Earth, Wind and Fire

August 05, 2008 at Radio City Music Hall

8 pm

Earth, Wind & Fire were one of the most musically accomplished, critically acclaimed, and commercially popular funk bands of the '70s. Conceived by drummer, bandleader, songwriter, kalimba player, and occasional vocalist Maurice White, EWF's all-encompassing musical vision used funk as its foundation, but also incorporated jazz, smooth soul, gospel, pop, rock & roll, psychedelia, blues, folk, African music, and, later on, disco.

Lead singer Philip Bailey gave EWF an extra dimension with his talent for crooning sentimental ballads in addition to funk workouts; behind him, the band could harmonize like a smooth Motown group, work a simmering groove like the J.B.'s, or improvise like a jazz fusion outfit. Plus, their stage shows were often just as elaborate and dynamic as George Clinton's P-Funk empire. More than just versatility for its own sake, EWF's eclecticism was part of a broader concept informed by a cosmic, mystical spirituality and an uplifting positivity the likes of which hadn't been seen since the early days of Sly & the Family Stone.

Tying it all together was the accomplished songwriting of Maurice White, whose intricate, unpredictable arrangements and firm grasp of hooks and structure made EWF one of the tightest bands in funk when they wanted to be. Not everything they tried worked, but at their best, Earth, Wind & Fire seemingly took all that came before them and wrapped it up into one dizzying, spectacular package.

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Earth, Wind & Fire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Earth, Wind & Fire is an American band that fuses different genres of music, formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 and is led by Maurice White. They have had many hits such as "Shining Star", "That's the Way of the World", "Fantasy", "September", "Let's Groove", and "Boogie Wonderland".

[edit] Career

[edit] Early years

Born in Memphis in 1941, bandleader and founder Maurice White moved to Chicago as a teenager and found work as a session drummer for Chess Records. By 1967, he was the new drummer in the Ramsey Lewis Trio, replacing Red Holt. In 1969, Maurice left the Ramsey Lewis Trio, and joined two friends in Chicago, Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead, as a songwriting team which wrote songs and commercials in the Chicago area. The three friends got a recording contract with Capitol, and called themselves the "Salty Peppers", and had a marginal hit in the Midwestern area called 'La La Time'.

The Salty Peppers' second single, "Uh Huh Yeah" didn't fare as well, and Maurice decided it was time for a change of location - and a change in the band's name, which turned into Earth, Wind & Fire. This was based on the fact that White's astrological sign being Sagittarius, had a primary elemental quality of Fire, but also had seasonal qualities which are Earth, and Air, hence the omission of water.

White recruited Chicago singer Sherry Scott, along with local percussionist Phillard Williams, and then asked his younger brother Verdine whether he'd like to head out West. Verdine White, joined the band in 1970 as their new bassist.

Maurice held auditions in L.A., adding Michael Beale on guitar, Chester Washington on reeds, Leslie Drayton for trumpet and initially the group's musical arranger, and trombonist Alex Thomas to the lineup. With Flemons playing vibes and electric piano and vocals, and Verdine on bass, percussion and vocals, a ten-member Earth, Wind & Fire was born. Their self-titled debut album, Earth, Wind & Fire, was released in 1970 to great critical acclaim, as was The Need of Love (1971). A single, from this album "I Think About Lovin' You" provided EWF with their first Top 40 R&B hit. However, some members of EWF were feeling decidedly restless and the band broke up after having been together for less than six months. Maurice White decided to re-form the group and he started holding auditions.

In 1972, White dissolved the line-up (minus himself and brother Verdine White), and added Jessica Cleaves (vocals), former vocalist of the R&B group The Friends of Distinction, Ronnie Laws (flute, saxophone), Roland Bautista on guitar, Larry Dunn (keyboard), Ralph Johnson (musician) (percussion) and Philip Bailey (vocals, formerly of Friends & Love).

Warner Bros. did not know how to promote this new combo - the only other funk band on their label was Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. An audition for managers Bob Cavallo and Joe Ruffalo led to an association that continued uninterrupted until 1983, and Cavallo's management of John Sebastian led to a series of gigs as opening act for the popular pop/folk singer. A performance at New York's Rockefeller Center introduced EWF to Clive Davis, then President of Columbia Records. Davis loved what he saw and bought their contract from Warner Brothers.

In the spring of 1972, EWF headed to the studio to record Last Days And Time, their CBS debut. The album featured mostly original material but Philip Bailey had suggested the Pete Seeger song, "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" and the group threw in a cover of the Bread hit "Make It With You" for good measure. Last Days And Time was also the first album that prominently featured Maurice White playing the Kalimba on the instrumental track "Power".

The album Head to the Sky was released in 1973, and with this album some personnel changes took place. By this time, Ronnie Laws and Roland Bautista had left to pursue new musical opportunities. Philip had recommended former Denver classmate Andrew Woolfolk, who had been busy in New York studying sax with sax maestro Joe Henderson and was on the verge of taking up a career in banking when Bailey called; guitarist Al McKay who had been performing with The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band; and guitarist Johnny Graham rounded out the lineup, after playing with R&B favorites New Birth.

The album yielded the group's first two legitimate hit singles: "Evil," co-written by Maurice and Philip; and the title track, "Keep Your Head To The Sky," both top 30 R&B and top 60 pop charts.

In 1974's the album Open Our Eyes was released which was the group's first platinum album, a major hit. Jessica Cleaves, a former member of the Friends of Distinction, left after the "Head to the Sky" album.

"Open Your Eyes" was the turning point in providing EWF with its first Top 30 pop hit ("Mighty Mighty") In May 1974, "Mighty Mighty" became Earth Wind & Fire's first top 30 hit on the pop charts, peaking at #29. Their second hit single ("Devotion") was a song with a strong spiritual message.

[edit] Breakthrough success

Earth, Wind & Fire's true breakthrough came in the form of the soundtrack to That's the Way of the World in 1975. In 1974 Earth Wind & Fire worked with Sig Shore, the creator of the motion picture Superfly, on a new film about the dark side of the recording industry. That's The Way Of The World starred Earth Wind & Fire as "The Group," a new recording act. In the film, Harvey Keitel hears "The Group" performing, and produces their first album. The film's title is repeated throughout the film as a shrug of the shoulders to the music world. Earth Wind & Fire performed the songs in the film, and Maurice had a small speaking part as leader of "The Group."

Though the film was not a success, the song "Shining Star" became a huge mainstream hit and helped launched the band's career. It was the first time that the band could afford a full horn section. This album also included the hit songs "Reasons", "Happy Feeling", and "All About Love", which received constant radio airplay on R&B stations.

Many of the early hits came from long years of touring and soundchecks, and improvisation. Their second song to reach the pop Top 10, "Sing a Song" (Columbia 10251), found its genesis in a soundcheck.

Younger brother Fred White (whose Chicago background had included playing local clubs as a drummer with Donny Hathaway, later playing with Little Feat) joined the group and after returning from their first European dates with Santana, CBS wanted another album. Also at that time Ralph Johnson turned to vocals.

EWF's June '75 sessions produced "Sing A Song" and "Can't Hide Love", the later written by Clarence "Skip" Scarborough, who wrote or co-wrote many of EWF's biggest hits. These songs helped take "Gratitude", which was a double set LP comprised mostly of live concert material from the "That's the Way Of The World" tour, to a double-platinum status, an unheralded occurrence for any black group of the day; for the first time, the group's horn section (Don Myrick and Louis Satterfield, both from Maurice's Chicago session dates, and Michael Harris) which had become an integral part of the EWF sound was credited on disc. Aside from his EWF duties, Maurice had been developing his Kalimba Productions and had signed two acts - vocalist Deniece Williams, (White produced Top 10 hits like "Free" and "It's Gonna Take A Miracle" for Williams) a former member of Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove backup group. Another track Maurice produced, for the r&b group The Emotions, who had a run of hits with Volt Records from 1969 to 1974 the track "Best Of My Love" , went to #1 on both the pop and R&B charts.

Earth Wind & Fire released Spirit in 1976; and had hits with singles such as "Getaway" come from outside the group. Verdine White heard "Getaway" for the first time from someone who was producing Bobbi Humphrey. He indicated to him, that this song would be a great song for Earth, Wind & Fire. The individual wanted to produce it for EWF but that didn't occur so they got the tune, took it into the studio and recorded it. It became a hit song.

In 1976, after helping co-produce and arrange Earth Wind & Fire's Spirit album and Deneice Williams' "This is Niecy" album, producer and songwriter Charles Stepney died of a heart attack at the age of 45.

Their concerts during this time were loaded with pyrotechnics, magic, laser lights, flying pyramids and levitating guitarists. Magician Doug Henning directed many of their tours throughout the 1970's, and the band included Larry Dunn (keyboards), Al McKay (guitar, sitar), Fred White (drums) and Andrew Woolfolk (sax, flute).

In 1977, the group released another album, All 'N All. With its mystical cover and replete with songs with metaphysical themes ("Jupiter", "Fantasy" and "Be Ever Wonderful"), All'n All became the group's fifth successive double-platinum album.

Back on the road, EWF were wowing increasingly larger audiences with their spectacular stage show, featuring elaborate production tricks that included the entire group ascending in a pyramid and a disappearing act which saw EWF literally vanishing from sight.

Maurice White in the midst of this started to put on the tour some of the acts that he was also producing at the time, such as The Emotions, Deneice Williams and Ramsey Lewis.

1978 marked the year wherein EWF picked up three Grammy Awards, the third for their version of The Beatles "Got To Get You Into My Life", featured (as were the group) in the movie, "Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band". The film itself was a commercial bomb, and although the soundtrack shipped triple platinum, allegedly it was returned triple platinum. It was also the year that Maurice and managers Cavallo and Ruffalo worked out a deal for the launch of ARC (The American Recording Company) to be distributed through CBS and the creation of two recording studios, George Massenburg/ARC Studios in West Los Angeles and in Los Angeles, The Complex. The year ended with another hit single, "September" (sometimes called 'Dancing in September"), an additional track added to The Best of EWF (Volume 1), which inevitably reached double-platinum status.

Also Bobby Harris of the Dazz Band at this time requested and got Philip Bailey, the vocalist of Earth, Wind & Fire, to produce the group's first album, Kinsman Dazz. Bailey would co-produce the second album, Dazz, and had a major input into the group's vocal arrangements. In 1979, the band performed "September" at the Music for UNICEF Concert, broadcast worldwide from the United Nations General Assembly. They donated their royalties from the song to UNICEF.

1979 saw the release of I Am, the group's ninth album (the seventh for Columbia, and the second to be distributed by ARC). Songs from the album included "In the Stone", "Can't Let Go", and the much-anticipated sad ballad "After the Love Has Gone", which has cracked the number 2 spot on the Billboard Pop and R&B charts.

A good portion of 1979 was spend overseas headlining shows in Europe and Japan. Mid-'79 saw EWF topping the dance music charts with "Boogie Wonderland", produced by Maurice and Al McKay, and featuring The Emotions. Verdine White claims that "Boogie Wonderland" really was capturing the tail end of the disco era.

Maurice loaned Earth Wind & Fire's signature Phenix Horns - Don Myrick on saxophone, Louis Satterfield on trombone, Rahmlee Davis and Michael Harris on trumpets - to his other production projects, the Emotions, Ramsey Lewis and Deniece Williams. In the eighties, Phil Collins came in contact with EWF's horn section, and worked on Genesis songs like "No Reply At All" and "Paperlate," and on his solo hits like "I Missed Again" and "Sussudio".

The double-album Faces was released in (1980) went gold. After the release of this album longtime rhythm guitarist Al McKay left the band to pursue production interests and was replaced by returning electric guitarist Roland Bautista, giving the band a bit of a hard rock feel (compared to McKay).

Raise! released in (1981) featured their hit single "Let's Groove", and the Grammy Award-winning "I Wanna Be With You". "Raise!" went double platinum. Powerlight was released in early 1983 and included the hit singles "Fall In Love With Me," and "Side By Side." "Powerlight" went gold. Also In 1983, Earth, Wind & Fire contributed the song "Dance, Dance, Dance" to the soundtrack of the animated film Rock & Rule. White disbanded Earth, Wind & Fire in 1983 after the synthesized Electric Universe was released in late 1983 to poor sales and reviews. Maurice White attributes the album's lack of success to its release so quickly after Powerlight. It was their last release for four years.

During the hiatus, Philip Bailey released his second solo album, Chinese Wall. While it was not his first solo album (Bailey recorded a series of gospel LP's for the Myrrh and Word labels), it was his most successful. The first single from that album, a duet with Phil Collins called "Easy Lover" went gold, and the music video of Bailey and Collins rehearsing their collaboration hit #1 on MTV's video playlist.

Meanwhile, during the hiatus, Verdine White worked behind the scenes, writing and directing videos. He produced a Level 42 album, and promoted go-go bands like Trouble Funk and E.U..

[edit] Later years

In 1987, CBS Records convinced Philip Bailey and Maurice White that a reunion of Earth Wind & Fire would be beneficial for all parties. Their comeback hit, "System of Survival" [#1 on the Billboard R&B charts], was penned by a then-unknown songwriter, Skylark. A 1987 Earth, Wind & Fire reunion (featuring new member, lead and rhythm guitarist Sheldon Reynolds) brought about the double-platinum album Touch the World, an album that brought forth the aforementioned number one R&B and dance hit "System Of Survival," and another R&B and dance hit "Thinking Of You".

The band continued to release new albums, including 1988's The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol II featuring one new track "Turn On The Beat Box", Their final Columbia album 1990's Heritage and the Warner Brothers release 1993's Millennium. The song "Sunday Morning" from Millennium was nominated for a Grammy Award.

On July 30, 1993, saxophonist Don Myrick was fatally shot by the Los Angeles Police Department in a case of mistaken identity. Five years later, Maurice White announced that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. On October 13th 1993 former Earth, Wind & Fire member from 1970-1972 Wade Flemons died in Battle Creek, Michigan.

On September 15th, 1995, Earth, Wind & Fire was honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. All the original members of the group showed up -- including the group's founder Maurice White. He attributed EWF's success to the support of their fans. During this time, Maurice White retired from touring with the band to pursue more production responsibilities and to concentrate on producing and developing new Earth, Wind & Fire recordings. In The Name of Love was released in 1997 on Pyramid Records.

EWF were the special musical guests in Washington, D.C. June 20, 2000 at a White House state dinner. The event, which was held in a tent on the White House lawn, was honoring His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco. The band was first contacted just a week before the show by White House staff, and they quickly agreed to do the show. The entire group flew to Washington June 19.

Earth, Wind & Fire was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. In addition, Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk on Monday, July 7, 2003.

Maurice White released two new Earth, Wind & Fire albums on his own label, Kalimba Records, in 2002: Live In Rio, a live album from the 1980 tour, and The Promise in 2003, the band's first studio album in six years. The Promise received good reviews upon its release, and was first issued in the United States and Japan; it was issued in Europe in early 2004. The Promise included strong songs reminiscent of classic EW&F such as the kalimba-laden track All In The Way, Betcha', She Waits and two previously unreleased songs from the "I Am" sessions Where Do We Go From Here and Dirty.

In the summer of 2004, Earth, Wind & Fire signed an exclusive record deal with Sanctuary Urban Records Group, owned by Mathew Knowles, father and manager of rhythm and blues musician Beyoncé. The album Illumination, the band's 23rd, was released September 20, 2005. The album's first single was the Grammy Award-nominated "Show Me the Way", featuring Raphael Saadiq. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album in 2005.

EWF was nominated for a Soul Train Music Award in the category R&B-soul album, group, band or duo for the album Illumination.

On September 18, 2005, they performed their hit "September" (along with the Black Eyed Peas) as part of an opening act showing memorable television moments from the 2004-2005 season for the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on CBS.

On September 27, 2005, trombonist Louis Satterfield died.

And for the past two years, EWF has been touring in a wildly successful double bill with the band Chicago for unforgettable evenings in which both bands play separately, then come together for a grand finale switching off on each other's tunes. Philip's live lead on Chicago's classic ballad "If You Leave Me Now" was so sweet, it was added as an enticing bonus to Chicago's 2005 Love Songs compilation.

For the 2005 holiday season as part of Target Corporation's advertising, they recorded a song titled after Target's slogan, "Gather Round". David Foster and Earth Wind & Fire have recorded "Gather 'Round". The track, which is written by David Foster, Maurice White and Philip Bailey and is produced and arranged by Foster.

In March of 2007, Maurice was the executive producer of a project entitled "Interpretations-Celebrating the Music Of Earth, Wind & Fire". It featured some of the hits of EWF performed by artists such as Chaka Khan, Kirk Franklin, Lalah Hathaway, Mint Condition and Meshell Ndegeocello.

On April 25th 2007, the band was the opening act for the highly touted and publicized special edition of the reality TV series American Idol, "Idol Gives Back". EWF played a medley of their top hits.

On December 11th 2007, the band's live performance (along with the performances of a variety of other artists) at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway , was broadcasted to over 100 countries.^[1]

Earth, Wind and Fire successfully played in the Viña del Mar Festival, in Viña del Mar, Chile the opening night on February 20th 2008, where the public awarded them with the "Gaviota de Plata" (Silver Seagull), the biggest award people can give to an artist.

MAXI PRIEST

2008-08-01
8:00PM


* Please Note: Date moved from July 12 - All 7/12 tix will be honored for this show.

Doors @ 6PM

$26.50 Advance
$30.00 Day of Show

One of the most successful reggae solo artist in the world, second only to the legend Bob Marley.

Since his 1988 debut, Maxi has enjoyed tremendous success as a singer with popularity and recognition around the world. Over the course of 10 albums and countless live performances all over the globe, Maxi Priest has unleashed a one-world music that heals, rejuvenates and uplifts. In fact, he is the most successful reggae solo artist in the world, second only to legend Bob Marley. He has enjoyed numerous worldwide hits as well as a Number one pop chart smash and is widely credited with helping spread the gospel of reggae and Caribbean music.

His cover of the Cat Steven's classic "Wild World" gave Maxi his first U.S. smash hit followed by his #1 hit “Close To You”. In 1991, Maxi’s collaborations with Roberta Flack, “Set The Night To Music”, and with Shabba Ranks, “Housecall,” again took Maxi to the top of the charts. In 1996, Maxi's crossover single “That Girl,” a duet with Shaggy, became a Grammy-Nominated track. 

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Maxi Priest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maxi Priest (born Max Alfred Elliott, on 10 June 1960) is an English reggae singer/songwriter .

[edit] Career

Of Jamaican descent, and the second youngest of nine children, Priest was born in Lewisham, London. Maxi’s parents moved to London, England from Jamaica to provide more opportunity for their family. Maxi grew up listening to gospel, reggae, R&B, and pop music. He is known as the 'King of Lovers Rock'. His music is sometimes closer to R&B, and pop, than to reggae music itself.

His first major album was the self-titled Maxi Priest (1988) which, along with his cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World", established him as one of the top British reggae singers.

This internationally acclaimed vocalist is one of only 2 UK reggae acts (other being UB40) to score an American Billboard Number One. That was with the song entitled "Close to You", which was released in 1990. In addition, a duet with Roberta Flack - "Set the Night to Music" - also reached the U.S. Top Ten in 1991.

In the latter half of his lengthy recording career, Priest has favoured working alongside other artists, both established and up-and-coming. He has worked with Sly & Robbie, Shaggy, Beres Hammond, Jazzie B, Apache Indian, Roberta Flack and Shabba Ranks.

It was reported by some Birmingham newspapers on 13 March 2008, that Maxi Priest would be replacing Ali Campbell as the new lead singer of UB40, and had recorded a cover of Bob Marley’s "I Shot the Sheriff" with the band, based on information from an unnamed "source close to the band." Priest had joined UB40 on tour in 2007, culminating in sell out shows at the NEC in December.^[1][2] Another local newspaper reporting that Maxi Priest would be the new UB40 frontman, also included a statement from band spokesman Gerard Franklyn which contradicted this claim: "Maxi is collaborating with the band to record material but there is no decision been made to replace Ali Campbell with one definitive singer. The reports are half correct he will be appearing with them for this new recording."^[3]

Doors: 8 pm

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), known by his stage name Raekwon, is an American East Coast rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Raekwon may not have achieved the solo stardom of his fellow Wu-Tang Clan members Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard or RZA but along with Genius/GZA and frequent partner Ghostface Killah, he's done some of the most critically acclaimed work outside the confines of the group. His 1995 album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... is widely considered to be one of the best Wu-Tang solo albums, and one of the finest and most influential hip hop albums of the 1990s. Over the years, Raekwon has become known for staying true to his New York street fan base and making little effort to appeal to those outside of the city.

In The Wu-Tang Manual, RZA explains that Raekwon also derives the "chef" moniker from his experience as an actual chef ("He was known for cooking up some really good fish.") However, the Wu-Tang Manual also defines "chef" as a cocaine cook. Additionally, the term "fishscale" is known to denote cocaine, as with Ghostface's album, Fishscale.

Raekwon was born in Brooklyn, New York. He joined the Wu-Tang Clan in time to participate on Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, the group's massively successful debut. He later signed a solo deal with Loud Records and, working with Ghostface Killah, released his first solo LP, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (originally to be titled Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Niggaz) it debuted in 1995 to rave reviews, though the album's sales were sluggish. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... is perhaps the most influential of all Wu-Tang solo projects, thanks to Raekwon's cinematic imagination and his creation of a narrative album format revolving around cocaine trafficking, criminal activity, and a rise through the ranks of the illegal industry. Albums to follow this thematic pattern, and to rely on the Cuban Linx' format for song construction, include Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt, Nas's It Was Written, Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death, and even Raekwon's subsequent The Lex Diamond Story, which is organized around Mafia-based narrative progression, and first-person reporting on the drug trade. If the Genius is often described as the Wu's best overall lyricist then perhaps Raekwon is their best storyteller, and here he translates the epic themes and narratives of a Mafia movie into what critics consider a startlingly accomplished hip hop album.

Although Raekwon wasn't the first to make the connection between gangsta rap and the Cosa Nostra, his storytelling abilities on tracks such as Spot Rusherz led to many a comparison with Kool G Rap (who pioneered the idea), and the album as a whole is often credited for popularizing the trend of using Mafia and gangster movie motifs in rap music. Raekwon participated on Wu-Tang Forever with the rest of the group, and then released Immobilarity in 1999, to somewhat mixed reviews than Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.... Many fans disliked his decision to use inexperienced, up-and-coming producers rather than the Wu-Tang's in-house producers, though the album went gold. Raekwon is also featured heavily on Ghostface Killah's albums Ironman and Supreme Clientele, as well as featuring on high-profile singles from Fat Joe ("John Blaze") and Outkast ("Skew It On The Bar-B"). . Raekwon also recorded with on the subsequent Wu-Tang Clan group albums The W (2000) and Iron Flag (2001).

His most recent album, The Lex Diamond Story, was released on December 13, 2003 on Universal Records, to mixed reviews (generally lukewarm critical reviews and wildly varying public reviews) and moderate success. His music video for the song "The Hood" featuring Tiffany Villarreal had few rotations on BET and nearly none on MTV. Raekwon has complained about this lack of promotion and vows that future releases wont suffer the same fate.^[1] Raekwon's steady success has given him the chance to branch into business, become a Creative Officer of a major label and begin the creation of his own hip hop team, Ice Water Inc.

He is current involved in a feud with Shyheim.^{[citation needed]}

He planned to release the long-delayed sequel to his debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II, in 2007 under Aftermath Entertainment; it is informally executively produced by Busta Rhymes who Raekwon describes as getting him into the "Cuban Linx mindset"^[2] and of course RZA, with RZA handling most of the production - including the first street single - as well as tracks from Dr. Dre. Raekwon is very reluctant to let other producers on the album, however there has been talk of tracks produced by Scram Jones and the late J Dilla.

Raekwon is rumored to have signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath in mid-2006 to distribute Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II. According to an interview with Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre was amazed by what he heard when he met up in a studio with RZA and had to get in on the Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II project in some way.

On October 2, 2006, Raekwon's signing to Aftermath Entertainment was confirmed. RZA explained the collaboration between he and Dr. Dre is like "ying and yang" when it comes to their styles.^[3] "The album is gonna attract all the gangstas, nigga; all the thugs and everybody is going to be listening to this shit," says RZA of the album.

Raekwon is also working on a full length album with underground rapper Ill Bill entitled Weed Vs. Cocaine. Raekwon and Ill Bill have recorded 5 tracks together thus far which were released on some of Ill Bills mixtapes and his latest album, which are "Enemy", "Thousands 2 M's", "Brazil", "Cocaine World" and "Coka Moshiach". It is set to feature production from Scram Jones, Q-Unique, RZA, Necro, Ill Bill, 4th Disciple & DJ Premier.

In a recent interview with Billboard.com, Raekwon said that though the album was "99% complete", he had put everything on pause to work on the Wu-Tang album 8 Diagrams.

Film & acting

Raekwon got his start in acting when he played 'Cigar' in the 1999 film Black and White, and has played several other smaller roles throughout the years. He has also made cameos in numerous films as himself. In February 2007 he was the focus of a VH1 RockDoc about blood diamonds, where he along with Paul Wall, Tego Calderon and others visited Sierra Leone, West Africa for a hard-hitting look at the illegal diamond trade. During the shooting of the documentary, Raekwon became the first American rapper to perform in Sierra Leone. In 2004 he appeared in the movie Coalition. It remained unreleased until it was finally released on DVD in 2006.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cappadonna (born Darryl Hill on September 18, 1969) is an American rapper and an unofficial member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He is also brother to Lounge Lo (of Othorized Fam).^{[citation needed]}

He was well-known for his skills before the Clan formed, but only came to record with the group after a chance visit to RZA's Staten Island apartment-recording studio during the recording of Raekwon's album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (see 1995 in music). Cappadonna visited the studio during the recording of the song "Ice Cream," and joked to RZA about him contributing a verse on it; however, RZA decided to take him seriously and allowed him to feature on the track. After appearing on "Ice Cream," he went on to appear on another Cuban Linx track, "Ice Water," and became a close affiliate of the Clan with several appearances on (and a co-starring credit on the front cover of) Ghostface Killah's Ironman album as well as several prominent appearances on the group's second album Wu-Tang Forever in 1997, most notably on the stand-out lead single "Triumph."

