Ghetto Supastar

Ghetto Supastar is the debut solo studio album by former Fugees member and American rapper Pras. The album was released on October 6, 1998, a week after the release of the third single, Blue Angels.

Background

The album was released by Ruffhouse Records. The album debuted at number fifty-five on the official US Billboard 200 album chart, and number thirty-five on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album, which included the title track, features a rap by Ol' Dirty Bastard and additional vocals by R&B singer Mýa, became a worldwide hit, and Pras' biggest hit to date as a solo artist, reaching number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100, and reaching number one in eight countries, as well as reaching the top five in five countries as well, including the United Kingdom. The title track received a nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 41st Grammy Awards. Originally, What'cha Wanna Do was due to be released as the album's third single on September 28, 1998. However, at the last minute, the released was replaced with Blue Angels. Some copies of the single were made available accidentally.

Ol' Dirty Bastard

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Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known under his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (or ODB), was an American rapper and producer. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily from Staten Island, New York which first rose to mainstream prominence with their 1993 debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

After establishing the Wu-Tang Clan, Ol' Dirty Bastard went on to pursue a successful solo career and contributed as a rapper/producer for the Fugees. However, his professional success was hampered by frequent legal troubles, including incarceration. He died on November 13, 2004, of a drug overdose, two days before his 36th birthday. Before his death, Jones managed to record his third solo album, which remains unreleased.

Jones was often noted for his trademark microphone techniques and his "outrageously profane, free-associative rhymes delivered in a distinctive half-rapped, half-sung style". His stage name was derived from the 1980 martial arts film Ol' Dirty and the Bastard (also called An Old Kung Fu Master, starring Simon "Ol' Dirty" Yuen);Method Man articulated its relevance on track 5 of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), stating there was "no father to his style".

Ghetto

A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure. The term was originally used in Venice to describe the part of the city to which Jews were restricted and segregated.

Etymology

The English word ghetto comes from the Jewish area of Venice, the Venetian Ghetto in Cannaregio. However, there is no agreement among etymologists about the origins of the Venetian language term. The Oxford University Press etymologist Anatoly Liberman considers that all the proposed etymologies for the Venetian name are wrong, and suggests a possible connection with German Gasse, Swedish Gata, Gothic Gatwo, meaning street. Among the theories that Liberman rejects are the following: getto (foundry), as ge- and ghe- have very different pronunciations in Italy, and the area would logically have been called "getti", foundries, in the plural; borghetto, diminutive of borgo, meaning little town, a nonspecific term; and the Hebrew word get, a divorce document, with no connection to "a place of forced separation".

Superstar

Superstar is a term used to refer to a celebrity who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent or successful in some field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, actresses, musicians, athletes, and other media-based professions. Particularly notable superstars now receive the appellation "megastar".

Origin of term

The origin of the term in the context of celebrity is uncertain, but a similar expression is attested in The Cricketers of My Time, a famous cricket book by John Nyren about the Hambledon Club. Writing in 1832, Nyren described the outstanding 18th-century batsman John Small as "a star of the first magnitude".

The earliest use of the term "superstar" has been credited to Frank Patrick in reference to the great hockey players on his Vancouver Millionaires teams of the 1910s-1920s, specifically Cyclone Taylor.

The term was later used in the 1960s by Andy Warhol: "A friend of mine named Ingrid from New Jersey came up with a new last name, just right for her new, loosely defined show-business career. She called herself "Ingrid Superstar." I'm positive Ingrid invented that word. At least, I invite anyone with "superstar" clippings that predate Ingrid's to show them to me. The more parties we went to, the more they wrote her name in the papers, Ingrid Superstar, and "superstar" was starting its media run. Ingrid called me a few weeks ago. She's operating a sewing machine now. But her name is still going. It seems incredible, doesn't it?" (Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol)

Bohemia After Dark

Bohemia After Dark is an album by jazz drummer Kenny Clarke, featuring the earliest recordings by Cannonball Adderley and Nat Adderley, produced for the Savoy label. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "Although drummer Kenny Clarke is the nominal leader and the other sidemen include trumpeter Donald Byrd, Jerome Richardson on tenor and flute, pianist Horace Silver and bassist Paul Chambers, the impressive performance by the young Adderleys makes this a historic session that has often been reissued under Cannonball's name".

Track listing

Personnel