Life Is Good (Nas Album)
''Life Is Good'' is the tenth studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 13, 2012, by Def Jam Recordings. The album was recorded at various studios in New York and California, with guest appearances from rappers Large Professor and Rick Ross, and singers Mary J. Blige, Miguel, and, posthumously, Amy Winehouse, among others. Producers No I.D. and Salaam Remi incorporated orchestral elements and musical references to both contemporary and golden age hip-hop, including boom bap beats and old school samples. Nas wanted to draw on 1980s hip hop influences in order to complement the nostalgic tone of his lyrics, which he used to vent personal feelings and address moments in his life and rapping career, lending it themes of nostalgia and adulthood. ''Life Is Good'' was written after his divorce from singer Kelis, whose original green wedding dress was featured in the cover photo, and Nas has compared the album to Marvin Gaye's 1978 divorce-inspired album ''Here, My Dear' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conway Recording Studios
Conway Recording Studios is a recording studio in Hollywood, California. People and awards Conway started in the early 1970s as a mastering studio. In 1976, the studio began recording albums, including projects by Elton John and Stevie Wonder. The complex has been rebuilt from the ground up by studio designer and architect Vincent Van Haaff. Grammy Award-winning producer and engineer Peter Mokran often uses Studio B. Facilities Conway's studio perimeter includes a tropical garden area, and is located in a gated complex. This feature makes it harder for paparazzi Paparazzi (singular form paparazzo) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people, such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities who go about their daily life routines. Paparazzi are known f ... to photograph and enter the studio and parking area, improving the privacy of higher-end artists and music professionals. References External links Conway R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nasty (Nas Song)
"Nasty" is a song by American rapper Nas. The song, released via iTunes on August 9, 2011, is the first single from his tenth studio album '' Life Is Good'' (2012). The song is produced by Nas's long-time producer and frequent collaborator Salaam Remi. The song was listed at No. 37 on Rolling Stone Magazine's "50 Best Singles of 2011", and was also named as the best hip-hop song of 2011 by Rap Genius. The song was later featured on the soundtrack to the 2012 film '' Project X''. It was also featured in the video game " The Crew". Recording "Nasty" was written by Nasir Jones and Salaam Gibbs, and produced by the latter under his production name Salaam Remi. Gibbs provided and arranged the use of many of the instruments making up the song's instrumentation, including bass instruments, keys, guitars and drums. The song was recorded by Gleyder Disla at Instrument Zoo Studios—a recording studio in Miami, Florida. It was mixed by Manny Marroquin, Chris Galland and Erik Madrid at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hip Hop Music
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip-hop includes rapping often enough that the terms can be used synonymously. However, "hip-hop" more properly denotes an entire hip-hop culture, subculture. Other key markers of the genre are the disc jockey, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and hip hop production, instrumental tracks. Cultural interchange has always been central to the hip-hop genre. It simultaneously borrows from its social environment while commenting on it. The hip-hop genre and culture emerged from block parties in ethnic minority neighborhoods of New York City, particularly The Bronx, Bronx. DJs began expanding the instrumental Break (music), breaks of popular records when they noticed how excited it would make the crowds. The extend ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sampling (music)
In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, or sound effects. A sample might comprise only a fragment of sound, or a longer portion of music, such as a drum beat or melody. Samples are often layered, Equalization (audio), equalized, sped up or slowed down, repitched, Loop (music), looped, or otherwise manipulated. They are usually integrated using electronic music instruments (Sampler (musical instrument), samplers) or software such as digital audio workstations. A process similar to sampling originated in the 1940s with ''musique concrète'', experimental music created by Tape splice, splicing and Tape loop, looping tape. The mid-20th century saw the introduction of keyboard instruments that played sounds recorded on tape, such as the Mellotron. The term ''sampling'' was coined in the late 1970s by the creators of the Fairlight CMI, a synthesizer with th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Old-school Hip Hop
Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) (also known as disco-rap) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contemporary styles. The image, styles and sounds of old-school hip hop were exemplified by figures like Disco King Mario, DJ Hollywood, Grandmaster Flowers, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Treacherous Three, Funky Four Plus One, Kurtis Blow, The Sugarhill Gang, Melle Mel, Super-Wolf, West Street Mob, Spoonie Gee, Kool Moe Dee, Busy Bee Starski, Lovebug Starski, The Cold Crush Brothers, Warp 9, T-Ski Valley, Grandmaster Caz, Doug E. Fresh, The Sequence, Jazzy Jay, Crash Crew, Rock Steady Crew, and Fab Five Freddy. It is characterized by the more straightforward rapping techniques of the time and the general focus on party-related subject matter. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Boom Bap
Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in East Coast hip hop during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The term "boom bap" is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the bass (kick) drum and snare drum, respectively. The style is usually recognized by a main drum loop that uses a hard-hitting, acoustic bass drum sample on the downbeats, a snappy acoustic snare drum sample on the upbeats, and an "in your face" audio mix emphasizing the drum loop, and the kick-snare combination in particular. Key producers include DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Buckwild and Diamond D. Prominent hip hop artists who incorporated "boom bap" in their music include Gang Starr, KRS-One, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, MF DOOM, Mobb Deep, Craig Mack, R.A. the Rugged Man, Big L, Boot Camp Clik, Griselda, Jay-Z, Common, Yasiin Bey, Nas, and The Notorious B.I.G. History The term boom bap originated in 1984 when it was used ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Golden Age Hip-hop
Golden age hip hop refers to hip hop music created from the mid or mid-late 1980s to the early or early-mid 1990s, particularly by artists and musicians originating from the New York metropolitan area. A precursor to the new-school hip hop movement, it is characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence on overall hip hop after the genre's emergence and establishment in the old-school era,Green, Tony, in Wang, Oliver (ed.) ''Classic Material'', Toronto: ECW Press, 2003. p. 132 and is associated with the development and eventual mainstream success of hip hop. There were various types of subject matter, while the music was experimental and the sampling from old records was eclectic. The artists most often associated with the period are LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Ultramagnetic MCs,Linhardt, Alex (June 10, 2004)Album Reviews: Ultramagnetic MC's: Critical Beatdown. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on December 24, 2014. the Jungle Brothers, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Beastie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including Soul music, soul, rhythm and blues, reggae, and jazz. Winehouse was a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in her youth, signing to Simon Fuller's 19 Management in 2002 and soon recording a number of songs before signing a publishing deal with EMI. She also formed a working relationship with producer Salaam Remi through these record publishers. Winehouse's debut album, ''Frank (Amy Winehouse album), Frank'', was released in 2003. Many of the album's songs were influenced by jazz and, apart from two Cover version, covers, were co-written by Winehouse. ''Frank'' was a critical and commercial success in the UK, and beyond, and was nominated for the UK's Mercury Prize. The song "Stronger Than Me" won her the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Miguel (singer)
Miguel Jontel Pimentel (born October 23, 1985) is an American singer and songwriter who specializes in contemporary R&B, contemporary and alternative R&B. Raised in San Pedro, Los Angeles, San Pedro, California, he began pursuing a music career at age thirteen. After signing to Jive Records in 2007, Miguel released his debut studio album, ''All I Want Is You (album), All I Want Is You'', in November 2010. Although it was underpromoted upon its release, the album eventually became a sleeper hit and helped Miguel to achieve commercial success. The album’s second single, "Sure Thing (Miguel song), Sure Thing" reached further success in 2023 due to the song going viral on TikTok, causing it to reach a new peak at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 over a decade after its release and it ultimately became his most commercially successful single to date. After Jive's dissolution in 2011, he was moved to RCA Records and then released his second studio album, '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mary J
Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blessed Virgin Mary * Mary Magdalene, devoted follower of Jesus * Mary of Bethany, follower of Jesus, considered by Western medieval tradition to be the same person as Mary Magdalene * Mary, mother of James * Mary of Clopas, follower of Jesus * Mary, mother of John Mark * Mary of Egypt, patron saint of penitents * Mary of Rome, a New Testament woman * Mary the Jewess, one of the reputed founders of alchemy, referred to by Zosimus. Royalty * Mary, Countess of Blois (1200–1241), daughter of Walter of Avesnes and Margaret of Blois * Mary of Burgundy (1457–1482), daughter of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy * Queen Mary of Denmark (born 1972), wife of Frederik X of Denmark * Mary I of England (1516–1558), aka "Bloody Mary", Queen of England ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal performance, "larger than life" persona, and vivid lyrical imagery. His lyrics form the hardships of Gangsta rap, street life and black market economic activity into a rags to riches narrative, often describing affluence, wealth, and luxury. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'" in March 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war—receiving offers from Sean Combs, Diddy's Bad Boy Records, Bad Boy Entertainment and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, Murder Inc.—and ultimately signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Jay-Z on Def Jam Recordings. In August of that year, his debut studio album, ''Port of Miami (album), Port of Miami'' (2006) peaked atop the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart upon release, along with his second and thir ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Large Professor
William Paul Mitchell (born March 21, 1972), better known by the stage name of Large Professor (also Extra P. and Large Pro), is an American rapper and music producer. Based in New York City, he is known as a founding member of the underground hip hop group Main Source and as a mentor and frequent collaborator of Nas. About.com ranked Large Professor at No. 13 on its Top 25 Hip-Hop Producers list. Early life and education William Paul Mitchell was born in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, and raised in Flushing, Queens, New York City, where he attended IS 237 and John Bowne High School. Large Professor Biographyat Allmusic.com Career Large Professor started making his earliest beats with two turntables, a Casio SK-1 sampler, and pause-tape cassettes before his mentor Paul C taught him how to use an E-mu SP-1200. During his pause tape phase he noted that some of his techniques were different than those of other producers. "I was trying to catch it from a different pa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |