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Dream. Zone. Achieve
''Dream. Zone. Achieve'' (stylized as ''Dream.ZONE.Achieve'') is the third studio album by American rapper Smoke DZA. It was released on April 1, 2014, by DZA's R.F.C. Music Group record label. The album features guest appearances from Cam'ron, NymLo, Joey Badass, Ab-Soul, Kobe, CJ Fly, Wiz Khalifa, Currensy, Ty Dolla Sign, Bluntsmoker, J. Ivy and BJ the Chicago Kid. Background In April 2014, in an interview with ''Complex'', Smoke DZA spoke about the lack of marijuana references on the album, saying: "The decision from that came from not really trying to spring away from it, ‘cause I’m not trying to lose my supporters and I’m really indebted into the culture because regardless if I was rapping or not I’d be smoking weed. I felt like I had to let people get into my life and see my journey from where I started to where I’m at right now. And I felt like in past projects it was a gap within that, like I’d give a little bit. But this project was like full-circle with every ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Studio Album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual Phonograph record#78 rpm disc developments, 78 rpm records collected in a bound book resembling a photograph album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl LP record, long-playing (LP) records played at revolutions per minute, rpm. The album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption from the mid-1960s to the early 21st century, a period known as the album era. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until being phased out by 1983 and was gradually supplanted by the cassette tape during the 1970s and early 1980s; the populari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ab-Soul
Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where he eventually formed West Coast hip hop group Black Hippy, alongside fellow California-based rappers Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q. He is perhaps most known for his introspective lyrics and his five independent albums under TDE, '' Longterm Mentality'', ''Control System'', '' These Days...'', ''Do What Thou Wilt.'', and ''Herbert'', which were all released to positive reviews and commercial success. Early life Herbert Anthony Stevens IV was born on February 23, 1987, in Los Angeles. He spent the first four years of his life in Korea while his father was in the military, right up until his parents split and he and his mother subsequently moved back to the United States, to live in his grandmother's house in Carson, California. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Score
In statistics, the standard score is the number of standard deviations by which the value of a raw score (i.e., an observed value or data point) is above or below the mean value of what is being observed or measured. Raw scores above the mean have positive standard scores, while those below the mean have negative standard scores. It is calculated by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation. This process of converting a raw score into a standard score is called standardizing or normalizing (however, "normalizing" can refer to many types of ratios; see normalization for more). Standard scores are most commonly called ''z''-scores; the two terms may be used interchangeably, as they are in this article. Other equivalent terms in use include z-values, normal scores, standardized variables and pull in high energy physics. Computing a z-score requires knowledge of the mean and standard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts in 1999. The site provides an excerpt from each review and hyperlinks to its source. A color of green, yellow or red summarizes the critics' recommendations. It is regarded as the foremost online review aggregation site for the video game industry. Metacritic's scoring converts each review into a percentage, either mathematically from the mark given, or what the site decides subjectively from a qualitative review. Before being averaged, the scores are weighted according to a critic's popularity, stature, and volume of reviews. The website won two Webby Awards for excellence as an aggregation website. Criticism of the site has focused on the assessment system, the assignment of scores to reviews that do not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XXL (magazine)
''XXL'' is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997. History In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of ''XXL''. It featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 2006, ''XXL'' took over the struggling hip-hop producer and DJ magazine '' Scratch'' (another publication owned by Harris Publications), re-branding it as ''XXL Presents Scratch Magazine''. However ''Scratch'' shut down less than a year later in September 2007. Other titles with limited runs have been launched under the ''XXL'' brand, including ''Hip-Hop Soul'', ''Eye Candy'' and '' Shade45''. ''XXL'' has released many other special projects including tour programs, mixtapes and exclusive DVDs. ''XXL'' also maintains a popular website, which provides daily hip hop news, original content and content from the magazine. In 2014, Townsquare Media acquired ''XXL'', ''King'' and ''Antenna'' from Harris Publications. On October 14, 2014, Town ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater, visual arts, travel, and the Internet. History ''PopMatters'' was founded by Sarah Zupko, who had previously established the cultural studies academic resource site PopCultures. ''PopMatters'' launched in late 1999 as a sister site providing original essays, reviews and criticism of various media products. Over time, the site went from a weekly publication schedule to a five-day-a-week magazine format, expanding into regular reviews, features, and columns. In the fall of 2005, monthly