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Taz Arnold
Sa-Ra is an American musical group based in Los Angeles, California, also known by its full name, The Sa-Ra Creative Partners. The group is composed of Om'Mas Keith, Taz Arnold, and Shafiq Husayn. The name translates roughly to "the children of God." The group's name, style and creativity are allusions to the similarly named jazz composer Sun Ra. Their music has been described as progressive soul, neo funk, and alternative hip hop. History Sa-Ra formed in the late 1990s from a trio of industry producers, musicians, and executives. The group’s discography includes songs with artists such as Jurassic 5 and Pharoahe Monch, and have collectively and/or individually produced songs for artists like Heavy D, Bilal (specifically his '' Love for Sale'' album), Dr. Dre, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Frank Ocean, Fonzworth Bentley, Jay-Z, John Legend and Goapele. The group had previously been signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music label, where it planned to release their debut album. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world's most populous megacities. Los Angeles is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits , Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The city of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to it's east. It covers about , and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sun Ra
Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. For much of his career, Ra led "The Arkestra", an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up. Born and raised in Alabama, Blount became involved in the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s. He soon abandoned his birth name, taking the name Le Sony'r Ra, shortened to Sun Ra (after Ra, the Egyptian god of the Sun). Claiming to be an alien from Saturn on a mission to preach peace, he developed a mythical persona and an idiosyncratic credo that made him a pioneer of Afrofuturism. Throughout his life he denied ties to his prior identity saying, "Any name that I use other than Ra is a pseudonym." His widely eclectic and avant-garde music echoed the entire history of jazz, from ragtime and ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goapele
Goapele Mohlabane (; born July 11, 1977), is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means ''to move forward'' in Setswana, a Southern African language. Early life Goapele's South African father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled political activist who struggled against the Apartheid System. Goapele's New York-born Israeli Jewish mother Noa had been attending protests since the age of 12. Noa attended Friends World College and was studying in Nairobi, Kenya, where she met and married Douglas. Goapele and her older brother DJ Namane Mohlabane were raised in a California South African exile community. Both of her parents inspired Goapele to become very involved in community affairs at a young age. She attended the Berkeley Arts Magnet School, where she led a pre-teen peer-support group. She also became involved in various groups and organizations that combated racism and sexism. Goapele and Theo Rodrigues have a daughter together, Bahia Osun (born May 2007).http://www ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Everything Is Everything", and making uncredited guest appearances on Jay-Z's "Encore" and Alicia Keys's "You Don't Know My Name". He then signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music and released his debut album ''Get Lifted'' (2004), which reached the top ten on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Legend received nine nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, including nominations for the singles " So High" with Lauryn Hill and "Ordinary People", with the latter song winning for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The album also earned him awards for Best New Artist and Best R&B Album. His second studio album ''Once Again'' (2006), spawned the single "Save Room", and became his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop artists. He was the CEO of Def Jam Recordings and he has been central to the creative and commercial success of artists including Kanye West, Rihanna, and J. Cole. Born and raised in New York City, Jay-Z first began his musical career in the late 1980s; he co-founded the record label Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995 and released his debut studio album ''Reasonable Doubt (album), Reasonable Doubt'' in 1996. The album was released to widespread critical success, and solidified his standing in the music industry. He went on to release twelve additional albums, including the acclaimed albums ''The Blueprint'' (2001), ''The Black Album (Jay-Z album), The Black Album'' (2003), American Gangster (album), ''American Gangs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fonzworth Bentley
Derek Watkins (born February 13, 1974), known professionally as Fonzworth Bentley, is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and author. He is perhaps best known for being Sean Combs' former personal valet and assistant, as first seen in ''Making the Band 2'', and was the host of MTV's ''From G's to Gents''. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Career He first appeared rapping on Da Band's 2002 album '' Too Hot for TV'', in the track "Cheers to Me, Mr. Bentley (Interlude)". In 2003, Bentley was featured on the "Good Day, Good Sir" skit on OutKast's ''Speakerboxxx/The Love Below''. In 2004, he made a cameo in the music video of Kanye West's "The New Workout Plan". Bentley is credited as a songwriter on multiple ''Yeezus'' tracks including “On Sight,” “Black Skinhead,” “ I Am a God,” and “ Hold My Liquor.” He is also credited as a producer on West's “Ultralight Beam.” His debut album, ''C.O.L.O.U.R.S.'', was released via iTunes on April 26, 2011. He wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Ocean
Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist among other accolades, and his two studio albums have been listed on ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020). Ocean began his musical career as a ghostwriter, prior to joining the hip hop collective Odd Future in 2010. The following year, he released his first mixtape, '' Nostalgia, Ultra'', and subsequently secured a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. His first studio album, the eclectic ''Channel Orange'' (2012), incorporated R&B and soul styles. At the 2013 Grammy Awards, ''Channel Orange'' was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Urban Contemporary Album; one of its singles, " Thinkin Bout You", was nominated for R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut album ''Baduizm'' (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the honorific nickname "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics. Badu's career began after she Opening act, opened a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth; leading to record label executive Kedar Massenburg signing her to Kedar Entertainment. Her first album, ''Baduizm'', was released in February 1997. It spawned four singles: "On & On (Erykah Badu song), On & On", "Appletree (song), Appletree", "Next Lifetime" and "Otherside of the Game". The album was certified music recording sales certification, triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jill Scott (singer)
Jill Heather Scott (born April 4, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter, model, poet and actress. Her 2000 debut album, '' Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1'', went platinum and the follow-ups '' Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2'' (2004) and '' The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3'' (2007) both achieved gold status. Scott made her film debut in 2007 in '' Hounddog'' and Tyler Perry's ''Why Did I Get Married?''. In 2008, she starred in the BBC/HBO series ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'', based on the novels of the same name by Alexander McCall Smith. After a four-year hiatus from music, Scott released her fourth album, ''The Light of the Sun'', in 2011. In 2014, she starred in the film '' Get on Up'' as the second wife of James Brown. In 2015, she released her fifth album, ''Woman.'' Beginning in 2018, Scott appeared in The CW DC Comics superhero series ''Black Lightning'' as Lady Eve. Early life Scott was born on April 4, 1972, in Philadelphia. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All About Jazz
''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near You'', about local concerts and events. The Jazz Journalists Association voted ''All About Jazz'' Best Website Covering Jazz for thirteen consecutive years between 2003 and 2015, when the category was retired. In 2015, Ricci said the site received a peak of 1.3 million readers per month in 2007. Another source said that the site has over 500,000 readers around the world. Ricci was born in Philadelphia. He heard classical and jazz from his father's music collection. He played trumpet and went to his first jazz concert when he was eight. With a background in computer programming, he combined his interest in jazz and the internet by creating the ''All About Jazz'' website in 1995. The website publishes reviews, interviews, and articles pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love For Sale (Bilal Album)
''Love for Sale'' is the unreleased second album by the American singer-songwriter Bilal. It was recorded from 2001 to 2003 at Electric Lady Studios in New York during the height of the Soulquarians era, a period in the studio's history marked by the frequent and innovative recording activity of that musical collective, in which Bilal was a member. Written and produced mainly by Bilal, the album was a departure from the producer-driven, hip hop-influenced neo-soul music of ''1st Born Second''(2001), his moderately successful debut album for Interscope Records. Bilal pursued a more raw and independent direction with ''Love for Sale'', which he mostly composed on piano. At Electric Lady, he held improvisatory jam sessions with a live band featuring the trumpeter Leron Thomas, the drummer Steve McKie, and the pianist Robert Glasper, one of several former classmates the singer enlisted from New York's New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. With the assistance of a few select ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bilal (American Singer)
Bilal Sayeed Oliver (born August 23, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is an independent artist, noted for his wide vocal range, work across multiple genres, and intense live performances. Starting out at a major label, Bilal debuted with his popular R&B single "Soul Sista" in 2000, but turned to playing jazz venues and recording more progressive soul music in subsequent years. He has commercially released four albums to critical success, while his unreleased but widely leaked second album '' Love for Sale'' also found wide acclaim among critics and listeners. He was a member of the Soulquarians, an experimental black music collective active from the late 1990s to early 2000s. He has been well received, both nationally and internationally, with an extensive list of collaborations including Kendrick Lamar, Common, Erykah Badu, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Guru, Kimbra, J Dilla, Robert Glasper, and The Roots. In August 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, Bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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