The Keynote Speaker
''The Keynote Speaker'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member U-God. The album was released on July 23, 2013, by Soul Temple Records. The album features guest appearances from GZA, Method Man, Styles P, Inspectah Deck, Elzhi and Kool Keith among others. Background In July 2013, during an interview with HipHopDX, U-God described the album, saying: "Oh, this is fire! I tried to step it up a notch every time I put out a new record, and this one is like a brand new baby, man. It has legs, and it’s going to stand up on its own. It’s really deep, and it’s really good, man—more or less, I’m just happy with it. If you want good, Hood Rap rhymes, it’s on there…banging beats and Wu-sounding shit is on there. I’ve got Method Man, Deck, GZA and my man Jackpot on there. I’ve got RZA production on there; he executive produced it. I’ve got mashed potatoes and gravy, Styles P on there. It’s all in there…good money." He also explained where th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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U-God
Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known as U-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow that can alternate between gruff and smooth. Early life Hawkins was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City. He moved to Staten Island as a youth. He was originally a beatboxer for Cappadonna, and was friends with future members Method Man, Inspectah Deck and childhood friend of Raekwon. Sometime before the members united, U-God was mentored in rap by Cappadonna. He soon became friends with RZA and Ghostface Killah, and he began rhyming under the alias Golden Arms, based on the Kung-Fu movie ''Kid with the Golden Arm''. Later on he changed his name to U-God (which is short for his Five-Percent Nation righteous name "Universal God Allah"). Career ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' / ''Wu-Tang Forever'' U-God was convicted on t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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U-God Albums
Lamont Jody Hawkins (born November 10, 1970), better known as U-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow that can alternate between gruff and smooth. Early life Hawkins was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City. He moved to Staten Island as a youth. He was originally a beatboxer for Cappadonna, and was friends with future members Method Man, Inspectah Deck and childhood friend of Raekwon. Sometime before the members united, U-God was mentored in rap by Cappadonna. He soon became friends with RZA and Ghostface Killah, and he began rhyming under the alias Golden Arms, based on the Kung-Fu movie ''Kid with the Golden Arm''. Later on he changed his name to U-God (which is short for his Five-Percent Nation righteous name "Universal God Allah"). Career ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' / ''Wu-Tang Forever'' U-God was convicted on the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2013 Albums ...
The following is a list of albums, EPs, and mixtapes released in 2013. These albums are (1) original, i.e. excluding reissues, remasters, and compilations of previously released recordings, and (2) notable, defined as having received significant coverage from reliable sources independent of the subject. For additional information about bands formed, reformed, or disbanded, for deaths of musicians, and for links to musical awards, see 2013 in music. First quarter January February March Second quarter April May June Third quarter July August September Fourth quarter October November December References {{Albums by release date Albums 2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Music Criticism
''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]   |
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AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded ''All Music Guide' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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HipHopDX
''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. In September 2020, the website was acquired by Warner Music Group. ''HipHopDX'' was nominated for "Best Hip Hop Online Site" at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards. On September 3, 2013, ''The Source'' named ''HipHopDX'', number three on their 2013 Digital Power 30 list, which ranks websites that are the most popular in the hip hop industry. Year-end awards SourceThe following sources are to reference each of each year's awards: MC/Rapper of the Year *2006: Lupe Fiasco *2007: André 3000 of OutKast *2008: Nas *2009: Raekwon *2010: Eminem *2011: Tech N9ne *2012: Kendrick Lamar *2013: Kendrick Lamar *2014: Big K.R.I.T. *2015: Kendrick Lamar *2016: Chance the Rapper *2017: Kendrick Lamar *2018: J. Cole Album of the Year *2006: ''Lupe Fiasco ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both as a solo artist and in group collaborations. Kool Keith is generally considered to be one of hip-hop's most eccentric and unusual personalities. Kool Keith was a cofounding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, whose debut ''Critical Beatdown'' was released in 1988. After two more albums with the group, ''Funk Your Head Up'' and ''The Four Horsemen (album), The Four Horsemen'', Kool Keith released his critically acclaimed solo debut album, ''Dr. Octagonecologyst'' under the name Dr. Octagon in 1996. He subsequently released a series of further independently released hip hop albums, including ''Sex Style'', ''First Come, First Served'' (as Dr. Dooom), and most recently ''Keith (album), Keith''. After releasing ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Elzhi
Jason Powers (born May 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Elzhi (stylized as eLZhi), is an American Rapping, rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is a former member of Slum Village and now records as a solo artist. In his youth, he made numerous visits to the Hip-Hop shop in Detroit, taking advantage of open-mic nights hosted by fellow Detroit rapper Proof (rapper), Proof. Biography ''Out of Focus'' In 1998, Elzhi recorded a number of songs with Detroit hip-hop artist House Shoes (producer), DJ Houseshoes with DJ Rios. These recording sessions yielded material that would become the ''Out of Focus EP'', but the project was abandoned due to personal obligations and a lack of distribution options in Detroit. During the mixing process, DJ Houseshoes passed the DATs onto Dilla, who intended on remixing the whole album before his passing. In late 2000, Elzhi acquired Dilla's master tapes and provided his close friends with CD's of the ''Out of Focus EP'', plus 3 extra tracks. W ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Styles P
David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of hip hop group the Lox, alongside childhood friends Sheek Louch and Jadakiss. Along with the other members of the Lox, he is a founder of D-Block Records and was also a part of the Ruff Ryders Entertainment collective. In addition, he has released multiple albums and mixtapes as a solo MC. In 2002, he released his debut solo album '' A Gangster and a Gentleman'', which contained the hit single " Good Times". The song peaked at number 22 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. He has gone on to release '' Time Is Money'' (2006), '' Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman)'' (2007), '' Master of Ceremonies'' (2011), ''The World's Most Hardest MC Project'' (2012), ''Float'' (2013), ''Phantom and the Ghost'' (2014), ''A Wise Guy and a Wise Guy'' (2015), and ''G-Host'' (2018). Early life David Styles was born Novemb ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |