Rye Rye

Ryeisha Berrain (born November 25, 1990), known by her stage name Rye Rye, is an American rapper, singer, dancer and actress. Signed to N.E.E.T. Recordings, she released Go! Pop! Bang! on May 15, 2012. In early 2009, MSNBC listed Rye Rye as one of the "5Top: Top of the pops! Up-and coming young singers." In 2011, Rye Rye was named one of Billboard 's "21 Under 21". Rye Rye made her acting debut in the 2012 film 21 Jump Street.

Career

Early career

Rye Rye began performing at the age of 16. She wanted to join the music industry because she felt there was potential there, adding "I love performing, singing, dancing, all of that and I felt that given the opportunity I would destroy it."

She met the musician Blaqstarr, a friend of her sister's, and worked with him on her early material after leaving a rap verse on his answering machine. On this process she notes "I used to like to write poetry and stories. One day I was home, bored, and started to compose songs."

Her song "Shake It To The Ground," produced in collaboration with Blaqstarr, was a club hit in 2006, leading to local speculation that Rye Rye could be a fresh, new female success within hip hop music. A meeting between Rye Rye, M.I.A. and Diplo in a studio in 2006/2007 was arranged by Blaqstarr after the song caught M.I.A.'s attention. Blaqstarr told Rye Rye somebody wanted to meet her, but refused to say more. Although upon meeting them Rye Rye did not know who they were, M.I.A. told the rapper that she had been looking for her. At the time, Rye Rye was in her junior year at Dr. Samuel L. Banks High School. She toured with M.I.A. during the KALA Tour in fall and winter of 2007, which included opening for her during the CMJ Music Marathon and dates in the United Kingdom in 2007, the People Vs. Money Tour in early 2008 and briefly with Afrikan Boy. They both appeared in M.I.A.'s 2007 music video for the song "Paper Planes."

Interscope Records

Interscope Records is an American record label. It is a division of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, whose parent company is the Universal Music Group, a subsidiary of Vivendi S.A.

Interscope was founded in 1989 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Time Warner's Atlantic Records. At the time, it differed from most record companies by giving decision-making authority to its A&R staff, and allowing artists and producers complete creative control. It had its first hit records less than a year after it was founded and achieved profitability in 1993.

In 1992, Interscope acquired the exclusive rights to market and distribute the hardcore rap label Death Row. Albums by Death Row artists including 2Pac, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Doggy Dogg were at the center of the mid-'90s gangsta rap controversy, and as a result, Time Warner severed ties with Interscope by selling its 50 percent stake back to Field and Iovine for $115 million in 1995. In 1996, 50% of the label was acquired by the MCA Music Entertainment Group for a reported $200 million.

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie in marketing campaigns that allow them to become more than just a song. Tie ins and merchandising could be used in toys are marketing campaigns for food and other products. Although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they came into prominence in the 1980s when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these works were described by various terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional clip", "promotional video", "song video", "song clip" or "film clip". Since the creation and increased popularity of YouTube, mainstream artists now promote new music videos by releasing trailers of short promos on the site for their upcoming song and music video. Consequentially, YouTube has been converted into a social media platform for celebrities and artists to market themselves to their fans and audiences.

Blaqstarr

Charles Smith (born September 30, 1985), better known as Blaqstarr or DJ Blaqstarr, is a Baltimore, Maryland area rapper, singer, producer and DJ. He is best known for his work with M.I.A..

Biography

Blaqstarr had local success in the early 2000s with the songs "Get My Gun", "Ryda Girl", "Jiggle It", "Hands Up Thumbs Down" and "Feel It In the Air", released via Starr Productions. In 2005, he contributed songs such as "Tote It" to the album Operation Playtime and the songs "Supastarr" and "So Horney" to the album Baltimore Club 9. In December 2005, M.I.A. travelled to America to work with Blaqstarr on her second album, telling The Observer, "I arrived at 9 am and he'd been arrested at seven; he was still up from the night before. That's his studio, and it's got a washer-dryer in the back and a sofa bed, that's his whole set-up; that's why he doesn't make it out of Baltimore." "Shake It to The Ground" featured Rye Rye, an affiliate of Blaqstarr's in Baltimore, became a club hit in 2006. Blaqstarr introduced Rye Rye to M.I.A. after the singer asked for a meeting, leading to both touring with the artist and collaborations on her album Kala which lead to wide recognition. His EP Supastarr was released, its first single being the rereleased "Shake It To the Ground" for which a music video was made, and another EP, titled Shake It To the Ground was also released in 2007.