Best Rapper Alive

Jay Z Interview, American Gangster

2008-01-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

Jay Z Interview, American Gangster

Nas - If I Ruled The World Music Video

2008-01-06T15:48:00.001-08:00

Nas - If I Ruled The World Music Video

T.I You Know What It Is Music Video

2008-01-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

You know what it is - T.I New Album 2007

Young Jeezy I Luv It Music Video

2008-01-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

Young Jeezy I Luv It

100 Million Dollars Video Rick Ross Jeezy Lil Wayne Birdman

2008-01-02T09:28:00.001-08:00

100 Million Dollars Video Rick Ross Jeezy Lil Wayne Birdman

Pimp C, Found Dead At 33 In California

2007-12-05T10:03:00.000-08:00

Behind his macho rapper persona, Chad "Pimp C" Butler was really just a big teddy bear who loved a good joke, his family and friends said.
But on stage, the serious young man from Port Arthur was one of the most formidable forces in Southern rap music, according to music critics.

Butler, 33, was found dead Tuesday morning in a Hollywood hotel room, according to Associated Press reports.

Cause of death had yet to be determined, Butler's mother, Weslyn "Mama Wes" Monroe said.

The Houston Chronicle reported that Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide detectives were investigating.

The body likely would be examined today at the county coroner's office, but a ruling was not expected, the paper reported.

In a statement released by Butler's publicist, manager Rick Martin asked "that everyone please respect his family and those close to him at this time and refrain from rumors and innuendo."

As part of the duo the Underground Kingz, Butler and fellow Port Arthur resident Bernard "Bun B" Freeman brought a Southern drawl and a molasses-slow sensibility to rap music, previously dominated by fast-talking urban artists.

"Pimp C's voice liberated the whole South because he sounded like the South," music journalist Matt Sonzala said by phone from Houston. "He sounded like a country dude ... Pimp C is the basis for all Southern rap."

Sonzala said in his travels from the East to West coasts and everywhere in between, Pimp C and UGK were overwhelmingly cited as an influence.

"They were the freakin' cornerstone of the whole thing."

However, Butler's career took a detour in 2002 when he did a three-year stint in prison on weapons charges.

In a 2005 interview shortly before his release, Butler told The Enterprise that fame and money swept him into a spiral of booze and drugs.

"I don't blame anyone for me being here," he said in 2005. "I created an atmosphere where either I was going to hurt somebody or somebody was going to hurt me."

But in prison, Butler learned the importance of thinking things through before acting.

He earned a GED, worked in the prison library and focused "on being a better man today than I was yesterday."

Monroe said her son had emerged more focused, disciplined and responsible.

But maturity didn't dull his creative edge.

"He was the man," Sonzala said. "His actions spoke more than his crazy words. He put it out there; he worked; he made the most of his music career."

And prison didn't put a damper on that career.

If anything, incarceration made Butler a cause célèbre, rallying his fans.

"'Free Pimp C' was the catch phrase of the new millennium," Sonzala said.

Perhaps comparisons to Janis Joplin are inevitable.

Like Joplin, Butler grew up in the gritty refinery town of Port Arthur.

Like Joplin, his talent and drive lifted him to glittering heights that weren't always what they seemed. And like Joplin, Butler died alone in a hotel room far from home.

"They lost somebody," Sonzala said of the rap community. "They lost one of their main mentors. This dude would rap with everybody from the East Coast to the West Coast. From Jay-Z down to dudes from PA and all through the Triangle."

His rap persona, Pimp C, was flamboyant, outspoken and edgy.

But back in Port Arthur, Butler was more commonly known as a friend, a neighbor, a son and a daddy.

At the church he attended when he was at home, he was the guy who went around hugging everyone.

Butler's roots went deep into the Southeast Texas soil.

"He loved Port Arthur intensely," his mother said.

The two spoke by phone last week.

Monroe said Butler was in high spirits, excited about his latest project, collaboration with Three 6 Mafia.

"He was in L.A., doing what he loved most," she said.

Monroe said another part of Butler people didn't always pick up on was his intellect.

When he was in kindergarten, he was already working several grades above his age group. Advertisement

But he wasn't interested in academics. From his earliest childhood, music was his passion.

"He used to sing himself to sleep before he could even speak," Monroe said.

Butler's father, Joe Butler, was a professional trumpet player, and his son grew musically on a diet of blues, R&B, jazz and soul.

The Rev. John Morgan, pastor of United Christian Fellowship, said another side of Butler most people probably didn't see behind the rapper persona was his faith.

"He was a real guy - a loving father and he loved the Lord," Morgan said. "Behind the scenes he was just an everyday, down-to-earth nice guy and it was a pleasure knowing him. I'm really going to miss him."

Arrangements had not yet been made for Butler's funeral, his mother said.
South Eastt Exaslive - Pimp C Death

Snoop Dogg Sensual Seduction

2007-12-05T09:49:00.000-08:00

Snoop Dogg Sensual Seduction Music Video

LiL Wayne Engaged To Lauren London?

2007-12-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

Friday, 30 November 2007
Rumors have been circulating around the internet today about Lil Wayne allegedly proposing to actress Lauren London (ATL, Entourage). Just days after photos of the two at a basketball game popped up , Bossip.com has reportedly confirmed that the two are now engaged. The gossip site had this to say:“A highly placed source close to actress Lauren London exclusively tells Bossip Lil Wayne recently slapped a ‘huge rock’ on her finger and the two are engaged. The source tells Bossip ‘they have been on and off for years and have had an open relationship. Lauren is very hood and likes thugs.’”
Written by Jason
Rap Basement - Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne

2007-11-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

Lil Wayne
Tha Carter
Tha Carter 2
Like Father Like Son

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper.

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born to Jacida "Cita" Carter who at the time of his birth was 19, graduating from high school and involved in an abusive relationship with his biological father Dwayne Michael Turner who soon after abandoned the family. Jacida later became involved with Reginald "Rabbit" McDonald who moved the family from Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans' 17th Ward to East New Orleans. It was around the time of the move that Carter began to get deeper involved in rap music, signing with Cash Money at the age of 11. A year after his move to East New Orleans, Carter accidentally shot himself in the chest with McDonald's .44 Taurus Magnum, he would subsequently be on life support for two weeks. A year later Jacinda would demand Carter stay away from Brian "Baby" Williams, having gone to school with his older brother Ronald "Slim" Williams, both founders of Cash Money Records. The separation would only last a year, as Carter returned to Cash Money after the death of Reginald McDonald on March 7, 1997. [1]

At the age of 16 Wayne had a daughter with Antonia "Toya", his high school sweet heart, Reginae Carter.[1]

Lil Wayne later enrolled and is currently attending the University of Houston in Houston, Texas since early 2005, where he is majoring in political science. [2] According to the Cash Money Records website, Wayne later switched his major to psychology. [3][1]

Rap foundation
Wayne's first contact with hip-hop was listening to local Cash Money Records artists like Pimp Daddy and U.N.L.V., whom he would later credit as his earliest influences. Wayne began rapping at block parties as a child. His performance at one of the parties caught the ear of Lil Slim, a Cash Money rapper from the neighborhood, who gave Lil Wayne his phone number. He went on an autograph-signing session with Lil Slim, and there met Cash Money Records owners, "Baby" and "Slim". His free styling abilities impressed the Williams brothers, but they were reluctant to sign him. Eleven-year-old Wayne started to record freestyles on Baby's answering machine and would frequently visit Cash Money offices. When Baby saw so much engagement in the young rapper, he signed him. Wayne later was hooked up with another newcomer, Lil' Doogie (who would later become as famous as B.G.), to form The B.G.'z. The group released their first and only album, True Story, in 1995.

In 1997, Wayne formed the Hot Boys along with Juvenile, Turk, and B.G., and they released their seminal debut CD Get It How You Live. The record's success earned fans throughout the South and Midwest. He further distinguished himself on the Hot Boys' multi platinum-selling Universal debut, Guerrilla Warfare, which was released in 1998 and was followed by their 2003 release, Let Em Burn.

Other Groups
Recently Wayne was recruited by the Boyz N Da Hood as their fourth member after Young Jeezy left the group to pursue his solo career. He would never be formally named an active member of Boyz N Da Hood due to scheduling conflicts involving the promotion of Tha Carter II.

Solo career
Wayne launched his solo career in 1999, with Tha Block Is Hot. Wayne later followed up his successful debut with the Gold selling albums Lights Out in 2000 and 500 Degreez in 2002, a reference to Juvenile's 400 Degreez. In the summer of 2004 Wayne released Tha Carter. Often cited as a highlight of his career, Tha Carter gained Wayne significant recognition, selling 878,000 copies in the United States.[citation needed] On December 6, 2005, Wayne released Tha Carter II. The album was notably lacking the prominent beats of Mannie Fresh. Tha Carter II sold more than 238,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. The lead single, "Fireman", became a hit in the US, peaking at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single, "Grown Man", failed to receive any attention. The third single "Hustler Musik" received a video and gained moderate airplay.

Rumors
Lil Wayne has been linked to female rapper Trina. They recorded a single, Don't Trip, which appeared on her album Glamorest Life, and appeared on the remix for Remy Ma's "Conceited" with Papoose and Jae Millz.

Feuds

B.G.
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In 2001, B.G. left Cash Money Records because the label did not give him royalties over his deal.

B.G.'s beef was primarily with Baby, and his second Chopper City Records album Life After Cash Money is full of subliminal disses towards Baby. However, he was still on good terms with Lil' Wayne, until Wayne (over disgust from his Hot Boys tribute "I Miss My Dawgs" from Tha Carter being dismissed as a publicity stunt by Juvenile) made his controversial comment "Fuck everybody who left Cash Money...I ain't got no respect for none of 'em." In response, B.G. recorded the diss track "Triggaman" (set to the beat of Wayne's Fireman) where he makes several disparaging comments about Wayne including "First you were Rabbit's son, now you Birdman's J-R/How you gonna tell your daughter she got three grandfathers?" and "First it was Nivea, now you and Trina engaged/I got three homies that seen me nut it in her face" (Wayne was linked with Trina at the time). That track would lead the beef to be extended, as Trina released the mixtape track "What's Beef?" where along with dissing her own rival Khia, she dissed B.G. and Gillie Da Kid. In that track, she dissed him with the line "You's a Cash Money Reject, a 9th Ward Soldier/Keep fuckin with that boy, you gon' end up in a coma." B.G. responded (along with Chopper City Boy VL Mike) on the mixtape track "Cannon Bust Back" where VL Mike dissed Trina saying:

Keep Geezy's name out your mouth, we don't want beef with no bitch
If that nigga ain't satisfyin' you can suck my dick
You crossed that line hoe, you got problems with me
And if that nigga say my name he ain't allowed to speak

However, B.G. reserved his disses for Wayne, merely saying "Got a big ol' dick peekin' at your bitch..." Wayne would break up with Trina soon after B.G.'s diss was recorded.

Soon after that, Birdman's sister Tamara Williams was killed in a car accident.[citation needed] B.G. called in at a radio station to send his condolences, as Tamara had history with B.G. Birdman would respond by saying he accepted, and was willing to set aside all the beef, to which B.G. responded that although he's no longer on Cash Money, he can still sympathize with Birdman's problems, thus ending the long beef between B.G. and Cash Money Records.

However, he still has problems with Lil' Wayne, as he described on BET's Rap City, where he says "Who? Oh oh Jim Jones, Jr.? Ha ha nah, I know who you're talkin about. Now as a rapper, shawty holdin it down. I can't take nothin from shawty. He's one of the hottest lyricist out here. But as a man - nah he isn' a man - Wayne can't speak for himself."

Recently, Lil Wayne and B.G. have appeared in a photo together. Their beef is believed to be over. They both have said there former group will be reunited and album will be released in 2008.

Gillie Da kid
A degree of controversy has arisen surrounding Lil Wayne's lyrics, mostly due to another rapper, Gillie Da Kid, claiming that he has written some of Lil Wayne's material.[citation needed] This has neither been confirmed nor disproved, although both Wayne and Gillie remain firm in their views. Members of the Hot Boys & Squad Up (Lil Wayne's old "crew") have previously stated that Lil Wayne has never needed a ghost writer. Lil Wayne can be seen wearing a diamond-studded pendant belonging to Gillie in one of his music videos [citation needed], although this does not necessarily have any correlation with the ghostwriting issue. Wayne also addresses his situation with Gillie on multiple tracks throughout Da Drought 3. During their dispute, Gillie also alleged that Lil Wayne may have been molested at a young age by his mentor Baby[4][not in citation given]. This was in reference to the photo released in November of 2006, which showed the two rappers exchanging a kiss.

Constantly being accused of having a ghostwriter for his most critically acclaimed albums, Tha Carter, and Tha Carter II, Wayne attempts to dispel the rumors in this quote directed at Gillie:[citation needed]

I don’t get it. How you could write for me and I don’t write? I’m rich as a motherfucker, and you wrote for me? Then why aren’t you rich? If I wrote for a nigga and this nigga’s on top of the world right now, I’d be like, “Where’s my fuckin’ money? Where’s my benefits?” I heard this nigga do an interview and say he got like $30 thousand a song. Show me one of them $30 thousand checks you got from writing for me. Show me, ’cause I don’t know what you wrote for me. I don’t write nothing, dawg. The only time I touch the pad is for someone else.

Gillie responded by saying:

Not for Carter 2," Gillie laughed. "I wasn't around for Tha Carter 2. Give all the credit to Lil Wayne for that. But it was a whole lot of things going down for Carter 1. Holla at your boy, Wayne.

Young Buck
Young Buck left Cash Money Records the same time Juvenile did and joined UTP Records. Young Buck was unable to record with Cash Money and Juvenile persuaded Buck to join him. Young Buck became involved with the beef between Juvenile/BG & Lil Wayne. Recently in a song called "Off Parole" featuring Tony Yayo, Young Buck talked about the infamous kiss between Lil Wayne & Baby. Lil Wayne refused to say anything back. Young Buck would seemingly expand the feud by making threats of exposing Lil Wayne during a G-Unit appearance on Rap City.

President Bush
Wayne addresses President George W. Bush because of his delayed reaction on the Hurricane Katrina tragedy. He has a song entitled "Georgia Bush" and in "I Can't Feel My Face (Hard Body)" Wayne says, "Fuck you and fuck Georgia Bush, not Macon."
Wikipedia- Lil Wayne

Young Jeezy

2007-11-22T21:16:00.000-08:00

Young Jeezy
Jay Jenkins (born September 28, 1977) better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He was formerly known as "Lil' J" in his early rap career.

Biography

Early life
Jay Jenkins was born in Columbia, South Carolina. As an infant Jenkins and his family relocated to Duncan Block, a neighborhood in Macon, Georgia (75 miles south of Atlanta). He eventually moved to West Atlanta's 4th Ward between late 1999 and early 2000.

Jeezy has described his childhood as "empty"[1]. He has made innumerable references in his music to his previous occupation as a cocaine dealer, although he rarely provides details of his childhood in interviews. Also, according to his lyrics, which may or may not be factual, he has or had an uncle named Grady. This portion of his life, as is often the case with rappers, remains highly veiled and subject to much exaggeration in order to increase his street reputation. However, there is no doubt that Young Jeezy was involved at least to some degree in the illegal cocaine trade, and he is affiliated somehow with the slightly defunct Black Mafia Family.

Personal life
Young Jeezy has a 10 year old son who is often mentioned in his lyrics, along with his son's mother, who is not on good terms with Jeezy. He was arrested after an alleged shootout involving some of his friends in Miami Beach, Florida on Sunday, March 12, 2006. He was charged with two counts of carrying a concealed firearm without a permit, however, he was acquitted over lack of evidence.[2] Though many people believed he is related to fellow rapper Yung Joc, he cleared the rumor up by telling the media that he is not related to the fellow Atlanta rapper, though they are friends. Both rappers are known for their slow, southern flow.[3] After Hurricane Katrina, Young Jeezy opened his house to the victims in an effort to help them have a place to stay.[4]

In the early hours of the morning on September 29th, 2007, Young Jeezy totaled his Lamborghini when it was hit by a taxi crossing Peachtree Street, outside of Justin's, Sean Comb's restaurant in Atlanta. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported his claim that this gave him "a new appreciation for life."[5]

Music
Young Jeezy released his first independent album, Thuggin' Under the Influence (T.U.I.), in 2001 under the name Lil J.[6] It featured artists such as Kinky B, Fidank, and Lil Jon, who also produced some of the tracks. In 2003, Jeezy released (also independently) Come Shop Wit' Me, a two CD set featuring completely new tracks along with some songs from T.U.I. Come Shop Wit' Me sold 50000 copies world wide.[7] In 2004, he signed with Bad Boy Records and joined the Boyz n da Hood group. Boyz n da Hood's self-titled album was released on June 21, 2005 and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Young Jeezy also released a solo album around this time, which was his major label debut, with Def Jam Records. Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 was released on July 26, 2005 and debuted at #2, selling 172,000 copies in its first week. Guest appearances include Young Buck, T.I., Trick Daddy, Akon, Mannie Fresh, Lil Scrappy, Bun B, Lloyd, Slick Pulla, & Lil Will.[8] In interviews and on several records, Young Jeezy has affirmed his resistance to commercialism in his music.[9] Maintaining his street credibility, according to Jeezy, is of the utmost concern to him as an artist.[10] In 2005, Young Jeezy was featured in several popular hip-hop songs including Gucci Mane's "Icy"[11] and Boyz n da Hood's "Dem Niggaz". In 2006, he was featured in Christina Milian's single "Say I". Jeezy's second major label album is The Inspiration, which features Project Pat, T.I., Keyshia Cole, Three 6 Mafia, R. Kelly, Bloodraw and Slick Pulla (the latter two of which are members of Jeezy's rap group USDA). The album's first single "I Luv It" has peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Jeezy's second highest single to date. The second single is "Bury Me a G". The 3rd single is the club banger "Go Getta" which features R. Kelly. Young Jeezy's "I am the Street Dream" tour started in March of 2007. He also appeared as himself in the hip-hop fighting themed game Def Jam: Icon that can be added to the player's record label. Young Jeezy appeared on BET's Access Granted for his song "Dreamin" with Keyshia Cole on May 2, 2007 at 7:30PM

In 2007, Young Jeezy released Cold Summer: The Authorized Mixtape, an album under rap group USDA which consists of Young Jeezy, Slick Pulla, and Blood Raw.

Controversy
Young Jeezy partially wrote and performed on Gucci Mane's hit single, "Icy". Supposedly, Jeezy was never paid properly for his services. Those in Gucci Mane's camp have suggested that gang members from the Mechanisville area attacked Gucci Mane to defend Young Jeezy's honor.[12] Young Jeezy put out a track called "Stay Strapped" dissing Gucci Mane to the beat of T.I.'s song "A.S.A.P." Young Jeezy took a shot at Mane on the track, rapping "even his own momma know, Radric Davis a bitch". In a recent Cutmaster C mixtape, The Hood News Page 3: Jay-Z Boycotts Cristal, Mane disses Jeezy along with Jay Z in his track, "745". Jeezy also addresses Mane in the same mixtape, in the track "Break It Down", featuring Cmillz. Recently, Jeezy has become involved in a beef with his former BMF affiliate Bleu Da Vinci after Bleu dissed him on the song, 'Star in The Hood'.
Wikipedia - Young Jeezy

T.I

2007-11-22T21:08:00.000-08:00

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by his stage name T.I., and also by his alter ego T.I.P., is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, record,philanthropist and executive producer as well as the Co-CEO of Grand Hustle Records.

Background
T.I. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up in the Bankhead neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Violetta Morgan and Clifford Harris Sr. His original stage name, T.I.P., stems from his childhood nickname "Tip", which he got from his grandfather. T.I. was first exposed to hip-hop at the age of seven, and by the time he was 11 he had decided to pursue a career in rap seriously; he signed his first record deal at age 19.

Due to his Southern drawl, many fans mistook his name for "Chip", so he began spelling it out "T.I.P". Upon signing with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records in 2001, he shortened his name to T.I. out of respect for label mate Q-Tip.

He is also known to go by "Rubberband Man" and the self-proclaimed "King of the South" (which has created several cases of controversy between other southern rappers, such as Lil' Flip and Ludacris). T.I. wrote about 30% percent of his third album Unleashed as well the 3rd verse and chorus to his single "Let's Get Down".[1] He has written lyrics for other artists such as Diddy and Trina.

T.I. is known for his rapid-fire delivery of lyrics. There has been some noticeable change in the way he delivers his lyrics throughout his career. Earlier on, he flowed in a slow-like, southern fashion which can be heard in songs like "I'm Serious", "24's" and "Never Scared". In the second era of his career, he sounded more relaxed and laid back (ex. "Bring Em Out", "Soldier", "What You Know", "U Don't Know Me" & "ASAP"). Later on in his career, his flow went from a slow and drowsy effect (ex. "Top Back" and "Drive Slow") to a faster flow which can be heard in "We Takin Over", Touch, "My Love", "Make It Rain Remix" and "I'm a Flirt remix". It would be better stated that his "flow" has not changed over time, but rather that he continues to change for every song he records, illustrating his control and expertise at being able to adapt to any beat that is presented to him.

Music career

I'm Serious
His debut album I'm Serious was released on October 9, 2001 through Arista Records, which spawned the single of the same title which featured reggae vocalist Beenie Man. His debut album included Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes (who named him the Jay-Z of the south), Jazze Pha, and Youngbloodz. Production was by The Neptunes, DJ Toomp, and The Grand Hustle Team. However, the album did not sell very well, and he was dropped from the label. The album sold 268,000 copies.

T.I. released the first single "I'm Serious" with Beenie Man. The single had little airplay and failed to meet the charts. The label would not release another single or video for the album, so T.I. created a video for "Dope Boyz", which had not a video nor single released, but can be seen on YouTube.

He released several mixtapes with the assistance of DJ Drama, which created an underground buzz. He resurfaced in the summer of 2003 on Bonecrusher's song "Neva Scared". He parlayed this attention towards the release of his second album, Trap Muzik.

Trap Muzik
T.I. released Trap Muzik in the summer 2003 and it debuted at #4 and sold 193,000 copies in its first week.[2] It was more of a success than his debut album because of the singles "24's", "Be Easy", "Rubberband Man", and "Let's Get Away". The album featured guest appearances by Eightball & MJG, Jazze Pha, Bun B, & Macboney and producers include Jazze Pha, Kanye West, David Banner, & DJ Toomp. The success of the album was followed by some controversy; while on tour, T.I. was charged with violating his probation over a 2003 drug charge, and turned himself in. He was sentenced to three years in prison. While there, he was granted rights to film the music video for "Let's Get Away". Trap Muzik was released through Grand Hustle Records and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. and was certified Platinum.

T.I. released 24's as the first single. It reached #78 in the U.S., #27 on the U.S. R&B chart, and #15 on the Rap charts. 24's can be heard in many movies and on television.

"Be Easy" was chosen as the second single; the single wasn't as successful as the first single, but it reached #55 on the U.S. R&B charts.

Rubberband Man was chosen as Trap Muzik's third single. The single was his second successful single from the album. It reached #30 in the U.S., #15 on the U.S. R&B chart, and #11 on the Rap Charts.

T.I. released his last single from Trap Muzik, "Lets Get Away" with Jazze Pha. It reached #35 in the U.S., #17 on U.S. R&B chart, and #10 in Rap. T.I. won the Best Street Anthem for "Rubberband Man" at the 2004 Vibe Awards.

Urban Legend
T.I. released his third album Urban Legend in late 2004. Urban Legend instantly generated crossover success with the hit single "Bring 'Em Out". He used a sample from Jay-Z's "What More Can I Say" from The Black Album to create the hook. "Bring 'Em Out" is used to introduce the starting lineup for the Miami Heat. The album featured production from Ruff Ryders's producer Swizz Beatz. The album featured Trick Daddy, Nelly, Lil' Jon, B.G., Mannie Fresh of the Big Tymers, Daz Dillinger, Lil' Wayne, Pharrell of The Neptunes, P$C and Lil' Kim. The album was certified platinum by selling 1.3 million copies. A chopped and screwed version of this album was also produced.

At the beginning of 2005, T.I. enjoyed success alongside Lil' Wayne on the Destiny's Child song "Soldier", which became a big hit.

T.I. released his second single "U Don't Know Me". The single appeared on U.S. charts, Rap charts, U.S. R&B charts, and Pop 100 charts. It was rumored that the song was directed to former rival Ludacris due to the fact that he had a song called "Get Back" where he says: "Get Back..Get Back..you don't know me like that". which was released around the same time.[attribution needed] He won Best Street Anthem for "U Don't Know Me" at the 2005 Vibe Awards.

His 3rd single "A.S.A.P" reached #75 on the U.S. charts, #18 on the U.S. R&B charts, #14 on the Rap charts, and #35 on the U.K. singles chart. T.I. created a video for "ASAP"/"Motivation". However, "Motivation" appeared on the U.S. R&B singles chart, but not on the other charts like "A.S.A.P".

He also released "Get Loose" feat. Nelly and produced by Jazze Pha. A video was planned but did not materialize. It reached #70 on Billboard's R&B charts.

In 2006, T.I. received two Grammy Award nominations: Best Song Collaboration ("Soldier" w/ Destiny's Child & Lil Wayne) and Best Rap Solo Performance for "U Don't Know Me" at The 48th Annual Grammy Awards.

King
His fourth album, King debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the first half of 2006, selling 522,000 copies in its first week. It became Atlantic Records' best-selling album in 15 years.[3] T.I. released his promo-singles "Front Back" and "Ride With Me" before the album's release date. The singles had small attention, but it helped promote the album and his debut movie ATL. The album also included other singles, "What You Know", "Why You Wanna", "Live In The Sky", and "Top Back". KING has earned numerous awards and nominations including a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. Even though Jay-Z surpassed him in his first week album sales, KING is still considered to be the best-selling hip-hop/rap album of 2006. He guest appeared on albums for UGK, Young Jeezy, BG, Young Buck, P$C, Pharrell, Common, Jamie Foxx, and his recently signed artists Young Dro & Governor.

In Spring 2006, T.I. released "What You Know". The song has also been used in promotion of the film ATL, in which T.I. stars. It has garnered a 5-star rating from Pitchfork Media. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and it also topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and Rap Charts. It utilizes a sample of Roberta Flack's version of The Impressions's "Gone Away" and Hey Joe. It was rumored that T.I. was taking shots at Lil Flip on the song.

What You Know won for "Best Rap Solo Performance" and was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

Pitchfork Media also ranked "What You Know" as the 3rd best song of 2006 and his collaboration with Justin Timberlake in the song "My Love" was also ranked number one on the same list. VIBE recently named T.I.'s "What You Know" as the Top Song of 2006. Rolling Stone ranked the single as number four.

"Why You Wanna" was released as the next single. The chorus samples Q-Tip's vocals from Got 'Til It's Gone with Janet Jackson and also contained samples a slowed-down keyboard chord from Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)". The song reached #29 in the U.S., #43 on the SWI charts, #49 on the AUS charts, #17 on the Ireland charts, #22 on the U.K. singles charts, and #30 on Tokio's Hot 100, making the single successful worldwide. The video paid a tribute to T.I.'s deceased friend Phil, who was killed in Cincinnati. He appeared in the video as well.

T.I. collaborated with Justin Timberlake for My Love which proved to be a worldwide hit. It earned him a Grammy Award for Best Collaboration with Justin Timberlake at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

T.I. released his last single off King, Top Back. T.I. decided to add Young Dro, Young Jeezy, B.G., and Big Kuntry to create a remix. This version was released from Grand Hustle Presents: In Da Streetz Volume 4. Billboard doesn't have Top Back Remix listed, but Top Back instead. The remixed version and the portion of the video can be also heard and seen on Chevrolet's Impala commercial. He appeared in a Chevrolet commercial, where he and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. traded cars (T.I. was driving the #8 race car on the track very slowly, while Earnhardt was driving the black Chevy on the highway very fast).

