(Rapper, b. 1971) Raised in Long Beach, California, his teenage years often found Calvin Broadus – a.k.a. Snoop Dogg – in trouble with the law. He was fortunate that Warren G., his collaborator in early rap explorations, was stepbrother of Dr. Dre of N.W.A.. Dre gave Snoop’s laconic style a break ...
(Organ, piano, arranger, 1916–96) William Ballard Doggett was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band he led was taken over by Lucky Millinder in 1940 and Doggett stayed on as pianist and arranger. After working with the Ink Spots, he played with Louis Jordan’s band from 1947–51. He was active as a studio pianist, organist and ...
(Producer, rapper, songwriter, b. 1965) Adopting the name Dr. Dre, Andre Young is colossally influential in rap. A creative force behind Niggaz With Attitude, he pioneered gangsta rap and has a vast number of production credits, including Snoop Dogg and Blackstreet’s ‘No Diggity’ to his name. Dre also created the more laid-back G-funk musical style. ...
(Rap duo, 1992–present) Smooth dressing, slick talking and devastatingly cool, Outkast – the duo of Antwan ‘Big Boi’ Patton and Andre ‘Andre 3000’ Benjamin – rapped their way out of Georgia in the mid-1990s. Their first four collaborative album efforts (released between 1995 and 2000) contained everything from straight Snoop Dogg gangsta rap, albeit with more brains ...
(Vocal group, 2003–present) Here are a fine example of style over substance, a mid-1990s dance collective originating from burlesque shows that eventually wound up with a record contract in 2003. The current six-girl line-up (headed by singer Nicole Scherzinger) struck big with their 2005 single ‘Don’t Cha’ sounding as infectious as anything in the charts, and the ‘visual ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1988–2000, 2005–present) Formed in Chicago, Billy Corgan (guitar, vocals), James Iha (guitar), D’Arcy Wretzky (bass) and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums) are, along with Nirvana, one of the most important alternative bands of the 1990s. Corgan fused metal, punk and melody over which he delivered compelling lyrical narratives. Siamese Dream (1993), Mellon Collie And ...
Rumbling out of Los Angeles with different beats, a different look and a very different attitude, gangsta rap was hip hop’s belligerent street child. This new sound grew up at black discos and parties away from mainstream interference, and so, much as the original hip hop had, it quite literally pleased itself and harked back to ...
When The Sugarhill Gang and Kurtis Blow made an impact on the mainstream pop charts in 1979, rap was immediately palmed off as a novelty. However, the style not only survived, but has proved to be so influential that, in varying degrees, pop, rock, heavy metal and reggae have all borrowed from hip hop ...
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An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.