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AKON
Akon (né Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam)
est un chanteur de R&B américaino-sénégalais qui serait né le 30 avril 1981
à Dakar (Senegal)où il a vécu jusqu'à l'âge de 7 ans. Par la suite, il est
parti s'installer aux États-Unis, à Jersey City, New Jersey. Akon parle
anglais et wolof mais pas le français contrairement à ce que certains
pourraient penser au vu de son pays de naissance.
Akon a participé dans un des albums référence de l'histoire du rap:'the
score' des fugees en tant que membre de l'aile Refugees Allstar de Wycleff
Jean. Il a quitté le groupe quelque temps après et poursuit depuis une
carrière individuelle. Akon compte deux albums à son compte : 'Trouble' et 'Konvicted',
chacun contenant respectivement les hits "Locked Up", "Lonely", Bananza (Belly
Dancer) pour son premier opus et "Smack That", "I Wanna Love You" et "Don't
matter" pour le second album.
Enfance
Akon arrive aux États-Unis à 7 ans, à Union City dans le New Jersey. Il y
découvre le hip hop et y plonge dans la délinquance. Incarcéré, il développe
ses capacités musicales en prison. À sa sortie, il écrit et enregistre des
chansons. Street Records Corporation (SRC records)/Universal le repère et le
lance avec son premier album Trouble qui connaît un véritable succès.
Parcours musical
Akon a enregistré sa première chanson intitulée "Operations Of Nature," à
l'âge de 15 ans. Ensuite il a été emprisonné pour vol à main armée,
possession de drogue et profita de son temps en prison pour travailler sur
sa musique. Après sa mise en liberté, Akon se met à écrire et à enregistrer
des chansons dans son studio. Ses maquettes atterrissent chez SRC/Universal,
qui se charge de la production de son premier album Trouble en juin 2004.
Parmi les tubes de l'album on dénote "Locked Up," "Lonely," "Belly Dancer (Bananza),"
"Pot Of Gold," et "Ghetto". "Locked Up" a atteint le top 10 dans les charts
américains et le top 5 au Royaume-Uni. La chanson a été écrite après que
Akon ait fait son temps en prison pour vol de voiture et celle-ci a été
remixée en plusieurs versions plusieurs fois selon le pays où le single est
sorti, chaque version comportant l'intervention d'un artiste local en vogue.
Peu de temps après, Robert Montanez, son manager, était assassiné à la suite
d'une dispute ayant éclaté dans le New Jersey en décembre 2005. "Ghetto" est
devenu un hit en radio lorsqu'il a été remixé pour inclure des couplets des
légendaires rappeurs 2Pac et Notorious B.I.G.. Toujours en 2005, il sort son
troisième single "Lonely" (sample de "Mr. Lonely" de Bobby Vinton's) et la
chanson se hisse dans le top 10 américain, devient numéro 1 en Australie, en
Allemagne et au Royaume-Uni. Ce succès booste les ventes de son album qui
grimpe à la première place des ventes au Royaume-Uni en avril de la même
année.
Le second opus d'Akon, intitulé Konvicted, est sorti dans les bacs le 14
novembre 2006 et inclut des collaborations avec des artistes tels que Snoop
Dogg, Styles P et Brick and Lace. Avant que l'album ne soit disponible à la
vente, Akon a sorti le single "Smack That" en featuring avec Eminem dont le
vidéo clip a été dirigé par Raymond Garced.
Akon enchaîne alors featurings et singles, et profite de ce succès pour
créer son propre label Konvict Muzik. Récemment, Akon a également travaillé
avec Gwen Stefani sur "The Sweet Escape", chanson figurant sur le deuxième
album solo de la chanteuse de No Doubt.
Plus récemment Akon a produit une partie du nouvel album des Bone
Thugs-N-Harmony en posant notamment sur les titres "I Tried" et "Never
forget me".
Projets
Lors d'une interview, Akon a annoncé qu'il tournerait un film sur sa vie qui
se nommerait "Illegal Alien", racontant son enfance en Afrique. Pour
l'instant Akon commence à peine à rentrer dans le monde du cinéma, mais il
est bien décidé à tourner ce film qui lui tient tant à coeur. Il a également
crée sa marque de vêtements , qui se nomme Last United
La controverse
Lors de son concert au KEST WSPK-FM 2007 au stade 'Dutchess' à Fishkill,
près de New York, Akon jette violemment un jeune homme de 16 ans de la scène
parce qu'il avait essayé de lui envoyer un projectile. Quelques jours
auparavant, lors d'un concert réservé aux majeurs, Akon a simulé un acte
sexuel avec une jeune fille de 14 ans, fille d'un pasteur qui avait réussi à
s'introduire dans la salle.
RIHANNA
Robyn Rihanna Fenty alias Rihanna est une chanteuse barbadienne née à
Saint-Michael le 20 février 1988. C'est le producteur Evan Rogers qui
l'a découverte lors d'un passage à la Barbade en 2003.Celui-ci est
immédiatement séduit par le talent de la chanteuse et décide alors de
lui faire enregistrer à New York une maquette de 12 chansons. Jay-Z,
président de Def Jam Records signe rapidement un contrat pour 6 albums
avec la jeune chanteuse qui n'avait alors que 16 ans.
Son style musical
Rihanna est née à St Michael à la Barabade. Sa mère Monica Fenty est une
barabadienne d´origine Guyanaise et son pére Ronald Fenty est barbadien.
Rihanna puise ses influences musicales dans les sources des Caraïbes
ainsi que chez Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey et Beyoncé. Au début de l'année
2005, elle quitte Saint-Michael pour s'installer aux États-Unis pour se
consacrer à sa carrière musicale tout en poursuivant ses études aux
côtés d'un tuteur privé. Lancé par Jay-Z en juin 2005, le premier single
de Rihanna est Pon De Replay qui prépare à un album intitulé Music of
the Sun. Son style est un mélange de Rnb, de Dancehall et de Reggae.
Elle a formé la chanson It's lovin' that u want après l'apparition de
Pon De Replay. Par la suite, elle a formé une chanson appelée S.O.S
Rescue, suivie de Unfaithful qui a remportée un NRJ Music Awards dans la
catégorie "Chanson de l'année (2006)". Sa chanson, We Ride, remporte
également un grand succès. Elle sorti par la suite Umbrella qu'elle
chante aux côtés de Jay-Z et son tout nouveau succès Shut Up And Drive
qui montre une nouvelle facette plus rock de la jeune chanteuse
barbadienne. Elle chante maintenant aux côtés de Julia Roberts une
chanson pour "Clinique Happy", une marque de parfum. Cette chanson
s'appelle "Just Be Happy". Par la suite Rihanna créera une association
caritative nommé "Believe", et enregistrera son 3e album studio Good
Girl Gone Bad avec le célèbre nouveau titre en duo avec Jay-Z "Umbrella"
Carrière musicale
Music of the Sun (2004 - 2005)
Music of the Sun, L' album du début de Rihanna, qu'elle a co-écrit, a
été “libérée” en août 2005. La première chanson qui est sortie de
l'album était « Pon De Replay », qui ces fut au numéro deux des U.S.
Billboard Hot 100.L'album de lui-même a fait une montée dans les top dix
au Canada, et aux États-Unis, et dans les quarante au top au
Royaume-Uni. Il a reçu des certifications de platine dans plusieurs
pays, et a reçu une certification d'or aux États-Unis par le RIAA. Pour
favoriser plus longtemps l'album, Rihanna a voyagé comme acte
d'ouverture pour la chanteuse américaine Gwen Stefani. L'album s'est
vendu à plus de 500.000 unités aux États-Unis et plus de 2 millions au
mondiaux. L'album comporte beaucoup de chansons de dancehall. Puisque
son deuxième album, A girl like me est sortie peu après Music of
the Sun. Cependant, sa troisième chanson, « Let Me » a été
officiellement sortie au Japon, et avait montée au numéro huit.
A girl like me (2005-2007)
Good girl gone bad (2007 - actuellement)
Le premier titre extrait de l'album "Umbrella" est resté #1 au chart
mondial au bout de la quatrième semaine et ce pendant sept semaines. Le
second extrait de cet album est Shut Up And Drive, sorti juin 2007,
piste 5 de Good Girl Gone Bad. Le troisième extrait sera Don t Stop The
Music, piste 3 de l album. Le quatrieme extrait sera peut-etre Hate That
I Love You featuring Ne-Yo, piste 6 de l album. |
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AKON
Akon (born Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam)
in 1981 is a Senegalese-American hip hop and R&B singer, songwriter, and
record producer. Akon rose to fame in 2004 following the release of his
single "Locked Up" from his debut album Trouble. His second album, Konvicted,
earned him a Grammy Award nomination for the single "Smack That". He is the
founder of Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. He is well known for
singing hooks and has over 130 guest appearances and 18 Billboard Hot 100
songs to his credit. He is the only artist to ever accomplished the feat of
holding both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard
Hot 100 charts twice.
