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KANYE WEST
Kanye West est l'un des producteurs de Hip-Hop les plus recherchés du
moment. Après avoir fait ses premières armes sur l'album de Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri Presents : Life in 1472 en 1998, le producteur est devenu le
beatmaker d'artistes du label Roc-A-Fella Records (Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel,
Memphis Bleek, Freeway). Par la suite, Kanye a travaillé sur les albums de
Talib Kweli, DMX, Ludacris, Scarface, Monica, Alicia Keys ou Janet Jackson.
Début 2004, il sort son premier album : The College Dropout,
Toujours en 2004, il fonde son propre label, GOOD Music, et produit des
artistes comme John Legend, Common et des artistes moins renommés comme
Consequence, GLC, Fonzworth Bentley, ...
En 2005, sort Late Registration, son deuxième album.
Il a également collaboré à plusieurs reprises avec Talib Kweli, Jay-Z,
Twista ou encore Jamie Foxx.
Son père, Ray West, est un ancien membre des Black Panthers. Sa mère ,
Donda, était professeur d’anglais à l’université de Chicago quand Kanye
était jeune.
Le 10 septembre 2007, il sort un nouvel album, Graduation, le même jour que
celui du rappeur 50 Cent intitulé Curtis. Cela donnera lieu à une petite
guerre médiatique entre les 2 rappeurs pour savoirs qui vendra le plus. Aux
États-Unis, Kanye West a d'entrée de jeu devancé 50 Cent. En revanche, 50
Cent a remporté la bataille d'un point européen.
Kanye a fait ses études à la International Academy of Art and Design and
Technology, une école d'art basée à Chicago, et à l'Université de Chicago
mais a abandonné par deux fois et n’a jamais passé d’examens. C'est en tant
que producteur qu'il commence à se faire un nom, notamment avec l'appui de
Xavier Harder, qui est considéré comme son mentor. Il est notamment derrière
certains tubes d'Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, Brandy, Talib Kweli,
Dilated Peoples, Ludacris et John Legend.
Kanye West s'est imposé dans la production de musique hip-hop suite au
succès de l'album The Blueprint de Jay-Z. Sur cet album, Kanye a produit
quatre chansons dont le Izzo (H.O.V.A.). Il a apporté un souffle nouveau en
proposant des sonorités différentes avec beaucoup de samples de Soul.
Un accident de voiture survenu le 23 octobre 2002 fracture sa mâchoire à
trois endroits. Cette épreuve lui a ouvert les yeux quant à la signification
de la vie pour lui. C'est d'ailleurs cette inspiration qui est à la base de
son premier single "Through the Wire". Il l'a enregistré six semaines après
l'accident alors que sa bouche était encore recousue à l'aide de points.
"Through the Wire", chanson qui utilise un sample de la chanson de Chaka
Khan intitulée "Through the Fire" est devenue la première plage de son
premier album solo : The College Dropout sorti dans les bacs en début
d'année 2004. Nommé pour dix Grammy Awards, il en a remporte trois. Son
album a été sacré disque de l’année par The New York Times et Time Magazine,
qui le classait déjà parmi les « 100 personnalités les plus influentes de la
planète ».
En août 2005, Kanye sort son deuxième album intitulé Late Registration. Les
deux premiers singles extraits de l'album seront "Diamonds From Sierra
Leone" (qui sample "Diamonds Are Forever" de Shirley Bassey sur la bande son
du James Bond Les Diamants sont éternels) et "Gold Digger"(sur laquelle
apparaît Jamie Foxx). L'album a récolté huit nominations aux Grammy Award, -
pour l'Album de l'Année, la Chanson de l'Année pour "Gold Digger". Kanye
annonce déjà, à l'époque, que ses troisième et quatrième albums seront
respectivement intitulés Graduation (qui sortira donc en 2007 et A Good Ass
Job.
Kanye West a collaboré avec de nombreux artistes, dont le rappeur Twista, la
chanteuse Brandy sur Talk About Our Love, Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Mos Def,
Ludacris, Dilated Peoples, Mariah Carey, Miri Ben-Ari et John Legend. Kanye
West a aussi donné un second souffle à la carrière de rappeurs tels que
Common et Twista.
Kanye a enregistré à Londres onze de ses chansons avec un orchestre
symphonique. L’enregistrement a eu lieu aux studios d’Abbey Road.
En 2006, il apparait dans le documentaire musical de Michel Gondry : Dave
Chappelle's Block Party.
En 2007, il sort Graduation, le 11 septembre, et bat facilement Curtis de 50
Cent avec 957 000 album vendue en une semaine ce qui est la meilleure vente
d'album aux États-Unis, depuis The Massacre de.... 50 Cent (1,14 millions
d'album vendues en une semaine) en 2005.
Il a également participé à la réédition du 25e anniversaire de l'album
mythique de Michael Jackson, Thriller (sorti 1982), qui sortira en février
2008 : Thriller 25. Il y remixe l'un des tubes du "King of Pop", "Billie
Jean".
La mère de Kanye
Donda West est morte le 10 novembre 2007 à 58 ans, à la suite d'une
opération de réduction mammaire et d'une liposuccion. Suite à cela il annule
sa tournée européenne en ne maintenant que les dates à Paris et Bruxelles.
Le 17 novembre 2007 au Zénith de Paris, au moment de chanter "Hey Mama",
Kanye demande par deux fois à ses musiciens de continuer à jouer
l'introduction du morceau. Il reste bloqué pendant plus de 10 minutes et
pleure juste avant que son staff ne vienne le réconforter sur scène. Il ne
pourra pas chanter cette chanson et laissera sa choriste rendre hommage à sa
mère.
Un artiste engagé
« George W. Bush se fout des Noirs ». Ces paroles de Kanye lors du gala de
soutien aux victimes de Katrina retransmis en direct à la télévision sont
connues. C’était un gala de soutien de la télévision américaine où des
artistes du pays étaient réunis pour récolter de l’argent. Mike Myers a
commencé par lire sur un prompteur un texte soulignant l’importance de
rester solidaires en période de crise. Lorsque le tour de Kanye est arrivé,
celui-ci a ignoré le texte imposé et s’est mis à commenter deux images
relayées par les médias du monde entier au cours de la journée. « A côté
d’une photo montrant un homme blanc, les bras chargés de provisions, la
légende dit qu’il a trouvé de la nourriture. À côté de la même photo
montrant un Noir, la légende dit qu’il les a volées. » La régie a coupé
aussitôt et enchaîné sur un chanteur de country en train d’accorder sa
guitare.
Plus tard, beaucoup sont tombés d’accord pour dire que, depuis des
décennies, le pays n’avait jamais été aussi près d’émeutes raciales.
Lorsque le single Diamonds from Sierra Leone est sorti, en mai, les paroles
faisaient référence à sa déception d’être reparti bredouille des American
Music Awards, l’une des grand-messes musicales aux États-Unis. Un mois plus
tard sortait un remix de la chanson, avec des paroles radicalement
différentes. Kanye parlait cette fois de la face cachée du commerce des
diamants, des conditions de travail dans les mines africaines, et s’en
prenait à la culture bling-bling.
GOOD Music et Pastelle Clothing
GOOD Music est un acronyme pour Getting Out Our Dreams, le label fondé par
Kanye - sur lequel John Legend est signé, ainsi que Common, GLC,
Consequence, Really Doe, Keyshia Cole, Le DJ A-Trak, SA-RA Creative
Partners, Fonzworth Bentley et plus récemment : Tony Williams et Edward
Enigma.
En septembre 2005, Kanye a annoncé son intention de créer sa propre ligne de
vêtements, appelée Pastelle Clothing pour le printemps 2006.
The College Dropout
D'ailleurs les critiques n'ont pas taris d'éloges à la sortie de l'album, le
jugeant déjà comme un grand classique, un des seul Album actuel que l'on
écoutera encore dans 10 ans.
"Through The Wire". Morceau écrit après l'accident de voiture de Kanye West,
qu'il rappe « à travers les fils » qui lui cousent le visage. Il puise son
inspiration dans la soul, et sample le "Through The Fire" de Chaka Khan.
"Slow Jamz", avec Twista & Jamie Foxx, qui rend hommage à cette soul. Kanye
nous permet aussi d'entendre la collaboration entre Jay-Z et Saul William,
sur "Never let me down".
"All falls down" avec Syleena Johnson dépeint un monde où l'image et le
paraitre sont roi. Ce titre reste une valeur sure de l'album avec des
accords soul très prononcés. Le titre reprend un morceau de Lauryn Hill à
qui Kanye West avait demandé de le rechanter avec lui, l'ex-membre des
Fugees a refusé.
