A.P. Carter
Background information
Born	(1891-12-15)December 15, 1891 Maces Spring, Virginia, U.S.
Died	November 7, 1960(1960-11-07) (aged 68) Kingsport, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country, folk, gospel
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1926–1943 1952–1956
Labels	Victor, ARC, Decca
Associated acts	Carter Family

Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (December 15, 1891 – November 7, 1960), best known as A.P. Carter, was an American musician and founding member of The Carter Family, one of the most notable acts in the history of country music.

Biography[link]

Life[link]

A.P. Carter was born to Robert C. Carter and Mollie Arvelle Bays in Maces Spring, Virginia (then known as Poor Valley). A.P. was sometimes called "Doc."^[1]

On June 18, 1915, he married Sara Dougherty and they had three children: Gladys (Millard), Janette (Jett), and Joe. In 1927, he formed the Carter Family band together with his wife. They were joined by Sara's cousin, Maybelle, who was married to A.P.'s brother, Ezra Carter, and they together formed the first commercial rural country music group. Carter was known for traveling extensively throughout the country and collecting and blending songs, particularly from Appalachian musicians.^[1] Some of the songs became so closely identified with A. P. Carter that he has been popularly, but mistakenly, credited with writing them. For example, "Keep on the Sunny Side of Life" was published in 1901 with the words being credited to Ada Blenkhorn and the music credited to Howard Entwisle,^[2] and "The Meeting in the Air" has been published giving credit for music and words to I. G. Martin.^[3]

A.P. and Sara separated in 1932, in part as a result of Sara having an affair with A.P.'s cousin, due to A.P.'s long absences from home in search of new musical ideas. They officially divorced in 1939. The band remained together for several years afterwards, but broke up in 1943. While Maybelle and her daughters continued to tour as The Carter Family, A.P. left the music business to run a general store in Virginia. In 1952, A.P. reformed The Carter Family with Sara and some of their grown children; the reunion lasted until 1956.^[1][4]

A.P. Carter died in Kingsport, Tennessee on November 7, 1960 at the age of 68.^[1][5][6] He was buried in the Mount Vernon Methodist Church Cemetery in Hiltons, Virginia.^[7][8]

Legacy[link]

Despite dying in relative obscurity, A. P. Carter was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. Carter was inducted as part of The Carter Family in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970.^[9] In 1993, his image appeared on a U.S. postage stamp honoring the Carter Family. In 2001 he was inducted posthumously into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.

PBS aired a one-hour show on A.P. Carter and the Carter Family on American Experience.

In recent years, The Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia has performed a play based on A.P.'s life called "Keep On The Sunny Side".

On her 2008 album All I Intended to Be, Emmylou Harris includes the song "How She Could Sing the Wildwood Flower", co-written with Kate and Anna McGarrigle, about the relationship between A.P. and Sara, inspired by a documentary that the three of them saw on television.

See also[link]

• Songs written by A. P. Carter

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nashville Songwriters Foundation
• PBS Special: The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken.
• Friends of the Carter Family Fold
• A. P. Carter at Find a Grave

P Chidambaram
Minister of Home Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 November 2008
Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Preceded by	Shivraj Patil
Minister of Finance
In office 22 May 2004 – 30 November 2008
Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Preceded by	Jaswant Singh
Succeeded by	Manmohan Singh
In office 1 June 1996 – 21 April 1997
Prime Minister	H. D. Deve Gowda
Preceded by	Jaswant Singh
Succeeded by	Inder Kumar Gujral
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge)
In office 1995–1996
Prime Minister	P. V. Narasimha Rao
In office 1991–1992
Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
In office 26 December 1985 – 2 December 1989
Prime Minister	Rajiv Gandhi
Preceded by	K.P. Singh Deo
Succeeded by	Margaret Alva
Personal details
Born	(1945-09-16) 16 September 1945 (age 66) Kandanur, British Raj (now India)
Political party	Indian National Congress (Before 1996; 2004–present)
Other political affiliations	Tamil Maanila Congress (1996–2001) Congress Jananayaka Peravai (2001–2004)
Spouse(s)	Nalini Chidambaram
Children	Karti Palaniappan Chidambaram
Alma mater	University of Madras (B.Sc./LL.B.) Harvard Business School (M.B.A.)
Profession	Lawyer
Website	Official website

Chidambaram Palaniappan (born 16 September 1945) is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress and the current Union Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of India. Previously he was the Finance Minister of India from May 2004 to November 2008. However, after the resignation of Shivraj Patil, Chidambaram was made the Home Affairs Minister.^[1]

Early life and education[link]

Chidambaram was born to Kandanur L. Ct. L. Palaniyappa Chettiar and Mrs. Lakshmi Achi in Kanadukathan in the Sivaganga District, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. He was born into the royal family of Chettinad.^[2] Chidambaram did his schooling from the Madras Christian College Hr.Sec.School, Chennai. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Statistics from The Presidency College, Chennai, he completed his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the Madras Law College currently Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai, and his Masters in Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Harvard Business School class of 1968. He also holds a Masters from Loyola College, Chennai.^[3]

He enrolled as an Advocate in the Chennai High Court. He was designated as a Senior Advocate in 1984. He has chambers in Delhi and Chennai and practices in the Supreme Court and in various High Courts in India.

Political career[link]

Chidambaram was first elected to the Lok Sabha (Lower House) of the Indian Parliament from the Shivaganga constituency of Tamil Nadu in general elections held in 1984. He was re-elected from the same constituency in the general elections of 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2004 and 2009. He was a union leader for MRF and worked his way up in the Congress party.

He was the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress president and then the general secretary of the (TNPCC) Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee unit.

He was inducted into the Union (Indian federal) Council of Ministers in the government headed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on 21 September 1985 as a Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Commerce and then in the Ministry of Personnel. His main actions during his tenure in this period was to control the price of tea. He has been criticized by the Government of Sri Lanka for destroying the Sri Lankan tea trade by fixing the prices of the commodity in India using state power. He was elevated to the rank of Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions in January 1986. In October of the same year, he was appointed to the Ministry of Home Affairs as Minister of State for Internal Security. He continued to hold both offices until general elections were called in 1989. The Indian National Congress government was defeated in the general elections of 1989.

In June 1991, Chidambaram was inducted as a Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce, a post he held till July, 1992. He was later re-appointed Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce in February 1995 and held the post until April 1996. He made some radical changes in India's export-import (EXIM) policy, while at the Ministry of Commerce.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996, Chidambaram quit the Congress party and joined a breakaway faction of the Tamil Nadu state unit of the Congress party called the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC). In the general elections held in 1996, TMC along with a few national and regional level opposition parties formed a coalition government. The coalition government came as a big break for Chidambaram, who was given the key cabinet portfolio of Finance; this put him in the limelight. The coalition government was a short-lived one (it fell in 1998), but he was reappointed to the same portfolio in the Government formed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2004.

