Pras
Prakazrel Samuel Michel (; born October 19, 1972) is a Haitian-American rapper, producer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group Fugees, alongside Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. After the Fugees, he earned two Top 40 hits, the Grammy-nominated song " Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mýa from the film ''Bulworth,'' and " Avenues" with Refugee Camp All-Stars and Ky-Mani Marley. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York City and raised in Irvington, New Jersey, Pras cultivated an early interest in music. When he was 15, he met Lauryn Hill, while both attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. In 1988, Pras introduced Lauryn to Wyclef Jean. Pras Michel, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill began to rehearse under the guidance of Kool and the Gang's producer, Ronald Khalis Bell, and subsequently they formed a musical group called The Rap Translators in 1989 (also known as Tranzlator Crew.) Career Music ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)
"Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" is a song by American rapper Pras, featuring rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard and R&B singer Mýa. It was released on June 6, 1998. The track samples Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's 1983 single " Islands in the Stream" and was produced by Wyclef Jean and Jerry 'Wonda" Duplessis for Pras' debut solo studio album, ''Ghetto Supastar''. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the 1998 film ''Bulworth''. Background The song's writers are Prakazrel Michel, Wyclef Jean, Russell Jones, Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb. The song was released on June 6, 1998 in the United States. The single was a commercial success; it peaked at number 15 for five consecutive weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number eight on ''Billboard''s Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs. The single was certified platinum in the United States by Recording Industry Association of America. "Ghetto Supastar" was a critical and commercial success worldwide, peaking at number two in th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blunted On Reality
''Blunted on Reality'' is the debut studio album released by the American hip-hop group Fugees. The album was released in February 1994 through the Ruffhouse Records label. Three singles were released from the album, including ”Boof Baf”, ” Nappy Heads” and ” Vocab”. ''Blunted on Reality'' received generally favorable reviews from music critics. In the United Kingdom the album has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It was followed up with the critically acclaimed second and final album, '' The Score'' in 1996. Background ''Blunted on Reality'' was written and subsequently recorded by the group in 1992. However, following a long dispute with their record label, the album was not released until February 1, 1994. Most versions of the album contain eighteen tracks, with the addition of a remix of " Nappy Heads". Prior to the release of the album, "Boof Baf" was released as the album's lead single. Commercially, the single was unsuccessful, The a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Score (Fugees Album)
''The Score'' is the second and final studio album by the hip hop trio Fugees. ''The Score'' was released worldwide on February 13, 1996, on Columbia Records. The album features a wide range of samples and instrumentation, with many aspects of alternative hip hop that would come to dominate the hip-hop music scene in the mid- to late 1990s. Primarily, ''The Score's'' production was handled by the Fugees themselves, Jerry Duplessis and Warren Riker, with additional production from Salaam Remi, John Forté, Diamond D, and Shawn King. The album's guest verses are from Outsidaz members Rah Digga, Young Zee, and Pacewon, as well as Omega, John Forté, and Diamond D. Most versions of the album feature four bonus tracks, including three remixes of "Fu-Gee-La", and a short acoustic Wyclef Jean solo track entitled "Mista Mista". Upon its release, ''The Score'' was a commercial success, peaking atop the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, and became the third best selling album of 1996. It als ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fugees
Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with its second album, ''The Score (Fugees album), The Score'' (1996), one of List of best-selling albums, the best-selling albums of all time. The group is often cited as being one of the most significant alternative hip hop groups of the 1990s. In 1993, the trio signed to Ruffhouse, distributed through Columbia Records. The following year the group released its debut album, ''Blunted on Reality'' (1994); the album received mostly favorable reviews, and included the Underground hip hop, underground Salaam Remi-remixed hits "Nappy Heads" and "Vocab (song), Vocab". They followed it up with their second and final studio album, ''The Score (Fugees album), The Score'' (1996), which was a commercial success, peaking at number one on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Avenues (song)
"Electric Avenue" is a song written, recorded and produced by British singer and songwriter Eddy Grant, who released it on his 1982 album ''Killer on the Rampage.'' In the United States, with the help of the MTV video he shot for it, it was one of the biggest hits of 1983. The song refers to Electric Avenue in London, and to the 1981 Brixton riot in the Brixton district of the city. Composition The title of the song refers to Electric Avenue in the south London district of Brixton, the first market street to be lit by electricity. According to Grant he first became aware of the existence of the street during a stint acting at the Black Theatre of Brixton. The area is now known for its high population of Caribbean immigrants. At the beginning of the 1980s, as identified by the Scarman Report, tensions over unemployment, racism and poverty exacerbated by racist policing culminated in the street events now known as the 1981 Brixton riot. Grant, horrified and enraged, wrote and compo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. Hill is credited for breaking barriers for female rappers, popularizing melodic rapping and for bringing hip hop and neo soul to popular music. She is known for being a member of Fugees, and for her 1998 solo album '' The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'', which became one of the best-selling albums of all time. Hill has won many accolades, including eight Grammy Awards, the most for a female rapper to this day. Hill starred in the film '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'' (1993). She later formed the group Fugees, alongside Pras Michel and his cousin Wyclef Jean. The group released two albums, including '' The Score'' (1996); which spawned the hit single " Killing Me Softly", with Hill on lead vocals. It won the Grammy Award for Best ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wyclef Jean
Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, alongside Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel. They released the albums '' Blunted on Reality'' (1994) and ''The Score'' (1996), the latter becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. Jean would follow this with the release of his first solo studio album, '' Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival'' (1997), which contains the top ten hit " Gone till November". Jean would continue to have a successful music career as a soloist. He released an additional eight studio albums; including the RIAA Platinum certified album, '' The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book'' (2000), which reached the top ten on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart''.'' He also released the commercially successful singles " 911" (featuring Mary J. Blige), and " Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bulworth
''Bulworth'' is a 1998 American political satire black comedy film co-written, co-produced, directed by, and starring Warren Beatty. It co-stars Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Don Cheadle, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, and Isaiah Washington. The film follows the title character, California Senator Jay Billington Bulworth (Beatty), as he runs for re-election while trying to avoid a hired assassin. The film received generally positive reviews and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay yet narrowly failed to break even on a $30 million budget. However, Beatty was praised for tackling race, poverty, dysfunction in the health care system, and corporate control of the political agenda, with eminent legal scholar Patricia J. Williams noting the film examined "racism's intersection with America's deep, and growing, class divide." The movie is an uncredited remake of Aki Kaurismäki's '' I Hired a Contract Killer''. Plot Jay Bulworth, a Democratic U.S. Senator from C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Irvington, New Jersey
Irvington is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 61,176. The township had the ninth-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalized rate of 4.890% in 2020, compared to 2.824% in the county as a whole and a statewide average of 2.279%. History Clinton Township, which included what is now Irvington, Maplewood and parts of Newark and South Orange, was created on April 14, 1834. The area was known as ''Camptown'' until the mid-1800s. In 1850, after Stephen Foster published his ballad, '' Camptown Races'', residents were concerned that the activities described in the song would be associated with their community. The town was renamed, ''Irvingtown'', in honor of Washington Irving. Irvington was incorporated as an independent village on March 27, 1874, from portions of Clinton Township. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mýa
Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ and dance posse member on BET's '' Teen Summit''. During her stint at BET, she developed an interest in music which lead to independent deal from the guidance of CEO Haqq Islam. Signed in 1996 to Interscope Records, she released her eponymous debut album in April 1998. A critical and commercial success, the album produced her first top ten single " It's All About Me". Subsequent singles, " Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" and " Take Me There", continued to raise her profile and attained chart success worldwide, with the former garnering her first Grammy nomination. '' Fear of Flying'', her second album, was released in April 2000 and became a worldwide success, boosted by the success of its singles " Case of the Ex" and "Free". H ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily from Staten Island, New York City, which rose to mainstream prominence with its 1993 debut album ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)''. His professional success was hampered by frequent legal troubles, including incarceration. He died on November 13, 2004, of an accidental drug overdose, two days before his 36th birthday. Ol' Dirty Bastard was noted for his "outrageously profane, free-associative rhymes delivered in a distinctive half-rapped, half-sung style". His stage name was derived from the 1980 Chinese martial arts film ''Ol' Dirty and the Bastard'' (also called ''An Old Kung Fu Master'', starring Yuen Siu-tien). According to fellow Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard's name was also a reference to the unique nature of hi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ky-Mani Marley
Ky-Mani Marley (born 26 February 1976) is a Jamaican singer and musician. His name is of East African origin, and means "Adventurous Traveler". He is the only child of Bob Marley with Anita Belnavis, a Jamaican table tennis champion. In 2001, he received a Grammy Award nomination for his album, ''Many More Roads''. Early life and family Ky-Mani Marley was born in Falmouth, Jamaica, to Anita Belnavis, a Jamaican table tennis champion; and reggae superstar Bob Marley. At the age of nine, Ky-Mani and Belnavis relocated to Miami, Florida. In his early youth, Ky-Mani was unaware of his musical abilities, sports being his first love. With his mother's direction, he received piano and guitar lessons and played trumpet in his high school band. As an athlete, he competed in soccer and American football. Career While a teenager, Ky-Mani started rapping and deejaying. His first single was "Unnecessary Badness". He became inspired as a singer after being asked to sing a hook to a song ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |