Luke James

Luke James Boyd better known as Luke James, is a two-time Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter. He began his musical career singing background for R&B artist Tyrese and later writing songs for musicians such as Chris Brown, Britney Spears, Keri Hilson, and Justin Bieber. Under the management of record producer Danja, James released his first mixtape, #Luke, in 2011. The mixtape's critically acclaimed single "I Want You" earned him a Best R&B Performance nomination at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Like the first project, he released his second mixtape, Whispers in the Dark, as a free music download in 2012. His self-titled debut studio album was released on September 23, 2014.

Early life and career beginnings

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised by a single mother, James was influenced by an eclectic array of music, particularly jazz and R&B. James said his love for music started when he watched a contestant perform a cover version of "A Song for You" on Showtime at the Apollo. He said "I got chills. And I get that feeling all over again whenever I think about that performance. At the time, I'd never said I wanted to be a singer; I just knew I wanted to entertain. And I'd never heard of Donny. But when my mother found her copy of one of his records, I knew then that I wanted to reach people that way."

Luke James (disambiguation)

Luke James is an American R&B singer.

Luke James may also refer to:

Luke James (English singer)

Luke James (born January 1952) is an English singer, a guitarist, and a writer who formed part of the new wave scene in Birmingham as the lead singer and guitarist of post-punk band Fàshiön Music from 1978 to 1980. After leaving the band, he left Britain and, since 1988, lives in San Francisco where he is currently dedicated to writing.

Biography

Early years & Fàshiön Music

Brought up in Birmingham, England, James, along with bassist/keyboardist John Mulligan and drummer Dik Davis, formed the band Fàshiön Music in 1978 and created their own "Fàshiön Music" label. They released their first three singles, Steady Eddie Steady, Citinite, and The Innocent, on it. Later signed to I.R.S. Records, they released their Product Perfect album in 1979. During those days, they formed part of the local Birmingham punk and new wave scene along with Duran Duran (who opened some of their gigs), UB40, Steel Pulse, and others, touring also with The Police, John Cooper Clarke, Squeeze, B52s, and U2.

Rick Ross

William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper and entrepreneur.

In 2009, Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap (2009), Teflon Don (2010), God Forgives, I Don't (2012), Mastermind, Hood Billionaire (2014) and Black Market (2015). Ross was also the first artist signed to Diddy's management company Ciroc Entertainment. In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC in the Game.

Life and career

1976–2006: Early life and career beginnings

William Leonard Roberts II was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and raised in Carol City, Florida. After graduating from Miami Carol City Senior High School, he attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship. Roberts worked as a correctional officer for 18 months from December 1995, until his resignation in June 1997.

In his early years at Suave House Records, Roberts initially made his debut under the pseudonym Teflon Da Don. He made his recording debut on the song "Ain't Shhh to Discuss" on Erick Sermon's lone album for DreamWorks, Def Squad Presents Erick Onasis. In the mid-2000s, he changed his name to Rick Ross. He derived his stage name from the former drug kingpin "Freeway" Rick Ross, to whom he has no connection.

"Freeway" Rick Ross

Richard Donnell Ross (born January 26, 1960), known as "Freeway" Rick Ross, is an American author and convicted drug trafficker best known for the drug empire he established in Los Angeles, California, in the early to mid 1980s.

Biography

Ross attended school at Susan Miller Dorsey High School in Los Angeles. He played for the tennis team but was unable to get a college scholarship because he was illiterate.

Ross has said that when he first saw crack-cocaine as a teenager in 1979, he did not immediately believe it was a drug because it looked different from other drugs he had seen.

The nickname Freeway came from Ross' owning properties along the Los Angeles Harbor Freeway and living next to the 110. According to an October 2013 Esquire magazine article, "Between 1982 and 1989, federal prosecutors estimated, Ross bought and resold several metric tons of cocaine. In 1980 Ross' gross earnings were said to be in excess of $900 million – with a profit of nearly $300 million. Converted roughly to present-day dollars: 2.5 billion gross, and $850 million in profit, respectively.” During the height of his drug dealing, Ross was said to have sold "$3 million in one day." According to the Oakland Tribune, "In the course of his rise, prosecutors estimate that Ross exported several tons of cocaine to New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and made more than $600 million between 1983 and 1984."

Rick Alan Ross

Rick Alan Ross (born 1952) is an American deprogrammer. Ross has intervened in more than 350 deprogramming cases in various countries, including a number of involuntary deprogramming interventions at the requests of parents whose children had joined controversial groups and movements.

Ross faced charges of unlawful imprisonment over a 1991 forcible deprogramming of United Pentecostal Church International member Jason Scott; a jury acquitted him at trial. In 1995, a civil lawsuit filed by Scott resulted in a multimillion-dollar judgement against Ross and his co-defendants. Later, Ross and Scott reached a settlement in which Ross agreed to pay Scott US$5,000 and provide 200 hours of professional services at no charge.

Ross was the only deprogrammer to work with members of the religious group Branch Davidian prior to the Waco siege; some scholars later criticized his involvement with the siege.

Early life

Rick Alan Ross was adopted by Paul and Ethel Ross in Cleveland, Ohio in 1953. The family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1956. Other than one year at South Carolina's Camden Military Academy, Ross grew up and was educated in Arizona. He graduated from Phoenix Union High School in 1971.

Luke James (footballer)

Luke Myers James (born 4 November 1994) is an English footballer who plays for Hartlepool United on loan from Peterborough United as an attacking midfielder or a striker. Previously playing at Hartlepool United, he currently holds the record of being the youngest player to ever score a league goal for Hartlepool United, at the age of 17 years and 64 days.

Career

Hartlepool United

James was born in the small town of Amble, Northumberland, and grew up supporting local Premier League club Sunderland. He joined the Academy of Hartlepool United at the age of 11, progressing through their youth system until he was offered a professional contract at the age of 16. James made his league debut for Hartlepool United on 17 December 2011 as a 46th minute substitute for James Brown in a 1–0 defeat by Colchester United. He made his first league starting appearance in a 1–0 win over Oldham Athletic on 26 December 2011, in which he was voted Man of the Match for his performance. He scored his first goal, a 25-yard volley, in a 2–0 win over Rochdale on 7 January 2012. The goal was particularly memorable as it made him the youngest player ever to score for Hartlepool United at the age of 17 years and 64 days, 48 days younger than the previous record holder Steven Istead.