Vera Drake

Vera Drake is a 2004 British drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh, telling the story of a working-class woman in London in 1950 who performs illegal abortions. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and it was nominated for three Academy Awards and won three BAFTAs.

Plot

Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton) is devoted to her family, looking after her husband and children, her elderly mother, and a sick neighbour. Her shy daughter, Ethel (Alex Kelly), works in a lightbulb factory, and her son, Sid (Daniel Mays), tailors men's suits. Her husband, Stanley (Phil Davis), is a car mechanic. Although Vera and her family are poor, their strong family bonds hold them together. During her working day as a house cleaner, Vera performs constant small acts of kindness for the many people she encounters.

She is a kindly person who is eager to help others. Unknown to her family, she also works secretly, providing young women abortions. She receives no money for providing this service because she believes that her help is an act of charity to women in trouble. However, her partner Lily (Ruth Sheen), who also carries on a black-market trade in scarce postwar foodstuffs, charges two guineas (two pounds and two shillings: equivalent to £61 in 2016) for arranging the abortions, without Vera's knowledge.

Rae Sremmurd

Rae Sremmurd is an American hip hop duo, composed of two brothers, Khalif "Swae Lee" Brown (20 years old) and Aaquil "Slim Jimmy" Brown (22 years old). They are best known for their platinum singles "No Flex Zone" and "No Type"; the latter peaked at numbers 36 and 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100, respectively. They are based in Atlanta, Georgia. Their debut album SremmLife was released on January 6, 2015. The name "Rae Sremmurd" is derived from the duo's home label, EarDrummers, by spelling each word backwards. The two have drawn comparison to Kris Kross.

History

2013: Career beginnings

The duo had been working for several years under the moniker "Dem Outta St8 Boyz", producing music at home and playing at local parties in their mom's basement and bars respectively. Back then they went by the names Kid Krunk (Swae Lee), Caliboy (Slim Jimmy) and Lil Pantz who is no longer a part of the group. They used money from their part-time jobs to be able to partake in traveling and auditioning in contests. The boys performed as a trio with additional kid, Andre Harrys and appeared on television during the "Wild Out Wednesday" segment of BET's hip hop and R&B show 106 and Park. The trio appeared on the segment for a second time, in which they finished second place overall in the competition, and had also managed to have meetings with representatives from record labels Def Jam Recordings and Sony Music, although they were unable to sign a record deal.

Tyler Ward

Tyler Ray Ward is an American independent singer, writer and producer.

Personal life

Before Ward had an interest in music, he was focused on athletics. After graduating from high school, Ward enrolled at the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School, where he played football. Ward's temperament was incompatible with military discipline, however, and he dropped out.

Career

Ward has become a well-known artist in part through his use of social media, posting a mix of covers and originals on YouTube. Ward has successfully completed five worldwide headlining tours and has played shows with many mainstream artists including Switchfoot, The Beach Boys, Aloe Blacc, The Jonas Brothers, The Fray and many more. Through his music video career, Ward has performed and produced most of his early songs and many of the current ones in his parents' basement, which he later turned into a proper recording space. Nowadays, Ward produces most of his music on the road or in his Los Angeles recording studio. Ward was number five on Billboard's Top 100 Uncharted List and was also ranked on Billboard's Social 50 Chart for several weeks.

Bruno Mars

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), professionally known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and choreographer. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age and performed in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood. He graduated from high school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career. Mars produced songs for other artists, co-founding the production team The Smeezingtons.

Mars had an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, but then signed with Atlantic in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals to the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy, which were international successes, and for which he co-wrote the hooks. His debut studio album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010), was anchored by the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade", as well as the number-five single "The Lazy Song". His second album, Unorthodox Jukebox, released in 2012, peaked at number one in the United States. The album spawned the international singles "Locked Out of Heaven", "When I Was Your Man" and "Treasure".