Major Lazer

Major Lazer is an electronic music group originally created by record producers Diplo and Switch. Switch left in 2011, but Diplo remained, with additional members Jillionaire and Walshy Fire. Their music spans numerous music styles, mixing EDM with reggae, dancehall, electronic, reggaeton, house, and moombahton genres.

Major Lazer has released three full-length albums – Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do, Free the Universe, and Peace Is the Mission, released in 2009, 2013, and 2015, respectively. They have also released an EP entitled Apocalypse Soon in March 2014, which featured vocal contributions from Pharrell Williams and Sean Paul. In addition, Major Lazer has also produced Reincarnated, the debut reggae album by Snoop Dogg under his "Snoop Lion" persona.

Background

2009–11: Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do and Lazers Never Die EP

Formerly made up of DJ Diplo and Switch, the two were introduced after working with M.I.A.. The duo's first album Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do was released on 16 June 2009, on Downtown Records. It was recorded in Jamaica at Tuff Gong Studios. Vocalists such as Santigold, Vybz Kartel, Ward 21, Busy Signal, Nina Sky, Amanda Blank, Mr. Vegas, Turbulence, Mapei, T.O.K, Prince Zimboo, Leftside and others contribute guest vocals to the album, as well as additional production from Afrojack and Crookers. This is the first release to come out of the label partnership between Downtown Records and Diplo's label Mad Decent. Major Lazer ended a US tour last summer.

Ice Prince

Panshak Zamani (born 23 October 1986), better known by his stage name Ice Prince, is a Nigerian hip hop recording artist and actor. He rose to fame after releasing "Oleku", one of Nigeria's most remixed songs of all time. He won the 2009 Hennessy Artistry Club Tour. His achievements include one BET Award, one Ghana Music Award, three The Headies Awards, two Nigeria Entertainment Awards and two Channel O Music Video Awards. Ice Prince is currently signed to Chocolate City. His debut studio album, Everybody Loves Ice Prince, was released in 2011. It was supported by the singles "Oleku", "Superstar", "Juju" and "Magician". In 2013, Ice Prince released Fire of Zamani as his second studio album. The album contained the singles "Aboki", "More", "Gimme Dat" and "I Swear". On 1 July 2015, Ice Prince was announced as the new Vice Chairman of Chocolate City.

Early life and music career

Ice Prince was born Panshak Henri Zamani in the city of Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. At age two, he moved with his family to the mining city of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. While residing in Jos, he attended St. Murumba College. He also attended the Science Tutorial College in Jos.

Particular

In Metaphysics, particulars are defined as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed to abstract entities, such as properties or numbers. There are, however, theories of abstract particulars or tropes. For example, Socrates is a particular (there's only one Socrates-the-teacher-of-Plato and one cannot make copies of him, e.g., by cloning him, without introducing new, distinct particulars). Redness, by contrast, is not a particular, because it is abstract and multiply instantiated (my bicycle, this apple, and that woman's hair are all red).

Sybil Wolfram writes

Particulars include only individuals of a certain kind: as a first approximation individuals with a definite place in space and time, such as persons and material objects or events, or which must be identified through such individuals, like smiles or thoughts.

Some terms are used by philosophers with a rough-and-ready idea of their meaning. This can occur if there is lack of agreement about the best definition of the term. In formulating a solution to the problem of universals, the term 'particular' can be used to describe the particular instance of redness of a certain apple as opposed to the 'universal' 'redness' (being abstract). See also type-token distinction

Nasty C

David Junior Ngcobo (born 11 February 1997), better known by his stage name Nasty C, is a South African hip hop musician, songwriter and record producer. He is most known for his singles "Way It Go" which features fellow South African hip hop musicians DJ Switch, Tumi and Youngsta, as well as the well-received remix to his single "Juice Back", which features major African musicians Davido and Cassper Nyovest. He was the youngest recipient for an award at the 2015 South African Hip Hop Awards, namely the Best Freshman Award.

Early life and career

David Ngcobo originates from Durban in the Kwazulu-Natal Province. He started rapping at the age of nine, having been influenced by his older brother who was a producer at the time. He eventually mastered the process of music production and began adding his vocals on the beats he was making, later signing to Durban based artist management company, Free World Music.

The stage name 'Nasty C' was given to him by the first producer he ever worked with. He looks up to fellow South African rappers AKA, Khuli Chana and Reason, and stated that he was motivated by their work ethic.

No Better

"No Better" is a song by New Zealand singer Lorde, taken from the extended version of her debut studio album Pure Heroine (2013). The track was released on 13 December 2013 by Universal Music Group as a promotional tool for the album. "No Better" is an electropop and trip hop ballad with elements of hip hop, in which Lorde discusses an infatuation. Music critics opined that the single has similar musical style to songs from Pure Heroine.

Background

"No Better" was written by Lorde (credited under her birth-name Ella Yelich-O'Connor) and Joel Little. On 13 December 2013, the track was released as a digital download single on the iTunes Store. The single was made available for free until 19 December as a part of the iTunes Store's "12 Days of Gifts" Christmas promotion.

Composition

"No Better" is an electropop and trip hop ballad with hip hop elements. The song has a similar sonority to that of other songs from Pure Heroine, featuring Lorde's "feathery" vocals and minimal production. It incorporates "woozy" basslines, and "pulsing" synthesisers in its instrumentation, making the song's melody "dreamy", according to Whitney Phaneuf of HitFix. Lyrically, the song features Lorde "[celebrating] an infatuation that deepens as the seasons change". At the first verse, she sings "We roll in every summer when there's strength in our numbers / And your breath's hot and gross but I kiss you like a lover". During the chorus the bass beat becomes more intense as Lorde sings "Go all the way / Have your fun, have it all".