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2Pac
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Much of Shakur's music has been noted for addressing contemporary social issues that plagued inner cities, and he is considered a symbol of activism against inequality. Shakur was born in New York City to parents who were both political activists and Black Panther Party members. Raised by his mother, Afeni Shakur, he relocated to Baltimore in 1984 and to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. With the release of his debut album '' 2Pacalypse Now'' in 1991, he became a central figure in West Coast hip hop for his conscious rap lyrics. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his follow-up albums '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'' (1993) and ''Me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Me Against The World
''Me Against the World'' is the third studio album by American rapper 2Pac. It was released on March 14, 1995, by Interscope and Jive Records. 2Pac draws lyrical inspiration from his impending prison sentence, troubles with the police, and poverty. According to 2Pac, ''Me Against the World'' was made to show the hip-hop audience his respect for the art form. Lyrically, he intentionally tried to make the album more personal and reflective than his previous efforts. Considered by several music critics to be the best of any of his albums up to that point in his career, the album's musical production was handled by his mentor Shock G, Easy Mo Bee, Tony Pizarro, Johnny "J" and the Danish hip-hop duo Soulshock and Karlin, among others. ''Me Against the World'' features guest appearances from rap group Dramacydal and rapper Richie Rich. Released while Tupac was imprisoned, ''Me Against the World'' made an immediate impact on the charts, debuting at number one on the ''Billboard'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Death Row Records
Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre (''The Chronic''), Snoop Dogg (''Doggystyle'', ''Tha Doggfather''), Tha Dogg Pound (''Dogg Food''), and 2Pac (''All Eyez on Me'', The Don Killuminati: 7 Day Theory) during the 1990s. At its peak, Death Row was making over US$100 million a year. By the late 1990s, the label began to decline after the death of its star artist, 2Pac, imprisonment of Suge Knight, and the departures of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Although Death Row was enjoying financial success, it was embroiled in controversies, lawsuits, and violence by its artists and associates. Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was auctioned to WIDEawake Entertainment for $18 million on January 15, 2009. The owner of WIDEawake bankrupted in 2012 and the label was then sold to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2Pacalypse Now
''2Pacalypse Now'' is the debut studio album by American rapper 2Pac. It was released on November 12, 1991, by Interscope and Jive Records. ''2Pacalypse Now'' is Tupac's commentary on contemporary social issues facing American society, such as racism, police brutality, poverty, black on black crime, and teenage pregnancy. It featured three singles: "Brenda's Got a Baby", " Trapped", and "If My Homie Calls". ''2Pacalypse Now'' received critically acclaimed reviews from critics and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 19, 1995. In commemoration of its twenty-fifth anniversary, it was released on vinyl and cassette on November 11, 2016. Controversy The album generated significant controversy stemming from then-U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle's public criticism after Ronald Ray Howard murdered a Texas state trooper and his defense attorney claimed he was influenced by ''2Pacalypse Now'' and its strong theme of police brutality. Quayle mad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny "J"
Johnny Lee Jackson (August 28, 1969 – October 3, 2008) was a Mexican-American multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper best known for his early career with Death Row Records, and for his work with 2Pac on ''Me Against the World'' and ''All Eyez on Me'', as well as 2Pac's posthumously released albums. He was born in Juárez, Mexico, in 1969 and raised in South Los Angeles. Johnny "J" was co-owner and CEO of Klock Work Entertainment. Early life Johnny "J" was raised on 103rd and Budlong in South Central, Los Angeles, by his adoptive parents. His father, John Sr., was a mechanic by trade who worked for the naval shipyards and now works for the U.S. Defense Department. His mother, Lidia, was a bilingual school teacher. His parents bought him a drum set as a kid, and allowed him to create a makeshift studio in their garage. Johnny's interest in hip-hop escalated while he was at Washington Preparatory High School. He played on the drum line and hit it off with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gangsta Rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappers flaunt associations with real street gangs, like the Crips and Bloods. Gangsta rap's pioneers Ice-T in 1986, and especially N.W.A in 1988 and the rise of Tupac Amaru Shakur in 1992. In 1992, via record producer Dr. Dre, rapper Snoop Dogg, and their G-funk sound, gangsta rap took the rap genre's lead and became mainstream, popular music. Gangsta rap has been recurrently accused of promoting disorderly conduct and broad criminality, especially assault, homicide, and drug dealing, as well as misogyny, promiscuity, and materialism. Gangsta rap's defenders have variously characterized it as artistic depictions but not literal endorsements of real life in American ghettos, or suggested that some lyrics voice rage against social oppression ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Political Hip Hop
Political hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that was developed in the 1980s as a way of turning hip hop into a call for political and/or social action and a form of social and/or political activism. Inspired by 1970s political artists such as The Last Poets and musician Gil Scott-Heron, Public Enemy was the first predominantly political hip-hop group. The genre has helped to create a new form of social expression for subordinate groups to speak about their exclusions, injustices and lack of power. Political hip-hop is the use of hip hop music to send political messages to inspire action or social change or to convince the listener of a particular worldview. There is no all-encompassing political hip-hop ideology; rather, there are multiple perspectives that range anywhere from anarchism to Marxism to the values of the Five-Percent Nation. Hip hop and politics have long been intertwined, with many hip hop artists using their music as a means to speak out about political ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kastro (rapper)
Katari Terrance Cox (born December 30, 1976) better known by his stage name Kastro, is an American rapper. A cousin of Tupac Shakur, Kastro would perform alongside him in the former's rap group, the Outlawz,http://www.2pacinfo.com/tupac/family.shtml and is featured on many of the late rapper's songs such as "Made Niggaz", & "Hail Mary". When he was in elementary school, he introduced his friend, and future Outlawz rapper, Malcolm Greenridge, later named E.D.I. Mean, to his cousin. Career Kastro started rapping with the name "K-Dog". He was in a rap group with Big Malcolm (E.D.I. Mean), and Young Hollywood (Yaki Kadafi) in the beginning and began rapping in some of 2Pac's songs during the ''Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.'' sessions. They then added Mutah (Napoleon) to the group and became known as Dramacydal. On March 14, 1995, K-Dog was featured on 2Pac's 3× Platinum album ''Me Against The World'', on the song "Outlaw". The next year, on February 13, 1996, he was featured on Tupac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Political Hip Hop
Political hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that was developed in the 1980s as a way of turning hip hop into a call for political and/or social action and a form of social and/or political activism. Inspired by 1970s political artists such as The Last Poets and musician Gil Scott-Heron, Public Enemy was the first predominantly political hip-hop group. The genre has helped to create a new form of social expression for subordinate groups to speak about their exclusions, injustices and lack of power. Political hip-hop is the use of hip hop music to send political messages to inspire action or social change or to convince the listener of a particular worldview. There is no all-encompassing political hip-hop ideology; rather, there are multiple perspectives that range anywhere from anarchism to Marxism to the values of the Five-Percent Nation. Hip hop and politics have long been intertwined, with many hip hop artists using their music as a means to speak out about political ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mopreme Shakur
Maurice Harding (born August 16, 1967), better known by his stage name Mopreme Shakur, originally known as Wycked, is an American rapper. He was a member of the hip-hop group Thug Life and is the stepbrother of Tupac Shakur. He was also a member of the Outlawz (under the name Komani), but later dropped out because of a financial disagreement with Death Row Records. Career Mopreme's first recorded as Mocedes on Tony Toni Toné's 1990 single "Feels Good". He first collaborated with his brother Tupac on " Papa'z Song", a single from the 1993 album ''Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.'', credited as 'Wycked'. In 1993 Mopreme and Tupac formed the group Thug Life with Big Syke, Macadoshis, and Rated R. The group released one album, '' Thug Life: Volume 1'' (1994), which went gold.https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Thug+Life RIAA certification database] Mopreme wrote many of the songs on this album. He was also an original member of Outlawz, but dropped out of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Coast Hip Hop
West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast region of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records and the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, and others. History Early years Several events laid the foundations for West Coast hip hop, long before the emergence of West Coast rappers such as Mellow Man Ace, Too Short, Kid Frost, Ice-T and Eazy-E—or even before the emergence of rap itself. According to Syd Caesar, "a cataclysmic event helped give rise to it out West: the Watts riots of 1965." In 1967, Budd Schulberg founded a creative space in Los Angeles entitled Watts Writers Workshop, intended to help the people of the Watts neighborhood and provide a place ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outlawz
Outlawz (formerly known as Outlaw Immortalz) are an American hip hop group founded by rapper Tupac Shakur in late 1995 after Shakur's release from prison. Collectively, they were best known for their association with Shakur. Most of the group members are named after political figures. Members * Rufus "Young Noble" Cooper III, the current co-leader of the Outlawz. * Malcolm "E.D.I. Mean" Greenridge was named for Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. He is the co-leader of the Outlawz. * Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, Tupac's stepbrother and was a member of Tupac's previous group Thug Life. He was named for Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini. * Donna "Storm" Harkness, is the only female member Former members There were six original Outlawz members that left or died. * Tupac "Makaveli" Amaru Shakur was the leader of the group, named for the Italian political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, whose writings inspired Shakur in prison. He was shot to death in September 1996. He wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thug Life
Thug Life was an American hip hop group that consisted of Tupac, Big Syke, Mopreme, Macadoshis, and The Rated R. They released one album, 1994's '' Thug Life: Volume 1'', before disbanding in 1995. Etymology According to Tupac, the name originally started as an acronym: "The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody". It represented the idea that the racism and marginalization experienced by black youth ends up negatively affecting society. History Big Syke was a Crips gang member and Macadoshis was a drug dealer during the 1990s. Tupac, Randy "Stretch" Walker and Princess Mel formed Thug Life in 1992 with Tyruss "Little Psycho" Himes.Big Syke bioat Allmusic They recorded a song also titled "Thug Life". Soon Little Psycho joined the group, under the name Syke. Later Macadoshis and The Rated R joined the group. They signed with Interscope Records and recorded an LP titled ''Thug Life Volume 1''. Tupac's stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, later joined the group. ''Thug Life: Volum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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