Background
He is the son of jazz percussionist, Mor Thiam. He was born in USA but grew
up in Dakar, Senegal until he was seven. He split time between Senegal and
the U.S. until he was fifteen, then his family permanently moved to Jersey
City, New Jersey and as such he speaks English, French, and Wolof. He
recorded his first song, "Operations of Nature," at the age of fifteen. He
was then subsequently jailed for armed robbery and drug distribution
charges, and used his time in prison to work on his music. Upon release,
Akon began writing and recording tracks in his home studio. The tapes found
their way to SRC/Universal, which released Akon's debut LP Trouble in June
2004. The album is a hybrid of Akon's silky, West African-styled vocals
mixed with East Coast and Southern beats.
2004–2005: Trouble
Akon's solo debut album, Trouble was released on June 29, 2004. It spawned
the hit singles "Locked Up" and "Lonely," as well as "Belly Dancer (Bananza),"
"Pot Of Gold," and "Ghetto". Akon served a three-year jail sentence for
grand theft auto, an experience that inspired his "Locked Up". "Locked Up"
reached the top 10 in the U.S. and the top five in the UK. His manager
Robert Montanez was shot to death following a dispute in New Jersey in
December 2005. "Ghetto" became a radio hit when it was remixed by Green
Lantern to include verses from legendary rappers 2Pac and The Notorious
B.I.G. In 2005, he released the single "Lonely" (which samples Bobby
Vinton's "Mr. Lonely"). The song reached the top five on the Billboard Hot
100, and topped the charts in Australia, the UK and Germany. His album also
climbed to number one in the UK in April, 2005. When music channel The Box
had a top ten weekly chart, which was calculated by the amount of video
requests, Akon's "Lonely" became the longest running single on the top of
the chart, spanning over fifteen weeks. Akon then released another single
featuring with a New Zealand rapper, Savage with the single Moonshine, which
had become a success in both New Zealand and Australia, becoming number one
in the New Zealand charts. In 2005, Akon gained more popularity after being
featured on Young Jeezy's debut album, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, on
the song "Soul Survivor" which became a top five hit on the Billboard Hot
100.
2006–2007: Konvicted
In 2006-2007 Akon has had one of the most successful spans any singer has
ever enjoyed with nine songs in the Billboard Hot 100. Akon's second album,
entitled Konvicted, was released on November 14, 2006. Konvicted included
collaborations with Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Styles P. Late August 2006, Akon
released the single "Smack That" featuring Eminem, from the album. This
single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive
weeks. The music video for "Smack That" was directed by Raymond Garced. "I
Wanna Love You", the second single off Konvicted, was released in September
2006. It is a collaboration between Akon and Snoop Dogg. This single earned
Akon his first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, and Snoop's
second. "I Wanna Love You" topped the U.S. charts for two consecutive weeks.
In January 2007, Akon released his third single "Don't Matter" which earned
him his first solo number one and second consecutive Hot 100 chart topper.
So far, the album has spawned three hit singles which have peaked within the
top two of the Billboard Hot 100. Konvicted debuted at number two on the
Billboard 200, selling 286,000 copies in its first week. After only six
weeks, Konvicted sold more than one million records in the U.S. and more
than 1.3 million worldwide. The album was certified platinum after seven
weeks, and after sixteen weeks it was certified double platinum. Konvicted
was able to stay in the top twenty of the Billboard 200 for 28 consecutive
weeks, where it peaked at number two on four different occasions. Currently
it has sold more than 2.4 million records in the U.S. and 3.8 million
worldwide in 30 weeks.
On October 5, 2006, Akon broke a record on the Hot 100, as he achieved the
largest climb in the chart's 48-year-history with "Smack That" jumping from
number 95 to 7. The leap is fueled by its number six debut on Hot Digital
Songs with 67,000 downloads. The record was broken on April 7, 2007 by
Beyoncé and Shakira's Beautiful Liar when it jumped from 94 to 3 on the Hot
100, because of their 150,000 digital downloads on the Hot Digital Songs.
In December 2006, Akon's "Smack That" was nominated for Best Rap/Sung
Collaboration at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Justin
Timberlake and T.I.'s My Love.
On July 7, 2007 Akon performed at the American leg of Live Earth.
From April to July Akon performed in The Sweet Escape Tour with Gwen Stefani.
From July to September he will embark on his worldwide Konvicted Tour. In
September, Akon will start on the Canadian leg of the Good Girl Gone Bad
Tour with Rihanna.