T.I. vs. T.I.P.
T.I. is done working on his fifth album T.I. vs. T.I.P.. The album was released on July 2007 and it was released a day earlier in United Kingdom. T.I. explained the album’s title, saying, "It's basically a battle within myself. There’s not nobody out there doing what I do as well as I do it, so I see myself as worthy competition for myself."

The first (street) single off the album was "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)" which was produced by Mannie Fresh. The single was released to radio stations on April 17. The song debuted at #39 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs on April 26 and it peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

T.I. will appear on the Screamfest '07 tour with singer Ciara, Lloyd,T-Pain and Yung Joc. The tour begins August 3.

T.I. released his second single "You Know What It Is" featuring Wyclef Jean on June 12th. The video is available for purchase on iTunes. The video was debuted on MTV on June 14 and it premiered on MTV.com and on TRL on Thursday, June 14.

T.I. vs. T.I.P. shifted 468,000 units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and debuts at number one on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The Grand Hustle/Atlantic set is T.I.'s second chart-topper in the past year-and-a-half; King opened at number one on the Billboard 200 with 522,000 copies in late March 2006. [4] The album included guests by Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, Alfamega, Nelly, and Eminem with productions by Eminem, Jeff Bass, Mannie Fresh, Grand Hustle, The Runners, Just Blaze, Wyclef Jean and Danja. This is his first album without production by long time producer DJ Toomp.

On October 3, 2007, T.I. released his third single, "Hurt", featuring Alfamega & Busta Rhymes. This song is produced by Danja.

Paper Trail
T.I. has confirmed through one of his representatives that he is working on a new studio album while being under house arrest pending his gun charges. He has completed 6 tracks for the album already. The album will be titled Paper Trail[5], which comes from lyrics he has written down on paper. Like many other rappers, such as Lil' Wayne (Jay-Z still compose lyrics without pen and paper), T.I. abandoned this style of rapping after his debut album I'm Serious by just memorizing lyrics. "He wanted to take more time to really put something down (this time)," explains his rep.[1] The album is expected in 2008 around September.

Other music projects

P$C
Main article: P$C
T.I. is also the leader of the southern rap group P$C. P$C are a group of artists who started in the music industry performing back-up functions for successful southern rapper T.I. The letters "P$C" are an acronym for "Pimp Squad Click," the name given to them and referenced by T.I. in many of his songs, to which the P$C often contribute.

On September 20, 2005, the Pimp Squad Click broke out of its secondary role and stole a portion of the southern rap limelight by releasing its own full-length album entitled "25 to Life." It was released on Atlantic Records, a part of the Warner Music Group. It had sold 177,597 copies.

Currently the group is inactive. T.I. stated that he wanted all his artists to have their albums released before he can focus on P$C.

T.I. & DJ Toomp Untitled Project
DJ Toomp called in at the Wendy Williams show right after T.I. left revealing that him and T.I. are working on an album together.

DJ Toomp told hip-hop website allhiphop that he is planning on producing 80% of T.I.'s next album.[6]

It Has Been Confirmed by HipHopDX.com that DJ Toomp and T.I. are working together again on T.I.'s next album, as confirmed by Grand Hustle CEO Jason Geter to Billboard.[7]

Other Ventures

Grand Hustle Records
Further information: Grand Hustle Records
T.I. formed Grand Hustle Records (distributed by Atlantic Records) in 2003 with his manager Jason Geter. T.I. and Jeter decided to create the label shortly after being dropped by Arista Records. He expanded his label to form "Grand Hustle Films" and 2 films are currently developing.

Acting career
In Spring 2006, T.I. starred in his first film, ATL. The other cast members included Lauren London, Andre Patton, Evan Ross, Mykelti Williamson, Jason Weaver, and Keith David. The movie was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Antwone Fisher, produced by Timothy M. Bourne, Tionne Watkins, and Will Smith, and directed by Christopher Robinson. T.I. played the character Rashad Swann, an orphaned 17-year-old senior in high school. He grew up on the southside of Atlanta. He lives with his uncle and has a younger brother named Ant. In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $11.5 million, ranking third in the United States box office, and went on to gross $21.2 million nationwide.[8]

T.I. performed in a Ridley Scott film called American Gangster, a gangster flim with Oscar-winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, and fellow rappers Common & RZA about a police detective (Crowe) pursuing a Harlem drug lord (Washington) during the 1970s. The movie is based on the life of Frank Lucas, with T.I. casted as his nephew. T.I. stated working with the Oscar-winners is an honor and he feels like he is going to school and learning the best from them.[9] The film was released to theaters on November 2nd. T.I. was featured on the soundtrack which also features his co-stars Common and RZA which Hank Shocklee produced.[10]

According to HHNLive.com T.I. revealed that he is launching Grand Hustle Films. The first project from the movie division of his Grand Hustle brand is titled "Once Was Lost". T.I. will star in the film alongside veteran Hollywood actor Danny Glover, who will also act as producer. Shooting is expected to begin in October of this year.

Producing
In 2005, he launched his own film production company called Grand Hustle Films, signed a multi-artist joint venture deal for his label with Atlantic Records, and established a music publishing deal for Grand Hustle Music with Warner Chappell.

T.I. has been working on other peoples' records. On the music front, he has been co-executive producing B.G.'s upcoming album. He's been juicing up his producer game, making beats for artists like Mariah Carey, Cassidy, Rick Ross, Yung Joc, Young Dro, and himself.[12] Wyclef Jean asked T.I. to co-executive produce his upcoming album. He also executive produced the soundtrack to the film Hustle & Flow and released the collection through his record label. [13] He also did the same for the debut album of his group P$C, T.I. Presents The P$C: 25 To Life, the Grand Hustle compilation Grand Hustle Presents: In Da Streetz Volume 4, and his own albums.

Clothing
According to the Grand Hustle website, T.I. has a clothing line, AKOO (A King of Oneself), launching later in 2008.

Street Cred
On 106 & Park, T.I. mentioned a new venture, StreetCred.com and also mentioned that Yung Joc has a "block" and Diddy has a "block". The website is in BETA version so in order to sign up, you need an invite sent to your email. Once you sign up, you will see T.I. giving a shout out to his new website.[14]

Disputes
In 2004, T.I. received an early release from incarceration, and returned to music with some disparaging words for rival rappers Lil' Flip and Ludacris.

Ludacris
T.I. called out Ludacris over an old disagreement their crews had with one another. Ludacris made a music video in which a person in a shirt that resembled a Trap Muzik shirt was seen being beaten, and, although Ludacris stated in an interview on MTV.com that the person in the video was wearing a Trap Records shirt, a label owned by DTP member Titti Boi, the feud progressed. T.I. later recorded a song, 'Stomp', with G-Unit rapper Young Buck originally featuring Lil Jon. T.I.'s verse seemed like an insult to Ludacris and Young Buck did not want to be a part of it. Young Buck told Ludacris about this and Ludacris decided to get on the same song and insult T.I.

T.I.'s verse was omitted from the original track listing and replaced with The Game, though the version of the song with T.I.'s verse is still available on many file-sharing networks.

T.I. referenced this in his song "I'm Talkin' to You" on King:

"Had it out with 'Cris but he still my nigga / Sat down, civilized, talked about it like niggas."

This served to eliminate Ludacris as a target of the song, which many believe to be directed toward Rick Ross. T.I. revealed that he wasn't talking about anyone, he just made the record to see whoever has a problem with him so they can speak out. Ludacris and T.I. squashed their beef. They have been seen greeting each other on "MTV My Block: Atlanta".

New information has derived of this so called beef. T.I. approached Ludacris on stage at a concert. This occurred only 2 days before his arrest on weapon charges. Recently on Grand Hustle's latest mixtape, Respect This Hustle, T.I. responded to Ludacris' "I Get Money (Remix)" verse on the 2nd track. It is titled Do U Potna and features Young Jeezy and Young Dro.[15] T.I. states that the apology he made at the award ceremony was for "BET not DTP".

Lil Flip
He was also engaged in a high-profile battle with Houston rapper Lil Flip, who he heard insulted him on stage at a concert in Atlanta while he was incarcerated. T.I. believed that Flip mocked his claim as the "King of the South". Apparently, T.I. only learned of the alleged insult through a friend of T.I.'s girlfriend. T.I. says he heard from several sources, and even has a tape, of Flip insulting him at a few Atlanta concerts. Flip's alleged treason supposedly happened when T.I. was locked away in jail in spring. Lil Flip is said to have asked different audiences who the king of the South was before telling the crowd to inform hometown hero T.I. that "the game was over." T.I. says he heard this was followed by the Houston rapper performing "Game Over."

The members of his clique were holding up old publicity shots of Lil' Flip dressed in a leprechaun outfit. One picture has Flip holding a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal, the other one has Flipper in a fighting stance. Both flicks have been blown up to poster-size and copied several times.

The two released numerous insults on mixtapes and on the radio. UGK's own Pimp C mentioned in his song "Knocking Doors Down" that Lil Flip and T.I. are acting like "little boys" and they needed to squash their beef.

According to website,[16] T.I. and Lil Flip had an altercation in Lil Flip's neighborhood, the Cloverland section of Houston, Texas. It has been said that T.I. went there to create a DVD exposing Lil Flip to be a fraud. The same day T.I. went on a Houston radio station talking about the altercation. He revealed that he had the tape and he was going to release it with an upcoming mixtape, but that didn't happened due to the fact that J. Prince stopped him from distributing the tape. It is unknown whether T.I. still has the tape or not. The feud was squashed by Rap-A-Lot's J. Prince after having them sit down and squash their beef behind closed doors. The feud was documented by the Houston Press.[17]

T.I. released a mixtape titled "Down With the King" featuring several tracks insulting Flip directly. Including a track titled 99 Problems Freestyle. The entire song is devoted to making fun of Flip and dissing him. The chorus of the track is even "I got 99 problems, Lil' Flip ain't one." There was a phone-call skit with legendary Houston rapper Scarface claiming he doesn't know Lil Flip and hasn't seen him around in Cloverland, he revealed that he didn't want to be "The King of the South" and T.I. can have the title.

On T.I.'s album King, there are several tracks which have been disputed by the hip hop community to be shots at Lil Flip ("What You Know", "You Know Who" and "I'm Talkin to You"). In an interview with a popular online hip hop website on March 24, 2006, T.I. was quoted as saying he and Lil Flip have no beef. This is somewhat contradictory to the events that occurred during Young Dro's video "Shoulder Lean". As Young Dro delivers the line "Lucky Charm Diamonds, but nah, I ain't Flip". T.I. is seen making a laughing gesture towards the video camera. The beef seems to be squashed making T.I. the victor according to the hip hop community and as Flip said in a freestyle: "I ain't got beef with Tip no mo".

Chaka Zulu
On Sunday afternoon (June 24) at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, California, T.I. was involved in a brawl. During a luncheon held by Kevin Liles of Warner Music Group (parent company of T.I.'s label, Atlantic Records), the MC got into a fight with Ludacris' manager Chaka Zulu. According to witnesses, T.I. punched Zulu in the face and choked him and a small, brief melee ensued.[18]

T.I. brought home the award for Best Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards, and took the opportunity to apologize for his scuffle with Disturbing Tha Peace executive Chaka Zulu earlier in the week. While accepting his award, he expressed regret over the situation. “They say it’s a fine line between brilliance and insanity,” he said, in an apparent reference to his troublesome alter ego, T.I.P. During the broadcast, cameras showed his onetime rival Ludacris smiling in the audience. The audience stood up and clapped for T.I.[19]

Community work
T.I. has stepped up his community involvement as well, taking the lead on several initiatives to help the victims devastated by Hurricane Katrina, including personally donating $50,000 to the relief effort while leading an on-air Labor Day pledge drive on Atlanta's V-103 FM that raised over $263,000 for Mississippi rapper David Banner's "Heal the Hood" Foundation. He also partnered with David Banner and Atlanta newcomer Young Jeezy for a two-day food and clothing drive at Atlanta's Club Vision and co-headlined a massive benefit concert on September 17, sharing the bill with heavyweights such as Nelly, OutKast's Big Boi, and David Banner - with 100 percent of the proceeds going to "Heal the Hood".

In addition to his Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, T.I. worked with troubled youths at Paulding Detention Center in Atlanta, provided scholarships for single parent families at Boys and Girls Clubs, and headlined Boost Mobile's RockCorps concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall, which featured such performers as Fat Joe, Slim Thug, and Kanye West, and was held exclusively for community service volunteers. In June 2005, The Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Foundation, named for the deceased member of multi-platinum female group TLC, and Atlanta's V-103 honored T.I. with the 2005 Lisa Lopes Award for groundbreaking achievements in music and community service which was court ordered. With this steady list of growing accomplishments T.I. is being recognized as the "Jay-Z of the South." according to Pharrell Williams of multi-platinum production team The Neptunes.[20]

T.I. has joined forces again with the Make-A-Wish foundation to grant an Orlando teen's wish. He joined labelmate/protege Young Dro on stage for a taping at The Showtime At The Apollo to meet 15 year old Sara Labare on October 15 at the Apollo Theatre. Labare, who suffers from an autoimmune disorder, received a digital camera,an autographed poster, CDs, and sat in the front row during T.I.'s performance. T.I. has granted a total of 3 wishes.

T.I. kept a fan smiling when he showed up at 11-year-old Ajmal Acklin's, who suffers from acute lymblastic leukemia with Christmas gifts. Hot-107.9 announcer Griff asked the 11 year old does he like T.I. and Acklin responded "Yes" and his favorite song was "What You Know". Griff told him that T.I. was here and the 11-year-old's eyes lit up. T.I. walked in and said: "How you doing, I just wanted to come see how you're doing ... I heard the church bought you a PlayStation 3, so I got you some games". One by one, each visitor offered their prayers and well wishes, ending with A-Team intern Ree Williams doing a stirring a capella version of the gospel tune "Even Me". Before she hit the last note Ajmal's mom ducked into the kitchen, tears in her eyes.

T.I.'s King Foundation is also scheduled to donate 10,000 bikes to the Boys & Girls Club in New Orleans.

T.I.'s night club, Club Crucial, where he and V-103 announcer Greg Street will give away 200 bicycles to neighborhood children in the Boys & Girls Club.[21]

Personal life

Family
T.I. has been dating Tameka "Tiny" Cottle from the '90s group Xscape on-and-off for the past 6 years. They have a son together named Clifford, a.k.a. 'King'. They were expecting a daughter (Llayah Amour) to be born in June 2007, but she was stillborn late night on March 21, 2007. Tiny also has another daughter, Zonnique, that T.I. has custody of. He has 3 other children: Messiah Harris (son), Domani Harris (son), and Deyjah Harris (daughter). T.I. and Tiny ended their longterm relationship on March 18, 2007,[22] however, it appears the couple has reconciled yet again. T.I. was sitting next to Tiny at the 2007 BET Awards, and then leaned over to kiss her just before he accepted his award for Best Hip-Hop artist.

Criminal
In early 2004, T.I. was behind bars in Cobb County, Georgia, for violating probation. The probation stems from a November 1997 arrest and subsequent conviction for distribution of cocaine, manufacturing and distributing a controlled substance, and giving authorities a false name, according to a sheriff's department spokesperson.

He served a sentence of unknown length and was released early on probation. It is not clear what he did to violate the terms of his release, but it is the second time he's been accused of doing so. A county judge could revoke the terms of his probation and reinstate his original sentence.

More trouble awaits T.I. in neighboring Fulton County. Two arrest warrants were issued there in March — one for possession of a firearm and one for possession of ecstasy. Now that he's in custody, T.I. will likely be extradited to face those charges after his case is handled in Cobb County, according to a Fulton County sheriff's department spokesperson.[23]

T.I. was sentenced to three years in prison for violating the terms of his probation. After serving a minimum of one year, T.I. can apply for a work-release program, according to the county clerk's office in Cobb County, Georgia. An arrest warrant for T.I. was issued on December 29, ordering a revocation of his probation. He turned himself in to county officials on March 30 and had been in custody ever since. His lawyers appeared in Cobb County Superior Court Wednesday and signed a consent order with prosecutors that essentially stipulated T.I. should be sentenced immediately, thus avoiding the need for a formal hearing.

T.I. was on probation stemming from a 1998 conviction for violating a state controlled substances act and for giving false information. After being released on probation, he earned a litany of probation violations in several counties around Georgia for offenses ranging from possession of a firearm to possession of marijuana.[24]

In 2006, after appearing in an Atlanta court on (May 10) and having charges that he threatened a man outside a strip club last year dropped for lack of evidence, T.I. was arrested on an outstanding probation violation warrant from Florida. The warrant claims that T.I. did not complete the required number of community service hours he was sentenced for a 2003 assault of a female sheriff deputy at University Mall in Tampa. T.I. was detained by several mall Security Guards at the time of the incident, among them, Jason Phillips(founder of Certified Protective Services), Larry Warner (founder of Tactical Response Services), and Arturo Ortiz, now a security manager in Florida. According to WBS-TV Atlanta, the rapper’s attorney has said that the problem was nothing more than a “technical matter” between Georgia and Florida. The confusion arose because T.I. was also sentenced to community service in Georgia for driving with a suspended license, for which he did complete 75 hours of community service in his home state. The rapper was released on bail shortly after being arrested, and was expected to surrender to Florida state authorities next week to resolve the matter.[25]

On October 13, 2007, Federal authorities arrested T.I. His arrest came at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, four hours before the BET Hip-Hop Awards show got under way downtown. He was charged with two felonies — possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. The arrest was made in the parking lot of a downtown shopping center, which a witness identified as the Walgreens drug store at the corner of North and Piedmont avenues. Harris was arrested after allegedly trying to purchase the guns from a "cooperating witness" with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. According to federal officials, the witness had been cooperating with authorities since Wednesday, when he was arrested on charges of trying to purchase guns from a federal agent. The witness has been working as Harris' bodyguard since July, authorities said.[26] [27]

T.I. walked out the courthouse in downtown Atlanta on October 26 after posting a $3 million bond, $2 million in cash and $1 million in equity on property he owns. The rapper must remain at home except for medical appointments and court appearances. The only people allowed to live with him are his girlfriend and children. Visitors must be approved by the court. More than sixty supporters, family members, friends and fans stood outside the federal courtroom during the hearing.[28]

Death of T.I.'s friend and assistant
In the early hours of May 4, 2006, T.I. and his entourage were involved in a gunfight after leaving a concert after-party at the Club Ritz, a nightclub in Cincinnati, Ohio[29] that has a history of problems with the law. Four members of T.I.'s entourage were shot in the altercation. T.I.'s personal assistant Philant Johnson was killed and Janice Gillespie was seriously wounded by the gunfire.[30] It is believed that the altercation began at the Ritz when members of T.I.'s entourage threw money into the crowd, angering male audience members.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the feud began at the city's Club Ritz during an after-party for the Atlanta rapper and Yung Joc -- who performed earlier that evening at the club Bogart's -- and moved outside, where shots were fired into two vans transporting T.I.'s crew just after three o'clock.

"[The money] was supposed to be for the ladies", one witness said. "But it was hitting guys in the face, and they were like, 'We had money before, so why are you throwing money at us?'"

When the situation grew tense, T.I. reportedly told his group to head out. A witness outside told the Enquirer that one shot -- believed to be unrelated to the ensuing gun battle -- was fired in the parking lot and at least four people followed the vans in a large vehicle.
Wikipedia- T.I

Nas

2007-11-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

Nasir Jones (born September 14, 1973), known simply as Nas, formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper.

Son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas is well known for his 1994 debut album Illmatic, which many consider to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.[1] This album established Nas as one of hip-hop's most profound lyricists, introducing his signature poetic style. Raised in the notorious Queensbridge housing projects in New York City, he represents a continuation of a hip-hop tradition in Queensbridge that has spanned through early hip-hop, including the Juice Crew, Marley Marl, and MC Shan.

Following Illmatic with It Was Written, Nas pursued a more mainstream direction, which resulted in wider success but decreased artistic credibility among critics and hip-hop purists. Nas increased commercial success was accompanied by stylistic changes that fostered accusations of giving in to corporate wishes and compromising the style that had enamored his fans. Nevertheless, the album Stillmatic is often credited for restoring Nas' credibility among fans. Since the success of Stillmatic, Nas has continued to maintain a high profile within the hip-hop community and has pursued a decidedly personal aesthetic.

Biography

1973-1995: Early Life & Illmatic
Nas, whose given name Nasir means "one who creates victories" in Arabic, spent the first years of his life in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.[2] His father, Olu Dara was a jazz trumpeter and his mother Fannie Ann Jones was a Postal Service worker. He has one sibling, a brother named Jabari who assumes the alias Jungle. While in Brooklyn, Nas would listen to his father's trumpet on his house's stoop at age four.[3] The family soon after moved to the Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing project in the United States. Olu Dara left the household in 1986, when Nas was 13, and Ann Jones raised her two boys on her own. Nas soon dropped out of school in the ninth grade.[4] He educated himself, reading about African culture and civilization, the Bible and the Qur'an [5]. He also studied the origin of hip hop music, taping records that played on his local radio station. Nas interests moved away from playing the trumpet as a child to being a comic book hero artist.[6]

Nas had settled on pursuing a career as a rapper, and as a teenager enlisted his best friend and upstairs neighbor Willy "Ill Will" Graham as his DJ. Nas first went by the nickname Kid Wave before adopting his more commonly known alias of Nasty Nas[7]. Nas and Graham soon met hip-hop producer and Queens resident Large Professor (William Mitchell), who introduced Nas to his Toronto-based group, Main Source. In 1991, Nas made his on-record debut with a verse on "Live at the BBQ's", from Main Source's LP Breaking Atoms. Despite the substantial buzz for Nas in the underground scene, the rapper was rejected by major labels and was not signed to a recording deal. Nas and Graham continued to work together, but their partnership was cut short when Graham was shot and killed by a gunman in Queensbridge on May 23, 1992.

Illmatic received the first 5 mics rating from The Source.In mid-1992, Nas was approached by MC Serch of 3rd Bass, who became his manager and secured Nas a record deal with Columbia Records the same year. Nas made his solo debut on the single "Halftime" from Serch's soundtrack for the film and became part of the chang gang productions with Freshy C Zebrahead. The single increased the buzz surrounding Nas and when MC Serch’s solo album is released later in the year, Nas’ standout appearance on "Back To The Grill" only intensified interest. Hailed as the second coming of Rakim[8], his rhyming skills attracted a significant amount of attention within the hip-hop community.

In 1994, Nas's debut album, Illmatic was finally released. Critically acclaimed and widely regarded as one of the best hip-hop albums of all time,[9] Illmatic featured lyrics that portrayed stunning visual imagery. It also featured production from Large Professor, Pete Rock (one half of legendary group with C.L. Smooth), Q-Tip (frontman for A Tribe Called Quest), L.E.S. and DJ Premier (one half of Gang Starr) as well as guest appearances from Nas friend AZ and his father Olu Dara. Aside from Halftime, three moderately popular singles were released in order to promote Illmatic. However, due to widespread bootlegging and a lack of corporate appeal, the album did not do well in terms of record sales.

Following Illmatic, Nas appeared on AZ's Doe or Die album, and collaborated with his Queensbridge-associates, Mobb Deep, on their album, The Infamous. One notable achievement during this period was Nas verse on "Verbal Intercourse" on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. It earned Nas a Source Quotable, and gave him the distinction (at the time) of being the only non-Wu-Tang Clan member to be featured on one of their songs. It also continued his "Nas Escobar" persona, in keeping with the Mafioso-theme of the album (the alias was introduced on Mobb Deep's "Eye for an Eye" from "The Infamous" album.

1996–1998: From It Was Written to The Firm
Columbia began to press Nas to work towards more commercial topics, such as that of the rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who had become successful by releasing street singles that still retained pop-friendly appeal. Nas traded manager MC Serch for Steve Stoute, and began preparation for his second LP, It Was Written, consciously working towards a crossover-oriented sound. It Was Written, chiefly produced by Tone and Poke of Trackmasters, was released during the summer of 1996. Two singles, "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" (featuring Lauryn Hill of The Fugees) and "Street Dreams" using the same sample as Tupac Shakur's All Eyez on Me base track and a remix with R. Kelly were instant hits. These songs were promoted by big-budget music videos directed by Hype Williams, making Nas a common name among mainstream hip-hop. It Was Written featured the debut of The Firm, a super group consisting of Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, and Cormega. The album also expanded on Nas Escobar persona, who lived more of a Scarface/Casino-esque lifestyle. On the other hand, Illmatic, which, while having numerous references to Tony Montana and the theatrical hit featuring Al Pacino, was more about Nas life as a teenager in the projects.[4]

The Firm signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment label, and began working on their debut album. Halfway through the production of the album, Cormega was fired from the group by Steve Stoute, who had unsuccessfully attempted to force Cormega to sign a deal with his management company. Cormega therefore became one of Nas most vocal opponents, releasing a number of underground hip hop singles "dissing" Nas, Stoute, and Nature, who was Cormega's replacement in The Firm. [10]Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album was finally released in 1997 to mixed reviews and lackluster sales (though still reaching platinum) and the members of the super group went their separate ways.

At about this time, Nas became a spokesperson for the Willie Esco urban clothing line, but had no other connection with the clothing line. He stopped promoting Willie Esco in 2000, dissatisfied with the company's operations. During the same period, Nas co-wrote and starred in Hype Williams' 1998 feature film Belly

1999–2000: I Am… to Nastradamus
In 1998, Nas began work on a double album. It was to be entitled I Am…The Autobiography, which he intended as the middle ground between the extremes of Illmatic and It Was Written. The plans were for it to be a double album autobiography of Nas with each track detailing a part of his life. The album was completed in early 1999, and a music video was shot for its lead single, "Nas Is Like." It was produced by DJ Premier and contained vocal samples from "It Ain't Hard to Tell." Much of the LP was leaked into MP3 format onto the Internet and Nas and Stoute quickly recorded enough substitute material to constitute a single-disc release. Those leaked tracks include "Amongst Kings," "Blaze a 50," "Drunk By Myself," "Hardest Thing to Do Is Stay Alive," "U Gotta Love It," "Find Ya Wealth," "Project Windows," "Fetus," "Wanna Play Rough," "Sometimes I Wonder," and "Daydreamin, Stay Scheming."

The second single for I Am… was "Hate Me Now," featuring Diddy, which was used as an example by Nas critics of him moving towards commercial themes. Hype Williams shot an allegorical video for the single, which featured Nas and Diddy being crucified in a manner similar to Jesus; after the video was completed, Diddy, a Catholic, requested his crucifixion scene be edited out of the video. However, the unedited copy of the "Hate Me Now" video made its way to MTV, and was premiered on April 15, 1999 on TRL. Within minutes of the broadcast, a furious Combs and his bodyguards allegedly made their way into Steve Stoute's office and assaulted him, at one point apparently hitting Stoute over the head with a champagne bottle[11] Stoute pressed charges, but he and Combs settled out-of-court that June.

Columbia had scheduled to release the pirated material from I Am… under the title Nastradamus during the latter half of 1999, but, at the last minute, Nas decided that he should record an entire new album for the 1999 release of Nastradamus. Nastradamus was therefore rushed to meet a November release date. Though critics were not kind to the album, it did result in a minor hit, "You Owe Me." It was produced by Timbaland and featured R&B singer Ginuwine. The only pirated track from I Am… to make it onto Nastradamus was "Project Windows," featuring Ronald Isley. A number of the other bootlegged tracks later made their way onto The Lost Tapes, a collection of underground Nas songs that was released by Columbia in September 2002. The collection saw decent sales and received glowing reviews.

2001: The Nas vs. Jay-Z feud and Stillmatic
For more details on this topic, see Nas vs. Jay-Z feud.
The highly publicized feud between Nas and Jay-Z started when Nas failed to show up to a scheduled recording session to record the hook on Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt track, "Dead Presidents".

Even though it was obvious to most hip hop heads that a rivalry existed between Nas and Jay-Z, the rivalry wasn't made known to the general public until a rivalry between Nas, and Jay-Z's protégé, Memphis Bleek. On his debut album, The Coming of Age, Bleek made a song entitled "Memphis Bleek Is," which was similar in concept to Nas single "Nas Is Like." On the same album, Bleek recorded "What You Think Of That," featuring Jay-Z. This contains the refrain, "I'ma ball 'til I fall/What you think of that?". In retaliation, "Nastradamus," the title track from Nas second 1999 album, featured the quote, "You wanna ball till you fall, I can help you with that/You want beef? I could let a slug melt in your hat." Memphis Bleek perceived the reference on "Nastradamus" as an insult, and retaliated against Nas on the lead single for his next album, The Understanding. That single, "My Mind Right," stated "And only a few fit in, your lifestyle's written/So who you supposed to be, play your position".

In 2000, QB's Finest was released on Nas Ill Will Records. QB's Finest is a compilation album that featured Nas and a number of other rappers from Queensbridge projects, including Mobb Deep, Nature, Capone, the Bravehearts, Tragedy Khadafi, Millennium Thug and Cormega, who had briefly reconciled with Nas. The album also featured guest appearances from Queensbridge hip-hop legends Roxanne Shanté, MC Shan, and Marley Marl. Shan and Marley Marl both appeared on the lead single "Da Bridge 2001," which was based on Shan & Marl's 1986 recording "The Bridge."

"Da Bridge 2001" also featured a response from Nas to Memphis Bleek, in which Nas retaliated with "Oh you didn't, wanna know whose life was written/The life I'm livin" and "Jaws is broke, your whole crew is coffin bound/Your ho, your man, lieutenant, your boss get found".

Jay-Z responded to Nas songs with an on stage swipe during the 2001 Hot 97 Summer Jam concert in New York City, when he premiered his song "Takeover". Initially, the song was to only be a Mobb Deep diss it only included a single line about Nas near the end. Nevertheless, Nas recorded the "Stillmatic Freestyle", an underground single which sampled Eric B. and Rakim's "Paid in Full" beat, and attacked Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella label. On his 2001 album, The Blueprint, Jay-Z added a third verse to "Takeover" dissing Nas, claiming that he had "...one hot album every ten year average" record (referring to Illmatic), that his flow was weak, and that he had fabricated his past as a hustler.

Nas responded with Ether, which begins with gunshots and a repeated, slowed-down sample from "Fuck Friendz" of Tupac Shakur rapping "Fuck Jay-Z." In "Ether," Nas accuses Jay-Z of stealing ("biting") lyrics from The Notorious B.I.G., getting the name "Blueprint" from a previous KRS-One album of the same name, and brown-nosing Nas and other rappers for fame. Nas also claimed that all of Jay-Z's raps on The Blueprint were inferior to the one guest verse on the album (Eminem's on "Renegade"): Eminem murdered you on your own shit. Ether was included on Nas fifth studio album, Stillmatic, released in December 2001. Stillmatic managed to be not only a critically-acclaimed comeback album, but a commercial success as well, albeit not on the level of It Was Written and I Am…, the album debuted at #7 on the Billboard album charts and featured the singles "Got Ur Self A..." and "One Mic."

Jay-Z responded to Ether with a song entitled "Supa Ugly," going into detail about how he had sex with Carmen Bryan, the mother of Nas daughter Destiny. This wasn't the first time Jay-Z alluded to his relationship with Nas daughter's mother in the song "Is That Your Chick" the lost verses addition was said to be all about Jay-Z, Carmen and Nas. Nas dismissed the track by claiming that he was no longer with Bryan during the time the affair took place.[12] In a recent interview, however, New York radio station Hot 97 settled the battle taking votes comparing "Ether"/"Stillmatic" and "Takeover"/"Supa Ugly," and Nas won with 58% while Jay-Z got 42% of the votes.

Jay-Z also responded to Nas on Jay-Z's 2002 album, The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse on the track named "Blueprint 2." On that track, Jay-Z says that no matter what happened in the battle, he's never been phony and that Nas is hypocritical for recording songs like 'Black Girl Lost" and then turning around and taking advantage of those same lost black girls on tracks like 'You Owe Me'. Jay-Z also claims that he single handedly revitalized Nas career by dissing him in the first place.

Nas spoke about the battle once more on the track "Last Real Nigga Alive" from the album God's Son. On this track Nas breaks down how the battle went down. He raps about coming up in the game with fellow artists like the Wu-Tang Clan, Biggie Smalls and others. Nas raps how Jay-Z came in the mix with this line: "Jigga started to flow like us, but hit with 'Ain't No Niggas'", how Jay-Z tried to attack when Nas and his mother went through a difficult time: "I gave it all up so I can chill at home with mama/She was getting old and sick so I stayed beside her/We had the best times, she asked would I make more songs/I told her not till I see her health get more strong/In the middle of that, Jay tried to sneak attack/Assassinate my character, degrade my hood/Cause in order for him to be the Don, Nas had to go". And on the track Nas had claimed victory, "I was Scarface, Jay was Manolo/It hurt me when I had to kill him and his whole squad for dolo".

By October 2005, the two rappers had eventually ended their feud without violence or animosity. During Jay-Z's I Declare War - Power House concert, Jay-Z announced to the crowd, "It's bigger than 'I Declare War'. Let's go, Esco!" Nas then joined Jay-Z onstage, and the two then performed "Dead Presidents" together, which Jay-Z had sampled from Nas song The World Is Yours. The two also collaborated on a song called, "Black Republican" which can be found on Nas most recent CD, "Hip Hop Is Dead."

2002–2005: From God's Son to Street's Disciple
In December 2002, Nas released the God's Son album including its lead single, "Made You Look" which utilized a pitched down sample of the Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache". The album peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts despite widespread internet bootlegging.[16] Time Magazine named his album best hip-hop album of the year. Vibe gave it four stars and The Source gave it four mics. The second single, "I Can", which reworked elements from Beethoven's "Für Elise", became Nas biggest hit to date during the spring and summer of 2003, garnering substantial radio airplay on urban, rhythmic, and top 40 radio stations, as well as on the MTV and VH1 music video networks. God's Son also includes several songs dedicated to memory of Nas mother, who died of cancer in 2002, including "Dance". In 2003, Nas was featured on the Korn song "Play Me", from Korn's Take a Look in the Mirror LP. Also in 2003, a live performance in New York City, featuring Ludacris, Jadakiss, and Darryl McDaniels (of Run-D.M.C. fame), was released on DVD as Made You Look: God's Son Live.

Nas performing in 2004.Nas released his seventh studio album, the critically acclaimed double-disc Street's Disciple, on November 30, 2004. The album's first singles were "Thief's Theme" and "Bridging the Gap", which features his father Olu Dara on vocals. The album also includes "These Are Our Heroes", which accuses prominent sports stars and actors such as Kobe Bryant and O. J. Simpson of not setting good examples for the kids that look up to them and neglecting their heritage and background in favour of white values. The videos for "Bridging the Gap" and "Just A Moment" received moderate airplay on MTV and BET. Although the album went platinum, its commercial profile was relatively low compared to the rapper's previous releases.

Nas was featured on Kanye West's album Late Registration on a song titled "We Major". West said the song was Jay-Z's favorite on the album, but West was unable to get Jay-Z to record a vocal for the final mix of the song. He also appeared on Damian Marley's song "Road to Zion" and several other songs such as "Death Anniversary" and "It Wasn't You" (featuring Lauryn Hill). In addition, Nas married R&B singer Kelis on January 8, 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia, after a two-year engagement.

Nas performing in Ottawa, 2007.At a free concert in Central Park, New York, Nas made a statement regarding the quality of 50 Cent's music; "this is the real shit, not that 50 Cent shit!"[17] 50 Cent responded on his single "Piggy Bank" by speaking negatively about Nas’ wife, Kelis; implying that she was promiscuous and calling Nas a "sucker for love." Nas eventually decided to retaliate, and in July 2005 released "MC Burial (Don't Body Ya Self)", a song which taunts 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew, stating that 50 was "a sucka for death if I'm a sucka for love." and "They say Jada defeated him, Joe too street for him/What's next? I guess it's for Nas to ether him" also, "Niggas don't want beef, they vegetarian/Scared of pussy, you climbed out of cesarean/I'll push your grown ass back in your mother's womb". However, despite all of this, Nas still claims to "have a lot of love towards 50", claiming 50 didn't understand his moves when they both were together at Columbia Records.

After rap duo Mobb Deep signed to G-Unit, they decided to diss Nas since G-Unit had beef with Nas. They released a diss song targeting Nas and the Bravehearts sometime in 2005 titled "It's That..."[18]

2006: Hip Hop Is Dead and controversy
In January 2006, Nas signed a label deal with Def Jam, emphasizing collaboration over competition with former rival Jay-Z.[4] Nas original title for his next album was Hip Hop Is Dead...The N[19] (shortened to Hip Hop Is Dead), though the UK release features a bonus track at the end called "The N." The album featured production from will.i.am, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Scott Storch, and NBA All Star Chris Webber, as well as longtime Nas collaborators L.E.S. and Salaam Remi. A street single named "Where Y'all At" was released in June of 2006. It was produced by Salaam Remi, and contained a sample from Nas "Made You Look," but it did not make Hip Hop Is Dead's final cut.

The title record and first single was produced by will.i.am, and contains the same melodic sample ("In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida") as Nas 2004 single "Thief's Theme." The album debuted on Def Jam and Nas new imprint at that label, The Jones Experience, at number one on the Billboard 200 charts, selling 355,000 copies--Nas's third number one album, along with 1996's It Was Written and 1999's I Am….[20] A music video for "Can't Forget About You" premiered on February 5, 2007. [21] "Can't Forget About You" featuring Chrisette Michele boasts a sample from Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable." Another video, Hustlers, featuring The Game, would follow. [22] Also, Nas has stated in an interview with MTV that a video for "Black Republican" featuring Jay-Z is also underway and is being directed by an unknown director. A reality series on MTV entitled Me and Mrs. Jones will feature the lives of Nas and Kelis.[23] Vibe magazine has reported that the show will premiere in 2008.

The title of the album generated controversy, as many fans and artists (particularly those of Southern origin) began to debate over the actual state of rap music's vitality. With this album Nas became kind of the leader of the "Hip Hop Is Dead" movement. Ghostface Killah, on his album Fishscale seemed to agree with Nas and cited Southern crunk and snap music as the primary reasons for why hip-hop was "dead". Many Southern acts, such as rappers Lil Wayne, Lil Boosie, Young Jeezy, Dem Franchize Boyz, and D4L took offense to the title, taking it to be directed at their region in particular.[25].

Nas worked on a song called "Shine On 'Em" for the film Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou, which opened in US theatres on December 8, 2006. His song "Thief's Theme" was featured in one of the scenes in the Academy Award-winning movie The Departed directed by Martin Scorsese.[26]

2007

Greatest Hits & Upcoming Album
Nas is preparing to release a Greatest Hits album this November through his former label, Columbia Records. This compilation will feature 12 songs from his seven first studio LPs under the label, plus two newly recorded songs. One of the tracks, "Less Than An Hour," debuted on AOL Music on August 10, and features Cee-Lo Green of Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley fame. The track is a new take on the theme to the hugely successful Rush Hour film trilogy starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, and will appear on the upcoming Rush Hour 3 soundtrack.[27]

Nas recently stirred up controversy when he announced the title of his new album, Nigger . Reverend Jesse Jackson criticized him, saying "The title using the 'N' word is morally offensive and socially distasteful. Nas has the right to degrade and denigrate in the name of free speech, but there is no honor in it. Radio and television stations have no obligation to play it and self-respecting people have no obligation to buy it. I wish he would use his talents to lift up and inspire, not degrade."[28] Nigger is set to be released on December 11, 2007 and will be his second album released under Def Jam.

Virginia Tech & Bill O'Reily
Nas performed at a free concert for the Virginia Tech student body and faculty on September 6, 2007. Nas was joined by John Mayer, Phil Vassar, and Dave Matthews Band.[29]; When announced that Nas was to perform, Bill O'Reilly and Fox News Channel denounced the concert and called for the removal of the rapper citing "violent" lyrics on songs including "Shoot 'Em Up", "Got Urself A Gun", and "Made You Look". During his Talking Points Memo segment for August 15, 2007, an argument erupted in which O'Reilly claimed that it was not only Nas lyrical content that made him inappropriate for the event, but claimed repeatedly that Nas also had a "gun conviction" on his criminal record [30] . In the midst of his debate with author Bakari Kitwana ("The Hip Hop Generation"), who defended Nas claimed that Fox News had "cherry picked" select fragments of the songs to make their case, O'Reilly shouted, "Even in his personal life, man, he's got a conviction for weapons, all right? He's got a weapons conviction, sir! On his sheet! This is a school that had a mass murderer with a pistol gunning down people—this guy has got-a-a-conviction for weapons, and you say he's appropriate? Come on!" O'Reilly repeated the claim another four times before cutting the segment short.[31]

Responding to O'Reilly, Nas in an interview with MTV News said:[32]

He doesn't understand the younger generation. He deals with the past. The people he represents are Republican, older, a generation that has nothing to do with the reality of what's happening now with my generation. ... He's not really on my radar. People like him are supposed to be taught and people like me are supposed to let niggas like him know. I don't take him serious. His shit is all about getting ratings or whatever. I wouldn't honor anything Bill O'Reilly has to say. It just shows you what bloodsuckers do: They abuse something like the Virginia Tech [tragedy] for show ratings. You can't talk to a person like that.

On September 6, 2007, during his set at "A Concert for Virginia Tech," Nas twice referred to Bill O'Reilly as "a chump", prompting some members of the crowd to cheer in agreement, yet many other audience members gave no positive reaction at all. About two weeks later, Nas was interviewed by Shaheem Reid of MTV News, where he criticized O'Reilly, calling him uncivilized and willing to go to extremes for publicity.[33]
Wikipedia - Nas

Jay Z

2007-11-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn, NYC) better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper and current president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. In addition, he co-owns The 40/40 Club, and is co-owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team. He is one of the most financially successful hip-hop artists and entrepreneurs in America.[1] Known for his flow and blending of street and popular style, he can compose lyrics without the use of pen and paper[2]. His critically acclaimed album The Blueprint was allegedly written in only two days.[3] After announcing his retirement from recording music in 2003 he returned in late 2006 with the album Kingdom Come which sold 680,000 copies in its first week, Jay-Z's highest-selling album in a one-week period.[4]

Along with Damon "Dame" Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke, Jay-Z was one of the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records, a hip hop record label. Jay-Z is the richest hip hop Entertainer (followed by Sean "Puffy" Combs, a.k.a. Diddy), having a net-worth estimate of $547 million.[5]

Biography

Early years
Originally from Marcy Houses housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City[6], Jay-Z was abandoned by his father Adnes Reeves when he was twelve years old.[7] Jay-Z attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn, along with rapper AZ until it was closed down. After that he attended George Westinghouse Information Technology High School in Downtown Brooklyn, with fellow rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes, and Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey but did not graduate.[8] He claims to have been caught up in selling drugs, which he refers to in his music.[7]

According to his mother Gloria Carter, a young Jay-Z used to wake his siblings up at night banging out drum patterns on the kitchen table. Eventually, she bought him a boom box for his birthday and thus sparked his interest in music. He began freestyling, writing rhymes, and followed the music of many artists popular at the time. It is stated that he beat Busta Rhymes in a rap battle, but also has lost to DMX.

In his neighborhood, Carter was known as "Jazzy", a nickname which eventually developed into his stage name, "Jay-Z". The moniker is also a homage to his musical mentor Jaz-O (a.k.a. Jaz, Big Jaz) as well as to the J/Z subway lines that have a stop at Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn.[6]

Jay-Z can be heard on several of Jaz-O's early recordings in the late 80s and early 90s, including "The Originators" and "Hawaiian Sophie". He also collaborated with Inglewood, California producer Three-1-Zero. His career had a jump start when he battled a rapper by the name of Zai. The battle caught the eye of many record labels, as Jay-Z was able to hold his own against Zai. He also made an appearance on a popular song by Big L, "Da Graveyard", and on Mic Geronimo's "Time to Build", which also featured early appearances by DMX and Ja Rule and Shazim Hasan in 1995.

Music

Reasonable Doubt (1996)
Main article: Reasonable Doubt
From the beginning of his commercial recording career, Jay-Z chose a route that many would consider untraditional. When no major label gave him a record deal, Jay-Z created Roc-A-Fella Records as his own independent label. After striking a deal with Priority to distribute his material, Jay-Z released his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt with beats from acclaimed producers such as DJ Premier and Clark Kent and a notable appearance by The Notorious B.I.G. Despite reaching only #23 on the Billboard 200, the album was a critical success.[6]

In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 (1997)
Main article: In My Lifetime, Vol. 1
After reaching a new distribution deal with Def Jam in 1997, Jay-Z released his follow-up In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Executive produced by Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, it sold better than his previous effort. Jay-Z later explained that the album was made during one of the worst periods of his life. He was reeling from the death of his close friend The Notorious B.I.G. The album's glossy production stood as a contrast to his first release, and some dedicated fans felt he had "sold out". However, the album did feature some beats from producers who had worked with him on Reasonable Doubt, namely DJ Premier and Ski. Jay-Z mentioned on the YES Network's "CenterStage with Michael Kay" show that if he could do one thing in his career over, it would be Vol. 1, claiming that "it [the cd] was this close to being a classic, but I put like, a few songs on there that ruined it." Example is that he was referring to "I Know What Girls Like" and "(Always Be My) Sunshine", both of which were produced by Bad Boy beatmakers and criticized as a commercialization of his sound. Like its predecessor, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 also earned Platinum status in the U.S.

Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998)
Main article: Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life
1998's Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life spawned the biggest hit of his career at the time, "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)". He also relied more on flow and brilliant wordplay, and he continued his penchant for mining beats from the popular producers of the day such as Swizz Beatz, an upstart in-house producer for Ruff Ryders, and Timbaland. Other producers tapped for beats include: DJ Premier, Erick Sermon, The 45 King, and Kid Capri. Charting hits from this album included "Can I Get A..." featuring Ja Rule and Amil and "Nigga What, Nigga Who" which featured Amil too. Vol. 2 would eventually become Jay-Z's most commercially successful album, it was certified 5x platinum in the United States and has to date sold over 8 million worldwide. The album went on to win a Grammy Award, although Jay-Z boycotted the ceremony protesting the fact that DMX failed to garner a Grammy nomination.

Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999)
Main article: Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter
In 1999, Jay-Z released Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. Despite continued criticism for his increasingly pop-oriented sound,[9] the album proved to be successful and went platinum three times and sold over 5.6 million records worldwide. Through his lyricism, he was able to retain respect from some of his die-hard fans. Vol. 3 is remembered for its smash hit, "Big Pimpin'" (feat. UGK). By this time, Jay-Z was seen as a hip-hop figurehead both by hardcore fans and by the hip-hop industry due to his lyrics and his high album sales.

The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000)
Main article: The Dynasty: Roc La Familia
The subject of much criticism, praise, popularity, condemnation, and discussion, Jay-Z decided to begin developing other artists. Around 2000, he and Damon Dash signed various artists (including "Dynasty" members Amil, Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek) and began introducing them to the public. He next appeared on The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, which was intended as a compilation album to introduce these new artists, though the album had Jay-Z's name on it to strengthen market recognition and by extension, sales. This strategy worked to an extent - The Dynasty: Roc La Familia sold over 2 million units in the US alone.

The Blueprint (2001)
Main article: The Blueprint
2001's The Blueprint is considered by many to be one of hip hop's "classic" albums, receiving the coveted "5 mic" review from The Source magazine. Released on September 11, 2001, the album managed to debut at #1, selling more than 450,000 albums in its first week. The success of the album was overshadowed by the terrorist attacks that same day. The Blueprint was applauded for its production and the balance of "mainstream" and "hardcore" rap, receiving recognition from both audiences. Eminem was the only guest artist on the album, producing and rapping on the single "Renegade". Four of the 13 tracks on the album were produced by Kanye West and represents one of West's first major breaks in the industry. The Blueprint also includes the popular "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "Takeover", a song that takes on rivals Prodigy of Mobb Deep and Nas. The Blueprint has obtained a 2x Platinum status in the US. This album was the first album not to feature Amil, who was dropped in late 2000 because of a feud between Jay-Z/Roc-A-Fella and herself, caused of her meager album sales and her gain of weight, since his breakthrough album Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life.

The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse (2002)
Main article: The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse
Jay-Z's next solo album was 2002's 4 million (USA only) selling The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse a double-album. It was later reissued in a single-disc version, The Blueprint 2.1, which retained half of the tracks from the original and went on to sell a further 800,000 copies. The album spawned two massive hit singles, "Excuse Me Miss" and "'03 Bonnie and Clyde" featuring Jay-Z's girlfriend of four years Beyoncé Knowles. "Guns & Roses", a track featuring Lenny Kravitz, and "Hovi Baby" were two successful radio singles as well. The album also features the tracks "A Dream", featuring Faith Evans and a recording of the late The Notorious B.I.G.; and "The Bounce", featuring Kanye West (who, at that time, was not yet an artist). The Blueprint 2.1 features tracks that do not appear on The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse, such as "Stop", "La La La (Excuse Me Again)", "What They Gonna Do, Part II" and "Beware" produced by and featuring Panjabi MC.

Rivalry with Nas
Main article: Nas vs. Jay-Z
Tension between the two supposedly dates as far back as 1996, when Nas refused to make a guest appearance on Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt. However, the relationship between the two rappers remained peaceful (Jay-Z even giving a shoutout to Nas in his album liner notes),[10] and the tension did not escalate to full-blown rivalry until after the death of the Notorious B.I.G. The position of favorite rapper in New York seemed vacant after the death of Biggie, and fans were eager to see who would take over.

The dispute involved many of the rappers, especially associates at Roc-a-Fella Records, who declared an all-out war against Nas. However, the feud died down somewhat toward the end of 2002. It is believed by most that Nas won this battle, though it is still a subject of intense debate. New York radio station Hot 97 settled took votes matching "Ether"/"Stillmatic" against "Takeover"/"Supa Ugly," and Nas won with 58% while Jay-Z got 42% of the votes. The battle had the potential to destroy both careers and they have since bounced back after this event. Nas and Jay-Z have paid tribute to each other in interviews, likening the battle to a world title boxing match that pitched the best against the best, and pleased with the entertainment it provided fans. After Jay-Z signed Nas to Def Jam (of which Jay-Z is president and CEO), he also featured on Nas's first Def Jam album - "Hip Hop Is Dead" where he does a song with Nas called "Black Republican." The rivalry also impacted their careers critically and commercially. The battle was significant in that it revived the trend of using 'beefs' as a source for publicity and promotion for hip hop artists, originally unpopular following the tragic deaths of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., now prevalent within the hip hop community.

The Black Album (2003)
Main article: The Black Album (Jay-Z album)
Jay-Z toured with 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes and Sean Paul while finishing work on what was announced as his final album, The Black Album. Notable songs on the album included "What More Can I Say", "Dirt Off Your Shoulder", "Change Clothes", and "99 Problems". The latter was a cross-over hit comparable to the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" which some believe pays homage to the now-rare old-school rap style. A few of the songs done on this album portray a more personal side of Jay-Z; for example, "Moment of Clarity" sheds light on his feelings towards his estranged father and coping with his death. It also deals with accusations that he sold out to reach a wider audience. "What More Can I Say" addresses the "biting" accusations leveled against him by Nas in "Ether" and other detractors, as Jay-Z raps, "I'm not a biter I'm a writer for myself and others/I say a Big verse I'm only biggin' up my brother." During that same year, Jay-Z supplied new rhymes on a remix of Punjabi MC's "Mundian To Bach Ke", a desi rap jam that Jay became enamored of after hearing it at a nightclub in Hong Kong. Re-released as "Beware of the Boys", the East-West hip-hop fusion track charted in North America. It was notable for Jay-Z's condemnation of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and laying some of the blame on the 9/11 attacks on the foreign policy of Ronald Reagan. The Black Album has sold 3 million copies in the US.

In 2004, there was a runaway hit remix project by Danger Mouse called The Grey Album in which Jay-Z's Black Album vocals were blended with instrumentals sampled exclusively from The Beatles' White Album (which subsequently embroiled the DJ in a lawsuit that was later dropped with EMI, the owners of the Beatles' work). This was made possible by an a cappella version of the "Black Album" that Jay-Z released with the specific intent for others to mix. The success of The Grey Album led to a rainbow of Black Album remix projects including The Red Album, The Blue Album and so forth.

Collision Course (2004)
Main article: Collision Course (album)
Also in 2004, Jay-Z collaborated with rock group Linkin Park. The project was named Collision Course, and contained a six track EP, as well as a making of DVD. Some of the mash ups tracks were entitled "Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You", "Jigga What/Faint", and "Numb/Encore". "Numb/Encore" went on to win a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and was also performed with Linkin Park live at the Grammys, with a special appearance by Paul McCartney, who added verses from his song Yesterday. The EP sold over two million copies in the US alone.

Retirement
On November 25, 2003, Jay-Z held a concert at Madison Square Garden, which would later be the focus of his film Fade to Black. This concert was his "retirement party". All proceeds went to charity. Other performers included collaborators like The Roots (in the form of his backing band), Missy Elliott, Memphis Bleek, Beanie Siegel, Freeway, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, Twista, Ghostface Killah, Foxy Brown, Pharrell and R. Kelly with special appearances by Voletta Wallace and Afeni Shakur; the mothers of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur respectively.

While Jay-Z had attested to a retirement from making new studio albums, various side projects and appearances soon followed. Included in these were a greatest hits record, mash-up projects and concert appearances with R. Kelly, Linkin Park and Phish.

Jay-Z was the executive producer of Fort Minor's debut album The Rising Tied. Mike Shinoda got together with Jay-Z himself, as well as his Linkin Park bandmate Brad Delson, and they went over what tracks they thought should make the album.

"I Declare War" concert
For more details on this topic, see Hip hop rivalries.
Having been such a visible artist in the late '90s through the early 2000s, Jay-Z has been the subject of more rap-related controversy than most artists in mainstream hip-hop. Some of these have been resolved, some are ongoing, and some have simply dissipated.

On October 27, 2005, Jay- Z headlined New York's Power 105.1 annual concert, Powerhouse. The concert was entitled the "I Declare War" Concert leading to intense speculation in the weeks preceding the event to whom exactly Jay-Z would declare war on. As he had previously "declared war" on other artists taking lyrical shots at him at other events, many believed that the Powerhouse show would represent an all-out assault by Jay-Z upon his rivals. However, an anticipated response to subliminal shots taken by The Game and Cam'ron never materialized.

The theme of the concert was Jay-Z's position as President and CEO of Def Jam, complete with an on-stage mock-up of the Oval Office. Many artists made appearances such as the old roster of Roc-A-Fella records artists, as well as Ne-Yo, Teairra Mari, T.I., Young Jeezy, Akon, Kanye West, Paul Wall, the LOX, and P. Diddy.

Jay-Z performing in 2007.At the conclusion of the concert, Jay-Z put many arguments to rest to the surprise of hip-hop fans. Instead of declaring war, he declared that he was the "United Nations of this rap shit" The most significant development in this show was closure to the infamous hip hop rivalry between Jay-Z and Nas. The two former rivals shook hands and shared the stage together to perform Jay-Z's "Dead Presidents" blended with Nas's song "The World is Yours" from which "Dead Presidents" had sampled the vocals on the chorus. Nas's verses were rapped over the "Dead Presidents" beat in the vein of a mix song done by DJ Statik Selektah. Nas also performed songs of his own later in the show.

