|
Sparkle (Sparkle Album)
''Sparkle'' is the 1998 self–titled debut album by American singer Sparkle. It was released on May 19, 1998, through Interscope Records and was entirely produced by her former mentor R. Kelly. The album was a success in large part to the Sparkle–R. Kelly duet lead single "Be Careful", which peaked at number three on the US Rhythmic Top 40 and topped the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. The album itself peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA on December 7, 2000. Further singles "Time to Move On" and "Lovin' You" were also released as singles, but did not make any ''Billboard'' charts. Critical reception ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the album a grade of B+, writing: "Unlike her wannabe-diva peers, this R. Kelly protegee remembers what the 'B' in R&B stands for....R. Kelly surrounds her with blaxploitation-vintage wah-wah guitars, haunting strings, and blue-collar blues; the resulting soul digs far deeper than Kelly's usual bump'n' g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sparkle (singer)
Stephanie Edwards (born May 13, 1968), better known by her stage name Sparkle, is an American R&B singer. She began her career in 1998 as a protégé of fellow Chicago native R. Kelly. Sparkle is best known for her 1998 R&B debut hit single "Be Careful". Career Sparkle first started singing in her family's gospel music group. Sparkle met singer R. Kelly in 1989. Sparkle was the first and only successful artist to release an album on Kelly's Rockland label. Sparkle's début album, the self-titled ''Sparkle'', was released on May 19, 1998. The album debuted at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 2 on the R&B charts and was certified gold soon after its release. The album is best known for the single "Be Careful," a 1998 duet with R. Kelly, which made it to two of Billboard's major airplay charts, peaking at No. 3 on the Rhythmic Top 40 and charted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B Airplay for six consecutive weeks, while also reaching No. 7 in the UK. Despite the success of her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president of the Beverly Hills-Hollywood NAACP branch. He claimed the genre was "proliferating offenses" to the black community in its perpetuation of stereotypical characters often involved in crime. The genre does rank among the first after the race films in the 1940s and 1960s in which black characters and communities are the protagonists and subjects of film and television, rather than sidekicks, antagonists or victims of brutality. The genre's inception coincides with the rethinking of race relations in the 1970s. Blaxploitation films were originally aimed at an urban African-American audience but the genre's audience appeal soon broadened across racial and ethnic lines. Hollywood realized the potential profit of expanding the audiences of bla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1998 Debut Albums
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently shadowed craters near the Moon's poles. * January 11 – Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria. * January 12 – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning. * January 17 – The ''Drudge Report'' breaks the story about U.S. President Bill Clinton's alleged affair with Monica Lewinsky, which will lead to the House of Representatives' impeachment of him. February * February 3 – Cavalese cable car disaster: A United States military pilot causes the deaths of 20 people near Trento, Italy, when his low-flying EA-6B Prowler severs the cable of a cable-car. * February 4 – The 5.9 Afghanistan earthquake shakes the Takhar Province with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (''Very strong''). With up to 4, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poke & Tone
The Trackmasters are an American hip hop production duo composed of music producers Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes), best known for their commercial hit records in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel joined forces with the duo to complete the success of "Trackmasters". Throughout their career, they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including Destiny's Child, Nas, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Will Smith, Jay-Z, Cam'ron, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, The Notorious B.I.G. and 50 Cent. Known for their commercially successful singles and many remixes, they have collectively earned over seven gold and twenty platinum plaques throughout their career. They were ranked 6th in ''Vibe'' magazine's "Greatest Hip-Hop Producers of All Time" in the 'Mass Appeal' category. Career 1989−1995: Early career and Trackmasters Entertainment In 1989, Poke connected with childhood friend Frank "Nitty" Pimentel at his recording studio in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Mokran
Peter Mokran is an American mixer, producer, engineer and musician. Early life Mokran was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, he studied classical guitar, while also learning engineering and programming as a teen.Paul Tingen“Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Peter Mokran,”''Sound on Sound'', August 2009. He earned a BA in music from De Paul University. Career Mokran first received widespread notice in 1992 for mixing, engineering and producing R. Kelly’s debut, '' Born into the 90's'', which featured two number one hits on the Billboard R&B charts and went platinum within a year of its release. The following year he engineered, mixed and programmed Kelly's second album '' 12 Play'', which reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts. The album’s second single, "Bump n' Grind", was at the time the longest-running number one single on the Billboard R&B charts, and also rose to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He continued to work with R. Kelly through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chic (band)
Chic ( ), currently called Nile Rodgers & Chic, is an American band that was formed in 1972 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. It recorded many commercially successful disco songs, including "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" (1977), " Everybody Dance" (1977), "Le Freak" (1978), " I Want Your Love" (1978), " Good Times" (1979), and "My Forbidden Lover" (1979). The group regarded themselves as a rock band for the disco movement "that made good on hippie peace, love and freedom". In 2017, Chic was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the eleventh time. History 1970–1978: Origins and early singers Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards met in 1970 as session musicians working in the New York City area. They formed a rock band initially named The Boys, but soon changed it to The Big Apple Band, and played numerous gigs around New York City. Despite interest in their demos, they never garnered a record contract. Both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use of the whistle register and has been referred to by the media as the "Queen of the Whistle Register." Born in 1947, Riperton grew up in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. As a child, she studied music, drama and dance at Chicago's Abraham Lincoln Center. In her teen years, she sang lead vocals for the Chicago-based girl group the Gems. Her early affiliation with the Chicago-based Chess Records afforded her the opportunity to sing backing vocals for various established artists such as Etta James, Fontella Bass, Ramsey Lewis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. While at Chess, Riperton also sang lead for the experimental rock/soul group Rotary Connection, from 1967 to 1971. On April 5, 1975, Riperton reached the a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Kendricks
Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do the Things You Do", " Get Ready", and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)". As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the number-one single " Keep On Truckin'". Life and career Early years: 1939–1960 Kendricks was born to Johnny and Lee Bell Kendrick in Union Springs, Alabama on December 17, 1939. He had one sister, Patricia, and three brothers, Charles, Robert, and Clarence. His family moved to the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham, where he met and began singing with his best friend Paul Williams in their church choir in the late 1940s. In 1955, Kendricks, Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strings (rapper)
Marinna Teal (born November 25, 1975), better known as Strings, is an American rapper and songwriter formerly signed to Epic and Cash Money Records. She is best known for being featured on R. Kelly's "Gotham City Remix" and Keith Sweat's "Im Not Ready Remix" in the mid and late 1990s. Early life Her grandfather was Aaron Moore, a famous bluesman from Chicago. When growing up, Strings begin singing in the choir in her hometown and won talent show prizes. She had her first baby at 13. After graduating from Chicago Vocational High School she moved to Oklahoma City for five years, where she became an exotic dancer to support her daughter. Music career One night when she was out of town she attended an R. Kelly concert she had got her way backstage, where she met R. Kelly she sang for him then when she was done singing R. Kelly took her to a restroom and start beating on a sink while she was rapping for hours. Then one night she got a phone call and it was Kelly he wanted her to fly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature (rapper)
Jermain Baxter (born December 5, 1972), better known as Nature, is an American rapper, best known for his association with fellow New York City rapper Nas and having replaced Cormega in the original QB group the Firm."Queensbridge's Nature Has Musical Knowledge 'For All Seasons'", '' New York Beacon'', November 15, 2000 Career Baxter grew up in Queensbridge, New York, and went to school with Nas.Dillon, Charlotte " Nature Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2010-02-11Wilson, Elliott (1999)Nature: Organic MC, ''Vibe'', June 1999, retrieved 2010-02-11 Nas introduced Nature to the public in 1997, as a member of his supergroup The Firm, whose members also included AZ and Foxy Brown. Nature was brought in to replace rapper Cormega, who had a contractual dispute with Nas' manager Steve Stoute. The Firm's first and only album, '' Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album'', went platinum, and topped the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cam'ron
Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" Rivera's Untertainment under the aegis of Epic and released his first two studio albums ''Confessions of Fire'' and '' S.D.E. (Sports Drugs & Entertainment)'' in 1998 and 2000 respectively; the former achieved gold status by the RIAA. After leaving Epic, Giles signed to Roc-A-Fella Records in 2001 and released his third studio album ''Come Home with Me'' the following year; it achieved platinum status by the RIAA, and also contained Cam'ron's highest-charting singles to date; " Oh Boy" and " Hey Ma", which peaked at No. 4 and No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 respectively. His fourth studio album and final release on Roc-A-Fella, '' Purple Haze'' was released in 2004 to critical acclaim and commercial success, being certified gold by t ... [...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] |
