Rap-Up is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the hip hop and R&B aspect of the music industry, and predominantly features interviews with artists, actors and other entertainers. Issued quarterly, the magazine's target audience was the 14 to 28 demographic, although the demographic has become older over time.

The magazine's first two issues were one time deals, although Lazerine and his brother Cameron received attention for their age and white background. The magazine restarted publication in 2005, when it managed to sell enough copies to ensure future releases. The magazine is sold in more than 20 countries, and a separate handbook has been released, chronicling the history of hip hop. The magazine has been nominated for two awards, and is often referenced by other magazines.^[1]

History[link]

Rap-Up was founded by Devin Lazerine when he was 15 years old as an after-school hobby;^[2] the magazine was an online compendium of hip hop news, gossip and top-ten music lists.^[3] After listening to the song "Insane in the Brain" by Cypress Hill at the age of 10, he wanted to be in the music industry but "wasn't able to sing or rap, so that wasn't an option".^[2] Several days after launching the website, Devin decided to pitch the idea of a magazine to select publishers; the next day, a publisher from H&S Media expressed interest in the concept.^[4] Devin worked with his brother Cameron to create the magazine, and decided it would be for a young audience,^[5] in particular the 14 to 28 demographic.^[3] The magazine's first issue was published by H&S Media in 2001; however, the company went bankrupt shortly after publishing the first issue,^[4] which sold 200,000 copies.^[4] Rap-Up was resurrected in 2003 by Total Media Group as an insert in the magazine Urban Teen Scene.^[3][5] The insert attracted media attention—mainly because of the brothers' age and race—in USA Today and The Los Angeles Times.^[3]

The brothers began working on a third issue in 2004, without the backing of a publishing company. The largest advertisers were ring tone providers, while others included the Navy, clothing labels, videogames, Sony,^[5] Black Entertainment Television and Reebok. The editorials were written by 10 journalism students,^[3] and the photos were contributed by publicists. Art director Ian Lynam, who designed the magazine, sent everything online from Japan.^[5] The issue was released in March 2005, and cost $35,000 to produce. It featured singer Chingy on the cover,^[3] and 80,000 copies were distributed around the world.^[5] Beginning with the eleventh issue, which was published in summer 2008, Lynam redesigned the magazine's cover and contents. The main reason for the redesign was the change from a younger target audience to an older and more sophisticated one. Lynam felt the facelift "imbue[d] it with a more demure and cosmopolitan aesthetic."^[6]

The magazine is not audited, and is sold in more than 20 countries. In the U.S., the magazine is sold by Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble, Borders Group and Tower Records. Devin calls Rap-Up "a magazine for Generation Y by Generation Y".^[3] He serves as a writer, publisher and editor in chief, and oversees editorial content and advertising sales. Cameron works as publisher and assistant editor, and is in charge of printing, production, distribution and shipping of the magazine.^[3] In 2008, the magazine released a handbook entitled, Rap-Up: The Ultimate Guide to Hip-Hop and R&B, which was published by Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group. The book chronicles the history of hip hop, and features a foreword by rapper T.I..^[7]

Impact[link]

Bob Baker, the former publisher of H&S Media, praised Devin for having the "gumption to seek out publishers, to say 'I want to do this and how do I do it?' I focus more on his age than his race."^[3] Lou Pitt, a manager and producer of film and television, found that Rap-Up stood out from magazines Vibe, The Source and XXL by showing the mainstream side of performers. Pitt said that the magazine is "not the street version [...] It has a very populist approach, in the way of People magazine or Entertainment Weekly."^[3] In 2003, Devin was included on Fast Company's list of "Champions of Innovation whose achievements are changing companies and our culture".^[4] In 2006, the magazine was nominated for "Best New Consumer Publication" at the 55th Annual Maggie Awards.^[8] In 2007, the website Rap-Up.com received a nomination for "Best Hip-Hop Magazine Site" at the Vh1 Hip Hop Honors.^[1]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Rap-Up Magazine website

Dan Bull
Dan Bull at the Digital Economy Bill demonstrations in London, 24 March 2010
Background information
Birth name	Daniel Bull
Also known as	Douglby, Dan Bull
Born	(1986-03-27) March 27, 1986 (age 26) Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
Origin	Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, songwriter
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Unsigned
Website	itsdanbull.com

Dan Bull is an English rapper and songwriter known for his politically orientated lyrics and specific addressing of high profile figures in his music. His music has been featured in the British press as part of attempts to save BBC Radio 6,^[1][2] campaign against the Digital Economy Bill,^[3] and protest in favour of filesharing.^[4]

Musical career[link]

[edit] 2006 - Present: Other Work (Youtube)

Dan Bull has released songs on subjects such as digital rights, the music industry, and gaming.^[5][6][7] Bull's actions have gained attention, specifically from the TalkTalk Group who requested to team up with him against the Digital Economy Bill.^[8]

Gaming Raps

Dan has acquired many of his fans through the creation of gaming raps. He has created songs about Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, Assassin's Creed, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, League of Legends, and Skyrim. The Epic Skyrim Rap is his most popular video, with over 4.5 million views.

[edit] 2009: Safe

Safe tells the story of a young man who attempts suicide at the same time as a global thermonuclear holocaust and awakens in a new, ambiguous nirvana. Along the way, Dan Bull covers such topics as summer sunshine, friendship, love and loss, alienation, politics, death, religion, suicide and insanity.^{[9][unreliable source?]}

[edit] 2011: Face

Bull announced via his blog that the upcoming album would be available in early 2011. Stating that: "It’s going to be a continuation of the narrative of my first album, but will have a very different feel and mood overall."^[10] The album focuses on topics such as medical recovery, war, love, Asperger's syndrome, alcoholism, and pride. Face was released in December 2011. The 12-track album includes ten brand new songs as well as the 2010 tracks America and John Lennon.

[edit] 2012: Sharing is caring

Dan Bull announced via his website that he was aiming to get into the UK and Global charts with his new track "Sharing is caring." He offered it on iTunes, Play.com, Amazon and on torrent via The Pirate Bay. To people who bought all 10 versions of his track, they would be thanked in a music video of his, given that they notify him with sufficient proof. The lyrical content in the different versions of his track were targeted at popular social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter. and Google+. He also offered the instrumental by itself, voice only versions, and remixes of each track.^[11] The Animal Circus remix reached the top of the Reggae charts on Amazon UK, and second place in the World category.^[12]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Safe (2009)
• Face (2011)

Videos[link]

• Dear Lily (2009)
• Doorways (2009)
• Free Gary (2009)
• Generation Gaming (2009)
• Dear Andy (2010)
• Dear Mandy (2010)
• Death of ACTA (2010)
• Dear Auntie (2010)
• SOPA Cabana (2011)
• Bye Bye BPI (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• YouTube

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011)

Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo (born March 16, 1988), is an American Pop/R&B singer/song writer.^[1] She was formerly signed to T.U.G./Epic Records, but left to continue her education. She was also well known as "Lil' Fizz's cousin", however, she is not related to him.^[2][3] It was used as a marketing tool suggested by Sony/Epic to promote her through B2K and attract audience, but they were close like family.^[4][5] On December 16, 2011, Jhené signed a recording contract with No I.D.'s record label Artium distributed through Def Jam Recordings.^[6]

Biography[link]

Early life and Career Beginnings[link]

Jhené Aiko was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Christina Yamamoto and Dr. Karamo Chilombo, a pediatrician.^[7] Her mother is of Japanese, Spanish, and Dominican descent. Her father is of African American, Yaqui, Choctaw, Cherokee, Navajo, and German Jewish descent.^[8][9] She also has French ancestry but has not stated which of her parents is part French.^[10] She mostly says she is Japanese, African American, Native American based on percentages, but identifies with all of her ethnic heritage.^[11][12] She has four older full-siblings named Miyoko, Jamila, Jahi, and Miyagi. She also has three half-siblings (two older and one younger) through her father's side named Marcia, Dio, and Kareena. Her older sisters Miyoko and Jamila were in the R&B group Gyrl and toured with Immature, who were signed to MCA/Silas Records. This led to Jhené’s first meeting with producer Chris Stokes when she was five years old. Eventually Stokes heard her sing. When B2K signed with Epic Records, Jhené was signed as well. She served as the opening act for B2K on the Scream Tour 3.

B2K Crossover Promotion and Other Releases[link]

A few of Jhené's songs are featured on B2K releases. Tracks five through eight on B2K's B2K: The Remixes - Volume 1 are sung by her. They were: My Name Is Jhene (Intro),^[13] He Couldn't Kiss (Album Version),^[13] Gonna Love You Anyway (Snippet),^[13] and Stuck Like This (Snippet).^[13] Santa Baby, a cover she recorded, was featured on B2K's Santa Hooked Me Up.^[14] On Pandemonium!, she was featured as a guest vocalist on the song Tease,^[15] and her song Dog^[15] appeared as a bonus track on B2K's Pandemonium. The full version of Stuck Like This can be heard as the final track on The Remixes - Volume 2.^[16] She released a video for her single NO L.O.V.E which debuted on BET 106 & Park when she was 15 years old. Jhené has appeared in numerous music videos including O'Ryan's debut video, Take It Slow,^[17] B2K's debut video Uh Huh^[18] and Why I Love You,^[19] P.Y.T.'s Same Ol' Same Ol' (Remix)^[20] featuring Sarai, Play's M.A.S.T.E.R. (Part 2)^[21] featuring Lil' Fizz video and Morgan Smith's 2004 video Blow Ya Whistle.^[22] Jhené also has songs featured on the soundtracks of Barbershop,^[23] The Master of Disguise,^[24] You Got Served,^[25] The Proud Family^[26] and Byou.^[27]

2011-present: Music return, Sailing Souls, Def Jam and Debut Studio Album[link]

Aiko spoke on her return to music saying “Shortly before I conceived my daughter, I stepped back into the field and took a meeting with a label head . In this meeting, I was innocently told, to ‘sell’ myself when walking into these meetings. “That’s when I decided I would ‘sail’ myself rather than sell myself.”^[28] She released a mixtape on March 16, 2011 entitled Sailing Soul(s) via her official website, JheneAiko.com. All the songs on the mixtape were written by Jhene Aiko, except “July” which was wrote by Micah Powell and all of the songs were produced by Fisticuffs, except “July” & “You vs Them” which were produced by Bei Maejor, “Real Now” was produced by Roosevelt, “Do Better” was produced by J. Lbs and “Growing Apart” which was produced by Tae Beats. The albums artwork was shot by photographer Jay 3.^[29] The mixtape also features collaborations from Miguel, Drake and Kanye West as well as others.^[30]

Rap-up.com said "Before 2012 hit, the black-haired beauty joined forces with Chi-town producer No I.D., who now occupies a label position at Def Jam as vice president of A&R, and became a signed singer once more. She says she’s “not your next Beyoncé,” but we think Jhené has the ability to serve up sonic gems all the same."^[31] Her next album is titled "Soul(ed) Out," with an unknown release date.

Artistry[link]

Voice[link]

She has a soft, skillful tone. Her vocal range is unknown. Her predicted vocal type is Light Lyric Soprano. Her voice has been described as gentle pop-tinged vocals.^[32]

Personal life[link]

Jhené has a daughter named Namiko Love Chilombo-Browner, who was born on November 19, 2008. The father of her daughter is O'Ryan.

Discography[link]

Mixtapes[link]

• 2011: Sailing Soul(s)

Albums[link]

• Souled Out (2012)

Singles[link]

Featured songs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Jhene Aiko Chilombo at the Internet Movie Database
• Jhené Aiko on Twitter
• Jhené Aiko on Tumblr
• Jhené Aiko's channel on YouTube
• ultimate-jhene.com (fansite)

American Idol
Season 3
Broadcast from	January 19, 2004 – May 26, 2004
Judges	Paula Abdul Simon Cowell Randy Jackson
Host(s)	Ryan Seacrest
Broadcaster	Fox Broadcasting Company
Finals venue	Kodak Theatre
Winner: Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Barrino in The American Idol Experience motorcade at Walt Disney World.
Origin	High Point, North Carolina, U.S.
Song	"I Believe"
Genre(s)	R&B, pop, soul
Runner-up
Diana DeGarmo
Chronology
◄ 2004 ►

The third season of American Idol premiered on Monday, January 19, 2004 and continued until May 26, 2004. The third season was won by Fantasia Barrino, who defeated Diana DeGarmo by an approximate margin of 2% (1.3 million votes); the vote total (65 million votes) was the highest recorded vote total in the show's history until the May 23, 2007 finale of American Idol 6. This season also featured Jennifer Hudson, who would subsequently win the 2006 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Season 3 is the first season where both the winner and the runner-up had been in the bottom 2 or 3 prior to the finale, being followed by season 8. It is the first (and so far only) season to have a finale with two female contestants, while the second, seventh and eighth seasons had a finale with two male contestants. It is also the first season where a Wild Card contestant, Leah LaBelle, is eliminated in the first episode of the finals. It is the first season to have a gender imbalance among the finalists, followed by season 8, each having eight finalists of the dominant gender. Season 3 has eight female finalists, whereas season 8 has eight male finalists.

Both Fantasia and Diana DeGarmo released a single after the finale. Fantasia's first single, released in June 2004 on the RCA record label, entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number one, making Fantasia the first artist in the history of Billboard to debut at number one with their first single. In addition to Fantasia and DeGarmo, Jasmine Trias, LaToya London, George Huff, Jennifer Hudson, and Camile Velasco have all released albums since the season ended. Leah LaBelle was signed by Epic Records.^[1]

Auditions[link]

Auditions were held in the following cities:^[2]

In this season over 80,000 attended the auditions in 6 cities. Paula Abdul was absent from the Los Angeles audition. A prominent auditioner was William Hung, a University of California, Berkeley student, who became a surprise cult figure following his tuneless rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" at the San Francisco audition. ^[10] He was later invited back to perform on a special edition Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented. His appearance on the show landed him a record deal with Koch Records and he released an album soon afterwards.^[11] He became one of the most successful contestants to emerge from this year.^[12]

During the audition round in Houston, Texas, auditioner Jonathan Rey threw a cup of water at Simon, who moments earlier commented that he was terrible and "there's not a song in the world you could sing." Security quickly escorted Jonathan out, and Houston police questioned him, but released him after Simon decided against pressing assault charges on him. Another prominent auditioner that year was "scooter girl", Nicole Tieri.

Hollywood week[link]

There were 117 contestants in the first Hollywood round which was held at the Pasadena Civic Center in Pasadena, California. The contestants first came onto the stage in groups but each performed solo and talked briefly about themselves. Simon Cowell was not impressed with their performances. They were also asked to write original lyrics and melody for one of ten song titles given and perform their song the next day. After their performance, they were divided into four groups and one groups is eliminated.

In the next round, the remaining 87 contestants performed in groups in three. The girls and boys were separate and they were each given 3 different songs to choose - Girls with The Supremes' You Can't Hurry Love, Vonda Shepard's "Tell Him", Candi Staton's Young Hearts Run Free, the boys with Billy Joel's Tell Her About It, Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up, The Drifters's Up on the Roof. 30 contestants were cut and 57 then advanced to the next stage where they performed solo. The contestants were then divided into 3 group and placed in separate rooms, with one group sent home. 32 contestants remained for the semi-finals.

Hollywood rounds contestant Taryn Southern later appeared on the Project My World series and wrote and performed the 2007 "Hott4Hill" viral video.

Semifinals[link]

The contestants who reached this stage were referred to in the show as the Top 32 finalists. This is the first time that two contestants who previously tried out for American Idol (Matthew Metzger and Lisa Leuschner) made it to the top 3 of their semifinals group. Both contestants were eliminated during Hollywood round in the previous season.

George Huff replaced Donnie Williams in Semifinal Round 4 after Williams was disqualified following a DUI arrest.^[13]

Unlike previous seasons, this season the contestants performed in front of a small studio audience, with orchestra accompaniment on backing tape. As with Season 2, in these rounds, two from each group were selected by public vote to proceed on to the Top 12, and those who failed at any of the previous stages were given a second chance in the wild-card show.

In the wild card show, four contestants in the wildcard round were eliminated by the judges before they had the chance to sing: Lisa Leuschner, Eric Yoder, Tiara Purifoy, and Marque Lynche. The judges each chose one of their favorites to join the Top 12, and Jon Peter Lewis advanced to the top 12 after receiving 22% of the public vote.

Group 1[link]

Group 2[link]

Group 3[link]

Group 4[link]

Wild Card[link]

Finalists[link]

• Fantasia Barrino (born June 30, 1984 in High Point, North Carolina, aged 19 on the show) auditioned in in Atlanta, Georgia. Her audition songs were Lauryn Hill's "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and Tina Turner's "Proud Mary". She has performed from a young age with her family who had released a CD. She performed Aretha Franklin's Think in the Hollywood rounds.
• Diana DeGarmo (born June 16, 1987 in Birmingham, Alabama, age 16 on the show) is from Snellville, Georgia, and auditioned in Honolulu, Hawaii with Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools. She was on the show America's Most Talented Kid in 2002 as well as other TV shows. She performed Ike & Tina Turner's A Fool in Love in the Hollywood rounds. At 16 years, 7 months and 26 days old, she was the youngest contestant reach into the finals until Thia Megia made to the finals in season ten.
• Jasmine Trias (born November 3, 1986 in Honolulu, Hawaii, 17 on the show) is from Mililani, Hawaii and auditioned in Honolulu. She is the first Filipino-American contestant in American Idol who made it to the final three.
• LaToya London (born December 29, 1978 in San Francisco, California, 25 on the show) is from Oakland, California and auditioned in San Francisco with Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools.
• George Huff (born November 4, 1980 in New Orleans, Louisiana, aged 23 on the show) auditioned in Houston, Texas with Joe Cocker's You Are So Beautiful. He performed Luther Vandross' Here And Now in the Hollywood rounds.
• John Stevens (born July 28, 1987 in Buffalo, New York, 16 on the show) is from East Amherst, New York and auditioned in New York City with Fred Astaire's "The Way You Look Tonight". He performed Tony Bennett's I Left My Heart in San Francisco in Hollywood. He remains the youngest male contestant reach into the finals.
• Jennifer Hudson (born September 12, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois, aged 22 on the show) auditioned in Atlanta with Aretha Franklin's "Share Your Love with Me.
• Jon Peter Lewis (born November 7, 1979 in Lincoln, Nebraska, aged 24 on the show) is from Rexburg, Idaho and auditioned in Honolulu with Van Morrison's "Crazy Love". He was dubbed the 'pen salesman' by Simon Cowell. He performed The Jackson 5's I Want You Back.
• Camile Velasco (born September 1, 1985 in Makati City, Philippines, 18 on the show) is from Haiku, Maui and auditioned in Honolulu with Fugees' "Ready or Not".
• Amy Adams (born July 25, 1979 in Kansas City, Kansas, aged 24 on the show) is from Bakersfield, California and auditioned in Atlanta, Georgia with Fontella Bass' "Rescue Me". She performed Jennifer Rush's The Power of Love in Hollywood.
• Matthew Rogers (born September 16, 1978 in Rancho Cucamonga, California, 25 on the show) auditioned in Los Angeles with James Ingram's "Just Once".
• Leah LaBelle (born September 8, 1986 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, aged 17 on the show) is from Seattle, Washington and auditioned in New York with Whitney Houston's "I Believe in You and Me". She auditioned with her birth name Leah Vladowski. Her family was originally from Bulgaria who defected to U.S. She performed Diana Ross' Theme from Mahogany at the Hollywood rounds. In 2011, LaBelle signed to Epic Records.^{[citation needed]}

Finals[link]

In this season, guest judges may be introduced in some episodes, and sometimes the mentor joined as judges. During Top 10 was the first time where are there were five judges when the duo Ashford & Simpson joined as judges.

In the result shows, the bottom two vote-getters may reprise their performances before the elimination was announced, or only the eliminated one may perform after the result is revealed, or they may performed before and after their elimination as in Top 5 when George Huff reprised both his songs from the performance night.

[edit] Top 12 – Soul

• Group Performance: Soul Medley

Top 11 – Country[link]

Top 10 – Motown[link]

• Guest judges: Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson

• Group Performance: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell)

[edit] Top 9 – Elton John

• Guest Mentor: Elton John

• Boys: "Daniel"
• Girls: "Bennie and the Jets"
• Group: "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"

Top 8 – Movie Soundtracks[link]

Guest judge: Quentin Tarantino

[edit] Top 7 – Barry Manilow

• Guest Mentor and Judge: Barry Manilow

• Group Performance: "Let Freedom Ring" feat. Barry Manilow

Top 6 – Gloria Estefan[link]

Mentor and guest judge - Gloria Estefan Guest band - The Miami Sound Machine

• Group Performance: Gloria Estefan medley

Top 5 – Big Band[link]

Top 4 – Disco[link]

Guest judge: Donna Summer

• Group Performance: "Bad Girls"/"Hot Stuff"/"Heaven Knows"/"She Works Hard for the Money"

Top 3 – Idols' Choice, Judges' Choice, Clive's Choice[link]

Guest judge: Clive Davis

Top 2 – Finale[link]

• Note 1: The song was rewritten by Paul Anka specially for the episode as a recap for the season.

After a nationwide vote of more than 65 million votes in total—more than the first two seasons combined--Fantasia Barrino won the "American Idol" title beating out Diana DeGarmo. The third season was also shown in Australia on Network Ten about half a week after episodes were shown in the US. Leah LaBelle is the first contestant to advance to the finals via Wild Card then get eliminated in the first week of the finals.

As a nod to the "Did Clay see the card?" controversy in AI2, Ryan Seacrest was instructed to memorize the winner's name and the vote margin and was given a blank card to hold while reporting the results. However, in a post-show interview with USA Today, Diana DeGarmo admitted that she had figured out that she had not won when the contestants were going over the schedule for the finale and she saw she would be singing "I Believe" (the winner's single) before the results were announced. Realizing that she would not be scheduled to sing a song she would have to sing again minutes later if she were announced as the winner, she correctly deduced that she had lost and Fantasia had won.

At the time of the finale many celebrities voiced their support for Fantasia: Frankie Muniz, Sharon Osbourne, Ray Romano, Amy Yasbeck, Nicole Kidman, Lori Loughlin, Patti LaBelle, Andy Richter, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Holly Robinson Peete, Giuliana Rancic, Toni Braxton, Ben Stiller, Redman (TV Guide), Method Man (TV Guide) Richard Schiff, Kate Hudson (On the Tonight Show), Lea Thompson and Mo'Nique.

Henry Winkler said "You've got incredible judges, Simon speaks the truth, I always agree with him. And Ryan is really good at what he does, but Fantasia," he smiles, "there's something in her that is bigger than anything. We voted for her about 250 times!"

Kelly Clarkson is quoted in the June 14th, 2004 People Magazine as saying she voted for Fantasia: "I just hit redial, redial."

Prior to the results show, the governors of Georgia and North Carolina -- the home states of DeGarmo and Barrino respectively—announced a friendly bet between them over which state's resident would prevail, each wagering a VIP NASCAR ticket package and a shipment of his state's signature fruit. The bet participants were Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, a Republican, and North Carolina Governor Mike Easley, a Democrat.^[14]

Elimination chart[link]