In 1998, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took the reins of the Government for the first time and it was not until May 2004 that Chidambaram would be back in Government. Chidambaram became Minister of Finance again in the Congress party-Communist Party United Progressive Alliance government on 24 May 2004. During the intervening period Chidambaram made some experiments in his political career, leaving the Tamil Maanila Congress in 2001 and forming his own party, the Congress Jananayaka Peravai, largely focused on the regional politics of Tamil Nadu. The party failed to take off into mainstream Tamil Nadu or national politics. Just before the elections of 2004, he merged his party with the mainstream Congress party and when the Congress won the election, he was inducted into the Council of Ministers under the new Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as cabinet Minister of Finance.^{[citation needed]}

On November 30, 2008, he was appointed the Union Home Minister following the resignation of Shivraj Patil who had come under intense pressure to tender his resignation following a series of terror attacks in India, including the Mumbai attacks on November 26, 2008. The public response to this move was generally favourable given Chidambaram's reputation for competence and efficiency.

He has been credited with taking the bold decision of prioritizing elections above corporate demands to deploy security for T20-20 matches if IPL.^[4]

In 2009, Chidambaram was re-elected from Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency in the Congress victory and retained the Home ministry.

He was one of the representatives of the Central Government when a tri-party agreement was signed with the Gorkha Hill Council and the Government of West Bengal. The agreement was a result of Mamata Banerjee's effort to end a decade long unrest in the hills of Darjeeling.^[5]

Controversies and Allegations[link]

2G spectrum scam[link]

In September 2011, Subramanian Swamy moved to Supreme Court of India, after months of request to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into Chidambaram's role in the 2G spectrum scam.^[6][7][8] After having not had any favorable response from the Prime Minister he approached the Supreme Court and based on the fair credibility of preliminary evidence and documents, the court agreed to take up the petition.^[9] Andimuthu Raja, the prime accused in the 2G spectrum scam, also revealed on tapped phones that Chidambaram received a lot of money for 2G spectrum allocation.^[10]

In the same case an office memorandum from the office of the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was submitted to the Supreme Court which stated that Chidambaram collaborated in the under-pricing in the 2G spectrum scam during his tenure as Finance Minister. The memorandum said that if Chidambaram wanted, the 2G spectrum could have been auctioned.^[11][12] On 2 February 2012, Supreme court left it to the special CBI sessions court to decide on whether to make Chidambaram a co-accused in the case or order a CBI enquiry.^[13][6] On 4 February 2012, the special CBI court dismissed ^[14]The CBI court accepted Swamy's two allegations that Chidambaram and A Raja took decision jointly on fixing the price of the spectrum and offloading of shares. However, it dismissed the plea saying there were lack of evidences on Chidambaram’s criminal intention behind these two acts. Swamy appealed against this order directly in the Supreme court and as of 14 May 2012, the matter is pending there.^[15]

Aircel-Maxis deal controversy[link]

In a press statement on 26 April 2012, Swamy alleged that Advantage Strategic Consulting, a company owned by Chidambaram's son Kartik Chidambaram, received a 5% stake in mobile operator Aircel, as a condition for the 2006 FIPB approval of Malaysian company Maxis Communications's investment in Aircel.^[16] Chidambaram then had statutory authority over the FIPB in his role as the Finance Minister. Subsequently the issue was raised on multiple times in Parliament of India by the opposition which demanded his resignation.^[17] He and the government denied all the allegations.^[18]However, according to The Pioneer and India Today reports, documents show that approval to the FDI proposal was indeed delayed by about 7 months by P Chidambaram.^[19][20][21]

Black money[link]

Chidambaram has been accused of hoarding black money abroad^[22][23] and several petitioners have challenged Chidambaram in the open media and in several noted columns to file a defamation case against them if the allegations were untrue.^[24] Chidambaram has not responded to this.

Controversial companies representation[link]

He represented the bankrupt American energy giant Enron, as a senior lawyer in India, and is again set to revive its Dhabol power project.^[25][26]

Chidambaram also represented the controversial British mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources in the Mumbai High Court until 2003 when he became the Finance minister of India. He was also a member of the board of directors of that company.^[27]

Securities scam resignation[link]

He resigned on 10 July 1992 from the Minister position owning moral responsibility for investing in Fairgrowth, a company allegedly involved in securities scam.^[28]

Hindi language anti rhetoric controversy[link]

Chidambaram's speeches for assembly elections in Tamil Nadu have been laced with anti-Hindi rhetoric and had questioned the number of Hindi speaking ministers in the NDA government although he himself was the Finance Minister at that time and later on the Home Minister for the country.^[29]

Scheme for tax defaulters[link]

In 1997, he announced a controversial Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) which granted income-tax defaulters indefinite immunity from prosecution under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, the Income Tax Act, 1961, the Wealth Tax Act, 1957, and the Companies Act, 1956 in exchange for self-valuation and disclosure of income and assets.^[24][30] The Comptroller and Auditor General of India condemned the scheme in his report as abusive and a fraud on the genuine taxpayers of the country.^[31]

Office of Profit inquiry[link]

In August 2006, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam gave permission to enquire into the allegations that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had been holding office of profit at the time of elections. It has been alleged that they both had been the board members of Rajiv Gandhi Trust Foundation. The Election Commission has been authorised to enquire into the allegations.^[32]

On 7 April 2009, P. Chidambaram was shoed by Jarnail Singh, a Sikh journalist during a press conference in Delhi. Singh, who works at the Hindi daily Dainik Jagaran was dissatisfied with Chidamabaram's answer to a question on the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.^[33] Later, Jarnail Singh appeared on a few media channels and thanked Chidambaram for taking no action against him and said that he would apologize to Chidambaram if he got a chance to meet him personally.^[34] He also said that his method of protest was wrong, but the issue was right.^[35][36] He also declined to take money offered to him by the Shiromani Akali Dal, a Sikh political party.

Mr. Chidambaram has been in public conflict with other members of the UPA government on policy issues.^[37] There have been several instances where his public positions have exposed confusion in the policy agenda of the UPA government.^[38] In the past he has regularly announced plans to end Naxalism in the impending future. The most recent announcement was on Jul 30 2010.^[39] Another previous such declaration was on November 10, 2009.^[40]

Polls result vote fraud[link]

In 2009, Parliamentary elections, it was alleged in 'The Hindu' that Chidambaram has pressurised the Returning Officer of Sivaganga and doctored the poll results in his favour. AIADMK candidate Kannappan who lost in the poll demanded recounting of votes, which was declined.^[41]

Migrants in New Delhi blame[link]

In December 2010, it was reported^[42] that he blamed migrants for the rising rate of crime in New Delhi. He is alleged to have said that Delhi attracts a lot of migrants who live in unauthorized colonies and indulge in behavior that is unacceptable in any modern city. His quote was apparently a reaction to the Sultanpuri gang-rape incident^[43] where an 18 year old girl was the victim. This quote attracted a lot of criticism from opposition parties, with UP chief minister Mayawati alleging that, being the Home Minister, Chidambaram was biased against North Indians.^[44]

Lathi charge and arrest of Anna Hazare[link]

Chidambaram was criticized widely for ordering a police lathi charge at midnight on non-violent protesters at the Ramlila Maidan, Delhi. The protesters led by Baba Ramdev were protesting against widespread corruption in governance and demanding bringing back of black money to India stashed abroad in foreign banks.^[45]

It is also alleged that Chidambaram planned Anna Hazare's arrest to lodge him in Tihar Jail during the recent Anti- Corruption Campaign in India, which sparked off mass protests all over India.^[46]

Naxalite-Maoist insurgency[link]

Chidambaram's effectiveness as the Minister of Home Affairs has been questioned on various occasions. Upon taking office, he promised to tackle left-wing Naxalite-Maoist insurgency. However, there has been no progress in preventing Maoist attacks in India. Chidambaram has been accused of callously sacrificing ill-equipped and unprepared CRPF jawans repeatedly. On 6 April 2010 76 CRPF jawans were massacred in Dantewada.^[47] Besides condemning the attack, Chidambaram's ministry has made no progress in prosecuting the killers.

In 2010, there were several major attacks by Maoists including a 28 May 2010 train derailment that killed over 150 civilians, a 29 June attack that killed 26 policemen and dozens of other attacks that killed scores of security forces and civilians. Maoist attacks have continued in 2011, including the dismemberment of 10 police officials in Chhatisgarh state.

The RTI Act by advocate and activist Vivek Garg said that Chidambaram had been tasked to “supervise and deal with all financial matters” by a Group of Ministers in the run-up to the games.Documents accessed from PMO reveal that Chidambaram, the then FM, had been tasked with supervising all money matters pertaining to CWG which leads to a loss of 2342 crores.^[48]

2011 Mumbai bombings intelligence failure[link]

Chidambaram was criticized for his ministry's failure to prevent the 13 July 2011 Mumbai bombings, in spite of massive investments in security following the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Three years after the 2008 attacks, security preparations were found to be inadequate with communications breakdown and failures in modernising, procuring and installing security equipment.^[49] Chidambaram defended the agencies under his ministry against the charge of intelligence failure with the response:

Having no intelligence in this case, however, does not mean that there was a failure on part of the intelligence agencies.^[50]
There has been no intelligence failure. There was no intelligence warning about 13/7.^[51]

Family and personal life[link]

His grand uncles and grand father were the Co-founders of Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, United India Insurance and Annamalai University.^{[52][53][54][55][56]}

He is married to Nalini Chidambaram who is a Senior Advocate and a tax lawyer practicing in the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court, primarily in litigation related to the Central Excise department of the Government of India. He has a son, Karti P. Chidambaram, who graduated with a BBA degree from the University of Texas, and a Bachelors in Law from Cambridge University. His son is also a politician in the Congress party.

Chidambaram is an atheist.^[57]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Palaniappan Chidambaram

• Personal Website of P.Chidambaram
• Profile at BBC News

Others[link]

• P Chidambaram in 2G scam
• Only dumping Chidambaram can save UPA
• Chidambaram favoured 'fraud' Vodafone-Hutchison deal

A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament
Author(s)	Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener
Language	English
Publisher	George Bell & Sons
Publication date	1861, 1894
Pages	418 + 428
ISBN	1-4021-6347-9

A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament: For the Use of Biblical Students is one of the books of Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener (1813–1891), biblical scholar and textual critic. In this book Scrivener listed over 3,000 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, as well as manuscripts of early versions. It was used by Gregory for further work.

The book was published in four editions. The first edition, published in 1861, contained 506 pages. The second edition (1874) was expanded into 626 pages; the third into 751 pages; and the fourth into 874 pages. Two first editions were issued in one volume; in the third edition the material was divided into two volumes, with an increased number of chapters in each. The first volume was edited in 1883, the second in 1887. The fourth edition was also issued in two volumes (1894).^[1] The fourth edition of the book was reprinted in 2005 by Elibron Classics.

First Edition[link]

Plate VIII with facsimiles from Codices Vaticanus, Regius, Nanianus, and Basilensis

The text of the first edition was divided into nine chapters and three Indices were added at the end (pp. 465–490). All plates were placed at the end of book (after Indices). The main part of the work are descriptions of the manuscripts. Scrivener concentrated his attention on the most important manuscripts (especially five larger uncial codices). The later cursive manuscripts were too numerous to be minutely described as per the uncials. Scrivener described them with all possible brevity, dwelling only on a few which presented points of special interest and used a system of certain abbreviations. Lists of this abbreviations was included just before the Catalogue of cursive manuscripts. Examples of abbreviations, include:

Act. — MS. of Acts and Catholic epistles

Am. — the Ammonian Sections

Eus. — the Eusebian Canons

Eus. t. — a table of the Eusebian Canons

Carp. — Epistula ad Carpianum

κεφ. — the numbers of the κεφαλαια majora stand in the margin

κεφ. t. — the tables of the κεφαλαια are prefixed to each book

τιτλ. — the τιτλοι are given at the head or foot of the page

lect. — the book is adapted for Church-reading by notices of the proper lessons, feasts etc. in the margin, or above, or below

men. — a menology, calendar of Saints' Days, is found at the beginning or end of the book

syn. — Synaxarion, a calendar of the daily lessons throughout the year is given

mut. — the copy described is mutilated

pict. — the copy is illuminated with pictures

prol. — contains prolegomena before the several books^[2]

Table of ancient and modern divisions of the New Testament, on page 58 of the 1st edition

In every next edition of the Plain Introduction this system of abbreviations was expanded (e.g. Αναγ., Argent., etc.). At the end of lists the manuscripts are described more shortly, in two columns, only numbers of the manuscripts, with the corresponding number of other system of catalogization (Scholz):^[3]

In the preface to the first edition, the editor announced:

The following pages are chiefly designed for the use of those who have no previous knowledge of the Textual Criticism of the New Testament; but since the Author has endeavoured to embody in them the results of very recent investigations, he hopes that they may prove of service to more advanced students. He asks the reader's indulgence for the annexed list of Addenda et Corrigenda, both by reason of the peculiar character of his work, and the remoteness of West Cornwall from Public Libraries. He might easily have suppressed the greater part of them, but that he has honestly tried to be accurate, and sees no cause to be ashamed of what Person has well called "the common lot of authorship." He has only to add that he has not consciously borrowed from other writers without due acknowledgement, and to return his best thanks to the Rev. H. O. Coxe for important aid in the Bodleian, and to Henry Bradshaw Esq., Fellow of King's College, for valuable instruction respecting manuscripts in the University Library at Cambridge.

Falmouth, September, 1861.^[4]

Second edition[link]

In 1873 Dean Burgon in The Guardian published several articles with some suggestions, corrections, and encouragement for preparing the second edition of Plain Introduction.^[5] Burgon gave a photograph of the Codex Basilensis for the sake of the next edition (the facsimile from the first edition was a poor quality).^[6]

The second edition was published in 1874. The number of chapters was still the same, but they were expanded (especially chapter II and IX). Many corrections to the third section of the second chapter were made after suggestions of: H. Bradshaw, Hort, Vansittart, Kelly, and Burgon.^[7] In preface to the first edition, the editor announced:

The first edition of this work, published in 1861, was received so favourably that the author has felt bound to bestow his utmost care upon a minute and thorough revision of his book, in the hope of bringing up the information it contains to the existing state of knowledge. In this endeavour he has been assisted as well by Canon Lightfoot, to whom he is indebted for that section of the third chapter which treats of Egyptian versions of the New Testament (pp. 319-357), as also by much unsought for and most welcome help, especially on the part of those scholars who are named in p. 164, note. Without wishing to speak harshly of writers who are not very scrupulous in such matters, he has always thought it became him to borrow from no quarter without making a full and frank avowal of the fact. The author will be much rejoiced if this new edition shall be judged not less worthy than its predecessor to become a text book in Universities and Theological Celleges.

