History Of Hip Hop

History of hip hop Main article: Origins of hip hop The roots of hip hop are found in West African and African-American music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets, whose musical style is reminiscent of hip hop. Within New York City, griot-like performances of poetry and music by artists such as The Last Poets and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin had a great impact on the post-civil rights era culture of the 1960's and 1970's. Hip hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became common in New York City, especially the Bronx. Block parties were usually accompanied by music, especially funk and soul music. The early DJs at block parties began isolating the percussion breaks to hit songs, realizing that these were the most dance-able and entertaining parts; this technique was then common in Jamaica (see dub music) and had spread via the substantial Jamaican immigrant community in New York City, especially the "godfather" of hip hop, DJ Kool Herc. Dub had arisen in Jamaica due to the influence of American sailors and radio stations playing R&B. Large sound systems were set up to accommodate poor Jamaicans, who couldn't afford to buy records, and dub developed at the sound systems (refers to both the system and the parties that evolved around them). Herc was one of the most popular DJs in early 70s New York, and he quickly switched from using reggae records to funk, rock and, later, disco, since the New York audience did not particularly like reggae. Because the percussive breaks were generally short, Herc and other DJs began extending them using an audio mixer and two records. Mixing and scratching techniques eventually developed along with the breaks. (The same techniques contributed to the popularization of remixes.) Later DJs such as Grandmaster Flash refined and developed the use of breakbeats, including cutting.[citation needed] As in dub, performers began speaking while the music played; these were originally called MCs; Herc focused primarily on DJing, and began working with two MCs, Coke La Rock and Clark Kent—this was the first emcee crew, Kool Herc & the Herculoids. Originally, these early rappers focused on introducing themselves and others in the audience (the origin of the still common practice of "shouting out" on hip hop records). These early performers often emceed for hours at a time, with some improvisation and a simple four-count beat, along with a basic chorus to allow the performer to gather his thoughts (such as "one, two, three, y'all, to the beat, y'all"). Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic approach, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort at differentiating themselves and entertaining the audience. These early raps incorporated similar rhyming lyrics from African American culture (see roots of hip hop music), such as the dozens. While Kool Herc & the Herculoids were the first hip hoppers to gain major fame in New York, more emcee teams quickly sprouted up. Frequently, these were collaborations between former gang members, such as Afrikaa Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation (now a large, international organization). Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with The Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC."[2] During the early 1970s, breakdancing arose during block parties, as bboys and b-girls got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive, frenetic style. The style was documented for release to a world wide audience for the first time in Beat Street.

Name: Eminem Genre: Hip-Hop Styles: Hip-Hop, Hardcore Rap Formed: October 17, 1972 www.mp3.com/artist/eminem A protégé of Dr. Dre, rapper Eminem emerged in 1999 as one of the most controversial rappers to ever grace the genre. Using his biting wit and incredible skills to vent on everything from his unhappy childhood to his contempt for the mainstream media, his success became the biggest crossover success the genre had seen since Dre's solo debut seven years earlier. The controversy over his lyrics was the best publicity any musician could afford, and being the first Caucasian rapper to make a significant impact in years may have given him a platform not afforded to equally talented African-American rappers. A gifted producer as well, his talents always seemed overshadowed by his media presence, which was a mix between misunderstood genius and misogynistic homophobe. Both may be true, but his message spoke to legions of disaffected youth who had few role models in the rap world who could relate to the white lower-class experience. 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 underattended. 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. ~ Jason Ankeny & Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide

Album: The Slim Shady LP Artist: Eminem Genre: Hip-Hop Tags: horrorcore rap, hardcore rap, hip-hip, west coast rap Given his subsequent superstardom, culminating in no less than an Academy Award, it may be easy to overlook exactly how demonized Eminem was once his mainstream debut album, The Slim Shady LP, grabbed the attention of pop music upon its release in 1999. Then, it wasn't clear to every listener that Eminem was, as they say, an unreliable narrator, somebody who slung satire, lies, uncomfortable truths, and lacerating insights with vigor and venom, blurring the line between reality and parody, all seemingly without effort. The Slim Shady LP bristles with this tension, since it's never always clear when Marshall Mathers is joking and when he's dead serious. This was unsettling in 1999, when nobody knew his back-story, and years later, when his personal turmoil is public knowledge, it still can be unsettling, because his words and delivery are that powerful. Of course, nowhere is this more true than on "97 Bonnie and Clyde," a notorious track where he imagines killing his wife and then disposing of the body with his baby daughter in tow. There have been more violent songs in rap, but few more disturbing, and it's not because of what it describes, it's how he describes it -- how the perfectly modulated phrasing enhances the horror and black humor of his words. Eminem's supreme gifts are an expansive vocabulary and vivid imagination, which he unleashes with wicked humor and unsparing anger in equal measure. The production -- masterminded by Dr. Dre but also helmed in large doses by Marky and Jeff Bass, along with Marshall himself -- mirrors his rhymes, with their spare, intricately layered arrangements enhancing his narratives, which are always at the forefront. As well they should be -there are few rappers as wildly gifted verbally as Eminem. At a time when many rappers were stuck in the stultifying swamp of gangsta clichés, Eminem broke through the hardcore murk by abandoning the genre's familiar themes and flaunting a style with more verbal muscle and imagination than any of his contemporaries. Years later, as the shock has faded, it's those lyrical skills and the subtle mastery of the music that still resonate, and they're what make The Slim Shady LP one of the great debuts in both hiphop and modern pop music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Album: Encore Artist: Eminem Genre: Hip-Hop Tags: hardcore rap, gangsta rap, hip-hop, midwest rap Eminem took a hiatus after the release of his first motion picture, 8 Mile, in late 2002, but it never seemed like he went away. Part of that is the nature of celebrity culture, where every star cycles through gossip columns regardless of whether they have a project in the stores or theaters, and part of it is that Marshall Mathers kept busy, producing records by his protégés D12, Obie Trice, and 50 Cent -- all hit albums -- with the latter turning into the biggest new hip-hop star of 2003. All this activity tended to obscure the fact that Eminem hadn't released a full-length album of new material since The Eminem Show in early summer 2002, and that two and a half years separated that album and its highly anticipated sequel, Encore. As the title suggests, Encore is a companion piece to The Eminem Show the way that The Marshall Mathers LP mirrored The Slim Shady LP, offering a different spin on familiar subjects. Where his first two records dealt primarily with personas and characters, his second two records deal with what those personas have wrought, which tends to be intrinsically less interesting than the characters themselves, since it's dissecting the aftermath instead of causing the drama. On The Eminem Show that kind of self-analysis was perfectly acceptable, since Eminem was on the top of his game as both a lyricist and rapper; his insights were vibrant and his music was urgent. Musically, Show didn't innovate, but it didn't need to: Eminem and his mentor, Dr. Dre, had achieved cruising altitude, and even if they weren't offering much that was new, the music sounded fresh and alive. Here, the music is spartan, built on simple unadorned beats and keyboard loops. Some songs use this sound to its advantage and a few others break free -- "Yellow Brick Road" is a tense, cinematic production, yet it fits the subject matter. Eminem has decided to chronicle what's happened to him over the past two years and refute every charge that's made it into the papers. This is quite a bit different than his earlier albums, when he embellished and exaggerated his life, when his relationship with his estranged wife Kim turned into an outlaw ballad, when his frenetic insults, cheap shots, and celeb baiting had a surreal, hilarious impact. Here, Eminem is plain-spoken and literal, intent on refuting every critic from Benzino at The Source to Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, who gets an entire song ("Ass Like That") devoted to him. While the album is a little long, it's worth a listen to hear the moments that work really well, whether it's full songs or flights of phrase. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

History of hip hop The reasons for the rise of hip hop are found is the changing urban culture within the United States during the 1970's. Perhaps most important was the low cost involved in getting started: the equipment was relatively inexpensive, and virtually anyone could MC along with the popular beats of the day. MCs could be creative, pairing nonsense rhymes and teasing friends and enemies alike in the style of Jamaican toasting at blues parties or playing the dozens in an exchange of wit. MCs would play at block parties, with no expectation of recording, in the way of folk music. The skills necessary to create hip hop music were passed informally from musician to musician, rather than being taught in expensive music lessons. Another reason for hip hop's rise was the decline of disco, funk and rock in the mid- to late 70s. Disco arose among black and gay male clubs in America, and quickly spread to Europe, where it grew increasingly sunny, bright and pop. Once disco broke into the mainstream in the United States, and was thus appropriated, its original fans and many other listeners rejected it as pre-packaged and soul-less. While many remember the white teens shouting "disco sucks" at every available opportunity, often in racist and homophobic contexts, inner-city blacks were similarly rejecting disco and disco-fied rock, soul and funk (which was virtually everything on the radio at the time). If disco had anything redeemable for urban audiences, however, it was the strong, eminently danceable beats, and hip hop rose to take advantage of the beats while providing a musical outlet for the masses that hated disco. Disco-inflected music (though comparatively little actual disco) was one of the most popular sources of beats in the first ten or twelve years of hip hop's existence. In Washington DC, go go also emerged as a reaction against disco, and eventually mixed with hip hop during the early 1980s, while electronic music did the same, developing as house music in Chicago and techno music in Detroit. Along with the low expense and the demise of other forms of popular music, social and political events further accelerated the rise of hip hop. In 1959, the Cross-Bronx Expressway was built through the heart of the Bronx, displacing many of the middle-class white communities and causing widespread unemployment among the remaining blacks as stores and factories fled the area. By the 1970s, poverty was rampant. When a 15,000+ apartment Co-op City was built at the northern edge of the Bronx in 1968, the last of the middle-class fled the area and the area's black and Latino gangs began to grow in power.

