Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
No 10 Akon
Akon
Although he was born in St. Louis, Aliaune Thiam -- aka Akon -- grew up in Senegal before he and his family (including his father, jazz percussionist Mor Thiam) returned to the United States and settled in New Jersey when he was seven. There he discovered hip-hop for the first time, as well as crime. He was eventually jailed, but he used the time to work on his musical ideas. Upon release, Akon began writing and recording tracks in a home studio. The tapes found their way to SRC/Universal, which eventually released Trouble, Akon's debut LP, in June 2004. The album was an interesting hybrid of Akon's raps and silky, West African-styled vocals with East Coast- and Southern-styled beats. The success of the song "Locked Up" raised Akon's profile, and he followed up in the fall of 2006 with Konvicted. Soon enough, two of the album's singles, "I Wanna Love You" and "Smack That," had made their way to the upper regions of the Billboard charts. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
No 9 Rihanna
Rihanna
No 8 Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls
No 7 Britney Spears
Britney Spears
No 6 Black Eyed Peas
Black Eyed Peas
No 5 Beyoncé
Beyoncé
No 4 Eminem
Eminem
He was born Marshall Mathers in St. Joseph, MO (near Kansas City), spending the better part of his impoverished childhood shuttling back and forth between his hometown and the city of Detroit. Initially attracted to rap as a teen, Eminem began performing at age 14, performing raps in the basement of his high school friend's home. The two went under the names Manix and M&M (soon changed to Eminem), which Mathers took from his own initials. Due to the unavoidable racial boundaries that came with being a white rapper, he decided the easiest way to win over underground hip-hop audiences was to become a battle rapper and improv against other MCs in clubs. Although he wasn't immediately accepted, through time he became such a popular attraction that people would challenge him just to make a name for themselves.
His uncle's suicide prompted a brief exodus from the world of rap, but he returned and found himself courted by several other rappers to start groups. He first joined the New Jacks, and then moved on to Soul Intent, who released Eminem's first recorded single in 1995. A rapper named Proof performed the B-side on the single and enjoyed working with Eminem so much that he asked him to start yet another group. Drafting in a few other friends, the group became known as D-12, a six-member crew that supported one another as solo artists more than they collaborated. The birth of Eminem's first child put his career on hold again as he started working in order to care for his family. This also instilled a bitterness that started to creep into his lyrics as he began to drag personal experiences into the open and make them the topic of his raps.
A debut record, 1996's Infinite, broke his artistic rut but received few good reviews, as comparisons to Nas and AZ came unfavorably. Undaunted, he downplayed many of the positive messages he had been including in his raps and created Slim Shady, an alter ego who was unafraid to say whatever he felt. Tapping into his innermost feelings, he had a bounty of material to work with when his mother was accused of mentally and physically abusing his younger brother the same year. The next year his girlfriend left him and barred him from visiting their child, so he was forced to move back in with his mother, an experience that fueled his hatred toward her and made him even more sympathetic toward his brother. The material he was writing was uncharacteristically dark as he began to abuse drugs and alcohol at a more frequent rate. An unsuccessful suicide attempt was the last straw, as he realized his musical ambitions were the only way to escape his unhappy life. He released the brutal Slim Shady EP, a mean-spirited, funny, and thought-provoking record that was light years ahead of the material he had been writing beforehand. Making quite the impression in the underground not only for his exaggerated, nasal-voiced rapping style but also for his skin color, many quarters dubbed him the music's next "great white hope."
According to legend, Dr. Dre discovered his demo tape on the floor of Interscope label chief Jimmy Iovine's garage, but the reality was that Eminem took second place in the freestyle category at 1997's Rap Olympics MC Battle in Los Angeles and Iovine approached the rapper for a tape afterward. It wasn't until a month or two later that he played the tape for an enthusiastic Dre, who eagerly contacted Eminem. Upon meeting, Dre was taken back by his skin color more than his skill, but within the first hour they had already started recording "My Name Is." Dre agreed to produce his first album and the two released "Just Don't Give a Fuck" as a single to preview the new album. A reconciliation with his girlfriend led to the two getting married in the fall of 1998, and Interscope signed the rapper and prepared to give him a massive push on Dre's advice. An appearance on Kid Rock's Devil Without a Cause only helped the buzz that was slowly surrounding him.
The best-selling Slim Shady LP followed in early 1999, scoring a massive hit with the single and video "My Name Is," plus a popular follow-up in "Guilty Conscience"; over the next year, the album went triple platinum. With such wide exposure, controversy ensued over the album's content, with some harshly criticizing its cartoon-ish, graphic violence; others praised its edginess and surreal humor, as well as Eminem's own undeniable lyrical skills and Dre's inventive production. In between albums, Eminem appeared on Dre's 2001, with his contributions providing some of the record's liveliest moments.
The Marshall Mathers LP appeared in the summer of 2000, moving close to two million copies in its first week of release on its way to becoming the fastest-selling rap album of all time. Unfortunately, this success also bred more controversy, and no other musician was better suited for it than Eminem. Among the incidents that occurred included a scuffle with Insane Clown Posse's employees in a car stereo shop, a bitter battle with pop star Christina Aguilera over a lyric about her fictional sexual exploits, a lawsuit from his mother over defamation of character, and an attack on a Detroit club goer after Eminem allegedly witnessed the man kissing his wife. Fans ate it up as his album stood strong at the top of the charts. But the mainstream media was not so enamored, as accusations of homophobia and sexism sprung from the inflammatory lyrics in the songs "Kill You" and "Kim." It was this last song that ended his marriage, as the song's chosen topic (violently murdering his real life wife Kim Mathers) drove his spouse to a suicide attempt before they divorced. Eminem toured throughout most of this, settling several of his court cases and engaging a mini-feud with rapper Everlast.
The annual Grammy Awards nominated the album for several awards, and to silence his critics the rapper called on Elton John to duet with him at the ceremony. In 2001, he teamed with several of his old Detroit running buddies and re-formed D-12. Releasing an album with the group, Eminem hit the road with them that summer and tried to ignore the efforts of his mother, who released an album in retaliation to his comments. After getting off of the road, he stepped in front of the camera and filmed 8 Mile, a film loosely based on his life directed by an unlikely fan, Curtis Hanson (Wonder Boys). His constant media exposure died out as well, leaving him time to work on new music.
When he re-emerged in 2002, he splashed onto the scene with "Without Me," a single that attacked Moby and Limp Bizkit and celebrated his return to music. Surprisingly, the following album, The Eminem Show, inspired little controversy. Instead, the popular second single, "Cleanin' Out My Closet," told of his dysfunctional childhood and explained his hatred toward his mother in a mannered, poignant fashion. And being Eminem, he followed this up with an appearance at MTV's Video Music Awards that inspired boos when he verbally assaulted Moby. Targets on his third straight chart-topper, 2004's Encore, ranged from Michael Jackson ("Just Lose It") to war-hungry politicians ("Mosh"). The album was another smash hit for Eminem, but the resulting touring was fraught with setbacks and controversy. First there was a bus crash in Missouri that injured protégé Stat Quo. Then there were reports of the tour being under-attended. There were also rumors of Eminem retiring, which he quickly quelled. However, the tour's European leg was eventually canceled due to "exhaustion," and Em entered rehab for a dependency on sleeping pills. However, by the end of 2005 he was back with a new video. In typical Eminem fashion, the clip for "When I'm Gone" riffed on his recent rehab stay. He also issued a chart-topping greatest-hits set, Curtain Call: The Hits, that December.