S. Gerrans, August, 1861.^[8]

Third edition[link]

In August, 1874, Ezra Abbot sent to Scrivener a letter: the rough draught of which covered forty odd pages, devoted to the correction of apparent errors and a statement of overlooked facts in the first edition of the Plain Introduction. The letter came too late to be used in preparing the body of the second edition of Scrivener's work.^[9] Abbot's studies largely argumented the number of suggestions, particularly in those portions of the book devoted to describing the extant manuscripts. They were accumulated in great part to the older and well-known authorities - such as Griesbach, Matthaei, Scholz (particularly his work Biblisch-kritische Reise, Leipzig 1823), Bianchini, Montfaucon, Silvestre, Bandini, Laubecius, and Zaeagni.^[9] Part of suggestions were a result of Abbott's studies of recent edited Catalogues of the ancient Greek Manuscripts held in the British Museum, Bodleian Library, Oxford Catalogues, Kitchin's Catalogue of the manuscripts in the Library of Christ Church College (Oxrofd, 1867).^[9] Abbott added numerous references to facsimile editions.^[10]

In 1885 J. Rendel Harris, together with Abbot, prepared the similar work as the first unpublished work of Abbot, nine years earlier. It was published under the title: Notes on Scriveners' "Plain introduction to the criticism of the New Testament," 3rd edition, in which they proposed corrections. Example of corrections:

Page XII. On "p. 69. note", line 2, for "360" read "1160".

Page XIII. On "p. 141, line 28", line 2, for "Vol. II., Part I." read "Part I, Vol. II.". At end. add "after p. 492."

Page XIV. On "Y", line 8, for "XXIII, 23" read "XXIII, 5"; line 9, for "II, 21-IV. 1; 15-v. 1" read simply "II. 21-v.I" - since Dr. Gregory discovered two additional leaves; see the Prolegomena, to Tischendorf, p. 440.

On "p. 162, line 24", line 2, for "Vol. II., Pt. I." read "Pt. I. Vol. II."^[11]

The third edition was issued into two volumes, with an increase of chapters in each (XIV + XII).

The third edition was prepared under great disadvantage. Scrivener after adding 125 pages to his book had an attack of paralysis, as result his work was not wholly conducted upon the same high level as his previous publications. The framework of the second edition was originally adopted; and the new additional material was only added to the almost unchanged material.^[12]

Fourth edition[link]

The fourth and the last edition of Plain Introduction was prepared and edited posthumously by Edward Miller (1825–1901). The book was edited by George Bell & Sons. It contains 15 plates with the texts of 40 manuscripts in facsimile (the 1st edition had 12 plates with 36 manuscripts). Some facsimiles were replaced. Instead of 2,094 manuscripts, as recorded in the third edition under six classes, no less than 3,791 were recorded in this edition, an increase of 236 beyond the 3,555 of Gregory, without counting the numerous vacant places which had been filled inp.^[12]

Most of the accounts of ancient versions were rewritten by distinguished scholars, who were leaders in their several departments. The early part of Volume I was enriched from the admirable book on “Greek and Latin Palaeography”, by Edward Maunde Thompson. Many corrections suggested by eminent scholars were introduced in different places throughout the book. H. J. White rewrote the chapter on Latin versions. G. H. Gwilliam, editor of the Peshitta, helped to improve the passages on the Peshitta and the Curetonian Version. H. Deane made an additions to the treatment of the Harkleian Version. A. C. Headlam made a revision of the long chapter on the Egyptian versions; F. C. Conybeare, rewrote the sections on the Armenian and Georgian versions; Margoliouth rewrote the sections on the Arabic and Ethiopic versions; J. M. Bebb rewrote the section on the Slavonic version; James W. Bright rewrote the section on the Anglo-Saxon Version.^[13]

• 

  Facsimile of the minuscule 1 in the 1st edition (1861)

• 

  Facsimile of the minuscule 1 in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th edition (1894)

• 

  Facsimile of Codex Cyprius (1861)

• 

  Facsimile of Codex Cyprius (1894)

Contents of the 4th edition[link]

Volume I[link]

Page 231, vol. I, from the 4th Edition

• Chapter I, pages 1–20 – Preliminary considerations
• Chapter II, pages 21–55 – General character of the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament (materials for writing, style of writings, abbreviations).
• Chapter III, pages 56–89 – Divisions of the text, and other particulars (Ammoniam Sections, Eusebian Canons, Euthalian chapters, subscriptions, marginal markings, Synaxarion, Menologion)
• Chapter IV, pages 90–130 – The larger uncial manuscripts of the Greek Testament (Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi and Bezae)
• Chapter V, pages 131-168 – Uncial manuscripts of the Gospels
• Chapter VI, pages 169-188 – Uncial manuscripts of the Acts and Catholic epistles, of St. Paul’s epistles, and of the Apocalypse
• Chapter VII, pages 189-240 – Cursive manuscripts of the Gospels. Part I. 1-449
• Chapter VIII, pages 241-271 – Cursive manuscripts of the Gospels. Part II. 450-774
• Chapter IX, pages 272-283 – Cursive manuscripts of the Gospels. Part III. 775-1321
• Chapter X, pages 284-306 – Cursive manuscripts of the Acts and Catholic epistles, 1-420
• Chapter XI, pages 307-319 – Cursive manuscripts of St. Paul’s epistles, 1-491
• Chapter XII, pages 320-326 – Cursive manuscripts of the Apocalypse, 1-184
• Chapter XIII, pages 327-367 – Evangelistaries, or Manuscript Service-Books of the Gospels, 1-963
• Chapter XIV, pages 368-376 – Lectionaries containing the Apostolos or Praxapostolos, 1-288

Volume II[link]

• Chapter I, pages 1–5 – Ancient Versions
• Chapter II, pages 6–40 – Syriac Versions (Peshitta, Curetonian, Harklean, Palestinian)
• Chapter III, pages 41–90 – Latin Versions (Old Latin, Vulgate)
• Chapter IV, pages 91–144 – Egyptian or Coptic Versions (Bohairic, Sahidic, Fayyumic, Akhmimim)
• Chapter V, pages 145-166 – The Other Versions of the New Testament (Gothic, Armenian, Georgian, Ethiopian, Arabic)
• Chapter VI, pages 167-174 – Quotations from the Fathers
• Chapter VII, pages 175-243 – Early Printed Editions, Critical Editions (Complutensian Polyglote, Novum Instrumentum omne, Editio Regia)
• Chapter VIII, pages 244-256 – Textual Canons
• Chapter IX, pages 257-273 – History of the Text
• Chapter X, pages 274-311 – Recent Views of Comparative Criticism
• Chapter XI, pages 312-320 – Character of the Ddialect of the Greek Testament
• Chapter XII, pages 321-413 – Application of Principles to Select Passages

Reception[link]

Edward Miller, the editor of the 4th edition, in 1886 estimated the 3rd edition:

The labour spent by Dr. Scrivener upon Textual Criticism is well known from his admirable Introduction to the Science, a handbook which leaves hardly anything, if anything, to be desired.^[14]

Eberhard Nestle, editor of Novum Testamentum Graece, wrote in 1901:

