Eduardo "Eddie" Gory Guerrero Llanes[1] (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005)[1] better known as Eddie Guerrero, was a second-generation American professional wrestler born into a legendary Mexican wrestling family.[2] He had a distinguished career, wrestling in Mexico and Japan and in every major professional wrestling promotion in the United States.[2] He wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and, most famously, in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which was World Wrestling Federation (WWF) before 2002.
Guerrero's in-ring gimmick was that of a crafty, resourceful wrestler who would do anything to win a match. His famous catch phrase became "Cheat to Win." Despite being a heel for much of his career, he got over in and outside the ring. Another one of his famous slogans was "I Lie! I Cheat! I Steal!," which was used in one of his most famous entrance themes. He partly uses this phrase in his autobiography Cheating Death, Stealing Life.
Throughout his career, Guerrero encountered various substance abuse problems outside of wrestling, including alcoholism and an addiction to painkillers. His problems outside of the ring were sometimes integrated into his angles. Notwithstanding these issues, he won numerous titles during his career. In WWF/E, he was a 1 time WWE Champion,[5] 4 time Tag Team Champion,[6] 1 time United States Champion,[7] 2 time Intercontinental Champion[8] and 2 time European Champion.[9] He was also posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.[3]
He also held the United States Heavyweight Championship once[7] and Cruiserweight Championship twice[10] in WCW and Television Championship twice in ECW.[11] Upon his sudden and unexpected death, Guerrero was paid tribute by many of his fellow wrestlers as an exceptionally skilled technical wrestler and a passionate and caring individual.
Death
On November 13, 2005, Guerrero was found unconscious in his hotel room (The Marriott City Center) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by his nephew, Chavo. Chavo attempted CPR, but Eddie was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived on the scene, leaving behind his widow Vickie Guerrero, now working for WWE Smackdown brand, and their two daughters, Shaul and Sherilyn. He also left behind a daughter, Kaylie, from a previous relationship.
An autopsy revealed that Guerrero died as a result of acute heart failure, caused by undiagnosed arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Although Guerrero had not taken alcohol or illicit drugs for nearly four years, his past excesses contributed to his heart failure.
Guerrero's wife Vickie claimed that he had been lethargic and unwell in the week preceding his death, but had attributed it to the stress of continuously traveling and performing. She added that the doctors had told her that Guerrero's blood vessels had shriveled and weakened as a result of an undiagnosed heart disease, and that he had simply dropped into a deep sleep.
On the November 30 edition of WWE Byte This!, Chavo said that Guerrero had been working very hard and was at peak physical fitness as a result, doing cardiovascular and weight training exercises every day. There had been no symptoms or cause for concern. Chavo noted that, while many people abuse drugs for over ten years with no ill effects, Guerrero had suffered heart complications that were not detected in time to prevent his death, even though he had ceased his drug abuse some four years earlier.
When Natalie Horler was 17, she was doing studio work for various DJs. Eventually; she met Yann Pfeiffer (stagename Yanou) and Manuel Reuter (stagename DJ Manian). Originally, they released music under the name, Cascade, but due to another artist with a similar name threatening a suit, they changed it to Cascada.[3] Under Andorfine Records, they produced their debut and hit single, "Miracle", and its follow-up, "Bad Boy", in Germany.[4] This caught the attention of American dance label, Robbins Entertainment. They negotiated a contract and "Miracle" was released in 2004.[5] However, it did not attract much attention, so Cascada offered them "Everytime We Touch".
Everytime We Touch (2005-2007)
Cascada experienced mainstream success in the United Kingdom and the United States almost a year after releasing their second American single, "Everytime We Touch", which interpolates the chorus of a 1992 Maggie Reilly song of the same name.[6][7] The song gained platinum and gold certifications across the globe, being certified platinum by the RIAA.[8][9] Soon after the popularity of the single skyrocketed, an album was quickly recorded and released (in a matter of months),[10] and a music video for "Everytime We Touch" was also distributed for promotion.[11] For these reasons, the debut album maintains a very similar formula throughout, to the extent of near-identical tempo and beats.
In all, eight singles were released from the album, four of which have been released in the United Kingdom; "Everytime We Touch", "Truly Madly Deeply" (originally by Savage Garden),"Miracle" and "A Neverending Dream" all of which gained top 10 status apart from "A Neverending Dream", which charted at #46.[12] Their album Everytime We Touch has experienced success in the UK Album chart where it remained up in the top forty for twenty-four weeks, peaking at #2.[13][14] The album experienced success on the U.S. charts as well.[15] The success of the album gained them two World Music Award nominations, winning them World's Best-Selling German Artist.[16]
Perfect Day (2007-2008)
Natalie Horler first announced that Cascada were working on their second album during a Japanese interview, which was posted on their blog on MySpace.[17] There are a few cover songs on the album, most notably Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi", P!nk's "Just Like A Pill", Patti Smith's "Because the Night" and the Jeffrey Steele song "What Hurts the Most", as well as two tracks, "Endless Summer" and "I Will Believe It" that were previously recorded by Natalie Horler and DJ Manian under the Siria name.[18] However, the U.S. release replaced the Siria songs,[19] P!nk, and Avril Lavigne covers with three newer tracks, because they did not have the North American Rights. Two of these songs were "Faded", a cover of a Kate DeAraugo song, and "Holiday", a cover of a song recorded earlier by such different artists as Venke Knutson, Nylon, and Jenny May. The sophomore effort was released at the end of 2007 in the UK, and several parts of Northern Europe.[20] Perfect Day was released to the remaining markets, in the first quarter of 2008, with the U.S. release being the last. Natalie, also, stated in a French Interview, before the release, that she would take a hand in writing parts of the album.[21] However, none of the final tracks on the album were written by her.[22]
The world-wide lead single, "What Hurts the Most", was released in late 2007 and early 2008, along with its B-side, a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas".[23] The single had high success, reaching the top tier in most countries.[24] The U.K. and German follow-up to "What Hurts the Most", is "What Do You Want From Me?",[25][26] originally thought to be called "Tell Me Why".[27][28]The third release from the album will be "Because The Night".[29][30] The video was offically released on YouTube on May 28, 2008.[31] The single will be released throught out Europe towards the end of July. A limited bonus edition of the second album which will feature the songs that are included on the American version is set to be released around Europe around the end of July 2008.
On June 30, 2008, it was annouced that the second single to be released in America will be "Faded", which appears only on the American version of Perfect Day.[32] Third Album (2008-present)
On April 10, 2008, Natalie announced on her official blog, that work on the third album will soon commence.[33] On her Radio 1 show, Jo Whiley announced that Coldplay’s Chris Martin will work with Cascada on new material though this has yet to be officially announced.[34][35][36][37] It is unknown if this will be production, writing, or vocals.[38][39] It is rumoured that a song called Come To Me, comfirmed by AATW will be on the third album. Another track also rumored to be on the new album will be a cover of La Bouche's Sweet Dreams.
Discography
For a full Cascada album discography and chart positions, go to Cascada discography. Albums
* 2006: Everytime We Touch * 2006: Cascada: The Remix Album [Released In Germany Only] * 2007: Perfect Day * 2008: Perfect Day [US Release] * 2008: Perfect Day (Bonus Edition) * 2008/9: TBA
Tours
* 2007: Everytime We Touch Tour * 2008: Clubland Live Tour * 2008: Perfect Day Tour
Carlos Augusto Santana Alves (born July 20, 1947) is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-American rock musician and guitarist. He became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which created a highly successful blend of rock, blues, salsa, and jazz fusion. The band's sound featured his melodic, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin percussion such as timbales and congas. Santana continued to work in these forms over the following decades. He experienced a sudden resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s. Rolling Stone also named Santana number 15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003.[1]
Early life and career
Carlos Santana was born in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico, with two brothers and four sisters and a father who was a mariachi violinist. Carlos began playing the violin at five years of age, occasionally performing with his father's mariachi orchestra. When his family moved to Tijuana when he was nine, he became interested in the guitar, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and blues music and soon was performing in bands in the Tijuana area. When his family emigrated to San Francisco, California, thirteen-year-old Carlos refused to leave, preferring his independence as a working musician. After being convinced to stay in San Francisco with his family, he graduated from Mission High School in 1965.[2] Santana helped the family out by working as a dishwasher and grew to enjoy the San Francisco music scene, often sneaking into music promoter Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium to listen to his favorite musical artists, including Muddy Waters and The Grateful Dead.
At the end of 1966, guitarist Tom Frazier wanted to form his new rock band. Frazier joined Santana (on guitar/vocals), Mike Carabello (on percussion), Rod Harper (on drums), Gus Rodriguez (on bass guitar), and Seattle native Gregg Rolie (on organ/vocals), to form the Santana Blues Band. Santana has maintained that it was he and Rolie who were the most serious about music and pursuing it further, while the others were only interested in hanging out and being part of the scene. Santana himself was not viewed by the group as the actual leader of the band that had his name. The group operated as a collective, as it would through the early 1970s. The name of the band was agreed upon due to a local musicians union requirement that there be a designated leader and a name. He met Stan "Moon" Marcum who acted as the group's manager.
After a while, the group came to be known simply as "Blues Band". At this time it comprised Carlos Santana, Rolie, David Brown on bass guitar, Bob "Doc' Livingston on drums, and Marcus Malone on percussion.[2] Santana's recording debut occurred as a guest on The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper.
There has always been speculation about how the band picked up its Latin influence, since, ironically, neither Santana nor Gregg Rolie had any affinity for the style in the first place. It is known they hung out often at San Francisco's Aquatic Park where conga players would get together and jam. Also, around this time, Santana was exposed to other types of music for the first time in this creative, musically-fertile city. Bay Area jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo became a favorite of Santana and featured congas on his 1966 album, Spellbinder.
Santana to Caravanserai
Santana was signed to CBS Records and went into the studio to record their first album. They were not satisfied with the results and realized changes needed to be made. This resulted in the dismissal of Livingston. Santana replaced him with Mike Shreive, who had a strong background in both jazz and rock. Marcus Malone was forced to quit the band due to personal problems, and the band re-enlisted Michael Carabello. Carabello brought with him percussionist José Chepito Areas, who was already well-known in his country, Nicaragua, and, with his skills and professional experience, was a major contributor to the band.
Bill Graham, who had been a fan of the band from the start, convinced the promoters of the Woodstock Music and Art Festival to let them appear before their first album was even released. They were one of the surprises of the festival; their set was legendary and, later, the exposure of their eleven-minute instrumental "Soul Sacrifice" in the Woodstock film and soundtrack albums vastly increased Santana's popularity. Graham also gave the band some key advice to record the Willie Bobo song "Evil Ways", as he felt it would get them radio airplay. Their first album, simply titled Santana, became a huge hit, reaching number four on the U.S. album charts, and the catchy single "Evil Ways" reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1970, the group reached its early commercial peak with their second album, Abraxas, which reached number one on the album charts and went on to sell over four million copies. Instrumental in the production of the album was pianist Alberto Gianquinto, who advised the group to stay away from lengthy percussion jams and concentrate on tighter song structures. The innovative Santana musical blend made a number-four hit out of the English band Fleetwood Mac's "Black Magic Woman" and a number-thirteen hit out of salsa legend Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va". Carlos Santana, alongside the classic Santana lineup of their first two albums, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. He performed "Black Magic Woman" with the writer of the song, Fleetwood Mac's founder Peter Green. Green was inducted the same night.
However, Woodstock and the band's sudden success put pressure on the group, highlighting the different musical directions in which Rolie and Santana were starting to go. Rolie, along with some of the other band members, wanted to emphasize a basic hard rock sound which had established the band in the first place. Santana on the other hand, was growing musically beyond his love of blues & rock and wanted more jazzy, ethereal elements in the music, which were influenced by his fascination with Miles Davis and John Coltrane, as well as his growing interest in spirituality and meditation. To further complicate matters, Chepito Areas was stricken with a near-fatal brain hemorrhage, and Santana wanted the band to continue performing by finding a temporary replacement (first Willie Bobo, then Coke Escovedo), while others in the band, especially Michael Carabello, felt it was wrong to perform publicly without Areas. Cliques formed, and the band started to disintegrate.
Teenage San Francisco Bay Area guitar prodigy Neal Schon was asked to join the band in 1971, though, at the time, he was also invited by Eric Clapton to join Derek and the Dominos. Choosing Santana, he joined in time to complete the third album, Santana 3. The band now boasted a powerful dual-lead-guitar act that gave the album a tougher sound. The sound of the band was also helped by the return of a recuperated Chepito Areas and the assistance of Coke Escovedo in the percussion section. Enhancing the band's sound further was the support of popular Bay Area group Tower of Power's horn section, Luis Gasca of Malo, and a number of friends who helped with percussion and vocals, injecting more energy to the proceedings. Santana 3 was another success, reaching number one on the album charts, selling two million copies, and yielding the hits "Everybody's Everything" and "No One to Depend On".
But tension in the band continued. Along with musical differences, drug use became a problem, and Santana was deeply worried it was affecting the band's performance. Coke Escovedo encouraged Santana to take more control of the band's musical direction, much to the dismay of some of the others who thought that the band and its sound was a collective effort. Also, financial irregularities were exposed while under the management of Stan Marcum, whom Bill Graham criticized as being incompetent. Growing resentments between Santana and Michael Carabello over lifestyle issues resulted in his departure on bad terms. James Mingo Lewis was hired at the last minute as a replacement at a concert in New York City. David Brown later left due to substance abuse problems. A South American tour was cut short in Lima, Peru, due to student protests against U.S. governmental policies and unruly fans. The madness of the tour convinced Santana that changes needed to be made in the band and in his life.
In January of 1972, Santana, Neal Schon and Coke Escovedo joined former Band of Gypsys drummer Buddy Miles for a concert at Hawaii's Diamond Head Crater, which was recorded for a live album. The performance was erratic and uneven, but the album managed to achieve gold-record status on the weight of Santana's popularity.
In early 1972, Santana and the remaining members of the band started working on their fourth album, Caravanserai. During the studio sessions, Santana and Michael Shrieve brought in other musicians: percussionists James Mingo Lewis and Latin-Jazz veteran, Armando Peraza replacing Michael Carabello, and bassists Tom Rutley and Doug Rauch replacing David Brown. Also assisting on keyboards were Wendy Haas and Tom Coster. With the unsettling influx of new players in the studio, Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon decided that it was time to leave after the completion of the album, even though both made spectacular contributions to the session. Rolie left and went home to Seattle, opening a restaurant with his father, and later became a founding member of Journey (which Schon would later join as well).
When Caravanserai did emerge in 1972, it marked a strong change in musical direction towards jazz fusion. The album received critical praise, but CBS executive Clive Davis warned Santana and the band that it would sabotage the band's position as a Top Forty act. Nevertheless, over the years, the album would achieve platinum status. The difficulties Santana and the band went through during this period were chronicled in Ben Fong-Torres' Rolling Stone cover story "The Resurrection of Carlos Santana".
Around this time, Santana met Deborah King, whom he later married in 1973. She is the daughter of the late blues singer and guitarist Saunders King. They have three children: Salvador, Stella and Angelica. Together with wife Deborah, Santana founded a not-for-profit organization, the Milagro Foundation, which provides financial aid for educational, medical, and other needs. They divorced in 2005 due to marriage difficulties.
Spiritual journey
In 1972, Santana became a huge fan of the pioneering fusion band The Mahavishnu Orchestra and its guitarist John McLaughlin. Aware of Santana's interest in meditation, McLaughlin introduced Santana and Deborah to his guru, Sri Chinmoy. Chinmoy accepted them as disciples in 1973. Santana was given the name "Devadip" - meaning "The lamp, light and eye of God." Santana and McLaughlin recorded an album together, Love, Devotion, Surrender with members of Santana and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, along with percussionist Don Alias and organist Larry Young, who both had made appearances on Miles Davis' classic Bitches Brew in 1969.
In 1973, Santana, having obtained legal rights to the band's name, formed a new version of Santana, with Armando Peraza and Chepito Areas on percussion, Doug Rauch on bass, Michael Shrieve on drums, and Tom Coster and Richard Kermode on keyboards. Santana was later able to recruit jazz vocalist Leon Thomas for a tour of Japan, which was recorded for the live, sprawling, high-energy fusion album Lotus. CBS records would not allow its release unless the material was condensed. Santana did not agree to those terms, and the album was available in the U.S. only as an expensive, imported, three-record set. The group later went into the studio and recorded "Welcome", which further reflected Santana's interests in jazz fusion and his commitment to the spiritual life of Sri Chinmoy.
[edit] Shifting styles in the 1970s
A collaboration with John Coltrane's widow, Alice Coltrane - Illuminations followed. The album delved into avant-garde esoteric free jazz, Eastern Indian and classical influences with other ex-Miles Davis sidemen Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland. Soon after, Santana replaced his band members again. This time Kermode, Thomas and Rauch departed from the group and were replaced by vocalist Leon Patillo (later a successful Contemporary Christian artist) and returning bassist David Brown. He also recruited soprano saxophonist, Jules Broussard to the lineup. The band recorded one studio album Borboletta, which was released in 1974. Drummer Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler later joined the band as a replacement for Michael Shrieve, who left to pursue a solo career.
By this time, the Bill Graham's management company had assumed the affairs of the group. Graham was critical of Santana's direction into jazz and felt he needed to concentrate on getting Santana back into the charts with the edgy, street-wise ethnic sound that had made them famous. Santana himself was seeing that the group's direction was alienating many fans. Although the albums and performances were given good reviews by critics in jazz and fusion circles, sales had plummeted.
Santana along with Tom Coster, producer David Rubinson, and Chancler formed yet another version of Santana, adding vocalist Greg Walker. The 1976 album Amigos, which featured the songs "Dance, Sister, Dance" and "Let It Shine", had a strong funk and Latin sound. The album also received considerable airplay on FM album-oriented rock stations with the instrumental "Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile)" and re-introduced Santana back into the charts. Rolling Stone magazine ran a second cover story on Santana entitled "Santana Comes Home".
The albums conceived through the late 1970s followed the same formula, although with several lineup changes. Among the personnel who came and left the band was percussionist Raul Rekow, who joined in early 1977 and remains to this day. Most-notable of the band's commercial efforts of this era was a version of the 1960s Zombies hit, "She's Not There", on the 1977 album Moonflower.
The relative success of the band's albums in this era allowed Santana to pursue a solo career funded by CBS. First, Oneness, Silver Dreams, Golden Reality in 1979 and The Swing of Delight in 1980, which featured some of his musical heroes: Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams from Miles Davis' legendary 1960s quintet.
The pressures and temptations of being a high-profile rock musician and requisites of the spiritual lifestyle which guru Sri Chinmoy and his followers demanded, were great sources of conflict to Santana's and his marriage. He was becoming increasingly disillusioned with what he thought was Chinmoy's often-unreasonable rules imposed on his life, one being his refusal to allow Santana and Deborah to start a family. He felt too that his fame was being used to increase the guru's visibility. Santana and Deborah eventually ended their relationship with Chinmoy in 1982.
The 1980s
More radio-oriented singles followed from Santana the band. "Winning" in 1981 and "Hold On" ( a remake of Canadian artist Ian Thomas's song) in 1982 both reached the top twenty. After his break with Sri Chinmoy, Santana went into the studio to record another solo album with Keith Olson and legendary R&B producer Jerry Wexler. The 1983 album revisited Santana's early musical experiences in Tijuana with Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love" and the title cut, Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon". The album's guests included Booker T. Jones, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Willie Nelson and even Santana's father's mariachi orchestra. Santana again paid tribute to his early rock roots by doing the film score to La Bamba, which was based on the tragically short life of rock and roll legend Richie Valens and starred Lou Diamond Phillips.
Although the band had concentrated on trying to produce albums with commercial appeal during the 1980s, changing tastes in popular culture began to reflect in the band's sagging record sales of their latest effort Beyond Appearances. In 1985, Bill Graham had to once again pull strings for Santana to convince principal Live Aid concert organizer Bob Geldof to allow the band to appear at the festival. The group's high-energy performance proved why they were still a top concert draw the world over despite their poor performance on the charts. Personally, Santana retained a great deal of respect in both jazz and rock circles, with Prince and guitarist Kirk Hammett of Metallica citing him as an influence.
The band Santana returned in 1986 with a new album Freedom. Buddy Miles, who was trying to revive his music career after spending much of the late 1970s and early 1980s incarcerated for drug charges, returned for lead vocals. His onstage presence provided a dose of charisma to the show; but, once again, the sales of the album fell flat.
Growing weary of trying to appease record company executives with formulaic hit records, Santana took great pleasure in jamming and making guest appearances with notables such as the jazz fusion group Weather Report, jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, Blues legend John Lee Hooker, Aretha Franklin, Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, and West African singer Salif Keita. He and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead later recorded and performed with Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji, who conceived one of Santana's famous 1960s drum jams, "Jingo". In 1988, Santana organized a reunion with past members from the Santana band for a series of concert dates. CBS records released a 20-year retrospective of the band's accomplishments with Viva Santana.
That same year Santana formed an all-instrumental group featuring jazz legend Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano sax. The group also included Patrice Rushen on keyboards, Alphonso Johnson on bass, Armando Peraza and Chepito Areas on percussion, and Leon 'Ndugu' Chancler on drums. They toured briefly and received much acclaim from the music press, who compared the effort with the era of Caravanserai. Santana released another solo record, Blues for Salvador, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
In 1990, Santana left Columbia Records after twenty-two years and signed with Polygram. The following year, he made a guest appearance on Ottmar Liebert's album Solo Para Ti, on the songs "Reaching out 2 U" and on a cover of his own song, "Samba Pa Ti". In 1992, Santana hired jam band Phish as his opening act. He remains close to the band today, especially to guitarist Trey Anastasio.
Every musical generation has its pioneers and in the world of whereReggaeton, the most exciting new style of this century, DJ Kazzanova has led the way as a radio personality, remixer, producer and now, as an artist himself. From radio to television to the studio, DJ Kazzanova has emerged as a true original – an innovator and ground-breaking visionary. He was the first DJ to have a Reggaeton-driven show on the air while also hosting a regional television program as well “I was a kid who always dreamed of being in New York,” he recalls. Kazzanova fulfilled that dream, working his way to the Big Apple. It was 2001 when he joined created “El Reggaeton Show de New York.” and began to make music and radio history. Today, he rules that coveted drive-time afternoon commuting slot, hosting the nation’s biggest Reggaeton program on Univision’s La Kalle 105.9 the most listened-to Reggaeton radio station in the U.S.. In fact, through additional internet broadcasts, his show has now become the world’s #1 Reggaeton program, with fans from Asia to Australia, from Aruba to Amsterdam He also hosts the first nationally syndicated Reggaeton show, heard in nearly two dozen markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and still growing. When he threw a special concert at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden it sold out – a first for a Latin Music show -- and drew fans from all over the U.S. and Canada. As if that wasn’t enough in an amazing career, Kazzanova was also the first Reggaeton DJ to perform a three-tour club tour in Japan.
“The love the music,” he says. “It crosses cultures and boundaries around the world, wherever I go. From the party-minded cities of South America to fans in Mexico who hear him on the air via border stations, DJ Kazzanova is already a legend – a legend ready to take his game to the next level Kazzanova has already had a hand in some of the most sensational Reggaeton remixes of top rhythmic artists. He was the creative force behind re-mixes for Gwen Stefani’s “Rich Girl”, Christina Milian’s “Dip It Low” featuring Voltio, Usher’s “Yeah” featuring Tego Calderon ,” El Gran Combo official remixes that appeared on their album, “Brujeria” and “No Ago Mas Nada,” Celia Cruz “Reir y Llorar,” LL Cool J’s “Hush” featuring Zion & Lennox, Nina Sky "Turnin' Me On", Alicia Keyes “Karma.” -- just to name a few. He’s an in-demand producer for top labels, including Interscope, Universal, Def Jam, Cutting Records, Mob, VI Music, and many more. “My goal now is to do an album that highlights by own original music and approach,” he says. And he’ll be working with a lot of old friends ready to come on board for this new ride, including Reggaeton superstars Don Omar, Daddy Yankee and the tag-team of Wisin & Yandell. More than just a local airwave hero, DJ Kazzanova continues to break barriers and cross borders as an ambassador for the hottest new music on the planet. With a challenging spirit, fiery determination and inexhaustible energy, when’s not on the air or in the studio, you’ll find him treating fans to mind-blowing spins at the hottest clubs in New York City or traveling the globe to spread the irresistible grooves and #1 master of sizzling style. He is a modern day renaissance man – an entertainer, communicator and a true artist in his own right.
Tiesto's career is punctuated by landmark achievements ' the first DJ in the world to sell out a solo stadium event for over 25,000 people, he scored a number one hit with his single Traffic, the first instrumental track to reach the top spot in his homeland of Holland in 23 years. His remix of Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan's Silence was the first house track ever broadcast on daytime radio in North America, (it became an international dancefloor anthem and also spent eight weeks in the UK top 10 chart). He played live in front of billions of people during the Parade Of The Athletes at the official opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens. But despite his meteoric success, Tiesto remains grounded about his achievements and clearly loves making and playing music above the accolades it brings.
On Black Hole Tiesto has released the Magik and In Search Of Sunrise mixcompilation series, and most recent Nyana. His remix of 'Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan - Silence' was the first house track ever broadcasted on daytime radio in North America and was eight weeks in the U.K. top 10 chart.
Born in Holland, Tiesto became a DJ because he 'liked to share music with other people. When I was younger, I'd listen to a radio show called the Soul Show, and to Ben Liebrand's mix show, where he would remix and cut up different tracks, and I just thought - I wanna do this!' Starting out with a mobile show around the country, he progressed to student parties, and then to three nights a week in a club, learning and perfecting his craft. 'music was always my first love but back then I didn't know it was possible to make a living out of being a DJ... If I wasn't a DJ now though I'd be a chef. I love cooking ' it must be because of the mixing element!' The productions came later, in 1995. 'I really wanted to produce music that I could play in my sets, because it brings much more fulfilment to the process. I bought some samplers, some computer programs, and just started working on it.' He makes it sound easy ' indeed, he makes it look easy as 10 years down the line his productions consistently bother the charts and frequently reach number one around Europe.
In 1997 Tiesto, along with Arny Bink, formed Black Hole Recordings, the label that launched the hugely acclaimed Magik. In Search Of Sunrise, and Nyana mix compilations. The label grew to such proportions that in 2001 Tiesto started a sub-label, Magik Muzik. 'It's the home of records of mine, or of people whose work I really believe in,' he enthuses. 'Everything on Magik Muzik is what you'll find in my sets, which makes it more of my own little project.' Some of the gems from Magik Muzik include 2001 anthem Flight 643, his artist album In My Memory, and tracks from Umek, Mark Norman and Mojado.
Though known primarily for his pioneering contributions to the trance scene, Tiesto's style is now a mix of everything: 'trance, house, techno - it's the best of all that the dance world has to offer. In 1998, I was really a trance DJ, but now I've travelled round the world so much, different influences have seeped in and I play a bit of everything. I think the only way forward for DJs now is to play a diverse mix of sounds.' Indeed, his brand of trance was always pushing at the constraints of the genre anyway, featuring soaring vocals from the likes of Sarah McLachlan and Kirsty Hawkshaw, spine-tingling breakdowns, and euphoric melodies at every end of the spectrum. His productions, sets, and releases range from peak time club heaven to the sort of perfect chill out that could reduce a grown man to tears, and have at times owed as much influence to classical music as to dance.
The many high profile gigs and shows have now taken Tiesto away from exclusively playing clubs, and propelled him to become more of a mainstream artist. 'Often at my shows now, half of the people are die-hard clubbers, but the other half are people who know me from the radio, or from more mainstream gigs,' he says. 'It's more like they're going to a concert, so now I get a great mix of both worlds.'
In addition to this huge event, the album 'Parade of the athletes' is released worldwide in October 2004, which contains the music from Tiesto's set at the Opening Ceremony. Simultaneously, the title song of his 'Just Be' artist album is climbing the lists and is heard on dancefloors everywhere.
Describing the last few years as 'a journey of defining moments,' (as well as the usual club successes, his shelves are groaning under the weight of numerous awards ' TMF-Awards, MTV, Dutch DJ - and gold discs...) his favourites include the second night of the Tiesto In Concert show in Holland in 2004: 'I was really aware of what was going on, the music was just right ' a mix of all my big tunes and new tunes, everything just felt perfect that night. I played for nine hours straight, and it was my favourite gig ever.' And, of course, being voted by the readers as the number one DJ in the world for the third time. 'The first time it happened it was so amazing, I was overjoyed. The second and the third time were great as well of course, but the first time you're on the cover of that magazine that is so respected by other DJs ' it's like winning an Oscar!'
Continuing to explore fresh avenues, Tiesto is currently experimenting with new sounds in the studio, and writing more vocals himself. 'I'm not looking for any big collaborations right now, I'm more interested in a burgeoning talent ' someone whose voice is good, and that really touches you. A voice should sound like an instrument to me. I've had a spell away from the studio, relaxing and travelling, but now I'm really enthused about getting back in there. I'm more open to doing remixes again. I like to hear a track and right away know what I want to do with it, what I can make different, and whether it'll work for me in my sets ' all my remixes have to be tried and tested.'
The future for Tiesto promises yet further success, both as the solo artist he's become and the DJ we know him to be. 'Another album, more remixes, definitely,' he agrees, 'but it's hard to look too far into the future. Every couple of months it seems that something new, unexpected and exciting is happening!'
Sally Learmouth
Awards Overview
Awards 2005
* 3 FM Award Best Dance Artist
* Release Dance Award Best Trance/Progressive artist
* Release Dance Award Best International DJ
* TMF Belgium Best International DJ
* Dance Music Award Germany Best Trance Artist
* WMC Awards Miami Best Producer
* WMC Awards Miami Best Hi-NRG / Euro track
* WMC Awards Miami The Ortofon Best European DJ 2004
* WMC Awards Miami Best Producer 2004
* TMF Award Holland Best Dance National
* TMF Award Holland Radio 538 single of the year
* TMF Award Holland Lifetime Achievement
* Edison Music Award Best dance album ' Just Be
Awards 2004
* ID&T Dutch DJ Award Best Dutch DJ by audience
* Buma/Stemra Sound of Silence Award
* TMF Award Belgium Best International DJ
* World Music Award World's best selling Dutch artist
* Ibiza DJ Award Best International DJ Trance
* TMF Award Holland Best National DJ
* TMF Award Holland Best Dance Act National
* DJ Mag Top 100 Number 1 Position
* WMC Awards Miami Best International DJ
Awards 2003
* World Dancestar Award U.S.A. Best International DJ
* ID&T Dutch DJ Award Best Dutch DJ by professional jury
* ID&T Dutch DJ Award Best Dutch DJ by audience
* Radio 538 Dance Award Radio 538 Dutch Audience Edison
The New Era Cap Company (or just New Era)[2], located in Buffalo, New York, is a headwear manufacturer. It was founded in 1920 by Ehrhardt Koch.[3] New Era is the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of the official on-field cap worn by every Major League Baseball team and their minor league affiliates, and maintains agreements with other licensed entities including NHL, NBA and over 200 colleges and universities in the United States.[citation needed]
Products
In March 2007, New Era changed the on-field cap in American baseball. Instead of the 100% wool caps players were used to, the company introduced caps made of 100% Performance Polyester, which now, is causing many loyal customers to discontinue purchasing. These alterations marked the first major change to the classic baseball hat in over twenty years. [4]
[edit] Cap styles
Along with the 59Fifty, New Era produces styles like the 49Forty, 39Thirty, 29Twenty, EK, Capture the Flag, and also designs women's and kids' caps.
* The 49Forty is fitted, has a lower profile than the 59Fifty, and has a more casual, collegiate look.
* The 39Thirty is a strength fit cap, and is used by MLB as the batting practice cap.
* The 29Twenty is an adjustable, unstructured cap.
* The EK line consists of designed premium hats and caps.
* Capture the Flag headwear is designed by celebrities and sold exclusively through boutiques in select cities around the world and only produces 288 of each cap designed.
# Give people mostly when they don't expect, only if they really need it. # Never get married! Especially if you are a woman. # Don't sleep. # Never say "I love you", especially if you mean it. # Say "I'm sorry" at most once. # Don't be engaged, never get married. # Don't believe in love. Believe in hate at first sight. # Never laugh at anyone's nightmares. People who don't have nightmares don't have much. # Love yourself. # In disagreements, fight and kill. Don't forget that you are a warrior. # People always love their relatives more than you think. # Don't think at all or don't talk to idiots. # When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, kill him. # Remember that great things involve great rivals. # Say "Fuck you". # When you lose it is not good. # Remember the three N's: NNN. # Don't let a little dispute injure a great fight. A little dispute may be useful, but it is never enough. # When you realize you've made a mercy, take immediate steps to correct it. # Shout loudly when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice and will not dare to ask the favour. # Shout loudly when picking up the phone. The perverse sighing idiote will shit in place. # Spend some time without idiots. # Remember that silence is sometimes the worst act. # Watching TV is allowed. # If people think your life is honorable, very likely you are dead. # Never share your knowledge with idiotes.
The anatomy of a conventional bong is *very* simple. It consists of a bowl (and screen), a stem (sometimes optional), a chamber, some liquid, and an opening for the mouth(s).
The crude diagram above shows a generic bong. Water fills the container and stem just up to the carb. The water level should really be at least an inch below the "carb" ("carburetor", I guess) so that when the bong is tilted the water won't leak. The job of the carb is to regulate where the air will be supplied from. If covered, the air (smoke) will come from the bowl; if uncovered, air will rush through the carb and force out the smoke remaining in the chamber.
I won't go through a boring description of every part of a bong--if you don't know, ask someone. The point I want to illustrate is that a bong merely forces the smoke to bubble up through water, thereby filtering it. Every bong works with this principle. I've tried many innovations on the generic bong for different effects. [More later.]
Not all bongs work with this method, however. Gravity bongs work on a different concept, but I've never seen one besides from the one I made with a friend [details later]
Why use Bongs?
Not everyone uses bongs. New smokers may wonder why anyone bothers with bongs, and I know plenty of stoners who *prefer* joints to pipes or bongs.
Those who favor joints will wax romantic about the joys of rolling, of passing around a fatty, and of super-potent roaches. While I will not turn down a joint making its way around a room, I have never rolled one myself. I disdain joints mainly because of their wastefulness. Consider: While the joint is being passed around or stalled, it is still burning, losing precious smoke. If you grow your own buds you may be able to afford such carelessness, but that is a luxury. Most stoners must pay astronomical street prices for what is, in essence, a WEED.
Bongs have a special advantage. A stoner can control the burning by using the flat side of a lighter to extinguish the bowl after taking a hit. [More on this technique later.] The practice of extinguishing the bowl can save a lot of pot in the long run.
Even those who don't habitually extinguish the bowl will still save more buds, considering the size of a bowl compared with a joint. A bowl holds a smaller amount of bud, so the most you can waste is the quantity a bowl will hold. Stalling a joint, though, will use up a much larger portion, depending on the size of the joint.
A bong burns a smaller surface area of bud than a joint does. It's easy to notice that a joint lets loose a steady stream of smoke into the atmosphere when it's being passed around, while a bowl tends to smother the embers underneath ash and unburnt bud. Stoners may notice that a stalled bong will release a very thin stream of smoke compared to a burning joint. Moreover, bongs pull all the smoke into the chamber while joints still waste smoke even while being toked.
Joints are *much* harsher on your lungs. While some joint-rollers will use pre-made filters, or a makeshift filter made from a rolled-up paper, nothing compares with the filtration effect of water. Ed Rosenthal of _High Times_ has noted that water not only cools the smoke, but actually removes harmful impurities as well. [Boiling water is a good choice in a bong, too. More later.] Bongs have this advantage over pipes, which, like joints, pass the unfiltered smoke right into your lungs.
Pipes are a little better than joints since they use a bowl the same way bongs do. The burning is more controlled, and the bud will last longer. Pipes can be made out of materials which cool the smoke a little, but they will never cool it as well as a bong. Some commercial brands feature a "resinator", a small chamber in the pipe's midsection which stores a quantity of bud. As bowls are smoked, the smoke must pass through the resinator, over the bud. A lot of THC-laden resin will be despoited on the cache of bud, and when it is finally taken out and smoked it will make for a mind-blowing hit. I have never seen a resinator on a bong, but it would not be difficult to make a bong with one.
Pipes (including hitters) and joints have the distinct advantage of being very concealable and very portable. Hitters are great in crowds because they are the easiest to pack. Some hitters are even painted to look like cigarettes, so no one knows that YOU are smoking buds, though everyone can smell it!
As far as portability goes, bongs can be made in a variety of sizes. I made myself a portable bong out of a 12-oz. plastic water bottle. It works fine, though the filtration leaves something to be desired. Nevertheless, I prefer it over my corn-cob pipes, which I never use anymore.
Considerations in Bong-Making
When planning a bong, one should aim for specific goals. Should the bong be portable? Fancy? Colorful? Here's a partial list of characteristics which give a bong its individual personality:
*
airtightness *
bowl size *
choice of chamber/tube(s) *
compactness/portability *
decoration *
draw *
filtration *
hit size *
transparency *
tube diameter *
user accomodation *
volume *
etc.
How to make a Gravity Bong
The gravity bong was much better. They are very easy to make, are hard to screw up, and give good hits. My friend and I made it entirely out of a one-liter plastic pop bottle, a two-liter plastic pop bottle, electrical tape, and some aluminum foil. After dumping the pop we sliced the neck off the two-liter and sliced the bottom black part off the one- liter (visualize this). The one-liter served as the "top" which fit inside the "bottom" part, the two-liter. We took the plastic bottlecaps and punched several holes in each, put them top-to-top and taped them up (voila--the bowl) (silicone would have made a better seal). We put the foil into one of the bottlecaps and punched a few tiny holes in it (the screen). The concept of a gravity bong is as simple as a conventional bong. The two-liter bottom is filled with water and the one-liter top is inserted inside (both top-up). The cap is filled with bud (of course) and screwed onto the one-liter. The bud is lit and the one-liter is steadily pulled upwards. A vacuum is thus created in the one-liter, drawing in the smoke. The chopped-off bottom of the one-liter must not rise above the water line, or else the vacuum is destroyed and your smoke is lost. Once the one-liter is pulled up as far as possible and is filled with smoke, the bottlecap (bowl) is unscrewed and removed. While still holding the one-liter up (you'll feel a steady pull due to the high pressure of the smoke wanting to escape), wrap your lips around the neck of the one- liter and LET GO! The one-liter will drop into the water, forcing the smoke out and into your lungs. Cool, huh? Try another bowl!
How to make a Waterfall Bong
This is essentially a variant on the gravity. You take a bottle (I use a 2-litre) and drill a small hole (about 3/8") in the bottom, at the lowest point. Cover this hole with your finger and fill the bottle up. Then, attach a filled bowl to the top (I use the same Coke-bottle lid as the gravity) and light the dope. Uncover the hole out the bottom, and as the water drains out, the smoke will be drawn in. Keep the bowl lit and let the water drain out, and by the time you're done you have a 2-litre bottle full of concentrated smoke. Just suck from the top and uncover the hole at the bottom to hoot. This is also an extremely efficient design, as very little smoke can escape.
improvisational form of rapping, performed with few or no previously composed lyrics, which is said to reflect a direct mapping of the mental state and performing situation of the artist. It is non-scripted, non-rehearsed, uncut, and the rawest form of hip-hop. Artists will often refer to places and objects in their immediate setting. Freestyle rapping forces an individual to think on the spot, describe their surroundings, and, to a certain degree, rap uncensored from what is inside. It is similar in this sense to improvisational music or acting and draws comparisons to improvisational jazz in particular.
Freestyles are performed a cappella, over beatboxing and over instrumental versions of recorded hip hop songs. Impromptu, non-narrative raps in this style are often called freestyles even if entirely pre-written and memorized. Note that a degree of improvisation will commonly remain in the latter two cases, since the performer usually must match the syncopation of his rhymes to the rhythm provided in real time.[1][2]
History
Freestyle rapping is generally believed to have originated in the East Coast hip hop scene in the late 1970s. The earliest MCs would spit freestyle lyrics at parties to pump up the crowd; from this, freestyle battles began to emerge. Perhaps the earliest and most famous freestyle battle was in December 1982 when Kool Moe Dee challenged Busy Bee Starski.[3] Busy Bee was known for his chants of "What's your zodiac sign?" and other crowdpleasers that had been originated a few years before by other rappers.
Freestyle battles sometimes bring mainstream attention to previously unknown rappers. This type of rapping also proves useful when an argument arises between two rappers. A diss can include attacks on credibility, threats of violence, or simply bragging that one is better than the other. Disses can also be recorded over the rival rapper's beat to add further disrespect. Allegations of sleeping with the another rapper's significant other have become increasingly popular in disses (such as 2Pac claiming to have slept with Biggie's wife, or Jay-Z claiming to have slept with Nas' baby's mother). Many times the audience wants to hear an immediate response from the two people involved in the conflict. This makes way for so-called freestyle records. One artist takes a beat that is already out in the mainstream, and raps over it so that they can quickly put something out to insult the other rapper involved.
Battles "Battling" redirects here. You might also have been looking for battle.
A freestyle battle is a contest in which two or more rappers compete or battle each other using freestyle rap. Each competitor's goal is to 'diss' their opponent through clever lyrics. As hip-hop evolved in the early-80's, MCs gained their fame through live battles with other MCs. Freestyle battles can take place anywhere: street corners, on stage at a concert, or in school.
A live audience is critical to a freestyle battle. Each MC must use skill and lyrical ability to not only 'break down' his or her opponent, but to convince the audience that they are the better rapper. Appointed judges have been used in formal contests, but even when no winner is announced, the rapper who receives the best audience response is viewed as the victor. In addition, it is considered an act of dishonour to recite written and memorized raps in a battle, because it shows the rapper to be incapable of 'spitting' spur-of-the-moment lyrics.
The cipher is the crowd which forms around the battles, consisting of spectators and onlookers. This group serves partly to encourage competition and partly to enhance the communal aspect of rap battles. The cipher is known for “making or breaking reputations in the hip hop community; if you are able to step into the cipher and tell your story, demonstrating your uniqueness, you might be more accepted"[4]. These groups also serve as a way for messages about hip hop styles and knowledge to be spread, through word-of-mouth and encouraging trends in other battles[5].
Freestyle battling is a prominent part of rap or hip hop culture.
Pharrell Williams (born April 5, 1973)[1] is an American music producer, singer-songwriter, rapper, entrepreneur and skateboarder. He is one half of the production duo The Neptunes, where, along with Chad Hugo, he produces pop, hip-hop and R&B music. He is also the lead singer and drummer of the funk-rock band, N*E*R*D. He released his debut single "Frontin'" in 2003 and followed up with his debut album In My Mind in 2006.
As part of The Neptunes, Pharrell has produced numerous hit singles for various music stars. He plays the drums, keyboard, and sings in a falsetto voice. Pharrell's work in The Neptunes has earned them three Grammy Awards amongst ten nominations. He is also the co-founder of the clothing brand Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Footwear.
Early life
Williams was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia to Carolyn Jabber and Pharoah Williams II. He has five brothers, Pharoah Williams III, David Williams, Cato Williams, a professional skateboarder, and Solomon Williams.[citation needed]
Williams met Chad Hugo in a seventh grade summer band camp where Williams played the keyboard/drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone.[2] They were also both members of a marching band, where Pharrell played the snare drum, and with Chad as a student conductor. In the 1990s, Hugo and Pharrell formed a 4-piece "R&B type" group along with friends Shay and Mike Etheridge, which they named The Neptunes. They later entered a high school talent show where they were discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio is next to Pharrell's school Princess Anne High School.[3] After graduating from high school, they signed with Riley as a group.[4]
Career
Through working with Teddy Riley, Pharrell went on to write Holmes verse for Wreckx-N-Effect's 1992 hit "Rump Shaker" (#2 Billboard Hot 100, 2x Platinum). That same year, he also performed a small rap solo on SWV's second hit, 'Right Here". In 1994, Hugo and Williams had established themselves formally as a production duo under the previously used name "The Neptunes", and produced "Tonight's The Night" from BLACKstreet's self-titled debut (Riley being a member of BLACKstreet). Over the next three years they continued to produce occasionally. Some of the production had little resemblance to the trademark Neptunes sound present today, including some of the productions for SWV (1996). However, some like Mase's 1998 No.8 (Billboard Hot 100) hit "Lookin' At Me" (from the Harlem World album), and the most definite beginning of the distinctive 'Neptunes Sound', came with N.O.R.E.'s "Superthug" in 1998, reaching #36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and gaining them widespread attention for the first time. The duo then went on to work heavily with Kelis (producing her first album Kaleidoscope in its entirety) and Ol' Dirty Bastard (Nigga Please), followed by Mystikal's hit single, "Shake Ya Ass".
In 2001, The Neptunes produced Britney Spears' single, "I'm a Slave 4 U" gaining their first world-wide #1.[5] The same year, Pharrell, Hugo and Haley released their first album as N*E*R*D - In Search Of... - in Europe, where the first Kelis album was better received. The album sounded very much like their previous production work; the group decided that they should make their work as N*E*R*D sound different, and re-recorded the album, with the funk-rock band Spymob. The Neptunes also signed Clipse, a rap duo from Virginia Beach that Pharrell had met back in 1993, to Arista Records through his recently[when?] established Star Trak Entertainment imprint.
In 2002 their re-produced album was released worldwide, and The Neptunes reached #1 in the U.S. with Nelly’s single, "Hot in Herre". In August of the same year, The Neptunes were named "Producers of the Year" at both The Source Awards and the Billboard Music Awards. Clipse released their commercial debut album, Lord Willin' on August 20, 2002. The album opened at #1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-hop Album chart and #4 on the Billboard Hot 200, fueled by the strength of its first two singles, "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time," which peaked at #34 and #19 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.
2003 saw The Neptunes release a self-credited album called The Neptunes Present... Clones, featuring songs and remixes from various artists. This album topped the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The Neptunes and Pharrell specifically were also kept in public eye largely due to ties with Jay-Z, producing several hit singles for him and landing two tracks on his album The Black Album.
"Frontin'" was a big summer hit (the 34th biggest single of 2003 according to Billboard Magazine). A survey in August 2003 found the Neptunes produced almost 20% of songs played on British radio at the time, a survey in the US had them at 43%.[2]
N.E.R.D's second funk/rock-oriented album, Fly or Die, released in March 2004. Williams' rock credentials were further bolstered by his appearance at the 2004 Grammy Awards, performing The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" on drums along with Sting, Dave Matthews, and Vince Gill. Pharrell went home with two Grammy Awards that night, one for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, and another for Best Pop Vocal Album for his work on Justin Timberlake's No.2 Billboard hit Justified. They also gained their first UK #1, again with Nelly, and Flap Your Wings.
On September 9, 2005, Pharrell performed the opening single from his debut solo album "In My Mind", "Can I Have It Like That", featuring Gwen Stefani. The single did poorly in the US, reaching only #48. However, it fared better in the UK, reaching #3. Between then and the release of "In My Mind" (on July 25, 2006), he released "Angel" (Europe only), and later Number 1 with fellow producer/rapper Kanye West. Several songs leaked to the internet before the album's released, most notably "Mamacita" featuring Daddy Yankee, which was subsequently cut from the final version. "That Girl" featuring Snoop Dogg was the final single.
In 2006, Pharrell solely produced The Clipse's critically acclaimed, long-awaited sophomore album Hell Hath No Fury. Most critics labelled the album to be Pharrell's best production in years, and put the Virginia rap duo back in the eyes of the hip-hop community.
On May 16, 2007, for seven days only, the first of two expected collaborations with Madonna, entitled "Hey You," was made available for free download from MSN.com. MSN, in conjunction with Madonna, donated 25 cents for each of the first 1 million downloads to the Alliance for Climate Protection, in support of Live Earth. [6] His other collaborations with Madonna are included in her new studio album Hard Candy and are "Candy Shop", "Give It 2 Me", "Heartbeat", "She's Not Me", "Incredible", "Beat Goes On" and "Spanish Lesson".
Pharrell also performed songs at the Concert for Diana on July 1, 2007. On July 7, 2007 he performed at the Brazilian leg of Live Earth at Rio de Janeiro. A second album, entitled "Out of My Mind," was recorded with his newly formed band "The Yessirs" featuring ?uestlove of The Roots. However, Pharrell's record label did not think that a companion album to the first would sell well.[7] He also produced Beyonce's rendition of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend."
In 2007, he wrote and produced "Why Should I Be Sad" on Britney Spears' latest album Blackout. He also produced two songs from The Hives album, The Black and White Album, titled "Well All Right!" and "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.". In April of 2008, Madonna released her eleventh album, Hard Candy, which features production by Neptunes on seven of the twelve tracks, mentioned previously.
According to a June 13, 2008 article in NME, Pharrell is very interested in producing the Strokes' fourth album.
In 2008, Pharrell corroborated with Louis Vuitton to create a series of jewelry under 4 different themes.[8]
Personal life
Williams drives a Ferrari Enzo[9][10][11] and a Mercedes SLR McLaren, often wears a trucker hat,[12] was voted the "Best Dressed Man in the World" in 2005 by Esquire.[13] He is a fan of the science fiction series Star Trek, [14] as indicated by his consistent use of the Vulcan salute and choice of label name. He also enjoys the works of the late astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan, whom he calls "a genius".[15] Williams has a half-pipe inside his home.[16] He has appeared in numerous Snoop Dogg videos, including "Vato" and "Drop It Like It's Hot". He also frequently collaborates with Jay-Z and Gwen Stefani. Pharrell collaborated with Julian Casablancas of The Strokes and Santogold for a Converse advertisement, called " My Drive Thru."
Maria Ozawa was born on January 8, 1986, in Hokkaido, Japan to a Japanese mother and a Canadian father. She went to an international school and learned English, which she believes she reads and writes better than Japanese. Her extracurricular reading material during high school included a book which detailed 48 sexual positions, which she purchased for herself when she was 13 years old.
Ozawa was later introduced to adult videos courtesy of a girlfriend's brother's tape collection. She eventually grew more intrigued by the adult entertainment industry and scouted out several local companies in the hopes of one day gaining employment in the business. She hooked up with the B-open modeling agency in 2005, and they quickly found the newcomer plenty of work.
maria becomes miyabi Newly rechristened "Miyabi," Ozawa began her career as a model in June 2005 for a site known as shirouto-teien.com. In addition to several photo spreads, she soon made her premiere in a couple of explicit videos. She has admitted that her first AV experience was nerve-racking to the point that she couldn't look her male co-star in the face. She soon sealed a deal with the light hardcore pornography AV outfit called S1. She made her debut for S1 in New Face - Number One Style, released in October, 2005.
av rookie of the year Ozawa appeared in a number of compilation videos, including one with other S1 stars such as Yuma Asami, Sora Aoi, Yua Aida, and Rin Aoki entitled S1 Dream Collection - Super S-class Idols. That collection became the company's 2006 entry in the AV Open, a contest that determines the best-selling video amongst Japan's top triple-X studios. S1 continued to issue an all-new Ozawa video monthly until February 2007, when Pako Pako with Civil Aviation Flight Attendant Maria Ozawa was released.
maria joins dasdas Ozawa left S1 in the winter of 2007, joining S1 icons Aoki, Reina Matsushima and Rin Suzuka at the more hardcore studio Dasdas (DAS). The newly-created studio features more explicit themes not explored in any of S1's videos. Dasdas debuted a number of videos in April, including a title showcasing Ozawa called Beautiful Eurasian News Anchor Maria Ozawa Desiring Nakadashi.
If you thought you knew what bling was before, wait till you see the GRILLZ that just hit the site. More gangster than any accessory on the market, GRILLS are more than just Gold Teeth, they help all your homies know that you are the ultimate pimp. All the ladies will want to see your grill!
Gold and Silver Plated with Rhodeum these GRILLZ are top of the line made specifically for the customers of IcedOutGear.com. ALL true players from here to atlanta are wearing GRILLS, don't let yourself get out played by a player! Maybe you've seen other Grillz out there, but at IOG, we are always coming up with the latest and hottest styles of GRILLZ, different stones, metals, and crazy combinations to give your mouth the ultimate Bling Job.
Our GRILLZ are made to last, Rhodeum is the best material we could find to make these GRILLS of the highest quality for you. The Grillz are loaded with CZ's from top to bottom, one smile and everyone will know that a true pimp daddy has arrived.
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Getting GRILLS from IOG, will keep you up to date on the newest items and styles as soon as they hit! How could you miss out on that? If you really want to be a gangster, a true player, the ultimate Pimp you gotta get grillz at IOG!
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Now if you want to enter a new level, a level that only few pimps can reach, you gotta go bling from teeth to ring. IOG can help pimp you out, match your GRILL to your pimp cup and your pimp cup to your belt and your belt to your spinner watch. All of the craziest, hottest, most blinged out accessories on the market, and they are all here.
Though Bathing Ape is very popular across the world, there are very few places that sell Bathing Ape hoodies. The biggest problem with this is that many hypebeasts get a little too excited when they see Bathing Ape hoodies at their local shop, but odds are it is not authentic.
The best place to go for true authentic Bathing Ape hoodies is from the Bathing Ape store in New York. A little word of warning when going to get Bathing Ape hoodies, bring alot of cash and have alot of patience. There are often lineups at the Bathing Ape New York store to be able to pay $500+ for Bathing Ape hoodies.
There have been several hot Bathing Ape hoodies released this past year. The purple camo Bathing Ape hoodies have been incredibly popular and have sold for close to $1,000! Another line of popular Bathing Ape hoodies are the shark hoodies. These zip all the way up so that one's entire face is covered when wearing the Bathing Ape shark hoodies.
Many brands have followed this trend of the Bathing Ape hoodies. Famous brands like BBC are hopping onto this trend of making fashionable hoodies. The going rate of these fashionable hoodies are selling for $250+ no matter what brand it is thanks to the $500 price of Bathing Ape hoodies.
Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop, which developed during the late 1980s. After the popularity of Dr. Dre's The Chronic in 1992, gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip-hop. Since then some former gangsta rap artists have moved towards a more pop-friendly mainstream sound.
The subject matter inherent in gangsta rap has caused a great deal of controversy. Criticism has come from both right wing and left wing commentators, and religious leaders, who have accused the genre of homophobia, violence, profanity, promiscuity, misogyny, racism, and materialism.
Gangsta rappers often defend themselves by claiming that they are describing the reality of inner-city life, and that they are only adopting a character, like an actor playing a role, which behaves in ways that they may not necessarily endorse. Some commentators (for example, Spike Lee in his satirical film Bamboozled) have criticized it as analogous to black minstrel shows and blackface performance, in which performers – both black and white – were made up to look African American, acted in a stereotypically uncultured and ignorant manner for the entertainment of white audiences.
Early Gangster themes
The 1973 album Hustler's Convention by Lightnin Rod featured lyrics that deal with street life, including pimping and hustling. The Last Poets member Jalal Mansur Nuriddin delivers rhyming vocals in the urban slang of his time, and together with the other Last Poets members, was quite influential on later hip hop groups, such as Public Enemy. Many rappers, such as Ice T, have credited pimp and writer Iceberg Slim with influencing their rhymes. There has also been a long tradition of gunman-oriented lyrics in some Jamaican music genres, which had a strong influence on South Bronx MC KRS-One.
1984-1990
Schoolly D
Philadelphia MC Schoolly D can probably be credited as the first rapper to use the word "gangster" in one of his songs. In his 1984 12" single "Gangster Boogie"[1] he mentions it with "I shot call a with my gangster lean". He released the 12" single "P.S.K." (short for Park Side Killers) in 1985. In this song, Schoolly D makes direct references to his crew or gang (PSK) as well as describing putting his pistol against another rapper's head.[2] Schoolly D is often considered a pioneer in hardcore rap as well as gangsta rap.
Ice-T
In 1987, Los Angeles based rapper Ice-T released "6 n the Mornin", which is often regarded as the first gangsta rap song. Ice-T had been MCing since the early '80s. In an interview with PROPS magazine Ice-T said: "Here's the exact chronological order of what really went down: The first record that came out along those lines was Schoolly D's 'P.S.K.' Then the syncopation of that rap was used by me when I made Six In The Morning. The vocal delivery was the same: '...P.S.K. is makin' that green', '...six in the morning, police at my door'. When I heard that record I was like "Oh shit!" and call it a bite or what you will but I dug that record. My record didn't sound like P.S.K., but I liked the way he was flowing with it. P.S.K. was talking about Park Side Killers but it was very vague. That was the only difference, when Schoolly did it, it was "...one by one, I'm knockin' em out". All he did was represent a gang on his record. I took that and wrote a record about guns, beating people down, and all that with Six In The Morning. At the same time my single came out, Boogie Down Productions hit with Criminal Minded, which was a gangster-based album. It wasn't about messages or "You Must Learn", it was about gangsterism."[3]
Ice-T continued to release gangsta albums for the remainder of the decade: Rhyme Pays in 1987, Power in 1988 and The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say in 1989. Ice-T's lyrics also contained strong political commentary, and often played the line between glorifying the gangsta lifestyle and criticizing it as a no-win situation.
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions released their first single, "Say No Brother (Crack Attack Don't Do It)", in 1986. It was followed by "South-Bronx/P is Free" and "9mm Goes Bang" in the same year. The latter is the most gangsta-themed song of the three; in it KRS-1 describes shooting rival weed-dealers after they try to kill him in his home.[4] The album Criminal Minded followed in 1987. Criminal Minded was one of the first slbums to feature gangsta rap type themes. Shortly after the release of the album, BDP's DJ Scott LaRock was shot and killed. After this BDP's subsequent records focused on conscious lyrics instead.
Before the late nineties, gangsta rap and hip hop in general, while being extremely popular, had always been seen as a fringe genre that remained firmly outside of the pop mainstream. However, the rise of Bad Boy Records signalled a major stylistic change in gangsta rap (or as it is referred to on the East Coast, hardcore rap), as it morphed into a new subgenre of hip hop which would become even more commercially successful. Ice Cube is seen to have contributed to gangsta rap's move towards conquering the pop charts, as he produced albums which included both gritty gangsta narratives and polished, catchy, danceable pop productions entirely aimed at the clubs and at the mainstream pop charts. Between the release of Biggie's debut album Ready to Die in 1994 and his follow-up Life after Death in 1997, his sound changed from the darker, sample-heavy production to a cleaner, more upbeat sound fashioned for popular consumption (though the references to guns, drug dealing and life as a thug on the street remained). R&B-styled hooks and instantly recognizable samples of well-known soul and pop songs from the 1970s and 1980s were the staples of this sound, which was showcased primarily in his latter-day work for The Notorious B.I.G. ("Mo Money, Mo Problems"), Ma$e ("Feels So Good"), and non Bad Boy artists such as Jay-Z ("Can I Get A...") and Nas ("Street Dreams").
Also achieving similar levels of success with a similar sound at the same time as Bad Boy was Master P and his No Limit label in New Orleans, as well as the New Orleans upstart Cash Money label. A Cash Money artist, The B.G., popularized a catch phrase in 1999 that sums up what the majority of late-nineties mainstream hip hop focused on subject-wise: "Bling-Bling." Whereas much gangsta rap of the past had portrayed the rapper as being a victim of urban squalor, the persona of late-nineties mainstream gangsta rappers was far more weighted towards hedonism and showing off the best jewelry, clothes, liquor, and women. Many of the artists who achieved such mainstream success, such as G-Unit and Jay-Z, originated from the gritty East Coast rap scene and were influenced by hardcore artists such as the Notorious B.I.G and Nas. Ma$e, Jay-Z and Cam'Ron are also typical of the more relaxed, casual flow that became the pop-gangsta norm. Many of these artists are viewed as being rather illegitimately "gangsta" compared to their West Coast counterparts.
Pop-inflected gangsta rap continues to be successful into the 21st century, with many artists deftly straddling the divide between their hip hop audience and their pop audience, such as Ja Rule and Jay-Z. The influence of West Coast gangsta rapper Tupac Shakur on the East Coast rap scene has also become increasingly apparent in the new century.
This man needs no introductions
I'm on this book, and I'm stuck, I'm
really the wrong one to fuck wit
See T-Double known for startin problems but
K-cutter be the problem solver, if I
sell you a book brotha stick it
Cause for every you check you slippin they can call me young lie low
