Gang Starr
Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2003, and are considered one of the best MC-and-producer duos in hip hop history. They are recognized for being one of the pioneers of jazz rap. Some of their top hits include " Mass Appeal", "Take It Personal", "Moment of Truth", "Full Clip" and "Above The Clouds". Career Original & second group lineups The original Gang Starr group was founded in Morehouse College by three friends from Boston, Massachusetts: Guru (then known as MC Keithy E.) who was planned to be a rapper/singer, Big Shug as the main MC and DJ Suave D (Shug's younger brother Dana) as their DJ. After Shug was imprisoned, Suave D quit the group, leaving Guru to enlist the services of MC Damo D-Ski and DJ 1, 2 B-Down (also known as Mike Dee) with various producers, such as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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East Coast Hip Hop
East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx, New York City. In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip hop music has prioritized complex lyrics for attentive listening rather than beats for dancing. The term "East Coast hip hop" more specifically denotes hip hop originating from the East Coast of the Northeastern United States; Southeastern states such as Georgia instead fall under the umbrella of Southern hip hop rather than "East Coast hip hop". A notable exception is the Hampton Roads music scene, centered on Virginia Beach, which produced artists as diverse as Missy Elliott, Pharrell and the Neptunes, Timbaland and the Clipse, all of whom are closely associated with the New York music scene and the evolution of East Coast hip hop, particularly from the late 1990s to present. Musical style In contrast to the more simplistic rhyme ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The 45 King
Mark Howard James (born October 16, 1961) professionally known as The 45 King (also known as DJ Mark the 45 King), is an American hip hop record producer and disc jockey (DJ) from The Bronx borough of New York City. James began DJing in The Bronx, in the mid-1980s. His pseudonym, the 45 King, came from his ability to make beats using obscure 45 RPM records. Career The 45 King first gained fame with his breakbeat track "The 900 Number" in 1987. The song featured a looping of a baritone sax solo from Marva Whitney's "Unwind Yourself" (1968). The 45 King signed with Tuff City Records that year and was given a production deal. "The 900 Number" remains his signature work, having been resampled by many artists. He was also featured on the ''1989-Hustlers Convention'' album on the UK label Music of Life, which is considered by many to be hip-hop's first-ever live album. Using his popularity from the previous release, the 45 King was able to help the other members of his crew, dubbed t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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8 Mile (film)
''8 Mile'' is a 2002 American drama film written by Scott Silver and directed by Curtis Hanson. It stars Eminem in his film debut, alongside Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, Michael Shannon, Anthony Mackie, and Kim Basinger. The film, which contains autobiographical elements from Eminem's life, follows white rapper Jimmy Smith Jr. aka B-Rabbit (Eminem) and his attempt to launch a career in Hip hop music, hip hop, a music genre dominated by African-Americans. The title is derived from M-102 (Michigan highway), 8 Mile Road, the highway between the predominantly African-American city of Detroit and the largely white suburban communities to the north that Eminem originally lived in. ''8 Mile'' was a critical and box office success. It opened at in the US with $51.3 million grossed in its opening weekend and an eventual total of $242.9 million worldwide. The album's accompanying 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture, soundtrack was also a commercial success, being certifi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mo' Better Blues
''Mo' Better Blues'' is a 1990 American musical comedy-drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also wrote, produced, and directed. It follows a period in the life of fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (played by Washington) as a series of bad decisions result in his jeopardizing both his relationships and his playing career. The film focuses on themes of friendship, loyalty, honesty, cause-and-effect, and ultimately salvation. It features the music of the Branford Marsalis quartet and Terence Blanchard on trumpet. The film was released five months after the death of Robin Harris and is dedicated to his memory, being his penultimate acting role. Plot In Brooklyn, New York in 1969, a group of four boys walk up to Bleek Gilliam's Brownstone apartment and ask him to play baseball with them. Bleek's mother insists that he continue his trumpet lesson. His father becomes concerned that Bleek will grow up to be a sissy, and a family argument ensues. Bl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut with ''She's Gotta Have It'' (1986). He has since written and directed such films as '' School Daze'' (1988), ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), '' Mo' Better Blues'' (1990), '' Jungle Fever'' (1991), ''Malcolm X'' (1992), '' Crooklyn'' (1994), '' Clockers'' (1995), '' 25th Hour'' (2002), ''Inside Man'' (2006), ''Chi-Raq'' (2015), ''BlacKkKlansman'' (2018) and ''Da 5 Bloods'' (2020). Lee also acted in eleven of his feature films. His films have featured breakthrough and acclaimed performances from actors such as Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Delroy Lindo and John David Washington. Lee's work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film, video, or television presentation; or the physical area of a film that contains the synchronised recorded sound. In movie industry terminology usage, a sound track is an audio recording created or used in film production or post-production. Initially, the dialogue, sound effects, and music in a film each has its own separate track (''dialogue track'', ''sound effects track'', and '' music track''), and these are mixed together to make what is called the ''composite track,'' which is heard in the film. A ''dubbing track'' is often later created when films are dubbed into another language. This is also known as an M&E (music and effects) track. M&E tracks contain all sound elements minus dialogue, which is then supplied by the f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Moment Of Truth (Gang Starr Album)