Scrivener have rendered great service in the way of collating manuscripts, (...) as well as Gregory in Germany has also catalogued them.^[15]

Gregory, another textual critic, in his Textkritik des Neuen Testaments (1900–1909) very often cited work of Scrivener, but after Minuscule 449 he used different way of numbering for the manuscripts (Scrivener 450 = Gregory 581, Scrivener 451 = Gregory 582).^[16] A Plain Introduction... was also used by Hermann von Soden in his Schriften....^[17]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• F. H. A. Scrivener, A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, etc. third edition, thoroughly revised, enlarged, and brought down to the present date, Cambridge and London, 1883, Volumes I-II
• F. H. A. Scrivener, A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament. For the Use of Biblical Students, Fourth Edition, Volumes I-II, reprinted by Elibron Classics series (2005), Adamant Media Corporation, ISBN 1-4021-6347-9 (paperback), ISBN 1-4021-5176-4 (hardcover)

External links[link]

Editions of the book

• A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the NT (1861), First Edition (HTML)
• A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the NT, (Cambridge, 1874), Second Edition at the Internet Archive
• A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the NT (1894), Fourth Edition, Volume I at the Internet Archive
• A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the NT (1894), Fourth Edition, Volume II at the Internet Archive
• A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the NT, Fourth Edition, Volume 1 (reprint 2005)
• A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the NT, Fourth Edition, Volume II (reprint 2005)

Other

• Ezra Abbot & J. Rendel Harris, Notes on Scriveners' "Plain introduction to the criticism of the New Testament," 3rd edition [microform] (1885)

Tony Free is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL/AFL between 1987 and 1996 for the Richmond Football Club.

References[link]

• Hogan P: The Tigers Of Old, Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996

This Australian rules football biography of a person born in the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Kanye West
West at the SWU Music & Arts Festival, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Kanye Omari West
Born	(1977-06-08) June 8, 1977 (age 35) Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, film director, fashion designer
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, sampler, percussion, synthesizer
Years active	1996–present
Labels	GOOD Music, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Associated acts	Go Getters, Child Rebel Soldier, Jay-Z, The Throne, Common, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Jeff Bhasker, Pusha T, Mos Def, Mr Hudson, Talib Kweli, Big Sean, A-Trak, Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, RZA
Website	kanyewest.com

Kanye Omari West ( /ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977)^[1] is an American musician, film director and fashion designer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, and classical music.^[2]

West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. West released a collaborative album, Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in 2011, which is the duo's first collaborative album. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim.^[3] As of 2012, West has won a total of eighteen Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time.^[4] All albums have been very commercially successful, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy becoming his fourth consecutive No. 1 album in the U.S. upon release.^[5] West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with "Gold Digger" selling 3,086,000, "Stronger" selling 4,402,000, "Heartless" selling 3,742,000, "E.T." selling over 4,000,000 and "Love Lockdown" selling over 3,000,000^[6][7] placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade.^[8][9] He has sold over 30 million digital songs in the United States making him one of the best-selling digital artists of all-time.^[10]

West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such as John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi.^[11] West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his five solo albums as well as various single covers and in his music videos.^[12] About.com ranked Kanye West No. 8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list.^[13] On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's No. 1 "Hottest MC in the Game."^[14] On December 17, 2010, Kanye West was voted as the MTV Man of the Year by MTV.^[15] Billboard ranked Kanye West No. 3 on their list of Top 10 Producers of the Decade.^[16] West has also been included in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as being listed in a number of Forbes' annual lists.^[17]

Kanye will release the full-length album entitled Cruel Summer with GOOD Music signed artists sometime in 2012.

Early life[link]

Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia,^[18] where he lived with his parents. When he was three years old, his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois.^[19] His father was Ray West, a former Black Panther who was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and is now a Christian counselor.^[19] West's mother, Dr. Donda West, was a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as West's manager. He was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School^[20] in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago.^[21] When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'".^[22]

West attended art classes at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and also enrolled at Chicago State University, but dropped out to focus on his music career.^[23] While attending school, West produced for local artists. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B artists, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, John Legend among others. He also "ghost-produced" for his mentor Deric Angelettie, according to his song "Last Call" and the credits of Nas' "Poppa Was a Playa".^[23]

Music career[link]

1996–2003: Career beginnings[link]

Kanye West's first career productions came on Chicago rapper Grav's 1996 debut album Down to Earth. West produced eight tracks on the album. While the album did not attract much attention and would be the only album released by Grav, West would soon be producing for higher profile artists. In 1998–1999 he produced for well-known artists such as Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, Goodie Mob, and the group Harlem World.

West got his big break in the year 2000, when he began to produce for artists on Roc-a-Fella Records. He produced the well-received Jay-Z song "This Can't Be Life" off of the album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West would later state that to create the beat for "This Can't Be Life", he sped up the drum beat from Dr. Dre's song "Xxplosive".^[24]

After producing for Jay-Z earlier, West’s sound was featured heavily on Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album The Blueprint, released September 11, 2001.^[25] His work was featured on the lead single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" and a diss track against Nas and Mobb Deep named "Takeover"; West has worked with Mobb Deep and Nas since the track's release.^[25]

After meeting great commercial success and critical acclaim for his productions on The Blueprint, West became a sought after producer in the hip-hop industry, even before he became known as a rapper and solo artist. In the years 2002–2003 he would produce for artists such as Nas, Scarface, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, T.I., Ludacris, DMX, and Monica. He also continued producing for Roc-a-Fella Records artists and contribued four tracks to Jay-Z's follow up album to The Blueprint, The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse.

After great successes as a producer, West now looked to pursue a career as a rapper and solo artist, but struggled to get a record deal. Chris Anokute, then A&R at Def Jam, said that when West regularly dropped by the office to pick up his producer checks he would play demos of solo material to Anokute in his cubicle and bemoan the fact that no one was taking him seriously as a rapper.^[26] Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost.^[27] Multiple record companies felt he was not as marketable as rappers who portray the "street image" prominent in hip hop culture.^[24] Beginning his career as a rapper, Kanye West recorded the third verse on the song "The Bounce" off of Jay-Z's The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse, an album he produced for, from the same label he was signed to as a rapper.

[edit] 2004–05: The College Dropout and Late Registration

On October 23, 2002, West was involved in a near fatal car crash while driving home from the recording studio.^[28] The crash provided inspiration for West's first single, "Through the Wire".^[29] West's faith is apparent in many of his songs, such as "Jesus Walks", which became a staple at his benefit performances, such as the Live 8 concert. These songs were featured on West's debut album, The College Dropout, which was released on Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004, and went on to receive critical acclaim. The album also defined the style for which West would become known, including wordplay and sampling.^[29] The album was eventually certified triple platinum. Guest appearances included Jay-Z, Ludacris, GLC, Consequence, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Common, and Syleena Johnson. The album also featured the singles, "All Falls Down" and "The New Workout Plan", as well as Twista's number one single, "Slow Jamz".^[30] During 2003 West also co-produced songs for British singer Javine Hylton, even appearing in the music video to Real Things playing the love interest of Javine.

