Erykah Badu Essay

“ All I Could Do Was Cry” and “ Rather Go Blind” rings many bells even up until today's time. She signed with Chess Records in 1960 and she became very popular. “ Something’s Gotta Hold On Me” was a gospel ballad Etta did which has been used in movies such as “The Color Purple “ , “Burlesque” . Also sampled in 26 songs and covered 5. This showed me a lot of her music was well liked and amazing. In 1967, Etta recorded with “Muscle Shoals “ house band which they got the album “ Tell Mama” and is well known . 1973 critics have good feedback from her album which resulted in a Grammy Nomination. After her contract was up with Chess Records Etta left and signed with Warner Brothers , few years later

touring her song hit number one on the radio. From their she was famous and

Singer. Born April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. (Though many biographical sources give her birth date as 1918, her birth certificate and school records show her to have been born a year earlier.) Often referred to as the "first lady of song," Fitzgerald enjoyed a career that stretched over six decades. With her lucid intonation and a range of three octaves, she became the preeminent jazz singer of her generation, recording over 2,000 songs, selling over 40 million albums, and winning 13 Grammy Awards, including one in 1967 for Lifetime Achievement.

She performed at top venues all over the world, and packed them to the hilt. Her audiences were as diverse as her vocal range. They were rich and

Beyoncé Knowles is an American Singer, Dancer and Actress. She began her career in the R&B Girl group Destiny’s Child as the lead vocalist spanning over 11 years. They released songs such as ‘Say my Name’, ‘Independent woman part 1’ and ‘Lose my Breath’ in 2004 when they returned from their 2-year hiatus; to name just a few of the top 10 hits. Beyoncé went on to become a solo artist and released her debut ‘Dangerously in Love’ in 2003 which stayed at number one for five consecutive weeks. Since then Beyoncé has released five more albums, appeared in the eight movies one of which gave her an Oscar nomination; Dream girls. While being known for her vast accomplishments, Beyoncé has used her craft to highlight the achievements and struggles of the African- American Community.

When thinking of the Hip-Hop industry, one of the first names that comes to mind is Tupac Shakur. Shakur was born in the Bronx on June 16, 1971. He was reared by his mother Afeni Shakur who was an active member of the Black Panthers. Tupac's family later relocated to Oakland, California, where he spent much of his time on the street. As a kid, he was always getting himself into trouble, and he was very lonely. He started writing songs to keep himself out of trouble. An article from VIBE magazine "Troubled Times for Tupac Shakur" quotes Tupac. "'I was lonely, I didn't have no big brothers, no big cousins until later. I could remember writing songs.... I remember writing poetry.' " 1 Tupac was talented in the areas of

It is said that this hard lifestyle began to affect her work. Her songs were no longer filled with youthful emotions, but a sort of bitter regret. Even with the change in her music still had a great impact on other artists of her time and later. (www.numberonestars.com, 2010)

Throughout history there have been many musical "influences". One extremely important influence to modern music is The Grateful Dead.

Born in Ibadan, Nigeria on January 16, Helen Folasade Adu became a popular artist in the US seemingly overnight. Her mother, Anne Hayes, is British and her father, Bisi Adu is, of course, Nigerian. However, she was raised in London by her mother. Sade, in the beginning, tampered with fashion design, modeling and singing. Her talent and reputation as a musician/singer landed her jobs with local bands. It wasn't long before Sade signed with Epic Records and recorded “Diamond Life,” which was her first album. It won the British Phonographic Industry Award for British Album in 1985. It was a massive hit over in England, her native stomping grounds. “Diamond Life” features one of her best singles, Smooth Operator. It was not surprising that Sade would win a Grammy Award for Best New Artist the following year (1986).

Eunice Kathleen Waymon born February 21, 1933. She was the sixth of eight children born to John - an entertainer turned family man - and Mary Kate - who became a church minister - a poor southern black family that lived in Tryon, North Carolina.

Queen Latifah is one of the first successful female hip-hop artists of the late 1980’s; born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970, in Newark New Jersey. At age eight a cousin nicknamed her Latifah, meaning “delicate and sensitive” in Arabic (Editors). Latifah’s career started when she was just a teenager. Furthermore, she is one of the most successful black women in entertainment branching out into other types of music, music production, acting, and hosting talk shows. Latifah’s hip-hop song called “U.N.I.T.Y” earned her, her first Grammy Award (genius.com).

Though I was introduced to numerous styles of Jazz this semester, each with their own merits, I will cover the phenomenon of Hard bop in this paper. I believe that hard bop is a style unlike any other, and it deserves more recognition. Though it only reached its height of commercial success through the 1950’s and 1960’s, I hope that it will be revived one day, as I believe it to be one of the greatest styles in Jazz history.

Frida Kahlo was a half-mexican, half-hungarian painter of the 20th century born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón in Coyoacán, Mexico City on July 6, 1907. During her short lived life, she had many accomplishments. She was a surrealist artist whos paintings reflected her thoughts and feelings. Her creative style was always amazing but confusing. Unfortunately, she lived most of her artistic life in the shadow of her husband, Diego Rivera, and her work was not truly recognized until after her death.

The theologian I will be examining is the rock group U2. U2, an Irish rock band formed in 1976, consists of four members, Bono, David Evans “The Edge”, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. U2 have released 14 studio albums and are one of the world's best-selling music artists in history. Some may be wondering how a rock group could be a theologian, yet once you investigate their songs you find direct references to bible verses. Bono, the lead singer, has openly talked about his spiritual life in interviews like this one where he says, “I pray to get to know the will of God, because then the prayers have more chance of coming true.” While investigating lyrics and interviews done by U2 I will be searching for their answer to “Who is God” and “What good is god for us”. Although there is confusion

She was idealized by every young African American girl in the 70's. She produced number one hits one after the other and became a social icon.