#ROXANNESHANTEFACTS
#18 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Roxanne Shanté (born Lolita Shanté Gooden; November 9, 1969) is an American Hip hoppioduneer. Born and raised in theQueensbridge Projects of Queens, New York City, Shanté first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and her association with theJuice Crew.
Early life and Career
Shanté's career began at the age of 14 when she entered the influential world of record producer Marley Marl, radio DJ Mr. Magic, and Tyrone Williams, who were talking about how UTFO had canceled its appearance at a show that it was promoting. Shanté offered to record an answer to UTFO's recent hit "Roxanne, Roxanne," which was about a woman who rejects the members of the group. The men agreed and the result was "Roxanne's Revenge," a confrontational and profane song in which Shanté assumed the role of Roxanne,dissing UTFO over a Marley Marl-produced instrumental (The official UTFO response to its own song was “The Real Roxanne,” with artists Elease Jacks and later Adelaida Martinez assuming the role of Roxanne and eventually recording under the same stage name as the song title).
Shanté's version and the Real Roxanne's version sparked the Roxanne Wars and made Shanté a hip-hop star in the process.
The single would go on to sell over 250,000 copies in the New York area alone. One of the founding members of theJuice Crew, most of her tracks would be produced by Marley Marl, with the exception of several songs on Shanté's last album, 1992's The Bitch Is Back.
As an MC, Shanté was renowned for an extraordinary ability tofreestyle (improvise) entire songs. "Roxanne’s Revenge" was an example, reportedly written as it was recorded—in one take. However, the original version of the song was rerecorded after UTFO sued over the usage of its original backing track; the new version featured slightly different music with less profanity.
People are most familiar with this version, which appears on the original 12-inch single released in 1984, with the original on the A-side. In 1997 she teamed up with Frankie Cutlass on his third single title "The Cypher Part 3" and some ofMarley Marl Juice Crew veterans. In 1988, Shanté and Rick Jameshad a hit with "Loosey's Rap."
By the age of 25, Shanté was largely retired from the recording industry. She continued to make occasional guest appearances and live performances, as well as mentor young female hip-hop artists. She did the latter by making a cameo appearance on VH1's hip hop reality show Ms. Rap Supreme and gave rap-battle strategies to the finalists of that show.
She also took part in a series of Sprite commercials during the late 1990s. She returned to performing, and in 2008, her song "Roxanne's Revenge" was ranked number 42 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs; she re-recorded the song the following year.
It was reported by Blender in 2008 and more extensively in a New York Daily News account in 2009, that Shanté earned her bachelor's degree from Marymount Manhattan Collegeand her Master's and Ph.D in psychology from Cornell University, and that a quirk in her recording contract obligatedWarner Music to fund her college education.
This was not a new claim by Shanté; she spoke of it in length on the Beef II documentary, which was released in 2004.
However, an investigation by lawyer and journalist Ben Sheffner for Slate magazine found no evidence of Shanté's claims. She was never signed to a Warner Music label, but was under contract to the independent label Cold Chillin' Records, which was in turn distributed by Reprise/Warner Bros. Records from 1987 to 1992.
Academic records indicate that she attended only three months at Marymount Manhattan College. Shanté never earned any degree and she is unlicensed by New York State officials to practice psychology or similar disciplines.
Shanté told Sheffner that she held a diploma and attended Cornell under a pseudonym because of problems with domestic violence, but she was unable to substantiate these claims.
The Daily News subsequently ran a five-paragraph correction stating Cornell "has now informed us that it has no record of Shanté ever attending the school," that "Warner Music Group now claims it never had a contract with Shanté—only a distribution agreement with her label," and that "after refusing to return numerous calls and e-mails during the preparation of this article, Marymount now states that Shanté attended the college for less than one semester."
"Do I apologize? Yes, I do. But I am not asking for your forgiveness," Shanté said. "I am sorry about a lot of things that I should've done differently. There were quite a few things that have been exposed with that article; the fact that I never received any royalties, the fact that I did go on to attend college (even if no Ph.D. was acquired), and the fact that at 14 years old and coming straight from the group home, I went on to create a career that even after 20 years of not making a hit record, was still pulling headlines. To be called Dr. Roxanne Shante was, and is, a privilege. But with that privilege comes pressure. I also had to live and talk like someone with a doctorate -- not an easy task at all.
I had to make sure that people felt healed and inspired after speaking with me. So, yes, I apologize to all those who applied themselves and put in all the hard work that is required to acquire a Ph.D. I admire you all. But don't discredit all the hard work and sacrifices so many others have also done to also reach their goals."
Roxanne Wars
The Roxanne Wars is a well-known series of hip hop rivalries during the mid-1980s, yielding perhaps the most answer records in history. It arose from a dispute over a failed appearance at a radio promotional show. There were two Roxannes in question, Roxanne Shanté and The Real Roxanne.
History
In 1984, the hip-hop trio U.T.F.O., produced by the R&B group Full Force, released a single titled "Hanging Out," which did not do well. However, it was the single's B side, "Roxanne, Roxanne", a song about a woman who would not respond to their advances, that gained much attention and airplay.
Soon afterwards, 14-year-old Lolita Shanté Gooden was walking outside a New York City housing project called Queensbridge, when she heard Tyrone Williams, disc jockey Mr. Magic, and record producer Marley Marl talking about how U.T.F.O. had canceled their appearance at a show they were promoting.
Gooden offered to make a hip-hop record that would get back at U.T.F.O., with her taking on the monikerRoxanne Shanté, after her middle name. The three took her up on the idea, with Marley producing"Roxanne's Revenge." The single was released in late 1984, taking the original beats from an instrumental version of "Roxanne, Roxanne." It was very confrontational and laced with profanities, but was an instant hit that sold over 250,000 copies in the New York area alone. Legal action followed, and it was re-released in early 1985 with new beats and the obscenities removed.
Following this, U.T.F.O. and Full Force decided to release their own answer record. While not directly aimed at Roxanne Shanté, this record featured Elease Jack, who took on the moniker of the Real Roxanne (and was soon replaced by Adelaida Martinez).
This also was a hit, but it may have also produced an undesired result: while there had been answer records before (such as the semi-disco song "Somebody Else's Guy" and "Games People Play"/"Games Females Play"), they usually ended with the second recording. But in this saga, with a third record in airplay, a whole new trend began. The airwaves were so occupied with the three "Roxanne" records that other MCs decided to get into the act.
Over the next year, anywhere from 30 to over 100 answer records (according to different claims) were produced, portraying Roxanne's family, or making various claims about her. The ones that were more well known were the following:
"Sparky's Turn (Roxanne, You're Through)"[5] by Sparky D, a feisty female who criticizes Roxanne (Shanté, in particular) for being disrespectful toward UTFO, and for being too young, both for them to pursue, and to be an MC. Even though the record defended UTFO, they were reportedly not appreciative of this additional unauthorized response.
It was after this that the saga really took off."Roxanne's Doctor-The Real Man" by Dr. Freshh,[6] who also insulted Roxanne for having no class."Do the Roxanne" by Dr. Rocx & Co., which created a dance based on Roxanne. (Referred to Shanté's "cracky wacky voice", as Sparky D had described it in her record).
A rare instance of a record in the series not aimed at dissingsomeone."The Parents of Roxanne" by Gigolo Tony & Lacey Lace, which answered both UTFO and Sparky D. It drew references from both "Roxanne's Revenge" and "The Real Roxanne" as if both represented the true Roxanne."I’m Lil Roxanne" by Tanganyika, was a record by the then young artist named Tanganyika stating that she was the younger version of the original Roxanne."Yo, My Little Sister (Roxanne's Brothers)" by Crush Groove (no relation to Krush Groove), which answered UTFO, Sparky D, and Dr. Freshh."Rappin' Roxy: Roxanne's Sister"by D.W. and the Party Crew featuring Roxy, which reuses several lines from The Real Roxanne and attacks both UTFO and Sparky D."Ice Roxanne" by Little Ice Another record answering Roxanne Shanté by a young female, who citing a line in "Roxanne's Revenge" tells Roxanne to "make up her mind" if she wanted a man or not."Roxanne's a Man (The Untold Story—Final Chapter)" by Ralph Rolle, which claimed that Roxanne was actually a man who had been sodomized in prison, and then having "lost his manhood", turned himself into a woman after his release; and insulted UTFO for not realizing this."The Final Word - No More Roxanne (Please)" by The East Coast Crew, the final record that told the world to end it all.
East Coast Crew contained regulars from the 80's TV show on the USA Network "Dance Party USA".
Aftermath
In due time, the "Roxanne" trend had run its course, and a sort of moratorium was called on new Roxanne acts (some later records even called for this).
The response records finally died down; however, the battle continued amongst its core group of players:
UTFO added another response of their own; "Roxanne, Roxanne, Pt. 2: Calling Her a Crab", also aimed loosely at Shanté, in which they took back all the compliments they had given to Roxanne in the first record, give out insults instead, and claimed to have never really liked her in the first place.
Roxanne Shanté issued her follow-up record "Queen of Rox", which told the story of "how she got so fresh," and faced "a little bit of hassle from UTFO about saying that I'm Roxanne," and then takes a jab at the Real Roxanne ("Yeah, I seen that girl—she got a face like a man").In "Bite This", Shanté dissed other MCs, including "the Real Roxanne, Sparky D, and all the other Roxannes imitating me."
Then, there was the one-on-one battle between Shanté and Sparky D: "Round 1 - Roxanne Shanté Vs. Sparky Dee." The album cover had a picture of both women challenging each other wearing boxing gloves.
The biggest successor to the Roxanne war was The Bridge Wars, in which Roxanne Shanté, as a member of Marley Marl's Juice Crew, was loosely involved. The Bridge Wars attacked the entire Queensbridge area.
The tables were then turned, because this time it was a hit record produced by Mr. Magic and Marley Marl that garnered a response (MC Shan's"The Bridge"), sparking off a whole new battle saga.
It was in the midst of this battle, in the song "Go On, Girl", that Roxanne Shanté dropped the name Roxanne, and was thereafter known only as Shanté. (The opening line says "it's '87, y'all, so no more Roxannes . . . "). Likewise, The Real Roxanne dropped "Real" from her name, and went by the name Roxanne, and was even addressed as such by Shanté in the track "Big Mama", in a reference to their past battles. This lasted until her 1992 track, "Roxanne S*** Is Over", where she relinquishes the name Roxanne for good, and dubs herself Jo-Anne With The Plan.
The album this was released on, Go Down But Don't Bite It, however, was her final record. Shanté likewise retired from the business a few years afterward.
Other Response Records
Anthony - Roxanne Is A Man Blowfly - Blowfly meets Roxanne DJ Spin Kut - Roxanne Girls Mega Mix 2 —(Clips from the various records mixed together)Doctor JR Kool - Rap Your Own Roxanne —(Electronic instrumental dance record)DW & The Party Crew (feat. Roxy) - Roxy (Party Crew Records 1985)G-Mann - Roxanne (Is My Girl) Korner Boyz - The Saga Of Roxanne Maggotron - Planet Detroit vs. The Roxanne Plague —(Mostly an electronic dance track)Mix-Trix 4 - Roxanne Can You Feel It? —(A DJ mix record featuring the "Roxanne Roxanne" beat with many other raps from the time)Potato Chips - Roxanne's Real Fat Ricardo & Chocolate Boogie - Do It Ricardo (Roxanne's Man) Rocksann - She Died Starrlite - Watch Out Roxanne The Invasions - Roxanne's Dis The Invasions - Roxanne's Man The Overnite Bandits - Roxanne's Baby Zelee featuring Osé - No More Roxanne (Roxanne No More)
Monday, June 8, 2015
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Da Brat
#DABRATFACTS
#17 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
ACTIVE: 1991 TO PRESENT
Da Brat (born Shawntae Harris; April 14, 1974 in Joliet, Illinois) is an American Grammy-nominatedrapper and actress.
Her debut album, Funkdafied (1994), sold one million copies, making her the first female solo rap act to have a platinum-selling album, and the second overall female rap act (solo or group) after Salt N Pepa. Harris is the younger half-sister of actress LisaRaye McCoy.
Early life
Harris was born in Joliet, Illinois and raised on Chicago's West Side. Her parents never married, and Harris was subsequently raised in two different households.
She lived part of the time with her mother and grandmother and attended a strict Pentecostal church four times a week, where she sang in the choir. She also lived with her father and his mother, where she had fewer restrictions.
Harris attended Kenwood Academy from 1990-1991, where she ran track and played basketball, and she graduated from Academy of Scholastic Achievement, a continuation charter school that caters to at-risk students, in 1993.
1992–1995: Early success
In 1992, Harris got a big break when she won the grand prize in a local rap contest sponsored by Yo! MTV Raps. For the prize, she got to meet Kris Kross, and they in turn introduced her to their producer,Jermaine Dupri, who signed her to his So So Def label. Dupri cultivated Da Brat's image as a "female Snoop Doggy Dogg," and she became one of the first female "reality-based" rappers.
Harris told the Atlanta Journal-Constitutionthat her stage name, "Da Brat," was inspired because she is "a spoiled only child."
Da Brat's debut album Funkdafied was released in 1994 and entered the rap albums chart at Number #1. The album went platinum, which made her the first female solo rapper to sell one million units. The eponymous single reached #1 on the rap singles chart and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
She had a follow-up hit from the same album, "Give It 2 You," which reached #26 on the Hot 100.
1996–1999: Collaborations and film projects
In 1996, Da Brat released her second full-length album, Anuthatantrum, which included the single "Ghetto Love" featuring T-Boz of TLC. During the rest of the '90s, Da Brat came to be known more for her "featured" appearances on other rappers' and R&B singers' albums rather than for her own solo work.
Da Brat was also featured with Kris Kross on their track "Da Bomb" on the album Da Bomb (1993), as well as on their third album Young, Rich and Dangerous (1996).
She contributed a rhyme to the hip hop remix of Mariah Carey's hit, "Always Be My Baby" (1996). She also made her feature film debut that year in Kazaam (1996) with Shaquille O'Neal.
During the summer of 1997, Da Brat appeared along with Dupri on a remix of Carey's "Honey (So So Def mix)" (1997) and recorded the hit remix of "Ladies' Night (Not Tonight)" (1997) with Lil' Kim, Left-Eye of TLC, Angie Martinez, andMissy Elliott. Also in 1997, she was featured on "Sock It 2 Me," a track on Missy Elliott's debut album, Supa Dupa Fly.
In 1999, she appeared, alongside Krayzie Bone, on the remix to Mariah Carey's cover of Brenda K. Starr's "I Still Believe" (1988). She also appeared as a guest artist with Elliott on Carey's remix of "Heartbreaker" (1999), and on the remix of Brandy's "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)."
That year, she was also featured on a remix of the Destiny's Child single "Jumpin', Jumpin'" (1999).
2000–2003: Return to solo work
In early 2000, Da Brat released her third full-length album Unrestricted, which produced the moderately successful singles "
That's What I'm Looking For" (U.S. #56) and "What Chu Like" (U.S. #26), featuring soul singer, Tyrese. The album was not well received compared to Brat's earlier work.
However, the new album and new millennium did inspire an image makeover for Da Brat. Abandoning her "gangsta" persona, she decided to follow the trend inpopular music and attempted to add to her sex appeal.
In 2001, Brat continued her trend of being featured on other artist's remixes, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart along with rapper Ludacris on the main remix of Mariah Carey's "Loverboy" and being featured artist on Destiny's Child's "Survivor" remix.
Da Brat also appeared as Louise in Carey's 2001 movie Glitter. In 2003, Brat released her fourth album, titled Limelite, Luv & Niteclubz, and appeared on the 4th season of VH1's The Surreal Life.
2005–present: Current activities
In 2005, she made a comeback of sorts when she was featured on the remix to the song "I Think They Like Me," by Dem Franchize Boyz, which also featured Bow Wow andJermaine Dupri. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart and #15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2006, she was an onstage guest on Mariah Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour in Atlanta, New York City, Long Island, Washington DC,Chicago, and Los Angeles performing her rap verses on the "Heartbreaker" and "Honey" remixes.
She was also featured on Kelly Rowland's "Gotsta Go," a bonus track from her 2007 album Ms. Kelly and is also featured on a bonus track from Carey's E=MC²on a track entitled "4real4real."
She also co-wrote a song with Mariah Carey called "O.O.C." which appears on E=MC² and contributes backing vocals on the track.
In 2007, she participated in the fifth season of the VH1 reality seriesCelebrity Fit Club. In 2011, she did a remix with Kelly Rowland called "Motivation" featuring Lil Wayne. Following her release from prison, she launched a web series about life after the experience titled "Brat Chronicles:
In Transition" on YouTube. She released her new single "Is It Chu?" on iTunes and other digital services on July 2, 2013.
-Legal troubles, prison sentence, and controversies
In 2001, Harris pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct after she had beaten a woman with a gun during a dispute over VIP seating in an Atlanta nightclub in 2000. The victim in that incident received six stitches for a head wound. Harris ended up serving a year's probation, performed 80 hours of community service, and paid a $1,000 fine.
On October 31, 2007, Harris was involved in the altercation that ended in assault at a Halloween party at Studio 72 nightclub in Atlanta. Harris initially argued with a hostess, and when the hostess walked away to talk to her manager, Harris attacked her from behind, striking her in the face with a rum bottle.
Harris entered a guilty plea to aggravated assault charges. She was sentenced to three years in prison, seven years of probation, and 200 hours of community service.
In May 2010, she was temporarily released from prison as part of a work-release program, after serving 21 months.
On February 28, 2011, Jermaine Dupri announced that Da Brat was officially released from prison, completing her sentence.
Her civil trial stemming from the 2007 altercation commenced on February 24, 2014. On February 28, 2014, a civil trial jury awarded ex-NFL cheerleader Shayla Stevens $6.4 million to cover her injuries and past/future loss of earnings.
On October 4, 2012, Nicki Minaj attacked Da Brat via her Twitter account after false reports of Brat defending Mariah Carey and threatening to beat Minaj with a bottle were released.
Minaj denounced Brat as a "sir" and tweeted: "The struggle for u to even AFFORD that bottle is why the barbz r now cackling DOWNNNt."
Da Brat responded to Minaj by tweeting: "Nicki nor Mariah has ever disrespected me so I would not disrespect either of them."
#17 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
ACTIVE: 1991 TO PRESENT
Da Brat (born Shawntae Harris; April 14, 1974 in Joliet, Illinois) is an American Grammy-nominatedrapper and actress.
Her debut album, Funkdafied (1994), sold one million copies, making her the first female solo rap act to have a platinum-selling album, and the second overall female rap act (solo or group) after Salt N Pepa. Harris is the younger half-sister of actress LisaRaye McCoy.
Early life
Harris was born in Joliet, Illinois and raised on Chicago's West Side. Her parents never married, and Harris was subsequently raised in two different households.
She lived part of the time with her mother and grandmother and attended a strict Pentecostal church four times a week, where she sang in the choir. She also lived with her father and his mother, where she had fewer restrictions.
Harris attended Kenwood Academy from 1990-1991, where she ran track and played basketball, and she graduated from Academy of Scholastic Achievement, a continuation charter school that caters to at-risk students, in 1993.
1992–1995: Early success
In 1992, Harris got a big break when she won the grand prize in a local rap contest sponsored by Yo! MTV Raps. For the prize, she got to meet Kris Kross, and they in turn introduced her to their producer,Jermaine Dupri, who signed her to his So So Def label. Dupri cultivated Da Brat's image as a "female Snoop Doggy Dogg," and she became one of the first female "reality-based" rappers.
Harris told the Atlanta Journal-Constitutionthat her stage name, "Da Brat," was inspired because she is "a spoiled only child."
Da Brat's debut album Funkdafied was released in 1994 and entered the rap albums chart at Number #1. The album went platinum, which made her the first female solo rapper to sell one million units. The eponymous single reached #1 on the rap singles chart and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
She had a follow-up hit from the same album, "Give It 2 You," which reached #26 on the Hot 100.
1996–1999: Collaborations and film projects
In 1996, Da Brat released her second full-length album, Anuthatantrum, which included the single "Ghetto Love" featuring T-Boz of TLC. During the rest of the '90s, Da Brat came to be known more for her "featured" appearances on other rappers' and R&B singers' albums rather than for her own solo work.
Da Brat was also featured with Kris Kross on their track "Da Bomb" on the album Da Bomb (1993), as well as on their third album Young, Rich and Dangerous (1996).
She contributed a rhyme to the hip hop remix of Mariah Carey's hit, "Always Be My Baby" (1996). She also made her feature film debut that year in Kazaam (1996) with Shaquille O'Neal.
During the summer of 1997, Da Brat appeared along with Dupri on a remix of Carey's "Honey (So So Def mix)" (1997) and recorded the hit remix of "Ladies' Night (Not Tonight)" (1997) with Lil' Kim, Left-Eye of TLC, Angie Martinez, andMissy Elliott. Also in 1997, she was featured on "Sock It 2 Me," a track on Missy Elliott's debut album, Supa Dupa Fly.
In 1999, she appeared, alongside Krayzie Bone, on the remix to Mariah Carey's cover of Brenda K. Starr's "I Still Believe" (1988). She also appeared as a guest artist with Elliott on Carey's remix of "Heartbreaker" (1999), and on the remix of Brandy's "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)."
That year, she was also featured on a remix of the Destiny's Child single "Jumpin', Jumpin'" (1999).
2000–2003: Return to solo work
In early 2000, Da Brat released her third full-length album Unrestricted, which produced the moderately successful singles "
That's What I'm Looking For" (U.S. #56) and "What Chu Like" (U.S. #26), featuring soul singer, Tyrese. The album was not well received compared to Brat's earlier work.
However, the new album and new millennium did inspire an image makeover for Da Brat. Abandoning her "gangsta" persona, she decided to follow the trend inpopular music and attempted to add to her sex appeal.
In 2001, Brat continued her trend of being featured on other artist's remixes, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart along with rapper Ludacris on the main remix of Mariah Carey's "Loverboy" and being featured artist on Destiny's Child's "Survivor" remix.
Da Brat also appeared as Louise in Carey's 2001 movie Glitter. In 2003, Brat released her fourth album, titled Limelite, Luv & Niteclubz, and appeared on the 4th season of VH1's The Surreal Life.
2005–present: Current activities
In 2005, she made a comeback of sorts when she was featured on the remix to the song "I Think They Like Me," by Dem Franchize Boyz, which also featured Bow Wow andJermaine Dupri. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart and #15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2006, she was an onstage guest on Mariah Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour in Atlanta, New York City, Long Island, Washington DC,Chicago, and Los Angeles performing her rap verses on the "Heartbreaker" and "Honey" remixes.
She was also featured on Kelly Rowland's "Gotsta Go," a bonus track from her 2007 album Ms. Kelly and is also featured on a bonus track from Carey's E=MC²on a track entitled "4real4real."
She also co-wrote a song with Mariah Carey called "O.O.C." which appears on E=MC² and contributes backing vocals on the track.
In 2007, she participated in the fifth season of the VH1 reality seriesCelebrity Fit Club. In 2011, she did a remix with Kelly Rowland called "Motivation" featuring Lil Wayne. Following her release from prison, she launched a web series about life after the experience titled "Brat Chronicles:
In Transition" on YouTube. She released her new single "Is It Chu?" on iTunes and other digital services on July 2, 2013.
-Legal troubles, prison sentence, and controversies
In 2001, Harris pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct after she had beaten a woman with a gun during a dispute over VIP seating in an Atlanta nightclub in 2000. The victim in that incident received six stitches for a head wound. Harris ended up serving a year's probation, performed 80 hours of community service, and paid a $1,000 fine.
On October 31, 2007, Harris was involved in the altercation that ended in assault at a Halloween party at Studio 72 nightclub in Atlanta. Harris initially argued with a hostess, and when the hostess walked away to talk to her manager, Harris attacked her from behind, striking her in the face with a rum bottle.
Harris entered a guilty plea to aggravated assault charges. She was sentenced to three years in prison, seven years of probation, and 200 hours of community service.
In May 2010, she was temporarily released from prison as part of a work-release program, after serving 21 months.
On February 28, 2011, Jermaine Dupri announced that Da Brat was officially released from prison, completing her sentence.
Her civil trial stemming from the 2007 altercation commenced on February 24, 2014. On February 28, 2014, a civil trial jury awarded ex-NFL cheerleader Shayla Stevens $6.4 million to cover her injuries and past/future loss of earnings.
On October 4, 2012, Nicki Minaj attacked Da Brat via her Twitter account after false reports of Brat defending Mariah Carey and threatening to beat Minaj with a bottle were released.
Minaj denounced Brat as a "sir" and tweeted: "The struggle for u to even AFFORD that bottle is why the barbz r now cackling DOWNNNt."
Da Brat responded to Minaj by tweeting: "Nicki nor Mariah has ever disrespected me so I would not disrespect either of them."
Thursday, June 4, 2015
JEAN GRAE FACTS
#JEANGRAEFACTS
#16 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
ACTIVE: 1996 TO PRESENT
Jean Grae (born Tsidi Ibrahim, November 26, 1976), formerly known as What? What?, is an American hip hop recording artist from Brooklyn, New York City.
She rose to prominence in the underground hip hop scene in New York City and has since built an international fanbase.
Jean Grae was born Tsidi Ibrahim, in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 26, 1976. The daughter of South African jazz musicians Sathima Bea Benjamin and Abdullah Ibrahim, she was raised in New York City, where her parents relocated after her birth.
She studied Vocal Performance at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, before majoring in Music Business at New York University. She dropped out after three weeks of class.
1996–98: Career beginnings
In 1995, she was discovered by George Rithm Martinez, when he recruited her for a five-song demo under the name of his group, Ground Zero.
Their demo was critically acclaimed and earned the duo Unsigned Hype honors in theThe Source Magazine in March 1996.
She later joined a hip hop group called Natural Resource, along with fellow rapper Ocean and disc jockey James "AGGIE" Barrett.
In 1996, they released a pair of 12-inch singles called "Negro League Baseball" b/w "Bum Deal" b/w "They Lied", and "Bum Deal (remix)" b/w "They Lied (remix)" b/w "I Love This World", on their own label, Makin' Records.
She also appeared on singles by fellow Makin' Records artists Pumpkinhead and Bad Seed, as well as on the O.B.S. (Original Blunted Soldiers) double12-inch single alongside crew members Pumpkinhead, Bad Seed and Meat-pie, and produced much of the material released on the label under the pseudonym Run Run Shaw.
During this period she established strong ties with the Brooklyn Academy crew, with which she would appear throughout her career.
1998–2004: Solo career
Natural Resource dissolved in 1998, after which Ibrahim changed her stage name from What? What? to Jean Grae, a reference to the X-Men character Jean Grey.
Under her new moniker, she released her first LP—Attack of the Attacking Things—in 2002, and followed it in 2004 with This Week.
Throughout her career she has also recorded tracks with numerous major hip-hop artists, Atmosphere, The Roots, Talib Kweli, The Herbaliser,Da Beatminerz, Phonte, Mr. Len,Masta Ace, Vordul Mega, C-Rayz Walz, Mos Def, Styles P, Pharoahe Monch and Immortal Technique among them.
Grae has recorded an unreleased album with celebrated North Carolina producer 9th Wonder, of Little Brother fame, entitled Jeanius.
This unfinished record was leaked on the internet, and subsequently work was stopped on this album.
However, at the release party for 9th Wonder's Dream Merchant Volume 2 album she stated that Jeanius was still going to be released.
This album was eventually released first through Zune Live Marketplace two weeks before its disc release on July 8, 2008.
Her rapping on the album was described by Robert Christgau as "remarkable for its rapidity, clarity and idiomatic cadence. The writing has a good-humored polysyllabic literacy."
Elsewhere, it's been reported that her proposed fourth album, provisionally titled Phoenix has gone into production.
It has been reported by several camp insiders that 9th Wonder will handle the lion's share of the production duties with unknown UK producer Passion hifi, English producer DJ Sonic Bass and NY resident Clinikal providing a beat each.
2005–2008: Blacksmith Music
Previously signed to Babygrande Records, she signed a deal in 2005 with Talib Kweli's Blacksmith Records.
On April 28, 2008, Grae posted a blog entry on her MySpace page saying goodbye to her fans.
She later cited disenchantment with the music industry and desire to start a family as the reasons behind the "retirement" and said that she was working on new material and still wanted to continue in music: "You know what? I need that Grammy. I think I might be able to stop after that."
In July 2008, Talib Kweli posted a blog entry explaining Grae's album, mentioning that she was not retiring. The blog ends encouraging fans to purchase the album, referring to Grae as "one of the last true MCs left." Grae returned to doing live performances later that year.
2008–present: Freelance
On September 18, 2008, Jean Grae posted a Craigslist ad offering her creative services for $800/16 bars.
On her MySpace blog, she stated, "I don't wanna complain anymore, I just wanna change some things about the way artists are treated and the way you guys are allowed to be involved, since it IS the digital age."
Since that time, all of her music has been self-released through her website and Bandcamp.
On June 23, 2011, after a three-year break, Grae released a free mixtape entitled Cookies or Comas, which features guest appearances from Styles P, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch; it also includes the highly praised tracks "Assassins" from Monch's W.A.R. album and "Uh Oh" From Talib Kweli's Gutter Rainbows.
This was followed on January 2, 2013, by the 10-track Dust Ruffle, featuring unreleased songs from between 2004 and 2010. Of the album she says: "It's such an interesting retrospective project because I get to actually hear myself evolve from 2004-2010.
Snapshots of life." Between October and November 2013 she released a series of EPs entitled Gotham Down Cycle 1: Love in Infinity (Lo-Fi), Gotham Down Cycle II: Leviathan, Gotham Down Cycle 3: The Artemis Epoch.
In December 2013 she combined the releases into one, entitled Gotham Down Deluxe.
In an interview on Judge John Hodgman late in 2012 she foreshadowed that her next full-length album would be called Cake or Death.
More recently Grae has branched out from music, releasing the audiobook The State of Eh, in January 2014; Writing, directing and starring in the online sitcom Life with Jeanie
#16 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
ACTIVE: 1996 TO PRESENT
Jean Grae (born Tsidi Ibrahim, November 26, 1976), formerly known as What? What?, is an American hip hop recording artist from Brooklyn, New York City.
She rose to prominence in the underground hip hop scene in New York City and has since built an international fanbase.
Jean Grae was born Tsidi Ibrahim, in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 26, 1976. The daughter of South African jazz musicians Sathima Bea Benjamin and Abdullah Ibrahim, she was raised in New York City, where her parents relocated after her birth.
She studied Vocal Performance at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, before majoring in Music Business at New York University. She dropped out after three weeks of class.
1996–98: Career beginnings
In 1995, she was discovered by George Rithm Martinez, when he recruited her for a five-song demo under the name of his group, Ground Zero.
Their demo was critically acclaimed and earned the duo Unsigned Hype honors in theThe Source Magazine in March 1996.
She later joined a hip hop group called Natural Resource, along with fellow rapper Ocean and disc jockey James "AGGIE" Barrett.
In 1996, they released a pair of 12-inch singles called "Negro League Baseball" b/w "Bum Deal" b/w "They Lied", and "Bum Deal (remix)" b/w "They Lied (remix)" b/w "I Love This World", on their own label, Makin' Records.
She also appeared on singles by fellow Makin' Records artists Pumpkinhead and Bad Seed, as well as on the O.B.S. (Original Blunted Soldiers) double12-inch single alongside crew members Pumpkinhead, Bad Seed and Meat-pie, and produced much of the material released on the label under the pseudonym Run Run Shaw.
During this period she established strong ties with the Brooklyn Academy crew, with which she would appear throughout her career.
1998–2004: Solo career
Natural Resource dissolved in 1998, after which Ibrahim changed her stage name from What? What? to Jean Grae, a reference to the X-Men character Jean Grey.
Under her new moniker, she released her first LP—Attack of the Attacking Things—in 2002, and followed it in 2004 with This Week.
Throughout her career she has also recorded tracks with numerous major hip-hop artists, Atmosphere, The Roots, Talib Kweli, The Herbaliser,Da Beatminerz, Phonte, Mr. Len,Masta Ace, Vordul Mega, C-Rayz Walz, Mos Def, Styles P, Pharoahe Monch and Immortal Technique among them.
Grae has recorded an unreleased album with celebrated North Carolina producer 9th Wonder, of Little Brother fame, entitled Jeanius.
This unfinished record was leaked on the internet, and subsequently work was stopped on this album.
However, at the release party for 9th Wonder's Dream Merchant Volume 2 album she stated that Jeanius was still going to be released.
This album was eventually released first through Zune Live Marketplace two weeks before its disc release on July 8, 2008.
Her rapping on the album was described by Robert Christgau as "remarkable for its rapidity, clarity and idiomatic cadence. The writing has a good-humored polysyllabic literacy."
Elsewhere, it's been reported that her proposed fourth album, provisionally titled Phoenix has gone into production.
It has been reported by several camp insiders that 9th Wonder will handle the lion's share of the production duties with unknown UK producer Passion hifi, English producer DJ Sonic Bass and NY resident Clinikal providing a beat each.
2005–2008: Blacksmith Music
Previously signed to Babygrande Records, she signed a deal in 2005 with Talib Kweli's Blacksmith Records.
On April 28, 2008, Grae posted a blog entry on her MySpace page saying goodbye to her fans.
She later cited disenchantment with the music industry and desire to start a family as the reasons behind the "retirement" and said that she was working on new material and still wanted to continue in music: "You know what? I need that Grammy. I think I might be able to stop after that."
In July 2008, Talib Kweli posted a blog entry explaining Grae's album, mentioning that she was not retiring. The blog ends encouraging fans to purchase the album, referring to Grae as "one of the last true MCs left." Grae returned to doing live performances later that year.
2008–present: Freelance
On September 18, 2008, Jean Grae posted a Craigslist ad offering her creative services for $800/16 bars.
On her MySpace blog, she stated, "I don't wanna complain anymore, I just wanna change some things about the way artists are treated and the way you guys are allowed to be involved, since it IS the digital age."
Since that time, all of her music has been self-released through her website and Bandcamp.
On June 23, 2011, after a three-year break, Grae released a free mixtape entitled Cookies or Comas, which features guest appearances from Styles P, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch; it also includes the highly praised tracks "Assassins" from Monch's W.A.R. album and "Uh Oh" From Talib Kweli's Gutter Rainbows.
This was followed on January 2, 2013, by the 10-track Dust Ruffle, featuring unreleased songs from between 2004 and 2010. Of the album she says: "It's such an interesting retrospective project because I get to actually hear myself evolve from 2004-2010.
Snapshots of life." Between October and November 2013 she released a series of EPs entitled Gotham Down Cycle 1: Love in Infinity (Lo-Fi), Gotham Down Cycle II: Leviathan, Gotham Down Cycle 3: The Artemis Epoch.
In December 2013 she combined the releases into one, entitled Gotham Down Deluxe.
In an interview on Judge John Hodgman late in 2012 she foreshadowed that her next full-length album would be called Cake or Death.
More recently Grae has branched out from music, releasing the audiobook The State of Eh, in January 2014; Writing, directing and starring in the online sitcom Life with Jeanie
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
ANGEL HAZE FACTS
#ANGELHAZEFACTS
#15 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
*PLEASE MAKE NOTE TO THE PRONOUNS THEY & THEM THIS ARTIST PREFERS WHEN REFERENCE TO ANGEL HAZE YOU USE "THEY OR THEM " OK. NOW WITH THAT BEING SAID CONTINUE....
ACTIVE: 2011 TO PRESENT
Raeen Roes Wilson (born July 10, 1991), better known by their stage name Angel Haze, is an American rapper and singer signed to Universal Republic and island Records.
"They" were born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in the Greater Apostolic Faith.
In 2012, Roes released their EP Reservation for free online, they later signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records later moving to Republic Records. On December 31, 2013, Roes released their debut album Dirty Gold which featured the singles "Echelon (It's My Way)" and "Battle Cry".
Raeen Roes Wilson was born on July 10, 1991, in Detroit, Michigan, to a military family.
" They" are of mixed African and Native American ancestry, and are a self-taught speaker of Tsalagi, the language spoken by Cherokee Tribes.
Roes was raised in the Greater Apostolic Faith, which they have often called "a cult."
In an interview with The Guardian, they recalled: "we all lived in the same community, within 10 minutes of each other. You weren't allowed to talk to anyone outside of that, you weren't allowed to wear jewelry, listen to music, to eat certain things, to date people...you weren't allowed to do pretty much anything."
However, after a pastor threatened "their" mother, "their" family left the church and moved to Brooklyn, New York when "they " were 16 years old. "They" soon began delving into the world of secular music.
Around the age of seven, "they" were raped multiple times by two family friends.
As a child, "they" never told anyone about the abuse, fearing retribution and worrying that they would be called a liar.
However, "they" defiantly recount the episode in "Cleaning Out My Closet", a song from their 2012 mixtape Classick which borrows the beat from Eminem's song of the same name.
Earbuddy's John Downey wrote: "Haze’s take on Slim Shady’s classic tune might be the superior product."
Raeen Roes is pansexual and describes "themself" as having an androgynous style.
In an interview with The Guardian, Roes stated that, "Love is boundary-less. If you can make me feel, if you can make me laugh – and that's hard – then I can be with you. I don't care if you have a vagina or if you're a hermaphrodite or whatever."
In 2014, Roes confirmed that "they "were dating American model Ireland Baldwin.
In February, 2015 "they" confirmed on their Twitter that "they" prefer "they/them" pronouns and that they are agender.
Raeen lived in Springfield, Virginia.
OK AFTER I READ THIS ONE I WAS MORE LIKE OHHHH OK...
#15 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
*PLEASE MAKE NOTE TO THE PRONOUNS THEY & THEM THIS ARTIST PREFERS WHEN REFERENCE TO ANGEL HAZE YOU USE "THEY OR THEM " OK. NOW WITH THAT BEING SAID CONTINUE....
ACTIVE: 2011 TO PRESENT
Raeen Roes Wilson (born July 10, 1991), better known by their stage name Angel Haze, is an American rapper and singer signed to Universal Republic and island Records.
"They" were born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in the Greater Apostolic Faith.
In 2012, Roes released their EP Reservation for free online, they later signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records later moving to Republic Records. On December 31, 2013, Roes released their debut album Dirty Gold which featured the singles "Echelon (It's My Way)" and "Battle Cry".
Raeen Roes Wilson was born on July 10, 1991, in Detroit, Michigan, to a military family.
" They" are of mixed African and Native American ancestry, and are a self-taught speaker of Tsalagi, the language spoken by Cherokee Tribes.
Roes was raised in the Greater Apostolic Faith, which they have often called "a cult."
In an interview with The Guardian, they recalled: "we all lived in the same community, within 10 minutes of each other. You weren't allowed to talk to anyone outside of that, you weren't allowed to wear jewelry, listen to music, to eat certain things, to date people...you weren't allowed to do pretty much anything."
However, after a pastor threatened "their" mother, "their" family left the church and moved to Brooklyn, New York when "they " were 16 years old. "They" soon began delving into the world of secular music.
Around the age of seven, "they" were raped multiple times by two family friends.
As a child, "they" never told anyone about the abuse, fearing retribution and worrying that they would be called a liar.
However, "they" defiantly recount the episode in "Cleaning Out My Closet", a song from their 2012 mixtape Classick which borrows the beat from Eminem's song of the same name.
Earbuddy's John Downey wrote: "Haze’s take on Slim Shady’s classic tune might be the superior product."
Raeen Roes is pansexual and describes "themself" as having an androgynous style.
In an interview with The Guardian, Roes stated that, "Love is boundary-less. If you can make me feel, if you can make me laugh – and that's hard – then I can be with you. I don't care if you have a vagina or if you're a hermaphrodite or whatever."
In 2014, Roes confirmed that "they "were dating American model Ireland Baldwin.
In February, 2015 "they" confirmed on their Twitter that "they" prefer "they/them" pronouns and that they are agender.
Raeen lived in Springfield, Virginia.
OK AFTER I READ THIS ONE I WAS MORE LIKE OHHHH OK...
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Lady Rage the Rapper
#LADYRAGEFACTS
#14 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Robin Yvette Allen (born June 11, 1975), better known by her stage name The Lady of Rage, is an American rapper and actress best known for collaborations with several Death Row Records artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg on the seminal albums The Chronic and Doggystyle.
She has been described as "one of the most skillful female MCs" with a "mastery of flow" and "hard-corelyrics".
In the summer of 1988, the Lady of Rage met Shahkim of the Original Outlaw Brothers, a rap group fromQueens, New York.
From the moment Shahkim heard her rap, he was convinced she was the best female rapper around.
After convincing her he could get her a record deal, he brought her into his group. The members of the Outlaw Brothers made Rage a member of the group and they eventually were signed to a production deal with the L.A. Posse (who went on to produce several big hits for LL Cool J).
At the time, the LA Posse had several artists within their group including, MC Breeze and The Real Roxanne.
They also had several relationships with different labels. Rage, along with all the artists in the camp worked diligently out of Chung King Studios in lower Manhattan recording, writing and more recording.
In 1991, Lady of Rage met with Chubb Rock, providing vocals for his track, "Bring Em Home Safe" on his The One album, which she recorded under the name of 'Rockin’ Robin'.
Dr. Dre then discovered her after the L.A. Posse let him listen to some of the tracks on their album and the vocals she recorded for the L.A. Posse's They Come in All Colors in 1991.
She appeared on several tracks from Dr. Dre's 1992 classic The Chronic album, and onSnoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993.
In 1994, she had a hit single with "Afro Puffs" (from the soundtrackto Above the Rim) which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.
She also made an appearance on Tha Dogg Pound's album Dogg Food on the track "Do What I Feel". Though she had made more than a dozen appearances on soundtracks as well as albums from her Death Row Records cohorts, the Lady of Rage didn't release an album until '97.
Her debut solo album,Necessary Roughness, was released in June 1997 and peaked at #7 on the Billboard R&B Album chart and 32 on the Billboard 200Albums chart.
Her solo album was originally called Eargasm and was continually pushed back - it was meant to have been the next album on Death Row Records afterThe Chronic, and then afterDoggystyle, before finally being released in 1997.
After the release of her album and a guest-appearance with Gang Starr alongside Kurupt ("You Know My Steez (Three Men and a Lady Remix)") in 1998, Rage left Death Row Records and the music industry to focus on acting, appearing in an episode of Kenan & Kel.
The Lady of Rage then went on to be featured in the television sitcom, The Steve Harvey Show onThe WB as Coretta Cox, a recurring role she played from 1997 to 2000. she also had a role in Next Fridayas Baby D, big sister of Day Day's ex-girlfriend.
In 2000, she made another rapping appearance on Snoop Dogg's "Set It Off" on his album Tha Last Meal, a solo track "Unfucwitable" on Snoop Dogg Presents...Doggy Style Allstars Vol. 1 and "Batman & Robin", which appeared on Snoop Dogg's Paid tha Cost to Be da Bossalbum.
In 2007 she signed to Shante Broadus' label, Boss Lady Entertainment, and recorded a street album called From VA 2 LA.
She also made appearances on Bigg Snoop Dogg Presents…Welcome to tha Chuuch: Da Albumand Cali Iz Active.
She is currently a part of the FEM (Females Earning Money) Movement along with fellow female rappers Babs (of Da Band),Lady Luck, and Amil.
In 2008, she performed with MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, and Salt-n-Pepa at the BET Hip Hop Awards.
In the summer of 2010 she joined Snoop Dogg during his headlining set at theRock the Bells festival concert series, along with Warren G, RBX and Tha Dogg Pound for a performance of the classic Doggystyle album in its entirety.
Rage is currently part of the group N'Matez, along with Daz Dillinger,Kurupt, and RBX.
*Rapping technique
Lady of Rage describes much of her rapping technique in the book How to Rap - she notes the importance of having a strong vocabulary, writing poetry, having different styles of flow, using 'rests', researching lyrics,taking your time to write lyrics, working with producers, doing guide vocals, and her compound rhymes in the track 'Unfucwitable' are broken down.
#14 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Robin Yvette Allen (born June 11, 1975), better known by her stage name The Lady of Rage, is an American rapper and actress best known for collaborations with several Death Row Records artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg on the seminal albums The Chronic and Doggystyle.
She has been described as "one of the most skillful female MCs" with a "mastery of flow" and "hard-corelyrics".
In the summer of 1988, the Lady of Rage met Shahkim of the Original Outlaw Brothers, a rap group fromQueens, New York.
From the moment Shahkim heard her rap, he was convinced she was the best female rapper around.
After convincing her he could get her a record deal, he brought her into his group. The members of the Outlaw Brothers made Rage a member of the group and they eventually were signed to a production deal with the L.A. Posse (who went on to produce several big hits for LL Cool J).
At the time, the LA Posse had several artists within their group including, MC Breeze and The Real Roxanne.
They also had several relationships with different labels. Rage, along with all the artists in the camp worked diligently out of Chung King Studios in lower Manhattan recording, writing and more recording.
In 1991, Lady of Rage met with Chubb Rock, providing vocals for his track, "Bring Em Home Safe" on his The One album, which she recorded under the name of 'Rockin’ Robin'.
Dr. Dre then discovered her after the L.A. Posse let him listen to some of the tracks on their album and the vocals she recorded for the L.A. Posse's They Come in All Colors in 1991.
She appeared on several tracks from Dr. Dre's 1992 classic The Chronic album, and onSnoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993.
In 1994, she had a hit single with "Afro Puffs" (from the soundtrackto Above the Rim) which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.
She also made an appearance on Tha Dogg Pound's album Dogg Food on the track "Do What I Feel". Though she had made more than a dozen appearances on soundtracks as well as albums from her Death Row Records cohorts, the Lady of Rage didn't release an album until '97.
Her debut solo album,Necessary Roughness, was released in June 1997 and peaked at #7 on the Billboard R&B Album chart and 32 on the Billboard 200Albums chart.
Her solo album was originally called Eargasm and was continually pushed back - it was meant to have been the next album on Death Row Records afterThe Chronic, and then afterDoggystyle, before finally being released in 1997.
After the release of her album and a guest-appearance with Gang Starr alongside Kurupt ("You Know My Steez (Three Men and a Lady Remix)") in 1998, Rage left Death Row Records and the music industry to focus on acting, appearing in an episode of Kenan & Kel.
The Lady of Rage then went on to be featured in the television sitcom, The Steve Harvey Show onThe WB as Coretta Cox, a recurring role she played from 1997 to 2000. she also had a role in Next Fridayas Baby D, big sister of Day Day's ex-girlfriend.
In 2000, she made another rapping appearance on Snoop Dogg's "Set It Off" on his album Tha Last Meal, a solo track "Unfucwitable" on Snoop Dogg Presents...Doggy Style Allstars Vol. 1 and "Batman & Robin", which appeared on Snoop Dogg's Paid tha Cost to Be da Bossalbum.
In 2007 she signed to Shante Broadus' label, Boss Lady Entertainment, and recorded a street album called From VA 2 LA.
She also made appearances on Bigg Snoop Dogg Presents…Welcome to tha Chuuch: Da Albumand Cali Iz Active.
She is currently a part of the FEM (Females Earning Money) Movement along with fellow female rappers Babs (of Da Band),Lady Luck, and Amil.
In 2008, she performed with MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, and Salt-n-Pepa at the BET Hip Hop Awards.
In the summer of 2010 she joined Snoop Dogg during his headlining set at theRock the Bells festival concert series, along with Warren G, RBX and Tha Dogg Pound for a performance of the classic Doggystyle album in its entirety.
Rage is currently part of the group N'Matez, along with Daz Dillinger,Kurupt, and RBX.
*Rapping technique
Lady of Rage describes much of her rapping technique in the book How to Rap - she notes the importance of having a strong vocabulary, writing poetry, having different styles of flow, using 'rests', researching lyrics,taking your time to write lyrics, working with producers, doing guide vocals, and her compound rhymes in the track 'Unfucwitable' are broken down.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Lisa (Left Eye ) Lopes
R.I.P #LISALEFTEYELOPESFACTS
#13 TOP FEMALERAPPER
ACTIVE: 1990-2002
Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, dancer, musician, and songwriter.
She achieved fame as a member of the R&B girl group TLC. Lopes contributed her self-written raps to many of TLC's hit singles, including "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "What About Your Friends", "Hat 2 da Back", "No Scrubs", "Waterfalls", "Girl Talk".
She won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC.
On April 25, 2002, Lopes was killed in an automobile accident in La Ceiba, Honduras when she swerved off the road to avoid hitting another vehicle. She was thrown from her own vehicle and later died from her injuries. The last days of her life were documented from March 30, 2002 until her death on April 25, 2002. The footage included the accident that took her life and was made into a documentary called The Last Days of Left Eye.
It aired on VH1's rock docs on May 19, 2007, eight days prior to what would have been Lopes' 36th birthday.
Lisa Lopes was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Wanda, a seamstress, and Ronald Lopes, an Army staff sergeant.
She had two younger siblings, Ronald and Raina. Her father has been described by music journalist and academic Jacqueline Springer, as an "oppressively" strict and demanding disciplinarian
Lopes' parents separated when she was still at school and for the later years of her childhood, she was raised by her paternal grandmother. She attended Girls' High School.
She was of Afro-Cape Verdean and African American descent.
TLC
TLC (band)
At the age of 17, having heard of an open casting call for a new girl group through her boyfriend at the time, Lopes moved to Atlanta to audition.
TLC started off as a female trio called 2nd Nature. The group was renamed TLC – derived from the first initials of its then three members – Tionne, Lisa and Crystal.
Things did not work out with Crystal Jones, and TLC's manager Perri "Pebbles" Reid brought in Damian Dame backup dancer Rozonda Thomas as a third member of the group. To keep the "initial" theme of the band's name, Rozonda needed a name starting with C, and so became Chilli—a name chosen by Lopes.
Band mate Tionne Watkins became T-Boz which was derived from the first letter of her first name and "Boz," which is slang for "boss".
Lopes was renamed "Left Eye", after a compliment from a man who once told her he was very attracted to her because of her left eye. Lopes emphasized her nickname by wearing a pair of glasses with the left lens covered with a condom, in keeping with the group's promotion of safe sex, wearing a black stripe under her left eye and, eventually getting her left eyebrow pierced.
The group arrived on the music scene in 1992 with the album Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip.
With four singles, it sold six million copies worldwide; TLC became a household name. 1994 saw the release of CrazySexyCool, which sold over 23 million copies worldwide and cemented TLC as one of the biggest female groups of all time.
TLC's third album,FanMail, was released in 1999 and sold over 14 million copies worldwide.
Its title was a tribute to TLC's loyal fans and the sleeve contained the names of hundreds of them as a "thank you" to supporters.
During the recording of FanMail, a public conflict began amongst the members of the group.
In the May 1999 issue of Vibe magazine, Lopes said, "I've graduated from this era. I cannot stand 100 percent behind this TLC project and the music that is supposed to represent me."
In response to Lopes' comments, Watkins and Thomas stated to Entertainment Weekly that Lopes "doesn't respect the whole group" and "Left Eye is only concerned with Left Eye". In turn, Lopes sent a reply through Entertainment Weekly issuing a "challenge" to Watkins and Thomas to release solo albums and let the public decide who was the "greatest" member of TLC:
“I challenge Tionne Watkins (T-Boz) andRozonda Thomas(Chilli) to an album entitled "The Challenge"... a 3-CD set that contains three solo albums. Each [album]... will be due to the record label by October 1, 2000...I also challenge Dallas 'The Manipulator' Austin to produce all of the material and do it at a fraction of his normal rate. As I think about it, I'm sure LaFace would not mind throwing in a $1.5 million dollar prize for the winner.”
T-Boz and Chilli declined to take up the "challenge," though Lopes always maintained it was a great idea.
Things were heated between the ladies for some time, with Thomas speaking out against Lopes, calling her antics "selfish", "evil", and "heartless."
TLC then addressed these fights by saying that they are very much like sisters that have their disagreements every now and then as Lisa stated, "It's deeper than a working relationship. We have feelings for each other, which is why we get so mad at each other. I usually say that you cannot hate someone unless you love them. So, we love each other. That's the problem."
Solo career
After the release of FanMail, Lopes began to expand her solo career. She became a featured rapper on several singles, including Spice Girl Melanie C's "Never Be the Same Again", which topped the charts in thirty five countries, including the United Kingdom.
She was also featured on "U Know What's Up", the first single from Donell Jones' second album,Where I Wanna Be, and she rapped a verse in "Space Cowboy" with 'N Sync on their 2000 album,No Strings Attached.
On October 4, 2000, Lopes co-hosted the MOBO Awards alongside Trevor Nelson, where she also performed "U Know What's Up" with Jones.
She also collaborated on "Gimme Some" by Toni Braxton from her 2000 album The Heat.
In 2001, she appeared in a commercial for Gap Inc. Three years earlier in 1998, Lopes hosted the short-lived MTV series, The Cut. A handful of which would be pop stars, rappers, and rock bands who would compete against each other and were judged. The show's winner, which ended up being a male-female rap duo named Silky, was promised a record deal and funding to produce a music video, which would then enter MTV's heavy rotation.
A then-unknown Anastacia finished in third place, but ended up securing a record deal after Lopes and the show's three judges were impressed by her performance.
In July 2001, Lopes appeared on the singers' edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire along with Joey McIntyre, Tyrese, Nick Lachey, and Lee Ann Womack.
She dropped from a $125,000 question and won $32,000 for charity. She would later appear again in the audience alongside Tyrese.
A year later, in 2002, the episode of her drop was shown and was dedicated to her.
Lopes created "Left Eye Productions" to discover new talent. She mentored the R&B trio Blaque, and helped them secure a record deal with Columbia Records.
Their self-titled debut album was executive-produced by Lopes, who also made a cameo appearance in their music video "808" and also rapped in their second music video "I Do". Lopes was also developing and promoting another new band called Egypt.
They worked with Lopes on her second album under her new nickname, N.I.N.A., meaning New Identity Not Applicable.
Supernova
Lopes spent much of her free time after the conclusion of TLC's first headlining tour supporting Fanmail recording her debut solo album,Supernova.
It includes a song titled "A New Star is Born", which is dedicated to her late father. She told MTV News:
“That track is dedicated to all those that have loved ones that have passed away. It's saying that there is no such thing as death. We can call it transforming for a lack of better words, but as scientists would say, 'Every atom that was once a star is now in you.' It's in your body. So, in the song I pretty much go along with that idea. ... I don't care what happens or what people think about death, it doesn't matter. We all share the same space.”
Other tracks covered personal issues, including her relationship with NFL football player Andre Rison. In 1994, Lopes infamously burned down Rison's Atlanta mansion, resulting in the loss of all his possessions.
Among the album's thirteen tracks was also a posthumous duet with Tupac Shakur that was assembled from the large cache of unreleased recordings done prior to his murder in 1996.
Initially scheduled for release on a date to coincide with the eleventh anniversary of her grandfather's death, Arista Records decided to delay, then cancel the American release.[
The album was eventually released in August 2001 in various foreign countries. The Japan import includes a bonus track called "Friends", which would later be sampled for "Give It to Me While It's Hot" on TLC's fourth album 3D.
N.I.N.A.
After numerous talks with Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, Lopes severed her solo deal with Arista (despite remaining signed to the label as a member of TLC) and signed with Knight's Tha Row Records in January 2002, intending to record a second solo album under the pseudonym "N.I.N.A." (New Identity Not Applicable).
She was recording with David Bowie for the project, who she was also trying to get involved with the fourth TLC album. The project was also to include several songs recorded with Ray J along with close friend Missy Elliott.
After Lopes' death in April 2002, Death Row Records still had plans to release the album in October 2002, but after legal issues with Arista Records, the album was cancelled. In 2011, all the tracks from the album were uploaded onto YouTube featuring artists from Tha Row Records. Lopes's unreleased songs were also sampled by TLC for their fourth album 3D after she died. Another track, "Too Street 4 T.V", was released on the soundtrack to the film Dysfunktional Family.
Eye Legacy, Forever... The EP and "Fantasies"
In 2008, Lopes' family decided to work with producers at Surefire Music Group to create aposthumous album in her honor,Eye Legacy. Originally set to be released October 28, 2008, the release date was pushed back to November 11, then to January 27, 2009.
The song "Crank It", which features Lopes' sister Reigndrop, was released as a promotional single. The first official single from the album, "Let's Just Do It", was released on January 13, 2009 and features Missy Elliott and TLC. The second official single, "Block Party", features Lil Mama andClyde McKnight. The album largely consists of reworked versions of tracks from the Supernova album. In November 2009, Forever... The EP was released which contained international bonus tracks not used on the Eye Legacy album. The EP was only available to download. An unreleased track featuring Lopes was uploaded to SoundCloud on the eve of the 10-year anniversary of her death by block Starz Music.
A portion of the proceeds from the song "Fantasies", which features rapper Bootleg of The Dayton Family, will go to the Lisa Lopes Foundation.
Personal life
Lopes was often vocal about her personal life and difficult past. She readily admitted that she had come from an abusive, alcoholic background and struggled with alcohol problems herself. These problems became headline news in 1994, when she set fire to Andre Rison's tennis shoes in a bathtub, which ultimately spread to the mansion they shared, destroying it. Lopes claimed that Rison had beaten her after a night out, and she set fire to his shoes to get back at him. However, she said burning down the house was an accident. Lopes later revealed that she did not have a lot of freedom within the relationship and was abused mentally and physically, having released all her frustrations on the night of the fire.
Lopes, who was sentenced to five years probation and therapy at a halfway house, was never able to shake the incident from her reputation. Her relationship with Rison continued to make headlines, with rumors of an imminent wedding, later debunked by People magazine.
Lopes revealed on The Last Days of Left Eye documentary that her meeting with a struggling mother in rehab left a big impression on her. She subsequently adopted the woman's 8-year-old daughter. Ten years previously, she had adopted a 12-year-old boy.
Lopes had several large tattoos. Most prominent was a large eagle on her left arm, which she said represented freedom. Later, she added the number "80" around the eagle, which was Rison's NFL number while in Atlanta.
She also had a tattoo of a moon with a face on her foot in reference to Rison's nickname, Bad Moon. On her upper right arm was a large tattoo of the name Parron, for her late step brother who died in a boating accident, arching over a large tattoo of a pierced heart. Her smallest tattoo was on her left ear and consisted of an arrow pointing to her left over the symbol of an eye, a reference to her nickname.
Roughly two weeks before her own death, Lopes was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in the death of a ten-year-old Honduran boy.
As reported in Philadelphia Weekly, "It is commonplace for people to walk the roads that wind through Honduras, and it's often difficult to see pedestrians." The boy, Bayron Isaul Fuentes Lopez, was following behind his brothers and sisters when he stepped off the median strip and was struck by the van driven by Lopes' personal assistant. Lopes' party stopped and loaded the boy into the car, and the Philadelphia Weekly goes on to explain that "Lisa cradled the dying boy's bleeding head in her arms" while "Someone gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as they rushed him to a nearby hospital."
Lopez died the next day and Lopes paid approximately US$3,700 for his medical expenses and funeral, and later compensated the family around US$925 for their loss, although it was apparently agreed upon by the authorities and the boy's family that his death was an "unforeseeable tragedy", and no blame was placed on Lopes or the driver of the van.
In the documentary The Last Days of Left Eye, Lopes is shown in a local funeral home choosing a casket for the child. Earlier in the documentary, Lopes mentioned that she felt the presence of a "spirit" following her, and was struck by the fact that the child killed in the accident shared her last name, even thinking that the spirit may have made a mistake by taking his life instead of hers.
Charity
Shortly after the death of Lisa Lopes, her family started the Lisa Lopes Foundation, a charitable group dedicated to providing neglected and abandoned youth with the resources necessary to increase their quality of life. Her spiritual motto is the one that she used for her foundation: "Energy never dies...It just transforms." Her foundation went into various underdeveloped villages and gave away brand new clothes to needy children and their families.
In 2012, the Foundation began hosting an annual music festival, known as "Left Eye Music Fest", in Decatur, Georgia.
On April 25, 2002, in La Ceiba, Honduras, while driving a rented Mitsubishi Pajero around a bend in the road, Lopes swerved to the right slightly then again to the left as she tried to avoid a collision with another vehicle that was in her lane ahead of her (it is not clear as to the direction of travel of the other vehicle at the time of the accident). The vehicle rolled several times after hitting two trees, throwing Lopes and three others out of the windows.
She died of neck injuries and severe head trauma, and was the only person fatally injured in the accident. Raina Lopes, in the front passenger seat, was videotaping at the time, so the last seconds leading up to the swerve that resulted in the fatal accident were recorded on video. In the video, Lisa appears to not be wearing a seat belt.
Her funeral was held at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia on May 2, 2002.
Thousands of people attended her funeral. Engraved upon her casket were the lyrics to her portion of "Waterfalls":
"Dreams are hopeless aspirations, in hopes of coming true, believe in yourself, the rest is up to me and you."
Lopes was buried at Hillandale Memorial Gardens, in Lithonia, Georgia.
In a statement to MTV, producerJermaine Dupri remembered Lopes:
"She was determined to be something in life. She was a true Hip-Hop star. She cared about some press. She was the star out of the group. She was the one who would curse on TV. She had the tattoos. You could not expect the expected. When you see Lisa, you could expect something from her. That is the gift she carried."
Controversy over leaked autopsy photos led to a protest by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
In response, Earnhardt, Jr. and his DEI teammates Michael Waltrip and Steve Park painted a single black stripe next to the left headlight decals of their Chevrolet Monte Carlos for the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway to protest about the display of her autopsy photos.
A similar controversy had befallen Earnhardt, Jr. himself after his father's death in the Daytona 500 a year earlier.
A documentary showing the final 27 days of Lopes' life, titled The Last Days of Left Eye, premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival in April 2007, for an audience that included many of Lopes' contemporaries, including Monica,Ronnie DeVoe, 112, Big Boi,India.Arie, and CeeLo Green.
VH1 and VH1 Soul broadcast the documentary on May 19, 2007. Much of the footage was shot with a hand-held camera, often in the form of diary entries filmed by Lopes while on a 30-day spiritual retreat in Honduras with family and members of the R&B group Egypt.
In these entries, she reflected on her personal life and career. A calmer side of her personality was on display, showing interests in numerology and yoga.
She was in the process of setting up an educational center for Honduran children on 80 acres (32 ha) of land she owned called CAMP YAC as well as another center, CREATIVE CASTLE
#13 TOP FEMALERAPPER
ACTIVE: 1990-2002
Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, dancer, musician, and songwriter.
She achieved fame as a member of the R&B girl group TLC. Lopes contributed her self-written raps to many of TLC's hit singles, including "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "What About Your Friends", "Hat 2 da Back", "No Scrubs", "Waterfalls", "Girl Talk".
She won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC.
On April 25, 2002, Lopes was killed in an automobile accident in La Ceiba, Honduras when she swerved off the road to avoid hitting another vehicle. She was thrown from her own vehicle and later died from her injuries. The last days of her life were documented from March 30, 2002 until her death on April 25, 2002. The footage included the accident that took her life and was made into a documentary called The Last Days of Left Eye.
It aired on VH1's rock docs on May 19, 2007, eight days prior to what would have been Lopes' 36th birthday.
Lisa Lopes was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Wanda, a seamstress, and Ronald Lopes, an Army staff sergeant.
She had two younger siblings, Ronald and Raina. Her father has been described by music journalist and academic Jacqueline Springer, as an "oppressively" strict and demanding disciplinarian
Lopes' parents separated when she was still at school and for the later years of her childhood, she was raised by her paternal grandmother. She attended Girls' High School.
She was of Afro-Cape Verdean and African American descent.
TLC
TLC (band)
At the age of 17, having heard of an open casting call for a new girl group through her boyfriend at the time, Lopes moved to Atlanta to audition.
TLC started off as a female trio called 2nd Nature. The group was renamed TLC – derived from the first initials of its then three members – Tionne, Lisa and Crystal.
Things did not work out with Crystal Jones, and TLC's manager Perri "Pebbles" Reid brought in Damian Dame backup dancer Rozonda Thomas as a third member of the group. To keep the "initial" theme of the band's name, Rozonda needed a name starting with C, and so became Chilli—a name chosen by Lopes.
Band mate Tionne Watkins became T-Boz which was derived from the first letter of her first name and "Boz," which is slang for "boss".
Lopes was renamed "Left Eye", after a compliment from a man who once told her he was very attracted to her because of her left eye. Lopes emphasized her nickname by wearing a pair of glasses with the left lens covered with a condom, in keeping with the group's promotion of safe sex, wearing a black stripe under her left eye and, eventually getting her left eyebrow pierced.
The group arrived on the music scene in 1992 with the album Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip.
With four singles, it sold six million copies worldwide; TLC became a household name. 1994 saw the release of CrazySexyCool, which sold over 23 million copies worldwide and cemented TLC as one of the biggest female groups of all time.
TLC's third album,FanMail, was released in 1999 and sold over 14 million copies worldwide.
Its title was a tribute to TLC's loyal fans and the sleeve contained the names of hundreds of them as a "thank you" to supporters.
During the recording of FanMail, a public conflict began amongst the members of the group.
In the May 1999 issue of Vibe magazine, Lopes said, "I've graduated from this era. I cannot stand 100 percent behind this TLC project and the music that is supposed to represent me."
In response to Lopes' comments, Watkins and Thomas stated to Entertainment Weekly that Lopes "doesn't respect the whole group" and "Left Eye is only concerned with Left Eye". In turn, Lopes sent a reply through Entertainment Weekly issuing a "challenge" to Watkins and Thomas to release solo albums and let the public decide who was the "greatest" member of TLC:
“I challenge Tionne Watkins (T-Boz) andRozonda Thomas(Chilli) to an album entitled "The Challenge"... a 3-CD set that contains three solo albums. Each [album]... will be due to the record label by October 1, 2000...I also challenge Dallas 'The Manipulator' Austin to produce all of the material and do it at a fraction of his normal rate. As I think about it, I'm sure LaFace would not mind throwing in a $1.5 million dollar prize for the winner.”
T-Boz and Chilli declined to take up the "challenge," though Lopes always maintained it was a great idea.
Things were heated between the ladies for some time, with Thomas speaking out against Lopes, calling her antics "selfish", "evil", and "heartless."
TLC then addressed these fights by saying that they are very much like sisters that have their disagreements every now and then as Lisa stated, "It's deeper than a working relationship. We have feelings for each other, which is why we get so mad at each other. I usually say that you cannot hate someone unless you love them. So, we love each other. That's the problem."
Solo career
After the release of FanMail, Lopes began to expand her solo career. She became a featured rapper on several singles, including Spice Girl Melanie C's "Never Be the Same Again", which topped the charts in thirty five countries, including the United Kingdom.
She was also featured on "U Know What's Up", the first single from Donell Jones' second album,Where I Wanna Be, and she rapped a verse in "Space Cowboy" with 'N Sync on their 2000 album,No Strings Attached.
On October 4, 2000, Lopes co-hosted the MOBO Awards alongside Trevor Nelson, where she also performed "U Know What's Up" with Jones.
She also collaborated on "Gimme Some" by Toni Braxton from her 2000 album The Heat.
In 2001, she appeared in a commercial for Gap Inc. Three years earlier in 1998, Lopes hosted the short-lived MTV series, The Cut. A handful of which would be pop stars, rappers, and rock bands who would compete against each other and were judged. The show's winner, which ended up being a male-female rap duo named Silky, was promised a record deal and funding to produce a music video, which would then enter MTV's heavy rotation.
A then-unknown Anastacia finished in third place, but ended up securing a record deal after Lopes and the show's three judges were impressed by her performance.
In July 2001, Lopes appeared on the singers' edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire along with Joey McIntyre, Tyrese, Nick Lachey, and Lee Ann Womack.
She dropped from a $125,000 question and won $32,000 for charity. She would later appear again in the audience alongside Tyrese.
A year later, in 2002, the episode of her drop was shown and was dedicated to her.
Lopes created "Left Eye Productions" to discover new talent. She mentored the R&B trio Blaque, and helped them secure a record deal with Columbia Records.
Their self-titled debut album was executive-produced by Lopes, who also made a cameo appearance in their music video "808" and also rapped in their second music video "I Do". Lopes was also developing and promoting another new band called Egypt.
They worked with Lopes on her second album under her new nickname, N.I.N.A., meaning New Identity Not Applicable.
Supernova
Lopes spent much of her free time after the conclusion of TLC's first headlining tour supporting Fanmail recording her debut solo album,Supernova.
It includes a song titled "A New Star is Born", which is dedicated to her late father. She told MTV News:
“That track is dedicated to all those that have loved ones that have passed away. It's saying that there is no such thing as death. We can call it transforming for a lack of better words, but as scientists would say, 'Every atom that was once a star is now in you.' It's in your body. So, in the song I pretty much go along with that idea. ... I don't care what happens or what people think about death, it doesn't matter. We all share the same space.”
Other tracks covered personal issues, including her relationship with NFL football player Andre Rison. In 1994, Lopes infamously burned down Rison's Atlanta mansion, resulting in the loss of all his possessions.
Among the album's thirteen tracks was also a posthumous duet with Tupac Shakur that was assembled from the large cache of unreleased recordings done prior to his murder in 1996.
Initially scheduled for release on a date to coincide with the eleventh anniversary of her grandfather's death, Arista Records decided to delay, then cancel the American release.[
The album was eventually released in August 2001 in various foreign countries. The Japan import includes a bonus track called "Friends", which would later be sampled for "Give It to Me While It's Hot" on TLC's fourth album 3D.
N.I.N.A.
After numerous talks with Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, Lopes severed her solo deal with Arista (despite remaining signed to the label as a member of TLC) and signed with Knight's Tha Row Records in January 2002, intending to record a second solo album under the pseudonym "N.I.N.A." (New Identity Not Applicable).
She was recording with David Bowie for the project, who she was also trying to get involved with the fourth TLC album. The project was also to include several songs recorded with Ray J along with close friend Missy Elliott.
After Lopes' death in April 2002, Death Row Records still had plans to release the album in October 2002, but after legal issues with Arista Records, the album was cancelled. In 2011, all the tracks from the album were uploaded onto YouTube featuring artists from Tha Row Records. Lopes's unreleased songs were also sampled by TLC for their fourth album 3D after she died. Another track, "Too Street 4 T.V", was released on the soundtrack to the film Dysfunktional Family.
Eye Legacy, Forever... The EP and "Fantasies"
In 2008, Lopes' family decided to work with producers at Surefire Music Group to create aposthumous album in her honor,Eye Legacy. Originally set to be released October 28, 2008, the release date was pushed back to November 11, then to January 27, 2009.
The song "Crank It", which features Lopes' sister Reigndrop, was released as a promotional single. The first official single from the album, "Let's Just Do It", was released on January 13, 2009 and features Missy Elliott and TLC. The second official single, "Block Party", features Lil Mama andClyde McKnight. The album largely consists of reworked versions of tracks from the Supernova album. In November 2009, Forever... The EP was released which contained international bonus tracks not used on the Eye Legacy album. The EP was only available to download. An unreleased track featuring Lopes was uploaded to SoundCloud on the eve of the 10-year anniversary of her death by block Starz Music.
A portion of the proceeds from the song "Fantasies", which features rapper Bootleg of The Dayton Family, will go to the Lisa Lopes Foundation.
Personal life
Lopes was often vocal about her personal life and difficult past. She readily admitted that she had come from an abusive, alcoholic background and struggled with alcohol problems herself. These problems became headline news in 1994, when she set fire to Andre Rison's tennis shoes in a bathtub, which ultimately spread to the mansion they shared, destroying it. Lopes claimed that Rison had beaten her after a night out, and she set fire to his shoes to get back at him. However, she said burning down the house was an accident. Lopes later revealed that she did not have a lot of freedom within the relationship and was abused mentally and physically, having released all her frustrations on the night of the fire.
Lopes, who was sentenced to five years probation and therapy at a halfway house, was never able to shake the incident from her reputation. Her relationship with Rison continued to make headlines, with rumors of an imminent wedding, later debunked by People magazine.
Lopes revealed on The Last Days of Left Eye documentary that her meeting with a struggling mother in rehab left a big impression on her. She subsequently adopted the woman's 8-year-old daughter. Ten years previously, she had adopted a 12-year-old boy.
Lopes had several large tattoos. Most prominent was a large eagle on her left arm, which she said represented freedom. Later, she added the number "80" around the eagle, which was Rison's NFL number while in Atlanta.
She also had a tattoo of a moon with a face on her foot in reference to Rison's nickname, Bad Moon. On her upper right arm was a large tattoo of the name Parron, for her late step brother who died in a boating accident, arching over a large tattoo of a pierced heart. Her smallest tattoo was on her left ear and consisted of an arrow pointing to her left over the symbol of an eye, a reference to her nickname.
Roughly two weeks before her own death, Lopes was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in the death of a ten-year-old Honduran boy.
As reported in Philadelphia Weekly, "It is commonplace for people to walk the roads that wind through Honduras, and it's often difficult to see pedestrians." The boy, Bayron Isaul Fuentes Lopez, was following behind his brothers and sisters when he stepped off the median strip and was struck by the van driven by Lopes' personal assistant. Lopes' party stopped and loaded the boy into the car, and the Philadelphia Weekly goes on to explain that "Lisa cradled the dying boy's bleeding head in her arms" while "Someone gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as they rushed him to a nearby hospital."
Lopez died the next day and Lopes paid approximately US$3,700 for his medical expenses and funeral, and later compensated the family around US$925 for their loss, although it was apparently agreed upon by the authorities and the boy's family that his death was an "unforeseeable tragedy", and no blame was placed on Lopes or the driver of the van.
In the documentary The Last Days of Left Eye, Lopes is shown in a local funeral home choosing a casket for the child. Earlier in the documentary, Lopes mentioned that she felt the presence of a "spirit" following her, and was struck by the fact that the child killed in the accident shared her last name, even thinking that the spirit may have made a mistake by taking his life instead of hers.
Charity
Shortly after the death of Lisa Lopes, her family started the Lisa Lopes Foundation, a charitable group dedicated to providing neglected and abandoned youth with the resources necessary to increase their quality of life. Her spiritual motto is the one that she used for her foundation: "Energy never dies...It just transforms." Her foundation went into various underdeveloped villages and gave away brand new clothes to needy children and their families.
In 2012, the Foundation began hosting an annual music festival, known as "Left Eye Music Fest", in Decatur, Georgia.
On April 25, 2002, in La Ceiba, Honduras, while driving a rented Mitsubishi Pajero around a bend in the road, Lopes swerved to the right slightly then again to the left as she tried to avoid a collision with another vehicle that was in her lane ahead of her (it is not clear as to the direction of travel of the other vehicle at the time of the accident). The vehicle rolled several times after hitting two trees, throwing Lopes and three others out of the windows.
She died of neck injuries and severe head trauma, and was the only person fatally injured in the accident. Raina Lopes, in the front passenger seat, was videotaping at the time, so the last seconds leading up to the swerve that resulted in the fatal accident were recorded on video. In the video, Lisa appears to not be wearing a seat belt.
Her funeral was held at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia on May 2, 2002.
Thousands of people attended her funeral. Engraved upon her casket were the lyrics to her portion of "Waterfalls":
"Dreams are hopeless aspirations, in hopes of coming true, believe in yourself, the rest is up to me and you."
Lopes was buried at Hillandale Memorial Gardens, in Lithonia, Georgia.
In a statement to MTV, producerJermaine Dupri remembered Lopes:
"She was determined to be something in life. She was a true Hip-Hop star. She cared about some press. She was the star out of the group. She was the one who would curse on TV. She had the tattoos. You could not expect the expected. When you see Lisa, you could expect something from her. That is the gift she carried."
Controversy over leaked autopsy photos led to a protest by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
In response, Earnhardt, Jr. and his DEI teammates Michael Waltrip and Steve Park painted a single black stripe next to the left headlight decals of their Chevrolet Monte Carlos for the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway to protest about the display of her autopsy photos.
A similar controversy had befallen Earnhardt, Jr. himself after his father's death in the Daytona 500 a year earlier.
A documentary showing the final 27 days of Lopes' life, titled The Last Days of Left Eye, premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival in April 2007, for an audience that included many of Lopes' contemporaries, including Monica,Ronnie DeVoe, 112, Big Boi,India.Arie, and CeeLo Green.
VH1 and VH1 Soul broadcast the documentary on May 19, 2007. Much of the footage was shot with a hand-held camera, often in the form of diary entries filmed by Lopes while on a 30-day spiritual retreat in Honduras with family and members of the R&B group Egypt.
In these entries, she reflected on her personal life and career. A calmer side of her personality was on display, showing interests in numerology and yoga.
She was in the process of setting up an educational center for Honduran children on 80 acres (32 ha) of land she owned called CAMP YAC as well as another center, CREATIVE CASTLE
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
RAPSODY FACTS
#RAPSODYFACTS
#12 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Active: 2007 to Present
Rapsody (born Marlanna Evans on January 21, 1988 in Wilson, North Carolina), is an American rapper from Snow Hill, North Carolina.
She is signed to producer 9th Wonder's Jamla Records imprint under his It's A Wonderful World Music Group (IWWMG).
She has worked with Erykah Badu, Mac Miller, Estelle, Raheem DeVaughn,Jean Grae, Phonte, Marsha Ambrosius, Raekwon, Donald Glover, Ab-Soul, Murs, Geechi Suede of Camp Lo, Big Daddy Kane, Rah Digga, Buckshot, Big K.R.I.T., Kendrick Lamar, Freeway,Statik Selektah, DJ Premier, and producer Nottz.
Rapsody began her career as a member of the North Carolina based hip-hop group, Kooley High.
She launched her solo career in 2008 after signing with 9th Wonder's It's A Wonderful World Music Group.
Her first significant career breakthrough came with the release of her mixtape Return of the B-Girl on December 7, 2010.
Return of the B-Girl marked her first work with legendary hip-hop producer, DJ Premier, and featured guests such as Mac Miller and Big Daddy Kane.
She continued to build acclaim with the release of her next mixtape, Thank H.E.R. Now., on June 21, 2011.
Thank H.E.R. Now. showcased her storytelling abilities as she drew from personal life experiences and featured her work with a variety of critically acclaimed acts such as Marsha Ambrosius, Estelle, Raekwon, Jean Grae, Murs, and Big Krit.
Her next project, For Everything was released on November 15, 2011 as a free download with an option to donate on DJBooth.net.
For Everything showcased her work with both newly acclaimed and established acts such as Kendrick Lamar and Freeway and a number of the tracks were featured in XXL magazine's "Bangers" section.
In May 2011, Rapsody joined Mac Miller on his Incredibly Dope Tour for 15 dates.
In late 2011, she toured with Phonte and 9th Wonder as a part of the Phonte & 9th Wonder Tour.
Style and philosophy
Rapsody is known for her intricate rhyme patterns, metaphors, and wordplay.
She cites Jay-Z, 9th Wonder, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, and MC Lyte as the biggest influences on her music.
Her production is primarily handled by The Soul Council, which is the team of in-house producers on It's A Wonderful World Music Group.
The producers that comprise The Soul Council are Khrysis, E. Jones, Fatin "10" Horton, Ka$h Don't Make Beats, AMP, Eric G., and 9th Wonder.
Rapsody's philosophy is "Culture Over Everything," referring to the culture of hip-hop music.
She describes this phrase in an interview with Vibe Magazine where she says, "To me, it’s about culture more so then money or anything. I make music for the people of the culture we’re in; that comes first. If you touch the people first, the rest just falls into place. That’s what it means to me, just preserving and respecting the culture."
#12 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Active: 2007 to Present
Rapsody (born Marlanna Evans on January 21, 1988 in Wilson, North Carolina), is an American rapper from Snow Hill, North Carolina.
She is signed to producer 9th Wonder's Jamla Records imprint under his It's A Wonderful World Music Group (IWWMG).
She has worked with Erykah Badu, Mac Miller, Estelle, Raheem DeVaughn,Jean Grae, Phonte, Marsha Ambrosius, Raekwon, Donald Glover, Ab-Soul, Murs, Geechi Suede of Camp Lo, Big Daddy Kane, Rah Digga, Buckshot, Big K.R.I.T., Kendrick Lamar, Freeway,Statik Selektah, DJ Premier, and producer Nottz.
Rapsody began her career as a member of the North Carolina based hip-hop group, Kooley High.
She launched her solo career in 2008 after signing with 9th Wonder's It's A Wonderful World Music Group.
Her first significant career breakthrough came with the release of her mixtape Return of the B-Girl on December 7, 2010.
Return of the B-Girl marked her first work with legendary hip-hop producer, DJ Premier, and featured guests such as Mac Miller and Big Daddy Kane.
She continued to build acclaim with the release of her next mixtape, Thank H.E.R. Now., on June 21, 2011.
Thank H.E.R. Now. showcased her storytelling abilities as she drew from personal life experiences and featured her work with a variety of critically acclaimed acts such as Marsha Ambrosius, Estelle, Raekwon, Jean Grae, Murs, and Big Krit.
Her next project, For Everything was released on November 15, 2011 as a free download with an option to donate on DJBooth.net.
For Everything showcased her work with both newly acclaimed and established acts such as Kendrick Lamar and Freeway and a number of the tracks were featured in XXL magazine's "Bangers" section.
In May 2011, Rapsody joined Mac Miller on his Incredibly Dope Tour for 15 dates.
In late 2011, she toured with Phonte and 9th Wonder as a part of the Phonte & 9th Wonder Tour.
Style and philosophy
Rapsody is known for her intricate rhyme patterns, metaphors, and wordplay.
She cites Jay-Z, 9th Wonder, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, and MC Lyte as the biggest influences on her music.
Her production is primarily handled by The Soul Council, which is the team of in-house producers on It's A Wonderful World Music Group.
The producers that comprise The Soul Council are Khrysis, E. Jones, Fatin "10" Horton, Ka$h Don't Make Beats, AMP, Eric G., and 9th Wonder.
Rapsody's philosophy is "Culture Over Everything," referring to the culture of hip-hop music.
She describes this phrase in an interview with Vibe Magazine where she says, "To me, it’s about culture more so then money or anything. I make music for the people of the culture we’re in; that comes first. If you touch the people first, the rest just falls into place. That’s what it means to me, just preserving and respecting the culture."
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