celebrities
Music celebrities in the growing entertainment industry.
Rihanna
Rihanna is one the top pop/R&B artists in the world. Before she became a famous artist, she was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988 in St. Michael Parish, Barbados. She is oldest of three children of her parents Monica, who is an accountant. And her father Ronald, who is a warehouse supervisor. Rihanna's childhood wasn't always a walk in the park. Her father had struggled with drugs and alcohol, which hurt his marriage to Rihanna's mother. They divorced when Rihanna was a teenager. Throughout her childhood, Rihanna dealt with horrible headaches. She never told her friends or classmates at all about the headaches. She didn't want to be teased about it. When things became too much for Rihanna at home, she turned to music to help her with her troubles. When she came of teen years, her and two of her best friends formed a girl group and scored an audition with Evan Rodgers. He loved Rihanna and knew she had what it took to make it in the music business. It was like the other girls didn't even exist at all. So when Rihanna was 16 years old, she left Barbados to move in with Evan Rodgers and his wife to Connecticut to work on her demo. In 2005, Rihanna landed an audition for Def Jam Records, which Jay-Z is the president of now. She sang in front of Jay-Z and she was signed. A few months later, Rihanna released her first hit song "Pon De Replay," from her first debut album 'Music of the Sun.' Her song went to number two on the Billboards chart. Her first album went to number ten on the Billboards. Then, Rihanna released her second album called 'A Girl Like Me.' Two major hits came from the album. "SOS" and "Unfaithful" were her two major hits from that album. In 2007, Rihanna decided to change from teen pop star to sex symbol for her next album 'Good Girl Gone Bad.' Her most popular song from this album is "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z. "Umbrella" won Rihanna her first Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Other hits from the album were "Shut Up and Drive" and "Don't Stop the Music." The following year, Rihanna released 'Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded' with bigger hits like "Disturbia," "Take A Bow" and "Hate That I Love You." Just when you thought she was done making hits after hits, she released her album 'Rated R' with singles like "Hard" and "Rude Boy." Her album 'Loud' became commercially popular with the hit songs "What's My Name," "Only Girl (In the World)" and "S&M." Rihanna didn't just make hits, she collaborated with other artist like Eminem ("Love the Way You Lie"), Jay-Z ("Run This Town"), Kanye West ("All Of The Lights"), and Maroon 5 ("If I Never See Your Face Again"). In 2011, Rihanna released her sixth album 'Talk That Talk' with her hit song "We Found Love" with DJ Calvin Harris. The song won her a Grammy for Best Short Form for a music video. Rihanna did make a few headlines like she had an affair with Jay-Z. She laughed it out when she heard about it. She hit headlines again when she was assaulted by Chris Brown. Rihanna became a spokesperson for domestic violence. Rihanna did date a few good looking guys. Her and LA Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp did date for a while. But the couple went their separate ways. Her Grammy winning album 'Unapologetic' had number one hits like "Diamonds" and "Stay" featuring Mikky Ekko. This album was her first album to hit number one on the billboards. She worked with Coldplay on a song called "Princess of China." And she collaborated with Eminem again on a song called 'The Monster.' Around that time she decided to star in some movies like "Battleship" and "Home." In 2014, Rihanna changed from Def Jam Records to Jay-Z's Roc Nation Records. August 2015, Rihanna announced she was going to be key adviser for The Voice's Season nine. That same year she did a collaboration with Kanye West and Beatles singer Paul McCartney on "Four Five Seconds." Another hit song she made was "Bitch Better Have My Money." Then in 2016, she released a song called "Work" with fellow rapper Drake. That song is so catchy that it will stay in your head forever. Then Rihanna decided to do more acting. She was on the show Bates Motel. And she was also in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Now she is going to be in a movie with Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway called Ocean's 8. A female spin off of "Ocean's Trilogy." Rihanna is a multi-talented singer and actress. Her song "Love On The Brain" is one of the best songs she ever sang ever. It's a really powerful song. That's another song that will get in your head quickly. You will sing it in your sleep. Rihanna will always be the Barbadian Princess of the world.
By Shante Hernandez8 years ago in Beat
Funniest Drake Quotes of All Time
Drake isn't afraid to show his soft side in his raps; he's become one of our favorite sad boys. But when he's not out there proving that rappers can be vulnerable, too, he's spitting some pretty hilarious lyrics. One of the funniest Drake quotes of all time even sparked a really strange beef with a fellow artist. Are your favorite Drake lyrics on this list? Read on to find out.
