J. Holiday

Nahum Thorton Grymes (born November 29, 1984), better known by his stage name J. Holiday, is a Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, rapper and actor. He came into prominence in 2007 with his breakthrough hit "Bed", peaking at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Holliday released his debut album, Back of My Lac', in October 2007. The album was originally supposed to be released in late 2006, but it was pushed back to put some finishing touches on the album. Despite the delay in the album's release, it was still able to peak at number five on the US music charts. The album would also hit number 32 in the United Kingdom. Back of My Lac' has sold just over 700,000 copies worldwide. The album would also deliver J. Holliday his only Grammy nomination when it was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album in 2009. His second album, Round 2 was released in March 2009.

After the undergoing of label changes and several release delays, Holliday would finally release his third album, Guilty Conscience in January 2014. While the five year delay between albums would not hurt the quality of the music, it would only hinder the sales. The album would only manage to peak at number 42 on the US music charts.

Death of Eric Garner

On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died in Staten Island, New York City, after a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer put him in what has been described as a chokehold for about 15 to 19 seconds while arresting him. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office attributed Garner's death to a combination of a chokehold, compression of his chest, and poor health. NYPD policy prohibits the use of chokeholds, and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA), a NYPD police union, said that the officer did not use a chokehold.

NYPD officers approached Garner on suspicion of selling "loosies" (single cigarettes) from packs without tax stamps. After Garner told the police that he was tired of being harassed and that he was not selling cigarettes, the officers went to arrest Garner. When officer Daniel Pantaleo took Garner's wrist behind his back, Garner swatted his arms away. Pantaleo then put his arm around Garner's neck and pulled him backwards and down onto the ground. After Pantaleo removed his arm from Garner's neck, he pushed Garner's face into the ground while four officers moved to restrain Garner, who repeated "I can't breathe" eleven times while lying facedown on the sidewalk. After Garner lost consciousness, officers turned him onto his side to ease his breathing. Garner remained lying on the sidewalk for seven minutes while the officers waited for an ambulance to arrive. The officers and EMTs did not perform CPR on Garner at the scene; according to a spokesman for the PBA, this was because they believed that Garner was breathing and that it would be improper to perform CPR on someone who was still breathing. He was pronounced dead at the hospital approximately one hour later.

Holiday

A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tradition of cultural or religious significance. Holidays may be designated by governments, religious institutions, or other groups or organizations. The degree to which normal activities are reduced by a holiday may depend on local laws, customs, the type of job being held or even personal choices.

The concept of holidays has most often originated in connection with religious observances. The intention of a holiday was typically to allow individuals to tend to religious duties associated with important dates on the calendar. In most modern societies, however, holidays serve as much of a recreational function as any other weekend days or activities.

In many societies there are important distinctions between holidays designated by governments and holidays designated by religious institutions. For example, in many predominantly Christian nations, government-designed holidays may center on Christian holidays, though non-Christians may instead observe religious holidays associated with their faith. In some cases, a holiday may only be nominally observed. For example, many Jews in the Americas and Europe treat the relatively minor Jewish holiday of Hanukkah as a "working holiday", changing very little of their daily routines for this day.

I Won't Tell

"I Won't Tell" is a song by American rapper Fat Joe. It was released as the first single of his eight album The Elephant in the Room (2008), and features R&B singer J. Holiday. It was released on November 8, 2007 on Fat Joe's MySpace page. It was released through iTunes on December 4, 2007. The song received a mixed reception from critics. "I Won't Tell" peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Joe his fifth top 40 hit on that chart. It also peaked at numbers 3 and 12 on the Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts respectively. The accompanying music video for the single was directed by Gil Green.

Critical reception

"I Won't Tell" received mixed reviews from music critics. Reviewing the album, David Jeffries of AllMusic praised the song for being one of the album's better radio singles that bring "sweet relief." Jesal Padania of RapReviews found the lyrics middling but praised J. Holiday's appearance and The Hitmen's production for being soothing.HipHopDX staff writer Mcooper criticized the song along with "You Ain't Sayin Nothin'" for targeting mainstream radio, saying that, "These songs find Joe short on creativity, but eager for radio spins."

Fat Joe

Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He is also the CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad.

Fat Joe's debut album was Represent, released in 1993, followed by Jealous One's Envy in 1995. From 1998 to 2006, he was signed to Atlantic Records, releasing four albums under the label, Don Cartagena in 1998, Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) in 2001, Loyalty in 2002, and All or Nothing in 2005. Around the release of All or Nothing, Fat Joe became involved in a highly publicized feud with another New York City-based rapper 50 Cent, who attacked Fat Joe in his song "Piggy Bank". His most popular song in which he performed was his Remy Ma duet "Lean Back" with Terror Squad. The song was a number-one hit in the summer of 2004.

Starting in 2006, when his album Me, Myself, & I was released, Fat Joe was signed to Imperial Records, which distributes through Terror Squad Entertainment. His follow up album was The Elephant in the Room, which was released in 2008; Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2), the sequel to Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.), was released in October 2009. His tenth album The Darkside Vol. 1 was released on July 27, 2010.