Dawg

Dawg or DAWG may refer to:

See also

Entertainment

Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience, or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention. Although people's attention is held by different things, because individuals have different preferences in entertainment, most forms are recognisable and familiar. Storytelling, music, drama, dance, and different kinds of performance exist in all cultures, were supported in royal courts, developed into sophisticated forms and over time became available to all citizens. The process has been accelerated in modern times by an entertainment industry which records and sells entertainment products. Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale, ranging from an individual who chooses a private entertainment from a now enormous array of pre-recorded products; to a banquet adapted for two; to any size or type of party, with appropriate music and dance; to performances intended for thousands; and even for a global audience.

Top

A top is a toy designed to be spun rapidly on the ground, the motion of which causes it to remain precisely balanced on its tip because of inertia. Such toys have existed since antiquity. Traditionally tops were constructed of wood, sometimes with an iron tip, and would be set in motion by aid of a string or rope coiled around its axis which, when pulled quickly, caused a rapid unwinding that would set the top in motion. Today they are often built of plastic, and modern materials and manufacturing processes allow tops to be constructed with such precise balance that they can be set in motion by a simple twist of the fingers and twirl of the wrist without need for string or rope.

Characteristics

The motion of a top is produced in the most simple forms by twirling the stem using the fingers. More sophisticated tops are spun by holding the axis firmly while pulling a string or twisting a stick or pushing an auger. In the kinds with an auger, an internal weight rotates, producing an overall circular motion. Some tops can be thrown, while firmly grasping a string that had been tightly wound around the stem, and the centrifugal force generated by the unwinding motion of the string will set them spinning upon touching ground.

Top Dawg Entertainment

Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by chief executive officer (CEO) Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Dave "Miyatola" Free is the president of TDE. There are currently seven artists signed to the label, SZA, Isaiah Rashad and including the flagship artists, Black Hippy members Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul. The label also houses a production division that includes Digi+Phonics, THC and King Blue.

History

1997–2009

In 1997, Anthony Tiffith began managing producers, who had produced for rappers such as The Game and Juvenile, among others. In 2003, Tiffith found a then 15-year-old Kendrick Lamar, a Compton native, who at the time went by K-Dot and had just released his first mixtape, which gained recognition and earned the young rapper a buzz in his local area. Tiffith saw so much potential in Lamar, he signed him off the strength of his first mixtape. It wasn't until 2005 that TDE started to gain success with another California-based rapper, Watts' own Jay Rock. Following Rock's signing, TDE signed joint venture deals with Warner Bros. and later Asylum Records. However, following the merger, TDE began planning an exit strategy after the labels failed to handle Rock's debut Follow Me Home properly.

Jay Rock

Johnny Reed McKinzie, Jr., (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American hip hop recording artist from Watts, Los Angeles, California. Jay Rock grew up in Watts, Los Angeles, known for its low income, as well as its gang and drug infested streets. Rock ultimately chose to take rapping over street life, after Anthony Tiffith, CEO of indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), found Rock in 2005 and signed him to his label. In 2007, alongside TDE, Rock secured a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records and later Asylum Records, but after both mergers fell through, the label linked up with Strange Music, after Tech N9ne, Missouri-based rapper and founder of the label met with them and offered Rock a record deal.

Since 2006, Rock has released several mixtapes and is perhaps best known for his 2008 commercial debut single, "All My Life (In the Ghetto)", which features fellow American rappers Lil Wayne and will.i.am. Apart from his solo career, Rock is also known for being a member of the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside fellow West Coast rappers and TDE label-mates Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul. In 2011, after signing his joint-venture deal with Strange Music, Rock's often-delayed and long-awaited debut studio album, Follow Me Home, was released in July of that year. The album was supported by the singles "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" and "Hood Gone Love It".