Disagreements between other artists were also brought to a close (or put on hold) at the Powerhouse show. The event brought together for the first time in years, P. Diddy and The LOX, both who had a longstanding animosity due to a contract agreement between P. Diddy and The LOX and the latter's departure from Bad Boy Entertainment. Shortly after the concert, the altercation was fully rectified.

The event also saw the return of Beanie Sigel from incarceration. There had been some speculation that Beanie Sigel was going to depart from Roc-A-Fella Records, but this concert proved otherwise. Beanie and The LOX's Jadakiss also officially ended their own argument when they, Jay-Z, the rest of the LOX and Sauce Money (who had been thought to have some animosity towards Jay-Z, but this was also untrue) all performed the song "Reservoir Dogs".

Return to recording music

Kingdom Come (2006)
Main article: Kingdom Come (album)
Jay-Z returned with his comeback album on November 21, 2006 titled Kingdom Come.[11] Jay-Z's comeback single, "Show Me What You Got", was leaked on the Internet in early October 2006, scheduled to be released later on that month, received heavy air-play after its leak, causing the FBI to step in and investigate.[12] Jay-Z worked with video director Hype Williams, and the single's video was directed by F. Gary Gray (Friday, The Italian Job). The album features producers such as Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Dr. Dre and Coldplay's Chris Martin (single entitled "Beach Chair").[13][14] This album has already sold 2 million copies in the US alone. Jay-Z made a guest appearance on the Fall Out Boy album Infinity On High. In June 2007, Jay-Z got number one song on the Billboard Hot 100, Umbrella with Rihanna becoming his first number one since Crazy in Love with Beyoncé. Umbrella was at #1 for 7 weeks on the Hot 100. Jay-Z appeared on rapper T.I.'s album T.I. vs. T.I.P. on the song "Watch What You Say to Me".

American Gangster (2007)
Main article: American Gangster (album)
Jay-Z released his tenth album entitled American Gangster on November 6, 2007. After viewing the film, he was heavily inspired to create a new "concept" album that depicts his experiences as a street-hustler.[15] This album will not be the film's official soundtrack, even though it will be distributed by Def Jam.[16] According to the XXL Magazine, which features Jay Z on the cover, he gave further detail into "American Gangster." Jay Z's "American Gangster" (in stores November 6) depicts his life in correlation to the movie American Gangster. Jay Z reports, “When I saw the movie, the way Denzel portrayed the character, you know, we never seen a Black guy ascend this high in a movie before, to being over the mob. So immediately that struck with me. Like, the success of it all. [...] I took that emotion and pulled it into my song. So it’s my own movie. I call it an indie film now – that’s my new shit. It’s the indie-film version of American Gangster.”

Hip-Hop entrepreneur
Apart from being President and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, Jay-Z is also one of the owners and founders of the Roc-A-Fella empire, which includes Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc-La-Familia, Roc-A-Fella Films and Rocawear.

Jay-Z has also established himself as an entrepreneur like his fellow hip-hop-moguls, and friends, Russell Simmons, Dr. Dre and Sean "Diddy" Combs, who also have business holdings such as record companies and clothing lines. He redirected the hip hop culture from hooded sweatshirts and baggy jeans to button-ups and crisp jeans, and received GQ's International Man of the Year award.

Roc-A-Fella Records
Jay-Z co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with partners Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Def Jam purchased a 50% stake in the company in 1997 for a reported $1.5 million.[17]

In late 2004, Jay-Z, Dash and Biggs sold their remaining interests in Roc-A-Fella Records and the Def Jam Recordings by Island Def Jam chairman L. A. Reid. Reportedly this major industry move was prompted by disagreement between Jay-Z and Dash as to what new ventures Roc-A-Fella could undertake.

The publicized split between Jay-Z, Dash and Biggs led to the former partners sending jabs at each other in interviews. Dame Dash has made comments that after the break up he was portrayed as "Osama bin Laden" to ensure that rappers would stay with Jay-Z and not sign with him.[18] Dash currently operates the recently-founded Dame Dash Music Group as a joint venture with Island Def Jam producing some former Roc-A-Fella artists.

Rocawear
In 1999, Jay-Z co-founded the urban clothing brand Rocawear with Roc-A-Fella Records partners Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke.[19] Rocawear has clothing lines and accessories for men, women and children. The line was taken over by Jay-Z in early 2006 following a falling out with co-founder Damon Dash.

In March of 2007, Jay-Z sold the rights to the Rocawear brand to Iconix Brand Group, for $204 million. Jay-Z will retain his stake in the company and will continue to oversee the marketing, licensing and product development.[19][20]

Entertainment and lifestyle
Jay-Z co-owns The 40/40 Club, an upscale sports bar that started in New York City and has since expanded to Atlantic City, NJ. Future plans will see 40/40 Clubs in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Singapore. Roc-A-Fella also distributes Armadale, a Scottish vodka, in the U.S.

On October 16, 2006, Jay-Z's new commercial spot with Anheuser-Busch aired, featuring his latest single "Show Me What You Got". Jay-Z will serve as co-brand director for Budweiser Select while collaborating with the company on strategic marketing programs and creative ad development. He will be providing direction on brand programs and ads that appear on TV, radio, print, and high-profile events.[21]

Jay-Z is a part-owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team paying a reported $4.5 million for his share. He is also interested in relocating the team to Brooklyn. In October 2005, he was reported in English media as considering buying a stake of Arsenal FC, an English football (soccer) team.[22] However, at this point, this is still speculation.

Personal life

Criminal charges
In 1999, Jay-Z was accused of stabbing record executive Lance "Un" Rivera for what he perceived was Rivera's bootlegging of Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter. The stabbing allegedly occurred at the record release party for Q-Tip's debut solo album Amplified at the Kit Kat Klub, a now defunct night club in Times Square, New York City, on December 9. Jay-Z's associates at the party were accused of causing a commotion within the club, which Jay-Z allegedly used as cover when he supposedly stabbed Rivera in the stomach with a five-inch blade.[23]

Jay-Z initially denied the incident and pleaded not guilty when a grand jury returned the indictment. Jay-Z and his lawyers contended he was nowhere around Rivera during the incident and they had witnesses and videotape evidence from the club that showed Jay-Z's whereabouts during the disturbance. Nevertheless, he later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge that resulted in a sentence of three years probation. Jay-Z makes reference to the trial and incident on his songs "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", on The Blueprint, "Threat", on The Black Album, "I Did It My Way" on The Blueprint 2: The Curse, and "Dear Summer", which was included in Memphis Bleek's 2005 release 534. Nas references this on "Ether" with the lyrics: "your man stabbed 'Un' and made you take the blame."

Romantic life
Jay-Z's most public relationship to date has been with Beyoncé Knowles member of Destiny's Child and solo singer & actress. Some fans mark their relationship as going public in their colloboration on "03 Bonnie & Clyde", the first single off his 2002 album The Blueprint 2 - The Gift and the Curse. His lyrics include "Let's lock this down like it's supposed to be/ The '03 Bonnie and Clyde, Hov and B." Jay-Z returned the favor the next year on Beyoncé's hit single "Crazy in Love" and as well as "That's How You Like It" from her debut Dangerously in Love. On her second album, B-Day, he made appearance on the 2006 hits, "Deja Vu" and "Upgrade U". In the video for the latter song, she comically imitates his appearance.

The couple generally avoids discussing their relationship. Beyoncé has stated that she believes that not publicly discussing their relationship has helped them. Jay-Z said in a People Magazine article that "We don't play with our relationship". They keep a low public profile despite being photographed at New Jersey Nets home games and while on vacation in Cannes in 2007. The pair were listed as a Power Couple on Time Magazine's 100's Most Influential People of 2006.

Jay-Z has been previously linked to 106 & Park hostess Free and actress Rosario Dawson, who appears to be the subject of a verse in "Lost One."[24]

Additionally, the rapper's sexual escapades have been detailed in two books, Karrine Steffans' Confessions of a Video Vixen and in Carmen Bryan's It's No Secret. In Bryan's book, she alleges having a five year affair with Jay-Z, while in an on-off relationship with rapper Nas with whom she had a child.
Wikipedia - Jay Z

50 Cent

2007-11-22T20:22:00.000-08:00

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975),[1] better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper. He rose to fame following the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. 50 Cent achieved multi-platinum success with both albums, selling over twenty-one million records worldwide.[2]

Born in South Jamaica, Queens in New York, 50 Cent began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s' crack epidemic.[3] After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot nine times in 2000. After releasing his mixtape Guess Who's Back? in 2002, 50 Cent was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records. With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre—who produced his first major commercial successes—he became one of the highest selling rap artists in the world. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo. 50 Cent has engaged in numerous feuds with other rappers including Ja Rule, The Game, and Fat Joe.

50 Cent has also pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2005 and the Iraq War film Home of the Brave in 2006.

Life and music career

Early life
50 Cent, born Curtis James Jackson III, grew up in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens in New York City. He grew up without a father, and was raised by his mother Sabrina Jackson, who gave birth to him at the age of fifteen. Sabrina, a cocaine dealer, raised Jackson until the age of eight, when she was murdered. Twenty-three at the time, she became unconscious after someone drugged her drink. She was then left for dead after the gas in her apartment was turned on and the windows shut closed.[4][5] After her death, Jackson moved into his grandparents house with his eight aunts and uncles.[1][6][7] He recalls, "My grandmother told me, 'Your mother's not coming home. She's not gonna come back to pick you up. You're gonna stay with us now.' That's when I started adjusting to the streets a little bit."[8] Jackson grew up with his younger cousin, Michael Francis, who earned the nickname "25 Cent" for being his younger counterpart. Francis raps under the stage name "Two Five".[9]

50 Cent's mug shot on August 23, 1994.Jackson began boxing around the age of eleven. At fourteen, a neighbor opened a boxing gym for local kids. "When I wasn’t killing time in school, I was sparring in the gym or selling crack on the strip", he recalled.[10] In the mid 1980s, he competed in the Junior Olympics as an amateur boxer. He recounts, "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ."[11] At the age of twelve, Jackson began dealing narcotics when his grandparents thought he was at after-school programs.[12] He also took guns and drug money to school. In the tenth grade, he was caught by metal detectors at Andrew Jackson High School. He later stated, "I was embarrassed that I got arrested like that... After I got arrested I stopped hiding it. I was telling my grandmother [openly], 'I sell drugs.'"[8]

On June 29, 1994, Jackson was arrested for helping to sell four vials of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He was arrested again three weeks later when police searched his home and found heroin, ten ounces of crack cocaine, and a starter gun. He was sentenced to three to nine years in prison, but managed to serve six months in a shock incarceration boot camp, where he earned his GED. Jackson said that he did not use cocaine himself, he only sold it.[1][13][14] He adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for "change".[15] The name was derived from Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent". Jackson chose the name "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was. I provide for myself by any means."[16]

Early career
50 Cent started rapping in a friend's basement where he used turntables to record over instrumentals.[17] In 1996, a friend introduced him to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC who was organizing his label Jam Master Jay Records. It was the first time he entered a studio. Jay taught him how to count bars, write choruses, structure songs, and make a record.[18][19] 50 Cent's first official appearance was on a song titled "React" with the group Onyx on their 1998 album Shut 'Em Down. He credited Jam Master Jay as an influence who helped him improve his ability to write hooks.[11] He produced 50 Cent's first album, however it was never released.[4] In 1999, after leaving Jam Master Jay, the platinum-selling producers Trackmasters took notice of 50 Cent and signed him to Columbia Records. They sent him to a studio in Upstate New York, where he produced thirty-six songs in two weeks.[5] Eighteen were included on his unofficially released album, Power of the Dollar in 2000.[20] He also started the now-defunct company with former G-Unit member Bang 'Em Smurf called Hollow Point Entertainment.[21][22]

"How to Rob"

50 Cent's first underground single in which he comically describes robbing celebrity musicians.

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50 Cent's popularity started to increase after the successful but controversial underground single, "How to Rob", which he wrote in half an hour while in a car on the way to a studio.[15][23] The track comically explains how he would rob many famous artists. He explained the reasoning behind song's content as, "There’s a hundred artists on that label, you gotta separate yourself from that group and make yourself relevant."[15] Rappers Jay-Z, Big Pun, DMX, and the Wu-Tang Clan replied to the song[23] and Nas, who received the track positively, invited 50 Cent to travel on a promotional tour for his Nastradamus album.[7] The song was intended to be released with "Thug Love" featuring Destiny's Child, but two days before he was scheduled to film the "Thug Love" music video, 50 Cent was shot and confined to a hospital due to his injuries.[24]

Shooting
On May 24, 2000, 50 Cent was attacked by a gunman outside his grandmother's former home in South Jamaica, Queens. He went into a friend's car, but was asked to return to the house to get jewelry. His son was in the house while his grandmother was in the front yard.[5] On returning to the back seat of the car, another car pulled up nearby. An assailant then walked up to 50 Cent's left side with a 9mm handgun and fired nine shots at close range. He was shot nine times—in the hand (a round hit his right thumb and came out of his pinky), arm, hip, both legs, chest, and left cheek.[4][8][25] The face wound resulted in a swollen tongue, the loss of a wisdom tooth, and a small slur in his voice.[7][8][26] His friend also sustained a gunshot wound to the hand. They were driven to the hospital where he spent thirteen days in recovery. The alleged shooter was killed three weeks later.[27]

50 Cent recalled the incident saying, "It happens so fast that you don't even get a chance to shoot back... I was scared the whole time... I was looking in the rear-view mirror like, 'Oh shit, somebody shot me in the face! It burns, burns, burns.'"[8] In his memoir, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote, "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone."[1] He used a walker for the first six weeks and recovered after five months. When he left the hospital, he stayed in the Poconos with his then-girlfriend and son. His physical workout regimen helped him attain his muscular physique.[4][8][28]

While in the hospital, 50 Cent signed a publishing deal with Columbia Records. However, he was dropped from the label and "blacklisted" in the recording industry after it was discovered he was shot. Unable to find a studio to work with in the U.S, he traveled to Canada.[29][30] Along with his business partner Sha Money XL, he recorded over thirty songs for mixtapes, with the purpose of building a reputation. 50 Cent's popularity rose, and in early 2001, he released material independently on the mixtape, Guess Who's Back?. Beginning to attract interest, and now backed by G-Unit, 50 Cent continued to make songs. They released the mixtape, 50 Cent Is the Future, revisiting material by Jay-Z and Raphael Saadiq.[20]

Rise to fame
"In da Club"

The breakthrough single from Get Rich or Die Tryin'.
"Window Shopper"

"Window Shopper".

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In 2002, Eminem listened to a copy of 50 Cent's Guess Who's Back? CD. He received the CD through 50 Cent's attorney, who was working with Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg.[24] Impressed with the album, Eminem invited 50 Cent to fly to Los Angeles, where he was introduced to Dr. Dre.[4][18][24] After signing a one million U.S. dollar record deal,[18] 50 Cent released the mixtape, No Mercy, No Fear. It featured one new track, "Wanksta", which was put on Eminem's 8 Mile soundtrack.[20] He was also signed to Chris Lighty's Violator Management and Sha Money XL's Money Management Group.

On February 6, 2003, 50 Cent's commercial debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin' was released. All Music Guide described it as "probably the most hyped debut album by a rap artist in about a decade."[31] Rolling Stone noted the album for its "dark synth grooves, buzzy keyboards and a persistently funky bounce" with 50 Cent complementing the production in "an unflappable, laid-back flow."[32] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 872,000 copies in the first four days.[33] The lead single, "In da Club", which The Source noted for its "blaring horns, funky organs, guitar riffs and sparse hand claps"[34] broke a Billboard record as the 'most listened-to' song in radio history within a week.[35]

In Bangkok, Thailand, February 26, 2006Interscope then granted 50 Cent his own label, G-Unit Records in 2003.[36] He signed Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck as the established members of G-Unit. The Game was later signed under a joint venture with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. On March 3, 2005, 50 Cent's second commercial album, The Massacre was released. The album sold 1.14 million copies in the first four days (the highest in an abbreviated sales cycle)[33] and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 for six weeks.[37] He became the first solo artist to have three singles on the Billboard top five in the same week with "Candy Shop", "Disco Inferno", and "How We Do".[38] Rolling Stone noted that "50's secret weapon is his singing voice - the deceptively amateur-sounding tenor croon that he deploys on almost every chorus."[39]

After the departure of The Game, 50 Cent signed singer Olivia and rap veterans Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records. Spider Loc, M.O.P., and Young Hot Rod later joined the label.[40][41] 50 Cent expressed interest in working with rappers outside of G-Unit, such as Lil' Scrappy of BME, LL Cool J from Def Jam, Mase from Bad Boy, and Freeway of Roc-A-Fella, some of whom he recorded with.[42] In September 2007, he released his third album Curtis, which was inspired by his life before Get Rich or Die Tryin'.[43] It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 691,000 units in the first week.[44]

Personal life
On October 13, 1997, 50 Cent's then-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins gave birth to a son, Marquise Jackson.[3][45] The birth of his son changed his outlook on life, "when my son came into my life, my priorities changed, because I wanted to have the relationship with him, that I didn’t have with my father."[46] He credited his son for inspiring his career and being "motivation to go in a different direction."[47] 50 Cent has a tattoo of "Marquise" with an axe on his right bicep. "The axe is 'cause I'm a warrior. I don't want him to be one, though,"[30] he explains. He also has "50", "Southside", and "Cold World" inscribed on his back because "I'm a product of that environment. It's on my back, though, so it's all behind me."[30] 50 Cent dated actress Vivica A. Fox in 2003. After a few months, he announced their split up on the The Howard Stern Show when pictures from a photo shoot they did together ended up on the cover of Today's Black Woman magazine without his knowledge.[48][49]

Promotional poster for Curtis.50 Cent expressed support for President George W. Bush in 2005 after rapper Kanye West criticized him for the slow response in assisting the victims of Hurricane Katrina.[50] If his felony convictions did not prevent him from voting, he claimed that he would have voted for Bush.[51] He later stated that Bush "has less compassion than the average human. By all means, I don’t aspire to be like George Bush."[52] In 2007, 50 Cent was recognized for his wealth by Forbes, placing him second behind Jay-Z in the rap industry.[53] He resides in Farmington, Connecticut, in the former mansion of ex-boxer Mike Tyson.[54] He put the mansion for sale at US$18.5 million to move closer to his son who lives in Long Island with his ex-girlfriend.[55] On October 12, 2007, the Mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut declared it "50 Cent Curtis Jackson Day." He was honored with a key to the city and an official proclamation.[56]

Business ventures
50 Cent has established himself in a wide variety of fields outside of his rapping career. In November 2003, he signed a five year deal with Reebok to distribute a G-Unit Sneakers line as part of his G-Unit Clothing Company[57][58]. He provided the voice-over as the protagonist in the video game 50 Cent: Bulletproof, which was released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and the PlayStation Portable. He worked with glacéau to create and market a grape flavored Vitamin Water drink called Formula 50. In 2007, Coca-Cola purchased glaceau for US$4.1 billion. 50 Cent, who owns a stake in the company, was estimated by Forbes to have earned $100 million after taxes.[59] He also launched a condom line and plans to donate a part of the proceeds to HIV awareness.[60]

Vitamin Water billboard ad on the Book-Cadillac Hotel.In 2005, 50 Cent made a cameo appearance on The Simpsons episode "Pranksta Rap", in which he makes light of his legal troubles. The same year, he starred alongside Terrence Howard in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin'. He also starred in the 2006 film Home of the Brave as a soldier returning home from the Iraq War, traumatized after killing an Iraqi woman.[61] 50 Cent is working on a role as a fighter in an Angola State Prison in The Dance alongside Nicholas Cage, and is set to star opposite Robert De Niro in 2008's Righteous Kill, a movie regarding a police death.[62] He also started a production company called G-Unit Films.[63] On August 21, 2007, 50 Cent announced plans to launch a dietary supplement company in conjunction with his movie The Dance.[64][65]

Shortly before appearing in Get Rich or Die Tryin', 50 Cent released a memoir about his life and how he became successful titled From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens. On January 4, 2007, he launched his G-Unit Books imprint at the Time Warner Building in New York.[66] He also co-wrote The Ski Mask Way, a novel about a small-time drug dealer who attempts to rob his employers, which is to be turned into a film before 2008.[60] 50 Cent said he was reading The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene and worked with the author on a book titled The 50th Law, an urban take on The 48 Laws of Power.[60][67]

Controversy

Murder Inc.

An anti-50 Cent billboard in Tribeca, New York.Before signing with Interscope, 50 Cent engaged in a well-publicized dispute with rapper Ja Rule and his label Murder Inc. Records. The rappers engaged in numerous mixtape "disses". 50 Cent claimed the feud began in 1999 after Ja Rule spotted him with a man who robbed him of his jewelry.[48] However, Ja Rule claimed the conflict stemmed from a video shoot in Queens because 50 Cent did not like seeing him "getting so much love" from the neighborhood.[68] In March 2000, while at The Hit Factory studio in New York, 50 Cent had an altercation with associates of Murder Inc. Records. He was treated for three stitches after receiving a stab wound.[48][69] Rapper Black Child claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying he acted in self-defense because he thought someone was reaching for a gun.[70]

An affidavit by an IRS agent suggested that the label had ties to Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, a New York drug lord who was suspected of being involved in the murder of Jam Master Jay and the shooting of 50 Cent. An excerpt of the affidavit read:

The investigation has uncovered a conspiracy involving McGriff and others to murder a rap artist who has released songs containing lyrics regarding McGriff's criminal activities. The rap artist was shot in 2000, survived and thereafter refused to cooperate with law enforcement regarding the shooting. Messages transmitted over the Murder Inc. pager indicate that McGriff is involved in an ongoing plot to kill this rap artist, and that he communicates with Murder Inc. employees concerning the target.[29]

New York rappers
Before releasing The Massacre, 50 Cent recorded a song, "Piggy Bank", which was leaked before the album's release. The song "disses" rappers including Fat Joe, Nas, and Jadakiss.[71] Fat Joe responded with a song, "My Fo, Fo", accusing 50 Cent of taking steroids, hiding in his home, and being jealous of The Game. Jadakiss also responded with a song, "Checkmate", and said that 50 Cent was trying to "create a buzz for his new album".[72] The music video for "Piggy Bank" portrays animated caricatures of Jadakiss (as a Ninja turtle), Fat Joe (as an overweight boxer who receives a knockout), Nas (as a kid chasing a "milkshake" truck in a Superman costume), and The Game (as Mr. Potato Head).[73]

"Piggy Bank"

A track in which he takes aim at numerous rappers.

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50 Cent spoke negatively about Bad Boy Entertainment mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs and recorded a song, "Hip-Hop", revealing the reasons behind his negative feelings: primarily, a contract dispute over Ma$e. In the song, he implied that Diddy knew about The Notorious B.I.G.'s murder and threatened to expose him through former associates.[74] The feud was resolved, with both rappers appearing on MTV's TRL and Sucker Free, respectively, stating that there were no longer problems.[75]

On February 1, 2007, Cam'ron and 50 Cent had a live argument on The Angie Martinez Show on Hot 97 radio. 50 Cent commented that Koch Entertainment was a "graveyard", meaning major record labels would not work with their artists.[76] Cam'ron then ridiculed the record sales of G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Mobb Deep by stating that Jim Jones outsold their albums despite being signed to an independent label and that his group, The Diplomats, had a distribution deal from several labels.[76] Both rappers released "diss" songs with accompanying videos on YouTube. 50 Cent suggested in "Funeral Music" that Cam'ron is no longer able to lead The Diplomats and that Jim Jones should take his place. Cam'ron responded with "Curtis" and "Curtis Pt. II", in which he makes fun of 50 Cent's appearance, calling him "a gorilla, with rabbit teeth".[77] 50 Cent responded by releasing "Hold On" with Young Buck.[78]

The Game
Main article: G-Unit vs. The Game feud
In early 2005, 50 Cent began a feud with The Game, whom he was close to before releasing his debut album The Documentary. After its release, 50 Cent felt The Game was disloyal for saying he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feuds with other rappers and even wanting to work with artists they were feuding with. He also claimed that he wrote six songs on the album and was not receiving proper credit for his work, which The Game denied.[79]

50 Cent later dismissed The Game from G-Unit on Hot 97 radio. After the announcement, The Game, who was a guest earlier in the evening, attempted to enter the building with his entourage. After being denied entry, one of his associates was shot in the leg during a confrontation with a group of men leaving the building.[80][81] When the situation escalated, both rappers held a press conference to announce their reconciliation.[82] Fans had mixed feelings as to whether the rappers created a publicity stunt to boost the sales of the albums they had just released.[83] Nevertheless, even after the situation deflated,[84] The Game's street credibility was criticized by G-Unit. The group denounced The Game and announced that they will not feature on his albums. During a performance at Summer Jam, The Game launched a boycott of G-Unit called "G-Unot".[85]

After the Summer Jam performance, The Game released a track, "300 Bars and Runnin'", which addresses 50 Cent and G-Unit.[86] He continued his attacks with a DVD titled Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin'. After numerous songs aimed at G-Unit, 50 Cent responded to The Game's rebuttals on mixtapes. One track, "Not Rich, Still Lyin'", imitates The Game, attacks his credibility, and mentions his feud with his brother, Big Fase 100.[87]

The Game also released mixtape covers parodying the rap group. After he displayed pictures of G-Unit dressed up as the Village People, 50 Cent posted a cover of The Game's head on the body of a male stripper.[88] Although he was signed to Aftermath Entertainment, The Game left the label and signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit.[89]

Lawsuit
On July 21, 2007, 50 Cent filed a US$1 million lawsuit against advertising company Traffix Inc. of Pearl River, New York for using his image in a promotion which he says threatens his safety. He learned about the internet ad after one of his staff members saw it on a MySpace page. According to court documents, the ad features a cartoon image of the rapper and the message: "shoot the rapper and you will win $5000 or five ring tones guaranteed." Though the ad did not use his name, the image allegedly intended to resemble him, suggesting he endorsed the ad. The lawsuit calls it a "vile, tasteless and despicable" use of 50 Cent's image that "quite literally calls for violence against him". The lawsuit also seeks for unspecified punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission.[90][91]
Wikipedia - 50 cent

Talib Kweli

2007-11-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

Talib Kweli (born Talib Kweli Greene in Brooklyn, New York City on October 3, 1975) is an American MC from Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the best-known and critically, if not commercially, successful rappers in alternative hip hop. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker"; his middle name in Swahili means "true". Kweli first gained recognition through Black Star, a collaboration with fellow MC Mos Def.

Biography

Early Life
Kweli grew up in a highly educated and literate household. His mother is an English professor and his father a sociology professor. As a youth, he was drawn to Afrocentric rappers, such as De La Soul and other members of the Native Tongues Posse, and soon began recording with rapper Mos Def, whom he had met in high school. Talib Kweli was a student at Cheshire Academy, a boarding school in Connecticut.[citation needed] He later studied experimental theater at New York University (NYU).

Career
Kweli made his professional debut in 1997, with an appearance on "DOOM," an album by Cincinnati, Ohio group, MOOD (Main Flow, Donte, Jahson). In Cincinnati, Kweli also met DJ Hi-Tek and the two collaborated on a few well received underground recordings as Reflection Eternal. Shortly afterwards, upon returning to New York, he reconnected with Mos Def and formed Black Star. Kweli brought along Hi-Tek to produce their first and only album, 1998's Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star. The album, released amidst a late '90s renaissance of conscious, afrocentric hip hop, was immediately hailed by critics and achieved modest mainstream success. When Kweli and Mos Def parted ways shortly thereafter, Kweli and Hi-Tek continued their Reflection Eternal partnership on the 2000 album Train of Thought. The album, released, as Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star had been, on Rawkus Records, was likewise met with critical acclaim, but modest sales.

