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Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang
''Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan-member Raekwon, released March 8, 2011, on Ice H2O and EMI Records. Guests for the album include Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Lloyd Banks, Method Man, Nas, and Rick Ross, among others. The album debuted at number 12 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 29,000 copies in its first week. It produced three singles, "Butter Knives", the title track and "Rock n Roll". Upon its release, ''Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang'' received positive reviews from most music critics, who complimented Raekwon's performance and commended him for his musical direction. Background Due to the ''8 Diagrams'' controversy, which took place in late 2007, ''Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang'' was initially planned to be a Wu-Tang Clan group album, minus production from RZA. Raekwon later revealed that it would instead be his fifth studio album, and as originally intended, would not feature contributi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raekwon
Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of their debut album, ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'', in 1993. Raekwon would subsequently pursue a solo career, releasing his first solo album, entitled '' Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'', in 1995. The album received critical acclaim, and is regarded by many critics as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, as well as a staple of 1990s rap. Whereas his next two albums, ''Immobilarity'' in 1999 and then ''The Lex Diamond Story'' in 2003, drew mixed reviews, his fourth album, long delayed, '' Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II'', released in September 2009, was likened to ''The Godfather 2''. Recognized for his "street epics" that are "straightforward yet linguistically rich," Raewkon is ranked among leading ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Studio Album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual Phonograph record#78 rpm disc developments, 78 rpm records collected in a bound book resembling a photograph album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl LP record, long-playing (LP) records played at revolutions per minute, rpm. The album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption from the mid-1960s to the early 21st century, a period known as the album era. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until being phased out by 1983 and was gradually supplanted by the cassette tape during the 1970s and early 1980s; the populari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular culture. The magazine debuted on February 16, 1990, in New York City. Different from celebrity-focused publications such as ''Us Weekly'', ''People'' (a sister magazine to ''EW''), and ''In Touch Weekly'', ''EW'' primarily concentrates on entertainment media news and critical reviews; unlike ''Variety'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter'', which were primarily established as trade magazines aimed at industry insiders, ''EW'' targets a more general audience. History Formed as a sister magazine to ''People'', the first issue of ''Entertainment Weekly'' was published on February 16, 1990. Created by Jeff Jarvis and founded by Michael Klingensmith, who served as publisher until October 1996, the magazine's original television advertising soliciting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vibe (magazine)
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in the summer of 2009, it was purchased by the private equity investment fund InterMedia Partners, then issued bi-monthly with double covers and a larger online presence. The magazine's target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip hop culture. In 2014, the magazine discontinued its print version. The magazine features a broader range of interests than its closest competitors ''The Source'' and '' XXL'', which focus more narrowly on rap music, or the rock and pop-centric ''Rolling Stone'' and '' Spin''. Publication history Quincy Jones launched ''Vibe'' in 1993, in partnership with Time Inc. Originally, the publication was called ''Volume'' before co-founding editor, Scott Poulson-Bryant named it ''Vibe''. Though hip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
8 Diagrams
''8 Diagrams'' is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released December 11, 2007, on SRC/Universal Motown Records. The album was released three years after the death of Ol' Dirty Bastard, and six years after the group's previous LP ''Iron Flag''. Upon its release, ''8 Diagrams'' debuted at number 25 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and number 9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with 68,000 copies sold in the first week. It has sold 202,000 copies in the United States as of April 2014. The album received generally favorable reviews from most music critics, and earned greater praise than the group's previous album ''Iron Flag'', based on an aggregate score of 73/100 from Metacritic. Background ''8 Diagrams'' marked the group's first full collaboration since the death of original member Ol' Dirty Bastard, who had died in 2004. The album's title is derived from the martial arts film ''The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter''. The group, which had not released an alb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of musical aesthetics. With the concurrent expansion of interest in music and information media over the past century, the term has come to acquire the conventional meaning of journalistic reporting on musical performances. Nature of music criticism The musicologist Winton Dean has suggested that "music is probably the most difficult of the arts to criticise." Unlike the plastic or literary arts, the 'language' of music does not specifically relate to human sensory experience – Dean's words, "the word 'love' is common coin in life and literature: the note C has nothing to do with breakfast or railway journeys or marital harmony." Like dramatic art, music is recreated at every performance, and criticism may, therefore, be directed both at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its " number ones", those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, and acquired its current name in March 1992. Its previous names include the ''Billboard'' Top LPs (1961–1972), ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984), ''Billboard'' Top 200 Albums (1984–1985) and ''Billboard'' Top Pop Albums (1985–1992). The chart is based mostly on sales – both at retail and digital – of albums in the United States. The weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, tracking week begins on Friday (to coinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rick Ross (rapper)
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc., until signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Jay-Z on Def Jam Recordings. Ross released his debut album ''Port of Miami'' through the label later that year, debuting at the top spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 album chart, with sales of 187,000 units during the first week. Ross released his second studio album, ''Trilla'', in 2008, once again debuting atop the ''Billboard'' 200. Outside of his solo career, Ross was a lead member of the hip hop group Triple C's, alongside fellow Florida rappers Gunplay and Torch, in 2005. Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group in 2009, on which he released his studio albums ''Deeper Than Rap'' (2009), '' Teflon Don'' (2010), ''God Forgives, I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Method Man
Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of the hip hop duo Method Man & Redman. He took his stage name from the 1979 film ''Method Man''. In 1996, Smith won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By", featuring American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, whom he currently stars with in '' Power Book II: Ghost'', a spin-off of its original show ''Power''. Smith has appeared in films such as '' 187'' (1997), ''Belly'' (1998), ''How High'' (2001), '' Garden State'' (2004), ''The Wackness'' (2008), ''Venom'' (2005), ''Red Tails'' (2012), '' Keanu'' (2016), and ''The Cobbler'' (2014). On television, he and frequent collaborator, fellow East Coast rapper Redman, co-starred on the short-lived Fox sitcom ''Method & Red''. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lloyd Banks
Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After the group's 2003 release of their debut album, '' Beg for Mercy'', Banks released his first solo album, ''The Hunger for More'', in 2004, featuring the top ten hit single " On Fire". His second studio album, '' Rotten Apple'', was released in 2006. Banks left Interscope Records in 2009 and, along with the rest of G-Unit, signed with EMI the following year to distribute Banks third studio album ''The Hunger for More 2'', which was released in 2010. Early life Christopher Lloyd was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the South Jamaica section of the Queens borough in New York City; he is of mixed Puerto Rican and African-American descent. His father spent most of Lloyd's childhood in prison, leaving his mother to raise him and his two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inspectah Deck
Jason Richard Hunter (born July 6, 1970), better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. He is a member of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and Czarface. He has acquired critical praise for his intricate lyricism, and for his verses on many of the group's most revered songs. He has grown to become a producer in his own right, taking up tracks for fellow Wu rappers and his own projects. Early life Hunter was born July 6, 1970 and grew up in Staten Island. Hunter routinely mentions the Park Hill Projects in Clifton, Staten Island, where he grew up and went to school with the future Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Remedy. Hunter's father died when he was six years old. Career Hunter developed a laid-back and quiet personality which he carried into his stage persona, as a low-key counterbalance to the antics of Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard, and RZA, referenced by Method Man at the end of the track "Can it Be All So Simple?" on Wu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghostface Killah
Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'', the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success. Ghostface Killah debuted his solo career with '' Ironman'', which was well received by music critics, in 1996. He has enjoyed continued success in the years that have followed, releasing critically acclaimed albums such as ''Supreme Clientele'' (2000) and ''Fishscale'' (2006). His stage name was taken from one of the characters in the 1979 kung fu film '' Mystery of Chessboxing''. He is the founder of his own record label, Starks Enterprises. Ghostface Killah is critically acclaimed for his loud, fast-paced flow, and his emotional stream-of-consciousness narratives containing cryptic slang and non-sequiturs. In 2006, MTV included him as an "honourable me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