readership exceeded one million. From 2006 onward, ''PopMatters'' produced several syndicated newspaper columns for McClatchy-Tribune News Service. By 2009 there were four different pop culture relate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working at a record store in suburban Minneapolis, and the website earned a reputation for its extensive coverage of indie rock music. It has since expanded and covers all kinds of music, including pop. Pitchfork was sold to Condé Nast in 2015, although Schreiber remained its editor-in-chief until he left the website in 2019. Initially based in Minneapolis, Pitchfork later moved to Chicago, and then Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Its offices are currently located in One World Trade Center alongside other Condé Nast publications. The site is best known for its daily output of music reviews but also regularly reviews reissues and box sets. Since 2016, it has published retrospective reviews of classics, and other albums that it had not previously revi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared, they again came into prominence when Paramount Global's MTV based its format around the medium. These kinds of videos were described by various terms including " illustrated song", "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional clip", "promotional video", "song video", "song clip", "film clip" or simply "video". Music videos use a wide range of styles and contemporary video-making techniques, including animation, live-action, documentary, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Combining these styles and techniques has become more popular due to the variety for the aud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belly (film)
''Belly'' is a 1998 American crime drama film written and directed by music video director Hype Williams, in his feature film directing debut. Filmed in New York City, the film stars rappers Nas and DMX in their film debut, alongside Taral Hicks, Method Man, and R&B singer T-Boz. A sequel, ''Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club'', was released in 2006. Plot In 1999 Queens, New York City, young street criminals Tommy "Buns" Brown and Sincere ("Sin"), along with associates Mark and Black, murder five people during a violent nightclub robbery. After celebrating with the gang, Sincere returns home to his girlfriend Tionne and infant daughter Kenya. The following morning, Tommy asks Sincere to help him sell a new form of heroin. Sincere, who has begun having second thoughts about his life of crime, reluctantly agrees. Tommy then visits Ox, a wealthy Jamaican drug lord, who agrees to obtain the heroin on the condition that Tommy repay him with a favor at a later date. In Mark's g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Complex (magazine)
Complex Networks is an American media and entertainment company for youth culture, based in New York City. It was founded as a bi-monthly magazine, ''Complex'', by fashion designer Marc (Ecko) Milecofsky. Complex Networks reports on popular and emerging trends in style, sneakers, food, music, sports and pop culture. Complex Networks reached over 90 million unique users per month in 2013 across its owned and operated and partner sites, socials and YouTube channels. The print magazine ceased publication with the December 2016/January 2017 issue. Complex currently has 4.55 million subscribers and 1.3 billion total views on YouTube. As of 2019, the company's yearly revenue was estimated to be US$200 million, 15% of which came from commerce. Complex Networks has been named by ''Business Insider'' as one of the Most Valuable Startups in New York, and Most Valuable Private Companies in the World. Complex Networks CEO Rich Antoniello was named among the Silicon Alley 100. In 2012, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BJ The Chicago Kid
Bryan James Sledge (born November 23, 1984), better known by his stage name BJ the Chicago Kid (or simply BJ), is an American singer and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. Sledge is best known for frequently collaborating with Top Dawg Entertainment recording artists Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay Rock. He has also worked with several other prominent rappers, such as Freddie Gibbs, Warren G, Nekfeu, Big K.R.I.T., GLC, Kanye West, Anderson .Paak, and Joey Badass, among numerous others. Sledge's first work in the music industry was on a Dave Hollister record in 2001, titled "For You", which he co-wrote alongside Gerald Haddon. Sledge's vocals were first featured on a high-profile single in 2006: a song by Chicago rapper Kanye West titled " Impossible", released in promotion for the 2006 American film '' Mission: Impossible III''. In February 2012, he independently released his debut studio album, ''Pineapple Now-Laters''. Sledge subsequently secured a record de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ty Dolla Sign
Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on American rapper YG's single " Toot It and Boot It". In the summer of 2013, he signed a record deal with American rapper Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Records. In November 2015, he released his debut studio album, ''Free TC'', which peaked at number 14 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Ty Dolla Sign is known for his songs " Paranoid", " Or Nah", and " Blasé"; as well as his writing contributions to " Loyal" by Chris Brown, " Post to Be" by Omarion featuring Brown and Jhené Aiko, and " FourFiveSeconds" by Rihanna, as well his various features on singles such as " Work from Home" by Fifth Harmony, " Swalla" by Jason Derulo, featuring Nicki Minaj, " Hot Girl Summer" by Megan Thee Stallion, also featuring Nicki Minaj, and "Psycho" by Post Malone, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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