Other ventures
In 2006, Akon started his new record label Kon Live Distribution under
Interscope Records. The first artist to sign was Chilli from TLC. Her debut
solo album Point of View will be released under Kon Live. Earl Ray has also
been signed to the label.
He was featured on Gwen Stefani's latest album, The Sweet Escape. He made an
appearance on the title track and second single, "The Sweet Escape". Akon
produced the song. On December 10, 2006, Akon and Stefani appeared as
musical guests on Saturday Night Live, however they did not perform the song
as Stefani had not yet learned the lyrics. He performed the song live,
however, on American Idol on March 28, 2007 due to Gwen Stefani's appearance
as a coach the night before. "The Sweet Escape" has reached #2 on the
Billboard Hot 100. It reached #1 on United World Chart and is on the top for
eight weeks. The song is also Akon's first #1 on World Chart.
Akon collaborated with Chamillionaire on his mixtape, Mixtape Messiah 2. He
is featured on "Ridin' Overseas", which he also produced. The mixtape became
available for download on Chamillionaire's website on December 24, 2006.
Akon and Young Jeezy are doing a collaborative album together. In 2006,
after their 2005 Akon-produced single, "Soul Survivor", the duo said that
there is a lot more to expect from them in the future.
Akon also appeared on Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's album Strength and Loyalty and
Three 6 Mafia's eighth studio album, Last 2 Walk, We The Best by DJ Khaled,
Fabolous's album, From Nothin' to Somethin', with 50 Cent on some tracks for
Curtis S.S.K., T.I.'s 5th album, T.I. vs. T.I.P., Mario's third solo album
Go!, and produced for Daddy Yankee's El Cartel: The Big Boss which was
released on June 5, 2007.
Akon will be the executive producer of Not for Sale, Kardinal Offishall's
fourth solo album, which will be released in fall or winter 2007. The first
single "Graveyard Shift" features Akon, and Akon also makes his rapping
debut in the song.
Akon holds the record for most guest performances on popular television show
American Idol with two. He once sung The Sweet Escape with Gwen Stefani and
three weeks later he sung Don't Matter on the show while it was number one
on the Billboard charts.
RIHANNA
Rihanna (born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian
singer with musical influences from pop, R&B, reggae, dancehall, and dance.
Rihanna became known around the world with chart hits such as "Pon de Replay",
"SOS", "Unfaithful"; "Break It Off", and more recently with "Umbrella" and "Shut
Up and Drive".
Early life
Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados to Ronald and Monica Fenty. Her
mother is Guyanese and her father is Barbadian. She has two younger brothers
named Rorrey and Rajad. Rihanna went to Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a
primary school in Barbados, and then on to one of Barbados' Grammar (older
secondary) schools, the Combermere School, where she formed a musical trio
with two of her classmates. In 2004, she won the Miss Combermere Beauty
Pageant and performed in the Colours of Combermere School Show, singing
Mariah Carey's "Hero". At the age of 15, Rihanna received her big break when
one of her friends introduced her to music producer Evan Rogers, who was
vacationing in Barbados with his wife. Rogers, along with his partner, Carl
Sturken, helped Rihanna record material in the U.S. which was sent to
various recording companies. One copy of Rihanna's work was sent to Jay-Z,
who eventually signed her to Def Jam Records. Rihanna cites Alicia Keys,
Beyoncé Knowles and her Caribbean background as major musical influences.
Rihanna also stated in an interview that her friend and former Island Def
Jam record label artist Fefe Dobson was someone that she admired and looked
up to, having a fellow artist writing, singing, and performing the music she
truly loves.
Music career
Music of the Sun
Main article: Music of the Sun
Rihanna's debut album Music of the Sun was released 30 August 2005 from
which, further singles were released, the first being "Pon de Replay" which
was released on October 11, 2005 and reached position #2 in both the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100, the UK Singles Chart due to considerable airplay and
gained several #1 positions in various niche charts The single itself was
written by Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers alongside Rihanna herself and
described by Rolling Stone magazine as a "poppy piece of dancehall reggae
with slapping, syncopated beats recalling big-band jazz." However, despite
Pon de Replay's commercial chart success, the album itself was rated 2½ out
of 5 stars by Rolling Stone Magazine and described as lacking the replay
value, ingenuity and rhythm of the single with "generic vocal hiccups and
frills" of US R&B inflecting upon her "caribbean charm". Since its release,
the album reached the top 10 in both US and Canadian charts, gaining gold
certification from the RIAA from selling 500,000 units and subsequent
platinum certifications for selling 2 million units in various other
countries. To further promote the album, Rihanna toured as an opening act
for American pop singer Gwen Stefani.
The second single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want was considerably less
successful than it's predecessor, peaking at position #36 on the U.S
Billboard Hot 100 and position #11. A third single, "Let Me", was only
released in Japan, where it was a big hit, reaching #8 on the charts.
When asked about the nature of the album by AskMen Magazine about the Album
itself, Rihanna noted that it was released quickly after she was discovered
in her home as a means of portraying her image as a girl from a small area
who had moved to a large country in line with her debut, and that her second
album was released somewhat shortly thereafter to illustrate that in her
time in the country she had grown up quicky enough to release another album.
A Girl Like Me
In 2006, Rihanna participated in several endorsement deals, including for
Nike and J.C. Penney. She released her second album, A Girl Like Me, in
April 2006, less than eight months after the release of her first album. The
album debuted at number five in the U.S. and number four in the UK. The lead
single, "SOS", was used in her endorsement deal with Nike. The song became
Rihanna's first number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also debuted
at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart. "SOS" peaked at number one in
Australia and number two in the UK. The second single, entitled "Unfaithful",
was written by R&B singer Ne-Yo, and addresses the feelings of guilt that
the protagonist of the song faces as she cheats on her boyfriend. The song
became her third top ten hit in the U.S. and in the UK. The third single "We
Ride" wasn't as successful as her previous releases, failing to chart on the
U.S. Billboard Hot 100, however, it became her fifth UK top 20 single, where
it peaked at number 17 on that chart and peaked number one on the U.S. Hot
Dance Club Play chart. Rihanna's fourth single from the album "Break It Off"
featuring Sean Paul, had already climbed to number 45 on the Billboard Hot
100 based solely on airplay. It was released as a digital download on
February 19, 2007, which made the song jump from number fifty-two to number
ten and then eventually peak at number nine.
In total Rihanna has had 11 different number-ones on the Billboard charts
and has had major success on the Hot Dance Club Play chart with four
number-ones ("Pon De Replay", "SOS", "Unfaithful" and "We Ride"). When
Rihanna received an endorsement deal from Clinique, she recorded a song
written by Ne-Yo entitled "Just Be Happy" as part of the deal to promote
their Happy fragrance. The song can be heard on her Myspace page. Rihanna
also recently recorded a song called "Winning Women" with Pussycat Doll
Nicole Scherzinger for P&G’s female deodorant Secret.
Rihanna made her acting debut in a cameo role in Bring It On: All or Nothing,
which was released on August 8, 2006, she also appeared on an episode of
American soap opera All My Children and drama Las Vegas.
Good Girl Gone Bad
Rihanna went in the studio in the early 2007 with Ne-Yo, Stargate, Timbaland
among others to record her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad. The album was
released on June 5, 2007. It features Jay-Z and Ne-Yo as featured artists.
The first single, "Umbrella", featuring Jay-Z, was released on March 29,
2007 reaching number one in various countries, including the U.S. It was
produced by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The Dream" Nash. Then
her second single, "Shut Up and Drive", was sent to radio stations on June
5, has so far peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her third single, "Don't
Stop The Music" was premiered on BET's 106 & Park on July 20, 2007. Rihanna
also stated that the album has a different feel from her previous two, with
more up-tempo and mid-tempo melodies.
Rihanna worked with Timbaland on three songs in the album. Justin Timberlake
co-wrote and provides background vocals on "Rehab". In interviews, many have
questioned the meaning and reasoning of the album title. During an interview
on UK radio station Capital FM, Rihanna explains: "Bad is not sleazy. Bad
has its own term to every individual and in my case it just means I’ve
gotten a little rebellious on the album, broken out of my shell and I'm
taking risks... Michael Jackson 'bad' kind of way." The album title reflects
the difference between the old and new Rihanna. "Bad means cool, bad means
funky, bad means having an attitude, bad means being edgy. This album is
definitely a great representation of who I am now, and where I am in my
career," she says. 7 weeks after the album was released, it had gone gold in
the United States and Platinum on the United World Albums Chart.
Rihanna was recently named 2007 Venus Breeze 'Celebrity Legs of a Goddess'
by Gillette, and she insured her legs for $1,000,000. Rihanna is also set to
be going on tour with Chris Brown and Bow Wow.
On July 7, 2007, Rihanna performed at the Japanese leg of Live Earth in
Tokyo.
Starting September 12, 2007 Rihanna will tour Canada in support of the album
with several shows then crossing off to UK, it is called the Good Girl Gone
Bad Tour.
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