Friday, December 29, 2006
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Monday, December 25, 2006
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. (born October 20, 1971, in Long Beach, California), better known as Snoop Dogg (or earlier in his career as Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer and occasional 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 widely known as "Fo' shizzle, ma nizzle", meaning, "Fo' sho', ma nigga", which is a slang invented by Frankie Smith and The Gap Band in the early eighties, and popularized in part by fellow rapper E-40,[1] much of which is simply derived by adding an "izz" or "-izzle" sound to the word.
His mother nicknamed him "Snoopy" as a child because he would watch Charlie Brown cartoons often, and he took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg when he began recording. He changed his name to Snoop Dogg in 1996, when he left his original record label Death Row Records and signed with No Limit Records. Several of his cousins also became hip hop artists and Aftermath collaborators, including RBX, Nate Dogg, Daz Dillinger, and Joe Cool. R&B singers Ray J and Brandy are also his cousins and he recently released "Smokin trees" with Ray J and a duet with Brandy was pre-recorded for Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, but wasn't part of the album.[1]
According to Soundscan he has sold over 17.6 million albums in the US from the establishment of Soundscan (1991) to January 2006. According to Billboard he has sold 12 million certified units in the U.S. (only counting Gold and Platinum albums).
Snoop attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School,[2], and his initial foray into public life was as a result of his conviction for cocaine trafficking (albeit on a relatively small scale). Snoop was a member of a local Crips gang in Long Beach, the Rollin' 20 Crips. 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 pursuant to that pseudo-policy, 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, 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.
Success with Death Row Records
Dr. Dre began collaborating with the young rapper, 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 Dre's. The huge success of Snoop's debut Doggystyle was probably due to this intense exposure.
While recording Doggystyle with Dr. Dre in August 1993, Snoop Dogg was arrested in the death of Phillip Woldermarian, a member of a rival gang who was fired at and killed in a gang fight. Snoop was defended by David Kenner, with his bodyguard McKinley Lee, while Sean Abrams (accompanying member in the jeep) was defended by Johnnie Cochran.[2] Both Snoop and Lee were acquitted; Lee was acquitted on grounds of self-defense, but Snoop remained entangled in the legal battles around the case for three years. His video "Two of America's 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 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, Kurupt, Nate Dogg and others. Many fans consider Doggystyle to be Snoop's finest album and it is usually given the same praise as that given to other Death Row albums such as 2Pac's All Eyez On Me, Dr. Dre's The Chronic and Tha Dogg Pound's Dogg Food.
A short film about Snoop's murder trial called Murder Was the Case, was released in 1994, along with an accompanying soundtrack.
However, by the time Snoop'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's friend and labelmate 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 co-produced Tha Doggfather with Daz Dillinger and DJ Pooh.
This album saw 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 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.
Recent years
Snoop Dogg's artistic style has veered away from hardcore gangsta rap; he performed on the alternative rock Lollapalooza tour in 1997, and made several film appearances, in addition to producing and directing music videos both for himself and other artists. He released an autobiography in 2001.
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.
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. [3] Driven by this success, Snoop directed Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp in 2002 (this time using the nickname "Snoop Scorsese").
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. [4]
In 2002, Snoop announced that he was giving up drinking and drugs. 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 Da 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. 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.
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.
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.
Snoop Dogg recently announced to British radio that his next album, The Blue Carpet Treatment, will feature production by long-time partner Dr. Dre, dispelling rumors of a rift between the two in recent times. In addition, Snoop will be featured on Dre's proclaimed (and much delayed) album Detox.
Snoop Dogg appeared in the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park.
As of June 2006, Snoop is doing an advertisement for Orbit Gum. In this advertisment, the Orbit Girl (Vanessa Branch) comes and cleans up Snoop's dirty mouth.
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.
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.
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 album.
His mother nicknamed him "Snoopy" as a child because he would watch Charlie Brown cartoons often, and he took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg when he began recording. He changed his name to Snoop Dogg in 1996, when he left his original record label Death Row Records and signed with No Limit Records. Several of his cousins also became hip hop artists and Aftermath collaborators, including RBX, Nate Dogg, Daz Dillinger, and Joe Cool. R&B singers Ray J and Brandy are also his cousins and he recently released "Smokin trees" with Ray J and a duet with Brandy was pre-recorded for Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, but wasn't part of the album.[1]
According to Soundscan he has sold over 17.6 million albums in the US from the establishment of Soundscan (1991) to January 2006. According to Billboard he has sold 12 million certified units in the U.S. (only counting Gold and Platinum albums).
Snoop attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School,[2], and his initial foray into public life was as a result of his conviction for cocaine trafficking (albeit on a relatively small scale). Snoop was a member of a local Crips gang in Long Beach, the Rollin' 20 Crips. 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 pursuant to that pseudo-policy, 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, 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.
Success with Death Row Records
Dr. Dre began collaborating with the young rapper, 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 Dre's. The huge success of Snoop's debut Doggystyle was probably due to this intense exposure.
While recording Doggystyle with Dr. Dre in August 1993, Snoop Dogg was arrested in the death of Phillip Woldermarian, a member of a rival gang who was fired at and killed in a gang fight. Snoop was defended by David Kenner, with his bodyguard McKinley Lee, while Sean Abrams (accompanying member in the jeep) was defended by Johnnie Cochran.[2] Both Snoop and Lee were acquitted; Lee was acquitted on grounds of self-defense, but Snoop remained entangled in the legal battles around the case for three years. His video "Two of America's 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 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, Kurupt, Nate Dogg and others. Many fans consider Doggystyle to be Snoop's finest album and it is usually given the same praise as that given to other Death Row albums such as 2Pac's All Eyez On Me, Dr. Dre's The Chronic and Tha Dogg Pound's Dogg Food.
A short film about Snoop's murder trial called Murder Was the Case, was released in 1994, along with an accompanying soundtrack.
However, by the time Snoop'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's friend and labelmate 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 co-produced Tha Doggfather with Daz Dillinger and DJ Pooh.
This album saw 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 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.
Recent years
Snoop Dogg's artistic style has veered away from hardcore gangsta rap; he performed on the alternative rock Lollapalooza tour in 1997, and made several film appearances, in addition to producing and directing music videos both for himself and other artists. He released an autobiography in 2001.
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.
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. [3] Driven by this success, Snoop directed Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp in 2002 (this time using the nickname "Snoop Scorsese").
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. [4]
In 2002, Snoop announced that he was giving up drinking and drugs. 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 Da 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. 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.
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.
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.
Snoop Dogg recently announced to British radio that his next album, The Blue Carpet Treatment, will feature production by long-time partner Dr. Dre, dispelling rumors of a rift between the two in recent times. In addition, Snoop will be featured on Dre's proclaimed (and much delayed) album Detox.
Snoop Dogg appeared in the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park.
As of June 2006, Snoop is doing an advertisement for Orbit Gum. In this advertisment, the Orbit Girl (Vanessa Branch) comes and cleans up Snoop's dirty mouth.
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.
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.
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 album.
James Brown
James Joseph Brown, Jr. (May 3, 1933 - December 25, 2006), most commonly known as James Brown (also known as The Godfather of Soul), was an American entertainer recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th-century popular music.
As a prolific singer, songwriter, bandleader and record producer, Brown was a seminal force in the evolution of gospel and rhythm and blues into soul and funk. He left his mark on numerous other musical genres, including rock, jazz, reggae, disco, dance and electronic music, afrobeat, and hip-hop music.
Brown began his professional music career in 1953 and skyrocketed to fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s on the strength of his thrilling live performances and a string of smash hits. In spite of various personal problems and setbacks, he continued to score hits in every decade through the 1980s. In the 1960s and 1970s Brown was a presence in American political affairs, noted especially for his activism on behalf of African Americans and the poor (as well as his outspoken support for Richard Nixon).
Brown was recognized by a plethora of (mostly self-bestowed) titles, including Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite, the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please, The Boss, and the best-known, the Godfather of Soul. He was renowned for his shouting vocals, feverish dancing and unique rhythmic style.
Early life
Brown was born in the small town of Barnwell in Great Depression-era South Carolina as James Joseph Brown, Jr; as an adult, Brown would legally change his name to remove the "Jr." designation.[1] Brown's family eventually moved to nearby Augusta, Georgia. During his childhood, Brown helped support his family by picking cotton in the nearby fields and shining shoes downtown. In his spare time, Brown variously spent time either practicing his skills in Augusta-area halls, or committing petty crimes. At the age of sixteen, he was convicted of armed robbery and sent to a juvenile detention center upstate in Toccoa from 1948.
While in prison, Brown later made the acquaintance of Bobby Byrd, whose family helped Brown secure an early release after serving only three years of his sentence, under the condition that he not return to Augusta or Richmond County and that he would try to get a job. After brief stints as a boxer and baseball pitcher (a career move ended by leg injury) Brown turned his energy toward music.
The beginnings of the Famous Flames
Brown and Bobby Byrd's sister Sarah performed in a gospel group called "The Gospel Starlighters" from 1955. Eventually, Brown joined Bobby Byrd's group the Avons, and Byrd turned the group's sound towards secular rhythm and blues. Now called The Famous Flames, Brown and Byrd's band toured the Southern "chitlin' circuit", and eventually signed a deal with the Cincinnati, Ohio-based King Records, presided over by Syd Nathan.
The group's first recording and single, credited to "James Brown with the Famous Flames", was "Please, Please, Please" (1956). It was a #5 R&B hit and a million-selling single. However, their subsequent records failed to live up to the success of "Please, Please, Please". After nine failed singles, King was ready to drop Brown and the Flames until the success of their 1958 single "Try Me." While not a big hit, it went to number forty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100, which was enough to keep the group working Southern one-night stands.[2] Nearly all of the group's releases were written or co-written by Brown, who assumed primary control of the band from Byrd and eventually began billing himself as a solo act with The Famous Flames as his backup.
These early recordings, also including "I'll Go Crazy" (1959) and "Bewildered" (1960), were fairly straightforward gospel-inspired R&B compositions, heavily inspired by the work of contemporary musicians such as Little Richard and Ray Charles. Yet the songs were already marked by a rhythmic acuity and vocal attack that would later become even more pronounced, contributing to the developing style that would eventually be called "funk". Brown, in fact, called Little Richard his idol, and credited Little Richard's saxophone-studded mid-1950's road band The Upsetters as the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat. [3]Brown's arrangements and instrumentation, initially standardized, began to give way to more improvisational and rhythm-heavy tracks such as 1961's #5 R&B hit "Night Train", arguably the first single to showcase the beginnings of what today is considered the "James Brown sound". Except for declamatory ad-libs by Brown, "Night Train" is completely instrumental, featuring prominent horn charts and a fast, highly accented rhythm track.
As a prolific singer, songwriter, bandleader and record producer, Brown was a seminal force in the evolution of gospel and rhythm and blues into soul and funk. He left his mark on numerous other musical genres, including rock, jazz, reggae, disco, dance and electronic music, afrobeat, and hip-hop music.
Brown began his professional music career in 1953 and skyrocketed to fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s on the strength of his thrilling live performances and a string of smash hits. In spite of various personal problems and setbacks, he continued to score hits in every decade through the 1980s. In the 1960s and 1970s Brown was a presence in American political affairs, noted especially for his activism on behalf of African Americans and the poor (as well as his outspoken support for Richard Nixon).
Brown was recognized by a plethora of (mostly self-bestowed) titles, including Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite, the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please, The Boss, and the best-known, the Godfather of Soul. He was renowned for his shouting vocals, feverish dancing and unique rhythmic style.
Early life
Brown was born in the small town of Barnwell in Great Depression-era South Carolina as James Joseph Brown, Jr; as an adult, Brown would legally change his name to remove the "Jr." designation.[1] Brown's family eventually moved to nearby Augusta, Georgia. During his childhood, Brown helped support his family by picking cotton in the nearby fields and shining shoes downtown. In his spare time, Brown variously spent time either practicing his skills in Augusta-area halls, or committing petty crimes. At the age of sixteen, he was convicted of armed robbery and sent to a juvenile detention center upstate in Toccoa from 1948.
While in prison, Brown later made the acquaintance of Bobby Byrd, whose family helped Brown secure an early release after serving only three years of his sentence, under the condition that he not return to Augusta or Richmond County and that he would try to get a job. After brief stints as a boxer and baseball pitcher (a career move ended by leg injury) Brown turned his energy toward music.
The beginnings of the Famous Flames
Brown and Bobby Byrd's sister Sarah performed in a gospel group called "The Gospel Starlighters" from 1955. Eventually, Brown joined Bobby Byrd's group the Avons, and Byrd turned the group's sound towards secular rhythm and blues. Now called The Famous Flames, Brown and Byrd's band toured the Southern "chitlin' circuit", and eventually signed a deal with the Cincinnati, Ohio-based King Records, presided over by Syd Nathan.
The group's first recording and single, credited to "James Brown with the Famous Flames", was "Please, Please, Please" (1956). It was a #5 R&B hit and a million-selling single. However, their subsequent records failed to live up to the success of "Please, Please, Please". After nine failed singles, King was ready to drop Brown and the Flames until the success of their 1958 single "Try Me." While not a big hit, it went to number forty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100, which was enough to keep the group working Southern one-night stands.[2] Nearly all of the group's releases were written or co-written by Brown, who assumed primary control of the band from Byrd and eventually began billing himself as a solo act with The Famous Flames as his backup.
These early recordings, also including "I'll Go Crazy" (1959) and "Bewildered" (1960), were fairly straightforward gospel-inspired R&B compositions, heavily inspired by the work of contemporary musicians such as Little Richard and Ray Charles. Yet the songs were already marked by a rhythmic acuity and vocal attack that would later become even more pronounced, contributing to the developing style that would eventually be called "funk". Brown, in fact, called Little Richard his idol, and credited Little Richard's saxophone-studded mid-1950's road band The Upsetters as the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat. [3]Brown's arrangements and instrumentation, initially standardized, began to give way to more improvisational and rhythm-heavy tracks such as 1961's #5 R&B hit "Night Train", arguably the first single to showcase the beginnings of what today is considered the "James Brown sound". Except for declamatory ad-libs by Brown, "Night Train" is completely instrumental, featuring prominent horn charts and a fast, highly accented rhythm track.
Curtis Mayfield
(June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American soul, funk and R&B singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Superfly. From these works and others, he was highly regarded as a pioneer of funk and of politically conscious African-American music.[1][2] He was also a bassist, pianist, saxophonist and drummer.
Early years and the Impressions
Born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of rhythm and blues artist Percy Mayfield, Mayfield attended Wells High School. He dropped out of high school early to become lead singer and songwriter for The Impressions, then went on to a successful solo career. Perhaps most notably, Mayfield was among the first of a new wave of mainstream African-American R&B performing artists and composers who injected social commentary into their work.[1] This "message music" became extremely popular during the period of political ferment and social upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s.
Mayfield had several distinctions to his style of playing and singing, adding to the uniqueness of his music. When he taught himself how to play guitar, he tuned the guitar to the black keys of the piano, giving him an open F-sharp tuning -- F#, A#, C#, F#, A#, F# -- that he used throughout his career. [citation needed] Also, he sang most of his lines in falsetto (not unique in itself, but other singers in his time mostly sang tenor), adding another flavor to his music.
Mayfield's career began in 1956 when he joined The Roosters with Arthur and Richard Brooks and Jerry Butler. Two years later The Roosters, now including also Sam Gooden, became The Impressions.[3] The band had hits with "For Your Precious Love" and "Gypsy Woman." After Butler left the group and was replaced with Fred Cash, Mayfield became lead singer, frequently composing for the band, as well. "Amen," an updated version of an old gospel tune, was included in the soundtrack of the 1963 MGM film Lilies of the Field, which starred Sidney Poitier. The Impressions reached the height of their popularity in the mid to late 1960s, with a string of Mayfield compositions that included "Keep On Pushin'," "People Get Ready," "Choice of Colors," "This is My Country" and "Check Out Your Mind." Mayfield had written much of the soundtrack of the civil rights movement alongside Bob Dylan and others in the early '60s, but by the end of the decade he was a pioneering voice in the black pride movement, in the company of James Brown and Sly Stone. Mayfield's "We're a Winner" became an anthem of the black power and black pride movements when it was released in late 1967,[4] much as his earlier "Keep on Pushing" (whose title is quoted in the lyrics of "We're a Winner") had been an anthem for Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of rhythm and blues artist Percy Mayfield, Mayfield attended Wells High School. He dropped out of high school early to become lead singer and songwriter for The Impressions, then went on to a successful solo career. Perhaps most notably, Mayfield was among the first of a new wave of mainstream African-American R&B performing artists and composers who injected social commentary into their work.[1] This "message music" became extremely popular during the period of political ferment and social upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s.
Mayfield had several distinctions to his style of playing and singing, adding to the uniqueness of his music. When he taught himself how to play guitar, he tuned the guitar to the black keys of the piano, giving him an open F-sharp tuning -- F#, A#, C#, F#, A#, F# -- that he used throughout his career. [citation needed] Also, he sang most of his lines in falsetto (not unique in itself, but other singers in his time mostly sang tenor), adding another flavor to his music.
Mayfield's career began in 1956 when he joined The Roosters with Arthur and Richard Brooks and Jerry Butler. Two years later The Roosters, now including also Sam Gooden, became The Impressions.[3] The band had hits with "For Your Precious Love" and "Gypsy Woman." After Butler left the group and was replaced with Fred Cash, Mayfield became lead singer, frequently composing for the band, as well. "Amen," an updated version of an old gospel tune, was included in the soundtrack of the 1963 MGM film Lilies of the Field, which starred Sidney Poitier. The Impressions reached the height of their popularity in the mid to late 1960s, with a string of Mayfield compositions that included "Keep On Pushin'," "People Get Ready," "Choice of Colors," "This is My Country" and "Check Out Your Mind." Mayfield had written much of the soundtrack of the civil rights movement alongside Bob Dylan and others in the early '60s, but by the end of the decade he was a pioneering voice in the black pride movement, in the company of James Brown and Sly Stone. Mayfield's "We're a Winner" became an anthem of the black power and black pride movements when it was released in late 1967,[4] much as his earlier "Keep on Pushing" (whose title is quoted in the lyrics of "We're a Winner") had been an anthem for Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1970, Mayfield left The Impressions and began a solo career, founding the independent record label Curtom Records. Curtom would go on to release most of Mayfield's landmark 1970s records, as well as records by the Impressions, Leroy Hutson, The Staple Singers, and Mavis Staples, and Baby Huey and the Babysitters, a group which at the time included Chaka Khan. Many of these records were also produced by Mayfield.
The commercial and critical peak of his solo career came with his 1972 album Superfly, the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film of the same name, and one of the most influential albums in history. Mayfield's lyrics included hard-hitting commentary on the state of affairs in black, urban ghettos at the time, previously unheard of in blaxploitation films. Bob Donat wrote in Rolling Stone Magazine in 1972 that while the film's message "was diluted by schizoid cross-purposes" because it "glamorizes machismo-cocaine consciousness... the anti-drug message on [Mayfield's soundtrack] is far stronger and more definite than in the film." Along with Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Stevie Wonder's Innervisions, this album ushered in a new socially conscious, funky style of popular soul music.
Superfly's success resulted in Mayfield being tapped for additional soundtracks, some of which he wrote and produced while having others perform the vocals. Gladys Knight & the Pips recorded Mayfield's soundtrack for Claudine in 1974, while Aretha Franklin recorded the soundtrack for Sparkle in 1976. Mayfied worked with Mavis Staples on the 1977 soundtrack for the film A Piece of the Action.
One of Mayfield's most successful funk-disco meldings was the 1977 hit "Do Do Wap is Strong in Here" from his soundtrack to the epochal Miguel Pinero film Short Eyes.
The commercial and critical peak of his solo career came with his 1972 album Superfly, the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film of the same name, and one of the most influential albums in history. Mayfield's lyrics included hard-hitting commentary on the state of affairs in black, urban ghettos at the time, previously unheard of in blaxploitation films. Bob Donat wrote in Rolling Stone Magazine in 1972 that while the film's message "was diluted by schizoid cross-purposes" because it "glamorizes machismo-cocaine consciousness... the anti-drug message on [Mayfield's soundtrack] is far stronger and more definite than in the film." Along with Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Stevie Wonder's Innervisions, this album ushered in a new socially conscious, funky style of popular soul music.
Superfly's success resulted in Mayfield being tapped for additional soundtracks, some of which he wrote and produced while having others perform the vocals. Gladys Knight & the Pips recorded Mayfield's soundtrack for Claudine in 1974, while Aretha Franklin recorded the soundtrack for Sparkle in 1976. Mayfied worked with Mavis Staples on the 1977 soundtrack for the film A Piece of the Action.
One of Mayfield's most successful funk-disco meldings was the 1977 hit "Do Do Wap is Strong in Here" from his soundtrack to the epochal Miguel Pinero film Short Eyes.
Mayfield was active throughout the 1970s and 1980s, though he had a somewhat lower public profile. On August 13, 1990, Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down after stage lighting equipment fell on him at a concert in Brooklyn, New York. This tragedy set him back, but Mayfield forged ahead. He was unable to play guitar, but he wrote, sang and directed the recording of his last album, New World Order. Mayfield's vocals were painstakingly recorded, usually line-by-line.
In February, 1998, he had to have his right leg amputated due to diabetes. Mayfield died on December 26, 1999 in Roswell, Georgia. His last work came to be the song "Astounded", with the group Bran Van 3000, recorded just before his death and released in 2000. As a member of The Impressions, Mayfield was posthumously inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003
In February, 1998, he had to have his right leg amputated due to diabetes. Mayfield died on December 26, 1999 in Roswell, Georgia. His last work came to be the song "Astounded", with the group Bran Van 3000, recorded just before his death and released in 2000. As a member of The Impressions, Mayfield was posthumously inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Nusrat was born in Faisalabad, Punjab on October 13, 1948 to Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, a distinguished musicologist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and skilled Qawwali performer. He had one brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan. Initially, his father did not want Nusrat to follow him into the Qawwali business. He had his heart set on Nusrat choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor, because he felt Qawwali artists had low social status. However, Nusrat showed such an aptitude for, and interest in, Qawwali that his father finally relented and started to train him in the art of Qawwali and he was also taught to sing within the classical framework of Khayal. This training was still incomplete when Ustad Fateh Ali Khan died in 1964 while Nusrat was still in school, and the training was continued by Nusrat's paternal uncle, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan. Ten days after his father's death, Nusrat had a dream where his father came to him and told him to sing, touching his throat. Nusrat woke up singing, and was moved by the dream to decide that he would make Qawwali his career. His first public performance was at his father's funeral ceremony forty days later. Under the guidance of Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, he became the group's leader in 1965 and the group was called Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. ("Party" is the term used in Qawwali for the supporting members of the group).
Nusrat's first public performance as leader of the family Qawwali group was in March 1965, at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival called Jashn-e-Baharan organized by Radio Pakistan. It took Nusrat several years more to perfect his craft and emerge from the shadow of the groups that were regarded as the leading contemporary Qawwals. But once he did, there was no looking back. He firmly established himself as the leading qawwal of the 20th century. His incredible voice and his complete mastery of the genre made him a superstar in the Islamic world, especially in Pakistan and India. He sang in Urdu and his native Punjabi, as well as Persian. He was also one of the first South Asian singers to perform before large Western audiences.
Nusrat took over his family's qawwali party in 1971 after the death of his father and his uncle. In Pakistan, his first major hit was the song "Haq Ali Ali". This was performed in a traditional style and with traditional instrumentation, and featured only sparse use of Nusrat's innovative sargam improvisations. Nevertheless the song became a major hit, as many listeners were attracted to the timbre and other qualities of Nusrat's voice.