Following Train of Thought, Kweli and Hi-Tek split as well, and Kweli used his first truly solo debut to attempt a move toward a more mainstream sound. 2002's Quality, accomplished this goal to some extent, featuring production by a host of different producers, including Just Blaze, DJ Quik and Kanye West. The album continued his critical success and received some mainstream attention thanks to the West-produced single "Get By."

In 2004, he released his second solo album and final Rawkus release, The Beautiful Struggle. The album featured much more commercial production, and although Kweli's lyrics retained their socio-political content, he affected a somewhat harder persona. The album failed to cross over into the mainstream and suffered a critical backlash. Still, Kweli's stature continued to grow, particularly fueled by a line from Jay-Z's 2003 record, The Black Album: "If skills sold, truth be told/I'd probably be, lyrically, Talib Kweli."

For his newest release Kweli formed his own record label, Blacksmith Records and has recently signed acclaimed rapper Jean Grae and the group Strong Arm Steady. He also signed a new distribution deal with with Warner Bros. Records for Blacksmith. His latest solo album is called Eardrum and was released on Aug 21, 2007. It debuted at on the Billboard 200, but fell to #20 in it's second week. The first single was Listen!!!.

Other / Related Activities
In 2004, Talib Kweli, along with Bob Moore's Amazing Mongrels, supported the Beastie Boys on their "Challah At Your Boy World Tour," participated in a photo shoot by the renown fashion/celebrity photographer Ben Fink Shaprio, and appeared in a few Dilated Peoples songs, including a live remix later featured on the video game NBA Street Vol. 2.

Kweli has used television appearances extensively to increase visibility, notably on MTV's Wild 'N Out, and several performances on Chappelle's Show with long-time collaborator Mos Def; these performances were a product of host Chappelle's friendship with Kweli. Chappelle in turn participated in a number of skits on Kweli's albums "Train of Thought" and "Quality"- impersonating several people including Nelson Mandela. Kweli also had a guest spot on West's widely successful debut album The College Dropout on the track "Get 'Em High". West has produced some of Kweli's songs, including his biggest commercial hit "Get By". Kweli can be seen in a commercial for the NCAA's Big Ten Conference, rapping about the league's basketball teams. He also provided the voice of the protagonist in the graffiti-themed video game Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, released in 2006.

Talib and fellow rapper artist Mos Def purchased Nkiru, which is Brooklyn's oldest black-owned bookstore, and converted it into the Nkiru Center for Education and Culture.

Current and Future activities
Kweli confirmed in a recent interview with VIBE magazine that the title of his next album will be "Prisoner of Conscious", simply because he feels that he has been labeled a conscious rapper.

Kweli is also about to embark on a national Australian tour in October 2007 visiting all capital cities for the first time ever.

Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek have both said they intend to record a follow-up to the Reflection Eternal album.

Recently Talib has joined MTV's hit show MADE and filmed an episode in the small town of Arlington, Massachusetts. He was the coach of Colin Colt, a young man who wanted to be made into a rap star.

Personal
Kweli has two children: an older son, Amani Fela, who attends Medgar Evers Prepatory School and a younger daughter, Diani Eshe. The mother of his two children, Darcel Turner is the author of two books, Dana Dances on Paper and Lathered Layers. His younger brother, Jamal Greene, graduated from Yale Law School and is currently serving as a law clerk on the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice John Paul Stevens. Kweli has supported the Black August Benefit Concert since its inception, and performs at the show consistently every year.
Wikipedia - Talib Kweli

Cam'ron

2007-11-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

Cameron Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known as Cam'ron, is American rapper from Harlem in New York City. Cam'ron is the founder of the hip-hop group The Diplomats, commonly known as Dipset.

Biography
Cameron Giles was born in Harlem, New York in 145th Street Lenox Avenue. He began his musical career in the mid 1990s, rapping alongside Big L, Mase and his cousin Bloodshed in a group called Children Of The Corn. The group dissolved after Bloodshed's death in a car accident in 1997 and Big L's death in 1999. However, Giles continued to rap, and he eventually was introduced to Notorious B.I.G. by Mase,who was so impressed with his skills that Biggie introduced him to his manager, Lance "Un" Rivera.

Early Career
Cam'ron signed to Rivera's Untertainment label distributed by Epic/Sony, releasing his first solo album, Confessions Of Fire, in July 1998. The album featured songs like "357" and "Horse And Carriage," featuring Mase. Untertainment folded in 1999, and Cam'ron was absorbed into Epic Records (his distribution label). Cam'ron achieved notoriety for his 2001 release from Sony Records under Tommy Mottola. Reportedly using unconventional methods such as physically assaulting and threatening numerous Sony Records employees, Cam'ron sought an end to his contract for his second album released in 2000, entitled S.D.E. (short for Sports, Drugs, and Entertainment). It featured songs such as "Let Me Know" and "What Means the World to You," which featured an all-star line-up of Southern rappers such as U.G.K., Trina, and Ludacris, in addition to Cam'ron's Dipset protege, Juelz Santana.

With Roc-A-Fella
With his release from Sony Records, Cam'ron moved on to sign with his childhood friend Damon Dash in 2001, who had already been managing him and Roc-A-Fella Records. In 2002, he released his third and most successful album, Come Home With Me, along with the biggest hits of his career, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma," both featuring Juelz Santana. Cam'ron catapulted to a Platinum album. He went on to star in the Damon Dash produced film, Paid In Full in 2002. Cam'ron then teamed up with his fellow Diplomats: Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Freekey Zeeky to release the Diplomats' debut, Diplomatic Immunity, in 2003 which was quickly certified platinum by the RIAA. A year latter the Diplomats released there second album Diplomatic Immunity 2 it was released on November 23, 2004. Although not as successful as The Diplomats first album as a group, it still was boosted to Gold status. Cam'ron's fourth album, Purple Haze, was released on December 7, 2004 on Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella Records. It reached gold status. In December 2004, Cam'ron requested his release from Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella Records, feeling his projects weren't receiving the attention they deserved.

Later Music Projects
As of April 28, 2005, Cam'ron joined the Warner Music Group under the Asylum Records imprint. Cam'ron began work on what would be his first project for Asylum, shooting a direct to video movie titled Killa Season. The film would mark both Cam'ron's screenwriting and directorial debuts, as well as his return to acting. Killa season was released on DVD April 25, 2006 after a special two-day theatrical release. Cam'ron's fifth studio album, also titled Killa Season was released on May 16, 2006. Selling 114,000 units his first week and debuting at #2 on the charts, Killa Season failed to have the same staying power as his previous releases, making it the lowest selling album of his career despite still reaching Gold status. as of November 1, 2007 Cam'ron officaley stated that he was released from Asylum Records

On November 7, 2007, Cam'ron released a mixtape called Public Enemy # 1 and now is looking for a new record label to release his sixth studio album.

Shooting
Cam'ron was leaving a popular nightclub after performing earlier Saturday at Howard University and stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of Kenyon and Warder streets in Northwest D.C. Shortly after midnight, a passenger of a nearby car threatened Cam'ron to "give up" his 2006 Lamborghini. Cam'ron resisted and the gunman then shot him. Cam'ron was struck at least once as he was holding the steering wheel, but he was able to drive himself around going the wrong way on streets and flashing his lights, trying to get a police officer's attention because he didn't know where he was or how to get to the hospital, until a fan finally drove him to Howard University Hospital for treatment. He caught a plane back home the next day. The gunman and passenger sped off and crashed into a parked car and a home and then fled the scene. D.C. Metro Police also recovered a cell phone from the scene of the crash, which they are trying to use to trace the suspects. On April 22, 2007 he was interviewed on CBS-TV's "60 Minutes" about this, he stated that he does not know who shot him. He also stated that he would "not help the police" try to locate the shooter saying he is "not a snitch" and trying to help the police would probably hurt his record sales. However, according to The Smoking Gun, he has come across police before regarding 15 African American males attacking him at a basketball court in Harlem, New York. Cam'ron did not give a description of any of the 15 black males involved in the altercation.

Stop Snitching
Cam'ron was featured on the April 22, 2007 edition of news show 60 Minutes, and was interviewed by Anderson Cooper about the "Stop Snitching" campaign. When asked if he would tell the police if a serial killer was living next to him, Giles replied "I would probably move," but he wouldn't inform the police. Cam'ron was a victim of a shooting that revealed no leads or clues because he refused to give police information about the suspect claiming it would hurt his business and violate his "code of ethics."[9] However, Cam'ron has come across the police in the past.[10] Although, in the standard police report, Cam'ron did not give a description of any one of the fifteen black males that he was involved with in the physical altercation.[11]

Controversy

Mase
In 2004, Cam'ron came into headlines after a dispute with his former friend Mase. After returning to the music industry after a five year religious hiatus, Mase conducted an interview on the New York City radio station Hot 97 where he described his falling out with Cam'ron and the current status of their relationship. Mase claimed that confusion over $50,000 he asked to receive for an appearance in the "Horse and Carriage" music video caused the demise of their relationship. This fueled a heated on-air debate between Cam'ron's right-hand man Jim Jones and Mase. Jim Jones declared that Mase was "fabricating" in the autobiography he wrote in 2001. Also, Jim Jones was upset that Mase used people's real names in his book, thereby exposing them. Furthermore, Jones said "you wasn't giving us no money, so we went out and got money" when Jim Jones (rapper) and Cam'ron went on tour with Mase, and that now they don't need Ma$e anymore because they are the "Sizzurp boys, quarter billion, ya ain't heard?", in reference to The Diplomats Purple Sizzurp liquor business. Jim Jones went on to reveal that Mase actually left Harlem not because he was answering a higher calling to become a reverend, but because he was scared out of town by the murder of his two friends, Pop Lotti and Baby Mane. Jones claimed Mase was "ran up out of Harlem" because there was "money on him," meaning someone had put a bounty on Mase's head. Jones goes on to tell Mase that "you need to be nervous to be in Harlem still, cause I'm here" and threatens that Mase better "have them boys with the badges on them" (police) with him when he next encounters him, because "I Jim Jones will do it to you, [Mase] Duke." Jim Jones informs the audience that he never liked Mase, as he crudely refers to him as "Betha," Mase's last name.

Jay-Z
In 2006, Cam'ron released a diss track called "You Gotta Love It", in which Cam accused Jay-Z of stealing Roc-A-Fella records, Rocawear clothing, and Kanye West from Damon Dash. In addition to this, he claims he saw someone put a Roc-A-Fella hand sign up before he was shot. He also ridicules Jay-Z for wearing chancletas with jeans and laughs at him for stabbing Lance "Un" Riverra because he was in love with female rapper Charli Baltimore. Released simultaneously with "You Gotta Love It" was a second track, "Swagger Jacker." In this track created originally by DJ DAT of the Bronx, Cam'ron outlines numerous instances where Jay-Z has performed lyrics originally recorded by a bevy of other rappers, most notably Notorious B.I.G. In 2006, Cam'ron held a press conference to discuss his possible jail term and addressed the Jay-Z beef. Since he was convicted on a weapons possession in 2002, he needed permission to leave the state, which he failed to do. Cam stated that he always gets permission, however his trip to D.C. was a last minute decision. When asked about the reason behind the whole Jay-Z beef, he said the final straw was the Jay-Z "I Declare War" concert in which Jay-Z ultimately declared peace not war. The concert was seen by most as a positive step towards stopping the violence in hip-hop. However, Cam'ron went on to accuse Jay-Z of attempting to find Jim Jones's Catholic school pictures and footage of Cam and Jones getting robbed. It is said that Jay-Z responded to Cam'ron, although he never mentions his name, in the remix of the Rick Ross' song "Hustlin", which also features Young Jeezy. In the "Hustlin" remix, Jay-Z refers to his style of dress on island resorts as well as mentioning the circumstances in which Cam'ron was injured in the car jacking. Cam'ron responded with a verse from an unofficial remix of Yung Joc's "It's Goin' Down".

Lil Cease and Junior Mafia
In 1998, Cam'ron and Jim Jones were involved in an altercation with associates of Brooklyn emcee Lil' Cease, cousin of Notorious BIG, and members of his crew at the Rucker Basketball Park in Harlem, NY. This was documented on a TNT televised basketball game. In 2005, Lil' Cease later released the video footage of the altercation, narrating and naming the people he knows in the video. This video was also named in XXL magazine as one of the twenty best street DVDs in the October issue. Although there is no visual indication that either Jim Jones or Cam'ron were the actual people in the video, due to amateur videotaping.

50 Cent
On February 1, 2007, Cam'ron and 50 Cent were involved in a heated argument on Hot 97, due to the remarks that 50 Cent had made about Koch Records referring to it as an "artist graveyard" due to the fact that many artists sign there after being released from major company record deals. Cam'ron responded by insulting the recent record sales of G-unit member Lloyd Banks and 50 Cent's friends Mobb Deep, and by stating how Jim Jones was selling really well on Koch Records and how The Diplomats had a distribution deal from several labels at the same time. Soon after 50 Cent released "Funeral Music",The song references Cam'ron's deal with Koch as being indicative of Cam's rap career ending.[12] Cam'ron has since recorded a response called "Curtis" which aired on Hot 97 on Friday the 9th. In the song, Cam states that 50 snitched on him to his parole officer. Cam'ron discredits the name 50 Cent borrowed by Curtis Jackson in reference to the original 50 Cent Kelvin Martin. He also makes fun of his appearance and teeth calling him "A gorilla with rabbit teeth" and "Bugs Monkey". The video was released on February 15th. Cam'ron has made a follow up record video dissing 50 Cent entitled CURTIS Part II.

On the May 17, 2007 edition of 106 & Park, 50 Cent appeared as a guest. When asked about his beef with cam he stated "I haven't heard anything from Cam'ron since he got punched in the eye, I haven't heard one word!" afterwards he says "Has anyone seen Tru Life?" he scoffed. "We should ask him about Cam'ron." A day later Cam'ron fired back on video camera with the following statement: "It's 7:40, May 17th. I just got a 2 way talking about Curtis is talking about I don't come outside. We in my vacation home because it's gonna be a real fucking hot summer for everybody," the rapper threatened. "Probation is officially over. Curtis you wanna get involved? Holla at me, I'm right here."[13]

On August,2007 50 Cent leaked a new diss track aimed at Cam'ron, Fat Joe, and Czar Entertainment. The name of the track is called "We On Some Shit," and features Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks. Cam'ron responded by makin fun of him on his 6 minute intro to his mixtape Public Enemy #1 by sayin that he needs the police just to walk the New York streets and how he named his album Curtis.

Jim Jones
Rumors have begun to spread that fellow Dipset member Jim Jones has been in many rifts and disagreements with Cam'ron.[14] On May 7, 2007, Jones was to appear on the "Funkmaster Flex radio show", but due to unknown reasons Jones was a no show which bloggers and listeners began to wonder if this statement of a possible break up within the group was indeed true[15] However, Radio-Personality Miss Info caught up with Jones and interviewed him in which he describe the situation with him and Cam'ron. He said:

“ "Me and Cam'ron haven't spoken to each other in a year...I kept quiet out of loyalty, I felt like if we can't be friends then at least we can do business together," Jones explained to Miss Info. "But now I can't be next to you...I'm through with being in hot water because of you...We still the Diplomats. We worked too hard to achieve our own success and now we're gonna do something new."[16] ”

On the September 12, 2007 edition of Rap City, rapper 50 Cent was the special host in which he stated that he may have a new signee for his G-Unit label. At this point, Jones appeared on the scene. He then began to talk about his possibly new record deal in which he stated that he was offered a lot of money to join the label. But, this situation was no further discussed in which 50 cut him off quickly. [17]. After the interview many people began to think Jim Jones was going to sign with G-unit however Jim Jones has denied going to the label. Many loyal Cam'ron and dipset fans have began to ridicule Jim Jones for being with 50 Cent on Rap City.Even Hell Rell has attacked Jim Jones and G-Unit on a radio interview."[18]

When Cam'ron was available for an interview with Miss Info he talked about his relationship with Jim Jones He Said:

“ "I still haven’t spoken to Jim. But Jim ran with me for over 10 yrs, he worked hard, and I wish him the best of luck. Everybody thinks I’m mad at Jim. Why am I mad? I told people for years that Jimmy was gonna be a star. So its better on my resume…I wish him the best. The only thing is, him being with 50, I can’t really run with that. Hang out with who you want to hang out…but me, I can’t really do nothing like that."[19]
Wikipedia - Cam'ron

Eminem

2007-11-22T14:22:00.001-08:00

Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage names Eminem and Slim Shady, is an Oscar[2] and multiple Grammy Award winning rapper, record producer, and actor from Detroit, Michigan. Having sold over seventy million albums worldwide,[3] Eminem is one of the highest-selling musicians of the early 2000s thus, making him one of the highest-selling rap artists of all time.[3] Eminem was discovered by rapper and producer Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre later signed Eminem to his record label, Aftermath Entertainment.

Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney has praised Mathers for his "verbal energy" and for arousing popular interest in poetry and lyrics.[4] Eminem is infamous for the controversy surrounding many of his lyrics. With the success of his highly acclaimed album,[5] The Marshall Mathers LP and its subsequent nomination for four Grammy awards including Album of the Year,[6] critics such as GLAAD denounced his lyrics as homophobic and misogynist, while others claimed that it promoted violence. [7] In 2002, he starred in the semi-autobiographical movie 8 Mile.

Biography

Early life
Eminem was born in St. Joseph, Missouri to Deborah (née Nelson) and Marshall Bruce Mathers II, of Scottish, German, and English descent.[8] Shortly after his birth, his father walked out, leaving Debbie and Marshall alone. Until he was 12, he and his mother moved to and from between St. Joseph and Warren, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, where he met D12 rapper Proof.[9] He was reportedly interested in hip hop from a young age. Because he was small for his age and he was one of the few whites that lived in an African American neighboorhood he was reportedly picked on. Mathers decided that even though he was too small to fight back he would instead retaliate with words. Learning how to "battle" his foes with rap music gave him an outlet for his anger.[10] Mathers began performing as early as 13 in a group called Bassmint Productions where they produced an EP called Steppin' onto the Scene. In 1995, he recorded his first official tape, Fuckin’ Backstabber/Soul Intent. In 1996, he released an independent underground album named Infinite. Eminem recalls: "Obviously, I was young and influenced by other artists, and I got a lot of feedback saying that I sounded like Nas and AZ. Infinite was me trying to figure out how I wanted my rap style to be, how I wanted to sound on the mic and present myself. It was a growing stage. I felt like Infinite was like a demo that just got pressed up."[11][12] Mathers followed Infinite with The Slim Shady EP, which saw his lyrics take a decidedly darker turn, in songs like "No One's Iller" and "Murder Murder", the latter of which he talks about having to commit crimes to feed his daughter.

After this album he received much attention and mixed reviews in the hip-hop underground scene, due to his distinctive style and the fact that he was white in a predominantly black genre.

Mathers had done a notable amount of rapping with fellow Detroit MC Royce da 5'9" early in his career. They referred to themselves as Bad Meets Evil, with Eminem playing 'The Bad' and Royce playing 'The Evil'. Royce da 5'9" and Eminem were once considered to be two of the greatest underground MCs in Detroit and were noted for their lyrical ability.

In 1997, when Eminem was still rising to fame, he started a long feud against the already famous Insane Clown Posse. The feud originated in 1997 at Saint Andrew's Hall, where Eminem was handing out flyers for a party promoting his Slim Shady EP. The flyer listed appearances by a number of Detroit rappers, including ICP. Violent J, a member of ICP, was not too happy about being listed without his knowledge and he told Eminem that he wasn't going to play at his party. Eminem, taking his rejection as an insult, began insulting ICP, telling people, for example, that he threw them out of a club in Detroit. The club incident was confirmed, although ICP denied the event in their song Nuttin' But a Bitch Thang:

"You ain't never chased us out of no club bitch... only club you ever chased anybody out of was a gay bar bitch".

The rivalry between these rappers has not slowed down, as of recently.

Perhaps the most notable event that arose out of this feuding was that Eminem was arrested when, on June 3, 2000, during an altercation at a car audio store in Royal Oak, Michigan, with Douglas Dail, the ICP manager, he pulled out an unloaded gun and kept it pointed at the ground[13]. The following day, in Warren, Michigan, he allegedly saw his then wife, Kim, kiss the bouncer John Guerrera in the parking lot of the Hot Rock Café and assaulted him with his gun[13]. He was given two years probation for both the episodes[14]. The skit The Kiss on The Eminem Show is based around the latter incident[15].

Rise to fame
After being signed to Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records, Eminem released The Slim Shady LP, which went on to be one of the most popular albums of 1999, going triple platinum by the end of the year.[16] With the album's popularity came controversy surrounding many of the album's lyrics. In "'97 Bonnie and Clyde", he describes a trip with his infant daughter, disposing of the body of his wife. Another song, "Guilty Conscience", ends with his encouraging a man to murder his wife and her lover. "Guilty Conscience" also marked the beginning of the powerful friendship and musical bond that Dr. Dre and Eminem would share. The two label-mates would later collaborate on a line of hit songs, including "Forgot About Dre" and "What's the Difference" from Dr. Dre's album 2001, "Bitch Please II" from the Marshall Mathers LP, "Say What You Say" from The Eminem Show and "Encore/Curtains Down" from Encore.

The Marshall Mathers LP was released in May 2000, and quickly sold two million copies. It was Eminem's fastest selling album to date.[17] The first single released from the album, "The Real Slim Shady", was a success and created some buzz by insulting celebrities and making dubious claims about them; he implies, among other things, that Christina Aguilera performed oral sex on Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) and Carson Daly (of MTV's Total Request Live).[18] In his second single, "The Way I Am", he reveals to his fans the pressures from his record company to top "My Name Is" and sell more records. Although Eminem had parodied shock rocker Marilyn Manson in the video "My Name Is", the artists are now on good terms. They have performed a remix of the song "The Way I Am" together in concert.[19] In the third single, "Stan" (which samples Dido's "Thank You"), Eminem attempts to deal with his new-found fame, taking on the perspective of a deranged fan who kills himself and his pregnant girlfriend, mirroring "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" on The Slim Shady LP. It was named as the third greatest rap song of all time in a list compiled by Q Magazine,[20] and came 10th in a similar survey conducted by Top40-Charts.com.[21] The song has since become highly acclaimed and was ranked 290th in Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time".[22]

Mathers' third major album, The Eminem Show, was released in summer 2002 and proved to be another hit for the rapper reaching number one on the charts and selling well over 1 million copies in its first week of release.[16] It featured the single "Without Me", an apparent sequel to "The Real Slim Shady", in which he makes derogatory comments about boy bands, Limp Bizkit, Moby, and Lynne Cheney, among others. The album reflected on the impact of his rise to fame, his relationship with his wife and daughter, and his status in the hip-hop community. He also addresses the charges he faced over assaulting a bouncer he saw kissing his wife in 2000. While there is clear anger present on several tracks, this album was considerably less inflammatory than the previous, and as such did not face any protests of misogyny and homophobia that had plagued The Marshall Mathers LP.

The year 2004 saw the release of Mathers' fourth major album, Encore. The album was another chart-topper for the rapper, driven by the single "Just Lose It", notable for being disrespectful towards Michael Jackson.[23] Despite the comedic theme of the lead single, Encore also had its fair share of serious subject matter, including the anti-war track "Mosh". By the end of 2005 Mathers released the single, "When I'm Gone", recorded for the greatest-hits set Curtain Call: The Hits.

Eminem often said that one of his most influential rappers in his career was Tupac Shakur, during an interview for the Tupac: Resurrection documentary.[24]

Drug use
Mathers is no stranger to drugs and alcohol, as suggested by a large number of his songs, including "Drug Ballad", "These Drugs" (with D12) and "Under the Influence". The song "I'm Shady" (The Slim Shady LP, 1999) includes the explanatory line: "Well, I do take pills (ecstasy, acid, or prescription drugs), don't do speed / don't do crack, don't do coke / I do smoke weed / don't do smack / I do do 'shrooms, do drink beer / I just wanna make a few things clear."

Other tracks, such as "Just Don't Give a Fuck", suggest cocaine use. However, with a sentence of two years of probation taking effect in 2001, during which he was subject to mandatory regular drug testing, his recreational drug use was put to an end. This is supported with references to his drug use in his music all but disappearing after 2001, and comments by late band-mate Proof, who stated that Mathers "sobered up".[25] However, he did turn to Zolpidem sleeping pills for relief of sleeping troubles and eventually went to rehab to recover from the addiction. In summer 2005, Mathers embarked on his first U.S. concert run in three years, the Anger Management 3 Tour, featuring Lil' Jon, 50 Cent and G-Unit, D12, Obie Trice, The Alchemist, and others. In August 2005, Mathers canceled the European leg of the tour and subsequently announced that he had entered drug rehabilitation for treatment for a "dependency on sleep medication".[26]

Eminem in D12
Main article: D12
In 2001, Mathers brought his rap group, D12, to the popular music scene. In 2001, D12 released their hit debut album Devil's Night (album).

The first single released off of the album was "Purple Pills" (radio named "Purple Hills"), an ode to recreational drug use (although this was preceded in the UK by a song called "Shit on You", which was included on the special edition version of the album). The version of the song released on the radio and music television was heavily rewritten to remove many of the song's obscene lyrics, and renamed "Purple Hills". While the first single was a hit, the album's second single, "Fight Music", was not as successful, in part due to its timing in relation to the 9/11 attacks.

After their debut, D12 took a three-year break from the studio, later regrouping to release their second (and possibly last[27]) album, D12 World, in 2004, which featured the popular hit single release "My Band". The other members of D12 have also appeared as guests on all of Mathers' albums since The Marshall Mathers LP.

On April 11, 2006, Proof was killed by a gunshot wound to the head at approximately 4:30am EDT (08:30 UTC) at the CCC Club on 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan after fatally shooting U.S. military veteran Keith Bender, Jr.

Proof was buried on April 20, 2006 in The Fellowship Chapel, Detroit to a full house of 2,000 with thousands mourning outside. Mathers and Obie Trice both read eulogies at the service.

An excerpt:

“ I'm sure everybody who has ever met him, even just once, can testify to the fact that he illuminated a room when he walked in it. I believe that Proof loved people and people loved him. He was a magnet. He lured you in. You wanted to learn about him, follow his swagger. Without Proof, there would be no Eminem, no Slim Shady, and no D12. ”

Recent events

2005
In 2005, some industry insiders speculated that Mathers was considering ending his rapping career after six years and several multi-platinum albums. Speculation began in early 2005 about a double-disc album to be released late that year, rumored to be titled The Funeral. [28] The album manifested itself under the name Curtain Call: The Hits, and was released on December 6, 2005 under Aftermath Entertainment. In July 2005, the Detroit Free Press broke news of a potential final bow for Mathers as a solo performer, quoting members of his inside circle who said that he will begin to fully embrace the role of producer and label executive. The Free Press, Mathers' hometown paper, wrote that the aptly titled Encore album would now stand as his final solo album.[29]

Mathers announced via MTV News that he does not plan on retiring soon: "When I say I'm taking a break, I'm taking a break from my music to go in the studio and produce my other artists and put their albums out. That's called taking a break for me. When I know my next move, I'll tell everyone my next move. Not some reporter who writes a story about 'This is Eminem's last album.' I never said Encore was my last album. I never said anything yet. I don't know what I'm doing yet. Nothing is definite, you know what I'm sayin'? Nothing is written in stone"[30] At "Anger Management" in Madison Square Garden and Atlanta's HiFi Buys Amphitheater, he openly announced that he is not retiring and indicates this is all just gossip by saying the moon exploding is a more credible rumor. However, many still speculate that he will be retiring and the announcement at Madison Square Garden was only a ploy to distract the fans. Adding to the already feverish rumors from fans, Mathers released a track on Curtain Call: The Hits entitled "When I'm Gone". The lyrics feature the topic of Slim Shady's destructive power over Marshall Mathers' life, and talks of laying his alter ego to rest, one line featuring the lyrics "I turn around, find a gun on the ground, cock it/ Put it to my brain, scream 'Die Shady!' and pop it. *gun fires*"

On December 6, 2005, the day Curtain Call: The Hits was released, Mathers denied that he was retiring on Detroit-based WKQI's "Mojo in the Mornin'" radio show, but implied that he would at least be taking a break as an artist, saying "I'm at a point in my life right now where I feel like I don't know where my career is going… This is the reason that we called it 'Curtain Call,' because this could be the final thing. We don't know."[31]

2006
Eminem had some activity since the release of Curtain Call: The Hits. Eminem also rapped a verse in a live performance of Busta Rhymes' "Touch It" remix at the 2006 BET Music Awards on June 27, 2006.

Eminem and Elton John have met up during 2006 to make a few records together; they originally decided to meet up during the month of April but later decided to meet up at a latter date due to the death of Proof. It is unknown whether a new single will be made between the two for a new Eminem album, but Elton was sure that there would be one on his new hip hop project[32].

On December 5, 2006, Eminem released an album compilation entitled Eminem Presents the Re-Up. It started out as a mixtape but Eminem found that the material was better than expected and released it as a full album. It was meant to help launch new Shady Records artists Stat Quo, Ca$his, and Bobby Creekwater. [33]

Eminem was featured on Akon's single "Smack That" which appeared on Akon's new album Konvicted. He also appears in the video with a new tattoo of his late friend Proof and a green polo. According to Akon, Eminem would cancel his retirement plans to make a new album. He said: "Eminem told me he was getting bored with everything, which is why he took a break. But he's back working on an album and I've got some records ready for him to use on it. We've talked about doing something together for so long, but our schedules made it impossible. It was our chemistry that got him out of retirement."[34] On November 19, "Smack That" topped the Official UK Singles Chart and claimed Eminem his 7th UK Number One Single. In December 2006, it was nominated for "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. Producer Swizz Beatz has also said in an interview that he has sent some new tracks to Eminem. [35]

2007
According to 50 Cent, Eminem is recording a new album. He said:

He's got a new album coming. He's not gonna tell people that, but he's making new music. I've heard a few songs, and it's hot. He won't tell nobody he's working on a new album, but I'll tell you: he's working on new music. And once he locks into it, like, 'This is my favorite shit,' it's gonna come out.

When asked if the new material is angry or wacky, Jackson replies, "Both. The whole range. You know, Michael Jordan was supposed to play basketball. Floyd Mayweather was meant to box. And Eminem was meant to rap." [36] Ca$his, another Shady Records labelmate, said this new album is to be titled King Mathers. [37]

However, in August, Eminem's publicist Dennehy said, "There is no Eminem album on any release schedule." [38]

In September, Eminem called into New York radio station Hot 97 during a 50 Cent interview and confirmed he is hard at work on his first studio album in three years. He said, "I'm always working -- I'm always in the studio. It feels good right now, the energy of the label. For a while, I didn't want to go back to the studio ... I went through some personal things. I'm coming out of those personal things [and] it feels good." And though he jokingly said he'd release the new CD "tomorrow", there is no official release date, according to Interscope. [39] Dr. Dre told the Los Angeles Times that he will now devote two months to work on Eminem's new highly-anticipated album, saying "We'll be trying to get his thing done and work on a few things on my own project".[40]

In October, a DJ Whoo Kid untitled track was leaked but there is no information on when it was recorded. [41] It was announced that on November 13 he is going to release a new DVD, Live from New York City[42]; the 2005 Madison Square Garden concert was originally aired on the Showtime network in December 2005. The concert was shown on a few occasions on MTV in Europe. It features D12, Obie Trice and Stat Quo. During an interview, D12 member Bizarre said that Interscope doesn't want D12's third album to be released until after Eminem's next album. [43] He also said that Eminem isn't featured on his new album Blue Cheese & Coney Island because "he's busy doing his thing". [44] 50 cent confirmed that on the new G-Unit album, Shoot to Kill, that will be released in December, there will be a track with Eminem[45]. Lil Wayne stated that he has the craziest song for Eminem on his new album, Tha Carter III, but that he hasn't "sent it over yet". [46]

In November, 50 Cent said Eminem won't tour again because of his daughter. He told MTV One: "I've toured more than him because he has Hailie and he likes to physically be at the house. A lot of people don't know the reason behind him touring less - but Hailie would put boxes in front of the door thinking this would stop him going. He would fly back on a private plane after the show so he could drive her to school in the morning so for him the tour was exhausting." [47]

Ventures

Acting career
Mathers made his Hollywood acting debut with the semi-autobiographical 8 Mile, released in November 2002. He has said the movie is not an account of his life, but a representation of growing up in Detroit. He recorded several new songs for the soundtrack, including "Lose Yourself", which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song; it was not performed at the ceremony, reportedly because ABC wanted him to perform an edited version. Mathers voiced a character in 50 Cent: Bulletproof, who is an aging corrupt police officer that speaks in Ebonics. He has also done some voice acting, both on Crank Yankers and a web cartoon called The Slim Shady Show, which has since been pulled off-line and is instead sold on DVD. Eminem will star in the upcoming film Have Gun — Will Travel in which he will play a bounty hunter called Paladin. He will also be involved in either the soundtrack or scoring.[48] He has also stated a movie production company called “Interscope/Shady/Aftermath Films” with Dr. Dre. The company has worked on 50 Cent's debut movie Get Rich or Die Tryin' and will work on Eminem's next movie Have Gun — Will Travel.

Shady Records
Main article: Shady Records
As Mathers succeeded in multi-platinum record sales, Interscope granted him his own record label. He and his manager Paul Rosenberg created Shady Records in late 2000. He followed this by signing his own Detroit collective D12 and rapper Obie Trice to the label. In 2002, Mathers signed 50 Cent through a joint venture between Shady and Dr. Dre's Aftermath label. In 2003, Mathers and Dr. Dre signed on Atlanta rapper Stat Quo to the Shady/Aftermath roster. DJ Green Lantern, the former DJ for Mathers, was signed to Shady Records until a dispute related to the 50 Cent and Jadakiss feud forced him to depart from the label; he is no longer associated with Mathers. [49] The Alchemist is now officially Mathers' tour DJ. In 2005, Mathers officially signed another Atlanta rapper known as Bobby Creekwater to his label along with west coast rapper Ca$his.

In the Anger Management Tour of 2003 The Alchemist hurt his wrist, preventing him from being the tour's DJ. Clinton Sparks filled in for him, with the rectom playing and his name is mentioned on the album numerous times.

Eminem as a producer
See also: Eminem production discography
Mathers is also active as a producer of rap records. Besides being the executive producer of D12's two albums, Devil's Night and D12 World, he has also executive produced Obie Trice's Cheers and Second Round's on Me as well as 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. In addition, Mathers has produced and appeared on several songs by other famous rappers, such as Jadakiss' "Welcome To D-Block", Jay-Z's "Renagade" and "Moment of Clarity" Lloyd Banks' "Warrior Part 2", and "Hands Up", Tony Yayo's "Drama Setter", Trick Trick's "Welcome 2 Detroit", and Xzibit's "My Name" and "Don't Approach Me". Most of The Eminem Show was produced by Mathers himself, with co-production from longtime collaborator Jeff Bass. He also split the production with Dr. Dre on Encore. In 2004, Mathers was the Executive Producer of 2Pac's posthumous album Loyal to the Game with 2Pac's mother Afeni Shakur. He produced the UK #1 single "Ghetto Gospel" which featured Elton John. On certain tracks on the album, 2Pac's voice was slowed down and digitally altered to match the beat and make him say things like "2005" and "G-Unit", angering many fans. He has also produced "The Cross" off Nas's album God's Son. On August 15, 2006, Obie Trice released Second Round's on Me. Eminem produced 8 tracks on the album. He was also featured in the song "There They Go".

Controversy

Alleged homophobia
With the enormous popularity of The Marshall Mathers LP, the controversy surrounding him grew even larger, especially when it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Though Mathers had always claimed that his lyrics were not meant to be taken seriously, and that he had nothing against homosexuals or women, the gay rights group GLAAD organized a boycott of the Grammys. Ironically, at the Grammys Eminem performed his hit "Stan", with Elton John singing the chorus. Eminem said he did not know Elton John was gay, but he told Kurt Loder after the awards show that he respected him: "Of course I'd heard of Elton John," Eminem said, "but I didn't know he was gay. I didn't know anything about his personal life. I didn't really care, but being that he was gay and he had my back, I think it made a statement in itself saying that he understood where I was coming from."[50] He had also included it on his Curtain Call: The Hits compilation album. Eminem is known to be featured on a future album release by Elton John.[51]

Violence towards women
The two songs most often cited as examples in The Marshall Mathers LP of Mathers' supposed misogyny were "Kill You", and "Kim." Critics claimed[52][53] the former portrayed extremely violent abuse against women in general and contained a line about him raping his own mother. In the latter, despite his conflicting expressions of love and hate throughout the track, he ends up slitting Kim's throat at the end, accompanied by cries of "Bleed, bitch, bleed!" Several people objected to the graphic description of domestic violence. On the clean version of the CD, the track was removed and replaced with a song almost entirely devoid of profanity called "The Kids."

In 2005, Eminem was a subject of criticism in Bernard Goldberg's book 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, being ranked at #58.[54] Goldberg cited a 2001 column by Bob Herbert of New York Times claiming, "In Eminem's world, all women are whores and he is eager to rape and murder them."[55] The Eminem song "No One's Iller" was also used by Goldberg as an example of misogyny in his music.[56]

Criticism from other artists
Eminem's provocative style has resulted in a number of high-profile feuds erupting between the rapper and some of his music industry peers. In almost all of these disputes Eminem and other have more-or-less made peace. He has used his many connections within the music industry, especially with mixtape DJs, to release many unofficial diss tracks. His partnership with DJ Green Lantern, while it lasted, led to several mixtapes entitled The Invasion. On these mixtapes there were many songs unrelated to the animosity between Eminem and his labelmates and other artists, though the majority of the songs could easily be called diss tracks. The harshest of these was the second, called Conspiracy Theory. It had several songs by Eminem attacking a range of artists, particularly Ja Rule and Benzino, including "Bump Heads," "Doe Ray Me," and a remix of the Tupac (2Pac) song "Hail Mary" (with no contribution from the original artist).

Eminem's "Mosh" marked the end of the long feud between Moby and Eminem; when Moby complimented both the song and Eminem for his politically charged song on his blog. Eminem has not attacked or criticized Moby since.

Chuck D of Public Enemy has shared both positive and negative critique of Eminem having called him the "new" Elvis Presley.:"Eminem is the new Elvis Presley because, number one, he has the respect for black music that Elvis had. I think he's courteous and sympathetic to black music and, unfortunately, he's more sympathetic to black music than many black artists themselves." [57]

In 2003, "Weird Al" Yankovic was denied permission to make a video for "Couch Potato", his parody of Eminem's "Lose Yourself". "Last year, Eminem forced me to halt production on the video for my 'Lose Yourself' parody because he somehow thought that it would be harmful to his image or career."[58] For the Poodle Hat Al TV special, Yankovic raised the question of artistic expression in a false interview with Eminem. As Yankovic has always done for his Al TV specials, he edited the footage of a previous Eminem interview and inserted himself asking questions such that it unmasked Eminem as a hypocrite on the matter of an artist's right to free speech.[59]

Criticism of George W. Bush

Eminem votes in the video "Mosh".On December 8, 2003, the United States Secret Service admitted it was "looking into" allegations that Mathers had threatened the President of the United States after the unreleased song "We As Americans" leaked onto the Web. The lyrics in question: "Fuck money / I don't rap for dead presidents / I'd rather see the president dead / It's never been said, but I set precedents...". The song in question, titled "We As Americans", was being recorded possibly for Encore but wound up on a bonus CD accompanying the album instead.[60] The second use of the word "dead" was backmasked in that version, sounding like head. The word was also used in Immortal Technique's song "Bin Laden", stated near the end. Immortal Technique also attacks the president on the song. His song "White America" from the The Eminem Show album states a long supposed "anti-American" speech:

"sent to lead the march right up to the steps of congress, and piss on the lawns of the White House, to burn the flag and replace it with a parental advisory sticker, to spit liquor in the faces of in this democracy of hypocrisy, fuck you Ms. Cheney, fuck you Tipper Gore, fuck you with the freest of speech this divided states of embarrassment will allow me to have, FUCK YOU!".

"White America" also brought the U.S. Secret Service attention at first, but gave up after seeing a statement from Eminem after the song:

"*laughs* I'm just playing America, you know I love you".

On October 26, 2004, a week before the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Eminem released the video for his song titled "Mosh" on the internet. The song features a very strong anti-Bush message, with lyrics such as "fuck Bush" and "this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president." The video features Mathers gathering up an army of people (including rapper Lloyd Banks) presented as victims of the Bush administration and leading them to the White House. However, once the army breaks in, it is revealed that they are there to simply register to vote, and the video ends with the words "VOTE Tuesday November 2" on the screen.

After Bush won the election, the video's ending was changed to Eminem and the protesters invading while Bush was giving a speech.

Michael Jackson
On October 12, 2004, a week after the release of "Just Lose It", Eminem's first single off Encore, Michael Jackson called into the Los Angeles-based Steve Harvey radio show to report his displeasure with the video, which parodies Jackson's child molestation trial, plastic surgery, and an incident in which Jackson's hair caught on fire while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984. The lyrics to "Just Lose It" also refer to Jackson's legal troubles, however he does state in his song "...and that's not a stab at Michael/Thats just a metaphor/I'm just psycho...". Many of Jackson's supporters and friends spoke out about the video, including Stevie Wonder, who called the video "kicking a man while he's down" and "bullshit".[61] and Steve Harvey who declared, "Eminem has lost his ghetto pass. We want the pass back." [61]

Regarding Jackson's protest, "Weird Al" Yankovic, who parodied the Eminem song "Lose Yourself" on a track titled "Couch Potato" on his 2003 album Poodle Hat, told the Chicago Sun-Times, "Last year, Eminem forced me to halt production on the video for my "Lose Yourself" parody because he somehow thought that it would be harmful to his image or career. So the irony of this situation with Michael is not lost on me".[62]
Wikipedia - Eminem

Dr. Dre

2007-11-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

André Romell Young (born February 18, 1965 in Compton, California), better known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, actor and record executive. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records.

He was a founding member of the influential rap group N.W.A., which popularized the use of explicit lyrics in rap detailing the violence of street life (also known as Gangsta rap). He has also produced albums for and overseen the careers of some of the biggest stars in (mostly) rap music, including 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, G-Unit, The Game, Nate Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and Eve. With tens of millions of records he has produced sold worldwide (including over 65 million with Eminem alone[1]), he is widely regarded as one of the most popular and powerful figures in rap music of all time.

Musically, as a producer he is credited as a key figure in the creation and popularization of West Coast G-funk, a style of rap music characterized as synthesizer-based with slow, heavy beats. G-funk dominated the U.S. rap charts in the period of 1992–1996, and is still considered one of the major living styles of hip hop today.

His stage name "Dr. Dre" was derived from his nickname and that of his favorite basketball athlete, Julius "Dr. J" Erving.

Biography

Early years
André Young was born in Compton, California in 1965. His parents divorced soon after he was born; his mother later married the father of future West Coast rapper Warren Griffin III, known as Warren G.

Young started his career as a drug dealer, and it was at a gig at the nightclub Eve After Dark that he connected with its owner, Alonzo Williams. Williams would bring together local talent and form the World Class Wreckin' Cru and Kru-Cut Records in 1984. The World Class Wreckin' Cru would become stars of the electro-hop scene that dominated early-80's West Coast hip hop, and their first hit "Surgery" would prominently feature Dr. Dre on the turntables. It was during this time with Kru-Cut that Young would first work with fellow Wreckin' Cru member (and future creative partner) DJ Yella; singer and girlfriend Michel'le, recording "Turn Off The Lights", which would become a local hit in 1987; and rapper Ice Cube, whose group C.I.A. was signed to Kru-Cut.

In addition to his work with the World Class Wreckin' Cru, Young gained a reputation as a capable mixtape DJ. On one release, "'86 in the Mix", he edited 300 hip hop records into one 60 minute mix. He continued to make and sell mix tapes at a local swap-meet in L.A. until as late as 1989, before finally dropping the practice to fully concentrate on his rap career.

N.W.A. and Ruthless Records
Main article: N.W.A.
Until this point, hip-hop had been considered a relatively benign form of music and free of profanity. N.W.A. however, along with fellow west coast rapper Ice T, debuted with rhymes including profanity and gritty depictions of crime and life on the street. No longer constricted to racially charged political issues pioneered by rap artists such as Public Enemy or Boogie Down Productions, N.W.A shot out with hardcore and realistic perspective of street violence and local black gangster lifestyle. Propelled by the hit "Fuck tha Police", the group's first full album Straight Outta Compton became a major success, selling over 3,000,000 copies despite an almost complete absence of radio-airplay and major concert tours.

As a producer, Young's vocals were limited on the album, but he achieved notoriety in 1991 after assaulting television host Dee Barnes after she aired a segment reporting on the feud between the remaining N.W.A. members and recently departed member Ice Cube. Possibly to compensate for Ice Cube's absence, he began to rap more on the group's second album Efil4zaggin. He also produced tracks for a number of other rap acts on Ruthless Records, including Above the Law, and his friend The D.O.C.'s album No One Can Do It Better. Young frequently used studio musicians for tracks, and his work with N.W.A. was co-produced by DJ Yella. Later, The D.O.C. would say that his album would be the one record that Dr. Dre produced from start to finish without help from any outside contributors (see references for details).

Death Row Records
Despite pioneering N.W.A.'s sound as the group's principal producer, Dr. Dre complained of unfair contracts that left him with little compensation for the group's tremendous profits (lead rapper and principal lyricist Ice Cube had left following the release of Straight Outta Compton due to similar complaints). After a dispute with Wright, Young left the group at the peak of its popularity in 1991 under the advice of friend, and N.W.A. lyricist, The D.O.C. and his bodyguard at the time, Suge Knight. Knight, a notorious strongman and intimidator, was somehow able to have Wright release Young from his contract, and using Dr. Dre as his flagship artist, founded Death Row Records after securing a distribution deal with the fledgling Interscope Records, helmed by future head of Universal Music Jimmy Iovine

While N.W.A. had sold two million records of their breakthrough album Straight Outta Compton, they had been a counter-culture phenomenon, and done so on an independent label (Ruthless Records) without radio airplay or major acceptance from the mainstream record industry. Interscope head Iovine saw promise in Young's music, and saw his new sweet, synthesizer-based sound as a way of palletizing the hard beats of gangsta rap and giving it a more mainstream appeal. "One reason I hadn't been that interested in hip-hop is most hip-hop records sounded cheap, tinny", Iovine said later in a 2006 interview with the Los Angeles Times. "But Dre's music sounded better on my speakers than most rock records. I didn't know hip-hop, but I knew my speakers, and this was fantastic". (See references for details.)

Young released his first solo single "Deep Cover", (also known as "187") in the spring of 1992. This was the beginning of his collaboration with Calvin Broadus, Jr., or Snoop Doggy Dogg (now known as Snoop Dogg), a promising young rapper introduced to him by his step-brother, Warren G (see references for details). In 1992, Young released his debut album The Chronic under Death Row Records. Until this point, rap had been primarily party music (e.g., Def Jam Recordings's The Beastie Boys), or angry and politically charged (e.g. Public Enemy, X-Clan, etc.), and the music had consisted almost entirely of samples and breakbeats. Young ushered in a new style of rap, both in terms of musical style and lyrical content.[2]

Artistically, The Chronic continued to describe gang life much in the same way that Young's former group N.W.A. had, but with more of a focus on women and soft drugs (hence the title of The Chronic, which refers to high-grade marijuana). The beats were slower and mellower, borrowing from late 1970s/early 1980s Funk music by George Clinton and his group Parliament. By mixing these early influences with original live instrumentation, he created a distinctive musical style later to be known as G-funk.

Although the album was initially unheralded, on the strength of singles such as "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang", featuring protege Snoop Doggy Dogg and hits like "Let Me Ride" and "Fuck wit Dre Day (and Everybody's Celebratin')" (Shortened to "Dre Day" for radio and television play), The Chronic became a cultural phenomenon and a multi-platinum seller, and is now widely considered to be one of rap's all-time classic albums.

It soon became virtually impossible to hear mainstream hip-hop that wasn't affected in some way by Young. Hip-hop, which had once been a sample and break-beat centered music rising primarily form New York and other East Coast cities, began to see a shift in attention to the West Coast, where the G-funk style created by Dr. Dre was the most influential. Indeed, were it not for the influence of Dr. Dre, it's possible that the infamous "East Coast/West Coast" feud of the mid-1990s might never have even transpired, as the West would have had no competing style of rap or even many visible artists with which to contrast to New York's.

The following year, Young produced Broadus' debut album Doggystyle, with similar subject matter and musical style. Doggystyle achieved phenomenal success, being the first debut album for an artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard charts. It went on to sell over 5 million copies. Young was also instrumental in the creation of other hit west coast records, including the Death Row act Tha Dogg Pound's album Dogg Food, and influenced his own step-brother Warren G's album Regulate...G Funk Era.

In 1995, just as Death Row Records was signing rapper 2Pac and positioning him as their major star, Young left Death Row Records amidst a contract dispute and growing concerns that label boss Suge Knight was corrupt, financially dishonest and out of control. In an interview with The Source shortly after his departure, Dr. Dre alluded to incidents such as Knight's beating of an engineer as pivotal in his decision to leave. He formed his own boutique label Aftermath Entertainment directly underneath Death Row's distributor, the Jimmy Iovine-helmed Interscope Records. Not long after Young's departure, the fortunes of Death Row took a dramatic turn, following the death of 2Pac and racketeering charges against Knight. Within the next few months, the label's final major star Snoop Doggy Dogg would also leave and Knight would go to prison. The label entered a steady decline, and now makes profits almost entirely off of old works recorded during its heyday.

Aftermath Entertainment
The Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath album, released at the end of the year, featured songs by the newly signed Aftermath artists, and a solo track "Been There, Done That". The track was intended as a symbolic good-bye to gangsta rap, in which Young suggested that he was moving on to another level of music and lifestyle. While initially going gold (500,000 units), the album was considered a critical disappointment by Dre's standards, failing to raise much talk of the label. Today, the compilation album is most notable for the fact that none of the artists introduced on the record went on to successful careers. In 1997, Young produced several tracks on Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album; although the album went platinum, it was met with similarly negative reviews from critics. Rumors began to abound that Aftermath was facing financial difficulties.[3]

The turning point for Aftermath came in 1998, when Jimmy Iovine, the head of Aftermath's parent label Interscope, suggested that Young sign the white Detroit rapper Marshall Mathers, artistically known as Eminem, to Aftermath. Interscope saw promise in Mathers, but feared that the fact he was white would harm his credibility in the overwhelmingly black market of hip hop. It was hoped that pairing him with Young would help establish him as a credible star (since then, Iovine has made similar matches with other Interscope artists, pairing Canadian singer Nelly Furtado with hip-hop producer Timbaland, and former ska-pop No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani with Pharrell Williams). Young produced three songs and provided vocals for two on his controversial album, ("My Name Is", "Guilty Conscience" and "Role Model") in 1999.[4] On these tracks, Eminem's over-the-top "Slim Shady" persona was contrasted with Dre's older, more sober, post-gangsta attitude to rap. On the song "Guilty Conscience", Dre and Eminem give conflicting advice to people faced with moral dilemmas, with Dre urging the song's characters to do the right thing, and Eminem urging them to give in to their darkest impulses. At the end of the track, Eminem begins to protest that Dre's "do right" advice is coming from the same man who had a physical altercation with TV host Dee Barnes in his younger, wilder years (the incident was later resolved out of court). At first, Dre protests that those were older times, but eventually sighs "fuck it" and sides with Eminem's "evil" reaction. Eminem's debut album initially sold over 3 million copies, making it Aftermath's most successful release at the time.

When Dr. Dre released his second solo album, 2001 (sometimes referred to by fans as '"The Chronic 2001"'- The planned title '"The Chronic 2000"' was scrapped after former label Death Row released a compilation disc under the same name) in the fall of 1999, it was an ostentatious return to his gangsta rap and g-funk roots. To prove the point, the first single "Still D.R.E." re-united Young with Death Row collaborator Snoop Dogg, and made renewed references to good marijuana and expensive cars, declaring "[I] still got love for the streets". Once again, the album featured about as much of Dre's voice as the voices of numerous collaborators, including Devin the Dude, Hittman, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Nate Dogg and Eminem. The album was highly successful, charting at number two on the Billboard charts[5] and has since been certified six times platinum, thus reaffirming a recurring theme featured in its lyrics, stating that Dr. Dre was still a force to be reckoned with, despite the lack of major releases in the previous few years.

Eminem's Slim Shady LP was followed by the even more successful and controversial second release, The Marshall Mathers LP in 2000. The album featured angrier vocals from Eminem and took his "Slim Shady" persona to dizzying extremes (in a 2000 Spin magazine article, Eminem credited his improved vocals to Young's coaching). The album eventually went on to sell over 9 million copies in the U.S, and established Eminem as one of the biggest music stars in the world.

In 2000, Dre won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, for his work on "The Marshall Mathers LP" and 2001. The albums followed a new musical direction, characterized by high-pitched piano and string melodies over a deep and rich bassline. The style was also prominent in his following production work for other artists, including hits such as "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" by Eve and Gwen Stefani (whom he would produce again on the Stefani and Eve track "Rich Girl"), "Break Ya Neck" by Busta Rhymes, and "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige.

By the time Eminem's third album The Eminem Show was released in 2002, Mathers was producing the bulk of his output himself. However, Eminem's association with Dr. Dre remained a large part of Eminem's identity in rap. The Eminem Show sold over 20 million copies worldwide and was an unqualified success.

In 2003, Dr. Dre and Eminem produced the major-label debut Get Rich or Die Tryin' for Queens rapper 50 Cent, featuring the Dre-produced hit single "In da Club", as a joint production between Aftermath, Eminem's boutique label Shady Records and Interscope. On the eve of its release Dre declared it to be one of the best rap albums made in the past ten years, an opinion the record-buying public enthusiastically agreed with. The album went on to sell over 11 million albums worldwide, establishing yet another major rap star under Aftermath and the Interscope umbrella.

In early 2005, Aftermath released rapper The Game's debut album The Documentary in conjunction with Interscope and rapper 50 Cent's boutique label G-Unit Records. Propelled by the lead single "How We Do" produced by Dr.Dre and Mike Elizondo and featuring 50 Cent, the album sold 586,000 copies in its first week and eventually sold over 2 million copies in the U.S., and over 5 million worldwide, establishing yet another superstar under the Aftermath label.

Shortly after, Aftermath/Shady released 50 Cent's second album The Massacre, which fared even better, selling over 1 million records in a short week (the album was rushed out to combat bootlegging). It eventually went on to sell over 5 million copies in the U.S alone, and went on to become the second highest-selling album of 2005 (it was initially declared the highest selling, however, singer Mariah Carey's 2005 release The Emancipation of Mimi continued to chart throughout early 2006 and eventually outstripped it by a small margin).