Cappa's debut album The Pillage was released in early 1998, one of the first post-Forever releases from the Wu-Tang stable, and received mixed but generally positive reviews. When the next Wu-Tang group album, 2000's The W, arrived, Cappa seemed to have become an official member of the Clan; on Wu-Tang Forever his appearances were marked with "featuring Cappadonna" (as with other affiliates like Streetlife & Tekitha), but on The W Cappa's appearances were not marked in this way (whereas Street Life's remained designated as "featuring"). He also appeared with the original members in all the album's publicity shots and cover art, and was given equal billing in Sony Music’s press kit for the album.

His second album, The Yin & The Yang, was released in 2001. The lead single "Super Model," featuring Ghostface Killah, was moderately successful but the album was poorly received.

Cappadonna was an absentee from the Wu-Tang Clan's fourth album Iron Flag, released in late 2001. In the year since the release of The W, Cappadonna had reportedly become dissatisfied with being in the group and had also got into dispute with the group over the revelation that his manager Michael Caruso was a police informant. [1] Whatever the case, Cappa did not appear on the album. It is highly likely that he recorded with the Clan at the album's recording sessions, but was edited out of the album at the last minute (Clan leader and producer RZA is known for rearranging verses and song structures very late on in the recording process), as he participated in the photo shoot for the Iron Flag album cover, but was later airbrushed out (one of his legs remains on the cover). In other shots from the same photo shoot, such as that which appeared on the back cover of the The RZA's 2004 book Wu-Tang Manual, he is clearly visible.

For some time after the release of Iron Flag and his hiatus from the group, Cappadonna was forced to resort to more pedestrian means of earning income, and it is known that he was a taxi driver in Baltimore for eight months. Rumors abound about his brief change in vocation: it is hypothesized that he did so in order to support himself and his family, while Cappadonna's own explanation is that "he intentionally gave up what material possessions he had amassed and walked the streets of Baltimore for 8 months, before returning to the rap game" [2]. Regardless, he returned to the music industry shortly, releasing 2003's The Struggle album. This album featured some Wu-Tang Clan members, and was released on Wu affiliate Remedy's record label, although Cappadonna maintained at the time he was not directly associated with the group itself anymore. In fact, publicly, he later accused RZA of cheating him out of royalties, a charge that RZA strenuously denied. [3] Cappa's differences with the group appeared to have been forgotten when he joined the whole Wu-Tang Clan for their reunion concert at the Rock the Bells music festival in San Bernardino, California (the concert was later released on DVD and CD as Disciples Of The 36 Chambers) and appeared with the whole Clan on their early 2006 club tour as well as on the acclaimed Ghostface Killah track "9 Milli Bros." off his 2006 album Fishscale where he references his stint driving taxis: "Diggler, AKA the Cab Driver / Drop 'em off in the middle of fire / Dirty Island, drag bodies to the Murderland [Maryland] / Knock niggas out hurtin' my hand."

Doors: 11 pm

The Beatnuts are a hip hop group from Queens, New York City. The members are Ju-Ju (Jerry Tineo), of Dominican descent, and Psycho Les (Lester Fernandez), of Colombian descent. Ju-Ju is from Jackson Heights and Psycho Les is from Corona, Queens. The only Latino members of the Native Tongues Family, they have had long-standing involvement with the crew's activities. Although only peripheral members, they are routinely acknowledged as valued by Q-Tip, who has shouted them out at least twice on record (once in 1991 and once in 1996).



Early in their career the Beatnuts produced one whole album for Chi-Ali. Their production is noted as some of the most accomplished, if unheralded, in all of hip-hop, often intricately detailed (as in their finely honed work for Mos Def on two tracks from Black on Both Sides) but more regularly barnstorming, club-friendly, flourish-laden party music.

The Beatnuts are noted for being unabashedly, bullishly ribald and in-your-face performers. Recent Beatnuts albums are characterised by more Latin influences.

Collaborations with guest artists are a fixture of late-period Beatnuts albums. In particular, they have frequently acted in tandem with Masta Ace, who has aligned himself with them in light of his career resurgence, and Greg Nice of Nice & Smooth, who has reignited his career by playing the excitable hype man for both.

They are mainstays in the Latino hip-hop community, maintaining connections with Triple Seis, Tony Touch, Cuban Link, Chino XL, Prince Whipper Whip, Magic Juan of Proyecto Uno, Sick Jacken, The Delinquents, N.O.R.E., and the late Big Pun.

Kool Fashion is the onetime third member of the group; he is now a devout Muslim pursuing a solo career under the name Al Tariq, and has collaborated with his former crew on occasion. The Beatnuts produced eight tracks on Al Tariq's solo album God Connections.

The Beatnuts have also worked with Cunninlynguists, Cormega, DJ Honda, Method Man, Non Phixion, Grand Puba, A.G., Freeway, Sonny from P.O.D., Tash from Tha Alkaholiks, Common, Akon, Jurassic 5, Dead Prez, The Madd Rapper, and Large Professor, among others. Eminem has acknowledged them as an influence and invited them to tour with him.

Outside of the world of Hip Hop, the Beatnuts laid a vocal track down on British Techno artists Apollo 440 single "Dude Descending a Staircase", from the album of the same name.

In June 2007, Psycho Les joined with Al Tariq and Problemz to release LP "The City Never Sleeps" under the artist title "Big City".

11TH ANNUAL
JAMROCK REGGAE FEST
DRS AT 6PM/SHOW AT 7:30PM
HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM
311 WEST 34TH STREET, NYC
SAT JUN 14 2008 6PM DRS

Doors: 8 pm

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dilated Peoples is an underground hip hop group residing in California. They have achieved great fame in the underground hip hop community, although they have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song "This Way", a collaboration with Kanye West, in 2004. They have reached the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart with two tracks, "This Way" and "Worst Comes to Worst". Their members include DJ Babu (producer/DJ), Evidence (rapper/producer) and Rakaa Iriscience (rapper).

Its members, DJ Babu from the DJ crew Beat Junkies, Evidence, and Rakaa joined together in 1992 and released "Third Degree" and "Work the Angles" on ABB Records, developing a solid fan base in the underground hip hop community. They recorded an album "Imagery, Battle Hymns & Political Poetry", which was never released, although many fans do have it on bootleg. They eventually signed to Capitol Records and released The Platform (2000) to more critical acclaim. Their second set Expansion Team was released in 2001 led by The Alchemist-produced "Worst Comes To Worst", which utilised a vocal sample from Mobb Deep's "Survival Of The Fittest" and a musical sample from William Bell's "I Forgot To Be Your Lover". Their third album, Neighborhood Watch, was released in 2004 and debuted at #55 on USA's Billboard 200 Albums Chart. In addition to the Kanye West-produced single, "This Way", it featured the single "Who's Who?", which was also included as a track on the Need for Speed: Underground and SSX 3 soundtracks, and peaked at #35 on the UK Singles Chart. Their latest album, 20/20, was released in 2006; the debut single, "Back Again", is featured on the Fight Night Round 3 soundtrack. This is the third EA Games Soundtrack on which the group has been featured. "Back Again" is also featured on Sony's MLB 06: The Show.

Dilated Peoples are affiliated with fellow west coast rap group, Tha Alkaholiks. The Liks appear on The Platform on the track "Right On" and Expansion Team on "Heavy Rotation". They also collaborate frequently with west coast rapper, Defari and helped launch his career. Defari made one appearance on each Dilated Peoples' album; "Ear Drums Pop (Remix)" on The Platform, "Defari Interlude" on Expansion Team, "Closed Session" on Neighborhood Watch and "Olde English" on 20/20. Dilated Peoples made multiple appearances on Defari's album Odds & Evens. Another Dilated associate is a long time producer for them, The Alchemist. The Alchemist produced five songs on The Platform, three songs on Expansion Team, four songs on Neighborhood Watch and two songs on 20/20. Dilated Peoples were featured on a song on The Alchemists' 1st Infantry. Rakaa has also made a guest apperance on the song "Trance Fat" on Looptroop's new album Good Things.

Other Dilated People affiliates include rappers Talib Kweli, B-Real and