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Donda West
Donda C. West ( Williams; July 12, 1949 – November 10, 2007) was an American professor and chair of Chicago State University's Department of English, Communications, Media and Theater. She was the mother of rapper Ye, better known as Kanye West. Life and career West was raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the daughter of Lucille (Eckles) and Portwood Williams, Sr., a civil rights activist. She earned her bachelor's degree in English from Virginia Union University in 1971 and her doctoral degree from Auburn University in 1980. On August 19, 1958, she and her father took part in the Katz Drug Store sit-in in Oklahoma City. She began her teaching career in the early 1970s at Morris Brown College in Atlanta and began working at Chicago State University in 1980. West taught English at Nanjing University for a year as a scholar through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. In all, West spent 27 years at Chicago State, including 24 as head of the department of English, communication ...
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Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and is the 8th largest city in the Southern United States. The population grew following the 2010 census and reached 687,725 in the 2020 census. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area had a population of 1,396,445, and the Oklahoma City– Shawnee Combined Statistical Area had a population of 1,469,124, making it Oklahoma's largest municipality and metropolitan area by population. Oklahoma City's city limits extend somewhat into Canadian, Cleveland, and Pottawatomie counties, though much of those areas outside the core Oklahoma County area are suburban tracts or protected rural zones (watershed). The city is the eighth-largest in the United States by area including consolidated city-counties; it is the second-largest, after Houston, not inc ...
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The O2 Arena
The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the second-highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the United Kingdom, behind the Manchester Arena, and in 2008 was the world's busiest music arena. As of 2022, it is the ninth-largest building in the world by volume. The arena was built under the Millennium Dome, a large dome-shaped building built to house an exhibition celebrating the turn of the third millennium; as the structure still stands over the arena, ''The Dome'' remains a name in common usage for the venue. The arena, as well as the overall O2 complex, is named after its primary sponsor, the telecommunications company O2, a subsidiary of Virgin Media O2. History Following the closure of the Millennium Experience at the end of 2000, the Millennium Dome was leased to ...
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U-Haul
U-Haul is an American moving truck, trailer, and self-storage rental company, based in Phoenix, Arizona, that has been in operation since 1945. The company was founded by Leonard Shoen in Ridgefield, Washington, who began it in the garage owned by his wife's family, and expanded it through franchising with gas stations. Overview U-Haul is owned by U-Haul Holding Company, which in turn is owned by AMERCO, a publicly traded holding company which also operates: *Amerco Real Estate (which purchases existing buildings for conversion to self-storage facilities, existing self-storage facilities and bare land), *RepWest Insurance Company (which provides optional insurance for customers renting U-Haul vehicles and self-storage space), and *Oxford Life Insurance Company (which provides annuities, life insurance, and Medicare supplement insurance for senior adults). The Shoen family (heirs of founder Sam Shoen) currently owns, both directly and indirectly, about 55 percent of AMERC ...
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Touch The Sky (Kanye West Song)
"Touch the Sky" is a song recorded by American hip hop artist Kanye West for his second studio album, ''Late Registration'' (2005). The song features Lupe Fiasco on his career debut. It was produced by Just Blaze, standing as the album's only track to not include production from West. The song was released in the United Kingdom as a digital EP through Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam on January 1, 2006. On February 14, the aforementioned labels serviced the song to US mainstream radio stations as the album's fourth single. The next month, it was released in various countries for digital download by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam and as a CD single through Universal Music, respectively. After Just Blaze played West multiple beats, "Touch the Sky" was the one that he felt most passionate about. It is a hip hop track that includes a slowed sample from the Curtis Mayfield song "Move On Up" (1971). The song's lyrics center around West encouraging others to have as much confidence in themselves as ...
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Late Registration
''Late Registration'' is the second studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on August 30, 2005, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album over the course of a year during sessions held at studios in Hollywood and New York City, in collaboration with Jon Brion. The recording sessions also featured guest contributions from Adam Levine, Jamie Foxx, Common, Brandy, Jay-Z, and Nas, among others. West's production for ''Late Registration'' departed from the sped-up soul samples of his debut studio album, ''The College Dropout'' (2004), moving towards a more elaborate and orchestral style with a 20-piece ensemble. Drawing creative inspiration from alternative acts such as Fiona Apple and Portishead, he experimented with musical shifts, string arrangements, and a variety of instruments not usually associated with hip hop, including a celesta, harpsichord, and Chinese bells. In an effort to write authentic yet relatabl ...
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Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with solo success including collaborations with producers and rappers Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pharrell Williams. His most recent album, ''Gotham'', was released in 2020. In 2011, Kweli founded his own record label, Javotti Media. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Kweli grew up in a household in Brooklyn's Park Slope. His mother, Brenda Greene, is an English professor at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York, and his father is an administrator at Adelphi University. His younger brother, Jamal Greene, is a professor of constitutional law at Columbia Law School and a graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School, and former clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. As a youth, ...