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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Kanye West
Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977
Atlanta, Georgia) is an American record producer and is a multiple Grammy
Award-winning rapper and singer who rose to fame in the mid 2000s. He
released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late
Registration in 2005, and his third album Graduation in 2007. His first
three albums have received numerous awards (including nine Grammys),
critical acclaim, and commercial success. West also runs his own record
label GOOD Music. West's mascot and trademark is a teddy bear, which has
appeared on the covers of his three albums as well as the single cover for
his song "Stronger".
Life and career
West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with both of his parents.
When he was three years old (as mentioned in "Hey Mama") his parents
divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father was
Ray West, a former Black Panther who was one of the first black
photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and is now a Christian
counselor. Kanye's late mother, Dr. Donda West, worked as a Professor of
English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department
at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as Kanye's manager. He
was later raised in an upper middle class background, attending Polaris High
School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago.
Kanye took some art classes at the American Academy of Art, a Chicago art
school, and also enrolled at Chicago State University, but eventually
dropped out due to poor grades and in order to continue working on his music
career. While attending school, West produced for local artists. He later
gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B artists,
including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep,
Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson and John
Legend among others. He also "ghost-produced" for his once mentor Deric
Angelettie according to his song "Last Call" and the credits of Nas' "Poppa
Was a Playa".
West's style of production often utilizes pitched-up vocal samples, usually
from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. The first major label
song he produced was The Truth by Beanie Sigel, and his first major release
featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was "This Can't Be Life", a
track from Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West said he sped up the
drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his drums on
"This Can't Be Life".
West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style,
and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and
Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites. Said by Kanye West:
"Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time… We think Wu-Tang
had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of
dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the production style I use, RZA has
been doing that."
2001
West’s sound was featured heavily on Jay-Z's critically-acclaimed album The
Blueprint, released on September 11, 2001. His work was featured on the lead
single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and a diss track against Nas and Mobb Deep named
"Takeover"; West has worked with Mobb Deep and Nas since the track's
release. West soon became a major name in hip hop production following the
release of the album, but struggled to find a way to get a record deal.
Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a
rapper, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost. Multiple
record companies pushed him aside because he was not the stereotypical hip
hop artist. Companies felt he was not as marketable as rappers that portray
the "street image" that is prominent in hip hop culture.
2002–2004
On October 23, 2002, West was involved in a near fatal car crash while
driving home from the recording studio. The crash provided inspiration for
West's first single, "Through the Wire". West's faith is apparent in many of
his songs, such as "Jesus Walks", which became a staple at his benefit
performances, such as the Live 8 concert. These songs were featured on
West's debut album, The College Dropout, which was released on Roc-A-Fella
Records in February 2004, and went on to receive critical acclaim. The album
also defined the style for which West would become known, including wordplay
and sampling. The album went certified triple platinum. Guest appearances
included Jay-Z, Ludacris, GLC, Consequence, Talib Kweli, Common, and Syleena
Johnson. The album also featured the singles, "All Falls Down" and "The New
Workout Plan", as well as Twista's single, "Slow Jamz".
West was involved in a financial dispute over Royce Da 5'9"'s song
"Heartbeat", produced by West and released on Build & Destroy: The Lost
Sessions. West maintains that Royce never paid for the beat, but recorded to
it and released it; hearing him on the beat, the original customers decided
not to buy it from West. After the disagreement, West vowed to never work
with Royce again. Other Kanye West-produced hit singles during the period
The College Dropout was released included "I Changed My Mind" by Keyshia
Cole, "Overnight Celebrity" by Twista and "Talk About Our Love" by Brandy.
2005
On August 30, 2005, West released his second album Late Registration.
Reviews were mostly favorable: "Late Registration is an undeniable triumph"
(Rolling Stone), "As ornate and bloated as West's ego." (Spin September
2005, p.99). With the help of producer samples in different ways along with
compositions of strings and other sounds. The record earned the number one
spot on the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics poll of 2005. The first two
singles from Late Registration were "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (which
features vocals from Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever") and "Gold
Digger" featuring Jamie Foxx (which contains an interpolation of Ray
Charles's "I Got a Woman") to sell over 860,000 copies in its first week,
and earned him eight Grammy Award nominations including Album of the Year
and Record of the Year for the song "Gold Digger". The album also included
"My Way Home", a track that sampled Gil Scott-Heron's mournful "Home Is
Where The Hatred Is". The album is certified triple platinum. Guest
appearances include Jamie Foxx, Adam Levine, Paul Wall, GLC, Cam'ron,
Common, Brandy, Jay-Z, Consequence, The Game & Really Doe.
In September 2005, West announced that he would release his Pastelle
Clothing line in spring 2006: "Now that I have a Grammy under my belt and
Late Registration is finished, I am ready to launch my clothing line next
spring." Even months after its speculated release, the current status of
this project is unknown. In that year, West produced the hit singles "Go" by
Common and "Dreams" by The Game.
2006
In January 2006, West again sparked controversy when he appeared on the
cover of Rolling Stone in the image of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.
Later that month, he suggested in Playboy that if a Bible were written in
the present day, he is famous and important enough to be included in it. "I
throw up historical subjects in a way that makes kids want to learn about
them," West claimed, "I'm definitely in the history books already."
After the 2006 Grammy nominations were released, West said he would "really
have a problem" if he didn't win the Album of the Year because of the
comments, saying "I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt —
you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. I don't want
to hear all of that politically correct stuff." West won several Grammy
awards, including Best Rap Album, but did not win the Album of the Year
Award. The award instead went to U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
Coincidentally, in November 2006, West was the opening act for U2 during the
fifth leg of their Vertigo Tour in Australia and New Zealand.
On August 5, 2006, West headlined the second day of the Lollapalooza music
festival in his hometown of Chicago. Later that month, People magazine
reported that West became engaged to his girlfriend Alexis while spending
two weeks overseas with her.
On November 2, 2006, when "Touch the Sky" failed to win Best Video at the
MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being
presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and argued that he
should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide
criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this
outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their
Vertigo concert in Brisbane, Australia.
In December 2006, Robert "Evel" Knievel sued West for trademark infringement
in West's video for "Touch the Sky". Knievel is taking issue with a
"sexually-charged video" in which West takes on the persona of "Evel
Kanyevel" and attempts flying a rocket over a canyon. The suit filed in
federal court claims infringement on his trademarked name and likeness.
Knievel also claims the "vulgar and offensive" images depicted in the video
damage his reputation. The suit seeks damages and to stop distribution of
the video.
This year he was also rumored to be working on Michael Jackson's next album,
which was scheduled for late 2007, along with his cousin Devo Springsteen
and John Legend.
2007
In 2007, it was announced that West would be starring in a series directed
by Larry Charles. He has been working on the pilot episode for the past two
years with Larry Charles and Rick Rubin. He also had this to say on January
14: "I wouldn't do something as cliché as a reality show. At least give me
the credit for being more creative than that. It's a situational half-hour
comedy. It's fictional, and loosely based on my life." West recently
collaborated with Japanese hip hop group Teriyaki Boyz to produce the single
"I Still Love H.E.R.", a reference to Common's 1994 single "I Used to Love
H.E.R.". It is rumored that West's introductory lines preceding his verse
are a thinly-veiled jab at producer and rapper Danny!, who was mercilessly
compared to West in the beginning of his career.
Further to this, during a radio appearance in early 2007, West, like many of
his peers, recorded an impromptu freestyle to the popular song "Throw Some
D's". West's version became extremely popular because of the different
stance he took. The song that to all other rappers was about automobile
rims, was used by West to comically refer to D-cup breasts. Because of the
unexpected success of the song, West went on to make a video for the
freestyle, in which he is seen playing his 'Old Ass Cousin'.
West was also featured in a new song called "Classic (Better Than I've Ever
Been)". It was believed to be a single from his upcoming album, Graduation,
because he is featured on the track, but Nike quickly explained that it was
for the Nike Air Force 1's anniversary. It was meant only to be an exclusive
track for the company.
On March 25, 2007, Kanye and his father Ray West supported World Water Day
by having a "Walk for Water" rally.
After a two-year break, West has returned to being a fashion columnist in
lifestyle magazine Complex.
On July 7, 2007 West performed with the British band The Police and John
Mayer at the American leg of Live Earth.
West hosted the August 17 edition of British comedy-variety show The Friday
Night Project.
In May 2007, West split from long-time model girlfriend Alexis Rainey.
In July 2007, West changed the release date of Graduation, his third album,
from September 18, 2007, to the same release date as 50 Cent's album Curtis,
September 11, 2007. 50 Cent later claimed that if Graduation were to sell
more records than Curtis, he would stop releasing solo albums. However, 50
Cent would later dispel his comments. The album has been certified double
platinum. Guest appearances included T-Pain, Mos Def, & Lil Wayne.
"When I heard that thing about the debate, I thought that was the stupidest
thing. When my albums drops and 50's album drops, you're gonna get a lot of
good music at the same time."
Like its predecessors, West's Graduation contained extensive sampling of
music by eclectic and often obscure artists, including "Champion", taking
its hook from a snippet of Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne", and "The Glory",
which uses as its foundation Laura Nyro's "Save the Country".
On August 26, 2007, West appeared as himself on the HBO television show
Entourage which he used as a platform to premier his new single "Good Life"
during the end credits. In September 2007, West suggested that his race had
to do with his being overlooked for opening the MTV Video Music Awards in
favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right."
On September 9, 2007, West performed at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. On
that night, he lost all 5 awards that he was nominated for, including Best
Male Artist and Video of the Year. After the show, he was visibly upset that
he had lost at the VMA's 2 years in a row, stating that he would not come
back to MTV ever again. He also appeared on several radio stations saying
that when he made the song "Stronger" that it was his dream to open the
VMA's with it. He has also stated that Britney Spears hasn't had a hit in a
long period of time and that MTV exploited her for ratings Kanye West was
nominated in 8 Grammy Award categories for the 50th annual Grammy Awards.
2008
On February 10, 2008, at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, Kanye West won four
Grammy awards:
-
Best Rap Album for Graduation
-
Best Rap Solo Performance for "Stronger" from
Graduation
-
Best Rap Song for "Good Life" from Graduation
(with Aldrin Davis, Faheem Najm, James Ingram & Quincy Jones)
-
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for
"Southside" (with Common)
During the televised Grammy Awards ceremony,
West perfomed the songs "Stronger", with Daft Punk, and "Hey Mama" (in honor
of his recently deceased mother). After the performance of "Hey Mama", the
broadcast cut to several shots of celebrities in the audience crying.
Mother's death
On Saturday, November 10, 2007, at 8:30 PM PST Kanye West's mother, Donda
West, was pronounced dead due to complications from cosmetic surgery
involving a tummy tuck and breast reduction procedure. TMZ reported that
West was advised not to go through with the surgery by Beverly Hills
physician Andre Aboolian due to a health condition that could lead to a
heart attack. West was later referred to an internist who was recommended by
Aboolian. West never met with the recommended doctor and had the procedures
performed by someone other than Aboolian. Access Hollywood reported that
Oprah Winfrey was responsible for introducing West to the doctor who
performed the surgery, Jan Adams, though Winfrey has denied this. Both had
been guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show, though their appearances were two
years apart, and Oprah denies having contact with either since their
respective appearances.
Adams has sent condolences to her family but declined to publicly discuss
the procedure that Donda West underwent before her death, "I want to first
express my deepest condolences to the West family at a very difficult time.
As a medical doctor practicing in this field, I hold sacred the bond of
confidentiality that exists between the patient and doctor. Out of respect
of the West family, and the absence of verifiable information, any comment
without having first discussing that information with the family would be
unprofessional." Adams, who had been under scrutiny by the medical board,
appeared on Larry King Live on November 20, 2007 but apparently changed his
mind about being interviewed after sitting down with King, apologizing and
removing his microphone before walking out of the studio. He appeared on the
show again on January 22, 2008, this time accompanied by his attorney. He
declined to discuss details about the specifics of West's death, stating he
was there to "defend himself" and that the recently released autopsy results
"spoke for themselves". He claimed the negative publicity surrounding the
incident had almost destroyed his business.
The operation lasted eight hours, twice as long as expected. Adams insists
he did nothing wrong. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office said
preliminary reports indicated that Donda West may have died from
complications from cosmetic surgery, however, the autopsy results are
inconclusive pending the results of toxicology tests.
After her death, many mainstream radio stations started to play Kanye's
tribute song to his mother, "Hey Mama" (from Late Registration), as a
demonstration of respect for West and his mother.
The funeral and burial for Donda West was held in Oklahoma City on November
20, 2007. Kanye held his first concert following the funeral at The O2 in
London on November 22. He dedicated a performance of "Hey Mama", as well as
a cover of Journey's Don't Stop Believing, to his mother, and has done so on
all other dates of his Glow in the Dark tour. Kanye also sang a performance
of "Hey Mama" at the 50th Grammy Awards.
The coroner's report, as of January 10, 2008 says West died of "coronary
artery disease and multiple post-operative factors due to or as a
consequence of liposuction and mammoplasty."
Controversy
Kanye has been criticized for complaining whenever he does not win an award.
