Hip hop models (or hip hop honeys) are female models who appear in mainstream hip-hop oriented music videos, men's magazines, calendars, award shows, beauty pageants, and live performances.

Controversy

There is a long list of criticism pertaining to controversies involving hip-hop models. Many people in the mainstream feel that hip hop models represent negative, subservient or misogynistic images of women, especially black and Latino women. Detractors accuse hip-hop models of causing a misrepresentation of the morals and values of minority women, because hip-hop videos are the only way many people around the world are exposed to American Black and Latino culture. For instance, in 2004, Nelly caused protests because of his music video for the song "Tip Drill".

In 2005, a former Hip Hop music video star and model Karrine Steffans released her debut book ''Confessions of a Video Vixen'', in which she lashed out at the degradation of women in the world of hip-hop. The book's publisher describes the book as "part tell all, part cautionary tale". Another hip-hop model, Candace Smith, said in an ''XXL'' interview, "what I’ve seen on [music video] sets is completely degradation".

Criticism has also reached the very networks that broadcast such videos. BET's former late-night program "BET Uncut" often featured explicit music videos that ordinarily would not have been shown during the day, and many contain partial nudity. "Before, artists were mostly making sexually oriented material for the underground market — providing them to strip clubs, or selling them as part of videos or DVDs. Now, they're bringing them directly to television, through places like ''BET Uncut'' and the ''Playboy'' network. And more outlets are growing for those who want to see more — or less — than a bikini".

Successful hip hop models

For those who have been fortunate enough to make a name for themselves as hip hop models, there are many avenues to bigger success. Some of these girls have only done limited work as hip hop models but, have found ways to market themselves. Many hip hop models have marketed themselves successfully through fan websites, film, calendars, DVDs, import car shows, personal appearances, party hosting, and various other projects.

Nicole Alexander (Winner of VH1's Flavor Of Love Season 1)

Leila Arcieri

Esther Baxter (Known also by the nickname "Miss Freek-a-Leek")

Chandra Davis

Melyssa Ford (Playboy Model of the Month, Numerous music Videos and Mens magazines, Maxim Feature, BET Co-Host of BET Style)

Vida Guerra (Featured in FHM, Playboy and on Telemundo)

Toccara Jones

Lauren London (Appeared in Entourage, also starred in feature film ATL and was first featured in a video featuring Pharrel and Jay Z)

Angel Melaku ("Good Life", Kanye West, Blackmens Magazine, SSX, King Magazine, Smooth Girl)

Nicole Narain

Lisa Raye

Tomika Skanes (Candy Shop, B.O.B)

Karrine Steffans

References

External links

Thompson, Bonsu and Huang, Howard (Aug. 4, 2004). "Eye Candy Hall of Fame". ''XXL Magazine''. New York: Harris Publications. Retrieved on February 11, 2006.

Miller, Dan (Jan 5, 2004). "Digital Sin Signs 50 Cent; Rapper Will Appear at AVN Adult Entertainment Expo". ''AVN.com''. Retrieved on February 11, 2006.

(Jan 7, 2004). "Playboy Launches Hip-Hop Show". ''Rap News Network.'' Retrieved on February 11, 2006. Nas Lost

Bibliography

Category:Modeling Category:History of hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing. Other elements include beatboxing.

Since its emergence in the South Bronx, hip hop culture has spread around the world. Hip hop music first emerged with disc jockeys creating rhythmic beats by looping breaks (small portions of songs emphasizing a percussive pattern) on two turntables, more commonly referred to as sampling. This was later accompanied by "rap", a rhythmic style of chanting or poetry presented in 16 bar measures or time frames, and beatboxing, a vocal technique mainly used to imitate percussive elements of the music and various technical effects of hip hop DJ's. An original form of dancing and particular styles of dress arose among fans of this new music. These elements experienced considerable refinement and development over the course of the history of the culture.

The relationship between graffiti and hip hop culture arises from the appearance of new and increasingly elaborate and pervasive forms of the practice in areas where other elements of hip hop were evolving as art forms, with a heavy overlap between those who wrote graffiti and those who practiced other elements of the culture. Today, graffiti remains part of hip hop, while crossing into the mainstream art world with renowned exhibits in galleries throughout the world.

Etymology

The phrase ''hip hop'' is a combination of two separate slang terms—"hip", used in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) as early as 1898, meaning ''current'' or ''in the know'', and "hop", for the hopping movement.

Keith "Cowboy" Wiggins, a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has been credited with coining the term ''hip hop'' in 1978 while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers. Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into a part of his stage performance. The group frequently performed with disco artists who would refer to this new type of MC/DJ-produced music by calling them "hip hoppers". The name was originally meant as a sign of disrespect, but soon came to identify this new music and culture.

The opening of the song "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang, a 15-minute long song in addition to the verse on Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's own "Superrappin'", were both released in 1979. Lovebug Starski, a Bronx DJ who put out a single called "The Positive Life" in 1981, and DJ Hollywood then began using the term when referring to this new ''disco rap'' music. Hip hop pioneer and South Bronx community leader Afrika Bambaataa also credits Lovebug Starski as the first to use the term "Hip Hop", as it relates to the culture. Bambaataa, former leader of the Black Spades gang, also did much to further popularize the term.

History

Jamaican born DJ Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell is credited as being highly influential in the pioneering stage of hip hop music, in the Bronx, after moving to New York at the age of thirteen. Herc created the blueprint for hip hop music and culture by building upon the Jamaican tradition of toasting—impromptu, boastful poetry and speech over music—which he witnessed as a youth in Jamaica.

Herc and other DJs would tap into the power lines to connect their equipment and perform at venues such as public basketball courts and at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, New York, a historic building "where hip hop was born". Their equipment was composed of numerous speakers, turntables, and one or more microphones. By using this technique DJs could create a variety of music. According to Rap Attack by David Toop “At its worst the technique could turn the night into one endless and inevitably boring song” (12). In late 1979, Debbie Harry of Blondie took Nile Rodgers of Chic to such an event, as the main backing track used was the break from Chic's "Good Times".

Herc was also the developer of break-beat deejaying, where the breaks of funk songs—the part most suited to dance, usually percussion-based—were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. This form of music playback, using hard funk, rock, and records with Latin percussion, formed the basis of hip hop music. Campbell's announcements and exhortations to dancers would lead to the syncopated, rhymed spoken accompaniment now known as rapping. He dubbed his dancers break-boys and break-girls, or simply b-boys and b-girls. According to Herc, "breaking" was also street slang for "getting excited" and "acting energetically". Herc's terms b-boy, b-girl and breaking became part of the lexicon of hip hop culture, before that culture itself had developed a name.

Later DJs such as Grand Wizard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash and Jazzy Jay refined and developed the use of breakbeats, including cutting and scratching. The approach used by Herc was soon widely copied, and by the late 1970s DJs were releasing 12" records where they would rap to the beat. Popular tunes included Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" and The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight".

Emceeing is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay, delivered over a beat or without accompaniment. Rapping is derived from the griots (folk poets) of West Africa, and Jamaican-style toasting. Rap developed both inside and outside of hip hop culture, and began with the street parties thrown in the Bronx neighborhood of New York in the 1970s by Kool Herc and others. It originated as MCs would talk over the music to promote their DJ, promote other dance parties, take light-hearted jabs at other lyricists, or talk about problems in their areas and issues facing the community as a whole. Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with The Furious Five, is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC".

In the late 1970s an underground urban movement known as "hip hop" began to develop in the South Bronx area of New York City. Encompassing graffiti art, bboying, rap music, and fashion, hip hop became the dominant cultural movement of the minority populated urban communities in the 1980s. Graffiti, rapping, and bboying were all artistic variations on the competition and one-upmanship of street gangs. Sensing that gang members' often violent urges could be turned into creative ones, Afrika Bambaataa founded the Zulu Nation, a loose confederation of street-dance crews, graffiti artists, and rap musicians. By the late 1970s, the culture had gained media attention, with Billboard magazine printing an article titled "B Beats Bombarding Bronx", commenting on the local phenomenon and mentioning influential figures such as Kool Herc.

Hip hop as a culture was further defined in 1982, when Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force released the seminal electro-funk track "Planet Rock". Instead of simply rapping over disco beats, Bambaataa created an electronic sound, taking advantage of the rapidly improving drum machine Roland TB-303 synthesizer technology, as well as sampling from Kraftwerk.

The appearance of music videos changed entertainment: they often glorified urban neighborhoods. The music video for "Planet Rock" showcased the subculture of hip hop musicians, graffiti artists, and b-boys/b-girls. Many hip hop-related films were released between 1982 and 1985, among them ''Wild Style'', ''Beat Street'', ''Krush Groove'', ''Breakin'', and the documentary ''Style Wars''. These films expanded the appeal of hip hop beyond the boundaries of New York. By 1985, youth worldwide were embracing the hip hop culture. The hip hop artwork and "slang" of US urban communities quickly found its way to Europe and Asia, as the culture's global appeal took root.

The 1980s also saw many artists make social statements through hip hop. In 1982, Melle Mel and Duke Bootee recorded "The Message" (officially credited to Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five), a song that foreshadowed the socially conscious statements of Run-DMC's "It's like That" and Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos".

During the 1980s, hip hop also embraced the creation of rhythm by using the human body, via the vocal percussion technique of beatboxing. Pioneers such as Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie and Buffy from the Fat Boys made beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using their mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and other body parts. "Human Beatbox" artists would also sing or imitate turntablism scratching or other instrument sounds.

American society

Early hip hop has often been credited with helping to reduce inner-city gang violence by replacing physical violence with dance and artwork battles. In the early 1970s, DJ Kool Herc began organizing dance parties in his home in the Bronx. The parties became so popular they were moved to outdoor venues to accommodate more people. City teenagers, after years of gang violence, were looking for new ways to express themselves. These outdoor parties, hosted in parks, became a means of expression and an outlet for teenagers, where "instead of getting into trouble on the streets, teens now had a place to expend their pent-up energy."

Tony Tone, a member of the pioneering rap group the Cold Crush Brothers, noted that "hip hop saved a lot of lives". Hip hop culture became a way of dealing with the hardships of life as minorities within America, and an outlet to deal with violence and gang culture. MC Kid Lucky mentions that "people used to break-dance against each other instead of fighting". Inspired by DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa created a street organization called Universal Zulu Nation, centered around hip hop, as a means to draw teenagers out of gang life and violence.

The lyrical content of many early rap groups concentrated on social issues, most notably in the seminal track "The Message", which discussed the realities of life in the housing projects. "Young black Americans coming out of the civil rights movement have used hip hop culture in the 1980s and 1990s to show the limitations of the movement." Hip hop gave young African Americans a voice to let their issues be heard; "Like rock-and-roll, hip hop is vigorously opposed by conservatives because it romanticises violence, law-breaking, and gangs". It also gave young blacks a chance for financial gain by "reducing the rest of the world to consumers of its social concerns."

With the commercial success of gangsta rap in the early 1990s, however, emphasis shifted from social issues to drugs, violence, and misogyny. While hip hop music now appeals to a broader demographic, media critics argue that socially and politically conscious hip hop has been largely disregarded by mainstream America.

Global innovations

Though created in the United States by African-Americans (some with Jamaican heritage), hip hop culture and music is now global in scope. Asia, The Middle East, Africa, Canada, France, Germany, the U.K., Australia, the Netherlands, and the Caribbean have long-established hip hop followings. According to the U.S. Department of State, hip hop is "now the center of a mega music and fashion industry around the world," that crosses social barriers and cuts across racial lines. ''National Geographic'' recognizes hip hop as "the world's favorite youth culture" in which "just about every country on the planet seems to have developed its own local rap scene." Through its international travels, hip hop is now considered a “global musical epidemic,” and has diverged from its ethnic roots by way of globalization and localization.

Although some non-American rappers may still relate with young urban Americans, hip hop now transcends its original culture, and is appealing because it is “custom-made to combat the anomie that preys on adolescents wherever nobody knows their name.” Hip hop is attractive in its ability to give a voice to disenfranchised youth in any country, and as music with a message, it is a form available to all societies worldwide.

From its early spread to Europe and Japan to an almost worldwide acceptance through Asia and South American countries such as Brazil, the musical influence has been global. Hip hop sounds and styles differ from region to region, but there is also a lot of crossbreeding. Unlike the old genres, which popularized throughout the nation via radio, hip hop tends to hold on to its regional identity. Regardless of where it is found, the music often targets local disaffected youth.

Hip hop has given people a voice to express themselves, from the "Bronx to Beirut, Kazakhstan to Cali, Hokkaido to Harare, Hip Hop is the new sound of a disaffected global youth culture." Though on the global scale there is a heavy influence from US culture, different cultures worldwide have transformed hip hop with their own traditions and beliefs. "Global Hip Hop succeeds best when it showcases ... cultures that reside outside the main arteries of the African Diaspora." Not all countries have embraced hip hop, where "as can be expected in countries with strong local culture, the interloping wildstyle of hip hop is not always welcomed".

As hip hop becomes globally available, it is not a one-sided process that eradicates local cultures. Instead, global hip hop styles are often synthesized with local styles. Hartwig Vens argues that hip hop can also be viewed as a global learning experience. Hip hop from countries outside the United States is often labeled "world music" for the American consumer. Author Jeff Chang argues that "the essence of hip hop is the cipher, born in the Bronx, where competition and community feed each other."

Hip hop has impacted many different countries culturally and socially in positive ways. "Thousands of organizers from Cape Town to Paris use hip hop in their communities to address environmental justice, policing and prisons, media justice, and education."

While hip hop music has been criticized as a music which creates a divide between western music and music from the rest of the world, a musical "cross pollination" has taken place, which strengthens the power of hip hop to influence different communities. Hip hop's impact as a "world music" is also due to its translatability among different cultures in the world. Hip hop's messages allow the under-privileged and the mistreated to be heard. These cultural translations cross borders. While the music may be from a foreign country, the message is something that many people can relate to- something not "foreign" at all.

Even when hip hop is transplanted to other countries, it often retains its "vital progressive agenda that challenges the status quo." Global hip hop is the meeting ground for progressive local activism, as many organizers use hip hop in their communities to address environmental injustice, policing and prisons, media justice, and education. In Gothenburg, Sweden, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) incorporate graffiti and dance to engage disaffected immigrant and working class youths. Indigenous youths in countries as disparate as Bolivia, Chile, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Norway use hip hop to advance new forms of identity.

Hip hop has played a small but distinct role as the musical face of revolution in the Arab Spring, one example being an anonymous Libyan musician, Ibn Thabit whose anti-government songs fuels the rebellion.

Commercialization

Even in the face of growing global popularity, or perhaps because of it, hip hop has come under fire for being too commercial, too commodified. While this of course stirs up controversy, a documentary called ''The Commodification of Hip Hop'' directed by Brooke Daniel interviews students at Satellite Academy in New York City. One girl talks about the epidemic of crime that she sees in urban minority communities, relating it directly to the hip hop industry saying “When they can’t afford these kind of things, these things that celebrities have like jewelry and clothes and all that, they’ll go and sell drugs, some people will steal it...” Many students see this as a negative side effect of the hip hop industry, and indeed, hip hop has been widely criticized for inciting notions of crime, violence, and American ideals of consumerism although much of the hip hop dancing community still chooses to refer back to more "oldschool" types of hip hop music that does not preach violence and drugs.

In an article for ''Village Voice'', Greg Tate argues that the commercialization of hip hop is a negative and pervasive phenomenon, writing that "what we call hiphop is now inseparable from what we call the hip hop industry, in which the ''nouveau riche'' and the super-rich employers get richer". Ironically, this commercialization coincides with a decline in rap sales and pressure from critics of the genre. Even other musicians, like Nas and KRS-ONE have claimed "hip hop is dead" in that it has changed so much over the years to cater to the consumer that it has lost the essence for which it was originally created. However, in his book ''In Search Of Africa'', Manthia Diawara explains that hip hop is really a voice of people who are down and out in modern society. He argues that the "worldwide spread of hip hop as a market revolution" is actually global "expression of poor people’s desire for the good life," and that this struggle aligns with "the nationalist struggle for citizenship and belonging, but also reveals the need to go beyond such struggles and celebrate the redemption of the black individual through tradition."

This connection to "tradition" however, is something that may be lacking according to one Satellite Academy staff member who says that in all of the focus on materialism, the hip hop community is “not leaving anything for the next generation, we’re not building.”

As the hip hop genre turns 30, a deeper analysis of the music’s impact is taking place. It has been viewed as a cultural sensation which changed the music industry around the world, but some believe commercialization and mass production have given it a darker side. Tate has described its recent manifestations as a marriage of “New World African ingenuity and that trick of the devil known as global-hypercapitalism”, arguing it has joined the “mainstream that had once excluded its originators.” While hip hop's values may have changed over time, the music continues to offer its followers and originators a shared identity which is instantly recognizable and much imitated around the world.

Cultural pillars

DJing

Turntablism refers to the extended boundaries and techniques of normal DJing innovated by hip hop. One of the few first hip hop DJ's was Kool DJ Herc, who created hip hop through the isolation of "breaks" (the parts of albums that focused solely on the beat). In addition to developing Herc's techniques, DJs Grandmaster Flowers, Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, and Grandmaster Caz made further innovations with the introduction of scratching.

Traditionally, a DJ will use two turntables simultaneously. These are connected to a DJ mixer, an amplifier, speakers, and various other pieces of electronic music equipment. The DJ will then perform various tricks between the two albums currently in rotation using the above listed methods. The result is a unique sound created by the seemingly combined sound of two separate songs into one song. Although there is considerable overlap between the two roles, a DJ is not the same as a producer of a music track.

In the early years of hip hop, the DJs were the stars, but their limelight[citation needed] has been taken by MCs since 1978, thanks largely to Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash's crew, the Furious Five. However, a number of DJs have gained stardom nonetheless in recent years. Famous DJs include Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Mr. Magic, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Scratch from EPMD, DJ Premier from Gang Starr, DJ Scott La Rock from Boogie Down Productions, DJ Pete Rock of Pete Rock & CL Smooth, DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill, Jam Master Jay from Run-DMC, Eric B., DJ Screw from the Screwed Up Click and the inventor of the Chopped & Screwed style of mixing music, Funkmaster Flex, Tony Touch, DJ Clue, and DJ Q-Bert. The underground movement of turntablism has also emerged to focus on the skills of the DJ.

Mixtape DJs have also emerged creating mixtapes with different artists and getting exclusive songs and putting them on one disc, such as DJ White Owl, DJ Skee, DJ Drama and DJ Whoo Kid, DJ Scholar.

MCing

Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, or just rhyming) refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics with a strong rhythmic accompaniment". It can be broken down into different components, such as “content”, “flow” (rhythm and rhyme), and “delivery”. Rapping is distinct from spoken word poetry in that is it performed in time to the beat of the music. The use of the word "rap" to describe quick and slangy speech or repartee long predates the musical form.

Graffiti

In America around the late 1960s, graffiti was used as a form of expression by political activists, and also by gangs such as the Savage Skulls, La Familia, and Savage Nomads to mark territory. Towards the end of the 1960s, the signatures—''tags''—of Philadelphia graffiti writers Top Cat, Cool Earl and Cornbread started to appear. Around 1970–71, the center of graffiti innovation moved to New York City where writers following in the wake of TAKI 183 and Tracy 168 would add their street number to their nickname, "bomb" a train with their work, and let the subway take it—and their fame, if it was impressive, or simply pervasive, enough—"all city". Bubble lettering held sway initially among writers from the Bronx, though the elaborate Brooklyn style Tracy 168 dubbed "wildstyle" would come to define the art. The early trendsetters were joined in the 70s by artists like Dondi, Futura 2000, Daze, Blade, Lee, Fab Five Freddy, Zephyr, Rammellzee, Crash, Kel, NOC 167 and Lady Pink.

The relationship between graffiti and hip hop culture arises both from early graffiti artists practicing other aspects of hip hop, and its being practiced in areas where other elements of hip hop were evolving as art forms. Graffiti is recognized as a visual expression of rap music, just as breaking is viewed as a physical expression. The movie "Wild Style" is widely regarded as the first hip hop motion picture, featured prominent figures from lates 70's and early 1980's hip hop culture engaging in activities such as graffiti, MCing, turntablism and bboying; the four pillars of hip hop culture. The book ''Subway Art'' (New York: Henry Holt & Co, 1984) and the TV program ''Style Wars'' (first shown on the PBS channel in 1984) were also among the first ways the mainstream public were introduced to hip hop graffiti.

Breaking

Breaking, also called B-boying or breakdancing, is a dynamic style of dance which developed as part of the hip hop culture. Breaking is one of the major elements of hip hop culture. Like many aspects of Hip hop culture, breakdance borrows heavily from many cultures, including 1930's-era street dancing, Afro-Brazilian and Asian Martial arts, Russian folk dance, and the dance moves of James Brown, Micheal Jackson, and California Funk styles. Breaking took form in the South Bronx alongside the other elements of hip hop. According to the documentary film The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy, DJ Kool Herc describes the "B" in B-boy as short for breaking which at the time was slang for "going off", also one of the original names for the dance. However, early on the dance was known as the "boing" (the sound a spring makes). Dancers at DJ Kool Herc's parties, who saved their best dance moves for the break section of the song, getting in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive, frenetic style. The "B" in B-boy also stands simply for break, as in break-boy (or girl). Breaking was documented in Style Wars, and was later given more focus in fictional films such as Wild Style and Beat Street. Early acts include the Rock Steady Crew and New York City Breakers.

Beatbox

Beatbox, popularized by Doug E. Fresh, is the vocal percussion of hip hop culture. It is primarily concerned with the art of creating beats, rhythms, and melodies using the human mouth. The term ''beatboxing'' is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes. As it is a way of creating hip hop music, it can be categorized under the production element of hip hop, though it does sometimes include a type of rapping intersected with the human-created beat.

The art was quite popular in the 1980s with artists like the Darren "Buffy, the Human Beat Box" Robinson of the Fat Boys and Biz Markie displaying their skills in beatboxing. It declined in popularity along with bboying in the late '80s, but has undergone a resurgence since the late '90s, marked by the release of "Make the Music 2000." by Rahzel of The Roots.

Social impact

Effects

Hip hop has made a considerable social impact since its inception in the 1970s. Orlando Patterson, a sociology professor at Harvard University helps describe the phenomenon of how Hip Hop spread rapidly around the world. Professor Patterson argues that mass communication is controlled by the wealthy, government, and businesses in Third World nations and countries around the world. He also credits mass communication with creating a global cultural hip hop scene. As a result, the youth absorb and are influenced by the American hip hop scene and start their own form of hip hop. Patterson believes that revitalization of hip hop music will occur around the world as traditional values are mixed with American hip hop musical forms, and ultimately a global exchange process will develop that brings youth around the world to listen to a common musical form known as hip hop. It has also been argued that rap music formed as a "cultural response to historic oppression and racism, a system for communication among black communities throughout the United States". This is due to the fact that the culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of the disenfranchised youth.. In the current Arab Spring hip hop is playing a significant role in providing a channel for the youth to express their ideas .

Language

The development of Hip Hop linguistics is complex. Source material include the spirituals of slaves arriving in the new world, Jamaican dub music, the laments of jazz and blues singers, patterned cockney slang and radio deejays hyping their audience in rhyme.

Hip Hop has a distinctive associated slang. It is also known by alternate names, such as "Black English", or "Ebonics". Academics suggest its development stems from a rejection of the racial hierarchy of language, which held "White English" as the superior form of educated speech. Due to hip hop's commercial success in the late nineties and early 21st century, many of these words have been assimilated into the cultural discourse of several different dialects across America and the world and even to non-hip hop fans. The word ''dis'' for example is particularly prolific. There are also a number of words which predate hip hop but are often associated with the culture, with ''homie'' being a notable example.

Sometimes, terms like ''what the dilly, yo'' are popularized by a single song (in this case, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" by Busta Rhymes) and are only used briefly. One particular example is the rule-based slang of Snoop Dogg and E-40, who -izzle add ''-izz'' to the middle of words.

Hip Hop lyricism has gained a measure of legitimacy in academic and literary circles. Studies of Hip Hop linguistics are now offered at institutions such as the University of Toronto, where poet and author George Eliot Clarke has (in the past) taught the potential power of hip hop music to promote social change.

Some academics, including Ernest Morrell and Jeffery Duncan Andrade compare hip hop to the satirical works of great “canon” poets of the modern era, who use imagery and mood to directly criticize society. As quoted in their seminal work; "Promoting Academic Literacy with Urban Youth Through Engaging Hip Hop Culture":

Censorship

Hip hop has been met with significant problems in regards to censorship due to the explicit nature of certain genres. It has also been criticized for anti-establishment sentiment, as some of its songs depict wars and coup d'états that in the end overthrow the government. For example, Public Enemy's "Gotta Give the Peeps What They Need" was censored on MTV, removing the words "free Mumia".

After the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Oakland, California group The Coup was under fire for the cover art on their ''Party Music'', which featured the group's two members holding a detonator as the Twin Towers exploded behind them. Ironically, this art was created months before the actual event. The group, having politically radical and Marxist lyrical content, said the cover meant to symbolize the destruction of capitalism. Their record label pulled the album until a new cover could be designed.

The use of profanity as well as graphic depictions of violence and sex creates challenges in the broadcast of such material both on television stations such as MTV, in music video form, and on radio. As a result, many hip hop recordings are broadcast in censored form, with offending language "bleeped" or blanked out of the soundtrack, or replaced with "clean" lyrics. The result – which sometimes renders the remaining lyrics unintelligible or contradictory to the original recording – has become almost as widely identified with the genre as any other aspect of the music, and has been parodied in films such as ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'', in which Mike Myers' character Dr. Evil – performing in a parody of a hip hop music video ("Hard Knock Life" by Jay-Z) – performs an entire verse that is blanked out. In 1995 Roger Ebert wrote:

In 1990, Luther Campbell (rapper) and his group 2 Live Crew filed a lawsuit against Nick Navarro, Broward County Sheriff because Navarro wanted to prosecute stores that sold the groups album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" because of its obscene and vulgar lyrics. In June 1990, U.S. district court judge labeled the album obscene and illegal to sell. However, in 1992, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned the obscenity ruling.

In a way to circumvent broadcasting regulations BET has created a late-night segment called "Uncut" to air uncensored videos. Not only has this translated into greater sales for mainstream artists, it has also provided an outlet for undiscovered artists to grab the spotlight with graphic but low production quality videos, often made cheaply by non-professionals. Perhaps the most notorious video aired, which for many came to exemplify BET's program Uncut, was "Tip Drill" by Nelly. While no more explicit than other videos, its exploitative depiction of women, particularly of a man swiping a credit card between a stripper's buttocks, was seized upon by many social activists for condemnation. The segment was discontinued in mid 2006.

Also in the 1990s, gangsta-rap was popular but also heavily censored due to the explicit nature of the lyrics. Radio stations across the country stopped playing gangsta-rap all together. Many social and political people denounced rap like Delores Tucker, especially towards acclaimed rapper Tupac Shakur. The controversial hip hop group N.W.A. was sent a letter of warning from the F.B.I.. Despite this, the letter helped the group gain a wider audience and a more "gangster" appeal. Also, rap icon Ice-T made the controversial song Cop Killers.

Product placement

Critics such as Businessweek's David Kiley argue that the discussion of many products within hip hop music and culture may actually be the result of undisclosed product placement deals. Such critics allege that shilling or product placement takes place in commercial rap music, and that lyrical references to products are actually paid endorsements. In 2005, a proposed plan by McDonalds, which would have paid rappers to advertise McDonalds food in their music, was leaked to the press. After Russell Simmons made a deal with Courvoisier to promote the brand among hip hop fans, Busta Rhymes recorded the song "Pass The Courvoisier". Simmons insists that no money changed hands in the deal.

The symbiotic relationship has also stretched to include car manufacturers, clothing designers and sneaker companies, and many other companies have used the hip hop community to make their name or to give the credibility. One such beneficiary was Jacob the Jeweler, a diamond merchant from New York, Jacob Arabo's clientele included Sean Combs, Lil Kim and Nas. He created jewelry pieces from precious metals that were heavily loaded with diamond and gemstones. As his name was mentioned in the song lyrics of his hip hop customers, his profile quickly rose. Arabo expanded his brand to include gem-encrusted watches that retail for hundreds of thousands of dollars, gaining so much attention that Cartier filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit against him for putting diamonds on the faces of their watches and reselling them without permission. Arabo's profile increased steadily until his June, 2006 arrest by the FBI on money laundering charges.

While some brands welcome the support of the hip hop community, one brand that did not was Cristal champagne maker Louis Roederer. A 2006 article from The Economist magazine featured remarks from managing director Frederic Rouzaud about whether the brand's identification with rap stars could affect their company negatively. His answer was dismissive in tone: "That's a good question, but what can we do? We can't forbid people from buying it. I'm sure Dom Pérignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business." In retaliation, many hip hop icons such as Jay-Z and Sean Combs, who previously included references to "Cris", ceased all mentions and purchases of the champagne.

Media

Hip hop culture has had extensive coverage in the media, especially in relation to television; there have been a number of television shows devoted to or about hip hop. For a long time, BET was the only television channel likely to play much hip hop, but in recent years the mainstream channels VH1 and MTV have added a significant amount of hip hop to their play list. Run DMC became the first trio of African Americans to turn the hip hop world upside down by being the first African-American group to appear on MTV. With the emergence of the Internet a number of online sites began to offer Hip Hop related video content.

Hip hop films have been related since hip hop's conception and have become even more related in the 21st century. During the early 1990s, African-Americans experienced a film renaissance, sparked by the popularity of hood films, in-depth looks at urban life, focusing on violence, family, friends and hip hop. There have also been a number of hip hop films, movies which focused on hip hop as a subject.

Hip Hop magazines have a large place in hip hop lifestyle and history, including the first ever published Hip Hop publication ''The Hip Hop Hit List'', which also contained the very first rap music record chart ever. It was the first form of media to introduce hip hop as a culture. Published in the early 80s by two brothers out of Newark, New Jersey Vincent and Charles Carroll. They introduced it as a DJ record chart and tip sheet that was distributed through record stores throughout the New York City Tri-State area. ["Back then, all DJ's came into New York City to buy their records but most of them did not know what was hot enough to spend money on so we charted it." - Charles Carroll."] This magazine's role in Hip Hop History was very significant and was also instrumental in the early commercial success of rap music. It was known for spreading the news about music and the culture internationally and was loaded with ads from all the early record companies. Later other publications spawned up including; ''Hip Hop Connection'', ''XXL'', ''Scratch'', ''The Source'' and ''Vibe''. Many individual cities have also produced their own local hip hop newsletters, while hip hop magazines with national distribution are found in a few other countries. The 21st century also ushered in the rise of online media, and hip hop fan sites now offer comprehensive hip hop coverage on a daily basis.

Diversification

Hip hop has spawned dozens of sub-genres which incorporate a domineering style of music production or rapping, and it exhibits elements of trifunctionalism.After the Black Americans started Hip hop, other ethnic groups began to contribute to the development of the cultural movement.

Hip hop has now expanded and gone on a global scale, with millions of rap albums sold in foreign countries, some of which are not English-speaking. Hip hop has influenced natives of foreign countries to pursue rap careers and do what is being done in the United States, including following the trends, in their country. This is a product of globalization and it explains how popular culture can be interwoven with the everyday life of individuals that follow it, and how it can affect them in many ways.

Like jazz, hip hop is one of the few musical genres that scholars see as entirely American. There are many varying social influences that affect hip hop's message in different nations. It is frequently used as a musical response to perceived political and/or social injustices. In South Africa the largest form of hip hop is called Kwaito, which has had a growth similar to American hip hop. Kwaito is a direct reflection of a post apartheid South Africa and is a voice for the voiceless; a term that U.S. hip hop is often referred to. Kwaito is even perceived as a lifestyle, encompassing many aspects of life, including language and fashion. Kwaito is a political and party-driven genre, as performers use the music to express their political views, and also to express their desire to have a good time. Kwaito is a music that came from a once hated and oppressed people, but it is now sweeping the nation. The main consumers of Kwaito are adolescents and half of the South African population is under 21. Some of the large Kwaito artists have sold over 100,000 albums, and in an industry where 25,000 albums sold is considered a gold record, those are impressive numbers. Kwaito allows the participation and creative engagement of otherwise socially excluded peoples in the generation of popular media. South African Hip Hop is more diverse lately and there are Hip Hop acts in South Africa that have made an impact and continue making impact worldwide. These include Tumi, Ben Sharpa, HipHop Pantsula, Tuks Senganga.

In Jamaica, the sounds of hip hop are derived from American and Jamaican influences. Jamaican hip hop is defined both through dancehall and Reggae music. Jamaican Kool Herc brought the sound systems, technology, and techniques of Reggae music to New York during the 1970s. Jamaican hip hop artists often rap in both Brooklyn and Jamaican accents. Jamaican hip hop subject matter is often influenced by outside and internal forces. Outside forces such as the bling-bling era of today's modern hip hop and internal influences coming from the use of anti colonialism and marijuana or "Ganja" references which Rastafarians believe bring them closer to God.

Author Wayne Marshall argues that "Hip hop, as with any number of African-American cultural forms before it, offers a range of compelling and contradictory significations to Jamaican artist and audiences. From "modern blackness" to foreign mind", transnational cosmopolitanism to militant pan-Africanism, radical remixology to outright mimicry, hip hop in Jamaica embodies the myriad ways that Jamaicans embrace, reject, and incorporate foreign yet familiar forms."

In the developing world hip hop has made a considerable impact in the social context. Despite the lack of resources, hip hop has made considerable inroads. Due to limited funds, hip hop artists are forced to use very basic tools, and even graffiti, an important aspect of the hip hop culture, is constrained due to its unavailability to the average person. Many hip hop artists that make it out of the developing world come to places like the United States in hopes of improving their situations. Maya Arulpragasm is a Sri Lankan born hip hop artist in this situation. She claims, "I'm just trying to build some sort of bridge, I'm trying to create a third place, somewhere in between the developed world and the developing world."

In Sabah North Borneo, AtamaKatama (rapper & beatmaker) fused Sumazau a tribal music of the Dusun people with hiphop beats & rhymes. This new sound later became known as SumazauHipHop. This music contains samples of gong beats, sompoton, togunggu, bungkau & 'rinaits' - chants of Bobohizan priestess.

Education

Many organizations and facilities are providing spaces and programs for communities to explore making and learning about hip hop. A noteworthy example is the IMP Labs in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Many dance studios and colleges now offer lessons in Hip Hop alongside Tap and Ballet. As well as KRS-ONE teaching hip hop lectures at Harvard University.

Hip Hop producer 9th Wonder and former rapper/actor Christopher "Play" Martin from the Hip Hop group Kid-n-Play have both taught Hip Hop history classes at North Carolina Central University and 9th Wonder has also taught a "Hip Hop Sampling Soul" class at Duke University.

Legacy

Having its roots in reggae, disco and funk, hip hop has since exponentially expanded into a widely accepted form of representation world wide. It expansion includes events like Afrika Bambaataa releasing "Planet Rock" in 1982, which tried to establish a more global harmony in hip hop. In the 1990s, the French MC Solaar became the first international hit Hip Hop artist not native to America. From the 80s onward, television became the major source of widespread outsourcing of hip hop to the global world. From ''Yo! MTV Raps'' (a television show that was shown in many countries) to Public Enemy's world tour, hip hop spread further to Latin America and became highly mainstream. Ranging from countries like France, Spain, England, the US and many other countries world wide, voices want to be heard, and hip hop allows them to do so. As such, hip hop has been cut mixed and changed to the areas that adapt to it.

Early hip hop has often been credited with helping to reduce inner-city gang violence by replacing physical violence with hip hop battles of dance and artwork. However, with the emergence of commercial and crime-related rap during the early 1990s, an emphasis on violence was incorporated, with many rappers boasting about drugs, weapons, misogyny, and violence. While hip hop music now appeals to a broader demographic, media critics argue that socially and politically conscious hip hop has long been disregarded by mainstream America in favor of its media-baiting sibling, gangsta rap.

Many artists are now considered to be alternative/underground hip hop when they attempt to reflect what they believe to be the original elements of the culture. Artists/groups such as Lupe Fiasco, J. Cole, The Roots, Shing02, Jay Electronica, Nas, Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Dilated Peoples, Dead Prez, Blackalicious, Joe Budden, Jurassic 5, and KRS-One emphasize messages of verbal skill, internal/external conflicts, life lessons, unity, social issues, or activism instead of messages of violence, material wealth, and misogyny.

Authenticity

Authenticity is often a serious debate within hip hop culture. Dating back to its origins in the 1970s in the Bronx, hip hop revolved around a culture of protest and freedom of expression in the wake of oppression suffered by African-Americans . As hip hop has become less of an underground culture, it is subject to debate whether or not the spirit of hip hop is embodied in protest, or whether it can evolve to exist in a marketable integrated version. In "Authenticity Within Hip Hop and Other Cultures Threatened with Assimilation," Commentator Kembrew McLeod argues that hip hop culture is actually threatened with assimilation by a larger, mainstream culture. In support of this position, editors of magazines such as the ''Village Voice'' have said that hip hop is slowly losing its edge due to the genre's involvement in the mainstream, hyper-capitalist world. Believing that hip hop should be utilized as a voice for social justice, Tate points out that in the marketable version of hip hop, there isn't a role for this evolved genre in context of the original theme hip hop originated from (freedom from oppression). The problem with Black progressive political organizing isn't that hip hop, but that the No. 1 issue on the table needs to be poverty, and nobody knows how to make poverty sexy. Tate discusses how the dynamic of progressive Black politics cannot apply to the genre of hip hop in the current state today due to the genre's heavy involvement in the market. In his article he discusses hip hop's 30^th birthday and how its evolution has become more of a devolution due to its capitalistic endeavors. Both Tate and McLeod argue that hip hop has lost its authenticity due to its losing sight of the revolutionary theme and humble "folksy" beginnings the music originated from. "This is the first time artists from around the world will be performing in an international context. The ones that are coming are considered to be the key members of the contemporary underground hip hop movement." This is how the music landscape has broadened around the world over the last ten years. The maturation of hip hop has gotten older with the genres age, but the initial reasoning of why hip hop has started will always be intact. ll

See also

List of hip hop albums

List of hip hop musicians

Museum of African American Music

References

Notes

Huntington, Carla Stalling. ''Hip Hop Dance; Meanings and Messages''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company Publishers, Inc.

Bibliography

External links

Category:African-American culture Category:African American history

bg:Хип-хоп et:Hip-hop fa:هیپ هاپ fo:Hip hop hr:Hip hop he:תרבות ההיפ הופ id:Hip hop la:Hiphop nds:Hip-Hop (Kultur) pl:Hip-hop pt:Hip-hop ro:Hip hop sq:Hip Hop ta:ஹிப் ஹொப் war:Hip hop zh:嘻哈

name	Mario Maurer
birth name	Mario Maurer
birth date	December 04, 1988
birth place	Thailand
occupation	Actor, model, singer
othername	Nuttavut Maurer
years active	2004-present
website	http://www.ohohmario.com/ }}

Mario Maurer (, born December 4, 1988 in Thailand) is a Thai model and actor. He is best known for his lead roles in the 2007 film, ''The Love of Siam'' and the 2011 sleeper hit, ''First Love (A Little Thing Called Love)''.

Biography

Mario Maurer was born in Bangkok, Thailand. He is of Chinese and German descent He attended school at St. Dominic School in Bangkok and now is studying in Ramkhamhaeng University, majoring in Communication Arts. Maurer is a Roman Catholic. At the age of 16, Maurer became a model doing photo shoots, commercials and music videos. In 2007, he made his feature film debut in a leading role in ''The Love of Siam'', written and directed by Chukiat Sakweerakul. The role "Tong" brought him many accolades and instant fame far beyond Thailand's borders. Commenting on his new-found fame, "I didn't want to do it, Acting wasn't on my list to do." He decided to do the movie because he trusted the director "Chukiat" and the movie would give him many opportunities. He'd be making money to help his family. He became famous in this film because of his gay role. The film's promotion did not play up its homosexual romance. Nonetheless, most critics have given extremely positive reviews. When asked about his kissing scenes with Witwisit Hirunwongkul in ''The Love of Siam'', Maurer said, "I was nervous. I've never kissed a man and kissing is not something you do every day." Maurer has been nominated for an Asian Film Awards in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''The Love of Siam'', but lost to Sun Hong-Lei for ''Mongol''. He won the Best Actor award in Southeast Asian film category at the 10th Cinemanila International Film Festival. His performance was described as "Mature acting choices within a wide range of situations. Beneath a calm and placid external demeanor his performance he displayed a rich inner struggle dealing with emotional burdens, with family, friends, his social circle and his romantic and sexual awakening."

He won the Best Actor award in Starpics Thai Films Awards and also nominated in Bangkok Critics Assembly and Star Entertainment Awards.

Director Bhandit Rittakol had approached Maurer for ''Boonchu 9'', but he was tied up with other projects. He has been cast in the 2008 film by Chatchai Naksuriya, ''Friendship''. The film is set around 1983. Maurer starring opposite Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, as 12th grade student. That same year he appeared in a segment of the four-story anthology ''4 Romance'' (segment "Joob" or Kiss) directed by Rashane Limtrakul Maurer's projects after 2008 include a comedy-horror film written and directed by Yuthlert Sippapak, ''Rahtree Reborn'', scheduled for release in April 2009, in which he starred opposite Chermarn Boonyasak.

Other work

His brother Marco, teamed up in a hip-hop duo "PsyCho & Lil’Mario" with Mario. They have released their debut ''PsyCho & Lil’Mario: Dem Crazy Boyz'' on October 31, 2007. He worked as a hypeman in this album. But Maurer later described "It was just for fun. I know myself - I'm not a singer. That's not my dream." Maurer participated in endorsements for the first time for Exit Rollon and other popular brands such as The Pizza Company, Sugus, Foremost and now he acted as the presenter for Honda Jazz, Pepsi, Dutchmill and Sony Ericsson. In July 2011, he signed to become an endorser for the Philippine clothing brand, Penshoppe

Personal life

Maurer is the son of German father, Roland, and a Thai Chinese mother, Warunya. His father had a business exporting deodorant made from alum.He has an elder brother, Germany-born Marco, a rapper who is currently signed with the recording label N.Y.U. Club.

Filmography

! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
2007	''The Love of Siam''	Tong
		Singha
''4 Romance''	Beaver	Segment "Joob" or Kiss
''Saranair Siblor''	Ekap	สาระแนสิบล้อ
2009	''Rahtree Reborn''	Rang
2009	''Rahtree Revenge''	Rang
2010	''Autumn Destiny''	Kim Min Ho
2010	''First Love (A Little Thing Called Love)''	Shone
2010	''Saranae Hen Pee''	TBA
2011		Shone
2011	''You and me friend till we die''	Christopher

References

External links

Category:1988 births Category:Living people Mario Maurer Mario Maurer Mario Maurer Mario Maurer Category:Thai Roman Catholics

de:Mario Maurer es:Mario Maurer id:Mario Maurer jv:Mario Maurer ms:Mario Maurer pam:Mario Maurer fi:Mario Maurer th:มาริโอ้ เมาเร่อ vi:Mario Maurer zh:马里奥·毛瑞尔

name	Bun B
background	solo_singer
birth name	Bernard Freeman
alias	Big Boy B, Bunny Bee
birth date	March 19, 1973
death	July 30, 2011
origin	Port Arthur, Texas|
genre	Hip Hop, Southern Rap, Trill
occupation	Rapper, Songwriter, Producer, CEO
years active	1987–present
label	Rap-a-Lot
website	bunb.com/bun_b
associated acts	UGK, Slim Thug, Freddie Gibbs, Jay-Z, The Color Changin' Click, Rick Ross, Drake, E-40, Z-Ro, Ludacris, Lil Wayne }}

Bernard Freeman (born March 19, 1973) better known by his stage name Bun B, is an American rapper and was one half of the southern hip hop duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz). He is also a guest lecturer at Rice University located in Houston, Texas. He recently released his third official solo album Trill OG on August 3, 2010, which received a 5 Mic "Classic" rating in The Source Magazine - the first album in over five years to receive the honor. Bun B is married with two stepchildren.

Solo career

When Bun B's UGK partner, the late Chad "Pimp C" Butler entered a jail sentence on an aggravated gun assault charge in 2003, Bun B made guest appearances on numerous albums by other Southern rappers and released a 2005 mixtape titled ''Legends''. Singles featuring a Bun B guest appearance included "They Don't Know" by Paul Wall, "Gimme That" by Webbie and "I'm A G" by Yung Joc. Bun B also appeared in a documentary titled ''Screwed In Houston'' produced by VBS/Vice Magazine that details the history of the Houston rap scene.

''Trill''

In October 2005, Bun B's debut solo album ''Trill'' was released. Singles included "Draped Up", "Git It", and "Get Throwed". The album peaked at the sixth spot on the American Billboard 200 chart and number one on the Top R&B;/Hip Hop Albums chart.

''II Trill''

After Pimp C died in 2007, Bun B returned to a solo career. In 2008, he released his second album, ''II Trill'' The first single was "That's Gangsta" featuring Jamaican American artist Sean Kingston. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, selling 98,000 copies. Other singles were "Damn I'm Cold" featuring Lil Wayne and "You're Everything" featuring Rick Ross, David Banner, and 8Ball & MJG, the latter of which was dedicated to the late Pimp C.

''Trill OG''

Bun B's third album is ''Trill OG''. In an interview with MTV Live, Bun B stated that 2Pac is set to feature on the album, claiming "It's a brand new verse." The album was released under Universal Music Group after leaving Warner Music Group's Asylum Records. The album was released on August 3, 2010.

Other Ventures

Acting

Bun B recently acted in the Straight-to-DVD movie "Ghetto Stories: The Movie". It is unknown at this time though if he is still pursuing an acting career.

Teaching

At the start of the Spring 2011 semester, Bun B joined the faculty of Rice University as a Distinguished Lecturer. He teaches a course in the School of the Humanities on Hip-Hop and Religion.

Personal life

Family

Bun B is married to Angela Walls with two stepchildren. One of his stepsons is American rapper Young B, who is currently a member of the rap group ''Youngest N Charge.'' Youngest N Charge is currently Bun B's opening act.

Discography

2005: ''Trill''

2008: ''II Trill''

2010: ''Trill OG''

2012: ''Keep It Trill IVEver''

Filmography

Films

''Ghetto Stories:the movie'' (2010)

References

External links

Rap-A-Lot Records

Discography at discogs.com

Category:1973 births Category:Screwed Up Click members Category:African American rappers Category:Rappers from Houston, Texas Category:People from Port Arthur, Texas Category:Asylum Records artists Category:Living people Category:Rice University faculty Category:Southern hip hop musicians Category:Rappers from Texas

de:Bun B es:Bun B fr:Bun B it:Bun B nl:Bun B no:Bun B pl:Bun B pt:Bun B fi:Bun B sv:Bun B tr:Bun B

name	Lupe Fiasco
background	solo_singer
birth name	Wasalu Muhammad Jaco
alias	Lupe Fiasco
born	February 16, 1982Chicago, Illinois, United States
origin	Chicago, Illinois
religion	Islam
instrument	Keyboards, Piano
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Musician
years active	2005 to Present Day
label	1st & 15th, Atlantic
associated acts	Child Rebel Soldier, Japanese Cartoon, Matthew Santos, B.o.B, All City Chess Club
website	}}

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, artist, producer and CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor''. He also performs as the frontman of post punk band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. He was raised in Chicago, Fiasco developed an interest in hip-hop after initially disliking the genre for its heavy use of profanity and vulgarity; Fiasco eventually adopted the name Lupe Fiasco beginning to record songs in his father's basement then later joining a group called "Da Pak". This group disbanded shortly after its inception and Fiasco then met the bestselling rapper Jay-Z who helped him get signed to a record deal with Atlantic Records. In 2006, Fiasco released his debut album ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor'' on the label; Fiasco's debut album became a commercial success as well being critically acclaim. In the next year, Fiasco released his second album, ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'' in December 2007 which the lead single is titled "Superstar"; this became a market success and later becoming a music hit, peaking at #10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Life and career

1982–98: Early life

Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois. Born of West African descent, he was one of nine children of Shirley, a gourmet chef, and Gregory, a engineer. His father, who was a member of the Black Panther Party, was a prolific African drummer, karate teacher, operating plant engineer, and owner of karate schools and army surplus stores. Fiasco was raised Muslim on the Westside of Chicago on Madison Terrace housing project. At the age of three, Fiasco began taking martial arts classes. His parents divorced when he was at the age of five and he went on to live with his mother throughout the rest of his life; Fiasco's father still remained prevalent in his life, "After school, my father would come and get us and take us out into the world—one day, we're listening to N.W.A, the next day we're listening to Ravi Shankar, the next day, he's teaching us how to shoot an AK-47, the next day, we're at karate class, the next day, we're in Chinatown...". In the sixth grade, he went to live with his father in Harvey, Illinois; his father lived next door to a crack house and taught Fiasco to use guns to defend himself from drug dealers. Despite his unstable upbringing, Fiasco states that he was well-educated as a child, asserting that "I grew up in the hood around prostitutes, drug dealers, killers, and gangbangers but I also grew up juxtaposed: On the doorknob outside of our apartment, there was blood from some guy who got shot; but inside, there was ''National Geographic'' magazines and encyclopedias and a little library bookshelf situation. And we didn't have cable, so we didn't have the luxury of having our brains washed by MTV. We watched public television – cooking shows and stuff like that."

He initially disliked hip hop music for its use of vulgarity and profanity so he preferred to listen to jazz; Fiasco idolized clarinet player Benny Goodman. He began rapping when he was in the eighth grade and upon listening to Nas' 1996 album, ''It Was Written'', Fiasco began to get into hip hop. Early in his career, he went by stage names Little Lu/Lu tha Underdog. Growing up, Fiasco was given the nickname "Lu", the last part of his first name given by his mother; "Lupe" is an extension of this nickname which he borrowed from a friend from high school. "Fiasco," he says, "came from the Firm album, it had the song, 'Firm Fiasco'. I just liked the way it looked on paper." He also said more details on his name, "I simply like the way the word "looked" (Fiasco). You know how rappers always have names like MC Terrorist—like they're 'terrorizing' other rappers? I knew fiasco meant a great disaster or something like that but I didn't realize that the person named Fiasco would be the disaster, and that you should be calling other MCs fiascos—not yourself. I was moving real fast at the time and it kind of humbled me in a sense. It taught me like, 'Yo, stop rushing, or you're going to have some fiascos.' So I just kept it. It's like a scar, I guess, a reminder to not over think or overrun anything ever again." Fiasco later described the experience saying, "We had a song out about cocaine, guns, and women and I would go to a record store and look at it and think, 'What are you doing?' I felt like a hypocrite. I was acting like this rapper who would never be judged and I had to destroy that guy because what Lupe Fiasco says on this microphone is going to come back to Wasalu Jaco(speaking in third person). When the music cuts off, you have to go home and live with what you say." After turning away from gangsta rap, he developed a greater appreciation of the lyricism of the likes of Jay-Z and Nas. In the process, his mother had given him a record of The Watts Prophets, one of the first bands to use spoken words with music and would become the basis of the genre, Hip Hop.

Later, Fiasco later signed a solo deal with Arista Records but was dropped when President and CEO L. A. Reid was fired. During his short tenure at Arista, he did meet Jay-Z, who was the president of Def Jam Recordings at the time, he referred to him as a "breath of fresh air" saying that he reminded him of a younger version of himself. Jay-Z would later go on and help him get a record deal at Atlantic Records.

During his early hip hop career Fiasco remixed another one of West's songs, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" by renaming it as "Conflict Diamonds". This caught Kanye West's attention thus resulting in him asking Fiasco to perform on the song "Touch the Sky" off his album ''Late Registration''; tise song which sampled Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up" became a music hit in the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #42. When Fiasco released his first Atlantic Records single, "Kick, Push" it was released earlier than expected, the song was a love story about two lovers sharing a passion for skateboarding. It would go on to be nominated for two 2007 Grammy Awards. Fiasco's "Kick, Push" and its accompanying music video helped Fiasco get respected but not revered in the hip hop community. During this time, he had guest appearances on singles on Tha' Rayne's "Kiss Me" and "Didn't You Know" and also K Foxx's 2004 "This Life"; he also released the song "Coulda Been" on a compilation of MTV's Advance Warning.

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

In 2006, Jay-Z assisted him in the production of what would become his debut album ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor''. The title of the album is a reference to 'Food and Liquor' stores common in Chicago. He explains, "the store is where everything is at, whether it be the wino hanging by the store, or us kids going back and forth to the store to buy something. The 'Food' is the good part and the ''Liquors'' is the bad part. I try to balance out both parts of me... Food to me represents growth and progression. You eat food and you get strength. You need it to live. Liquor is not a necessity; it is a want. It destroys you. It breaks you down. I can see why it's prohibited in Islam...I've always felt like liquor represents the bad, the food represents the good, and everyone is made up of a little of both." His single "Kick, Push" became very popular and was featured in the videogame ''NBA Live 2007''. As his popularity steadily increased his anticipation for his upcoming album after ''Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor''. The debut album was officially released on September 19, 2006. The album featured production from Jay-Z, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda, The Neptunes, Prolyfic, and more. Singles from the album were "Kick, Push," "I Gotcha" and "Daydreamin'" featuring Jill Scott. The critically lauded album was later nominated for three Grammy Awards including Best Rap Album. Fiasco won "Best Urban/Alternative Performance" for "Daydreamin". In the same year, he was voted by ''GQ'' magazine as the "Breakout Man of the Year." He also received four BET Hip Hop Award nominations, and it made it to No. 8 on Billboard 200 and No.2 on Billboard Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

In 2007, Fiasco announced his second album, ''Lupe Fiasco's The Cool'', a concept album that expands on the story of the track of the same name on his first album. While recording this album, Fiasco's father died of type II diabetes and his business partner, Charles "Chilly" Patton, was convicted of attempting to supply heroin and was eventually sentenced to forty-four years in a correctional facility. These events greatly affected Fiasco and the subsequent themes discussed on the album; the album was released in December 2007 in United States while the first single and video from the album, "Superstar" featuring Matthew Santos was released the first week of November 2007. Baseball's Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Gerald Laird and Ryan Braun have used "Superstar" as their at-bat song. The song has also been featured in HBO's ''Hard Knocks'' TV show. The album's second single (released in the UK in April 2008) was "Paris, Tokyo" – a song based around Fiasco's experiences of touring the world between his first and second albums. Moreover, in 2007 it was revealed that Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams had formed a group known as Child Rebel Soldier. CRS initially released one single, entitled "US Placers" and featuring a Thom Yorke sample. In October 2010, as part of Kanye West's G.O.O.D Friday's, a second song titled "Don't Stop" was released. In an interview with MTV, particularly posted on his blog, Lupe said that a full length CRS album would depend on fan demand. The three appeared on the Glow in the Dark Tour together, though under separate billing. In an interview with ''The Village Voice'', Fiasco revealed that he was writing a novel about a window washer aptly titled ''Reflections of a Window Washer''. In 2008, Fiasco and his band "1500 or Nothin" joined Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour which also featured Rihanna and N.E.R.D. The tour stopped in several cities, including his hometown of Chicago. In 2008, MTV named Fiasco the 7th Hottest MC in the Game and announced that he was remixing ''The Cool'' with French electro house act Justice. Fiasco's "Superstar" has been included in the video game ''Lips''.

2009–present: ''Lasers''

Fiasco announced at a Chicago concert late in 2008 that his next and most likely final album will be a three disc album called ''LupE.N.D.'' and that the first disc titled, "Everywhere" would come out in June 2009. On January 30, 2009, Lupe Fiasco originally announced that ''LupE.N.D.'' will be postponed indefinitely. In spite of the bad news that he would not release three albums Fiasco decided to plan a project titled. ''The Great American Rap Album''. In June 2009, Fiasco would released two following albums in December 2009 and June 2010 with rumored ''LupE.N.D.'' following afterward. However, it was announced by Fiasco that his next album would instead be titled, "''We Are Lasers''", yet later his official Rep. from Atlantic Records announced and confirmed that it would instead be titled simply "''Lasers''". On June 26, 2009, Fiasco announced at the Chicago Theater that the album would be released in the 4th Quarter of 2009, particular in December. The album's first single, "Shining Down" features Matthew Santos and is produced by Soundtrakk; this single was released on July 7, 2009. On January 26, 2010, a new song called "I'm Beamin" was released and Fiasco referred to the song as a 'taste' of what is to come... There are a few snippets of songs that have been released as of August 24, 2009, unofficially titled "Army Girl," "Ladies And Gentlemen," and "2 Ways." Besides the forever delays and rhetoric about the release date of his latest album, Fiasco ventured into making songs for movies; he has a bonus track on iTunes for the soundtrack to ''The Twilight Saga: New Moon'' called "Solar Midnight". In a post on his Myspace blog, Fiasco addressed concerns by fans who believed that he had "sold out" by making a song for the soundtrack saying, "I'm not SELLING OUT by doing a song for NEW MOON... People thought I 'SOLD OUT' when I did 'Kick, Push'". On October 7, 2009, Lupe released a song in response to the release of MTV's 2009 "Top 10 Hottest MC's List", he was undoubtedly absent from the list; Lupe stated that the track entitled, "Fire" would prove that he belonged in the number one spot on the list.

In October 2009, Fiasco released two new freestyles, "Turnt Up" and "Say Something". Both freestyles were included on his official mixtape ''Enemy of the State: A Love Story'' released on November 26, 2009. The mixtape also included beats from Diddy's "Angels", Lil Wayne's "Fireman," Slaughterhouse's The One, and Radiohead's "The National Anthem." In the likes of contributing to the hip hop community itself more, Fiasco contributed his vocals to Chris Brown's song "Girlfriend" on his 2009 album ''Graffiti'' and has provided a guest verse on the song "Past My Shades" from Atlanta rapper B.o.B's 2010 album, ''B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray''.

Later in 2010, Fiasco announced on Twitter that his new album is complete and is waiting for the release from Atlantic Records; the delay of the release for the album remains to be unclear thus resulted in fans later putting together an online petition demanding that Atlantic Records release ''Lasers''. Around the 3rd or 4th Quarter of 2010, the petition garnered considerable attention on hip hop blog sites as well as attaining over five thousands signatures since its creation, it has since reached over twenty-eight thousand signatures. In response to the petition, Fiasco released a song titled "B.M.F-Building Minds Faster" as a gift for his fans; the story was featured on many sites including Cable New Networks (CNN) and MTV

In April 2010, in association with Pharrell, Fiasco formed the hip-hop group All City Chess Club which included himself as well as Asher Roth, B.o.B., The Cool Kids, Charles Hamilton, Blu, Diggy Simmons, Wale, J. Cole, & Dosage. They have so far made one song, a remix of Lupe's "I'm Beamin" which features Asher Roth, Charles Hamilton, The Cool Kids, Blu, Diggy Simmons, B.o.B & Dosage.

On July 16, 2010, Fiasco under his real name Wasalu Jaco released his post-punk band Japanese Cartoon's debut album ''In The Jaws Of The Lords Of Death''. He created the album while waiting for Atlantic Records to release his upcoming album and stated that Japanese Cartoon was influenced by a variety of musical genres, saying, "I’ve always been a fan of all music. My favorite songs aren’t hip-hop songs, they’re songs from Queen like Somebody to Love. Hip-hop is just something I actually know how to do but I always had aspirations to participate in other forms of music. Once I got to create some hip-hop, it was like, 'Okay, what am I going to do now?' So my artistic side was like, 'Yo, let’s do some rock music.'"

In August 10, 2010, Fiasco released a snippet of a song "Go to Sleep," on his official Twitter page. That snippet/song had the album titled ''Food & Liquor II (TGARA)''. This led to speculation that "Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album" would be Lupe's follow-up to ''Lasers''. Near the End of August, Fiasco released "Go to Sleep" in its entirety while eventually performing at Wake Forest University's Alumni Weekend Concert in Winston-Salem, NC in October 2010; Fiasco revealed to the crowd that the album would be finally released in March of 2011 (confirmed). As what you've read before about the protests above it wasn't until the 4th Quarter of 2010 that Fiasco's dedicated fan base protested outside the Atlantic Records Headquarters in New York City for the release of his third studio album, ''Lasers''. After the long haul, a Representative officially confirmed an announcement of a release date while would be on March 8, 2011; the first single off of ''Lasers'' was "The Show Goes On" was played at the protest then later released to the public via Fiasco's Official Webpage. The song samples the song "Float On" by Modest Mouse. On a National Level, it was released to iTunes on November 9, 2010 and later debuted at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. The entire album was released on March 8, 2011 which coincidentally was the day it was the No. 1 album on iTunes; the producers involved on the album include Alex Da Kidd, King David "The Future" and Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis. Featured artists include Skylar Grey; Trey Songz; and John Legend.

Philanthropy and business ventures

In 2001, Fiasco co-founded with Charles "Chilly" Patton 1st & 15th Entertainment (or "FNF", named after the traditional twice-monthly paycheck dates), Although Fiasco was initially to serve as vice-president, he became CEO after Patton was convicted on drug charges. Fiasco and singer Matthew Santos were two of the most recognizable signed artists. In November 2009, Fiasco announced he would get "rid of the entire First and Fifteenth Record Label. Me and Sarah Green are the only artists on the label, like I got rid of the whole label. It was just such a ‘this isn’t right for you right now. This isn’t gonna work for you right now. You need to be focused on you. Do you really want that, do you really have the capacity to do it?’

In 2005, he founded "Righteous Kung-Fu", a company that designs fashions, sneakers, toys, video games, comic books, and graphics for album covers and skateboard decks. He has also sponsored a skateboard team and has endorsements from DGK Skateboards.

In January 2006, Fiasco signed with major footwear and apparel corporation Reebok becoming part of the "O.G" marketing campaign where rap artists such as Lil Wayne and Mike Jones designed their own personal colorway of the Reebok "O.G" model. Fiasco also runs his own fashion label under the name "Trilly & Truly". Together with Le Messie of FALSE from Singapore he also runs a collaborative clothing line called "Fallacy Of Rome".

In 2009, Fiasco performed in ''The People Speak'', a documentary feature film that employs musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's ''A People's History of the United States''.

On January 7, 2010, Fiasco joined musician Kenna, actress Jessica Biel, and other celebrities and activists for an expedition to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro called Summit on the Summit to raise awareness of the billions of people worldwide who lack access to sanitary drinking water.

On January 20, 2010, Fiasco released a track called "Resurrection" with Kenna in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The song, part of a compilation released through the charity Music for Relief, aimed to encourage donations for immediate relief and long-term recovery following the devastating disaster.

Political views

Fiasco is known for his anti-establishment views. In an interview with Stephen Colbert on the satirical news show ''The Colbert Report'', Fiasco stated his credo on political philosophy: "You should criticize power even if you agree with it." In another interview in June 2011 on the CBS program "What's Trending," Fiasco discussed the political content of his music while stating, "My fight against terrorism, to me, the biggest terrorist is Obama and the United States of America. I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism. You know, the root cause of terrorism is the stuff the U.S. government allows to happen. The foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists." Despite his strong political opinions, Fiasco clearly states he does not vote in U.S. elections nor gets involves himself in U.S. politics which he clearly stated that it was "meaningless." For his strong political views, Fiasco has been getting lots of heat in the media like, the Young Turks for sharing his "liberal" politics but yet stating that voting is "meaningless"; this sparked the anchors of the Young Turks to conclude his statements to be "stupid". Fiasco has also appeared on Fox News' Network's The O'Reilly Factor in Late June 2011 where he continues to states that the "biggest terrorist in America is Obama" and he expresses in detail on what he believes; Bill O' Reilly caught him on his views and questioned how young adults envy his music and his character. The interview was a heavy debate on foreign policy after the statements on Obama being a terrorist which Fiasco makes it clear that he believes the United States Leadership is abusing their power.

Discography

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

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

''Lasers'' (2011)

''Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album'' (Rumored)

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Lupe Fiasco

References

External links

Lupe Fiasco at Allmusic

Lupe Fiasco at ''Rolling Stone''

Lupe Fiasco at Metacritic

Lupe Fiasco on Twitter

''Lupe Fiasco, Word Star'' – Lupe Fiasco interview with ''Chicago''

Category:1982 births Category:African American Muslims Category:African American rappers Category:American hip hop record producers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Rappers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Living people Category:Rappers

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