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Common (rapper)
Lonnie Rashid Lynn (born March 13, 1972), known by his stage name Common (formerly known as Common Sense), is an American rapper and actor. He debuted in 1992 with the album ''Can I Borrow a Dollar?,'' and gained critical acclaim with his 1994 album ''Resurrection.'' He maintained an underground following into the late 1990s. He achieved mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. His first major-label album, '' Like Water for Chocolate'' (2000), received commercial success. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for the Erykah Badu single " Love of My Life". His 2005 album '' Be'' was also successful and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards. He received his second Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), from his 2007 album ''Finding Forever''. His best-of album, '' Thisisme Then: The Best of Common'', was released in late 2007. In 2011, he launched Think Common Entert ...
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Garrard McClendon
Garrard McClendon (born February 10, 1966) is an American professor, writer, filmmaker, and the host of the PBS show ''CounterPoint with Garrard McClendon''. He was the host of ''The McClendon Report'' and ''Garrard McClendon Live'' on CLTV, and earned the Emmy Award for his show ''Off 63rd with Garrard McClendon'' on WYCC. McClendon earned a Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies. He also holds degrees from Wabash College and Valparaiso University. He is an associate professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Chicago State University. He is the author of the book ''Ax Or Ask? the African American Guide to Better English''. Garrard McClendon's parents were murdered in 2009. The murderer was given a 120-year sentence. He made the documentary ''Forgiving Cain'' in his parents' honor. McClendon published ''Donda's Rules: The Scholarly Works of Dr. Donda West - Mother of Kanye West'' in 2019. In 2013, McClendon had enliste ...
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Rhymefest
Che Smith (born July 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Rhymefest, is an American rapper from Chicago whose first official album, '' Blue Collar'', was released in 2006. His prominent songwriting credits include co-writing Kanye West's " Jesus Walks", which won Best Rap Song at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, and " New Slaves", taken from West's sixth studio album '' Yeezus'' (2013). Career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Rhymefest started off battle rapping at events such as JumpOff and ScribbleJam against acts like Eminem and Chalk. Smith co-wrote " Glory" alongside John Legend and Common, for the 2014 motion picture '' Selma''. The song received the 2014 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the 2014 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Che has expanded his gifts beyond the borders of music. The subject of a Showtime and Break Thru Films documentary "In My Father's House", Rhymefest purchased the childhood home of his estranged Father only to find that he'd ...
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Beat (music)
In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a piece of music, or the numbers a musician counts while performing, though in practice this may be technically incorrect (often the first multiple level). In popular use, ''beat'' can refer to a variety of related concepts, including pulse, tempo, meter, specific rhythms, and groove. Rhythm in music is characterized by a repeating sequence of stressed and unstressed beats (often called "strong" and "weak") and divided into bars organized by time signature and tempo indications. Beats are related to and distinguished from pulse, rhythm (grouping), and meter: Metric levels faster than the beat level are division levels, and slower levels are multiple levels. Beat has always been an important part of music. Some music genres suc ...
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Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' magazine named Schwarzenegger one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2004 and 2007. Schwarzenegger began lifting weights at the age of 15 and went on to win the Mr. Universe title at age 20 and subsequently won the Mr. Olympia title seven times. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, and has written many books and articles about bodybuilding. The Arnold Sports Festival, considered the second-most important bodybuilding event after Mr. Olympia, is named after him. He appeared in the bodybuilding documentary '' Pumping Iron'' (1977). Schwarzenegger retired from bodybuilding and gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action star, with his breakthrough in the sword and sorcery epic ''Conan the ...
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Glow In The Dark Tour
The Glow in the Dark Tour was a world concert tour by Kanye West featuring Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D, Santigold and Nas. It began on April 16, 2008 in Seattle, Washington and traveled to Latin America, Asia, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia through to early December. The tour featured some surprise special guest artists, including Gnarls Barkley and Jay-Z. Chris Brown also appeared at some shows to perform his remix of "Umbrella" with Rihanna, and as a dancer for N.E.R.D. For the New Zealand and Australian leg of the tour special guests Nas and New Zealand rapper Scribe replaced Lupe Fiasco and N.E.R.D, as N.E.R.D toured these countries separately. Vanness Wu performed as the opening act on the Asian leg of the tour and performed " Good Life" with West during the show. A book named after the tour, authored by Kanye West with photography by Nabil Elderkin, was published by Rizzoli USA in October 2009. The tour grossed $30.8 million from 49 shows and was by the end of 2008 ...
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