The year 2006 was a turbulent one. Mathers remarried Kim on January 14, 2006, but the couple filed for divorce in April. Also in April, D-12 member Proof, Mathers' best friend, was killed in a shooting at a Detroit nightclub. In August, Eminem resurfaced as producer on Obie Trice's Second Round's on Me and in October he was rapping on Akon's hit single "Smack That." He capped the year off with Eminem Presents: The Re-Up, a mixtape featuring artists from his Shady label. ~ Jason Ankeny & Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
No 3 Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
No 2 Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
The charismatic Southern rapper Lil Wayne began his industry ascendance as one of the Hot Boys, a short-lived all-star group on Cash Money Records. After establishing himself as a successful solo artist, he grew to become a critical favorite, known for his confident boasts, entertainting underground mixtapes, and prolific output. Born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., on September 27, 1982, in New Orleans, LA, Lil Wayne grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans' 17th Ward. There, he became acquainted with the Cash Money Records collective, which he eventually joined as a teenager. Get It How U Live! (1997), a Hot Boys album also featuring Juvenile, B.G., and Turk, marked Lil Wayne's album debut; at age 18, he was the youngest group member.A second Hot Boys album, 1999's Guerrilla Warfare, arrived several months before Lil Wayne's solo debut, Tha Block Is Hot. The solo record went double platinum, peaking at number three on Billboard's album chart while spawning a Top Ten hit with the title track. Lil Wayne's second album, Lights Out (2000), failed to match the success of its predecessor, nor did his third album 500 Degreez in 2002. By this point, Lil Wayne was the only remaining Hot Boy on the Cash Money label -- all other members had defected -- and the future didn't seem promising for him or his label. Consequently, Lil Wayne purportedly scrapped work on his fourth album and instead released the recordings as an underground mixtape, Da Drought (2003), his first of many to follow.
2004's Tha Carter signaled a change in direction for Lil Wayne. The album itself wasn't a significant departure from Lil Wayne's past work -- after all, it was filled with tracks produced by Cash Money's in-house producer, Mannie Fresh, some of which could well have been left on the cutting room floor -- yet it showcased a more measured and mature performance by the rapper, who seemed newly emboldened and sported a new, dreadlocked look on the album's cover. Tha Carter spawned Lil Wayne's biggest hit in years, "Go DJ," while the album itself was a Top Five hit. 2004 also marked the beginning of Lil Wayne's string of guest appearances on other artists' songs, starting with Destiny's Child's "Soldier."
A pair of popular 2005 mixtapes, Dedication (with DJ Drama) and Suffix (DJ Khaled), further established Lil Wayne as a dexterous freestyle rapper. By the end of the year, Lil Wayne's reputation had significantly grown, and Tha Carter, Vol. 2 debuted at number two on Billboard's album chart upon its December release. In the wake of Tha Carter, Vol. 2, which was a critical favorite as well as a strong seller, Lil Wayne continued to bolster his resume and increase his fan base via the mixtape circuit. Of the myriad mixtapes bearing his name from 2006 onward, Dedication, Vol. 2 (DJ Drama, 2006) is a standout; like Tha Carter, Vol. 2, it was a critical favorite, making an appearance on many critics' end-of-year lists. The Carter, Vol. 2, Pt. 2: Like Father, Like Son (DJ Khaled, 2006) was notable, too, as some of its material was revived for 2006's Like Father, Like Son, a major-label collaboration with Baby, aka Birdman, that spawned the hit "Stuntin' Like My Daddy." Lil Wayne also collaborated regularly with Dipset member Juelz Santana during this period. After stolen tracks from his next official album appeared on the Internet, the download-only EP The Leak appeared in 2007. A year later, that same EP appeared as a bonus disc on a limited-edition release of Tha Carter III, which sold over one million copies during its first week of release. Fueled by singles like "A Milli" and "Lollipop," the album sold an additional million copies during the following month, making it one of the most popular albums of 2008. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
No 1 Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
- Matty Karas
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
pwfm PI Brain Twister
This is a true story which happened in Taiwan.
When the rich man reached the phone booth he found a carrier pigeon in a cage. It had a message attached telling the man to put the diamond in a small bag which was around the pigeon's neck and to release the bird.
When the man did this the police were powerless to follow the bird as it returned across the city to its owner.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
pwfm PI Online Investigative Tips
eBay Buyers And Sellers
http://pages.ebay.com/search/items/search-old.html
Sunday, July 5, 2009
pwfm PI Online Investigative Tips
Saturday, July 4, 2009
pwfm PI Brain Twister
The Ransom
A rich man's son was kidnapped.
The ransom note told him to bring a valuable diamond to a phone booth in the middle of a public park.
Plainclothes police officers surrounded the park, intending to follow the criminal or his messenger.
The rich man arrived at the phone booth and followed instructions but the police were powerless to prevent the diamond from leaving the park and reaching the crafty villain.
How did the kidnaper get away with the valuable diamond?
The answer will be posted July 11th