''Moment of Truth'' is the fifth album by hip hop duo Gang Starr, released on March 31, 1998 by Noo Trybe Records and Virgin Records. Gang Starr recorded ''Moment of Truth'' in sessions at D&D Studios. It is widely regarded as Gang Starr's magnum opus, and one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. Commercial performance The album is the group's most commercially successful album to date. ''Moment of Truth'' debuted at #1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. The album sold 97,000 copies in its first week. It went on to sell over 500,000 copies and was certified Gold by the RIAA on May 7, 1998. The lead single, "You Know My Steez," became the duo's second ''Billboard'' Hot 100 appearance in 1997, peaking at #76. ''Spin'' magazine ranked it as the #16 album of 1998. ''Pitchfork'' also ranked it as the 16th best album of 1998. In popular culture The album's title track was featured in the 2011 Matthew McConaughey film ''The Lincoln Lawyer''. The title track also appeared in t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hard To Earn
''Hard to Earn'' is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo Gang Starr. It was released on March 8, 1994, by Chrysalis and EMI Records in North America. The album featured the singles "Mass Appeal", (their first charting single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart), "DWYCK" (featuring Nice & Smooth), and "Code of the Streets". Guest appearances on the album include Group Home, Jeru the Damaja, and Big Shug. At the time, all were part of the Gang Starr Foundation, which made the album a stepping-stone for future DJ Premier-helmed projects by Group Home and Jeru. ''Hard to Earn'' received acclaim and commercial success upon release. The single "DWYCK" recorded in 1992 also featured hip hop duo Nice & Smooth. The track "Now You're Mine" originally appeared on the 1992 soundtrack '' White Men Can't Rap''. ''Hard to Earn'' is also the duo's first album to carry the "Parental Advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Asso ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Daily Operation
''Daily Operation'' is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Gang Starr. It was released by Chrysalis Records on May 5, 1992. It peaked at number 65 on the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Critical reception Stanton Swihart of AllMusic wrote: "From beginning to end, Gang Starr's third full-length album cuts with the force and precision of a machete and serves as an ode to and representation of New York and hip-hop underground culture." He added: "Every song has some attribute that stamps it indelibly into the listener's head, and it marks the album as one of the finest of the decade, rap or otherwise." In 2017, ''Complex (magazine), Complex'' placed it at number 41 on the "Best Rap Albums of the '90s" list. Track listing Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes. * DJ Premier – producer, beats, scratches, mixing * Guru (rapper), "The Guru" – vocals, producer, mixing * Group Home, Lil Dap – vocals (6) * Jeru the Damaja – vocals (6) * Eddie Sancho – en ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Step In The Arena
''Step in the Arena'' is the second studio album by hip hop duo Gang Starr, printed as a 1990 release, and commercially released on January 15, 1991. In 2007, it was named the greatest hip hop album of all time by IGN. HipHopDX called it "the album that cemented Gang Starr as a timeless tag team." Background Filmmaker Spike Lee was a fan of Gang Starr's debut '' No More Mr. Nice Guy'', particularly the song "Jazz Music". As Lee was filming ''Mo' Better Blues'' at the time of the album's release, he felt the duo needed to expand on the song's theme - which became the single "Jazz Thing". Lee introduced them to a poem written by Lolis Eric Elie, which group member Guru converted to a rap, as the poem didn't rhyme. The song caught the attention of Chrysalis Records, who offered them a deal based on "Jazz Thing". However, DJ Premier said the label had gotten the wrong idea of the group, stating: "When they signed us, they thought we were going to do records like "Jazz Thing" all the t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hardcore Hip Hop
Hardcore hip hop (also hardcore rap) is a genre of hip hop music that developed through the East Coast hip hop scene in the 1980s. Pioneered by such artists as Run-DMC, Schoolly D, Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, it is generally characterized by anger, aggression and confrontation. History Music experts have credited Run-DMC as the first hardcore hip hop group. Other early artists to adopt an aggressive style were Schoolly D in Philadelphia and Too $hort in Oakland, California. Before a formula for gangsta rap had developed, artists such as Boogie Down Productions and Ice-T wrote lyrics based on detailed observations of "street life", while the confrontational and aggressive lyrics and chaotic, rough production style of Public Enemy's records set new standards for hardcore hip hop and hip hop production.Hardcore Rap Allmusic. Accessed May 22, 2008. Though initially a largely East Coast phenomenon, by the late 1980s, hardcore rap increasingly became largely synony ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States. The publication has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes. It is owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by the Times Mirror Company. The newspaper’s coverage emphasizes California and especially Southern California stories. In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to labor unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. In recent decades the paper's readership has declined, and it has been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff reductions, and other controversies. In January 2018, the paper's staff voted to unionize and final ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |