(Rapper, 1971–96) New York-born rapper who has assumed near sainthood since his murder in 1996. Debut 2Pacalypse (1991) revealed talent, with Shakur mixing normal male bravado with more lyrical insight than his peers. Along with a successful acting career, he lived out the bad boy image – being shot, found guilty of assault – and was in ...
(Vocals, 1972–97) Born Christopher Wallace in New York, he sold crack to make ends meet which ended up in a jail term. Because of his large size he began rapping under the name of Biggie Smalls and an early demo eventually found its way to Sean Combs, a.k.a. Puff Daddy, who signed him to his ...
(Producer, vocals, b. 1970) Sean Combs, also known as Puff Daddy, was the most important hip hop and rap impresario of the 1990s who remains a major player today. Starting in the A&R department of Uptown Records for artists like Mary J. Blige he formed the Bad Boy label in 1983. Breakthrough artists Craig Mack and the ...
(Vocal group, 1991–present) Atlanta trio of Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes, Rozanda ‘Chilli’ Thomas and Tionna ‘T –Boz’ Watkins combined a sexy strident image with infectious new jack swing, yielding early hits ‘Ain’t 2 Proud To Beg’ and ‘Baby Baby Baby’. Funky R&B-led second album Crazysexycool (1995) yielded more hits revealing their staying power. The soap drama of their ...
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 ...
West-coast city Seattle was the unanticipated epicentre of 1990s music as grunge, the biggest ‘back to basics’ movement since punk, shook traditional American rock – Nirvana was to enjoy iconic status for a spell until Kurt Cobain’s death. In the UK, the dance-rock of The Stone Roses, a holdover from the late 1980s, put Manchester briefly ...
(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 ...
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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.