West was involved in a financial dispute over Royce Da 5'9"'s song "Heartbeat", produced by West and released on Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions. West maintains that Royce never paid for the beat, but recorded to it and released it; hearing him on the beat, the original customers decided not to buy it from West. After the disagreement, West vowed to never work with Royce again.^[31] Other Kanye West-produced hit singles during the period The College Dropout was released included "I Changed My Mind" by Keyshia Cole, "Overnight Celebrity" by Twista and "Talk About Our Love" by Brandy.^[29]

West and Jamie Foxx performing "Gold Digger" at the Democratic Convention in Denver, Colorado

Taking a more eclectic route, West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion to construct his second album, Late Registration, which was released on August 30, 2005.^[32] Like its predecessor, the sophomore effort garnered universal acclaim from music critics.^[33] Late Registration topped countless critic polls and was revered as the best album of the year by numerous publications, including USA Today, Spin, and Time.^[34][35] Rolling Stone awarded the album the highest position on their end of the year record list and hailed it as a "sweepingly generous, absurdly virtuosic hip-hop classic."^[36] The record earned the number one spot on the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll of 2005 for the second consecutive year.^[37] Late Registration was also a commercial success, selling over 860,000 copies in its first week alone and topping the Billboard 200.^[38] Grossing over 2.3 million units sold in the United States alone by year's end, Late Registration was considered by industry observers as the sole majorly successful album release of the fall of 2005, a season that was plagued by steadily declining CD sales.^[39] The second album earned eight Grammy Award nominations including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for the song "Gold Digger".^[40] The album is certified triple platinum.^[41]

On August 22, 2005, the MTV special All Eyes On Kanye West aired, in which West spoke out against homophobia in hip-hop. He claimed that hip-hop has always been about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people."^[42] He then reflected on a personal experience. He said that he had a "turning point" when he realized one of his cousins was gay. He said regarding this experience: "This is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays." He drew comparison between African Americans' struggle for civil rights and today's gay rights movement. The following year, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, West further expounded his experiences with and views on the relationship between the black and gay communities.^[43]

In September 2005, West announced that he would release his Pastelle Clothing line in spring 2006:^[44] "Now that I have a Grammy under my belt and Late Registration is finished, I am ready to launch my clothing line next spring." In that year, West produced the hit singles "Go" by Common and "Dreams" by The Game.^[45]

[edit] 2007–09: Graduation and 808s & Heartbreak

West performing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 2007.

In 2007, it was announced that West would be starring in a series directed by Larry Charles. He has been working on the pilot episode for the past two years with Larry Charles and Rick Rubin. He also had this to say on January 14: "I wouldn't do something as cliché as a reality show. At least give me the credit for being more creative than that. It's a situational half-hour comedy. It's fictional, and loosely based on my life.^[46] " West also collaborated with Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz to produce the single "I Still Love H.E.R.", a reference to Common's 1994 single "I Used to Love H.E.R.". Further to this, during a radio appearance in early 2007, West, like many of his peers, recorded an impromptu freestyle to the popular song "Throw Some D's." The song that to all other rappers was about automobile rims, was used by West to comically refer to D-cup breasts. Because of the unexpected success of the song, West went on to make a video for the freestyle, in which he is seen playing his 'Old Ass Cousin'.^[47]

West was also featured in a new song called "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)". It was believed to be a single for, Graduation, because he is featured on the track, but Nike quickly explained that it was for the Nike Air Force 1's anniversary. It was meant only to be an exclusive track for the company.^[48]

On March 25, 2007, he and his father Ray West supported World Water Day by having a "Walk for Water" rally.^[49] After a two-year break, West has returned to being a fashion columnist in lifestyle magazine Complex.^[50] On July 7, 2007, West performed with The Police and John Mayer at the American leg of Live Earth.^[51] West hosted the August 17 edition of British comedy- variety show The Friday Night Project.^[52]

In July 2007, West changed the release date of Graduation, his third album, from September 18, 2007, to the same release date as 50 Cent's album Curtis, September 11, 2007.^[53] 50 Cent later claimed that if Graduation were to sell more records than Curtis, he would stop releasing solo albums. However, 50 Cent would later dispel his comments.^[54] The album has been certified double platinum. Guest appearances included T-Pain, Mos Def, and Lil Wayne.^[55]

On August 26, 2007, West appeared as himself on the HBO television show Entourage which he used as a platform to premier his new single "Good Life" during the end credits. On September 9, 2007, West performed at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, losing in every category he was nominated for; he gave an angry speech immediately afterward. (see "Controversies" section)

Following the MTV stint, West was nominated in eight Grammy Award categories for the 50th annual Grammy Awards.^[57] He won four of them,^[58] including Best Rap Album for Graduation and Best Rap Solo Performance for "Stronger" from Graduation. During the four-hour televised Grammy Awards ceremony, West also performed two songs: "Stronger" (with Daft Punk) and "Hey Mama" (in honor of his recently deceased mother).^[59]

West kicked off the Glow in the Dark Tour in Seattle at the Key Arena on April 16. The tour was originally scheduled to end in June in Cincinnati but was extended into August. Over the course of the tour West was joined by a varying group of opening acts, including Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., DJ Craze, and Gnarls Barkley. On June 15, West was scheduled to perform a late night set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. His performance started almost two hours late and ran for half of its alloted time, angering many fans in the audience. West later wrote an outraged entry on his blog, blaming the festival organizers as well as Pearl Jam's preceding set, which ran longer than expected.

On September 7, West debuted a new song "Love Lockdown" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. "Love Lockdown" features no rapping and only singing using an auto-tune device. This song appears on West's fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak. The new album was expected to be released on December 16, but West announced on his blog on September 24, 2008, that he had finished the album and would be releasing it sometime in November, earlier than previously scheduled. In early October, West made a surprise appearance at a T.I. concert in Los Angeles, where he stated that 808s & Heartbreak was scheduled to be released on November 25, though it was actually released on the 24th, and that the second single is "Heartless". The album was another number one album for West, even though the first week numbers fell well short of Graduation with 450,145 sold.^[60]

West performing in 2008

West performed at the American Music Awards ceremony on November 23.^[61] That same night he won two AMA awards, including Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album for Graduation and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist. West performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August 2008, along with Wyclef Jean and N.E.R.D. in support of Barack Obama. On January 20, 2009, Kanye West performed at the Youth Inaugural Ball hosted by MTV for Obama's inauguration.

On February 17, 2009, West was named one of Top 10 Most Stylish Men in America by GQ.^[62] The next day, February 18, 2009, West won International Male Solo Artist at The Brit Awards 2009. West was not in attendance but accepted his award with a video speech, saying "Barack is the 'Best Interracial Male' but I'm proud to be the Best International Male in the world.^[63]

In April 2009, Kanye West recorded a song called "Hurricane" with 30 Seconds to Mars to appear on their album This Is War, but was not released due to legal issues with both record companies. The song was eventually released on the deluxe version of This Is War, titled "Hurricane 2.0".^[64][65][66]

[edit] 2010–present: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Watch the Throne

West performing at The Big Chill

In May 2010, West made an animated television guest appearance on Fox's animated television series The Cleveland Show (a spin-off of Family Guy) as the voice behind "Kenny West", a rival of Cleveland Brown's son.^[67] In his first episode he performed in a rap battle with Cleveland's son. The producers stated working with West was a very good experience and a reason they chose him was because they knew he was a fan of Family Guy.^[68] Kenny West re-appeared in the season 2 premiere of The Cleveland Show.

West spent the first half of 2010 in Honolulu, Hawaii, working on his new album with the working title "Good Ass Job", later named My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, released on November 22, 2010.^[69] West has cited Maya Angelou, Gil Scott-Heron and Nina Simone as his musical inspirations for this album. Outside production is said to come from RZA, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, and DJ Premier.^[70][71] West also had Justin Vernon flown into his studio on Oahu after seemingly expressing interest in sampling one of Bon Iver's songs; Vernon proceeded to feature on a number of new tracks, including "Lost In The World," which features Vernon's vocal line from Woods.^[72]

On May 28, the Dwele-assisted first single from the album, entitled "Power", leaked to the Internet. On June 30, the track was officially released via iTunes. The upcoming music video was quoted as being "apocalyptic, in a very personal way" by the director Marco Brambilla.^[73]

On September 12, 2010, West performed a new song, "Runaway" featuring Pusha T, at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.^[74] Shortly after the performance, Kanye revealed he was working on a 35 minute short film based around the song. The movie is said to be influenced by film noir and concerns a fallen phoenix whom Kanye falls in love with.^[75] On October 15, 2010, Kanye West was ranked 3rd in BET's "Top Ten Rappers of the 21st Century" list.^[76]

West performing at a benefit at the Museum of Modern Art in 2011

Watch the Throne, a collaborative studio album by West and Jay-Z,^[77] was released by Def Jam Recordings on August 8, 2011.^[78] It has been under production since August 2010 as part of West's GOOD Friday initiative of releasing new songs every Friday between August 20 and Christmas 2010.^[79] West said through a recent interview with MTV that the album is "going to be very dark and sexy, like couture hip hop."^[79][80][81] He appeared at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, performing the track "Lost in the World" from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.^[82] On January 6, 2011, Kanye announced via Twitter that the first official single from Watch the Throne would be a song called "H•A•M" produced by Lex Luger. The song was released on January 11, 2011.^[83]

On April 17, 2011, West closed the Coachella Festival with a headlining set that received glowing praise from fans and critics alike.^[84][85] On July 20, a track titled "Otis" from the album was released in the iTunes Store. It samples "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding.^[86] On October 19, 2011, via his Twitter, West announced plans for a Spring 2012 GOOD Music album release.^[87] On April 6, 2012, "Mercy", the lead single from the GOOD Music compilation album, Cruel Summer, was released.^[88] The song, produced by newly signed in-house producer Lifted, features West along with Big Sean, Pusha T and southern rapper 2 Chainz.^[89]

Other ventures[link]

Business ventures[link]

In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first was set to open in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, although the process is being finalized. His company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago.^[90] Additionally, West planned to launch his fashion career, and applied for internships with major European fashion houses.^[91] He was due to release his own clothing line called Past Tell in 2009. He also collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, Air Yeezys.

On January 22, 2009, during Paris Fashion Week, West introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton. The line was released in summer 2009.

On October 1, 2011, Kanye West premiered his women's fashion label, DW Kanye West^[92] at Paris Fashion Week. He received support from DSquared2 duo Dean and Dan Caten, Olivier Theyskens, Jeremy Scott, Azzedine Alaïa, and the Olsen twins, who were also in attendance during his show. His debut fashion show received mixed-to-negative reviews,^[93][94] ranging from reserved observations by Style.com^[95] to excoriating commentary by The Wall Street Journal,^[96] the New York Times,^[97] the International Herald Tribune, Elleuk.com, The Daily Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar and many others.^{[98][99][100]}

Philanthropy[link]

West started the "Kanye West Foundation" in Chicago in 2003. On August 24, 2007, West hosted the inaugural benefit concert to launch the foundation's partnership with Strong American Schools. It is focused on helping Latino and African American children stay in school and continue education through grade school, high school, and college. The foundation also helps children pursue music in school. West has contributed over $500,000 to his foundation. The foundation has also been called the "Donda West Foundation".

Kanye West has appeared and participated in many fundraisers, benefit concerts, and has done community work for Hurricane Katrina relief, the Kanye West Foundation, the Millions More Movement, 100 Black Men of America, a Live Earth concert benefit, World Water Day rally and march, Nike runs, and a MTV special helping young Iraq War veterans who struggle through debt and PTSD a second chance after returning home.^[101]

Musical style and influences[link]

West working in the studio with his mentor No I.D. (left)

At the start of his career, Kanye West's production style often used pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments.^[25] His first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was "This Can't Be Life", a track from Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his drums on "This Can't Be Life".^[24]

West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style,^[21][102] and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites, "Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time... We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that."^[103] RZA himself has spoken quite positively of the comparisons, stating in an interview for Rolling Stone, "All good. I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings... For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: 'Wu-Tang is forever.' Kanye is going to inspire people to be like him."^[104] After hearing his work on The Blueprint, RZA claimed that a torch-passing had occurred between him and West, saying, "The shoes gotta be filled. If you ain't gonna do it, somebody else is gonna do it. That's how I feel about rap today."^[104]

West accompanied by an eleven-piece chamber orchestra

While his use of sampling has lessened over time, West's production continues to feature distinctive and intricate string arrangements. This characteristic arose from him listening to the English trip hop group Portishead, whose 1998 live album Roseland NYC Live, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra inspired him to incorporate string sections into his hip hop production.^[2] Though he was unable to afford live instruments beyond violin riffs provided by Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari around the time of his debut album, its subsequent commercial success allowed him to hire his very own eleven-piece string orchestra. For a time, West stood as the sole current pop star to tour with a string section.^[2]

West has stated on several occasions that outside of work, he favors listening to rock music over hip-hop. He cites Franz Ferdinand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Killers as some of his favorite musical groups. Additionally, on Graduation, West drew inspiration from arena rock bands such as U2, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin for melody and chord progression.^[105] Both a fan and supporter of indie culture, West uses his official website to promote obscure indie rock bands, posting up music videos and mp3s on a daily basis.^[106] This musical affinity is mutual, as West has collaborated with indie artists such as Santigold, Peter Bjorn and John, and Lykke Li while his songs have gone on to be covered countless times by myriad rock bands.^[107]

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

Kanye West and designer Alexis Phifer ended their 18-month engagement in 2008. The couple had been dating on and off since 2002, with West eventually proposing in August 2006. According to a friend, the couple's relationship had become increasingly strained, burdened by the sheer amount of time and attention West was dedicating to his current concert tour. "It's always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends," Phifer told People.^[108]

West was also in a high profile on/off relationship with Amber Rose from 2008 until the summer of 2010. He is now reportedly dating reality star Kim Kardashian.^[109]

Mother's death[link]

Donda West in August 2007

On November 10, 2007, West's mother, Donda West, died of complications from cosmetic surgery involving abdominoplasty and breast reduction.^[110] TMZ reported that Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Andre Aboolian refused to do the surgery because Donda West had a health condition that placed her at risk for a heart attack.^[110] Aboolian referred her to an internist to investigate her cardiac issue.^[110] Donda never met with the doctor recommended by Aboolian and had the procedures performed by a third doctor, Jan Adams.^[110] She was 58 years old (1949–2007).

Adams sent condolences to Donda West's family but declined to publicly discuss the procedure because of confidentiality.^[111] He had previously been under scrutiny by the medical board.^{[112][113][114]} Adams appeared on Larry King Live on November 20, 2007 but left before speaking. Two days later, he appeared again, with his attorney, stating he was there to "defend himself." He said that the recently released autopsy results "spoke for themselves".^[115] The final coroner's report January 10, 2008 concluded that Donda West died of "coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors due to or as a consequence of liposuction and mammoplasty."^[116]

The funeral and burial for Donda West was held in Oklahoma City on November 20, 2007.^[117] West held his first concert following the funeral at The O2 in London on November 22. He dedicated a performance of "Hey Mama", as well as a cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", to his mother, and did so on all other dates of his Glow in the Dark tour.^[118]

At a December 2008 press conference in New Zealand, West spoke about his mother's death for the first time. "It was like losing an arm and a leg and trying to walk through that," he told reporters.^[119]

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger passed the "Donda West Law," a legislation which makes it mandatory for patients to provide medical clearance for elective cosmetic surgery.^[120]

Legal issues[link]

In December 2006, Robert "Evel" Knievel sued West for trademark infringement in West's video for "Touch the Sky." Knievel took issue with a "sexually charged video" in which West takes on the persona of "Evel Kanyevel" and attempts flying a rocket over a canyon. The suit filed in federal court claims infringement on his trademarked name and likeness. Knievel also claims the "vulgar and offensive" images depicted in the video damage his reputation. The suit seeks damages and to stop distribution of the video.^[121] West's attorneys argued that the music video amounted to satire and therefore was covered under the First Amendment. Just days before his death in November 2007, Knievel amicably settled the suit after being paid a visit from West, saying, "I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman."^[122]

On September 11, 2008, West and his road manager/bodyguard Don "Don C." Crowley were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport and booked on charges of felony vandalism after an altercation with the paparazzi in which West and Crowley broke the photographers' cameras.^[123][124] West was later released from the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division station in Culver City on $20,000 bail bond. On September 26, 2008 the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said it would not file felony counts against West over the incident. Instead the case file was forwarded to the city attorney's office, which charged West with one count of misdemeanor vandalism, one count of grand theft and one count of battery and his manager with three counts of each on March 18, 2009.^[125] West's and Crowley's arraignment was delayed from an original date of April 14, 2009.^[126]

West was arrested again on November 14, 2008 at the Hilton hotel near Gateshead after another scuffle involving a photographer outside the famous Tup Tup Palace nightclub in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He was later released "with no further action", according to a police spokesperson.^[127]

Controversies[link]

General media[link]

West has had several controversies throughout his career. On September 2, 2005, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief on NBC, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, West was a featured speaker. When West was presenting alongside actor Mike Myers, he deviated from the prepared script. Myers spoke next and continued to read the script. Once it was West's turn to speak again, he said "George Bush doesn't care about black people." At this point, telethon producer Rick Kaplan cut off the microphone and then cut away to Chris Tucker, who was unaware of the cut for a few seconds. Still, West's comment reached much of the United States.^[128][129] Bush stated in an interview that the comment was "one of the most disgusting moments” of his presidency.^[130]

In January 2006, West again sparked controversy when he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in the image of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.^[131]

In November, 2010, in a taped interview with Matt Lauer for the Today Show, West expressed regret for his criticism of Bush. "I would tell George Bush in my moment of frustration, I didn't have the grounds to call him a racist," he told Lauer. "I believe that in a situation of high emotion like that we as human beings don't always choose the right words." The following day, Bush reacted to the apology in a live interview with Lauer saying he appreciated the rapper's remorse. "I'm not a hater," Bush said. "I don't hate Kanye West. I was talking about an environment in which people were willing to say things that hurt. Nobody wants to be called a racist if in your heart you believe in equality of races."

Reactions were mixed, but some felt that West had no need to apologize. "It was not the particulars of your words that mattered, it was the essence of a feeling of the insensitivity towards our communities that many of us have felt for far too long," noted Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons.^[132] Dr. Boyce Watkins said that West was, "now part of the establishment, where waffling on your principles is fully expected. Bush deserved no apology, for you don’t apologize to a criminal after repudiating him for an egregious crime.^[133] " Bush himself was receptive to the apology, saying, "I appreciate that. It wasn't just Kanye West who was talking like that during Katrina, I cited him as an example, I cited others as an example as well. You know, I appreciate that."^[134]

Award shows[link]

In 2004, West had his first of a number of incidents involving music award events. At the American Music Awards of 2004, West stormed out of the auditorium after losing Best New Artist to country singer Gretchen Wilson. He later commented, "I felt like I was definitely robbed [...] I was the best new artist this year."^[135] After the 2006 Grammy nominations were released, West said he would "really have a problem" if he did not win the Album of the Year, saying, "I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt – you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. I don't want to hear all of that politically correct stuff."^[136] On November 2, 2006, when his "Touch the Sky" failed to win Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and argued that he should have won the award instead.^[137][138] Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane.^[139] He later spoofed the incident in the season premiere of Saturday Night Live.

On September 9, 2007, West suggested that his race had to do with his being overlooked for opening the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right."^[140] West was performing at the event; that night, he lost all 5 awards that he was nominated for, including Best Male Artist and Video of the Year. After the show, he was visibly upset that he had lost at the VMAs two years in a row, stating that he would not come back to MTV ever again. He also appeared on several radio stations saying that when he made the song "Stronger" that it was his dream to open the VMAs with it. He has also stated that Spears has not had a hit in a long period of time and that MTV exploited her for ratings.^[141]

On September 13, 2009, during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me", West went on stage and grabbed the microphone to proclaim that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time". He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions.^{[142][143][144]} When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech.^[142] West was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst,^{[143][145][146][147][148]} and by President Barack Obama, who called West a "jackass".^{[149][150][151][152][153]} In addition, West's VMA disruption sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes with blogs, forums and "tweets" with the "Let you finish" photo-jokes.^[154] Subsequently, West posted two apologies for the outburst on his personal blog; one on the night of the incident and the other the same day he appeared on The Jay Leno Show, on September 14, 2009, where he apologized again.^[146][155] After Swift appeared on The View two days after the outburst, partly to discuss the matter, West called her to apologize personally. Swift said she accepted his apology.^{[156][157][158]} In September 2010, West wrote a series of apologetic tweets addressed to Swift including "Beyonce didn't need that. MTV didn't need that and Taylor and her family friends and fans definitely didn't want or need that" and concluding with "I'm sorry Taylor." West also revealed he had written a song for Swift and if she did not accept the song, he would perform it himself.^[159] However, on November 8, 2010, in an interview with a Minnesota radio station, West seemed to recant a bit of his past apologies by attempting to describe the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless" and downgrade the perception of disrespect it created.^[160][161]

Discography[link]

Solo Albums

• The College Dropout (2004)
• Late Registration (2005)
• Graduation (2007)
• 808s & Heartbreak (2008)
• My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

Collaborations

• Watch the Throne (2011) – with Jay-Z
• Cruel Summer (2012) – with GOOD Music artists^[87]

Filmography[link]

• We Were Once a Fairytale (2009)
• Runaway (2010)
• Cruel Summer (2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

Kanye West portal

References[link]