Broken

Broken may refer to:

Film

Language

Language

Language is the ability to acquire and use complex systems of communication, particularly the human ability to do so, and a language is any specific example of such a system. The scientific study of language is called linguistics.

Questions concerning the philosophy of language, such as whether words can represent experience, have been debated since Gorgias and Plato in Ancient Greece. Thinkers such as Rousseau have argued that language originated from emotions while others like Kant have held that it originated from rational and logical thought. 20th-century philosophers such as Wittgenstein argued that philosophy is really the study of language. Major figures in linguistics include Ferdinand de Saussure, Noam Chomsky and William C. Stokoe.

Estimates of the number of languages in the world vary between 5,000 and 7,000. However, any precise estimate depends on a partly arbitrary distinction between languages and dialects. Natural languages are spoken or signed, but any language can be encoded into secondary media using auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli – for example, in graphic writing, braille, or whistling. This is because human language is modality-independent. Depending on philosophical perspectives regarding the definition of language and meaning, when used as a general concept, "language" may refer to the cognitive ability to learn and use systems of complex communication, or to describe the set of rules that makes up these systems, or the set of utterances that can be produced from those rules. All languages rely on the process of semiosis to relate signs to particular meanings. Oral and sign languages contain a phonological system that governs how symbols are used to form sequences known as words or morphemes, and a syntactic system that governs how words and morphemes are combined to form phrases and utterances.

Smoothe da Hustler

Damon Smith, better known as Smoothe da Hustler is an American rapper who was signed to Profile Records in the mid-1990s.

Smoothe came to prominence in 1995 with his debut single "Broken Language", a duet with his little brother Trigga tha Gambler. The song became an instant classic in the hip-hop community for both rappers trading verses for almost four minutes with no hook and innovative wordplay, which earned them a Hip Hop Quotable in the November 1995 issue of The Source. Profile issued Smoothe's debut on March 19, 1996, which was titled Once Upon a Time in America to critical success. However, the album didn't gain much success commercially, only making it to #93 on the Billboard 200. After the album, Smoothe appeared on songs by Shyheim, Nine, Blahzay Blahzay, SWV and Public Enemy and even appeared on The Nutty Professor Soundtrack with Trigger and DV Alias Khrist, but did not release another album for over a decade. In 2008, Smoothe returned with Violenttimes Day released for his own label SMG Entertainment.

The Gambler

The Gambler may refer to:

Arts

Music

Literature

Film, television and theatre

Rachel Platten

Rachel Ashley Platten (born May 20, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter. Her third studio album and major-label debut, Wildfire, reached number five in the United States and received generally mixed reviews. The album spawned singles "Fight Song" and "Stand by You". "Fight Song" peaked at number six on Billboard Hot 100 and topped the UK Singles Chart. "Stand By You" so far peaked at number thirty-seven on Billboard Hot 100 becoming her second Top 40 hit.

Early life

Rachel Ashley Platten was born on May 20, 1981 to Jewish parents Paul and Pamela Platten (née Jabush). She was born in New York City but grew up in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. She studied classical piano from the age of 5 and then took up guitar in high school. She attended Buckingham Browne and Nichols for high school, where she sang in the school's singing group. At Trinity College, she was a member of the Trinitones, the college's all-female a cappella group. As a part of a study abroad program, she went to Trinidad to do an internship at a diplomat's office and at a record label. While she was there, she sang back up for a friend's band in front of over 80,000 people at the International Soca Monarch finals in 2002. Platten graduated from Trinity College with a degree in international relations in 2003. According to Platten, from that moment on she knew she had to pursue music full-time. She then moved to New York City's Greenwich Village where she cut her teeth playing with a Prince and Sly and the Family Stone cover band called Dayz of Wild. In 2012, it was reported that she married Kevin Lazan in a Jewish ceremony. She performed her solo music around the Village and eventually began touring the country. She has worked with numerous charities, Musicians on Call (where she sings bedside to hospital patients) and she is an ambassador for Music Unites. She also works with the Ryan Seacrest Foundation and was an ambassador for Below the Line (a call to end world poverty).