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LisaRaye McCoy
LisaRaye McCoy (born September 23, 1967), known as LisaRaye, is an American actress, fashion designer, model, businesswoman and former first lady of the Turks and Caicos Islands. McCoy is best known for portraying Diana "Diamond" Armstrong in the 1998 film ''The Players Club'', Neesee James on the UPN/The CW sitcom ''All of Us'' from 2003 until 2007 and Keisha Greene in the VH1 romantic comedy series ''Single Ladies (TV series), Single Ladies'' which originally aired from 2011 to 2015. She was also married to Michael Misick, the first Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, from 2006 until 2010; during that time she served as First Lady of Turks and Caicos. Biography Early life McCoy was born in Chicago, Illinois. McCoy is the daughter of David Ray McCoy, a Chicago businessman, and Katie McCoy, a former professional model. Her paternal half-sister is Da Brat. Growing up on the south side of Chicago, McCoy attended St. James College Prep, Kenwood Academy and later Thornridge Hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Essence Magazine
''Essence'' is a monthly lifestyle magazine covering fashion, beauty, entertainment, and culture. First published in 1970, the magazine is written for African-American women. History Edward Lewis, Clarence O. Smith, Cecil Hollingsworth and Jonathan Blount founded Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) in 1968. It began publishing ''Essence'' magazine in May 1970. Lewis and Smith called the publication a "lifestyle magazine directed at upscale African American women". They recognized that Black women were an overlooked demographic and saw ''Essence'' as an opportunity to capitalize on a virtually untouched market of Black women readers. Its initial circulation was approximately 50,000 copies per month, subsequently growing to roughly 1.6 million.Bynoe, Yvonne. ''Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip-hop Culture''. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2006, p. 263, . Gordon Parks served as its editorial director during the first three years of its circulation. In 2000, Time Inc. purchased 49 per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wood
''The Wood'' is a 1999 American coming-of-age comedy drama film directed by Rick Famuyiwa and starring Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs. It was written by Famuyiwa and Todd Boyd. Plot Roland is getting married and is currently missing. Slim, who scoffs at the idea of marriage, is furious at Roland for disappearing. The story flashes back to Mike as a youth when he first encounters Roland and Slim, his first real crush on a girl named Alicia, and the three young men's misadventures as teenagers growing up in 1980s Inglewood, California (aka "the Wood"). Shy and awkward, Mike is quickly befriended by Slim and Roland. On a dare from Slim and Roland, Mike reluctantly grabs Alicia's butt, leading to a physical altercation with her older brother and Blood gang member, Stacey. While he is beaten up, Mike earns Stacey's private respect for having courage to fight back. Meanwhile, in present day, Mike and Slim get a call from Tanya, Roland's ex, saying that Roland is at her h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tupac Shakur
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 List of best-selling music artists, 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 Political hip hop, conscious rap lyrics. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his follow-up album ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Link (singer)
Lincoln Browder, (born October 12, 1964) better known by his stage name Link, is an American R&B singer from Dallas, Texas. Career Browder sang in gospel choirs as a youngster and in a group in high school. Darrell Delite Allamby recruited him to sing in the R&B group Protege. After writing the hit " My Body" for the R&B supergroup LSG, Link was offered his own recording contract with Relativity Records. His 1998 debut album, ''Sex Down'', spawned one Top 40 hit single in the US, "Whatcha Gonna Do?" (#23 ''Billboard'' Hot 100, #15 US '' Billboard'' R&B). The track peaked at #48 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1998. In addition a second charting single was issued, "I Don't Wanna See," which reached #43 on the US R&B chart and #25 on the Hot Singles Sales chart. Link also wrote songs for Silk, Tony Thompson, Tamar Braxton, K-Ci & JoJo and Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and produce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lil Jon
Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre crunk, and is credited with bringing the genre into mainstream success. Lil Jon frequently collaborates with Miami-based rapper Pitbull (rapper), Pitbull, San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area-based rappers Too Short and E-40 . He participates as one-third of an unofficial trio consisting of Atlanta-based artists Ludacris and Usher (musician), Usher who frequently create songs together. As a producer, Lil Jon has produced several Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit singles including "Salt Shaker (song), Salt Shaker", "Cyclone (song), Cyclone", "Get Low (Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz song), Get Low", "Snap Yo Fingers", "Damn! (song), Damn!", "Freek-a-Leek", "Lovers and Friends (song), Lovers and Friends", "Goodies (song), Goodies" and "Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sisqó
Mark Althavan Andrews (born November 9, 1978), known professionally as Sisqó (stylized as SisQó), is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. He is most prominently known for "Thong Song", his membership in Dru Hill, and has also released solo material. Sisqo's successful debut solo album, ''Unleash the Dragon'' (1999), included the hit singles "Thong Song" and " Incomplete". Early life As a teen Andrews worked at The Fudgery in Harborplace at Baltimore's Inner Harbor with Larry "Jazz" Anthony, James "Woody" Green, and Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin. The quartet would be signed as the group Dru Hill to Island Records in 1996. He lived in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood at 908 Newington Avenue near Druid Hill Park which is where the group got their name. Andrews graduated from Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School in 1994. Sisqó's visual trademarks are his hairstyles and flamboyant stage costumes, which were regularly flashier than those of his group ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calvin Richardson
Calvin Richardson (born December 16, 1976) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. In 1999, he released his debut solo album ''Country Boy''. Career In the mid 1990s, Richardson went solo and signed with Universal Records. His debut album, ''Country Boy'', was released on August 24, 1999, selling 100,000 units. Despite this he was dropped by Universal. Shortly thereafter, he signed a contract with Hollywood Records. On September 16, 2003, he released his second album, '' 2:35 PM''. The album was given that name because Richardson's child was born at that time, just before completing the album. It featured the minor R&B hit "Keep On Pushin'", a song Richardson wrote and produced by himself. He originally recorded the song "More Than a Woman" a duet with Angie Stone which originally appeared on her 2001 album ''Mahogany Soul''. Richardson would later re-record the song as a solo track for ''2:35 pm''. An alternate version of the song – which replaces Richardson's vo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age nine where he first began rapping. He formed his own record label, Disturbing tha Peace in the late 1990s, then signed with Def Jam South, after he went on to become one of the first Dirty South rappers to achieve mainstream success with countless album releases. For his music, Ludacris has won three Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. Starting out with a brief stint as a DJ, he independently released his first album '' Incognegro'' in 1999 to local success, but achieved national attention the following year when the album was repackaged and re-released as his major label debut, '' Back for the First Time''. It contained the hit singles " Southern Hospitality" (featuring Pharrell), which was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ginuwine
Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. He began his career as a member of Swing Mob in the early 1990s. Signing to Epic Records as a solo artist in the mid-1990s, Ginuwine has released a number of multi-platinum and platinum-selling albums and singles, becoming one of R&B's top artists during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He had significant commercial success with his first four albums: ''Ginuwine...The Bachelor'' (2× Platinum), ''100% Ginuwine'' (2× Platinum), ''The Life (album), The Life'' (Platinum), and ''The Senior'' (Gold). According to ''Billboard magazine, Billboard'', Ginuwine has sold roughly 10 million albums in the US. Ginuwine received the Urban Music Icon award at the 2021 Black Music Honors. Early life Elgin Baylor Lumpkin was born on October 15, 1970 in Washington, D.C. He is named after National Basketball Association, NBA legend Elgi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Changing Faces (group)
Changing Faces is an American female R&B duo that was initially active between the years 1994 until their hiatus in 2000. Career Early days Lucas and Rose were backing vocalists for Sybil for two years before they formed Changing Faces. The pair returned to New York, where they worked at a dermatologist's office in Manhattan during the day while recording demos at night with producer Dinky Bingham. A local record producer heard the duo singing on the street and signed them to Big Beat Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic. Changing Faces' first two singles—"Stroke You Up" and "Foolin' Around"—were written and produced by R. Kelly. The two singles reached the R&B Top Ten in late 1994, with "Stroke You Up" peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Changing Faces's eponymous debut was released in 1994 and went gold on the strength of the two hits. Following the success of their debut, they participated in the “Freedom” single for the ‘’Panther’’ film a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lil' Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, Jones would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage. In 1994, she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A.; their debut album, ''Conspiracy (Junior M.A.F.I.A. album), Conspiracy'', generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was Gold certification, certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Lil' Kim's debut studio album, ''Hard Core (Lil' Kim album), Hard Core'' (1996) was certified Platinum certification, double platinum, has since sold more than six million copies worldwide, and spawned three successful si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duane Martin
Duane Martin (born August 11, 1965) is an American actor. Early life and education Martin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and he graduated from New York University. He played NCAA Division III basketball at NYU and was signed as an undrafted free agent to a non-guaranteed contract in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New York Knicks in 1989. However, he was soon cut and never actually played in the NBA. Career Martin first made his TV appearance in the NBC comedy series '' Out All Night'', which also starred Patti LaBelle, Vivica A. Fox and Morris Chestnut. He appeared in the Boyz II Men music video "I'll Make Love to You". He was a cast member with Vivica A. Fox and Jon Cryer in the short-lived Fox sitcom ''Getting Personal''. He portrayed TV reporter Robert James on the UPN/The CW sitcom ''All of Us''. He guest starred on his then-wife's sitcom ''Rita Rocks'' (2009) as Chuck; and Fernando on '' The Paul Reiser Show'' (2011). Notable feature film role ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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