr on drums, The Beatles became popular in the UK in 1963 and in the US in 1964. In 1965, they were each appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). After performing concerts, plays, and tours almost non-stop for a period of nearly four years, and giving more than one thousand four hundred live performances internationally, The Beatles gave their last commercial concert at the end of their 1966 US tour. They continued to work in the recording studio from 1966 until their break-up in 1970. In the eight years from 1962 to 1970, the group had released twenty-four UK singles and twelve studio albums, often released in different configurations in the USA and other countries (see discography).

Since 1970

concert, 1976]] After the break-up of The Beatles, McCartney continued his musical career, in solo work as well as in collaborations with other musicians. After releasing his solo album McCartney in 1970, he worked with Linda McCartney to record the album Ram in 1971. Later the same year, the pair were joined by guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell to form the group Wings, which was active between 1971 and 1981 and released numerous successful singles and albums (see discography). McCartney also collaborated with a number of other popular artists including Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Eric Stewart, and Elvis Costello. In 1985, McCartney played "Let It Be" at the Live Aid concert in London, backed by Bob Geldof, Pete Townshend, David Bowie, and Alison Moyet. The 1990s saw McCartney venture into orchestral music, and in 1991 the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society commissioned a musical piece by McCartney to celebrate its sesquicentennial. He collaborated with Carl Davis to release Liverpool Oratorio; involving the opera singers Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sally Burgess, Jerry Hadley and Willard White, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the choir of Liverpool Cathedral. The Prince of Wales later honoured McCartney as a Fellow of The Royal College of Music and Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music (2008). Other forays into classical music included Standing Stone (1997), Working Classical (1999), and Ecce Cor Meum (2006). It was announced in the 1997 New Year Honours that McCartney was to be knighted for services to music, becoming Sir Paul McCartney. In 1999, McCartney was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist and in May 2000, he was awarded a Fellowship by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. The 1990s also saw McCartney, Harrison, and Starr working together on Apple's The Beatles Anthology documentary series.

Having witnessed the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks from the JFK airport tarmac, McCartney took a lead role in organising The Concert for New York City. In November 2002, on the first anniversary of George Harrison's death, McCartney performed at the Concert for George. He has also participated in the National Football League's Super Bowl, performing in the pre-game show for Super Bowl XXXVI and headlining the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIX.

in 2009.]] McCartney has continued to work in the realms of popular and classical music, touring the world and performing at a large number of concerts and events; on more than one occasion he has performed again with Ringo Starr. In 2008, he received a BRIT award for Outstanding Contribution to Music and an honorary degree, Doctor of Music, from Yale University. The same year, he performed at a concert in Liverpool to celebrate the city's year as European Capital of Culture. In 2009, he received two nominations for the 51st annual Grammy awards, while in October of the same year he was named songwriter of the year at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Awards. On 15 July 2009, more than 45 years after The Beatles first appeared on American television on The Ed Sullivan Show, McCartney returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater and performed atop the marquee of Late Show with David Letterman. McCartney was portrayed in the 2009 film Nowhere Boy, about Lennon's teenage years, by Thomas Sangster.

On 2 June 2010, McCartney was honoured by Barack Obama with the Gershwin Prize for his contributions to popular music in a live show for the White House with performances by Stevie Wonder, Lang Lang and many others.

McCartney's enduring popularity has helped him schedule performances in new venues. He played three sold out concerts at newly-built Citi Field in Queens, New York (built to replace the Shea Stadium) in July 2009. On 18 August 2010, McCartney opened the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

McCartney has been touring for the past ten years with guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, Paul "Wix" Wickens on keyboards and drummer Abe Laboriel, Jr. They performed together on 13 July 2010 in Salt Lake City as part of the Up and Coming Tour.

There are plans for an upcoming Paul McCartney tribute album to be released in 2010 with recordings of McCartney songs by Kiss, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, B.B. King and others.

Creative outlets

During the 1960s, McCartney was often seen at major cultural events, such as the launch party for the International Times and at The Roundhouse (28 January and 4 February 1967 respectively). He also delved into the visual arts, becoming a close friend of leading art dealers and gallery owners, explored experimental film, and regularly attended movie, theatrical and classical music performances. His first contact with the London avant-garde scene was through John Dunbar, who introduced him to the art dealer Robert Fraser, who in turn introduced McCartney to an array of writers and artists. McCartney later became involved in the renovation and publicising of the Indica Gallery in Mason's Yard, London—John Lennon first met Yoko Ono at the Indica. The Indica Gallery brought McCartney into contact with Barry Miles, whose underground newspaper, the International Times, McCartney helped to start. Miles would become de facto manager of the Apple's short-lived Zapple Records label, and wrote McCartney's official biography, Many Years From Now (1997).

While living at the Asher house, McCartney took piano lessons at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which The Beatles' producer Martin had previously attended. McCartney studied composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Luciano Berio. McCartney later wrote and released several pieces of modern classical music and ambient electronica, besides writing poetry and painting. McCartney is lead patron of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, an arts school in the building formerly occupied by the Liverpool Institute for Boys. The 1837 building, which McCartney attended during his schooldays, had become derelict by the mid-1980s. for the American network Westwood One, which he described as being "wide-screen radio". During the 1990s, McCartney collaborated with Youth of Killing Joke under the name The Fireman, and released two ambient electronic albums: Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest (1993) and Rushes (1998). In 2000, he released an album titled Liverpool Sound Collage with Super Furry Animals and Youth, utilising the sound collage and musique concrète techniques that fascinated him in the mid-1960s. In 2005, he worked on a project with bootleg producer and remixer Freelance Hellraiser, consisting of remixed versions of songs from throughout his solo career which were released under the title Twin Freaks. The Fireman's third album Electric Arguments was released on 25 November 2008. McCartney told L.A. Weekly in a January 2009, "Fireman is improvisational theatre ... I formalise it a bit to get it into the studio, and when I step up to a microphone, I have a vague idea of what I’m about to do. I usually have a song, and I know the melody and lyrics, and my performance is the only unknown."

Film

McCartney was interested in animated films as a child, and later had the financial resources to ask Geoff Dunbar to direct a short animated film called Rupert and the Frog Song, in 1981. McCartney was the producer, he wrote the music and the script, and also added some of the character voices. McCartney wrote and starred in the 1984 film Give My Regards to Broad Street. The film and soundtrack featured the popular hit "No More Lonely Nights", and the album reached #1 in the UK, but the film did not do well commercially or critically. Roger Ebert awarded the film a single star and wrote, "You can safely skip the movie and proceed directly to the sound track." Dunbar worked again with McCartney on an animated film about the work of French artist Honoré Daumier, in 1992, which won both of them a Bafta award. They also worked on Tropic Island Hum, in 1997. In 1995, McCartney directed a short documentary about The Grateful Dead.

In May 2000, McCartney released , a retrospective documentary that features behind-the-scenes films and photographs that Paul and Linda McCartney (who had died in 1998) took of their family and bands. Interspersed throughout the 88 minute film is an interview by Mary McCartney with her father. Mary was the baby photographed inside McCartney's jacket on the back cover of his first solo album, McCartney, and was one of the producers of the documentary.

Painting

In 1966, McCartney met art gallery-owner Robert Fraser, whose flat was visited by many well-known artists. McCartney met Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Peter Blake, and Richard Hamilton there, and learned about art appreciation. McCartney later started buying paintings by Magritte, and used Magritte's painting of an apple for the Apple Records logo. He now owns Magritte's easel and spectacles.

McCartney's love of painting surfaced after watching artist Willem de Kooning paint, in Kooning's Long Island studio. McCartney took up painting in 1983. In 1999, he exhibited his paintings (featuring McCartney's portraits of John Lennon, Andy Warhol, and David Bowie) for the first time in Siegen, Germany, and included photographs by Linda. He chose the gallery because Wolfgang Suttner (local events organiser) was genuinely interested in his art, and the positive reaction led to McCartney showing his work in UK galleries. The first UK exhibition of McCartney's work was opened in Bristol, England with more than 500 paintings on display. McCartney had previously believed that "only people that had been to art school were allowed to paint"—as Lennon had.

As an artist, Paul McCartney designed a series of six postage stamps issued by the Isle of Man Post on 1 July 2002. According to BBC News, McCartney seems to be the first major rock star in the world who is also known as a stamp designer.

Writing and poetry

When McCartney was young, his mother read him poems and encouraged him to read books. McCartney's father was interested in crosswords and invited the two young McCartneys (Paul and his brother Michael) to solve them with him, so as to increase their "word power". McCartney was later inspired—in his school years—by Alan Durband, who was McCartney's English literature teacher at the Liverpool Institute. Durband was a co-founder and fund-raiser at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, where Willy Russell also worked, and introduced McCartney to Geoffrey Chaucer's works. McCartney later took his A-level exams, but passed only one subject—Art.

In 2001 McCartney published 'Blackbird Singing', a volume of poems, some of which were lyrics to his songs, and gave readings in Liverpool and New York City. Some of them were serious: "Here Today" (about Lennon) and some humorous ("Maxwell's Silver Hammer"). In the foreword of the book, McCartney explained that when he was a teenager, he had "an overwhelming desire" to have a poem of his published in the school magazine. He wrote something "deep and meaningful", but it was rejected, and he feels that he has been trying to get some kind of revenge ever since. His first "real poem" was about the death of his childhood friend, Ivan Vaughan. McCartney collaborated with author Philip Ardagh and animator Geoff Dunbar to write the book.

Contact with fellow ex-Beatles

John Lennon

Although McCartney's post-Beatles relationship with John Lennon was troubled, they became close again briefly in 1974 and even played together for the only time since The Beatles split (see A Toot and a Snore in '74). In later years, the two grew apart again. McCartney would often call Lennon, but was never sure of what sort of reception he would get, such as when McCartney once called Lennon and was told, "You're all pizza and fairytales!" McCartney understood that he could not just phone Lennon and only talk about business, so they often talked about cats, baking bread, or babies. According to May Pang, during Lennon's "Lost Weekend" with her they planned to visit McCartney in New Orleans, where McCartney was recording the Venus and Mars album, but Lennon went back to Ono the day before the planned visit after Ono said she had a new cure for Lennon's smoking habit.

In a 1980 interview, Lennon said that the last time he had seen McCartney was when they had watched the episode of Saturday Night Live (May 1976) in which Lorne Michaels had made his $3,000 cash offer to get Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr to reunite on the show. McCartney and Lennon had seriously considered going to the studio, but were too tired. This event was fictionalised in the 2000 television film Two of Us. His last telephone call to Lennon, which was just before Lennon and Ono released Double Fantasy, was friendly. During the call, Lennon said (laughing) to McCartney, "This housewife wants a career!" which referred to Lennon's househusband years, while looking after Sean Lennon. In 1984, McCartney said this about the phone call: "Yes. That is a nice thing, a consoling factor for me, because I do feel it was sad that we never actually sat down and straightened our differences out. But fortunately for me, the last phone conversation I ever had with him was really great, and we didn't have any kind of blow-up." Linda McCartney, speaking in the same 1984 interview stated: "I know that Paul was desperate to write with John again. And I know John was desperate to write. Desperate. People thought, well, he's taking care of Sean, he's a househusband and all that, but he wasn't happy. He couldn't write and it drove him crazy. And Paul could have helped him... easily." Lennon's death created a media frenzy around the surviving members of The Beatles. On the evening of 9 December, as McCartney was leaving an Oxford Street recording studio, he was surrounded by reporters and asked for his reaction to Lennon's death. He was later criticised for what appeared, when published, to be an utterly superficial response: "It's a drag". McCartney explained, "When John was killed somebody stuck a microphone at me and said: 'What do you think about it?' I said, 'It's a dra-a-ag' and meant it with every inch of melancholy I could muster. When you put that in print it says, 'McCartney in London today when asked for a comment on his dead friend said, "It's a drag."' It seemed a very flippant comment to make." McCartney was also to recall: }} In 1983, McCartney said: }} In a Playboy interview in 1984, McCartney said that he went home that night and watched the news on television—while sitting with all his children—and cried all evening.

McCartney carried on recording after the death of Lennon but did not play any live concerts for some time. He explained that this was because he was nervous that he would be "the next" to be murdered. This led to a disagreement with Denny Laine, who wanted to continue touring and subsequently left Wings, which McCartney disbanded in 1981. Also in June 1981, six months after Lennon's death, McCartney sang backup on George Harrison's tribute to Lennon, "All Those Years Ago", which also featured Ringo Starr on drums. McCartney would go on to record "Here Today", a tribute song to Lennon.

George Harrison

In 1977, Harrison had this to say about working with McCartney: "There were a lot of tracks though where I played bass...because what Paul would do, if he's written a song, he'd learn all the parts for Paul and then come in the studio and say, 'Do this.' He'd never give you the opportunity to come out with something. Paul would always help along when you'd done his ten songs—then when he got 'round to doing one of my songs, he would help. It was silly. It was very selfish, actually." While being interviewed circa 1988, Harrison said McCartney had recently mentioned the possibility of he and Harrison writing together, to which Harrison laughed, "I've only been there about 30 years in Paul's life and it's like now he wants to write with me."

In September 1980, Lennon said of Harrison and McCartney's working relationship: "I remember the day [Harrison] called to ask for help on "Taxman", one of his bigger songs. I threw in a few one-liners to help the song along, because that's what he asked for. He came to me because he couldn't go to Paul, because Paul wouldn't have helped him at that period.

In late 2001, McCartney learned that Harrison was losing his battle with cancer. Upon Harrison's death on 29 November 2001, McCartney told Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, Good Morning America, The Early Show, MTV, VH1 and Today that George was like his "baby brother". Harrison spent his last days in a Hollywood Hills mansion that was once leased by McCartney. On the day Harrison died, McCartney said, "George was a fantastic guy...still laughing and joking...a very brave man...and I love him like...he's my brother." While guesting on Larry King Live alongside Ringo Starr, McCartney said of the last time he saw Harrison, "We just sat there stroking hands. And this is a guy, and, you know, you don't stroke hands with guys, like that, you know it was just beautiful. We just spent a couple of hours and it was really lovely it was like...a favourite memory of mine." On the first anniversary of Harrison's death, McCartney played Harrison's "Something" on a ukulele at the Concert for George.

Linda McCartney

In 1969, McCartney married American photographer Linda Eastman, whom he described as the woman who gave him "the strength and courage to work again" after the break-up of The Beatles. The pair had met previously at a 1967 Georgie Fame concert at The Bag O'Nails club, during her UK assignment to take photographs of "Swinging Sixties" musicians in London. Paul and Linda were both vegetarian and supported the animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. They had four children—Linda's daughter Heather (who was adopted by Paul), Mary, Stella and James—and remained married until Linda's death from breast cancer in 1998.

Heather Mills

In 2002, McCartney married Heather Mills, a former model and anti-landmines campaigner. The couple had a child, Beatrice, in 2003. They separated in May 2006 and were divorced in May 2008.

Nancy Shevell

McCartney has been dating New Yorker Nancy Shevell since November 2007. She is a member of the board of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority as well as vice president of a family-owned transportation conglomerate which owns New England Motor Freight.

Lifestyle

Drugs

McCartney's introduction to drugs started in Hamburg, Germany. The Beatles had to play for hours, and they were often given "Prellies" (Preludin) by German customers or by Astrid Kirchherr (whose mother bought them). McCartney would usually take one, but Lennon would often take four or five.

McCartney remembered getting "very high" and giggling when The Beatles were introduced to cannabis by Bob Dylan in New York, in 1964. McCartney's use of cannabis became regular, and he was quoted as saying that any future Beatles' lyrics containing the words "high", or "grass" were written specifically as a reference to cannabis, as was the phrase "another kind of mind" in "Got to Get You into My Life". John Dunbar's flat at 29 Lennox Gardens, in London, became a regular hang-out for McCartney, where he talked to musicians, writers and artists, and smoked cannabis. In 1965, Miles introduced McCartney to hash brownies by using a recipe for hash fudge he found in the Alice B. Toklas Cookbook. During the filming of Help!, he occasionally smoked a spliff in the car on the way to the studio during filming, which often made him forget his lines. Help! director Dick Lester said that he overheard "two beautiful women" trying to cajole McCartney into taking heroin, but he refused.

McCartney's attitude about cannabis was made public in the 1960s, when he added his name to an advertisement in The Times, on 24 July 1967, which asked for the legalisation of cannabis, the release of all prisoners imprisoned because of possession, and research into marijuana's medical uses. The advertisement was sponsored by a group called Soma and was signed by 65 people, including The Beatles, Epstein, RD Laing, 15 doctors, and two MPs.

McCartney was introduced to cocaine by Robert Fraser, and it was available during the recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He admitted that he used the drug multiple times for about a year but stopped because of the unpleasant comedown.

In 1967, on a sailing trip to Greece (with the idea of buying an island for the whole group) McCartney said everybody sat around and took LSD, although McCartney had first taken it with Tara Browne, in 1966. He took his second "acid trip" with Lennon on 21 March 1967 after a studio session. McCartney was the first British pop star to openly admit using LSD, in an interview in the now-defunct "Queen" magazine. His admission was followed by a TV interview in the UK on ITN on 19 June 1967, and when McCartney was asked about his admission of LSD use, he said:

McCartney was not arrested by Norman Pilcher's Drug Squad, as had been Donovan, and several members of the Rolling Stones.

Meditation

On 24 August 1967, McCartney met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the London Hilton, and later went to Bangor, in North Wales, to attend a weekend 'initiation' conference, at which time he and the other Beatles learned Transcendental Meditation (TM). "The whole meditation experience was very good and I still use the mantra. . . I find it soothing and I can imagine that the more you were to get into it, the more interesting it would get." The time McCartney later spent in India at the Maharishi's ashram was highly productive, as practically all of the songs that would later be recorded for The White Album and Abbey Road were composed there by McCartney, Lennon, or both together. Although McCartney was told that he was never to repeat the mantra to anyone else, he did tell Linda McCartney, and said he meditated a lot while he was in jail in Japan. In 2009, McCartney, along with Ringo Starr, headlined a benefit concert at Radio City Music Hall, raising three million dollars for the David Lynch Foundation to fund instruction in Transcendental Meditation for at-risk youth.

Activism

Paul and Linda McCartney became outspoken vegetarians and animal-rights activists. They said that their vegetarianism was realised when they happened to see lambs in a field as they ate a meal of lamb. McCartney has also credited the 1942 Disney film Bambi—in which the young deer's mother is shot by a hunter—as the original inspiration for him to take an interest in animal rights. In his first interview after Linda's death, he promised to continue working for animal rights. In 1999, McCartney spent £3,000,000 to make sure Linda McCartney's food range remained free of GM ingredients. In 2002, McCartney gave his support to a campaign against a proposed ban on the sale of certain vitamins, herbs, and mineral products in the European Union. Following his marriage to Heather Mills, McCartney joined with her to campaign against landmines; He also wore an anti-landmines t-shirt on the Back in the World tour.

In 2006, the McCartneys travelled to Prince Edward Island to bring international attention to the seal hunt (their final public appearance together). Their arrival sparked attention in Newfoundland and Labrador where the hunt is of economic significance. The couple also debated with Newfoundland's Premier Danny Williams on the CNN show Larry King Live. They further stated that the fishermen should quit hunting seals and begin a seal watching business. McCartney has also criticised China's fur trade and supports the Make Poverty History campaign.

McCartney has been involved with a number of charity recordings and performances. In 2004, he donated a song to an album to aid the "US Campaign for Burma", in support of Burmese Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, and he had previously been involved in the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, Ferry Aid, Band Aid, Live Aid, and the recording of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" (released 8 May 1989) following the Hillsborough disaster.

In a December 2008 interview with Prospect Magazine, McCartney mentioned that he tried to convince the Dalai Lama to become a vegetarian. In a letter to the Dalai Lama, McCartney took issue with Buddhism and meat-eating being considered compatible, saying, "Forgive me for pointing this out, but if you eat animals then there is some suffering somewhere along the line." The Dalai Lama replied to McCartney by saying his doctors advised him to eat meat for health reasons. In the interview McCartney said, "I wrote back saying they were wrong."

Paul McCartney has recently been in a battle against McDonald's for hanging photos of The Beatles in their restaurant. Paul was outraged that they were using his band as an endorsement for selling their burgers. Exclaim! magazine writes that Paul encouraged his fans to boycott McDonald's. A spokeswoman then told The Daily Telegraph that they had put up the photos to "acknowledge the outstanding contribution The Beatles made to both local and global culture." PETA then rebutted, saying that Paul would "never authorise his photo to endorse meat products." The photos have since been taken down.

Football

The Beatles were advised by Epstein to make no comments about the football clubs they supported because it could alienate some fans, though it was well known that McCartney was a supporter of Everton Football Club, and that his father and relatives used to take him to matches. His allegiance later shifted to Liverpool F.C., as on 28 July 1968, The Beatles were photographed in a photographer's studio at 192-212 Gray's Inn Road, with McCartney wearing a Liverpool F.C. rosette.

Linda McCartney later said: "We spent last night listening to Liverpool football team on the radio, wanting them to win so badly. Paul supports Liverpool. He was for Everton for a while because of his family — but it's all Liverpool now."

Lennon and McCartney were present to watch the 1966 FA Cup Final at Wembley, between Everton and Sheffield Wednesday, and McCartney attended the 1968 FA Cup Final (18 May 1968) which was played by West Bromwich Albion against Everton. After the end of the match, McCartney shared cigarettes and whisky with other football fans.

At the end of the live version of Coming Up recorded in Glasgow in 1979 (later to become a US number one single) the crowd begins to sing "Paul McCartney!" until McCartney takes over and changes the chant to "Kenny Dalglish!", referring to the current Liverpool and Scotland striker. At the same concert, Gordon Smith, former football player who played for Rangers and Brighton & Hove Albion, met the McCartneys, and later accepted an invitation to visit their home in East Sussex in 1980. Smith later said that McCartney was "thrilled I knew Kenny Dalglish", to which Linda added: "I like Gordon McQueen of Man United", and Smith replied, "I know him too."

McCartney attended the 1986 FA Cup Final between Liverpool and Everton, McCartney performed at the Liverpool F.C. Anfield stadium on 1 June 2008, as a part of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture year. Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters sang with McCartney on Band on the Run, and played drums on "Back in the U.S.S.R.". Ono and Olivia Harrison attended the concert, along with Ken Dodd, and the former Liverpool F.C. football manager Rafael Benítez.

In an interview in 2008, McCartney ended speculation about his allegiance when he said:

"Here's the deal: my father was born in Everton, my family are officially Evertonians, so if it comes down to a derby match or an FA Cup final between the two, I would have to support Everton. But after a concert at Wembley Arena I got a bit of a friendship with Kenny Dalglish, who had been to the gig and I thought 'You know what? I am just going to support them both because it's all Liverpool and I don't have that Catholic-Protestant thing.' So I did have to get special dispensation from the Pope to do this but that's it, too bad. I support them both. They are both great teams, but if it comes to the crunch, I'm Evertonian."

In 2010 there was heavy speculation surrounding McCartney that he was to head up a consortium launching a take-over bid for struggling Charlton Athletic. Links between the club and the famous musician go a long way back with Charlton's famous supporters anthem - Valley, Floyd Road - using the tune and a number of lyrics from the Wings song Mull of Kintyre.

Business

McCartney is one of Britain's wealthiest musicians, with an estimated fortune of £750 million ($1.2 billion) in 2009, although Justice Bennett, in his judgement on McCartney's divorce case found no evidence that McCartney was worth more than £400 million. In December 1998, he was approached to purchase a stake in Everton Football Club by former school friend Bill Kenwright who wished to put a consortium together but McCartney chose to decline the offer. In addition to his interest in Apple Corps, McCartney's MPL Communications owns a significant music publishing catalogue, with access to over 25,000 copyrights. McCartney earned £40 million in 2003, making him Britain's highest media earner. This rose to £48.5 million by 2005. In the same year he joined the top American talent agency Grabow Associates, who arrange private performances for their richest clients. Northern Songs was established in 1963, by Dick James, to publish the songs of Lennon/McCartney.

The Beatles' partnership was replaced in 1968 by a jointly held company, Apple Corps, which continues to control Apple's commercial interests. Northern Songs was purchased by Associated TeleVision (ATV) in 1969, and was sold in 1985 to Michael Jackson. For many years McCartney was unhappy about Jackson's purchase and handling of Northern Songs.

MPL Communications is an umbrella company for McCartney's business interests, which owns a wide range of copyrights, as well as the publishing rights to musicals. In 2006, the Trademarks Registry reported that MPL had started a process to secure the protections associated with registering the name "Paul McCartney" as a trademark. The 2005 films, Brokeback Mountain and Good Night and Good Luck, feature MPL copyrights.

In April 2009, it was revealed that McCartney, in common with other wealthy musicians, had seen a significant decline in his net worth over the preceding year. It was estimated that his fortune had fallen by some £60m, from £238m to £175m. The losses were attributed to the ongoing global recession, and the resultant decline in value of property and stock market holdings.

In the US, McCartney has achieved thirty-two number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including twenty-one with The Beatles, McCartney is the only artist to reach the UK number one as a soloist ("Pipes of Peace"), duo ("Ebony and Ivory" with Stevie Wonder), trio ("Mull of Kintyre", Wings), quartet ("She Loves You", The Beatles), quintet ("Get Back", The Beatles with Billy Preston), and as part of a musical ensemble for charity (Ferry Aid).

McCartney was voted the "Greatest Composer of the Millennium" by BBC News Online readers and McCartney's song "Yesterday" is thought to be the most covered song in history with more than 2,200 recorded versions After its 1977 release, the Wings single "Mull of Kintyre" became the highest-selling record in British chart history, and remained so until 1984. (Three charity singles have since surpassed it in sales; the first to do so, in 1984, was Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in which McCartney was a participant.)

On 2 July 2005, he was involved with the fastest-released single in history. His performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with U2 at Live 8 was released only 45 minutes after it was performed, before the end of the concert. The single reached number six on the Billboard charts, just hours after the single's release, and hit number one on numerous online download charts across the world. McCartney played for the largest stadium audience in history when 184,000 people paid to see him perform at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 21 April 1990.

McCartney's scheduled concert in St Petersburg, Russia was his 3,000th concert and took place in front of 60,000 fans in Russia, on 20 June 2004. Over his career, McCartney has played 2,523 gigs with The Beatles, 140 with Wings, and 325 as a solo artist. Only his second concert in Russia, with the first just the year before on Moscow's Red Square as the former Communist U.S.S.R. had previously banned music from The Beatles as a "corrupting influence", McCartney hired 3 jets, at a reported cost of $36,000 (€29,800) (£28,000), to spray dry ice in the clouds above Saint Petersburg's Winter Palace Square in a successful attempt to prevent rain.

The day McCartney flew into the former Soviet country, he celebrated his 62nd birthday, and after the concert, according to RIA Novosti news agency, he received a phone call from a fan; then-President Vladimir Putin, who telephoned him after the concert to wish him a happy birthday. from President Barack Obama in the White House, June 2010.]] In the concert programme for his 1989 world tour, McCartney wrote that Lennon received all the credit for being the avant-garde Beatle, and McCartney was known as "baby-faced", which he disagreed with. People also assumed that Lennon was the "hard-edged one", and McCartney was the "soft-edged" Beatle, although McCartney admitted to "bossing Lennon around." Linda McCartney said that McCartney had a "hard-edge"—and not just on the surface—which she knew about after all the years she had spent living with him. McCartney seemed to confirm this edge when he commented that he sometimes meditates, which he said is better than "sleeping, eating, or shouting at someone".

The minor planet 4148, discovered in 1983, was named "McCartney" in his honour.

On 18 June 2006, McCartney celebrated his 64th birthday, a milestone that was the subject of one of the first songs he ever wrote, at the age of sixteen, The Beatles' song "When I'm Sixty-Four". Paul Vallely noted in The Independent: }}

Discography

Tours

Arms

Notes	Sir Paul McCartney's agent was Hubert Chesshyre, LVO, Clarenceux King of Arms
Crest	On a Wreath of the Colours A Liver Bird calling Sable supporting with the dexter claws a Guitar Or stringed Sable.
Escutcheon	Or between two Flaunches fracted fesswise two Roundels Sable over all six Guitar Strings palewise throughout counterchanged.
Motto	ECCE COR MEUM (Behold my heart)

References

;Footnotes

;Bibliography

External links

Paul McCartney's Official Website

Paul McCartney's Animation Website

Paul McCartney Ecce Cor Meum audio Podcast

Liverpool celebrates Irish ancestry

Paul McCartney: Financial Accounts

Satellite View of Childhood Home of Paul McCartney

Category:1942 births Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:English pop singers Category:English rock bass guitarists Category:English rock guitarists Category:English rock pianists Category:English rock singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English vegetarians Category:Backing vocalists Category:20th-century classical composers Category:Apple Records artists Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Music from Liverpool Category:Parlophone artists Category:Mercury Records artists Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:The Beatles members Category:The Quarrymen members Category:Wings members Category:World record holders Category:Musicians from Liverpool Category:Living people Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Transcendental Meditation practitioners Category:Liverpool Institute alumni Category:British billionaires Category:Silver Clef Awards winners Category:Animal rights advocates

Name	Kat DeLuna
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kathleen Emperatriz DeLuna
Born	November 17, 1987 1987) is an American pop and R&B; singer of Dominican heritage.
Name	DeLuna, Kat
Date of birth	1987-11-26
Place of birth	The Bronx, New York

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:American child singers Category:American people of Dominican Republic descent Category:American pop singers Category:Hispanic and Latino American people Category:Spanish-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:People from the Bronx

Name	Jason Nevins
Background	non_performing_personnel
Origin	New York, United States
Genre	House, Hip hop, Pop, Dance
Occupation	DJ, remixer and producer
Years active	1992–present
Label	Strictly Rhythm RecordsUltra Records
Url	http://www.jasonnevins.com/

Jason Nevins (born 1974) is an American DJ, producer and remixer, who is most widely known for his pop dance productions.

Career

In the early 1990s, Nevins began releasing house singles under various monikers through various dance labels, but achieved global recognition in 1996 with his remix of Run-DMC's "It's Like That" from 1983, which was released under the title Run-DMC vs. Jason Nevins, reaching the No. 1 spot in over 30 countries, including the German Top 100 and the UK Top 40 charts. It went on to sell a staggering five million copies. The single also halted the Spice Girls (then record) run of six consecutive No. 1's with their first six singles, holding the Spice Girls' seventh release, "Stop", at No. 2.

Nevins followed up "It's Like That" with a string of techno-house and hip-house remixes, with Run-DMC's "Tricky", 2 Live Crew's "We Want Some..." and Cypress Hill's "Insane In The Brain" all featuring on his 1999 album Uni-Vs-Al (Universal). In 2001, he started to add a rock vibe to his remixes and productions, working on tracks for artists as varied as N.E.R.D, Duran Duran and The Bloodhound Gang. Nevins has also revisited producing his own work, with a release on the UK based-Sanctuary Records, entitled The Funk Rocker, in October 2004, and reached major airplay in Europe with his pseudonym UKNY with the track "I'm In Heaven", featuring vocals by Holly James. "Heaven" went to No. 9 on the UK Top 40. Jason has had numerous songs and remixes used in feature films, TV commercials and video games. In late 2007, Nevins collaborated with Dannii Minogue on a track entitled "Touch Me Like That" with a video being shot at the world- renown Pinewood Studios in London.

Discography

Albums

1993: Red/Green CD

2000: Uni-Vs-Al (Universal)

2003: Pushing It Hard

2005: The Funk Rocker

2006: Pushing It Harder: The Lost Tapes

Mixed compilations

2009: Ultra.Dance, Vol. 10

2009: Ultra Weekend 5

Official Remixes

A Flock of Seagulls- "I Ran"

Adam Lambert- "Whataya Want From Me"

Adam Lambert- "If I Had You"

Agnes - "Release Me"

Amber - "Just Like That"

Ameerah - "The Sound of Missing You"

Anastacia - "Left Outside Alone", Pieces of a Dream", "Sick and Tired"

Annet Artani - "Alive"

Ashley Tisdale - "It's Alright, It's OK"

Backstreet Boys - "As Long As You Love Me", "Helpless When She Smiles", "Inconsolable", "Just Want You To Know", "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely","Straight Through My Heart"

Blue Man Group - "I Feel Love"

Bon Jovi - "We Weren't Born To Follow"

Britney Spears - "Break The Ice", "'", "Lucky" , "Womanizer"

Carmen Reece - Right Here

Celine Dion - "Taking Chances"

Chris Brown - "Forever", "Run It!"

Christina Aguilera - "Keeps Gettin' Better"

Christina Milian - "Us Against the World"

Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake - "Love Sex Magic"

Colbie Caillat - "Fallin' for You"

Coldplay - "Viva La Vida"

Cypress Hill - "Insane in the Brain"

Dakota - Heart & Soul

Dannii Minogue - "Put the Needle on It", "Touch Me Like That"

Darren Hayes - "Pop!ular"

David Archuleta - "A Little Too Not Over You", "Crush"

Debi Nova - "Drummer Boy"

Demi Lovato - "Here We Go Again"

Donna Summer - "Stamp Your Feet"

Duran Duran - "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise"

Elvis Presley - "Rubberneckin"

Enrique Iglesias - "I Like It"

Falco - "Der Kommissar"

Fergie - "Big Girls Don't Cry"

Flo-Rida featuring Will.I.Am - "In The Ayer"

Girls Aloud - "The Promise"

High School Musical 2 - All Songs for High School Musical 2: Non-Stop Dance Party

Hinder - "Lips of an Angel"

House of Pain - "Jump Around"

Iyaz - "Replay"

Insane Clown Posse - "Hokus Pokus"

Janet Jackson - "I Get Lonely"

Jay Sean - "Down"

Jessica Mauboy - "Burn"

Jessie James - "Wanted"

Jo De La Rosa - "U Can't Control Me"

Jonas Brothers - "When You Look Me in the Eyes"

Jordin Sparks - "Battlefield", "One Step At A Time", "Tattoo", "S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)"

Jordin Sparks featuring Chris Brown - "No Air"

Kat Deluna - "Dance Bailalo"

Katy Perry - "Hot n Cold", "I Kissed a Girl", "Waking Up in Vegas"

Kelly Clarkson - "Because of You", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", "Never Again", "Since U Been Gone"

Kimberley Locke - "Change"

Lady Antebellum - "Need You Now"

Lady Sovereign - "Love Me or Hate Me"

Leona Lewis - "Better in Time", "Bleeding Love", "Happy"

LeToya - "She Ain't Got..."

LL Cool J featuring Jennifer Lopez - "Control Myself"

Lola - "I Can't Take It"

Lolene - "Sexy People"

Madonna - "Nothing Fails"

Matisse - "Better Than Her"

Michael Bublé - "Haven't Met You Yet"

Michael Jackson - "Thriller Megamix 2008"

Michelle Williams - "The Greatest"

Miley Cyrus - "Fly On The Wall"

Miranda Cosgrove - "Leave It All To Me"

Miranda Cosgrove - "Kissin U"

Missy Elliott - "Beep Me 911"

Moby feauring Angie Stone & MC Lyte - "Jam For The Ladies"

N.E.R.D - "Rock Star", "She Wants to Move"

Nelly featuring Justin Timberlake - "Work It"

Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland - "Dilemma"

Owl City - "Fireflies"

Pink - "Who Knew"

Paris Hilton - "Nothing In This World"

Prince - "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold"

Pussycat Dolls - "Buttons"

R. Kelly featuring Keri Hilson - "Number One"

Ricky Martin - "María"

Rihanna - "SOS (Rescue Me)"

Rob Thomas - "Lonely No More"

Robbie Williams- "Rock DJ"

Rozalla - "Are You Ready to Fly?"

Run-D.M.C. - "It's Like That", "It's Tricky"

The Saturdays - "Ego"

Savage Garden - "I Want You"

Saving Jane - "Supergirl"

Sertab Erener - "Here I Am"

Stacie Orrico - "(There's Gotta Be) More To Life"

S Club 7 - "S Club Party"

Taylor Swift - "Love Story" and "Mine"

Thalía - "Don't Look Back"

Toni Basil - "Mickey"

U2 - "Get On Your Boots"

Ultra Naté - "Free"

Usher - "Love In This Club"

Vengaboys - "We Like to Party"

The Veronicas - "Everything I'm Not"

Will Smith - "Miami"

Wonder Girls - "Nobody"

Kevin Rudolf - I Made It

Productions

Jason Nevins feat. Greg Nice - "Candyman" (Ultra)

Jason Nevins - "Open Ur Mind" (Ultra)

Jason Nevins vs. Dannii Minogue - "Touch Me Like That" (AATW)

Jason Nevins feat. Holly James - "Im In Heaven" (Free2Air/ Edel)

References

External links

Jason Nevins official website

αCharts.us entry

Category:1970 births Category:Remixers Category:Club DJs Category:American house musicians Category:Living people

Name	Busta Rhymes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr.
Alias
Born	May 20, 1972
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	1990–present
Label	Flipmode, Conglomerate, Universal Motown, Violator
Associated acts	Leaders of the New School, Flipmode Squad, Spliff Star, Def Squad, Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip, Mary J.Blige, J Dilla, Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey, Dr. Dre
Official website	http://www.bustarhymes.com/}}

Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., also known as Busta Rhymes (born May 20, 1972), is an American rapper, songwriter, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes (from former NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes).

Early life

Busta was born in Redhook, Brooklyn, New York, to Jamaican parents Geraldine Green and Trevor Smith.

Music career

Early career with Leaders of the New School (1989-1991)

Busta's musical career began at the age of 16 as a member of the hip hop crew Leaders of the New School along with fellow Long Island natives Charlie Brown, Dinco D, and Cut Monitor Milo. He went to Uniondale High School class of '92. LoNS began recording in 1989 and released their debut album A Future Without a Past in 1991 on Elektra Records. In early 1992 the group appeared on A Tribe Called Quest's posse cut "Scenario," in which Busta's climactic verse propelled him into the cultural consciousness. In 1993, they released T.I.M.E. (The Inner Mind's Eye). Soon after, however, internal problems arose because of Busta's increasing popularity, and the group broke up on the set of Yo! MTV Raps. They did however break up over "stupid shit" multiple times earlier in their career, like Busta not driving the LONS members to a music festival because he wanted "to get dome" from a girl.

The Coming & When Disaster Strikes (1996-1997)

Busta broke out with a 1996 solo hit single, "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check" from his platinum record album The Coming. His second album, When Disaster Strikes, released in 1997, produced the hit singles "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See".

Extinction Level Event (Final World Front) (1998-1999)

In 1998, Busta recorded Extinction Level Event (Final World Front). Its single, "Gimme Some More" — which sampled Bernard Herrmann's theme from Psycho — reached number 5 in the UK singles chart in January 1999. Busta enjoyed further transatlantic success in April when the single "What's It Gonna Be?!", featuring Janet Jackson, reached the US and UK Top 10. The album received prominent notice for featuring the fastest rapping Busta has yet done, on a song called "Iz They Wildin Wit Us & Gettin' Rowdy Wit Us?", featuring a guest appearance by Mystikal.

J/Arista/BMG

Anarchy & Genesis(2000-2001)

After Busta signed to J Records, a label started by the then recently ousted Arista Records chief and founder Clive Davis, he released a greatest hits collection alongside a new album of original work. Continuing the Biblical theme of his previous albums, he titled his record Genesis. The album featured collaborations with Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Kelis, and others. Genesis was powered by the hit single with Kelis, "What It Is," and his solo single released in November 2001, "Break Ya Neck." The final single was the summer smash "Pass the Courvoisier, Part II", which featured Pharrell and P. Diddy. Despite the success of the two singles, this album did not sell as well as previous releases.

It Aint Safe No More (2002-2004)

In 2002, Busta released his sixth studio album It Ain't Safe No More. The album was moderately successful, with a hit song featuring Mariah Carey and the Flipmode Squad called "I Know What You Want". Another hit song was "Make It Clap", featuring Spliff Starr. The remix of "Make It Clap" featured Sean Paul. After its release, he left J Records. In 2004, he signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.

Aftermath/Interscope

The Big Bang (2006)

His seventh studio album, The Big Bang, became the first #1 album of his career. The CD sold over 209,000 copies in its first week to earn the top spot on The Billboard Top 200. The album also became his highest charting album in the UK, peaking at #19. Some of the album was leaked on the Internet, and as a result several songs were left off the album and new ones added. The Big Bang featured more production by Dr. Dre than Busta's previous releases, as well as appearances by Raekwon and Nas. The singles that have been released from the album are, "Touch It", "I Love My Chick", featuring Kelis and Will.I.Am, "New York Shit",featuring Swizz Beatz and "In The Ghetto". Busta also had a stint opening for Mariah Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour. Also, Busta performed with Eminem on "Touch It Remix Part 5" and made the song "I'll Hurt You" with Eminem. On July 17, 2008, Busta left Interscope/Aftermath due to a creative clash with Interscope head Jimmy Iovine.

Universal Motown

Back on My B.S. (2007-2009)

He also made a song featuring Linkin Park called "We Made It". It was later revealed that Busta inked a deal with Universal Motown, who released his eighth studio album, Back on My B.S., on May 19, 2009. He also appeared on Asher Roth's debut album, Asleep in the Bread Aisle''. Busta released his eighth studio album Back on My B.S. on May 19, 2009 via Universal Motown. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, selling 56,000 copies, and was his first album to not receive an RIAA certification, selling 122,000 copies to date. The singles that have been released from the album are, "Arab Money", featuring Ron Browz, "Hustler's Anthem '09", featuring T-Pain and "Respect My Conglomerate". The song "World Go Round", featuring British singer Estelle, was released in France on April 6, 2009 due to the heavy rotation of a leaked version. The single was released in the UK on July 13, 2009. Due to controversial content, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has banned the album. Back on My B.S. was released internationally, but because of one song, "Arab Money", it is not available to buy as a CD there (however, the album can still be purchased via iTunes). According to the National Media Council, the lyrics were considered to be offensive to Arabs and to Islam, and permission for distribution was therefore denied. Some DJs, artists and fans have lambasted the track, saying it portrayed Arabs in a stereotypical way. The first part out of three of the remix by Rhymes contains verses from the Quran. In November, when "Arab Money" was released as a single, DJ Dany Neville and the Iraqi rapper The Narcicyst responded by recorded a reply. Busta later apologised. DJs in the country said they had not received an order banning the record from being spun in nightclubs, and they had mixed feelings on whether the record was offensive or not. DJ Saif of Dubai said: The Emirati DJ Bliss, who has his own show on Radio 1 in Dubai, also says he no longer plays "Arab Money". He added:

Conglomerate Records & E.L.E. 2 (previously The Chemo) (2010-present)

Busta announced that he is working on his upcoming ninth studio album, alongside Canadian producer Boi-1da, entitled The Chemo. He says that his next project is 80 percent finished. Busta has reportedly changed the title of his forthcoming Chemo album to Extinction.Level.Event.2.

The trend of album sequel continues with Busta Rhymes as the New York staple plans another chapter from his 1998 opus E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front. Busta's manager Chris Lighty sent out the message via Twitter. Lighty simply said, "Extinction.Level.Event 2 ......prepare yourself." Like the first, E.L.E. 2 is inspired by movies of impending destruction and doom on planet Earth, Lighty said. "From the Intro of the new Busta Album your going to know your in trouble and you just turned on 2012 the movie on warp speed," he said.

DJ Premier, in a recent Aug 6th 2010 interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio said Busta Rhymes has received over eight beats which he didn't want to use but Premier hoped his next beat would be chosen for inclusion on the album. On DJ Premier's Live From Headqcourterz radio show Premier confirmed that one of his beats were to be included in E.L.E. 2. In 2010, Busta Rhymes formed his new label Conglomerate Records.

Legal issues

On August 20, 2006, he was arraigned for charges of third-degree assault after attacking a man who reportedly spat on his car in New York City on August 12 after the AmsterJam Music Festival on Randall's Island.

On October 24, 2006, he appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court as the district attorney's office attempted to amend previous charges against him to include weapons possession for a machete found in his car. The judge, ShawnDya Simpson, refused to add the charge and adjourned the case.

On February 20, 2007, Busta refused a plea deal offered by the prosecutors office for the assault of his former driver, Edward Hatchett. The deal would have entailed six months in jail and pleading guilty to two assaults, the attack on Hatchett, and the attack on the former fan. The dispute with Hatchett is believed to have originated over back pay Hatchett felt he was owed. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Becki Rowe offered Busta another option, pleading guilty to third-degree assault. The conditions of the proposed sentence would include five days of community service, two weeks of youth lectures and six months of anger management classes, as well as three years of probation. On March 18, 2008 a judge in New York City sentenced Busta to three years' probation, 10 days' community service, $1250 in fines (plus court costs), and to enroll in a drunken driving program.

On September 25, 2008, he was temporarily refused entry to the UK due to "unresolved convictions".

On October 14, 2009, a Brooklyn judge ordered Busta to pay a concert goer $75,000 in compensation for an assault alleged to have occurred in 2003".

Personal life

Busta is a five percenter, otherwise called the The Nation of Gods and Earths, an offshoot of Nation of Islam, and has been one since the age of 13.

Discography

The Coming (1996)

When Disaster Strikes (1997)

(1998)

Anarchy (2000)

Genesis (2001)

It Ain't Safe No More (2002)

The Big Bang (2006)

Back on My B.S. (2009)

Filmography

Who's the Man? (1993), Jawaan

Strapped (1993), Buster

Higher Learning (1995), Dreads

Cosby (1997), Philip

The Steve Harvey Show (1998), Zack

The Wayans Bros (1998), himself

The Jamie Foxx Show (1998), Himself

The Rugrats Movie (1998), Reptar Wagon – voice

Shaft (2000), Rasaan

Finding Forrester (2000), Terrell Wallace

Space Ghost Coast to Coast (2001), himself

Narc (2002), Darnell 'Big D Love' Beery

(2002), Freddie Harris

'The Neptunes Present: Dude We're Going to Rio! (2003), Rhymes

Death of a Dynasty (2003)

Full Clip (2004), Pope

Busta Rhymes: Everything Remains Raw (2004)

The Boondocks (2007), Flonominal

Breaking Point (2009 film) (2009), Al Bowen

See also

List of number-one U.S. dance hits

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

References

External links

Official Site

Busta Rhymes: Biography, Photo Gallery and Videos

www.flipmodefans.com

Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York City Category:African American film actors Category:African American rappers Category:Aftermath Entertainment artists Category:American people convicted of assault Category:American rappers of Jamaican descent Category:People convicted of alcohol-related driving offenses Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Rappers from Long Island Category:Rappers from New York City

Name	Beyoncé Knowles
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Beyoncé Giselle Knowles
Born	September 04, 1981
Origin	Houston, Texas, United States
Instrument	Vocals, piano
Genre	R&B;, soul, pop
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, dancer, entertainer, choreographer, model, video director
Associated acts	Destiny's Child, Jay-Z, Solange Knowles, Suga Mama, Lady Gaga
Years active	1997–present
Spouse	Jay-Z (2008-present)
Label	Columbia
Url

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981), commonly known simply by the mononym Beyoncé ( ), is an American Pop/R&B; singer, songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B; girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time.

During the hiatus of Destiny's Child, Knowles released her debut solo album Dangerously in Love (2003), which spawned the number one hits "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy" and became one of the most successful albums of that year, earning her a then record-tying five Grammy Awards. Knowles is one of the most honored artists by the Grammys, and third among female artists, with 16 awards—13 as a solo artist and three as a member of Destiny's Child.

Knowles began her acting career in 2001, appearing in the musical film . In 2006, she starred in the lead role in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls, for which she earned two Golden Globe nominations. Knowles launched her family's fashion line, House of Deréon, in 2004, and has endorsed such brands as Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and L'Oréal. In 2010, Forbes ranked Knowles at number two on its list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the world; she was also listed as the most powerful and influential musician in the world. Time also included Knowles on its list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World". She is listed at number 52 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and is named the second most influential artist of the 2000s decade by BET.

Knowles is currently the only artist in history to have all her studio albums win the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B; Album. She has attained five Billboard Hot 100 number one singles as a solo performer and four with Destiny's Child. In the United States, Knowles' has sold over 11.2 million albums and nearly twenty-five million singles. According to Columbia Records her record sales, when combined with Destiny's Child, have surpassed 130 million. On December 11, 2009, Billboard listed Knowles as the most successful female artist of the 2000s decade and also the top Radio Artist of the decade. In February 2010, the RIAA listed her as the top certified artist of the decade.

Early life and career beginnings

Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Mathew Knowles, a professional record manager, and Tina Knowles, a costume designer and hair stylist. Knowles' father is African American and her mother is of Creole (African, Native American, and French) descent. Knowles was baptized after her mother's maiden name, as a tribute to her mother. Knowles' interest in music and performing began after participating in a school talent show. She sang John Lennon's Imagine and won the competition. At age seven, Knowles started gaining attention from the press, having been mentioned in the Houston Chronicle as a nominee for the local performing arts award The Sammy. In the fall of 1990, Knowles enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnet school in Houston, where she would perform on-stage with the school's choir. and later went to Alief Elsik High School, located in the Houston suburban munincipality, Alief. Knowles was a soloist in the choir of her church, in St. John's United Methodist Church.

At the age of eight, Knowles met LaTavia Roberson while in an audition for an all-girl entertainment group. They, along with Knowles' friend Kelly Rowland, were placed into a group that performed rapping and dancing. Originally named Girl's Tyme, they were eventually cut down to six members. Knowles had her first "professional setback" after that defeat but regained confidence after learning that pop stars Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake had also the same experience. He dedicated his time and established a "boot camp" for their training. The move reduced Knowles' family's income by half and her parents were forced to move into separated apartments.

Music and film career

1997–2001: Destiny's Child era

.]] The group changed its name to Destiny's Child in 1993, based on a passage in the Book of Isaiah. To date, Survivor has sold over ten million copies worldwide, over forty percent of which were sold in the U.S. alone. The album spawned other number-one hits—"Bootylicious" and the title track, "Survivor", the latter of which earned the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. After releasing their holiday album, 8 Days of Christmas, the group announced a hiatus to pursue solo projects. In 2002, Knowles co-starred in the comedy film Austin Powers in Goldmember, playing Foxxy Cleopatra, opposite of Mike Myers. Knowles recorded her first solo single, "Work It Out", for the film's soundtrack. The following year, Knowles starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the romantic comedy film, The Fighting Temptations, and recorded numerous songs for the film's soundtrack, including "Fighting Temptation" and a cover version of "Fever". During this time, Knowles was featured on her then-boyfriend Jay-Z's hit single, "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". She also recorded a version of 50 Cent's "In Da Club" and released it in March 2003. Luther Vandross and Knowles remade the duet "The Closer I Get to You", which was originally recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway in 1977. Their version won a Grammy Award for Best R&B; Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals the following year, and Vandross' "Dance with My Father", which also featured Knowles, won the Grammy for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance.

After Williams and Rowland released their solo efforts, Knowles released her début solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June 2003. The album also topped seven charts worldwide, while it reached number two in Australia. It remains as Knowles' best-selling album to date, with sales of 4.7 million copies in the United States, as of July 2009. Worldwide, the album has sold more than eleven million copies.

The album yielded two number one singles. "Crazy in Love", featuring Jay-Z, was released as the album's lead single, which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks, as well as topping many charts worldwide. The song's music video won three awards at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards in the categories of Best Female Video, Best R&B; Video, and Best Choreography. The second single, "Baby Boy" with dancehall singer Sean Paul, spent nine weeks at number one on the 'Hot 100, one week longer than "Crazy in Love". In support of the album, Knowles embarked on her first solo concert tour, the Dangerously in Love Tour, in November 2003. The tour only reached Europe, before Knowles joined Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott, and Tamia for the Verizon Ladies First Tour in March 2004. At the 46th Grammy Awards, Knowles received a then record-tying five Grammy Awards, which included the Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B; Album, Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance for "Dangerously in Love 2", Best R&B; Song for "Crazy in Love", and an additional two awards with Luther Vandross. Knowles shared this distinction with four other female artists: Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones and Amy Winehouse, up until 2010, when she won six Grammy Awards in one night.

2004–2007: Destiny's Child reunion and B'Day

In 2004, Knowles planned to release a follow-up to Dangerously in Love, which would feature some of the left-over recordings. However, her musical aspirations were put on hiatus due to conflicting schedules, including her recording with Destiny's Child for what would be their final album. After a three-year journey that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Knowles rejoined Rowland and Williams for their final album, Destiny Fulfilled in November 2004. The album spawned three hit singles, "Lose My Breath", "Soldier" and "Cater 2 U". In support of the album, Destiny's Child embarked on the 2005 Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It world tour, which began in April 2005; culminating in September of that year. During the Barcelona, Spain stop of their tour, Rowland announced they would disband after the end of their final North American leg in September 2005. In October 2005, Destiny's Child released a compilation album, #1's, which included all of their number-one hits and most of their well-known songs. It also included three new tracks, including the song "Stand Up for Love", released from the album. #1's debuted at number one on Billboard 200 and certified platinum by the RIAA. In March 2006, Destiny's Child reunited to accept a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In late 2005, Knowles once again put her second album on hold, after landing a role in Dreamgirls, the film adaptation of the 1981 hit Broadway musical about a 1960s singing group, loosely based on Motown all-female group, The Supremes. Released in December 2006, Dreamgirls starred Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson. Knowles recorded several songs for the film's soundtrack, including the original song, "Listen". In the film, she portrays the Diana Ross-based character, Deena Jones. In 2007, Knowles received two Golden Globe Award nominations for the film; Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song for "Listen". Continuing her film career, Knowles co-starred in the film, The Pink Panther, playing the role of Xania, an international pop star, opposite Steve Martin, who plays Inspector Clouseau. Released on February 10, 2006, the film débuted at number one at the box office, doing $21.7 million in ticket sales in its first week of release. She worked on the album with previous musical collaborators, Rich Harrison, Rodney Jerkins and Sean Garrett, at the Sony Music Studios in New York City. She co-wrote and co-produced nearly all songs included on the album, which was completed in three weeks. The album titled, B'Day was released in the United States on September 5, 2006, to coincide with the celebration of her twenty-fifth birthday. It débuted at number one on the Billboard 200, giving Knowles her second consecutive number one album in the US. It also peaked in the top-ten in eighteen charts worldwide. To date, the album has sold more than six million copies worldwide. It earned Knowles the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B; Album at the 49th Grammy Awards.

Its lead single, "Déjà Vu" featuring Jay-Z, topped the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Dance Club Songs charts in the United States. and became Knowles' second UK solo number-one single. The album's second international single, "Irreplaceable", topped the charts in five countries, while reaching the top-five in the UK, Canada and Netherlands. The song received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year at the 50th Grammy Awards. On April 3, 2007, Knowles re-released B'Day, as a deluxe edition, featuring five new tracks and Spanish-language versions of "Irreplaceable", and "Listen". Her following single, "Beautiful Liar" with Colombian singer Shakira, was the first single released from the deluxe edition. The song became another number one hit for Knowles, topping eleven charts worldwide. It won the award for Most Earthshattering Collaboration at the 2007 MTV Video Music Award. In support of the album, Knowles embarked on her lengthy The Beyoncé Experience concert tour, visiting over ninety venues worldwide, which was made into the concert DVD The Beyoncé Experience Live!. Knowles made history at the 35th Annual American Music Awards for being the first woman to win an International Artist Award. Upon its release, it received generally mixed to positive reviews from most music critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, the album received an average score of 62/100. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, giving Knowles her third consecutive number one album in the US. Eventually, she became the third female artist of the 2000s decade to have her first three albums debut at the top spot of the US Billboard 200 albums chart. To date, I Am... Sasha Fierce has sold over six million copies worldwide.

The album was proceeded with the release of its two lead singles, "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". The first single, "If I Were a Boy" topped eight charts worldwide, including the United Kingdom and reached the top-ten in many other charts. "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Knowles' fifth number-one single and was also successful in other international markets, peaking in top-ten positions around the world. The song's music video has achieved fame for its intricate choreography, which has been credited as having started the "first major dance craze of both the new millennium and the Internet". This prompted a legion of imitations and parodies from men and women all around the world, including celebrities such as pop singers Justin Timberlake, Joe Jonas, US President Barack Obama and actor Tom Hanks. It received nine nominations at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and ultimately won the award for Video of the Year, and an additional two awards, though its loss in the Best Female Video category to Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me" led to controversy during the ceremony.

On January 18, 2009, Knowles performed at the Lincoln Memorial in honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama. Knowles also sang her cover of the R&B; classic most famously sang by Etta James, "At Last", as President Obama and his wife Michelle had their first dance as President and First lady of America, on January 20, 2009, at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball. During this time, Knowles released the fourth single off I Am... Sasha Fierce, "Halo". The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Knowles' twelfth top-ten single on the Hot 100 as a solo artist. With this feat, Knowles achieved the most top tens on the Hot 100 among any other female artists in the 2000s. In support of the album, Knowles headlined her second worldwide concert tour, the I Am... Tour, which began in March 2009; culminating in February 2010. In April 2009, Knowles starred opposite Ali Larter and Idris Elba in a thriller film called, Obsessed. The film proved to be a commercial success, and grossed $11.1 million on its first day of release, and ended its opening weekend at number one, with a total of $28.5 million. "Video Phone", was released as the eighth single from I Am... Sasha Fierce in November 2009 and featured pop singer Lady Gaga. The song's music video received two nominations at the 2010 BET Awards for "Video of the Year" and "Best Collaboration", winning the former category on April 27, 2010. It also received five nominations at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, in the categories of Best Choreography, Best Collaboration, Best Pop Video, Best Female Video and Best Art Direction.

Knowles led the 52nd Grammy Awards, receiving ten nominations, including Album of the Year for I Am… Sasha Fierce, Record of the Year for "Halo", and Song of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". She also received two other nominations for, Best Traditional R&B; Vocal Performance for "At Last" and Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Once in a Lifetime" from the soundtrack, . This tied her with Lauryn Hill for most Grammy nominations in a single year by a female artist. Knowles ultimately set the record for the most Grammy awards won on a single night by a female artist, when she won six awards from her ten nominations; Song of the Year, Best R&B; Song, and Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Halo", Best Contemporary R&B; Album and Best Traditional R&B; Vocal Performance for "At Last". In February 2010, Knowles featured on Lady Gaga's song, "Telephone". The song reached number one on the US Pop Songs chart, thus becoming the sixth number-one on the chart for both Knowles and Gaga. With this, they both tied with Mariah Carey for most number-ones since the Nielsen BDS-based Top 40 airplay chart launched in 1992. It received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

2010-present: Untitled fourth studio album

During the final UK stop of her I Am... Tour at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England in 2009, Knowles announced plans to release a new album in 2010. She said, "This is my last show for this tour in the UK, so hopefully, I'll see you all in a year with a new album." Producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins also confirmed the news on twitter, posting he is working on some tracks for the album. In an interview with MTV News, Jonsin noted that while he wants to go even more '80s than their collaboration on "Sweet Dreams", he's also looking to try out other genres with Knowles, saying "Even some sexy mid-tempos, see if she likes that and I'll try that too."

In July 2010, it was revealed that Knowles had expressed interest in recording a song for the album that was written by Irish band, The Script. She heard a song the band recorded for their second album, when it was passed around their record company, Sony Music. In August 2010, singer-songwriter Ne-Yo tweeted that he was excited to work with Knowles immediately following his session with Mary J. Blige. In an interview with Access Atlanta, Ne-Yo spoke of the album saying, "It’s coming along nicely. I can’t speak too much on it, but it’s another direction for her, and she’s carving out her own niche. In a minute nobody will be in Beyonce’s lane. They really can’t get in her lane now, but they really can’t get in her lane after this album." He also had the following to say about working with Knowles in an interview with MTV News:

"The thing about working with Beyoncé is that she definitely has her own agenda ... she's an artist that knows exactly what she wants to do. ... She's going to give you directions [like] 'Here's where I'm going, so here's where I need you to be' ... and, you know, I'm a person that follows direction well. [And she'll be like], 'So this is the sound, this is the vibe; make it happen.' And I write and she likes it or she doesn't. And in this case she did, and there you have it."