He parodied himself behaving in this manner in a Saturday Night Live sketch.
Derogatory Comments to Mixed Race Women
Kanye has also caused a stir amongst the mixed race community after in a
December 2006 issue of Essence magazine, he described video girls as
'mutts'.
“If it wasn’t for race mixing there’d be no video girls. Me and most of our
friends like mutts a lot. Yeah, in the hood they call ‘em mutts”.
Dictionary.com has listed the meaning of the mutt as: 'A mongrel dog.', 'A
stupid person; a dolt.', and 'an inferior dog or one of mixed breed '
Political views
In the song "Crack Music", he raps, "How did we stop the Black
Panthers?/Ronald Reagan cooked up an answer", a reference to the allegation
that the Reagan administration intentionally placed crack cocaine in the
ghettos of the United States.
In the song "Roses", West raps about his grandmother's struggle against AIDS
and expresses his outrage at the availability of treatment: "If Magic
Johnson got a cure for AIDS / And all the broke mothafuckas passed away /
You telling me if my grandma was in the NBA / Right now she would be okay?".
This is also a reference to Johnson's unlikely recovery and highly
publicized battle with the HIV virus. In the song "Heard 'Em Say", West
raps, "And I know the government administered AIDS/So I guess we just pray
like the minister say."
Demonstrating his views against George W. Bush, in a 2006 live orchestral
performance of "All Falls Down" (later released on the "Late Orchestration"
mixtape) West replaced "the White man gets paid off of all of that" with
"George Bush gets paid off of all of that".
On August 22, 2005, the MTV special All Eyes On Kanye West aired, in which
West spoke out against homophobia in hip-hop, claiming that hip-hop has
always been about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but
everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people". He then reflected on
a personal experience. He said that he had a "turning point" when he
realized one of his cousins was gay. He said regarding this experience:
"This is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays."
He went on to say that "not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates
against gay people ... I wanna just come on TV, and just tell my rappers,
just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it'". He also drew comparison between
African Americans' struggle for civil rights and today's gay rights
movement.
The following year, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, West further
expounded his experiences with and views on the relationship between the
black and gay communities:
"I think in the daily life of a black male, we gay-bash way more than we
disrespect women. We would call a gay guy a fag to his face. But if we
walked up to a woman and said Aiight, bitch! we would know that was
disrespectful. I remember five years ago I was in this clothing store in
Greenwich Village with my old girlfriend. I said the word "fag" kind of loud
and there were some gay dudes in the store. My girlfriend was like, 'Yo,
c'mon, step into the new millennium'. Well, my level of consciousness has
since raised. And I actually think that standing up for gays was even more
crazy than bad-mouthing the president. In the black community, someone could
label you gay and bring your career down. But that was me showing what black
people are really about today, or at least what we need to be about."
Hurricane Katrina fundraiser controversy
On September 2, 2005, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief
on NBC, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, West was a featured speaker.
Controversy arose when West was presenting, as he deviated from the prepared
script:
"I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it the
media says, 'they're looting'. You see a white family, it says, 'they're
looking for food'. And, you know, it's been five days waiting for federal
help because most of the people are black. And even for me to complain about
it, I would be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away from the TV,
because it's too hard to watch. I've even been shopping before even giving a
donation, so now I'm calling my business manager right now to see what's,
what is the biggest amount I can give, and just to imagine if I was, if I
was down there, and those are, those are my people down there. So anybody
out there that wants to do anything that we can help — with the set up, the
way America is set up to help, the poor, the black people, the less
well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, this is, the Red Cross is doing
everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are
at war right now, fighting another way — and they've given them permission
to go down and shoot us!"
Mike Myers, with whom West was paired to present, spoke next and continued
as normal by reading the script, though with obvious discomfort. Once it was
West's turn to speak again, he delivered the controversial phrase:
"George Bush doesn't care about black people."
At this point, the telethon's producer Rick Kaplan decided to cut off West's
microphone and cut away to an unprepared Chris Tucker, but West's comments
still reached much of the United States.
West and Myers met again on a brief sketch on Saturday Night Live, in which
Myers joked that since the telethon, the government has stripped him of his
American citizenship ("still got my Canadian citizenship to fall back on",
Myers joked), and placed him under heavy government surveillance. Also,
during West's second musical performance in the show which featured a
combination of hit songs "Champion" and "Everything I Am", West stated as a
part of a freestyle rap, "ya'll thought they'd never let me back in NBC.
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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