He reached out to Western audiences with a couple of fusion records produced by Canadian guitarist Michael Brook. In 1995, he collaborated with Eddie Vedder on the soundtrack to Dead Man Walking. His contribution to that and several other soundtracks and albums (including The Last Temptation of Christ and Natural Born Killers), as well as his friendship with Peter Gabriel, helped to increase his popularity in Europe and the United States. Peter Gabriel's Real World label released five albums of Nusrat's traditional Qawwali performances in the West. Real World also released albums of his experimental work, including Mustt Mustt and Star Rise. He also performed traditional Qawwali live to Western audiences at several WOMAD world music festivals.
Nusrat provided vocals for The Prayer Cycle put together by Jonathan Elias, but died before the vocals could be completed. Alanis Morissette was brought in to sing with his unfinished vocals.
Apparently, when Nusrat toured in foreign countries, he would watch television commercials in order to identify the melodies and chord progressions popular in that country. He would then try to choose similar sounding songs from his repertoire for his performances.
Nusrat contributed songs to, and performed in, several Pakistani movies. Shortly before his death, he also recorded two songs for a Bollywood movie, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, in which he also appeared.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan holds the world record for the largest recorded output by a Qawwali artist—a total of 125 albums.
Nusrat was taken ill with kidney and liver failure on Monday, August 11, 1997 in London, England while on the way to Los Angeles from Lahore to receive a kidney transplant. While still at Cromwell Hospital, Nusrat died of a sudden cardiac arrest on Saturday, August 16, 1997, aged 48. His body was then transported back to Faisalabad, Pakistan where thousands of distraught people attended his funeral and burial procession.
Nusrat's first public performance as leader of the family Qawwali group was in March 1965, at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival called Jashn-e-Baharan organized by Radio Pakistan. It took Nusrat several years more to perfect his craft and emerge from the shadow of the groups that were regarded as the leading contemporary Qawwals. But once he did, there was no looking back. He firmly established himself as the leading qawwal of the 20th century. His incredible voice and his complete mastery of the genre made him a superstar in the Islamic world, especially in Pakistan and India. He sang in Urdu and his native Punjabi, as well as Persian. He was also one of the first South Asian singers to perform before large Western audiences.
Nusrat took over his family's qawwali party in 1971 after the death of his father and his uncle. In Pakistan, his first major hit was the song "Haq Ali Ali". This was performed in a traditional style and with traditional instrumentation, and featured only sparse use of Nusrat's innovative sargam improvisations. Nevertheless the song became a major hit, as many listeners were attracted to the timbre and other qualities of Nusrat's voice.
He reached out to Western audiences with a couple of fusion records produced by Canadian guitarist Michael Brook. In 1995, he collaborated with Eddie Vedder on the soundtrack to Dead Man Walking. His contribution to that and several other soundtracks and albums (including The Last Temptation of Christ and Natural Born Killers), as well as his friendship with Peter Gabriel, helped to increase his popularity in Europe and the United States. Peter Gabriel's Real World label released five albums of Nusrat's traditional Qawwali performances in the West. Real World also released albums of his experimental work, including Mustt Mustt and Star Rise. He also performed traditional Qawwali live to Western audiences at several WOMAD world music festivals.
Nusrat provided vocals for The Prayer Cycle put together by Jonathan Elias, but died before the vocals could be completed. Alanis Morissette was brought in to sing with his unfinished vocals.
Apparently, when Nusrat toured in foreign countries, he would watch television commercials in order to identify the melodies and chord progressions popular in that country. He would then try to choose similar sounding songs from his repertoire for his performances.
Nusrat contributed songs to, and performed in, several Pakistani movies. Shortly before his death, he also recorded two songs for a Bollywood movie, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, in which he also appeared.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan holds the world record for the largest recorded output by a Qawwali artist—a total of 125 albums.
Nusrat was taken ill with kidney and liver failure on Monday, August 11, 1997 in London, England while on the way to Los Angeles from Lahore to receive a kidney transplant. While still at Cromwell Hospital, Nusrat died of a sudden cardiac arrest on Saturday, August 16, 1997, aged 48. His body was then transported back to Faisalabad, Pakistan where thousands of distraught people attended his funeral and burial procession.
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