By Hydro Wilson8 years ago in Beat
LL Cool J
All the ladies love LL Cool J. Especially those lips, he even licks them every 30 seconds to 1 minute. Before all the hall and fame for Mr. Macho Man, LL Cool J was born James Todd Smith January 14, 1968 in Long Island, New York. When he was growing up in New York, he took the name LL Cool J (which stands for "Ladies Love Cool James") as his rapper name. As he reached his teen years, he signed to Def Jam Records in 1984. The label was founded by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Not too long after signing with Def Jam, he released a hit song called "I Need a Beat," which sold more than 100,000 copies. LL Cool J left school to record his debut album Radio. There were two major hits on that album that sold one million copies. Those hits were "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells." In 1985, he appeared in a movie called Krush Groove. Other famous artists and groups appeared in the movie also. New Edition, Fat Boys, and Run D.M.C. were in the movie like LL Cool J. His first speaking role was in 1986, the movie was called Wildcats. In 1987, he made his follow up album Bigger and Deffer. His hit song "I Need Love" showed a another side of LL Cool J that we have never seen. But the song became a hit on the pop and rap charts.
By Shante Hernandez8 years ago in Beat
Remembering David Bowie 1947–2016. Top Story - January 2018.
This week inconceivably marks two years since David Bowie’s untimely passing, but it’s still hard to believe he’s gone. This week, on what would have been his 71st birthday, I am once again exploring his extensive catalog, as I fondly reflect upon my personal journey of discovery into the bewildering artistry of Bowie.
By Eric Allen8 years ago in Beat
Baby, Now We Got Bad Blood: Celebrities Are Taking Sides on Taylor Swift & Kimye Feud
There are more pressing issues in the world which need our attention right now, but now and then, the depressing aspects of life are overtaken by the interesting and highly publicized feuds between celebrities. Just like the infamous one between America's sweetheart - Taylor Swift, and the king and queen of Reality TV and internet - Kimye.
By Karina Thyra8 years ago in Beat
Woody Guthrie Didn’t Read the Headlines. He Found the Battle Lines
Last week at the Jacob Burns Film Center, audience members found residence in Peter Frumkin’s Woody Guthrie documentary Ain’t go no Home. Opening the evening, which included a discussion from Frumkin and Guthrie’s daughter, Jacob Burn’s program director described the initiative of this forefather of American popular song.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Beat
Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars is one the top selling pop artists in the world. Before all the fame and becoming Bruno Mars, he was born into this world as Peter Gene Hernandez on October 8, 1985 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His parents are Latin percussionist Peter and his mother was singer and dancer Bernadette. Bruno's parents gave him the nickname Bruno after Sammartino. He has five siblings. Bruno Mars was born into a very musical family. He started taking music seriously when he was about three years old. He would perform with his family on stage. And he would be an impersonator of Elvis Presley. All of Hawaii would come and see little Bruno perform. Later on down the road he would also impersonate the king of pop, Michael Jackson. As the years went by when Bruno Mars was in high school, him and some of his friends formed a group called "The School Boys." They would perform in front of the Ilikai Hotel in Hawaii. Then, after graduating high school, he moves to Los Angeles. The first few years were a little hard for Bruno Mars. He struggled to try and make it in the music industry. Then one day Bruno Mars was introduced to songwriter Phillip Lawrence to help him write music for other artist. Bruno Mars had finally scored his writing songs for Brandy and Flo Rida. When he wrote the song "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy, he decided to join him on the track and it became a major hit. After several years in the music industry, Bruno Mars finally became a broke out artist after singing with B.O.B on the song called "Nothin' On You." It went straight to the number 1 spot immediately. Then the time finally came, Bruno Mars released his first solo single "Just The Way You Are" from his debut album "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" in 2010. The song and the album made it to the top 10 charts. Then he made follow up songs like "Grenade" and "The Lazy Song," which also cracked the top 10 charts. Then he wrote a song called "It Will Rain" for the movie Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 in 2011. In 2012, he released his second album "Unorthodox Jukebox." On that album were a few hits like "Locked Out of Heaven," which went to the top. And it won Best Music Video. "Treasure" was another song from the album and won Best Choreography. Then there was "When I Was Your Man," that reached number 1 also. Bruno became popular that he collaborates with Mark Ronson on "Uptown Funk." In 2013, Bruno Mars gets the opportunity to perform at the song at the Super Bowl. Bruno Mars has come a long way. What is Bruno Mars doing now? He has collaborated with other artists like Damian Marley, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and others you can name. He starred in the movie Rio 2 as Roberto. And he has released a few more hits like "Versace on The Floor," "24k Magic," and "That's What I Like." He is dating model Jessica Caban since 2012. I hoping there will be wedding bells or maybe Bruno Jr. He has really helped by donating money to Flint, Michigan for the water crisis. That really makes me a bigger fan of his, because he helped my hometown. One funny thing I see when I look at Bruno Mars as a kid, my son Joseph looks just like him. People always ask me if Bruno Mars is his father. Nope! But anyways, Bruno Mars is a very hard working man. Bruno Mars is also very VERY handsome. I love you Bruno Mars!
By Shante Hernandez8 years ago in Beat
Best Nerdcore Rappers to Check Out Now
Nerdcore is a subgenere of rap and hip hop that finds most of its influence in the world of gaming. Some of the best nerdcore rappers are intentionally ridiculous, while others endeavor to make quality songs that, if you didn't already know their subjects, could easily be heard playing on the radio.
By Taylor Markarian8 years ago in Beat