However, a falling-out between The Game and 50 Cent apparently created a rift at Aftermath. After being kicked out of 50 Cent's G-Unit group on-air during a February 2005 interview on Hot 97 (see references for details), the two parties engaged in what is arguably the biggest modern day feud. For more information please see G-Unit vs. The Game. To date, Dr. Dre has not spoken publicly about this matter, but for whatever reason The Game's second album, released November 14, 2006, and ironically titled Doctor's Advocate, was released on Geffen Records rather than on Dr. Dre's Aftermath label, and does not feature any production from him (in a XXL interview, The Game states that his public attacks and criticisms against Aftermath labelmate 50 Cent went against Dr. Dre's wishes, and is what led to the falling out). On the title track, The Game emotionally apologizes to Dr. Dre for disobeying his word. In a November 2006 interview with the website Allhiphop.com, The Game stated that he recently spoke with Dr.Dre via telephone, and that Dre congratulated him on his new album and wished him the best. He has also vowed that he will work with his mentor Dr. Dre again, although to date there are no quotes available from Dr. Dre himself that confirm either of these claims. Dr. Dre has also appeared in the movies The Wash and Training Day. He later stated that he does not intend to pursue a career in acting, however he did compose the music for Bad Boys 2. A song of his, "Bad Intentions" (featuring Knoc-Turn'Al) and produced by Mahogany, was featured on The Wash soundtrack. Dre also appeared on two other songs "On the Blvd." and "The Wash" along with his co-star Snoop Dogg.

Recent events
Dr. Dre is considered a perfectionist by many who have worked with him, and while some projects he has worked on have come together relatively quickly (ie. 50 Cent's debut album, which was recorded and released within a year of his signing to Shady/Aftermath), he is often notoriously slow releasing announced albums. Among planned but never released albums are a full length reunion with Snoop Dogg titled Breakup to Makeup, an album with fellow former N.W.A member Ice Cube which was to be titled Heltah Skeltah, an N.W.A reunion album, and a joint album with fellow producer Timbaland to be titled Chairmen of the Board. To date, none of these albums have come to fruition (see interviews with Snoop Dogg, the D.O.C., and Dr. Dre with Scratch magazine listed below in references respectively).

Main article: Detox (Dr. Dre album)
Perhaps the best-known of these delayed releases is that of his planned final solo album, Detox, which was first announced around 2000. In 2004, he declared the project cancelled, as he decided to put all his effort into producing the artists on his Aftermath label, including Eminem, 50 Cent, Eve, Stat Quo and Busta Rhymes, and to spread the completed Detox tracks to their albums. However, in November 2004, Dr. Dre and Interscope confirmed that Detox was still in the works and is currently scheduled to be released in the June of 2008. On Eminem's song "Encore", which features Dr. Dre, he says "Aftermath... 2006...and don't worry about that Detox-album...we gon' make Dre do it." Also, in The Game's 2005 song "Higher", Dr. Dre makes a brief appearance to announce, "Look out for Detox". In a video on Bishop Lamont's myspace page, a video with Dr. Dre and Lamont in the interview confirmed that Detox will be released in September of 2007. In an onstage appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 9th, 2007, Dre addressed eager fans by saying "..Detox is coming..".[6]

According to RapDimension, Dr. Dre has stated that although he isn't far from completing his final album 'Detox', the album has been pushed back to an 08 release. Fans have been waiting for 'Detox' for years.[7]

Currently, Dre is working with Raekwon on his album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II. Other albums he has worked on are Young Buck's Buck the World, Bishop Lamont's The Reformation, 50 Cent's Curtis, Chauncey Black's Church Boy, Papoose's The Nacirema Dream and albums for Eve and G.A.G.E.. It is also said that he has produced some tracks on Lil Wayne's new album Tha Carter III. Also Dr. Dre may work with The Game again on his rumored-to-be last album.

In February 2007, it was announced that Dr. Dre would produce "Dark Comedies" and Horror films for New Line-owned company Crucial Films, along with longtime video director Phillip Atwell. Dr. Dre announced "This is a natural switch for me, since I've directed a lot of musicvideos, and I eventually want to get into directing".[8]

He has also stated a movie production company called Interscope/Shady/Aftermath Films with Eminem, The company has worked on 50 Cent's debut movie Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

Personal wealth
Young has been a regular on Rolling Stone magazine's "Annual 50 Richest Rock Stars" list since its first installment in 2001. In 2001, he earned $51.9 million U.S., including $35 million from the sale of 30% of his share of Aftermath records to parent label Interscope.

In Rolling Stone's 2004 list, it was reported that Young charges a "Friends and Family" rate of $75,000 for artists affiliated with him. On top of the flat fees, he earns an additional 5% production royalty and label profits for Aftermath artists.

For outside work, his rate is considerably higher. Rolling Stone reported that he earned $2 million for his work on the hit Mary J. Blige song "A Family Affair" in 2001, and that he earns roughly $250,000 per track for co-production on songs such as Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl". His personal wealth is estimated by the website panachereport.com to exceed $150 million, making him number 6 on their "Top Ten Richest People in Hip Hop 2006" list. [9]

Music
Musical influences and style
Dr. Dre has said that his primary instrument in the studio is the MPC3000, a drum machine and sampler, and that he uses as many as four or five to produce a single recording. He cites George Clinton, Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield as primary musical influences. Unlike most rap producers, he tries to avoid samples as much as possible, preferring to have studio musicians re-play pieces of music he wants to use, because it allows him more flexibility to change the pieces in rhythm and tempo (see references for details, Scratch Magazine 2004). In 2001, he told Time magazine, "I may hear something I like on an old record that may inspire me, but I'd rather use musicians to re-create the sound or elaborate on it. I can control it better."[10]

When he does sample older records -usually for vocals- he tends to blend the samples with live guitars, bass, synthesizers, and on The Chronic track "Lil' Ghetto Boy", jazz flute, creating a soundscape where it often becomes difficult to tell where the sample ends and the original music begins. Dr. Dre's blend of hard rap beats combined with synthesizers and soul samples is known as "g-funk".

After founding Aftermath Entertainment in 1996, Dr. Dre took on producer Mel-Man as a co-producer, and his music took on a more synthesizer-based sound, using less vocal samples (As he had used on "Lil' Ghetto Boy" and "Let Me Ride" on The Chronic, for example). Mel-Man has not shared co-production credits with Dr. Dre since approximately 2002, but fellow Aftermath producer Focus has credited Mel-Man as a key architect of the signature Aftermath sound - see references for details (Note: In 2003 The Source magazine reported that Mel-Man had left Aftermath, though in 2004, Focus mentioned in an interview with Aftermathmusic that Mel-man had re-joined the label).

In 2000, Dr. Dre began his long collaboration with Los Angeles based bassist, guitarist and keyboardist Mike Elizondo, who has also produced, written and played on records for female singers Poe, Fiona Apple and Alanis Morissette. Elizondo's first major collaboration with Dr. Dre was for Eminem's single "The Real Slim Shady", and he went on to co-write Dr. Dre-produced hits such as "A Family Affair" for Mary J.Blige. His first credit as co-producer with Dre was on 50 Cent's "In Da Club". He has since been listed as a co-producer on the bulk of Dr. Dre's releases.

In 2004, Dr. Dre told Scratch magazine that he has been studying piano and music theory formally, and that a major goal is to accumulate enough musical theory to score movies. In the same interview he stated that he has collaborated with famed 60's songwriter Burt Bacharach by sending him hip-hop beats to play over, and hopes to have an in-person collaboration with him in the future (see references). While Dr. Dre tracks remain drum machine-based and synthesizers remain an important part of his sound, in recent years his music has become more orchestral, sparse and featured more classical instruments such as piano and strings, examples being the 2006 song "Imagine", recorded for Snoop Dogg; and "Lost Ones," recorded for Jay-Z.

Work ethic
Dr. Dre has stated that he is a perfectionist, and is known to push the artists he records with to give flawless performances. As he told Scratch magazine in 2004, "You got to come in and go to work, man...you're not going to work harder than me. The harder you work, the harder I'm going to work." In 2006, Dubcnn.com mentioned during an interview with Snoop Dogg that Dre had made new artist Chauncey Black re-record a single bar of vocals 107 times. Snoop replied, "[T]hat's just how he gets down. I went and did a song with the nigga, the nigga made me do each word, word for word, until I got it right" (See references for details).

Dr. Dre has stated that his famous collaborator Eminem is a fellow perfectionist, and attributes his success on Aftemath to his like-minded work ethic. As he told Scratch in the same interview, "[H]e came in, and he works his ass off. Everybody that came in the studio and really put their thing down, and really put it together has been successful with me. Everybody else that I've worked with that's slacking ends up having to go to somewhere else to do their thing" (see references).

A consequence of this perfectionism is that some artists that initially sign deals with Dre's Aftermath label never release albums. In 2001, Aftermath released the soundtrack to the movie "The Wash". featuring a number of Aftermath acts such as Shaunta, Daks, Joe Beast and Toi. To date, none have released full-length albums on Aftermath and have apparently ended their relationships with the label and Dr. Dre. Other noteworthy acts to leave Aftermath without releasing albums include 2001 vocalist Hittman and 1980s rap icon Rakim (see references for details).

Musical allegations
Unlike the majority of hip-hop tracks even to this day, Dr. Dre's tracks have featured a large amount of live instrumentation, and he has often been praised for his musical ability. But since his earliest work in rap, Dr. Dre has produced records with the help of outside musicians, leading to allegations that he does not actually produce a significant portion of the tracks that are credited to his name. To date, only 3 co-producers have shared production credits alongside Young officially- DJ Yella on N.W.A. albums, Mel-Man on Aftermath releases between the label's inception and until approximately 2002, and most recently, Mike Elizondo, a Los Angeles-based bassist.

However, over the years word of other collaborators has surfaced. During his tenure at Death Row Records, it was alleged that Dre's half brother Warren G and Tha Dogg Pound member Daz made many uncredited contributions to songs on his solo album The Chronic and Snoop Doggy Dogg's album Doggystyle (Daz received production credits on Snoop's similar-sounding, albeit less successful album Tha Doggfather after Young left Death Row Records).

It's known that Scott Storch, who has since gone on to become a successful producer in his own right, contributed to Dr. Dre's second album 2001; Storch is credited as a songwriter on several songs and played keyboards on several tracks. In 2006, he told Rolling Stone:

"At the time, I saw Dr. Dre desperately needed something," Storch says. "He needed a fuel injection, and Dre utilized me as the nitrous oxide. He threw me into the mix, and I sort of tapped on a new flavor with my whole piano sound and the strings and orchestration. So I'd be on the keyboards, and Mike [Elizondo] was on the bass guitar, and Dre was on the drum machine".[11]

Current collaborator Mike Elizondo, when speaking about his work with Young, describes their recording process as a collaborative effort involving several musicians. In 2004, he claimed to Songwriter Universe Magazine that he had written the foundations of the hit Eminem song "The Real Slim Shady", stating, "I initially played a bass line on the song, and Dre, Tommy Coster Jr. and I built the track from there. Em [Eminem] then heard the track, and he wrote the rap to it" [12]. This account is essentially confirmed by Eminem in his book "Angry Blonde"- in it, he states that the tune for the song was composed by a studio bassist and keyboardist while Dr.Dre was out of the studio -though he adds that Dre programmed the song's beat after returning (Eminem- "Angry Blonde". 2000, Regan Books, New York NY).

Furthermore, in the September 2003 issue of The Source, a group of disgruntled former associates of Dre complained that they had not received their full due for work on the label. A producer named Neff-U claimed to have produced the songs "Say What you Say" and "My Dad's Gone Crazy" on The Eminem Show, the songs "If I Can't" and "Back Down" on 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin', and the beat featured on Dr. Dre's commercial for Coors Beer (See references for details -Source Magazine, September 2003).

It should be noted that although Young studies piano and musical theory, he is not necessarily an instrumentalist himself. As he joked to Time magazine in 2001, "I bought a trumpet a couple of years ago, and everybody started hiding from me" [13]. In the same article, Time described a recording process in which Dr. Dre operates is more as a conductor than a musician himself-

Every Dre track begins the same way, with Dre behind a drum machine in a room full of trusted musicians. (They carry beepers. When he wants to work, they work.) He'll program a beat, then ask the musicians to play along; when Dre hears something he likes, he isolates the player and tells him how to refine the sound. "My greatest talent," Dre says, "is knowing exactly what I want to hear." [14]

However, the fact that Young does not play instruments on his records may not necessarily diminish his contributions as a record producer. Some of the controversy may stem from a dispute over what the term "producer" means in music. In Hip-hop, the role of producer is often simply given to the person who "creates the beat", be it through the use of a drum machine, keyboards, or even simply choosing samples and looping them. By this definition, allegations that Young was not the "real" producer of some tracks credited to him can have merit. However, the role of producer has generally been understood to mean controlling recording sessions, guiding performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. In this respect, Dr. Dre can be given the credit as the primary and most important producer, even in the face of these allegations.

In interviews, artists that have worked with Dr. Dre generally tend to credit him with bringing an overall artistic vision to projects, helping artists to give their best performances. In a 2006 interview with Allhiphop.com, Snoop Dogg talked about re-writing his lyrics to the single "That's That" after receiving advice from Young, and stating that his input is what made the song a hit. As Dr. Dre told Time Magazine in 2001, "One of the things I like most about producing is recording vocals," he says. "I like instructing people, but I'm also trying to bring out a good performance, so I work with them—encourage them."[15]

Although Snoop Dogg retains working relationships with Warren G and Daz, who are alleged to be uncredited contributors on the hit albums The Chronic and Doggystyle, he states that Dr. Dre is capable of making beats without the help of collaborators, and makes it clear where the credit for the success of his albums is due-

Beatmakers make beats. A lot of niggas make beats. [Dre] produces tracks. So that ain't disrespect what I'm saying. I'm just telling you what's real. I seen him make tracks from scratch. My whole record the nigga made damn near everything from scratch. [For the song] "Ain't No Fun", Daz and Warren G brought him the little [sings melody], that's all they had! Dre took that muthafucka to the next level! Warren G brought in the [sample of] Donny Hathaway [singing], "Little Ghetto Boy, laying in the ghetto streets". Dr. Dre flipped it like "Hold on, gimme that!" Took that muthafucka and made it straight hit!... They made beats, Dre produced that record. Point blank, and I'd say it in they face...I can make a beat, but I can't produce! I can make a beat, but can I tell a nigga what to rap about, can I tell him when to come with the hook? Can you break the beat down? That's what producing is.

It should be noted that Dre's prominent studio collaborators, including Scott Storch, Elizondo, Mark Batson and Dawaun Parker, have shared co-writing, instrumental, and more recently co-production credits on the songs where he is credited as the producer.

It is also widely acknowledged that most of Dr. Dre's raps are written for him by others, though he retains ultimate control over his lyrics and the themes of his songs. As Aftermath Producer Mahogany told Scratch: "It's like a class room in [the booth]. He'll have three writers in there. They'll bring in something, he'll recite it, then he'll say. 'Change this line, change this word,' like he's grading papers." (See references for details.) As seen in the credits for tracks Young has appeared on, there are often multiple people who contribute to his songs (although it should be noted that often in hip-hop many people are officially credited as a writer for a song, even the producer). As a member of N.W.A., The D.O.C. wrote lyrics for him while he stuck with producing (See D.O.C interview in references for details). When Young went to Death Row, Snoop Dogg took on a lot of the writing work for Dr. Dre, although it should be noted that Dre has never openly admitted or denied this. More recently, famed New York rapper Jay-Z ghostwrote lyrics for the 2001 single "Still D.R.E." (He is listed under the songwriting credits as "S. Carter", or Shawn Carter).

Controversies

Ruthless Records
When Dr. Dre started Death Row, he had left Ruthless Records, which was owned by his former N.W.A. group mate Eazy-E and their manager Jerry Heller who had been accused of stealing money from him and the group. As a result, Dr. Dre left, and on his debut album, The Chronic, he insulted them on the tracks "Fuck wit Dre Day" with the assistance of his new protégé Snoop Dogg, "Bitches Ain't Shit", and "Puffin' on Blunts and Drankin' Tanqueray". The next year, Eazy-E responded on his album [[It's on (Dr. Dre) 187 Um Killa]] with the songs "Real Muthaphuckkin G's", "Still a Nigga", and "It's on". The feud grew to embroil most artists on both labels.

Luke Campbell
This feud started when Luke antagonised N.W.A. on one of his videos and as a response Dr. Dre, and his new ally Snoop Dogg, attacked him on the track "Dre Day". Campbell responded with "Cowards in Compton". The video was a parody of Dr. Dre's hit "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang". Snoop Dogg responded on the second verse of his song "Tha Shiznit".

Death Row Records
With all the controversy and madness that surrounded Death Row, Dr. Dre left soon after to start Aftermath Entertainment. However, many artists on the Death Row label felt offended when Dr. Dre left Death Row and released several diss songs. 2Pac felt he had not been fair to them and Snoop Dogg when he had not gone to Snoop Dogg's murder case. This led 2Pac to attack him on "Toss It Up" "Still down for that Death Row sound, searchin for paydays/No longer Dre Day, arrivederci/Blown and forgotten, rotten for plottin Child's Play/Check your sexuality, as fruity as this Alize/Quick to jump ship, punk trick, what a dumb move/Cross Death Row, now who you gon' run to?" (also death sampled dre's beat no diggity on this song), "Fuck Friends" "What's up in 9-6? Fine tricks in drag/Fuck Dre, tell that bitch he can kiss my ass" "Against All Odds" "You living fantasies, nigga I reject your deposit/We shook Dre punk ass, now we out of the closet" and finally on the unreleased track "Fade Me" "Now I ain't dre baby/But won't you Let me ride " . Also, in "To Live and Die in L.A." 2Pac says "California love part mothafuckin' two, without gay ass Dre." However, despite this Dre rapped the lines "pussy you're not pac/i knew him/pac was a real nigga/you're just a fucking insult to him" in his song with Obie Trice and Eminem called "Shit Hits The Fan" on Obie Trice's album Cheers, these comments were aimed at Ja Rule. Daz Dillinger believed Dr. Dre had taken credit for productions he had done so Dillinger attacked Dr. Dre on the track "Don't Try To Play Me Homie". J-Flexx, Dr. Dre's former ghostwriter, who believed that Dr. Dre had cheated him out of his money, assailed him on a parody of Dr. Dre's hit "Been There, Done That", called "Who Been There, Who Done That". Later after 2001 Royce Da 5'9, another one of Dre's ghostwriters also dissed him.

In 2007, Dre struck back at the now defunct Death Row Records one last time. In the company's bankruptcy, Dre felt that the masters of his debut album, The Chronic, should go to him rather than be auctioned off.[16] The case is still pending.
Wikipedia - Dr. Dre

Game

2007-11-22T14:11:00.000-08:00

Jayceon Terrell Taylor (born November 29, 1979 in Los Angeles, California),[1] better known by his stage name The Game, is an American rapper signed to Geffen Records. The Game rose to fame in 2005 following the success of his debut album, The Documentary and his two Grammy nominations. Since then, The Game is considered to be a driving force in bringing back the West Coast hip hop scene and competing with many of his East Coast counterparts.[2][3][4] Also, The Game is the only West Coast solo artist to release a multi-platinum album (The Documentary) since Dr. Dre's 2001 album, which was released in late 1999 (however, Snoop Dogg's Tha Last Meal album sold two million copies but was only certified platinum).

Aside from releasing two albums that debuted at number one on both the United World Chart,[5][6] and the Billboard 200, The Game has also gained notoriety for the hip hop feuds he has taken part in. The Game's music falls under the subgenre known as gangsta rap, a style of hip hop popularized in his hometown of Compton, California.

Life and career

Early life
Jayceon Taylor was born in Los Angeles, California to his mother Lynette Baker and his father George Taylor. He was raised in the district of La Brea before his family moved to Compton, California when he was four years old.[1] After his older sister accused his father of sexual molestation[1] when Taylor was five, his family split up and he lived with a foster family for eight years in Carson, a suburb of Los Angeles (located immediately southwest of Compton). When Taylor was thirteen, his mother was regranted custody and he was reunited with his family in Compton. He spent his later life living in a primarily Crip gang neighborhood known as Santana Blocc,[7] although he grew up to become a member of the Bloods.[8][9] Taylor claimed that his mother and father were affiliated with Crip gangs. After graduating from Compton High School,[10] Taylor had a short stint at Washington State University on a basketball scholarship. However, he was kicked out in his first semester because of drug allegations.[1] It was then that he started fully embracing street life and turned towards selling drugs.[11] At the age of eighteen, he began to follow his older half brother, "Big Fase 100", who was the leader of the Cedar Block Pirus. Taylor was shot five times after a failed drug deal in 2001,[10] receiving bullet wounds to the heart, stomach, arms, and leg.[12] The attack put him in a three day coma and while recovering in the hospital, he decided to pursue a career in the rap industry.

Early career
Studying various influential rap albums, The Game developed a strategy to become a rapper himself and with help from Big Fase, they founded The Black Wall Street Records. The label originally featured such artists as Glasses Malone, Vita, and Nu Jerzey Devil, along with The Game himself. The rapper's stage name was coined by his grandmother, who gave him the nickname because she claimed he was always "Game" for anything. The Game first gained prominence when he attended a hip-hop summit hosted by Russell Simmons and Louis Farrakhan,[13] releasing his first mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 1 in 2002, followed by a record deal with the independent label, Get Low Recordz owned by JT the Bigga Figga. Originally Sean Combs of Bad Boy Records was going to sign him to his label,[14] but The Game's mixtape found its way into the hands of famed producer Dr. Dre, who proceeded to sign him to Aftermath Entertainment. To capitalize on the growing buzz, The Game continued to release music. In October 2004, he released his first album Untold Story through Get Low Recordz, which sold over 82,000 copies within its first three months.[15] The album featured artists like Sean T, Young Noble (of the Outlawz), and JT the Bigga Figga.[16] The Game also appeared on various mixtapes hosted by DJ's such as DJ Kayslay, DJ Whoo Kid, and DJ Clue. The Game also released a second mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 2 through his own record label and appeared on the video game NBA Live 2004 on a song produced by Fredwreck called "Can't Stop Me".[17]

Rise to fame
The Game was originally signed as an artist on Aftermath Entertainment, but Interscope Records CEO Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre decided to have The Game also work with 50 Cent and G-Unit. The arrangement was to help build a growing buzz around The Game which would also fuel interest in G-Unit. Since then, he made numerous cameo appearances in music videos by 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, and Fabolous, first appearing on the music video of In da Club, dancing with a girl. Even at this early stage in his career, he was embroiled in rap feuds associated with G-Unit, including those with Joe Budden, Ja Rule, and Memphis Bleek. His first appearance on a single was on Jim Jones' "Certified Gangstas", before his own single "Westside Story" was released in 2004.

The original title of the album was Nigga Wit' An Attitude Volume 1 (as heard in the lyrics to "Dreams"), but an injunction filed at the request of Eazy-E's widow prevented him from using N.W.A.'s name in the album title. Dr. Dre and 50 Cent were executive producers on The Game's major label debut album, The Documentary, which spawned the hit singles "How We Do" and "Hate It or Love It" (the latter receiving two Grammy nominations).[18] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was the tenth best selling album of 2005 in the United States.[19] It also debuted at number seven in the United Kingdom and sold over five million copies worldwide.[20]

Due to his disputes with 50 Cent, The Game left Aftermath Entertainment and signed with Geffen Records to terminate his contractual obligations with G-Unit in the summer of 2006. The rapper's second album Doctor's Advocate was released on November 14, 2006. This album was set out by The Game to prove that he is able to make good music and be a successful artist without the help of Dr. Dre or 50 Cent. He is also working on getting his own label, The Black Wall Street Records, signed to a distribution label. While The Game originally claimed Dr. Dre would still do production on the album in the November issue of XXL magazine,[21] he admitted in September (after the XXL interview was conducted) during an interview on radio station Power 105 that Dr. Dre would not be producing any tracks[22] (although four previously unreleased tracks produced by Dr. Dre were released on the internet, but no reason was given as to why they were not included on the album). The album debuted at number one in the U.S., selling over 358,000 copies its first week.[23]

In May 2007, The Game said, while filming Beef IV, that his tentative third album would be his last, explaining that his three albums will be enough to have allowed him to "[get his] point across."[24]

Other ventures
As a result of his fame, The Game ventured into areas outside of rap. He was chosen to play and had bought a large selection of shares for the now defunct Inglewood Cobras, an ABA franchise team.[25] The Game also ventured into acting. In 2004, he had a minor role voicing the character "B-Dup", in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. He will also voice a character in the upcoming video game Def Jam: Icon. In 2006, he made his film debut in Waist Deep as a character named "Big Meat" and has been filming at least two more movies.[26] The Game has also partnered with 310 Motoring to create his own shoe called The Hurricanes. A portion of the proceeds of the shoe are donated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Personal life
The Game's first son is named Harlem Caron Taylor and was born on June 30, 2003. Baron Davis, a basketball team mate in high school,[11] and current NBA all-star was named Harlem's godfather.[27] The Los Angeles Times reported that as of 2006, The Game is a resident of Glendale, California after purchasing a home in the Kenneth Village neighborhood. The Game announced that he was engaged to actress and model Valeisha Butterfield, the daughter of U.S. Congressman G. K. Butterfield. The couple were set to marry in March 2007, but the engagement was called off in June 2006.[28] In February 2007, The Game revealed in a Wild 94.9 radio interview with Mistah F.A.B. that he was expecting his second child in April, with former substitute teacher Tiffany Webb.[29] He welcomed his second son, King Justice, on April 25, 2007.

Controversy
Even before releasing his debut album, The Game was involved in feuds with many rappers. He previously had rivalries with Suge Knight of Death Row Records, Ja Rule, Joe Budden, Yukmouth, as well as Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, and the Young Gunz of Roc-A-Fella Records. The most prominent rivalry he had was with 50 Cent and G-Unit. The Game has also had minor feuds with Xzibit, Ja Rule, Guerilla Black, Bishop Lamont, Domination, Benzino, and model Vida Guerra (see "Wouldn't Get Far").

Joe Budden
The feud with Joe Budden began when 50 Cent criticized his album for "lacking street credibility". Joe Budden took offense and released various insults at G-Unit. The Game previously did a freestyle for DJ Clue and Joe Budden used the end of the freestyle without notifying The Game. While on the end, Joe Budden took shots at G-Unit. In defense, The Game made several records against the rapper, most notoriously the track "Buddens". Joe Budden mocked The Game's appearance on the dating game show Change of Heart. The Game has consistently defended his appearance on the show. Later, at a party in New York, the rappers mutually announced their intention to stop making hostile records about each other,[30] but The Game has subsequently suggested in songs and videos that he won the feud.

Yukmouth
Yukmouth first met The Game at a club and at the time, Yukmouth was engaged in a feud with 50 Cent and G-Unit. The Game released a diss track aimed at the rapper over the beat of "I Got 5 on It", a song which Yukmouth recorded when he was a part of Luniz.[31] Yukmouth responded with a track that mocked The Game's appearance on Change of Heart. The two later tried to bury the hatchet due to a personal friend and even recorded a song together named "Peace". However, the beef continued afterward, since The Game dissed Yukmouth on "Peace" (they recorded their verses separately).[32] Since then, Yukmouth responded by releasing a freestyle music video over Fabolous' "Breathe" single. In the video, there is a look-a-like of the rapper getting robbed and beaten up. In that song, Yukmouth claimed that The Game had a tongue ring and was slapped by mogul Suge Knight. Since the West Coast Peace Conference, both rappers ended the feud.

Death Row Records
Dr. Dre's old nemesis Suge Knight had an ongoing feud with The Game stemming from when Yukmouth claimed that The Game had been slapped by Suge Knight. The Game responded on his website, saying that if Suge Knight had ever touched him, he would be "six feet under". After the 2005 BET Awards, associates of Death Row had their invitations to a party hosted by Ciara rescinded. Supposedly, a member of Death Row tried to steal The Game's chain. The Game stated on his Black Wall Street website that he dislikes Suge Knight because of "the lives he has endangered". In Miami for the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Suge Knight was shot and wounded at Kanye West's party by an unknown gunman.[33] The Game vigorously denied involvement in the shooting, but the incident renewed efforts to pacify hip hop feuds and The Game has consequently been discouraged from attending certain events in hopes of averting retaliation.[34] Later, The Game and various representatives of California's rap cliques formed a West Coast "peace treaty" to end many rivalries between West Coast rappers.[35] Although Suge Knight did not attend, he and The Game declared their feud over.

Roc-A-Fella Records
The feud between The Game and Roc-A-Fella Records grew out of an earlier rivalry with Memphis Bleek over the name of his label (Get Low Records), which was similar to the one The Game was previously signed to (Get Low Recordz). On the single "Westside Story", The Game raps that "I don't do button-up shirts or drive maybachs", which was perceived as being directed towards Jay-Z. Later Jay-Z performed a freestyle on Funkmaster Flex's radio show on Hot 97 and in it, he repeatedly used the word "game", which some hip-hop fans believed was directed towards The Game.[36] The Game responded and made several remarks directed at Roc-A-Fella Records.

While The Game was feuding with Roc-A-Fella artists, his first album featured production from Kanye West and Just Blaze,[37] two Roc-A-Fella producers. In an interview with Ed Lover and Monie Love, The Game said the Maybach line on "Westside Story" was referring to Ja Rule. He also said he has a lot of respect for Jay-Z and would never take shots at a legend. Jay-Z later insisted that the "game" references were just about the rap game itself, not the rapper. The Game still addressed Memphis Bleek and Young Gunz on some songs, but the feud between them cooled off. There were rumors that Jay-Z was planning on "declaring war" on The Game and others at a concert. He instead used the opportunity to make peace with many of his rivals.[38]

G-Unit
Main article: G-Unit vs. The Game feud
In early 2005, The Game began a feud with G-Unit. Even before The Game's first album was released and their feud became public, there was tension between The Game and 50 Cent.[39] Soon after The Documentary's release, 50 Cent felt that the rapper was disloyal for saying he did not want to participate in G-Unit's feud with other rappers, and even wanting to work with artists with whom G-Unit were feuding, such as Nas and Jadakiss.

Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin is a documentary released by The Game in 2006.50 Cent also claimed that he was not getting his proper credit for the creation of the album and he claimed that he wrote six of the songs, but The Game denied that. During that dispute, a member of The Game's entourage was shot after a confrontation at the Hot 97 studio in New York City.[40] After the situation between them escalated, 50 Cent and The Game held a press conference to announce their reconciliation.[41] Fans had mixed feelings as to whether the rappers created a publicity stunt to boost the sales of the two albums the pair had just released.[40] Nevertheless, even after the situation had apparently deflated,[42] G-Unit continued to feud with The Game, denouncing his street credibility in the media and claimed that without their support, he will not score a hit from his second album. The Game responded during a performance at Summer Jam and launched a boycott of G-Unit called "G-Unot".[43]

After the performance at Summer Jam, The Game responded with "300 Bars and Runnin'", an extended diss aimed at G-Unit as well as members of Roc-A-Fella Records on the mixtape You Know What It Is Vol. 3. Many of The Game's fans felt that the song was the pivotal rebuttal that gave The Game the advantage in his feud with 50 Cent and G-Unit.[attribution needed] 50 Cent responded through his "Piggy Bank" music video, which features The Game as a Mr. Potato Head doll and also parodies other rivals.[44] Since then both groups continued to attack each other. The Game released two more mixtapes, Ghost Unit and a mixtape/DVD called Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin.

50 Cent's rebuttal was "Not Rich, Still Lyin'" where he mocks The Game.[45] In addition, G-Unit started to respond on numerous mixtapes and new G-Unit member Spider Loc began dissing The Game. The Game responded with "240 Bars (Spider Joke)",[45] a song mainly aimed at Spider Loc, but also addressing Tony Yayo and rap group M.O.P.,[45] and on the song "The Funeral 100 Bars".

In October 2006, The Game extended a peace treaty to 50 Cent, which was not immediately replied to.[46] However, a couple days later on Power 106, he stated that the treaty was only offered for one day.[47] On The Game's album Doctor's Advocate, he says the beef is over on a few of the songs. The feud seemed to have gained steam after Tony Yayo allegedly slapped the fourteen year old son of Czar Entertainment CEO Jimmy Rosemond. The Game responded with "Body Bags" on You Know What It Is Vol. 4.[48]

Other feuds
Lil Eazy-E, a young rapper and son of rapper Eazy-E, was also in a feud with The Game. The two used to be close associates and even recorded music together. Lil' Eazy-E has since directed numerous diss songs targeting the rapper and expressed his anger over what he felt was The Game misusing his father's name. The Game responded by claiming that Lil' Eazy-E is trying to establish himself off the success he had made since releasing The Documentary.[49] The Game responded on "120 Bars" where he claimed that Lil' Eazy-E does not write his own lyrics.[50] However, The Game states on the same track that he would rather not feud with Lil' Eazy-E due to the deep respect he feels for his father. Lil' Eazy-E later responded with "They Know Me". On October 30, 2006, The Game went on KDAY and said that he and Lil' Eazy-E have ended their feud.

The Game had a falling out with his manager and half-brother Big Fase 100. The rapper claimed that Big Fase 100 extorted him out of over $1.5 million,[51] and felt that his influence was holding him back. Later in interviews, Big Fase 100 attacked The Game's street credibility, claiming that him being a "certified gangsta" is fabricated.[51] The manager went on to claim that the supposed gangster life is based on his own life and blamed selfishness on The Game's part as the main reason of their falling out.

A confrontation between The Game and Ras Kass took place at Club Element in Los Angeles.[52] The stories are different from each party, but what is known is that The Game approached Ras Kass over a song that Ras Kass made regarding The Game's son and asked him to take back what he said, but he refused. The Game's entourage claimed that The Game punched and knocked out Ras Kass. The story from Ras Kass' representatives was that he walked away and got hit by a bottle in the head and then The Game's crew jumped him, but he escaped with just a black eye.

Legal issues
On October 28, 2005, The Game was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in Greensboro. At one point, police said his companions were pepper sprayed when they surrounded officers in a threatening manner.[53] Mall security officers said the rapper was wearing a full-face Halloween mask, filming shoppers, cursing loudly, and refused to leave when asked. The Game continued to act up and was arrested, a police statement said. The Game claimed that officers overreacted and that he did nothing wrong when he was pepper sprayed by the mall security.[53] The five officers involved in the incident ended up suing The Game for defamation,[54] which has yet to be taken to court.

World Wrestling Entertainment made it public that they plan on suing The Game over the rights to his name, which is a nickname for professional wrestler Triple H.[55]

On May 11, 2007, The Game was arrested at his home reportedly in connection with an incident at a basketball game in South Los Angeles in February 2007. He is alleged to have threatened a person with a gun. The arrest took place after his home was searched for three hours. The Game was released early the next day, after posting $50,000 bail.[56]

Homophobic comments
In 2006, The Game made comments about gay men while on Jo Whiley's radio show on BBC Radio 1. He called homosexual men "faggots" and "not real men".[57] This prompted Jo Whiley to quickly make a public apology on the radio's behalf. The governors' programme complaints committee responded by saying "The Game's comments were very offensive, completely unacceptable and clearly homophobic."[57]
Wikipedia - The Game

Snoop Dogg

2007-11-22T14:01:00.000-08:00

Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr.[1] (born October 20, 1971), better known professionally as Snoop Dogg and previously Snoop Doggy Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as an MC in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of producer Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. His catch phrase is "fo' shizzle, ma nizzle", meaning, "for sure, my nigga". That style of slang was invented by Frankie Smith and The Gap Band in the early eighties, and popularized in part by fellow rapper E-40,[2] much of which is simply derived by adding an "izz" or "-izzle" sound to the end of a word.

His mother nicknamed him "Snoopy" as a child because of the way he dressed and because of his love of the cartoon Peanuts; he took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg when he began recording. He changed his name to Snoop Dogg in 1998, when he left his original record label Death Row Records and signed with No Limit Records. But he still can be called Snoop Doggy Dogg, which he does in his songs, or by other rappers.

Biography

Early life
Snoop Dogg attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School,[3] and was later convicted for cocaine trafficking. Snoop Dogg was a member of a local Crips gang in Long Beach[4]. Snoop Dogg's conviction caused him to be in and out of prison for the first three years after he graduated from high school. Older Crips members and prison inmates affiliated with the Crips gang had a long-standing pattern of recognizing talent (particularly musical or sports talent) among their membership, and Snoop Dogg was pushed to make something of himself as a rapper rather than as a street hustler. Snoop thus followed up on the homemade rap tapes that he had made with his cousin Nate Dogg and best friend Warren G (stepbrother of Dr. Dre of N.W.A.). Originally, Snoop's and Nate's cousin Lil' 1/2 Dead was also part of the group, called 213, named after the Long Beach area code at the time. This was largely in homage to Richie Rich's group 415, which was named for the (then) area code of Oakland, California (now the area code of San Francisco and its northern neighbor Marin County). Several of his cousins also became hip hop artists and Aftermath collaborators, including RBX, Joe Cool, and his cousins, Nate Dogg and Daz Dillinger. He's also the nephew of Soul/Gospel singer Willie Norwood and cousin of his R&B singing children Ray J and Brandy and he recently released "Smokin Trees" with Ray J and a duet with Brandy was pre-recorded for Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, but was not part of the album.[5]

Death Row Records Years (1993-97)
Dr. Dre began collaborating with Snoop Dogg, first on the theme song of the feature film Deep Cover, and then on Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic with the other members of his former starting group, Tha Dogg Pound. Snoop Dogg's contribution to The Chronic was considerable; the rapper's rhymes were as present as Dr. Dre's. The huge success of Snoop Dogg's debut Doggystyle was partially due to this intense exposure.

While recording Doggystyle with Dr. Dre in August 1993, Snoop Dogg was arrested in connection with the death of Phillip Woldermarian, a member of a rival gang who was fired at and killed in a gang fight. Snoop Dogg was defended by David Kenner, with his bodyguard McKinley Lee, while Sean Abrams (accompanying member in the jeep) was defended by Johnnie Cochran.[6] Both Snoop Dogg and McKinley Lee were acquitted; Lee was acquitted on grounds of self-defense, but Snoop Dogg remained entangled in the legal battles around the case for three years. His video "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" with Tupac Shakur chronicled the difficulties each rapper was dealing with as a result of their unrelated but concurrent criminal prosecutions.

The Doggystyle album was released in November 1993 on Death Row Records and became the first debut album ever to enter the charts at #1, helping to fuel the ascendance of West Coast "g-funk" rap. The singles "Who Am I (What's My Name)?" and "Gin and Juice" reached the top ten most-played songs in the United States, and the album stayed on the Billboard charts for several months. Gangsta rap became the center of arguments for censorship and labeling, with Snoop Dogg often used as an example of violent and misogynistic musicians.

Doggystyle, much like The Chronic, featured a host of rappers signed to or affiliated with the Death Row label including Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Nate Dogg and others. In 1995 Snoop Dogg and the Dogg Pound were featured on the Los Angeles Based hip-hop show "Street Vibe '95, produced and directed by Edmund Darris [7] . This show a spin off of the St. Louis Based show "Eddie D Live" that promoted heavily rap and hip-hop artist on midwestern television. Snopp Dogg was reported as being a king among men, according to Edmund Darris, who interviewed him and the Dogg Pound exclusively. Darris reported that despite what the media portrays Snoop Dogg, he is a talented genius and has the power of words...he is our modern day Shakespere with raging skills and charisma. [8]

A short film about Snoop Dogg's murder trial called Murder Was the Case, was released in 1994, along with an accompanying soundtrack.

Snoop Dogg performing in 2006.However, by the time Snoop Dogg's second album, Tha Doggfather, was released in November 1996, the price of imitating (or sometimes just living) the "gangsta" life had become very evident. Among the many notable rap industry deaths and convictions were the death of Snoop Dogg's friend and label-mate Tupac Shakur and the racketeering indictment of Death Row co-founder Suge Knight. Dr. Dre had left Death Row earlier in 1996 due to a contract dispute, so Snoop Dogg co-produced Tha Doggfather with Daz Dillinger and DJ Pooh.

This album featured a distinct change of style as compared to Doggystyle. While the album sold reasonably well, it was not as successful, and it was widely believed that its quality suffered from Dr. Dre's lack of involvement. However, Tha Doggfather had a somewhat softer approach to the G-funk style, and Snoop Dogg used a less energetic and more charismatic type of rhyming style, which would be more widely incorporated and exercised later on in his career.

In the immediate aftermath of Dr. Dre's withdrawal from Death Row Records, realizing that he was subject to an iron clad time-based contract (i.e., that Death Row practically owned anything he produced for a number of years), Snoop Dogg refused to produce any more tracks for Suge Knight, other than the insulting "Fuck Death Row", until his contract expired.

Post-Death Row (1998-2003)
Upon leaving Death Row Records Snoop was approached by a number of record labels. He eventually signed a contract with Master P's No Limit Records. No Limit was quite popular at the time, as Southern Hip Hop was going through a revival and beginning to dominate the charts in a way which had not been seen since Florida rap dominated the charts in the early 1990s, thanks to 2 Live Crew and Luke. Snoop shortened his name from Snoop Doggy Dogg to Snoop Dogg, and received a great deal of criticism for signing to the label.

Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told was the first album Snoop released at No Limit. It received negative reviews, yet still sold well. Snoop put his stamp of the now ubiquitous "Dirty South" sound on this album. Similar to the group focus of Death Row Records, many other No Limit Records artists appeared on the album, and it was produced mostly in-house by Beats By The Pound. Snoop's next effort, No Limit Top Dogg would re-unite Snoop with his mentor Dr. Dre for some highlight tracks and see a return to the G-funk style of his Death Row days; it proved to be a success in both ratings and sales, as the album embraced both old and new styles of West Coast hip hop along with assorted guests from the No Limit roster. Snoop Dogg followed this up with his last album on No Limit Records titled Tha Last Meal, which built upon the mixture of styles on No Limit Top Dogg. Later that year, he collaborated again with his old friends Nate Dogg and Warren G as part of 213. They released an album The Hard Way, which featured the single "Groupie Luv", and reached #4 in the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts.[9]

Snoop Dogg released an autobiography in 2001 titled Tha Doggfather: The Times, Trials, and Hardcore Truths of Snoop Dogg, co-written with Davin Seay. In 2002, Snoop announced that he was giving up women and drugs.[10] Later that year he released the album Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$, on Capitol Records which featured the hit singles and videos "From tha Chuuuch to da Palace" and "Beautiful" featuring guest vocals by Pharrell Williams.

On May 21, 2004, Snoop Dogg filed for divorce from his wife Shante Broadus, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking joint custody of their three children, Corde, Cordell, and Cori; they have since reconciled.[11] At the age of 30, Snoop gave up smoking weed.

Geffen Years (2004-present)
In 2004, Snoop signed to Geffen Records/Star Trak Entertainment both of which are distributed through Interscope Records; Star Trak was headed by the Neptunes, who produced several tracks for Snoop's 2004 release R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. "Drop It Like It's Hot" (featuring Pharrell), the first single released from the album, was a hit and became Snoop Dogg's first single to reach number one. His third release was "Signs", featuring Justin Timberlake & Charlie Wilson, which entered the UK chart at #2. This was his highest entry ever in the UK chart. The album sold very well, and most of its singles were heavily played on radio and television.

Snoop Dogg's latest music is being featured on West Coast rap albums such as Laugh Now, Cry Later by Ice Cube and Cali Iz Active by Tha Dogg Pound. He is featured on 2 tracks from Cube's album including the single "Go to Church", and several tracks on Cali Iz Active. Also, his latest song, "Real Talk", was leaked over the Internet in the summer of 2006 and a video was later released on the Internet. "Real Talk" is a dedication to Tookie Williams and a diss to Arnold Schwarzenegger. His two other new songs are "Keep Bouncing" by Too $hort, Snoop Dogg & will.i.am; and "Gangsta Walk" by Coolio & Snoop Dogg.

Snoop Dogg's 2006 release, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, did well on its first week, debuting at #5, which has been his highest since 2000's The Last Meal. The album, and the second single "That's That Shit" featuring R. Kelly have been received good critical response so far. In the album, he collaborated in a video with E-40 and other West Coast rappers for his single "Candy (Drippin' Like Water)", the first Snoop Dogg song to contain elements of the hyphy sound from E-40.

In July 2007, Snoop Dogg also made history by becoming the first artist to release a track as a ringtone prior to its release as a single, "It's The D.O.G.". Currently Snoop Dogg is working with producer JT the Bigga Figga on a documentary DVD entitled Mandatory Business, which will feature the likes of Russell Simmons, Spike Lee, Xzibit, Young Buck and 50 Cent. There will also be a soundtrack released for the documentary. On 7 July 2007 Snoop Dogg performed at the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg[12]

On Screen
In 2000, Snoop (as "Michael J. Corleone") directed Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, a pornographic film produced by Hustler. This film, combining hip-hop with X-rated material, was a huge success and won "Top Selling Release of the Year" at the 2002 AVN Awards.[13] Driven by this success, Snoop directed Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp in 2002 (this time using the nickname "Snoop Scorsese").

Perhaps in conjunction with his entry into the x-rated world, Snoop claimed in a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone magazine that unlike other hip hop artists who've superficially adopted the pimp persona, he was an actual professional pimp in 2003 and 2004, saying "That shit was my natural calling and once I got involved with it, it became fun. It was like shootin' layups for me. I was makin' 'em every time." He goes on to say that upon the advice on some of the other pimps he knew, he eventually gave up pimping to spend more time with his family.[14]

Snoop founded his own production company, Snoopadelic Films, in 2005. Their debut film was Boss'n Up, a film inspired by R&G starring Lil Jon and Trina.[15]

In 2004, Snoop appeared on the Showtime series The L Word as the character "Slim Daddy", a portmanteau of Slim Shady and Puff Daddy. He also notably played the drug dealer-turned-informant character of Huggy Bear, in the 2004 remake film of the 70's TV-series of the same name, Starsky & Hutch. He also appeared as himself in an episode of the Showtime series "Weeds."

He also made an appearance on the hit TV shows Entourage and Monk in July 2007.

Legal issues
On Aug. 25, 1993, Snoop Dogg was arrested on suspicion of being an accomplice in the killing of reputed gang member Philip Woldemariam in Woodbine Park in the Palms district of West Los Angeles. Broadus' bodyguard actually pulled the trigger and claimed self-defense at the trial. Both were acquitted.

A woman named Kylie Bell claimed that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Broadus and four others. In December 2004, one month before Bell filed her suit against him, Snoop sued her, accusing her of extortion. Bell eventually dropped her lawsuit, and Snoop dropped his US$5 million countersuit against her. Snoop's publicist said "absolutely no money" was paid by the rapper in reaching a settlement.[16]

On April 26, 2006, Snoop Dogg and members of his entourage were arrested being turned away from British Airways' first class lounge. Snoop and his party were not allowed to enter the lounge because some of the entourage were flying first class, other members of the party were flying economy class. After the group was escorted outside, they vandalized a duty-free shop by throwing whiskey bottles. Seven police officers were injured in the fracas. After a night in prison, Snoop Dogg and the other men were released on bail on April 27, but he was unable to perform at the Premier Foods People's Concert in Johannesburg on the same day. As part of his bail conditions, he had to return to the police station in May. The group has been banned by British Airways for "the foreseeable future."[17][18]

On May 11, when Snoop Dogg appeared at a London police station, he was cautioned for affray under Section 4 of the Public Order Act for use of threatening words or behavior [19]. On May 15, the Home Office decided that Snoop Dogg should be denied entry to the UK for the foreseeable future due to the fracas at Heathrow as well as his previous convictions in the United States for drugs and firearms offenses.[20]http://uk.news.launch.yahoo.com/dyna/article.html?a=/060516/340/gbrj1.html&e=l_news_dm

Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, and The Game have been sued for assaulting a fan on stage at a May 2005 Auburn concert at the White River Amphitheatre. The accuser claims he was beaten by the artists' entourage while he was running up to touch Snoop. He alleges that he reacted to an "open invite" to come on stage. Before he could, Snoop’s bodyguards grabbed him and he was beaten unconscious by crew people, including the rapper and producer Soopafly. Snoop and The Game were included in the suit for not intervening to hold the fight. The lawsuit focuses on a pecuniary claim of $22 million in punitive and compensatory damages, battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.[21]

On September 27, 2006, Snoop Dogg was detained at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California by airport security, after airport screeners found a collapsible police baton in Snoop's carry-on bag. The baton was confiscated but Snoop was allowed to board the flight. He has been charged with various weapons violations stemming from this incident. When arrested, he told deputies the baton was a prop for a movie. Bail was set at $150,000, which Snoop has paid.

Snoop Dogg was arrested again on October 26, 2006 at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California while parked in a passenger loading zone. Approached by airport security for a traffic infraction, he was found in possession of marijuana and a firearm, according to a police statement. He was transported to Burbank Police Department Jail, booked, and released on $35,000 bond. He faced firearm and drug possession charges on 12 December at Burbank Superior Court.[22]

He was again arrested on November 29, 2006, after performing on The Tonight Show, for possession of marijuana and a firearm.[23]

Snoop Dogg was arrested again on March 12, 2007 at 1:25 a.m CET after performing in a concert with P.Diddy in Stockholm's Globe Arena, Sweden. Snoop Dogg was arrested along with a woman after the pair reportedly "reeked" of marijuana. They were arrested and released 4 hours later after providing a urine sample. Pending results on urine will determine whether charges will be pressed. However the rapper denied all charges.[24][25][26]

Snoop Dogg's visa request to enter the United Kingdom was rejected by local authorities because of the Heathrow incident on March 24, 2007. A planned concert at London's Wembley Arena on 27th will go ahead with Diddy (with whom he toured Europe) and the rest of the show. However the decision affects four more British performances in Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham and Glasgow[27] and Budapest (due to rescheduling).[28]

On April 12, 2007, Snoop Dogg was sentenced to five years of probation for gun and drug charges. He is expected to continue touring.

On April 26, 2007, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship banned him from entering the country on character grounds, citing his prior criminal convictions. He had been scheduled to appear at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards on April 29, 2007.[29] The ban was not lifted and Snoop Dogg was not able to attend. MTV Australia currently has a petition going to get him Australian citizenship.[30]

Snoop Dogg's many legal issues forced San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom to withdraw his plan to issue a proclamation to the rapper.[31]
Wikipedia - Snoop Dogg

Cassidy

2007-11-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

Barry Adrian Reese (born July 7, 1982) better known by his stage name Cassidy, is an American rapper.

His most successful work to date is his 2004 album Split Personality, which reached #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart and #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart.[1] He won BET's Rap City Best Booth.[2]
Early music career
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Cassidy attended Central High School, Philadelphia. Cassidy's father is African-American and his mother is of Dominican descent[3]. He started to rap when he was 13 years old and rose to prominence by appearing on a radio competition on 103.9 the beat, (now 100.3 the beat) named the Cipher. He was also a member of the crew Larsiny with his home-town-friends Cal Akbar & Shiz Lansky. Producer Swizz Beatz signed Cassidy to his Full Surface label distributed through J Records and featured him on his 2002 album Presents G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories. He was the champion on Philadelphia based radio show "The Cypher"[4].
Cassidy received some fame after he won a freestyle battle with Roc-A-Fella artist Freeway. [citation needed] Cassidy recorded his first album, Split Personality in 2003. The record is divided into three parts: The first is credited to Cassidy and reflects his pop side, the second, credited as "Tha Problem," aims at fans of his mixtapes and the third is credited to B. Reese from fans from his early days.[5]
Cassidy recorded the lead single "Hotel" in R. Kelly's Chicago studios with a vocal contribution by Kelly - there is also a remix featuring vocals by Trina. The song became a hit, reaching the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2004 and was nominated for a Vibe Award in the category Coolest Collabo that year.[6] It also reached the top 5 of the UK chart and the top 40 of the Australian chart in May 2004. May 2004 was also the month Cassidy featured on the cover of The Source magazine, alongside Lil' Flip, Young Gunz and J-Kwon.[7]
Split Personality was released on March 16, 2004 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 album charts and at #1 on the R&B/Hip Hop albums charts.[1] The second single, "Get No Better", featured a contribution from labelmate Mashonda but did not do as well on the singles charts, reaching #82 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In September 2004, Cassidy was nominated for "Lyricist of the Year" at the Source Awards.[8]

Second album
Cassidy released his second album, I'm a Hustla on June 28, 2005, through Swizz Beatz's label, Full Surface. It reached a chart position of #5 in the United States.[1] The album's title track features a sample from Jay-Z's "Dirt off Your Shoulder" and the song was nominated for a Vibe Award in the category Street Anthem.[9] A remix featuring Mary J. Blige followed soon after. In 2006, the ringtone version of his track I'm a Hustla was one of the first-ever ringtones to be certified platinum.[10] The video for this single, features a dance step called "The Hustla Dance".
Another track off the album, The Message was released as a charity single, promoting Cassidy's involvement with the Millions More Movement.

Also the track "So Long", which features Mashonda and Raekwon, was released as promotional single[11].

Third album
Cassidy is now working on his third album, B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story and his lead single "My Drink N' My 2 Step," which has recently leaked to the radio and several internet sites[12]. He will be featured on the AND1 Mixtape Tour 2007[13]. Cassidy appeared on several concerts by The Roots and Dipset[citation needed]. The second single will be "Cash Rules" featuring Bone Thugs-n-Harmony & Eve.
Cassidy will also be the new face of Lot 29, which featured other artists such as Juelz Santana.[14].

Untitled Larsiny Reunion album
Cassidy is also working on a group album with Larsiny[15][16]. The first single is rumored to be "Boyz Iz Back".[17]

Fourth album
Cassidy confirmed in an interview with Allhiphop.com that his fourth album will be eponominously titled Cassidy.[18]

Legal issues
On June 8, 2005, police issued a warrant for Cassidy's arrest, for the murder of a 22-year-old man during an April 15, 2005 shooting.
MTV News reported that according to police, three men, including Cassidy, armed with .45 and .40 caliber handguns, 9 mm pistols, and an AK-47 variant, fired on three other men during an argument that occurred in the rapper's West Oak Lane neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia just before 1 a.m. on April 15, 2005.[19]
Cassidy's murder case took a turn when the primary witness admitted under oath initially lying to police and that he had not seen Cassidy firing a weapon.[20] This resulted in Municipal Judge Marsha Neifield stating that Cassidy would only have to stand trial for third-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons violation charges. This was later overturned to the original, first degree charge - negating the possibility of parole.[21]
On January 24, 2006, Cassidy was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to eleven-and-a-half to 23 months in jail and was credited with the 7 months he had already served. [22][23] Cassidy was released from Pennsylvania's Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on March 2, 2006 after serving eight months.[24]

Car accident
Cassidy was critically injured in a motor vehicle accident on the night of October 5, 2006, when a commercial truck, the size of a U-Haul truck, collided with Cassidy's SUV whilst he was a passenger. He was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a fractured skull and several broken bones on the left side of his face.[25][26][27]

Personal life
Cassidy has a son whose name is Cassidy and a fiancee[28]. He has a stepfather named Tony and a brother named Terrence[29]. He also considers R&B-Singer Tyrese his brother. [30]. Cassidy has a brother-sister type relationship with Brittany "Bre" Scullark from America's Next Top Model, Cycle 5.
Wikipedia - Cassidy