A whip is a tool traditionally used by humans to exert control over animals or other people, through pain compliance or fear of pain, although in some activities whips can be used without use of pain, such as an additional pressure aid in dressage. Whips are generally of two types, either a firm stick device designed to strike directly, or a flexible whip which must be swung in a specific manner to be effective, but has a longer reach. There are also whips which combine both a firm stick and a flexible line, such as hunting whips.

The majority of whips are designed for use on animals, although whips such as the "cat o' nine tails" and knout were designed specifically for flagellation of humans as a means of a corporal punishment or torture. Whips can be used on consenting persons, or on oneself as part of a religious practice, or during BDSM activities.

Whips were primarily designed to inflict pain, with the objective of obtaining pain compliance to the wishes of the user. In modern times, the pain stimulus is still used in some animal training, and is permitted in many fields, including most equestrianism disciplines, some of which mandate carrying a whip. The whip can be a vital tool to back up riding aids when applied correctly, particularly when initial commands are ignored. However, many competition governing bodies limit such use of whips, and severe penalties may be in place for over-use of the whip, including disqualification and fines. Socially, the use or over-use of whips may be considered animal cruelty in some jurisdictions.

Willow Camille Reign Smith (born October 31, 2000), often known simply as Willow, is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and the younger sister of Jaden Smith. Smith made her acting debut in 2007 in the film I Am Legend and later appeared in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl alongside Abigail Breslin. She received a Young Artist Award for her performance.

Apart from her acting she launched a music career in the fall of 2010 with the release of her singles "Whip My Hair", "21st Century Girl", and signing to her current mentor Jay-Z's record label Roc Nation. "Whip My Hair" peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video was nominated for Video of the Year at the BET Awards of 2011.

Smith is the daughter of musician-actor Will Smith and actress Jada Pinkett Smith. She has an older half-brother, Trey Smith, and an older brother, Jaden Smith; both are also child actors. Smith is African-American, and also has West Indian, Creole, and Portuguese-Jewish ancestry on her mother's side. Smith and her brothers are youth ambassadors for Project Zambia, which provides assistance for Zambian children orphaned by AIDS in conjunction with Hasbro.

Charlize Theron (American English pronunciation:  /ʃɑrˈliːs ˈθɛrən/; Afrikaans pronunciation: [ʃɐrˈlis tron]; born 7 August 1975) is a South African actress and fashion model. She started her acting career in the United States and rose to fame in the late 1990s following roles in The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999). Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003), becoming the first African to win an Academy Award in a major acting category. She received another Academy Award nomination for her performance in North Country (2005). Theron became a US citizen in 2007, while retaining her South African citizenship.

Theron was born in Benoni, in the then Transvaal Province of South Africa, the only child of Gerda (née Maritz; who has also called herself Gerta) and Charles Theron (born 27 November 1947).Second Boer War figure Danie Theron was her great-great-uncle. Her ancestry includes French, German, and Dutch; her French forebears were early Huguenot settlers in South Africa. "Theron" is an Occitan surname (originally spelled Théron) pronounced in Afrikaans as [tron], although she has said that the way she pronounces it in South Africa is [θron]. She changed the pronunciation when she moved to the U.S. to give it a more "American" sound.

Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is an English rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007; his first album, Disc-Overy, debuted at number one in October 2010 and was preceded by two number-one singles.

Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu, was born in London, England on 7 November 1988, and is of Ibusa, Delta State, Nigerian origin. He lived on the Aylesbury Estate in South East London until he was 12 with his parents and three younger siblings. He attended St. Paul's Catholic School in Abbey Wood, London SE2, (now known as St. Paul's Academy). He went on to study A Levels at St Francis Xavier Sixth Form College, SW12. Of his London upbringing, Tempah states: “London is one of the only places in the world where you can live in a council block and see a beautiful semi-detached house across the street. Growing up around that was inspirational, it kept me motivated".

In 2006, Tempah gained a great deal of airplay on British music TV channel, Channel AKA, for his song "Tears" He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, featuring Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit.^{[citation needed]} His first album, Disc-Overy, debuted at number one in October 2010 and was preceded by the number-one singles "Pass Out" and "Written in the Stars" and the UK Top 5 hits "Frisky" and "Miami 2 Ibiza". In late 2007, he collaborated on a track ("Perfect GCD Hood Economics Room 147") with grime artist Ultra and producers/songwriters Agent X.

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter-performer who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.

Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 21 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. He is widely regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time.

Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and spent his childhood and high school years in Freehold Borough. He lived on South Street in Freehold Borough and attended Freehold Borough High School. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, was of Dutch and Irish ancestry and worked, among other vocations, as a bus driver, although he was frequently unemployed; his surname is Dutch for jump stone. His mother, Adele Ann (née Zerilli), was a legal secretary and was of Italian ancestry. His maternal grandfather was born in Vico Equense, a city near Naples. He has two younger sisters, Virginia and Pamela. Pamela had a brief film career, but left acting to pursue still photography full time; she took photos for the Human Touch and Lucky Town albums.