Name: Akon Genre: Hip-Hop Styles: East Coast Rap, Pop-Rap Formed: unknown www.mp3.com/artist/akon Aliaune Thiam -- aka Akon -- grew up in Senegal before he and his family (including his father, jazz percussionist Mor Thiam) eventually settled in New Jersey. 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 Africanstyled vocals with East Coast- and Southern-styled beats. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide

Album: Trouble Artist: Akon Release Date: 6/29/2004 Senegalese-American ex-con Akon broke out with "Locked Up," a gloomy but thrilling paranoiac tail about drug running and jail time. Placed over a fittingly dramatic production worthy of 50 Cent, with a clamping beat, simple piano figure, and frightening slams of prison bars, the single set Trouble up to be a major success. Unfortunately, no other song on the album is nearly as gripping. The club tracks fall flat, most of the soul-searching moments feel forced, and the harder and more sexual tracks tend to be more silly than alluring. At its best, Trouble places you in Akon's turbulent world. At its worst, which is often, the album is excessively tedious. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

Name: Snoop Dogg Genre: Hip-Hop Styles: Hip-Hop, Dirty South Formed: October 20, 1972 www.mp3.com/artist/snoop-dogg As the embodiment of '90s gangsta rap, Snoop Dogg blurred the lines between reality and fiction. Introduced to the world through Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Snoop quickly became the most famous star in rap, partially because of his drawled, laconic rhyming and partially because the violence that his lyrics implied seemed real, especially after he was arrested on charges of being a murder accomplice. The arrest certainly strengthened his myth, and it helped his debut album, 1993's Doggystyle, become the first debut album to enter the charts at number one, but in the long run, it hurt his career. Snoop had to fight charges throughout 1994 and 1995, and while he was eventually cleared, it hurt his momentum. The Doggfather, his second album, wasn't released until November 1996, and by that time, pop and hip-hop had burned itself out on gangsta rap. The Doggfather sold half as well as its predecessor, which meant that Snoop remained a star, but he no longer had the influence he had just two years before. Nicknamed Snoop by his mother because of his appearance, Calvin Broadus (born October 20, 1972) was raised in Long Beach, CA, where he frequently ran into trouble with the law. Not long after his high school graduation, he was arrested for possession of cocaine, beginning a period of three years where he was often imprisoned. He found escape from a life of crime through music. Snoop began recording homemade tapes with his friend Warren G, who happened to be the stepbrother of N.W.A.'s Dr. Dre. Warren G gave a tape to Dre, who was considerably impressed with Snoop's style and began collaborating with the rapper. When Dre decided to make his tentative first stab at a solo career in 1992 with the theme song for the film Deep Cover, he had Snoop rap with him. "Deep Cover" started a buzz about Snoop that escalated into full-fledged mania when Dre released his own debut album, The Chronic, on Death Row Records late in 1992. Snoop rapped on The Chronic as much as Dre, and his drawled vocals were as important to the record's success as its P-Funk bass grooves. Dre's singles "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" and "Dre Day," which prominently featured Snoop, became Top Ten pop crossover hits in the spring of 1993, setting the stage for Snoop's much-anticipated debut album, Doggystyle. While he was recording the album with Dre in August, Snoop was arrested in connection with the drive-by shooting death of Phillip Woldermarian. According to the charges, the rapper's bodyguard, McKinley Lee, shot Woldermarian as Snoop drove the vehicle; the rapper claimed it was self-defense, alleging that the victim was stalking Snoop. Following a performance at the MTV Music Awards in September 1993, he turned himself to authorities. After many delays, Doggystyle was finally released on Death Row in November of 1993, and it became the first debut album to enter the charts at number one. Despite reviews that claimed the album was a carbon copy of The Chronic, the Top Ten singles "What's My Name?" and "Gin & Juice" kept Doggystyle at the top of the charts during early 1994, as did the considerable controversy over Snoop's arrest and his lyrics, which were accused of being exceedingly violent and sexist. During an English tour in the spring of 1994, tabloids and a Tory minister pleaded for the government to kick the rapper out of the country, largely based on his arrest. Snoop exploited his impending trial by shooting a short film based on the Doggystyle song "Murder Was the Case" and releasing an accompanying soundtrack, which debuted at number one in 1994. By that time, Doggystyle had gone quadruple platinum. Snoop spent much of 1995 preparing for the case, which finally went to trial in late 1995. In February of 1996, he was cleared of all charges and began working on his second album, this time without Dre as producer. Nevertheless, when The Doggfather was finally released in November 1996, it bore all the evidence of a Dre-produced, G-funk record. The album was greeted with mixed reviews, and it initially sold well, but it failed to produce a hit along the lines of "What's My Name?" and "Gin & Juice." Part of the reason of the moderate success of The Doggfather was the decline of gangsta rap. 2Pac, who had become a friend of Snoop during 1996, died weeks before the release of The Doggfather, and Dre had left Death Row to his partner Suge Knight, who was indicted on racketeering charges by the end of 1996. Consequently, Snoop's second album got lost in the shuffle, stalling at sales of two million, which was disappointing for a superstar.

Perhaps sensing something was wrong, Snoop began to revamp his public image, moving away from his gangsta roots toward a calmer lyrical aesthetic. He also began making gestures toward the rock community, signing up to tour with Lollapalooza 1997 and talking about two separate collaborations with Beck and Marilyn Manson. The solo Da Game Is to Be Sold Not to Be Told, Snoop's first effort for No Limit, followed in 1998; No Limit Top Dogg appeared a year later and Dead Man Walkin' the year after that. Tha Last Meal followed in December of that same year. The heavy release schedule resulted in varying musical quality from album to album, but by the turn of the century, Snoop had become such a cultural phenomenon that his albums almost became secondary to the personality behind them. An autobiography appeared in 2001, followed by a stream of movie roles in several high-profile pictures. Late in 2002, Snoop released his first album for Capitol, Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$. He then switched to Geffen for 2004's R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. The hit album was followed a year later by Welcome to the Chuuch: The Album, a collection of tracks from the Welcome to the Chuuch mixtape series. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Album: Welcome to tha Chuuch: Da Album Artist: Snoop Dogg Release Date: 12/6/2005 Genre: Hip-Hop A collection of tracks from Snoop's Welcome to tha Chuuch mixtape series, Koch's Welcome to tha Chuuch: Da Album gives these tracks their first aboveground exposure. There's a bunch of worthy newcomers, plus veterans of the West Coast like Daz, Kurupt, and Lady of Rage, but there's very little of Snoop himself and definitely less than was found on the original mixtapes. Still, the tracks retain their street feel and there's plenty of heat, even if the album as a whole is poorly sequenced with shabby packaging. The West Coast faithful and Snoop fanatics who don't have access to the shady world of mixtapes should check it if only for the raw feel, but everyone else can pass. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

Album: R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece Artist: Snoop Dogg Release Date: 11/16/2004 Genre: Hip-Hop Tags: gangsta rap, hip hop, hardcore rap, party rap, club rap, westcoast rap Internet leakers caused the release of R&G - Rhythm and Gangster: The Masterpiece to be pushed up a week, but that just means the world got to bask in the excitement of Snoop's great return for seven extra days. Upon its release, the ultrahot production team the Neptunes' contribution to the killer lead single "Drop It Like It's Hot" had been duly noted, but lost in all the chatter was how inspired and on-fire Snoop sounds. Any fan keeping up with his street-level mixtape series Welcome to the Chuuch could tell you something new and fresh was brewing, and 2002's Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$ was excellent, but Snoop's let his fans down before and two years off could mean trouble. Not to be, since Rhythm and Gangster is right up there with his best while being riskier than anything before it. New sounds like tongue clicks, smooth jazz guitars, and a bit of Steve Miller's "Fly Like an Eagle" give Snoop a brandnew sonic palette to work with, and he's more than ready for it. The up-tempo "Signs" with Justin Timberlake (!?!) is glittery disco fun, but it ain't gonna keep Snoop from being himself. He's hardcore throughout the album, an album that's got plenty of street and commercial appeal and all the difficulties that comes with it. The numerous youngsters who can't stop singing "Drop It Like It's Hot" are going to freak their parents out with this one. "Can You Control Yo Hoe" is a tough stunner with an inescapable, loopy hook, but Snoop's challenge to the homies is rather disturbing. "If she won't do what you say, why aren't you slapping her?" is the song's direct message that can't be easily brushed off as metaphor, and it's the one that's gonna send mom and dad back to the record store, fuming! Recommending such an album that gets viciously misogynistic -- elsewhere too -- is difficult, but Snoop is fierce throughout Rhythm and Gangster and putting "Masterpiece" in the title isn't hyperbole. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

Album: Raw n Uncut, Vol. 1: The Soundtrack Artist: Snoop Dogg Release Date: 9/30/2003 Genre: Hip-Hop A soundtrack to the shaky-camera DVD of Snoop's 31st birthday party, Raw n Uncut, Vol. 1: The Soundtrack includes very little from the Doggy Dogg himself. Only four of the cuts feature any rapping from the man -- the other tracks credited to Snoop are just spoken word clips from the video -- but two of them are especially good. "Big Dog" is mostly a Glen Robinson cut, but it's great to hear Snoop mack to some of the stickiest G-funk since Tha Doggfather. His contribution to "Big Dog" is minor, but "Snoop Freestyle Boss Up" is 100 percent Snoop venom and the reason hardcore fans should take notice of this set. The raw, uncluttered cut is a great "where I live/how I live" number that reminds listeners how on point Snoop can be and that his skills don't always need glorious production to shine. "Money Macking Murder" from unknowns Bas Azz, 40Glock, and Mac Minister is a worthy party number, but it's "Chain Gang" that steals the show. With Bizzy Bone and fresh, quirky production on the cut, "Chain Gang" deserves better surroundings than the just fair hip-hop and what's-the-point interludes that round out the disc. Probably the least-known above-ground release Snoop ever put his name to, Raw n Uncut, Vol. 1: The Soundtrack isn't the disaster expected, but there's only an EP's worth of prime shiznit. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

Album: Collision Course Artist: Jay-Z Release Date: 11/30/2004 Genre: Rock/Pop Mash-ups -- two songs stuck together that were never meant to be stuck together -- have their roots in the bedrooms and basements of computer-savvy music geeks who spend countless hours sticking Christina Aguilera's vocals over the Strokes' chugging backbeat or Missy Elliott's raps over George Michael, Joy Division, the Cure, and about a thousand others. MP3s were the medium of choice, whitelabel 12"s a distant second. It seemed like it was time to put a fork in the pranky genre when collections like The Best Bootlegs in the World Ever and Soulwax's As Heard on Radio Soulwax series exposed the mash-up to a wider audience, but then Danger Mouse came along. His headline-making Grey Album -Jay-Z's Black Album vs. the Beatles' White Album -- inspired a ton of spirited imitations, and most likely the MTV-spawned, artists-involved Collision Course. The fact that the artists are involved with the project totally goes against the mash-up philosophy, but luckily Linkin Park -- who are revealed through the DVD as the main architects of the EP -- have that pop-loving prankster spirit and don't let their highprofile, well-funded life ruin it. The liner notes talk of a "once-in-a-lifetime performance" and "music history," but Collision Course is just plain old fun and all the better because of it. Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" sits nicely on top of Linkin Park's "Lying from You" on the CD's studio version, but it's the fistpumping live version on the DVD that really justifies Collision Course's existence. The Z-man -- who's "retired" from the rap game while being busier than ever -- has had his excellent "99 Problems" rocked up before, so the version here with Linkin Park's "Points of Authority" and "One Step Closer" isn't so much the revelation the liner-note hyperbole makes it out to be, but it's got an awesome beat and you can still dance to it. If the CD were released on its own, the collection wouldn't be as exciting. Linkin Park's genuine excitement about the project on the "behind the scenes" segment of the DVD is infectious, and watching the furious and fast teaming of "Jigga What/Faint" teeter on the edge of falling apart is gripping. Check the DVD first, and then throw the CD in the car for when you feel half-mack, half-punk. It's doubtful mash-ups will survive corporate handling this well again, and to paraphrase a post-show Linkin Parker, Collision Course is awesomely fun. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

Album: Unfinished Business Artist: Jay-Z Release Date: 10/26/2004 Unfinished Business is the sequel to 2002's The Best of Both Worlds, R. Kelly and Jay-Z's first collaborative record. The press materials made a point to refer to these 11 songs as "previously unreleased," as opposed to "new," suggesting that they are leftovers from the same sessions that yielded The Best of Both Worlds. Further support for this speculation: the two records share much of the same personnel and recording locations, and the later release has even fewer bright spots than the initial one. Plus, this release coincided with a joint R. Kelly/Jay-Z tour that was initially supposed to take place two years prior. Once again, just hearing these two voices on the same record should be enough of an attraction for die-heard fans of either one, but the bright spots are harder to come by. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

Jazz Milestones Noteworthy Dates in the History of Jazz Music 1897: The 12-year-old Jelly Roll Morton "invents" Jazz, or so he later claims. A habitue of Storyville, the red-light district of New Orleans, Morton combines ragtime, French quadrilles and the hot Blues played by Buddy Bolden, the notoriously hard-living cornetist. 1917: "The Original Dixieland Jazz Band", a white group, makes the first Jazz recording, "Livery Stable Blues." It sells a million copies, launching Jazz as popular music. Freddie Keppard, a black band leader, had rejected the chance to make the first Jazz record - he was afraid other musicians would copy his style. c.1920: An older Morton (among others) introduces 'chord symbols' as alternative notation for professional musicians thus futhering the evolution of Jazz music. 1924: George Gershwin would compose the work which defined his career and elevate him to a level of greatness, all in less than 3 weeks. 'Rhapsody in Blue' performed at Aeolian Hall by Paul Whiteman's orchestra, arranged by Ferde Grofé, was originally scored for piano and Jazz band. 1925-1928: Take it away, Satchmo: With his Hot Fives and Hot Sevens recordings, Louis Armstrong revolutionizes the Jazz form, encouraging solo improvisation over ensemble playing. 1929-1945: The swing era rises and falls. Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie lead influential groups. Most of the big hits, though, are recorded by white band leaders like Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey. c.1935-1955: The jam session as art form: West 52d Street in Manhattan, packed with clubs, becomes the playground for Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and all their friends. 1936: Well before the rest of the country, Jazz becomes integrated. At the Congress Hotel in Chicago, Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson sit in with Benny Goodman's ensemble. Two years later, Billie Holiday joins Artie Shaw's big band. 1938: January 16th at Carnegie Hall in NYC. Originally a publicity stunt by Wynn Nathanson, Benny Goodman's monumental concert included "Twenty Years of Jazz", a thumbnail history of hot music which featured trumpeter Harry James and drummer Gene Krupa, playing arrangements by Fletcher Henderson. Later in the evening, a "jam session" gave the audience a feel for the impromtu character of Jazz, joined by pianist Count Basie, saxophonists Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, and Harry Carney, along with trumpeter Buck Clayton. 1939: While playing "Cherokee" during a Harlem jam session, Charlie Parker happens upon a harmonic discovery that leads to Bebop, a far more intricate style of Jazz, both harmonically and rhythmically. 1943: Jazz ascends to the concert hall: The first of Duke Ellington's annual Carnegie Hall programs and the premiere of "Black, Brown and Beige," his influential long-form work about the history of American blacks. 1951: On the heels of Miles Davis' "Birth of the Cool," musicians like Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan form the so-called Cool School, turning down the volume and intensity. It happens, of course, in California. ... Sidney Bechet relocates to Paris, the first of many American Jazz expatriates including Kenny Clarke, Arthur Taylor and Bud Powell. Racial tension was less pronounced and European audiences were far more appreciative. 1954: Clifford Brown wins the Downbeat critic's award for best new star on trumpet and forms the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet. Later that year he records live with Art Blakey on "A Night at Birdland."

...Jazz goes outdoors: George Wein, a pianist and singer, rewrites his Jazz resume by inviting musicians to Newport, R.I., for the first of many Newport Jazz Festivals (now promoted by JVC.) 1956: Jimmy Lyons envisions "a sylvan setting with the best Jazz people in the whole world" and creates the Monterey Jazz Festival as an alternative to East Coast festivals. ...A crossover dream: Ella Fitzgerald makes the first of several "Songbook" recordings for Verve, the impresario Norman Granz's new label. The Songbooks make Fitzgerald an international star. 1958: On an August morning in Harlem, 57 greats of Jazz gather for a photo for Esquire magazine which came to be known as A Great Day in Harlem (photo) 1959: A pivotal year, with several records that expand the very possibilities of improvisation: Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue," John Coltrane's "Giant Steps," Ornette Coleman's "Shape of Jazz to Come." 1961: Orrin Keepnews set up the microphones to record pianist Bill Evans and his trio (Scott LaFaro bass, Paul Motian drums) "Sunday at the Village Vanguard (Live)" on June 25, creating one of the most dynamic impacts in Jazz music. 1897: The 12-year-old Jelly Roll Morton "invents" Jazz, or so he later claims. A habitue of Storyville, the red-light district of New Orleans, Morton combines ragtime, French quadrilles and the hot Blues played by Buddy Bolden, the notoriously hard-living cornetist. 1917: "The Original Dixieland Jazz Band", a white group, makes the first Jazz recording, "Livery Stable Blues." It sells a million copies, launching Jazz as popular music. Freddie Keppard, a black band leader, had rejected the chance to make the first Jazz record - he was afraid other musicians would copy his style. c.1920: An older Morton (among others) introduces 'chord symbols' as alternative notation for professional musicians thus futhering the evolution of Jazz music. 1924: George Gershwin would compose the work which defined his career and elevate him to a level of greatness, all in less than 3 weeks. 'Rhapsody in Blue' performed at Aeolian Hall by Paul Whiteman's orchestra, arranged by Ferde Grofé, was originally scored for piano and Jazz band. 1925-1928: Take it away, Satchmo: With his Hot Fives and Hot Sevens recordings, Louis Armstrong revolutionizes the Jazz form, encouraging solo improvisation over ensemble playing. 1929-1945: The swing era rises and falls. Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie lead influential groups. Most of the big hits, though, are recorded by white band leaders like Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey. c.1935-1955: The jam session as art form: West 52d Street in Manhattan, packed with clubs, becomes the playground for Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and all their friends. 1936: Well before the rest of the country, Jazz becomes integrated. At the Congress Hotel in Chicago, Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson sit in with Benny Goodman's ensemble. Two years later, Billie Holiday joins Artie Shaw's big band. 1938: January 16th at Carnegie Hall in NYC. Originally a publicity stunt by Wynn Nathanson, Benny Goodman's monumental concert included "Twenty Years of Jazz", a thumbnail history of hot music which featured trumpeter Harry James and drummer Gene Krupa, playing arrangements by Fletcher Henderson. Later in the evening, a "jam session" gave the audience a feel for the impromtu character of Jazz, joined by pianist Count Basie, saxophonists Johnny Hodges, Lester Young, and Harry Carney, along with trumpeter Buck Clayton. 1939: While playing "Cherokee" during a Harlem jam session, Charlie Parker happens upon a harmonic discovery that leads to Bebop, a far more intricate style of Jazz, both harmonically and rhythmically.

1943: Jazz ascends to the concert hall: The first of Duke Ellington's annual Carnegie Hall programs and the premiere of "Black, Brown and Beige," his influential long-form work about the history of American blacks. 1951: On the heels of Miles Davis' "Birth of the Cool," musicians like Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan form the so-called Cool School, turning down the volume and intensity. It happens, of course, in California. ... Sidney Bechet relocates to Paris, the first of many American Jazz expatriates including Kenny Clarke, Arthur Taylor and Bud Powell. Racial tension was less pronounced and European audiences were far more appreciative. 1954: Clifford Brown wins the Downbeat critic's award for best new star on trumpet and forms the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet. Later that year he records live with Art Blakey on "A Night at Birdland." ...Jazz goes outdoors: George Wein, a pianist and singer, rewrites his Jazz resume by inviting musicians to Newport, R.I., for the first of many Newport Jazz Festivals (now promoted by JVC.) 1956: Jimmy Lyons envisions "a sylvan setting with the best Jazz people in the whole world" and creates the Monterey Jazz Festival as an alternative to East Coast festivals. ...A crossover dream: Ella Fitzgerald makes the first of several "Songbook" recordings for Verve, the impresario Norman Granz's new label. The Songbooks make Fitzgerald an international star. 1958: On an August morning in Harlem, 57 greats of Jazz gather for a photo for Esquire magazine which came to be known as A Great Day in Harlem (photo) 1959: A pivotal year, with several records that expand the very possibilities of improvisation: Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue," John Coltrane's "Giant Steps," Ornette Coleman's "Shape of Jazz to Come." 1961: Orrin Keepnews set up the microphones to record pianist Bill Evans and his trio (Scott LaFaro bass, Paul Motian drums) "Sunday at the Village Vanguard (Live)" on June 25, creating one of the most dynamic impacts in Jazz music. 1964: The avant-garde gains mainstream recognition as Thelonious Monk makes the cover of Time magazine, which christens him the high priest of Bebop. 1969: Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew," a primordial "Jazz-Rock" fusion record, sells 500,000 copies, turning many rock fans on to Jazz but leaving some hard-core Miles followers groaning. 1972-1977: New York's "Loft Jazz" scene blooms, with experimental, post-bop players performing in lofts like Ali's Alley. Rising among the players of the scene are Joe Lovano and David Murray. 1979: On Jan. 5, the famously cosmic Charles Mingus dies in Cuernavaca, Mexico, at the age of 56. That same day, 56 whales beach themselves on the Mexican coast. 1984: The new generation gets a leader who looks backward: Wynton Marsalis, at 22, wins a Grammy for his "neo-bop" record "Think of One." The same night, he takes a classical Grammy for his recording of trumpet concertos. 1989: Frontmen and backlash: Trying to duplicate Marsalis' commercial success, record labels snap up straight-ahead players like Roy Hargrove and Antonio Hart. Much grumbling ensues from those who consider these so-called Young Lions too imitative or too green. 1991: Jazz as institution: Marsalis is appointed artistic director of the new Jazz at Lincoln Center program. Big audiences but big detractors too; who claim that Marsalis is anti-modernist and anti-white. 1992: A new fusion trip: The British "Acid Jazz" group Us3, which blends hip-hop and electronic samples of Jazz cuts, gets permission to raid the Blue Note archives. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, the hip-hop group Digable Planets records

"Rebirth of Slick (Cool like Dat)," built around the sampled horn lines of James Williams' "Stretchin." Suddenly, a new degree of Jazz cool. 1993: Jazzmen can be pop stars too: Joshua Redman, the Harvard summa cum laude saxophonist, chooses Jazz over Yale Law and releases two records. Critics love the records and fans love Redman: in concert, young women shriek and young men pump their fists in the air. June 1995: The Impulse record label, one of the most important in Jazz history, is revived after a 21-year dormancy. It is the seventh major Jazz label to be launched or relaunched in the past 10 years. May 2000: Inspired by Mary Lou Williams, Dr. Billy Taylor founds the Women in Jazz Festival, held annually at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. January 2001: Documentary film maker Ken Burns creates his 10 episode, 19 hour PBS television miniseries "Jazz" greatly appealing to the general public but enraging Jazz aficionados who protest that many important players were overlooked. April 2002: The Smithsonian National Museum of American History announces the launch of Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) annually paying tribute to Jazz both as an historic and a living American art form. August 18, 2003: President George W. Bush signed Public Law 108-72, which includes language strongly endorsing Jazz and urging that "musicians, schools, colleges, libraries, concert halls, museums, radio and television stations, and other organizations should develop programs to explore, perpetuate, and honor Jazz as a national and world treasure." October 18, 2004: Celebrates the grand opening of the 100,000 square-foot performance, education & broadcast facility dedicated entirely to America's true art form, Jazz. Located at Columbus Circle in Manhattan overlooking beautiful Central Park, "the Frederick P. Rose Hall, " said Jazz at Lincoln Center artistic director Wynton Marsalis, "signifies that our culture has matured to the point of accepting Jazz as an art form deserving of an International home." January 8, 2005: The National Endowment for the Arts announces the launch of NEA Jazz in the Schools, an educational resource for high school teachers of social studies, U.S. history, and music. The five-unit, web-based curriculum and DVD toolkit explores Jazz as an indigenous American art form as a means to understand American history. The curriculum is produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center supported by a $100,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation. August 23 - 31, 2005: Hurricane Katrina destroys the "cradle of Jazz," New Orleans, LA, USA causing damages of $200 billion (costliest Atlantic hurricane of all time.) April, 2006: Legends of Jazz is scheduled as the first weekly series featuring live Jazz performance and conversation to air on network television in over 40 years. The 13 half-hour PBS episodes produced in multi-camera HDTV and Dolby Surround 5.1 audio coincides with National Jazz Appreciation Month. March, 2007: Soundies: A Musical History, presented by Michael Feinstein and aired on PBS television, captures never before seen footage of the greats that started it all (Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, etc). The program also contains exclusive interviews with some of America's most famous musical and cultural icons including Hugh Hefner, Les Paul, Wynton Marsalis, George Duke and film historian Leonard Maltin.

Name: Louis Armstrong Genre: Jazz Styles: Jazz, Pop Formed: December 13, 1901 www.mp3.com/artist/louis-armstrong Louis Armstrong was the first important soloist to emerge in jazz, and he became the most influential musician in the music's history. As a trumpet virtuoso, his playing, beginning with the 1920s studio recordings made with his Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles, charted a future for jazz in highly imaginative, emotionally charged improvisation. For this, he is revered by jazz fans. But Armstrong also became an enduring figure in popular music, due to his distinctively phrased bass singing and engaging personality, which were on display in a series of vocal recordings and film roles. Armstrong had a difficult childhood. William Armstrong, his father, was a factory worker who abandoned the family soon after the boy's birth. Armstrong was brought up by his mother, Mary (Albert) Armstrong, and his maternal grandmother. He showed an early interest in music, and a junk dealer for whom he worked as a grade-school student helped him buy a cornet, which he taught himself to play. He dropped out of school at 11 to join an informal group, but on December 31, 1912, he fired a gun during a New Year's Eve celebration, for which he was sent to reform school. He studied music there and played cornet and bugle in the school band, eventually becoming its leader. He was released on June 16, 1914, and did manual labor while trying to establish himself as a musician. He was taken under the wing of cornetist Joe "King" Oliver, and when Oliver moved to Chicago in June 1918, he replaced him in the Kid Ory Band. He moved to the Fate Marable band in the spring of 1919, staying with Marable until the fall of 1921. Armstrong moved to Chicago to join Oliver's band in August 1922 and made his first recordings as a member of the group in the spring of 1923. He married Lillian Harden, the pianist in the Oliver band, on February 5, 1924. (She was the second of his four wives.) On her encouragement, he left Oliver and joined Fletcher Henderson's band in New York, staying for a year and then going back to Chicago in November 1925 to join the Dreamland Syncopators, his wife's group. During this period, he switched from cornet to trumpet. Armstrong had gained sufficient individual notice to make his recording debut as a leader on November 12, 1925. Contracted to OKeh Records, he began to make a series of recordings with studioonly groups called the Hot Fives or the Hot Sevens. For live dates, he appeared with the orchestras led by Erskine Tate and Carroll Dickerson. The Hot Fives' recording of "Muskrat Ramble" gave Armstrong a Top Ten hit in July 1926, the band for the track featuring Kid Ory on trombone, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Lillian Harden Armstrong on piano, and Johnny St. Cyr on banjo. By February 1927, Armstrong was well-enough known to front his own group, Louis Armstrong and His Stompers, at the Sunset Café in Chicago. (Armstrong did not function as a bandleader in the usual sense, but instead typically lent his name to established groups.) In April, he reached the charts with his first vocal recording, "Big Butter and Egg Man," a duet with May Alix. He took a position as star soloist in Carroll Dickerson's band at the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago in March 1928, later taking over as the band's frontman. "Hotter than That" was in the Top Ten in May 1928, followed in September by "West End Blues," which later became one of the first recordings named to the Grammy Hall of Fame. Armstrong returned to New York with his band for an engagement at Connie's Inn in Harlem in May 1929. He also began appearing in the orchestra of Hot Chocolates, a Broadway revue, given a featured spot singing "Ain't Misbehavin'." In September, his recording of the song entered the charts, becoming a Top Ten hit. Armstrong fronted the Luis Russell Orchestra for a tour of the South in February 1930, then in May went to Los Angeles, where he led a band at Sebastian's Cotton Club for the next ten months. He made his film debut in Ex-Flame, released at the end of 1931. By the start of 1932, he had switched from the "race"-oriented OKeh label to its pop-oriented big sister Columbia Records, for which he recorded two Top Five hits, "Chinatown, My Chinatown" and "You Can Depend on Me" before scoring a number one hit with "All of Me" in March 1932; another Top Five hit, "Love, You Funny Thing," hit the charts the same month. He returned to Chicago in the spring of 1932 to front a band led by Zilner Randolph; the group toured around the country. In July, Armstrong sailed to England for a tour. He spent the next several years in Europe, his American career maintained by a series of archival recordings, including the Top Ten hits "Sweethearts on Parade" (August 1932; recorded December 1930) and "Body and Soul" (October 1932; recorded October 1930). His Top Ten version of "Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train," in the charts in early 1933, was on Victor Records; when he returned to the U.S. in 1935, he signed to recently formed Decca Records and quickly scored a double-sided Top Ten hit, "I'm in the Mood for Love"/"You Are My Lucky Star." Armstrong's new manager, Joe Glaser, organized a big band

for him that had its premiere in Indianapolis on July 1, 1935; for the next several years, he toured regularly. He also took a series of small parts in motion pictures, beginning with Pennies From Heaven in December 1936, and he continued to record for Decca, resulting in the Top Ten hits "Public Melody Number One" (August 1937), "When the Saints Go Marching in" (April 1939), and "You Won't Be Satisfied (Until You Break My Heart)" (April 1946), the last a duet with Ella Fitzgerald. He returned to Broadway in the short-lived musical Swingin' the Dream in November 1939. With the decline of swing music in the post-World War II years, Armstrong broke up his big band and put together a small group dubbed the All Stars, which made its debut in Los Angeles on August 13, 1947. He embarked on his first European tour since 1935 in February 1948, and thereafter toured regularly around the world. In June 1951 he reached the Top Ten of the LP charts with Satchmo at Symphony Hall ("Satchmo" being his nickname), and he scored his first Top Ten single in five years with "(When We Are Dancing) I Get Ideas" later in the year. The single's B-side, and also a chart entry, was "A Kiss to Build a Dream On," sung by Armstrong in the film The Strip. In 1993, it gained renewed popularity when it was used in the film Sleepless in Seattle. Armstrong completed his contract with Decca in 1954, after which his manager made the unusual decision not to sign him to another exclusive contract but instead to have him freelance for different labels. Satch Plays Fats, a tribute to Fats Waller, became a Top Ten LP for Columbia in October 1955, and Verve Records contracted Armstrong for a series of recordings with Ella Fitzgerald, beginning with the chart LP Ella and Louis in 1956. Armstrong continued to tour extensively, despite a heart attack in June 1959. In 1964, he scored a surprise hit with his recording of the title song from the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!, which reached number one in May, followed by a gold-selling album of the same name. It won him a Grammy for best vocal performance. This pop success was repeated internationally four years later with "What a Wonderful World," which hit number one in the U.K. in April 1968. It did not gain as much notice in the U.S. until 1987 when it was used in the film Good Morning, Vietnam, after which it became a Top 40 hit. Armstrong was featured in the 1969 film of Hello, Dolly!, performing the title song as a duet with Barbra Streisand. He performed less frequently in the late '60s and early '70s and died of a heart ailment at 69. Louis Armstrong was embraced by two distinctly different audiences: jazz fans who revered him for his early innovations as an instrumentalist, but were occasionally embarrassed by his lack of interest in later developments in jazz and, especially, by his willingness to serve as a light entertainer; and pop fans, who delighted in his joyous performances, particularly as a vocalist, but were largely unaware of his significance as a jazz musician. Given his popularity, his long career, and the extensive label-jumping he did in his later years, as well as the differing jazz and pop sides of his work, his recordings are extensive and diverse, with parts of his catalog owned by many different companies. But many of his recorded performances are masterpieces, and none are less than entertaining. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Album: Complete New York Town Hall & Boston Symphony Hall Concerts Artist: Louis Armstrong Release Date: 6/6/2006 Genre: Jazz Reissued together for the first time on CD, Louis Armstrong's Complete New York Town Hall & Boston Symphony Hall Concerts provides an enjoyable and complete presentation of Satchmo and the AllStars. On May 17, 1947, Armstrong took the Town Hall stage alongside trombonist Jack Teagarden, clarinetist Peanuts Hucko, cornetist Bobby Hackett, pianist Dick Cary, bassist Bob Haggart, and Big Sid Catlett on drums. That set was so enthusiastically received that Armstrong broke up his longtime big band in order to continue on with the All-Stars. The concert at Symphony Hall took place four months later, on November 30, 1947, with a change in personnel given the addition of clarinetist Barney Bigard, pianist Dick Cary, and bassist Arvell Shaw with the remaining Teagarden and Catlett. Armstrong would continue to showcase the All-Stars into the early '50s, but wouldn't achieve the level of inspiration as demonstrated on these two historic concerts. ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide

Album: What a Wonderful World - RCA Artist: Louis Armstrong Release Date: 5/26/1970 Genre: Jazz The title cut and "Cabaret" from this mostly vocal session were big hits, but most of the other selections are only passable due to his charm. There is very little trumpet here with the last version of The All-Stars doing their best to support an ailing but still cheerful Armstrong. ~ Scott...

Name: Poncho Sanchez Genre: Jazz Styles: Afro-Cuban Jazz, Cuban Jazz Formed: October 30, 1951 www.mp3.com/artist/poncho-sanchez Ever since he led his first record date in 1982, Poncho Sanchez has headed one of the most popular and influential Latin jazz bands around. The youngest of 11 children, Sanchez taught himself to play guitar, flute, drums, and timbales before settling on the congas. After a period playing with local bands, he joined Cal Tjader's band in 1975 and was an important part of Tjader's pacesetting group until his idol's death in 1982. Shortly after he formed his own band and has since recorded on a regular basis for Concord Picante. Sanchez's group is very active, playing in clubs, concerts, and festivals on a regular basis. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Album: Do It! Artist: Poncho Sanchez Release Date: 8/9/2005 Genre: Jazz Journeyman Latin jazz bandleader Poncho Sanchez delivers another stellar and high-energy release with Do It! Featuring Sanchez's longtime ensemble, the album also includes appearances by funk legends Tower of Power, who play throughout, as well as South African jazz/funk legend trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Interestingly, rather than revisit one of Masekela's better-known hits like "Grazin' in the Grass," Sanchez chose to delve into older pieces from Masekela's debut, The Emancipation of Hugh Masekela, including the celebratory "Ha Lese Le Di Khanna" and the moody "Child of the Earth." Both showcase Masekela's evocative vocals. With such superb guest artists here, Do It! delivers an electrifying mix of dancefloor-ready pieces, modal Afro-jazz numbers, and Latin-inflected funk. ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide

Album: Soul of the Conga Artist: Poncho Sanchez Release Date: 9/12/2000 Genre: Jazz Soul of the Conga is the great follow-up release to Poncho Sanchez's Grammy Award winning CD Latin Soul, and it is every bit as soulful and special. As his 20th CD as a bandleader, (his 18th for Concord Picante), the release also celebrates the 20th anniversary of the master conguero's group. The conguero and his three-horn, three-percussion octet play 14 songs in a set filled with the fiery, vibrant rhythms that have defined the soul of Latin jazz. From the ChaChaCha on "Oye Lo" to the changüi with The Ortiz Brothers on "Venga a Bailar Bailadores (Changui)," Poncho Sanchez plays a solid set filled with excitement and infectious grooves. Organist Joey DeFrancesco joins him on seven songs, adding his Hammond B3 originality, while Terence Blanchard adds another level of soul with his great trumpet on "Stella By Starlight." The octet stretches on Alphonse Mouzon's "Virtue," with blistering percussion, excellent horn charts, and organ underlinings that make this song an instant favorite because of its great groove. Poncho Sanchez's powerful impact and sources of rhythmic diversification, soulful style, synergy, rhythmic riffs, and cierre, all developed into danceable compositions, make him one of the most influential men in Latin jazz and a force to be reckoned with in the 21st Century. ~ Paula Edelstein, All Music Guide

Album: Soul Sauce: Memories of Cal Tjader Artist: Poncho Sanchez Release Date: 3/7/1995 Genre: Jazz On Soul Sauce, Poncho Sanchez pays tribute to his late boss and hero vibraphonist Cal Tjader. Ruben Estrada of the Estrada Brothers (who sounds remarkably close to Tjader on vibes) was added to Sanchez' octet for the special project. Among the highlights are "Soul Sauce," "Morning," and "Poinciana Cha Cha." Solos are taken by trumpeter Stan Martin, trombonist Alex Henderson, and Scott Martin on reeds, but Estrada often takes honors. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Album: Under My Skin Artist: Avril Lavigne Release Date: 5/25/2004 Genre: Rock/Pop Tags: sweet Part of Avril Lavigne's appeal -- a large part of it, actually -- is that she's a brat, acting younger than her 17 years on her 2002 debut, Let Go, and never seeming like she much cared about the past (she notoriously mispronounced David Bowie's name when reading Grammy nominations), or anything for that matter. She lived for the moment, she partied with sk8er bois, she didn't want anything complicated, and she sang in a flat, plain voice that illustrated her age as much as her silly, shallow lyrics. Those words got disproportionate attention because they were so silly and shallow, but most listeners just didn't care because, thanks to producer gurus the Matrix, they were delivered in a shiny package filled with incessant, nagging hooks -- a sound so catchy it came to define the mainstream not long after Let Go hit the radio. The Matrix became ubiquitous on the strength of their work with Lavigne, who herself became a big star, earning constant play on radio and MTV, kick starting a fashion trend of ties-n-tank tops for girls and inexplicably providing a touchstone for indie rock queen Liz Phair's mainstream makeover. Fame, however, didn't pull the two camps together; it pushed them their separate ways, as the Matrix went on to record their own album and Avril decided to turn serious, working with a variety of co-writers and producers, including fellow Canadian singer/songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, for her second album, 2004's Under My Skin. Lavigne hasn't only shed her trademark ties for thrift-shop skirts, she's essentially ditched the sound of Let Go too, bringing herself closer to the mature aspirations of fellow young singer/songwriter Michelle Branch. Since Avril is still a teenager and still a brat, it's livelier than Branch. Even when it sags under minor keys and mid-tempos, it's fueled on teen angst and a sense of entitled narcissism, as if she's the first to discover the joys of love and pain of heartache. In a sense, she comes across as Alanis Morissette's kid sister, especially now that the Matrix are gone and the hooks have been pushed to the background for much of the record; it's the teen spin on Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, where she's self-consciously trying to grow as an artist. Naturally, this means that Under My Skin is less fun than Let Go since there's nothing as giddy as "Sk8er Boi," even if much of it is written from a similarly adolescent vantage. Lavigne's collaborators, Kreviazuk and Evan Taubenfeld chief among them, have helped streamline her awkward writing, and her performances are also assured, which almost makes up for the thinness of her voice, which sounds far younger than the meticulous arrangements around it. So, Under My Skin is a bit awkward, sometimes sounding tentative and unsure, sometimes clicking and surging on Avril's attitude and ambition. But it's telling that the one song that really catches hold on the first listen and stands out on repeated spins is "He Wasn't," the fastest, loudest, catchiest, and best song here, and the one closest to the spirit and sound of Let Go -it's not that Lavigne hasn't matured, but it's that her talents are better suited on music that's a little less contemplative and deliberate than Under My Skin. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name: Chris Brown Styles: Urban Formed: unknown www.mp3.com/artist/chris-brown17 Pop-oriented R&B vocalist Chris Brown debuted with the Scott Storch-produced "Run It!" and became the first male solo artist to release a single that went straight to the top of the Billboard singles chart. Only 16 at the time, Brown came from a small town in Virginia called Tappahannock and, like a lot of kids born since the early '80s, was initially into his parents' favorites but eventually fell under the spell of hip-hop. Around the time he reached puberty, he discovered his singing voice. Within a couple years, he had a recording contract with Jive and was lined up with several production and songwriting heavyweights (Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, Dre & Vidal, Sean Garrett, Storch) for his eponymous first album, an immediate Top Ten hit released in November of 2005. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

Album: Let Go Artist: Avril Lavigne Release Date: 6/4/2002 Genre: Rock/Pop Tags: awesome!! really rox!! av, punky!! Talk about pressure -- being under 21 and having a record deal no longer qualifies as extraordinary. And as mass-produced teen pop makes its exit and a glut of young singer/songwriters enter, child prodigies no longer have built-in marketing appeal. So if newcomer, 17-year-old Avril Lavigne truly wants to be "Anything but Ordinary," as she sings on her debut album, Let Go, she'll have to dig deeper. Luckily for Lavigne, aside from youth, she does have talent. Her debut runs the gamut from driving rock numbers like "Losing Grip" -- where Lavigne shows off her vocal range, powering into the anger-fueled, explosive rock chorus -- to singer/songwriter pop tunes like "My World," where Lavigne fills listeners in on the past 17 years of her life. Lavigne handles a variety of styles deftly, but she still has some growing up to do lyrically. "Sk8er Boi" has a terrific power pop bounce, but shows her lyrical shortcomings: "He was a punk/She did ballet/What more can I say" -- a lot. The phrasing is awkward and sometimes silly: "It's funny when you think it's gonna work out/Till you chose weed over me you're so lame," she sings on "Too Much to Ask." Not surprisingly, the standout track is the first single, "Complicated," a gem of a pop/rock tune with a killer chorus. But listen carefully and you'll realize that "Complicated"'s sing-song melody borrows just enough from Pink's "Don't Let Me Get Me" to make it familiar and likeable. Nonetheless, the song is a knockout radio hit. Lavigne, a self-professed skater punk and labelmate of Pink, shares her "Take Me As I Am" credo as well. And that said, it's hard not to look at this record, executive produced by Arista label head Antonio "L.A." Reid, who is thanked by Lavigne for allowing "me to be myself," and feel cynical about the music industry's willingness to reproduce a hit over and over. Lavigne, however, is a capable songwriter with vocal chops, and at her age, one imagines, she is still finding her feet, borrowing from the music she's grown up listening to. The problem is Lavigne is still so young she's listening to the radio hits of the '90s and early 2000s: she's Pink when she's bucking authority, Alanis Morissette when she's angry, and Jewel when she's sensitive. Let Go shows promise, but the question is whether Lavigne and only Lavigne will shine through on her next effort. ~ Christina Saraceno, All Music Guide

Name: Avril Lavigne Genre: Rock/Pop Styles: Teen Pop, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock Formed: unknown www.mp3.com/artist/avril-lavigne Wild child Avril Lavigne hit big in summer 2002 with her spiky-fun debut song, "Complicated," shifting pop music into a different direction. Lavigne, who was 17 at the time, didn't seem concerned with the glamour of the TRL-dominated pop world and such confidence allowed her star power to soar. The middle of three children in small-town Napanee, Ontario, Lavigne's rock ambitions were noticeable around age two. By her early teens, she was already writing songs and playing guitar. The church choir, local festivals, and county fairs also allowed Lavigne to get her voice heard, and luckily, Arista Records main man Antonio "L.A." Reid was listening. He offered her a deal, and at 16, Lavigne's musical dreams became reality. With Reid's assistance and a new Manhattan apartment, Lavigne found herself surrounded by prime songwriters and producers, but it wasn't impressive enough for her to continue. She had always relied on her own ideas to create a musical spark, and things weren't going as planned. Lavigne wasn't disillusioned, though. She headed for Los Angeles and Nettwerk grabbed her. Producer/songwriter Clif Magness (Celine Dion, Wilson Phillips, Sheena Easton) tweaked Lavigne's melodic, edgy sound and her debut, Let Go, was the polished product. Singles such as "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi" hit the Top Ten while "I'm with You" and "Losing Grip" did moderately well at radio. Butch Walker of the Marvelous 3, Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida, and Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Good Charlotte) signed on to produce Lavigne's second album, Under My Skin, which appeared in May 2004. The album topped the Billboard charts and produced the number one hit "My Happy Ending." Other singles like "Nobody's Home" and "Fall to Pieces" did respectably well also. Settling down a bit from her punk rock wild child persona, Lavigne married her boyfriend of two years, Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley, in July 2006. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide

Name: Rihanna Genre: R&B & Soul Styles: Dance-Pop, Urban Formed: unknown www.mp3.com/artist/rihanna Since the turn of the century, every American summer has seemed to produce one or two Caribbean-styled dancepop hit sensations, and the summer of 2005 was no different, as the relentless dancehall-lite booming rhythms of Rihanna's "Pon de Replay" seemed as omnipresent as sunshine. Like Daddy Yankee ("Gasolina") and Sean Paul ("Get Busy") in summers prior, Rihanna emerged initially as an unknown superstar, known far more for her song than for herself. Unlike Daddy Yankee and Sean Paul, however, she is a woman -- a young and beautiful greeneyed one, to be more specific. Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in the St. Michael parish of Barbados a brief 17 years before she reached the Top Two of Billboard's Hot 100 chart (held back from the number one spot by the undisputed song of the summer, Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together"), Rihanna always exhibited a special quality, winning beauty and talent contests as a schoolchild. But because she lived on the fairly remote island of Barbados in the West Indies, she never foresaw the sort of stardom that would later befall her. That stardom came courtesy of a fateful meeting with a man named Evan Rogers. The New Yorker was vacationing in Barbados with his wife, a native of the island, when someone turned him on to Rihanna. Since Rogers had spent years producing pop artists -including superstars like *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Laura Pausini, and Rod Stewart -- he offered her the opportunity to record some music after he recognized her talent and potential. Along with Rogers' production partner, Carl Sturken (the other half of Syndicated Rhythm Productions), Rihanna recorded some demos that sparked the interest of the Carter Administration -that is, Def Jam president Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. This led to an audition and, in turn, an on-the-spot offer to sign with Def Jam, which Rihanna indeed inked on the spot. Come summer 2005, Def Jam rolled out "Pon de Replay," the lead single of Music of the Sun, which was produced almost entirely by Rogers and Sturken and which synthesized Caribbean rhythms and beats with urban-pop songwriting. "Pon de Replay" caught fire almost immediately, challenging "We Belong Together"'s half-summer reign atop the Billboard chart before Music of the Sun even saw release. Her sophomore release, A Girl Like Me, appeared in 2006. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

Album: Chris Brown Artist: Chris Brown Release Date: 11/29/2005 Tags: ...........damn! The week "Run It!" was released, it went straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and became the first single from a male artist to debut at that spot. That's no slight feat, especially for a reheated version of Usher's "Yeah!" made by a fresh-faced teenager who reps a little town in Virginia that rhymes with "grab a hammock." On "Run It!," Chris Brown is boosted by production from Scott Storch and an appearance by Juelz Santana. The song's way of tempering Brown's small-town innocence with hard-edged backing and a guest spot from an MC of ill repute is clearly a strategy to make the singer appeal to more than tween girls. (Had Brown been coming up in the early '90s, Quincy Jones -- not Dr. Dre -- might've produced him and Prince -- not Luther Campbell -- might've assisted, which just goes to show how much R&B has changed in 15 years.) Chris Brown, a durable debut album, almost always involves an even push-and-pull between what appeals to kids who don't consider street credibility and those who do, all the way down to the visuals: check the album cover, featuring the singer's strained "Don't mess with me!" face, and compare it to the photo spread inside, featuring Brown's natural "Pinch my cheeks!" face. He doesn't often try to sound harder or more demonstrative than necessary, unlike a lot of singers his age who have sprouted during the late '90s and early 2000s, and he rarely oversteps the kind of romantic territory that most teens find relatable. Toughness comes instead from the beats, whether they're provided by the Underdogs, Dre and Vidal, Cool & Dre, or the overworked Storch. While Brown's audience will be almost exclusively 18 and under; few of his fans will feel sheepish in owning this album. He's a refreshing presence, a high-schooler who's neither as family friendly as Will Smith nor as comically vulgar as Pretty Ricky. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

Name: Gwen Stefani Genre: Rock/Pop Styles: Club/Dance, Alternative/Indie Formed: unknown Before she discovered she could write songs, Gwen Stefani was looking forward to a life of marriage, children, and white picket fences. When her brother introduced her to ska and new wave music, it set off a chain of events that would eventually lead to millions of albums sold and a Madonna-sized public image that extended past music and into the worlds of film, fashion, and technology. Born and raised in Fullerton, CA, Stefani had a musical epiphany at the age of 17. She had fallen in love with the Madness and Selecter records her brother, Eric Stefani, was playing constantly. Seeing Fishbone, the Untouchables, and other bands involved in Los Angeles' ska revival scene only reinforced her interest in music, so she was more than ready when her brother asked her to join a ska band he was forming with a friend named John Spence. Gwen originally shared lead vocals with Spence but in December of 1987 he committed suicide, leaving the band -- now called No Doubt -- with an uncertain future. According to numerous interviews with the bandmembers after their breakthrough, Gwen was the glue that held No Doubt together during these hard times, pushing the group to keep trying. She was also romantically involved with the band's bass player, Tony Kanal, by this time. After playing numerous gigs and parties, No Doubt were signed to Interscope in 1991. The label considered their 1992 debut album a flop and refused to financially support a tour or further recordings, but the band refused to give up. The self-financed Beacon Street Collection appeared in 1994 and did well enough to make things nice with Interscope, but the band was once again going through a traumatic period behind the scenes. Eric Stefani left to become an animator for The Simpsons and Gwen and Tony's relationship had ended. Gwen wrote a collection of songs focused on heartbreak and rebirth that would become No Doubt's third album, Tragic Kingdom, and the rest, as they say, is history. With the smash singles "Just a Girl," "Spiderwebs," and "Don't Speak," the album reached the number one spot in Billboard and garnered two Grammy nominations. The press began to focus on Stefani's role in the band. Voted one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People," video and photo shoots focused on her and rumors spread that the other three members of the band were unhappy with the lack of attention they received. This topic of discussion continued as the band released Return of Saturn in 2000 and Rock Steady a year later, but it was overshadowed during this time by new gossip -- Stefani's romantic relationship with Bush's frontman, Gavin Rossdale. She also started doing some work outside the band, lending her vocals to the remix of electronica artist Moby's "Southside" and rapper Eve's "Let Me Blow Your Mind." In 2002, she arrived 45 minutes late for her wedding with Rossdale in London. After Rock Steady, No Doubt took a break. Stefani approached Kanal about producing an off-the-cuff solo project that would be influenced by her non-ska favorites. Prince, the Time, Club Nouveau, and Madonna were the names thrown around and the idea was to make the project "fast and easy." Over time, the "fast and easy" record morphed into something much bigger. Old friend, former labelmate, and hit songwriter Linda Perry became involved and the project became much more polished, slick, and dance-oriented. A pile of high-profile collaborators -- Dr. Dre, the Neptunes, Dallas Austin, Andre 3000, Nellee Hooper, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis -- became involved. In September of 2004, the infectious and hyper dance single "What You Waiting For?" appeared with its accompanying video dominating MTV. The album, Love.Angel.Music.Baby, hit the shelves in November with surreal artwork that introduced Stefani's four-woman "posse," the Harajuku Girls. The all-Asian Harajuku Girls were inspired by Stefani's fascination with the Harajuku Girls of Japan, young club kids that have a flippant and fun attitude toward fashion. Appearing with Stefani live, in videos, and in photos, the Girls quickly drew criticism from the Asian community, angry about the rumor that they had to sign a contract to never speak English even though they could, and that Stefani's Girls looked nothing like the "real" Harajuku Girls. Based on a dancehall cover of Fiddler on the Roof's "If I Were a Rich Man," "Rich Girl" became the next smash single with the anthem "Hollaback Girl" becoming success number three. While the singles were dominating pop and dance radio, Stefani appeared as Jean Harlow in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. With music and movies checked off, Stefani moved into the world of fashion and introduced her clothing line L.A.M.B. Taking her influence to the world of tech, she designed the "Harajuku Lovers' 4.1 MP Digital Camera" for Hewlett-Packard. The camera was released in a limited edition with a Stefani-designed case and biographical DVD. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

Album: A Girl Like Me Artist: Rihanna Release Date: 4/25/2006 Tags: allsome Versatile {\urban} {\dance-pop} singer {$Rihanna} gracefully avoids the sophomore slump with {^A Girl Like Me}, a less {\tropical}-flavored, more {\urban} effort than her sun-and-fun debut. Then again, it's hard to be an effervescent island goddess 24-7 when your love life has suffered a crushing blow, something inferred by the numerous heartbreaking {\ballads} included, all of them elegant, mature, and displaying artistic growth. Fans of her brilliant single {&"Pon de Replay"} need not worry, though, as the album kicks off with its equal. Bursting out of the speakers, {&"SOS"} is a sexy {\club} tune that bites the bleepy riff from {$Soft Cell}'s {&"Tainted Love"} in a very modern, very exciting mash-up fashion. The crunchy {\reggae} of {&"Kisses Don't Lie"} offers a less revolutionary alternative to {$Damian Marley}'s {&"Welcome to Jamrock."} Then the album gets bolder and seamlessly bounces from genre to genre. Attempting things that would make lesser artists crumble, {$Rihanna} goes from a {\film noir} song that elegantly uses murder as a metaphor for cheating ({&"Unfaithful"}) to an easy-flowing weekend cruiser ({&"We Ride"}). Even more stunning is the jump from the 2006 prom-song candidate {&"Final Goodbye"} to the totally juiced {&"Break It Off,"} where she gives guest star and {\dancehall} king {$Sean Paul} some serious competition. The good but not great redo of {&"If It's Lovin' That You Want"} with {$Corey Gunz} is the only track approaching filler, but it's clearly marked "bonus," so it's a wash. Executive produced by {$Jay-Z}, {^A Girl Like Me} is unsurprisingly polished, yet a richer experience than you'd expect from a singer responsible for the summer jam of 2005, arguably 2006. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

Album: Music of the Sun Artist: Rihanna Release Date: 8/30/2005 Given the proliferation of young and beautiful {\urban} {\dance-pop} divas dominating the radio and music video airwaves in 2005, it initially was tempting to discount {$Rihanna} as yet another {$Beyoncé}-{$Ciara}-{$Ashanti} cash-in. But like her {@Def Jam} labelmate {$Teairra Mari} -- another young and beautiful {\urban} {\dance-pop} diva who emerged out of nowhere in 2005 -- {$Rihanna} is winsome rather than wannabe, thanks in no small part to her producers. Just as {$Teairra Mari} benefited greatly from irresistibly shrewd beat-making on her debut album, {$Rihanna} benefits from the knowing production work of Syndicated Rhythm Productions, aka {$Evan Rogers} and {$Carl Sturken}, who together produced a laundry list of contemporary {\teen pop} sensations during the prior decade. What these guys do that's so irresistibly shrewd is synthesize Caribbean rhythms and beats with standard-issue {\urban} {\dance-pop}: Caribbean-inflected {\urban}, if you will. So while a song like {&"Pon de Replay"} -- to pick the most obvious exhibit -- is driven by booming {\dancehall}-lite beats and a {\reggae} vocal cadence (and title spelling), it's a simple {\dance-pop} song at its core, with standard English-language singing as well as a can't-miss singalong hook (and a glitzy, {\urban}-style {@MTV} video to boot). The best songs on {^Music of the Sun} follow this appealing template, including the similarly catchy few songs that follow the aforementioned album-opening smash hit: {&"Here I Go Again,"} {&"If It's Lovin' That You Want,"} and {&"You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)."} As with most albums of this ilk, {^Music of the Sun} descends into faceless slow jams after a while, overall consistency not being among its attributes, but thankfully it picks up the pace toward the end of its 13-song run and concludes on a fun note, with a remix of {&"Pon de Replay"} featuring {$Elephant Man}. The result is one of the more engaging {\urban} {\dance-pop} albums of the year (and one of the most infectious summer jams, for sure), as well as a nice Caribbean primer for those not ready or willing to jump on the increasingly trendy {\dancehall} and {\reggaeton} bandwagons concurrently sweeping through America's more fashionable cities. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

Album: Love.Angel.Music.Baby Artist: Gwen Stefani Release Date: 11/23/2004 Genre: Rock/Pop Tags: dance, pop

In the wake of Gwen Stefani's elevation to diva status in the early 2000s, it's easy to forget that for a brief moment at the start of the millennium it seemed that she and her band, No Doubt, were dangerously close to being pegged as yet another of the one-album alt-rock wonders of the '90s. Return of Saturn, their long-awaited 2000 follow-up to their blockbuster 1995 breakthrough Tragic Kingdom, failed to ignite any sparks at either retail or radio, despite receiving some strong reviews, and the group seemed on the verge of disappearing. Then, Gwen sang on Eve's "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" in 2001. The Dr. Dre-produced song was a brilliant single, driven by a G-funk groove and a sultry pop chorus delivered by Stefani, and it was an enormous hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard charts and winning a Grammy, while redefining Gwen's image in the process. No longer the cute SoCal ska-punk kid of Tragic Kingdom, she was a sexy, glamorous club queen, and No Doubt's next album, 2001's Rock Steady, not only reflected this extreme makeover, it benefited from it, since her new ghetto-fabulous persona turned the album into a big hit. A side effect of this was that Gwen now had a higher profile than her band, making a solo album somewhat inevitable. Since she always dominated No Doubt -- she was their face, voice, lyricist, and sex symbol, after all -- it's reasonable to ask whether vanity was the only reason she wanted to break out on her own, since it seemed to the outside observer that she helped set the musical course for the band. A quick listen to Love.Angel.Music.Baby, her 2004 solo debut, reveals that this is not an album she could have made with the group -- it's too club-centric, too fashion-obsessed, too willfully weird to be a No Doubt album. Working with far too many collaborators -including Dr. Dre, the Neptunes, Linda Perry, Dallas Austin, Andre 3000, Nellee Hooper, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and her No Doubt bandmate (and ex-boyfriend) Tony Kanal -- Stefani has created a garish, neon-colored, deliberately stylish solo album that's

intermittently exciting and embarrassing. It covers far too much ground to be coherent, but a large part of its charm is to hear it careen from the thumping, minimal beats of the Neptunes-helmed "Hollaback Girl" to the sleek, new wave textures of the high school anthem-in-waiting "Cool" and back to the exhilarating freakazoid sex song "Bubble Pop Electric," featuring Andre 3000's alter ego Johnny Vulture. This is music that exists entirely on the surface -- so much so, that when Andre drops in Martin Luther King samples into the closer, "Long Way to Go," it's a jarring buzz kill -- and that's what's appealing about L.A.M.B., even if it is such a shallow celebration of fleeting style and outdated bling-bling culture, it can grate. This shallowness can result in intoxicating beats, hooks, and melodies, but also a fair share of embarrassments, from odes to "hydroponic love" and choruses built on either "That's my s*it" or "take a chance, you stupid ho" to the stumbling contributions from Linda Perry. But Stefani's dogged desire to cobble together her own patchwork style while adhering to both her new wave chick and urban goddess personas can be both fascinatingly odd (her weirdly homoerotic tribute to "Harajuku Girls") and irresistible. It's telling that the best moments on the album keep closest to her new wave roots (which include heavy electro synth beats and blips): no matter how hard she tries, she is not a cultural trailblazer like Madonna. Unlike Madge, she willingly adapts to her collaborators instead of forcing them to adapt to her, which means that L.A.M.B. truly does sound like the work of seven different producers instead of one strongwilled artist. Nevertheless, even if it doesn't work all the time -- and some of its best tracks still have moments that induce a withering cringe -- it's a glitzy, wild ride that's stranger and often more entertaining than nearly any other mainstream pop album of 2004. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

history OF RoCK In the United Kingdom the trad jazz movement brought visiting blues music artists to Britain. Lonnie Donegan's 1955 hit "Rock Island Line" was a major influence, and helped to develop the trend of skiffle music groups throughout the country, including John Lennon's The Quarry Men, the 1957 precursor to The Beatles. Britain developed a major rock and roll scene, without the race barriers which kept "race records" or rhythm and blues separate in the U.S. Cliff Richard had the first British rock 'n' roll hit with "Move It", effectively ushering in the sound of British rock. At the start of the 1960s, his backing group The Shadows was one of a number of groups having success with surf music instrumentals. And while rock 'n' roll was fading into lightweight pop and schmaltzy ballads, at clubs and local dances British rock groups, heavily influenced by blues-rock pioneers like Alexis Korner, were starting to play with an intensity and drive seldom found in white American acts. By the end of 1962, the British rock scene had started, with groups drawing on a wide range of American influences including soul music, rhythm and blues and surf music. Initially, they reinterpreted standard American tunes, playing for dancers doing the Twist, for example. These groups eventually infused their original rock compositions with increasingly complex musical ideas. The Beatles brought together an appealing mix of image, songwriting and personality, and achieved an unprecedented level of worldwide popularity. In mid-1962 the Rolling Stones started as one of a number of groups increasingly showing blues influence, along with The Animals and The Yardbirds. In late 1964, The Kinks, The Who and The Pretty Things represented the new Mod style. Towards the end of the decade, British rock groups began to explore psychedelic musical styles that made reference to the drug subculture and hallucinogenic experiences. After their initial success in the UK, The Beatles launched a largescale US tour to a frenzy of fan interest known as Beatlemania, which spread worldwide with the Beatles' first visit to the US in 1964 including their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show on 9 February 1964. In the wake of Beatlemania, other British bands headed to the US, notably the Rolling Stones, The Animals, and The Yardbirds.

Histo…….Rock Psychedelia began in the folk scene, with the Holy Modal Rounders introducing the term in 1964. With a background including folk and jug band music, The Grateful Dead fell in with Ken Kesey's LSD fuelled Merry Pranksters, playing at their Acid Tests then providing an electric acid rock soundtrack to their Trips Festival of January 1966, together with Big Brother & the Holding Company. The Fillmore was a regular venue for groups like another former jug band, Country Joe and the Fish, and Jefferson Airplane. Elsewhere, The Byrds had a hit with Eight Miles High. This song was also the breakthrough for Dutch band Golden Earring on their first tour of the USA in 1969, when they also were regulars at The Fillmore and stretched their version of "Eight Miles High" to over 40 minutes filled with jams and solos. The 13th Floor Elevators titled their album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. The music increasingly became associated with opposition to the Vietnam War. In England, Pink Floyd had been developing psychedelic rock since 1965 in the underground culture scene. In 1966 the band Soft Machine was formed. Donovan had a folk music-influenced hit with Sunshine Superman, one of the early psychedelic pop records. In August 1966 The Beatles released their Revolver album, which featured psychedelia in Tomorrow Never Knows and in Yellow Submarine, along with the memorable album cover.. The Beach Boys responded in the U.S. with Pet Sounds. From a blues rock background, the British supergroup Cream debuted in December, and Jimi Hendrix became popular in Britain before returning to the US. January 1967 brought the first album from The Doors. As the year went by many other pioneering groups got records out, with Pink Floyd's Arnold Layne in March only hinting at their live sound. The Beatles' groundbreaking album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released in June, and by the end of the year Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Cream's Disraeli Gears. The culmination of rock and roll as a socially-unifying force was seen in the rock festivals of the late '60s, the most famous of which was Woodstock in 1969 which began as a three-day arts and music

festival and turned into a "happening", as hundreds of thousands of youthful fans converged on the site.