On September 17, 2010, producer Sean Garrett told Popeater.com that the album "[is] going to be her biggest album ever", and said "We're going to take it to a whole other level." In an interview with Entertainment Weekly at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Garrett stated "I think we are doing a lot of up-tempo records for this one. She’s in such a good place right now in life that she is interested in making party music, definitely." During this time, producer Los Da Mystro tweeted that he heard a new track from Knowles that was written by The Dream, who worked with Tricky Stewart on "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". When asked to clarify what she meant by creating her own genre, in an interview with MTV during the New York screening of her I Am... World Tour DVD release, Knowles replied "Well, I wouldn't say I'm inventing a new genre ... I'm mixing every type of genre that I love and I'm inspired by every type of genre. ... It's not R&B;. It's not typically pop. It's not rock. It's just everything I love all mixed together in my own little gumbo of music." She also revealed that Fela Kuti, The Stylistics, Lauryn Hill, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson's Off the Wall have inspired the album. Rap-Up has confirmed the album will be released in 2011.

Musical style and performance

Music and voice

Knowles' music is generally contemporary R&B;, but she also incorporates pop, funk, hip hop, and soul genres into her work. While she almost exclusively releases English songs, Knowles did record several Spanish records for the re-release of B'Day. Destiny's Child had already recorded a Spanish song and received favorable responses from their Latin fans. Knowles took Spanish in school when she was young, but can now only speak a few words of the language. Prior to recording the Spanish titles on the re-released version of B'Day, she was coached phonetically by American record producer Rudy Perez.

Since Destiny's Child, Knowles is artistically involved in her career. Some of her songs are autobiographical, which she has admitted are taken from personal experiences, as well as her friends'. Knowles has also received co-producing credits for most of the records in which she has been involved, especially during her solo efforts. However, she does not formulate beats herself, but typically comes up with melodies and ideas during production, sharing them with producers. Knowles was recognized as a songwriter during the run of Destiny's Child in the 1990s and early to mid-2000s. She won the Pop Songwriter of the Year award at the 2001 American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Pop Music Awards, becoming the first African-American female and second female songwriter of all time to accomplish the feat.

|format=Ogg|filename2=Destiny's Child, Emotion.ogg|title2="Emotion"|description2=Knowles' prominent use of melisma and other vocal ornamentation earns her both praise and criticism from critics and fans.|format2=Ogg}}

Knowles possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range that spans more than three octaves. She has often been identified as the centerpiece of Destiny's Child. Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented that she has the voice that defines the group, writing that her voice is "velvety yet tart, with an insistent flutter and reserves of soul belting". Other critics praise her range and power. In reviewing her second album B'Day, Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly writes "Beyoncé Knowles is a storm system disguised as a singer. On her second solo album, B'Day, the songs arrive in huge gusts of rhythm and emotion, with Beyoncé's voice rippling over clattery beats; you'd have to search far and wide—perhaps in the halls of the Metropolitan Opera — to find a vocalist who sings with more sheer force...No one—not R. Kelly, not Usher, to say nothing of her rival pop divas—can match Beyoncé's genius for dragging her vocal lines against a hip-hop beat." Chris Richards of the The Washington Post writes, "Even when she's coasting, she soars above her imitators. It's all in her voice—a superhuman instrument capable of punctuating any beat with goose-bump-inducing whispers or full-bore diva-roars. Smitten, scorned, amorous, antagonistic—Beyoncé sings from all of these vantage points with undeniable virtuosity." Cove magazine ranked Knowles seventh on their list of "The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists", giving her 48 out of 50 points based on several criteria ranging from her vocal ability to range to harmony.

Knowles has often been criticized for oversinging. A prominent employer of melisma, she earns frequent comparison to such artists as Mariah Carey, whose vocal embellishments have been known to detract from the melody of their songs. Eye Weekly writes, "There’s no question that Beyoncé is one of the best singers in pop, maybe one of the best alive...[However] as judicious as her singing can be, the effect in sum is still like being hit in the head with a fist in a velvet glove."

Stage and alter ego

In 2006, Knowles introduced her all-female tour band Suga Mama, which includes bassists, drummers, guitarists, horn players, keyboardists and percussionists. They débuted at the 2006 BET Awards and re-appeared in the music videos for "Irreplaceable" and "Green Light". Babara Ellen of The Guardian writes, "whether charismatic and soulful, or teasing and flirty, Beyoncé is, above all, in charge. Probably the most "in charge" of any female artist I've seen onstage". In reviewing her I Am... Tour, Alice Jones of The Independent writes, "Watching Beyoncé sing and strut her stuff can feel at best overawing, at worst, alienating. She takes her role as entertainer so seriously she's almost too good." The New York Times writes, "there is a breathtaking elegance in her acute desire to entertain". The Daily Mail writes, "many industry experts have been tipping Beyoncé as the next Michael Jackson. While it’s far too early for such comparisons, she certainly proved that she is one of the most exciting and talented performers around and may well go down in history as such".

Althought Knowles has been criticized for lip-synching in some of her performances, reviewers have praised her live vocal performances. In reviewing one of her performances, Jim Farber of The Daily News writes "Beyoncé showed off pipes of steely power. As the song's signature horn riff pumped away, she soared over the melody with athletic ease. The way Beyoncé used her body intensified the sense of triumph. With her hair teased into Medusa-like tresses, a pelvis in perpetual churn and legs long enough to make Tina Turner proud, Beyoncé's presence punctuated her singing like an exclamation point." Stephanie Classen of the Star Phoenix declares "Beyoncé is no ordinary performer... from note one, the 27-year-old powerhouse rose above all the gimmicks, mastering the show like a sexy alien overlord princess. Nothing but extraterrestrial origins could explain that voice....[Beyoncé] could perform circles around any other pop star today." Newsday writes, "she proves that hot choreography and strong vocals don't have to be mutually exclusive... No worries of lip-synching here."

Known for being sexy, seductive and provocative when performing on stage, Knowles has stated that's her alter ego, Sasha Fierce.

Public image

" during her I Am... Tour]] Knowles has stated, "I like to dress sexy and I carry myself like a lady," but she has said that the way she dresses on stage is "absolutely for the stage". As someone who is fond of fashion, Knowles combines its artistic elements with her music videos and performances. According to Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, she uses different styles and tries to harmonize it with the music while performing. The B'Day Anthology Video Album showed many instances of fashion-oriented footage, depicting classic to contemporary wardrobe styles. People magazine recognized Knowles as the best-dressed celebrity in 2007. Knowles' mother wrote a 2002-published book, titled Destiny's Style: Bootylicious Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Secrets From Destiny's Child, an account of how fashion had an impact on Destiny's Child's success.

As one of the most media-exposed black celebrities in the United States, Knowles has often received criticism that some believe is due to racism and sexism. Toure of Rolling Stone stated that since the release of Dangerously in Love, "[Beyoncé] has become a crossover sex symbol a la Halle Berry ..." In 2007, Knowles was featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, the first non-model and non-athlete woman to pose on the issue and the second African American model after Tyra Banks. In the same year, Knowles appeared on billboards and newspapers across the United States showing her holding an antiquated cigarette holder. Taken from the back cover of B'Day, the image provoked response from an anti-smoking group, stating that she did not need to add the cigarette holder "to make herself appear more sophisticated". During the release of pop singer Rihanna's second album, A Girl Like Me, many critics felt that her image was too heavily similar to Knowles'. Amina Taylor of The Guardian, noted Rihanna as the "Bajan Beyoncé". In March 2009, comparisons were made between the fashions of Knowles and R&B; singer Ciara, when the latter released the music video of her single, "Love Sex Magic". In the video, Ciara is seen wearing a black leotard and metallic glasses, similar to those worn by Knowles in both her "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and "Diva" videos. However, Ciara stated that her outfits were "inspired by the Vegas shows" she attended.

On April 24, 2009, Knowles appeared on Larry King Live, where she gave herself a more political image and talked about everything from singing at President Barack Obama's inauguration, to racism that she has faced being an African-American. In September 2010, Knowles made her runway modelling debut at Tom Ford’s Spring/Summer 2011 fashion show, walking down the catwalk in a sequined dress with va va voom hair.

Influences and legacy

Knowles has cited various artists who have influenced her musical style. She grew up listening to songs of Anita Baker and Luther Vandross, the latter of whom she eventually collaborated with, but often credits her pop music hero, Michael Jackson, as the reason why she does music. Knowles credits Mariah Carey's singing and her song "Vision of Love" as influencing her to begin practicing vocal "runs" as a child, as well as helping her pursue a career as a musician. She was also exposed to the jazz music of Rachelle Ferrell, after singing Ferrell's songs during her voice lessons and cites her as a musical influence. Knowles also cites influences from American artists such as Tina Turner, Prince, Aaliyah, Diana Ross, and Janet Jackson.

Aside from her musicial influences, Knowles has also influenced various contemporary artists, including pop singer Rihanna, who stated Knowles is "one of the artists that I admire a lot." With the release of Rihanna's sophomore album, critics noted that it was too similar to Knowles'. The media even made negative reviews comparing her music, music videos and performances to Knowles'. Knowles is also cited as a musical influence to X Factor UK winners, Alexandra Burke. and Leona Lewis, who stated Knowles' "definitely inspiring for females." Actress and comedian Mo'Nique who was inspired by Knowles, hosted the BET Awards in 2004 and opened the ceremony performing Knowles' song, "Crazy in Love". She also hosted in 2007 and performed, "Déjà Vu". Actress Gwyneth Paltrow made her live television singing debut at the 2010 Country Music Awards and told Access Hollywood that she got her inspiration from Knowles', stating "I studied Beyoncé a lot and her concerts for her kind of confidence… and I’m lucky that I know some singers in real life." Pop singer Miley Cyrus told Seventeen magazine that she "want[s] to be like Beyoncé", stating "She is the ultimate woman. You look at her and you don't think, I wonder what her personal life is like. You look at her and you go, That girl on the stage is a superstar. You don't care about anything else; you only care about her music. So I would hope that would be me in the future." Furthermore, British singer Cheryl Cole told Hello! magazine that she thinks Knowles "is what every woman should aspire to be." Knowles' music video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" has achieved fame for its intricate choreography, which has been credited as having started the "first major dance craze of both the new millennium and the Internet". Celebrities have also tried the choreography, including pop singers Justin Timberlake Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic found American pop singer Katharine McPhee's songs on her, self-titled, début album to have heavy influences from Knowles' music.

Knowles served as the lead singer of one of the world's best selling girl groups of all time, Destiny's Child. She currently has a total of 41 Grammy Award nominations, which is more than any other female artist in history. She was one of six female artists, along with Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Amy Winehouse and Alison Krauss, who held the record for the most number of Grammys won by a female artist in a single night; the record being five awards, which she accomplished in 2004. At the 2008 World Music Awards, Knowles was honored the legend award for Outstanding Contribution To The Arts. Her début studio album, Dangerously In Love was listed as one of the top 200 definitive albums in music history by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. On December 11, 2009, Billboard listed Knowles as the most successful female artist of the 2000s decade and also the top Radio Artist of the decade. Knowles has several wax figures of herself at Madame Tussauds Wax Museums in major cities around the world, including New York, Washington, D.C., Amsterdam, Bangkok and Hollywood.

Other ventures

Clothing lines

Knowles and her mother introduced House of Deréon, a ready-to-wear contemporary women's fashion line, in 2005. The concept is inspired by three generations of women in their family, with the name Deréon paying tribute to Knowles' grandmother, Agnèz Deréon, who worked as a seamstress. According to Tina Knowles, the overall style of the line best reflects Knowles' taste and style. Launched in 2006, products of House of Deréon received public exhibitions during the group's shows and tours during the Destiny Fulfilled era. The store, which is available across the United States and Canada, sells sportswear, denim along with fur, outerwear and accessories including handbags. Knowles also teamed up with House of Brands, a local shoe company, to produce a range of footwear for House of Deréon.

In 2004, Knowles and her mother founded their family's company Beyond Productions, which provides the licensing and brand management for House of Deréon. In early 2008, they launched Beyoncé Fashion Diva, a mobile game with an online social networking component, featuring House of Deréon. The organization said it had previously attempted to reach Knowles through faxes, letters and rallies outside her concerts. However with no reply from Knowles, PETA confronted her at a dinner in New York. The clothing line was picked up by department stores including Macy’s and Dillard’s and specialty stores, Jimmy Jazz and Against All Odds.

Products and endorsements

In 2002, Knowles signed a promotional deal with Pepsi, which included appearances on TV commercials, radio and Internet advertisements, as well as in-store promotional materials. A 2004 Pepsi TV commercial in the theme of "Gladiators" featured Knowles with singers Britney Spears, Pink, and Enrique Iglesias, and the following year with Jennifer Lopez and David Beckham entitled "Samurai".

Knowles' range of commercial deals and products also includes beauty care products and perfumes. Knowles has worked with L'Oréal since the age of 18. She launched Tommy Hilfiger's True Star fragrance, in 2004. Knowles sang a cover version of "Wishing on a Star" for the True Star commercials, for which she earned $250,000. She also launched Hilfiger's True Star Gold in 2005 and Emporio Armani's Diamonds in 2007. Forbes reported that Knowles earned $80 million between June 2007 and June 2008, combined with her album, tour, fashion business, and promotional deals. This made her the world's second best-paid music personality for this span of time. In 2009, Forbes listed Knowles fourth on its list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the world, third on its list of the top-grossing musicians, and number one on the list of top Best-Paid Celebs Under 30 with over $87 million dollars in earnings between 2008 and 2009. In June 2010, Forbes placed Knowles at number three on its 2010 Celebrity Power List with $87 million in grosses thanks to a 93-date world tour, deals with Nintendo and L'Oréal and her House of Deréon clothing line. Knowles was also listed at number two on the list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential Celebrities in the world and subsequently turned out to be the best paid female artist. On October 7, 2010, Forbes recognized Knowles as the ninth most overall powerful woman in the world. In December 2010, Forbes reported that Knowles earned $87 million from January 2010 to December 2010 and eventually ranked her at the ninth place on its list of the "Hollywood's 20 highest-earning men and women of 2010". Knowles was the only artist to break the top ten.

In February 2010, Knowles launched her debut fragrance, Heat. As part of the scent's advertising campaign, Knowles re-recorded her cover version of "Fever" for the fragrance's television commercial. In an interview with WWD Beauty, Knowles explained the concept behind the fragrance, stating "A lot of my performances have had fire involved, so we thought �?Heat.’ Also, red is one of my favorite colors, as is gold. Everything, from the bottle design to the name and the ideas for the commercials—that’s me". In November 2010, it was revealed that the fragrance's television commerical had been banned from UK daytime TV, after it received 14 viewer complaints. The commercial, which begins with an image of the Knowles appearing to lie naked in a room, has been deemed "too sexually provocative" to be seen by young children and has not be shown on British TV before 7.30pm.

Philanthropy

Knowles has been exposed to issues of social awareness since a young child, as her father would sometimes take her into the community, including African-American society. In 2005, music producer David Foster, his daughter Amy Foster-Gillies, and Knowles wrote "Stand Up for Love", which would serve as the anthem of World Children's Day, an event which takes place annually around the world on November 20 to raise awareness and funds for children's causes worldwide. Destiny's Child lent their voices and support as global ambassadors for the 2005 World Children's Day program.

On October 4, 2008, Knowles attended the Miami Children's Hospital Diamond Ball & Private Concert at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, where she was inducted into the International Pediatric Hall of Fame. Seven-year-old Ethan Bortnick dedicated and performed "Over the Rainbow" to Knowles. After completing work on Cadillac Records, Knowles donated her entire salary to Phoenix House, an organization of rehabilitation centers around the country. Knowles visited a Brooklyn, New York, site in preparation for portraying singer Etta James, who was once addicted to heroin. During this time, she recorded with various artists for "Just Stand Up!", a charity single for the Stand Up to Cancer charity. Joining Knowles on the song was Mariah Carey, Leona Lewis, Rihanna, Leann Rimes and Mary J. Blige, among others. Knowles also teamed up with the "Show Your Helping Hand" hunger relief initiative and General Mills Hamburger Helper. The goal was to help Feeding America deliver more than 3.5 million meals to local food banks. Knowles encouraged her fans to bring non-perishable groceries to her U.S. concert tour stops.

In January 2010, Knowles participated in the . She appeared in London with Jay-Z, Rihanna, and U2's Bono and The Edge, where she performed a piano version of her song "Halo". Knowles was named the official face of the limited edition "Fashion For Haiti" T-shirt by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. The shirt, which reads: "To Haiti With Love", was designed by Peter Arnell, who also created the "Fashion for America" T-shirt which raised $2 million after 9/11. On March 5, 2010, Knowles and her mother, Tina Knowles, opened the Beyoncé Cosmetology Center at the Brooklyn Phoenix House. The program offers a seven-month cosmetology training course for men and women there. L'Oréal has donated all the products to be used at the center, and Knowles, along with her mother, have pledged to donate $100,000 annually.

Personal life

In 2010, a 60 Minutes segment aired, revealing Knowles was homeschooled as a child and prays before every performance. Knowles' has stated several times that when she's at home, she is a rather messy person and doesn't worry about her appearance at all, stating "I don't have any shoes on. No makeup. My shoes are left at the door. My purse is in the kitchen ... I'm relaxed!"

Depression

During the turmoil of Destiny's Child in 2000, Knowles had admitted in December 2006 that she had experienced depression from an accumulation of struggles: the publicized split of LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, being publicly attacked by the media, critics and blogs for causing the split-up, and a longstanding boyfriend (that she had dated from age 12 to 19 years) leaving her. The depression was so severe it had lasted for a couple of years, while she had kept herself in her bedroom for days and refused to eat anything. Knowles stated that she struggled to speak about her depression because Destiny's Child had just won their first Grammy Award and she feared no one would take her seriously. All of these events had made her question herself and who her friends were, describing the situation she said, "Now that I was famous, I was afraid I'd never find somebody again to love me for me. I was afraid of making new friends." In 2005, rumors began to spread about the marriage of the couple. Knowles closed the speculation stating that she and Jay-Z were not even engaged. Laura Schreffler, senior writer for OK! magazine, said, "They are intensely private people". On April 4, 2008, Knowles and Jay-Z were married in New York City. It became a matter of public record on April 22, 2008. Knowles did not publicly début her wedding ring until the Fashion Rocks concert on September 5, 2008, in New York City. Knowles finally revealed their marriage through an opening montage video at the listening party for third album, I Am... Sasha Fierce in Manhattan's Sony Club. Knowles and Jay-Z were listed as the most powerful couple for Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2006. In January 2009, Forbes ranked them as Hollywood's top-earning couple, with a combined total of $162 million. They also made it to the top of the list the following year, with a combined total of $122 million between June 2008 and June 2009.

Discography

2003: Dangerously in Love

2006: B'Day

2008: I Am... Sasha Fierce

See also

Destiny's Child discography

Beyoncé Knowles videography

List of Beyoncé Knowles songs

List of Beyoncé Knowles concert tours

List of best-selling music artists

List of awards and nominations received by Beyoncé Knowles

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

Filmography

References

External links

Official American website

Category:1981 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Actors from Texas Category:African American actors Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:African American musicians Category:African American songwriters Category:African American models Category:American child singers Category:American dancers Category:American fashion designers Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:American Christians Category:American Methodists Category:American music video directors Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul singers Category:American people of Native American descent Category:Beyoncé Knowles Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Destiny's Child members Category:English-language singers Category:American people of French descent Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Houston, Texas Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Spanish-language singers Category:United Methodists Category:Native American singers Category:World Music Awards winners Category:African-American fashion designers Category:Louisiana Creole people