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The Blueprint 2
''The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse'' (stylized as ''The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse'') is the seventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z. It was released on November 12, 2002, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Island Def Jam Music Group. The album serves as a sequel to his sixth album ''The Blueprint'' (2001). Parts of the album were later reissued for his album, titled ''Blueprint 2.1'' (2003). The album debuted at number one, shipping with first-week sales of 545,000 units. The album is certified 3x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. In 2013, Jay-Z cited this album as his second-worst due to an overabundance of songs on the album. Background The recording sessions took place after Jay-Z's critically acclaimed and commercially successful sixth album ''The Blueprint'' (2001). The production on the album was handled primarily by Just Blaze and Kanye West – both of whom had recently established themselves as two of hip-hop's most celebrated producers due to the success of '' ... [...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] |
'03 Bonnie & Clyde
"03 Bonnie & Clyde" is a song recorded by American rapper Jay-Z featuring his then-girlfriend, now wife, American singer Beyoncé Knowles. It was released on October 10, 2002. It was composed by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Prince, Tupac Shakur, Darryl Harper, Ricky Rouse and Tyrone Wrice for Jay-Z's seventh studio album '' The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse'' (2002). The song was released as the album's lead single on October 10, 2002. "03 Bonnie & Clyde" sampled its beat from American rapper Tupac Shakur's 1996 song "Me and My Girlfriend", paraphrasing its chorus, and was inspired by the crime film ''Bonnie and Clyde''. The instrumentation is based on programmed drums, bass instruments, and a flamenco guitar. "03 Bonnie & Clyde" was generally received with favorable reviews by music critics, who complimented the combination of Jay-Z's and Beyoncé's musical styles, their collaboration and the song's production. The single reached number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beanie Sigel
Dwight Equan Grant (born March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first became known for his association with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records, releasing his debut studio album ''The Truth'' through Roc-A-Fella in February 2000 to critical and commercial success. Sigel's second studio album, '' The Reason'', saw similar commercial success, but received mixed reviews from critics. His third album, '' The B. Coming'', was critically acclaimed and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200. After a short break from music, Sigel returned to Roc-A-Fella in 2007 and released his fourth studio album '' The Solution'' in December 2007 to positive reviews. After leaving Roc-A-Fella once again, Sigel's fifth and sixth studio albums, ''The Broad Street Bully'' and '' This Time'' were released independently in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Sigel is also known for his numerous legal issues, including a trial for at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faith Evans
Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B. Sure! and Christopher Williams, she became the first female artist to contract with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records in 1994 at age 20. On the label, she featured on records with several label mates such as 112 and Carl Thomas, and released three platinum-certified studio albums between 1995 and 2001: ''Faith'' (1995) and ''Keep the Faith'' (1998), and '' Faithfully'' (2001). In 2003, she ended her relationship with the company to sign with Capitol Records. Her first album released on the label, '' The First Lady'' (2005) became her highest-charting album at the time, reaching the top of the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, while the holiday album ''A Faithful Christmas'', released the same year, would become her last release ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ''NPR''. Her success has led to her becoming a cultural icon and earning her the nickname "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen Bey". Beyoncé performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl groups of all time. Their hiatus saw the release of her debut album ''Dangerously in Love'' (2003), which featured the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy (Beyoncé song), Baby Boy". Following the 2006 disbanding of Destiny's Child, Beyoncé released her second solo album, ''B'Day (Beyoncé album), B'Day'', which contained s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rakim
William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time. Rakim is considered a transformational figure in hip hop for raising the bar for MC technique higher than it had ever been. Rakim helped to pioneer the use of internal rhymes and multisyllabic rhymes, and he was among the first to demonstrate the possibilities of sitting down to write intricately crafted lyrics packed with clever word choices and metaphors rather than the more improvisational styles and simpler rhyme patterns that predominated before him. Rakim is also credited with creating the overall shift from the more simplistic old school flows to more complex flows. Rapper Kool Moe Dee explained that before Rakim, the term 'flow' wasn't widely used – "Rakim is basically the inven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the United States and most of his albums have been nominated for the Grammy's Best Reggae Album, with ''Dutty Rock'' winning the award. Paul has also been featured in many other singles including chart-toppers " Baby Boy" with Beyoncé, "What About Us" by The Saturdays, " Rockabye" by Clean Bandit, and " Cheap Thrills" by Sia. As well as his own top ten UK hit " No Lie" (featuring the Youngest English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa), the EP's lead single. " No Lie" and " Cheap Thrills"and " Rockabye", each have over 1 billion views on YouTube, with "Rockabye" having reached over 2.7 billion views. Early life Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 9 January 1973. His mother Frances, a painter, is of English and Chine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance four years in a row from 1999 to 2002, breaking the record for most wins in that category and setting the record for most consecutive wins in one category by a male. He has been nominated for and won other awards, including American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, Radio Music Awards, Brit Awards, and Blockbuster Entertainment Awards. Kravitz's hit singles include "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" (1991) and "Again" (2000), each of which reached the top 10 on the ''Billboard'' Top 100 chart; other hits include " Let Love Rule" (1989), "Always on the Run" (1991), " Are You Gonna Go My Way" (1993), " Fly Away" (1998), and "American Woman" (1999), each of which reached the top 10 on the Alternative Airplay chart. Kravitz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Blueprint
''The Blueprint'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York City. Contrasting the radio-friendly sound of Jay-Z's previous work, ''The Blueprint'' features soul-based sampling and production handled primarily by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink, as well as Timbaland, Trackmasters, and Eminem, who also contributes the album's sole guest feature. At the time of the album's recording, Jay-Z was awaiting two criminal trials, one for gun possession and another for assault, and had become one of hip hop's most dissed artists, receiving insults from rappers such as Nas, Prodigy, and Jadakiss.Baker, SorenReview: ''The Blueprint'' ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved on 2009-09-05. The album is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Island Def Jam Music Group
The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordings. On April Fools Day 2014, Universal Music publicly announced the disbandment of the Island Def Jam Music Group, leaving Island, Def Jam and its affiliated subsidiaries as separate sister labels. History 1999: Seagram buyout of PolyGram and unit formation On December 10, 1998, The Seagram Company completed its seven-month $10.6 billion dollar plan to acquire PolyGram, merging its music label unit with the MCA Music unit of labels, consolidating both into what is known today as the Universal Music Group. Following the formation of the Universal Music Group, and right on time for New Year's Day 1999, came the creation of the Island Def Jam Music Group, a new music label unit founded through the combination of fourteen or more recordi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The components of rap include "content" (what is being said), "flow" (rhythm, rhyme), and "delivery" ( cadence, tone). Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that it is usually performed off-time to musical accompaniment. Rap is a primary ingredient of hip hop music commonly associated with that genre; however, the origins of rap predate hip-hop culture by many years. Precursors to modern rap include the West African griot tradition, Cockney rhyming slang, certain vocal styles of blues, jazz, 1960s African-American poetry and ''Sprechgesang''. The use of rap in popular music originated in the Bronx, New York City in the 1970s, alongside the hip hop genre and cultural movement. Rapping developed from the role of master of ceremonies (MC) a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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